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Β§ 5. Conversion of Anathapindika
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Β§ 5. Conversion of Anathapindika
1. Sudatta was a resident of Shravasti, the capital of the kingdom of Kosala. It was ruled by King Pasenjit. Sudatta was treasurer of the king. From his bounties to the poor, Sudatta was known as Anathapindika.
2. When the Lord was at Rajagraha, Anathapindika happened to visit the place on some private business of his own. He was stopping with his sister, who was married to the guild master of Rajagraha.
3. When he arrived he found the guild master preparing a meal for the Lord and his monks, on so great a scale that he thought that a wedding was in progress or that the king had been invited.
4. On learning the truth, he became very eager to visit the Lord, and he set out in the very night to meet the Blessed One.
5. And the Blessed One saw at once the sterling quality of Anathapindika’s heart, and greeted him with words of comfort. After taking his seat, Anathapindika expressed a desire to hear a discourse on some religious subject.
6. The Blessed Lord, responding to his wishes ,raised the question, “Who is it that shapes our lives? Is it Ishavara, a personal creator? If Ishavara be the maker, all living things should have silently to submit to their maker’s power. They would be like vessels formed by the potter’s hand. If the world had been made by Ishavara, there should be no such thing as sorrow, or calamity, or sin; for both pure and impure deeds must come from him. If not, there would be another cause beside him, and he would not be the self-existent one. Thus, you see, the thought of Ishavara is overthrown.
7. “Again, it is said that the Absolute cannot be a cause. All things around us come from a cause, as the plant comes from the seed; how can the Absolute be the cause of all things alike? If it pervades them, then certainly it does not make them.
8. “Again, it is said that self is the maker. But if self is the maker, why did he not make things pleasing? The cases of sorrow and joy are real and objective. How can they have been made by self?
9. “Again, if you adopt the argument [that] there is no maker, or fate in [=is] such as it is, and there is no causation, what use would there be in shaping our lives, and adjusting means to an end?
10. “Therefore, we argue that all things that exist are not without cause. However, neither Ishavara, nor the Absolute, nor the self, nor causeless chance, is the maker, but our deeds produce results both good and evil.
11. “The whole world is under the law of causation, and the causes that act are not un-mental, for the gold of which the cup is made is gold throughout.
12. “Let us, then, surrender the heresies of worshipping Ishavara and praying to him; let us not lose ourselves in vain speculations of profitless subtleties; let us surrender self and all selfishness; and as all things are fixed by causation, let us practise good so that good may result from our actions.”
13. And Anathapindika said, “I see the truth of what the Blessed One has said, and I wish to open my whole mind. Having listened to my words, let the Lord advise me what I should do.
14. “My life is full of work; and having acquired great wealth, I am surrounded with cares. Yet do I enjoy my work, and I apply myself to it with all diligence. Many people are in my employ, and depend upon the success of my enterprises.
15. “Now, I have heard your disciples praise the bliss of the hermit and denounce the unrest of the world. ‘The Blessed One,’ they say, ‘has given up his kingdom and his inheritance, and has found the path of righteousness, thus setting an example to all the world how to attain Nirvana.’
16. “My heart yearns to do what is right, and to be a blessing unto my fellow-beings. Let me then ask you, must I give up my wealth, my home, and my business enterprises, and, like you, go into homelessness, in order to attain the bliss of a religious life?”
17. And the Blessed Lord replied, “The bliss of a religious life is attainable by everyone who walks in the noble eight-fold path. He that cleaves to wealth, had better cast it away than allow his heart to be poisoned by it; but he who does not cleave to wealth, and, possessing riches, uses them rightly, will be a blessing unto his fellow-beings.
18. “I say unto thee, remain in thy station of life, and apply thyself with diligence to thy enterprises. It is not life and wealth and power that enslave men, but the cleaving to life and wealth and power.
19. “The Bhikku who retires from the world in order to lead a life of leisure will have no gain. For a life of indolence is an abomination, and lack of energy is to be despised.
20. “The Dhamma of the Tathagata does not require a man to go into homelessness or to resign the world, unless he feels called upon to do so; what the Dhamma of the Tathagata requires is for every man to free himself from the illusion of self, to cleanse his heart, to give up his thirst for pleasure, and lead a life of righteousness.
21. “And whatever men do, whether they remain in the world as artisans, merchants, and officers of the king, or retire from the world and devote themselves to a life of religious meditation, let them put their whole heart into their task; let them be diligent and energetic; and, if they are like the lotus, which, though it grows in the water, yet remains untouched by the water, if they struggle in life without cherishing envy or hatred, if they live in the world a life not of self but a life of truth, then surely joy, peace, and bliss will dwell in their minds.”
22. Anathapindika perceived that this was the most excellent system of truth, simple and of wisdom born.
23. Thus firmly settled in the true doctrine, he slowly bent in worship at the feet of the Blessed One, and with closed hands made his request.
Β§ 6. Conversion of King Pasenjit
1. Then King Pasenjit, hearing that the Lord had come, went in his royal equipage to the Jetavana Vihara. Saluting him with clasped hands, he said:
2. “Blessed is my unworthy and obscure kingdom, that it has met with so great a fortune. For how can calamities and dangers befall it in the presence of Lord of the World, the Dharma Raja, the King of Truth?
3. “Now that I have seen your sacred features, let me partake of the refreshing waters of your teachings.
4. “Worldly profit is fleeting and perishable, but religious profit is eternal and inexhaustible. A worldly man, though a king, is full of trouble, but even a common man who is holy has peace of mind.”
5. Knowing the tendency of the king’s heart, weighed down by avarice and love of pleasure, the Blessed One seized the opportunity and said:
6. “Even those who, have been born in low degree, when they see a virtuous man feel reverence for him, how much more must an independent king, who by his previous conditions of life has acquired much merit, feel?
7. “And now as I briefly expound the law, let the Maharaja listen and weigh my words, and hold fast to what I say.
8. “Our good or evil deeds follow us continually like shadows.
9. “That which is most needed is a loving heart!
10. “Regard your people as we do an only son. Do not oppress them, do not destroy them; keep in due check every member of your body, forsake unrighteous doctrines, and walk in the straight path; do not exalt yourself by trampling down others. Give comfort and befriend the sufferer.
11. “Neither ponder much on kingly dignity, nor listen to the smooth words of flatterers.
12. “There is no profit in vexing oneself by austerities, but meditate on Dhamma and weigh the righteous law.
