Patricide King
Became the Buddha's most important protector
There is a picture
Two thousand five hundred years
I've always found it indigestible
A king
Locked in a dungeon by his son
This son
Is his most beloved child
His queen
It is said that food is hidden in jewelry
Apply honey to your body
Sneak into the prison
Let the king lick
To maintain one's breath
Son found out
furious
Draw a knife to kill mother
I was persuaded by the ministers
But from then on
The queen will never enter again
It is said that the son had the soles of the king's feet cut off again
Make it impossible for him to walk upright
Even the possibility of relying on one's own strength to maintain physical strength has been cut off
The last king
That's all.
In his own country, in his own son's prison
exhausted
The name of this king is Pimpasala
One of the most important kings of Magadha
It is also the earliest and most important royal guardian of the Buddha
Kill him
It was his own son.
Ajax
And what's even more puzzling is
Ajay later became a pivotal protector in Buddhist history
It is with his support
The first assembly took place after the Buddha's death
The first systematization of Buddhism was completed
Patricide
Become a point person
This episode
And I want to tell you the story.
The story of Buddhism leaving the forest and entering the court
A story of power, compassion, regret, and institutionalization
Hello
Hello.
I am Wang Lijie
Before we start
Let's briefly rebate the previous episode first.
We talked about Ananda, the Buddha's closest attendant.
And his greatest opposite, Devadatta
There are two very different kinds of obsessions within the Sangha.
One is attachment to relationships.
One is attachment to status and power.
I left a question at the end.
When the Buddha's Sangha began to deal with external powers
And where does all this internal tension go?
Today we will see
After the kingship comes in
What's up?
Turn the time back first
Back when Siddhartha was not the Buddha
After Siddhartha became a monk
Traveling around India
Learn from various practitioners
His reputation
Slowly spread - some say he is outstanding
Some say he has some kind of quiet power within him
Unlike ordinary ascetics
One day.
And he went into Magadha, the capital of Magadha.
Walk forward while supporting the bowl
Someone noticed him from a distance
This guy?
King of Magadha
Pimpasara
The history books say
Pinbashara saw this consecrated young monk high up in the palace
Shocked by his manner
No ordinary beggar
It's an indescribable solemnity.
The king sent someone to inquire
The messenger came back and said
This person may have come from the royal family of the Sakya tribe at the foot of the Himalayas
soon after becoming a monk
Pimbala decided to meet him in person
According to the records in the Pali Law Collection
The king found Siddhartha sitting alone on the mountain
Two people had a conversation
The king said
You are young
Extraordinary appearance
You don't seem to be from low birth.
I can give you troops and land
You work for me
Siddhartha declined
The king asked
So what are you after?
Siddhartha said
I'm looking for the answer to life and death
Pinbasara was silent for a moment
Then say
If you find it one day
Please tell me first
It's a promise.
A pact between a king and a wandering monk
Six years later
Siddhartha Enlightened Under the Bodhi Tree
Become a buddha
He remembers the agreement
After the first round of Falun and the first batch of disciples
He took the Sangha south
Come to Wangshe City
Keep that promise
King Pimbasara personally went out of the city to greet him
Accepted the Buddha's teachings
Convert to the Three Treasures
Become a layperson
And he did something that changed the course of Buddhist history.
He took a bamboo forest and the land next to it
To the Buddhist Sangha
This bamboo forest
It was the precursor to the first monastery in Buddhist history
Bamboo Forest Academy
Let's think about it.
Before the appearance of the bamboo forest house
What is the state of the Buddha's Sangha?
group of people
Three clothes and one bowl
No fixed residence
Bowl for food
Follow the Buddha everywhere
The rainy season stops for three months as required
Because the roads are muddy in the rainy season, it is easy to trample on bugs
It's called Rain House.
The dry season continues.
They don't store food.
Give on the same day and eat on the same day
They don't own the buildings.
Stop where there is fate
If it's gone, change the place.
This is the state of minimalism.
A state of complete flow
This state of flow
Buddha's Impermanence, Selflessness
Completely consistent
You don't even have a fixed address
What do you want to cling to
But after the appearance of the Bamboo Forest Seiya
Everything started to change quietly
Now they have a permanent place to live
Can store a small amount of supplies
Can receive laypeople at home
Practice and teaching can be arranged more systematically
The king offers protection
His reputation made local officials hesitant to expel the group of monks casually
The donors have a fixed place to give
materially
That's a huge jump.
