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"How should the wise;" etc.
This story the Master told while dwelling in Jetavana, about an upright courtier of the king of Kosala.
This man, they say, was most useful to the king, and then the king bestowed on him great honour. The other courtiers being unable to stomach him, accused him to the king of having done things to the king's hurt. The king made enquiry about him, and finding in him no fault, thought, "I see no fault in the man; how can I know whether he be my friend or foe?" Then he thought, "No one, save the Tathāgata, [197] will be able to decide this question; I will go and ask him." So after he had broken his fast he visited the Master, and said, "How can one tell, Sir, of any man, whether he be friend or foe?" Then the Master replied, "Wise men of old, O king, have pondered this problem, and have questioned the wise about it, and following their advice, have discovered the truth, and renouncing their enemies have paid attention to their friends." This said, at his request, he told a story of the past.
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of Benares, the Bodhisatta was a courtier who advised him on things spiritual and things temporal. At that time, the rest slandered a certain courtier who was upright. The king seeing no fault in him, asked the Great Being, "Now in what can one tell friend or foe?" repeating the first stanza:
Then the Great Being repeated these five stanzas to explain the marks of an enemy:
°° The other, thus questioned in these lines, recited the remaining stanzas:
[199] The king, delighted at the speech of the Great Being, gave him the highest honour.
The Master, having ended this discourse, said, "Thus, great king, this question arose in days of yore, even as now, and wise men said their say; by these two-and-thirty signs may friend or foe be known." With those words, he identified the Birth: "At that time, Ānanda was the king, and I myself was the wise courtier."
Next: No. 474.: Amba-Jātaka.