(23) Scandal in the Order of Buddha!? How did Buddha respond to malicious slander?

The Life of Buddha (Shakyamuni Buddha) as Seen in Local Photographs] (23)
　Scandal in the Order of Buddha! How did Buddha respond to malicious slander?

Previous Article(22) Buddha makes a triumphant return to his birthplace! Mass ordination of the Buddha's family, including his son Rahula and cousin Arnanda!"In the following section, I told you about Buddha's return to his hometown of Kapilavastu and the ordination of many young men of the Sakyamuni tribe.

We have seen the rapid expansion of the Buddist cult in the past articles, but when it has grown so rapidly, there are bound to be people who are not happy about it.

Although it is not a very serious incident in the life of Buddha, I would like to introduce here an episode that can be of great help to those of us living today.

So let's get started.

There are people who are jealous of Buddha's success and try to trap him.

Now, as I mentioned above, there will be those who will not be pleased with Buddha's rapid progress.

The story is written by Hazime Nakamura.Gautama Buddha.Let's take a look at this with reference to

As the Buddhist cult became more and more prosperous, there were rumors of female relations between the Buddha and the monks. It is said that people from other religions were jealous of the growing popularity of Buddhism and tried to discourage the Buddha or the Buddhist cult.

The following humanistic story is told in the Buddhist scriptures. As Gautama's fame increased, practitioners of other religions lost their gains and fame. They wanted to somehow cause the ascetic Gautama to be criticized, thereby ruining his gain and fame.

At that time, there was a female itinerant ascetic named Chincha Maanavikar in Sarvatti. (Jātaka. vol. IV) She happened to be visited by ascetics. (Jātaka. vol. IV) She happened to visit the ascetics and secretly told them of their scheme. She said, "Very well, gentlemen. It is a job I am used to doing. Do not worry. (ibid.)

When the Servatti people were coming out of Gionshozya after listening to the Dharma talk,..He went out toward Gion, wearing a kimono and carrying incense and a flower wig in his hand. When the believers came out of the city early in the morning to greet their neighbors, they entered the city looking as if they had just stayed in Gions.

After half a month or a month, he told them, "I stayed in the same room with Gautama in Gions. (ibid.). The "incense room" was Gionshozya, where Gautama resided. After three or four months, he wrapped his belly in a piece of cloth to give the appearance of a pregnant woman, put on a red robe, and told the people that he had been conceived by the ascetic Gautama (ibid.).

After eight or nine months, he came to Shakyamuni Buddha's pulpit, looking exhausted, with a wooden slab tied around his belly and a red robe over it, and cursed him in the presence of everyone,

You only know how to enjoy yourself, but you do not take care of the child in your belly (ibid.).

Shakyamuni said loudly.

You are a woman, and only you and I know whether what you have told us is true or false. Only you and I know if what you have told us is true or false."

The Chincha Maanavikar woman also said back.

'Yes, indeed, Gyoja. From what only you and I know, this has come to pass." (ibid.)

The wind blew up her kimono, and the wooden slab fell off. The wind blew up her kimono, and the wooden plank fell off. People said, "What an outrageous woman!

.

Shunju-sha, Nakamura Hazime, "Gautama Buddha (popular edition)," vol. medium, p. 281-282.

For more information about the Gion Shozya, where this event took place, see"⒄Donation of Gion Shouzya by Sudatta - "The Voice of the Bell of Gion Shouzya" is from here. Support of a Buddhist Order by a Great Merchant."I also talked about it in the article "The Incense Room" in the previous issue. The photo in the middle is the very "incense room" where Buddha lived.

It seems that many people came in and out of this place to listen to Buddha's teachings. Taking advantage of this, they set a trap to ruin Buddha's reputation.

As in the quote above, her lie was exposed by wind, but what would she have done if it had not been for him?

And while it is a good thing that this woman was not actually carrying a child this time, an even more malicious person would have sought out a pregnant woman to play such a role. If that were to happen, how would they prove their innocence?

The Buddhist Order's strict precepts were partly for the sake of its own practice, but also to protect the Order from such "unscrupulous schemes". The reason for this was to create a system in the first place that would not be misunderstood. If there is an opening, people with malicious intent will exploit it. In the next episode, we will see just such a more sophisticated attack.

There was another incident involving a female itinerant ascetic named Sundari. The Gionshozya priests killed her and dumped her corpse in the Gionshozya. The Gionshozya was so cruel to her that the Buddhist cultists were accused of playing with her and then finally killing and discarding her body. When the monks went to the town to beg for alms, the people there were furious and cursed them. When they told this to Shakyamuni Buddha, he told them to throw them away.

The voice of condemnation will not last long. It will continue for seven days. But after seven days it will disappear. (Udāna, IV, 8.)

And. Seven days later, the situation was discovered and the accusations disappeared.

It is interesting that the story also tells how Gautama Buddha dealt with this very human story. There were probably similar incidents in real life, and the Buddhist Order developed through such trials and tribulations.

Shunju-sha, Nakamura Hazime, "Gautama Buddha [popular edition]," middle volume, p.282-283

This is eclipsed in its viciousness by the events just described, isn't it? They were even willing to kill people in order to attack the Buddha Order, and they tried to blame it on them. The slander spread among the people, and the ordained members of the Order were severely criticized by the people.

But Buddha is indeed the Buddha. He is completely unperturbed by this crisis. It is clear that we are innocent and have nothing to hide. This is nothing but malicious slander. These baseless rumors will disappear in seven days.

And the fact is, that is exactly what happened. As the truth came to light and the rumors were shown to be false, people began to treat the Order of Buddha as they had in the past.

Don't worry about what people say. If you have nothing to hide, leave it alone. People will soon forget such rumors."

I know this, but it is very difficult to do. But I also believe this is the truth.

However, the slander stopped after 7 days when the truth came out about the incident, but what would have happened if it hadn't? And in today's world, "Accountability! and a press conference would have to be held. And even if they did, they would have to say, "No, he said that, but there's more to it. And even if they did, there would be endless conspiracy-theory slander, "No, he said that, but there's more to it.

But even so, I still think it is significant that Buddha said, "A person's rumor disappears in seven days. People tend to jump on immediate news. And while that moment may be exciting, it is quickly forgotten and the next news comes along. Buddha must have seen this repetition with enlightened eyes.

Their innocence is clear. People are now losing their cool over the slander, but I am sure that the heat will die down. Then the truth will naturally come out.

Buddha may have felt this way and said, "In seven days the rumor will disappear.

This will be a great lesson for us all.

And through these slanderous incidents against Buddha's cult, I have always thought that even a man as great as Buddha is always hated and treated unreasonably by someone. There have probably been few people in the history of mankind who are as perfect as the Buddha. Even Buddha was hated and slandered by someone. If that is the case, it is quite natural that an ordinary person like me would be hated and slandered by someone one day.

Sometimes I feel strangely relieved when I think that even someone as great as Buddha struggled with human relationships. I don't know if it is appropriate to say this, but I feel relieved. I don't know if this is the right thing to say, but I feel a sense of relief when I think about it. I am sure you will understand what I mean.

Even Buddha did not live a life without any hardships just because he was enlightened. He was a man who lived through a world of hardships. I feel deeply that we can learn a lot from such a hard-working Buddha.

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