The Buddha's chief disciple was black

Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly; Hellmuth Hecker, Maha-Moggallana, The Wheel Publication No. 263/264 (Buddhist Publication Society), German original Wissen und Wandel (magazine, XXII, 9/10), Bradford Griffith and Robert Bussewitz (transcribers) DharmaNet

The Buddha and his black chief male disciple, diverse representations (Wisdom Quarterly)

   

The Buddha may have had as many as 80,000 monastic human disciples (savakas, "hearers") during his 45 years of teaching with countless more devas who were able to attain liberating insight. But he only singled out four "chief disciples," two monks (Great Moggallāna and Sariputra) and two nuns (Uppalavanna and Khema). Great Moggallana had very dark black skin described as being the "color of a rain cloud." He was not African, of course, but Dravidian, from a wealthy and privileged Brahmin family in ancient north India. He may have been Indo-Ariyan nevertheless with very dark skin, usually depicted as blue as is customary in India. It is explained in Sri Lankan commentaries as being due to the residual effects of weighty past karma. But whatever the case, he was joyfully welcomed by the Buddha, ordained, and immediately singled out as a chief disciple. His special ability was helping bring new monks to full enlightenment after the Buddha attracted them to the Dharma and Sariputra aided them to stream entry (the first stage of enlightenment). Presumably, Upalavanna and Khema helped the Buddha in the same way with nuns. Great Moggallana was also singled out as "foremost in psychic powers." There are many stories of his putting them to good use, which is interesting because the Buddha -- who also possessed great supernormal abilities -- saw danger in them and normally discouraged their display.

 

3. Finding the Teaching

Without knowing anything of the Buddha, Great Moggallana (born as Kolita) and Sariputra (born as Upatissa) gave up their life as wandering ascetics and, after many years, returned to their home country of Magadha. This happened not long after the Buddha had delivered his first sutra setting in motion the Wheel of the Dharma at Benares (Varanasi, India).
 
But the two friends still had not given up hope, and they decided now to search separately, for doubling their chances. They agreed among themselves that if one first learned about a convincing path to liberation (the deathless, nirvana), he would quickly inform the other.
 

Black Ven. Sivali (109060883@N02/flickr)

At that time, when both were about 40 years old, the Buddha had sent out the first batch of enlightened missionary disciples, 61 in number, to proclaim the Teaching (Dharma) for the well-being and happiness of humans and devas. The Buddha himself had gone to Rajagaha, the capital of Magadha, where the great king of Magadha soon became his follower and donated the Bamboo Grove Monastery (Jetavana). At that monastery the Buddha was residing when Kolita and Upatissa returned to Rajagaha, staying at their teacher Sanjaya's place.

One day Upatissa went to town while Kolita stayed back at their dwelling. Kolita saw his friend returning. Never had he seen him like that: his entire being seemed to be transformed, his appearance was buoyant and radiant. Eagerly Kolita asked him:

"Your features are serene, dear friend, and your complexion is bright and clear. Did it happen that you have found the road to enlightenement, the path to liberation from all suffering?"
 
Upatissa replied: "It is so, dear friend, the path to the deathless has been found!" He then reported how it happened....
 

Of things arisen from conditions

the Wayfarer the condition told

and what is their cessation,

that, too, the Great Ascetic proclaimed.

 
When Upatissa heard this stanza, the vision of Truth (the "Dharma-eye") arose in him on the spot, and the very same happened to Kolita when he listened to the stanza retold by his friend. He, too, realized: Whatever arises is bound to pass away.

The realization that was evoked by this stanza, may be called a truly mystical event. For us, these four lines do not contain an explanation explicit enough for a full understanding. The deeper and wider meaning of the stanza reveals itself only to those who have trained themselves [and can discern the Four Noble Truths in it] for a long time in wisdom and renunciation and have reflected long upon the impermanent and thed eathless, the conditioned and the unconditioned.....
  
After Kolita listened to that powerful stanza, he asked at once where the Great Ascetic, the Perfected One, the Buddha was staying. Hearing that he was dwelling nearby at the Bamboo Grove Monastery, he wished to go there immediately....

