Sainthood on Top of a Pole
ONCE A WANDERING TROUPE of circus performers were in vited to the palace to perform
for the king and his court. Among the troupe’s jugglers and acrobats was a charming young
lady who danced with grace and agility on the top of a long pole. One of the
young men in the audience, named Uggasena, fell in love with her and even tally married her. Finally when it was time for the troupe
to move on to another town, he and his new wife decided to move on with them.
Uggasena,
himself, though, did not have any special talent that the troupe could use, and
so was relegated to moving and packing crates, driving cans, and other menial
tasks. This displeased his wife.
After some
time, they had a son. One day, Uggasena could not help but overhear the lullaby
his wife was singing to their child: “You poor child, your father can only
carry boxes and drive carts. Your father is truly worthless.”
Thinking
that his wife’s arrogance was due to her skill as an acrobat1 he decided to
become one himself. He asked his father-in-law to train him, and not long
after, he was ready to perform. On the day of his performance, he climbed up
his pole with facility, and once on top. did somersaults that left the audience
gasping in horror but utterly delighted.
While he
was performing, the Buddha happened to pass by and saw that Ugassena was ripe
for arahatship. So be drew the audience’s attention away from Ugassena by his will power and
left him stranded on top of his pole with no applause. “My wife will laugh in
my face,” Uggascna thought, “if she finds out that the audience lost interest
in my act even before I was half way through it?” Feeling
distraught, he just sat on his pole and sulked.
The Buddha
then called up to him and said, “A wise man should work diligently toward
abandoning all forms of attachment and thus be free from having to be born
again.”
Uggasena
reflected on the Buddha’s words and attained arahaiship while still sitting on
top of his pole.
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