old-path-white-clouds-thich-nhat-hanh

Chapter Thirty-Four
Reunion
Kaludayi told the king, queen, and Yasodhara the news of the Buddha’s imminent arrival, and then, taking just his begging bowl, set off
alone to meet the Buddha on his way to Kapilavatthu. Kaludayi walked with the serene, slow steps of a bhikkhu. He walked days and
rested nights, pausing only briefly in tiny hamlets along the way to beg for food. Wherever he went, he announced that Prince Siddhartha
had found the Way and was about to return home. Nine days after he left Kapilavatthu, Kaludayi met the Buddha and three hundred
bhikkhus traveling with him. Moggallana, Kondanna, and the Kassapa brothers had remained with the other bhikkhus in Bamboo Forest.
At Kaludayi’s suggestion, the Buddha and his bhikkhus rested the night in Nigrodha Park, three miles south of Kapilavatthu. The
following morning they entered the city to beg.
The sight of three hundred bhikkhus wearing saffron robes, peacefully and silently holding their bowls to beg, made a deep impression on
the city’s people. It did not take long for news of their arrival to reach the palace. King Suddhodana ordered a carriage be readied at once
to take him out to meet his son. Queen Maha Prajapati and Yasodhara waited anxiously within the palace.
When the king’s carriage entered the eastern sector of the city, they encountered the bhikkhus. The carriage driver recognized
Siddhartha first. “Your majesty, there he is! He walks ahead of the others and his robe is a bit longer.”
Astonished, the king recognized that the bhikkhu clad in a saffron robe was indeed his own son. The Buddha radiated majesty and
seemed almost surrounded by a halo of light. He was standing holding his bowl in front of a shabby dwelling. In his serene concentration, it
appeared that the act of begging was at that moment the most important thing in his life. The king watched as a woman dressed in tattered
clothes came out of the poor hut and placed a small potato in the Buddha’s bowl. The Buddha respectfully received it by bowing to the
woman. He then moved on to the next house.
The king’s carriage was still some distance from where the Buddha stood. The king asked his driver to halt. He stepped out of the
carriage and walked towards the Buddha. Just then, the Buddha saw his father approaching. They walked towards each other, the king
with hurried steps, the Buddha with calm, relaxed steps.
“Siddhartha!”
“Father!”
Nagasamala came up to the Buddha and took his teacher’s bowl, enabling the Buddha to hold the king’s hands in his own two hands.
Tears streamed down the king’s wrinkled cheeks. The Buddha gazed at his father, his eyes filled with loving warmth. The king understood
that Siddhartha was no longer the crown prince, but a respected spiritual teacher. He wanted to embrace Siddhartha but felt that might not
be proper. Instead he joined his palms and bowed to his son in the manner a king greets a high-ranking spiritual teacher.
The Buddha turned to Sariputta who was nearby and said, “The bhikkhus have completed their begging. Please lead them back to
Nigrodha Park. Nagasamala will accompany me to the palace where we can eat our food. We will return to the sangha later in the
afternoon.”
Sariputta bowed and then turned to lead the others back to the park.
The king looked long and hard at the Buddha before saying, “I thought surely you would come to the palace to see your family first.
Who could have guessed you would instead go begging in the city? Why didn’t you come to eat at the palace?”
The Buddha smiled at his father. “Father, I am not alone. I have traveled with a large community, the community of bhikkhus. I, too, am
a bhikkhu, and like all other bhikkhus, beg for my food.”
“But must you beg for food at such poor dwellings as these around here? No one in the history of the Sakya clan has ever done such a
thing.”
Again the Buddha smiled. “Perhaps no Sakya has ever done so before, but all bhikkhus have. Father, begging is a spiritual practice
which helps a bhikkhu develop humility and see that all persons are equal. When I receive a small potato from a poor family, it is no
different than when I receive an elegant dish served by a king. A bhikkhu can transcend barriers that discriminate between rich and poor.
On my path, all are considered equal. Everyone, no matter how poor he is, can attain liberation and enlightenment. Begging does not
demean my own dignity. It recognizes the inherent dignity of all persons.”
King Suddhodana listened with his mouth slightly agape. The old prophecies were true. Siddhartha had become a spiritual teacher whose
virtue would shine throughout the world. Holding the king’s hand, the Buddha walked with him back to the palace. Nagasamala followed