I would like to bring the story of the Buddha was born and all gods, goddesses from the five worlds come to respect on his birthday at Lumbini park, India .On my wish on the Buddha birthday please give the kindness to all human beings in the world and other lives to be free from suffering now and forever. Sathu.

หลวงตาท่านได้สั่งให้ คุณโยมเอกพร ศรีบัณฑิต ช่วยเป็นภาระให้ในการสร้างพระองค์นี้เป็นเวลา ๑ ปีจึงแล้วเสร็จ มูลค่า ๕๘,๐๐๐ บาท ขออำนาจผลบุญนี้จงไปปกปักรักษา ครอบครัวของคุณโยมเอกพร ศรีบัณฑิต พร้อมด้วยญาติมิตรและพุทธมามกะ จงเจริญสุขพร้อมไปด้วยโภคทรัพย์ และขอให้ในชีวิตนี้จงมีแต่ความรุ่งเรืองอยู่เย็นเป็นสุขเทอญ

Đặt một năm mới xong giá 58 ,000 Baht

The Sakayamuni Phrachanhdhavimutisook
Cast from yellow bronze.Currently the largest bronze Buddha image in Australia .
Height:4.5 meters/Lenght:3.5 meters/ width:2.5 meters/weight:4.5 tonne.
Ordered:21 march,1998/departed thailand :21 March 1999/Arrived in Australia : 4 April 1999.
Designed and sponsored by Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong.
"I Wish all the human beings and animals, all together live healthy, long lives in happiness and kindness.

พระจันทรวิมุตติสุข ศากยะมุนี

หลวงตานาม พระครูจันพี มณีวงศ์ ในต้นปี ๑๙๙๙ นี้ได้สร้างพระพุทธรูปองค์ใหญ่ สูงประมาณ ๔.๕ เมตรและแท่นนั่งสูงประมาณ ๓.๕ เมตร และกว้างประมาณ ๒.๕ เมตร หนัก ๔.๕ ตัน ทำด้วยทองเหลือง หลวงตานามพระครูจันพี มณีวงศ์ เป็นผู้นำเข้ามาประเทศออสเตรเลีย และจะได้ถวายให้เป็น สาธารณประโยชน์ในขั้นต่อไป

Thầy đúc 2 Năm mới xong Đúc phật tổ cao 4,5m, Nặng 4,5, tấn, Dài 3,5 m, Rộng 2,5,m Giá 82,000 ÚC

BIOGRAPHY

The author, Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong, a Lao Buddhist monk was born on 21st March 1921. He joined the monastery at the age of 10 as a novice. When attaining his 21st birthday, he was ordained as a Buddhist monk. In his early ages, he preferred to travel all over Laos to practise his Kammathana (insight meditation) and to provide blessing for those seeking his guidance and advice. In Laos, the Official Buddhist Authority gave him the title of Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong at the time. Luongta Nam Chanhphy Manivong came to Australia as a refugee on 21st June 1981. He was granted Australian citizenship a couple of years later. He is now 78 years old. During his life in Australia he has carried out countless charitable works for the Buddhist world in Australia and overseas. He has written a number of Dhamma books (Lao & English languages) which have been distributed all over the world as Dhamma Dana (Dhamma Gift) to all Buddhamamaka. Some of his Dhamma books and charitable contributions to the world of Buddhism include the following: -

Dhamma Books:

1. Silangloke Anuttarang
2. Vimutti
3. The Way You Are Looking For (Part I & II)
4. The Emptiness You Are Looking For
5. Insight Meditation Vipassana - The Middle Way Meditation of the Six States of Consciousness (Bhumi 6)
6. The Buddha Dhamma For You
7. The History of Siddhartha Gotama Buddha

Additionally, Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong has donated Paccaya (materials) of significant values to the following to Temples and Institutions: -

1. A Buddha Statue ‘Blessing Posture’, 1 small gold Buddha statue 24K 38g, 1 small gold Buddha statue 18K 38g, 1 small silver Buddha statue, 1 small bronze Buddha statue, 4 small Buddha statues made with special metal, 2,000 small Buddha statues, 2,000 Dharma books, 21 sets of Attha and cash 1,000 AUD donated to The Chaua Hoa Ghiem Temple,(Vietnamese) of 22 Princess Ave, Springvale Vic. 3171 (Australia)
2. Two Buddha Statues ‘ Blessing Posture’ offered to Wat Buddhalavarn of Lot 12 Minera Road, Wedderburn NSW 2560 (Australia)
3. A Buddha Statue ‘ Blessing Posture’ offered to Wat Lao Buddhabhavanaram of 561858 St NoKennets City, FL 33709 USA. Also a donation of 93 Volumes of Tripitaka
4. A Buddha Statue ‘ Phra Malai Posture’ offered to The Buddhist Vihara Horrowpothane, Sri Lanka
5. A Buddha Statue with ‘Seven Headed Naga’ offered to the Khmer Buddhist Centre Inc. (Australia) of 458-460 Springvale Road, Springvale South Vic. 3172 (Australia)
6. A Buddha Statue with ‘ Seven Headed Naga’ offered to Phra Ajarn Saly Sourintha, Sydney (Australia)
7. Statues of Phra Mokkhala, Phra Salybouth and 2 small 24K,16g golden Buddha statue offered to Wat Lao Buddhanimit Canberra Inc. of 20 Jenke Circuit, Canberra ACT 2902 (Australia). One golden Buddha statue was put in consecrated precint of temple. The other one was put in the top gable apex of temple.
8. Statues of Phra Mokkhala and Phra Salybouth, two Buddha Statues with ‘Seven Headed Naga’ together with a Statue of Phra Sinnarath offered to The Khmer Temple of 53 Balmorale Ave, Springvale, VIC 3171 (Australia)
9. A Principal Buddha Statue ‘ Blessing Posture - Phra Arunxay’, approximately 1 meter wide and 1.5 meter high, and a Sleeping Buddha Statue, approximately 50cm long and 25 cm high, a bronze Gong, a sum of A$3,000 and a Lao traditional drum ‘ Kong Hang’ about 1 meter long offered to the Buddhist Centre Canberra Inc. ‘ Wat That Luang’ of 1 Shand Place, Latham ACT 2615 (Australia)
10. A Statue of 500 kg Bodhisattva ‘Kwan Yim’, a 500 kg Buddha Statue ‘ Lila Posture’, a 300 kg casted from yellow bronze ‘Buddha was borned Statue’ with seven steps of 50 kg lotus flower casted from yellow bronze, a 500 Kg 2.1 m high casted from yellow bronze “seven headed Naga” a Buddha statue from yellow with , a 500 Kg 3 m long casted from yellow bronze “Reclining Buddha statue”, a 68cm high 38cm wide casted from yellow bronze stupa which costs about 38,000 Baht offered by Mr Ekaporn Sribundit, Buddha relics and cash 500 AUD. All above mentioned items had been offered to the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd of 33 Brooking St, Upwey VIC. 3158 (Australia) by Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong.
11. A Buddha Statue ‘ Lila Posture’ offered to a Vietnamese Temple in Melbourne, VIC. (Australia)
12. On 7 April 1994, Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong has offered a sum of 3,000,000 kips, (Lao currency) plus Bhat 25,000 (Thai currency) plus US Dollar 400 to Wat Phra That Khao of Xaithany City, Vientiane, Laos for the construction of the Temple’s Main Gate
13. Early 1999, Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong has constructed a huge Bronze Buddha Statue approximately 4.5 meters high with the throne approximately 3.5 meters by 2.5 meters. The weight of the Statue is approximately 4.5 tonnes. The Statue has already been transported to Australia and will be offered to the Public in due course.

During the last few years, Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong, has travelled widely all over the world to provide Dhamma Desana for those seeking his advice and guidance. He has travelled to America , Europe, Singapore , Thailand , Cambodia and Laos on numerous occasions. Whatever Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong has done, he did it with a pure heart for the promotion and expansion of Buddhism for the benefits of all Buddhamamaka.

In conclusion, I always remember the advice that Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong has given to his audience that ‘Do not believe anyone, but believe in Righteousness and Goodness. Do not listen to anyone, but listen to Righteousness and Goodness'. I can confirm that all charitable contributions carried out by Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong are true and correct.

On this occasion, on behalf of all Buddhamamaka who have been closely associated with Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong, I would like to take this opportunity to call on the Power of the Triple Gems, the Power of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha and the Power of every Holy Deva in the world to wish Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong to have Health, Longevity and Happiness and to be with us for a long time to come. Sadhu Anumodhami.

Sakcsith Vongtongtip
9/9/1999

The History of Siddhartha Gotama Buddha

Written By

Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong

The Author, Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong, a Lao Buddhist Monk. He joined the monastery at the age of 10 as a novice.When attaining his 21st birthday, he was ordained as a Buddhist Monk.  In his early ages, he preferred to travel all over Laos to practise his Kammathana (insight meditation) and to improve blessing for those seeking his guidance and advice.In Laos, the official Buddhist Authority gave him the title of Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong at the time.

Dear Sir, Madam and Buddha Mamaka

Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong is happy and would like to offer to you this book story. All Dharma words by the law of Buddha teaching are from his writing and all related history of Siddhartha Gotama Buddha images containing in this book are drawn and painted from his students

Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong started writing and collecting the story of Siddhartha Gotama Buddha from 21st March 1942 which is his birthday until he was 77 years old on 21st March 1998. The function in writing and collecting of history of Siddhartha Gotama Buddha is finally completed.

Now Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong has the full story of the Lord Buddha and he, on his wish, would like to offer to you. All Dharma words in this book will come to protect your life to be happy, to be free from suffering now and forever.

Please be caring and respectful all the words in this book look like you respect yourself and care yourself to make your long life.

Those are all Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong has done for Buddhist Satsana and it is true. I, on behalf of Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong, would like to offer to you “The history of the lord Buddha”. Please come to protect and care all beings to be free from suffering and to be happy now and forever.

Thank you
Ekachai Sribundit
(On be half of Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong)
3 March 1972

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

My principal intention for compiling this book ‘The History of Siddhartha Gotama Buddha' is that I would like the book to remain as the source of knowledge for later generations, Buddhamamaka and Dhamma practitioners so that they can feel, see and read it and as well as to use their wisdom to investigate the principles of real truth that already exist. Also, I would like readers to understand the meaning of the word ‘LOVE', which has enormous meaning. For instance ‘Love of one's culture' indicates one's ethnicity; ‘love of one's physical body' leads to cleanliness of oneself from all dirty materials. There exists numerous ways of expressing love: -

Whatever wisdom one has not yet attained, one must always keep practising and meditating until one realises and attains that wisdom. Whatever ‘Sati' (Awareness) one has not yet attained one must be vigorous in one's practice and to relinquish any carelessness and once any Sati has been attained, one must always direct ones thought to any precious way. When one's Cita (mind) is shaken one must attempt to eliminate any distress, discontent worries and confusion. If one's Cita has no foundation, one must be very vigorous in one's meditation practice to relinquish any distress and sickening Cita.

Once a Cita is comfortable, the body is also comfortable which would lead to the development of wisdom. This leads to a saying that ‘a precious being is a human being, a wise person who steadily attains whatever he or she has wished for in life. As a result, suffering is eliminated. Happiness occurs instead. He/she would see ‘ Paradise and Nibbana'. He/she would conquer Brommajana and attain Arahantaship. This is the way of Buddhism showing us that we must investigate ourselves. This is the guarding of Buddhism and to make oneself free from suffering.

Therefore, I have compiled this Book in accordance with the principles of Buddhism that have been recognised and accepted by beings of the world including the ‘Five Worlds' comprising of the ‘World of Bhromma, Deva, Naga, Human and Yomma .'

Mano Puphang Khama Dhamma * Mano Settha Mano Maya *
Manasace Pathutthena * Pasativa Palotiva *
Tatonang Dhukkhaman Veti * Cakkang Vava Dhatopathang *

which means:-

Of all Dhamma, Mind is the Principal. Mind is the Chief. Success is in the Mind. If one has an impure mind, whether in the process of speaking or acting, one would suffer Dhukkha, which one would face constantly. This is similar to the wheels of an ox driven cart that keeps following the ox.

Mano Puphang Khama Dhamma * Mano Settha Mano Maya *
Manasace Pasan nena * Pasativa kalotiva *
Tatonang Sukkhaman Veti * Sayava Anupayini *

which means:-

Of all Dhamma, Mind is the Principal. Mind is the Chief. Success is in the Mind. If one has a pure mind, whether in the process of speaking or acting, one would be happy. This is similar to a shadow that keeps following itself.

Compiled during my 2nd Dhamma Tour to the USA .
70/72 Linwood Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-7127
United States of America - Boston, January 01, 1998
Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong

Ten Lives of a Bodhisattva

Now I would like to briefly explain the source of my Dhamma explanation in relation the last 10 lives of a Bodhisattva so that people of younger generations have the opportunity to read it and to keep it for generations to come.

Accumulation of ‘Good Deeds ' in the last 10 lives

The last 10 lives of the Bodhisattva, born as Prince Siddhartha, before he became The Buddha may be summarised as follows: -

1. Phra Teme - Accumulation (Nakkemma Paramee) of endurance facing enormous suffering for 16 years so that he could go on searching for Mokha Dhamma in order to be able to combat suffering;
2. Phra Mahasadock - Accumulation of (Viriya Paramee) efforts until he was placed on a raft and drifted away in order to combat Kilesa and be free from suffering;
3. Phra Chao Souvannasam - Accumulation of (Metta Paramee) loving-kindness for beings of the world to live together peacefully and to know the value of life by not harassing one another;
4. Phra Chao Nemerath - Accumulation of (Adhithana Paramee) determination in order to teach people how to perform good karma and to be ashamed of committing any bad karma (action);
5. Phra Chao Mahosoth - Accumulation of (Panya Paramee) insight wisdom in order to teach people to be disciplined, to realise the principles of Dhamma Precepts, what is right and wrong, good karma and bad karma and to understand what is useful for oneself and others;
6. Phra Chao Phouridhat - Accumulation of (Vaca Paramee) right speech in order to teach people to refrain from taking revenge, from causing misunderstanding one another, from not committing adultery, from not speaking falsely, from not stealing or taking belongings of others without permission;
7. Phra Chao Chandhakoumarn - Accumulation of (Khanti Paramee) patience in order to teach people to be patient, to be rational and to be truthful and to live in peace;
8. Phra Chao Rattanaphol - Accumulation of (Upekka Paramee) equanimity in order teach people how to refrain from breaking the Dhamma Precepts, from being selfish and above all to be sincere and honest and to know how to forgive and forget;
9. Phra Chao Vithoul - Accumulation of (Sacca Paramee) truthfulness in order to teach people to be careful, to be aware at all time, not to over estimate oneself and above all to maintain the principle of truth;
10. Phra Vetsandorn - The 10 ^th life of a Bodhisattva is accumulation of (Dana Paramee) charity in order to teach people how to release or ‘let go' appropriately, for example:

Additionally, it is how to teach people to respect their parents, masters and teachers as well as to teach married couples to stay within traditional boundaries, to be honest and truthful to one another, to economise and be careful in using one's possessions for the happiness of oneself and others, to carry out good karma for the happiness in this life and the life beyond. These are the last 10 lives of a Bodhisattva, the last one being the life of Phra Vetsandorn and immediately followed by the birth of Prince Siddhartha Gotama on Earth.Prince Siddhartha gave up life in the Palace and began his search for Mokkha Dhamma until he attained Enlightenment without being taught by anyone and became Buddha. The names Phra Gotama, Phra Siddhartha and Buddha belonged to the same person. Phra Boromma Srisonxay was King Sri Soudhothana and Queen Phoutsady was Queen Siri Maha Maya. Both were father and mother of the Lord Buddha respectively.Nang Matdhy was Nang Phimpha (Yasothara) who was Prince Siddhartha's wife. Thao Saly was Phra Rahul who was Prince Siddhartha's son. Nang Kanha was Bikkhuni Uparavannadhera.Phra Vetsandorn was Prince Siddhartha who had been accumulating his paramee (good deeds) for the last 10 lives. In his 10^th life, he obtained what he had been hoping for in every aspect, that is, to search for Mokkha Dhamma for 6 years and in the early morning hours of the full moon day of 6^th month of the Year of the Dog, Prince Siddhartha attained Enlightenment and became Buddha.

DEDICATION OF MERITS

On this occasion, I, Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong, with my pure and sincere heart, would like to dedicate (in Pali language) all the merits that I have carried out to all beings as below:-

1. Buddha Nubha Vena. Sabbha Buddha Nubha Vena (May All Be One)
2. Dhamma Nubha Vena. Sabbha Dhamma Nubha Vena (May All Be One)
3. Sangha Nubbha Vena. Sabbha Sangha Nubbha Vena (May All Be One)

Buddha Rattanang. Dhamma Rattanang. Sangha Rattanang
Buddha Parisitdhime - Dhamma Parisitdhime - Sangha Parisitdhime
Bhummanang Devanang Satdhang Suttava Arakkhara Dhevata Samutdha
Bhutung Khangkhaca Sitdhi Bhavantume

With all the merits that I have carried out, I would like to call on the Power of The Buddha, The Dhamma, The Sangha, The Ariya Sangha, The Assumed Sangha in the past, present and future to be One.

Buddha Nubhavena Sabbuddha Nubhavena
Dhamma Nubhavena Sabdhamma Nubhavena
Sangha Nubhavena Sabbha Sangha Nubhavena

May all the Power become One to bless all my merits including the provision of Dhana, the practising of meditation, the observation of all the Sila Dhamma Precepts whether in the past, present or future to shine on all beings of the Bhromma Loka and the Manusa Loka to be happy - May all of them including Deva, Manusa and animals of all shapes and sizes to be free from any suffering, diseases and sickness of all kinds. As for those who have been involved, both mentally and physically, in the production of this book, in terms of money, time and efforts, as well as all beings including parents, Guru, masters, teachers, debtors and all Buddhamamaka,

Sadhu Anumodhami.
Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE

First of all, I would like to thank Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong who has given me the opportunity to translate the present Volume of ‘The History of Siddhartha Gotama Buddha' from Lao into English for the benefit of all Buddhamamaka.

Although I have taken every precaution in the translation of the Lao text into English language, and I have tried to maintain the Pali and Sanskrit words as much as possible, and at the same, on some occasion, I have inserted an English or Lao explanation next to them for better understanding. As some parts of the Lao text were quite long, repetitive and difficult to understand, I had to edit them, but remained determined to maintain the original overall meaning that the author (Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong) wished to convey to his readers.

It has taken me a few months to complete the translation, especially when I have to work to make a living. Since I have been in Australia from 1977, my family and I have been considerably involved in assisting the Lao community of Canberra , especially in the construction of the 1st Lao Buddhist Temple in Canberra . Therefore, I would like to dedicate all of the merit, good deeds, loving-kindness, wholesomeness and righteousness that may arise from carrying out these good deeds and merits, and including the task of translating this book to my late mother, Mrs Phanhny Vongtongtip, who always said to me that ‘When we are still alive, do not be afraid of carrying out good deeds, merits, wholesomeness and righteousness, but be ashamed of committing any sinful karma (sinful act) which will always bring decay and ruin to oneself and one's family'. Additionally, I would like to thank my wife, Khamkheua Vongtongtip who has been supporting me in whatever community and charitable work I have taken on, including the success of the translation of this book that you are now reading. Without the support of my wife, the translation would be extremely difficult, if not impossible to complete.

Finally, I would like to call on the power of the Triple Gems, The Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha to bless all beings of the world to be happy, to be healthy, to live peacefully and harmoniously with one another, and above all to be free from all suffering in this life and the life beyond.

Sadhu Anumodhami.
Sakcsith Vongtongtip
25 Ratcliffe Cres. FLOREY
CANBERRA A.C.T 2615 - AUSTRALIA
9/9/1999

Dhamma Message

As from now you would realise and understand the source of Buddhism and the person who brought Buddhism into this world.

I would like to briefly explain the meaning of the word ‘Bud', which means ‘The Awaked One, The Realised One'. The Buddha was the Awaked One from Dukkha. He was The Awaked One from being born, from being old, from suffering ,from sickness and pain, from passing-away, from being decay, from being confused, from the process of creation which cause sufferings for all human beings. After The Buddha was awaked, he obtained the word ‘Dho' which means understanding or knowing ‘consequences', sufferings, process of being born, getting sick and old age and of passing-away which was known as ‘Dhamma Anandha Dhamma' which also means ‘Body-less'. Dhamma is ‘Ammatta' immortal. Dhamma is Righteousness. Dhamma cannot die. Dhamma cannot get sick. Dhamma cannot get old. Dhamma cannot decay or perish. If Dhamma is to be perished, it is because of human beings that determine to make it perishable. Righteousness is not perishable. Righteousness cannot die. Righteousness remains forever.

Similarly, Love cannot die, but birth, death and sickness can die because they are subject to their creation. Goodness and Righteousness, although the person responsible may have passed-way, his/her actions or the good deeds he/she has done remain forever. Take a look at some of the statues or monuments that we have seen daily, the statues of Buddha, temples, the Teachings of Buddha, the statues of great men and women, they all remain in the world with dignity. On the other hand, for people who commit sinful and evil crimes (bad karma), although the persons responsible may have already passed-away, what they have done also remains forever with condemnation and sadness.

Love a person with an ‘Immortal Love' although he/she might have passed-away a long time ago ‘Love' remains immortal. Love exists with glory. Love does not have Dukkha. Love does not have distress. Love is not perishable. For example, the greatest Monument of Love in India - The Tajmahal. The spirit of ‘Valentine's Day', Father's and Mother's Days. In Buddhism, the memory of the days when Prince Siddhartha was born, became a Buddhist monk, attained Enlightenment and Mahaparinibbana for example.

Love remains with glory and prosperity. A house full of love will be prosperous and happy. A country with love in its heart will also be prosperous and develop. As for an individual, the more one takes care and loves oneself, one will have less suffering and decay. This is the origin of the words ‘Live with Glory and Praise'. We ought to be grateful to our parents, teachers, masters and our sponsors and benefactors who give us life, knowledge to eliminate ignorance, and support - they all should be respected. In relation to Buddhism, our parents give us our physical body; our teachers and masters give us knowledge. The Buddha was born from a family of a human beings and he obtained his supreme knowledge from everything surrounding us. But the Buddha was the 1st to be awakened and having realised the truth, he would like all of us to follow his footsteps.

Righteousness or Goodness is immortal and it will remain with glory. This is evidenced by the fact that people are still remembered for the sacrifices their countrymen and women made in the past on memorable days by placing flowers on memoraial sites and so on. In any religion, people organise various kind of ceremonies. For example, in Buddhism, religious ceremonies have been conducted for 2541 years to remember the contributions of the Buddha, and these will be carried on up until the year 5000.

In Christianity, Christmas has been celebrated all over the world to remember the day Jesus Christ was born. So this is why I said Goodness is immortal and will remain with glory, whereas evilness also is immortal, but it will remain with condemnation and decay. For example, the destruction of World War 1 and World War 2 when Japan was hit by Nuclear Bombs; in Germany - The Drug House where hundreds of thousands of people were gassed to death; in Cambodia - The Killing Fields - where hundreds of thousands people were murdered and tortured to death.

Love is immortal. In India , the world's greatest monument of love, The Tajmahal which was built by one of the Indian Kings who dearly loved his Queen. In Italy , St. Valentine sacrificed his life for his love of his religion. He was sentenced to death by the Court and was later executed when Rome banned Christianity faith (Roman Catholic). People all over the world remember and respect his sacrifice by calling the day he was executed ‘Valentine's Day'.

Therefore, a Bodhisattva when he was born in any religious faith, it is to teach people to love one another and to live with one another in peace and to help and support each other, and to know the value of one's life and other people as well. It does not matter whether one is a human being, while the other is an animal - we are both subject to the same fate. That is, we are subject to birth, sickness, old age and to passing away. The only difference is that, one party is a human being and the other party is an animal. Both have the same feeling; that is, neither wants to die, but want to live peacefully without being subject to any distress or sadness or decay and destruction. Both are afraid of evilness, which is the cause of destruction and decay.

