Repaying Betrayal with Forgiveness

"More powerful than vengeance exacted, is forgiveness given."

In one of his previous births the Buddha (as a Bodhisattva) was a deer, golden in colour and with a very sweet voice. One day, he heard a man in a river crying out for help and swam across to save him. He then set him on the path to the city of Benares. Before they parted, the deer requested the man to keep his existence a secret and not guide anyone to his part of the forest. On reaching Benares, the man heard that the king had offered a reward to anyone who could tell him about a golden deer, as his Queen Khema had dreamt of such a deer and desired that it be brought to her.

Overcome with greed, the man guided the king to the forest where the golden deer lived. The king's huntsmen caught the deer. Just as the king was about to shoot an arrow at the golden deer, it spoke out to him. The king was enchanted by the deer's sweet voice. On hearing that the deer had been treacherously betrayed by the man whose life it had saved, the king declared that he would kill him.

The kindly Bodhisattva, however, intervened and requested the king to spare the man's life. The king then took the golden deer to the city of Benares with great honour and requested it to give a discourse to the queen. The Bodhisattva preached the Law of Dharma to Queen Khema and the court of Benares.