The Story of the Bhikkhu from the Country of the Vajjis

While residing at the Veluvana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (302) of this book, with reference to a bhikkhu from Vesali, a city in the country of the Vajjis.

On the night of the full moon day of Kattika, the people of Vesali celebrated the festival of the constellations (Nakkhatta) on a grand scale. The whole city was lit up, and there was much merry-making with singing, dancing, etc. As he looked towards the city, standing alone in the monastery, the bhikkhu felt lonely and dissatisfied with his lot. Softly, he murmured to himself, "There can be no one whose lot is worse than mine". At that instant, the spirit guarding the woods appeared to him, and said, "those beings in niraya envy the lot of the beings in the deva world; so also, people envy the lot of those who live alone in the woods." Hearing those words, the bhikkhu realized the truth of those words and he regretted that he had thought so little of the lot of a bhikkhu.

Early in the morning the next day, the bhikkhu went to the Buddha and reported the matter to him. In reply, the Buddha told him about the hardships in the life of all beings.

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:

Verse 302: It is hard to become a bhikkhu; it is hard to be happy in the practice of a bhikkhu. The hard life of a householder is painful; to live with those of a different temperament is painful. A traveller in samsara is continually subject to dukkha; therefore, do not be a traveller in samsara; do not be the one to be subject to dukkha again and again.

At the end of the discourse the bhikkhu attained arahatship.