Sorrow Springs From Evil Deeds
The Story of Cundasukarika
Chapter 1: Twin Verses • Verse 15
The Story of Cundasukarika
Chapter 1: Twin Verses • Verse 15
The evil-doer grieves here and hereafter; he grieves in both the worlds. He laments and is afflicted, recollecting his own impure deeds.
While residing at the Veluvana Monastery in Rajagaha, the Buddha spoke this verse with reference to Cunda the pork-butcher.
Although the Buddha resided at a neighbouring monastery, Cunda never once honoured him with so much as a handful of flowers or a spoonful of rice, nor performed any other work of merit.
One day Cunda was attacked by madness, and even while he remained alive, the torment of the realm of suffering rose up before him.
His behaviour changed to match his past deeds: still inside his house, he began to grunt like a pig and crawl on his hands and knees from the front of the house to the back.
His household tried to restrain and gag him, but he kept crawling and grunting, since no one can prevent the fruit of past deeds from ripening.
For seven days, no one in the seven neighbouring houses could sleep. Terrified, his own family barricaded the doors so he could not get out.
After seven days of this suffering, he died and was reborn in a realm of suffering.
Some monks, hearing the sounds from Cunda's house for seven days, told the Buddha they supposed he was preparing a great feast, killing pigs continuously, and remarked that so cruel a being had never been seen.
The Buddha corrected them: Cunda had not been killing pigs those seven days; rather, retribution for his past deeds had overtaken him even while he still lived, and he had crawled about grunting like a pig from the resulting torment.
That day he had died and been reborn in hell. The monks observed that, having suffered here, he had gone on to suffer again in the world beyond.
The Story of Cundasukarika
Chapter 1: Twin Verses • Verse 15
The evil-doer grieves here and hereafter; he grieves in both the worlds. He laments and is afflicted, recollecting his own impure deeds.
While residing at the Veluvana Monastery in Rajagaha, the Buddha spoke this verse with reference to Cunda the pork-butcher.
Although the Buddha resided at a neighbouring monastery, Cunda never once honoured him with so much as a handful of flowers or a spoonful of rice, nor performed any other work of merit.
One day Cunda was attacked by madness, and even while he remained alive, the torment of the realm of suffering rose up before him.
His behaviour changed to match his past deeds: still inside his house, he began to grunt like a pig and crawl on his hands and knees from the front of the house to the back.
His household tried to restrain and gag him, but he kept crawling and grunting, since no one can prevent the fruit of past deeds from ripening.
For seven days, no one in the seven neighbouring houses could sleep. Terrified, his own family barricaded the doors so he could not get out.
After seven days of this suffering, he died and was reborn in a realm of suffering.
Some monks, hearing the sounds from Cunda's house for seven days, told the Buddha they supposed he was preparing a great feast, killing pigs continuously, and remarked that so cruel a being had never been seen.
The Buddha corrected them: Cunda had not been killing pigs those seven days; rather, retribution for his past deeds had overtaken him even while he still lived, and he had crawled about grunting like a pig from the resulting torment.
That day he had died and been reborn in hell. The monks observed that, having suffered here, he had gone on to suffer again in the world beyond.