Buddha not only preached, but lived by his teachings! You might call him God or an incarnation or an individual who have attained the epitome of wisdom, but he shall always remain the inspiration for the entire mankind.
On the day of Buddha Purnima, let me share with you two incidents from the life of Gautam Buddha -which I have heard, read and which have touched me a lot. One is: Buddha’s Compassion and the other is: Buddha’s respect for “Questions”.
Allow me quickly take you there.
Compassion
Once the son of the village goldsmith namely Kunda invited the Buddha and his disciples for a meal. Buddha was so kind that he agreed and graced the occasion. After the meals were served, Buddha took one bite of it. He immediately noticed that the food is poisonous, but he remained indifferent. He didn’t want to hurt Kunda -who himself was unaware that his cooked food was poisonous. So, Buddha had it with such calmness that Kunda never realised it. We can recall the same calmness of Shri Ram when he was accepting the berries from Sabri. After he had his food, Buddha asked Kunda, to bury the left-over food and not serve it to others. Kunda buried it quietly. Buddha praised Kunda for the delicious food.
Soon thereafter, Buddha suffered from illness. However, he never made Kunda realise that it was his food which was harming him. So, with much difficulty, he moved out and even outside the town. After taking bath and resting for a while in the grove of sal trees, Buddha said, some people might blame Kunda and make him regret for serving him food that made him sick; so he asked his discipline Anand, “if it happens, you should tell Kunda that you have heard directly from the Buddha that it was a gain for Buddha.” He asked him to tell Kunda that the two offerings to the Buddha are of equal gain; the offering of food which he had just before his enlightenment and the offering which he had from Kunda.
See the greatness! Accepting, forgiving and giving equal status to the poisonous food with no ill-will is not just an ordinary act, it is the manifestation of the deep compassion within Buddha for All.
Respect for Questions
I believe, the best mind is a questioning one! In our culture, we have appreciated and given importance to a question as Questions are the edifice of new innovation, new knowledge and new attainment!! Most of our scriptures are articulated in the form of Questions and answers.
When Buddha was unwell and was waiting in the sal grove for his Nirvan and people of Kusinaga were present to bid a farewell to him, a wandering ascetic namely Subhadda, hearing that the Buddha was about to pass away, came to see him and get answers his question. He asked Buddha’s discipline, Anand, whether he could see the Buddha. Anand was astounded. “At this hour? Buddha is extremely unwell. He can’t open his eyes. He can barely speak. His condition is worsening. Look at him. Please don’t trouble him,” replied Anand. But Subhadda insisted and Anand kept refusing. Somehow, Buddha over heard the conversation and asked Anand not to stop Subhadda, and permit him to ask questions! Even at his last breath, Buddha, addressing the other monks encouraged them to ask questions. Such was the respect for a questioning mind!!
On this Buddha Purnima, let’s endeavour to be compassionate and respect others quest for knowledge and wisdom. Happy Buddha Purnima.