Essentially
This is an irreversible qualitative change
Buddha's Sangha
From this moment on
From a wandering movement
It became a grounded institution.
Once the institution is created
It has its own life logic
You have to maintain this place
It is necessary to maintain good relations with the sponsors
The future of this building and the land must be considered
It must be considered that if the king were replaced
What should the next king do if he doesn't believe in Buddhism?
These are not bad things
This is a reality that any institution must face
But it brings a tension that didn't exist at all before: the goal of the practice
And the survival of institutions
Following a completely different logic
The goal of practice is to let go of everything
The survival of institutions requires grasping something
This contradiction
When King Pinbasara was alive
Temporarily overshadowed by his generosity and piety
The king makes regular visits
With alms
With questions
Study seriously
His relationship with the Buddha
Transcends the distance between the ordinary sponsor and the sponsored
More like a genuine scholar-teacher connection
But power has its own trajectory
One person must be mentioned here
Previous Episode: Devadatta
Devadatta was Buddha's cousin
Practice after becoming a monk
It is said that the determination is not shallow
But his biggest concern was status
He repeatedly asked the Buddha to hand over the leadership of the Sangha to him
All rejected
So he went the other way.
Went to find a political ally: the crown prince of King Pinbasara
Ajax
Devadatta said to Ajax to the effect: Your father is in the prime of his life
How many years will you have to wait to become king?
And I
Denied my rightful place by the aging Buddha
We can cooperate.
You get rid of your father
I replace the Buddha
You become the new king
I am the new leader
This is the starkest expression of the logic of power
No cover
No embellishment
Ajashi was persuaded
He went to assassinate his father
Was discovered
King Pimbala did not execute him
He stepped aside.
Give him the throne
But it didn't end there
Soon after
Ajax threw his father into prison
That's where we started.
The slow consumption in that prison
At the same time
Devadatta is also on the move
He hired a hitman to assassinate the Buddha
But after the killers met the Buddha
Instead, I was overwhelmed by his aura
None of them did.
Devadatta had to go out in person
Dropped a large stone on the Buddha's path
It only ended up hurting the Buddha's toe
He released another elephant called Protect Money
Intends to trample the Buddha to death with an elephant
The elephant is approaching.
It even stopped
Did not harm the Buddha
The whole plan was a complete failure
Devadatta finally defected
Leaves the name of one of the most failed rebels in history
And King Pinbasara
It was during this period of time that
In his own son's prison
Spent the last days of my life
Agatha became the new king of Magadha
But in his heart
There is a thorn
According to Buddhist classification
Patricide is one of the five wicked sins
What are the five inversions?
patricide, matricide, kill arahats, produce Buddha body blood, break and unite monks
Did any of these five things
According to tradition
The deepest hell in the future
And there is no possibility of liberation
This is not just a religious concept
This was the greatest trial of a patricide in the entire spiritual ecosystem of that era
Ajashi asked around
He talked to the Jain leaders.
Scholars who have consulted Brahmins
Ask them about patricide
Is there a chance of liberation?
And they gave all sorts of answers.
Some say it doesn't matter.
Some say it takes a lot of merit to make up for it
But none of the answers really reassured him
And finally.
His imperial physician advised him to see the Buddha
The elder said
The Buddha is the one who can really answer your question
Ajashi hesitated
He knows.
The alliance between himself and Devadatta
It was directed at the Buddha
His father was the Buddha's most important protector
And he killed his father.
What qualifications does he have to meet the Buddha?
Will the Buddha throw him out when he sees him?
And he went anyway.
This meeting
It's recorded in the Pali Sutra, an important scripture.
It's called the Salmon Fruit Sutra.
It is the second scripture of the long ministry
This is recorded
It's a late-night conversation between a king and an enlightened one
They came to the place where the Buddha was.
And I found silence.
Ajashi was surprised
Huge Sangha
How can there be no sound?
He's a little worried.
Could this be a trap?
The old woman pointed to the distant light
Say
That's where the Buddha was speaking.
