At Kapilavatthu

While at Râjagaha, the Blessed One heard that his father wished to see him, and he set out for Kapilavatthu. He did not, however, go straight to the palace, but, according to custom, stopped in a grove outside the town. The next day the Buddha, with his bowl, went for his alms from house to house in the streets of Kapilavatthu. King Suddhodana, startled at the news, rushed to the Buddha and said; "Why, Master, why do you put us to shame? Why do you go begging for your food? Not one of our race has ever done so." Replied the Buddha: "You and your family may claim descent from kings; my descent is from the Buddhas of old; and they, begging their food, always lived on alms." Then explaining the Dhamma the Master said, "Be alert, be mindful, lead a righteous life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next." And so the king became established in the Path, he realized the Dhamma.

The Buddha was then conducted into the palace where all came to pay their respects to him, but not Princess Yasodharâ. The Buddha went to her, and the princess, knowing the impassable gulf between them, fell on the ground at his feet and saluted him. Then relating the Candakinnara Jâtaka, a story of his previous birth n⁴⁴ revealing how great her virtue had been in that former life, he made her an adherent to the Doctrine. Later when the Buddha was induced to establish an Order for women, Yasodharâ became one of the first nuns and attained arahatship, highest sanctity.

When the Buddha was in the palace, Princess Yasodharâ arrayed her son Râhula in all his best attire and sent him to the Blessed One, saying, "That is your father, Râhula, go and ask for your inheritance."

Prince Râhula went to the Buddha, stood before him, and said, "Pleasant indeed is your shadow, sage."

And when the Blessed One had finished his meal and left the palace, Prince Râhula followed him saying, "Give me my inheritance, sage; give me my inheritance." At that the Blessed One spoke to the Venerable Sâriputta: "Well then, Sâriputta, take him into the Order."

Then the Venerable Sâriputta gave Prince Râhula the ordination.n⁴⁵ In the Majjhima Nikâya, one of the five original collections in Pâli containing the Buddha�s discourses, there are three discourses (Nos. 61, 62, 147) entitled Râhulovâda or exhortations to Râhula, delivered by the Blessed One to teach the Dhamma to little Râhula. The discourses are entirely devoted to advice on discipline and meditation. Here is an extract from the Master�s exhortation in the Mahâ Râhulovâda Sutta:ⁿ⁴⁶

"Cultivate the meditation on loving-kindness (mettâ), Râhula; for by cultivating loving-kindness, ill will is banished. Cultivate the meditation on compassion (karunâ), Râhula, for by cultivating compassion, cruelty is banished. Cultivate the meditation on appreciative joy (muditâ), Râhula, for by cultivating appreciative joy, aversion is banished. Cultivate the meditation on equanimity (upekkhâ), Râhula, for by cultivating equanimity, hatred is banished. Cultivate the meditation on impurity (asubha), Râhula, for by meditating on impurity, lust is banished. Cultivate the meditation on the concept of impermanence (anicca-sañña), Râhula, for by meditating on the concept of impermanence, pride of self (asmi-mâna) is banished. Cultivate the meditation on mindfulness of in-and-out-breathing (ânåpâna sati), Râhula, for mindfulness of breathing, cultivated and frequently practised, bears much fruit and is of great advantage."

Thereafter the Buddha spent the vassa ⁿ²⁸ at the Deer Park at Isipatana, sacred this day to over 600 million of the human race. During these three months of "rains" fifty others headed by Yasa, a young man of wealth, joined the Order. Now the Buddha had sixty disciples, all arahats who had realized the Dhamma and were fully competent to teach others. When the rainy season ended, the Master addressed his immediate disciples in these words:

"Released am I, monks, from all ties whether human or divine. You also are delivered from all fetters whether human or divine. Go now and wander for the welfare and happiness of many, out of compassion for the world, for the gain, welfare, and happiness of gods and men. Let not two of you proceed in the same direction. Proclaim the Dhamma that is excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, and excellent in the end, possessed of meaning and the letter and utterly perfect. Proclaim the life of purity, the holy life consummate and pure. There are beings with little dust in their eyes who will be lost through not hearing the Dhamma, there are beings who will understand the Dhamma. I also shall go to Uruvelâ, to Senânigama, to teach the Dhamma."n²⁹

Thus did the Buddha commence his sublime mission, which lasted to the end of his life. With his disciples he walked the highways and byways of India enfolding all within the aura of his boundless compassion and wisdom. Though the Order of Monks began its career with sixty bhikkhus, it expanded soon into thousands, and, as a result of the increasing number of monks, many monasteries came into being. In later times monastic Indian universities like Nâlandâ, Vikramasilâ, Jagaddalâ, Vikramapuri, and Odantapuri, became cultural centres which gradually influenced the whole of Asia and through it the mental life of humankind.

After a successful ministry of forty-five years the Buddha passed away at the age of eighty at the twin Sâla Trees of the Mallas at Kusinârâ (in modern Uttara Pradesh about 120 miles northeast of Benâres).ⁿ³⁰