“The main cause of this situation stemmed from Devadatta, who was the Buddha’s
cousin. Early in the Buddha’s enlightenment, he ordained Devadatta along with four
other relatives and two followers. They all moved to reside with the Buddha at
Veluvana Vihara. However, because Devadatta harbored deep-seated jealousy towards
the Buddha and desired to rule all the Bhikkhus in his stead, Devadatta devised a plan
to destroy the Buddha by persuading King Bimbisara’s son, who was then Prince
Ajatasattu, to have faith in him through various displays of miraculous powers. Prince
Ajatasattu became deeply devoted and donated his own wealth to build a Vihara and
hermitage for Devadatta, which was many times more magnificent and splendid than
the Buddha’s, and invited Devadatta to reside separately from the Buddha. During that
time, there was an incident of followers being drawn away, with monks who favored
miraculous powers secretly joining Devadatta’s community. Some of Devadatta’s
disciples also infiltrated the Buddha’s community, trying to persuade others to have
faith in Devadatta. Most Bhikkhus who did not yet understand the concept of being
Buddha were drawn to Devadatta because his displays were more marvelous and
exciting. At that time, it was difficult to distinguish who belonged to which side, as they
were all Bhikkhus wearing natural-colored robes.”

“Then, Devadatta incited Prince Ajatasattu to eliminate King Bimbisara so that the
prince could ascend to the throne. Since King Bimbisara still had faith in the Buddha,
this would also eliminate an obstacle. Prince Ajatasattu, believing it to be the advice of
someone he respected and had faith in, was misled and plotted to kill his own father.
However, due to his suspicious behavior, coupled with the anxiety of committing such a
crime, King Bimbisara’s royal guards discovered the plot and informed the king. Upon
learning of this, instead of punishing Prince Ajatasattu, King Bimbisara abdicated the
throne and allowed Prince Ajatasattu to become king.”

“The situation seemed to have ended well, as Prince Ajatasattu had now become the
king of Rajagaha. However, driven by Devadatta’s jealousy, which was like an evil spirit
possessing him, he advised King Ajatasattu to imprison King Bimbisara to cut off
support for the Buddha and potentially prevent him from reclaiming power. To nip it in
the bud, this became a chaotic time for Veluvana Temple. The Buddha, assessing the
situation, realized that if he continued to reside at the temple, he and all the Bhikkhus
might be falsely accused and face danger, as Devadatta had gained influence over King
Ajatasattu and could manipulate right and wrong. King Ajatasattu was ready to follow
Devadatta’s every command. Therefore, the Buddha decided to travel to Savatthi on the
night that King Ajatasattu ordered King Bimbisara to be imprisoned, leaving Veluvana
Vihara deserted as you see it now,” Lord Phoche explained.

“Oh, then why can the Buddha come back now? Isn’t he afraid?” I asked.

“Just over two years after that incident, King Ajatasattu’s queen gave birth to a son. The
king loved his son dearly, nurturing and caring for him himself without ever leaving his
side. One day, he wondered if, during his own infancy, King Bimbisara had loved and
cared for him in the same way he loved his son. He turned to the elderly Brahmin priest, who had been an advisor and companion to King Bimbisara, to ask. The high
priest informed him that it was exactly the same, without any difference.”

“Upon receiving this answer, he felt remorse and remembered his father whom he had
imprisoned. He quickly ordered his father to be released, but it was too late. King
Bimbisara had passed away less than 6 hours before he was to be released. Soon after,
his mother, who was already grieving, also passed away following King Bimbisara. King
Ajatasattu was deeply saddened and felt remorseful that his actions had been
equivalent to killing both his parents, due to his intellectual blindness and his belief in
Devadatta’s words. After that, King Ajatasattu stopped supporting Devadatta and never
consulted him on any matters again.”

“King Ajatasattu’s sorrow never faded, even though many months had passed. The
thought constantly lingered and hammered in his mind that he was the one who killed
his father and mother.”

“Shame and fear of the sin he had committed caused King Ajatasattu to lose his
appetite and sleep. His body began to deteriorate, and he became withdrawn, not
wanting to speak to or see anyone. One day, while he was exhausted and lost in a trance
of worry, a voice arose in his head.”

“‘Listen, Ajatasattu, you can judge for yourself who has attained the Dharma. No matter
how great their supernatural powers, if they still harbor hatred and malice towards
others, no matter who, they cannot be called to have seen the Dharma,’” the voice in his
head arose.

“King Ajatasattu immediately recognized that it was the Buddha’s voice, from when he
had visited while the king was starting to build Devadatta’s Dharma hall. But at that
time, he had not paid attention because he was blinded, even thinking arrogantly that
the Buddha was probably afraid that Devadatta’s community would become larger and
more beautiful, so he was jealous and came to see him to stop the construction.”

“When he realized this, he decided to gather a few close soldiers and guards and set off
on horseback to see the Buddha in Savatthi immediately. He traveled for only 20 hours
to reach Savatthi. Upon arriving, he immediately went to see the Buddha without
resting, eager to find an answer to how he could be free from the karmic consequences
of his actions.”

