This the king did, since the Buddha has said that we must be ready to give away anything, even our own children.  The old king, whose name was Sanchey, ransomed his grandchildren from the Brahman for a huge treasure, however.

In time, King Vesandar died and traveled to the paradise called Tusita.  Chealy was then proclaimed king.  He married his sister Kreusna and they had a son called Sivivakan who became king after his father.  He in turn was succeeded by his son Sihassaras, and so forth.

All these kings kept the Buddha’s precepts: cause no suffering; never give in to temptation; never be angry; be just and good; speak only the truth; be patient; be compassionate toward people and animals.

The judgment of the Bodhisattva

These next two tales will be familiar to most readers. They parallel the biblical stories about the wisdom of Solomon.  In the first, two women were arguing over a baby boy.  Each claimed the child as her own, saying: “I gave birth to him!”

The dispute was so serious that the case was brought before the Bodhisattva. He told the women to each take one of the child’s hands in her own and then pull him toward herself.  The women both did as they were bade.  When the baby screamed with pain, his true mother immediately let go of her son’s hand.  The child’s pain tore her heart to pieces.

The wise Bodhisattva decreed that the woman who had released the baby was indeed the mother.  True love, he declared, forbids the causing of pain.

In a more detailed version of the story, it is explained that the other woman was neglectful.  She had lost her own baby by lying on top of him in her sleep.  A mother has to be constantly half-awake and only sleep lightly for the sake of her child.

In the second story, a more mundane object is in dispute: an umbrella.  It tells of a certain traveler who was walking down a ravine.