STATUE OF COMPASSION: MONK DHARMARUCHI

Long time ago there lived a woman whose name was Nagashree. She was popular in making delicious vegetables. One day there was an occasion in her home and many relatives used to come in her home for lunch. She prepared various vegetables. She also prepared a vegetable of gourd, but by her mistake the vegetable became bitter in taste. It also became poisonous and hence unable to use. She abandoned it in a bowl and put the bowl aside. She also became worried about waste of money for that. She was thinking about what to do.

Later, a monk named Dharmaruchi Anagaar approached her home for alms. He was breaking his one month long fast. Nagashree poured that poisonous vegetable of gourd into Dharmaruchi’s bowl despite of knowing that it was bitter and was unusable. She felt lucky on that. The monk went back to upashraya (a place for Jain monks to stay for limited period). His head monk possessed with extra sensory knowledge and he could see that this vegetable is poisonous and unable to use. He ordered Dharmaruchi to go in the jungle and forsake it in a pure place.

Dharmaruchi went in the jungle and he was wandering and seeking a place where he could forsake the vegetable. Somehow a drop of vegetable fell in the ground and few ants attracted toward it. As soon as those ants tried to taste it, all of them died on the spot. By seeing this Dharmaruchi’s heart felt with compassion and he thought, “This one drop can kill so many ants, how many innocent insects would die by this whole quantity of food? He again thought, “What should I do now? Should I give peace to myself or I give peace to these innocent insects? If I bury this vegetable then the ants will find out and all will die. I don’t think there is such a pure place in this jungle where I can forsake this food. If I forsake here, then it will kill many innocent insects and this act will increase my soul’s transmigration. If I use this meal then my life would end and also the cycle of birth and death would end. This meal is poisonous but it is tasty because it has taste of kindness to all living beings. By thinking that, Dharmaruchi sat and ate the whole meal. He sat his mind to Samadhi and he died peacefully. Before his soul left the body his mind was in deep compassion toward all living beings. As a result his pious soul reincarnated in the 12^th Heavenly region. From there after taking one or two births he will attain liberation.

Later his colleague monks approached there and they all saw the dead body. His head monk knew all this from his spiritual knowledge and he exposed that woman who intentionally poured poisonous vegetable to a monk. Her husband got angry and exiled her from the town. She then stumbled upon forest fire and died in agony and reincarnated in “dark hued”, the sixth hell.