(22) Buddha makes a triumphant return to his birthplace! Mass ordination of the Buddha's family, including his son Rahula and cousin Arnanda!

Introduction to Buddhism: The Life of Buddha (Shakyamuni Buddha) as Seen in Local Photographs] (22)
　Buddha makes a triumphant return to his birthplace! Mass ordination of the Buddha's family, including his son Rahula and cousin Arnanda!

Previous Article(21) Sudatta's donation of the Gion Shozya - "The Voice of the Bell of the Gion Shozya" from here. Support of a Buddhist Order by a Great Merchant."In the previous section, I talked about the rapid expansion of the Buddha cult.

With the addition of capable disciples and the support of great kings and merchants, the Order of Buddha emerged as a truly great cult.

The chief of the group, Buddha, is finally returning to his birthplace. In this article, we will discuss how it all happened.

So let's get started.

Budda to his hometown, Kapilavastu

As I mentioned in the above article, Buddha was born in Nepal.

And in Kapilavastu, where the castle of the Shaka tribe is located, Buddha spent his youth, and at the age of 29, he renounced his throne and chose the path of ordination.

Buddha left this castle with the strong determination, "Unless I see the other shore of life and death (the truth of enlightenment), I will never enter this Kapilavastu again." Six years later, after six years of extreme practice, Buddha finally attained enlightenment.

And Buddha wants to come back to the castle, just as he had vowed. How will the people back home welcome him?

Some traditions say that Buddha decided to return to his hometown because his father, King Suddhodana, urged him to do so, while others say that Buddha himself chose to do so. There are many theories, so it is impossible to say for sure, but in any case, Buddha made his own decision to return to his hometown.

Buddha vowed, "If I do not attain enlightenment, I will never return. He must have felt confident that he had achieved what he had wanted to accomplish, even to the point of abandoning his country. In fact, he was no longer a prince of a small country, but was transformed into the greatest religious leader in East India. Even the kings of Magadha and Kosala, the two most powerful states in the world, respect him. This was something that would not have been possible in the small Shaka nation.

Kapilavastu is in an uproar when he learns of Buddha's return. The prince is coming back! Thank God he is safe! I wonder what he will look like!"

Above all, his father, King Suddhodana, was thrilled by his son's return and went to welcome Buddha with a large number of his subjects.Buddhacharita."The "Bible" describes it as "the return of the prodigal son," but it was not the return of a beloved son who had left his country and his family. It was not the "return of the prodigal son" in the Bible, but the return of the beloved son who had abandoned his country and his family. It is not the "return of the prodigal son" in "The Bible.

⑻Buddha's six-year ascetic life: the transmission of meditation techniques by two masters and the ascetic Buddha's rigorous ascetic practices."As I mentioned in the article "The Buddha's Life", King Suddhodana was so worried about the ordained Buddha that he sent his family members to watch over him. Even though he was their abandoned son, he was still their beloved son.

Finally, the time for the reunion approaches. King Suddhodana saw the image of Buddha surrounded by many disciples. He looked as radiant and majestic as Brahman, the supreme god.

The king, following the etiquette for great religious figures, gets out of his car and approaches the Buddha on foot.

The father king walked quickly, but when he came face to face with the Buddha, he was at a loss for words. He did not know what to say to him. He could not say, "My son," or "O great ordained one.

Then, upon taking a closer look at Buddha's return as an ordained person, he remembered the youthful youth he once was, and with tears in his eyes, he murmured, "I am the Buddha of the world, and I am the Buddha of the world.

Oh, my son has become so gaunt, a shadow of his former self... My son could have been a great king, but now he lives like this, begging others for food..."

The father still saw Buddha not as a great ordained man, but only as a beloved son. This must have been an expression of his parental love, which he was reminded of again from the distance of being able to touch Buddha directly. King Suddhodana himself must have been painfully aware that Buddha was no longer the prince he once was, but had returned as a great religious leader. However, when he came face to face with his son, his parental love for him must have overflowed at once.

Buddha himself felt his father's heart painfully, and he manifested his supernatural power to relieve his father's feelings. He demonstrated to the kings that he could fly, create alter egos, walk on the surface of water, and shoot fire to make them glow.

Seeing this, the king accepted that his son was no longer the prince he once was, but "a great ordained man who had attained enlightenment," and joy arose in his heart.

This episode is truly a mythical passage, but it is very dramatic and connotative, isn't it?

It was a moment that truly opened up a world beyond the father-son relationship.

Buddha then speaks the Law of Truth to the fathers, who all receive his teachings and attain great salvation.

Thus, when Buddha returned to Kapilavastu, he was welcomed by the people, who were happy to see him again.

Mass ordination of Shakas, including his son Rahula and cousin Ananda

Thus, Buddha was welcomed by the people of his hometown and spent a few days at his parents' home, but then a major incident occurred.

