Chapter 13 Chapter Eleven Royal Guardian

Those who are stingy will not be born in heaven, and those who are foolish will not give; A wise man is always rejoicing, and he will be happy in the future. —— Dhamma Sutra Bimbisara King Bimbisara ruled Magadha with Rajgaha as its capital.He is the first royal protector of the Buddha. He ascended the throne at the age of 15 and reigned for 52 years. Prince Siddhartha became a monk, and now the ascetic monk was begging for food on the street of Rajagha City along the road. The king saw him from the palace, and was immediately impressed by his appearance and noble behavior.He immediately sent envoys to inquire about Siddhartha's life experience.When he learned that the prince was resting in Pantuo Mountain, he hurriedly brought his attendants to visit the ascetic monk and asked about his life experience and family.The ascetic monk Gotama replied: "My lord, on the front of the Himalayas, lived the ancient family of Kosala. This kingdom is prosperous and powerful, with rich products. I am from this family of the Sun Dynasty. I was born in the Sakyamuni caste. .Do not seek material enjoyment and lust, realize the evil of greed, and the security of freedom from desire, I go to pursue ultimate liberation, and take pleasure in it.”(1)

The king then invited the prince to come to his kingdom for spiritual transformation after enlightenment. Buddha meets King Bimbisara The Buddha went to the appointment as scheduled, and after becoming enlightened, accompanied by many arhat disciples, he set off from Gaya all the way to Rajagha, the capital of the kingdom, and lived temporarily in the shrine of Shuvashada in the palm grove. The good news of Buddha's arrival spread throughout the city, and people praised him as an incomparable religious teacher.As soon as he heard that the Buddha had come to his kingdom, King Bimbisara led all the civil and military officials and his subjects to meet him.When he came to the Buddha, he bowed respectfully and sat aside humbly. Among the civil and military officials and ordinary people, some worshiped the Buddha devoutly, and some looked at his face and greeted him friendly. Some asked him with palms together, some introduced themselves, and some sat silently aside.At that time, Gautama Buddha and Kasyapa had equal status in people's minds.They could not determine whether the Buddha practiced the holy life under Kassapa, or whether the latter followed the former.The Buddha observed their thoughts and asked the Venerable Kasyapa why he abandoned the fire sacrifice.Kasyapa also understood what the Buddha meant, and explained that he gave up the fire because he preferred the cool and peaceful state of Nirvana rather than the enjoyment of lust.Then, he prostrated himself at the Buddha's feet, acknowledged the Buddha as his teacher, and said, "The World Honored One is my teacher, and I am his disciple."

When the pious subjects heard that he had converted to the Buddha, they were very happy (2).Then, the Buddha gave the "Maha Nalanda Kasyapa Jataka Story" (3).In his previous life, the Buddha, whose name was Nalanda, was able to convert Kassapa in the same way even though his body was bound by lust. After listening to the Dharma delivered by the Buddha, the audience opened their Dharma eyes together.King Bimbisara realized the pre-flow fruit, asked for the three refuges, and then invited the Buddha and his disciples to fast in the palace the next day. The next day, after dinner, the king wanted to know where General Tuo would live.The Buddha replied that a stable place is not far or near from the city, where believers can easily reach, where the scenery is pleasant, not too crowded during the day, not too noisy at night, the quieter the better, the air is smooth, suitable for hermit life.Such a place is most suitable.

The king thought that his bamboo garden would satisfy all these requirements.Therefore, in order to repay the virtue of teaching the transcendent holy dharma, this ideal place of rest (that is, the squirrel sanctuary) was donated to the Buddha and the Sangha.There are no houses in this garden, but there are many big trees shaded by greenery, which is quiet and peaceful.This was the first residence presented to the Buddha, who spent three consecutive rainy seasons in this Bamboo Forest Abode (4). After taking refuge in the Three Jewels, King Bimbisara lived a typical life of a king according to the standard of Buddhism, fasting for six days every month.

Mrs. Keshaluo, the daughter of King Mahakosala is her queen of the East Palace, and Ajashi is their son.Kema was another concubine of his.The king cleverly used his resourcefulness to convert her to the Buddha.She later became a monk and became the number one disciple of the Bhikkhuni Sangha. Although also a very pious king, due to past bad karma, he ended his life tragically and painfully. Prince Ajashi is the successor to the throne. Under the instigation of Devadatta, who was in a bad mood, he tried to assassinate the king in order to usurp the throne, but was caught on the spot.Instead of punishing him for his cruel behavior, the compassionate father gave him his long-awaited throne.

The ungrateful son, repaying his kindness with vengeance, put the king in prison, tried to starve him to death, and only allowed his mother to approach him during the day.The queen hid the meal in a pouch at her waist and took it to prison.After the prince found out, he strictly prohibited it.Later, she hid the food in her hair and brought it in, but the prince refused to allow it.She had to bathe with perfume, put a layer of honey, butter, ghee, and syrup on her body, and the king licked her body with his tongue to survive.After the alert Prince scouted the matter, she was never allowed to see his father again.

