The Buddha arrives at the Deer Park; the Group of Five see him approaching from a distance and decide not to receive him, but change their minds.
The Buddha traveled to the Deer Park on the evening of that same day, according to the time and date recorded in the Pathamasambodhi.
At that time the Group of Five, led by Kondanna, were talking among themselves. The subject of their conversation directly concerned the Buddha: they were conjecturing on where the Buddha might have been staying in the long time since they had forsaken him, and whether he thought of them at all.
At that moment, the Group of Five, Kondanna, Vappa, Bhadiya, Assaji and Mahanama, noticed the brilliant light of the sixfold rays, and, following back along the rays, found the Buddha approaching them from afar.
The five agreed among themselves that they would not formally receive the Buddha or show the customary signs of respect: that is, they would not get up and receive his bowl and robe, that they would only lay down a mat for him to sit on, and not pay reverence to him, but sit still and pretend not to notice or be interested that the Buddha had arrived.
However, when the Buddha actually arrived at their place, the Group of Five all forgot their agreement, getting up to receive him, paying respects, receiving his bowl and robe respectfully just as they used to do. The only difference was that when they addressed the Buddha, they did not use the words they used to use.
The Group of Five used familiar terms, calling the Buddha "friend," or simply "Gotama." The second word, Gotama, was the Buddha's clan name. "Friend" [avuso] is the same word that Thai people use nowadays, except that its meaning is the opposite to Thai usage. In Thai, avuso is used to refer to a senior and learned person, whereas in Pali it is used to refer to a person young in both age and learning. It is the word a senior person would use to refer to a junior person. Avuso is the Pali equivalent to the Thai word "khun."
The Buddha admonished the Group of Five, asking them whether they had ever used such words with him before. The Group of Five heeded his admonishment, so the Buddha told them about himself, that he had attained Buddhahood, and that he had come to teach them the Dhamma.
| |
Copyright © 2002 Mahidol
University All rights reserved. |