4. The Struggle for Realization

The Buddha teaching monastic disciples, bas relief, Songkla, Thailand, rooftop pyramid

 
Now the two friends, at the head of the 250 fellow ascetics, approached the Bamboo Grove. There the Buddha was just teaching Dharma to his disciples. And when he saw the two friends approaching, the Enlightened One said: "Here, disciples, they are coming, the two friends Kolita and Upatissa. They will be my chief (male) disciples, a blessed pair!"

Having arrived, all respectfully saluted the Buddha, raising their folded palms to the forehead and bowing at the feet of the meditation Master. Then the two friends spoke: "May we be permitted, O venerable sir, to obtain under the Blessed One the going-forth and the full admission?"

Then the Blessed One responded: "Come, monks! Well proclaimed is the Teaching. Live now the life of purity for making an end of suffering!" These brief words served to bestow ordination on the two friends and their following.
 

From then on Upatissa was called Sariputta ("the son of Sari," his mother) and Kolita was called Maha-Moggallana ("the Great One of the Moggallana clan") to distinguish him from other Buddhist monks from that same clan.

 

After all of them had obtained ordination, the Buddha addressed the 250 disciples and explained to them the Teaching in such a way that before long they attained to the first stage of enlightenment, stream-entry, and in due course became fully enlightened. Sariputra and Great Moggallana, however, went into solitude, but this time separate from each other.

 

Sariputta remained in the vicinity of Rajagaha and went to meditate in a cave called "Bear's Den." From there he walked to the city for his alms, which afforded him the opportunity to listen often to the Buddha's discourses. What he had heard he independently worked over on his own and methodically penetrated to a clear understanding of the mind and its laws. He needed 14 days to reach full enlightenment, the utter destruction of all defilement (asavas).

 

Great Moggallana, however, for reasons not known to us, chose as his abode the forests near the village of Kallavalaputta in Magadha. With great zeal, he meditated there while sitting or walking up and down. But in these efforts, he was often overcome by sleepiness. Though he did not wish to fall asleep, he was unable to keep his body erect and his head upright. There were times when he had to keep his eyes open even by force of will.

The tropical heat, the strain of long years of a wandering life, and the inner tensions he had gone through perhaps explain how now, at the end of his quest, his body reacted with fatigue.

 

But the Awakened One, with a great teacher's care for his disciples, did not lose sight of him. With his supernormal vision he perceived the difficulties of the new monk, and by magic power he appeared before him. When Moggallana saw the Buddha standing before him, a good part of his fatigue had already vanished. Now the Awakened One asked him:

"Are you nodding, Moggallana, are you nodding?"

  

"Yes, venerable sir."

1. "Well then, Moggallana, at whatever thought drowsiness befalls you, to that thought you should not give attention and not dwell on that thought. Then, by doing so, it is possible that your drowsiness will vanish. (The Buddha gave many more step-by-step instructions for staying awake). More 

"Nay, not for this that you may slumber long,

Comes the night, in starry garlands wreathed.

For vigils by the wise this night is here." 

— Theragatha, Verse 193 (trans. by C.A.F. Rhys Davids)

Motives for Gift Giving (sutra)

Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly translation based on Ven. Thanissaro, "Discourse on Generosity" (Dana Sutta, AN 7.49)

Giving has the added benefit of resulting in easier meditative absorption (adbusters)

 

Sariputra was wise to ask (TA)

CAMPA, Gaggara Lake, ancient India - Ven. Sariputra said to the Blessed One: 

"Does one person give a certain gift that does not bear great fruit and benefit, whereas another person gives the same gift and it bears great fruit and benefit?"

 

"Yes, Sariputra."

 

"Venerable sir, why, what is the cause, what is the reason?"

 

The Buddha answers (TA)

1. "Sariputra, in one case a person gives a gift seeking profit, with a mind/heart attached [to gaining some reward], seeking to store up [merit with the thought], 'I'll enjoy this after death.'
 

"One gives a gift -- whether food, drink, clothing, transportation, garland, sweet scent, balm, bedding, shelter, lamp -- to a wandering ascetic or Brahmin. What do you think, Sariputra? Might one give such a gift?"

