Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c23.17

Language: English

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**The Buddha's notable Hosts.** As has been already stated, the Buddha was always receiving and accepting invitations to dine out with his disciples. The Buddha, staying in a grove near the hermitage of the Jaṭila Uruvela Kassapa, was offered daily food by him at his place [*Mahāv.*, i, 16]. The next important invitation in his career came from the Magadha King Seniya Bimbisāra who "ordered excellent food, both hard and soft, to be prepared" for the Buddha and the fraternity of Bhikkhus numbering 1,000, "who all had been Jaṭilas before." The king "with his own hands" served the food [*Mahāv.*, i, 22]. King Śuddhodana of Kapilavastu, the father of the Buddha, entertained at his palace at Kapilavastu the Buddha and his Order with a "savoury meal". The Seṭṭhi of Rājagaha similarly invited the Buddha and his fraternity to a dinner for which he gave the following "command to his slaves and work-people: 'So get up at early morn, my men, and cook congey, and cook rice, and prepare curries and prepare delicacies'" [*Chullav.*, vi, 4, 1]. This invitation was followed by that of his brother-in-law, the merchant prince, Anāthapiṇḍika, the invitation which was so big with consequences both to the host and the Order. The meals comprised the usual "sweet food both hard and soft" [ib.]. The same meals were also served by Visākhā, the mother of Migāra, at her "mansion", to the Buddha [*Mahāv.*, viii, 15].

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Sunidha and Vassakāra, the chief ministers of Magadha, treated him and his company to "sweet dishes of boiled rice and cakes" [*Mahā-parinibbāna-Sutta*, i, 30]. The courtesan Ambapāli of Vesāli vied with the Licchchhavi youths of the nobility of that free city for the honour of entertaining at her house the Buddha and his disciples who were then staying at her mango-grove. When the young noblemen said to her: "Ambapālī, give up this meal to us for a hundred thousand," she proudly answered: "My lords, were you to offer all Vesālī with its subject territory, I would not give up so honourable a feast." She then "made ready in her mansion sweet rice and cakes, set the sweet rice and cakes before the Order with the Buddha at their head and waited upon them till they refused any more" [ib., ii]. At Andhakavinda the Buddha and his 1,250 disciples with him were entertained by a Brahman who treated them to just the food which he found wanting in the provision-room of the Order, viz. rice-milk and honey lump [*Mahāv.*, vi, 24]. Once the people of a place entertained the Order with the Buddha at its head with solid rice-milk and honey lumps to such satiety that the Bhikkhus had no appetite that day when they had to assemble for meals in the dining-hall.

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The next day the entire body of the Bhikkhus, 1,250 in number, with the Buddha at their head, accepted the invitation of a certain minister, newly converted, who made elaborate arrangements for the dinner, preparing for each individual a dish of meat, besides other excellent food hard and soft. When dinner was being served, the Bhikkhus said: "Give us little, friend; give us little." The host said: "Do not take little, reverend sirs, because you think: 'This minister is but newly converted.' Much food, both hard and soft, has been prepared by me, and 1,250 dishes of meat; I will offer to each Bhikkhu one dish of meat. Take, reverend sirs, as much as you want." The Bhikkhus said: "This is not the reason, friend, for which we take little. But we have satiated ourselves in the morning with solid rice-milk and with honey-lumps; therefore we take little." The minister at this explanation lost his temper and said: "How can their Reverences, when I have invited them, partake of solid rice-milk with other people, as if I were unable to give them as much as they want?" Then he went round angry, filling the bowls of the Bhikkhus, and saying, "Eat or take it away!" On the matter reaching the ears of the Buddha, he rebuked the Bhikkhus, saying: "How can these foolish persons, having been invited to one place, partake of solid rice-milk with other persons?" [ib., 25].

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Sīha, the Commander-in-Chief of the Lichchhavi republic, entertained the Buddha and his Order to a meat dinner for which he gave instructions beforehand to one of his subalterns [ib., 31, 12]. Quite a remarkable example of hospitality towards the Order is shown by Meṇḍaka, the householder, who fed the Order daily during their stay in his city, the Bhaddiya-nagara, in the kingdom of the Māgadha King Seniya Bimbisāra. When the Order left that place, Meṇḍaka followed them with his hospitality, with cartloads of salt, oil, rice, and hard food, and 1,250 cowkeepers, each with a cow, to wait upon every individual Bhikkhu with fresh milk, and other sweet food, hard and soft, to boot [ib., 34, 17]. The Buddha with 250 disciples was the guest of the Mallas of Kusinārā who "established a compact to the effect that whosoever went not forth to welcome the Blessed One should pay a fine of 500 hundred pieces (the square *kahāpaṇas* of copper or bronze as figured in the Bharhut bas reliefs and mentioned in the *Dhamma-pada*)". A certain succession was also fixed in which the inhabitants of Kusinārā should each in succession provide food for the Saṃgha. When the turn came to Roja the Malla, he inspected the Saṃgha's store-house and finding its deficiency in potherbs and meal fed the Bhikkhus with them with his own hand [ib., 36].

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Finally, we may mention the last invitation of the Buddha given to him by Chunda, "the worker in metals," at Pāvā, who "made ready in his house sweet rice and cakes and a quantity (*pahūtam*) of dried pork (? *Sūkara-maddava* ¹)? The Buddha at once perceived that the latter food was not to be assimilated by anyone in earth or heaven among gods and men but a Tathāgata. Thus he alone made his meal upon it and had what was left over buried in a hole, while "the other food, the sweet rice and cakes" was served to the members of the Order. Then "there fell upon him a dire sickness, the disease of dysentery, and sharp pain came upon him, even unto death". Later, at the point of death, lest remorse be roused in Chunda for his meals causing it, the Buddha was considerate enough to send him through Ānanda the consolation that he acquired special merit as the giver of the Buddha's last meal like the giver of his first food [*Mahā-par.-sutta*, iv, 14–21, 57].