108 Buddhist Parables and Stories. Olga Gutsol
Чтение книги онлайн.
Читать онлайн книгу 108 Buddhist Parables and Stories - Olga Gutsol страница 6
Название: 108 Buddhist Parables and Stories
Автор: Olga Gutsol
Издательство: Издательские решения
Жанр: Мифы. Легенды. Эпос
isbn: 9785449659613
isbn:
The king realized that the noble monk, his son, was no longer Siddhattha – he was the Buddha, the Blessed One, the Enlightened One, and the Teacher of mankind.
Then the Buddha took a seat opposite his father, and the king gazed eagerly at his son. He longed to call him by his name, but he dared not. “Siddhartha,” he exclaimed silently in his heart, “Siddhartha, come back to your aged father and be his son again!” But seeing the determination of his son, he suppressed his sentiments. Sadness overcame him.
“I would offer you my kingdom,” the king said, “but if I did, you would treat it as mere ashes.”
And the Buddha replied, “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 him to the son whom he lost embrace with equal kindness all his fellow-beings, and he will receive in his place a greater one than Siddhartha; he will receive the Buddha, and the truth will enter into his heart.”
Suddhodana trembled with joy when he heard the words of his son, the Buddha, and exclaimed with tears in his eyes, “Alas! The overwhelming sorrow has passed away. At first my heart was heavy, but now I reap the fruit of your great renunciation.”
When Suddhodana had grown old, he fell sick and sent for his son to come and see him once more before he died. The Blessed One came and stayed at the sick-bed, and Suddhodana, having attained perfect enlightenment, died in the arms of the Blessed One.
14. YASODHARA
The king conducted the Buddha into the palace, and the ministers and all the members of the royal family greeted him with great reverence. Yet, Yasodhara, the prince’s wife, did not make her appearance. The king sent for Yasodhara, but she replied, “Surely, if I am deserving of any regard, Siddhattha will come and see me.”
The Blessed One, having greeted all his relatives and friends, asked, “Where is Yasodhara?” And on being informed that she had refused to come, he rose straightway and went to her apartments.
“I am free,” the Blessed One said to his disciples, Sariputta and Moggallana, whom he had asked to accompany him to the princess’ chamber; “the princess, however, is not yet free. Not having seen me for a long time, she is exceedingly sorrowful. Unless her grief be allowed its course, her heart will cleave.”
Yasodhara sat in her room, dressed in simple garments, and with her hair cut. When Prince Siddhattha entered, she was, from the abundance of her affection, like an overflowing vessel, unable to contain her love. Forgetting that the man whom she loved was the Buddha, she held him by his feet and wept bitterly.
Remembering, however, that King Suddhodana was present, she felt ashamed, and seated herself reverently at a little distance.
The king apologized for the princess, saying, “This arises from her deep affection, and is not a temporary emotion. During the seven years that she has lost her husband, when she heard that Siddhattha 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 had eaten at appointed times from an earthen bowl only. Like him she had renounced high beds with splendid coverings, and when other princes asked her in marriage, she replied that she was still his. Therefore, grant her forgiveness.”
And the Blessed One spoke kindly to Yasodhara, telling of her great merits inherited from former lives. She had indeed been again and again of great assistance to him. Her purity, her gentleness, her devotion had been invaluable to the Blessed One when he aspired to attain enlightenment. And so holy had she been that she desired to become the wife of a Buddha. This karma was a result of great merits.
Later, Yasodhara took a threefold refuge and, ordained as a nun, became one of the first women to enter the Sangha.
15. RAHULA, THE SON
When the Buddha returned to Kapilavatthu, Yasodhara took little Rahula to listen to the Buddha’s preaching. When they arrived, she said to her son, “This is your father, Rahula. Go and ask him for your inheritance.” The child walked through the assembly and stood before the Buddha, saying without fear and with much affection, “How pleasant is your shadow, O Monk.” When the talk had finished and the Buddha left, Rahula followed him, and as they walked along Rahula said, “Give me my inheritance, O Monk.”
The Buddha had nothing to give except the doctrine of Dharma, so he turned to Sariputta and said, “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.”
When King Suddhodana heard that Rahula had joined the brotherhood of monks he was grieved. He had lost his sons, Siddhattha and Nanda, he had lost Devadatta, his nephew and no he had lost his only grandson. And the Blessed One promised that from that time forward he would not ordain any minor without the consent of his parents or guardians.
As if to make up for the seven years the boy was without a father, the Buddha took great interest in Rahula’s moral and spiritual education, teaching him many times himself. Rahula was an eager and attentive student and it is said that each morning as he awoke, he would take a handful of sand and say, “May I have today, as many words of counsel from my teacher as there are here grains of sand.” As a result of this enthusiasm, the Buddha said that of all his disciples Rahula had the most zeal for training.
The conduct of Rahula, however, was not always marked by a love of truth, and so the Blessed One ordered his son to bring him a basin of water and to wash his feet, to which Rahula obeyed.
When Rahula had washed his father’s feet, the Blessed One asked him, saying, “Is the water now fit for drinking?”
“No, Master” replied Rahula, “the water is unclean.”
Said the Blessed One, “Now consider your own case, Rahula. You are unable to guard your tongue from untruth and thus your mind is unclean.”
And when the water had been poured away, the Buddha asked again, saying, “Is this vessel now fit for holding water to drink?”
“No, Master” replied Rahula, “the vessel, too, has become unclean.”
“Now consider your own case, Rahula. Are you fit for any high purpose when you have become unclean like the vessel?”
Then the Blessed One lifting up the empty basin and whirling it round asked Rahula, saying, “Are you not afraid that it might fall and break?”
“No, Master” replied Rahula, “it is cheap, its loss will not amount to much.”
“Now consider your own case, Rahula. Your mind is whirled about in endless thoughts and your body is made of the same substance as other material things that will crumble to dust. There is no loss if it to be broken.”
The Buddha then impressed upon his son the importance СКАЧАТЬ