 

"Yes, venerable sir."

 

"Having given such a gift seeking profit with heart/mind attached, seeking to store up [merit with the thought], 'I'll enjoy this after death' -- on the break up of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of the Four Great Space Kings. Then, having exhausted that karma, that power, that status, that sovereignty, one returns, falling back to this plane.

 

2. "There is a person who gives a gift but not seeking profit, mind/heart not attached, not seeking to store up [merit with the thought], 'I'll enjoy this after death.' Instead, one gives a gift with the thought, 'Giving is good.' ...What do you think, Sariputra? Might one give such a gift?"

 

"Yes, venerable sir."

 

"Having given this gift with the thought, 'Giving is good,' on the break up of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of the devas ["shining ones"] of the World of the Thirty-Three. Then, having exhausted that karma, that power, that status, that sovereignty, one returns, falling back to this plane.

Sariputra's sacred relics (Camerabhai/flickr)

3. "Or instead of thinking 'Giving is good,' one gives a gift with the thought, 'This was given in the past, done in the past, by my relatives. It would not be right for me to let this family tradition end'... on the break up of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of the [Yāma] devas of delight. Then, having exhausted that karma, that power, that status, that sovereignty, one returns, falling back to this plane.

 

4. "Or instead... one gives a gift with the thought, 'I am well off. They are not well off. It would not be right for me, being well off, not to give a gift to those who are not well off'... on the break up of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of the contented devas. Then, having exhausted that karma, that power, that status, that sovereignty, one returns, falling back to this plane.

 

5. "Or instead... one gives a gift with the thought, 'Sages of the past made great sacrifices -- Atthaka, Vamaka, Vamadeva, Vessamitta, Yamataggi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vasettha, Kassapa, and Bhagu. Just so will this be my contribution'... on the break up of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of the devas who delight in creating. Then, having exhausted that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, one returns, falling back to this plane.

The Buddha and his four chief monastic disciples, male and female, Wat Yai Chai Mongkol (Mongkhon) in Ayutthaya, Thailand (Rainer Lott/Steffi Esch/flickr.com)

 

6. "Or instead... one gives a gift with the thought, 'When this gift of mine is given, it makes the heart/mind serene; appeasement and joy arise'... on the break up of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of the devas who wield power over others' creations. Then, having exhausted that karma, that power, that status, that sovereignty, one returns, falling back to this plane.

 

7. "Or instead of thinking, 'When this gift of mine is given, it makes the mind/heart serene; appeasement and joy arise,' one gives a gift with the thought, 'This is an ornament for the heart/mind, a support for the mind/heart.' One gives a gift... What do you think, Sariputra? Might one give such a gift?"

 

"Yes, venerable sir."

 

"Having given this -- 

1. not seeking profit, not with a heart/mind attached, not seeking to store up [merit with the thought], 'I'll enjoy this after death,' 
2. nor with the thought, 'Giving is good,' 
3. nor with the thought, 'This was given in the past, done in the past, by my relatives, so it would not be right for me to let this family tradition end,' 
4. nor with the thought, 'I am well off...,' 
5. nor with the thought, 'Sages of the past made great sacrifices... in the same way this will be my contribution,' 
6. nor with the thought, 'When this gift of mine is given, it makes the mind serene; appeasement and joy arise,' 

The Buddha and arhats (Horus2004/flickr)

7. "but with the thought, 'This is an ornament for the heart/mind, a support for the mind/heart' -- on the break up of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of Brahma's Retinue. 

"Then, having exhausted that karma, that power, that status, that sovereignty, one is a non-returner. One does not come back to this plane.

"This, Sariputra, is why, this is the cause, this is the reason one person gives a certain gift and it does not bear great fruit or benefit, whereas another person gives that gift and it bears great fruit and benefit."

The Discourse on Right View (sutra)

Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly, "Discourse on Right View" (Samma-ditthi Sutta, MN 9), based on translation by Ñanamoli Thera and Bhikkhu Bodhi

Young Buddhist novices, Lamayuru monastery, Ladakh, India (Dietmar Temps/flickr)

  

Birth

Novice, Burma (UrsulasWeeklyWanders.com)

24. Saying, "Good, friend," the monastics delighted and rejoiced in Sariputra's words. [The Buddha declared Ven. Sariputra his chief male disciple "foremost in wisdom," just as he declared Ven. Khema his chief female disciple foremost in wisdom.] Then they asked him a further question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma?" -- "There might be, friends.

