Kukkura Jataka

The Bodhisatta was once a dog who led a large pack living in a cemetery. One day after the king had been out having fun in his royal park, he arrived back at the palace after sunset, so his servants left the harness hitched to his luxurious chariot rather than putting it away. That night the king’s dogs came down and gnawed the beautiful leatherwork. Certain that no purebred dog would misbehave like this, the king assumed dogs from outside the palace must have snuck in through the sewer and done it. Enraged, the king ordered all dogs other than his own killed.

When the slaughter began in the city, many dogs fled to the cemetery and told the Bodhisatta what was happening. He knew that no city dogs could breach the palace walls, so it must have been the king’s own. He promised the other dogs he would save them, then he set out to meet with the king. By focusing his mind on thoughts of love and the ten perfections of character, he was able to freely walk the city streets and sneak into the palace unmolested. He and the king discussed the situation and the Bodhisatta explained that, since the king had ordered certain dogs spared, even though he did not know which dogs had actually gnawed the leather, he was following the four evil courses (partiality, dislike, ignorance, and fear) and this was unbecoming of a king.

Recognizing that the Bodhisatta was wise, the king asked if he knew who the real culprits were. When the Bodhisatta told him it was his own purebreds, the king wanted proof; so the Bodhisatta gave it to him. He told the king to mash up some grass, mix it with buttermilk, and make his dogs eat it. When they vomited, out came bits of leather. Impressed, the king offered to let the Bodhisatta become king. Instead, the Bodhisatta asked that the king listen to a sermon on righteousness. When it was finished, the king was so moved that he commanded no living creatures be killed in the kingdom ever again and that from then on all dogs be fed the same fancy food that he himself ate.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha

King Pasenadi, a righteous ruler and devoted supporter of the Buddha, always provided food for the Buddha’s disciples, but they did not stay and eat at the palace because the people there were not friendly. When the king found out that they went to eat at their friends’ homes, he decided to marry a woman from the Buddha’s Sakya clan in order to build closer relations with the Buddha and his disciples. However, the Sakya clan was arrogant and insular and did not want to marry into a relationship with the king; but because he was their leader, a request like this could not be refused without consequences. So they sent a daughter of a nobleman born to a slave woman and told King Pasenadi she was noble.