STORY OF DHANIKA

                                                                      In Vaisali, there was a beautiful waterfall. Since the place was full of fruit trees, the inhabitants were mainly monkeys. Hence the place came to be known as Markada.

                                                                      Once Lord Buddha reached this blessed spot. Fresh water, fragrant breeze, delicious fruits ! What else is needed for a peaceful sojourn ?

                                                                       In the neighbouring village there lived a virtous man named Dhanika. Magnanimity is a rare virtue among the rich. But Dhanika was an exception. He was rich, but very generous. His wife was Seelavathy; his son, Vadanyan and his daughter Sathyavathy. Their virtuous deeds matched their names.

                                                                      The news of the Lord’s meditation in Markada spread everywhere. The Brahmins of Vaishaali wish to give him a grand reception. Since many people wished to meet the Lord, the Brahmins declared that if anybody gave a personal reception, he would be isolated from society.

                                                                       Disregarding the decision of the Brahmins, Dhanika invited the Lord to his house and the Lord accepted the invitation.

                                                                       Dhanika had built a beautiful ‘ pandal’, made a throne of gold for the Lord, constructed separate halls for ‘pooja’ and meals.

                                                                       When the Brahmins heard about this, they requested the Lord to accept their hospitality first. But the Lord expressed his helplessness. As Dhanika had invited Him first, he would first visit his house.

                                                                        Accompanied by the bhikshus, the Lord reached Dhanika’s house. On the first day, they enjoyed the sumptuous feast arranged by Dhanika. The next day they accepted the delicious feast given by Seelavathy. On the third day Vadanyan hosted a grand feast and on the fourth day Sathyavathy gave them a warm reception.

                                                                        The Brahmins, who were waiting for their turn, became furious. They decided to expel Dhanika from their society. The Lord refused ‘Darshan’ to haughty Brahmins.

                                                                     The bhikshus wanted to know why the Lord showed special favour to Dhanika and his family. The Lord narrated the story of Dhanika’s former birth:-                               

                                                                    “ In Sreekasi there lived a florist named Kamalan. Since he earned his bread by selling flowers, he had to starve in off-seasons. Once, due to bad luck, there was a shortage of flowers. People had no money to buy flowers at a high price.

                                                                       Kamalan’s family had to starve. However they offered flowers to the temple daily. Their clothes were ragged. Most of the time they remained indoors, wearing torn clothes. The only one set of dress that could be worn out of doors was used for going temple.

                      

                                                                       One day as Kamalan was returning from temple, he saw the Buddha sitting in a garden by the road-side. He wished to give offerings to the Lord. But he had nothing. His pious heart was filled with grief.

                                                                         It was a cold night. Kamalan led his wife, son and daughter-in-law to the open garden by the road-side. They saw the Lord shivering with cold. They wrapped His body with the single dress they had. The next day, as they had no clothes to wear, they decided not to go to temple.

 

                                                                         Danam should be done with purity of heart, with care and devotion. Then only it becomes fruitful. A gem, donated half-heartedly, has as little value as grass. On the other hand, a grass given with devotion, is as precious as gem. What matter is the will, not the value. Kamalan was re-born as Dhanika. 

                                                                          The haughty Brahmins realized the greatness of Dhanika. They became humble and gave a warm reception to the Lord.

O

Prof. C. Chandramathy

A SON'S DHARMA

               When King Sudhodana expired, the Buddha did not lament. Since death is a natural phenomenon, mourning is meaningless. However he fulfilled the duty of a son by performing the obsequies of his father. He tried his best to console the bereaved people and built a Stupa in his father’s memory.

                The Bhikshus were surprised when the Buddha behaved like an ordinary man doing mundane things. This was against their concept of the Budha- one who had broken all earthly bonds

                The Lord said- “ Those who don’t worship their parents, however virtuous they are, forget their Dharma. In one of my former births, I had dedicated my life to the service of my blind parents”.

              The Lord then narrated the story of Syamakan:- “ Long ago in Kashi, there lived a Brahmin, named Subandhu. His wife was Gomathy. They had a sweet son, named Syamakan. He was intelligent as well as virtuous. He considered his parents as living Gods. He was very careful in fulfilling all their wishes.

             A tragedy befell this blessed family. Subandhu and Gomathy lost their eye- sight. Doomed to eternal darkness, they set out to the forest, to lead the life of Vanaprastha.

             Syamakan felt uneasy. When his blind parents were living in the forest, how could he live comfortably in his home? As he could not dissuade them from their wise decision, he decided to follow his parents and serve them in the forest. He collected fruits, made garments from the bark of trees and brought water from the stream.

               One day, Brahmadatha, the King of Kasi, came to the forest for hunting. He hid behind the trees by the river side, hoping that some animals would come to drink water from the river.

                                                         

              With a pot in his hand, Syamakan walked towards the river. He was wearing deer- skin. He dipped the pot in the water. Brahmadatha heard the sound. He thought that a deer was drinking water. He shot an arrow. But, he heard a human cry! Have I missed the aim ? Brahmadatha was confused. He hurried to the spot.

            Syamakan was wriggling with pain. The King was shocked. How shall I explain my mistake ? To whom shall I beg my pardon ? He cursed his fate.

            Syamakan spoke in faltering words- “ O King ! I came here to take drinking water for my parents. I put on deer skin to protect myself from the cold. My blind parents are waiting for me in the Ashram. They are very thirsty. Please take this pot to the Ashram and give water to my parents. Hurry up! Please don’t tell them about my death”.

