Historical Narrative
Rāhula’s story
My dear students, I have gathered you all today to tell you a story. Of course, not an ordinary made-up one that we usually tell around the fire, but my story. The story of how my father was enlightened. The story of how I rejected the foul beliefs of Hinduism, how I stopped believing in the Brahman, and how I started living the life I do today as a monk. I, Rāhula, will tell you the story of my humble beginnings.
When I was a young boy, I knew very little of the outside world. Until very far into my life, I didn’t know that suffering existed. My father Siddhārtha Gautama was a prince and my grandfather Suddhodana was king. Because of that, my parents and i lived in a stately palace on the border of Nepal …show more content…
I was very young, but I still remember how shook I was when it was dinnertime and he still hadn’t returned. I asked my mother had happened, and tears streamed down her face. –Oh, what have I done to deserve such bad karma? Your father has left, Rāhula.-she said. She then told me to go to bed. When I woke up the next morning, I had a typical breakfast: grapes, dates and water. But the difference was that that time, my mother was with me. She said that I was very young, and she didn’t expect me to understand, but she would still tell me what happened. She told me that my father had seen suffering, and so he decided to leave the palace and lead the life of an ascetic. Then she wept. I didn’t understand what she was saying, but I noticed something. She had wiped her bindi off her face, which was the sign of a happily married woman. The days, weeks, months and years went by, but my father didn’t return to the palace. My mother told me that he had abandoned Hinduism; he had become a monk. He meditated, and preached, and people called him ‘Buddha’, which means the enlightened one. He had gained a lot of followers, and people respected him. But the time we spent without him was time of suffering. We both hoped that one day, he would return to us. I missed him greatly, and I all I hoped for was to see my father. And one day, when I was seven years old, our wishes came true. We heard that my father was in …show more content…
My mother took me to hear him talk. When we got there, I saw a crowd of people dressed in orange robes. One of them stood further away from the rest and everyone looked at him with attention. When he began to talk, everyone stopped chatting and listened. My mother pointed to him and said: -This is your father, Rāhula. Because he has left the palace, you’re the next royal prince in line. When your grandfather dies, you should be king. Go and ask your father for your inheritance. So I made my way through the crowd, and went up to my father. I said: -Lord, even your shadow is pleasing to me. Give me my inheritance. But my father knew that the inheritance I was asking for was full of trouble. He knew that I didn’t need power, gold or jewels. So, he decided to give me a much more valuable kind of inheritance: the dharma and his knowledge. He turned to one of his companions and said: -Ordain Rāhula. Then they dressed me in an orange robe, and took me to a
Rāhula’s story
My dear students, I have gathered you all today to tell you a story. Of course, not an ordinary made-up one that we usually tell around the fire, but my story. The story of how my father was enlightened. The story of how I rejected the foul beliefs of Hinduism, how I stopped believing in the Brahman, and how I started living the life I do today as a monk. I, Rāhula, will tell you the story of my humble beginnings.
When I was a young boy, I knew very little of the outside world. Until very far into my life, I didn’t know that suffering existed. My father Siddhārtha Gautama was a prince and my grandfather Suddhodana was king. Because of that, my parents and i lived in a stately palace on the border of Nepal …show more content…
I was very young, but I still remember how shook I was when it was dinnertime and he still hadn’t returned. I asked my mother had happened, and tears streamed down her face. –Oh, what have I done to deserve such bad karma? Your father has left, Rāhula.-she said. She then told me to go to bed. When I woke up the next morning, I had a typical breakfast: grapes, dates and water. But the difference was that that time, my mother was with me. She said that I was very young, and she didn’t expect me to understand, but she would still tell me what happened. She told me that my father had seen suffering, and so he decided to leave the palace and lead the life of an ascetic. Then she wept. I didn’t understand what she was saying, but I noticed something. She had wiped her bindi off her face, which was the sign of a happily married woman. The days, weeks, months and years went by, but my father didn’t return to the palace. My mother told me that he had abandoned Hinduism; he had become a monk. He meditated, and preached, and people called him ‘Buddha’, which means the enlightened one. He had gained a lot of followers, and people respected him. But the time we spent without him was time of suffering. We both hoped that one day, he would return to us. I missed him greatly, and I all I hoped for was to see my father. And one day, when I was seven years old, our wishes came true. We heard that my father was in …show more content…
My mother took me to hear him talk. When we got there, I saw a crowd of people dressed in orange robes. One of them stood further away from the rest and everyone looked at him with attention. When he began to talk, everyone stopped chatting and listened. My mother pointed to him and said: -This is your father, Rāhula. Because he has left the palace, you’re the next royal prince in line. When your grandfather dies, you should be king. Go and ask your father for your inheritance. So I made my way through the crowd, and went up to my father. I said: -Lord, even your shadow is pleasing to me. Give me my inheritance. But my father knew that the inheritance I was asking for was full of trouble. He knew that I didn’t need power, gold or jewels. So, he decided to give me a much more valuable kind of inheritance: the dharma and his knowledge. He turned to one of his companions and said: -Ordain Rāhula. Then they dressed me in an orange robe, and took me to a