Chapter XII - ATTA VAGGA - The Self

PURITY AND IMPURITY DEPEND ON ONESELF

Attana' va katam papam attana samkilissati
Attana akatam papam attana' va visujjhati
Suddhi asuddhi paccattam n' anno annam visodhaye. [165]

XII:09 A devotee protected by courtesans (Culakala)

One day, a devotee called Culakala observed the eight precepts and spent the night at the Jetavana monastery, listening to religious discourses all through the night. Early in the morning as he was returning home he saw a group of angry people chasing some thieves who had stolen some valuables and money from them. In their haste to get away, the thieves threw down the stolen loot in front of Culakala. Blinded by their anger, the people mistook him for the thief; caught hold of him and started to beat him up. Fortunately, some courtesans who were on their way to fetch water from a nearby river, intervened, saying that they knew him and that he was not the thief. Culakala was let off.

When the Buddha was told about it, he said to Culakala, 'You have been let off not only because the courtesans said that you were not the thief but also because you did not steal and are therefore innocent.'