Post by Neo on Oct 14, 2020 20:16:46 GMT -5
At this the king was grieved and felt sad. But he did not go to the Royal Sage and ask him about the duties of a wheel turning monarch. Instead, he ruled the people according to his own ideas, and, being so rules, the people did not prosper so well as they had done under the previous kings who had performed the duties of a wheel turning monarch. Then the ministers, counselors, treasury officials, guards and doorkeepers, and the chanters of mantras came to the King and said: "Sire, as long as you rule the people according to your own ideas, and differently from the way they were ruled before under previous wheel turning monarchs, the people do not prosper so well. Sire, there are ministers…in your realm, including ourselves, who have persevered the knowledge of how a wheel turning king should rule. Ask us, Your Majesty, and we will tell you!"
Then the King ordered all the ministers and others to come together, and he consulted them. And they explained to him the duties of a wheel turning monarch. And having listen to them, the King established guard and protection, but he did not give property to the needy, and as a result poverty became rife. With the spread of poverty, a man took what was not given, thus committing what was called theft. They arrested him, and brought him before the king, saying: "Your Majesty, this man took what was not given, which we call theft." The King said to him: "Is it true that you took what was not given – which is called theft?"
"It is, your Majesty."
"Why?"
"Your Majesty, I have nothing to live on."
Then the King gave the man some property, saying, "With this, my good man, you can keep yourself, support your mother and father, keep a wife and children, carry on a business and make gifts to ascetics and Brahmins, which will promote your spiritual welfare and lead to a happy rebirth with pleasant result in a heavenly sphere."
"Very Good, Your Majesty." Replied the man.
And exactly the same thing happened with another man.
Then people heard that the King was giving away property to those who took what was not given and they thought: "Suppose we were to do likewise!" and then another man took what was not given, and they brought him before the king. The King asked him why he had done this, and he replied: "Your Majesty, I have nothing to live on." Then the King thought: "If I give property to everybody who takes what is not given, this theft will increase more and more. I had better make an end of him, finish him off once for all, and cut his head off." So he commanded his men: `Bind this man's arms tightly behind him with a strong rope, shave his head closely, and lead him to the rough sound of a drum through the streets and squares and out through the southern gate, and there finish by inflicting the capital penalty and cutting off his head!" And they did so.
Hearing about this, people thought: "Now let us get sharp swords made for us, and then we can take from anybody what is not given, which is called theft, we will make an end of them, finish them off once for all and cut off their heads." So, having procured some sharp swords, they launched murderous assaults on villages, towns and cities, and went in for highway-robbery, killing their victims by cutting off their heads.
Thus, from not giving of property to the needy, poverty became rife, from the growth of poverty, the taking of what was not given increased, from the increase of theft, the use of weapons increased, from the increased use of weapons, the taking of life increased – and from the increase in the taking of life, people's life span decreased, their beauty decreased, and as a result of this decrease of life-span and beauty, the children of those whose life span had been eighty thousand years lived only forty thousand.
And a man of the generation that lived for forty thousand years took what was not given. He was brought before the king, who asked him: "Is it true that you took what as not given – what is called theft?"
"No, your majesty." He replied, thus telling a deliberate lie.
Thus, from the not giving of property to the needy,… the taking of life increased, and from the taking of life, lying increased, from the increase in lying, peoples life span decreased, their beauty decreased, and as a result the children of whose life span had been forty thousand years lived only twenty thousand.~ Cakkavattisihananda Sutta
...ooOoo...
Source:
www.buddhasutra.com/files/cakkavattisihananda_sutta.htm
Then the King ordered all the ministers and others to come together, and he consulted them. And they explained to him the duties of a wheel turning monarch. And having listen to them, the King established guard and protection, but he did not give property to the needy, and as a result poverty became rife. With the spread of poverty, a man took what was not given, thus committing what was called theft. They arrested him, and brought him before the king, saying: "Your Majesty, this man took what was not given, which we call theft." The King said to him: "Is it true that you took what was not given – which is called theft?"
"It is, your Majesty."
"Why?"
"Your Majesty, I have nothing to live on."
Then the King gave the man some property, saying, "With this, my good man, you can keep yourself, support your mother and father, keep a wife and children, carry on a business and make gifts to ascetics and Brahmins, which will promote your spiritual welfare and lead to a happy rebirth with pleasant result in a heavenly sphere."
"Very Good, Your Majesty." Replied the man.
And exactly the same thing happened with another man.
Then people heard that the King was giving away property to those who took what was not given and they thought: "Suppose we were to do likewise!" and then another man took what was not given, and they brought him before the king. The King asked him why he had done this, and he replied: "Your Majesty, I have nothing to live on." Then the King thought: "If I give property to everybody who takes what is not given, this theft will increase more and more. I had better make an end of him, finish him off once for all, and cut his head off." So he commanded his men: `Bind this man's arms tightly behind him with a strong rope, shave his head closely, and lead him to the rough sound of a drum through the streets and squares and out through the southern gate, and there finish by inflicting the capital penalty and cutting off his head!" And they did so.
Hearing about this, people thought: "Now let us get sharp swords made for us, and then we can take from anybody what is not given, which is called theft, we will make an end of them, finish them off once for all and cut off their heads." So, having procured some sharp swords, they launched murderous assaults on villages, towns and cities, and went in for highway-robbery, killing their victims by cutting off their heads.
Thus, from not giving of property to the needy, poverty became rife, from the growth of poverty, the taking of what was not given increased, from the increase of theft, the use of weapons increased, from the increased use of weapons, the taking of life increased – and from the increase in the taking of life, people's life span decreased, their beauty decreased, and as a result of this decrease of life-span and beauty, the children of those whose life span had been eighty thousand years lived only forty thousand.
And a man of the generation that lived for forty thousand years took what was not given. He was brought before the king, who asked him: "Is it true that you took what as not given – what is called theft?"
"No, your majesty." He replied, thus telling a deliberate lie.
Thus, from the not giving of property to the needy,… the taking of life increased, and from the taking of life, lying increased, from the increase in lying, peoples life span decreased, their beauty decreased, and as a result the children of whose life span had been forty thousand years lived only twenty thousand.~ Cakkavattisihananda Sutta
...ooOoo...
Source:
www.buddhasutra.com/files/cakkavattisihananda_sutta.htm