batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l8301-l8416
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l8301-l8416
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: GLORY BE TO THE BLESSED, THE HOLY, THE ALL-WISE ONE. / BOOK I. / END OF THE
STORY ON HOLDING TO THE TRUTH. / END OF THE STORY OF THE SANDY ROAD.; lines 8301-8416
start: '8301'
end: '8416'
translation: Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Little Roadling is ordained but cannot memorize a stanza because of a prior
deed of mocking a dull monk. His elder brother excludes and expels him. The Buddha
intercepts him, gives him a white cloth to rub while repeating a phrase about
removing impurity, and Little Roadling gains insight into impermanence when the
cloth becomes soiled. A vision of the Buddha explains that lust, anger, and delusion
are the true stains. Little Roadling attains Arahatship. The passage links this
conversion to an earlier life in which a soiled white robe prompted insight into
impermanence.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Little Roadling receives ordination and is instructed in the Ten Commandments,
but cannot memorize even one verse over four months.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage explains Little Roadling's dullness as a consequence of a former
life in which he mocked a dull monk learning a recitation.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Great Roadling tells Little Roadling he is unfit for the discipline and expels
him from the monastery.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Jīvaka invites the Buddha and about five hundred brethren to a meal, and Great
Roadling accepts for all except Little Roadling.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Little Roadling decides to return to lay life after hearing that he has been
excluded from the invitation.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The Teacher becomes aware of the matter, waits by the gateway, and tells Little
Roadling to stay with him instead of returning to lay life.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The Teacher seats Little Roadling facing east, gives him a very white cloth,
and instructs him to rub it while repeating words about the removal of impurity.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: As Little Roadling rubs the cloth, it becomes soiled, and he reflects that
component things are changeable.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: A glorious vision of the Teacher appears and states that lust, anger, and
delusion, rather than dust, are the true stains to be removed.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: At the end of the stanzas, Little Roadling attains Arahatship and intellectual
gifts by which he understands all the Scriptures.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:11
text: The passage recounts a prior-life episode in which Little Roadling, then a
king, saw a pure white robe become dirty from his body and realized impermanence.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Little Roadling
description: A novice monk described as dull, expelled by his elder brother, then
instructed by the Teacher and attaining Arahatship.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:10
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Great Roadling
description: Little Roadling's elder brother, responsible for food distribution,
who expels Little Roadling and excludes him from an invitation.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: the Teacher / the Buddha
description: The Teacher perceives Little Roadling's situation, intercepts him,
gives instruction with a white cloth, and sends a vision of himself.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Jīvaka
description: A nobleman who brings sweet-scented flowers to the Teacher and invites
the Buddha and brethren to a meal.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: dull brother in the time of Kassapa the Buddha
description: A monk in a former time who was mocked while learning a recitation
and became unable to memorize or recite the passage.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: glorious vision of the Teacher
description: A visible form of the Teacher sent forth to Little Roadling, speaking
stanzas about the true stains.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: former-life king
description: A prior-life identity of Little Roadling who saw his pure white robe
become dirty and realized impermanence.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
roles:
- id: role:1
label: struggling novice
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Little Roadling is ordained but cannot learn a single stanza in four months.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: disciplinarian elder brother
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Great Roadling expels Little Roadling and excludes him from the meal invitation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: spiritual teacher and intervening guide
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:6
basis: The Teacher intercepts Little Roadling, gives the cloth exercise, and sends
a vision that explains stains as lust, anger, and delusion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: role:4
label: donor and inviter
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Jīvaka presents flowers and invites the Buddha and brethren to a meal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: recipient of insight into impermanence
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:7
basis: Both the present Little Roadling and his former-life identity reflect on
a white cloth or robe becoming soiled and on changeability.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:11
- id: role:6
label: previously mocked learner
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The dull brother is described as overwhelmed by contempt while learning a
recitation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: white cloth
literal_form: A piece of very white cloth created for Little Roadling to rub while
repeating a phrase about impurity.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:2
label: stain or impurity
literal_form: Soiling on the cloth, and the terms 'stain' and 'impurity' used in
the teaching about lust, anger, and delusion.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:3
label: pure white robe
literal_form: A former-life king's pure white robe that becomes dirty after he wipes
sweat from his forehead.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: sym:4
label: east-facing posture
literal_form: Little Roadling is told to sit with his face to the East while rubbing
the cloth.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Ordination and inability to learn
summary: Little Roadling is ordained and taught, but he cannot memorize one verse
over four months; the passage attributes this to a prior-life act of mocking another
monk.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Expulsion and exclusion
summary: Great Roadling expels Little Roadling from the monastery and later accepts
Jīvaka's meal invitation for all except him, prompting Little Roadling to plan
a return to lay life.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Teacher's intervention at the gateway
summary: The Teacher perceives Little Roadling's situation, waits on the road, and
tells him to stay with him rather than re-enter the world.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Cloth meditation and insight
summary: The Teacher gives Little Roadling a white cloth and a repeated phrase about
impurity; when the cloth becomes soiled, Little Roadling reflects on changeability
and opens the eyes of his mind.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Vision teaches the true stains
summary: A vision of the Teacher appears and teaches that lust, anger, and delusion
are the true stains, after which Little Roadling attains Arahatship.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: scene:6
label: Former-life robe episode
summary: A former-life king sees his white robe become dirty from his body and realizes
the doctrine of impermanency; the passage says this earlier incident explains
the later conversion through transferred impurity.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: spiritual insight through a soiled white cloth
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Little Roadling's observation of a white cloth becoming soiled leads him
to perceive changeability, and the vision converts the stain into a teaching about
lust, anger, and delusion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference 'wisdom' is broad; the passage's specific pattern
is insight through an ordinary object and impurity imagery.
