“Thank you very much, this is my wish!If I can fulfill my life, I will have great merit.”
In the Buddha's monastic community, there is a mother and son practicing together, and there is a very touching story—
One day, everyone in the monastic community happily celebrated for Venerable Kumara Kashyapa because he saw a group of termites while sitting in meditation. He carefully observed the ecology of these termites, but suddenly realized it;He found that every creature has its own form of life and also has the meaning of noble existence.Why does the Buddha respect the lives of sentient beings?Because "all the spirits have Buddha nature", he deeply understood the mystery of this life.After he came out of meditation, he reported his understanding of life to the Buddha. The Buddha was very happy and praised him for his "doctrine analysis first";The Buddha was very happy that he could integrate life into the doctrine and analyzed it thoroughly and in a comprehensive manner. He was also very happy and everyone congratulated him.
This Venerable Kumara Kashyapa has lived in the monastic community since she was a child. I just told a very beautiful story. The protagonist is the mother of Venerable Kumara Kashyapa. She was originally the daughter of a wealthy family in the city of Raksha. She has been very smart since childhood, but she has no desire for the beauty and clothing that ordinary girls pursue. Her heart has always been in a state of calm and wise, and she sensitively experiences the birth, death, change and impermanence of sentient beings;Although she was young, her heart was full of contradictions and troubles about things in the world, so she had a wish - to become a monk and explore the truth.
She asked her parents for permission to become a monk, but her father refused. Her father said, "You are the only daughter, and your family business is so big, how can you become a monk?"No matter how much she begged, her parents would not allow it.The girl thought: You should be filial to your parents at home and not be too disobedient to them. She had to wait until she got married and then find an opportunity to ask her husband to become a monk.
When she reached the age of marriage, her parents married her to a very famous local young man and lived a happy life after getting married.However, she still adheres to her thrifty and simple living habits, and her husband is also very nice to her. She became pregnant during this marriage, but she did not know that she was pregnant.At that time, a big celebration was going to be held in the city, which was a very important festival. Whether it was inside or outside the city, there were lights and decorations everywhere, and everyone was dressed up beautifully.That day, her husband told her: "You usually wear plain clothes and don't dress up, but today is a big day, and you should dress up!"But she said, "What's the point of dressing up?"The human body is filthy, and impure things often flow out of the nine holes;Life cannot last forever, and one day will die. After death, the body will still rot and smell. Pretending to do is like sprinkling perfume on the toilet. What's the use?"Her husband was both loving and angry when he heard this, and accidentally blurted out, "Since that's the case, why don't you just go to practice!"She said overjoyed, "Ah, thank you very much, this is my wish!If you can fulfill me, it will be of immeasurable merit."Her husband didn't expect her to react like this, so he changed his words and kept persuading her, but he could no longer change his wife's firm will to become a monk. Although her husband was extremely reluctant to leave, he had to fulfill her wish.So he sent many people and many things to escort her to a group of nuns to become a monk.
She was very happy there, but when her belly grew bigger day by day, someone in the nun group looked at it and found it strange and asked her, "Are you pregnant?"You look like you are pregnant."She said: "I don't know either."Someone in the group of nuns took her to see Devadatta because that group of nuns belonged to Devadatta's group.After seeing it, Devadatta said with great displeasure: “How can I accommodate such pregnant and monks in my group?This will ruin my reputation."After saying that, she didn't give her room to defend herself, so she was about to expel her from the nun group.She knew that what she was going to pursue was not Devadatta's teachings, so she stood up and saluted him, expressing her willingness to leave.The nun who was walking with her had a little sympathy for her, and the pregnant woman begged her, "I hope to practice in the nun group of Sakyamuni Buddha. Can you be kind enough to accompany me and let me join the nun group under the Buddha's seat?"The nun really accompanied her forty-five yojanas to pay homage to the Buddha.
When the Buddha learned that she was from Devadatta's bhikkhun, he also thought for a while and thought, "If she was taken in, people outside would discuss it and say that I had accepted those who were abandoned by Devadatta;However, all beings are equal, and she should also have the opportunity to make a vow to practice."The Buddha used his wisdom to distinguish the truth clearly, not only to restore her innocence, but also to make the truth clear.Therefore, the king and the lonely elders and local guardians were invited. At dusk, the Buddha sent Venerable Upali to organize this matter. Because Upali was the first to keep the precepts and purity, the Buddha handed over this task to Upali.
Venerable Upali was among the kings, ministers, laypeople and elders, and asked the elders and nuns to accompany her, and then invited a very famous local woman to come out and tell her: "Please bring this practice girl to the curtain and ask her when will she get married?When will you become a monk?To verify the time of pregnancy, if you get pregnant during the couple's life, it is innocent;If you only get pregnant after becoming a monk, it means you are not pure and you must ask carefully."In this way, the lady talked directly to her and even looked at the size of her pregnancy.After learning the truth, the lady announced to everyone that she was pregnant during her marriage and that she was innocent.At this point, the truth was revealed, and the Buddha allowed her to live in a nun group and live in another house for delivery.After full term, she gave birth to a baby boy, which was very cute.
One day, the king walked past the Nizhong Monastery Road and heard the cry of a baby. The king asked strangely: "Why are there any cry of a baby in the monks and nuns who practice?"The follower reported, "King, you should not forget what the Buddha summoned a few months ago, and that nun has given birth.""The king was also very happy when he heard this, and thought to himself: How can a monk take his children in the monks and nuns group?So he adopted the child and took him to the palace to entrust him with the support of another prince. He named him Kumara and also gave him a title of prince. Later, everyone called him Prince Kumara Kashyapa.When the child was seven years old, the king sent him back to the monastic community and asked him to become a monk and become a little novice monk.This child is very smart, eloquent, and very smart. He was raised in the monastic community, so his precepts and practice are very good. He is a very hardworking practitioner. He saw the ecology of all things, that is, he realized with his heart and entered into meditation, and thus became enlightened.
In the Buddha's monastic community, the story of the mother and son is complete, and the mother of Prince Kumara Kashyapa also became a great deni in the bhikkhun.
From this we can see that the Buddha's wisdom and compassion can tolerate all sentient beings, analyze the truth, let the public prove that she is innocent, and let her become a monk without any stains. This is the Buddha's great compassion and great wisdom;On the other hand, Devadatta does not have this wisdom;Therefore, we must recognize big love, small love, wisdom, and ignorance.
