The Dialogue between Buddha and Horse-Trainer

Translator/Author: Tao Qing Hsu

The article is excerpted from the Buddhist Scripture – Miscellaneous Agama Sutra,

There is a paragraph which refers to  the story and meaning of the Man-Tamer.

I translate it from Chinese into English as follows: 

This is what I heard:

At one time, the Buddha lived in the Kalanda Bamboo Garden in the city of Rajagaha.

At that time, a horse-training master named Zhishi came to the Buddha's place. He bowed his head at the Buddha's feet, stood back and sat down, faced and said to the Buddha, "World Honored One! I see that the world is very mean and low, like a flock of sheep. World Honored One, I am the only one who can train horses." If an evil horse is running wild, I will use the convenient way to make it easy for it to show signs of disease. I will tame it in the convenient way according to its signs of disease."

The Buddha asked the village-leader of horse-trainer: "How many methods of convenience do you use to tame the horses?"

The horse master said to the Buddha: "There are three ways to tame an evil horse. What are the three? One is gentle, the second is vulgar, and the third is gentle and vulgar."

The Buddha told the village-leader: "You have used the three methods of convenience to tame the horse, but if you still cannot tame it, what should you do?

The horse-training master said to the Buddha: "Anyone who cannot be tamed should be killed. Why? Don't let it  humiliate me." The horse-training master said to the Buddha: "The World Honored One is the supreme Man-Tamer. How many methods of convenience can you use to tame the man ?"

The Buddha told the village-leader: "I also use three methods of convenience to tame the man. What are the three? One is always gentle, the second is always vulgar, and the third is gentle and vulgar."

The Buddha told the village-leader : "What so-called always gentleness is as the following said: 'This is the good deeds of the body and this is the reward of the good deeds of the body; this is the good deeds of the mouth and mind and this is the reward of the good deeds of the mouth and mind. Such is called the heaven, is called the human, is called the transformation-birth of good-going, and is called the nirvana. This is the gentleness.”

"What so-called vulgarness is as the following said: "This is the evil deeds of the body and this is the retribution of the evil deeds of the body; this is the evil deeds of the mouth and mind and this is the retribution of the evil deeds of the mouth and mind. Such is called the hell, is called the animal, is called the hungry ghost, is called the evil-going, and is called falling into the evil-going. It is called the Tathagata’s vulgar teachings.”

 

"What so-called gentleness and vulgarness means that the Tathagata sometimes talks about the good deeds of the body, sometimes the reward of the good deeds of the body, sometimes the good deeds of the mouth and mind, sometimes the reward of good deeds of the mouth and mind; sometimes the bad deeds of the body, sometimes the retribution of bad deeds of the body, and sometimes the bad deeds of the mouth and mind, and sometimes the retribution of bad deeds of the mouth and mind. Such is called the heaven, such is called the human, such is called the good-going and such is called the nirvana. Such is called the hell,  such is called the animal and  the hungry ghost, such is called the evil-going, such is called falling into the evil-going. Such is called  the Tathagata’s teaching of gentleness and vulgarness”

The horse-training master said to the Buddha: "World Honored One! If you use the three methods of convenience to tame sentient beings, and some of them are not tamed, what should you do?"

The Buddha told the village-leader: "I should also kill them. Why? Don't let them humiliate me."

The horse-training master said to the Buddha: "If you kill a living being, it will be considered impure in the law of World Honored One. In the law of World Honored One, there is no killing of living beings. Now, it talked about the killing. What is the meaning of killing?"

The Buddha told the village-leader: "So! So! In the Law of Tathagata, killing is impure. And in the Law of Tathagata, there is no killing. However, in the Law of Tathagata, those who are not tamed by the three teachings will no longer be spoken, taught, or admonished. Village-leader! What does it mean?  In the Law of Tathagata, if Tathagata no longer speaks to, teaches, or admonishes these people, isn't that death?"

The horse-training master said to the Buddha: "Indeed, World Honored One! Tathagata no longer speaks to them, and never teaches or admonishes them. This is really death. World Honored One, for this reason, I will abstain from all evil and unwholesome deeds from now on."

The Buddha told the village-leader : "Good, as what you said!"

At that time, after hearing what the Buddha said, the master of the horse-training - Zhishi - was delighted, followed and complied with the joy, and left with all due respects by bowing his head at the Buddha's feet.