13. “We are enclosed on all sides by the rocks of sorrow and ill, and only by considering the true law can we escape from this sorrow-filled mountain.
14, “What profit, then, in practising inequity?
15. “All who are wise spurn the pleasures of the body. They loathe lust and seek to promote their spiritual existence.
16. “When a tree is burning with fierce flames, how can the birds congregate therein? Truth cannot dwell where passion lives. Without a knowledge of this, the learned man, though he may be praised as a sage, is ignorant.
17. “On him who has this knowledge true wisdom dawns. To acquire this wisdom is the one aim needed. To neglect it implies the failure of life.
18. “The teachings of all schools should centre here, for without it there is no reason.
19. “This truth is not for the hermit alon ; it concerns every human being, priest and layman alike. There is no distinction between the monk who has taken the vows, and the man of the world living with his family. There are hermits who fall into perdition, and there are humble householders who mount to the rank of rishis.
20. “The tide of lust is a danger common to all; it carries away the world. He who is involved in its eddies finds no escape. But wisdom is the handy boat, reflection is the rudder. The slogan of religion calls you to the rescue of your self from the assaults of Mara, the enemy.
21. “Since it is impossible to escape the result of our deeds, let us practise good works.
22. “Let us inspect our thoughts [so] that we do no evil, for as we sow so shall we reap.
23. “There are ways from light into darkness, and from darkness into light. There are ways, also, from gloom into deeper darkness, and from the dawn into brighter light. The wise man will use the light as he has to receive more light. He will constantly advance to the knowledge of the truth.
24. “Exhibit true superiority by virtuous conduct and the exercise of reason; meditate deeply on the vanity of earthly things, and understand the fickleness of life.
25. “Elevate the mind, and seek sincere faith with firm purpose; transgress not the rules of kingly conduct, and let your happiness depend not upon external things, but upon your own mind. Thus you will lay up a good name for distant ages.
26. The king listened with reverence, and remembered all the words of the Blessed One in his heart, and promised to become his lay disciple.
Β§ 7. Conversion of Jeevaka
1. Jeevaka was the son of Salvati, a courtesan of Rajagraha.
2. Immediately after birth the child, being illegitimate, was placed in a basket and thrown on a dust-heap.
3. A large number of people were standing by the dust-heap watching the child. Abhaya, the Raja-kumara, happened to pass by the site. He questioned the people, who said, “It is alive.”
4. For this reason the child was called Jeevaka. Abhaya adopted him and brought him up.
5. When Jeevaka grew in age, he learned how he was saved, and was charged with the intense desire to qualify himself to save others.
6. He therefore went to the University of Takashila without the knowledge and permission of Abhaya, and studied medicine for seven years.
7. Returning to Rajagraha, he set up his practice as a doctor, and within a very short time acquired a great name and fame in the profession.
8. His first patient was the wife of a sethi of Saketa, and for curing her he received sixteen thousand kahapanas, a man-servant, a maid-servant, and a coach with a horse.
9. Knowing his eminence, Abhaya gave him residence in his own establishment.
10. At Rajagraha he cured Bimbisara of a troublesome fistula, and is said to have received as reward all the ornaments of Bimbisara’s five hundred wives.
11. Other noteworthy cures of Jeevaka included that of the sethi of Rajagraha, on whom he performed the operation of trepanning; and of the son of the sethi of Benares, who was suffering from chronic intestinal trouble due to misplacement.
12. Jeevaka was appointed physician to the king and the king’s women.
13. But Jeevaka was greatly attached to the Blessed Lord. Consequently he also acted as a physician to him and the Sangh.
14. He became a disciple of the Lord. The Blessed Lord did not make him a Bhikku, as he wanted him to remain free to tend to the sick and the wounded.
15. When Bimbisara died, Jeevaka continued to serve his son Ajatsatru, and was mainly instrumental in bringing him to the Lord after his crime of parricide.
Β§ 8. The Conversion of Ratthapala
1. Once when the Lord was on an alms pilgrimage in the Kuru country with a great company of almsmen, he stayed at Thullakotthita, which was a township of the Kurus.
2. They came to know of it, and went to him to pay their respects.
3. When they were seated, the Lord instructed them with a discourse on the Doctrine. Having received their instruction from the Lord, the Brahmin heads of houses of Thullakotthita gratefully thanked him, rose up, and departed with deep obeisance.
4. Seated among them was a young man named Ratthapala, a scion of a leading family of the place, to whom this thought came, “So far as I understand the Doctrine which the Lord has preached, [it] is no easy matter for one who lives in a home to lead the higher life in all its fullness, purity, and perfection.
5. “What if I were to cut off hair and beard, don the yellow robes, and go forth from home to homelessness as a pilgrim!”
6. When the Brahmins had not been gone long, then Ratthapala came up and, after salutations, told the Lord the thought which had come to him, and asked to be admitted to, and confirmed in, the confraternity under him.
7. “Have you your parents’ consent to this step, Ratthapala?’ asked the Lord.
8. “No, Sir.”
9. “I do not admit those who have not their parents’ consent.”
10. “That consent. Sir, I will take steps to obtain,” said the young man; who, rising up and taking a reverential leave of the Lord, went off to his parents, told them his thoughts, and asked their consent to his becoming a Bhikku.
11. The parents made answer as follows, “Dear Ratthapala, you are our only son, very dear to us and beloved; you live in comfort and have been brought up in comfort, with no experience at all of discomfort. Go away; eat, drink, enjoy yourself, and do good works in all happiness. We refuse our consent.
12. “Your death would leave us desolate, with no pleasure left in life; why, while we have you still, should we consent to your going forth from home to homelessness as a Bhikku?”
13. A second and yet a third time did Ratthapala repeat his request, only to be met by the same refusal from his parents.
14. Failing thus to get his parents’ consent, the young man flung himself down on the bare ground, declaring that he would either die there or become a Bhikku.
15. His parents entreated him to get up, while repeating their objections to his becoming a Bhikku, but the young man said not a word. A second and a third time they entreated him, but still he said not a word.
16. So the parents sought out Ratthapala’s companions, to whom they told all this and besought them to urge, as from themselves, what his parents had said to him.
17. Thrice his companions appealed to him, but still he said not a word. So his companions came to the parents with this report, “There on the bare ground he lies, declaring that he will either die there or become a Bhikku. If you refuse your consent, he will never get up alive. But if you give your consent, you will see him when he has become a Bhikku. Should he not like being a Bhikku, what alternative will he have! Why, only to come back here. Do give your consent!” they urged.
