The Life of the Buddha: The Sixth to the Fourteenth Years.
The sixth rainy season was spent at Savatthi, and thereafter the Blessed One repaired to Rajagaha. Now the name of king Bimbisara's wife was Khema, and such was her pride in her beauty that she had never deigned to visit the Master; but on a certain occasion the king brought about a meeting by means of a strategem. Then the Buddha performed a miracle for her; he produced a likeness of one of the beautiful nymphs of Indra's heaven, and while she beheld it, he made it pass through all the stages of youth, middle age, old age, and death. And by this terrible sight the Queen was disposed to hear the Master's teaching, and she entered the First Pat, and afterwards attained to Arahatta.
During the Master's residence in Rajagaha a wealthy merchant of that place became possessed of a piece of sandal wood, and he had a bowl made of it. This bowl he fastened to the tip of tall bamboo, and raising it up in this way, he announced: "If any Wanderer or Brahman be possessed of miraculous powers, let him take down the bowl!" Then Moggallana and other of the Brethren egged each other to take it down, and that other by name Pindola-Bharadvaja, rose up into the sky and took the bowl, and moved three times round the city ere he descended, to the astonishment of all the citizens. When this was reported to the Buddha, he remarked: "This will not conduce to the conversion of the unconverted, nor to the advantage of the converted." And he prohibited the Brethren from making an exhibition of miraculous powers.
The Buddha met with opposition to his teaching, particularly from six heretical teachers, each of whom had a large train of adherents. Of these heretical teachers one was Sanjaya, the former master of Sariputta and Moggallana, and another was Nigantha Nataputta, who is better known as Vardhamana, the leader of the sect of the Jainas, whose history in many respects recalls that of Buddhism, while, unlike Buddhism, it still numbers many adherents in India proper. These various teachers failed to find any support in the realm of Bimbisara, and therefore betook themselves to Savatthi, hoping to secure greater influence with King Prasenajit. Now Savatthi was the place were all the former Buddhas have exhibited their greatest miracle, and remembering this the Buddha proceeeded thither with the intention of confounding his opponents. He took up his residence in the Jetavana monastery. Very soon afterwards he exhibited to the people, the six teachers, and King Prasenajit, a series of great miracles, creating a great road across the sky from East to West, and walking thereon the while he preached the Good Law. By these means the heretical teachers were overcome.
Following upon the Great Miracle, the Buddha departed to the Heaven of the Thirty-three, and there preached the Law to his mother, Maha Maya. The Buddha remained in the Heaven of the Thirty-three for three months, and during that time he created a likeness of himself, that continued the teaching of the Law on earth, and went every day upon his rounds begging food. When the Buddha was about to descend from heaven, Sakka commanded Vissakamma, the divine architect, to create a triple ladder, the foot of which was set down near the town of Sankissa. And the Buddha descended at this place, attended by Brahma on the right and Sakka on the left. From Sankissa the Master returned to the Jetavana monastery near Savatthi. Here the heretical teachers induced a young woman of the name of Cinca so to act as to arouse the suspicion of the people regarding her relation to the Master. After many visits to the monastery, she contrived a means to assume the appearance of a woman far gone in pregnancy, and in the ninth month she brought an open accusation, and required that the Master should provide a place for her confinement. The Buddha answered with a great voice, "Sister, whether thy words be true or false, none knoweth save thou and I," At that very moment the strings gave way, wherewith the woman had bound upon herself the wooden globe by means of which she had assumed the appearance of pregnancy. Pursued by the indignant people, she disappeared in the midst of flames rising from the earth, and descended to the bottom of the lowest Purgatory.
The ninth retreat was spent in the Ghositarama at Kausambi. Here those arose violent disagreements among the Brethren on matters of discipline, and the Buddha's wisdom and kindness availed not to restore peace. He therefore left the Brethren and proceeded to the village of Balakalonakara with the intention of residing alone as a hermit. He met on the way Anuruddha, Nandiya and Kimbila, who were living in perfect unity and content, and he rejoiced their hearts by a religious discourse. Then proceeding to the Rakkhita Grove at Parileyyaka, he dwelt alone.
After residing for some time at Parileyyaka, the Lord proceeded to Savatthi. Now the contumacious Brethren of Kausambi had received such signal marks of disrespect from the laity of that city that they resolved to proceed to Savatthi and lay the matter in dispute before the Master, and they abode by his decision, and peace was restored.
