The Tranquility Of The Saints
7 (7) The Story of a Novice Monk from Kosambi (Verse 96)
While residing at the Jetavana Monastery, the Buddha spoke
this verse, with reference to a novice monk, a pupil of Vener-
able Tissa from Kosambi.
A certain youth of respectable family, residing at
Kosambi, retired from the world and became a monk in the
religion of the Buddha. After making his full profession, he
was known as Venerable Kosambivàsã Tissa. After he had
kept residence during the season of the rains at Kosambi, his
supporter brought a set of three robes and offerings of ghee
and palm sugar and laid them at his feet. “Venerable, if it be
true that you have no novice to minister to your needs, my
son will become your novice.” The Venerable graciously
accepted the offer. The lay disciple brought his own son, but
seven years old, to the Venerable, and committed him into the
Venerable’s hands, saying, “Pray receive him into the Sangha,
Venerable.” The Venerable moistened the boy’s hair, taught
him how to meditate on the fi rst fi ve of the consistent parts of
the body, and received him into the Sangha. The instant the
razor touched his hair, he attained arahatship, together with
the supernatural faculties. The Venerable, having received the
youth into the Sangha, remained at Kosambi for a fortnight.
Then, deciding to visit the Buddha, he directed the novice to
take the requisites, and set out on his journey. On the way he
entered a monastery. The novice obtained lodging for the
Venerable and looked after it for him. While he was thus
engaged, it grew dark and he was therefore unable to provide
a lodging for himself. So assuming a cross-legged posture
near the bed of his preceptor, the novice spent the night sit-
ting up.
The Venerable rose at dawn and said to himself, I must
cause the novice to go out.” So he took a fan which was placed
at the side of the bed, struck the mat of the novice with the tip
of the palm-leaf, and then, tossing the fan into the air, said,
“Novice, go out.” The handle of the fan struck the novice in the
eye and straightaway blinded his eye. “What did you say,
Venerable?” said the novice. “Rise and go out,” was the reply.
The novice, instead of saying, “Venerable, my eye has been
blinded,” covered his eye with one hand and went out. More-
over, when it was time for him to perform his duties as novice,
he did not say, “My eye has been blinded,” nor did he remain
seated, but covering his eye with one hand and taking a hand-
broom in the other hand, he swept out the privy and the wash-
room, after which, setting out water for washing the face, he
swept out the Venerable’s cell.
When he advanced to present the toothstick to the Ven-
erable, the novice told him the whole story from the begin-
ning. When the Venerable heard his story, he was deeply
moved. The novice tried to comfort the Venerable but he
would not be comforted. Overcome with remorse he took the
novice to the Buddha. The Buddha asked him, “Monk, is eve-
rything really well?” The Venerable replied, “All is well with
me. But here is a young novice whose good qualities surpass
anything I have ever seen.” The Venerable told him the story.
“Venerable, when I asked him to pardon me, he said, ‘You are
not to blame in this matter, and neither am I.’” Said the Buddha
to the Venerable, “Monk, those who have rid themselves of
the depravities, cherish neither anger nor hatred towards any-
one.”
A noble arahat, who is freed by ‘disknowing’, is calm and
unshaken by the impact of changing circumstances. His mind
is at peace. His words are peaceful. His actions are peaceful.
Commentary
santà: peaceful. The saintly – the arahat – is truly peaceful. He is
peaceful because he has reached total “disknowing”, or freedom from
knowing, as he has attained that level of calm that is not perturbed.
Since the mind is the fountain of all activity, his words are calm. Since
his mind and words are calm, his actions too are calm. Therefore he
is totally serene in personality. This leads him to the status of total
serenity – upasantà (tranquil within). ‘Disknowing’ means that one
does not form opinions about circumstances based on past experience
or present. When one does not, one remains unmoved and one is at
peace.
