The Story of the Son of a Butcher

While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verses (235) to (238) of this book, with reference to the son of a butcher.

Once in Savatthi, there was a man who had been a butcher for fifty-five years. All this time, he slaughtered cattle and sold the meat and everyday he took meat curry with his rice. One day, he left some meat with his wife to cook it for the family, and then left for the riverside to have his bath. During his absence, a friend coaxed his wife to sell that particular piece of meat to him. As a result, there was no meat curry for the butcher on that day. But as the butcher never took his meal without meat curry, he hurriedly went to the back of his house, where an ox was standing. He promptly cut off the tongue of the ox and baked it over a fire. When having his meal, the butcher had a bite of the tongue of the ox, but as he did so his own tongue was cut off and fell into his plate of rice. Thus the ox and the butcher were in the same plight, both of them having had their tongues cut off. The butcher was in great pain and agony, and he went about agitatedly on his knees, with blood dripping profusely from his mouth. Then the butcher died and was reborn in the Avici Niraya.

The butcher's wife was greatly disturbed and she was anxious for her son to get away to some other place, lest this evil should befall him too. So she sent her son to Taxila. At Taxila, he acquired the art of a goldsmith. Later, he married the daughter of his master and some children were born to them. When their sons came of age he returned to Savatthi. The sons were endowed with faith in the Buddha and were religiously inclined. They were anxious about their father, who had grown old with no thought of religion or of his future existence. So one day, they invited the Buddha and the bhikkhus to their house for alms-food. After the meal they said to the Buddha, "Venerable Sir, we are making this offering to you today on behalf of our father. Kindly give a discourse specially for him." So the Buddha said, "My disciple! You are getting old; but you have not made any provisions of merit for your journey to the next existence; you should now find a support for yourself."

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:

Verse 235: You are now like a withered leaf; the messengers of death are near you; you are about to set out on a long journey; (yet), you have no provisions (for the journey).

Verse 236: Make a firm support for yourself; hasten to strive hard, and be wise. Having removed impurities and being free from moral defilements you shall enter the abodes of the Ariyas (i.e., Suddhavasa brahma realm).

Verse 237: Now you are of advanced age; you are going to the presence of the King of Death and you cannot stop on the way; (yet) you have no provisions (for the journey).

Verse 238: Make a firm support for yourself; hasten to strive hard, and be wise. Having removed impurities and being free from moral defilements you will no longer be subject to rebirth and decay.

At the end of the discourse the father of the donors of alms-food (i.e., the son of the butcher) attained Anagami Fruition.