The Buddha sacrificed everything - the day he was born, the day he decided to join the monkhood, the day he attained Enlightenment and Mahaparinib bana. This can be seen by the fact that, he was born in the Lumbini Park where Kabillapat City and City of Devathaha shared the borders. He left the Palace and cut his hair in a forest on the banks of the Niranjara River . When he attained Enlightenment under a Maha Bodhi Tree. When he attained Mahaparinibbana, between two Sara Trees in a forest outside the City of Kushinara . None of what the Buddha had carried out was in a Palace, a City or a Holy place. Therefore, we can see that, to carry out good deeds, it is not necessary to do it in a city, a Palace, a temple or a holy place. To do good deeds, it is to do it within your heart. It is to do it with wisdom and with reasons only.

Now I would like to emphasise on two words ‘ BUDDHO'. ‘BUD' means to awake whereas DHO means to understand or to know. The Buddha was the first to awaken and he would like all of us to follow his footsteps. The heart of Buddhism in Pali language is that ‘Buddho' is originated from Anapanasati which is ‘To awake and to Understand with a wisdom of a feeling'. A human being lives with breathing and understands with wisdom. I have combined these two words ‘BUDDHO' together, which is the origin of Anapanasati, which is also the heart of the 40 Kammathana in Buddhism. These are the principles of Meditation practice in Buddhism which we normally call VINAYA (rules or codes of practice) all of which were discovered by the Buddha. These principles are being observed and practised by Dhamma practitioners in their Vipassana Kammathana.

Now I would like to briefly explain about consequences of destruction and decay. Decay is the source of Dukkha. Dukkha is the source of being selfish. Selfishness is the source of greed. Greed is the source of committing Karma. There are two kinds of karma - good karma and bad karma, which have been classified as Vatdhacak ‘Circle of Life'. Vatdhacak is the source of Loka. Loka is the source of Sankhara. Sankhara is originated from its own creation. Creation is from behaviour of a feeling and everything in the world. In brief, if we lack Sati (awareness) we will be slaves of greed, which consist of millions of Kilesa. Therefore, I would like to leave these two words ‘BUDDHO' with all of you so that we will not be slaves of selfishness. Be vigorous in your practice - Be awakened and understand BUDDHO.

Blessings to all of you
Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong
Buddhist Centre ‘Wat That Luang' Canberra Inc
1 Shand Place , Latham CANBERRA 2615 ( Australia )

India

India is a country situated in the Southern part of the Asian continent. The Himmalaya mountains, the highest point in the world, are also located in India .

Conference of Deva and Devata to request the birth
of a Bodhisattva on Earth as a Buddha

Prior to the birth of Buddhism on earth, Phra Bodhisattva Vetsandhol was in heaven at the Dusitta level. Deva and Devata at all levels of heaven met to discuss about requesting a most suitable Devata to descend to earth as a Bodhisattva to become Buddha. It was unanimously agreed that a Bodhisattva in the Dusitta level of heaven who had been accumulating paramee (good deeds) in various past lives, only for the purposes of attaining enlightenment and becoming a Buddha, was most suitable so that beings of the world would be blessed and shown the ways of liberating themselves from their own dukkha.

Descendent of a Bodhisattva to the
Sakkayavong family of Kabillapat City

King Sri Soudhothana and Queen Siri Maha Maya were recently married. It was the full moon day of the 8th month of the Year of the Dog when a Bodhisattva descended to earth. On that day, Queen Siri Maha Maya had a dream that she was in a forest where a white elephant had descended from a mountain and started courting her. The day a Bodhisattva entered her womb, there were extraordinary events similar to events on the day a Bodhisattva is born. The earth trembled universally, which indicated that blind would be able to see and a deaf would be able to hear. This referred to the blessing of the Buddha whose Sacca Dhamma would be heard all over the world and the whole Universe. A blind or a deaf person would refer to people who were full of Kilesa and once heard the Buddha Dhamma they would become wise and would find ways of liberating themselves from sufferings.

Kabillapat City

There were many cities together, however, there was one city called ‘ Kabillapat City ' where Prince Siddhartha was born. Kabillapat was built in a Teak forest close to a sword house called ‘Okbil' which was the name of a Sage. This was why the city was named ‘Kabillapat'. The city was ruled by a number of Kings for many generations including the Royal family called that ‘Sakayavong'. During that time it was King Sri Soudhothana and Queen Siri Maha Maya who were rulers. They were father and mother of Prince Siddhartha.

Dream

Before the birth of Prince Siddhartha, Queen Siri Maha Maya had a dream in the early morning of Thursday, on the full moon day of the Eight month in the Year of Rooster. In her dream, a white elephant offered her a lotus flower from a mountain of silver and gold. After that, Queen Maya conceived. During her pregnancy of 10 months, Queen Maya always thought that she would return to ‘ Devathaha City ' to give birth.

Queen Siri Maha Maya
sought the King's permission

King Sri Soudhothana and Queen Siri Maha Maya had been living happily together for a long time and before the baby was due the Queen has requested the King's permission to return to the city where she was born so to give birth to their child. The King had no objection and had asked his officials to prepare the Queen's Royal Escort.

Lumbini - the borders

Halfway between the two cities, there was a park called ‘Lumbini' where citizens of the two countries frequently spent their summer under enormous ‘Sara trees'. The park was an enjoyable place where they could see wild birds singing in their natural environment. This was the place where a child, who later became known as “The Buddha was born”.

Birth of a Prince

It was Friday of the full moon day of the Sixth month of the Lunar calendar (May) when the Royal Escort of Queen Siri Maha Maya arrived at the Lumbini Park . Just before noon, Queen Siri Maya wished to rest under a tree and asked the escort to stop. While Queen Siri Maha Maya was enjoying herself with the sound of the birds singing and the scenery of the park, the Queen gave birth to a child under a Sara tree. Prince Siddhartha was born just before noon on the full moon day of the Sixth month, the Year of the Dog of the Lunar calendar. 80 years before B.E (Buddhist Era). The day that Prince Siddhartha was born was extraordinary amazing as it was also the day he attained Enlightenment and became Buddha. Also, it was the day he passed away (Mahaparinibbana). On this amazing day, it was also the day that the followings were born (1) Miss Phimpha (2) Phra Anonh (3) Nai Sandha (4) Nai Karudhayi (Court Official) (5) A horse called ‘Kandhaka' (6) Maha Bodhi Tree and (7) these were born at the same time with other treasures.

Return of the Prince to the Palace

After Queen Siri Maha Maya gave birth to a child, her Royal escort was busy taking care of the Queen and the newborn Prince. They escorted the Queen and the Prince back to the City of Kabillapat . King Sri Soudhothana was excited to have seen the newborn Prince on that occasion and he had instructed his officials to take special care of the Queen and the Prince.

Visit by Sage Karadhevin

Outside the City of Kabillapat , there were a number of sages and among them there was a most Senior Sage named Karadhevin who had been most respected by the King and citizens of Kabillapat. When Sage Karadhevin heard that King Sri Soudhothana had a baby boy, he came to the Palace immediately as he was also informed in his dream by a Deva (heavenly being).

Respect by Sage Karadhevin

Once Sage Karadhevin was in the Palace, King Sri Soudhothana wished the newborn Prince to be blessed by him, he had asked for the Prince to be brought before Sage Karadhevin. Having carefully examined the newborn Prince, Sage Karadhevin was most pleased. The newborn Prince was born with all the good qualities a person could have ever wished for, but slowly his tears started to flow down his cheeks and finally he bursted into tears of disappointment.

Respect of Sage Karadhevin
and the King

King Sri Soudhothana asked Sage Karadhevin as to why he was crying. Sage Karadhevin said that the Prince was born with all the highest qualities of a human being and he will be the greatest teacher of all beings of the world in the future, but he cried because he would not have the opportunity to live to see that day. He then bowed down to pay respect to the Prince. King Sri Soudhothana also bowed down to pay respect to the Prince.

Meeting of Scholars and
Sages in the Palace

The King had summoned all the Scholars and Sages to the Palace to name to the new born Prince. They agreed to name the new born child Prince Siddhartha which means a person who would achieve whatever he had wished for.

Prediction of Prince
Siddhartha's future by Prophets

All the prophets who gathered at the Palace on that occasion unanimously agreed that if the Prince decided to rule the Kingdom, he would be the greatest Emperor of all time. But on the other hand, if he decided to leave the Palace and to live a hermit life, he would be the greatest teacher of the world. Among the prophets who gathered at the Palace, there was a young prophet by the name of ‘Kodanya' who confirmed strongly that when Prince Siddhartha grew up, he would leave the Kingdom and became a monk. He would attain Enlightenment and become Buddha of the world.

Wishes of King Sri Soudhothana

King Sri Soudhothana was pleased with the prediction that when Prince Siddhartha grew up, he would be the greatest Emperor of all time. But the King was uncomfortable with the prediction that the Prince would leave the Kingdom and become a monk and eventually attain Enlightenment and bring his religion to the world. The King wished that when he was old he would leave his throne for the Prince to take over.

Queen Siri Maya passed away
on the seventh day

After the meeting of scholars and sages to name the Prince, Queen Siri Maya had been ill all the time, and finally she passed away on the seventh day after the birth of Prince Siddhartha. Everyone in the Kingdom was sad, especially, King Sri Soudhothana who dearly loved Queen Siri Maya because of her noble heart, passion and kindness when comparing with other concubines.

Nanny Nang Maha Passabody

After the death of Queen Siri Maya, King Sri Soudhothana had given Prince Siddhartha to another concubine by the name of Maha Pasabodhikodhami to look after. Concubine Maha Pasabodhy Gotamy brought up Prince Siddhartha like her natural son. Because of this, Prince Siddhartha had never seen the true face of his natural mother.

Education of Prince Siddhartha

Many expert teachers who had taken special care of the Prince, taught Prince Siddhartha. He grew up to be a very refined and gracious young boy. He was well liked and loved by all those who had seen him. When he was 8 years old, he was sent to one of the most important education institutions called ‘Visavamit'.

Prince Siddhartha - archery studies

With the assistance of a number of teachers in various subjects of study, Prince Siddhartha was able to study various fields of studies without many difficulties. In fact, he excelled in all of his studies and this had caused amazement for his father and teachers. Whatever he studied, whether it was Public Speaking, Logistics, Economics or Archery, he mastered them all.

Learning from teachers and masters

Although Prince Siddhartha was exceptionally intelligent and at the same time the Crown Prince of the Kingdom, he was most respectful and grateful to all his teachers and masters as he realised that without them, we would not be able to learn valuable lessons in life. Therefore, Prince Siddhartha was always gentle, courteous, respectful and well mannered.

Prince Siddhartha - physical exercise

Prince Siddhartha, apart from being well mannered and well behaved, was kind, generous and full of compassion. He was also very brave in showing his skills in sports for men of his Kingdom. Being from the Royal family, he had been well trained in horse riding, arts of fighting and charioting since he was young.

Prince Siddhartha - great sportsmanship
and kindness to competitors

In Charioting, Prince Siddhartha was able to beat the best Charioteer of his Kingdom. In horse riding competitions, Prince Siddhartha was always kind to his horse that helped him win, for example, instead of pushing his horse to the limit in order to win the competition, Prince Siddhartha would slow down his horse so that to be equal with his competitors.

Prince Siddhartha - kindness to all animals

Prince Siddhartha was not only kind to his own horse, he was also kind to all other animals as well. Although he was the Crown Prince of the Kingdom and had never encountered any difficulties or problems, he knew the feeling of other animals as all of them disliked discontent and unhappiness, but wanted to be happy. In this sense, ‘Animals live their life like a human being'.

At eight years old
- realisation of the value of life

Although Prince Siddhartha was only eight years old, there was every indication that he avoided every thing possible that would harm and suffer, either directly or indirectly, other animals, regardless of their size or shape. This was because he realised that all of them have their own life and encounter the same cycle of life - ‘birth, old age, sickness and death'. One day Prince Siddhartha saw a son of an official beating a snake with a stick. Prince Siddhartha stopped him form doing so as he realised that the boy's actions were cruel and caused suffering. ‘Whether it was an animal or a human being, they dearly loved their life'.

Prince Siddhartha and Prince Thevathat

One day Prince Siddhartha went to play in the park with relatives who were of the same age and other children of his father's officials. Among these children, there was a Prince by the name of Prince Thevathat who was Prince Siddhartha's cousin. They differed in characters and personality, as their previous life was different.

Prince Siddhartha's compassion
for those who suffered

Prince Siddhartha was full of passion and he had never looked down upon the under privileged or the disadvantaged. He was always willing to help others. As for Prince Thevathat, he was a bully. He was jealous and cruel and he loved killing animals. Even on the day when both of them went to play in the park, Prince Thevathat took along his bow and arrows. While playing in the park, there was a swan flying in the sky, Prince Thevathat took out his arrow and shot. The arrow was on target: the swan fell to the ground and suffered a large wound. People who are cruel always want to cause pain and suffering to others, while on the other hand, people who are kind always want to help others to be happy.

Prince Siddhartha's kindness
towards the swan

Prince Siddhartha rushed to the wounded swan and reached it before Prince Thevathat. He carefully picked up the swan and slowly took out the arrow and then crushed some leaves and applied them to the wound so as to stop the bleeding. Prince Siddhartha touched the swan with sincere love and kindness. Prince Thevathat could not stand Prince Siddhartha's actions and attitudes towards the swan and demanded that the swan be returned to him, as he was the person who shot it down. Prince Siddhartha refused to do so and the matter could not be resolved.

Refusal to hand over
the swan to Prince Thevathat

Under no circumstance would Prince Siddhartha hand over the wounded swan to Prince Thevathat. He said that if the person who shot it down had killed it, the swan would definitely belong to the person who killed it. But on this occasion, the swan was not dead and therefore, he would belong to the person who treated his wound. Prince Siddhartha stood firm that the swan should belong to him. On the other hand, Prince Thevavthat also stood firm that the swan should belong to the person who shot it down. Prince Thevathat agreed to refer the matter to the Supreme Council of Scholars and Sages for consideration, as suggested by Prince Siddhartha.

Decision of Supreme Council

The Supreme Council of Scholars and Sages examined the case of Prince Siddhartha and Prince Thevathat. Each member of the Council had his own ideas. Some agreed with Prince Thevathat while others agreed with Prince Siddhartha. The matter could not easily be resolved and had to be further considered.

Kindness saved the swan's life

Finally, the Council reached a unanimous decision based on an intervention of a young scholar who said at the meeting that ` Life should belong to the person who saves it, but not to the person who intends to destroy it '. The swan was then given to Prince Siddhartha who patiently and carefully nursed the swan until he was completely cured. The swan obtained his freedom when Prince Siddhartha released him to the wild. From that day onwards Prince Thevathat vowed to revenge Prince Siddhartha.

Traditional Annual Rice Plantation Ceremony

During that time in India , most of the products that were required by people were from the land. Therefore, a person who worked on the land until it produced rice, which was most essential for human consumption, was considered to be performing the most important duties for himself and the nation as a whole. Because of this belief, there developed a traditional rice plantation ceremony, which the King had to attend and plough the land himself as to set an example for his citizens. The King's actions were not considered to be disagreeable or shameful in anyway, but were meant to be for the happiness of his citizens and the prosperity of his Kingdom.

Prince Siddhartha attended
Annual Rice Plantation Ceremony

In Kabillapat City , it was summer and it marked the beginning of the rice plantation season. The King and his officials together with other Palace residents attended the Royal Rice Plantation Ceremony, which was being watched by a large number of people. There were also many other entertainments as well. King Sri Soudhothana brought along Prince Siddhartha as well.

King Sri Soudhothana performed the ceremony

King Sri Southothana led the official party and started ploughing the field himself, followed by other officials and the rest of the population who performed likewise until the land was ready for sewing. His plough was decorated with gold and the ploughs of his officials were decorated with silver.

Prince Siddhartha's examination of life

When it was time for the fete, those attending the ceremony joyfully gathered themselves in the luncheon area. They all forgot about Prince Siddhartha who was peacefully and quietly walking by himself until he reached a big and shady tree where he sat down and contemplated on life of his father, the officials and the population who joined and lunched together with happiness during the ceremony. This was a happy time for the people.

Prince Siddhartha's concern about
life of animals of the world

As for the bulls, Prince Siddhartha contemplated that they were not happy in any way. They had to pull the plough along sticky clay with all their power until they had to breath through their nostrils and mouth. Their life was not happy, even on the day that human beings were happy and lunched together. For the bulls, they had to work hard, they were caned and cursed with abusive language once they could not please their masters. Prince Siddhartha was not happy.

Prince Siddhartha's examination of way of life

Additionally, Prince Siddhartha noticed the lives of other animals, including the lives of insects living within that area. Prince Siddhartha saw a small lizard emerge from its tiny hole near where he sat and grabbed with its deadly tongue a tiny ant that was labouring its own way of life. And suddenly a snake emerged and killed the lizard with its deadly poison and swallowed the lizard. While Prince Siddhartha was amazed with what was going on, suddenly an eagle swooped down from above and grabbed the snake with its deadly claws and flew away. Prince Siddhartha pitied the lives of these animals and saw how impermanent life was.

Prince Siddhartha realised that
life was full of suffering

Having analysed his thought, Prince Siddhartha said to himself `On face value, while there appears to be many good things in life, isn't it true that there are ugly factors beneath the surface?' Finally, Prince Siddhartha felt that all human beings and animals were clouded with enormous suffering all the time. Even Prince Siddhartha himself, while he seemed to enjoy himself at his early age, his mind was drawn into an extremely deep thinking until he felt nothing as he could not find the answer.

King Sri Soudhothana's return after the ceremony

When the Ceremony was completed, those officials who were supposed to look after Prince Siddhartha had to look for the Prince and finally they found him sitting like a rock statue under a huge shady tree (*). They had to rouse him and request him to return to the Palace with the King and the officials. On his way back to the Palace, Prince Siddhartha felt a great pity for the lives of all animals.

King Sri Soudhothana started to worry

King Sri Soudhothana was very much worried about Prince Siddhartha's behaviour and his thoughts towards monkhood. The King was afraid that the Prince would leave him, his Kingdom and the throne, which he intended to pass on to the Prince. The King was determined to do everything to change the Prince's way of thinking so that the enjoyment and various forms of palace entertainment would absorb his mind. The King ordered another three Palaces to be built for Prince Siddhartha who would now have four Palaces all together. But this could not stop the Prince from sacrificing himself for other human beings to be free from suffering and to find real happiness.

Prince Siddhartha's Palaces -
one for each season of the year

The first Palace was built with high quality hard timber. The temperature inside the Palace was warm. The floor was made of sandalwood. This Palace was for the Prince to live in during winter. The Second Palace was made of marble, which was well polished and maintained all year round. This Palace was for the Prince to live in during summer. The Third Palace was built of high quality brick. The roof was constructed of green titles protecting the palace from storms. This Palace was for Prince Siddhartha and his family to live in during the wet season. Surrounding these Palaces, King Sir Soudhothana had ordered his officials to build a recreational park with lakes where lotus of all kinds and colours were planted all year round. It was also a place where Prince Siddhartha could ride his horse. However, these Palaces could not win Prince Siddhartha's heart.

King Sri Soudhothana said:
‘Nothing could make Prince Siddhartha happy'

As time went by, and the Prince got older, King Sir Soudhothana realised that whatever happiness', conveniences or facilities he offered the Prince to make him happy and content, they were of little consequence or interest to the Prince. Prince Siddhartha said: ‘Whatever is offered is not real happiness'.

Meeting of Sages, Scholars and Court Officials

King Sri Soudhothana called a meeting with Sages, Scholars and Court Officials to find ways to make Prince Siddhartha change his mind from joining the monkhood as predicted by the Senior Sage. The advisors told the King that possibly the only way to stop Prince Siddhartha from thinking of leaving the worldly life was to arrange a marriage of the Prince to the most beautiful girl in the Kingdom. If this could be arranged, the Prince would have less time to think about other things. Then it would be the time to crown him as per the King's wishes. The King agreed with the plan and thought that this would be the only possible solution.

King Sri Soudhothana agreed with the plan

The King has ordered his officials to arrange for all the beautiful young girls in the Kingdom to gather at Kabillapath City on an appointed day. Each one of them had to walk in front of the Prince and would receive a gift according to their beauty from the Prince himself. The King also arranged for his officials to hide nearby in order to find out which one of the girls the Prince admired the most. The King and his officials could not change the Prince's mind about this arrangement and the plans were finalised.

Selection of a princess
to be the Prince's wife

Kabillapat became a bustling City once more, as news spread there would be a selection by the Prince of one beautiful young lady to become his wife. These girls, assembled from all over of the Kingdom, were to parade in front of the Prince, one by one, and each would receive a reward from the Prince himself. It was one of the most beautiful parades ever seen. According to the officials of the Palace, the girls would be delighted and honoured to have the opportunity to accept a gift from the Prince. This was true, but they were also nervous and afraid as they each approached to meet the handsome Prince. They paid courtesy to the kind Prince and returned to their group, excited, joyful and happy at the prospect of being the one chosen to marry Prince Siddhartha.

Beautiful princess

Actually it was natural for the girls entering the contest to be afraid of the Prince who excelled other men of his age in his hansome appearance, kindness, wisdom and nobility. And although the Prince offered the girls the gifts himself, he did not pay interest to their beauty or physical appearance; his mind was occupied by something more important. Many of the girls even said that while the Prince handed them their gift, it was as if he was a statue. The Prince was not thinking of marriage whatsoever. In actual fact, he was thinking about the suffering of people and animals.

The last girl - Princess Yasothara

Most of the girls had walked past the Prince and nothing happened. Prince Siddhartha sat motionless and it was very clear that he had no interest in any of these beautiful girls. When it was thought that all of the girls had walked past the Prince, suddenly there was one last girl who arrived late and hurried herself in front of the Prince. It was circumstances from their past lives that they met.

Princess Yasothara
requested permission to speak

The King's observers noticed that the Prince appeared somewhat happy to see this last girl who walked straight to the Prince and looked directly at him with a smile and asked whether there would be any rewards for late comers. The Prince told her that all of the rewards had been given out, but there was still one more reward. Having said that the Prince removed his own necklace and placed it on the wrist of Princess Yasothara.

King Sri Soudhothana -
consultation of Palace Officials

King Sri Soudhothana's observers were delighted. After investigation they found that the last girl was Princess Yasothara - the daughter of King Soupaputta. They reported their discovery to King Sri Soudhothana. The next day, King Sri Soudhothana asked his officials to organise a party of senior advisers to go and request permission from King Soupaputta (King of Thevathaha Kingdom who was traditionally related to Kabillapath Kingdom by marriage) for his daughter, Princess Yasothara, to marry Prince Siddhartha.

Traditional ceremonies before a marriage

The Royal Sakaya family were considered to be the strongest clan in the Himmalayan valleys and it was a tradition that before the marriage of a young man, he must first compete in a number of events including horse riding, archery and sword fighting to prove his apt and ability. There was no exception for Prince Siddhartha who had to compete with other capable and skilled young men in the Kingdom, so maintaining the tradition for many years to come.

Prince Siddhartha's arrow shooting result

On the appointed day, young men with exceptional skills in horse riding, arrow shooting and sword fighting demonstrated their skills in front of their masters and a huge crowd. Prince Siddhartha rode a white horse named Kadhaka and it was proven that he was the best horseman in the Kingdom and that he could shoot arrows further than the best arrow shooter in the Kingdom as well. At that time it was Prince Thevathat who was the best arrow shooter. The two Princes were cousins.

Sword fighting competition

During the competition, Prince Siddhartha used his sword to cut a huge tree with just one blow. The cut was so fine, delicate and quick that after the cut the tree just stood there as if nothing had happened. To the amazement of the crowd, when a slight breeze came, the tree slowly fell down. At the time, it was Prince Nandha who was considered to be the best swordsman in the Kingdom and the crowd was convinced that nobody could beat him. But, finally, Prince Siddhartha had beaten him. It was proven that Prince Siddhartha was the best swordsman. Prince Nandha was Prince Siddhartha's stepbrother.

