Chapter 5
Buddha visited Vaishali .People of Vaishali had a special love for Buddha and they expressed their happiness at his visit in a grand manner “Welcome - Sakhya king” proclaimed one banner while another announced “welcome - destroyer of Mara. The sage who got enlightenment under the Bodhi tree is now in Vaishali .Let us go and pay our respects to the muni who showed us a new way of life, they all told one another. Every one had gone to meet Budhdha. His eyes scanned the crowd for Amra pali. She was not to be seen in the crowd. He did nothing to enquire about her where abouts. He was patient , he had been assured by the king that this lady would come on her own initiative and not under any one else’ call. He was busy giving sermons, listening to people’s needs and the nobles who wanted more information about life No one referred to Amra Pali’s name.
One day while Amba was relaxing on the banks of the pond, she saw one small boy dive into the waters and swim towards a cluster of lotuses. She enquired the boy for whom he was taking the flowers. He said,’ Dont you know madam , Buddha likes lotuses. Mom is taking me to meet him. I thought it would be nice to place this flower at his feet as mark of my respect , a tribute. Would that be proper madam?” there was sincerity in that child’s question which touched Amba. She said that indeed would be a very proper way of paying your respect to your master
‘Thank you madam’ said the child cheerfully before rushing away, dripping wet and clutching a bunch of lotuses. Amba smiled at him, then the boy did some thing strange. He paused, turned back and with great grace and solemnity, he bowed at her feet and placed a stalk of the flower at her feet.
Amba was thrilled. She grabbed the boy and kissed him, rubbed his head and said, ”That was very nice thing to do, thank you’ she said
‘My mother says, you are doing lot of good work for people of Vaishali, even though i don’t understand what she meant.’
Your mother is a very kind person , my child. Now you go with your moher and meet the master. when you meet , say a word from me I will meet the master tomorrow. .
The boy ran away saying ‘Sure madam. I will tell him that.’
Buddha looked at the child holding the bunch of flowers and standing in the hot sun. The flowers had dried up. He walked up to the child. The child saw him and wondered if it was proper to place dried up flowers at the feet of the master.
The boy had a shy smile. He told the master, ”These flowers were very fresh in the morning , sir.I thought I would place them at your feet. Amba said that would a very nice way of paying respect to the master. But now the flowers have dried up..Would it still be right to place them at your feet sir’
Buddha smiled and went down on his knees so that he would be at the same level as the child’s face ’It is the thought that matters , son , not the action by itself. Good thoughts decide if actions are proper or not. You must not worry but do what you wish to do. You mentioned some one’s name. Will you repeat that, son.
I mentioned , Amba ,my teacher. She said she will be meeting you tomorrow.”
‘YOUR TEACHER MUST BE A VERY LEARNED PERSON to have taught you to place flowers at the feet of your master,’
Yes, Sir, She is very good and knows a great deal.
I will be very happy to meet her. Will you please tell her that ,my son.
I have a question , sir. Can I ask ?
Yes, by all means.
Placing flowers at the feet of elders is a way of showing respect. Is it right?
Yes, son , very right.
But that is also a ritual. I am told you are against all rituals. That is why so many people follow you because you said rituals are not rational. I do not know what is rational. I am too small to understand the meaning of that word, my mother also seems to be confused, who decided what is rational and what is not?”
Buddha was staggered at the question. The boy had hit out unwittingly, at the new ideas he was trying out to present to the people. Is this the question bothering others also , his interest went up
Child, you have asked a question for which I have no simple answer.’
“I will ask Amba, sir. She has got the knack of making complicated things simple for children to understand”
Budhdha immediately remembered what King Bimbisara had told him about Amrapali, ’you too can learn a thing or two from her.’
He told the child, ‘if you talk to her , please tell her I too would like to learn a few things from her’
Next day Amba was getting ready to leave the garden to meet with Budhdha.One of the nobles had agreed to accompany and she was happy she would have some company.
Just as she was leaving , the child came running towards her, smiling brightly.”I met him madam. I met Budhdha’ , he was really excited’. I told him you would meet him today”
Amba patted the boy’s back appreciatively and asked ”what did the master give you?’
‘A kiss on my forehead’ , the boy continued
“How lovely ‘exclaimed Amba with an excitement of a child,’ did he like the flowers?”