- id: motif:2
label: failed novice restored by the teacher
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: Little Roadling is initiated but fails at memorization, is expelled, and
is then redirected by the Teacher into a practice that culminates in Arahatship.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage describes monastic ordination and instruction rather than
a formal ordeal sequence beyond the cloth exercise.
- id: motif:3
label: past deed causing present incapacity
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage states that Little Roadling's present dullness follows from his
former conduct of mocking a dull monk learning a recitation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: No available taxonomy family directly names karmic consequence; the motif
is recorded without a taxonomy reference.
- id: motif:4
label: repeated prior-life insight from a soiled white garment
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage explicitly connects Little Roadling's conversion by impurity
transfer to an earlier life where a white robe became soiled and prompted insight
into impermanence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: This is an intra-passage recurrence rather than an external comparative
claim.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself presents the present white-cloth episode and the former-life
white-robe episode as parallel occasions in which a clean garment becomes soiled
and prompts insight into impermanence.
claim_level: same_function
target: former-life robe becoming dirty and present-life cloth becoming soiled
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:11
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This comparison is limited to the two episodes narrated within the
passage and does not establish broader historical or cross-cultural relationship.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 8301-8316
quote_or_summary: Little Roadling is ordained, taught to live by the Ten Commandments,
but cannot memorize even one stanza after four months.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 8317-8326
quote_or_summary: In a former time of Kassapa the Buddha, he mocked a dull monk
learning recitation; as a result he is now dull and forgets each line as he learns
the next.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 8327-8334
quote_or_summary: The elder brother says Little Roadling is not fit for the discipline
and expels him from the monastery.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 8335-8350
quote_or_summary: Jīvaka offers flowers, asks how many brethren are with the Teacher,
and invites the Buddha and five hundred brethren; Great Roadling accepts excepting
Little Roadling.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 8351-8358
quote_or_summary: Little Roadling overhears his exclusion, thinks his brother's
love has been broken, and decides to return to the world and do lay good deeds.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 8359-8375
quote_or_summary: The Teacher becomes aware of the matter, waits by the gateway,
and tells Little Roadling that his profession was under him and that he may stay
with him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 8376-8383
quote_or_summary: The Teacher seats Little Roadling before his apartment, gives
him a very white cloth, and tells him to face east and rub it while repeating,
'The removal of impurity.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation from public domain text.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 8384-8390
quote_or_summary: As Little Roadling rubs the cloth it becomes soiled; he reflects
that it has lost its former condition and that all component things are changeable.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 8391-8409
quote_or_summary: A glorious vision of the Teacher appears and teaches that the
real stains are lust, anger, and delusion, not dust, and that monks must remove
these stains.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 8410-8412
quote_or_summary: When the stanzas are finished, Little Roadling attains Arahatship
and the intellectual gifts of an Arahat, by which he understands all the Scriptures.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: 8413-8416
quote_or_summary: In a former life as a king, he wiped sweat from his forehead with
a pure white robe; seeing it become dirty, he realized impermanency, which explains
the later conversion through transfer of impurity.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal extraction is well supported by the passage. Motif labels are intentionally
broad where no exact available taxonomy reference exists. The comparison claim
is limited to an explicit intra-passage parallel.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata. No external comparisons or taxonomy IDs beyond supplied lists were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l8301-l8416
passage_sha256=545c799ff0e9d056ba82fdbe55eb6e733c953f9b58ad5a6ec80c15c12b8582c6