The Bodhisatta was once an acrobat. He traveled around from town to town doing shows with his master teacher. His master could do the four-javelin dance, but one day while drunk decided to do the five-javelin dance instead, even though he had never practiced it. The Bodhisatta told him not to do it because he would die. But the master ignored the warning and, as predicted, impaled himself on the fifth javelin. As his master lay dying, the Bodhisatta told him this is what you get for ignoring advice from wise people.
In the Lifetime of the Buddha
The master acrobat was an earlier birth of a disobedient and impatient disciple of the Buddha who tended to ignore the instruction of his teachers and fellow disciples. The Buddha told him this story of his past so he knew that his failure to follow advice had once led to his death.