Horse riding competition

In the horse riding competition, Prince Siddhartha rode his white horse named Kanthaka. The Prince rode faster and further than any of the horseman in the competition. This caused some dissatisfaction among the riders who said that it was only because of the horse named Kanthaka that the Prince could win the competition as the horse had been considered to be the best and the fastest horse in the Kingdom. They said that they could have also won if they were given the opportunity to ride that horse. It was suggested that the Prince and other riders should try to ride an untrained black horse that nobody had ever been able to ride before and see who could stay on the horse the longest. This was agreed. Only the person who was kind to an animal would be able to do so.

Wild horse riding competition

Each rider took turns and did his best to try to get on the horseback. None of them had any luck and every one of them was thrown from the horseback in no time. Then it was Prince Orasun' s turn. Prince Orasun was regarded to be the best horseman in the Kingdom at that time. Prince Orasun used a little effort and he could easily get on the horseback and hit him with a whip to ride him around the competition ground. Everyone was amazed, but knew that Prince Orasun not would suffer the same fate like every other rider who went before him.

Inability of Prince Orasun
to conquer the horse

Not before long, and unexpectedly, the wild horse turned his head sharply and bit Prince Orsasun's leg and swung him to the ground. In addition, while Prince Orasun was on the ground, the horse attempted to crush the Prince with its feet, but security officials stopped the horse just in time. It was only because the Prince was very careless that his life was placed in such danger. He would not have thought that the wild horse would have allowed him to ride on its back so easily, but because the Prince was unkind by whipping the horse around the competition ground it swung him to the ground. It appeared that only a kind-hearted person might conquer this horse.

Prince Siddhartha
conquered the wild horse

Like the others before him, Prince Siddhartha had to try to ride the wild horse. His turn had now come. The spectators were convinced that the Prince would certainly be killed by the horse and requested him not to step into the competition field. Even Prince Orasun who was regarded to be the best horseman in the Kingdom was almost killed by the horse. Prince Siddhartha asked security officials to release the horse into the competition field. Slowly and determinedly, the Prince walked to the horse and then he placed his right hand on the horse's neck and caressed its shoulder with his left hand. He whispered a few words to the horse's ear while caressing its body.

Prince Siddhartha
conquered the horse's heart

Everyone present at the competition was surprised to witness the horse standing motionless, allowing the Prince to climb upon its back and let Him walk it around the field without any struggle. This was the first time the spectators had witnessed such a thing. This could have been because no one had been kind to that horse before like Prince Siddhartha. This was like an old saying that ‘Good conquers evil - Compassion conquers cruelty'. Those who have a pure and sincere mind win over those who have sinful minds.

Prince Siddhartha won
the competition honestly and cleanly

Everyone agreed Prince Siddhartha was the best archer, the best horseman, and the best sword fighter of the Kingdom. Above all, he was most suitable person to marry Princess Yasothara. King Sri Soudhothana was very happy as initially, he thought that Prince Siddhartha was weak with all the qualities of a priest instead of ruler. As for the father of Princess Yasothara, King Soupaputta was very happy to have the Prince, the most intelligent and competent Prince in every aspect, as a son-in-law and offered his daughter to Prince Siddhartha without hesitation. Once again, Prince Siddhartha had proven himself to be capable in all fields of study including public speaking and arts of fighting.

Royal wedding of Prince Siddhartha
and Princess Yasothara

Finally, Prince Siddhartha and Princess Yasothara were married. Prince Siddhartha was crowned and commenced his rule of the Kingdom at the age of 16 in the year of the Cow amidst the happiness of the people. After the wedding, the couple went to live in the Palaces especially built for Prince Siddhartha and his wife with all the happiness of a young couple. King Sri Soudhothana was very happy and believed that his son would not abdicate the throne to seek Mokkha Dhamma as predicted. However, the happiness, which has been offered to Prince Siddhartha, was only temporary and would not last.

Supreme happiness
as thought by the human world

In order to prevent Prince Siddhartha from further thoughts of seeking Mokkha Dhamma or joining the monkhood, King Sri Soudhothana ordered all his citizens in the Palaces not to mention anything which would bring unhappiness or sorrow including anything regarding sickness, old age or death. Prince Siddhartha's father instructed everyone around the Prince to act happily all time. Even in their dancing and singing they should be pleasing and hide their exhaustion and fatigue. But Prince Siddhartha had never encountered any real happiness since the day he could remember. What had been offered to him in the Palaces, the Prince never regarded as real happiness.

Great high walls separated
the palaces from the outside world

Additionally, King Sri Soudhothana ordered his officials to build many great high walls to surround the Palaces and Royal Parks . No one could visit the Prince except selected young men and women who were happy and energetic at all time. If any of them were sick, they would be taken away and not allowed to return until they had completely recovered. King Sri Soudhothana also ordered officials of the main gates to forbid Prince Siddhartha from going outside the Palaces. This seems like an old saying that ‘A Bodhisattava would never ever go back to his words'.

Only cosmetic happiness
was offered to the Prince

King Sri Soudhothana ordered his officials to organise beautiful singers, dancers and entertainers to perform for Prince Siddhartha all the time. But regardless of how hard they tried, they were not able offer the Prince any true delight or contentment and the suffering accumulating in his heart. The Prince was not happy as expected by his father, King Sri Soudhothana. The Prince wished to see the outside world. He wished to see his citizens and to find out for himself how happy they were and how they lived their lives. He wished to know the truth and he asked his father many times for permission to travel outside the Palaces.

Notification of royal visit
of Prince Siddhartha

Finally, King Sri Soudhothana gave in. The King was not able to resist the Prince's repeated requests to visit the outside world. King Sri Soudhothana instructed his officials to announce the Prince's visit and specifically ordered his citizens to paint the houses and not to conduct any business activities on the day of his trip. The aged, the sick and the disabled were not allowed to roam the streets and were instructed to stay away from the visiting Prince.

The Prince's visit

Once everything was ready, the most beautifully decorated chariot was prepared for the Prince and his trip to the outside world began where his citizens eagerly and happily waiting his visit. On his travels through the streets, wherever he went, the crowd cheered and scattered flowers along the roads.

Appearance of the Four
Deva Ambassadors for the Prince

Suddenly, an old man with grey hair, wearing only an old rag, his face full of wrinkles, toothless, eyes wet, his back crooked and with walking stick appeared and started making his way along the road. Nobody could stop him. He begged for food along the road and appeared to be extremely hungry. It seemed he would die if no one offered him food. The Prince was very touched by the appearance of this old man. This was the first of four appearances of the Four Deva Ambassadors. This person appeared as an old man but was actually a celectial being manifesting itself as an old man. The other three manifestations of the Devas were: a sick man, a dead body, a novice monk.

Everyone tried to stop the old man

All of the spectators waiting to see the Prince tried to stop the old man from being seen by the Prince, but their efforts were pointless as he had already been seen by the Prince. The appearance of the old man caused a great shock to the Prince and led him to reflect on the truth that the sankhara (physical body formation) of a human being is impermanent and subject to old age.

The Prince was very interested in
the Four Deva Ambassadors

After seeing the old man, the Prince had mixed feelings. It was as if the old man was an animal of some kind. He asked his closest servant, Sanna, questions about old man: What kind of Animal was that? If it was a human being, why was his back crooked and not straight like everybody elses? Why did he have grey hair and not black? What happened to his eyes? Where were his teeth? Was every one going to be like this in future? "Let me know the answers and what it was I have seen here?" he asked. "What happened Sanna?" Sanna was not able to hide the truth from the Prince, and he started telling the Prince everything.

Prince Siddhartha learnt
the truth about human beings

Sanna told Prince what he had seen was a human being. He was an old man. His back was not crooked when he was born. When he was born, he was like any other human being. At an early age, he was strong and had black hair. His eyes were clear and his mind was sound. Now that he lived a long time, he had become like this. It was natural and nobody could escape from it. Prince Siddhartha asked Sanna whether he could confirm that everyone would be like this when they lived in the world for a long time and why nobody told him the truth about all of this. The Prince was confused and disturbed. ‘Sankhara is derived from its own creation and would live its life naturally'

Prince Siddhartha asked
about the ‘Process of Life'

Sanna informed the Prince that every human being would be like that once they lived as long as that old man had. Nobody could escape this truth. The Prince asked Sanna again "Everyone, including myself, parents, brothers and sisters and relatives? They too will become like this?" Sanna said "Yes - everyone and no one could avoid it". The truth of nature - ‘to be born, to get old, to get sick and to die - nobody could stop it.'

The Prince returned to
the Palaces with worries

Having heard the truth from Sanna, Prince Siddhartha ordered his chariot and entourage to return to the Palaces immediately. He had no desire to see his citizens any more after he had seen what was the most disturbing and repulsive creature he had ever encountered. The Prince realised that one day he would lose all of his energy, all of the happiness in life and like that old man to grow old himself. He would not be able to protect anyone from this process regardless to their social status: the poor and the rich, the king and the pauper; they would all suffer the same fate in accordance with their Karma, even the Crown Prince himself. This is like an old saying in Pali ‘Kammunna Wattatiloko' - ‘Worldly human beings live in accordance with their own Karma'

Prince Siddhartha said:
‘The law of nature would take its own course'

In the evening of the same day the Prince had returned from seeing his citizens, he could not sleep. He kept thinking about the aging process that he and his Queen would encounter in life, like the old man he saw earlier on during the day. He kept thinking that "Would there be anybody in this world who could find a method of escaping the aging process?" If the Crown Prince himself dedicated all his life and energy to find a way to escape it, would not this be very useful for himself and everyone in this world? Prince Siddhartha wanted to escape from Dukkha (suffering). He wanted for others to escape from it as well. But whilst he did not have this ability he remained troubled and in deep sorrow.

King Sri Soudhothana said:
‘It was beyond control'

Everything was reported to King Sri Soudhothana in detail. The King was very disappointed and he has instructed his officials to entertain the Crown Prince with whatever they could so as to make the Crown Prince happy, but their efforts were fruitless. Prince Siddhartha kept asking the King to allow him to travel outside the Palaces by himself so that he could see the daily life of his citizens and find out the source of the truth. Prince Siddhartha was determined to leave the Palaces with Sanna, his closest official.

Prince Siddhartha and Sanna left the Palaces

King Sri Soudhothana did not want the Prince to leave the Palaces as he was afraid that the Prince would see daily life of his citizens. He was especially afraid the Prince would see the peasants who were not born in a palace or to a rich family. They had to struggle to live their life. The King was also afraid the Prince would see the daily sufferings of people - sickness, old age and death. This reminded the King of the Sage's prediction, which he feared would eventually become true. King Sri Soudhothana did not realise that the more he tried to prevent Prince Siddhartha from leaving the Palaces, the more he caused the him to suffer. But because of his love for the Prince, he decided to allow his son to leave the Palaces and see the outside world. Finally, the Prince had the opportunity to leave the Palaces as he wished.

A blacksmith - everything the Prince needed to know

Instead of travelling by a chariot, Prince Siddhartha, Sanna and a couple of his officials left the Palaces by foot. The Prince dressed like a young man from a wealthy family, the rest of his escort were wearing casual clothes so that no one would recognise him. This would allow him to see whatever he wanted to see without distraction from other people. During the journey, the Prince ran into a blacksmith who was in the process of making various tools. The Prince was very interested in the blacksmith.

Prince Siddhartha visited the city

Along the roads, there were houses and jewellery shops. The Prince saw jewellery of all kinds and shapes. People were buying and selling. The Prince also saw cloth merchants who were dying cloths in many colours along the roads. Some shops were making cakes of all kinds where customers lined up to purchase freshly made cakes. The Prince was very happy with the busy life of the population. He showed no sign of getting tired. Although the Prince was happy, this was not the happiness that he was looking for.

To be born - to get sick -
to get old and to die - it's natural

Finally, the Prince's happiness with seeing the daily life of his citizens passed. While he was walking along one of the roads, he heard a cry for help. Not very far from where he was, he saw a man crawling along the road with pain. His body seemed to be covered with pink dots. Every time the man tried to get up, his eyes poked out and he fell down. He was suffering from disease and sickness. This was the normal process of life; no one could escape from it.

Prince Siddhartha tried to
get answers from the sick man

Because of his kind nature, Prince Siddhartha rushed to the sick man and assisted him to sit. Prince Siddhartha gently raised the sick man's head and placed it across his knees so as to make him more comfortable. Once he thought that the sick man was feeling slightly better, Prince Siddhartha asked him "What happened and why can't you stand up?" The sick man tried to talk to Prince Siddhartha, but he could not raise his voice, as he was too weak. When Sanna and his escorts managed to reach the scene, Prince Siddhartha tried to get the answer from Sanna by asking him "Sanna, tell me, what has happened to this man? Why did he lie down on this spot and why is his breathing making awful noise. Why can he not reply to my questions?" To be born, to get sick, to get old and to die - are the normal factors of all sankhara (physical body formation) of life creation - whether it be an animal or a human being - we all suffer the same consequences.

Sanna prevented Prince Siddhartha
from touching the sick man

Sanna was afraid to see Prince Siddhartha touching the sick man. He asked the Prince not to touch the sick man and replied: "This man has contracted a contagious diseases. His blood is poisonous which causes him to breath with difficulty and eventually, the air will be blocked and he will die." Prince Siddhartha asked Sanna: "Will every one become like this sick man, including me?" Sanna said: "It may happen to you if you keep touching the sick man. Please let him go and do not touch him any further, otherwise the diseases might spread to the Prince himself". But Prince Siddhartha insisted on helping the man because of his kindness to all world beings. He began to realise nobody could escape the law of nature. Life will meet its own ends.

Natural dukkha (suffering):
birth, sickness and death

Prince Siddhartha asked Sanna: "Are there many more diseases ?" Sanna replied: "There are millions of diseases, some of which are very serious and cause great suffering to people." The Prince asked: "Is there anyone that can provide a solution to this problem of disease and the sickness that people are facing? Is there any way that it could be conquered? This is extraordinary!" This was life and it was normal. No one knows when one will get sick. It could happen to any one at any time. Prince Siddhartha further inquired of Sanna: "Will it happen to every one, regardless of one's social status like the King, the rich and the poor? Will this happen to me?" Sanna replied: "Yes, this is the truth, the Prince will one day get sick and die." This is like a saying in Pali ‘Jara Dhammomahi Jarang Anatito' which means ‘to get old is the normal process of life and we cannot escape this aging process.'

Prince Siddhartha kept thinking
about the suffering of human beings

Prince Siddhartha said: "If this is the case, every human being in the world must be living in fear all the time! When people go to sleep at night they might not wake up the next day! Or they may become sick like the man we have just seen. Isn't this right Sanna?' Sanna said: "Yes, this is true. No one in this world knows when they will get sick or how much they will suffer before they die." Sanna then looked ahead and said to the Prince: "Would thePrince please turn his eyes the other way and he will see death is a fact of life. No one can escape from it. The question is how and when?"

Sanna told Prince Siddhartha
that ‘Everyone would die'

Prince Siddhartha turned his head the other way as advised by Sanna. He saw a large group of people walking along the road and crying. In front of them were four people carrying a man on a stretcher. His mouth was wide open and he looked loathsome. The journey appeared rough and extremely uncomfort able for the man and although as he was heaved and tossed on the stretcher he did not say a word. While the group of people were walking past Prince Siddhartha, the Prince was puzzled as to why they were crying and why the man lying on the stretcher did not ask his carriers to be more careful. This is like a saying in Pali: ‘Moranang Dukkhang' which means ‘Death is a natural suffering which every human being will encounter, but when?'

Sankhara anicca -
when a person dies they are bodyless

Having passed Prince Siddhartha a short distance, the carriers of the man, placed the stretcher on a pile of wood and started a fire. The man on the stretcher did not even move as he was burnt. Prince Siddhartha became puzzled even more and he asked Sanna with a trembling voice "Sanna what happened? Why did they burn the man on the stretcher? Why he did not say anything?" Sanna told him: "This is a dead man. He has no feelings. It did not matter how hot or cold he was. He did not know because he was dead. He had no life. Life was empty, it had no body. The only thing to remain were the good or bad deeds the man carried out when he was alive."

Prince Siddhartha - more questions to Sanna

Prince Siddhartha asked Sanna: "You have explained ‘death' to me, but will I and other persons in the world face with the same thing?" Sanna replied: "Death is unlimited, it is not selective, the King, the commoners, the rich and the poor - all will die. Whatever has life will die one day. Nothing can stop death." Having heard this explanation from Sanna, Prince Siddhartha was shocked and could not say a word. By no means of escaping death, that which took control of every living creature, he was very worried. One day, we will all be separated from the people and things we love and hate. He thought, "Wasn't there anyone who could prevent this?"

Prince Siddhartha realised all past incidents

Prince Siddhartha returned to the Palace in silence. He went straight to his rest room and considered what he had seen and heard. He contemplated death and thought to himself: "Death is frightening. Everyone in the world will die one day without escape and no means of preventing it.." But he then thought: "There might be a way to escape death and I will find that way myself, for myself, for my parents, my wife and relatives and all human beings so that no one will be under the power these most fearful events of old age, sickness and death." To do this he would have to find the source of the truth, but by what method? Prince Siddhartha continued meditate.

Prince Siddhartha saw a novice monk

One day, during his horse ride in the Royal Park , Prince Siddhartha saw a monk wearing a yellow robe. Prince Siddhartha observed this monk very closely and concentrated his mind on the monk until he could see the monk's mind where he found peace and harmony. Prince Siddhartha asked Sanna about the way of life of such a monk. Sanna told the Prince that these people lived their life secluded from others. They were seeking for truths that would destroy the suffering of the Sankhara. Prince Siddhartha was very pleased to hear this reply. Detachment from the world - a life of renouncement, giving up the impermanent and seeking true wisdom and happiness was what Prince Sidhartha was looking for.

Prince Siddhartha has been tied by a knot

Prince Siddhartha found a quite spot in the Park where he sat and contemplated. He concentrated his mind on leaving the world. Whilst he was meditating, one of his officials rushed towards him and told him the news that his wife has given birth to a baby boy. Prince Siddhartha did not show any sign of happiness. He said quietly to himself "A knot in a string has been born, a knot in my life has come to me." This was why his son was named Phra Rahul, which means a string knot. When Princess Yasothara had gave birth to their son, Prince Siddhartha said that a string knot had been tied around his neck. This is like an old saying in Pali:

This is one type of suffering faced by one who determines to look for a way to destroy Dukkha.

Prince Siddhartha said to himself:
‘It's a source of suffering'

Since the day Prince Rahul was born, those who were close to Prince Siddhartha observed that Prince Siddhartha has changed. Prince Siddhartha was extremely deep in his thought and this caused King Sri Soudhothana to be very concerned and worried. For the last time, King Sri Soudhothana instructed his officials to recruit the most talented and beautiful dancers and entertainers for Prince Siddhartha's Palaces. They managed to do so and the dancers and entertainers did whatever they could to please Prince Siddhartha, but they failed in their attempts. While other people believed that these things were the sources of happiness, to Prince Siddhartha it was the contrary. (Prince Siddhartha had sixty thousands concubines in his Palaces).

Prince Siddhartha knew
‘ Suffering' in his heart '

Initially, Prince Siddhartha obeyed his father by listening and watching all of the dancers and entertainers, as he did not wish to upset his father. But Prince Siddhartha only watched them with half his attention. His mind was occupied with ways of how to escape old age, sickness and death. Finally, he fell asleep. All the dancers and entertainers ceased their acts. Prince Siddhartha's mind could not find any true emptiness and he was confused.

Prince Siddhartha's Investigation of Beauties?

When Prince Siddhartha woke up, he looked around and found that all the beautiful dancers and entertainers were also asleep with fatigue. None of them were pleasant to look at anyway. Some of them slept with their mouth wide open and saliva flowing down their chins. Many others were biting their teeth in their sleep. It was as if they were demons and extremely awful to look. Prince Siddhartha wondered himself "Once I used to like them, how could this be?" This was an understanding only of a person with a trained mind and good ‘sati' (mindfulness of the situation) could discern while assessing the source of suffering and unhappiness.

Suffering from Rupa, Rosa, Sadda,
Gandha, Bhodhappa and Dhammarom

The sight of all the dancers and entertainers that once appeared so beautiful and lovely to Prince Siddhartha, appeared very ugly and base. Since the day he was born, Prince Siddhartha had the thought that one day, whatever disturbed his mind, he would abandon and seek true happiness and wisdom that would remove these disturbances. Prince Siddhartha walked quietly out of his room so as not to disturb anyone and instructed Sanna to saddle his horse, Kanthaka, immediately. This time, Prince Siddhartha was prepared. He knew the source of suffering and vowed to seek true wisdom and happiness.

Prince Siddhartha visited
his wife's bedroom for the last time.

While Sanna was saddling up the horse, Prince Siddhartha went to his wife's bedroom where she was asleep with his son. His wife's hand embraced Prince Rahul with love and kindness. Prince Siddhartha was thinking of lifting his wife's hand up, but was afraid that she would wake up and prevent him from leaving. Therefore, it would be better he would leave silently. Once he found what he was looking for, he would return and bless wife and son. Karma love of one's child is like a string tying one's neck; Karma love of one's wife is like a string tying one's hands. He had already made up his mind to leave the Palace and seek Mokkha Dhamma. It would be better to leave quietly now and return to give blessings after his enlightenment.

Prince Siddhartha left the Palaces with sorrow

Prince Siddhartha left the Palaces in silence in the middle of the night without being seen. He walked his horse to the main gate with Sanna. After walking through the main gate, Prince Siddhartha turned and looked back at the Palaces under the moon light for the last time. Whilst looking at the Palaces he felt some sorrow, but remained determined to leave. He was confident he would find Mokha Dhamma, a way to escape confusion, which was the cause of decay, deterioration, distress and was the source of suffering.

Before cutting his own hair,
Prince Siddhartha was very confident

In the early hours of the morning, Prince Siddhartha reached the bank of the Anoma River . There on the river sand he removed his royal uniform and handed it to Sanna. He instructed Sanna to report to King Sri Soudhothana and his wife at Kabillapat City that "Prince Siddhartha of Sakya Royal family, at the age of 29 years, has left the Palaces and become a priest, leaving this world, searching for Mokkha Dhamma, to help all beings escape from suffering." Prince Siddhartha was well aware that what he set out to achieve (enlightenment) it would not be easy.

Prince Siddhartha untangled
himself of all the knots and ties

Once Sanna and his horse, Kanthaka, commenced their to return to Kabilpat city, Prince Siddhartha travelled to the Mango forest, Anupya Ambhavan, which was seven days from the Anoma River, where he rested. Then Prince Siddhartha headed South in the direction of Makhatha Kingdom where he reached the city of Rajjakeu whose King was Prince Phimphisan. In the early morning, having washed himself in the River, Prince Siddhartha went into the city for ‘alms round' like the other monks. A number of citizens observed that Prince Siddhartha was different from any other monk they had seen. He was very clean and handsome and lovely. Many of them donated some of their best food to Prince Siddhartha.

So determined, Prince Siddhartha
was not shaken by any obstacles

Having completed his ‘alms round' Prince Siddhartha headed towards Bandhava to eat. But the people of Rajjakeu kept talking and asking about the new monk who could not be compared with any other monk, as he was so beautiful and lovely. The news finally reached King Phimphisan who instructed his officials to investigate the situation. The officials reported to King Phimphisan that the monk was Prince Siddhartha, son of King Sri Soudhothana, Crown Prince of Kabillapat who had given up his kingdom to seek a way for himself and others to escape suffering.

Happiness of all beings -
it was a must for Prince Siddhartha

Having heard about the new monk, King Phimphisan left the Palaces and headed for Bhandava to invite Prince Siddhartha to stay in his Kingdom by offering every facilitiy required by the Prince to attain what he was looking for. Prince Siddhartha kindly declined the King's invitation by saying that he could not stay in any one place for a long time as long as he still has not yet found what he was looking for. King Phimphisan requested the Prince to return to Rajjakeu City first when he had discovered what he was looking for so that the King himself and his people would be first to learn from the Prince. Prince Siddhartha was looking for was ‘Sacca Dhamma' - to know Dukkha, to see Dukkha and to escape from Dukkha. This was Prince Siddhartha's wish.