18. “Yes, we consent; but when he is a Bhikku, he must come and see us.”
19. Off now went his companions to Ratthapala, and they told him that his parents had given their consent, but that when he was a Bhikku he was to come and see them.
20. Thereupon the young man arose and, when he had regained his strength, betook himself to the Lord, and after salutations, seated himself on one side, saying, “I have got my parents’ consent to my becoming a Bhikku; I ask the Lord to admit me.”
21. Admission and confirmation were granted him under the Lord; and a fortnight afterwards the Lord, having stayed at Thullakotthita as long as he wanted, proceeded on his alms pilgrimage towards Sravasti, where he took up his abode in Jeta’s grove in Anathapindika’s pleasance.
22. Dwelling alone and aloof, strenuous, ardent ,and purged of self, the reverend Ratthapala was not [there] long before he won the prize in quest of which young men go forth from home to homelessness as Bhikkus, that prize of prizes which crowns the highest life.
23. Then he went to the Lord and, seated on one side after salutations, said that with the Lord’s permission, he wished to go and see his parents.
24. Scanning with his own heart the thoughts of Ratthapala’s heart, and recognizing thereby that he was incapable of abandoning his training and reverting to the lower life of a layman, the Lord bade him go when he would.
25. Hereupon, rising up and taking his leave of the Lord with deep reverence, Ratthapala, after duly putting away his bedding, set out, with his robe and bowl, on an alms pilgrimage to Thullakotthita, where he took up his abode in the deer-park of the Kuru king.
26. Early next morning, duly robed and bowl in hand, he went into the town for alms, and there as he passed from house to house on his undiscriminating round, he came to his father’s house.
27. Indoors, in the hall within the middle door, his father was having his hair combed and, seeing Ratthapala coming in the distance, he said, “It was these shavelings of recluses who made Bhikku of my only dear and beloved son.”
28. So at his own father’s house Ratthapala was given nothing, not even a refusal; all he got was abuse.
29. At this moment a slave-girl of the family was about to throw away the previous day’s stale rice; and to her Ratthapala said, “If, sister, that is to be thrown away, put it in my bowl here.”
30. As the girl was doing so, she recognised his hands and feet and voice, and going straight to her mistress, cried out, “Do you know, madam, the young master is back.”
31. “If what you say is true, you are a slave no longer,” said the mother, who hurried off to tell her husband that she heard their son was back.
32. Ratthapala was eating that stale rice under the hedge when his father arrived, exclaiming; “Can it be, my dear son, that you are eating stale rice? Should you not have come to your own house?”
33. Said Ratthapala, “What house of our own, householder, can we have who are homeless, having gone forth from home to homelessness? I did come to your house, where I was given nothing, not even a refusal; all I got was abuse.”
34. “Come, my son; let us go indoors.” “Not so, householder; I have finished my eating for today” said Ratthapala.
35. “Well then, my son, promise to take your meal here tomorrow.”
36. By his silence the reverend Ratthapala gave consent.
37. Then the father went indoors,–where first he ordered great heaps of gold and bullion to be piled up under a covering of mats, and then he told his daughters-in-law, who had been the reverend Ratthapala’s wives aforetime, to deck themselves out in all the finery their husband liked to see them in.
38. When night had passed, the father, having ordered an excellent meal to be got ready in his house, told his son when it was ready. Early that forenoon, the reverend Ratthapala, duly robed and bowl in hand, came and took the seat set for him.
39. Hereupon, ordering the heap of treasure to be unveiled, the father said, “This is your mother’s fortune, that is your father’s, and that came from your grand-father. You have the wherewithal both to enjoy yourself and to do good works.
40. “Come, my son, abandon your training; revert to the lower life of the layman; enjoy your substance and do good works.”
41. “If you will take my advice, householder, you will cart away all this heaped-up treasure and sink it in the middle of the Ganges. And why? Because thence you will only derive sorrow and lamentation, ills, pain of mind, pain of body, and tribulation.”
42. Clinging to his feet, the reverend Ratthapala’s whilom [=former] wives asked, like what were the nymphs divine for whose sake he was leading the higher life?
43. “For the sake of no nymphs at all, sisters,” said he.
44. At hearing themselves called sisters, the ladies all fainted and fell to the ground.
45. Said Ratthapala to his father, “If food is to be given, householder, give it; trouble me not.”
46. “The food is ready, my son; begin,” said the father, as he served that excellent meal without stint till his son had his fill.
47. After taking food he departed to the deer-park of the Kuru king, where he sat down under a tree during the noontide heat.
48. Now the king had given directions to his huntsman to tidy up the park against his coming to see it; and the obedient huntsman was engaged on his task when he saw Ratthapala seated under a tree during the noontide heat, and reported to the king that the park was in. order but that under a tree there was seated Ratthapala, the young gentleman of whom His Majesty had often heard tell.
49. “Never mind about the park today,” said the king; “I will pay a call on His Reverence.” Ordering, therefore, all the repast which had been prepared to be made ready, he mounted a chariot and drove forth in procession, in royal state, out of the city to see Ratthapala.
50. Riding as far as the ground was passable for his chariot, and proceeding thence on foot with his princely train, the king came at last upon the reverend Ratthapala, whom, after exchange of courteous greetings, the king–still standing–invited to be seated on a clump of flowers.
51. “Nay, sire; sit you there, I have got a seat.”
52. Seating himself on the seat indicated to him, the king said, “There are four kinds of losses, Ratthapala, which impel men to cut off hair and beard, don the yellow robes, and go forth from home to homelessness–namely, (i) old age, (ii) failing health, (iii) impoverishment, and (iv) death of kinsfolk.
53. “Take a man who, being aged and old, far advanced in life, stricken in years, and at the close of life, recognises his position, and realises the difficulty either of acquiring new wealth or of doing well with what he has got; so he decides to take to homelessness. This is known as the loss which old age entails. But here are you in the prime of youth and early manhood, with a wealth of coal-black hair untouched by grey, and in all the beauty of your prime;–not yours is the loss old age entails. What have you known or seen or heard, to make you take to homelessness?
