mettavalokanaya_international_buddhist_magazine_november_2019

Chief Sangha Nayake
Thero of America and
President of USA &
Canada Sanga Council,
Chief Abbot & President
of Dharma Vijaya Buddhist
Vihara, Los Angeles,
California, USA.
Most Venerable
Aggamaha Pandita Dr.
Walpola Piyananda Thero
Taiwan
Now in
USA
Universal
Monarch….
The Buddha said, ‘Ananda, the
body of a Universal Monarch is
wrapped up in new cloth from
the province of Kasi. Then it
should be wrapped in cotton wool. Over
that there should be another layer of Kasi
cloth, and then one more of cotton wool.
A total of five hundred alternating layers
of Kasi cloth and cotton wool should be
wrapped around the body of a Universal
Monarch. Then it should be put in a vat
of oil; both the vat and the lid should
be made of gold. Afterwards it should
be placed on a funeral pyre built from
various kinds of scented woods and then
cremated. Then a stupa should be built
in memory of the Universal Monarch at
the intersection of four highways and
the relics be interred. People will come
to make offer-ings at this shrine with
flowers, incense, or scented pow-der,
and they will show their reverence and
reflect on the Buddha’s greatness. For
such acts of devotion people will enjoy
benefit and happiness for a long time.’
“The Buddha continued to explain
the four types of persons who are
worthy of having their remains honored
in a stupa,” continues Ananda. “He said
that these four classes are: a Tathagata, a
Pacceka Buddha, an arahant disciple of a
Buddha, and a Universal Monarch.” “How
did you feel when the Buddha answered
your questions?” asks Bakkula. “I was
absolutely miserable,” is the Buddha’s
Chief Attendant’s honest answer. “I knew
I was just about to break down into sobs,
and I also knew I shouldn’t be seen doing
this in the Buddha’s presence. I rushed as
quickly as I could to a quiet place behind
a nearby pavilion and stood by a wooden
post. It was there that I cried and wailed
and lamented the fact that I was still
training, still striving hard in my practice,
and my teacher, who had al-ways been
so compassionate toward me, was about
to pass away.”
“Then the Buddha asked where you
were,” says Anuruddha. “He knew that
you were grieving and feeling helpless.”
“Yes, and one of the bhikkhus went and
found me and said, ‘Venera-ble Ananda,
the Buddha calls you.’ “I gathered my
wits about me and went before the Lord,
trying to stifle my sobs. He said, ‘Ananda,
do not grieve or weep. Haven’t I told you
before that there must be separation
while living, severance through death,
and sundering through being in different
states of existence from all that are dear
and beloved? Ananda, everything that
has the nature of arising, of appearing,
and of being compounded, is subject
to decay and dissolution. How then
can even the body of the Tathagata not
disinte-grate and disappear? There can
be no such possibility.’
“He said, ’For a long time now you
have served the Tathagata faithfully both
in his presence and in his absence and
with unbounded loving-kindness…You,
Ananda, have gained much merit. Exert
yourself in vipassana meditation. You
will soon become an arahant, free from
defile-ments.’ “I brightened up a bit
upon hearing these words, but I still felt
de-pressed and overwhelmed. I looked
at the Buddha and he smiled at me with
his radiant eyes. I could feel his energy
and compassion flowing toward me.
“This is the
proper time for
understanding”….
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