The Prince's confidence - keep practising

Prince Siddhartha left Rajjakeu the next day and headed towards a rural area where there were mountains and forests and a place where a number of hermits of different beliefs were practising. Along the road, the Prince saw a large cloud of dust and heard the noise of animals coming towards him. Suddenly he saw a herd of sheep and goats being herded back to the city. At the end of the herd, there was a little lamb with an injured leg walking a long in pain. Its leg was bleeding. Then the Prince saw the mother of that little lamb. She was extremely shaken and worried about her young one. Prince Siddhartha's heart was full of kindness. One's kindness could lead to happiness for others. This is like an old saying in Pali ‘Dhamma Kindness Supports the World .

Prince Siddhartha said "Human beings and animals -
all have a life to live and all must face Dukkha (Suffering)"

Prince Siddhartha lifted up the young lamb with his hands and carried it along with kindness. He found a group of shepherds and asked them why did they have to herd these lambs and goats during the day under the hot sun instead of the evening. They told the Prince that it was the King's Orders. These 100 sheep and goats must arrive in time for a sacrifice. Prince Siddhartha said that he would come along and walked with the shepherd while carrying the little lamb in his hands. ‘When we suffer Dukkha ourselves, only then do we know the suffering (dukkha) of others. If we do not understand that we have dukkha - we are not be able to escape from it '

Being selfish - not knowing the suffering of others

Prince Siddhartha walked with the herd and the shepherds until they reached the Palaces and the area prepared for the sacrifice. At the time, the King was sitting with a group of priests who were praying to their Gods. The sacrificial fire was burning high and the Priests were ready to sacrifice the sheep and goats that just had arrived. While the Chief Priest raised his axe to cut off the head of the first lamb lying on the ceremonial table, Prince Siddhartha stopped the Priest.

When being sacrificed - how would one feel?

Prince Siddhartha calmly intervened the ceremony. The Prince's actions were controlled and he gently requested the King to stop the sacrifice of the innocent sheep and goats. Prince Siddhartha pointed out for those attending the ceremony that life is precious. It was simple and easy to destroy a life, but once destroyed, it could not be revived. All live animals loved their life and were afraid of dying - just like any human being. Why should human beings use their power to plunder the life of innocent animals that were born into to the world like our friends. These animals would never wish to give their life away. They all loved their life. Taking the life of others for the happiness of oneself was against Dhamma principles.

Whatever one's doing -
one will be rewarded with the same thing

Prince Siddhartha continued: "If human beings wish to receive loving kindness from their Gods, they should show loving kindness to other beings. If human beings destroy the life of animals, their own life will also be destroyed one day, according to the law of Karma. If human beings wish to be happy in the future, they should not cause suffering to other human beings or animals regardless of their circumstances. If one plants a seed of sorrow and suffering, undoubtedly one will collect the fruit of sorrow and suffering in the future. Being kind is precious. Stop being selfish. Stop carrying out any action that causes trouble and hardship to others for the sake of one's own happiness."

Prince Siddhartha's determination
During his speech to the King, the Priests and the crowd, Prince

Siddhartha demonstrated and displayed kindness and gentleness to everyone. His heart was full of compassion. These qualities posessed by the Prince were powerful and his clear and confident words changed the minds of King Phimphisan, the Priests and those at the ceremony. After hearing Prince Siddhartha's speech, King Phimphisan ordered his citizens to be kind to animals and let them live. King Phimphisan requested Prince Siddhartha again to live in his Kingdom, but the Prince once again graciously declined his offer, as he has not yet discovered what he was looking for. Prince Siddhartha sought leave from the King and continued his journey.

Prince Siddhartha studied
with Priest Ara Karamakoth

Having left Rajjakeu City , Prince Siddhartha headed for the school of Priest Ara Karamakoth , one of the most well known Priests at that time. Prince Siddhartha used his time and energy well, learning from Priest Ara Karamakoth until he mastered everything the Priest had taught him. The Prince was the best student Priest Ara Karamakoth had ever had. The Priest was most pleased with Prince Siddhartha who continued to live with the him and at the same time seek the heart of Dhamma.

Prince Siddhartha - discussion with the master

One day, Priest Ara Karamakoth said to Prince Siddhartha: "Now that you have learnt everything, we both see things alike. There is no difference between us. The Prince should stay here and continue teaching our students." Prince Siddhartha asked the Priest whether there was anything else to learn, such as, power over life, above sickness and death? Priest Ara Karamakoth said that he could not teach the Prince any of these things as he had reached the end of his knowledge. Priest Ara Karamakoth said: "The Prince must find the source of suffering and the method to find it."

Insufficient Knowledge of
Prince Siddhartha to Eradicate Suffering

Priest Ara Karamakoth taught Prince Siddhartha to practise mediation by controlling his mind until attaining the stage of ‘no feeling' (Akinjan Yata Jana) and be content with peace and harmony. However, the knowledge that Prince Siddhartha has acquired during his years of study was insufficient and he still could see the truth of life, the problems relating to the eradication of suffering, sickness, old age and death. Because of this, The Prince asked permission to leave Priest Ara's school in search of a new teacher with more knowledge in this area. Prince Siddhartha left Priest Ara looking for the true Dhamma which would help him extinguishing suffering and pass on knowledge to others.

Prince Siddhartha's
second school with Priest Oudhaka

Having heard the name of Priest Oudhaka who was known to be the best teacher in the region, Prince Siddhartha headed for his School. Here Prince Siddhartha studied and practised vigorously with Priest Oudhaka until he learnt everything from this master. Priest Oudhaka was extremely satisfied with the intelligence and ability of Prince Siddhartha and asked him to stay and help manage the School together. However, this was not the wish of Prince Siddhartha.

Prince Siddhartha had
so far studied with two masters

Although the knowledge Prince Siddhartha acquired under Priest Oudhaka was superior to what he had learnt from Priest Ara, still Prince Siddhartha was not satisfied. He still did not understand the reality of life. He left Priest Oudhaka's School in search of the truth by himself until he could find what he was looking for.

‘Atta Kila Matthanou Yoga' - body torturing

India in the past was similar to India today. A large number of Priests left their homes and families thinking that by starving themselves of food and by torturing their bodies by various methods, it would make them attain happiness in the Deva world. Part of their belief was that the more they tortured their bodies in this world, the more happiness they would attain in the next world. They vigorously practised these methods of torturing which was against the Dhamma principles. Lord Buddha once said "This should not be carried out."

Continuation of body torturing

Some of those body torturing practitioners slowly and progressively reduced their amount of food consumption until they hardly ate anything at all and their bodies resembled a skeleton. Some of them would stand on one leg for many hours; many others would raise one arm in the sky until they died, as the arm did not receive sufficient blood circulation. Some of them would clench their fist forever, some of them would sleep on board of nails or thorns or sharp knives. Lord Buddha said "Body torturing by injuring one's body was wrong in Dhamma practice. One should discontinue this practice. One will not attain enlightenment by this method.."

Prince Siddhartha started
practising body torturing

Although Prince Siddhartha later realised this practice was unfruitful, he first thought that if he practiced this body torturing method vigorously himself with different techniques he might be able to discover the knowledge he had been looking for. Having made up his mind, Prince Siddhartha headed for a rural area in the Region of Aruvera where he found a flat and peaceful area with many trees, and reasonable access to a river which flowed all the time. There was a small village not far from the area where he could carry out his alms rounds. Having selected the location, Prince Siddhartha started practising body torturing with different techniques believing this would assist him discover the real ‘Truth of Dhamma'.

Prince Siddhartha - gambling with his own life

At that time there were a number of Priests who became devotees of the Prince. Among them, there were five distinguished Priests (Pancavakkee) who dedicated themselves to assisting the Prince while he practised his body torturing techniques. They were (1) Priest Godanya (2) Priest Bhandya (3) Priest Vappa (4) Priest Mahanama and (5) Priest Adsy. These five Pancavakkee believed strongly that Prince Siddhartha would attained what he was looking for by using body torturing techniques and once the Prince attained enlightenment, they would be the first to acquire the true knowledge from the Prince. They continued serving and assisting the Prince during his practice.

Prince Siddhartha -
refusal to consume food for 49 days

Prince Siddhartha was very determined with his body torturing techniques and kept practising with different methods and at the same time ate less food every day until his body was emaciated. The Prince continued his practice with a strong and determined mind. One day while practising, he had a fainted and became unconscious because of his body was so weak. Fortunately, there was a young shepherd who saw the Prince lying there unconscious. The young shepherd, like other villagers in the area, knew that the Prince had been practising body-torturing techniques by not eating or drinking for 49 days.

Prince Siddhartha regained
consciousness after drinking goat milk

The young shepherd rushed back to his flock and brought back a female sheep to where the Prince was lying. He milked the sheep and poured some of them into the Prince's mouth in order to revive him. Prince Siddhartha felt a little better after drinking the milk and regained his consciousness. He reflected on what had happened and tried to find the cause of his unconsciousness and his regaining consciousness. Prince Siddhartha was certain that if he had not consumed the sheep's milk he would have died and so would never be able to discover what he was looking for. Prince Siddhartha almost lost his life before realising that, although body torturing was a widely used technique, its results were fruitless. He said to himself that "Body torturing causes serious damage to one's body and should not be continued".

Hints from a three stringed guitar

Having assisted Prince Siddhartha regain consciousness, the young shepherd received blessings from the Prince and was very happy. He ran back to his sheep happily as he had the opportunity to offer milk to a Priest who was highly respected. After the young shepherd left, Prince Siddhartha sat on the same spot under the same tree until late in the afternoon. Then Prince Siddhartha heard a woman singing from a group a travellers on their way to the city to carry out their trades. He also overheard the advice of one traveller to another: "When playing the guitar, the strings should not be too slack, producing a poor quality sound. Nor should they be too tight either, causing the strings to snap. The string should be just right the right tension for the listeners to enjoy the music." Having overheard this advise, Prince Siddhartha thought to himself: "Too tight and the string will snap; too slack and the music will be unpleasant to listen to. The string must just be right."

Prince Siddhartha gained
‘sati' (mindfulness) and ‘panya' (wisdom)

Having overheard the discussion, Prince Siddhartha realised that so far he had tuned the string of his life too tight. By torturing himself he would die before he could discover what he set out to achieve. Prince Siddhartha also realised that body-torturing techniques were not the right techniques to attain Sacca Dhamma and decided not to continue these practices any further. He would practice ‘Mental Development' techniques he had used once before. From that time on, Prince Siddhartha carried out his alms round every morning and consumed what he had been offered so that he could maintain his strength sufficiently and continue his attempts to find Sacca Dhamma.

Prince Siddhartha said: ‘Life is precious'

Having ceased practising body torturing techniques and eating sufficiently, Prince Siddhartha regained his physical strength and handsome appearnace. He looked peaceful, calm, and respectful. Prince Siddhartha clearly saw that when performing body torturing it was just like making a string from clay - inflexible and unable to produce a sound. The five Pancavakki could not comprehend Prince Siddhartha's understanding. They were determined to believe body torturing techniques were the only way to attain Sacca Dhamma. When they saw Prince Siddhartha had ceased practising these techniques and started consuming food, they concluded he was full of greed and so deserted the Prince and returned to the Isi Pattana Mikkadhayavan Forest . As the level of wisdom of ordinary people was so limited, they could not understand the Prince's actions.

Offering of rice milk (Madhu Payards)
from Mrs Sousada

In the early morning of the full moon day of the sixth month, Prince Siddhartha was sitting under a tree when the servant of Mrs Sousada saw him. Prince Siddhartha was so radiant and still he thought that the Prince was a God. He certainly did not look like the other Priests. The servant ran back and informed Mrs Sousada that there was a God under a tree waiting for sacrificial offerings. Having heard this news, Mrs Sousada and her servant prepared a dish of rice milk. They placed it on a golden plate and offered it to Prince Siddhartha. Mrs Sousada said: "May you attain what you have wished for" (Mrs Sousada once made a sacrificial promise that if she had a baby boy she would offer a dish of rice milk to God. As she thought Prince Siddhartha was a God she offered him the rice milk). Prince Siddhartha accepted the offer of a rice milk from Mrs Sousada. This offering of rice milk made Prince Siddhartha very happy. He realised the great benefit of the food given to him and the energy it had to help him keep practising. (Note: The first offering of rice milk (Madhu Payards) from Mrs Sousada which Prince Siddhartha ate gave him energy to keep practising until he attained Enlightenment. The second offering nobody assisted Prince Siddhartha attaining Mahaparinib- bana, except Nai Jun).

Prediction with a golden plate
at the Riverbank of Niranjara

After the offering of rice milk to Prince Siddhartha, Mrs Sousada and her maid returned home and Prince Siddhartha went to the riverbank to wash. He returned to his seat and started rolling the rice milk into rolls. He made 49 rolls. Prince Siddhartha mindfully ate each roll, and he found the rice milk was so nutritious and such a valuable food, that it gave him the stength to practice his meditation for days to come. Having completed his meal, Prince Siddhartha took the golden plate to the riverbank. There he made the following wish "If I am to attain enlightenment and become Buddha, may this golden plate float upstream". Prince Siddhartha slowly placed the golden plate on the water and miraculously, the golden plate floated eight elbow lengths upstream before suddenly sinking to the bottom of the river.

Naga ‘Karanak' woke up with
the noise of Price Siddhartha's golden plate

There the golden plate joined with another three golden plates of the previous Buddhas, namely (1) Buddha Kukusandho (2) Buddha Kona Khammano (3) Buddha Kassapo and (4) Buddha Khodom.

As for the Naga Karanak, he represents all the human beings that are full of Kilesa (defilements). Although Naga Karanak knows about the enlightenment of another the Buddha, after waking up briefly to pay respect, he goes back to sleep and thinks nothing further of the matter. This is similar to the understanding of the majority of beings in the world: they understand the source of sufferings, but they have been mistakenly led to believe that these Rupa, Nama, Rosa and Gandha are the source of real happiness and therefore, they continue to suffer.

Brahman Sodhiya offered
8 bundles of grass to Prince Siddhartha

After washing himself in the River Niranjara, Prince Siddhartha returned to the nearby Sara forest to continue his practice. In the evening, he left the Sara forest and headed for the Bodhi tree where he laid down 8 bundles of grass given to him by Brahman Sodhiva. Prince Siddhartha sat on the grass and continued his practice with strong determination.

A throne of grass
became a throne of enlightenment

Prince Siddhartha sat on the grass facing East, his back towards the Bodhi tree. He vowed that under no circumstance, even if only bones and skin were left on his body and eventually he died, he would not get up from under the Bodhi tree until he had attained enlightenment.

Memories of worries, concerns and
confusions in Prince Siddhartha's Mind

Having completed his vow, Prince Siddhartha concentrated his mind, fighting off dark obstacles and elevating his mind above temporary and impermanent happiness which he had already discerned and discarded from his life. Prince Siddhartha concentrated his mind to discover of the source of suffering, but because of his young age, only 35 years, appearances of old memories like the happiness and comfort in the Palaces with performers and entertainers constantly came flashing back. Prince Siddhartha said to himself: "I must conquer them all."

Buddha conquered enemies on a grass throne

On the fourteenth day of the full moon of the sixth month of the Year of the Dog, Mara sent his three most beautiful daughters to lure Prince Siddhartha with charms and beauty. They were (1) Nang Raga, (2) Nang Tanha, and (3) Nang Orady. But none of them could distract Prince Siddhartha. Due to the Power of the Panya Paramee of the Buddha, the three daughters became old and ugly instantly. Mara was so furious, he ordered all of his entire forces of darkness to confront Prince Siddhartha face to face in order to take back the grass throne and chase away Prince Siddhartha. But because of the Paramee (good deeds) that Prince Siddhartha had accumulated in the past 500 lives, Mara could not defeat the Buddha. The Ten Paramee are as follows: -

1. Dhana Paramee Give Offerings
2. Sila Paramee Practising Sila (continuation of doing good deed)
3. Nekham Paramee Tolerance
4. Panya Paramee Exercising wisdom on the appropriate way
5. Viriya Paramee Determination until the end
6. Kanti Paramee Patience
7. Sacca Paramee Honesty (Speaking the truth)
8. Adhithana Paramee Rightful Mind
9. Metta Paramee Compassion (Help oneself and others)
10. Upekka Paramee Equanimity (Indifferent, Give up when appropriate)

These were the good deeds (Paramee) that Prince Siddhartha had been practising in past lives. Every time a Paramee (good deed) was carried out, he dripped water to the ground where it was recognised and recorded by Mother Earth (Goddess of the Earth) as ‘Kusala Sat Kiriya'.

Prince Siddhartha conquered internal evil forces -
but external evil forces arose again for the second time.

About three to four hours before the enlightenment of Prince Siddhartha, there was a loud noise in the sky and on the earth and evil forms, under the command of their tainted master, Mara, gathered. They rushed out from everywhere. They came to take the grass throne for their master and to take the life of Prince Siddhartha himself. Mara claimed the grass throne belonged to him. But Prince Siddhartha spoke truthfully when he said that it belonged to him. Prince Siddhartha's good deeds, which he had been accumulating for the past 500 lives gave him undisputed precedence to the throne. Mara, who held the Prince in contempt, grew angry and challenged Princa Siddhatha to produce a witness. To this, Prince Siddhartha reflected on all the good deeds he had done and the offerings of water he made to Mother Earth every time he carried out a good deed.

Suddenly, Mother Earth appeared as a lady and showed Mara with all the water in her hair. The water continued to pour out, flooding and washing away millions of soldiers and subordinates of Mara. Mara fled to the sky with the water following him until he surrendered and begged for his life. After that, Prince Siddhartha attained Enlightenment and became the Buddha.

Strong and stable mind - foundation of samadhi

During his samadhi (peaceful concentration/meditation), the Prince reflected on his previous lives which became very clear in his wisdom, known as ‘Bupenivasanusatijan'. He continued to examine the lives of animals and how they came to be born in one place and die in another depending on their karma. With his ‘Wisdom Eye' Prince Siddhartha saw why some people lived a comfortable life while others lived in constant misery. This was due to the previous actions (karma). Those that were generous and kind in previous lives, lived comfortably in their present life. Those that were mean and stingy in previous lives lived in misery in their present life. Everything became clear to Prince Siddhartha when his mind was in ‘Samadhi and Wisdom Jana'

Prince Siddhartha attained Enlightenment
as The Buddha Enlightenment

It was exactly 6 years, from the moment Prince Siddhartha left the Palaces to the day of his Enlightenment, which was in the early morning of the full moon day of the sixth month of the Year of the Dog. Prince Siddhartha became the Enlightened One, the Supreme One and attained extraordinary insight wisdom. Prince Siddhartha attained: -

1. Bupesanivasnusatijan ‘ability to recall past lives'
2. Jutuppatajan (magical eyes) destroying ignorance which Moha and knowing what is Sacca Dhamma and what is not (right from wrong)
3. Asavakkacajan - attaining the Four Noble Aryasacca Dhamma completely destroying all the kilesa (defilements) and accumulating complete wisdom of life and Brommajana and becoming ‘Arahanta' (not to be re-born ever again).
4. Attaining Enlightenment and becoming a Buddha and fully understanding the Four Sacca Dhamma: -

   Dukkha Sacca Unhappiness of Body and Mind
   Samoutthaiya Source of Suffering
   Nirodha Sacca Cessation of Suffering
   Mugga Sacca (8 Mugga) Practical ways to attain Sacca Dhamma in order to conquer suffering (Noble 8 Fold Path)

What Prince Siddhartha had discovered became known as the ‘Ariya Sacca Dhamma' - The Four Noble Truths. This is why he was known as the Buddha - a person who has attained Perfect Enlightenment without the guidance of a teacher.

After attaining the fourth level of Jana through his meditation, Prince Siddhartha continued his practice in the 1st hours of the same night and attained the third level of Jana ‘Bupenisanusati Jana' - recalling one's past lives. In the second hour of the same night, Prince Siddhartha attained the level of ‘Jutuppata Jana' - magical eyes - able to see the appearance and disappearance of all beings through birth, death and re-birth, and in the last hours of the night, Prince Siddhartha attained the last level of ‘Asavakkaya Jana - supreme understanding of the Ariya Sacca Dhamma, The Four Noble Truths - Dukkha, Samoutthaiya, Nirodha and Mugga'. This supreme knowledge eradicated all kilesa (defilements) from the mind.

The Buddha enjoyed
the ‘Vimuttusouk-Supreme Bliss'

Having attaining Enlightenment, Lord Buddha enjoyed the Supreme Happiness and Bliss only a Budhha knows for seven weeks under the Maha Bodhi Tree and the nearby areas.

1^st week: Lord Buddha enjoyed the Vimuttisouk for seven days under the Bodhi tree and reflected on the Patijjasamuppadha knowledge he had attained;

2^nd week: Lord Buddha left the Bodhi tree, headed North-East, and then looked at the Bodhi tree without closing his eyes for seven days. This place became known as ‘Animissa Jedi';

3^rd week: Lord Buddha meditated between the Bodhi tree and the Animissa Jedi for another seven days. This place became known as ‘Rattana Jongkom Jedi';

4^th week: Lord Buddha headed South-East of the Bodhi tree where he sat and meditated on the Abhidhamma pidok for seven days. This place became known as ‘Rattanakorn Jedi';

5^th week: Lord Buddha headed East of the Bodhi tree and where sat for seven days under a Sara Tree, a temporary shelter of a shepherd named Assapal Nikoth. One day, a Brahman who was very rude when asking Lord Buddha ‘What sort of person should be a Brahman' spotted Lord Buddha? Lord Buddha responded by saying that ‘A Brahman should be a person who was not selfish, afraid of committing any sinful act and knowing what's right and wrong'. The Brahman did not say a word and walked away and while he was leaving he said to himself ‘This Priest knew my state of mind'.

6^th week: Lord Buddha headed South-West of the Bodhi Tree where he sat under a cave of a Sara Tree for seven days when it rained constantly. At that time there was a Naga ‘King of Snakes' called Mujalinh who curled himself around Lord Buddha seven times and used his head as an umbrella to protect Lord Buddha from the rain. In the quietness of the day, Lord Buddha said "Not harassing one another was the happiness of all in the world";

7^th week: Lord Buddha headed for another tree or ‘Rasayatana' under the Bodhi Tree where he spent his last week. During that week, there were two merchants, Burmese brothers, Tapoussa and Panlika who passed by and spotted Lord Buddha. They immediately offered Lord Buddha dried food, which was known as ‘Sattu Rice' (in powder and in pieces) and both of them pronounced themselves to be the first two Buddhamamaka attaining Rattana. They undertook the Buddha and the Dhamma as their refuge (Sarana).

Lord Buddha having enjoyed his Vimuttisouk for seven weeks, headed for another Sara Tree known as ‘Asapalnikoth' where he reflected on the Sacca Dhamma that he had discovered to be extremely complex and too difficult for human beings to understand. Lord Buddha first considered that the ‘Ariya Sacca Dhamma' (The Four Noble Truths) to be complex for others to comprehend. Lord Buddha decided to live a secluded life and not to pass on Sacca Dhamma to others.

God Saham Bhrommabodee requested
Lord Buddha to announce his Sacca Dhamma

Having been requested by God Saham Bhrommabody, Lord Buddha contemplated on the Indrya of world beings and compared them to four groups of lotus flowers growing in a muddy lake. The Four Groups of Lotus Flowers were: -

1. The 1^st group of lotus flowers just managed to reach the surface of the lake to wait for the sunlight to shine on them before blossoming;
2. The 2^nd group of lotus flowers just managed to reach under the surface of the lake and must wait for the next day and the sunlight to shine on them before blossoming;
3. The 3^rd group o lotus flowers just managed to free themselves from the mud, it would be a short while before they reached the surface of the lake to wait for the sunlight to shine on them before blossoming;
4. The 4^th group of lotus flowers who were still in the mud in the bottom of the lake - they have no opportunity to reach the water surface yet; they would remain to be eaten by some water creatures, such as fish, prawns and turtles etc.