King Bimbisara has since cut off all ways of existence.But because he has attained the first fruition, he can still walk back and forth in the prison, enjoying spiritual joy.Finally, determined to end his life, the mad prince ordered a barber to cut off the soles of his feet, sprinkle salt and cooking oil on the cuts, and then ordered him to walk on the burning coals. When the king saw the barber approaching him, he took it for granted that his son had realized the folly of the practice, and sent the barber to cut his hair, and thus set him free.It never occurred to him that he would have to die so tragically and prematurely.The barber carried out the evil prince's will, and brutally persecuted King Jing to death.The good king died in great pain.On the same day, King Ajashi's son also came to this world, and the news of his father's death and his son's birth reached his ears at the same time.

He first received the good news of his son's birth, and his heart was filled with infinite love for his own flesh and blood. His whole body couldn't help trembling with excitement, and his father's love penetrated into every bone marrow of him.He immediately ran to his beloved mother and kept asking: "Mother, did my father love me when I was a child?" "What are you talking about, son. When I was pregnant with you, I had an inexplicable desire to suck a mouthful of blood from your father's right hand. But I didn't dare to speak. So, all day I Unhappy, with a pale face and a thin body. Finally, under his repeated persuasion, I expressed this unkind desire. Your father happily fulfilled my wish, and I sucked that hateful mouthful of blood. The fortune teller Say, you will be your father's enemy. Therefore, we will call you unrepentant. I tried to have an abortion, but your father stopped me. After you were born, I tried to kill you, and your father refused. Once, you had a boil on your hand and it was so painful that no one could lull you to sleep. Your father held you in his arms when he was listening to the government in the court, sitting on his lap and sucking your cock. Boils. My God! His mouth was scalded. Oh, my son, it was your dear father who sucked the pus and blood out of love for you."

Listening, Ah Jia Shi couldn't help shouting: "Go and release my dear father." However, his father closed his eyes forever. King Ajashi's tears kept flowing, and he realized that only after he became a father can he truly understand what fatherly love is. After the death of King Bibisara, he was promoted to the four heavenly kings and became a heavenly man.Later, King Ajashi converted to the Buddha and became a famous lay disciple.He played an active role in the Buddha's first assembly after his parinirvana. King Kosala King Kosala was the son of King Maha Kosala, who ruled the Kingdom of Kosala with Savatthi as its capital.Buddha is another royal guardian of Buddha.He was a contemporary of Buddha.Because he has both civil and military skills and good roots, his father gave him the throne when he was alive.

He took refuge in the Triple Gem during the Buddha's early transformation. It is said in the "Buddha of Correspondence" that once, he came to the Buddha and asked the Buddha how he could achieve perfect enlightenment when he was young and had not been a monk for a long time (5). Buddha replied: "My lord, there are four kinds of people or things in this world that cannot be underestimated or underestimated. They are the Kshatriya, the snake, the fire, and the bhikkhu." (6) To this end, he told the king a very interesting sutra.At the end of the story, the king was very happy and immediately took refuge in the Buddha.From then until his death, he loved Buddha deeply.It is said that once, he prostrated himself before the Buddha, touched his feet with both hands, and kept kissing him with his mouth. (7)

