Dhammapada Verse 327
Paveyyakahatthi Vatthu
Appamadarata hotha
sacittamanurakkhatha
dugga uddharath' attanam
panke sannova kunjaro.
Verse 327: Take delight in mindfulness, guard your mind well. As an elephant
stuck in mire pulls itself out, so also, pull yourself out of the mire of moral
defilements.
The Story of the Elephant Called Paveyyaka
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (327) of
this book, with reference to the elephant, called Paveyyaka.
Paveyyaka when young was very strong; in due course, he became old and
decrepit. One day, as old Paveyyaka went into a pond he was stuck in the mire
and could not get on to the shore. When King Pasenadi of Kosala was told about
it, he sent an elephant trainer to help the elephant get out of the mire. The
elephant trainer went to the site where the elephant was. There, he made the
musicians strike up a martial tune. Hearing the military airs, the elephant felt
as if he were in a battlefield; his spirits rose, he pulled himself with all his
might, and was soon out of the mire.
When the bhikkhus told the Buddha about this he said, "Bhikkhus! Just
as that elephant pulled itself out of the mire, so also, must you all pull
yourselves out of the mire of moral defilements."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
| Verse 327: Take delight in mindfulness, guard your
mind well. As an elephant stuck in mire pulls itself out, so also,
pull yourself out of the mire of moral defilements.
|
At the end of the discourse the bhikkhus attained arahatship.