hasunoha

About the story where the Buddha stopped committing suicide

When I was looking at the internet, it looked like this
There was a story where the Buddha stopped committing suicide.
It's very easy to understand,
Could you tell me what sutras this appears in?

There was a time when the Buddha was in an allotment
While staring around on a big bridge, one daughter
I could see them constantly putting stones in the bottom (bottom).
The Buddha is known to be preparing to commit suicide
When they are quickly approached and gently asked about the circumstances,
The daughter who found out that her partner was Buddha
I opened my heart and confided:

“It's shameful, but I loved someone,
It has now been thrown away.
The public eye is cold, and when you think about the future of hungry children, etc.
I'm tormented no matter how much better it would be to die...
Please let me die like this”
My daughter broke down crying.

At that time, the Buddha felt sorry,
They are admonished like this.
“For those of you who are foolish, I'll teach you by example.
A car loaded with a heavy load in a certain place every day
There were cows that had to be pulled from morning to night.
That cow kept thinking.
Why do I have to suffer so much every day
I thought about what exactly was hurting me.
That's right! If I don't have this car, I don't have to suffer
The cow decided to destroy the car.
One day, I ran furiously and hit my car against a big stone,
I destroyed the wooden tip to the slightest dust.

However, the owner told such a violent cow
If it's not a sturdy car, if it's broken again,
Eventually, they built cars made of steel.
It was tens or hundreds of times heavier than the wrecked car.
I was forced to pull burdens in the same way every day with that car,
Cows that have come to suffer hundreds or thousands of times more than before
I deeply regretted it, but it was a later festival.

Cows just say that if they destroy this car, they won't have to suffer
Just like I thought,
You probably think that if you destroy this body, you'll be able to feel better.
You probably don't know,
If you die, you'll have to jump into a more painful world.
That suffering is more terrible suffering than any other suffering in this world.”

4 Zen Responses

Counterpoint theory

I saw thank you...

Due to the character limit, I can't go into too much detail here, but as an alternative, I would like to list the following discussion for reference, so thank you for your cooperation.

Does Buddhism really prohibit suicide?
http://www.geocities.co.jp/Technopolis/3138/suicide_buddhism.html

Haruto-sama

This is Kawaguchi Hidetoshi. This is my humble answer to the question.

I looked up the source of the story you asked about to the extent that I could do a little research, but I couldn't find it...

Also, if the other responding monks knew about the source, I think they would be able to answer. I'm sorry.

In any case, even if the story you are asking is in the Buddhist scriptures, there is a possibility that Shakyamuni gave instructions to that person as a convenient way to stop suicide or suicide in order to make use of this free time gudu to do what should be done, without easily abandoning this body as a free time devotion, which has a perfect opportunity to work on ascetic practice for enlightenment in order to break away from the cycle of hesitation and suffering.

Also, in fact, it can be seen from Buddhist scriptures that Shakyamuni was not uniformly judged when it came to suicide or suicide, and that he treated it as a convenience (counterpart theory) according to that person's roots and state of mental inheritance.

There are even cases where suicide or suicide could not be stopped.

Anyway, in Buddhism, which aims for enlightenment and nirvana, it is important to work hard on the causal relationships (causes and conditions) to lead to enlightenment and nirvana.

As much as possible, I would like to make use of these free time tools for Buddhist practice.

Kawaguchi Hidetoshi Gassho

Hi

This story looks familiar on the internet, but I don't remember reading it in sutras or Buddhist books... I spent the whole day searching for various things today, but I couldn't find it. I'm sorry.
I can't say for sure, but this story may not be about the Buddha.

First, it's the opening part of “On the Big Bridge, One Girl Stones to the Bottom”, but isn't it kind of like the Edo period?
It's hard to believe that ancient Indians wore clothes with a “base” like Japanese kimonos, right? Even if you imagine Indian national costumes, etc., there doesn't seem to be a “base.”
Also, it says “on a big bridge,” but it's hard to think that a big bridge was built in an age where we didn't know which country would attack. If a bridge is built, it's easy for enemies to invade.

Next, at the end, the line “If you die, you have to jump into an even more painful world” comes up,
Certainly, Buddha says that death is one form of suffering, but “suffering” in Buddhism does not refer to physical or mental pain, but rather means “not going the way you want.” In other words, people cannot choose how to die, when to die, where they die, etc. Like life, old age, and illness, death doesn't go the way you want it to. Therefore, the interpretation of “suffering” is different from the original interpretation of Buddhism.

The story about the cow in the middle is really interesting.
There is a story called “The Donkey Carrying Salt” in Aesop's fairy tales. I can't post it due to the number of characters, so please search for it. It's very similar.

So, as for the story in question, another monk may be looking for sources, but I think it might not be a Buddhist story.

But why are you being asked this question? When you hit the internet thinking “I want to die,” you came across this story and were you discouraged? If so, this story is an important story for you that saved your life. Think of it as Buddha's words and cherish them.

(From the Editorial Department. (Part of the answer has been edited.)
When I saw Kozenshi's answer, I thought it certainly looked like rakugo, but the sites and blogs introducing this anecdote were all about emerging religions.

Whether it's suicide, another murder, accidental death, death from illness, or senility

What determines where you go after death is your mind when you are alive.
It doesn't matter how you die.
If you give up everything and die peacefully, your heart isn't bad, so there's no problem even if you commit suicide.
It's better to stop killing yourself by holding a grudge or hating someone or despairing yourself because your heart is dirty.
The story you are asking doesn't seem to be Buddha's sutras. It's probably a made-up story.