Part 15: Gośāla’s doctrine of Fate

At the end of the second month’s fast the Master went to his house and was given food by the householder Ānanda. At the end of the third month’s fast, the Lord was given food called sarvakāmaguṇa^[1] by the householder Sunanda. The wretched Gośāla, devoted to filling his stomach by begging, attended the Blessed Mahāvīra day and night. When it was the full moon of Ūra (Kārttika), Gośāla thought to himself: “He is reputed to have higher knowledge. I shall test his knowledge.” “Master, tell me now what I shall get for alms in this great festival of the rainy season that is taking place in every house?” Siddhārtha, who had entered the Master, said: “You will receive sour rice-gruel, kodo millet, boiled rice, and a false rupee.”

After hearing that, Gośāla wandered like a dog from house to house from daybreak, seeking superior food. Nevertheless, he did not obtain any anywhere by any means. Exhausted, he was led into his house by a laborer in the afternoon. The sour rice-grud, kodo millet and boiled rice were given by the laborer. As he was very hungry, he ate them; and was given a rupee as a gratuity. When the rupee was tested, it proved to be false. Ashamed, he formulated the doctrine of Fate. “What will be, will be.”

After he had passed the second rainy season since his initiation, the Master left Nālandā and went to the hamlet Kollāka. At that time a Brāhman, named Bahula, was feeding Brāhmans with great zeal and the Lord went to his house for alms. He gave the Lord a dish of milk, sugar, and ghī; and the gods made the five divine things in his house. The Lord broke his fourth month’s fast, the means of crossing worldly existence for a man, the giver, who has faith.

Now Gośāla, ashamed, slowly entered the shed in the evening. Not seeing the Master, he asked the people, “Where is the Master?” No one gave him news of the Master and the wretched man wandered for a long time in the hamlet Nālandā in search of the Master. Reflecting, “I have again become miserable, alone,” he shaved his head, abandoned clothing, and left. He went to Kollāka and heard, “This Brāhman, Bahula, is fortunate, in whose house a rain of jewels was produced by the gods because of a gift to an ascetic.” When he heard that, he thought: “Such power as this belongs to my guru alone and not to anyone else. Surely he is here.” With this idea, wandering around in search of him with a shrewd eye, he saw the Lord standing in kāyot-sarga in a certain place.

He bowed to the Lord and said: “I was not worthy of initiation before because of attachment to clothes, et cetera. Now I have given up attachment. Accept me as a disciple. Be my guru for life. I can not endure a moment without you, Supreme Lord. What affection is there in you devoid of passion? Clapping can not be made with one hand. How ever, my mind follows you from compulsion, Master. Even so, I know myself received by you, since you look at me with eyes resembling blooming lotuses.” The Lord, devoid of passion, knowing that his nature was capable of emancipation, agreed to his proposal. To whom are great men not kind?

With Gośāla the Lord went to the hamlet Svarṇakhala, his gaze directed six feet ahead on the road. On the road the Maṅkha’s son saw cowherds cooking rice pudding and said: “I am hungry. Come, let us eat rice pudding.” Siddhārtha said, “This rice pudding will not reach completion.” Gośāla, malicious-minded, went to the cowherds and said, “This holy man, who knows the three times, says that this clay-vessel with the pudding half-cooked wilt burst like a dish of unbaked clay.” The cowherds, frightened, bound the dish with pieces of bamboo and it burst from the swelling of the great quantity of rice that had been put in it. The cowherds took the potsherds and also the pudding. Because of not receiving it, Gośāla accepted completely the doctrine of Fate.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Literally, ‘the quality of all desires.’ PE, ‘a food having all tastes, a savoury dish.’