"If the Sangha declares the re-establishment of concord without
having inquired into the matter, the declaration is neither right
nor lawful. 9
"There are two ways of re-establishing concord; one is in the
letter, and the other one is in the spirit and in the letter. 10
"If the Sangha declares the re-establishment of concord without
having inquired into the matter, the peace is concluded in the
letter only. But if the Sangha, having inquired into the matter
and having gone to the bottom of it, decides to declare the
re-establishment of concord, the peace is concluded in the spirit
and also in the letter. 11
"The concord re-established in the spirit and in the letter is
alone right and lawful." 12
And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus and told them the
story of Prince Dīghāvu, the Long-lived. He said: 13
"In former times, there lived at Benares a powerful king whose
name was Brahmadatta of Kāsi; and he went to war against Dīghīti,
the Long-suffering, a king of Kosala, for he thought, 'The
kingdom of Kosala is small and Dīghīti will not be able to resist
my armies.' 14
"And Dīghīti, seeing that resistance was impossible against the
great host of the king of Kāsi, fled, leaving his little kingdom
in the hands of Brahmadatta; and having wandered from place to
place, he came at last to Benares, and lived there with his
consort in a potter's dwelling outside the town. 15
"And the queen bore him a son and they called him Dīghāvu. 16
"When Dīghāvu had grown up, the king thought to himself: 'King
Brahmadatta has done us great harm, and he is fearing our
revenge; he will seek to kill us. Should he find us he will slay
all three of us.' And he sent his son away, and Dīghāvu having
received a good education from his father, applied himself
diligently to learn all arts, becoming very skilful and wise. 17
"At that time the barber of king Dīghīti dwelt at Benares, and he
saw the king, his former master, and, being of an avaricious
nature, betrayed him to King Brahmadatta. 18
"When Brahmadatta, the king of Kāsi, heard that the fugitive king
of Kosala and his queen, unknown and in disguise, were living a
quiet life in a potter's dwelling, he ordered them to be bound
and executed; and the sheriff to whom the order was given seized
king Dīghīti and led him to the place of execution. 19
"While the captive king was being led through the streets of
Benares he saw his son who had returned to visit his parents,
and, careful not to betray the presence of his son, yet anxious
to communicate to him his last advice, he cried: 'O Dīghāvu, my
son! Be not far-sighted, be not near-sighted, for not by hatred
is hatred appeased; hatred is appeased by not-hatred only.' 20
"The king and queen of Kosala were executed, but Dīghāvu their
son bought strong wine and made the guards drunk. When the night
arrived he laid the bodies of his parents upon a funeral pyre and
burned them with all honors and religious rites. 21
"When king Brahmadatta heard of it, he became afraid, for he
thought, 'Dīghāvu, the son of king Dīghīti, is a wise youth and
he will take revenge for the death of his parents. If he espies a
favorable opportunity, he will assassinate me.' 22
"Young Dīghāvu went to the forest and wept to his heart's
content. Then he wiped his tears and returned to Benares. Hearing
that assistants were wanted in the royal elephants' stable, he
offered his services and was engaged by the master of the
elephants. 23
"And it happened that the king heard a sweet voice ringing
through the night and singing to the lute a beautiful song that
gladdened his heart. And having inquired among his attendants who
the singer might be, was told that the master of the elephants
had in his service a young man of great accomplishments, and
beloved by all his comrades. They said, 'He is wont to sing to
the lute, and he must have been the singer that gladdened the
heart of the king.' 24
"And the king summoned the young man before him and, being much
pleased with Dīghāvu, gave him employment in the royal castle.
Observing how wisely the youth acted, how modest he was and yet
punctilious in the performance of his work, the king very soon
gave him a position of trust. 25
"Now it came to pass that the king went hunting and became
separated from his retinue, young Dīghāvu alone remaining with
him. And the king worn out from the hunt laid his head in the lap
of young Dīghāvu and slept. 26
"And Dīghāvu thought: 'People will forgive great wrongs which
they have suffered, but they will never be at ease about the
wrongs which they themselves have done. They will persecute their
victims to the bitter end. This king Brahmadatta has done us
great injury, he robbed us of our kingdom and slew my father and
my mother. He is now in my power.' Thinking thus he unsheathed
his sword. 27
"Then Dīghāvu thought of the last words of his father. 'Be not
far-sighted, be not near-sighted. For not by hatred is hatred
appeased. Hatred is appeased by not-hatred alone.' Thinking thus,
he put his sword back into the sheath. 28
"The king became restless in his sleep and he awoke, and when the
youth asked, 'Why art thou frightened, O king?' he replied: 'My
sleep is always restless because I often dream that young Dīghāvu
is coming upon me with his sword. While I lay here with my head
in thy lap I dreamed the dreadful dream again; and I awoke full
of terror and alarm.' 29
"Then the youth, laying his left hand upon the defenceless king's
head and with his right hand drawing his sword, said: 'I am
Dīghāvu, the son of king Dīghīti, whom thou hast robbed of his
kingdom and slain together with his queen, my mother. I know that
men overcome the hatred entertained for wrongs which they have
suffered much more easily than for the wrongs which they have
done, and so I cannot expect that thou wilt take pity on me; but
now a chance for revenge has come to me.' 30
"The king seeing that he was at the mercy of young Dīghāvu raised
his hands and said: 'Grant me my life, my dear Dīghāvu, grant me
my life. I shall be forever grateful to thee.' 31
"And Dīghāvu said without bitterness or ill-will: 'How can I
grant thee thy life, O king, since my life is endangered by thee.
I do not mean to take thy life. It is thou, O king, who must
grant me my life.' 32
"And the king said: 'Well, my dear Dīghāvu, then grant me my
life, and I will grant thee thine.' 33
"Thus, king Brahmadatta of Kāsi and young Dīghāvu granted each
other's life and took each other's hand and swore an oath not to
do any harm to each other. 34
"And king Brahmadatta of Kāsi said to young Dīghāvu: 'Why did
thy father say to thee in the hour of his death: "Be not
far-sighted, be not near-sighted, for hatred is not appeased by
hatred. Hatred is appeased by not-hatred alone,"--what did thy
father mean by that?' 35
"The youth replied: 'When my father, O king, in the hour of his
death said: "Be not far-sighted," he meant, Let not thy hatred go
far. And when my father said, "Be not near-sighted," he meant, Be
not hasty to fall out with thy friends. And when he said, "For
not by hatred is hatred appeased; hatred is appeased by
not-hatred," he meant this: Thou hast killed my father and
mother, O king, and if I should deprive thee of thy life, then
thy partisans in turn would take away my life; my partisans again
would deprive thine of their lives. Thus by hatred, hatred would
not be appeased. But now, O king, thou hast granted me my life,
and I have granted thee thine; thus by not-hatred hatred has been
appeased.' 36
"Then king Brahmadatta of Kāsi thought: 'How wise is young
Dīghāvu that he understands in its full extent the meaning of
what his father spoke concisely.' And the king gave him back his
father's kingdom and gave him his daughter in marriage." 37
Having finished the story, the Blessed One said: "Brethren, ye
are my lawful sons in the faith, begotten by the words of my
mouth. Children ought not to trample under foot the counsel given
them by their father; do ye henceforth follow my admonitions." 38
Then the bhikkhus met in conference; they discussed their
differences in mutual good will, and the concord of the Sangha
was re-established. 39