A long time ago, there was a Brahman’s family whose sons all died after birth. An elder neighbor told this family that she would help if they had another son in the future. After the next child was born, this elder woman handed him to a girl with the instruction that she should bring him to a major road and if a noble one came by, she should pay homage to him and asked for the blessing. When the sun had set, if the child was still alive then the girl should bring him home, otherwise she should discard his body. The child was still alive after the sun had set so the girl carried him home and afterward, he received the name Mahapantaka (means the major road).

Later, another son was born in the same family and the elder woman came to help. She gave the child to another girl with the same instruction. This girl was lazy and brought the child to the small road. There was no Brahman came by, only the Buddha purposely came, prayed and gave him his blessing. The child was still alive after the sun had set, he was carried home and then obtained the name ChudaPantaka (means the small road).

Both sons grew up but MahaPantaka was intelligent and skillful in all subjects, as well as able to taught sacred words to others while ChudaPantaka was utterly slow and dull and was refused to teach by many teachers.

Later, after the parents died, MahaPantaka joined the Buddha Shakya’s group, studied and mastered the three baskets and became an Arhat. ChudaPantaka exhausted his parents’ wealth and was instructed by his older brother to become ordained as a monk.

MahaPantaka asked ChudaPantaka to memorize the following verses

Do no evil with body, speech, mind and

Grasping at everything in the world

Those who are empty of desire, mindful, and circumspect

Do not seek suffering or the useless.

but after three months he was still not able to remember them.

Arya MahaPantaka thought that the criticism would be more effective then after saying hash words to his brother, he threw him out of the monastery. ChudaPantaka felt sad and cried for his situation. The Buddha stirred by great compassion, helped him to understand things and gave him a chance to remove his bad karma, declared:

There is praise by the foolish

Criticism by the wise

Criticism by the wise is excellent

Not so by the foolish

The Buddha then gave ChudaPantaka this phrase to recite: “I am removing dust, I am removing dirt”. ChudaPantaka could not remember this phrase so the Blessed One asked him to wipe the shoes of the monks. Some time later, he learned this phrase.

Then the Blessed One gave him the work of sweeping the main prayer hall by reciting this phrase. Each time ChuadaPantaka cleaned the right side of the hall, the Buddha miraculously caused the left side to fill the dust. The same happened when he cleaned the left side, the right side was filled by dust. ChudaPantaka persevered until his karmic obscurations were cleared away and heard these verses:

This dust is desire, not particles of dirt

This dust is hatred, not particles of dirt

This dust is ignorance, not particles of dirt

The wise get rid themselves of this dust

And are attentive to the Sugata’s teaching

ChudaPantaka achieved the status of an Arhat after meditating on the meaning of these verses.

The Buddha wanted everyone to know ChudaPantaka’s virtues and knowledge then instructed ChudaPantaka to teach the bhikshunis. However, the bhikshunis were not pleased of this because they did not want to accept a little learning teacher who had not been able to recite a verse after three months. They then carried out a plan to make sure that ChudaPantaka will not come again to their temple in the future.

Twelve bhikshunis prepared a very high throne without staircase for ChudaPantaka. Others announced to everyone in the city of the teachings of the great and extraordinary disciple of Buddha. Hundreds of thousands of people assembled the next day when ChudaPantaka came for the teaching. As he approached the throne, he realized that the intention of these bhikshunis is to show scorn. Extending his arm like an elephant’s trunk, he pushed down the throne and seated himself. He first entered a state of meditation and became invisible, then he raised himself into the sky and displayed four types of magical powers. At last, he once again seated on the throne.

He began his discourse by saying that he would teach in seven days the meaning of the verses which had taken him three months to memorize. He explained that the verse “Do no evil with body, speech, and mind” means to eschew the ten non-virtuous actions. “everything in the world” refers the five heaps, and “grasping” means grasping of the three poisons: desire, hatred, and ignorance.

ChudaPantaka’s teaching made many audiences attained the realization, developed an aspiration for the enlightenment of different paths, and gained faith in the Three Jewels.

Afterward, the Buddha declared that of all his disciples, ChudaPantaka was the most skilled at producing a beneficial change in beings’ mind.