Part 2 - The Story of Prince Bodhi

(The story of Prince Bodhi is given here in consultation with two treatises, namely, Majjima Paññās Commentary on Bodhi Raja Kumara Sutta and Dhammapada Commentary, Second Vol. 12 Atta vagga on Bodhi Raja Kumara.)

Prince Bodhi was the son of King Udena. He learnt the art of managing elephants and wielding gore (iron hook) from his royal father. As such, he became an expert in elephant taming. (It is proposed to deal with his account here in abridged form. For full particulars, please refer to Dhammapada Commentary translation by the Venerable Canda Joti Mahāthera.)

During the reign of King Parantapa, in the country of Kosambī, the Queen was one day taking sun bath with the king in an open space. She was at an advanced stage of pregnancy and was wearing a red blanket. Suddenly a big monster bird came sweeping down and snatched away the Queen, mistaking her for a piece of meat. The Queen made no attempt to voice for help lest it might drop her at the cost of her life.

The bird dropped her at the fork of a tree, its usual place of feasting. When the Queen shouted at the top of her voice, clapping her hands at the same time, with the result that the huge bird flew away from fright. The Queen gave birth to a child at the fork of the same tree. She continued to clad herself in the red blanket due to constant shower of rain all night.

There was a hermit living in the vicinity of the tree. The hermit went to the base of the tree at dawn, as he had heard the voice of the Queen the night before and asked her about her race and birth. Once he knew all about it, he made a ladder for her to come down, and took her to his hermitage. The boy baby was named “Udena” as he was born in a moist atmosphere of rains and mountainous region.

One day, as she received the hermit on his return from the forest, she tempted him to yield to her feminine charms as she was anxious about her own future. As a result, both lived together as man and wife. Years rolled by and King Parantapa of Kosambī passed away. The ex-hermit discovered the King’s death by means of his astrological knowledge and intimated the matter to the ex-Queen: “Your King had passed away. Do you want your son to stay on in this forest or to return to Kosambī and claim the throne of his father and remain there as a ruler?” The ex-Queen acquainted her son with the true aspect of his life to ascertain his attitude. When she learnt of her son’s desire to become a king, she confided to the ex-hermit.

The hermit was well versed in incantation that had the power of wielding influence upon elephants. He learnt it from Sakka: Once Sakka came and asked the hermit: “Is there anything that caused you to feel worried?” The hermit replied: “Yes... we have been faced with the danger of annoying elephants.” Whereupon, Sakka taught him incantations and gave him a harp, to overcome his trouble. His instructions were that, when the hermit wanted the elephants to go away, he should tune the harp in a certain way and recite a certain verse and when he wanted the elephant to come to him, he should tune the harp in a different way and recite a different verse. The ex-hermit taught the prince how to make use of the harp and to utter the incantation in case of emergency. The prince climbed up a banyan tree to see for himself how the incantation worked. When he saw the elephants coming towards him, he struck the right chord of the harp and uttered the appropriate incantation and, truly enough, the elephants ran away through fright.

On the following day, he caused the elephants to come, by playing the harp and uttering the incantation as instructed. The elephants came running to him in response to his command. The elephant king lowered its shoulder for the prince to step on it. Riding the elephant king, the prince selected young, stout and strong elephants capable of engagement in a battle field. He requested for the red blanket of his mother and her ring to serve as evidence of his lineage. Then paying homage to his parents, he left the forest. He stopped at every village in his attempt to build up an army by announcing: “I am the legal son of the late King Parantapa;anyone wishing wealth and prosperity may join me.” Surrounding the city with his army, he laid claim to his father’s throne: “I am the legal son of the late King Parantapa. Hand over the throne to a rightful successor.” To support his claim, he showed the red blanket and the ring of his mother to those who seemed to have doubt about his claim. In this manner, he was able to ascend the throne without let or hindrance. Udena was very much fond of capturing elephants. He would go without hesitation to any place to capture elephants on being told about the presence of fine elephants.

