Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Nine Ordeals Part 5(九惱五)
The Nine Ordeals: Six years of ascetic practice; Slander by Sundari; Foot pierced by wooden spear; Horse fodder as food; Massacre of the Sakya Clan by King Virudhaka; Empty bowl after begging; Slander by Cincamanavika; Boulder dropped by Devadatta; Asking for robes to block cold wind.
In these past few days, we have talked about the Nine Ordeals that the Buddha encountered in His lifetime. Now we will talk about the Buddha’s fifth Ordeal. It was a major one, the massacre of the Sakya Clan by King Virudhaka.
At the time of the Buddha’s enlightenment, cities were the basis of kingdoms. Many kingdoms heard that Crown Prince Siddhartha of the Sakya Clan had practiced and become an enlightened and holy man, a Buddha. Every kingdom revered this enlightened man. During this time, King Prasenajit, ruler of a small kingdom, ascended the throne. When he became king, he was very idealistic. He wanted to strengthen the country and enrich the lives of his people. He also wanted his future son to be a benevolent king. If his son was loving and had the wisdom to lead a country, it would be a blessing to all. King Prasenajit respected and admired the Kingdom of Kapilavatsu because it produced the Enlightened One. He thought if he married someone from Kapilavatsu, their children would have the same wisdom as Siddhartha.
So he sent someone to Kapilavatsu to negotiate a marriage. The nobles in Kapilavatsu felt that the Sakya Clan was superior. How could they marry off one of their noblewomen to that small kingdom? They gathered all their maidservants and picked out a talented and beautiful one. Mahanama adopted her, named her Mallika, and sent her to King Prasenajit. She was known as Lady Mallika. Before long, she became pregnant, and gave birth to a son named Virudhaka. The family led a happy life. King Prasenajit treasured Lady Mallika and adored Prince Virudhaka.
When Prince Virudhaka was eight, the king thought his son should begin his studies, but wanted his son to be educated in Kapilavatsu. He wanted to send him to his in-laws to see if the education of the Sakya Clan could help develop his wisdom. This was at a time when the Sakya Clan was doing large-scale construction. They were building a giant auditorium so that the Buddha could return to spread His teachings and expound the Dharma to the people in Kapilavatsu. When they were almost finished, they started decorating the interior. They brought a lot of furniture, including a special chair to be used on stage. After they placed it there, Prince Virudhaka, who was playing nearby, saw the chair and became very excited, so he climbed onto the stage and sat in the chair.
Seeing this, the Sakya clansmen were enraged. They pulled him down from the chair by his neck, and started yelling at him, calling him “servant-born. How could you sit there? You are born from a servant, you are low-born! How could you sit in this chair?!” They insulted him in very harsh tones. Although the child was only eight, he had a servant named Much-Pain. Prince Virudhaka told him, “You have to help me remember today’s events. Although I’m still young, I will grow up to ascend the throne one day. On that day, the first thing you need to do is remind me when, where and from whom. I suffered these insults. You must remind me.”This was Prince Virudhaka’s instruction to his servant.
Thus a bad seed was planted. At time passed, Much-Pain often recounted this incident. He did not wait to repeat it as he was told, he reminded the prince three times a day and continued feeding the prince’s anger. The prince had said, “Remind me of this when I ascend the throne,” but Much-Pain remind him three times a day, and each reminder fed the prince’s hatred. His hate and anger grew and grew, so when he became king, his first task was to exterminate the Sakya Clan.
By that time, the Buddha had aged. When He received the news that King Virudhaka had raised an army to exterminate the Sakya Clan, He was very troubled. He wanted to find a way to help the Sakya Clan avoid this disaster. In His mind He knew it would not be possible, but for His clan, He had to try. On the day that the soldiers assembled, Sakyamuni Buddha brought His disciples to the border of Kapilavatsu, where He knew King Virudhaka would pass He just sat at the border. King Virudhaka respected Him very much, so when he saw Him sitting there from far away, he got off his horse to pay his respects. The Buddha was silent. After King Virudhaka paid his respects, he directed his troops to head back.
