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

After the noon meal, the Buddha gave a Dharma talk. When he was finished, he asked bhikkhu Baddhiya to come forward before the
community, which also included many lay disciples. The Buddha asked him, “Baddhiya, late last night while sitting in meditation, did you call
out, ‘O, happiness ! 0, happiness!’”
Baddhiya joined his palms and answered, “Teacher, last night I did indeed call out those very words.”
“Can you tell us why?”
“Lord, when I was the governor, I lived a life of fame, power, and wealth. Everywhere I went I was flanked by four soldiers for
protection. My palace was never without armed guards, day and night. Even so, there was never a moment I felt safe. I was almost
constantly filled with fear and anxiety. But now I can walk and sit alone in the deep forest. I know no fear or anxiety. Instead I feel ease,
peace, and joy such as I never felt before. Teacher, living the life of a bhikkhu brings me such great happiness and contentment, I am no
longer afraid of anyone or of losing anything. I am as happy as a deer living freely in the forest. Last night during my meditation, this became
so clear to me that I exclaimed, ‘0, happiness! O, happiness!’ Please forgive me for any disturbance it caused you and the other bhikkhus.”
The Buddha praised Baddhiya before the entire community. “It is wonderful, Baddhiya. You have made great strides on the path of selfcontentment
and detachment. The peace and joy you feel is the peace and joy to which even the gods aspire.”
During the rainy season retreat, the Buddha ordained many new bhikkhus, including a talented young man named Mahakassapa.
Mahakassapa was the son of the richest man in Magadha. His father’s wealth was exceeded only by the national treasury. Mahakassapa
was married to a woman from Vesali named Bhadra Kapilani. They had lived as husband and wife for twelve years, but both longed to
follow the spiritual path.
Early one morning, Mahakassapa awoke before his wife. Suddenly he noticed a poisonous snake creeping beside his wife’s arm that
was hanging over the side of the bed. Mahakassapa did not dare breathe for fear of startling the snake. It slowly crept past Kapilani’s arm
and out of the room. Mahakassapa woke his wife up and told her what had just taken place. Together they reflected on the uncertainty and
transiency of life. Kapilani urged Mahakassapa to seek a teacher without delay in order to study the Way. Because he had heard about the
Buddha, he went at once to Bamboo Forest. The moment he saw the Buddha, he understood that the Buddha was his true teacher. The
Buddha could easily see that Mahakassapa was a man of rare depth, and he ordained him. Mahakassapa told the Buddha of his wife’s
longing to become a nun and follow the Way, but the Buddha answered that the time was not yet ripe to admit women into the sangha and
that she would need to wait a little longer.