Mudulakkhaṇajātaka

Queen Gentle-heart

“Till Gentle-heart was mine.”—This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana, about concupiscence. Tradition says that a young gentleman of Savatthi, [30;3] on hearing the Truth preached by the Master, gave his heart to the Doctrine of the Three Gems. Renouncing the world for the Brother’s life, he rose to walk in the Paths, to practise meditation, and never to slacken in his pondering over the theme he had chosen for thought. One day, whilst he was on his round for alms through Savatthi, he espied a woman in brave attire, and, for pleasure’s sake, broke through the higher morality and gazed upon her! Passion was stirred within him, he became even as a fig-tree felled by the axe. From that day forth, under the sway of passion, the palate of his mind, as of his body, lost all its gust; like a brute beast, he took no joy in the Doctrine, and suffered his nails and hair to grow long and his robes to grow foul.