Emperor's Three Questions in Buddhist Canon?

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Hello!

I am wondering if there is a parallel to a story/teaching somewhere in the Buddhist canon. The story is the Emperor’s Three Questions, based on a short-story by Leo Tolstoy. These have been taught by both Ajahn Brahm and Thich Nhat Hanh for Buddhists. For those not familiar, the emperor wants to find the answer to three questions: how to determine when is the right time, who is the most important person to listen to, and what is the most important task to do. The answers that the story provides are:

  1. The most important time is now.
  2. The most important person is the one before you, who you are with.
  3. The most important task is to do them good.

Ajahn Brahm often broadens out the answers some, so that rather than person it sometimes becomes the most important thing to attend to. And the task becomes to care. This makes the teaching not just an approach to dealing with people but also an approach to meditation and so on.

While the suttas themselves don’t tend to present generalized teachings in this manner, individually, each of these answers does have some traces in the Buddhist tradition. The emphasis on the present moment for example is found at SN 1.10 or MN 131. Putting your attention on the person before you in the idea of sampajañña or listening to what some people say carefully without immediately approving or disapproving. And the teaching to care and be kind is of course found in the teachings on mettā and on sīla, intending not to hurt yourself or others.

What I’m curious about is if there is a presentation—even in the Jātaka or Dhammapada commentaries, for example—which conveys a similar idea. I suspect the commentarial stories would be more likely to have something of this sort. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions of teachings and stories in the Pāḷi tradition which present something similar? Alternatively, are there stories which you feel contain parts of the answers? If there’s something in the Mahāyāna canon that would also be interesting to hear of, though maybe a bit beyond the immediate scope of the forum.

Thanks, everyone!

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One thread is Dhammapada v.286, the story in the commentary of Mahādhana the Merchant. He decides he’ll set up shop for a year, but the Buddha sees he will die in seven days’ time:

Ānanda asked the Buddha why he smiled and the Buddha replied, “Ānanda, do you see that merchant? He is thinking that he would stay here and sell his goods the whole year. He is not aware that he would die here in seven days’ time. What should be done should be done today. Who would know that one would die tomorrow?

[Source]

Here the idea in the story, based off the verse, is not to get stuck in plans but to do what needs to be done today, or ‘now.’ This resembles some aspects of the three questions story.

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Another connection, albeit a bit weaker than the previous.

The story of Magha before he became Sakka, found in the commentary to Dhp v. 30. There, he essentially takes on the practice of constantly doing good works and making merit even when threatened or mistreated. When an elephant is going to trample him and his friends, he tells them their refuge is in loving kindness. And they continue taking up works to make more merit, saying their duty is to perform meritorious works.

This fits somewhat the idea of the most important task being to care or do good. In a sense, you could say that the story of Magha becoming Sakka through diligence in making merit is a story of someone who took that idea very seriously. Not quite a perfect match though.

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The idea of the ‘golden rule,’ of treating all beings as one oneself wants to be treated, also fits some of the mold when we combine the suttas’ idea that we are most dear to ourself. If I am most dear to myself, and I should treat others how I want to be treated, then I should treat each person very dearly and with great importance. We see these ideas in such suttas as SN 3.8 and SN 55.7.

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