(Photo source: Envato)
During the Buddha’s time, there was a monk in the monastic community who often bragged about his former wealth and noble status. He would say, “No one was of nobler birth than I. My family is the richest in the world; no one can surpass us in wealth. In the past, the clothes I wore and the things I used were all very costly and valuable, and all the foods I ate were rare, expensive delicacies. Even the things our servants used were high-quality imported goods.”
Whenever this monk returned from his alms rounds, he would look at the food in his alms bowl and say with a sigh, “What I used to eat were such fine delicacies. Now, I have to eat such poor food!”
As time went by, the other monks began talking among themselves about his arrogant ways. When the Buddha learned about that, he shared with everyone how the monk came to behave thus:
Since a long time ago, this monk already had a haughty attitude. He was a very tall and handsome man, and used to work as a weaver. At that time, there was another man who possessed many talents and skills. Not only was he good at making bows and arrows, but he was also superb at archery.
This man had won every competition, earning the praise of everyone. He very much wished to serve the country by contributing his skills, but with his small physique, he was afraid that the king would look down on him and not accept him. So, he decided to choose someone tall and capable-looking to go with him to see the king. The tall and handsome weaver came to his mind, and he approached him to tell him about his idea.
“How about you quit your weaving job and come with me to see the king? Tell the king that you have many skills which you wish to contribute to the country, and that I’m your attendant. If His Majesty accepts us, then we won’t have to worry about our livelihoods anymore,” the man with many skills said to the weaver sincerely.
Thinking that it was a very good idea, the weaver immediately agreed. The two men thus set off together for the palace.
When the weaver saw the king, he recommended himself to him, saying that he had many skills and wished to use them to serve the country. The king was very happy to hear that and hired him right away. With the rich remuneration from the king, the weaver and his “attendant” started living a lavish life from then on.
Eliminating the Beasts
Sometime later, there was news about a tiger attacking people and other animals in the country. It was often seen near the main path to the city gate, and many people had been eaten alive by the beast. When the news reached the king, he quickly assigned the task of eliminating the tiger to the weaver.
Worried that the king would see through him, the weaver quickly told his “attendant” about it, whereupon the highly skilled man said, “Don’t worry. You must deal with it calmly and steadily. First, you must inform everyone when you intend to capture the tiger. When the time comes, everyone will definitely come out and help, bringing along their bows and arrows. While the people are out waiting, you go to the place where the tiger is often seen and lure it out. Then, quickly lie down and hide in the grass. At this time, everyone will be anxious and frightened when they see the tiger, and they will shoot it with their arrows.
After the tiger is shot, you come out with your rope and say to the people: ‘I had intended to capture the tiger alive and bring it to the king. Who’s the one who shot it dead?’ Hearing what you’ve said, nobody will dare to admit that he has shot the tiger. You can then bring the dead tiger to the king, who will definitely be very happy and give you a handsome reward.”
Therefore, the weaver did as his “attendant” said. Sure enough, as expected, the tiger was shot dead and the king rewarded the weaver with many valuable treasures.
After some time had passed, a wild bull came and attacked the people. The weaver used the same method to get rid of the beast, and the king again rewarded him generously and trusted him even more.
After the weaver had the beasts eliminated, he was held in high regard by the king and became very arrogant. Gradually, he began to despise his “attendant” and often said to him rudely: “Don’t forget that you’re my attendant; you’re supposed to serve me!”
The highly skilled man had no choice but to eat the humble pie.
Defeating the Enemies
In a sudden development, some neighbouring countries joined forces and launched an attack on this country. As the king was considering whom he should send to defend the country, the first person that came to his mind was the weaver, so he said to him: “You have such fine archery skills, would you lead the army in the fight against the enemies?”
Upon hearing that, the weaver felt anxious and happy at the same time ─ If he lost the war, he would lose all of his fortune, but if he won, he would be able to gain more fame and wealth.
When the enemy forces were nearing the country, the weaver felt very worried and frightened as he was not really skilled in warfare. Seeing that, his “attendant” followed him closely behind. As they set off, the weaver looked quite imposing riding on a war elephant. But when the enemy forces arrived, he was so terrified that he nearly fell off his elephant. His “attendant” then used a rope to tie him onto the elephant’s back and said to him: “You were so smug before. Now, when the enemies are right in front, you are so scared. What a sad thing! Leave this warfare to me, let me handle it.”
Hence, the weaver stepped down and let his short-statured “attendant” lead the army against the enemies. As he had superb fighting skills and was also well-versed in war tactics, the “attendant” did not take long to defeat the enemy forces and win the battle.
Returning in victory, the “attendant” revealed his true identity to the king. The king felt that it was a shame that this remarkable talent had gone unnoticed because of his inferiority complex at having a short stature, so he made him a high-ranking general. And since after the battle, the “high and mighty” weaver was no longer arrogant like he used to be.
After the Buddha had finished the story, he said to everyone: “Do you know that the weaver is this monk now? He was born to a low-caste family and has an inferiority complex. But he also has an arrogant mindset and often brags about his former status. In fact, he does that just to cover up his feelings of inferiority.”
From this story, we are reminded that whether we are practising Buddhism or going about our daily lives, we must be modest. We must always display humility in all of our dealings. If we are arrogant and think highly of ourselves, we will encounter many obstacles in both our spiritual paths and our lives.
Translated by the Tzu Chi Singapore translation team
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