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Chapter Seventy-Six
The Fruits of Practice
Just as the retreat season was ending, the sangha learned that war had broken out between Kosala and Magadha. Magadha’s army, led by
King Ajatasattu Videhyputta himself, had crossed over the Ganga into Kasi, a region under Kosala’s jurisdiction. The king and his generals
led an enormous battalion of elephants, horses, carts, artillery, and soldiers. Because it all happened so quickly, King Pasenadi was unable
to inform the Buddha of his departure to Kasi. He asked Prince Jeta to explain the situation in his place.
The Buddha already knew that after King Pasenadi learned how Ajatasattu killed his own father to usurp the throne, King Pasenadi
showed his opposition by reclaiming a district near Varanasi he had formerly presented to King Bimbisara. For nearly seventy years this
district had brought in revenues of over a hundred thousand gold pieces to Magadha, and King Ajatasattu was not about to give it up. So
he called his soldiers into battle.
Venerable Sariputta instructed all the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis to remain in Savatthi. It was too dangerous to travel with a war raging. He
also asked the Buddha to remain in Savatthi until peace was restored.
Two months later the people of Savatthi received the disheartening news that their army had suffered defeat in Kasi. King Pasenadi and
his generals were forced to retreat back to the capital. The situation was fraught with tension, but thanks to a strong system of defense,
Savatthi did not fall, even though Ajatasattu’s generals attacked day and night. Then, thanks to a brilliant plan devised by General Bandhula,
King Pasenadi was able to mount a major counter-offensive. This time Kosala scored the decisive victory. King Ajatasattu and all his
generals were captured alive. More than a thousand soldiers were taken prisoner. Another thousand had either been killed or fled. In
addition, Kosala confiscated large numbers of elephants, horses, army carts, and supplies of artillery.
The war had raged for more than six months. The people of Savatthi organized a victory celebration. After dismantling his army, King
Pasenadi visited the Buddha at Jetavana. He described the terrible cost of the war and said that Kosala had acted in self-defense when
King Ajatasattu attacked their borders. He added that he believed King Ajatasattu had been wrongly influenced by his advisors.
“Lord Buddha, the king of Magadha is my own nephew. I cannot kill him, nor do I have any desire to put him in prison. Please help me
find a wise course of action.”
The Buddha said, “Your majesty, you are surrounded by loyal friends and aides. It is no surprise that you came out the victor in this war.
King Ajatasattu is surrounded by bad elements and so he has gone astray. The Tathagata suggests you treat him with all the respect due a
king of Magadha. Take time, as well, to guide him as your own nephew. Strongly impress on him the importance of surrounding himself
with friends and aides of good and loyal character. Then you can send him back to Magadha with proper ceremony. The possibility of
lasting peace depends on your skill in handling these matters.”
The Buddha called for a young bhikkhu named Silavat and introduced him to King Pasenadi. Bhikkhu Silavat was originally a prince, one
of King Bimbisara’s sons, and King Ajatasattu’s half-brother. Silavat was a wise and bright man who had studied the Dharma as a lay
disciple under the guidance of Venerable Moggallana from the age of sixteen. After the changes that took place in Magadha, he asked
Moggallana to allow him to be ordained, and he was sent to Jetavana in Savatthi to further his studies. Venerable Moggallana knew that
although Silavat harbored no desire for the throne, it would nonetheless be safer for him to be out of King Ajatasattu’s jealous reach.
King Pasenadi asked the young bhikkhu to describe the situation in Rajagaha. Silavat told the king all he had seen and heard before he
left Magadha. He also informed the king that someone had been sent from Magadha to try and kill him, but he had been able to effect a
change of heart in the assassin. That man was now an ordained bhikkhu himself living in a center close to the capital. King Pasenadi bowed
to the Buddha and returned to his palace.
Shortly afterwards, King Ajatasattu was released and allowed to return to Magadha. Using love to ease the wounds of hatred, King
Pasenadi gave his own daughter, Princess Vajira, in marriage to Ajatasattu. Ajatasattu was now his son-in-law as well as his nephew. King
Pasenadi also promised to return the district near Varanasi as a wedding gift. King Pasenadi had wholeheartedly followed the spirit of the
Buddha’s counsel.
With the war over, bhikkhus and bhikkhunis once again took to the road to spread the teaching. King Pasenadi ordered the construction
of a new monastery on the outskirts of the capital and named it Rajakarama.
The Buddha remained in Kosala for the following two years, passing the retreat seasons at Jetavana and the rest of the time teaching
throughout the region. From time to time he received news from Magadha from bhikkhus who had come from there. They told him that
after the Buddha left Magadha, Venerable Devadatta ceased to enjoy the good graces of King Ajatasattu. Of the more than one hundred
bhikkhus still with Devadatta at that time, eighty had returned to the Buddha’s sangha at Bamboo Forest. Devadatta was more and more