Human Beings are alike - Classified in Four Groups

1. Oukkhatitanyou Group - The intelligent group having less kilesa and able to understand Dhamma quickly. Once they hear the Dhamma topic, they understand immediately;
2. Vipatitanyou Group - The ‘mid-intelligent' group having average kilesa, they can understand Dhamma, but require time to have the Dhamma explained to them;
3. Neya Group - The least intelligent group having more kilesa, they can understand Dhamma, but they need to be taught repeatedly;
4. Padhaparana Group - The unintelligent group are not be able to understand Dhamma. They cannot be reached by Dhamma light. They have to be left alone and continue living according to their karma.

Lord Buddha could teach only the first three groups of people.For example, if there are 1,000,000 people, the teachable would be 750,000 whereas the remaining 250,000 belong to the Padhaparana Group should be left alone.

Having completed this analysis, the Lord Buddha decided to pronounce his Sacca Dhamma. Lord Buddha was thought of persons in the first group of people who would immediately understand his Dhamma. They were his teachers, Priest Ara and Priest Oudhaka, but both of them had already passed away. Then Lord Buddha thought of the ‘Pancavakkhy', his five devotees who attended to him when he practiced body torturing. So Lord Buddha headed towards the forest ‘Issipattana Mikkhadhayavan' where he arrived on the fourteenth day of the full moon of the eighth month.

Blessing the ‘Pancavakkhy -
Five Disciples' at Forest Issipattana Mikkhadhayavan

When arriving at the vicinity of the Forest Issipattana Mikkhadhayavan (now called Sarnath), Lord Buddha was spotted by the Pancavakkhy who said: "Look at him heading towards us, a monk who was not strong enough to carry on the practice and returned to live a comfortable life. We should not be going out and welcome him. We should not respect him, and should not accept his bowl and yellow robe. But we should prepare a spot for him to sit. If he wanted to sit down or standing up, it was up to him, but we should not invite him. A monk with a weak mind and no strong determination like him should not deserve our respect."

First Dhamma Desana
(Dhamma Talk) to the Pancavakkhy

At first the Pancavakkhy clearly showed their disrespect to Lord Buddha, but once they were warned they started to pay attention to Lord Buddha's Desana was called ‘Dhamma Cakkappa Vattana Sutra - All Four Arya Sacca Dhamma' which was all of the Dhamma that Lord Buddha had discovered in the early morning of the full moon day of the eighth month of the Year of the Dog: -

1. Attakilamatdhanu Yoga - Bad effects of ‘Body Torturing'
2. Karma Sukkhanli Kanu Yoga - Involvement in sensual pleasure including happiness in sexual relationship, not realising bad effects and unable to give up.

For those who wished to be beyond suffering and Sankhara and to attain Nibbana, these were the two fundamental factors they must relinquish. Having completed his first Dhamma Desana, Lord Buddha immediately knew that Godanya had liberated himself and Lord Buddha said: "Ayaya Si Vatapo Godhanyo" meaning "Godhanya has attained liberation". Lord Buddha was pleased that someone was able to understand his Dhamma in such a short period of time and Godhanya was given the additional name of Uiya Godhanya who was ordained by Lord Buddha as requested by Godhanya on the same day.

Four days later, on the fifth day of the reclining moon of eight month, Lord Buddha gave a Desana (Dhamma Talk) called ‘Anantakakkhana Sutra' to the Pancavakkhy who attained liberation and became Arahanta. There were 5 Arahanta in the world on that day.

The First Dhamma Desana (Four-Ariya Sacca Dhamma - Four Noble Truths) that Lord Buddha had given: -

1. Dukkha Sacca
2. Smouttha Sacca
3. Nirodha Sacca
4. Mugga Sacca

Cessation of suffering known as ‘Ariya Sacca Dhamma' that was discovered by Prince Siddhartha who became Buddha which means a person who had attained Enlightenment by himself without being taught by anyone.

The inner happiness that was discovered by Prince Siddhartha's purest mind through meditation led him to understand the true nature of the Sankhara, Rupa Nama and its liberation according to its true nature. The Rupa Nama that Lord Buddha had discovered in the Ariya Sacca Four: -

Dukkha Sacca: Suffering caused by the mind which has been affected by constantly changeable, impermanent and uncontrollable external factors which were originated from its own creation. Once occurring, it led us to believe and to cling on to a false belief that ‘it belongs to me, to you or to them' and as a result they were followed by 8 kind of suffering (Dukkha): -

1. Soka Unhappiness of the mind
2. Paridheva Disappointment of the mind
3. Dukkha Suffering of the mind
4. Dhomanassa Depression of the mind
5. Uppayasa Deterioration of the Mind
6. Sampayoga Giving up of the mind
7. Vipayoga Worries of the mind
8. Alapha Upsetting of the mind

These are called Dukkha (suffering) which are changing and endless and keep on suffering.

Samoutdhaya Sacca - Dukkha is suffering -
The mind does not know the source of suffering, which is Lobha (greed),Dhosa (Angry) because one cannot get what one desires
Moha Dreaming about what one wishes to have because of the power of Kilesa - Sensual Pleasure, Taste, Odour, Sound and Touching

Nirodha Sacca - Mind full of Kilesa - If one is able to limit one's needs, requirements and wants ,one can eradicate ones' anger, greed and delusion and as result suffering will be wiped out.

Mugga Sacca - The way of eradicating suffering according the Teaching of Lord Buddha in Pali language is called ‘Atdhang Khikamug' consisting of the following eight factors: -

1.Samma Dhitthi‘Right View' which has 4 factors:-

2. Samma Sangkappa ‘Right Thought' that has 3 factors: -

3 .Samma Vaca ‘Right Speech' which has 4 factors:-

4. Samma Kammanta ‘ Right livelihood' which has 3 factors:-

5.Samma Ajiva ‘Right Profession' which has 3 factors:-

6.Samma Vayama ‘Right Efforts' which has 4 factors:-

7.Samma Sati ‘Right Awareness' which has 4 factors:-

8.Samma Samadhi ‘Right Meditation' and not to be shaken by any Delusion. There are 4 factors: -

Mugga Eight in Pali language, is called ‘Matsima Patipadha' which means practising in the middle way which is not too tight or too slack which has been categorised in the ‘Sila Samadhi ' as follows: -

1.Sila

2. Samadhi

3. Wisdom

Lord Buddha's first Rain Retreat

Having given Dhamma Desana to his Pancavakkhy and all of them had been ordained and become Arahanta, the first five Arahanta in the world, Lord Buddha and the Pancavakkhy headed for the Forest Issipata Namikka dhayavan and limited themselves to an area to take their first Rain Retreat together. While taking their Rain Retreat in the forest, Lord Buddha was spotted by Yasa and another four friends, and Lord Buddha gave them Dhamma Desana and all five of them were liberated and ordained by Lord Buddha by ‘Ehi Bhikkhu Uppa Sampadha' method and they became Arahanta. As for their parents and their wives, having accepting Lord Buddha's Teachings as their refuge, they announced themselves to be Upasok (male Buddhist) and Upasika (female Buddhist) followers.

There, 10 Arahanta had now appeared in the world and three Buddhama maka consisting of Bhikkhu, Upasok and Upasika. During the same Retreat, there were another 50 people living in the vicinity of the Forest . They heard that Phra Yasa had been ordained by Lord Buddha, and all of them came to the Forest and requested to be ordained. After listening to Dhamma Desana of Lord Buddha, all of them became Arahanta. During the first Rain Retreat of Lord Buddha, there were 60 Arahanta in all.

Lord Buddha's Disciples
‘Announcement of Brommajana - Religion'

Having completed his first Rain Retreat for the period of three months, Lord Buddha and his disciples assembled where Lord Buddha instructed them to go out and spread the Dhamma. Lord Buddha said: "To all Bikkhus (Buddhist monks), you are now free from all suffering both of the world of human beings and of the heavenly worlds, now you must go out and bring happiness to the mass, to have compassion and to support beings of the world, to bring happiness to all Devas and humans, you must not travel in groups of two, but must each go your separate way. Dhamma Desana by each and every one of you must be well expounded in the primary stage; well expounded in the middle stage and well expounded in the final stage and the announcement of the Brommajana (precious religious life) must be clear and fully complete both in attha (essence) and character.Beings of the world who have dust (kilesa) in their minds are many and if they do not hear the Dhamma Sacca, they will not gain the great benefit. Also, there will be many others who will understand the Dhamma Sacca. I will travel to Medhi Dhammaporn Prayul Dhamoumacitto of Aruvera Region to give Dhamma Desana."

The intention of Lord Buddha was very clear after his first speech: to send out his disciples to announce the Dhamma and to carry out three main tasks: -

Pali This was mentioned in the Tripitaka in Pali language as ‘Caladhabikkha Vecarikkang

Phahousana Soukkhaya Lo Kanoukampaya' which means Phahoudhitaya to bring benefit to the majority of the people and as Buddhist monks they have responsibilities to spread the Dhamma and to develop the community. Therefore, before studying methods of giving Dhamma Desana or to train oneself to be competent in Dhamma Desana, Dhamma Sakassa, Uppabhe Kassinnaka, one should always know the purposes of the spreading of the Dhamma and its locality and timing. Also, one should always remind oneself of the first Dhamma Desana of Lord Buddha and its complexity and subtleness. Lord Buddha realised that his Dhamma would be very difficult to understand as beings of the world were full of Kilesa (greed) and therefore, Lord Buddha had emphasised the spreading of his teachings in areas that were beneficial to the masses.

When one is going to give Dhamma Desana, it does not matter where, but one must aim to bring benefits to that community. For example, when people are poor and hungry, would it be possible to lead them to Nibbana? One must think of the benefits of the Paramattha Dhamma and accept the reality for the benefits of the mass. Another example is that of a bull which has only two horns. This is similar to the number of people who would attain Nibbana (two). On the other hand, the number of people who would not attain Nibbana is equal to the number of the hairs covering the bull's body, which is countless. So, one has to ask oneself: ‘should the majority of the people lose out? Or should one leave them alone?'

Paths to Nibbana
Explanation of the Four Ariya Sacca Dhamma.

When Lord Buddha gave Dhamma Desana, he always emphasised the benefits to the mass, but for ourselves, we tend to forget this point. Therefore, our Dhamma Desana was not as successful, as it ought to be. Laos has a population of over 3 millions and 95% of its population are Buddhist. The country is still very under developed. WHY? While the Teachings of Lord Buddha are so marvellous, why do the population of Laos remain so backwards?

Source of Poverty ? For example, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanma and Sri Lanka where its population profess Buddhism of the Theravana Branch. These countries are still very poor because of mistakes in teaching Dhamma. In addition, after the Mahaparinibbana of Lord Buddha, Buddhism has been practised strongly in these countries. The Sangha live a very comfortable life as opposed to the Sangha of the period of Lord Buddha where they had to sleep in forests or under trees. These days the Sangha are wealthy and only carry out ‘Mangala Sutra', traditional ceremonies. They perform as requested and are provided by their followers. They conduct ceremonies for the dead and bless new houses and businesses. Their followers are providing the rest, the Sangha only perform. This is very different from the Sangha who lived during the life of Lord Buddha where they had to build their own temples with the assistance of their followers in terms of materials and money. They were very competent in different areas as well as in areas of teaching Dhamma. They did not only explain and teach, but they actually worked with their followers. They helped develop the community and the country at the same time. These days the Sangha need not do anything. They are ‘traditional ceremony performers' and therefore are not able to assist the community a great deal. In some places, the Sangha just live and guard the temple waiting for breakfast and lunch.

At present, it is true that the Sangha are leaning Dhamma in theory, but they do not practise Dhamma and therefore, it is no use. Under normal circumstances, once we learn Dhamma, we have to practise Dhamma for the benefits of the community. If the Sangha set a good example, the community would have faith. The Sangha need to lead their followers from temptations such as gambling, playing cards and the like. In teaching Dhamma, the Sangha should consider the benefits that could be brought to the community and at the same time consider the level of wisdom of the community and the way of life of the community members because they differ from place to place. Also, the Sangha should examine the present trend that would bring usefulness to the community.

What are the benefits of Practising Dhamma? Then the Sangha should touch on the Dhamma Dhitthadham, but not only the benefits of the Dhamma Dhitthadham which had been studied in 4 areas, not only ‘Udha Sampadha, Alakkha Sampadha or Kalayanimitta and Thassama Jivitta' but should introduce other Dhamma as well so that when practising they would gain happiness. The Sangha should be aware of the present level of wisdom and introduce Dhamma in line with present usefulness for Dhamma practitioners to obtain full benefits. The Sangha should point out ‘temptation' which is the source and cause of destruction. If temptation is not being wiped out, there will not be growth and prosperity.

Lord Buddha Blessed the Satil Family

Having separated from his disciples who had gone their separate ways to announce ‘Brommacana - Dhamma' Lord Buddha headed for Aruvera Region. On his way, Lord Buddha gave Dhamma Desana to 30 young men of Clan Phandhavakkhy until all of them attained Arahanta and were ordained and sent out by Lord Buddha to spread Brommacana. Lord Buddha spent two months at Aruvera Region to conquer the stubbornness of their leader by the name of Aruvera Kassapa who had 500 followers. After that Lord Buddha gave Dhamma Desana to his two brothers, Satil Nadhi Kassapa and Khaya Kassapa who had 300 and 200 followers each respectively. On that occasion, Lord Buddha had ordained 1003 people and travelled with them to Khaya Sisa Region where he gave them Dhamma Desana and blessed them until all of them attained Arahanta.

Lord Buddha Blessed King Phimphisan

Lord Buddha led 1003 Arahanta to the city of Rajakeu which was the Kingdom of King Phimphisan. Lord Buddha and his Arahanta rested in a forest called Litdhivan. King Phimphisan, having heard the arrival of Lord Buddha, led his officials to greet The Exalted One. At that time, the majority of people who went to pay respect to Lord Buddha belonged to the Satil faith. Lord Buddha had asked Phra Aruvera Kassapa to give Dhamma Desana about the Satil faith. Lord Buddha himself touched on the Anupubhapikkhadha in his Dhamma Desana. King Phimphisan and the majority of his officials realisad the Dhamma whereas those who had not yet attained Dhamma announcad themselves to be Buddhamamaka (followers of the Buddha).

Lord Buddha accepted the first Temple

The next morning Lord Buddha and all the Bhikkhus went to have lunch inside the Royal Palaces as requested by King Phimphisan. On the same day, King Phimphisan offered his Royal Garden ‘Veruvanna ' for the Bhikkhus residence and therefore Temple Veruvanna Vihara became the first Buddhist Temple in the world.

One of the main reasons that King Phimphisan offered Lord Buddha ‘Temple Veruvanna' was because he had always wished to attend a Dhamma Desana expounded by someone who had attained enlightenment before any other king and also bacause Prince Siddhartha, during his early search for Sacca Dhamma promised King Phimphisan that he would be the first king that he would see and give Dhamma Desana after Ehlightenment. Lord Buddha kept his promise and returned to see King Phiiphisan before any other king. Therefore, King Phimphisan offered his Royal Garden Veruvanna to be the first Dhamma Temple and at the same time to let the world know that the source of the birth of Buddha Dhamma was from City of Rajakeu of Makkhot Kingdom. Because of this, the Makhadha (Makkhot) language has been used widely in Buddhism until today.

Grateful (katanyu) children of parents

One day during his time at Veruvanna Vihara, Lord Buddha went alms-gathering in Rajakeu City. There he saw a man standing in the middle of the road. He was full of sweat as if he was soaked with water and was worshiping the four directions plus the sky, the earth. The man also scattered and placed rice and food in all four directions. The man was grateful to his parents and was carrying out what had been requested of him.

Lord Buddha explained causes and realities

Having watched the man complete his unusual tasks in public, Lord Buddha asked the man to explain his actions. The man said that ‘before the death of his late father, he was asked to do this every morning without fail to prevent bad spirits from harming him from the four directions whether they were Devas from the sky or demons from the earth. Having heard his explanation, Lord Buddha said: "That was very good that you kept your promise given to your father before his death, but what you have been doing was not the true purpose your father intended." Then Lord Buddha explained to the man.

Lord Buddha blessed an obedient man (I)

"The reason your late father asked you to worship and to place assorted food on the East was meant to be for you to be grateful and obedient to the persons who gave your life, especially your parents. When he asked you to worship the South, he meant for you to pay respect to your teachers who gave you knowledge and wisdom. When he asked you to worship the West, he meant you to take good care of your wife and children. When he asked you to worship the North, he meant you to pay respect and to assist your relatives and friends to the best of your abilities. When he asked you to worship the sky, he meant you to pay respect to people who ought to be respected such as monks, sages (Brahman) and so on. People should always worship their parents, their teachers and those who gave them assistance."

Lord Buddha blessed an obedient man (II)

"When he asked you to worship the Earth below, he meant you to respect to the rights of every living beings, regardless of their shape or size, who were all seeking happiness in life. These were the true intentions of your later father when he asked you to worship all the directions before he died. Doing so would also protect you from harm." Lord Buddha had clearly explained in detail to the man named ‘Sinkhara' how he should treat himself and others during his present life for happiness and prosperity of all. Lord Buddha explained to ‘Sinkhara' the benefits of not killing animals, to avoid stealing, to avoid taking sexual advantage of other people's wife, to avoid telling lies and to avoid consuming intoxicating drinks which were the source of destruction and decay.

Lord Buddha blessed an obedient man (III)

In addition, Lord Buddha had asked the man to do his job properly and steadily, to look for prosperity, to save money that had been earned, but not to hoard what had been earned or spend wrongly, destructively or uselessly, for the happiness of oneself and others as well. Lord Buddha advised the man to divine his hard earning into four parts, the 1st part was to look after oneself and one's family, the 2nd part was to use his earning for the growth and prosperity of one's profession, the 3rd part was for a rainy days or when in trouble, the 4th part was to assist parents, relatives, friends and the community as necessary. Sinkhara listened to the advice of Lord with respect and he had requested to be one of the disciples of Lord Buddha. He had promised Lord Buddha that he would keep doing what he had been done as instructed by Lord Buddha, and to live his life righteously and in accordance with the principles of the Teachings of Lord Buddha forever.

Immortality of Ammatta Dhamma

While Lord Buddha was staying at Veruvanna Temple , in Rajakeu City , there was a clan called ‘ Paripasoka ' whose leader was called ‘Sonxay'. The Clan had about 200 people and among them there were two men ‘Uppatissa and Kolita' who had been known to be the wisest in the Clan. Both were good friends and they both were very determined to learn something super special that was called ‘Ammatta (immortal) Dhamma' which could not be taught by their leader. They had to search for themselves by promising one another that whoever found it first should pass on to another. Ammatta (immortal) Dhamma could only be found in the Teachings of Lord Buddha - The Principle of Nature.

Uppatissa Met with Phra (monk) Assasi

In one early morning, Uppatissa went for a walk in the city where he saw Phra Assasi was in the process of carrying out his alms gathering. Uppatissa was interested in Phra Assasi who was most polite, calm and peaceful. Uppatissa was very impressed, and the closer he approached Phra Assasi, the more fascinated he became because the appearance of Phra Assasi was so happy and content without any worries. Uppatissa thought that Phra Assasi would have attained enlightenment and would be the person he was looking for, or at least he would be a disciple of someone who had already attained enlightenment. Uppatissa was very eager to know Phra Assasi and his Teacher. Uppatissa had to find out the truth. This was faith arise from the principle of truth.

Uppatissa Followed Phra Assasi

However, it was not right for Uppatissa to ask questions while Phra Assasi was doing alms gathering and he had to wait for the right time. He kept following Phra Assasi at a distance. When completing his alms gathering, Phra Assasi headed for the City gate to return to the Temple Veruvanna. Uppatissa respectfully walked to Phra Assasi and said ‘Respect Bikkhu, you looked so peaceful and respectful, you face was so clean and serene, please tell me your place of domicile and your Teacher, your name and why did you leave your friends and relatives and live this life. Please explained to me?'

Phra Assasi -Explaination to Uppatissa

Phra Assasi replied to Uppatissa with a smile and said that ‘ My name was Assasi. My Teacher was Phra Samma Khodom, one of the sons of King of the Sakya Kingdom, who had left his throne and sought a Brommacan life until attaining Enlightenment. I have left my houses and relatives and followed Lord Buddha and what I have been doing was to follow the Teachings of Lord Buddha'. Uppatissa thought that, may be, Phra Assasi might know something about Ammatta Dhamma that he and his friend had been searching for. He eagerly asked Phra Assasi for explanation ‘Your Respected One, you mentioned about the Teachings of your Teacher, what did he teach and how did he teach, please explain as I wished to understand?'

of Phra Assasi - Only Four Topics to Uppatissa

Phra Assasi talked to Uppatissa with good manner that ‘ I have been in the monkhood with Lord Buddha for only a short period of time and therefore would not be able to give you explanation in full. However, if you like, I could only explained briefly, about 2-3 topics. Uppatissa said that was what he wanted. Phra Assasi said that ‘ According to Lord Buddha who said that - whatever had causes to arise would lead to causes of suffering - principles of cessation of suffering '

Uppatissa Realised Dhamma

While listening to the Dhamma Desana of Phra Assasi, Uppatissa became realised the truth of Dhamma in his mind that whatever has arisen or will arise, unavoidably, will cease to exist one day. Only whatever will not arise, undoubtedly, will be free and be above death or cessation. Uppatissa said to Phra Assasi that ‘ if these were the words that you have learnt from your Teacher, undoubtedly, you have attained the level of no suffering and beyond death which has never been existed in the human world for generations. After saying thank you to Phra Assasi, Uppatissa asked about the whereabouts the residence of Lord Buddha before bidding farewell so that he could inform his best friend, Kolita, about the good news that he had already discovered the Ammatta Dhamma without any doubts whatsoever.

Wisdom will develop for
people seeking Sacca Dhamma

Now that Uppatissa was very cheerful and happy like Phra Assasi who gave him Ammatta Dhamma, and once he was seen by his friend, Kolita who immediately sensed that Uppatissa has immensely changed and then he asked Uppatissa ‘ What happened? You looked so cheerful, happy and rejuvenated? Have you discovered the Ammatta Dhamma that we have been looking for?' Uppatissa responded by saying ‘ Yes. Yes. I have discovered Ammatta Dhamma' Kolita asked more questions like a flash ‘ How about it?' and Uppatissa told Kolita that he had met a strange monk and cited the words of Phra Assasi that ‘ Dhamma will arise for those who have faith and Wisdom will lead to liberation of Dukkha'.

The Lord Buddha with two Disciples
Dhamma is Ananta - Dhamma is Bodiless - Dhamma is Immortal

While listening to the words from Uppatissa, Kolita realised Dhamma in his mind and he understood that Ammatta Dhamma existed in the world well before Lord Buddha discovered it. Ammatta Dhamma was not in the form of Rupa, Rosa, Sadda, Gandha, Phodhappha and Dhammarom and therefore Rupa, Rosa, Sadda, and Mano could not feel Ammatta Dhamma and therefore Ammatta Dhamma was immortal. Finally, Uppatissa and Kolita and members o the clan Parisoka headed for Veruvanna Vihara to pay respect to Lord Buddha. They were later ordained by Lord Buddha, except Uppatissa and Kolita who had previously listened to Dhamma of Phra Assasi and had already attained ‘Sotapanna - 1^st stage of Holiness'. Kolita attained Arahantaship 7 days after his ordination whereas while it took 15 days for Uppatissa to attained Arahantaship.

Later, Phra Uppatissa was nominated to be the Right Hand Disciple and was given the name of as Phra Saribouth, and on the other hand, Kolita was nominated to be the Left Hand Disciple and was named as Phra Mokkhanla. The words - Phra Khadha -given by Phra Assasi was later entitled as Phra Khadha Assasi and has been recited in Buddhism until today.

