One more try re source of Buddhist story.

[Yaroslav Vassilkov]

Dear Mr Spier,
        this story, in particular, was told by Ramakrishna to his disciples. It seems
to me that I have read it recently in the Russian translation of Isherwood's book on
the great Indian mystic. This version was purely Hindu, with no Buddha in it.
        The parable (in its Buddhist version) gained renewed popularity in India quite
recently, after the nuclear bomb test. I had an opportunity to hear it told by a high
Indian state official - head of a delegation which came to Russia very soon after
the event.
                                        Yaroslav Vassilkov

Fri, 12 Nov 99 00:01 +0300 MSK Harry Spier wrote to INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK:

> Dear list members,
>
>Can anyone give me any information on it even
> if they can't give an exact reference.  I vaguely recall having heard it in
> a Buddhist setting (and possibly also in a Hindu setting). The story is as
> follows.
>
> The Buddha (or a sage) meets a snake that has been killing and terrorizing a
> village and tells it to stop biting people. A year later the Buddha (or the
> sage) returns and sees the snake beaten and half dead and asks it what
> happened.  The snake replies that he stopped biting people and this is what
> happened to him.  The Buddha (or sage) replies that he didn't tell him to
> stop hissing at people.
>
> Does anyone know if this story is Buddhist or Hindu (or other) in origin and
> any other information about it.
>
> Many thanks,
>
>
> Harry Spier
>
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---
Yaroslav Vassilkov (yavass at YV1041.spb.edu)
Fri, 12 Nov 99 00:38 +0300 MSK