No traps
They approached.
The king saluted
Sit down.
And then asked a well-crafted question
So he says.
The Brahmins, the ascetics, the philosophers
I asked them what practical benefits are there in this world of monasticism?
And I didn't like all of their answers.
Buddha
What do you think?
Pay attention to the packaging of this problem
He didn't say directly
I killed my father
What should I do?
Help me.
He asked what is the use of practice in this world
This is a seemingly abstract philosophical question
But behind it lies his true dilemma
I'm in terrible pain right now.
What can practice give me at this moment?
The Buddha answered his question
And he started at the very beginning.
Monk alone
Start by following the basic commandments
The heart begins to settle
Delusions start to abate
Born from the ring
From Dingsheng Hui
Start to see things for what they are
Compassion unfolds
Suffering for all beings
No longer just someone else's business
It's about what you feel.
He went deeper and deeper
Very specific
Very grounded
Then the Buddha stopped.
He turned to the Ajahs.
Said a crucial sentence
According to the scriptures
The general idea is this: if this king
Didn't commit that
He was in this conversation today
You could have gotten the first results.
This sentence
It's a precise scalpel.
Buddha did not say
You kill your father
You don't deserve to study Buddhism
He didn't close the door.
Here's what he said.
You could have gone further
That thing becomes an obstacle for you at the moment
But he doesn't even have this obstacle
Are stated in a factual manner
Not a trial
Not a sermon
Ajashi cried bitterly on the spot
Confessed to patricide
Confession to Buddha
Ask the Buddha to accept his confession
Buddha accepted
I want to stop here.
Tell me a little personal experience
This scene
Throughout the historical narrative of early Buddhism
It's one of my most jolting moments.
It's not because of the drama of it.
But because it reveals one thing: the Buddha's acceptance of man
Is not predicated on moral performance
He didn't set an exam at the door
Say what you've done before
Only when you pass can you come in to study Buddhism
He opened the door to the law
It's really wide.
Wide enough to take in a patricide
This certainly doesn't mean that patricide has no karmic consequences
In the Buddhist concept of causality
The karma resulting from actions is real
Will manifest in a certain way at a certain moment
But accept this person
And karma continues to operate
They're two different things.
Do not contradict each other
Buddha accepted
It's the person standing in front of him right now, genuinely asking questions
Rather than the sum of his past actions
This
Contrary to most people's intuition
Our hunch is that
People who do bad things don't deserve to be accepted
Or at least atonement first
Then you are qualified to talk about practice
But the Buddha's logic seems to be: the seeking mind at this moment
It can respond directly.
He didn't judge the past first.
But first respond to the heart that is seeking enlightenment at this moment
This
Makes me think he is very profound
Ajay became the Buddha's protector
Magadha
It continues to be the most important sanctuary for Buddhism
And then...
Buddha in about 483 BC
Between the trees on the outskirts of Kokunaro
destruction
After the destruction
The disciples were faced with a very real problem: what to do next?
The Buddha taught the Dharma for 45 years
It's incredibly complex.
Different times say different things to different people
No written record
It's all word of mouth
Relying on the memories of the disciples
Now he's gone.
If you don't hurry up and sort out these contents
A few generations later
No one can tell which words really came from the Buddha's mouth
Dajiaye
One of the most senior disciples of the Buddha
Known for his rigorous Toutuo practice
He was also the most authoritative person in the Sangha of that era
He called together 500 monks
Assemble at the Seven Leaves Cave on the outskirts of Wangshe City
Did a massive oral finishing job
This is the famous first meeting in Buddhist history
Logistics of the entire rally
Who will guarantee it?
King Ajay
The venue is the king's resource
Provisions are the king's resource
Safety is a king's resource
Without the support of Ajashi
In that era
To gather 500 bhikkhus scattered all over the place
Offer months of living security
Doing such a huge dictation in the same place
Almost impossible
The way it's organized is this: Ananda stands in front of the public
Recite all the Buddha's teachings he memorized
Others listen
While correcting
While confirming
Everyone agrees
Just keep it
Become a part of the scriptures
Youpori recites the commandments in the same way
Become part of the law
This process
In today's terms
It's a massive group memory check project
And the physical basis of the whole project
It was provided by a patricide
This is what really happened in history.
