Than Hsiang DMS

Kapilavatthu

Lord, this Kapilavatthu is rich, prosperous, full of people, crowded with men and thickly populated. When I enter Kapilavatthu in the evening after having visited the Lord or the worthy monks, I meet with elephants, horses, chariots, carts and people all swaying and rolling along.

Kapilavatthu was the chief town of the Sakyans and the place where Prince Siddhatta spent the first 30 years of his life.

The Buddha’s first returned to his hometown after his enlightenment was very eventful. He shocked his father by begging in the streets, he preached to large crowds, and many of the Sakyans ordained as monks. Of course not everyone was impressed. Dandapani asked the Buddha to explain his Dhamma, but on hearing it he went away ‘shaking his head, wagging his tongue, with his brow creased into three wrinkles.’

Kapilavatthu was destroyed sometimes before the Buddha’s final Nirvana.

Sravasti

The fair capital of the Kosalans
Excites the mind, charms the eye,
Gives the ear the ten sounds
And provides food enough for all

Of all the events in the Buddha’s life that took place in Savatthi, the most celebrated was the conversion of Angulimala. This robber and murderer had killed so many people that villagers in outlying districts packed they belongings and moved to into the city. From each of his victims, he cut a finger and hung it on string around his neck, hence his name Angulimala, Finger Necklace. When the Buddha heard about this, he set out for the area where Angulimala was known to operate, with the specific purpose of meeting him. On a lonely stretch of road, Angulimala saw the Buddha and began to chase him. But although he ran his fastest he was unable to catch up with the Buddha, who continue to walk at a leisurely pace. In frustration and bewilderment, Angulimala called out to the Buddha: ‘Stop, monk!’ To which the Buddha replied: ‘I have stopped, Angulimala. You should stop.’ Angulimala asked the Buddha what he meant, and the Buddha replied that he had stopped killing and harming beings and that Angulimala should do the same. The murderer threw down his sword, and bowing at the Buddha’s feet, asked to be ordained as a monk. Later Angulimala became enlightened, but even then he had to endure violence and insults at the hands of those who remembered his terrible past.

The Bodhi Tree

According to the commentary on the Jatakas, when people came to Jatavana to pay their respects to the Buddha and found him absent, they would leave their flowers and garland offerings at the door of the Gandhakuti. When Anathapindika heard about this, he asked the Buddha how people could pay their respects to him when he was absent, and the Buddha suggested that it could be done by placing the offerings at a Bodhi Tree.

Accordingly, a seed was brought from the Bodhi Tree at Bodha Gaya and with great ceremony was planted at the Jetavana. The tree came to be known as the Ananda Bodhi Tree. Jetavana was abondaned to the jungle for nearly a thousand years and as there is no archaeological evidence indicationg where the Ananda Bodhi Tree actually stood, the identification of this tree with the original position is doubtful.

The Gandhakuti

The name Gandhakuti refers to a type of structure rather than a particular building. The first permanent residence for the Buddha was built at the Jetavana and because people would come making offerings of flowers, sandalwood and perfume, it was given the name Gandhakuti.

The Sumangalavilasini, the commentary to the Digha Nikay, details the Buddha’s daily routine, and tell us that he would eat and sleep in the Gandhakuti, go forth from there to teach the Dhamma, and in the evening when he needed to stretch his legs, he would walk up and down in front of it.