Reading guide
A renunciation shared, not a marriage
Cūḷabodhi and a brahmin lady both give up worldly life out of fear of rebirth, and travel together to Varanasi — the text is explicit that she is not his wife, only someone who shares his teaching and belief, a distinction the story insists on before the king who assumes otherwise.
Seized on the king's assumption
A king visiting the royal park sees the brahmin lady, asks whether she is Cūḷabodhi's wife, and on hearing that she is not, has her seized by force anyway — the denial of marriage removing whatever restraint the king might otherwise have felt, rather than protecting her.
Anger named, then stopped
The story does not pretend Cūḷabodhi felt nothing: ‘I felt so angry.’ What follows is not suppression before the fact but an active act performed as the anger arises — ‘together with the arising of anger, I remembered my precepts and vows, and right there controlled my anger, I did not allow it to grow.’
The same denial-then-reason as elsewhere
The closing verses use the structure seen throughout this collection: Cūḷabodhi explicitly denies that his restraint came from indifference to the woman or from weakness, naming the real reason directly — ‘because omniscience is precious to me, that's why I guarded my ethics.’
Key terms
The text
§1“Then again when I was the very virtuous Cūḷabodhi, seeing rebirth as fearful, I renounced worldly life.
§2She who had been my partner, a brahmin lady with golden skin, unconcerned with the cycle of rebirths, also renounced worldly life.
§3Without clinging, cutting off family, unconcerned with family or group, we walked from village to town until we reached Varanasi.
§4There we lived alert, mixing not with a family or group. Quiet and undisturbed, we both stayed in the royal park.
§5Visiting the park, the king saw the brahmin lady. He approached me and asked, ‘Is she your wife? Or whose is she?’
§6When he said this, to him I said the following. ‘She is not my wife. We share the same teaching and belief.’
§7Infatuated with her, he had his men seize her. Compelling her by force he brought her to the royal compound.
§8She who became mine by touching a water-jar, born together, one in beliefs, when he dragged her away, I felt so angry.
§9Together with the arising of anger, I remembered my precepts and vows, and right there controlled my anger, I did not allow it to grow.
§10If anyone were to attack that brahmin lady with a sharp knife, not even for that would I violate my ethics, because it was solely for awakening.
§11I did not dislike the brahmin lady, nor did I lack the strength. But because omniscience is precious to me, that’s why I guarded my ethics.”
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