The Ten Great Birth Stories of the Buddha

The Birth Story of Temiya, or of the Dumb Cripple

Naomi Appleton, Sarah Shaw, Naomi Appleton, Sarah Shaw

• Publisher: Silkworm Books
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN:
  9786162151309
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Buddhism

Chapter: The Birth Story of Temiya, or of the Dumb Cripple This is the first complete English translation in over a century of the ten great j taka tales covering the Bodhisatta's final adventures in the human realm before his ultimate life and enlightenment as the Buddha. Introductory comments to each story provide background and analysis. A general introduction explores themes and the stories' role in Buddhist art and practice. Color images show the stories' centrality in the Buddhist visual landscape of Southeast Asia.These definitive new translations reestablish the stories as ancient literary treasures of South Asia. Readers will be delighted by their magic and intrigue, philosophical insight, and deep roots in the religious and cultural world of the Buddha.

The Ten Great Birth Stories of the Buddha

The Birth Story of Temiya

Abbreviations

F	Fausbøll’s edition of the Jātakatthavaṇṇanā
J	Jātakatthavaṇṇanā stories by number, or volume and page as in the Cowell/Rouse translation
PED	Pāli-English Dictionary, ed. Rhys-Davids and Stede
VRI	Vipassana Research Institute electronic edition of the Pāli scriptures

1
Temiya

The Birth Story of Temiya, or of the Dumb Cripple

(Temiya-jātaka or Mūgapakkha-jātaka)

Introduction

In this, the opening story of the Mahānipāta, the Bodhisatta is born as a prince and pretends to be deaf, mute, and crippled in order to avoid inheriting the kingship. The two names by which the story is known reflect the name (Temiya) and feigned characteristics (mūgapakkha ‘dumb cripple’) of the Bodhisatta. The story is divided into two sections; the first in the palace and the second in the forest. With this simple setting and a very limited number of key characters, the focus of the story is on the psychology of the leading players, particularly Temiya’s extraordinary resolve in the face of temptation and pain, and his mother’s grief at her son’s apparent disability and death. Tension is built up by the description of Temiya’s childhood and the various tests to which he is subjected. Temiya’s persistent determination to remain motionless is finally broken after sixteen years, when he stretches out his limbs, picks up his chariot, and swings it over his head like a toy. This climactic moment of the narrative—the motion of the chariot and the strength of the Bodhisatta contrasting so dramatically with his childhood ‘paralysis’—is often illustrated in manuscripts and temple murals. It also forms the climactic moment in the recent opera production
The Silent Prince, for it is the first time that the prince makes a sound.1 The story then moves to the forest, a peaceful juxtaposition to the busy life of the city and a place in which real spiritual progress can be made.

Friends and Family

This story hinges on the actions of four main characters: the Bodhisatta, his father, his mother, and the charioteer ordered to kill him. That the central figures of the narrative are so few allows the development of deep personal interactions. Temiya’s parents are shown as essentially loving and concerned, but increasingly frustrated and upset by his lack of movement and sound. Temiya’s mother demonstrates her affection by begging Temiya to change his ways and her husband to spare his life. The bitter questions she asks of the charioteer she believes has killed her son create a truly poignant interchange. Temiya’s father also has affection for his son, but additionally he feels the influence of his brahmin advisers and the responsibility of providing for his kingdom. In the character of the charioteer, tasked with getting rid of the useless prince, we find a more neutral backdrop for Temiya’s words and actions. Initially willing to carry out the king’s command, the charioteer soon takes the advice of the prince and acts as intermediary between son and father. With a down-to-earth concern for his own welfare, he is careful to ensure that he is not going to be unduly punished by the royal couple, such that, in Shaw’s (2006a: 184) words, his ‘sense of diplomacy and pragmatism gives a non-heroic counterpoint to the unfolding drama’.

One of the interchanges between Temiya and the charioteer is considered to be a paritta text and is therefore chanted for its protective benefits. These verses concern friendship and the many rewards that come from loyalty towards and care of one’s friends. Although delightful and popular verses in their own right, these sit rather oddly in the narrative, for Temiya and the charioteer are not friends: the latter is merely the employee of Temiya’s father. In fact Temiya’s rationale for speaking the verses is that he (Temiya) is like a branch of a tree (the king) under which the charioteer has been enjoying the shade. Just as one wouldn’t cut off the branch of a tree that had been of service, so the charioteer should not kill Temiya. The background is therefore a discussion of service and reward. However, the inclusion of an extended sermon on the benefits of friendship works well...

Table of contents

• The Ten Great Birth Stories of the Buddha