296          Book 10, Story J^,        Dhammapada 133-131^   [N.3.521-
 

X. 4. THE MONK AND THE PHANTOM ^

Speak not harshly to anyone. This religious instruction was given
by the Teacher while he was in residence at Jetavana with reference
to Elder Kundadhana.   [52]

The story goes that from the day Kundadhana became a monk
a certain female form accompanied the Elder wherever he went. -The
Elder himself never saw her, but everybody else saw her. Indeed, when¬
ever the Elder made an alms-pilgrimage in a village, the inhabitants
would first give the Elder a portion of alms, saying, "Reverend Sir,
this is for you;" and then they would give the woman a second portion
of alms, saying, "And this is for our female friend."

4 a. Story of the Past: The goddess who took the form of a woman

The story goes that in the dispensation of the Buddha Kassapa
there were two companion-monks who were as intimately associated
with each other as though they had issued from the womb of the same
mother. And in the dispensation of the Buddha Dighayu, as year by
year and month by month the monks met together for the purpose of
keeping fast-day, those same two monks would come forth from their
lodging and say to each other, "Let us go to the Hall of Discipline
together."

Now a certain goddess reborn in the World of the Thirty-three,
seeing those two monks, thought, "These two monks are too much
together; is there perhaps some way by which I can separate them?"
No sooner had she thought this in her folly than one of the two
monks said to his companion, "Brother, wait a moment; I must attend
to the needs of nature." So soon as she heard this, that goddess [53]
assumed the form of a woman and entered the thicket with the Elder.
When he came out, she followed close behuid him, arranging with
one hand her tuft of hair and with the other her undergarment.

The Elder himself did not notice her, but when the monk who
stood outside waiting for him turned and looked, he saw the woman
come out, arranging her hair and her undergarment. As soon as the
woman observed that the monk had seen her, she disappeared. When
the Elder came up to the monk who was waiting for him, the latter

1 Cf. Thera-Gathd Commentary, xv.    Text: N iii. 52-58.