The Way of the Buddha
"Buddha" means awakened, or enlightened. That is to say, one who has gained unusual wisdom -- wisdom of a special sort, full of insight, and understanding of human nature. Perhaps you have read or heard about Solomon, the Isrealite king who was famous for his wisdom. These two stories, "Your turn, Our turn," and "Where, Oh Where, is Such a House," tell us how Gautama the Buddha, too, showed his superior judgment.
Your Turn, Our Turn
One day, four or five centuries B.C., when Buddha was out travelling with his monks (on foot, of course!) they came to a river where a fight was about to take place. The stream was a boundary between the lands of two tribes, the Sakyas and the Koliyas, and the farmers of both wanted to use the water. So heated the argument had become, that bands of armed men had gathered, shouting, on both sides of the river. Seeing this, Buddha walked among them and the men honored him and became quiet. "Send me," said Buddha, "six of your chief men from either side."
These came and he said to them, "you have lived as neighbors for centuries, for all the history of India; why are you going to wage war now?"
"Because it is the hot season and there is drought, and these robbers (each pointing to the other) want all the water of the river for their fields."
"Where does the water of this river come from?" Buddha asked.
"Sir, it gathers together from the slopes of the Himalaya mountains." "Who owns those mountains?" said Buddha. The men scratched their heads and said, "Ah, who can say that ? The mountains are God's. No man can claim or even climb them." "And if war begins between your two peoples," Buddha continued, "what will become of the crops? Will not your farmers lie dead in the mud, the rice not sown, your wives and children going hungry?" Buddha had good reason to think about this: he himself was from the Sakya clan, and Yashodhara, she who had been his wife, was a Koliya!
"Tell me," he said to the angry farmers, "Can you hold back the water of this river, the way men tether a goat?"
"Of course not, sir, it flows and stops nowhere." Then the Buddha made his judgment. It went like this:
"Let the Koliyas have freedom to draw the water today, and let the Sakyas dig their channels to the fields for them. Tomorrow let the Sakyas draw water and the Koliyas dig the channels. Thus working together you will bring life to your fields and fruition to the harvest."
Where, Oh Where, is Such a House?
There was a woman named Kisa who was much devoted to the Tathagata (Buddha) and liked to sit at his feet to listen to his preaching. Kisa had given birth to a baby daughter not many months before. But, as fate would have it, the child had fallen ill, and now lay dead in her arms. Nearly mad with grief she came to Buddha carrying the baby, and weeping loudly she fell at his feet.
"Lord," she wailed, "you have divine power and can bring my daughter back to life. You are full of mercy and I know that you will honor my request. I am sure you have some remedy." Buddha looked down at her and his heart burned with her sadness and misery. "Bring me," he said slowly, "a handful of mustard seed; but it must come from a house where no one has lost a loved one."
Now Kisa, thinking this to be part of a charm that might restore her baby, wiped her tears and, full of hope, set off on her quest. From house to house she walked. At the door of every one she heard: "Alas, not here. We lost our grandfather here." "Last year my mother died." "A beloved cousin was staying with us and she fell to a fatal disease."
At last the light dawned upon Kisa that what had happened to her is what all beings are caught in, the ancient pair, life and death -- the chain of becoming, in which all are bound. She gave last rites to her child, and came back to her Master. She was ready now for "entering the stream", which means starting, with Buddha's guidance, on the Eight Step Path to Enlightenment.
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