54. “Or take a man who, being in ill-health or pain, or gravely ill, recognises his position and realises the difficulty either of acquiring new wealth or doing well with what he has already; so he decides to take to homelessness. This is known as the loss which failing health entails. But here are you neither ill nor ailing, with a good digestion maintained by humours neither too hot nor too cold; not yours is the loss which failing health entails. What have you known or seen or heard, to make you take to homelessness ?
55. “Or take a man who, after being rich and wealthy and of great substance, and after gradually losing it, recognises his, position and realises the difficulty either of acquiring new wealth or of doing well with what he has got; so he decides to become a pilgrim. This is known as the loss which impoverishment entails. But the revered Ratthapala is the son of [a] leading family in this very Thullakotthita, and there is none of this loss of wealth for the revered Ratthapala. What has the good Ratthapala known or seen or heard, that he has gone forth from home into homelessness?
And what, good Ratthapala, is loss of relations? As to this, good Ratthapala, someone has many friends and acquaintances, kith and kin, but gradually these relations of his diminish. He reflects thus, ‘Formerly I had many friends and acquaintances, kith and kin, but gradually these relations of mine have diminished, so it is not easy for me to acquire wealth etc….’ So he that is followed by this loss of relations, having cut off hair and beard, having donned saffron garments, goes forth from home into homelessness. This is known as the loss which kinsfolk’s death entails. But here are you with a host of friends and relations; not yours is the loss which kinsfolk’s death entails. What have you known or seen or heard, to make you take to homelessness?”
56. “I have gone forth,” replied Ratthapala, “sire, from home to homelessness because I have known, seen, and heard the following four propositions enunciated by the All-Enlightened Lord who knows and sees:
(i) The world is in continual flux and change.
(ii) The world has no protector or preserver.
(iii) We own nothing; we must leave everything behind.
(iv) The world lacks and hankers, being enslaved to craving.”
57. “It is wonderful, it is marvellous,” said the king, “how right in this the Lord was!”
Book Two, Part IVβ€”Call from Home
1. *Suddhodana and the Last Look* — 2. *Meeting Yeshodhara and Rahula* — 3. *Reception by the Sakyas* — 4. *Last attempt to make Him a Householder* — 5. *The Buddha’s answer* — 6. *The Minister’s reply* — 7. *The Buddha’s Determination*
Β§ 1. Suddhodana and the Last Look
1. After the conversion of Sariputta and Moggallana, the Lord stayed in Rajagraha for two months.
2. Having heard that the Lord was residing at Rajagraha, Suddhodana, his father, sent word to him saying, “I wish to see my son before I die. Others have had the benefit of his doctrine, but not his father nor his relatives.”
3. The man with whom the message was sent was Kaludayin, the son of one of the courtiers of Suddhodana.
4. And the messenger, on arrival, said, “O world-honoured Tathagata, your father looks for your coming, as the lily longs for the rising of the sun.”
5. The Blessed One consented to the request of his father and set out on the journey to his father’s house, accompanied by a large number of his disciples.
6. The Lord journeyed by slow stages. But Kaludayin went ahead of him to inform Suddodhana that the Blessed One was coming and was on his way.
7. Soon the tidings spread in the Sakya country. “Prince Siddharth, who wandered forth from home into homelessness to obtain enlightenment, having attained his purpose, is coming home to Kapilavatsu.” This was on the lips of every one.
8. Suddhodana and Mahaprajapati went out with their relatives and ministers to meet their son. When they saw their son from afar, they were struck with his beauty and dignity and his lustre and they rejoiced in their heart, but they could find no words to utter.
9. This indeed was their so ; these were the features of Siddharth! How near was the great Samana to their heart, and yet what a distance lay between them! That noble muni was no longer Siddharth their son; he was now the Buddha, the Blessed One, the Holy One, Lord of Truth and Teacher of Mankind!
10. Suddhodana, considering the religious dignity of their son, descended from the chariot; and having saluted him first, said, “It is now seven years since we saw you. How we have longed for this moment.”
11. Then the Buddha took a seat opposite his father, and the king eagerly gazed at his son. He longed to call him by his name but he dared not. “Siddharth,” he exclaimed silently in his heart, “Siddharth, come back to your old father and be his son again.” But seeing the determination of his son, he suppressed his sentiments. Desolation overcame him and Mahaprajapati.
12. Thus the father sat face to face with his son, rejoicing in his sadness and sad in his rejoicing. Well may he be proud of his son, but his pride broke down at the idea that his great son would never be his heir.
13. “I would offer thee my kingdom,” said the king, but if I did, thou would[st] account it but as ashes.”
14. And the Lord said, “I know that the king’s heart is full of love, and that for his son’s sake he feels deep grief. But let the ties of love that bind you to the son whom you lost, embrace with equal kindness all your fellow-beings, and you will receive in his place a greater one than your son Siddharth; you will receive one who is the teacher of truth, the preacher of righteousness; and the bringer of peace and of Nirvana will enter into your heart.”
15. Suddhodana trembled with joy when he heard the melodious words of his son, the Buddha, and clasping his hands, exclaimed with tears in his eyes, “Wonderful is the change! The overwhelming sorrow has passed away. At first my sorrowing heart was heavy, but now I reap the fruit of your great renunciation. It was right that moved by your mighty sympathy, you should reject the pleasures of power and achieve your noble purpose in religious devotion. Having found the path, you can now preach your Dhamma to all that yearn for deliverance.”
16. Suddhodana returned to his house, while the Buddha remained in the grove with his companions.
17. The next morning the Blessed Lord took his bowl and set out to beg for his food in Kapilavatsu.
18. And the news spread, “Siddharth is going from house to house to receive alms, in the city where he used to ride in a chariot attended by his retinue. His robe is like a red cloud, and he holds in his hand an earthen bowl.”
19. On hearing the strange rumour, Suddhodana went forth in great hase and exclaimed, “Why do you disgrace me thus? Do you not know that I can easily supply you and your Bhikkus with food?”
20. And the Lord replied, “It is the custom of my Order.”
21. “But how can this be? You are not one of them that ever begged for food.”
22. “Yes, father,” rejoined the Lord, “You and your race may claim descent from kings; my descent is from the Buddhas of old. They begged their food, and always lived on alms.”
23. Suddhodana made no reply, and the Blessed One continued, “It is customary, when one has found a hidden treasure, for him to make an offering of the most precious jewel to his father. Suffer me, therefore, to offer you this treasure of mine which is the Dhamma.”
24. And the Blessed Lord told his father, “If you free yourself from dreams, if you open your mind to truth, if you be energetic, if you practise righteousness, you will find eternal bliss.”