Where history makes people feel uncomfortable
Often right here
It doesn't give you a clean moral story
If you want a clean story
It should be like this: Buddha had a group of pure disciples
With the support of an enlightened and kind king
Pass down the law in its entirety
The king is a good man
Disciples are saints
Everything was fine.
But the actual history is this: the king who made the decision to support the first group
Is a patricide
And the direct reason why he became a law protector
And a conspiracy with a man who once tried to assassinate the Buddha
Have an indirect connection
From Bamboo Forest Jingshe to Seven Leaf Cave
Buddhism underwent a critical transformation during this time
motion from wandering side
It became institutional.
What is the cost of this?
The price is
Your existence
Began to rely on the permission of power
The king can give you a bamboo forest house
You can also take it back.
The king can support the first assembly
You can also not support it.
They can even influence the outcome of aggregation.
Subsequent history has repeatedly proven
And with that dependency comes great vulnerability.
9th century AD
Chinese Tang Wuzong launched the Huichang law
An edict
More than 40,000 temples were demolished
The vast majority of monks across the country were forced to return to secular life
India over there
Ultimately, due to the collapse of the dynasty and foreign wars
Buddhism almost completely died out in its homeland
This is the price of entry to the court
But if you don't enter the court
Can Buddhism Survive the First Five Hundred Years?
It's hard to say.
I want to focus today on another issue.
King Pimpasala supports Buddha
Sincere faith
He took refuge in the Three Jewels
He attended school.
His relationship with the Buddha went beyond the ordinary patron
Boundaries with Sponsors
His son Ajashi
Kill him!
Then Ajashi became the protector of Buddhism
This whole process
One thing remains the same: whether it's Pimbala or Ajashi
Their respective connections to the Buddha
It's all real.
The beliefs of Pimbasara
It's true.
Ajax's Regret and Transformation
It's real.
The power struggle between them
It's also true.
Power operates on its own trajectory
Compassion has its own logic.
The two tracks crossed in history
Sometimes it produces beautiful results
And sometimes it's very tragic.
But the two tracks themselves
Is different
The Buddha witnessed all this
He knew that Pimbala was in prison.
But he didn't use his influence to intervene
His influence won't reach that point
Or rather
That's not something he can do.
Power has its own way of working
Even if an enlightened one is present
Power doesn't stop working just because it exists
He accepted the Ajahs
Didn't close the door because the other party killed his father
At Pimbala
He has no power to change the course of power
With the Ajahs
He opens the pathway to transformation through regret.
An audience member once asked a very pointed question: Buddha is so great
Why don't you stop Pimbala's death?
I thought about it for a long time.
Here's my answer.
Perhaps it is because he fully understands impermanence and dependent origin
He just found out
In the flow of cause and effect
There are some things he can do
There are some things he can't do
Shouldn't try to do it
True compassion
It's not a superhero all-powerful intervention.
It's where you can make a difference.
It works.
A person is not defined by a moment
No matter how serious the moment
Pimbala was killed at a moment
But it wasn't just that moment
Ajax committed patricide at one point
But it wasn't just that moment.
Everyone.
Is more complicated than his worst behavior
When the Buddha met Aja
He didn't see a patricide.
It's about someone who is genuinely looking for a way out right now.
He opened the door.
There are things in here that I think are the most worth taking away
It's not condoning patricide.
But to a person
A complete, complex person who is truly seeking enlightenment at this moment
see
OK
We're done here.
Next Episode
We're going into a more chaotic situation.
More interesting period: After the first set is completed
The monks who left the Seven Leaves Cave were scattered all over India
Each memorizing his own version of the Buddha's teachings
In the absence of text
How did this word of mouth survive for over 400 years?
This is a story of memory, authority, and mutation
See you next time.
Before that
I want to ask everyone: Do you think Buddhism went to the court?
For Buddhism
The advantages outweigh the disadvantages
Still doing more harm than good
If the Buddha had rejected Pimpasala's offering
Insist on refusing to accept any land or buildings
Only maintain a pure wandering monastery
What does Buddhism look like today?
Please let me know what you think in the comment section.
I am Wang Lijie
See you next time.