That would be the mass exodus of the Shaka people, as the title of the article states.

During his stay, Buddha preached his teachings to the Shaka people. The young people of the Shaka tribe were so moved by his teachings that they all wanted to become his disciples and be ordained.

Among them were his cousins Arnanda, Nanda, Anuruddha, and Devadatta, who would later become the core members of the Buddhist Order. The fact that these young men were all outstanding is evident from the fact that they later became disciples of the Buddha Order. It is a matter of great national importance that such outstanding young people abandoned their countries at once to become ordained practitioners.

And the biggest shock was the ordination of Buddha's son, Rahula.

To his surprise, Buddha had even ordained his own son. With Buddha's return, Rahula was finally able to meet his father face to face. He had heard many things about his father from his mother, Yashodhara. Rahula was filled with anticipation and was happy to see his father. Buddha himself must have felt at peace when he saw his son's smile.

⑸Significance of Buddha's marriage and the birth of his son Rahula: Was Rahula really an "obstacle" to ordination?"As I mentioned in my article in the "The Story of Rahula," I have adopted the theory that Buddha's wife, Yashodhara, may have been a good understanding person for him. I believe that this is why Rahula was able to understand his father and have a harmonious reunion with him. There is a theory that Yashodhara was angry with Buddha for abandoning him, and it is difficult to say what the theory is because there are various theories depending on one's position, but I believe that both Yashodhara and Rahula, his wife, had a heart connection with Buddha.

Now, Buddha decided to take such a Rahula in his own cult without putting him on the throne.

This causes an uproar throughout the royal court.

No, wait a minute! Rahula is the one who will take your place on the throne! You want to take him away from me? I cannot allow you to do so!"

But Buddha is not bothered by this. He did not care at all. He must have been thinking back to the time when he was ordained. Even if Rahula were to become king, he would only suffer. He will not be spared the suffering of the world or the suffering of kingship. I want him to walk the path of true salvation as I do."

(⑶Why did Buddha wish to renounce his home and become ordained: Buddha's youth in Kapilavastu and the four gates of ordination)As I mentioned in the article "The Shaka Nation", the Shaka people are a weak nation. Even if you become the king of this country, you never know when you will fall prey to the big powers. In addition, even if you are the king of this country, you are a king in name only, and in reality you have little power.

After his enlightenment, the Buddha himself has been an itinerant traveler to many countries and regions. He has been in close contact with the kings of Magadha and Kosala, and with great merchants. In this way, Buddha saw the world with his own eyes. He must have been painfully aware of the situation in India at that time.

In fact, a tragedy occurs in the last years of the Buddha's life when the Shaka nation is destroyed by the Kosala nation.

It is possible that the country was destroyed because Buddha left with his excellent young men, but in the first place, the national strength of the Kosala nation and the Shaka nation are too different. The strength of the two countries is so different that it is impossible for them to resist each other. In other words, no matter how they tried, they were doomed to be destroyed.

Buddha may have taken many young men and his son Rahula in anticipation of this.

However, it was still quite an uproar to ordain Rahula, and from now on, the Buddha Order will have a rule that no child may be ordained without the permission of his parents.

Thus was fulfilled Buddha's return to Kapilavastu.

Buddha continued to lead an itinerant and missionary life after this. He visited the Shaka tribe many times during his missionary life, indicating that the relationship between the Shaka and the Buddha was amicable, rather than acrimonious.

Buddha ascends to heaven to meet his mother

Incidentally, there is another episode regarding this reunion with the people of my hometown that I would like to share with you.

That is the legend of Buddha's ascension.

Although the story is later in time than the return of Kapilavastu, the legend goes that Buddha ascended to heaven to meet his deceased mother, where he preached to her and returned safely.

Buddha's mother Maya died suddenly seven days after giving birth to him. Therefore, he has no memory of his mother. However, it is clear that his feelings for his mother occupied a large part of his life.⑹How did Buddha's ordination take place: horse master Channa and his beloved horse Kantaka on a late night journey."We also talked about this in our article on

I believe that such feelings have come to fruition in the form of this legend.

ブッダが天へ昇ったとされる場所が実は今でも残っています。

ここは祇園精舎の近くにあり、平野の中にポツンとある小高い丘のようになっています。

And exactly where Buddha ascended to heaven, a small altar remains today. I was surprised when I came here. When I looked up at the sky from here, I thought to myself, "This is really where Buddha flew into the sky and ascended to heaven.I could really feel it.This is not a theory. This is not a theory. There is something about this hill.

The sunset from this hill is also unforgettable. In terms of importance in the Buddhist tradition, this site is not so major. But the fact that the legend of Buddha's ascension to heaven for his mother was born here came to me with a startling realization.

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