九色鹿經

In a former age, the Bodhisattva was a deer of nine colors—that is, the deer's coat had nine colors, and its antlers were white as snow. The deer dwelt by the banks of the Ganges River, drinking its water and eating grass, and it had befriended a crow.

One day a man was being swept along in the current, now rising up, now sinking down. By chance he grasped hold of a branch, and raising his head he cried out to heaven:

"Spirits of the mountains, spirits of the trees, devas, dragon-spirits—why do you not have compassion on me!"

The deer heard the man's cry and hurriedly waded into the water, saying to the drowning man:

"Do not be afraid. You may climb onto my back and hold fast to my two antlers, and I will bring you to the shore."

When it had rescued the imperiled man and brought him to the shore, the deer was utterly exhausted. The man who had been in peril bowed his head and walked around the deer three times, then, turning to face the deer and bowing his head, he said:

"I beg that my whole household may become your bondservants, to gather grass and fetch water for you."

The deer said:

"I dare not trouble you—let each of us go our own way. If you wish to repay my kindness, I pray you do not tell anyone else that I am here, for the people of this world covet my hide and my antlers, and they would surely come to kill me."

The man who had been drowning obeyed and departed.

At that time the king's consort, lying asleep at night, dreamed of the deer of nine colors—the deer whose coat had nine kinds of colors and whose antlers were white as snow. The consort feigned illness and refused to rise. The king asked the consort:

"Why does the consort not rise?"

She answered:

"Last night I dreamed of a wondrous deer, its coat of nine colors, its antlers white as snow. I think I must obtain its hide to make a cushion to sit upon, and I wish to take its antlers to make the handle of a fly-whisk. Your Majesty, find it for me; if the king cannot find it, I shall die at once."

The king said to the consort:

"Let the consort rise. I am the lord of an entire kingdom—shall I be unable to find it?"

The king then proclaimed to all the people of the realm:

"If anyone can find the deer of nine colors, I will divide half the kingdom for him to govern, and bestow upon him a golden bowl filled with silver rice, and a silver bowl filled with golden rice."

When the man who had been in peril of drowning heard of the king's generous reward, an evil intent arose in him, and he thought: "I will inform the king of the deer's dwelling place so that I may enjoy wealth and rank. After all, the deer is but a beast—what does its life or death matter?" Thinking thus, he then said to the king's envoy:

"I know the dwelling place of the deer of nine colors."

The envoy led the man who had been in peril of drowning to the king's palace and reported:

"This man knows the dwelling place of the deer of nine colors."

The king, hearing this news, was overjoyed, and said to the man who had been in peril of drowning:

"If you can find the deer of nine colors, I will bestow upon you half of my kingdom—I do not lie."

He then said:

"I can find it."

At that very moment his whole face broke out in sores and boils. The man who had been in peril of drowning then reported to the king:

"This deer, though it is a beast, possesses a very great and awesome spiritual power. Your Majesty must send many men along in order to capture it."

The king led a very great company of men and advanced to the bank of the Ganges. At that moment the crow was perched on the branch of a tree, and seeing the king's company, it suspected that they meant to kill the deer. The bird called to the deer:

"Dear friend, rise up! The king is coming to capture you."

But the deer still did not perceive it. The crow then flew down and perched upon the deer's head, saying: "Dear friend! Rise up. The king has come, look there!"

The deer, alarmed, stood up and looked all around, and saw that the king's company had already surrounded it a hundred rings deep, so that it could not escape. The deer then came before the king's chariot, and at that moment the king's company drew their bows, meaning to shoot. The deer said to them:

"Do not shoot. I wish to go to the king, for I have a matter to report."

The king commanded his soldiers:

"Do not shoot the deer! This is a rare deer, or perhaps a spirit of heaven."

The deer repeated the king's words:

"I beg you, do not kill me; I have rendered a great kindness to your kingdom."

The king asked the deer:

"What kindness have you rendered?"

"In times past I rescued and saved the life of a man of your kingdom."

The deer knelt down and asked the king in return:

"Who told you that I am here?"

The king pointed to a man beside the chariot whose face was covered with festering sores. When the deer heard the king's words, tears streamed down like rain, and it said:

"Great King, one day in the past this man was sinking beneath a deep river, swept along by the flowing current, now rising up, now sinking down. He grasped hold of a branch and, raising his head, lamented to heaven: 'Spirits of the mountains, spirits of the trees, devas, dragon-spirits, why do you not have compassion on me?' At that time I did not begrudge my own life, but hurriedly threw myself into the water and bore him up upon my back. He had promised not to tell where I dwelt. A man who cannot reflect and discern is worth less than if one had let him cling to a floating log and drift along with the current!"

When the king heard the deer's words, he was greatly ashamed, and he rebuked the man: "You received a weighty kindness—why do you now turn and seek to kill the deer?"

At that very moment the king issued a command to all the people of the realm: From this day forward, if anyone pursues this kind of deer, I will exterminate his family to the fifth degree of kinship.

From that time, thousands of herds of deer all came to gather around the deer of nine colors. They ate grass and drank water, and did not encroach upon the crops of others.

The rains came in season, the winds were gentle, the five grains flourished, the people were free from sickness, no calamities arose, the kingdom was at peace, and life spans were long.

The Buddha taught:

"The deer of nine colors at that time was none other than My own self, and the kind crow of that time is now Ānanda. The king of that time is now Śuddhodana, and the king's consort is now Sundarī. The man who had been imperiled in the water is now Devadatta. Devadatta and I have, life after life, had bonds of kindness and enmity with one another. Though I bore good will toward him, he still wished to harm Me. As for Ānanda, with his heart of utmost sincerity, he shall attain the supreme Way. Thus did the Bodhisattva practice the kṣānti-pāramitā, enduring with such forbearance."