Reading Notes: The Life of Buddha: Reading F

The Buddha was begging through the streets, and the people though it was strange that the once Prince Siddhartha was now walking through the streets as a beggar. The king went to him and demanded he stopped, but the Buddha told his father the story of Dharmapala, and he stopped at once.

When all the women visit the Buddha, Gopa is not there. She doesn't because she knows he'll visit her on his one merit. He of course does and then tells Gopa about her good virtue.

The Buddha went to nanda to try and get him to go toward the path of enlightenment. At first his brother refused, but as he kept speaking, Nandy accepted and fell to the Buddha's feet. At that the Master took him out of the palace.

Gopa's son, Rahula then presents in front of the Buddha and tells him he wants to claim his heritage and follow his father's path. The Buddha originally says no but allows Rahula to go with him. The king the gets upset with his family leaving, but the Buddha tells him not to mourn, and then leaves Kapilavastu.

There is a story of a girl from Cravasti who had nothing else to offer to the merchant Anathapandika but her dress. This was her only clothing, but she gave it to him anyways. She died a day later and was reborn a goddess. She then one day was taught the ways of the Buddha on Earth.

Six of the Sakyas went off to seek the teachings of the Buddha. On the way they realized they were still wearing jewels, so they took them off and gave them to a barber. But, he wanted to follow him so he threw the jewels away and followed them to find the Buddha.

Nanda was having trouble coping with leaving his wife. The Buddha had shown him a vision of the Aspars's, which he had then obsessed over. Eventually Nanda couldn't take it anymore, and the Buddha had told him to swallow his pride if he were to live a life of true enlightenment.

"Suffering is birth, suffering is old age, suffering is sickness, suffering is death. O thirst to be led from birth to birth! Thirst for power, thirst for pleasure, thirst for being, thirsts that are the source of all suffering! O evil thirsts, the saint knows you not, the saint who extinguishes his desires, the saint who knows the noble eight-fold path." - A quote from the Buddha as his father dies.

The Eightfold Path of Buddhism. Wikimedia

Bibliography: 

The Life of Buddha by A. Ferdinand Herold, tr. by Paul C Blum