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pregnant. They found an attractive, young brahmana woman named Cinca and t<strong>old</strong> her that the Buddha had caused a rapid decline in the<br />
faith of their ancestors by luring many young men to become his disciples. Anxious to protect her faith, Cinca agreed to the plan.<br />
Every day she went to Jetavana dressed in a beautiful sari and carrying a fresh bouquet of flowers. She did not arrive in time for the<br />
Dharma talks, but waited outside the Dharma hall as people left to return home. At first, whenever anyone asked her where she was going<br />
or what she was doing, she only smiled. After several days, she answered coyly, “I’m going where I’m going.” After several weeks of such<br />
vague comments, she began to answer, “I’m going to visit Monk Gautama.” And finally, she was heard to exclaim, “Sleeping at Jetavana is<br />
delightful!”<br />
Such words burned the ears of many people. Some laypeople began to feel doubts and suspicions, but no one said anything. One day,<br />
Cinca came to one of the Buddha’s Dharma talks. Her belly was noticeably round. In the middle of the Buddha’s discourse, she stood up<br />
and loudly said, “Teacher Gautama! You speak eloquently about the Dharma. You are held in high esteem. But you care nothing for this<br />
poor woman made pregnant by you. The child I carry is your own. Are you going to take responsibility for your own child?”<br />
A wave of shock passed through the community. Everyone looked up at the Buddha. The Buddha only smiled calmly and replied, “Miss,<br />
only you and I can know whether or not your claims are true.”<br />
The Buddha’s calm smile made Cinca feel uneasy, but she retorted, “That’s right, only you and I know whether my claims are true.”<br />
The community could no longer suppress their astonishment. Several people stood up in anger. Cinca suddenly felt afraid the people<br />
would beat her. She looked for a way to escape, but in her panic, she ran into a post and stumbled. As she strained to stand back up, a<br />
large round block of wood fell from where it was tied onto her abdomen, and landed on her foot. She cried out in pain and grabbed her<br />
crushed toes. Her stomach was now perfectly flat.<br />
A sigh of relief rose from the crowd. Several people began laughing and others derided Cinca. Bhikkhuni Khema stood up and gently<br />
assisted Cinca out of the hall. When the two women were gone, the Buddha resumed his Dharma talk as if nothing had happened.<br />
The Buddha spoke, “Community, the Way of Enlightenment can tear down the walls of ignorance, just as light can disperse the shadows.<br />
The Four Noble Truths, Impermanence, Non-self, Dependent Co-arising, the Four Establishments of Mindfulness, the Seven Factors of<br />
Awakening, the Three Gates, and the Noble Eightf<strong>old</strong> Path have all been proclaimed to the world like a lion’s roar, dispelling countless<br />
false doctrines and narrow views. The lion is king of the beasts. When he leaves his den, he stretches and gazes out over all the directions.<br />
Before seeking his prey, he lets forth a mighty roar that causes the other creatures to tremble and flee. Birds fly high, crocodiles dive<br />
beneath the water, foxes slip into their holes. Even village elephants, decked in fancy belts and ornaments and shaded by g<strong>old</strong>en parasols,<br />
run away at the sound of that roar.<br />
“Community, the proclamation of the Way of Enlightenment is like that lion’s roar! False doctrines fear and tremble. When<br />
Impermanence, Non-self, and Dependent Co-arising are proclaimed, all those who have long sought false security in ignorance and<br />
forgetfulness must awaken, celestial beings as well as human beings. When a person sees the dazzling truth, he exclaims, ‘We embraced<br />
dangerous views for so long, taking the impermanent to be permanent, and believing in the existence of a separate self. We took suffering to<br />
be pleasure and look at the temporary as if it were eternal. We mistook the false for the true. Now the time has come to tear down all the<br />
walls of forgetfulness and false views.’<br />
“Community, the Way of Enlightenment allows humanity to remove the thick veil of false views. When an enlightened person appears,<br />
the Way echoes like the majestic sound of the rising tide. When the tide rises, all false views are swept away.<br />
“Community, people are easily caught by four traps. The first is attachment to sensual desires. The second is attachment to narrow<br />
views. The third is doubt and suspicion. The fourth is false view of self. The Way of Enlightenment helps people overcome the four great<br />
traps.<br />
“Community, the teaching on dependent co-arising will enable you to overcome every obstacle and trap. Contemplate the nature of<br />
interdependence in your daily life—in your body, feelings, mind, and objects of mind.”<br />
The next day in the main hall, Ananda repeated the Buddha’s Dharma talk. He named it Sutra of the Lion’s Roar.<br />
That retreat season, many bhikkhus fell ill with malaria. Many grew thin and pale and no longer had the strength to go out begging for<br />
themselves. Other bhikkhus readily shared their food with them, but much of the food contained rice and curry, which was too harsh on the<br />
stomachs of the sick. The Buddha gave permission to lay disciples to prepare special dishes for the sick bhikkhus. They cooked food that<br />
was easily digested, such as rice porridge with wholesome ingredients like honey, milk, cane sugar, and oil. Thanks to these foods, the<br />
bhikkhus slowly regained their health.<br />
One day after sitting meditation, the Buddha heard the squawking of a great number of crows. When he went to investigate, he found a<br />
number of bhikkhus tossing the special foods prepared for the sick bhikkhus to the crows. They explained that a number of brothers had<br />
felt too ill to eat that morning. The hour of noon had passed and the bhikkhus were not to partake of food after noon. When the Buddha<br />
asked why they didn’t save the special foods for the following day, he was reminded that food was not to be kept overnight. The Buddha<br />
t<strong>old</strong> them that sick bhikkhus could be relieved of the precept not to eat anything after the noon hour, and if certain foods would keep, they