The Last Farewell

Nikini Full Moon Poya Day falls today

by Mervyn Samarakoon

‘ Thasma thiha the Bahiya, ditte

dittadhammang hothu ‘

Wisdom finds its sublime splendour in a Samma Sambuddha’s words. His resolute counsel to the clergy is to confine their speech to the Dhamma at all times. Futile discussions on kings and rulers, affairs of state, battles waged and speech marked by vain glory, ridicule of others and time spent on hollow rhetoric are not their domain.

The moment a disciple reaches the supramundane state of spiritual pre-eminence the words that emanate from him or her do necessarily adhere to the Master’s advice above. Thera and Therigata bear irrefutable testimony to this fact.

All rules have exceptions, though. A remarkable case is Sumedha, the princess who spurned royalty for a life of sheer asceticism against a plethora of almost insurmountable obstacles. Her utterances in the height of her hedonistic life afford a glimpse of the profound wisdom normally associated with a liberated being of the sublime Order. It is necessarily a trait acquired in her long voyage lost in time and her life story defies accepted convention.

She was the daughter of Koncha, king of Manthavathi city in the era of Lord Gautama Buddha. The eloquent, erudite, moralistic princess driven by samsaric practice, one day walks up to her parents and makes a stunning pronouncement, a veritable sermon on ‘what should be looked to in the scale of values as highest of all’ – in the memorable words of Bhikkhu Nanamoli in his preface to the English rendition of Buddhagosa’s masterpiece Visuddhi Magga.

” I am attracted by Nirvana ” says she. “Paradise itself is transient, need anything be said of human pleasures? They are didainful, wrought with worries and endless remorse. Sense desires that ensnare the unwise are hurtful like snake venom.

Slaves to sense desires undergo endless suffering in the woeful states. Wrongdoers cause much evil with their deeds, words and minds. Immersed in the depths of sorrow, they fail to realise the truth of the world.

Beloved mother, many are those who wish life among gods, ignorant of the harsh reality.

All existence is impermanent, including the heavenly ones. It is fools that beseech rebirth again and again.

Priesthood is beyond the reach of those suffering in the realms of the dreadful.

Mother, please do permit my ordination, I shall strive to repel the twin evils of birth and death.

Having arrived upon a Buddha era, l shall uphold celibacy unto my last breath.”

 Finally she threatens with death from starvation if her request is denied. In the face of the tragically helpless situation the parents make a desperate plea.

” Child, stand up, be sensible. A life of celibacy is not yours. You have been given to King Anikadatta of Varanawathi to be his queen. All his might is in your hands. Wealth, power and glory are yours. You are still in your youth, enjoy the pleasures of a royal life.”

” I simply do not need it, existence is woeful. It will be either bhikkhunihood or death for me” she insists.

” How can this rotten, foul smelling body full of filth, like a pot of excreta be considered desirable?” she continues. ” Why would this object of disgusting flesh and blood teeming with worms and food for the crows, be given to another?

Soon, it will be carried to the grave like a log, the mind having taken leave of it.

Relatives bathe themselves in water fearing that the corpse left as food for canines and foxes might return home. What wouldn’t the outsiders do?

If dissected and the inside turned out, even the mother that bore it will turn away in disgust.

Acutely aware that all formations are subject to decay and disintegration, how could I ever wish wedloock in sincerity?

Why undergo aging and death time upon time in the midst of undying Buddha Dhamma?

Endless is the agony in hell and in the animal kingdom, so it is for gods in the heavens

Those who strive, invariably reach the shore of deathlesness.

Father, l shall depart today. What purpose is there for me in this worldly life. Sensual pleasures are like dog vomit to me.”

As the above words are being uttered by young Princess Sumedha, King Anikadatta of Varanawathi arrives for the nuptial ceremony in all his resplendent regalia. Just then the princess severs her blue tress of hair with her father’s sword, shuts the door and enters the first jhana. She contemplates on the impermanence of all component matter, when the royal suitor climbs to the upper floor and makes a moving plea himself

” I will give you the kingdom, wealth and all my authority. You are still in your youth, sense pleasures are rare. Enjoy the fruits of abundance, donate to charitable causes and be happy. Do not give heartburn to your parents.”

Replies the princess, “Having overcome ignorance, l have no use for sense pleasures. Just observe all their evil repercussions.

Mahamandathu, the Sakvithi king who ruled the four continents died insatiate of sensual craving. They are likened to a sword, a meat chopping log, a snake head, a skeleton, a torch of fire, a poisonous fruit, a fleeting dream or a borrowed item. They bring about neverending sorrow.

You had better go back to your kingdom, I have no attachment to existence. As if your head is on fire, fight decay and death that are constantly in pursuit.”

She then opens the door to face King Anikadatta and her sobbing parents.

” Samsara is indeed long for those who cry at the death of their father and brother and at their very own misery.

Limitless are the tears, the mothers’ milk and the mounds of bone. The blood that flowed is greater than the four great oceans. The heap of bones is taller than the Vepulla rock.

If all the world’s leaves are cut into one inch squares, their numbers are yet smaller than the fathers you’ve had. Contemplate on it.

Ponder this worthless body, a bubble of froth.

Ponder the impermanence of all component things, the indescribable suffering in hell.

Why pursue the five-fold sense desires in the presence of Buddha Dhamma.

They are frighteningly harmful, boiling, ablaze.

Why go in search of enemies when there is a sanctum, a refuge.

Sense desires are your enemies, the destructive fires. They are torturous fetters. A fire burns you when you touch it, not otherwise.

Do not forego eternal happiness for temperory gratification.

Suffer not later as the fish that has swallowed the bait

Firstly, develop restraint. As a dog on a lead, you are tied to the chain of lust. Like the gypsy that destroys the canine, so will your desires eventually destroy you

Entwined in temperory pleasures, one ends up with insurmountable woes. Just so, discard them that are impermanent. The root causes of birth and death cease to exist in the abiding state of Nirvana. It is decayless, deathless, free of impurities and of all worldy sorrows and fears.

Sages such as Buddhas did realise it, and its path is known today, though unnavigable to those who dawdle.”

So saying, Sumedha threw down her hair to be seen by King Anikadatta who then tells her father ” Give Sumedha permission to enter the Order. May she realise the path of emancipation.”

Released by her parents she entered the bhikkhuni order with trepidation and soon reached her goal of Arahanthood along with the mighty supermundane powers. The text mentions the royal princess was amazed at her attainment of Nirvana. She began recalling her past lives as well.

Her colourful narrative commences from an era long gone by, where she with three of her like minded friends had a magnificent temple built for Konagamana Buddha. In cosequence she was born as consort to the rulers of Thavathimsa, Yama, Nimmanarathi and Paranimmitha Vasavaththi heavens in succession.

In the dispensation of Kashyapa Buddha she was the confidante of the famous seven unmarried, devout daughters of King Kiki of Kasi kingdom, followed by several more spells in the celestial spheres, before she made her final appearance on earth as daughter to the king of Manthavathi. The narrative ends with the note that the offer of a stupa to Konagamana Buddha was the source of all her merit and finally, of Nirvana too.

The position occupied by Bhikkhuni Sumedha in the spectrum of Buddhist literature is unique if for the only reason that her sentiments on the illusion of existence, paradox of heaven and the great void were voiced not from the seclusion of a newforest hermitage, but in the splendour of her father’s own palace at the crest of an otherwise carefree and utterly exuberant youth.