The Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha -9- The Beautiful Yasodhara
“Chapter 9 The Beautiful Yasodhara”
The young prince is very handsome, so there are often many girls from noble families and daughters of the royal family who want to win his favor. Luxurious banquets, carnival singing and dancing, bothered the prince non-stop all day long.
King Suddhodana also had this plan in mind. He thought that only in this way could the prince not have the idea of becoming a monk and the prophecy of Asitra not come true.
However, the prince’s singing and dancing banquets only added a lot of melancholy and disgust.
Seeing such a situation, King Suddhodana was even more distressed!
He thought: The prince’s character, noble and loyal, is admired and respected by the people; the prince’s martial arts, outstanding bravery, is famous and feared by neighboring countries. Unexpectedly, such a virtuous prince would regard glory and wealth as so worthless.
King Suddhodana wanted to change the prince’s unhappy temperament, but he couldn’t think of any other way besides using treasure and women to seduce him.
He ordered the gathering of well-known construction engineering experts from all over the country to build a four-season palace so that the prince would not feel the change of spring or autumn. Inside, there would be the sound of music and lavish singing and dancing all day long. However, all of this still could not increase the prince’s favor!
This is not without reason. Although the clever prince lived deep in the inner palace, he had already realized the huge disparity in social classes in India at that time. He wondered why there was such inequality between people? Why can’t the hardworking people achieve a happy life and freedom? How to transform this unequal society? This question has been lingering in Prince Siddhartha’s mind for a long time.
Moreover, he still remembers being taken by his father to inspect rural society when he was a child. In the countryside, I saw everyone working hard with beads of sweat, even under the scorching sun, there was no rest. But my father and I were able to live as we pleased as we pleased. How unfair this was!
Also, he saw many large and small insects in the excavated soil of those farmlands. Just when they were about to collect them in the soil, they were eaten by birds flying over. How cruel and ruthless it is to prey on the weak! How terrifying and painful this is!
At this time, the prince was not disgusted with the world, nor was he worried that he was not happy, but he had witnessed the injustice of society and the suffering of all living beings, so he could never let go of the worries accumulated in his heart.
When King Suddhodana saw his beloved prince meditating, he felt infinite sadness in his heart. Therefore, when the prince was seventeen years old, he chose the beautiful Yasodhara as his concubine. He thought that if the prince had a beautiful wife, he might be able to turn his worries into joy.
Princess Yasodhara is the eldest daughter of King Shanjue, the lord of the neighboring city of Kapilavastu. Her graceful posture is like catkins in mid-spring; her beautiful face is like a fairy who has just descended into the world; King Suddhodana thought that using women, Wine and music can always bind the prince’s heart after leaving the world.
However, the prince cannot avoid this kind of human requirement, but he believes that this kind of happiness is never a long-term satisfying life. On the surface, the prince sometimes smiles, but deep down he feels emptiness and loneliness. .
King Suddhodana was extremely happy when he saw the prince smiling from time to time. He vowed to meditate on virtue from now on, spread kindness, practice virtuous government, get close to saints and sages, stay away from bad friends, be kind to his subjects, and refrain from rash actions in daily life.
Not only did he do this to himself, he also ordered his ministers and Brahmans across the country to abandon the power-seeking methods, learn the methods of governing the country and benefiting the world, offer sacrifices to all the good gods in the sky, pray for the peace and happiness of all people, and use all these to sincerely bless the prince. The heart of King Suddhodana at this time was the same as that of a primitive and simple man.
In this way, the wise Siddhartha and the beautiful concubine Yasodhara gave birth to a grandson, Rahula, in the happy palace.
King Suddhodana thought happily: “I love my prince Siddhartha. Siddhartha must love his son as much as I love him. Then of course he will not have the thought of becoming a monk. This is my only hope.”
No matter which king in the world, he is afraid that his prince will be indulgent in nature, addicted to lust, and easily tainted with sensual happiness. However, King Suddhodana was contrary to this idea. Ever since Prince Siddhartha grew up, he always hoped that the prince could indulge in sexual indulgence and love fame and fortune. He must not have a leisurely mind when he was young.
Other saints practice the path to obtain the Vajra, and they practice it only after they have enjoyed all the happiness in the real world. Now is the time to give up the throne to the prince and go to practice deep in the mountains and forests, because this is the time for the prince to enjoy the happiness of the world. Everything about the prince must be given special attention and care.