25. Suddhodana heard the words in silence and replied, “My son! What thou say[e]st will I endeavour to fulfil.”
Β§ 2. Meeting Yeshodhara and Rahula
1. Then Suddhodana conducted the Blessed Lord into his hous,e and all the members of the family greeted him with great reverence.
2. But Yeshodhara, the mother of Rahula, did not make her appearance. Suddhodana sent for Yeshodhara. but she replied, “Surely, if I am deserving of any regard, Siddhartha will come and see me.”
3. The Blessed One, having greeted all his relatives and friends, asked, “Where is Yeshodhara?”; and on being informed that she had refused to come, he rose straightaway and went to her apartment.
4. “I am free,” the Blessed One said to his disciples Sariputta and Moggallana, whom he had bidden to accompany him into Yeshodhara’s chamber; “but Yeshodhara, however, is not as yet free. Not having seen me for a long time, she is exceedingly sorrowful. Unless her grief be allowed to run its course, her heart will cleave [=split open]. Should she touch the Tathagata, the Holy One, you must not prevent her.”
5. Yeshodhara sat in her room in deep reflection. When the Blessed One entered, she was, from the abundance of her affection, like an overflowing vessel, unable to contain herself.
6. Forgetting that the man whom she loved was Buddha, the Lord of the World, the Preacher of Truth, she held him by his feet and wept bitterly.
7. Remembering, however, that Suddhodana was present, she felt ashamed and rose up, sitting [=seating] herself reverently at a little distance.
8. Suddhodana apologized for Yeshodhara, saying, “This arises from her deep affection, and is more than a temporary emotion. During the seven years that [=since] she has lost her husband, when she heard that Siddharth had shaved his head, she did likewise; when she heard that he had left off the use of perfumes and ornaments, she also refused their use. Like her husband, she has eaten at appointed times from an earthen bowl only.
9. “If this is more than a temporary emotion, it is not for want of courage.”
10. And the Blessed One spoke to Yeshodhara, telling of her great merits and the great courage she showed when he took Parivraja. Her purity, her gentleness, her devotion had been invaluable to him as a Bodhisattva when he aspired to the highest aim of mankind, to attain enlightenment. This, then, was her karma, and it was the result of great merits.
11. Her grief had been unspeakable, and the glory that surrounded her spiritual inheritance increased by [=through] her noble attitude during her life, and had made her a unique person.
12. Then Yeshodhara dressed Rahula, now seven years old, in all the splendour of a prince, and said to him:
13. “This holy man, whose appearance is so glorious that he looks like the Great Brahma, is your father. He possesses great mines of wealth which I have not yet seen. Go to him and entreat him to put you in the possession thereof, for the son ought to inherit the property of the father.”
14. Rahula replied, “Who is my father? I know of no father but Suddhodana.”
15. Yeshodhara took the boy in her arms and from the window she pointed out to the Lord, who happened to be near, partaking of food among the Bhikkus, informing him that he was his father and not Suddhodana.
16. Rahula then went to him; and looking up in his face, said without fear and with much affection:
17. “Aren’t thou my father?” And standing near by him, he added, “O Samana, even your shadow is full of bliss!” The Blessed One remained silent.
18. When the Tathagata had finished his repast, he gave blessings and went away from the palace, but Rahula followed and asked him for his inheritance.
19. No one prevented the boy, nor did the Blessed One himself.
20. Then the Blessed One turned to Sariputta, saying, “My son asks for his inheritance. I cannot give him perishable treasures that will bring cares and sorrows, but I can give him the inheritance of a holy life, which is a treasure that will not perish.”
21. Addressing Rahula with earnestness, the Blessed One said, “Gold and silver and jewels have I none. But if you are willing to receive spiritual treasures, and are strong to carry them and to keep them, I have plenty. My spiritual treasure is the path of righteousness. Do you desire to be admitted to the brotherhood of those who devote their life to the culture of the mind seeking for the highest bliss attainable?”
22. And Rahula replied with firmness, “I do.’”
23. When Suddhodana heard that Rahula had joined the brotherhood of the Bhikkus he was greatly grieved.
Β§ 3. Reception by the Sakyas
1. On his return to the country of the Sakyas, the Lord found his countrymen divided into two camps: one in favour, and the other against him.
2. This recalled to his mind the old clash of opinion that took place in the Sakya Sangh when the issue of war between the Sakyas and Koliyas was fought, and in which he had played so prominent a part.
3. Those against him refused even now to do obeisance to him and to recognise his greatness. Those for him had already decided to dedicate a son per household to form a retinue for him. These now decided to enter the Order, and set out with the Lord on his return to Rajagraha.
4. Among the families which had decided to dedicate a son, there was the family of Amitodana.
5. Amitodana had two sons. One was Anuruddha, who had been very delicately nurtured, and the other Mahanama.
6. And Mahanama went to Anuruddha, saying, “Either do you renounce the world, or I will do so.” And Anuruddha replied, “I am delicate. It is impossible for me to go forth from the household life into the homeless state. You do so.”
7. “But come now, dear Anuruddha, I will tell you what is incident to the household life. First, you have to get your fields ploughed. When that is done, you have to get them sown. When that is done, you have to get the water led down over them. When that is done, you have to get the water led off again. When that is done, you have to get the seeds pulled up. When that is done, you have to get the crop reaped. When that is done, you have to get the crop carried away. When that is done, you have to get it arranged into bundles. When that is done, you have to get it trodden out. When that is done, you have to get the straw picked out. When that is done you have to get the chaff removed. When that is done, you have to get it winnowed. When that is done, you have to get the harvest garnered. When that is done, you have to do just the same next year, and the same all over again the year after that.
8. “The work is never over; one sees not the end of one’s labour. O[h] when shall our work be over? When shall we see the end of our labours? When shall we, still possessing and retaining the pleasures of our five senses, yet dwell at rest? Yes, the work, dear Anuruddha, is never over; no end appears to our labours.”
9. “Then do you take thought for the household duties. I will go forth from the household life into the houseless state,” said Anuruddha.
10. And Anuruddha, the Sakyan, went to his mother, and said to her. “I want, mother, to go forth from the household life into the houseless state. Grant me thy permission to do so.”
11. And when he had thus spoken, his mother replied to Anuruddha, the Sakyan, saying, “You two, dear Anuruddha, are my two sons, near and dear to me, in whom I find no evil. Through death I shall some day, against my will, be separated from you, but how can I be willing, whilst you are still alive, that you should go forth from the household life into the houseless state?”
