The Re-establishment Of Concord

Whilst the dispute between the parties was not yet settled, the

Blessed One left Kosambi, and wandering from place to place he

came at last to Savatthi.



And in the absence of the Blessed One the quarrels grew worse, so

that the Jay devotees of Kosambi became annoyed and they said:

"These quarrelsome monks are a great nuisance and will bring upon

us misfortunes. Wor ied by their altercations the Blessed One is

gone, and has selected another abode for his residence. Let us,

therefore, neither salute the bhikkhus nor support them. They are

not worthy of wearing yellow robes, and must either propitiate

the Blessed One, or return to the world."



And the bhikkhus of Kosambi, when no longer honored and no longer

supported by the lay devotees, began to repent and said: "Let us

go to the Blessed One and let him settle the question of our

disagreement."



And both parties went to Savatthi to the Blessed One. And the

venerable Sariputta, having heard of their arrival, addressed the

Blessed One and said: "These contentious, disputatious, and

quarrelsome bhikkhus of Kosambi, the authors of dissensions, have

come to Savatthi. How am I to behave, O Lord, toward those

bhikkhus."



"Do not reprove them, Sariputta," said the Blessed One, "for

harsh words do not serve as a remedy and are pleasant to no one.

Assign separate dwelling-places to each party and treat them with

impartial justice. Listen with patience to both parties. He alone

who weighs both sides is called a muni. When both parties have

presented their case, let the Sangha come to an agreement and

declare the re-establishment of concord."



And Pajapati, the matron, asked the Blessed One for advice, and

the Blessed One said: "Let both parties enjoy the gifts of lay

members, be they robes or food, as they may need, and let no one

receive any noticeable preference over any other."



And the venerable Upali, having approached the Blessed One, asked

concerning the re-establishment of peace in the Sangha: "Would it

be right, O Lord," said he, "that the Sangha, to avoid further

disputations, should declare the restoration of concord without

inquiring into the matter of the quarrel?"



And the Blessed One said:



"If the Sangha declares the re-establishment of concord without

having inquired into the matter, the declaration is neither right

nor lawful.



"There are two ways of re-establishing concord; one is in the

letter, and the other one is in the spirit and in the letter.



"If the Sangha declares the re-establishment of concord without

having inquired into the matter, the peace is concluded in the

letter only. But if the Sangha, having inquired into the matter

and having gone to the bottom of it, decides to declare the

re-establishment of concord, the peace is concluded in the spirit

and also in the letter.



"The concord re-established in the spirit and in the letter is

alone right and lawful."



And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus and told them the

story of Prince Dighavu, the Long-lived. He said:



"In former times, there lived at Benares a powerful king whose

name was Brahmadatta of Kasi; and he went to war against Dighiti,

the Long-suffering, a king of Kosala, for he thought, 'The

kingdom of Kosala is small and Dighiti will not be able to resist

my armies.'



"And Dighiti, seeing that resistance was impossible against the

great host of the king of Kasi, fled, leaving his little kingdom

in the hands of Brahmadatta; and having wandered from place to

place, he came at last to Benares, and lived there with his

consort in a potter's dwelling outside the town.



"And the queen bore him a son and they called him Dighavu.



"When Dighavu had grown up, the king thought to himself: 'King

Brahmadatta has done us great harm, and he is fearing our

revenge; he will seek to kill us. Should he find us he will slay

all three of us.' And he sent his son away, and Dighavu having

received a good education from his father, applied himself

diligently to learn all arts, becoming very skilful and wise.



"At that time the barber of king Dighiti dwelt at Benares, and he

saw the king, his former master, and, being of an avaricious

nature, betrayed him to King Brahmadatta.



"When Brahmadatta, the king of Kasi, heard that the fugitive king

of Kosala and his queen, unknown and in disguise, were living a

quiet life in a potter's dwelling, he ordered them to be bound

and executed; and the sheriff to whom the order was given seized

king Dighiti and led him to the place of execution.



"While the captive king was being led through the streets of

Benares he saw his son who had returned to visit his parents,

and, careful not to betray the presence of his son, yet anxious

to communicate to him his last advice, he cried: 'O Dighavu, my

son! Be not far-sighted, be not near-sighted, for not by hatred

is hatred appeased; hatred is appeased by not-hatred only.'



"The king and queen of Kosala were executed, but Dighavu their

son bought strong wine and made the guards drunk. When the night

arrived he laid the bodies of his parents upon a funeral pyre and

burned them with all honors and religious rites.



