Ep.15 : Teaching the Dhara to His Father | The Life of the Buddha

Ep.15 "Teaching the Dharma to His Father" When the king found out that the prince was begging for food, he felt very angry and disappointed. He asked his driver to take him straight to the Buddha. When he saw the Buddha, he spoke to him in an angry way: "My son! Today you have done a most disgraceful thing to the royal family and me. Have your ancestors ever done such a thing? Have they ever accepted food like beggars?" The Buddha spoke calmly to his angry father: "Father! I am not following the custom of my worldly ancestors. I am following the tradition of the Buddhas of the past. All past Buddhas begged for food, to inspire people to follow the teachings. Then the Buddha explained some basics of the Dharma to the king. Then King Suddhodana calmed down and asked the Buddha and his disciples to accept food at the palace. Buddha taught the Dharma to the king, his relatives, and other people. Then he took two of his senior disciples to see Yasodhara, the cousin he had married at the age of sixteen, and Rahula, his son. Yasodhara was very sad. The Buddha could see past lives, and he compassionately told her about the good actions she had done in the past and explained the Dharma to her.