12. And a second timeAnuruddha made the same request, and received the same reply. And a third time Anuruddha made the same request to his mother.
13. Now at that time Bhaddiya, the Sakyan Raja, held rule over the Sakyans; and he was a friend of Anuruddha. And the mother of Anuruddha, thinking that that being so, the raja would not be able to renounce the world, said to her son, “Dear Anuruddha, if Bhaddiya the Sakyan raja will renounce the world, you also may go forth with him.”
14. Then Anuruddha went to Bhaddiya and said to him, “My renunciation of the world, dear friend, is being obstructed by you.”
15. “Then let that obstruction, dear friend, be removed. I am with you. Renounce the world according to your wish.”
16. “Come, dear friend, let us both renounce the world together!”
17. “I am not capable, dear friend, of giving up the household life. Whatsoever else you can ask of me, that will I do. Do you go forth alone,” said Bhaddiya.
18. “Mother, dear friend, has told me that if you do so, I may. And you have even now declared, ‘If your renunciation be obstructed by me, then let that obstruction be removed. Even with you will I renounce the world according to your wish.’ Come then, dear friend, let us both renounce the world.”
19. And Bhaddiya, the Sakyan raja, said to Anuruddha, “Wait, my friend, for seven years. At the end of seven years we will renounce the world together.”
20. “Seven years are too long, dear friend. I am not able to wait for seven years.”
21. Bhaddiya reduced the offer to six years and so on down to one year, to seven months and so on down to one month, and a fortnight. To each offer Anuruddha replied, “Too long a time to wait.”
22. Then the raja says [=said], ” Wait, my friend, for seven days, whilst I hand over the kingdom to my sons and my brothers.”
23. “Seven days is not too long. I will wait thus far,” was the reply.
24. So Bhaddiya the Sakyan raja, and Anuruddha, and Ananda, and Bhagu, and Kimbila, and Devadatta–just as they had so often previously gone out to the pleasure-ground with fourfold array–even so did they now go out with fourfold array, and Upali, the barber, went with them, making seven in all.
25. And when they had gone some distance they sent their retinue back and crossed over into the neighbouring district, and took off their fine things and wrapped them in their robes, and made a bundle of them, and said to Upali the barber, “Do you now, good Upali, turn back to Kapilavatsu. These things will be sufficient for you to live upon. We will go and join the Blessed One.” And so they went ahead.
26. They went on, and Upali parted company for the purpose of going back home.
Β§ 4. Last attempt to make Him a Householder
1. Suddhodana wept bitterly at the thought of his son going away, never to be seen again.
2. Then Suddhodana spoke to his counsellor and his family priest, and asked them if they could go and persuade his son to stay back and join the family.
3. The family priest ,accompanied by the counsellor, in obedience to the wishes of the king, went and overtook him on the way.
4. They paid him honour as was fitting, and having obtained his permission, sat down near him.
5. The family priest addressed the Lord as he sat at the foot of the tree.
6. “O prince, consider for a moment the feelings of the king, with his eyes raining tears, with the arrow of thy separation plunged into his heart. He has asked you to come back home. It is then only that he can die peacefully.
7. “I know that thy resolve is fixed upon religion, and I am convinced that this purpose of thine is unchanging; but I am consumed with a flame of anguish like fire at thy going into this homeless state.
8. “Come, thou who love duty,–abandon this purpose for the sake of duty.
9. “Enjoy for a while the sovereignty of the earth, –thou shall go to the orest at the time provided by the sastras,–do not show disregard for thy unhappy kindred. Compassion for all creatures is the true religion.
10. “Religion is not wrought out only in the forests. The salvation of ascetics can be accomplished even in a city; thought and effort are the true means, the forest and the badge are only a coward’s signs.
11. “The king of the Sakyas is drowned in a deep sea of sorrow, full of waves of trouble, springing from thee; do thou therefore deliver him who is helpless and protectorless like an ox drowning in the sea.
12. “Consider also the queen, who brought thee up, who has not yet gone to the region inhabited by Agastya–wilt thou not take some heed of her, who ceaselessly grieves like a cow that has lost her calf?
13. “Surely thou wilt succour thy wife by the sight of thee, who now mourns as a widow yet with her lord still alive,–like a swan separated from her mate, or a female elephant deserted in the forest by her companion.”
14. The Lord, having heard the words of the family priest, reflected for a moment, knowing all the virtues of the virtuous, and then thus uttered his gentle reply.
Β§ 5. The Buddha’s Answer
1. “I well know the paternal tenderness of the king, especially that which he has displayed towards me; yet knowing this as I do, still alarmed at the ill and sorrow which pervades the world, I am inevitably forced to leave my kindred.
2. “Who would not wish to see his dear kindred, if but this separation from beloved ones did not exist? But since even after it has been once, separation will still come again, it is for this that I abandon my father, however loving.
3. “I do not however approve that thou should think [of] the king’s grief as caused by me, when in the midst of his dream-like unions, he is afflicted by thoughts of separations in the future.
4. “Thus let thy thoughts settle into certainty; having seen the multiform in ts various developments; neither a son nor kindred is the cause of sorrow,–this sorrow is caused only by ignorance.
5. “Since parting is inevitably fixed in the course of time for all beings, just as for travellers who have joined company on a road,–what wise man would cherish sorrow when he loses his kindred, even though he loves them?
6. “Leaving his kindred in another world, he departs hither, and having stolen away from them here, he goes forth once more; having gone thither, he goes elsewhere also,–such is the lot of mankind,–what consideration can the liberated have for them
7. “Since from the moment of leaving the womb death is a characteristic adjunct, why, in thy affection for thy son, has thou called my departure to the forest ill-timed?
8. “There may be an ‘ill time’ in one’s attaining a worldly object,–time indeed is described as inseparably connected with all things; time drags the world into all its various times; but all time suits a bliss which is really worthy of praise.
9. “That the king should wish to surrender to me his kingdom,–this is a noble thought, well worthy of a father; but it would be as improper for me to accept it, as for a sick man through greed to accept unwholesome food.
10. “How can it be right for the wise to enter royalty, the home of illusion, where are found anxiety, passion, and weariness; and the violation of all right through another’s service?
11. “The golden palace seems to me to be on fire; the daintiest viands seem mixed with poison; infested with crocodiles is the tranquil lotus-bed.”