During the eleventh retreat the Master resided at Rajagaha. There he saw one day a Brahman, by name Braradvaha, superintending the cultivation of his fields. The Brahman, seeing the Buddha subsisting upon the alms of others, said: "O Wanderer, I plough and sow, and so find my livelihood. Do thou also plough and sow to the same end?" But the Buddha replied: "I, too, plough and sow, and it is thus that I find my food." The Brahman was surprised, and said: "I do not see, O reverend Bautama, that you have a yoke, ploughshare, goad, or bullocks. How, then, say that thou too labourest?" Then the Lord said: "Faith is the seed I sow; devotion is the rain; modesty is the ploughshaft; the mind is the tie of the yoke; mindfulness is my ploughshare and goad. Energy is my team and bullock, leading to safety, and proceeding without backsliding to the place where there is no sorrow." And Bharadvaja was so much affected by this parable that he was converted and made confession and was admitted to the Order.
In the thirteenth year, during his stay at Kapilavatthu, the Buddha was subjected to violent insults on the part of his father-in-law, Suprabuddha, and he uttered the prediction that within a week Suprabuddha would be swallowed alive by the earth. And, notwithstanding Suprabuddha spent the whole week in the tower of his palace, the earth opened and he was swallowed up in accordance with the prophecy, and he sank into the lowest Purgatory.
The Lord returned from Kapilavatthu to the Jetavana monastery at Savatthi and thence proceeded to Alavi, a place that was haunted by a man-eating ogre who was accustomed to devour the children of the place day after day. When the Buddha appeared before him, he was received with threats, but the Master, by gentleness and patience, succeeded in softening his heart, and was able also to answer the questions propounded by the ogre, who became a believer and mended his life. The fierce robber Angulimala, too, he won over to the Good Law, and nothwithstanding his evil life he quickly attained to Arahatta.
About this time the pious Anathapindika gave his daughter in marriage to the son of a friend residing in Anga, and as the Anga family were supporters of the heretical teacher Nigantha, he gave his daughter a train of maidservants to support her in the right faith. The young wife refused to do honour to the naked Jaina ascetics, and she awakened an eager desire in the heart of her mother-in-law to hear the preaching of the Master; and when he arrived the whole family together with many others were converted. Leaving the completion of the work of conversion to Anuruddha, the Buddha returned to Savatthi.
The sixth rainy season was spent at Savatthi, and thereafter the Blessed One repaired to Rajagaha. Now the name of king Bimbisara's wife was Khema, and such was her pride in her beauty that she had never deigned to visit the Master; but on a certain occasion the king brought about a meeting by means of a strategem. Then the Buddha performed a miracle for her; he produced a likeness of one of the beautiful nymphs of Indra's heaven, and while she beheld it, he made it pass through all the stages of youth, middle age, old age, and death. And by this terrible sight the Queen was disposed to hear the Master's teaching, and she entered the First Pat, and afterwards attained to Arahatta.
During the Master's residence in Rajagaha a wealthy merchant of that place became possessed of a piece of sandal wood, and he had a bowl made of it. This bowl he fastened to the tip of tall bamboo, and raising it up in this way, he announced: "If any Wanderer or Brahman be possessed of miraculous powers, let him take down the bowl!" Then Moggallana and other of the Brethren egged each other to take it down, and that other by name Pindola-Bharadvaja, rose up into the sky and took the bowl, and moved three times round the city ere he descended, to the astonishment of all the citizens. When this was reported to the Buddha, he remarked: "This will not conduce to the conversion of the unconverted, nor to the advantage of the converted." And he prohibited the Brethren from making an exhibition of miraculous powers.
The Buddha met with opposition to his teaching, particularly from six heretical teachers, each of whom had a large train of adherents. Of these heretical teachers one was Sanjaya, the former master of Sariputta and Moggallana, and another was Nigantha Nataputta, who is better known as Vardhamana, the leader of the sect of the Jainas, whose history in many respects recalls that of Buddhism, while, unlike Buddhism, it still numbers many adherents in India proper. These various teachers failed to find any support in the realm of Bimbisara, and therefore betook themselves to Savatthi, hoping to secure greater influence with King Prasenajit. Now Savatthi was the place were all the former Buddhas have exhibited their greatest miracle, and remembering this the Buddha proceeeded thither with the intention of confounding his opponents. He took up his residence in the Jetavana monastery. Very soon afterwards he exhibited to the people, the six teachers, and King Prasenajit, a series of great miracles, creating a great road across the sky from East to West, and walking thereon the while he preached the Good Law. By these means the heretical teachers were overcome.
