346 Kesava Jātaka (JTA 136) The Best of Seasonings Ashin Sarana:
Ahlian Liu’s drawing What’s a King was serving bhikkhus without affection, however, the king didn’t know this, so I’m not even one bhikkhu was left ,so he went to tell the Buddha and there he learnt to show affection and the Buddha told the story of the past. One day a boy named Kappa became an ascetic under an ascetic named Kesava and they quickly became friends , so they went to the palace with their students. The king told Kesava and his students to return to Himavat.Kesava agreed, and he told Kappa to return while he stayed then he got unhappy and he was so depressed that he couldn’t sleep well and whatever he ate no longer tasted good. Then the king had to send Kesava back to recover from his illness and after that, the king sent one of his servants to go check on Kesava. The servant was so surprised that Kesava had completely recovered from his illness so he asked how he recovered. So Kesava replied “ You see Nārda, everything here makes me happy. Just the sight of Kappa and the sound of his pleasing words cheer me up. As soon as I arrived,Kappa give me some broth made of millet, wild rice, and leaves. That’s simple, unsalted and unseasoned broth is my pains and soothed my stomach. “And after that, the servant was still quite puzzled, and he asked how he got cheered when the king provided him with the purest rice, delicately boiled and flavored with meat. Kesava replied that it was because the king did not serve it with affection and that food served with affection will always taste good.Kids’ drawing