Β§6. The Minister’s Reply
1. Having heard the Buddha’s discourse, well suitable to his virtues and knowledge, freed from all desires, full of sound reasons, and weighty,–the counsellor thus made answer:
2. “This resolve of thine is an excellent counsel, not unfit in itself but only unfit at the present time; it could not be thy duty, loving duty as thou do[st], to leave thy father in his old age to sorrow
3. “Surely thy mind is not very penetrating, or it is ill-skilled in examining duty, wealth, and pleasure,–when for the sake of an unseen result thou departest, disregarding a visible end.
4. “Again, some say that there is another birth,–others with confident assertion say that there is not; since, then, the matter is all in doubt, it is right to enjoy the good fortune which comes into thy hand.
5. “If there is any activity hereafter, we will enjoy ourselves in it as [it] may offer; or if there is no activity beyond this life, then there is an assured liberation to all the world without any effort.
6. “Some say there is a future life, but they do not allow the possibility of liberation; as fire is hot by nature, and water liquid, so they hold that there is a special nature in our power of action.
7. “Some maintain that all things arise from inherent properties,–both good and evil, and existence and non-existence; and since all this world thus arises spontaneously, therefore also all effort of ours is vain.
8. “Since the action of the senses is fixed, and so too the agreeableness or the disagreeableness of outward objects,–then for that which is united to old age and pains, what effort can avail to alter it? Does it not all arise spontaneously?
9. “The fire becomes quenched by water, and fire causes water to evaporate; and different elements, united in a body, producing unity, bear up the world.
10. “That the nature of the embryo in the womb is produced as composed of hands, feet, belly, back, and head, and that it is also united with the soul,–the wise declare that all this comes of itself spontaneously.
11. “Who causes the sharpness of the thorn? Or the various natures of beasts and birds? All this has arisen spontaneously; [when] there is no acting from desire, how then can there be such a thing as will?
12. “Others say that creation comes from Isvara,–what need then is there of the effort of the conscious soul? That which is the cause of the action of the world, is also determined as the cause of its ceasing to act.
13. “Some say that the coming into being and the destruction of being are alike caused by the soul, but they say that coming into being arises without effort, while the attainment of liberation is by effort.
14. “A man discharges his debt to his ancestors by begetting offspring, to the saints by sacred lore, to the gods by sacrifices; he is born with these three debts upon him,–whoever has liberation (from these), he indeed has liberation.
15. “Thus by this series of rules the wise promise liberation to him who uses effort; but however ready for effort with all their energy, those who seek liberation will find weariness.
16. “Therefore, gentle youth, if thou has a love for liberation, follow rightly the prescribed rule; thus wilt thou thyself attain to it, and the king’s grief will come to an end.
17. “And as for thy meditations on the evils of life ending in thy return from the forest to thy home,–let not the thought of this trouble thee, my son,–those in old time[s] also have returned from the forests to their houses.” He mentioned Ambarish Drumakesha, Rama, and others.
Β§7. The Buddha’s Determination
1. Then, having heard the affectionate and loyal words of the minister, who was as the eye of the king,–firm in his resolve, the king’s son made his answer, with nothing omitted or displaced, neither tedious nor hasty:
2. “This doubt whether anything exists or not, is not to be solved for me by another’s words; having determined the truth by asceticism or quietism, I will myself grasp whatever is the truth concerning it.
3. “It is not for me to accept a theory which depends on the unknown and is ll controverted, and which involves a hundred prepossessions; what wise man would go by another’s belief? Mankind is like the blind directed in darkness by the blind.
4. “But even though I cannot discern the truth, yet still, if good and evil are doubted, let one’s mind be set on the good; even a toil in vain is to be chosen by him whose soul is good.
5. “But having seen that this ’sacred tradition’ is uncertain, know that that only is right which has been uttered by the trustworthy; and know that trustworthiness means the absence of faults; he who is without faults will not utter an untruth.
6. “And as for what thou said to me in regard to my returning home, the examples you give are no authority,–for in determining duty, how can thou quote as authorities those who have broken their vows?
7. “Even the sun therefore may fall to the earth, even the mountain Himavat may lose its firmness; but never could I return to my home as a man of the world, with my senses only alert for external objects.
8. “I would enter the blazing fire, but not my house with my purpose unfulfilled.” Rising up in accordance with his resolve. full of disinterestedness, he went his way.
9. Then the minister and the Brahmin, both full of tears, having heard his firm determination, and having followed him awhile with despondent looks, and overcome with sorrow, slowly returned to Kapilavatsu.
10. Through their love for the prince and their devotion to the king they returned, and often stopped, looking back; they could neither behold him on the road nor yet lose the sight of him,–shining in his own splendour and beyond the reach of all others, like the sun.
11. Having failed to persuade him to return home, the minister and the priest went back with faltering steps, saying to each other, “How shall we approach the king and see him, who is longing for his dear son?”
Book Two, Part Vβ€”Campaign for Conversion Resumed
1. *Conversion of Rustic Brahmins* — 2. *Conversion of the Brahmins of Uttaravati*
Β§ 1. Conversion of Rustic Brahmins
1. At the back of the Gridhrakutta mountains, near Rajagriha, there was a village of some seventy or so families, all of them Brahmins.
2. The Buddha, wishing to convert these people, came to the place and sat down under a tree.
3. The people, seeing the dignity of his presence, and the glorious appearance of his body, flocked round him, on which he asked the Brahmins how long they had dwelt in the mountain there, and what their occupation was.
4. To this they replied, “We have dwelt here during thirty generations past, and our occupation is to tend cattle.”
5. On [his] asking further as to their religious belief they said, “We pay homage and sacrifice to the sun and the moon, the rain (water), and fire, according to the several seasons.
6. “If one of us dies, we assemble and pray that he may be born in the heaven of Brahma, and so escape further transmigrations.”
7. The Buddha replied, “This is not a safe way, not by it can you benefit. The true way is to follow me, become true ascetics, and practise complete self-composure with a view to obtain Nirvana”; and then he added these lines:
8. “They who consider truth as that which is untrue, and regard that which is untrue as truth–this is but to adopt heretical opinions, and can never lead to true advantage.
9. “But to know as truth that which is true, and to regard as false that which is false, this is perfect rectitude, and this shall bring true profit.
10. “Everywhere in the world there is death–there is no escape from it.