‘By the time I met him the flowers had dried up. He said what mattered was the thought and not the action by itself. Was he right about it,madam?
Amba said’ you don’t worry about it. You took the flowers. You met him. that is more important.’
I will come back and then we will talk about it. Now go to your mom and be nice to her.
The boy waved her away.
It was a long walk to the ashram. On the way the noble asked her if she had brought any thing to offer .
Yes, some dry fruits, dates and grapes” she said. A thought occurred to her. dry flowers, dry dates, dry grapes .Was she trying to give some message to Budhdha. She told herself he will understand.
They saw Budhdha sitting on a platform .There were lot of people sitting in front of him, listening to what he was saying. Amba waited patiently for the sermons to finish. Her mind was calm. She had heard so much about him that it seemed as though she had known for along time. In fact this was the first time she was seeing him.
From where she stood she looked at him. She saw a large face, eyes very bright, an unlined broad forehead. Long ears, drooping ear lobes. Head freshly shaven shining brightly. Bare shoulders an ochre shawl barely covering his torso. He was sitting crosslegged, hands folded on his lap, a smile on a face that was completely at peace. He turned and saw her for the first and his eyes opened wide and his lips smiled silently at Amba. She walked up to him softly her eyes flashing brightly looking straight ahead. She walked tall erect with out any hint of shyness. She wanted him to have a look at her body in all its splendour
She had longed for this moment for many years. Now that the moment has arrived she was not very sure how she was going to handle him. Should she show her prowess in cultivating people or her intellectual maturity
When she was with in touching distance, she stopped, went down on her knees and looked up at his face before lowering her eyes and touching his feet with both hands. She said ’I am Amra pali, my respects to you sir. I have brought some dry fruits dates and grapes, will you please accept ‘
“Yesterday,” Budhdha said “I met a child. He had brought a bunch of lotuses. They were also dried up.”
Did he place them at your feet sir? She asked.
He wanted to but it occurred to him that it may not be the right thing to do. He felt ascetics like me would prefer only fresh flowers
He is a child ,sir.
He asked a mature question, which stumped me.
What was that he asked that stumped you for an answer?
Are you curious to know?
No sir, not at all. I know his question and its answer too.
She did not want to extend that topic. There were many other more important things to talk about.
Sir, are you comfortable here. Is there anything you would like me to do for you?
‘No dear. People of Vaishali have been most kind and generous. I feel so much at home in your city. Now that you too have come, I am very satisfied
I remember hearing some one say that you are very much Vaishali in person.’
I too remember that quote sir , from a friend.
King Bimbisara
Yes ,sir. Did he meet you?
Yes dear, he met me. I was curious to know more about you.
They were silent for some time each immersed in own thoughts. People came in and went. Amba sat in front ,watching him handle different people .She marvelled how steady he was, handling varied questions different ways with out getting irritated, remaining calm all the time.
There was one particular person, a beautiful housewife dressed in finest silks and decked with jewellery. Buddha looked at her for a long time .The lady asked him, ”Respected Sir, why are you staring at me? Are you wondering why I am dressed this way”
Such a thought passed through my mind, yes.
‘I am enjoying my husband’s new found prosperity. We were poor for a long time and one good day , our fortune turned for the better. My husbands trade improved. He is now able to fulfil all my long suppressed desires. So I am now dressing well and enjoying it and let every one know how well I am enjoying life. Is it wrong sir?”It was not a question. It was a challenge.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying, madam. We must be moderate about an enjoyment, because the way of enjoyment leads to several other factors that finally end up in misery.
‘Granting what you tell is true, I think it will be foolish to deprive oneself a pleasure that you have denied yourself for long. I know what it is , not to have. I am now discovering, what it is like it is to have. Miseries will come and go. One need not miss the present, fearing an unknown future.
Budhdha shook his head.
Amrapali felt she had some thing to say..She ventured ”What the lady says is very true indeed. That is the essence of life. Do not miss the present for an unknown future. You must enjoy the present and find ways of extending the enjoyment , not only by you but also others.”
The lady looked upto Amrapali with a happy face. ”we share similar thoughts. thoughts. You said something about extending the duration of enjoyment of happiness. Can you elaborate, please.”
