At a time about ten years after his enlightenment, Shakyamuni was staying at a place called Southern Mountain in the kingdom of Magadha. He was apparently not well known in this region then. A Brahman farmer named Bharadvaja, who lived and worked his land with the aid of laborers, was cultivating his fields with five hundred plows. One morning, having arisen, dressed, and taken his begging bowl, Shakyamuni came to the fields of Bharadvaja, who was just then distributing food to his workers. With his begging bowl in his hands, Shakyamuni approached. Displeased by the appearance of a begging priest, Bharadvaja said, “O samana, I till my fields, plant seed, and live on what I harvest. Instead of amusing yourself and asking others for food, you too should till, plant, and eat what you earn by the sweat of your own labor.”

Although this attitude is perfectly natural from a secular viewpoint, it is surprising in the mouth of a Brahman, a member of the caste of spiritual leaders. It shows that this Brahman, like many others of his age, stressed material and economic matters above all else.

Hoping to correct his mistaken attitude, Shakyamuni said, “Brahman, I too live by tilling the earth and planting seeds.”

Because he failed to understand the meaning of these words, Bharadvaja said, “But, samana, I do not see your farming tools, your yoke, plow, plowshare, goad, or oxen. Nonetheless, you say that you live by tilling the earth and planting seeds. What can you mean

Then Shakyamuni answered in verse, “Faith is my seed. Right actions are the rain. Wisdom is my plow; conscience, my plow pole; the mind, my yoke; and right-mindedness, my plowshare and goad. I guard my body and speech from evil actions. I restrict the amount of food and clothing that I require. I use truth to weed out illusions, and mildness is my emancipation. Spiritual progress is my beast of burden, leading me to the serenity of nirvana, where I will have nothing to grieve about. Such tilling inevitably leads to an immortal harvest and liberation from all suffering.” (page 150)