 

25. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands birth, the origin of birth, the cessation of birth, and the way leading to the cessation of birth, in that way a person is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma.

 

Buddha in Phutthamonton (Gift of Light/flickr)

26. "And what is birth, what is the origin of birth, what is the cessation of birth, what is the way leading to the cessation of birth? The birth of beings into the various orders of beings, their coming to birth, precipitation [in a womb], generation, manifestation of the aggregates, obtaining the bases for contact -- this is called birth. With the arising of being, there is the arising of birth. With the cessation of being, there is the cessation of birth. The way leading to the cessation of birth is this Noble Eightfold Path -- that is:

1. right view
2. right intention
3. right speech
4. right action
5. right livelihood
6. right effort
7. right mindfulness
8. right concentration

27. "When a noble disciple has thus understood birth, the origin of birth, the cessation of birth, and the way leading to the cessation of birth... that person here and now makes an end of suffering (reaches nirvana). In that way, too, a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma." 

Becoming

Wheel of Sense Worlds (greencollarrap.com)

28. Saying, "Good, friend," the monastics delighted and rejoiced in Sariputra's words. Then they asked him a further question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma?" -- "There might be, friends.

 

29. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands becoming (bhava), the origin of becoming, the cessation of becoming, and the way leading to the cessation of becoming, in that way a person is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma.

 

30. "And what is becoming, what is the origin of becoming, what is the cessation of becoming, what is the way leading to the cessation of becoming? There are these three kinds of becoming: 

• sense-sphere becoming
• fine-material becoming
• immaterial becoming. 

With the arising of clinging, there is the arising of becoming. With the cessation of clinging, there is the cessation of becoming. The way leading to the cessation of becoming is this Noble Eightfold Path -- that is, right view... right concentration.

 

31. "When a noble disciple has thus understood becoming, the origin of becoming, the cessation of becoming, and the way leading to the cessation of becoming... that person here and now makes an end of suffering. In that way, too, a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma." 

Clinging

31 Planes reduced to Six States (lokas)

32. Saying, "Good, friend," the monastics delighted and rejoiced in Sariputra's words. Then they asked him a further question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma?" -- "There might be, friends.

 

33. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands clinging, the origin of clinging, the cessation of clinging, and the way leading to the cessation of clinging, in that way that person is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma.

 

34. "And what is clinging, what is the origin of clinging, what is the cessation of clinging, what is the way leading to the cessation of clinging? There are these four kinds of clinging: 

1. clinging to sensual pleasures
2. clinging to views [opinions]
3. clinging to rituals and observances
4. clinging to a doctrine of self (atman).

With the arising of craving, there is the arising of clinging. With the cessation of craving, there is the cessation of clinging. The way leading to the cessation of clinging is this Noble Eightfold Path -- that is, right view... right concentration.

 

35. "When a noble disciple has thus understood clinging, the origin of clinging, the cessation of clinging, and the way leading to the cessation of clinging... that person here and now makes an end of suffering. In that way, too, a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma." 

Craving

Cosmology (creative-harmonics.org)

36. Saying, "Good, friend," the monastics delighted and rejoiced in Sariputra's words. Then they asked him a further question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma?" -- "There might be, friends.

 

37. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands craving, the origin of craving, the cessation of craving, and the way leading to the cessation of craving, in that way that person is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma.

 

38. "And what is craving, what is the origin of craving, what is the cessation of craving, what is the way leading to the cessation of craving? There are these six classes of craving:

1. craving for sights (forms)
2. craving for sounds
3. craving for fragrances
4. craving for flavors
5. craving for tangibles
6. craving for mind-objects. 

"With the arising of sensation (vedana, basic feeling not emotion), there is the arising of craving. With the cessation of sensation, there is the cessation of craving. The way leading to the cessation of craving is this Noble Eightfold Path -- that is, right view... right concentration.