11. “To consider this as the condition of all states of being, that there is nothing born but must die, and, therefore, to desire to escape birth and death, this is to exercise one’s self in Religious Truth.”
12. The seventy Brahmins, hearing these words, desired at once to become Shamans; and on being welcomed by Buddha, their hair fell off, and they presented the appearance of true disciples.
13. Then they all set out to return to the Vihara, and on the road certain thoughts about their wives and families troubled them, whilst at the same time a heavy downpour of rain prevented their advance.
14. There were some ten houses on the roadside, in which they sought shelter; but on entering one of them it was soon perceived that through the roof the rain found its way, and there was but little protection from the rain.
15. On this the Buddha added these lines, and said, “As when a house-roof is not properly secured, then the rain finds a way through it and drops within, so when the thoughts are not carefully controlled, the desires (sexual desires) will soon bore through all our good resolutions.
16. “But as when a roof is well stopped then the water cannot leak through, so by controlling one’s thoughts, and acting with reflection, no such desires can arise or disturb us.”
17. The seventy Brahmins, on hearing these lines, although convinced that their desires were reprehensible, yet were not wholly free from doubt; nevertheless they went forward.
18. As they advanced, they saw some scented wrapping on the ground, and Buddha took the opportunity of calling their attention to it; and after this, seeing some fish-gut also lying about, he directed their notice to its ill odour, and then added these lines and said:
19. “He who consorts with the low and the base, contracts the same character as he who handles a foul substance; he goes from worse to worse, and utterly without reason, he perfects himself in wickedness.
20. “But the wise man (consorting with the wise) contracts the same character, even as the scent of a sweet odour adheres to him who handles it; advancing in wisdom, practising virtue, he goes on to perfection, and is satisfied.”
21. The seventy Brahmins, hearing these verses, convinced that their desire to return home and enjoy personal indulgence was the evil taint that adhered to them, cast off such thoughts and, going forward, came to the Vihara, and finally obtained the condition of Arhatas.
Β§ 2. Conversion of the Brahmins of Uttaravati
1. Once the Buddha was residing in the Jetavana, at Shravasti, and preaching his doctrine for the benefit of men and gods; there were in a country to the eastward, called Uttaravati, a company of 500 Brahmins.
2. They had agreed to go together to the residence of a Nirgrantha ascetic on the banks of the Ganges, who, by polluting himself with dirt, etc., aspired to the condition of a Rishi.
3. On their way they were overtaken in the desert with thirst. Seeing a tree, and hoping to find some human habitation near, they hasened to it, but when they arrived there they found no sign of life.
4. On this they raised their voices in lamentation. Suddenly from the tree they heard the voice of the resident Spirit, who asked them why they lamented so, and on hearing the reason, supplied them to the full with drink and meat.
5. The Brahmins, ready to start onward, asked the Spirit what had been his previous history, that he was thus born.
6. On which he explained that having gone to the assembly of priests in Shravasti when Sudatta had bestowed the garden on the Buddha, he had remained all night listening to the law Dhamma; and having filled his drinking cup with water as he went, had bestowed it in charity among the priests.
7. On his return next morning, his wife in anger asked him what annoyance he had received, that he should stay away all night. On which he replied that he was not annoyed, but he had been to listen to the Buddha preaching at the Jetavana.
8. On this his wife began roundly to abuse the Buddha, and said, “This Gotama is but a mad preacher, who deceives the people,” and so on.
9. “On this,” he said, “I resented not her statements, but rather submitted to them; and so when I came to die I was born as a spirit, but on account of my pusillanimity I was confined to this tree,” and then he recited these verses.
10. “Sacrifices and such services are sources of misery, day and night, a continual burden and anxiety.
11. “To escape sorrow, and destroy the elements of the body, a man should attend to the Law (of Buddha), and arrive at deliverance from all worldly Rules of Religion (World Rishis).”
12. The Brahmins, having heard these words, resolved themselves to go to Shravasti, to the place where the Buddha was, and having explained the object of their visit, the world-honoured said to them:
13. “Although a man goes naked with tangled hair, or though he clothes himself with a few leaves or garment of bark, though he covers himself with dirt and sleeps on the stones, what use is this in getting rid of impure thoughts?
14. “But he who neither contends [n]or kills, [n]or destroys by fire, who desires not to get the victory, who is moved by goodwill towards all the world–there is no ground in such a case for ill-will or hate.
15. “To sacrifice to spirits in order to find peace (merit), or, after this life expecting reward–his happiness is not one quarter of that man’s who pays homage to the good.
16. “He who is ever intent on good conduct and due reverence to others, who always venerates old age,–four happy consequences increasingly attend that man–beauty and strength, and life and peace.”
17. On hearing this from her husband, the wife became reconciled.
Book Two, Part VIβ€”Conversion of the Low and the Lowly
1. *Conversion of Upali, the Barber* — 2. *Conversion of Sunita, the Sweeper* — 3. *Conversion of Sopaka and Suppya, the Untouchables* — 4. *Conversion of Sumangala and other Low Castes* — 5. *Conversion of Suprabuddha, the Leper*
Β§ 1. Conversion of Upali, the Barber
1. While going back, Upali the barber thought, “The Sakyans are a fierce people. If I go back with these ornaments, they will kill me, thinking that I have killed my companions and run away with their ornaments. Why should I not go the way these young men of the Sakya clan have gone?”
2. “Why indeed should I not?” asked Upali to himself. And he let down the bundle of ornaments from his back, and hung it on a tree, saying, “Let him who finds it take it as a gift,” and returned to follow the Sakya youths.
3. And the Sakyans saw him coming from afar, and on seeing, they said to him, “What have you come back for, good Upali? “
4. Then he told them what he felt, and they replied, “Thou has done well, good Upali, in that thou did[st] not return; for the Sakyans are fierce, and they might have killed thee.”
5. And they took Upali the barber with them to the place where the Blessed One was. And on arriving there, they bowed down before the Blessed One and took their seats on one side. And so seated, they said to the Blessed One:
6. “We Sakyans, Lord, are haughty. And this Upali, the barber, has long been an attendant, Lord, upon us. May the Blessed One admit him to the Order before us, so that we may render him respect and reverence, and bow down with outstretched hands before him as our senior and thus shall the Sakyan pride be humbled in us!”
7. Then the Blessed One received first Upali the barber, and afterwards those young men of the Sakya clan, into the ranks of the Order.

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ANNIHILATION OF CASTE PART 2

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