King Candhapajjota, a rival of Udena, was desirous of learning the art of managing elephants from King Udena. He caused the construction of a wooden elephant and kept trained soldiers inside of the sham elephant which served as a trap to catch Udena as and when he came out to catch elephants. His plan succeeded and Udena was taken prisoner. King Candhapojjota sent his daughter, Vasuladatta, to King Udena to learn the art of elephant management and the two eventually fell in love with each other. King Udena eloped with the Princess Vasuladatta and lived in the town of Susumaragira in the province of Bagga. Princess Vasudatta gave birth to Prince Bodhi, who learnt from his father, King Udena, the art of elephant management and became an expert in it.

Prince Bodhi caused The Construction of A Palace known as Kokanda

Prince Bodhi caused the construction of a palace with a turreted roof known as Kokanada. The turret was of peculiar and unprecedented design and won the admiration of the people. The Prince asked the master builder: “Have you constructed a turret of a similar design elsewhere or was it the first of its kind ever constructed by you?” He replied: “Your Majesty.... this is the first of its kind I have ever constructed.” Whereupon, Prince Bodhi was worried with the thought: “Should the carpenter build a similar turreted mansion for someone else, my palace would no longer be the object of praise and wonder by the people.” An evil, cruel thought entered his head to plot the destruction of the architect and deprive others of having a similar palace built for themselves. He was thinking of doing away with the builder either by killing him, or by cutting off his hand and feet or extracting his eye-balls.

Prince Bodhi happened to confide his brutal plot against the carpenter to one of his close boyhood friend, named Sanjikaputta, who was of kindly disposition and considerate. Sanjikaputta felt certain Prince Bodhi meant what he said, but he was quite against the idea of destroying an innocent man of arts and crafts of great prominence. He made up his mind to avert the imminent danger and so he went to the carpenter and asked: “Have you finished with the work of constructing the turreted palace for prince Bodhi or is there anything still left to be done?” When the carpenter said: “All complete,” he confided, “Prince Bodhi wishes to do away with you, please be careful about your own security.”

The master carpenter said words of gratitude: “O dear Lord.... you have, indeed, done very well by such words of kindness,” and he told him: “I will do everything as demanded by the circumstances.” When Prince Bodhi asked him: “Big master carpenter.... is there anything yet to be done in connection with the turret?” “Your Majesty, not completed yet, there is a lot to be done,” was the reply. Whereupon, the Prince asked: “What kind of job was left to be done?” The carpenter said in reply: “Your Majesty.... details will be given later, just provide me with necessary timber immediately.” The prince demanded: “What kind of timber do you want me to supply?” “Your Majesty.... just light wood, such as Yamane.. those light and dry wood,” was the reply. The Prince, not suspecting anything, supplied him with light and dry wood as demanded.

The master carpenter subsequently asked the prince: “Your Majesty.... please do not visit my place of work forthwith, as the kind of job I am about to handle is very delicate, so much so that I will have no leisure to enter into conversation with anybody, excepting my wife charged with the task of conveying food.” The prince gave his consent, saying: “Very well.”

The master carpenter stayed in a work cabin and cut the soft wood to measurement and built a ‘Flying Vehicle’ in the form of a Garuda bird. On completion of the job, he asked his wife to turn their assets (household property) into hard cash and jewellery and to have the family kept in a state of readiness. Prince Bodhi posted security forces around the place where the turret was supposed to be under construction. When everything was ready, the master carpenter had his family gathered together at the workshop and after taking their morning meal, went aboard the flying vehicle and flew away. Even as the guards were reporting the matter to the Prince: “Your Royal Highness... the master carpenter is gone..” the carpenter and his family had descended in a region of the Himalayas and settled there permanently. The new settlement developed into a city and he ruled the region as its king. He was known as King Kathā Vahana.

The Inauguration of Prince Bodhi’s Turreted Palace

Prince Bodhi had in mind to invite the Buddha and His Sangha to the inauguration of his palace Therefore, he caused it to be decorated and smeared profusely with sweet scents. Then he had a white carpet laid from the lowest rung of the ladder. (The prince had no offsprings. He thought that there was the chance of getting a son or a daughter should the Buddha care to tread on the white carpet; if not otherwise. That was the idea behind the laying of the white carpet.)

When the Buddha arrived at the palace door, the Prince paid homage to Him in a traditional manner and received His bowl with his hands, saying: “Exalted Buddha.... please enter.” But the Buddha would not enter the palace. The Prince requested the Buddha for three times in succession. At the third time, the Buddha turned round and looked at the Venerable Ānanda who at once realized that the Buddha would not tread upon the white carpet. He therefore, turned to the Prince and asked him to remove the white carpet since the Buddha would not tread upon it.

