ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTEST 5

Zhu Su twitched in surprise as the little monk was now standing before him in a sudden, and offered him something.

"I am told to deliver this book to you!" Smiling, the little monk handed him an old, obsolete book.

"Ah... well..." Hesitantly, Zhu Su picked up the book.

Shortly after Zhu Su took the book, the little monk turned away, walked very fast, and soon disappeared from sight.

"Eh... who is that kid anyway?! How insolent he is, how can't he know that he is talking to Lord Zhou Wang?!" The abbot mumbled in displeasure.

"You don't recognize your own disciple, Sir Abbot?" Wu Qi was confused.

Wu Qi's question made the Abbot get astonished. True, how could he not know that little monk while he should recognize all of his disciples? The abbot immediately called out, "Hey, little boy! Come back!"

Instead of an answer, what responded to him was the blowing of the night wind.

"Where does he go? How can he disappear so fast?" Actually, the abbot was eager to reveal that little monk's identity, but he soon remembered that he had to escort Zhu Su. "Your Highness, I am so sorry I can't help you, but I really hope that the Buddha will give His help to solve your problem. Namo Amitabha." The abbot cupped his hands to his chest, doing Anjali Mudra * .

Zhu Su greeted back at him. "Thank you very much, Sir Abbot."

When he came out of the temple, Zhu Su soon opened the weathered book he just got. That old book was completely weathered. Its cover color had faded. A yellowish color adorned every sheet of paper, and some pages were torn. The musty smell as if the book was once submerged completely in water immediately wafted out when Zhu Su opened it.

Kind a weird, even though this book was weathered, every sentence written inside was clear and comfortable to be read.

Zhu Su was so interested in this book he decided not to return first and instead took a seat on a stone chair in the temple garden to read it.

The book evidently told about the legend of Buddha. The legend told that Buddha was apparently a prince of Kapilavastu, an ancient kingdom in India, and he was named Siddhartha. Prince Siddhartha was very clever and talented, and it was clearly showed that he would eventually become Buddha. But his father, the king, did not like his son's destiny to become a Buddha, because the king wanted him to be the successor king. Moreover, their neighboring countries were about to expand their areas, and they threatened Kapilavastu. So the king tried to fail the effort of Prince Siddhartha on the path to Buddhahood for many times.

There was a prophecy that Prince Siddhartha would see four events - old, sick, dead, and ascetic - and after that, he would become a Buddha. The king then arranged for Prince Siddharta to always get worldly pleasures in order not to see those four events. The king even built for him three palaces - spring palace, summer palace, and winter palace - and tried to fill those palaces with luxury and pleasure. The king even arranged Prince Siddharta to marry Princess Yasodhara, a beautiful princess from a neighboring kingdom.

However, even though he had arguably been at the highest peak of enjoyment in this world, Prince Siddharta still felt the emptiness filling his heart. He was sure that something wrong had been happening there, and he should get an answer for his uneasiness. One day, he ventured out of his palace. There he found that the lives of people were far different from his luxurious life. Suffering wasvseen everywhere. Prince Siddhartha soon met with an old man, a sick person, and a dead body. It really troubled the mind of the prince, he was troubled to keep thinking about the sufferings everyone have to endure in life. At that time, he saw an ascetic, thus he immediately found a great solution to his trouble - and to free all beings from suffering.

As expected, the king opposed the decision of Prince Siddharta to become an ascetic. An endless debate soon appeared. The king even asked his son, did he pity his father? Did he care about the people and the country? By becoming an ascetic, it meant that Prince Siddhartha ignored his responsibility as a leader. He neglected his responsibility to his country and people!

What if his country ruined, because there was no legitimate successor acceding to the throne?

What if the neighboring countries attacked his kingdom, because they found that there was no successor to the throne of Kapilavastu?

If the neighboring country managed to destroy Kapilavastu, then his father, wife and son would be captivated by the enemy, and his people would be made slaves. That meant, the most guilty person was Prince Siddhartha, because he had left the country and the people.

Prince Siddhartha would be blamed by the whole country!

... But did these statements make Prince Siddharta give up the idea of freeing all people from suffering?

No.

He trusted his inner voice.

He also believed, his decision was unlike the accusations made for him, he was sure that he would not bring destruction to his country, to the opposite, he believed that the result would be greater than just ascending to the throne.

He was so sure with his inner voice that every negative accusation was unable to demolish his spirit to release human beings from suffering. He still went out of the palace, and because his father disagreed with him, he left the palace at night without everybody knew.

His spiritual journey before the enlightment, as well as after getting the enlightment and becoming the Buddha, was not easy. After becoming Buddha, not everyone believed in him. He recruited students little by little. The Mr. Know-it-all tried to disfigure him, even often asked him many questions full of traps. But because Buddha really wanted to spread Dhamma * , he did not care whether the question people asked was sincere or just to trap him.

He simply focused on doing what he was supposed to do.

***

* Anjali Mudra = a greeting with a slight bow, hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest.

* Dhamma, or Dharma = (in Buddhism) the nature of reality regarded as a universal truth taught by the Buddha; the teaching of Buddhism.