Browse Free Spiritual Event Listings For: Sakyamuni https://spiritualgrowthevents.com/tag/sakyamuni/ Free Mon, 07 Feb 2022 17:24:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.2 https://spiritualgrowthevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/cropped-fsge-logo-32x32.png Browse Free Spiritual Event Listings For: Sakyamuni https://spiritualgrowthevents.com/tag/sakyamuni/ 32 32 The Hungry Dog https://spiritualgrowthevents.com/the-hungry-dog-buddhist-zen-story/ Sat, 12 Aug 2017 14:17:51 +0000 http://www.spiritual-short-stories.com/?p=10163 THERE was a great king who oppressed his people and was hated by his subjects; yet when the Tathagatha came into his kingdom, the king desired much to see him. So he went to the place where the Blessed One stayed and asked: “Sakyamuni, can you teach a lesson to the king that will divert his mind and benefit him at the same time?” And the Blessed One said: “I shall tell you the parable of the hungry dog: There was a wicked tyrant; and the god Indra, assuming the shape of a hunter, came down on earth with the demon Matali, the latter appearing as a dog of enormous size. Hunter and dog entered the palace, and the dog howled so woefully that the royal buildings shook by the sound to their very foundations. The tyrant had the awe-inspiring hunter brought before his throne and inquired after the cause of the terrible bark. The hunter said, “The dog is hungry,” whereupon the frightened king ordered food for him. All the food prepared at the royal banquet disappeared rapidly in the dog's jaws, and still he howled with portentous significance. More food was sent for, and all the royal store-houses were emptied, but in vain. Then the tyrant grew desperate and asked: ‘Will nothing satisfy the cravings of that woeful beast?' “Nothing,” replied the hunter, nothing except perhaps the flesh of all his enemies.' ‘And who are his enemies?' anxiously asked the tyrant. The hunter replied: ‘The dog will howl as long as there are people hungry in the kingdom, and his enemies are those who practice injustice and oppress the poor.” The oppressor of the people, remembering his evil deeds, was seized with remorse, and for the first time in his life he began to listen to the teachings...

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THERE was a great king who oppressed his people and was hated by his subjects; yet when the Tathagatha came into his kingdom, the king desired much to see him. So he went to the place where the Blessed One stayed and asked: “Sakyamuni, can you teach a lesson to the king that will divert his mind and benefit him at the same time?”

And the Blessed One said: “I shall tell you the parable of the hungry dog: There was a wicked tyrant; and the god Indra, assuming the shape of a hunter, came down on earth with the demon Matali, the latter appearing as a dog of enormous size. Hunter and dog entered the palace, and the dog howled so woefully that the royal buildings shook by the sound to their very foundations. The tyrant had the awe-inspiring hunter brought before his throne and inquired after the cause of the terrible bark. The hunter said, “The dog is hungry,” whereupon the frightened king ordered food for him. All the food prepared at the royal banquet disappeared rapidly in the dog's jaws, and still he howled with portentous significance. More food was sent for, and all the royal store-houses were emptied, but in vain. Then the tyrant grew desperate and asked: ‘Will nothing satisfy the cravings of that woeful beast?' “Nothing,” replied the hunter, nothing except perhaps the flesh of all his enemies.' ‘And who are his enemies?' anxiously asked the tyrant. The hunter replied: ‘The dog will howl as long as there are people hungry in the kingdom, and his enemies are those who practice injustice and oppress the poor.” The oppressor of the people, remembering his evil deeds, was seized with remorse, and for the first time in his life he began to listen to the teachings of righteousness.”

Having ended his story, the Blessed One addressed the king, who had turned pale, and said to him: “The Tathagatha can quicken the spiritual ears of the powerful, and when you, great king, hear the dog bark, think of the teachings of the Buddha, and you may still learn to pacify the monster.”

The author of this story is unknown and greatly appreciated!

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