“The first thing King Ajatasattu did before the Buddha was to prostrate himself and
apologize for his past prejudice against the Buddha and confess his own foolishness in
believing Devadatta’s words.”

“‘What should I do? Now I feel remorse, but it seems it is too late. I have committed the
most heinous crimes. Please guide me,’ King Ajatasattu said to the Buddha.”

“‘Since I cannot prevent anyone from doing evil, I also cannot help anyone escape the
consequences of that evil. I knew well the day I came to see you to stop you from doing
those things because I knew that one day you would feel regret, both for yourself and those around you. On that day, I tried my best, even though I knew it was futile. Still,
you did not listen. I could only watch and pray that you would gain the eye of Dharma
quickly, an eye that sees everything as it truly is, without bias or prejudice, before the
harmful consequences became too difficult to rectify,’ the Buddha said.”

“‘Do you have anything that would allow me to atone for those wrongs? I am ready to
do anything,’ King Ajatasattu pleaded.”

“‘Listen, Ajatasattu, there is no erasing what has already been done. It is like you have
set fire to a forest full of dry leaves. The fire has burned the forest to the ground. No
one can bring the trees that have been burned to ashes back to life. What you can do is
replant that forest and diligently nurture it, water it, and prevent anyone from
destroying it again. Your mind is the same. Now, diligently water and cultivate it. The
mind that once saw wrongly, once understood wrongly, you must change it anew, to
become right seeing, right understanding, right action. This new mind must be filled
with the highest love and compassion. Anything that is malice, anything that is hatred,
anything that causes division and discord, you must not associate with it.’”

“‘From now on, look forward to rectifying what you have already done. Whenever there
are terrible events that cause you pain and suffering, that cause you sorrow and loss,
you must willingly accept them. You must sincerely forgive everyone who causes you
pain. If you are fortunate, you may have the opportunity to face these events in this
lifetime to correct what you have done, so that the karmic consequences will disappear.
But if not, you may have to wait to face them in future lifetimes. Please remember that
every situation that happens to you is the result of actions that you are solely
responsible for, no matter when, whether you knew or did not know the origin,
whether you saw or did not see the cause. It is extremely fortunate that it happened
quickly, so that you can face and rectify it all. Having faced it, do not hold grudges or
harbor malice. Having faced it, be able to love those who wronged you as a father loves
his child,’ the Buddha said.”

“At the end of the Buddha’s last sentence, King Ajatasattu burst into tears with great
sorrow. His crying was loud and mournful, like a child being whipped, completely
disregarding the gazes of his close soldiers and followers.”

“‘Father, I… I was wrong… I repent,’ King Ajatasattu cried out, confessing his sins.”

“‘Listen, Ajatasattu, now you have entered the stream of Buddha. You have an
awareness of right and wrong. You are willing to accept the consequences of your
actions. From now on, it is time for you to prove before the Buddha that you can do it
and that you will not repeat the mistake. I will ask you one thing; will you promise me?’
the Buddha said after seeing that he had calmed down.”

“‘Yes, Lord… Please tell me. I am willing to do anything,’ King Ajatasattu said.”

“‘Do not inadvertently hate the one who caused you to be in this state, because it will
further stain and wound your soul. Bestow love upon him. What you should do is
admonish him, so that he does not cause others to be misled and create the same kind of karma that happened to you. I emphasize, do not do this with hatred or retaliation.
You must do it with compassion. In fact, you also share responsibility for this. If you
had wisdom, knowing right from wrong, you would know what is appropriate and
what is not. Therefore, you must accept the consequences. You cannot blame him
alone. This world is a free world, full of choices and temptations. You chose it yourself,’
the Buddha advised.”

“‘Are you referring to Devadatta?’ he asked.”

“‘Yes. Can you promise me? Purification of sin must be done by not creating sin. Please
gradually purify each matter, no matter how terrible the story. Please accept and
bestow compassion on those who have wronged you. Consider it compensation for
what you have done to your father and mother,’ the Buddha replied.”

“‘I promise to do as you say.’”

“‘Good, Ajatasattu. One more thing, you must diligently do good deeds or help those
around you, your subjects, and other people in the world. This is the new thing you can
do. This is the forest you will gradually plant anew. One good deed is equivalent to
planting one tree. Plant every day, one by one. You must diligently water, cultivate, and
care for them to grow strong, provide shade, and bear flowers and fruit, benefiting
humanity and all living beings. Even though this new forest you plant will not be the
same as the original forest you burned down, if the peace and tranquility of the
complete forest returns, if the calm and peaceful mind that can be a refuge for your
people returns, it can compensate for the original or even be better than the original.’”

“‘I promise that from now on, I will only do good deeds…’ King Ajatasattu said.”

“…I understand. That’s the whole story. Lord Phoche, then where did Achita’s group go
next?” I asked.