The Buddha's Great Monk Assembly -Caturongkha Sannibath
Caturongkha Sannibhath - Arahanta Assembly

While Lord Buddha was staying at the Veruvanna Vihara, there has been a great monk assembly, which was called in Pali as ‘ Caturongkha Sannibhath', which had 4 elements ‘Unrathakatha Dhikhanasutra' described below: -

The‘Caturongkha Sannibhath' has been recorded as one of the extra ordinary events in Buddhism, and therefore, Buddhamamaka (followers of the Lord Buddha) all over the world celebrated the full moon day of the 3^rd month of every year in order to pay respect to Lord Buddha and the 1250 Arahanta. This day has been known as ‘Makha Puja Day'. In the assembly of the 1250 Arahanta, Lord Buddha had given a ‘Desana Patimokkha, emphasising on the topics below:-

These were the hearts of Buddhism during the 1^st Rain Retreat of Lord Buddha.

Dhamma Desana to Arahanta on Maga Puja Day

After the ordination of Phra Mokkhanla and Phra Saribouth, the Buddha Chaired the meeting of his Arahanta and this day has been observed as one of the most important days, The Maga Puja Day in Buddhism all over the world. At his Arahanta Assembly, there were 1250 Arahanta who were ordained by Buddha himself. They had been sent out to introduce Buddhism to the world. They returned to Rajakeu to pay respect to the Buddha on the same day without informing one another. This Great Monks Assembly has been known as the Caturonga Sannibatta. During the Assembly, the Buddha gave Dhamma Desana and emphasized on the 32 principles of behavior in Buddhism starting from ‘ not to commit further bad karma, to carry out good karma, to purify the mind, to understand the path to Nibbana, to live with limited resources, to behave with reserve, not to demonstrate any super natural ability, not gossip others, not to harass oneself or others. During the Buddha period, Dhamma Desana of the Buddha for the administration of monks has been observed as rules of behavior and these rules have been observed until the present time.

King Sri Soudhothana's request
the Return of Lord Buddha

Having heard the enlightenment and the whereabouts of Lord Buddha, King Sri Soudhothana had ordered his officials to seek the return of Lord Buddha from Rajakheu Kingdom. However, every officials who had been sent to request the return of Lord Buddha and after listened to the Dhamma Desana, all of them requested ordination and never returned and forgot all the instructions given to them by King Sri Soudhothana. Finally, King Sri Soudhothana had sent an official by the name of ‘ Karudhayi' who was very intelligent. He used to play together with Prince Siddhartha when they were young. Karudhayi heard that everyone who had listened to Dhamma Desana of Lord Buddha would finally requested ordination.

When Lord Buddha gave Dhamma Desana, Karudhayi inserted balls of cotton wool into his ears. He removed them once Lord Buddha completed his Desana and then requested Lord Buddha to return to Kabillapath City to bless his parents, wife, son and other relatives. Lord Buddha did not decline the request by Karudhayi and went to bless people of Kabillapath City during his 2^nd Rain Retreat.

Return of The Buddha to Kabillapath City

One evening, Lord Buddha and his disciples arrived at Kabillapath City and rested at the Nikhodharam Park outside the city where King Sri Soudhothana had specifically arranged for him and his disciples. The next morning, Lord Buddha and his disciples went out for alms gathering like he used to practise in the past. He also went into the Kabillapath City to bless some of its citizens. The Kabillapath's City guards reported the incident to King Sri Soudhothana who became very furious for Lord Buddha to degrade himself by mixing with the common people.

King Sri Soudhothana watched with furious

King Sri Soudhothana immediately ordered his chariot and headed towards the location where Lord Buddha carrying out his alms gathering among the people of Kabillapath City. King Sri Soudhothana spotted Lord Buddha among the crowd, his bowl was full of offerings and he was heading towards the Palaces. The people greeted Lord Buddha with respect along his path. The reason King Sri Soudhothana was furious was that everything in the Kingdom belonged to him. He could take anything, any time, without having to ask for any one's permission. On the contrary, for Lord Buddha this was the right way to carry out his normal duty, especially for someone who had already eradicated all suffering?

Angriness of King Sri Soudhothana

King Sri Soudhothana slowly approached and spoke to Lord Buddha with a disappointment tone that ‘ My dearest son, this was not a good for me. Why did you have to carry out your alms gathering like this? You have left the city for all of this? You were the son of the King who ruled the city and you were the Crown Prince also. My dearest son, you have brought disgraceful for the entire Royal family and me. No one in our family has ever done this before, to beg food from the people.' However, in the mind of Lord Buddha, it was the right way and should be done as the source of Bodhisattva was to be full of compassion and to bless all beings to be free from suffering.

Alms Gathering was not begging,
but a method of blessing human beings

Having seen King Sri Soudhothana being furious for mistaken alms gathering was begging, Lord Buddha spoke to the King that ‘ Your Majesty, this was the right way of my practice which had been carried out in the past'. The King insisted and said that ‘ as far as the people of Kabillapath could remember, no one in the Royal family has ever brought shamefulness and disgrace to the family such as this one. Lord Buddha said ‘ Your Majesty, that was true, on this occasion I did not mean to refer to the heir of the throne as understood by the world of human beings, I meant to refer to the practice of previous Buddha many generations before our time'.

King Sri Soudhothana Accepted
Alms-Bowl from Lord Buddha

Lord Buddha continued ‘ Now that I have been accepted into the family all Buddha in the past and therefore what I have been doing was right and appropriate according to what had been practised by all the Buddha and the alms-gathering was the right way of blessing the population. Then Lord Buddha gave a brief Dhamma Desana on the Sacca Dhamma to the King who managed to understand the Buddha Dhamma and stop being furious. King Sri Soudhothana accepted the alms-bowl from Lord Buddha and invited him and his disciples to the Palaces so that they could continued their alms-gathering. Lord Buddha accepted the King's request and headed for the Palaces with his disciples.

Lord Buddha Blessed the King and the Queen

Having arrived at the palaces and had their morning meals as offered by the King and other relatives in their alms-bowls, Lord Buddha gave Dhamma Desana to the King, his adopted mother and other relatives as clearly as possible about the cessation of suffering which he had been searching for a very long period of time. They understood, accepted and ready to practise the Sacca Dhamma in their life. They announced themselves to be Upasok and Upasika (male and female Buddhist). As for the King, his understanding of the Sacca Dhamma led him to attain the level of Anakhamiphol (the Result of the Non-Returner-2 nd stage of Holiness) whereas Lord Buddha's adopted mother had attained the level of Sotapattiphol (Fruit of Stream Entrance, 1 st stage of Holiness).

Lord Buddha blessed his Wife, Queen Yasothara

Lord Buddha went to bless his wife; Queen Yasothara in her bedroom as requested by the King and Queen Yasothara has been so disappointed and sick since the day Prince Siddhartha deserted the Kingdom. She could not even left her room like any other relatives to greet Lord Buddha. Having arrived at Queen Yasothara's bedroom, Lord Buddha gave Dhamma Desana about he wholesomeness and righteousness of Queen Yasothara in her past lives until Queen Yasothara understood Sacca Dhamma and attained the level of Sotapattiphol. As for his son, Rahul who was only 7 years old, he was permitted by Lord Buddha to be ordained as a novice, the 1 st novice in Buddhism, by Phra Saribouth. This has been one of the principles of Buddhism for someone to be ordained as a novice who must be at least 7 years old.

Prince Nandha carried Buddha's alms-bowl
and ordained on his wedding days

It was the 1st time that Lord Buddha has returned to Rajakeu after his Enlightenment. King Sri Soudhothana welcomed the Buddha and carried his alms-bowl into the Palaces to bless other Upasok and Upasika. In the Palaces, it was also the wedding of Prince Nandha who was a half-brother of the Buddha (different mother, same father). King Sri Soudhothana planned to hand over the Kingdom to Prince Nandha after the wedding. After his meals the blessing, the Buddha, on his return, asked Prince Nandha to carry his alms-bowl. Prince Nandha did it with pleasure and thinking that once the Buddha had reached the gates, he would give the alms-bowl to the Buddha and then return. This was not the case. The Buddha continued his journey without looking back and Prince had to follow the Buddha all the way to his place of stay. Prince Nandha handed over the alms-bowl to the Buddha who asked Prince Nandha whether he would like to join the monkshood. Prince Nandha could not refuse, as he would not like to upset the Buddha. He thought to himself that for 2-3 days it would be all right and then said ‘Yes' to the Buddha. After his ordination, the situation was different from what he had thought originally. Prince Nandha could not sleep. He could not eat and became restless. He kept thinking of his bride.

The Buddha with Phra Nandha
visitng heavenly beings

The situation of Phra Nandha was reported to the Buddha who thought that he would take Phra Nandha to visit Heaven in order to ease his sufferings and pains. Phra Nandha had no mood of practising monks' activities and kept thinking of resigning from the monkshood. The Buddha took Phra Nandha to visit Heaven and along the way, the pointed out to Phra Nandha a female monkey with cuts and bruises to her ears sat on a tree stump of a burning forest. She was blackened all over.

When the Buddha and Phra Nandha reached Heaven, he pointed out female heavenly beings that were most beautiful and their beauty could be found in any being of the human world. The Buddha asked Phra Nandha to compare the beauty of female heavenly beings with the beauty of his bride, Phra Nandha said that at the moment his bride was like a female monkey he had just seen.

On this occasion, the Buddha gave Dhamma Desana to Phra Nandha about a beauty in one's mind. The main reason that a person inclined to cling a beauty at the 1st stage, was because he has never seen anything more beautiful than he had originally seen. But once, the saw something better, he would say that the latter was much better. This was an endless process. When Lord Buddha asked Phra Nandha whether he liked these beautiful female heavenly beings? Phra Nandha said yes without hesitation and then Lord Buddha advised him to keep practising meditation and he would succeed in everything. When they retuned from heaven, Phra Nandha started practising meditation vigorously until he attained Arahanta.

Ordination of Prince Rahul as a Novice Monk
Phra Rahul, the 1^st Novice in Buddhism

Apart from allowing Phra Rahul to be ordained as the very 1st Novice in Buddhism, Lord Buddha also gave permission to for Prince Nandha (later known as Phra Anonh), who was his stepbrother to be ordained as well. Before his ordination, it was known that Prince Nandha was in the process of getting married and when Lord Buddha heard about the marriage, he when to visit Prince Nandha after completing his alms-gathering. Lord Buddha asked Prince Nandha to carry his alms-bowl back to his Vihara (residence), and once arrived at the Vihara, Lord Buddha immediately ordained Prince Nandha and then later took him around to see some of the Goddesses and Deva so as to make him feel better. The King, having heard about the ordination of Prince Rahul and Prince Nandha, was very angry. The King went to visit Lord Buddha at the Vihara and requested Lord Buddha to make rules that ‘ Parents must be consented Before Ordination '.

Therefore, as from that day onwards and until today that ‘ before a child's ordination parents must give consent and also for an ordination of a wife or husband each party must give consent to one another'.

In addition to the ordination of Prince Rahul and Prince Nandha, there were many Princes of the Sakkya Kingdom who followed Lord Buddha to Anupiya Umphavan Region for ordination including Prince Bhandhiya, Prince Anuroutdha, Prince Bhakkhu, Prince Kimbhila, and Prince Devadhat. There was also a barber by the name of Ubaly and many young men who followed Lord Buddha and were later ordained.

The Buddha returned to the Palaces to bless his father

Five years after visiting Kabillapat City, during his ‘5^th Rain Retreat' while Lord Buddha was staying at the Kutakharasala in the Mahavanna Forest of Vesaly City in the Region of Vassy Kingdom, Lord Buddha heard about the sickness of his father, King Sri Soudhothana. Lord Buddha and his disciples returned to Kabillapat City in a hurry. The 1^st day Lord Buddha arrived at the Palace, King SriSoudhothana saw his most favourite son; his condition has improved and said to Lord Buddha that ‘ You came in time to save my life'. Lord Buddha managed to prolong the death of his father for 7 days and during this time he gave Dhamma Desana to the King. On the 7^th day, King Sri Soudhothana attained Arahantaship and passed away.

Queen Maha Pasabody Gotamy and officials
Requested Lord Buddha's Audience

After the death of King Sri Soudhothana, Queen Maha Pasabody Gotamy who was Lord Buddha's adopted mother and who has brought up Lord Buddha as her own son, had no intention of living a normal life further. She was so upset and disappointed with the death of her husband and wished to be ordained and to closely stay with Lord Buddha at his Vihara. Queen Maha Pasabody Gotamy and a number of maids of the Palace followed Lord Buddha and requested ordination from Lord Buddha so that they could practise their Brommacan.

Lord Buddha Declined
the Request of Queen Maha Pasabody

Queen Maha Pasabody requested ordination from Lord Buddha on three occasions, and every time her request was declined. Lord Buddha advised her not to request any further. Queen Maha Pasabody and her Palace maids were very upset and disappointed and kept crying.

Queen Maha Pasabody Requested Ordination

After the cremation of King Sri Soudhothana, Lord Buddha returned to stay at Forest Mahavanna of the Vesaly City. Queen Maha Pasabody shaved her own hair, dressed in yellow robe, left the Palace on foot with Princess Sakiyani and a number of Palace maids and headed for the residence of Lord Buddha. She walked slowly and painfully with bare foot with her followers until she managed to reach the residence of Lord Buddha. She was very determined to be ordained as Bikkhuni.

Phra Anonh Assessed the Situation

After Queen Maha Pasabody and Prince Sakiyani arrived at the residence of Lord Buddha, they were so exhausted for travelling a long distance. They walked on their bare feet, something, which they have never done before in their life. Their feet were swollen with pain; their body was covered with dust and dirt. They wept for justice outside the Vihara (Temple) of Lord Buddha. Phra Anonh who asked them about the reasons for their sadness, distress and body torturing met them. Queen Maha Pasabody Gotamy told Phra Anonh that they tortured themselves in order to seek justice for female and to complain to Lord Buddha about their true intention to become Buddhist monks in Buddhism like any other male persons.

Lord Buddha Declined Phra Anonh's Request

Phra Anonh was very touched by the true intention of Queen Maha Pasabody Gotamy and promised to speak to Lord Buddha on their behalf so that they could join the monastery and became monks like any other male persons. Phra Anonh went to see Lord Buddha and started negotiating with Lord Buddha on behalf of Queen Maha Pasabody as promised, but Lord Buddha declined the request from Phra Anonh by saying that ‘ Phra Anonh, do not speak further and do not ask this from me'. Phra Anonh was still very determined.

Phra Anonh Kept Insisting with determination

Phra Anonh never gave up and kept asking Lord Buddha for the 2^nd and 3^rd time, and every time Lord Buddha declined his request. Phra Anonh said to himself that when asked directly Lord Buddha refused, may be Lord Buddha would give permission if approached differently. Therefore, Phra Anonh asked Lord Buddha whether female who had left their houses, families and became Buddhist monks and practised Brommacan, would they attain Phra Ariyamugga Arahantaship and Nibbana? Lord Buddha said that if female who had left their houses and families and became Buddhist monks and strictly practised Brommacan they could attain Arahantaship and Nibbana in their present life also.

Phra Anonh tried with all his Might

Having heard what Lord Buddha had said, Phra Anonh said that if this was the case, would Lord Buddha allow Queen Maha Pasabody Gotamy of Royal Gotama who had been so helpful to Lord Buddha beyond comparison to be ordained. She was Lord Buddha's aunt and at the same was Lord Buddha's adopted mother and who had been looking after and raising Lord Buddha after the death of Lord Buddha's natural mother. Would Lord Buddha please give her permission to be ordained and practised Brommacan like any other male monks so that she could attain precious Sacca Dhamma that Lord Buddha had given to beings of the world.

Phra Anonh succeeded in Requesting The Buddha to give
Ordination to Queen Maha Passabody Gotamy

Success of Phra Anonh's attempt

Lord Buddha said to Phra Anonh that ‘ female persons were very fragile and easily distract. They would be protected by extremely rigid rules of behaviour, which called Garu Dhamma, which had 8 parts: -

1. Bikkhuni (female monks) no matter how long they had been in the Monkhood must respect Bikkhu (male monk) even if they had been ordained one day
2. Bikkhuni must not live alone in areas where there were no Bikkhu
3. Every month, Bikkhuni must be twice counselled by a representative Bikkhu
4. So appointed Bikkhuni must vow that they would allow Bikkhu and other Bikkhuni to give warnings, to point out mistakes and punishment on the day when vows were given
5. If grave mistakes were committed, Bikkhuni would be severely punished and be dismissed from both ways of practice of Bikkhu and Bikkhuni
6. Before ordination as Bikkhuni, they must serve as apprentice in the male monastery for at least 2 years
7. Under any circumstances, they must never speak harsh words to Bikkhu.
8. Bikkhuni, under any circumstance, must never warn or advise Bikkhu,but they must always take advice and warning from Bikkhu. They must also practise Bikkhuni Dhamma Precept starting from Dhamma Precept not to kill up to the Eight Dhamma Precept until attaining the 311 Dhamma Precept of Bikkhuni.

The Eight Dhamma Precepts

If Queen Maha Pasabody Gotamy were willing to observe the Eight Dhamma Precept, the 311 Dhamma Precept as well as to practise the 311 Bikkhuni rules for all her life, she would be a full Bikkhuni. This was in Buddha period and at present there is no Bikkhuni as such.

‘Good News' From Phra Anonh for
Queen Maha Pasabody Gotamy

After Lord Buddha had given his consent to the ordination of Bikkhuni, Phra Anonh returned to see Queen Maha Pasabody Gotamy and Princess Sakiyani who were so content and most grateful to Phra Anonh. They thanked Phra Anonh by comparing and saying that ‘Phra Anonh was like a young couple in love who, after washing and dressing themselves, would carefully place garland of flowers with marvellous perfume on their bed-head. Similarly, we would sincerely and respectfully place the 8 Rules as set out by Lord Buddha above our head and we would not break those Rules in our life'. Therefore, there had been Bikkhuni with 320 Dhamma Precepts.

The Budddha with Phra Anonh - Discussion about Bikkhuni Ordination

Having been promised by Queen Maha Pasabody Gotamy and other Princess of Sakiyani Phra Anonh returned to Lord Buddha and informed Lord Buddha every thing was said by Queen Maha Pasabody Gotamy and Princess Sakiyani who were more than willing to accept ‘The 8^th Garu Dhamma as set out by Lord Buddha and therefore they had been fully ordained. Lord Buddha said to Phra Anonh that ‘ Anonh, the Dhamma Rules that Bikkhuni agreed to practise and live together would not last long. This was similar to a family clan that has more females than male, they would not be able to stand against harassment and bandit attacks. Similarly, the Dhamma Rules practised by Bikkhuni would not last long'. Queen Maha Pasabody, after accepting to strictly observe the Garu Dhamma become the first Bikkhuni in Buddhism consisting of Bikkhu, Bikkhuni, Upasok and Upasika. When Queen Maha Pasabody had been completely ordained, the people of Kabillapat had requested Prince Mahanama, son of King Amitodhama, to rule Kabillapat after King Sri Soudhothana. As for Queen Yasothara (Phimpha), she was also ordained as Bikkhuni during the 5^th Rain Retreat of Lord Buddha.

Activities of the Buddha from the 6^th - 32^nd Rain Retreat

The 6^th Rain Retreat:

Lord Buddha took his Rain Retreat at Banpot City where he conquered and tamed Deva and demons until they admired and had faith in Buddhism.

The 7^th Rain Retreat:

On the full moon day of the 8^th month, Lord Buddha demonstrated his magic at Savatdhy City by flying to take his Rain Retreat in Paradise at the Davadingsa level where he gave Dhamma Desana the 7^th Abhidhamma to bless his later mother. Indra God, Bhromma God and other Gods and Goddesses had also descended from the Dusit level of the Paradise to listen to the Dhamma Desana of Lord Buddha. After completing his Rain Retreat, Lord Buddha descended to the world of human beings at the Sangkassa City. The day of Lord Buddha descendent was known as ‘Devorohana Day' as it was the day he gave the opportunity for beings of the world to see Indra God, Bhromma God, Gods and Goddesses, Paradise, Hell and Heaven as well as world of Garuda and Naga including Lord of Hell. This was how human beings know the existence of these Indra, Bhromma God as well as world of Garuda, Naga and Hell.

The 8^th Rain Retreat

Lord Buddha took his Rain Retreat at Phesakala Mikkhadhayavan in at forest in the outskirts of Soungsoumalkhira City, which was ruled by King Phodhirath Kumal, son of King Oudhen. Lord Buddha gave Dhamma Desana about his past lives until the day he gave the 1^st Dhamma Desana.

The 9^th Rain Retreat

Lord Buddha accepted the request from millionaire Gosoka to take the retreat at Temple Gosidharam, which was built by Gosoka at Gosamphy City. King Oudhen ruled the City. During his retreat Lord Buddha blessed Princess Magandhiya who hired people to swear and curse Lord Buddha as well as to burn the residence of Princess Samavady who was burnt to death. Because of her bad karma, Princess Magandhiya was later executed.

The 10^th Rain Retreat

Bikkhu of Gosamphy City were quarrelling and were divided into two groups' (1) Phra Vinaythorn and (2) Phra Dhammathorn. Both disobeyed Lord Buddha's advice and kept quarrelling which caused much distress to Lord Buddha who later went to Village Parilolayaka and took his retreat in a forest in a cave of Sara tree in the vicinity of Forest Rakkittavana where he was looked after by elephant Parilayaka.

The 11^th Rain Retreat

Lord Buddha went to take his retreat at a house of a Bhraman by the name of Ekkamala in the rural area of Dhakkhinakhiri where he gave Dhamma Desana on Kasibharadhavasa Sutra to bless a rice farmer by the name of Kasibharadhavasa

The 12^th Rain Retreat

Lord Buddha took his retreat under a tree at Pucimutdhapeuk next to Veransa City and during this retreat Lord Buddha had set rules of behaviour for all Bikkhu.

The 13^th Rain Retreat

Lord Buddha took his retreat at Cariyabanphot where he was looked after by Phra Mekhiya. Lord Buddha blessed Phra Mekhiya with Mekhiya Sutra until he attained Arahantaship.

The 14^th Rain Retreat

Lord Buddha took his retreat at Settavanna Maha Vihara where Novice Rahul was ordained as a Bikkhu

The 15^th Rain Retreat

Lord Buddha headed for Nikhodharam to take his retreat next to Kabillapat City where King Souppaput had ordered all the roads are closed so as Lord Buddha could not go through.

The 16^th Rain Retreat

Lord Buddha went to take his retreat in Avaly City at Akkharavajedy where he blessed a group of Saravokyaksa (demons). During this retreat Lord Buddha gave a number of Desana on a number of topics including Aravok Sutra, Nikkhan Sutra, Hatthaka Sutra and Vankhysa Sutra.

The 17^th Rain Retreat

Lord Buddha took his Retreat at Rajakeu City

The 18^th Rain Retreat

Lord Buddha took his Retreat at Cariyabanhpot where he gave Dhamma Desana to a daughter of a weaver of Aravy City until she attain the level of Phra Sotapanna (1^st stage of holiness)

The 19^th Rain Retreat

Lord Buddha continued his Retreat at Cariyabanphot as previously

The 20^th Rain Retreat

Lord Buddha took his Retreat at Rajakeu City and had appointed Phra Anonh as his personal attendant disciple. During this retreat Lord Buddha blessed Ongkulimal with his Sacca Dhamma until he realised the truth of Dhamma and requested Lord Buddha to be ordained in Buddhism.