The empress of the palace, Mary He, is pious and wise, and is proficient in Buddhism.The king's religious zeal was largely due to her influence.She is his good teacher and helpful friend. One day, the king had 16 unusual dreams(8). He didn't know what these dreams would mean, and he was disturbed all day long.His Brahmin counselors interpreted these as heralding bad luck and instructed him to perform large-scale animal sacrifices to avoid disasters brought about by dreams.The king made all the necessary preparations as he had been ordered.A cruel sacrifice is about to begin, and thousands of poor animals will be ruthlessly deprived of their lives.Queen Maryha heard that she was going to do such a cruel and inhuman evil karma, so she persuaded the king to come to see the Buddha and let him come to realize his dream.The infinite right view of the Buddha far surpasses those ordinary Brahmins.Therefore, the king came to the Buddha, informed the purpose of his visit, and told about 16 dreams, hoping that the Buddha would explain their meaning.The Buddha interpreted all dreams in a harmonious way. King Kosala was different from King Bimbisara in that he was blessed with good fortune and had listened to the enlightening and instructive teachings of the Buddha many times.There is a special section in the "Shadows" called the Kosala Responses (9), which records many scriptures that the Buddha explained to him, as well as the dialogues between them. Once, when he was sitting with the Buddha, he saw a group of ascetic monks with hairy body and long nails passing by. King." When they were gone, he returned to the Buddha and wondered if they were arahants or were seeking arhatship.The Buddha explained that it is difficult for an ordinary layman who enjoys materialistic desires to tell whether someone else is an arhat.He stated his opinion: "Only those who have been with each other for a long time can know the behavior of the other party. A person who is good at observation rather than careless, a wise man rather than a fool can truly know others. Through conversation, he knows his purity, when he is unlucky, he knows his strength, and through debate, he knows wisdom. .All these must be done over a long period of time. To do this, one must be good at observation, not be careless, have wisdom and not be ignorant." Then, the Buddha summed up what he said above with the following verse: "People are not famous for their appearance, and you don't need to have faith at first acquaintance; there are only externally good deeds, and loose people are all over the world, just like false earrings made of clay, and like gold and copper for pennies; It is as good as it looks.” (10) As the king of a powerful kingdom, King Kosala could not completely avoid wars, especially conflicts with neighboring states.Once, he passively fought with his nephew, King Ajashi, and was defeated miserably.Upon hearing this news, the Buddha said: "Victory creates resentment, defeat lives in suffering. Victory and defeat both give up, peace and tranquility lead to happiness." (11) On another occasion, King Kosala won a great victory and captured the entire army of King Ajashi. Only King Ajashi escaped.When the Buddha heard the news of this victory, he recited the following verse again.The truths of this hymn hold equal force even in today's war-torn world. "A man may injure another in order to achieve his own ends, When he is damaged by others, he also damages others. As long as the evil fruit is not yet ripe, the fool imagines that this is the time, Once the karma bears fruit, live by suffering. The murderer is killed by the murderer, The winner is won by the winner, the one who scolds is scolded, the annoying one is annoyed, Because of the retribution of karma, the person who destroys others is destroyed by others. "(12) The Buddha had a talk with King Kosala about women, which was equally meaningful and a great encouragement to women.Once, when the king was talking to the Buddha sincerely, a guard came over and told him in a low voice that Queen Marika had given birth to a daughter.The king's face was filled with displeasure when he heard the welcome news.In ancient India, even today, the birth of a daughter does not bring happiness to the family.This is due to various selfish reasons, such as offering dowry and so on.Different from other religious teachers, Buddha Letters enthusiastically praised women and commended four virtues of women in the following words: Some women are really stronger than men, Lord of all peoples, raise her up. They are intelligent, moral, loyal and honest, and worship their mother-in-law like a god. Such a noble wife will give birth to a brave son, a king who will rule the kingdom. (13) Some women are stronger than men - Itthipihiekacciyaseyya, this is what the Buddha himself said.Especially in India, where women are not respected, no religious figure has spoken such brave and noble words. When his 120-year-old grandmother died, the king was very sad and came to the Buddha and said that he would give everything he could to save his motherly grandmother.The Buddha comforted him and said: "All beings are mortal, and end in death. Death is a natural thing. The potter's vessel, whether it is baked or not, has destruction. Once it does, it ends its existence. Destruction is an inevitable thing. "(14) The king is eager to listen to the Dharma. Even if he needs to go to some places to deal with state affairs, he will try his best to get close to the Buddha and talk to him humbly. The Dharma Adornment Sutra (15) and the All Wisdom Sutra (16) record things about them in this regard. King Kosala's main concubine, the daughter of a florist, died before the king.King Bimbisara's younger sister was one of his concubines, and one of his older sisters married King Bimbisara, and King Ajashi was her son. King Kosala had a son named Pitada.When the king was old, he staged a coup against him.The son's mother was the daughter of a daimyo of the Sakya clan, who was related to the Buddha.His grandmother was a girl Park, a fact he didn't know when the old king made her his concubine.When Pituda heard that the Sakya family said that he was born lowly, he held a grudge and vowed to destroy the Sakya family in an attempt to take revenge.Unfortunately, it was because of Pitada that the old king was persecuted in a small house outside the city.Only one old family member was by his side when he died.He died before Buddha. [Note] (1) "Sutras", the third product, "The Monk Sutra". (2) See Chapter VII. (3) PART 545. (4) The Pali word Arama refers to a garden without buildings. When the Buddha accepted this generosity, there were no buildings in it.Now, Arama is used to refer to a monastery with houses for monks. (5) "Responsive Ministry", first article, p. 68.The first part of the English translation of "The Ministry of Correspondence", p. 94. (6) The angry prince, although young, may cause merciless harm to others, even if bitten by a small snake, it may harm human life.A single spark can start a fire, and a young monk may be a saint or a mage. (7) "Central Part", Part Two, "Fa Zhuangyan Sutra", p. 120; English translation of "Central Part", Part Two, p. 303. (8) "Jataka Stories", Vol. 1, 77, p. 188192. (9) "The Ministry of Responsibility", the first part, the third corresponding, the first classic, page 68; the English translation of "The Ministry of Responsibility", the first part, page 93127. (10) English translation of "Responsive Ministry", first product, p. 104106. (11) English translation of "The Ministry of Responsibility", the first product, page 109; "Dharma Sentence Sutra", verse 201. (12) Ibid., p. 110. (13) English translation of "The Ministry of Responsibility", Part I, page 111; "Parts of Correspondence", Part I, Chapter 3, Chapter 16, page 86. (14) English translation of "Responsive Ministry", first product, p. 122. (15) "Central Part", Part I, p. 39. (16) Ibid., Part I, p. 40.