Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c31.361

v2.c31.361

The Buddha saw Maṭṭakuṇḍali as he lay dying, and, out of compassion, came to the door of his father’s house. Too weak to do anything else, the boy conjured up devout faith in the Buddha; he died soon after, and was born among the gods in a golden mansion thirty leagues in extent. When he surveyed his past birth, he saw his father in the charnel-ground, weeping and lamenting and preparing to cremate his body. Assuming the form of Maṭṭakuṇḍali, he went himself to the charnel-ground and, standing near, started to weep. When questioned by Adinnapubbaka, he said he wanted the moon, and in the course of conversation he revealed his identity and censured his father. Adinnapubbaka invited the Buddha to a meal the next day, and, when it was over, asked if it were possible to attain to heaven by a mere act of faith. In order to convince him, the Buddha made Maṭṭakuṇḍali appear before him and confirm his statement that this was so. At the conclusion of the Buddha’s sermon, both Adinnapubbaka and Maṭṭakuṇḍali became sotāpannas,¹ and eighty thousand persons realized the Truth.²