A queen is neglected by the King who lets her starve. To chastise the King the Bodhisatta spoke these verses, which led to the King repenting.
BWV 040: More than Gentle Persuasion is Sometimes Necessary
A goat tries with kind words to persuade a panther not to attack and eat her; the panther however didn’t listen and got his prey.
Chief’s Last Dhamma Talk
The last Dhamma Talk by the late Most Ven K. Sri Dhammananda, Chief Priest of the Buddhist Temple in Brickfields, on the 7th July 2006 at the Buddhist Maha Vihara, Kuala Lumpur entitled Human Life.
Video of the First Chapter from Buddhist Wisdom Verses
A video made from a reading of the first chapter of my Buddhist Wisdom Verses, with pan and zoom effects of photographs of characters from the wall-murals at Borobudur as a backdrop and subtitles synchronised with the reading.
BWV 039: Keeping Quiet
A merchant used to dress his donkey up like a lion to scare away the villagers while it was eating, until one time the donkey gave the game away.
BWV 038: A Cheat is Cheated in Return
Someone stole some ploughshares and when questioned said that mice had taken them away; in return his accusor carried off the thief’s son and said a hawk had done it. This is the Bodhisatta’s comment and solution to the problem.
BWV 037: Not all Growth is Advantageous
A goose warns a tree-god that a banyan sapling that was taking hold in its home would eventually destroy it. The warning was ignored and the tree succumbed.
BWV 036: Seizing the Advantage
A crocodile, wishing to get a monkey’s heart for his wife, entices a monkey onto his back, but at the critical time, the monkey persuades him that he left his heart in a tree and escapes when land is approached.
BWV 035: Profiting in Neither Way
A wealthy youth takes to drink and squanders both his own and his wife’s money and ends up a beggar. The Buddha explains that if he had applied himself as a layman he would have been amongst the chief treasurers; and if he had become a monk he would have attained the paths and fruits.
BWV 035: The Long Journey in Samsara
King Pasenadi is overcome with desire for another man’s wife and seeks to have him killed. During the night he wakes to the sound of four people screaming. The Buddha explains they were adulterers in their previous lives and did no good deeds.
BWV 035: Three Roots of Evil
King Pasenadi asks what things when they arise are unbeneficial, unsatisfactory and uncomfortable.
BWV 034: The Great Defilements
While the Buddha is preaching the Dhamma, of five lay followers one falls asleep, another scratches the earth, one shakes a tree, another looks at the sky and only one listens attentively. The Buddha explains they were a snake, an earthworm, a monkey, an astrologer and a student of the Vedas in their previous births and behave accordingly now.
BWV 033: Various Reciprical Duties
The Bodhisatta converts a man-eating King and brings him home, but the people do not feel safe. The Bodhisatta admonishes them with these verses.
BWV 032: The Dhamma Surpasses All
The Gods have four questions which none of them is able to answer, they therefore go to the Buddha with their questions and this is his reply.
BWV 031: Overcoming Defilements with their Opposites
A wife hires a courtesan to look after her husband’s needs, while she serves the Buddha and his monks. The courtesan gets angry and tries to burn her with boiling ghee, but the power of loving-kindness stops it burning.
BWV 031: Four More Good Things
Bhante Anandajoti: 1. The Early Life of the Buddha
A video made around a talk given about the period from the Bodhisatta’s renunciation, up to the Awakening, and the first year thereafter.
BWV 030: The Rare Things
A monk in the time of Buddha Kassapa dies and is reborn as a nāga. Eventually he hears that a new Buddha has arisen in the world, and goes and asks why he cannot attain rebirth as a human even after so long a time. This is the Buddha’s reply.
BWV 029: Four Great Things
The Buddha is reflecting on whether it is possible for Kings to rule the world with justice. Māra, finding this out, comes to the wrong conclusion, and tries to tempt him. The Buddha explains what is truly good.
