Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists

"Myths of the Hindus Sf Buddhistssilence and rejectedst thy kingdom now hast thou a more;glorious kingdom The instead." king remonstrated withBuddha for seeking his food in such a manner but he;of allrepliedIt is the custom of my meaning :race,"the former Buddhas. Then he addressed the king andtaught him the Law, so that he entered the first andsecond paths, becoming the Buddha s disciple.The Princess is comfortedThe king then sent to inform Yashodara that she mightalso come to worship Siddhartha. Buddha, however,proceeded to her palace;as he went he informed hisdisciples Seriyut and Mugalana that the princess wouldobtain Release. "Shegrieves for me,"he said,"and herheart will break if her sorrow be suppressed. She willindeed clingto my feet, but do not hinder her, for the endwill be that she and her companionswill embrace the Law."When Yashodara heard that the Buddha was coming shecut off her hair and went in humble garments to meet him,followed byfive hundred of her ladies. Because of herabounding love, she was like an overflowing vessel andmight not contain herself, but, forgettingthat she wasonly a woman, she fell at the Buddha s feet and clung tohim, weeping. But recollectingthat her father-in-law waspresent, she presently rose and stood a little apart. Indeed,not even Brahma may touch the body of a Buddha but he;suffered Yashodara to do so. The king spoke of herfaithfulness. "This is no sudden expressionof her love,"he said;"for all these seven years she has done what thouhast done. When she heard that thou didst shave thyhead, or put on mean garments,or didst eat only atappointed times and from an earthen bowl, she did thesame, and has refused every offer of remarriage therefore;276