(Facts relating to Prince Bodhi’s object of laying the white carpet and the Buddha’s refusal to tread upon it are fully explained in Majjhima Nikāya Commentary. Here is an abridged form of the exposition:

The Prince’s object: Prince Bodhi had no off-spring. He had heard that any handsome offerings made to the Buddha usually bring about fitting rewards. He, therefore, made the resolution that he would get an off-spring should the Buddha care to tread on the white carpet; if not, otherwise.

Prince Bodhi’s former kamma: The Prince was an inhabitant of a small island in one of his previous existences. He had a wife who had a similar frame of mind. They killed and ate helpless small birds by mutual consent. The Prince stood the chance of getting children had he married a woman other than his previous wife just described. Since he and his wife were jointly responsible for the destruction of the young birds in the past, they were equally guilty of taking the life of the infant birds. The Buddha was well aware of all this and hence His refusal to tread upon the white carpet that was purposely laid on that occasion.

There are still some other points to ponder here:

(1) The Prince was predestined not to get any off-spring due to deterrent acts, and nothing could interfere with the course of cause and effect, even though the Buddha treaded upon the carpet laid by the Prince with an erroneous idea. He might, through ignorance, make an additional mistake by forming an idea that nothing could be gained by making offerings to a Buddha, notwithstanding the adage that “every offering made to a Buddha brings about fitting rewards.” He might be led to form such mistaken ideas on this aspect.

(2) Such a practice might be a cause for complaint by members of other sects: “Those bhikkhus are wandering around hither and thither and treading on the white carpets and there is nothing that they dare not do.”

(3) Amongst those bhikkhus who might have occasions to tread on the white carpets during the life time of the Buddha, there are bhikkhus replete with supernormal faculties that enabled them to know the mind of the people. Such bhikkhus would tread on carpets as and when they should be tread upon! They would refuse to do so, when circumstance did not allow. Once the Buddha had passed away, the chances of attaining the Path and Fruition endowed with the knowledge of the future would be rare for sentient beings, if not remote. Their faculty of reasoning will deteriorate and they will not be able to decide whether the white carpets could be treaded with advantage and vice versa. It would be well if they had enough foreseeing power to decide as necessary. If not, the lay devotees might naturally form the idea that: “During the life time of the Buddha, offerings made to the Sangha invariably fulfil their wish, whereas nothing accrued from the offering made to the bhikkhus of our time. Perhaps they are not devoted to practise of the path nowadays.” Such thought might make them unhappy.

It was for these reasons that the Buddha had not treaded on the white carpet, and the Venerable Ānanda had also stated: “The Buddha did not tread on the white carpet in consideration of the facts stated above and because of concern for the bhikkhus of the generations to come,” with emphasis being placed on (3) above.)

The Prince had the white carpet to be removed and conducted the Buddha to the mansion and offered Him gruel, soft food and sweet meats. When the feasting ceremony was over, the Prince addressed the Buddha: “Most Exalted Buddha.... it occurred to me that, the state of peace and tranquillity can only be attained by strenuous effort.” Whereupon, the Buddha replied: “Prince.... I was also of the same idea when I was a Bodhisatta,” and explained to him the part of His life from the time of taking up austere practices to the time of preaching the Anatta Suttato the Five Vaggis, who consequently attained the fruition stage of arahatship.

Prince Bodhi took Refuge in The Three Gems

When the Buddha had preached the discourse dealing with the establishment of the five Vaggis in arahatship, Prince Bodhi asked Him:

“Most Exalted Buddha, for one who has a leader (teacher) in the person of You, how long has he to work for the attainment of Fruition stage of arahatship and, enjoy peace and tranquillity?” The Buddha replied: “Prince, in this connection I would ask you a question and you may answer as you deem fit and proper: ‘Aren't you skilful in managing elephants and wielding of the goad?’”

The Prince replied:

“Yes Lord, I am skilful in elephant management and wielding of the goad.”

The Buddha went on to ask the Prince:

“Prince....supposing a person, knowing that you are skilful in the art of elephant management and wielding of the goad, come to learn the art of elephant management under you and he has these defects:—

(1) Lacking in confidence: He has not enough confidence to attain the desired standard or goal.

