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isolated. He had recently fallen ill and was unable to leave Gayasisa. Since the end of the war, King Ajatasattu had not paid him even one
visit. King Ajatasattu did not pay any visits to Bamboo Forest either. He only maintained relations with leaders of other religious sects.
Nonetheless, the sangha continued to spread the Dharma unimpeded. The laity and bhikkhus in Magadha hoped that the Buddha would
return to visit them. Vulture Peak and Bamboo Forest seemed empty without him. Jivaka awaited his return as well.
That winter Queen Mallika of Kosala died. Deeply grieved, King Pasenadi came to the Buddha for comfort. The queen had been his
closest friend, and he loved her with all his heart. She was a faithful disciple of the Buddha, a radiant spirit who understood the deeper
reaches of the Dharma. Even before the king met the Buddha, the queen had shared her understanding of the Way with him. The king
recalled how one night he had a disturbing dream which he feared was a warning that misfortune would befall him. Placing his faith in the
brahmans, he asked them to sacrifice several animals in order to ask the gods for protection. The queen dissuaded him from doing so. She
had often served as a close advisor to the king on political matters, helping him find solutions to problems that beset the country. She was
one of the Buddha’s most devoted lay disciples. Because she loved to study the Dharma, she built a Dharma discussion hall in a park with
many beautiful tinduka trees. She often invited the Buddha and his senior disciples to give Dharma discourses and lead discussions there.
She also opened the hall to leaders of other religious sects to use.
Suffering from the loss of his companion for more than forty years, the king came to the Buddha. As he sat quietly next to the Buddha, he
felt peace slowly return to his heart. He had been following the Buddha’s suggestion to spend more time meditating. The Buddha reminded
him of their previous conversation in which they discussed the importance of living according to the teaching in order to create happiness for
those around one. The Buddha encouraged the king to reform the system of justice and economics in the country. He said corporal
punishment, torture, imprisonment, and execution were not effective means for stopping crime. Crime and violence were the natural result of
hunger and poverty. The best way to assist the people and provide for their security was to concentrate on building a healthy economy. It
was essential to provide food, seeds, and fertilizer to poor farmers until they could become self-sufficient and productive. Loans should be
provided to small merchants, retirement funds should be set up for those no longer able to work, and the poor should be exempted from
taxes. All manner of coercion and oppression against manual laborers must cease. People should be free to select their own jobs. Ample
opportunities for training should be made available to help people master the trades they chose. The Buddha said that a correct economic
policy should be based on voluntary participation.
Venerable Ananda was sitting close to the Buddha during this conversation with the king. He was thus able to preserve the Buddha’s
ideas on politics and economics in the Kutadanta Sutra.
Late one afternoon Ananda found the Buddha sitting outside the Visakha Dharma hall. His back was turned to the sun. Ananda found it
curious. The Buddha was usually fond of watching the sun set. He asked the Buddha about it, and the Buddha replied that he was letting
the sun warm his back. Ananda approached and began to massage the Buddha’s back. He knelt down to massage his legs as well. As he
massaged the Buddha’s legs, he remarked, “Lord, I have been your attendant for the past fifteen years. I remember how firm your skin was
in the past and how it had such a healthy glow. But now your skin is wrinkled and your leg muscles have grown soft. Why, I can count all
your bones!”
The Buddha laughed. “If you live long enough, you grow old, Ananda. But my eyes and ears are as sharp as ever. Ananda, do you miss
Vulture Peak and the groves at Bamboo Forest? Wouldn’t you like to climb Vulture Peak again and watch the sun set?”
“Lord, if you would like to return to Vulture Peak, please let me accompany you.”
That summer the Buddha returned to Magadha. He walked leisurely, breaking the long trek into several short trips. He stopped all along
the way to visit sangha centers. He taught the bhikkhus at each center and delivered talks to the laity. He passed through the kingdoms of
Sakya, Malla, Videha, and Vajji, before he at last crossed the Ganga into Magadha. Before going on to Rajagaha, he stopped to visit the
sangha center in Nalanda.
Bamboo Forest and Vulture Peak were as beautiful as ever. People from the capital and neighboring villages came to see the Buddha in
droves. Nearly a month passed before the Buddha was free to accept Jivaka’s invitation to visit his Mango Grove. Jivaka had built a new
Dharma hall in the grove that was large enough to seat one thousand bhikkhus.
While they sat outside his hut at the Mango Grove, the Buddha listened to Jivaka recount events that had taken place in the Buddha’s
absence. Queen Videhi, he was pleased to learn, had found inner peace. She devoted time to meditation and had become a vegetarian.
King Ajatasattu, on the other hand, was suffering from extreme mental anguish. He was haunted by his father’s death and his mind could
find no ease. His nerves were constantly on edge, and he was afraid to sleep at night because of the terrible nightmares he suffered. Many
doctors and high-ranking priests from the sects of Makkhali Gosala, Ajita Kosakambali, Pakudha Kaccayana, Nigantha Nataputta, and
Sanjaya Belatthiputta, had been summoned to try to cure him. Each priest hoped to effect a cure so that their particular sect would receive
special patronage, but not one of them was able to help the king.
One day the king ate dinner with his wife, their son Udayibhadda, and his mother, the former queen Videhi. Prince Udayibhadda was
almost three years old. Because the king catered to his son’s every whim, the prince was an unruly and spoiled child. The prince demanded
his dog be allowed to sit at the table with them. Though such a thing was normally forbidden, the king gave in to his son’s wish. Feeling