In a forest long ago lived a white elephant king with six tusks who led a herd of 500 elephants. One day, the elephant king took the three refuges and vowed to help all sentient beings attain enlightenment. He had two wives, however, one of whom was jealous of the other for receiving more attention than her. Consumed with envy, she swore to exact revenge on her husband. Not long afterwards, this wife passed away to be reborn as a beautiful woman who would be married to the king.
Sometime later, the new queen told the king that she dreamt of a white elephant with six immaculate tusks—she would rather die than go on without possessing those tusks. Eaten away by her obsession, the queen became so frail that the panicked king gathered the best hunters in the kingdom to find the elephant.
The cunning queen told one hunter to disguise himself as a monk and lay a trap. When the elephant king saw this “holy monk” from a distance, he lowered his guard and came forward to pay obeisance. Suddenly, the elephant king fell into a deep pit and was severely wounded. Sensing his imminent death, the elephant asked the hunter, “Why do you want to kill me?” In response, the hunter told him about the queen.
In great pain, but understanding the karma between himself and the queen, the elephant said to the hunter, “Take my tusks and leave. I have vowed to practice the bodhisattva path and that is what I shall do.” The elephant king then smashed his tusks against the pit and used his trunk to pull them out. He vowed, “In pulling out these tusks, I vow to eventually help all sentient beings pull out the roots of greed, anger, and ignorance.” “Cover your tracks so my herd will not take vengeance upon you,” he instructed the hunter. With this, he collapsed and passed away.
The elephant king was one of Shakyamuni Buddha’s previous incarnations.
REFLECTION
No matter who or where we are, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, we can always do something to benefit others. This is the spirit of the Bodhisattva Way. With the unwavering resolve to uphold the three refuges and five precepts, and the steadfast determination to practice the ten wholesome deeds and six paramitas, we can follow the bodhisattva path until we reach its ultimate goal—supreme buddhahood.