(2) Disease: He is suffering from a disease bad enough to prevent him from attaining the desired goal.

(3) Pretension: He makes false pretension or puts on vain and boastful airs, that deters him from attaining the desired goal.

(4) Lacking in effort: He is lacking in earnest effort to attain the desired goal.

(5) Lacking in intelligence: He is not intelligent enough to attain the desired goal. Would that person he able to learn the art of elephant management and wielding of the goad from you?”

The Prince replied:

“Most Exalted Buddha... it will not be possible to train a person with any one of the five defects to attain the desired goal, leave alone the question of training one with all those five defects.”

Again, the Buddha put a set of alternative questions:

“Prince supposing, the person who comes to you to learn the art of elephant management and wielding of the goad has the following qualifications:

(1) Confidence: He has enough confidence that enables him to reach the desired objective.

(2) Disease: He is free from any disease, or one with sound health to enable him to reach the desired objective.

(3) Pretension: He does not make false pretensions, or he is one with an honest mind that enables him to attain the desired objective.

(4) Effort: He is one with earnest effort that enables him to reach the desired objective.

(5) Intelligence: He is a man of intelligence capable of attaining the objective. Will it be possible for you to train a person with such qualifications to achieve the desired objective?”

Prince Bodhi replied:

“Most Exalted Buddha... it will be quite possible for me to train a person to achieve the desired objective even when he has only one out of the five qualifications, the more so if he is one with all the five qualities.”

Five Elements of Effort (Padhāniyañga) required of Those who practise Meditation.

The Buddha then proceeded to preach:

“Prince in a similar manner, there are five qualities to be striven after by one who practises meditation:—

(1) In this sāsana, a bhikkhus has complete confidence in the Arahatta-magga Ñāṇa and Omniscience of the Buddha, with the understanding that the Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha is replete with the nine attributes (of Arahaṃ, being worthy of the highest veneration; of Sammā Sambuddha, being Perfectly Self-Enlightened; etc.; of Bhagavā, being endowed with the six great qualities of glory).

(2) He is free from disease, and possesses an equable frame of mind and body, and is endowed with a gastrointestinal system (pācaka-tejo) which can digest food easily, conducive to practice of meditation.

(3) He is free from pretensions and deceptions, presenting himself as he is to the Buddha or to his associates.

(4) He is diligent in the work of doing away with what is bad and striving after what is good. He is energetic and steadfast in his effort. He possesses unrelenting zeal to perform deeds of merit, free from fault.

(5) He is possessed of wisdom and is one with penetrative knowledge (Pathinsight into the state of ‘rising and falling’ of the conditioned, (udayabbayañāṇa), that eradicates the suffering of the round of rebirths).

Prince...., as already stated, a person who has these five qualities (termed ‘Padhāniyañga: faith, freedom from illness, honesty, diligence, and knowledge of rising and falling of the conditioned, termed, ‘Udayabbaya’) is capable of realizing arahatta-phala within seven years under the guidance of a leader (teacher) in the person of the Buddha and can live happily.

Prince..., if a period of seven years is considered to be too long, a person who has these five qualities can realize arahatta-phala within six, five, four, three, two, one year under the guidance of a leader (teacher) in the person of the Buddha and can live happily.

Prince..., should a period of one year is considered too long, one possessed of these five qualities can realize arahatta-phala stage within seven months under the guidance of a leader (teacher) in the person of the Buddha and can live happily. Prince..., should a period of seven months is considered to be too long, one endowed with these five qualities can realize arahatta-phala within six, five, four, three, two, one month, half a month (15 days) under the guidance of a leader (teacher) in the person of the Buddha and can live happily.

Prince..., should a period of 15 days is considered to be too long, one endowed with these five qualities can realize arahatta-phala within seven days, six days, five, four, three, two, one day under the guidance of a leader in the person of the Buddha and live happily.

Prince..., should a period of one day is considered to be too long, one endowed with these five qualities can realize arahatta-phala within half a day that is, one endowed with these five qualities and instructed by the Buddha in the evening realize Arahatta-phala in the morning, when instructed in the morning will realize the arahatta-phala in the evening.