However, his anger and hate was not abated. A few days later, he led his army on an attack. Again, the Buddha just sat there. The king saw Him from far away, dismounted, paid his respects, and then headed back.
The third time, the Buddha’s disciple told Him, “The army is coming again to attack the city.” But Sakyamuni Buddha shook his head and said, “I can’t do anything this time”
“I’ve tried my best over and over.”
The monk asked the Buddha, “Why? Why can’t you do anything else?”
The Buddha said, “Once karma is created, it will lead to retribution.”
But Maudgalyayana could not bear it, he absolutely did not want Kapilavatsu to be invaded.
The Buddha told him, “Karma is hard to overcome.”
Maudgalyayana felt that he needed to at least save some clansmen. He disregarded the Buddha’s prohibition. He felt he should do something to save the Buddha’s clansmen. So he used spiritual powers to put 50 young men of the Sakya Clan in his alms bowl, and flew out of the city. He thought he had saved 50 people. After he left the borders of Kapilavatsu, he landed and used spiritual power to lower them back to the ground. But they had turned into a bowl of bloody water. So not even spiritual powers could save them. This story can be found in the Sutras. The Buddha already understood that this was karma that could not be altered. What kind of karmic retribution would cause the entire Sakya Clan to be massacred by King Virudhaka? The Buddha started speaking of the past.
In a prior life, a boy in the Zhiyue village used a stick to hit fish on the head after they were caught and placed on shore. This was the cause “The Sutra on Causes and Conditions.”
A long time ago, near Rajagrha, there was a fishing village. During times of drought, people relied on fish for food. Everyone in the village fished for a living. The fish in this lake were particularly abundant, so people from Rajagrha went there to fish. Among the many fish in the lake, one was named Bran, the other, Many-Tongued. Many fish were caught and killed every day. The entire lake was in a state of unrest.
One day by the lake, a child watched people catch fish. Some fish were still alive, flopping around and struggling on the shore. The fish Bran and Many-Tongued were among them. The child grabbed a stick of bamboo. Watching the fish jump around, he was happy. Everyone else was fishing. Watching the fish that were caught jump around made him happy. He kept hitting both fish on the head. Every time they jumped, he hit them again. These fish were destined to die. But in the cycle of life, there is rebirth and a constant cycle of retribution.
The Buddha said, “Do you know? The people living in Rajagrha at that time are the current Sakya Clan. They were the fishermen who killed these fish every day. king Virudhaka was the fish named Bran, the fish names Many-Tongued is now Much-Pain.” Much-Pain was the King’s servant, so he reminded him three times a day. This was the result of the child from long ago who was unwittingly happy from the sight of dying fish and hit them with a stick. His actions were childish and careless. But those who were hurt, even if they were fish, could still hate. The seed of hate and anger continuously followed the cycle of transmigration until the time for revenge. Cause and effect is frightening. That was why the Sakya Clan was massacred.
Sakyamuni Buddha was helpless because He was the child who hit them when they were fish. How could He now subdue and convince them with Dharma? It was impossible, especially after the Sakya Clan created such tremendous killing Karma, so He could not change the outcome.
Planting good seeds yields good rewards. Planting evil seeds yields evil retribution. Karmic retribution that entangles us for lifetimes cannot be altered. When it manifests, it is beyond our control.
So we should understand that in life, we must be truly careful with our every thought. We need to be careful not only in how we treat people, but also in how we handle matters. So in our lives, we must mindfully deal with people and matters, and be respectful. We should not have a discrimination mind, disparaging mind, or a lying, cheating mind. That is wrong. Something like this brought about a tremendous disaster that annihilated the Sakya Clan. That was a frightening karma retribution. So we practice Buddhist must be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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