 

39. "When a noble disciple has thus understood craving, the origin of craving, the cessation of craving, and the way leading to the cessation of craving... that person here and now makes an end of suffering. In that way, too, a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma." 

Sensation

Novice, Thiksey Monastery (Dietmar Temps)

40. Saying, "Good, friend," the monastics delighted and rejoiced in Sariputra's words. Then they asked him a further question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma?" — "There might be, friends.

 

41. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands sensation, the origin of sensation, the cessation of sensation, and the way leading to the cessation of sensation, in that way that person is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma.

 

42. "And what is sensation, what is the origin of sensation, what is the cessation of sensation, what is the way leading to the cessation ofsensation ? There are these six classes of sensation: 

1. sensation born of eye-contact
2. sensation born of ear-contact
3. sensation born of nose-contact
4. sensation born of tongue-contact
5. sensation born of body-contact
6. sensation born of mind-contact. 

With the arising of contact, there is the arising of sensation. With the cessation of contact, there is the cessation ofsensation . The way leading to the cessation of sensation is this Noble Eightfold Path -- that is, right view... right concentration.

 

43. "When a noble disciple has thus understood sensation, the origin of sensation, the cessation of sensation, and the way leading to the cessation of sensation... that person here and now makes an end of suffering. In that way, too, a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dharma." More

Enlightened relics remain (photos)

Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; Nyanaponika Thera (The Llife of Sariputta); Lu Mountain Temple; SGV Tribune; Camerabhai (flickr.com) 

Relics (concretions) are multiplying! Others are being revealed and moved by devas. Lu Mountain Temple (MahaStupa.org) has a vast collection to rival the Tibetan Relic Tour (maitreyaproject.com) being prepared for Kushinagar (CB).

 

The Relics of Sariputra and Maha Moggallana

Sariputra's shariras (Camerabhai/flickr.com)

On Sanchi Hill in Bhopal are the remains of ten Buddhist burial shrines (stupas), which are among the oldest buildings still standing in India.

 

By their architectural features and sculpture they have always been recognized as belonging to the high noon of Buddhist art, the characters in which their numerous inscriptions are written placing them at about the period of Emperor Asoka, that is, some time around the middle of the third century B.C. 

 

Some are well preserved, while others have been reduced over the course of centuries to mere mounds of earth and stone. It was in one of these, the now famous Third Stupa, that Sir Alexander Cunningham in 1851 discovered the sacred body relics of the Buddha's chief male disciples, Sariputra and Maha Moggallana.

At about the same time, more relics of the two great arhats were found enshrined in a stupa at Satadhara, about six miles from Sanchi.

 

On sinking a shaft in the center of the burial mound on Sanchi Hill, Cunningham came upon a large stone slab, more than five feet in length, lying north to south. Beneath the slab were found two boxes of gray sandstone, each with a brief inscription in Brahmi characters on the lid. The box to the south was inscribed Sariputtasa  or "(relics) of Sariputta," while the one to the north bore the legend Maha-Mogalanasa, "(relics) of Maha Moggallana."

Gold Sivali statuette (left), relics under glass, meditators, and Mahayana deities, August 2013 (Ron Fu/SGV Tribune/photos.sgvtribune.com)

  

A bhita in Bangladesh (Archbd)

The southernmost box contained a large flat casket of white steatite more than six inches broad and three inches in height. The surface was hard and polished. The box, which had been turned on a lathe, was a beautiful piece of workmanship. Around this small casket were some fragments of sandalwood believed to have been from the funeral pyre. Inside it, besides the relics, various precious stones were found. This casket contained a single bone relic of Ven. Sariputra, the male monastic disciple "foremost in wisdom," not quite one inch in length.

 

The stone box to the north enclosed another steatite casket, similar but slightly smaller and with a softer surface. Inside it were two bone relics of Ven. Maha Moggallana, the larger of them being less than half an inch in length.