This was the answer given in response to the question by Prince Bodhi.

Here are some points connected with the five Padhāniyañga Factors from a verse written by Ledi Sayadaw to be learnt by heart:

Faith, health, honesty,
Diligence, insight into state of flux,
Qualities to be striven after,
For attainment of Arahatta-magga!

Of these five mundane factors, confidence or faith (saddhā) may be divided into Four classes:—

(1) Agama saddhā: Faith of Bodhisattas that has remained unshaken since the time of making the resolution to become a Buddha.

(2) Adhigama saddhā: Faith of the ariya-puggalas that remains unshaken since the time of realization of magga-ñāṇa.

(3) Okappana saddhā: Faith in the Buddha as one who is perfectly Self-Enlightened; in the Dhamma which has been well-taught; in the Sangha for its uprightness.

(4) Pasāda saddhā: Simple adoration through respect for the moral virtues of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha.

Of these four modes of saddhās, Okappana saddhā should be considered as the Faith factor forming a constituent of the Padhāniyañga.

When Prince Bodhi had heard of the practical and personal knowledge of the Dhamma preached by the Buddha, he said these words of adoration and praise: “One who practises as taught by the Buddha in the evening is able to attain Path and Fruition in the morning; one who practises as taught by the Buddha in the morning is able to attain Path and Fruition in the evening. The Buddha is wonderful, the Dhamma is wonderful; the way of preaching the Dhamma, which is good in the beginning, good in the middle and good in the end, is wonderful, indeed.” Thus the Prince said in praise of the way in which the Buddha had preached the Dhamma.

When the youth, Sanjikaputta, heard of Prince Bodhi’s address of appreciation of the discourse, he spoke against the Prince: “This Prince Bodhi has said that Buddha is wonderful, the Dhamma is wonderful for being good in the beginning, good in the middle and good in the end, and he also praised the way in which the Dhamma was preached. With all that, the Prince does not seem to have taken refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha.”

Whereupon, the Prince explained to him in detail:

“My dear man.... Sañjikaputta... please do not say so;please do not say so my dear man Sañjikaputta, please take note of certain facts which I am about to tell you now, that I had heard from my mother in the past:

When the Buddha was taking up residence at Ghositarama monastery in the country of Kosambī, my mother respectfully approached the Buddha and made a solemn request: ‘Most Exalted Buddha.... please be so kind as to do honour to my coming child, a son or a daughter, whom I am bearing now, and who takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha by accepting him/her as a lay devotee (upasakā or upasikā, as the case may be) from the time of his/her birth to the time of death.’

My dear man, Sañjikaputta...... when the Buddha was taking up residence in this very sanctuary of Bhesakala forest in the province of Bagga, my governess approached the Buddha carrying me in her arms and made a request: ‘Most Exalted Buddha... this Prince Bodhi takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, please be so kind as to regard this Prince as a lay devotee from today till he breathes his last.

My dear man, Sañjikaputta.... in addition to the two requests made by my mother and my governess, I do hereby for the third time take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. The Most Exalted Buddha, may you regard me as a devout lay devotee from today for the rest of my life!

(A question might arise as to the effectiveness or otherwise of the requests made by his mother and the guardian on his behalf. Strictly speaking, they were not effective due to lack of volition (cetanā) on the part of the person concerned. There is no such thing as taking refuge in the three Gems without volition

Does it mean that the two previous requests became null and void? As a matter of fact, they were not absolutely valueless, they served as a stepping stone to devotional faith and placed the Prince in good stead. He became aware of the attributes of the three Gems when his parents acquainted him with what they had done for him in anticipation of his birth. He virtually became a confirmed lay devotee the moment he was aware of the attributes of the Triple Gems and placed his confidence in them.)

(Facts connected with Prince Bodhi are taken from Majjima-paṇāsa Bodhi Rājakumāra Sutta Pāli, Atthakata and Tika.)

Prince Bodhi attained Sotāpatti

After that, Prince Bodhi sat at a place free from six faults and addressed the Buddha: “Most Exalted Buddha.... I am one of your devotees: my mother had requested for the first time for favour of your accepting me as a lay devotee before I was born and my governess had repeated a similar request for the second time holding me in her arms when I was a baby. I have also renewed the request for the third time when I came of age. With all that you have refused to tread on the white carpet laid by a devotee like me, may I be enlightened as to the cause of all this!”

