The Cruel Butcher – Dhammapada Story

Here he grieves, hereafter he grieves. The evildoer grieves in both existences. He grieves
and he suffers anguish when he remembers
his impure deeds.

Buddha (Dhammapada)

THERE WAS ONCE A BUTCHER who was a very mean and
wicked man. Never in his life had he ever done any meritorious deeds. His job was slaughtering pigs and he loved
it, often torturing them mercilessly before putting them to
death.


One day he got very sick and finally died, but before he
died he suffered such agony that he crawled around on his
hands and knees for days, squealing and grunting like a pig
being slaughtered.

It so happened that the butcher’s home was within ear’s
reach of the monastery where the Buddha and his monks
were staying. When the bhikkhus heard the desperate squeals
coming from his house, they assumed that the miserable
butcher was at his cruel work again and shook their heads
in great disapproval. The squeals and grunts went on for several days until, one day, they stopped just as suddenly as they
had begun. The monks could not help but remark to each
other how wicked and hard-hearted the butcher was for having caused his poor animals so much pain and suffering.


The Buddha overheard what they were saying and said,
“Bhikkhus, the butcher was not slaughtering his pigs. He
was very ill and in such great pain that he was acting like
the pigs he used to enjoy inflicting pain upon. His bad
kamma had finally caught up with him. Today he died and
was reborn in a woeful state of existence.”

The Buddha then exhorted his disciples to be alert at
doing good, for anyone who did evil deeds would have to
suffer for them. There was no way to escape from one’s evil
deeds, he warned his disciples.

Here he grieves, hereafter he grieves. The evildoer grieves in both existences. He grieves
and he suffers anguish when he remembers
his impure deeds.

Buddha (Verse 15 Dhammapada)

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