The oxen that pulls the cart

Inspired by the first verse of the Yammaka Vagga (The Twin Verses) of the Dhammapada - "Cakkhupalatthera Vatthu" - Suffering follows the evil-doer

Once upon a time, long long ago, in a place far far away, as all good stories say, in the old village of Satyagriha, very near the town of Sravasti of known fame due to the travels and stay of the Most Enlightened One in these regions, lived a kind and benevolent merchant, Dayaluprema. He had lived his life in the manner required and more, and was thus blessed with dutiful children and their spouses and grandchildren. He had never had a single day of disagreement with the mother of his children, the very kind and generous Bhaavanamata. He had several busineses, including a grain-shop and a dairy farm where he had acquired fame in the region for having been able to breed select varieties of cattle, such as cows for milk and oxen for difficult work.

Dayaluprema was known in the entire region as having a good hand in the aspect of breeding and taking care of cows and oxen and he also had a good business of selling milk at Sravasti. He had also prospered in his grain shop business more so because of his willingness to help the poor and needy, and his readiness to feed the devout at the local temples and also to give alms to the bhikkhus from the holy sanghas that visited his village or the nearby ones.

Dayaluprema fetched the food grains and other stock from various markets and villages around Satyagriha. He would also sell at Sravasti if the price was right and make a healthy profit. He was known to pass on his profit back to the poor farmers who would trust him to fetch a proper price for their produce. In fetching the grains back and forth from the villages, Dayaluprema had an employee called Krodhachalaka, an ox-cart driver, who would take the cart to the various villages and return to Satyagriha and at times travel to Sravasti. Krodhachalaka was a miserable, rude and very violent man, who was always known to be shouting out in the market, scolding the farmers if they would load the produce by taking too much time, and would always use the whip on the two oxen that pulled the ox-cart.

I can tell you many a story about Dayaluprema and Krodhachalaka, and I will do so at a later time. This story is however about the two oxen that pulled the ox-cart that was driven by Krodhachalaka. These oxen were from Dayaluprema’s cattle sheds at Satyagriha and were bron of the cows there. The oxen yoked to Krodhachalaka’s cart were born of two sister-cows in Dayaluprema’s cattle-shed. They were from within an affectionate group of cows and oxen, all related to each other, and were all very fond of Dayaluprema and Bhaavanamata, because of their benevolent nature.

Of the two oxen, one was named Daana, while the other was named Baana. Nearly ten years of age now, the two oxen were very devoted to Dayaluprema and Bhaavanamata. They were always eager to return to the house of Dayaluprema and the cattle sheds. After a hard day’s task of pulling the very heavily laden cart, the two oxen would look forward to relaxing at the cattle shed where they could share the stories of their travels with their mothers and sisters who rarely got an opportunity to venture outside. However, both Daana and Baana took good care to avoid telling their mothers and sisters about the anger and violent behaviour of Krodhachalaka, their cart driver. There would be nothing to gain from making their mothers and sisters sad about their work.

Other oxen and horses and mules at the grain markets saw the ill-treatment, the harsh words, the use of the whip and the stick by Krodhachalaka on Daana and Baana. And, so it was, that it was their own cousin oxen, Seendha and Chottu, yoked to another one of Dayaluprema’s carts, who repeatedly saw the punishment meted out on Daaana and Bhaana. They knew that their brothers would never speak of it to their mothers and sister cows at the cattle sheds of Dayaluprema. But Seendha felt extremely sad at the behaviour of Krodhachaalaka.

Once, at the grain market, Seendha took courage and walked up to Daana and Baana who had been tied to a wooden post near the market well. He came up to his elder brother-oxen and said, “O brother-oxen of my mother’s sister, I know you both to be quite courageous. I know you both to be righteous. I know you both to be faithful to your job. But it pains my heart to see the two of you being whipped by the cart-driver, Krodhachalaka, for no fault of yours. And all the other oxen, horses and mules at this market, see this sort of behaviour daily and yet may not become angry. They do not know you as I do, and I am your younger brother. It pains my heart. Do something, O eldest brother-oxen of us, O Daana. What will our mothers say when they hear of this ill-treatment?”

Daana was a wise ox, and he did see the anguish in his youngest brother-ox, Seendha’s eyes, and went up to him, rubbed alongside him in affection, and said “O youngest brother-ox, Seendha, you are a wise soul and a very noble creature. It is said that once, when you were quite young, just a calf, the Most Enlightened One, who was passing by with his sangha, patted you in appreciation of the fact that you were following him and his monks. You are truly blessed. But, it is not enough that one was close enough to a teacher, one needs to remain steadfast to one’s duties and to one’s responsibilities. It is in Krodhachalaka’s burden that he carries, that he will forever be adding to his burden, with every show of anger, and every stroke of that whip.”

Seendha replied with an impatient toss of his head, “O eldest brother-ox, the Most Enlightened One may have patted me, and I may be truly blessed because of that, but that does not give me freedom from feeling sad, dukha, at what is happening to the both of you, every day at the hands of the mad Krodhachalaka. How long will this continue? I think, tonight, when they would unyoke you from the cart at our cattle-shed, you both can seek blessings of our mothers and escape from this misery. Pretend to be lame or sick. Go away somewhere, for some time, until our master removes this Krodhachalaka, or gets him new oxen. Go and seek your freedom from this ox-cart, from your responsibility to pull this ox-cart.”

The monk, Jaiprakasa Muni, was seated nearby, under the shade of a mango tree. He could understand the language spoken by all domestic creatures, and was also able to talk to them. He had been seated there for quite some time, awaiting the passing of the noon sun, so that he could go into the village to beg for his alms and food. He had seen the angry Krodhachalaka whip the two oxen for no fault of theirs, and he had noted that it was the manner in which the ox-cart driver was adding to his own burden of sorrow by the manner of his attitude and of the harm and sadness and pain that he was causing to the oxen that served him. He was also pleasantly surprised that the eldest brother-ox was so very amazingly perceptive to stay steadfast to his responsibilities. The monk, Jaiprakasa Muni, went near the oxen, and blessed them.

He said, to the oxen, “O soul-brothers of many lives, and blood-brothers of this life of yours, hear me out, for I am blessed that I can speak to all those creatures who work in toil to help humans in their aspect of misery, happiness, evil, goodness and greed and of noble cause. You are to be the textbook from which humanity should have learnt, for it is the ultimate paradox that the cart-driver, Krodhachalaka, is not able to learn. For it is true, that as real as it may be that you are steadfast in your perception of responsibilities, it is also true that you cannot escape the cart, and the whip of the cart-driver, whenever you are tied to the ox-cart. For it is true, that the farther that you walk to escape the cart, the wheels will always be behind you. Every step that you take ahead, the wheel will follow you.”

“It is sad that the cart-driver, Krodhachalaka, while driving the same cart every day, and watching the wheels of the cart follow you with each step, was not able to understand and recognize the aspect of the burden of your actions following you wherever you go, and the fact that given the opportunity of your freedom, you would not be able to escape it, for it is in your attitude to be faithful to your task, that you beget action, and that in turn follows you wherever you would go, whether in work, or if you tried to escape the circle of life. Thus, taught the Most Enlightened One.”