XIX. Dhaniya The Herdsman

Buddhist Scriptures, by E.J. Thomas, [1913], at sacred-texts.com

p. 104

XIX

DHANIYA THE HERDSMAN

The last two verses of the following are not an original part of the poem. They occur independently in the Samyutta Nikāya, iv. 1, 8, where they form one of the temptations of Māra.

Dhaniya: I have boiled my rice, my milking have dwelling,
I ended, On the banks of the river Mahī, with equals
Roofed is my house, my fire alight—
Then if it be thy wish, now rain, O sky.

The Lord: I am free from anger, stubbornness have I ended,
On the banks of the river Mahī for one night dwelling,
Unroofed is my house, my fire ¹ extinguished—
Then if it be thy wish, now rain, O sky.

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Dhan.: Here are no gadflies found to pester me,
In the meadows deep in grass the cattle wander,
They can bear the rain, when it shall come—
Then if it be thy wish, now rain, O sky.

The Lord: Firmly bound is my raft, and well-constructed,
To the farther shore I have crossed, and left the torrent,
Now no longer I need a raft—
Then if it be thy wish, now rain, O sky.

Dhan.: Dutiful is my wife, not wanton is she,
Long with me she has lived, the charming one,
Nought that is bad do I hear of her—
Then if it be thy wish, now rain, O sky.

The Lord: Dutiful is my mind, delivered is it,
Long has it been well-tamed, and duly practised,
Nought that is bad is found in me—
Then if it be thy wish, now rain, O sky.

Dhan.: Self-gained is my livelihood and my earnings,
My children, healthy, are gathered round about me,
Nought that is bad do I hear of them—
Then if it be thy wish, now rain, O sky.

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The Lord: Of no one whatsoe’er am I the servant,
With what I earn through all the world I wander,
No need is there to me of wages—
Then if it be thy wish, now rain, O sky.

Dhan.: I have cows, and I have calves,
Cows have I in calf, and cows for breeding,
Also a bull have I, a lord of cattle—
Then if it be thy wish, now rain, O sky.

The Lord: No cows have I, no calves have I,
No cows in calf have I, nor cows for breeding,
Nor even a bull is mine, a lord of cattle—
Then if it be thy wish, now rain, O sky.

Dhan.: The stakes are well rammed in, not to be shaken,
New are the ropes of munja-grass, well-twisted,
Nor will the calves be able to break through them—
Then if it be thy wish, now rain, O sky.

The Lord: I as a bull have broken through the fetters,
Have crushed, as an elephant, the galucchi creeper,
No more shall I the womb of existence enter—
Then if it be thy wish, now rain, O sky.

Then at that moment burst a mighty storm-cloud,
Filling the earth and deep expanse of ocean, ¹

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And hearing the raining of the sky,
These words did Dhaniya the herdsman utter:

"Gain no wise small indeed is ours,
Who see the Lord, endowed with eye of wisdom;
To thee, O Lord, we come and seek a refuge,
Be thou to us the Master, O great Muni.

"Dutiful is my wife, and so am I,
May we lead in the Blessed One a holy life,
And crossed to the farther shore of birth and death,
So may we make an end of grief and pain."

[Māra: He who is rich in sons delights in sons,
So he in cows delights, who is rich in cows,
For in the passions is the delight of man;
He who is passionless finds no delight.

The Lord: He who is rich in sons finds grief in sons,
So he in cows finds grief, who is rich in cows,
For in the passions is the grief of man;
He who is passionless is free from grief.]
                       (Sutta-Nipāta, I. 2.).

This is one of the parallels with the New Testament given by Fausböll, and he compares the parable of the rich man who pulls down his barns and builds greater, Luke xii. 16–21. The name Dhaniya means "wealthy."

Other parallels in the same work are in 7, 4, where Buddha is reproached for not working. He replies: "I also, brahmin,

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plough and sow, and, having sown, I eat. . . Faith is the seed, virtue the rain, wisdom my yoke and plough, modesty the plough-pole, mind the reins, watchfulness the ploughshare and goad. Strength is my ox; bearing me to the calm of concentration [yoga] he goes without turning back, whither having gone one does not grieve." Cf. John v. 17, "My Father worketh even until now, and I work."

A curious Buddhist phrase occurs in the Epistle of St. James iii. 6, "the wheel of birth" (R.V. margin), which is practically identical with the Sanskrit name bhavacakra for the Chain of Causation, p. 37. Dr. Carus says, "The reappearance of this peculiarly Buddhistic term in the New Testament is certainly most startling and perplexing." But the tendency now is to consider the idea that Christianity owes anything in its origin to Buddhism as quite illusory.

Footnotes

104:1 I.e. the fire of lusts. The same thought occurs in the solemn utterance (udāna) of Buddha at his enlightenment:

106:1 Victor Henry takes it to be understood that the wealth of Dhaniya is destroyed in the storm.