#(Buddha) 18 Envy Was Not Holy Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

Buddha met three Kashyapa
Brothers at City Uruvela.
They worshipped Agni (fire) daily.
People respected them religiously.

Buddha met the eldest one.
He asked him permission
To spend the night time
In the sacred fire room.

Kashyapa, in fear, said,
“Don’t stay there, I’m afraid,
A serpent there will bite you,
And it’s dangerous for you.”

“Don’t worry, ” he replied,
“I’ll not be killed.
Have no fear.
Let me stay there.”

Kashyapa then allowed him
In that sacred fire room.
Buddha spent the night
In Meditation sitting upright.

The serpent came to bite
But it saw love in his sight
And went back to its place
Without leaving any trace.

Next day, the host saw
Buddha alive, with awe,
And honored the guest,
Thereafter with full respect.

To participate in a festival,
There came many people.
He felt, Buddha was a nuisance,
And he might lose importance.

His feelings, Buddha understood
And somewhere disappeared.
After the festival was over
Back Buddha came there.

When Kashyapa asked
Buddha coolly replied,
“Since you never wanted me here
I was hiding myself somewhere.”

Kashyapa was surprised,
“How could Buddha read
Inside my mind so easily.
A mind-reader, he’s really.”

“Envy is not holy, ” Buddha told.
Such occult powers, he possessed.
Kashyapa Brothers then realized.
As monks in Sangha, they joined.