King Milindu (Menander I) & Arahanth Nagasena (Part 8)
From TheBuddhism.Net
King Milindu wanted to verify some facts regarding Buddha & his teachings. He asked Arahanth Nagasena 77 special questions for this reason.
1) Venerable Sir, is there a use in paying homage to the departed Buddha?
Dear King, our Great Buddha attained Enlightenment eliminating all defilements under the Bodhi tree and achieved Nirvana after death. It is true that such a person wouldn’t accept reverence.
Once Arahanth Sariputhra said, “Gods & human beings pay homage to the unrivaled, peerless Buddhas. But the Great Buddhas do not attach themselves to those venerations. It is a characteristic of all Buddhas.”
Once our Great Buddha said to Reverend Ananda thus, “ Ananda, one shouldn’t think that they don’t have a Buddha to guide themselves anymore, after my death (Maha Parinibbana). My teachings (Dhamma) should be considered as your teacher thereafter.”
All these lead to the fact that the homage we pay to our departed Buddha doesn’t go to waste. Those who have great respect for our Buddha & his unrivaled teachings pay homage and acquire merit. They get heavenly comforts and approach the eternal bliss, ‘Nirvana’ by doing so.
2) Venerable Sir, if our Great Buddha knows everything, why does he have to take time to contemplate things sometimes?
Dear King, all Buddhas know everything. Since their minds are extremely pure and powerful, they could recollect anything instantly.
But, it is true dear king that Buddhas take time to recollect things sometimes. It is also true that they do not see things instantaneously. They have to enter the ‘Great Compassionate Attainment’ daily at dawn to find those who need help. But, the time it takes for our great Buddhas to recollect things are very little. That time is less than the time one takes to stretch a bent hand or bend a stretched hand. In a time less than it takes to blink, a Buddha can recollect anything pertaining to the Past, Present & the Future.
Buddhas could do so because their minds are rid of desire, hatred and ignorance. But ordinary people cannot do so because their minds are full of passion, abhorrence and unawareness.
3) Venerable Sir, why did our Great Buddha ordained Devadatta knowing very well that he would make a rift among the monks and suffer in hell for a very long period?
Dear King, our Great Buddha knew that Devadatta would suffer extensively in the “Life – Death Cycle” (Samsara) for a longer period because of his inborn wickedness if he were to stay a prince. Our Great Buddha knew that if he was ordained, his suffering would be limited since a Buddha’s disciple would surely end his suffering one day. It is similar to an influential person asking leniency on behalf of a relative or a friend who has been sentenced by a king for a lesser punishment.
Our Great Buddha lightened the suffering of Devadatta by ordaining him, like an eminent doctor who eased the pain of a horrendous disease with medication.
Devdatta nurturing an enmity from previous births, tried to kill our Great Buddha several times. When he couldn’t do so he made a schism among the monks. But, at his death, he took refuge in the Buddha, recalling the great qualities of our Gauthama Buddha.
“My Supramundane Gauthama Buddha, please show me, the person who did great crimes against you, the compassion you showed to murderers like ‘Angulimala’, fierce & cruel beings like elephant ‘Nalagiri’ and your own innocent son ‘Rahula’. I was the nephew of your father ‘Suddhodana’, I was the brother of your wife ‘Yasodhara’, I was the maternal uncle to your son ‘Rahula’; therefore, please rescue me from the hellish suffering I am about to experience” were Devadatta’s last words.
This enabled Devadatta to become a Pase Buddha named “Satthissara” and attain Nirvana after he finished his punishment in hell.
Dear King, our Great Buddha changed the downward direction Devadatta was drifting caught in the floods, to upstream; propelled Devadatta to the right track from the wrong path; helped Devadatta to come out of the precipice.
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Another brilliant Q & A