The Heir Without Eyes, Arms, or Legs

During the time when the Buddha was residing at Jeta Grove Monastery in the city of Śrāvastī, there lived a wealthy elder. He had five daughters, and his wife was pregnant with their sixth child.

Not long afterward, the elder passed away. According to the law at that time, if a man died without a son to continue the family line, his property would be taken into the royal treasury.

When the king’s officials arrived to make an inventory of the estate, the eldest daughter petitioned the king:

“Your Majesty, our mother is pregnant. Please wait until she gives birth. If the child is a boy, he will have the right to inherit the estate.”

The king found her request reasonable and agreed.

When the time came, the mother gave birth to a baby boy, but his body was incomplete: he had no eyes, ears, tongue, hands, or feet. Because he still had the physical characteristics of a male, the family named him Man Từ Tỳ Lê. According to the law of that time, he was recognized as the rightful heir to the entire estate.

After hearing about this extraordinary case, a wealthy elder came to ask the Buddha:

“World-Honored One, what good deeds did Man Từ Tỳ Lê perform that caused him to be born into a wealthy family and inherit such a great fortune? And what unwholesome karma did he create that caused him to be born without eyes, ears, a tongue, hands, or feet?”

The Buddha then told the story of his previous life.

The Magistrate and the Debt That Was Denied

In a past life, two brothers were born into a wealthy family. The elder brother was named Đàn Nhã Thế Chất. He was honest, frequently gave to charity, and helped the poor. Because the people trusted him, the king appointed him as a magistrate to settle disputes.

The younger brother was named Thi La Thế Chất. One day, he lent a merchant a large sum of money for a trading journey. At that time, written loan agreements were not commonly used, so the two men asked the elder brother to serve as their witness.

The younger brother said:

“If I should pass away, please bear witness so that this merchant will repay the debt to my son.”

The elder brother raised his hand in confirmation and promised to testify fairly.

Not long afterward, the younger brother died. The merchant’s first trading voyage ended in disaster: a storm sank his ship, and all his merchandise was lost. Seeing that the merchant had suffered a great misfortune, the creditor’s son did not ask him to repay the debt at that time.

Later, the merchant went on another trading journey and became wealthy. Although he was now able to repay the debt, he wanted to keep the money for himself. He therefore brought precious jewels to bribe the magistrate’s wife.

At first, the magistrate firmly refused because the creditor had been his own younger brother. However, his wife continued to pressure him and even threatened to harm herself and their young child. Because he was overly attached to his child and could not control his mind, he finally agreed to lie.

When the son of Thi La Thế Chất brought the merchant before the magistrate, he said:

“Uncle, you saw my father give him the money. You heard their agreement, raised your hand in confirmation, and promised that you would bear witness.”

Nevertheless, the magistrate coldly denied everything:

“I did not see anything. I did not hear anything. I did not raise my hand, and I did not say anything.”

Deeply hurt, the nephew replied:

“You are trusted by both the king and the people. If you can treat even your own relative so unjustly, I wonder how you treat everyone else. Today, I may be unable to obtain justice, but the law of cause and effect will reveal the truth in the future.”

Cause and Effect

The Buddha explained that the magistrate in that former life was Man Từ Tỳ Lê:

• Because he pretended that he had not seen the transaction, he was born without eyes.
• Because he denied having heard the agreement, he was born without ears.
• Because he used false speech to deliver an unjust judgment, he was born without a tongue.
• Because he denied having raised his hand in confirmation, he was born without hands or feet.
• However, because he had previously practiced generosity and helped the poor, he was still born into a wealthy family and inherited a great fortune.

The wholesome karma of generosity and the unwholesome karma of lying did not cancel each other out. When the necessary causes and conditions came together, each karmic action produced its corresponding result.

Lessons from the Story

This story reminds us that:

• A single lie can cause great harm to another person’s life.
• Those who hold positions of authority and trust have an even greater responsibility to act justly.
• Even when we act wrongly because of family attachment or pressure from loved ones, we remain responsible for our own actions.
• Performing good deeds does not mean that our unwholesome karma automatically disappears.
• When we realize that we have done wrong, we should sincerely repent, correct our behavior, and make amends through truthful and wholesome actions.

When sharing this story, we should also make it clear that we must never look at a person with a disability and conclude that the person is suffering the results of past karma. Ordinary people do not possess the wisdom necessary to know another person’s past karma.

This account describes one particular case whose causes were revealed by the Buddha. Its purpose is to encourage us to guard our body, speech, and mind—not to judge those who are experiencing disability or misfortune.