The King Who Cleared a Standing Spot: A Lesson in Altruism

The sun poured fire down upon a tiny marketplace in a still-undeveloped land. Fine dust rose in clouds from the footsteps of barefoot people walking on bare earth, with no cement or tiles. Laughter and chatter, the cries of vendors, and the rhythmic drums of a traveling theater troupe all mingled together in the air. Sweat ran down the bridge of the nose of a young man of good family named Ma Ha Ly — the one who would later be known as Sakka, the King of the Devas. He stood there in the jostling crowd, realizing he had just been roughly shoved aside by a stranger, pushed away from the patch of ground he had just cleared with his own feet.

"Hey, why did you push me?" — he was about to say, but then he stopped himself.

He watched the man standing confidently on the very spot he had just smoothed flat, his face beaming as he watched the performance. Ma Ha Ly felt something catch in his chest, but it was not anger. He bent down and smoothed out another patch of ground with his feet, sweeping away a few pebbles and some withered leaves.

The story began in a distant past life, when the world was still simple, people were few, and the land stretched vast and open. Ma Ha Ly was born into a well-to-do family, with a naturally gentle disposition. He had kept seven vows across many lifetimes: caring for his parents, honoring elders, speaking gently, never speaking ill of others behind their backs, giving generously, speaking truthfully, and never losing his temper. Over the years, he had cultivated these habits as naturally as eating and drinking. It was only on this day, in an unusually crowded festival market, that he first encountered someone taking his place.

Ma Ha Ly stood watching the stranger breathe happily, and suddenly felt something strange. He wondered to himself: "I just lost my spot. I should be annoyed. But why am I not annoyed?" Then he tried standing in the other man's position: "If I were him, having just gotten a clean spot to watch the festival, I would be happy. So if he is happy, can I be happy along with him?" So he smoothed out another spot with his feet. Someone came and took that one too. He smoothed out another. After clearing dozens of spots like this, he felt his heart grow light and free.

"How wonderful — I clear a spot for someone, and when they need it, they are happy. So I can be happy along with them!" — he said to a few of his servants standing nearby.

He ran home and told his servants to bring out tools. He pointed to the land beside the marketplace:

"Clear a wide area there, and make it into an auxiliary market for people to come and trade."

His servants replied:

"Young master, this work is exhausting, and people won't even be grateful."

He smiled:

"I don't need gratitude. I only need to see people's lives made easier, and my heart is at ease."

When the wide stretch of ground was cleared, vendors immediately came to claim spots and set up their goods. Buyers gathered as well. He stood at a distance watching, his heart beating calmly. He realized: spending one's labor in this life to help others, even in small ways, carries great meaning.

That night, he lay thinking about the road connecting this village to the next. In the old days, the path was a narrow trail through the forest, overgrown with thorns and brambles, with swamps cutting across it. Only the very wealthy had horses or oxen. So he took out knives and machetes and began clearing the way, leveling the long road that connected the two regions. People were delighted, but no one joined in. Only thirty-two young men of good families asked to follow him.

"We ask to join you in opening this road, to make merit for the people!" — the thirty-two declared in unison.

He took their hands:

"Excellent! The thirty-three of us will do it together!"

Word of this goodness traveled far, reaching the ears of the district chief. He was consumed by envy, because the people loved these young men who dug the earth more than they loved him. He came to confront them, his face flushed red:

"Stop this at once! Don't you dare incite the people into rebellion!"

Ma Ha Ly shook his head:

"We are only clearing the road so people can travel more easily. There is no other intention."

The district chief reported to the king that thirty-three men were building a stronghold to rebel against him. The king believed the report and sent soldiers to arrest and bind all thirty-three men, intending to have elephants trample them to death. In the courtyard, a massive elephant lumbered forward. Ma Ha Ly looked around at his thirty-two companions and saw them all breathing hard, eyes wide with fear.

"Brothers, there is no way of escape. Let us abide in a heart of loving-kindness, cherishing all beings in the world!" — he said solemnly.

The thirty-two nodded, closed their eyes, and contemplated feelings of love. The elephant drew near, then suddenly halted, refusing to take another step. The mahout stabbed his goad into the elephant's thigh; the elephant groaned but stood still. The king rushed out, astonished, and ordered the thirty-three men brought before him. Hearing the whole story, the king was moved, handed the district over to them, and made the district chief a slave.

From then on, the thirty-three men governed the district. They built rest houses one day's walk apart for travelers to shelter, hired people to serve them, and even invited teachers to speak on the Dharma for passing travelers to hear. Ma Ha Ly had four wives; three of them joined in doing good, but the fourth, Thien Sanh, cared only for her beauty and adornment, and did no merit. When their lives ended, the thirty-three were reborn in the heavenly realms as devas, with Ma Ha Ly becoming Sakka, King of the Devas, while Thien Sanh fell and was reborn as a bird. Later, thanks to Sakka's guidance and her keeping of the precepts across many lifetimes, she was reborn as the daughter of a potter, then as a princess of the Asuras, and eventually became his wife.

Looking back on that first life of merit, Sakka understood deeply: a single moment of being shoved from one's spot without anger — and instead feeling joy at another's gain — was a heart of altruism cultivated over countless lifetimes. So he carried it forward: clearing wide markets, opening long roads, building rest houses, bringing joy to countless people. It was precisely by that merit that the Heaven of the Thirty-Three shone in splendor.

Later, whenever someone asked how he had accomplished such great things, Sakka would often remember that dusty, sunlit marketplace — the moment he was pushed from his standing spot and chose instead to stand in another's place, and smile.

## The Meaning of the Story

When we suffer a loss and feel sad or angry, we are standing in our own position — that is the self-centered mind. But when we suffer a loss and still feel joy because someone else has gained, we are standing in the other person's position — that is the altruistic heart. Even a small act of altruism, like clearing a standing spot, is the seed of great merit, the foundation of blessings from merit.