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The Munika Jataka
Jataka on living long

Picture : PongPang

Paint : Pupay

The End

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The reference of this story: The Jataka Book written by Phra Bhavanaviriyakhun.

The Munika Jataka
Jataka on living long

:: Why the story of this Jataka is told::.

..... The Buddha knew that one of the monks had a desire to disrobe. It was because the monk was taken good care and persuaded to disrobe by an old lady. The Buddha inquired that monk and the monk accepted it, so Buddha said to warn him that “It’s not only the present time that the lady destroys your life, but also your previous life. In the previous life, you were cooked and served for plenty of guests, on this lady’s wedding day”. After the Buddha said to the monk, the Buddha brought the Munika Jataka up to share with the monk. 

..... A long time ago, in the reign of Lord Brahma Mrigadat who possessed the city of Varanasi, there was a farmer who had been raising two sibling cows named Mahalohit and Jullalohit, as well as one pig named Munika. In every early morning, the farmer took these two cows out to the farm and used them to plough the rice field, carry some water and firewood. The two sibling cows were taken back in the late evenings and got rest after dark. For every kind of work, either light or heavy load, the farmer always used the cows. It can be said that the two sibling cows were the main source of income of the farmer family. One day, the farmer held the engagement ceremony of his daughter and her fianc?. After the engagement ceremony had been done, the farmer and his family members were preparing things for the forth coming wedding ceremony. Every day the farmer’s daughter brought a lot of rice, bran, beans and good food to feed the pig Munika. When the weather was hot, the lady took the pig a bath and scrubbed his body, even though the dirty pen floor was also rubbed and cleaned. In the night, fire was set to drive mosquitoes away. But the sibling cows were never taken good care of. They worked hard in every early morning but they got only simple food such as stunted rice plants, dried leaves, and old grasses for return. Jullalohit felt disappointed when he realized such actions of the farmer and his daughter. So, he bemoaned that actions and said to Mahalohit that “Look at us! We work hard every day, day or night. It can be said that we are the ones who can raise the whole family, but we got only stunted rice plants, dried leaves, and old grasses for return, whereas the pig Munaka who has done  nothing but sleep all day, it turns out that he got a good food for return. It’s just not fair”. After Mahalohit  heard that complaint, Mahalohit then warned Jullalohit that “My dear brother, don’t be jealous of him. He eats all day, he never eats to live but lives to eat and die.  
The lady master’s wedding day is coming soon, and then the pig will be captured and cooked as food for guests. It’s good for you to eat the stunted rice plants. So, you’ll live long” and it was true as Mahalohit said. 

It’s not long after that the lady came with two guys to the pig pen to capture the pig Munika, and they then took the pig Munika to kill for food to serve to the guests on the wedding day. No matter how loud the pig Munika screamed out as if to ask them to leave his life, nobody did care. Even his lady master who had ever pleased him all along, she also helped them to kill him. 
The two sibling cows saw that, so, Jullalohit said to Mahalohit that “I see the bad effect of the greed for food now. I realize these old grasses and dried leaves are the best food for us.  The food enables us to live than the delicious food of Munaka’s does” and then they happily continued speaking to each other.

     
:: The inspirations drawn from the story of this Jataka ::
 
.....๑1….. No matter when it is, monks should not be close to women. The Buddha was asked by the venerable Ananda that “how should monks behave towards women?” The Buddha replied that, "do not meet any woman at all." The venerable Ananda continued asking that "how monks should behave if monks need to meet them?”  The Buddha replied that "monks should not talk to them." The venerable Ananda continued asking that "How should monks behave if monks need to talk to them?" The Buddha replied that "monks have to firmly concentrate before saying, and then hurry to finish talking on a business."
2 ......Who is a leader must often observe, keep training oneself and his/her followers to have solitary and firmness, and have no envy and no greed. Be happy with what we have.