 

Each of the two steatite caskets had a single ink letter inscribed on the inner surface of the lid, "Sa" for Sariputra on the southern and "Ma" for Maha Moggallana on the northern. In Cunningham's words, "Sariputta and Maha Moggallana were the principal [male] followers of the Buddha [counterparts to the two chief female disciples Khema and Uppalavanna], and were usually styled his right and left hand disciples. Their ashes thus preserved after death the same positions to the right and left of Buddha which they had themselves occupied in life" (Bhilsa Topes, p. 300). This is explained by the fact that the Buddha customarily sat facing east.

A documentable growing cluster of sacred relics (shariras), glass-like beads, cremation remains of the Buddha and/or enlightened monastics (Ron Fu/photos.sgvtribune.com)

  

Close up of relic cluster (LMT)

In the reliquary at Satadhara, one of a group which Cunningham noted was called locally "Buddha Bhita" or "Buddha Monuments," he discovered two caskets of pale mottled steatite. These were inscribed, like those at Sanchi, "Sariputtasa" and "Maha Mogallanasa" respectively. 

 

This stupa showed signs of having been violated by robbers, but the bone relics had been left undisturbed. Cunningham, a very capable archaeologist, has left a detailed account of everything his excavations brought to light in these and other stupas, and it is thanks to him that the authenticity of the relics is established beyond all doubt.

 

The relics from both sites were moved to England and placed in the Victoria and Albert Museum. But some discrepancies between Cunningham's description of the caskets and the actual boxes in which the relics were deposited gives reason to believe that he, or someone else, transferred the relics from Sanchi to the caskets discovered at Satadhara, and what became of the Sanchi steatite caskets is not known for certain.

 

The sacred relics were preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum until 1939, when the Maha Bodhi Society approached the British government with a request that they be returned to India. The request was at once granted, but owing to the outbreak of World War II that year, the actual transfer was delayed for reasons of safety until Feb. 24, 1947. More

 

Lu Mountain Temple, San Gabriel Valley, suburban Los Angeles (mahastupa.org)

Comedy: "Festival Supreme" (sutra)

Ashley Wells, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; Jack Black (FestivalSupreme.com); Nyanaponika Thera, The Life of Sariputta (edited by Dhr. Seven); PiffTheMagicDragon.com

(FestivalSupreme.com with Tenacious D, Sarah Silverman, Bob Odenkirk...)

 

Mr. Show with Bob and David (Cross)

Tenacious D, the Greatest Band in the World, is proud to present "Festival Supreme." This is the first of its kind one-day comedy-and-music festival set to take place on Saturday, October 19 on the Santa Monica Pier in beautiful Southern California. The incredible lineup includes 25 of the best comedians around. A dream many years in the making, Jack Black and Kyle Gass are the curators of this spectacular set of comedy rock stars who will take over the pier for one special night. We’ve been trying to put this thing together for years, explains Tenacious D. It is the comedy and music event of the century, so we call it Festival Supreme! It will shake the heavens and bring this tinsel town to its knees…in a good way.

 

How Sariputra and Moggallana became ascetics

Nyanaponika Thera (trans.), The Life of Sariputta (edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly)

Maha Moggallana and Sariputra, the Buddha's two chief male disciples (dhammawheel.com)

  

Sariputra, foremost in wisdom

The story begins at two Brahmin villages in India called Upatissa and Kolita, which lay not far from the royal mountain-ringed city of Rajagaha. 

 

Before the Buddha appeared in the world a Brahmin lady named Sari, living in the village of Upatissa, conceived.

[According to the Cunda Sutta (in the Satipatthana Samyutta) and its Commentary, the name of Sariputra's birthplace was Nalaka, or Nalagama, which may be an alternative name. It was probably quite close to the more famous Nalanda. Sariputta's father was a Brahmin named Vaganta. (Commentary to Dhammapada, v. 75).]

 

On the same day, in the village of Kolita, another Brahmin lady named Moggalli also conceived. The two families were closely connected, friends for seven generations. From the first day of their pregnancy the families gave due care to the mothers-to-be, and after ten [lunar] months both women gave birth to boys on the same day.

