V.1. The King and the Poor Man with a Beautiful Wife
Aññatarapurisavatthu Yarzar M's summary:
The Buddha was telling a story of the past to a King who heard 4 syllables from evildoers stuck in hell, as he was about to commit a great sacrifice thinking these were bad omens for him. People praised his queen for saving the lives of many by urging the king to see the Buddha and the Buddha explained in another story of the past that she had done this before. In the past a king was persuaded that a tree spirit gave him his kingdom and so he was prepared to sacrifice a hundred kings and queens to the said tree spirit. However, in the past life of the queen she proceeded to tell a story of the past saying how she had killed one animal and was reborn in hell. The king then realizing where he would be for killing a hundred kings and queens thanked the queen and spared all their lives. The Buddha then ended the story of the past saying that no one would ever kill a living being if they knew the suffering that followed.
V.1. The King and the Poor Man with a Beautiful Wife
Aññatarapurisavatthu
Sandi M's summary:
During a march around the city, the King saw a women look through a window and he became entirely infatuated with her beauty. Discovering that she was married, he summoned the husband and deemed him the king’s servant. The king tried to kill him by finding fault in his actions but when that didn’t work, he sent him on an impossible quest. That night, however, the king heard sounds that terrified him. When he consulted the house-priest, who did not recognize the sounds, he claimed that the sounds meant that the king would die unless he sacrificed hundreds of animals and humans. The queen was skeptical of this outcome, so she directed him to the Teacher for advice. V. Story of the Past:
1a. The Hell Pot
1b. The King of Benāres and Queen Dinnā
1c. The woman who killed a ewe
Kaitlyn's summary:
The Buddha gave religious instruction while he was in a residence at Jetvana with reference to King Pasenadi Kosala. The story is about how the King decided to hold a festival at which the King mounted his white elephant Pundarika and marched around the city. The wife of a poor man looked down at the king from the top floor of a palace. He ended up almost falling off the back of the elephant because of her. Bewildered by this, the king asked a minister whether or not she is married. When he found out she is married, he called the husband and hired him as a servant. The king however wanted to kill this man and take his wife. After being unable to sleep one night, he decided to kill the man. However, four men were being reborn at that time in hell. The king got scared and went to the Brahman. The Brahman then directed the king to procure a hundred of every kind of living creature. The Queen, after hearing that noise, went to the King scared. So, the king went to the monastery to go ask for the Buddha's help. V. Story of the Past:
1a. The Hell Pot
1b. The King of Benāres and Queen Dinnā
1c. The woman who killed a ewe
Sandi M's summary:
Story of the Past: The Hell Pot
Four sons of wealthy merchants took counsel together to figure out how they should spend their wealth and time. They decided that the best way to do so was to enjoy delicious food and pay married women to sleep with them. When they died, they were reborn in the Hell of the Iron Cauldron where they were unable to pronounce a Stanza, much less even a syllable.
V. Story of the Past:
1a. The Hell Pot
1b. The King of Benāres and Queen Dinnā
1c. The woman who killed a ewe
Sandi M's summary:
Story of the Past: The King of Benāres and Queen Dinnā
A king’s son promises to a tree spirit that should he gain his father’s kingdom, he would make an offering of a hundred kings and queens. When the son obtains the kingdom, he goes to fulfill his promise but the Tree-spirit knows that only misfortune will follow this sacrifice. So he pulls the strings to have a Queen speak out against him through a story. Of a queen who killed an ewe, and suffered of her head being cut off as many times as there were hairs on the ewe’s fleece in Hell.