"When king Brahmadatta heard of it, he became afraid, for he

thought, 'Dighavu, the son of king Dighiti, is a wise youth and

he will take revenge for the death of his parents. If he espies a

favorable opportunity, he will assassinate me.'



"Young Dighavu went to the forest and wept to his heart's

content. Then he wiped his tears and returned to Benares. Hearing

that assistants were wanted in the royal elephants' stable, he

offered his services and was engaged by the master of the

elephants.



"And it happened that the king heard a sweet voice ringing

through the night and singing to the lute a beautiful song that

gladdened his heart. And having inquired among his attendants who

the singer might be, was told that the master of the elephants

had in his service a young man of great accomplishments, and

beloved by all his comrades. They said, 'He is wont to sing to

the lute, and he must have been the singer that gladdened the

heart of the king.'



"And the king summoned the young man before him and, being much

pleased with Dighavu, gave him employment in the royal castle.

Observing how wisely the youth acted, how modest he was and yet

punctilious in the performance of his work, the king very soon

gave him a position of trust.



"Now it came to pass that the king went hunting and became

separated from his retinue, young Dighavu alone remaining with

him. And the king worn out from the hunt laid his head in the lap

of young Dighavu and slept.



"And Dighavu thought: 'People will forgive great wrongs which

they have suffered, but they will never be at ease about the

wrongs which they themselves have done. They will persecute their

victims to the bitter end. This king Brahmadatta has done us

great injury, he robbed us of our kingdom and slew my father and

my mother. He is now in my power.' Thinking thus he unsheathed

his sword.



"Then Dighavu thought of the last words of his father. 'Be not

far-sighted, be not near-sighted. For not by hatred is hatred

appeased. Hatred is appeased by not-hatred alone.' Thinking thus,

he put his sword back into the sheath.



"The king became restless in his sleep and he awoke, and when the

youth asked, 'Why art thou frightened, O king?' he replied: 'My

sleep is always restless because I often dream that young Dighavu

is coming upon me with his sword. While I lay here with my head

in thy lap I dreamed the dreadful dream again; and I awoke full

of terror and alarm.'



"Then the youth, laying his left hand upon the defenceless king's

head and with his right hand drawing his sword, said: 'I am

Dighavu, the son of king Dighiti, whom thou hast robbed of his

kingdom and slain together with his queen, my mother. I know that

men overcome the hatred entertained for wrongs which they have

suffered much more easily than for the wrongs which they have

done, and so I cannot expect that thou wilt take pity on me; but

now a chance for revenge has come to me.'



"The king seeing that he was at the mercy of young Dighavu raised

his hands and said: 'Grant me my life, my dear Dighavu, grant me

my life. I shall be forever grateful to thee.'



"And Dighavu said without bitterness or ill-will: 'How can I

grant thee thy life, O king, since my life is endangered by thee.

I do not mean to take thy life. It is thou, O king, who must

grant me my life.'



"And the king said: 'Well, my dear Dighavu, then grant me my

life, and I will grant thee thine.' 3



"Thus, king Brahmadatta of Kasi and young Dighavu granted each

other's life and took each other's hand and swore an oath not to

do any harm to each other.



"And king Brahmadatta of Kasi said to young Dighavu: 'Why did

thy father say to thee in the hour of his death: "Be not

far-sighted, be not near-sighted, for hatred is not appeased by

hatred. Hatred is appeased by not-hatred alone,"--what did thy

father mean by that?'



"The youth replied: 'When my father, O king, in the hour of his

death said: "Be not far-sighted," he meant, Let not thy hatred go

far. And when my father said, "Be not near-sighted," he meant, Be

not hasty to fall out with thy friends. And when he said, "For

not by hatred is hatred appeased; hatred is appeased by

not-hatred," he meant this: Thou hast killed my father and

mother, O king, and if I should deprive thee of thy life, then

thy partisans in turn would take away my life; my partisans again

would deprive thine of their lives. Thus by hatred, hatred would

not be appeased. But now, O king, thou hast granted me my life,

and I have granted thee thine; thus by not-hatred hatred has been

appeased.'



"Then king Brahmadatta of Kasi thought: 'How wise is young

Dighavu that he understands in its full extent the meaning of

what his father spoke concisely.' And the king gave him back his

father's kingdom and gave him his daughter in marriage."



Having finished the story, the Blessed One said: "Brethren, ye

are my lawful sons in the faith, begotten by the words of my

mouth. Children ought not to trample under foot the counsel given

them by their father; do ye henceforth follow my admonitions."



Then the bhikkhus met in conference; they discussed their

differences in mutual good will, and the concord of the Sangha

was re-established.