Date: 10/11/2025 10/12/2025
Location: Star Lake Meditation Center
Teacher: Shilin Long
Dharma Talk
The Elephant King Who Practiced the Bodhisattva Path
A long time ago, in a remote forest on the borderlands, there lived five hundred elephants. Among them was a great white elephant king with six tusks. This elephant king had lofty aspirations. Although born among elephants, in his heart he already knew of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, and he constantly took refuge in the Three Jewels. He always practiced great compassion to help beings and made vows to become a Buddha in order to save all sentient beings.
The elephant king had one queen and one consort who always stayed by his side. One day, while in a pond, the elephant king picked a beautiful lotus flower and presented it to his queen, adorning her with it. The queen was overjoyed and said sweetly: “How is it that in such cold weather, the king could still find such a splendid lotus?” The consort, watching from the side, was consumed with jealousy. Burning with resentment, she swore a poisonous oath: “One day I will kill the elephant king with poison!” From then on, she harbored hatred in her heart, unable to let go. Over time, the bitterness grew, and she became ill and died.
After her death, she was reborn as a woman of unparalleled beauty, intelligent and wise, well-versed in history, able to read the stars and know the rise and fall of fortune. The king of that land, upon hearing of such an extraordinary woman, grew enamored and married her as his queen. The queen was skillful in speaking of the ways of governing a country, and she was able to unite the ministers so that they worked harmoniously. The king, deeply trusting her, obeyed her every word.
One day, the queen said to the king: “Last night I dreamed of a great elephant with six magnificent tusks. I wish to obtain such pure ivory to make ornaments. If I cannot have this treasure, I would rather die!”
The king replied anxiously: “My queen, do not speak such foolish words. People will laugh if they hear. Where in the world could such a marvelous elephant exist?”
But the queen insisted: “My lord, you must find a way. Otherwise, I have no will to live!”
Day by day the queen grew sorrowful, refusing food and drink, becoming thin and withered. Alarmed, the king summoned his ministers to consult. One of them said he had heard rumors of such a six-tusked white elephant. The king at once ordered all hunters across the land to investigate its whereabouts. One skilled hunter from the south said his late father had indeed seen such an elephant, but it lived in a very distant place. The queen then instructed the hunter: “Travel three thousand li southward, and you will come upon a tall mountain. Walk two more days into the forest, and there you will meet this white elephant. Find the path it takes and dig a pit beside it. Shave your head, put on monastic robes, and disguise yourself as a monk, for this elephant pays great respect to the Three Jewels. When the white elephant approaches, you can kill it with your bow and return with its tusks.”
The hunter followed her instructions. As foretold, the elephant king, seeing someone in monk’s robes hiding in a pit, felt great reverence and let down his guard. At that moment, he was struck by the hunter’s arrow. Wounded and in pain, the innocent elephant king lowered his head and whispered: “I sincerely take refuge in the Sangha! But why have you come such a long way to take my life?” The hunter explained everything. Enduring great pain, the elephant king said: “I once vowed to fulfill the Bodhisattva path, to practice great compassion and great patience. Even if my bones are crushed and my flesh cut apart, I will not turn back! I do not cling to this impermanent body, for by cultivating kindness and virtue I will soon attain Nirvana.”
Then the elephant king threw himself against a great tree, pulled out his tusks with his trunk, and handed them to the hunter. He made this vow: “May the offering of my tusks in the future remove the three poisonous fangs of greed, hatred, and delusion from all beings.” The hunter, moved by his compassion, carefully erased his tracks so the herd would not take revenge. Only after the hunter had gone far away did the elephant king finally close his eyes and pass away. Soon, elephants from all around gathered, and unable to find the killer, they surrounded their fallen king, wailing in grief.
When the hunter brought the tusks back to the palace, the king was seized with dread. As the queen reached for the ivory to look more closely, thunder and lightning suddenly struck her down. She vomited blood and died instantly, falling into hell.
That compassionate elephant king was none other than Śākyamuni Buddha in a former life.
