Pure Inspiration

Ishanka – 91
When I recited the Sangha Guṇa (virtues of the Sangha), he appeared
to me in my mind. I read somewhere that the Buddha exhorted: ‘If you
meet a Buddha Putra (lit: a son of the Buddha, i.e. a true disciple)
venerate him as you would me.’
I thought that he had given me so much, I wanted to do something for
him, but without expecting anything in return. Then, this thought
occurred spontaneously and I understood: ‘This is not possible,
whatever you give him, will return greatly enhanced to you,’ which is
roughly my understanding of anuttaraṁ puññakhettaṁ lokassa, the
unsurpassed field of merit to the world. I wished that in saṁsāra (the
never ending cycle of rebirth), I had given something, even a glass of
water, to quench his thirst when he needed it.
In April 1994, Bhante returned to Island Hermitage, Dodanduwa. My
world fell apart. I wondered: ‘Why is he subjecting himself to all this
hardship, why can’t he stay here?’ I thought he might die before long.
Before his departure, I went to see him with another cousin and during
our conversation he said quite casually as if we were discussing the
weather, ‘I might die. This body is useful for certain things but when
you have done what you want, it doesn’t matter anymore, it will take
its own course.’ I didn’t stay long, I was overcome with emotion and in
tears. I left the jug of beli (bael fruit) juice that I had brought for him
and left very quickly.
A couple of weeks later, another cousin went to see him in Island
Hermitage to see how he was doing, so I sent some more beli juice that
I had prepared for him – it was sufficient for about five people. He
found that Bhante was well settled in his kuṭi (monk’s hut) but he fell
into conversation with other monks and had forgotten to give Bhante