Later on the celebratory name-giving day, the child of Sari received the name Upatissa, as he was a son of the foremost family of the village. For the same reason Moggalli's son was named Kolita. When the boys grew up they were well educated, acquiring mastery of all the arts and sciences of the day. Each of them had a large following ("500") of Brahmin youths. Whenever they went to the river or park for sport and recreation, Upatissa used to go with a large number of palanquins, and Kolita with a large number of carriages.

Ancient Comedy Music Festival

"India" was once a vast empire.

Now at Rajagaha there was an annual event called the Hilltop Festival [which is still held in modern Rajgir]. Seats were arranged for both youths and they sat together to witness the celebrations. When there was occasion for laughter, they laughed. When the spectacles were exciting, they were excited. And they paid fees for extra shows. 

In this way they enjoyed the festival for a second day, but on the third day their understanding was awakened and they could no longer laugh or get excited, nor did they feel inclined to pay for extra shows as they had done on the first two days. 

 

Each of them had the same thought: "What is there to look at here? Before these people have reached 100 years, they will all have come to death. What we ought to do is to seek for a teaching [dharma] of liberation [from samsara, the round of rebirth and disappointment]."

It was with such thoughts in mind that they took their seats at the festival. Then Kolita said to Upatissa: "How is this, dear Upatissa, that you are not as happy and joyous as you were on the other days? You seem now to be in a discontented mood. What is on your mind?"

"Dear Kolita, to look at these things here is of no benefit at all. It is utterly worthless! I ought to seek a teaching of liberation for myself. That, Kolita, is what I was thinking seated here. But you, Kolita, seem to be discontented, too."  Kolita replied: "Just as you have explained, I also feel."

When he knew that his friend had the same inclinations, Upatissa said: "That was a good thought of ours! But for those who seek a teaching of liberation there is only one thing to do: leave home and become ascetics. But under whom shall we live the ascetic life?"

Seeking a Teacher

The Brahmin wanderers meet the Buddha

At that time, there lived in Rajagaha an ascetic of the sect of wanderers (paribbajaka) called Sañjaya, who had a great following of pupils. Deciding to get ordination under him, Upatissa and Kolita went to him, each with his own following of many Brahmin youths. All of them received ordination from Sañjaya. And from the time of their ordination under him, Sañjaya's reputation and support increased abundantly.

Within a short time the two friends learned Sañjaya's entire doctrine (dharma) and asked him: "Master, does your doctrine go only so far, or is there something beyond?"

 

Sañjaya replied: "Only so far does it go. You now know it all."

 

Hearing this, they thought to themselves: "If that is the case, it is useless to continue the ascetic life under this teacher. We have gone forth from home to seek a teaching of liberation. Under Sañjaya we cannot find it. But India is vast! If we wander through villages, towns, and cities, we shall certainly find a master who can show us the teaching of liberation." 

After that, whenever they heard that there were wise wandering ascetics or Brahmins at this or that place, they went and discussed with them. But there was none who was able to answer their questions, yet they were able to reply to anyone who questioned them. Having traveled through the whole of [the portion of] India they turned back, and arriving at their old place they agreed between them that he who should attain to deathlessness [enlightenment, liberation from samsara] first should quickly inform the other.

 

The Buddha, who was younger than Sariputra and Maha Moggallana, is depicted here on alms round in ancient India, which enjoyed a wonderful dana system of hospitality (WQ)

 

It was a pact born of the deep friendship between the two. Some time after they had made that agreement, the Buddha, [at that time referred to as] the Blessed One, came to Rajagaha. For it was when he had delivered the "Fire Sermon" at Gaya Peak that the Buddha remembered his promise, given before his enlightenment to King Bimbisara: He had promised the king that he would come to Rajagaha again when he had attained his goal.

The Buddha, a wandering ascetic (shraman)

So in stages the Blessed One journeyed from Gaya to Rajagaha, and having received from King Bimbisara the Bamboo Grove Monastery (Veluvana, just outside the main entrance to Rajagaha) he resided there.

 

Among the 61 arhats (enlightened disciples) whom the Buddha had sent forth (as missionaries) to proclaim to the world the virtues of the Triple Gem, there was the "Elder" (Thera) Assaji, who belonged to the original group of five ascetics, the Buddha's erstwhile companions before his enlightenment, who afterwards became his first monastic disciples.