Whereupon the Buddha asked him: “Prince.... what was your object of laying that white carpet?” “Exalted Buddha.... I had done it with the thought and wish that if I would be bestowed with a son or a daughter, You would decide to tread on it,” was his admission.

The Buddha said in response: “That was the reason why I did not tread upon it.” The Prince again asked: “Glorious Buddha.... am I destined to go without any off-spring, a son or a daughter?” “Aye... prince,” replied the Buddha.

The Prince asked: “What was the cause of it?” The Buddha gave him a hint: “This is because you had been forgetful and had indulged in the five sensual pleasures in association with your wife, as a partner, in a past existence!” The Prince requested the Buddha to enlighten him as to when and in what existence had he been forgetful and indulgent in the five sensual pleasures.

The following is the Buddha’s reply to his request:

“Once upon a time, hundreds of people went across the ocean by means of a big boat. The boat was wrecked in the middle of the journey and all the travellers perished with the exception of a couple who managed to land on an island by means of a plank.

The island was inhabited by quite a large number of birds, and the couple, being pressed by hunger, managed to satisfy their hunger by baking the eggs of the birds for their meals. When they found that eggs alone would not do, they killed young birds for their meals, throughout their first, second, and third stages of their lives. They did not realize at all that their indulgence in pursuit of luxurious living constituted a wrong deed.”

Having revealed their past immoral deeds, the Buddha proceeded to evaluate their guilt saying:-

“Prince... Had you and your wife realized your wrong deeds at a certain stage of life, you might stand a chance of getting offspring at a corresponding stage of your present existence.

Had either of you realized the wrong deed, there is a chance of getting off-springs on that score.

Prince.... one, who holds oneself dear, will virtually become aware of the advantages of moral acts in all stages of life, failing which, he might guard himself against wrong deeds at one or the other stage of his life.”

The Buddha then went on to preach:—

Attānañce piyam jaññā,
rakkheya naṃ surakkitaṃ
tiṇṇaṃ aññataraṃ yāmaṇ
paṭijaggeyya paṇḍito.

Rajakumar.... a wise person, who knows to hold himself dear, guards himself from any shortcomings, in his own interests for the present and future existence. One should see to it that he cleans himself from the dust of ten wrong deeds, in his own interests in one or the other of the three stages of life.

(The passage: “A wise person who knows to hold himself dear, guards himself” should be understood clearly: In the case of a lay devotee (an ordinary person), he should not consider himself to be well protected by simply shutting himself in the topmost chamber of a mansion with its doors and windows securely fastened and security guards well posted on the outside. In a similar manner, a bhikkhu should not consider himself safe in a cave with its doors and windows securely fastened.

As a matter of fact, a lay devotee guards himself well only by giving alms and observe the precepts as far as possible. A bhikkhu guards himself by performing his routine duties towards his associates and elderly bhikkhus, and striving to learn the Teaching and practise meditation in the interests of their progress and security.

The passage that reads: “One should see to it that he cleans himself in one or the other of the three stages of life” means; it is imperative that a bhikkhu or a lay person should strive to gain merit by observance of precepts of his own prescribed standard in all stages of life or failing which, at one of the stages of life.

When one cannot perform meritorious deeds at playful young age, he should do it at the second stage of life. Failing which, due to the burden of a household life, he should do it at the last stage of life without fail. Such a person is considered to have worked out for his self-purification. One, who fails to work out for his own purification, is considered to be one who does not ‘hold himself dear’ and to be paving his own way to the plane of misery.

In case where a bhikkhu fails to observe bhikkhu precepts and practise meditation at the first stage due to pressure of work and studies, he should do so at the second stage. When he could not find time to observe bhikkhu precepts and practise meditation due to heavy burden of advanced studies at the second stage, he should, on no account, fail to do it at the third and final stage of life. Only then could he be considered to be a person who works out his own purification, one who holds oneself dear and would be free of bitter regret. This is the correct interpretation of these lines under reference.)

At the conclusion of the discourse, Prince Bodhi attained the fruition stage of sotāpatti, and the discourse proved to be beneficial to those present on that occasion.

(This is the story of Prince Bodhi)