The 21^st- 34^th Rain Retreat

Lord Buddha took his retreat at Settavanna Vihara and Bupharama at Savatdhy City. Phra Devadhat caused Unrest among the Sangha

Phra Devadhat caused Unrest Among the Sangha
(Retreat 35^th-36^th)

Because of his dedication to Buddhism and great respect for Lord Buddha Phra Anonh was appointed as personal assistant disciple of Lord Buddha at the age of 55. In addition, Lord Buddha had one more cousin (son of his uncle) who was ordained about the same time with Phra Anonh but his behaviour was opposite to the behaviour of Phra Anonh. He was Phra Devadhat (Prince Siddhartha and Prince Devadhat, when they were kids, they used to fight to own a paradise bird and also they both competed to marry Princess Yasothara ) who was very jealous and preferred to constantly challenge Lord Buddha. He attempted to divide the Sangha into two groups so that he could be the leader of one group. This is like an old saying that ‘ Causing prosperity for others, could lead one to prosperity as well, whereas causing troublesome and hardship for others, could lead one to destruction and decay'

Phra Devadhat attempted to influence
the son of King Phimphisan

Phra Devadhat thought that he was great as he was from the Sakkayavong Royal family, he was very disappointed and felt bitter when Phra Mokkhanla and Phra Salybouth were appointed as most favourite disciples, although both of them were not from the Royal family. This caused Phra Devadhat to be more jealous and escaped from the Vihara of Lord Buddha and went to Rajakeu City where he became friendly with Prince Asartsattrou, son of King Phimphisan. After demonstrating some of his skills to Prince Asartsattrou whom later built a very beautiful temple for Phra Devadhat to live. This is like an old saying ‘ Full of knowledge cannot even help oneself ' Therefore, ‘one must never think that one is better than anyone else and look down on others. One must be well aware of oneself at all time and this is what we call a wise man'.

Phra Devadhat Requested
Splitting from Lord Buddha

When Lord Buddha returned to the Rajakeu City and stayed at the Phra Veruvanna Maha Vihara once again, Phra Devadhat who requested splitting from Lord Buddha approached him so that he could establish another group of monks. Lord Buddha declined the request from Phra Devadhat and pointed out bad consequences of the splitting. Phra Devadhat was very confident of himself and intended to go ahead with his idea of splitting regardless of the decline from Lord Buddha. Phra Devadhat was strongly supported by Prince Asartsattrou, but their idea was rejected by King Phimphisan who refused to cooperate with them and would continue to support and respect Lord Buddha as before. Having been rejected by the King, Phra Devadhat was considering using Prince Asartsattrou to eliminate the King. ‘ Whatever we have done, we will obtain the fruits of our action either bad or good. Time will tell '.

Phra Devadhat Encouraged
Prince Asartsattrou to Overthrow the King

Phra Devadhat used every trick he could think of to make Prince Asartsattrou to have faith and confidence in him and it paid off. Phra Devadhat slowly encouraged Prince Asartsattrou to eliminate his own father to take control of the throne otherwise the idea of establishing a second group of Sangha would not be fulfilled. Prince Asartsattrou had no hesitation; he rebelled against his own father. He arrested his own father and enthroned himself as King. King Phimphisan was imprisoned and was being tortured by different methods including starvation, piercing nails into knees until his death. The rebellion occurred during the 37^th retreat of Lord Buddha. This is like an old saying ‘ Worshipping and Respecting wholesomeness and Righteousness would lead to Happiness and Contentment. On the contrary, Respecting and Worshipping Unwholesomeness and Unrighteousness would lead to suffering until the end '.

Contract Murderers to Assassinate Lord Buddha

Phra Devadhat had all the force he required establishing his own Sangha. He had the support of the King who was blindly believed in him. Phra Devadhat suggested the King to hire a number of the best arrow shooters to assassinate Lord Buddha. This had been arranged, but once these arrow shooters saw the appearance of Lord Buddha while he was giving Dhamma Desana at the temple, they were so impressed and had to come from hiding and confess to Lord Buddha about the assassination plan. As they did not know the truth, Lord Buddha forgave them and they requested to be disciples of Lord Buddha and gave up their profession as murderers. A Pali saying is that ‘ Dhamma Conquers Adhamma and Dhamma is the Source of all Happiness- for all '.

Phra Devadhat Plan to
Assassinate Lord Buddha Himself

Having failed to assassinate Lord Buddha by contract killers whom later defected and confessed to Lord Buddha about the assassination, Phra Devadhat refused to hire further contract killers. Phra Devadhat planned to assassinate Lord Buddha himself. Therefore, Phra Devadhat decided to hide along one of the Lord Buddha's walking routes on one evening next to the Vihara along the foot of the mountains. One day, when Lord Buddha took his evening walk, he was not aware of any danger that might happen, Phra Devadhat who was hiding high above the mountain saw the opportunity to assassinate Lord Buddha. He suddenly pushed large rock down towards Lord Buddha. Fortunately, the rock was broken into small pieces and one of them crushed down on Lord Buddha's feet that caused some bruises and pain. There was no other apparent bruises or danger. Lord Buddha managed to return to the Vihara safely where he was treated by an expert doctor by the name of Sivokkomarapat. ‘ If one plans to take someone's life so that to make one happy, it is an action of a person who has no shame and has no remorse for his bad actions, it is an action of a beast. A wise and divined person would never ever take this cause of action.'

Plan to Use Elephant on Heat to Kill the Buddha

Having failed in his 2^nd attempt to assassinate Lord Buddha, Phra Devadhat has not yet given up. This time, Phra Devadhat planned to use the Royal elephant by the name of Naragiling who was on heat. Phra Devadhat planned to set loose the elephant along the alms-gathering route of Lord Buddha so that the elephant would stampede Lord Buddha. When everything was prepared, and when Lord Buddha was carrying out his normal alms-gathering in Rajakeu City, Phra Devadhat immediately set loose the elephant who rushed out with fierce. But once the elephant saw Lord Buddha, he stopped immediately and slowly walked towards Lord Buddha and downed on his knees to pay respect to Lord Buddha who has great compassion for all beings. Once again, plan of Phra Devadhat to assassinate Lord Buddha has failed. Phra Devadhat has given up his plan with broken heart, but he still planned to encourage the Sangha to quarrel and to split from one another.

Rules for the Sangha - Request by Phra Devadhat

Having thought that he practised much more vigorously than Lord Buddha himself, Phra Devadhat requested permission to see Lord Buddha and pretended that nothing had happened. Phra Devadhat requested Lord Buddha to establish rules for all the Sangha like any other religious faith, for example, monks should not be living in houses that has roofs over head. They should be living in forests under trees or in an open air. They should not eat animal meat of any kind. They should only consume grains and vegetables. Lord Buddha declined the request by Phra Devadhat.

Lord Buddha's Desana to the Sangha

Having refused the request by Phra Devadhat in front of a number of monks, Lord Buddha said that ‘ To all Bikkhu, any Bikkhu who wishes to stay in a forest under a tree or in an open air forever, he could do so. On the other hand, any Bikkhu who wishes to stay in a house which had been offered to him, he could also do so.' In relation to other topics, Lord Buddha applied the same principles, for example, any Bikkhu who wishes to consume only food from his alms-gathering, wearing only yellow robe collected from a rubbish tip or a cemetery, or consuming only vegetarian food, but not animal meat, he could do so. But on the contrary, if any Bikkhu who has not intention of practising the same, he could also do so. Then Lord Buddha warned Phra Devadhat not to encourage the split among the Sangha any further otherwise harm would come to him. This has been described in the Rules of Behaviour for monks in the ‘ 4^th Parasika '.

Phra Devadhat - Plan to establish a new group

Phra Devadhat did not listen to the advice given to him by Lord Buddha. He left Lord Buddha with angry and headed towards rural areas where he managed to trick some of the monks to follow him and start a new group and installed himself as their leader. Lord Buddha heard about the course of action taken by Phra Devadhat and decided to send Phra Salybouth to inform those monks about the true situation. Phra Salybouth arrived at the residence of Phra Devadhat who was resting at the time and managed to inform all the monks of the truth about the intention of Lord Buddha and about past activities of Phra Devadhat. Finally, all the monks who originally went with Phra Devadhat decided to return to Lord Buddha with Phra Salybouth and Phra Devadhat was not able to establish another Sangha as planned.

Death of Phra Devadhat

When Phra Devadhat woke up and found that his place was so quiet. He could not see any monks who had followed him earlier. He knew immediately that Phra Salybouth had been to his place and managed to convince all the monks to return to Lord Buddha. Phra Devadhat was so furious and wanted to revenge. Phra Devadhat was so weak and asked his servants to carry him on a stretch and headed for the Vihara of Lord Buddha to confront Lord Buddha about the Bikkhu who returned to Lord Buddha with Phra Salybouth. On his way to see Lord Buddha, because of his bad past activities and his intention to split the Bikkhu, Phra Devadhat was consumed to death by quick sand.

Fear for the Safety of the Buddha
by Bikkhu and Buddhamamaka

When the monks knew that Phra Devadhat was on his way to see Lord Buddha with angry, they fear for the safety of Lord Buddha and requested Lord Buddha to temporarily escape. But Lord Buddha was not worried and told all the Bikkhu that Phra Devadhat would not be able to harm him in anyway. What Lord Buddha said was true in every sense, as later they learnt that Phra Devadhat was dead on the way to confront Lord Buddha. The death of Phra Devadhat was unimaginable. His stretch was consumed by quick sand. After the death of Phra Devadhat, there has been no quarrel among the Bikkhu whatsoever. Because of the compassion of Lord Buddha and his good deed in the past, Lord Buddha was able to conquer the Evil One completely.

Activities of Lord Buddha Retreat 37^th-45^th

Lord Buddha spent 45 retreats to teach and bless beings of the world without resting until his Mahaparinibbana (pass away). He travelled with his two feet, lived on his alms gathering and did not use any form of transport, regardless of the distance to travel in the Indian continent at that time. This demonstrated that Lord Buddha had extremely heavy burden on his shoulders to help ¾ith number of beings of the world to be free from suffering confronting them constantly, but he was content of what he was doing. It can be gathered briefly that Lord Buddha, 1^st Lord Buddha conquered Chiefs of a number of different religious faiths or Clans, for example the Three Satil brothers where he spent up to 2 moths to win the heart of Kassapa; 2^nd Lord Buddha gave Dhamma Desana to King Phimphisan, King of Makkhadha Kingdom, one of the most powerful Kings in the Region. The faith and confidence that Lord Buddha received from Kings and Leaders of different Regions demonstrated that Buddhism was spreading widely among the Makkhadha people and won over the Bhraman faith at that time. Once the leaders of Regions accepted faith in Buddhism, their population would normally follow it.

Rain Retreat in Heaven at the Davadingsa Level
to bless his late Mother

After the birth of Prince Siddhartha, Queen Siri Maha Maya passed away and was reborn in Heaven at the Davadingsa Level. The Buddha used his super natural power by spending his Retreat in Heaven under a tree on a stone terrace covered with red carpet. The Indra God, having heard the arrival of the Buddha made announcement to all Dava and Devata including former Queen Siri Maha Maya to come and listen to the Buddha Dhamma Desana. The heavenly beings enjoyed tremendous the Buddha grace and Queen Siri Maha Maya had attained Sotapatipanna.

Return to Earth after the Retreat

Traditionally, the footstep when the Buddha stepped on earth after spending his Retreat in Heaven was called ‘The Buddha Footprint'. In some places it was called ‘Jom Jedy'. Both had been recognised as the two most important Buddha's relics in Buddhism until the present time. There were three steps made of gold, silver and glass when the Buddha descended on earth. The golden step was for the Indra God and other Deva; the silver step was for Thao Maha Bhromma and other Deva. They accompanied the Buddha to earth. The glass step was for the Buddha. This day was also recognised as one of the most important day in Buddhism until the present time.

Opening of the Three Worlds-
Hell, Heaven and Human Worlds

At the time of his descendent on earth, the Buddha used his super natural power by opening up the three worlds at the same time. These were Heavenly World, World of Hell and World of Human Beings at the same time in order to let human beings know that there really existed Heaven, Hell so that they would stop committing bad karma and start accumulate good deeds. However, we all should understand that accumulating and carrying out good deeds is extremely difficult, while on the other it is so simple to commit bad karma. This is like an old saying which means ‘The way to Heaven is rough while the way to Hell is smooth'.

Lord Buddha took a Rain retreat at Lelai Forest

At one stage, there was a quarrel among the Sangha. The Sangha was divided into two groups. None was able to listen to one another. None of them listened to the Buddha who decided to leave them and went to take his retreat in a Forest where he was supported and look after an elephant and a monkey. After the Buddha had gone, the population of Kosambby refused to support the Sangha like they used to because they thought it was the quarrel among the Sangha that drove the Buddha away. A monkey saw an elephant brought wild fruits for the Buddha. The monkey also found a beehive and brought it to the Buddha who accepted it, but refused to consume it. The monkey watched the Buddha and was intrigued as to why the Buddha did not eat the beehive. The monkey requested it back and removed all the young bees from the hive and then offered it back to the Buddha. The monkey went away and watched the Buddha from a tree. The Buddha consumed the honey. The monkey was so happy and swung from trees to trees with happiness and suddenly he slipped, felt down a tree and got speared by a tree trunk and killed himself.

After the Retreat, the Sangha realised their mistakes; they went to request the return of the Buddha. When the Buddha was about to leave the Forest, the elephant wanted to accompany him and to live in the city. But, the Buddha told the elephant to stay behind and lived in the Forest as he was an animal and should not be living with human beings in the City. The elephant stayed behind and watched the Buddha from behind until he could not see any further. Suddenly, he got a heart attack and died. Both the monkey and the elephant, because of their good deed in looking after the Buddha, they were both reborn in Heaven in the Davadingsa level.

Alms-Gathering to Bless Beings of the World

During the rain seasons, Lord Buddha normally took his retreats in different temples, located in different cities, which had been offered to him by Buddhamamaka. Instead of accepting those temples for himself, Lord Buddha offered these temples to the Sangha in return, as these kinds of gestures would give more merit. The temple (Vihara) that Lord Buddha preferred to reside more than any temple was the Settavanna Maha Vihara which had been built and offered to him by millionaire Anathapinatikka. This Vihara was very close to the Savatdhy City of the Rajakeu Kingdom. In all, Lord Buddha resided at this Vihara for 19 years. Lord Buddha's next favourite Vihara was Veruvanna Maha Vihara, which was built and offered to him by King Phimphisan of Rajakeu Kingdom of Makhadha Region. Lord Buddha carried out his activities nearly 24 hours per day, and slept only 1 hour per day.

The task of Lord Buddha to bless beings of the world was enormous. It was more than an ordinary person to carry out. During his 45 rain retreats, Lord Buddha only slept one hour per day.

Because of his great compassion for beings of the world, every hour of the day, Lord Buddha would examine them with his divine eyes and sent them loving kindness without discrimination so that they could be happy.

Attending Requests by Buddhamamaka

On most occasions, Lord Buddha and the Sangha would have dhana and visit Buddhamamaka as requested, to carry out their alms-gathering and to lunch at their residence where Lord Buddha would give them Dhamma Desana and instruct them to carry out good merits and to do useful things for the present life and the life beyond. Buddhamamaka would be very impressed and they would declare themselves to be Buddhamamaka and to worship the Triple Gems, the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha for life.

Teaching and Advising Bikkhu

On some occasions, while the Sangha was having dhana, Lord Buddha would contemplate under a tree not far from all the Sangha and would return to them only when they have completed their dhana. During the assembly, Lord Buddha would attempt to solve individual problems of the Sangha and advised them to keep practising and observing the rules (Vinaiya) of the Sangha to attain their personal aims - ‘ Nibbana ' in their present life.

Questions By Bikkhu

Normally, after the speech there would be questions by Bikkhu who would request Lord Buddha to give Dhamma Desana suitable for their meditation. Lord Buddha would analyse the questions and Bikkhu's personal obstacles and then provide suitable Dhamma Desana depending on their intelligence and level of ability. After the assembly, Bikkhu would go their separate ways to continue their practice, which could be under a tree, in a cave or a hut. Lord Buddha would return to his personal Vihara.

Dhamma Desana and Bless all beings

During summer, Lord Buddha would stay at a place for a while to give opportunity for people in the surrounding regions to seek his audience. Some would come in the morning; many others would come in the afternoon. Some would come with offerings and many others would come purely to listen to Dhamma Desana which was given by Lord Buddha with happiness and contentment regardless of their social status or level of intelligence until they managed to understand Dhamma. Many of them would feel that Lord Buddha had given them Dhamma Desana specifically for their individual need and after the Dhamma Desana they would normally announce themselves to be Buddhamamaka in front of Lord Buddha for the rest of their life.

Washing and Bathing of the Buddha

When all the Buddhamamaka had left, Lord Buddha would head for a small lake or a river suitable for his personal requirement to wash himself in the evening. Then Lord Buddha would take a brief meditation before seeing Bikkhu travelling from far away. Lord Buddha would solve problems for visiting Bikkhu with happiness until they were completely satisfied.

Blessing Kings and Leaders of States

When Lord Buddha felt a little tired, he would take a walking meditation somewhere in the Vihara to relax his body. Whenever he was ready, he would briefly see visiting Bikkhu again before giving the opportunity to Kings, leaders of the states and high-ranking officials to see him. Lord Buddha would give Dhamma Desana to these people and answer their questions and solve their problems until they were satisfied before returning home.

The Four Meditation Postures of Lord Buddha
Walking-Standing-Sitting-Sleeping Postures

After that Lord Buddha would tend to relax by practising meditation which was known as ‘Sleeping Meditation - Lion Style' by lying down on his right side of the body, his two legs placing on top of one another, his left arm stretching along his left side of the body, his right arm bending at the elbow and placing his right palm under his head in order to limit his awareness to wake up. Lord Buddha would get up in the early hours of the morning and start his routine meditation to investigate and analyse the characters of people who would have the opportunity to listen to his Dhamma the next day. Generally, there appears to be Four Postures in Walking Meditation

Lord Buddha - Great Compassion for All Beings

During his 45 retreats, Lord Buddha had carried out his activities every day in teaching and blessing the masses in full except during his travel. Lord Buddha did not only teach Dhamma to them, but because of his great knowledge and intelligence all round, Lord Buddha also helped solving and giving instructions relating to their daily problems for those wishing to know as well. He did it with great success. Lord Buddha managed to please people of all walks of life regardless of their social status such as farmers, business people, officials and so on.

Buddha Light for Beings of the World
and those Seeking Sacca Dhamma

There was not even one question that Lord Buddha could not provide for those seeking assistance and blessing. Lord Buddha has never cause any disappointment or discontent or discomfort for anyone who requested his audience. Lord Buddha spoke with a very nice voice when explaining his Dhamma, which caused happiness and satisfaction all the time for people who came to him. On some occasions, there were people who came to challenge him, but because of his supreme knowledge and intelligence, none of them could match Lord Buddha. After the challenge, many of them would defect to Lord Buddha and profess Buddhism for the rest of their life. ‘Dhamma Brings Happiness to All '.

Searching for Place of Mahaparinibba (Pass-Away)

During the 44^th Retreat, the two closest disciples of Lord Buddha, Phra Mokkhanla and Phra Salybouth had attained Nibbana. Lord Buddha thought that it was about time for him to attain Mahaparinibbana. On his 45^th Retreat, Lord Buddha was exactly 80 years old. He thought that the teaching of his Sacca Dhamma was about to end as he believed that his life would not stretch too much further. Lord Buddha looked towards the North along the foot of Himmalayan mountains where he was familiar with its surrounding while he was young and searching for the Sacca Dhamma. Lord Buddha together Phra Anonh and other disciples left Veruvannana Maha Vihara and headed for a place where Lord Buddha had chosen to attain Mahaparinibbana.

Heading for a place to attain Mahaparinibbana

On his way, Lord Buddha had passed through a number of villages including Village Pataribouth (now called Patna). Lord Buddha travelled north and passed through city of Vesaly of the Vassy Region. In this city, there was a lady prostitute by the name of Umphapaly who offered Lord Buddha a temple, which was built in competition with a number of Princes of the same city. Then Lord Buddha travelled towards Village Veruvakarm, which was very close to the city of Vesaly where Lord Buddha decided to stay for a while. Lord Buddha knew the importance of his stopping over.

Serious Illness of Lord Buddha

During this retreat, the health of Lord Buddha was very serious. His illness was so grave and he could almost attain Mahaparinibbana, but Lord Buddha relieved his pain and illness by practising ‘Cetosa Meditation'. When he felt a little better, Lord Buddha rested under a shade of a Vihara on a mattress prepared for him by Phra Anonh. Phra Anonh took the opportunity and said to Lord Buddha that he was so happy to see the health of Lord Buddha had improved. When Phra Anonh saw Lord Buddha was seriously sick, his mind was shattered and could not do anything right, but was confident that it was not the right time for Lord Buddha to attain Mahaparinibbana until he had instructed all the Bikkhu of rules of behaviour for them to observe after his Mahaparinibbana.

Lord Buddha's 45^th Rain Retreat

It has been 45 years since the day Lord Buddha announced his religion and he was exactly 80 years old. During his 45^th Rain Retreat at the Verukham, Lord Buddha was worried about Phra Anonh who has not yet attained Arahantaship. One day Lord Buddha took Phra Anonh to a nearby Forest and gave a Dhamma Desana about ‘Obhasamnimitta Indhibathsi' (this Dhamma Desana Sutra has 4 topics-anybody practising this Sutra would prolong his own life). Although, the Buddha has repeated this Dhamma Desana for three times, Phra Anonh was not able to understand his intention. The Buddha asked Phra Anonh to step out from the shady tree and then the Head of the Evil Forces stepped in and requested the Buddha to attain Mahaparinibbana. Lord Buddha accepted and then he advised Phra Anonh that his Mahaparinibbana would be in three months time, in the middle of the full moon day of the 6^th month, during the Year of the Dog, and it would be in Kushinara City.

ADVICE of Lord Buddha to Phra Anonh

Lord Buddha once said to Phra Anonh that ‘ Listen Anonh, there was no other thing that all Bikkhu would expect from me. I have inscribed all in the Dhamma Vinaya including all codes of behaviour and practice for Bikkhu to realise Dhamma and to attain Nibbana. I have not hidden any part of my teachings from them. I have sincere intention for all of them until the end. Listen Anonh, I' m 80 years old, an old person and counting my days and now it should be the time for me to abandon everything. All Bikkhu should rely on themselves, and not on somebody else. Take Dhamma as ‘Sarana - thing that one can rely on' and keep Dhamma purely in your heart without mixing it with any other thing whatsoever. Whichever Bikkhu determine to practise and study Dhamma, he will attain wisdom and excel among the group.'

Lord Buddha Decided to Attain Mahaparinibbana

The next morning, which was the full moon day of the 3rd month of the Year of the Dog Lord Buddha, felt better and went to do his alms gathering in the city of Vesaly. After finishing his lunch, Lord Buddha asked Phra Anonh to arrange a place for him to mediate by himself under a tree in the vicinity of Pavarajedy Temple. Lord Buddha has decided to attain Mahaparinibbana on the full moon day of the sixth month (Visakha Day) which was exactly 3 months from the full moon day of the 3^rd month of the same year.

Phra Anonh Requested the Buddha to
Postpone his Mahaparinibbana

Phra Anonh repeatedly requested Lord Buddha to refrain from Mahaparinibbana so that he could bless all beings further. Lord Buddha said to Phra Anonh that ‘ Listen Anonh, I have already relinquished my Sankhara and whatever I have said I would not take back my words. Three months from now I would attain Mahaparinibbana. Anonh, let bygone be bygone and do not think about it. I would head for Saravanna Forest while you go and inform all the Bikkhu to assemble there'. Phra Anonh has done everything as request of him by Lord Buddha.

Final Advice the Buddha to all Bikkhu

At the Bikkhu assembly, in order to show his great compassion and sincere care for them, Lord Buddha advised all Bikkhu to practise the Righteous Way as strictly observed rules laid down by him in the past for the benefits of all world beings and to set good example for beings of the world to follow in practising Brommacanna in complete purity. Lord Buddha also said that ‘ nothing in the world is permanent. Nothing stays forever ‘ Anitca Vatta Sangkhara' Only determination; vigorous practice and control of the Cita on the right path would lead to advancement and liberation from the circle of life. Suffering of beings of the world was endless. If one cannot understand suffering, one cannot gain liberation'.

