157 Guna Jātaka (JTA 1.66) One Good Turn Deserves Another Ashin Sarana:
Valentina’s drawing Venerable Ananda had been preaching regularly to the women of the palace of the king of Kosala for some time, and one day a thousand robes each worth a thousand coins, were brought to the king. The king gave five hundred of them to the queens, and the queens presented them to Venerable Ananda after he had taught them, so the next day, the king asked the queens why they weren’t wearing the new robes, to which they replied that they had given them all to Venerable Ananda. The king replied that the Buddha only allows three robes, so he became very angry with Venerable Ananda and paid him a visit. He asked him why he accepted the robes, even when the Buddha made a rule about three robes, and Venerable Ananda said that no one is forbidden to accept what they are offered. The king then asked what a bhikkhu does with his old robe when he gets a new one from Venerable Ananda, and he replied that they do not waste the gifts of the faithful, and the king was so pleased after this conversation, so he sent for the remaining five hundred robes and offered them to Venerable Ananda. There was this one bhikkhu who was very helpful to Venerable Ananda, so he gave all of the five hundred robes to him, and the bhikkhu gave the robes to his fellow students, and they wore them waiting on the Buddha. They asked the Buddha if it was possible for a bhikkhu to show favoritism in giving gifts, and the Buddha replied that it was not, but then when the students explained that Venerable Ananda had given five hundred robes to a bhikkhu, and that bhikkhu gave the robes to them, the Buddha replied that this was not favoritism, and the bhikkhu is actually very useful. The buddha told a story: Long, long, ago, when Brahmadhatta was reigning in Baranasi, there was this lion who got caught in the mud, and there was a jackal who helped him escape, so the lion brought the jackal and his mate back with him and moved them into his cave. The lioness became very suspicious of the jackal, but the lion explained that the jackal rescued him while he was helpless, so the lioness apologized and the two families became very close with one another, and when the parents died, the children kept the friendship unbroken. Having concluded this story, the buddha explained that he was the lion, and Venerable Ananda was the jackal.Kids’ drawing
