Chapter 38
parentage (as Queen MahÈ MÈyÈ DevÊ and King SuddhodÈna) and yet why is it that the
Brahmin SÈketa and his wife are called the Buddha's parents?‛ And the Buddha explained:
‚Œnanda, this brahmin couple had been my parents in the past for five hundred continuous
existences; (besides), they had been my elder uncle and elder aunt (i.e., elder brother to the
Bodhisatta’s father and elder sister to the Bodhisatta's mother for five hundred continuous
existences; they had also been my younger uncle and younger aunt (i.e., younger brother to
the Bodhisatta's father and younger sister to the Bodhisatta's mother) for five hundred
continuous existences. The brahmin couple call Me their son due to the extraordinary
affection that had existed in the past.‛ The Buddha then uttered this stanza.
Pubbeva sannivÈsena paccuppaÒÒÈhitena vÈ
evaÑ taÑ jÈyate pemaÑ uppalaÑva yathodake.
Due to having lived together in previous existences and having done some
beneficial thing to each other, there arises love between two persons. It is
like the case of the water lily (or any other water plant) that grows in the
marsh where mud and water jointly cause its arising.
The Buddha spent His days in SÈketa for as many persons as there were in that town that
deserved to gain enlightenment. Then He proceeded His way to SÈvatthi. The brahmin
couple further sought guidance from the
bhikkhus
from whom they got appropriate
instructions and in due course attained the three higher
magga
s after which they realized
NibbÈna without any substrata of existence remaining - i.e.
anupÈdissa parinibbÈna
.
Eighty-four Thousand Beings gained Enlightenment on The Occasion of The Funeral of
The Brahmin Couple
When the brahmin couple passed away the brahmin community of SÈketa assembled
together with the common objective of paying due respects to one of their members.
Similarly, the Stream-Enterers, the Once-Returners and the Never-Returners, all
ariyas
who
had been associates in the practice of the path with the brahmin couple, assembled together
with the common objective of paying their respects to one of their members. Those two
groups of people placed the remains of the brahmin couple on a bier with gabled roofs, and
amidst floral tributes and sprinkling of perfumes about the bier, they carried it out of the
town.
The Buddha (as of His daily routine) viewed the sentient world with His Buddha-Eye
consisting of knowledge that discerns the natural bent and latent proclivities of individuals
(
ÈsayÈ-nusaya-ÒÈÓa
) and knowledge of the maturity and immaturity of the faculties of
beings (
indriyaparopariyatti-ÒÈÓa
) for that day and came to know the passing away, in total
cessation of the brahmin couple; and seeing that His presence and preaching at the funeral
of the deceased ones would lead to the enlightenment of the multitudes attending the
funeral, He left SÈvatthi for the cemetery at SÈketa, carrying His alms-bowl and big robe
Himself.
On seeing the Buddha, the people said: ‚The Bhagava has come to attend to the funeral of
His father and mother‛ and paid their obeisance to Him. The townsfolk brought the bier to
the cemetery in reverential ceremony. They asked the Buddha: ‚Venerable Sir, what is the
proper way to venerate the brahmin couple who had been
ariya
laydisiples?‛
The Buddha replied in the following stanza revealing the fact that the deceased couple
had attained arahatship and that they deserved veneration that was due to
arahats
:
AhiÑsakÈ ye munayo niccaÑ kÈyeva saÓvutÈ
te yanti accutaÑ thÈnaÑ yattha gantvÈ na socare.
The
arahats
who do not harm others are always restrained in their (physical
verbal and mental) actions. Having gone to NibbÈna through
magga
-
knowledge, they are free from sorrow. They have realized the four
magga
s
and
phalas
and attained to the deathless NibbÈna.
—— Dhammapada, 225 ——