Leaving Vesaly City

The next day, Lord Buddha and Phra Anonh carried out their alms gathering in the City of Vesaly for the last time. Lord Buddha said to Phra Anonh that ‘ Listen Anonh, this would be my last time in the City of Vesaly and then I will travel to Village Patthakham'. As from that day Lord Buddha left Vesaly City and passed through a number of villages including Village Huttikham, Umphakham, Sumphukham where he gave Dhamma Desana along the way. When Lord Buddha arrived at the Phokha City, he stayed at the Anandha Jedy where he gave Dhamma Desana on the 4^th Mahapatesa for Bikkhu to consider using it as a tool to decide on the Dhamma Vinaya. Just one day before the full moon day of the 6^th month (one day before the 3^rd month coming to an end), Lord Buddha arrived at Pava City where he stayed in a mango forest of Nai Jundha, son of a goldsmith. Lord Buddha gave Dhamma Desana to Nai Jundha until he attained Sotapanna (1^st Stage of Holiness). The next day, Lord Buddha accepted the invitation from Nai Jundha to have Dhana at his residence.

Last Meal of the Buddha from Nai Jundha

The next day which was coincided with the full moon day of the 6^th month of Year of the Dog, Lord Buddha headed for residence of Nai Jundha where it was his very last alms-gathering. Lord Buddha was offered roast pork by Nai Jundha, which he consumed. Lord Buddha instructed Bikkhu not to consume any of the roast pork. Lord Buddha left Nai Jundha after the Dhana. On his way back, Lord Buddha was gravely ill and bleeding from his back-pass. Lord Buddha relieved his pain by insight meditation.

Blessing Pukkussa Along the Way

Lord Buddha took his rest every now and then along the way until he was very close to Kushinara City where he rested under an tree. Lord Buddha met with Prince Pukkussa who used to be one of the students of Hermit Ara, one of the teachers of Lord Buddha before he attained Enlightenment. Prince Pukkassa left Kushinara was on his way to Pava City where he met Lord Buddha. Prince Pukkussa paid respect to Lord Buddha who gave him Dhamma Desana on Suntivihara until he attained Sotapanna (1^st stage of Holiness) and declared him to be Buddhamamaka for life. Prince Pukkussa offered Lord Buddha two portions of cloths, which he accepted. Lord Buddha took one and gave one to Phra Anonh. After crossing the River Kadhudhana, Lord Buddha rested for a while and then headed for River Hiranyavady of Kushinara City.

Sleeping Posture of the Buddha

In the afternoon of the full moon day of the 6^th month of the Year of the Dog, Lord Buddha and other Bikkhu arrived at Kushinara City where he headed for the Sara Tree Forest in the outskirts of the City. Lord Buddha asked Phra Anonh to arrange a sleeping throne between the two Sara Trees so that he could lie down (in Pali language, we call the posture as ‘Anuttadhasaiyadha which means never to get up'. At that time the two Sara Trees were fully blossoming which was extraordinary, as it was not the blossoming season. Flowers of the Sara Trees were showering on the body of Lord Buddha who said to Phra Anonh that ‘ Listen Anonh, although I appreciate this type of worship which is not the most precious one, I would prefer the 4 groups of Buddhamamaka which include, Bikkhu, Bikkhuni, Upasok and Upasika to appropriately practise the Dhamma Vinaya that I have been teaching. This kind of worship is the most precious '

While Lord Buddha was in the sleeping posture, he gave Dhamma Desana continuously and he had instructed Phra Anonh to take care of his body the same way people took care of a body of an Emperor.

Sorrow of Phra Anonh

Now that Phra Anonh realised that Lord Buddha would attain Mahaparinibba without doubt, he could not hide his great sorrow. He had to sneak out and went crying alone in nearby bushes. Phra Anonh was extremely disappointed and murmured to himself that he has not yet attained Arahantaship like other Bikkhu and he had to keep on studying by himself alone without Lord Buddha who would leave him behind.

Lord Buddha could not see Phra Anonh

When Lord Buddha opened his eyes, he could not see Phra Anonh and asked other Bikkhu who informed Lord Buddha of Phra Anonh's disappointment and sorrow as he has not yet attained Supreme Buddha Dhamma although Lord Buddha was about to attain Mahaparinibbana. Lord Buddha asked Bikkhu to fetch Phra Anonh.

Lord Buddha Praised Phra Anonh

When Phra Anonh returned, Lord Buddha praised him in from of other Bikkhu by saying that ‘ all past and future Buddha have valuable and dedicated personal carer and what Phra Anonh has done and taken care of me in this life was beyond comparison. Phra Anonh was the best, most intelligent and most organised personal carer, as he knew the time for visitors to seek my audience. He was happy and spoke to visitors with sincerity and kindness at all time. All visitors were very pleased with Phra Anonh and when he spoke they listened. Phra Anonh has been my most precious personal carer all the time.

Request to change place of Mahaparinibbana

Phra Anonh requested Lord Buddha to change his place of Mahaparinibbana from a forest and a small city to a large city like city of Rajakeu, Savatdhy, Vesaly and many other cities where Lord Buddha had thousands of disciples, high ranking and dedicated officials who would take care of the funeral in full.

Notification of the Mahaparinibbana of Lord Buddha

In the early evening of the full moon day of the 6^th month of the year of the Dog and after giving Dhamma Desana to the Bikkhu, Lord Buddha knew that his time was close and he asked Phra Anonh to inform Kings and officials and Buddhamamaka to come to the Sara Forest with flowers and candles to pay their last respect.

Kings were saddened by the news
of Lord Buddha Mahaparinibbana

When Phra Anonh broke the news of the Mahaparinibbana of Lord Buddha, Kings and citizens of Kushinara were saddened. They kept mourning with the early Mahaparinibbana of the world's supreme Teacher and headed for the Sara Forest where Lord Buddha resided to pay their last respect. Each group of citizens of Kushinara would have a representative and each took turn to see Lord Buddha.

Queries of Souphatthapariphasok

Souphatthapariphasok knew in his mind that Lord Buddha was about to attain Mahaparinibba this evening and as he has never heard or met Lord Buddha before he was uncertain whether a person could attain Enlightenment without being taught by anyone. He must see Lord Buddha and asked questions otherwise if Lord Buddha attain Mahaparinibba first, then he would be sorry for the rest of his life. He headed for the Sara Forest where he met a huge crowd waiting to pay their respect to Lord Buddha. He tried to push his way in but he was pushed back by Phra Anonh as it was the time for Lord Buddha to attain Mahaparinibbana.

Souphatthapariphasok Managed to ask Questions

Although Souphatthapariphasok was pushed back by Phra Anonh, he never gave up and kept asking to see Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha knew that Souphatthapariphasok had travelled a long distance and wished to seek his audience. Lord Buddha asked Phra Anonh to allow in Souphatthapariphasok who paid respect to Lord Buddha and asked a question to clear his mind by saying that:

‘ The Six Guru:-

1. Puranakaspa
2. Muglikosal
3. Asittaketkamphol
4. Pakudhakiccayana
5. Sunsivelattadhabouth
6. Nikharanthanatabouth - have all of them attained Arahanta?

The question was refrained by Lord Buddha who said that: ‘ Mugga has 8^th factors, which were not in the Dhamma. The Four Group of Sammana -Buddhist monks were (1) Phra Sotapanna - one who has attained the 1^st stage of holiness (2) Phra Sakadhagamy - one who has attained the 2^nd stage of holiness (3) Phra Anagami - one who has attained the 3^rd stage of holiness) (4) Phra Arahanta - one who has attained Nibbana.

Souphatthapariphasok Requested Ordination

Souphatthapariphasok was very satisfied with the answer given by Lord Buddha and immediately realised Dhamma and attained Sotapanna and requested ordination from Lord Buddha who advised Souphatthapariphasok to take ‘Parivassakamma' for 4 years, as he was not a Buddhist before. Souphatthapariphasok agreed. Lord Buddha then asked Phra Anonh to arrange ordination for Souphatthapariphasok as a Novice monk in a hurry and then brought Novice Monk Souphatthapariphasok to Lord Buddha for blessing by way of Ehi Bikkhu method.

Bikkhu Souphatthapariphasok - Last Disciple

Lord Buddha instructed Kammatthana (foundation for mental development) to Bikkhu Souphatthapariphasok to practise as follows:-

Once started practising, Bikkhu Souphatthapariphasok attained Arahanta immediately.

Bikkhu Souphatthapariphasok was Lord Buddha's last disciple and the last Arahanta in Buddhism. This shows that Lord Buddha has carried out his duties until the very last minute of his life.

Final Advice of Lord Buddha

Lord Buddha gave his final advice to his disciples by saying that ‘ After the attainment of Mahaparinibbana, the Dhamma and the Vinaya that he has inscribed would be their Teacher and they should never ever be careless as Sankhara are impermanent and subject to decay and they should carry out activities that would benefits others and themselves in full'. After these words, Lord Buddha attained Mahaparinibbana in the final hour of the full moon night of the 6^th month of the Year of the Dog.

This shows that Lord Buddha has carried an extremely heavy burden for 45 years in all without having much rest until the very last minute of his attainment of Mahaparinibbana. Lord Buddha has left the most valuable and precious Teachings for all beings of the world to practise. May all of you practise the Teachings of Lord Buddha. Sadhu Anumodhami.

Mahaparinibbana of Lord Buddha

The Mahaparinibbana of Lord Buddha has been in orderly stages. The 1^st stage of Jana and then the 2^nd stage of Jana. Va Dha Yi Ta Ni Ro Dha the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th stage of Jana and then Mahaparinibbana.

On that occasion, as Phra Anonh has not yet attained Arahanta, he asked Phra Anuroutdha whether Lord Buddha has attained Mahaparinibbana.

‘Lord Buddha was born on the ground under a Sara Tree on the full moon day of the 6^th month. Lord Buddha attained Enlightenment on the ground under a Bodhi Tree on the full moon day of the 6^th month. Lord Buddha attained Mahaparinibbana on the ground under a Sara Tree on the full moon day of the 6^th month. Therefore, the sixth month has been the most important day in Buddhism.'

Cremation of Lord Buddha

The attainment of Mahaparinibbana of Lord Buddha has caused great sorrow and mourning all round. For those attained Arahantaship, they were affected less. But as for those who have not yet attained Arahantaship, they were affected greatly. The Kings and the population came in thousands and brought 500 sets of yellow robes as well as assorted perfumed flowers to worship the body of Lord Buddha, which prolonged for 7 days. On the 8^th day (declining moon) of the 6^th month the cortege of the funeral of Lord Buddha proceeded to the Makoutdhaphandha Pagoda for cremation.

With regards to the dressing up of the body of Lord Buddha, Phra Anonh has instructed the Kings to wrap around the body of Lord Buddha with excellent quality cloth two times and then tie the body with cotton strings 500 times before placing the body into a golden coffin and transferred to the crematorium which was made of sandal wood of 120 elbow length in height. The Kings started to set fire on the coffin, but it was not burnt. When questioned, Phra Anuroutdha said those Gods and Goddesses guarding the body of Lord Buddha were waiting for Phra Maha Kassapa who was the most senior disciples. On that day Phra Maha Kassapa and other 500 disciples of Lord Buddha were on their way to pay respect to Lord Buddha who attained Mahaparinibbana before their arrival. When they heard that Lord Buddha had already attained Mahaparinibbana for 7 days, some of them who were ordinary disciples mourned and felt on the ground for losing their greatest Teacher. For the disciples who were Kinasava (already attained Arahantaship) they were also sad. Among these disciples, they was an old disciple named Suphatdha who said to other disciples that

‘ Why would all of you be sad and keep mourning? Now that we have liberated ourselves from the power of Lord Buddha whom repeatedly kept advising and instructing, when he was alive. Now he has gone, we could do whatever we wish to do. There would be no one to stop us.

Phra Maha Kassapa have advised other disciples with Buddha Dhamma Katha to relieve their sadness and pain and then rushed towards the Makoutdhaphandha Pagoda. After his arrival, Phra Maha Kassapa paid respect to the coffin of Lord Buddha and walked around the crematorium three times and then said ‘ My Lord Buddha, I am Maha Kassapa, your most humble disciple whom you have appointed to occupy the highest position in Dhamma Meditation Practice. You have my highest respect and would you please place your feet on my two hands waiting with deep respect'. Suddenly, the two feet of Lord Buddha were piercing through the cloth and the 500 rounds of strings binding his body and miraculously landed on the two palms of Phra Maha Kassapa who said further that ‘ since the day I have followed you in this world, I have never once disobeyed your advice, but I have not had the opportunity to take care of you personally, and would you please bless me with forgiveness'. After completing his sentence and paid great respect to the body of Lord Buddha, suddenly the two feet of Lord Buddha miraculously retracted into the golden coffin and the fire started burning.

Seven days after the cremation, the Kings have collected and organised a Royal Procession of the ashes of Lord Buddha on elephants' back to be transferred to the Palaces where the ashes was placed in the Rattana Throne which had been beautifully and respectfully decorated. The celebration of the ashes of Lord Buddha was prolonged for 7 days.

In conclusion, the Atdha Day, the 8^th day of the declining moon of the 6^th month was the cremation day of Lord Buddha and the Atdha Day has been recognised as one of the most important days in Buddhism until the present time.

Incidents 7 days after The Buddha's Cremation

Seven days after the cremation of Lord Buddha, there were 7 Kings who quarreled among themselves over the possession of the ashes of Lord Buddha. They were (1) King of Kabillapat (2) King Asatsatrou of Rajakeu (3) King Lijasavy of Vesaly (4) King Dhila of Ullakappa (5) King Koliyavong of Ramkham (6) Maha Brahman of Vettadhipaka and (7) King of Pava.City. All of these Kings were Buddhamamaka and undertook the Triple Gems as their refuge. After the Mahaparinibbana of Lord Buddha, instead of respecting practising the Teachings of Lord Buddha, they became selfish and determined in their decision to possess the ashes of Lord Buddha. Therefore, fighting over the ashes of Lord Buddha had broken out. Fortunately, at that time there was a Brahman, by the name of ‘Dhona' who said to the 7 Kings that ‘ Your Majesty, Lord Buddha was not only our Greatest Teacher, but of the whole wide world, and all of us were buddhist. We should not forget his Dhamma Teachings that Dhamma supported the world. We should live, worship and respect Dhamma, instead of destroying it. Should this be so? Would all of you reassess the situation instead of start killing one another as all of us were Buddhists!' Once the 7 Kings were reminded by Bhraman Dhona, they all agreed to cooperate with one another and started sharing the ashes of Lord Buddha so that they could take them back to their Kingdom for worshipping until the present time.

Finally, I would like to leave The History of Siddhartha Gotama Buddha with all Dhamma practitioners so that they would truly understand the heart of Buddhism. (I do not intend to teach those who have already mastered the subject). Also, I would like to wish every beings of the world who have practiced the Teachings of the Greatest Teacher of the world that have been known throughout the world for more than 2541 years, to be happy, prosperity and longevity. Sadhu Anumodhami.

Sadhu Anumodhami - May all Beings Be Happy
Luongta Nam Chanhphy Manivong
21 March 1998

Addresses of Principal Supporters in the USA

First Sanghayana (Monks' Meeting)

Seven days after the Mahaparinibbana of the Buddha, Buddhist monks have been allegetions on numerous ways. Therefore, the most Senior monk, Phra Maha Kaspa has arranged the 1^st Sanghayana and invited all the Buddhist monks to the meeting in order to classify the Teachings of the Buddha into different groups.

Conclusion of the First Sanghayana

1. The First Sanghayana was arranged in a cave, above the Vehara of Rajakheuk City, Makhot Territory;
2. Phra Maha Kaspa chaired the Meeting, Phra Oubaly Thera was in charge of the interpreation of the Phra Vinaya and Phra Anonh Thera was in charge the interpretation of the Phra Dhamma;
3. King Asat Satrou as the sponsor;
4. 500 Arahanta attended the meeting;
5. Decision on the wrong doing of Phra Anonh, which means, Phra Anonh carrying his duties. His actin has brought criticism and allegations to Buddhism. Being in charge of the Phra Vinaya (Codes of practices) Phra Anonh should not have done what he did.
6. Penalisation of Phra Sanna, which means Phra Sanna was punished for not complying with the Phra Vinaya (codes of practices). This had set a good example that the Phra Vinaya must be respected and observed absolutely. Therefore being the Buddha's disciples, there has been no exception, anyone not complying with the codes of practices would be punished regardless of the his position in the Sangha (Senior Thera and Junior Thera inclusive). This is the Buddha's codes of practices and the Buddha himself was the Principa.
7. Phra Pourana opposed the meeting;
8. The purpose of the meeting was to classify the teachings of the Buddha into different groups for the continuation of Buddhism;
9. The Sanghayana was convened 3 months after the Mahaparinibbana;
10. The Sanghayana lasted 7 months and was convened during a rainy season;
11. There was a celebration for six weeks at the end of the Saghayana.

Development of the First Sanghayana

Wat Lao Buddhanimit Canberra' Australia
Dated 9.12.1992
Written by Luongta Nam Chanhphy Manivong
PO Box 814
CAMPBELLTOWN NSW 2560
AUSTRALIA
Tel: 0419 224650

Remarks: The First Sanghayana was sponsored by King Asat Satrou because he very much regretted to have cooperated with Phra Thevadhat to assassinate The Buddha. He realised his mistakes and changed his mind to support Buddhism and subsequent Sanghayana.

I am happy to bring the whole of Buddha's life story to you.
Whomever wishes to understand the Buddha 's life story can read this by themselves.

I would like to give you all the good words I have written in my Dhamma website.

I will write more in the future and would like you to have these words of the Buddha Dhamma teachings, so that you can increase your understanding and thus, increase your happiness.

Thank you for enjoying my work. I wish all human beings in the world to be happy and to take care of themselves

Lord Buddha gave Dharma Blessing to Mrs. Kotami

I would like to pay respect to Lord Gotama Buddha , the master of all five worlds' gods and godesses, the Buddha teachings and senior monks who are the Lord Buddha 's followers. I would like to request the Lord Buddha 's permission to bring his teachings to all Buddhist who have belief and would like to follow the Lord Buddha 's pace.

According to the Lord Buddha 's history there was one lady named Mrs. Kotami. She was married and got one beloved son. She loved her son more than herself. Her son had passed away. She was sad and wanted to get her son 's life back as before. She realized that in this cycle of rebirth no one was able to revive the dead body except the Lord Buddha.

Hence she brought her son 's dead body to the Lord Buddha 's place. When she arrived at Lord Buddha 's place, she put her son 's dead body down in front of the Lord Buddha. She paid respect to and kindly asked the Lord Buddha to bring her son 's life back as before. But the Lord Buddha answered that I was not able to do because it was the law of the nature. But Mrs. Kotami did not believe. She tried her best and said to the the Lord Buddha that the Lord Buddha was able to do. Because the Lord Buddha was the master of all five worlds' gods and godesses. The Lord Buddha had the ability to do. But the Lord Buddha still insisted that he was not able to do. Mrs. Kotami had not believed what the Lord Buddha answered her. She had requested the Lord Buddha so far. Therefore the Lord Buddha told her that if you still had such intention, you should follow what I suggested to you. You had to ask for sugar apple 's seed from your neighbourhood to make medicine and let your son to have and he would revive. But before getting sugar apple 's seed you should ask the house owner that “From past until now, Did anyone die in your family?” If there were, that sugar apple 's seed could not be make medicine.

After Lord Buddha 's suggestion, Mrs Kotami left his son with the Lord Buddha. She went to all nearby villages and asked for sugar apple 's seed. She knocked door by door. The house owner asked her what she wanted. She answered that she wanted sugar apple 's seed to make medicine for her son. She also asked that “From past until now, Did anyone die in your family ?”

The answers were that “In my family my mother died” or “In my family my grandfather died” or “In my family my brother died” or “In my family my child died”. There was no family that had no one died.

Mrs. Kotami thought that in this human being world everyone had to die. No one lived eternal. It was not only my beloved son dying. Therefore Mrs. Kotami realized Dharma and left her suffering on behind and s he went back to the Lord Buddha and informed that the past three months I had asked for sugar 's apple seeds from others. But I could not succeed. Because every place I went and asked for, had the dead person. No one was able to live forever. The Lord Buddha said “That is impermanent”. Only Dharma and goodness was able to last forever. After the Buddha 's Giving bless ing, Mrs. Kotami realized and attained Dharma stage called “Soda”

Written by Mr. Ekachai Sribundit according to Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong 's Dharma blessing from Buddha story showing a way to leave from suffering.

On 3 March, 2010

I would like to leave with all of you who have been following the Lord Buddha 's teaching.

Written by Ekachai Sribundit according to Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong 's kindly giving Dharma blessing to my family and another life in order to make them happiness.

On 3 March, 2010

In Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong's wish
by offering this book

The History of Siddhatha Gotama Budhha written by Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong has already been completed.

Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong had written and collected this story since 21st March 1942. In 21st March 1998 the function in writing and collecting of History of Siddhatha Gotama Buddha had been fully finished.

All the good Luongta Nam Phra Guru Chanhphy Manivong has done in writing this story, he would like to leave all with you. May be make you happiness and free from suffering. Sathu.

3rd March 1998

A PLAN FOR LIVING

Buddhism is a plan for living in such a way as to derive highest benefit from life. It is a religion of wisdom where knowledge and intelligence predominate. The Buddha did not preach to win converts but to enlighten listeners.

“O Bikkhu, If others also know the value of giving as much as I know, no one will eat anything without giving at least a morsel to others. They will never be miserably. If there is anyone to receive it, they will give part of the last portion of their meal they were eating ”

That is the value of giving kindness to the life. “Sookkhang Sook Patiphoon Sati”

ปาริสุทธิทานังเม น้อมจิต ขอมอบแด่ท่านอันเป็นของขวัญ และเชิญท่านอนุโมทนาด้วย ปาริสุทธิธัง น้อมจิต

ขอนมัสการแด่พระศาสดาจารย์เจ้า พระองค์เป็นพระบรมครูจอมแห่งเทพทั้งห้าภพนั้น คือ พรหมโลก, เทวาโลก, นาคาโลก, มนุษยโลก และ ยมโลก, โลกทั้ง 5 พร้อมไปด้วยเทพเทพาทุกๆเหล่า และ เจ้าแม่ธรณี, ภุมมาเจ้าที่ ในสถานที่ข้าพเจ้าได้อยู่อาศัย ให้ความเมตตา เกื้อกูล ปกปักรักษา ให้ข้าพเจ้าได้รับความร่มเย็นเป็นสุขนั้น

ข้าพเจ้าขอน้อมจิต อาราธนา เชิญท่านเจ้ากูทั้งหลายโปรดเมตตา ในกุศลผลบุญ ที่ข้าพเจ้ามี ความยินดีในการสร้างหนังสืออันเป็นพุทธประวัติ แห่งคำสั่งสอนขององค์พระสัมมาสัมพุทธเจ้า เพื่อน้อมมอบแด่ท่าน ผู้ที่มีความยินดีในหลักพระธรรมของพระตถาคตโคดมเจ้า อันเป็นธรรมทาน ไม่ได้ขาย

ขอน้อมจิตถวายแด่พระตถาคตเจ้า ขอพระองค์จงเกษมสุขสำราญทุกทิพาราตรีนั้นเทอญ สาธุ

ขอผลทานนี้จงเกิดมีขึ้นแก่ข้าพเจ้า และท่านทั้งหลาย ผู้ที่มีศรัทธาขอร่วมบุญ ด้วยเจตนาอันบริสุทธิ์ พร้อมด้วยครอบครัวคุณโยมเอกชัย ศรีบัณฑิต ได้สร้างมาแล้วด้วย กาย วาจา ใจ และ สติปัญญา ได้เขียนอักขระ พยัญชนะธรรมตัวหนึ่ง ถวายเป็นธรรมทานอันเป็นกุศล

ดั่งนั้นในผลทานนี้ ขอจงสำเร็จไปด้วยปาริสุทธิทานังเม นั้นเทอญ สาธุ อนุโมทามิ สาธุ สาธุ

Respect the Lord Buddha

This book entitled the History of Siddhartha Gotama Buddha has been made as a gift to whom would like to follow the Lord Buddha teaching and it is not for sale.

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