Following upon the Great Miracle, the Buddha departed to the Heaven of the Thirty-three, and there preached the Law to his mother, Maha Maya. The Buddha remained in the Heaven of the Thirty-three for three months, and during that time he created a likeness of himself, that continued the teaching of the Law on earth, and went every day upon his rounds begging food. When the Buddha was about to descend from heaven, Sakka commanded Vissakamma, the divine architect, to create a triple ladder, the foot of which was set down near the town of Sankissa. And the Buddha descended at this place, attended by Brahma on the right and Sakka on the left. From Sankissa the Master returned to the Jetavana monastery near Savatthi. Here the heretical teachers induced a young woman of the name of Cinca so to act as to arouse the suspicion of the people regarding her relation to the Master. After many visits to the monastery, she contrived a means to assume the appearance of a woman far gone in pregnancy, and in the ninth month she brought an open accusation, and required that the Master should provide a place for her confinement. The Buddha answered with a great voice, "Sister, whether thy words be true or false, none knoweth save thou and I," At that very moment the strings gave way, wherewith the woman had bound upon herself the wooden globe by means of which she had assumed the appearance of pregnancy. Pursued by the indignant people, she disappeared in the midst of flames rising from the earth, and descended to the bottom of the lowest Purgatory.
The ninth retreat was spent in the Ghositarama at Kausambi. Here those arose violent disagreements among the Brethren on matters of discipline, and the Buddha's wisdom and kindness availed not to restore peace. He therefore left the Brethren and proceeded to the village of Balakalonakara with the intention of residing alone as a hermit. He met on the way Anuruddha, Nandiya and Kimbila, who were living in perfect unity and content, and he rejoiced their hearts by a religious discourse. Then proceeding to the Rakkhita Grove at Parileyyaka, he dwelt alone.
After residing for some time at Parileyyaka, the Lord proceeded to Savatthi. Now the contumacious Brethren of Kausambi had received such signal marks of disrespect from the laity of that city that they resolved to proceed to Savatthi and lay the matter in dispute before the Master, and they abode by his decision, and peace was restored.
During the eleventh retreat the Master resided at Rajagaha. There he saw one day a Brahman, by name Braradvaha, superintending the cultivation of his fields. The Brahman, seeing the Buddha subsisting upon the alms of others, said: "O Wanderer, I plough and sow, and so find my livelihood. Do thou also plough and sow to the same end?" But the Buddha replied: "I, too, plough and sow, and it is thus that I find my food." The Brahman was surprised, and said: "I do not see, O reverend Bautama, that you have a yoke, ploughshare, goad, or bullocks. How, then, say that thou too labourest?" Then the Lord said: "Faith is the seed I sow; devotion is the rain; modesty is the ploughshaft; the mind is the tie of the yoke; mindfulness is my ploughshare and goad. Energy is my team and bullock, leading to safety, and proceeding without backsliding to the place where there is no sorrow." And Bharadvaja was so much affected by this parable that he was converted and made confession and was admitted to the Order.
In the thirteenth year, during his stay at Kapilavatthu, the Buddha was subjected to violent insults on the part of his father-in-law, Suprabuddha, and he uttered the prediction that within a week Suprabuddha would be swallowed alive by the earth. And, notwithstanding Suprabuddha spent the whole week in the tower of his palace, the earth opened and he was swallowed up in accordance with the prophecy, and he sank into the lowest Purgatory.
The Lord returned from Kapilavatthu to the Jetavana monastery at Savatthi and thence proceeded to Alavi, a place that was haunted by a man-eating ogre who was accustomed to devour the children of the place day after day. When the Buddha appeared before him, he was received with threats, but the Master, by gentleness and patience, succeeded in softening his heart, and was able also to answer the questions propounded by the ogre, who became a believer and mended his life. The fierce robber Angulimala, too, he won over to the Good Law, and nothwithstanding his evil life he quickly attained to Arahatta.
About this time the pious Anathapindika gave his daughter in marriage to the son of a friend residing in Anga, and as the Anga family were supporters of the heretical teacher Nigantha, he gave his daughter a train of maidservants to support her in the right faith. The young wife refused to do honour to the naked Jaina ascetics, and she awakened an eager desire in the heart of her mother-in-law to hear the preaching of the Master; and when he arrived the whole family together with many others were converted. Leaving the completion of the work of conversion to Anuruddha, the Buddha returned to Savatthi.
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place time topic people language
India - Ancient - Religion/philosophy - Indians/Buddhists - English
India - Ancient - Religion/philosophy - Indians/Buddhists - English
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