Once upon a time, the Enlightenment Being was born as the son of the King
and Queen of Benares. On the day of his naming, 800 fortune tellers were
invited to the palace. As presents, they were given whatever they desired to
make them happy for the moment. Then they were asked to tell the fortune
of the newborn prince. This was so they could find a good name for him.
One of the fortune tellers was an expert in reading the marks on the body.
He said, “My lord, this is a being of great merit. He will be king after you.”
The fortune tellers were very clever. They told the king and queen whatever
they wanted to hear. They said, “Your son will be skilled in five weapons.
He will become famous as the greatest master of all five weapons
throughout India.” Based on this, the king and queen named their son
“Prince Five-Weapons”.
When the prince turned 16, the king decided to send him to college. He said,
“Go, my son, to the city of Takkasila. There you will find a world famous
teacher. Learn all you can from him. Give him this money as payment.” He
gave him a thousand gold coins and sent him on his way.
The prince went to the world famous teacher of Takkasila. He studied very
hard and became his best pupil. When the teacher had taught him all he
knew, he gave the prince a special graduation award. He gave him five
weapons. Then he sent him back to Benares.
On his way home he came to a forest which was haunted by a monster. The
local people warned Prince Five-Weapons, “Young man, don’t go through
the forest. There is a monstrous demon called Sticky-Hair living there. He
kills everyone he sees!”
But the prince was self-confident and fearless like a young lion. So he
pushed on into the forest, until he came to the dreadful monster. He was as
tall as a tree, with a head as big as the roof of a house and eyes as big as
dishes. He had two big yellow tusks sticking out of his gaping white mouth
filled with ugly brown teeth. He had a huge belly covered with white spots,
and his hands and feet were blue.
The monster roared and growled at the prince, “Where are you going in my
forest, little man? You look like a tasty morsel to me. I’m going to gobble
you up!”
The prince had just graduated from college and had won the highest award
from his teacher. So he thought he knew just about everything, and that he
could do just about anything. He replied, “Oh fierce demon, I am Prince
Five-Weapons, and I have come on purpose to find you. I dare you to attack
me! I will kill you easily with my first two weapons — my bow and poison-
tipped arrows.”
Then he put a poison arrow in his bow and shot it straight at the monster.
But the arrow just stuck fast to his hair, like glue, without hurting him at all.
Then the prince shot, one after another, all the rest of his 50 poison-tipped
arrows. But they also stuck fast to the hair of the one called Sticky-Hair.
Then the beast shook his body, from ugly rooftop-sized head to blue
coloured feet. And all the arrows fell harmlessly to the ground.
Prince Five-Weapons drew his third weapon, a 33-inch-long sword. He
plunged it into his enemy. But it just stuck fast in the thick coat of sticky
hair. He threw his fourth weapon, his spear, at the monster. But this too just
stuck to his hair.
Next he attacked with the last of his five weapons, his club. This also stuck
fast onto Sticky-Hair.
Then the prince yelled at him, “Hey you, monster — haven’t you ever heard
of me, Prince Five-Weapons? I have more than just my five weapons. I have
the strength of my young man’s body. I will break you in pieces!”
He hit Sticky-Hair with his right fist, just like a boxer. But his hand just
stuck to the hairy coat, and he couldn’t remove it. He hit him with his left
fist, but this too just stuck fast to the gooey mess of hair. He kicked him with
his right foot and then his left, just like a martial arts master. But they both
stuck onto him like his fists. Finally he butted him as hard as he could with
his head, just like a wrestler. But, lo and behold, his head got stuck as well.
Even while sticking to the hairy monster in five places, hanging down from
his coat, the prince had no fear.Sticky-Hair thought, “This is very strange indeed. He is more like a lion
than a man. Even while in the grasp of a ferocious monster like me, he does
not tremble with fear. In all the time I’ve been killing people in this forest,
I’ve never met anyone as great as this prince. Why isn’t he afraid of me?”
Since Prince Five-Weapons was not like ordinary men, Sticky-Hair was
afraid to eat him right away. Instead he asked him, “Young man, why aren’t
you afraid of death?”
The prince replied, “Why should I be afraid of death? There is no doubt that
anyone who is born will definitely die!”
Then the Enlightenment Being thought, “The five weapons given to me by
the world famous teacher have been useless. Even the lion-like strength of
my young man’s body has been useless. I must go beyond my teacher,
beyond my body, to the weapon inside my mind — the only weapon I
need.”
The prince continued speaking to Sticky-Hair, “There’s one small detail, oh
monstrous one, I haven’t told you about yet. In my belly is my secret
weapon, a diamond weapon you cannot digest. It will cut your intestines
into pieces if you are foolish enough to swallow me. So if I die — you die!
That’s why I’m not afraid of you.”
In this way the prince used his greatest inner strength in a way Sticky-Hair
could easily understand. He knew this greatest of all weapons, the one
inside his mind, was the precious diamond gem of his own intelligence.
Sticky-Hair thought, “No doubt this fearless man is telling the truth. Even if
I eat as much as a pea-sized tidbit of such a hero, I won’t be able to digest it.
So I will let him go.” Fearing his own death, he set Prince Five-Weapons
free.
He said, “You are a great man. I will not eat your flesh. I let you go free,
just like the moon that reappears after an eclipse, so you may shine
pleasantly on all your friends and relatives.”
The Enlightenment Being had learned from his battle with the monster
Sticky-Hair. He had learned the only worthwhile weapon is the intelligence
inside, not the weapons of the world outside. And with this diamond
weapon he also knew that destroying life brings only suffering to the killer.In gratitude, he taught the unfortunate demon. He said, “Oh Sticky-Hair,
you have been born as a murderous blood sucking flesh eating demon
because of unwholesome deeds in your past. If you continue killing in this
way, it will lead only to suffering for you — both in this life and beyond.
You can only go from darkness to darkness.
“Now that you have spared me, you won’t be able to kill so easily. Hear this
— destroying life leads to misery in this world, and then rebirth in a hell
world, or as an animal or a hungry ghost. Even if you were lucky enough to
be reborn as a human being, you would have only a short life!”
Prince Five-Weapons continued to teach Sticky-Hair. Eventually the
monster agreed to follow the Five Training Steps. In his way he transformed
him from a monster into a friendly forest fairy. And when he left the forest,
the prince told the local people about the change in the one-time demon.
From then on they fed him regularly and lived in peace.
Prince Five-Weapons returned to Benares. Later he became king. Finally he
died and was reborn as he deserved.
Be happy
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