Assaji returned to Rajagaha from his missionary wanderings. One morning, as he was going for alms in the city, Upatissa saw him. Upatissa was on his way to the monastery of his school of wandering ascetics. But struck by Assaji's serene and dignified appearance, Upatissa thought: "Never before have I seen such a ascetic! He must be an arhat or at the very least on the way to arhatship. 

"I should approach him and ask, 'Under whom have you been ordained? Who is your teacher, and what teaching do you profess?'" But then he thought: "It is not the proper time for putting questions to this venerable, as he is going for alms through the streets. I had better follow behind him, after the manner of supplicants." And he did so. 

 

Buddha, Kabul, National Museum (Ninara)

Then, when the elder had gathered his alms food and Upatissa saw him going to another place intending to sit down and eat his meal, he prepared for him his own ascetic's seat which he carried with him and offered it to the elder. 

 

Elder Assaji took his meal, after which Upatissa served him water from his own water-container, and in that way performed towards Assaji the duties of an Indian pupil to a teacher. After they had exchanged courteous greetings, Upatissa said: "Serene are your features, friend. Pure and bright is your complexion. Friend, under whom have you gone forth as an ascetic? Who is your teacher, and what teaching do you profess?"

Assaji replied: "There is, O friend, the Great Recluse, the son of the Sakyas [a family clan far to the northwest], who has gone forth from the Sakya clan. Under that Blessed One I have gone forth. That Blessed One is my teacher, and it is his Dharma that I profess."

"What does the venerable one's master teach, what does he proclaim?"

 

Enlightenment

The heart of wisdom: anatta (impersonal)

Questioned thus, Assaji thought to himself: "These wandering ascetics are opposed to the Buddha's dispensation. But I shall show him how profound this dispensation is." So he said: "I am but new to the training, friend. It is not long since I went forth from home, and I came but recently to this teaching and discipline. I cannot explain the Dharma in detail to you."

 

The wanderer replied: "I am called Upatissa [the future Sariputra], friend. Please tell me according to your ability, be it much or little. It will be my task to penetrate its meaning by way of a hundred or a thousand methods." He added: 

"Be it little or much that you can tell, 

The meaning only, please proclaim to me!

To know the meaning is my sole desire;

Of no avail to me are many words."

 

In response, Elder Assaji uttered this stanza:

"Of all those things that arise from a cause,

The Tathagata [Buddha] the cause thereof has told;

And how they cease to be, that too he tells,

This is the doctrine of the Great Recluse."

 

[The exact ancient Pali words recorded are: "Ye dhamma hetuppabhava tesam hetum tathagato aha, tesañca yo nirodho evamvadi mahasamano 'ti." This verse was later to become one of the best-known and most widely spread Buddhist stanzas, standing as a reminder of Sariputra's first contact with the Dharma and also as a worthy memorial to Assaji, his great arahat teacher. Spoken at a time when the principle of karmic causality was not accorded the prominence it enjoys today in philosophical thought, its impact on the minds of early Buddhists must have been revolutionary.] 

EDITORIAL NOTE: How could these few lines ever lead anyone to stream entry? Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw explained to us that implicit in this brief statement of the Buddha's teaching are the Four Noble Truths, the Dharma in a nutshell. Sariputra (Upatissa) was of such brightness, quickness, sharpness, and clear perception that he immediately cut through to the heart of the teaching. For he, like Maha Moggallana (Kolita) and the Buddha's two chief female disciples, Khema Theri and Uppalavanna Theri, had been cultivating and waiting for a buddha to arise so as to be his chief disciples for aeons. First truth: there is this. Second truth: it has a cause. Third truth: there is liberation (from suffering). Fourth truth: that, too, has a cause -- namely one to be developed with the Noble Eightfold Path.

 

Upon hearing the first two lines, Upatissa became established in the path of stream-entry [the first of the various stages of enlightenment], and hearing the ending of the last two lines he listened in the fruition of a stream-winner. More

So remember, kids, you too can become disenchanted and set off on a quest for truth and liberation. It all starts with Festival Supreme! Ask your parents for money.