Full Moon Day of September -- Day of Offering Honey
Today, the full moon day of September is celebrated by the Theravada Buddhists as the day of offering Honey. This is in commemoration of an event that took place during the life of the Buddha. It is said that on one occasion when the Buddha was in Kosambi -- a town in North India where he spent the 10th Vassa or rains retreat. During his stay here, there arose a discord within the Sangha between the vinaya tradition practitioners and the suttantas which was not only verbal but also turned physical. One group followed the master of the Vinaya and the other the master of the Suttas. The controversy was about how to keep the mug in the toilet, whether to keep it upside down or straight. The rule was to keep it upside down so that it remains clean and dry. The Buddha tried several times to solve the matter through his discourses and admonitions but nothing worked. The groups were agitated and were in no mood to heed even to the Buddha.
The Buddha then decided out of utter frustration to leave them and proceeded towards the forest of Parileyya saying as he left:
"He abused me, he hit me,
He oppressed me, he robbed me."
Those who continue to hold such thoughts
Never still their hatred.
"He abused me, he hit me,
He oppressed me, he robbed me."
Those who do not hold such thoughts
Soon still their hatred.
For in this world
Hatred is never appeased by more hatred.
It is love that conquers hatred.
This is an eternal law.
On reaching there in the midst of the Parileyya Forest he made a seat for himself under the beautiful and cool shades of the Sal tree. After a while there came a bull elephant to the Buddha which was separated from its herd and attended on the Buddha. He brought water in his trunk and offered to the Buddha in his begging bowl. He also offered flowers. There was also a monkey which brought fruits to him regularly. On day full moon day he brought a honey comb and offered it to the Buddha but kept a watch if the Buddha was taking the honey but the Buddha did not eat it. He took the honey comb in his hand and was trying to find out the reason and kept turning the honey comb over and over and saw that there were eggs of the insects inside. He then separated the eggs carefully and again offered it to the Buddha. On seeing the Buddha accepting his offering he was so overjoyed with emotion that he started jumping from one branch to the other branch and suddenly fell down and died.
The Buddha then after a few days stay went to Savatthi (Sravasti) and started to stay there and avoided to go to Kosambi. The elephant also followed the Buddha but was stopped at the entrance of the city and asked to go back by the Buddha to the forest which was its home. The elephant was disheartened and with a heavy heart stopped and went back but died due to heart-break. Both the monkey and the elephant were reborn in the deva realm of the Tavatimsa Heaven.
On the other hand the monks who were in the monastery were having a hard time as all the lay devotees were not supporting them. They stopped giving them alms and the monks had to return with their empty begging bowls each day. The lay people were getting annoyed with the adamant behaviour of the monks for which the Buddha even had to disassociate with these squabbling monks. The people felt that something had to be done to bring back a semblance of peace and togetherness in the Sangha and the bad name Kosambi had earned for itself. And so they stopped offering alms and other requisites to the monks. They also asked the monks to go and seek pardon from the Buddha.
The monks who had been quarreling over a trivial issue started to cool down and realised their foolishness and then decided to go to the Buddha and request his forgiveness. Since it was in the middle of the vassa they could not go to the Parileyya forest and so they had to wait till the end of the vassa and thus their misery continued. At the end of the vassa, Ven'ble Ananda alongwith 500 monks went to Savatthi and having met the Buddha offered their respects and requested for his forgiveness which the Buddha did. The Buddha then admonished them that life is impermanent and that they must stop their quarrels and not act as if they would never die. The Buddha started his discourse thus:
Pare ca na vijananti
Mayamettha yamamase
Ye ca tattha vijananti
Tato sammanti medhaga
The world does not know that we
must all come to an end here;
-- but those who know it,
their quarrels cease at once.
Wishing all a Full Moon Day full of metta and your life to be as sweet as honey, agile as the monkey and sublime as the elephant. Help one another without distinction and discrimination. The moral of the story is that we can all live together if we live in harmony, with love, understanding, caring and sharing.
May you all be well, happy, peaceful and prosperous. May we all enjoy the bliss of humanity, love, compassion, non-violence, brotherhood and unity. May peace prevail all around.
Bhikkhu Bodhipala
bodhipala.bdg@gmail.comBhikkhu Bodhipala
No comments:
Post a Comment