Verses on Dhamma 10.11.p11

10.11.p11

Tadā evañcassa mātu ‘‘nāhaṃ mama puttassa ajjhāsayaṃ bhindissāmī’’ti cittaṃ uppajji. Sā tassa kaṇṇavijjhanamaṅgalādīsupi tatheva dānaṃ adāsi. Kumāropi sattavassikakāle ‘‘icchāmahaṃ, amma, therassa santike pabbajitu’’nti āha. Sā ‘‘sādhu, tāta, nāhaṃ tava ajjhāsayaṃ bhindissāmī’’ti theraṃ nimantetvā bhojetvā, ‘‘bhante, putto me pabbajituṃ icchati, imāhaṃ sāyanhasamaye vihāraṃ ānessāmī’’ti theraṃ uyyojetvā ñātake sannipātetvā ‘‘puttassa me gihikāle kattabbaṃ kiccaṃ ajjeva karissāmā’’ti vatvā puttaṃ alaṅkaritvā mahantena sirisobhaggena vihāraṃ netvā therassa niyyādesi. Theropi taṃ, ‘‘tāta, pabbajjā nāma dukkarā, sakkhissasi abhiramitu’’nti vatvā ‘‘karissāmi vo, bhante, ovāda’’nti vutte kammaṭṭhānaṃ datvā pabbājesi. Mātāpitaropissa pabbajjāya sakkāraṃ karontā antovihāreyeva sattāhaṃ buddhappamukhassa bhikkhusaṅghassa satarasabhojanaṃ datvā sāyaṃ attano gehaṃ agamaṃsu. Aṭṭhame divase sāriputtatthero bhikkhusaṅghe gāmaṃ paviṭṭhe vihāre kattabbakiccaṃ katvā sāmaṇeraṃ pattacīvaraṃ gāhāpetvā gāmaṃ piṇḍāya pāvisi. Sāmaṇero antarāmagge mātikādīni disvā paṇḍitasāmaṇero viya pucchi. Theropi tassa tatheva byākāsi. Sāmaṇero tāni kāraṇāni sutvā ‘‘sace tumhe attano pattacīvaraṃ gaṇheyyātha, ahaṃ nivatteyya’’nti vatvā therena tassa ajjhāsayaṃ abhinditvā, ‘‘sāmaṇera, dehi mama pattacīvara’’nti pattacīvare gahite theraṃ vanditvā nivattamāno, ‘‘bhante, mayhaṃ āhāraṃ āharamāno satarasabhojanaṃ āhareyyāthā’’ti āha. Kuto taṃ labhissāmīti? Attano puññena alabhanto mama puññena labhissatha, bhanteti. Athassa thero kuñcikaṃ datvā gāmaṃ piṇḍāya pāvisi. Sopi vihāraṃ āgantvā therassa gabbhaṃ vivaritvā pavisitvā dvāraṃ pidhāya attano kāye ñāṇaṃ otāretvā nisīdi.

Now at that time the following thought arose in the mother's mind, "I will not interfere with the desire of my son." On the feast of the piercing of the child's ears and on the other festival days she gave offerings in like manner. When the boy was seven years old, he said to his mother, "Mother, I desire to retire from the world and become a monk under the Elder." "Very well, my dear son," replied the mother; "I will not interfere with your desire." Accordingly she invited the Elder to her house and said to him, "Reverend Sir, my son desires to become a monk; I will therefore bring him to the monastery in the evening." Having so said, she dismissed the Elder and assembled her kinsfolk, saying, "This very day we shall do for my son everything that should be done for him while he is yet living the life of a layman." So saying, she dressed her son in rich apparel, conducted him to the monastery in state, and committed him into the hands of the Elder. The Elder said to him, "My dear son, the monastic life is a hard life; shall you be able to take delight therein?” The youth replied, “Reverend Sir, I will keep your admonitions.” Thereupon the Elder gave him a Subject of Meditation, and having so done, received him into the Order.

For seven days his mother and father bestowed rich offerings within the monastery in honor of his reception into the Order, giving food of a hundred flavors to the Congregation of Monks presided over by the Buddha, returning in the evening to their own home. On the eighth day, while the Congregation of Monks were making the rounds of the village, the Elder Sāriputta performed various duties about the monastery. Afterwards, directing the novice to take his bowl and robe, he himself entered the village for alms.

On the way the novice noticed watercourses and so forth, just as had the novice Paṇḍita, and asked the Elder about them. The Elder answered his questions just as he had answered the questions of the novice Paṇḍita. When the novice had heard all these matters explained, he said to the Elder, “If you will be so good as to take your bowl and robe, I should like to turn back.” The Elder offered no opposition to his wishes, but said, “Very well, novice, bring me my bowl and robe.” When the Elder had taken his bowl and robe, the novice bowed to him and turned back. As he did so, he said to the Elder, “Reverend Sir, when you bring me my food, pray bring me food of a hundred flavors.” “Whence shall we obtain such food?” “If you cannot obtain it through your own merit, Reverend Sir, you can obtain it through mine.” The Elder gave him a key and entered the village for alms. The novice returned to the monastery, opened the Elder’s cell, closed the door, and having seated himself, strove to obtain in his own person a conception of the nature of the body.