Amba looked at Budhdha. He nodded his head saying go ahead, I am also listening.
She said ’share the enjoyment. You are prosperous now., so you can afford to give. When you give some thing useful to others, they feel happy. In their happiness, your pleasure doubles. The sweet memories of giving and sharing the happiness, helps in extending the time of enjoyment. There is no guilt attached to it.’
Budhdha said, ”what happens when prosperity vanishes. Do you plunge back to old ways of sulking, being unhappy, blaming god.
Amra Pali laughed. ”These are the matters you are wrestling with. When you overdo your analysis, you end up looking for ways for killing the happiness. That is not going to help this world.’
Budhdha said, ’my dear, you are getting angry. I never said a word.’
That is the trouble. You created guilt complex in that woman just by the way you looked.
No. I was just wondering if she had the strength to bear with, if the fortune turned sour again. It is one thing to be able to bear with poverty. It is another thing to be plunged back into the mire out of which you climbed out with great effort and started enjoying the fruits of prosperity.
Sir, you are thinking too far ahead for your own good. Let people enjoy the present. This enjoyment will help them with sweet memories that will be useful in future. If they are trained on how to extend this pleasure, like sharing and enjoying the pleasure of giving and taking, it will be more helpful to people. There is no point in filling people with dogma.
Budhdha was silent. He thought about what Amra pali had just said.
All along he has been preaching people to cut down on desires as desire leads to lot of unpleasantness. Desire leads to addiction, frustration craving, crime and misery..He had never thought of other possibility of desire leading to fulfilment, contentment and extended happiness, was also tangible.
He decided there was virtue in what Amra pali was saying. However, for the sake of Amrapalli , he wanted to extend the conversation some other day
She wanted to take leave. Her friend also stood up. Budhdha saw them to the gate and expressed a wish that they would meet again
On the way back the noble complemented Amba on the way she made great Budhdha concede a point. Amba was shocked. She said “no, no. what you said was not proper. I did not win any argument. I only expressed my opinion and He heard my opinion.
The noble asked ’why did he keep quiet in the end?’
He wanted to know how far I will go to defend a point. He will put me in my place very soon, you watch. I will be enjoying that moment.
Noble did not understand
Budhdha was also thinking of Amra pali. He had identified what made her tick.
Next morning Amba went to the ashram alone. Budhdha received very pleasantly ‘do we resume our discussion on desire, my dear: he asked with his eyes twinkling.
She said ‘no sir, I have no intention of scoring points over you. I believe that every one can not achieve the mindset of an ascetic to keep oneself away from enjoyment. Life was not meant to be a long chain of self denials. There must be hope and sense of fulfilment at the end of each day. then only life can be objective.
Well said, dear. However, there is a norm for enjoyment. If it is not there we should work out something. If your enjoyment can produce in another person’s heart, a feeling of jealousy,, frustration at not achieving similar results, kindles a burning desire to achieve the same somehow, then it can lead to a catastrophy. That is a clear possibility we can not ignore. It is a situation that can breed crime and criminal tendencies.
That is why i liked what you said about the joy of giving and extending the enjoyment of happiness by sharing what you have achieved. Sharing can combat jealousy and other factors. Over and above what you said I advocate the middle path laced with moderation. Is my point too difficult to understand.?
Sir, my statement is not against the middle path. I repeat that there may be a solution when you are faced with a situation. The acceptance and practice of that path needs a mental make up that is hard to come by for a common man. This is where training is required
Yes dear. We can not all go to school for such training . But we can develop a way of life that makes moderation habit of life of detachment and progressive self denial.
I think you have a mature and cultured mind to have absorbed the essence of my thoughts with out actually learning it from me. ’Sir, ’she said modestly’ you are now pulling my leg’
They all laughed heartily.
Then he mentioned “Amrapali, there is another point I wanted to discuss with you. It is about the dry flowers and the dry fruits you all offered. Think we can talk about it some time in future? It depends on your inclination over a period of time.
Yes sir.I will be at your service any time you wish. May I request to visit my place and meet with my people sir”
No. I have work here presently
Amba went back to the garden, satisfied that her discussion with the master had laid a foundation for a possible meeting again some time in the future.