             His words became feeble. But his pathetic look was more piercing than the King’s sharp arrow.

            Carrying the pot of water, Brahmadatha walked towards the Ashram. At the sound of foot steps, the blind parents cried like children-

“water ! Give us water”

 Like newborn birds opening their mouth near the mother bird, they opened their mouth for water. The sad King stood stunned.

“ son why the delay ? We are thirsty, lad give us water” Their cry rent Brahmadatha’s heart. He said slowly- “ I’m not your son. I’m King Brahmadatha, the cruel hunter who killed your son. You can shower curses on me”

          Their tongues became silent. They fell down unconscious. The king sprinkled water on their faces. They sat up again and spoke in feeble voice- “ Please take us to the river-bed. Let us give our last kiss to our beloved son”.

            Brahmadatha led the aged parents to the river bed. He helped them to touch the body with their hands. The old man shrieked- “ My lad ! you dedicated your life for the service of your blind parents. You have been so dutiful and truthful that you will conquer death. “ If God exists in this universe He will hear my prayer- may life come back to you !”

             In response to the pious man’s prayer, Indra appeared on his white elephant. He was carrying a pot of nectar. With a smile, Indra sprinkled a drop of nectar on Syamakan’s face. He woke up as if from slumber.

           Brahmadatha shed tears of joy. By sprinkling more nectar, Indra healed the wounds on Syamakans body.

            The Buddha concluded the story of Syamakan by telling the Bhikshus that Syamakan was the Lord himself and the blind parents were Sudhodhana and Mayadevi.

             The Bhikshus were convinced that there was nothing wrong or strange in the Lord’s performing the funeral rites of his father. The greatest of all Dharmas is Service to the parents.

O

Prof. C. Chandramathy.

A BHOODAAN

      

                                          King Asoka was famous for his bounty. He was a real Kalpa Tree for the mendicants. Lakhs of Bhikshus reached the palace and received food and clothes from the king. He gave them gold coins too

                                         Twenty six years of his reign brought tremendous growth in the country’s wealth. So, the king decided to donate one billion gold coins to the Bhikshus. But, before completing his ‘dana’, the king fell ill.

                                    A virtuous man does not bother about the body. Good deed inspires him to overcome physical handicaps. So, the king was determined to complete his ‘dana’ by giving the balance amount to the Bhikshus.

                                      But his grandson, Sampadan, raised his objection. The officials of the finance department too supported Sampadan. They could not approve of the King’s extravagant generosity.

                                     Then the King took another decision. He had a personal possession. A precious gooseberry. The gooseberry tree had a speciality. It blossomed once in thousand years and out of thousand blossoms, only one grew into a fruit. One who eats the divine fruit will live for thousand years. Hence it was called ‘Arul gooseberry’.

                                     Though the king heard his death-knell, he was not prepared to save his life by eating the fruit. He knew that longevity is curse for a King. It is better for Kings to have a short span of life. So the King decided to give Arul gooseberry to the Bhikshus.

                                     When Radhagupthan, the Minister, heard about the King’s decision, he tried to prevent him. He persuaded the King to eat the fruit and save his own life. But the King believed that it is better to be a lightning that has a short but bright life than to be a stone on the road trampled by pedestrians for thousands of years. So, without yielding to the Minister’s temptation, the King gave the fruit to the Bhikshus. He completed his ‘dana’ by giving away his land to the Buddha Sangha.

                                     At this juncture, Sampadan came forward to help his grandfather. He gave four crores worth of gold to the Bhikshus and got back the land. Thus the King’s mission was fulfilled. The bounty was completed. 

O

Prof. C. Chandramathy.

STORY OF SATHOUSHADHA

There are men whose philanthropic deeds serve as guide lines to mankind for leading a noble life. Lord Buddha narrates the story of a virtuous king who lived and died for the welfare of the people.

                “It was long, long ago. The beautiful city , Mahendravathy , was ruled by King  Mahendra Senan . His fame spread far and wide like the fragrance of burning camphor .  

            The king had a son named Sathoushadha. Gem of a son! A blending of all virtues – the dazzling splendour of the sun and the coolness and freshness of the moon. At his sight, sorrows vanished; at his touch , diseases disappeared .

            Strange are the ways of destiny. This favourite king , who was a solace to the people, had an untimely death. He used to absorb all types of diseases  to his body, in order to give relief to the ailing people. Perhaps this might have been the cause for his early death.  

                        Even though there is no moonlight , we know the moon is in the sky. Even after the petals are blown off , the fragrance of the flowers lingers in the breeze. Similarly after the loss of a precious person , his sweet memory will be fresh in mind. The king’s death was a severe blow to the people. But his memory lived in their hearts.

                        The ministers refused to bury the body because it did not decay even after many days .They believed that the body had some mysterious power.. They thought the body would be quite beneficial to the world. So they awfully kept the body in a special place near the forest surrounded by lotus pools.

                        The sick and the bereaved flowed to the sacred place . What a miracle ! A touch at the body made them perfectly healthy , as if they drank nectar! By chanting his name, all woes vanished. Even the breeze that touched his body cured all ills!

                        Thus, Sathoushadha went on serving the people even after death.”

                                                                                      Prof.Chandramathy.C