“The feelings I sent totaled 16 feelings. The first feeling was a feeling of horror, a feeling
of an impending moment of eruption, the final moment of a great catastrophe, the
moment of great decay about to occur. The feeling of watching pain. This feeling caused
King Pasenadi of Kosala to dream that in the courtyard in front of his palace, there
were four large, dark, roaring bulls, each poised to charge at each other from all four
directions. People came to watch the collision of the four bulls, but they never collided.”

“What did you want to communicate?” I asked.

“I wanted him to know the situation that would occur in the future, 2,500 years from
then, which is your present time. As I told you, it is the most crucial transition of the
universe. It is the time of an impending great catastrophe. The four enraged bulls
represent the all-round ignorance of the human world. Not knowing who they are,
where they come from, why they come, and how to return to where they came from. It
represents all-round decay in society, environment, health, and morality.

It represents the image of disasters that will occur from all directions. On land, there
will be subsidence, movement, and uplift. In the oceans, there will be rising sea levels,
tsunamis, erosion, and collapse. In the air, there will be cyclones, dust storms, extreme
heatwaves, and extreme cold.

And the most severe aspect is the danger from underground, the apocalyptic fire that is
ready to melt everything, no matter how strong the material it is made of. It will turn it
into ash, into its original elements, in an instant.

And finally, the four enraged bulls represent the all-round intellectual blindness that
affects humans themselves. Issues of toxins, chemicals, technological waste, pollution
that will come back to harm themselves, issues of conflicts arising from degraded
minds, wars, conquest, and the killing of their own kind, issues of greed, exploitation,
extreme inequality, causing widespread hardship, issues of mental decline and decay,
devoid of happiness, filled with pressure and anxiety, turning into diseases that gnaw
at both body and soul.”

“The fact that the four bulls haven’t collided means this situation is waiting for
something, waiting for someone to judge what will happen from now on.”

“What about the remaining feelings? What are they?” I continued to ask.

“All the remaining images are an expansion of the first image, which is a feeling that
indicates the perversity and abnormality of the future world in various aspects. These
include: the image of a horse with two mouths, the image of a tree only a span high but
full of flowers and fruits, the image of a cart owner trying to yoke young bulls, but they
refuse to pull, the image of a large cow suckling from the udder of a young calf, the
image of a man sitting and weaving a rope from vines on a table, but under the table, a
fox is gnawing at the rope, the image of a rich man using a golden tray to catch the excrement and urine of a wolf, the image of a large pond with a herd of animals
drinking water, but instead of the water being muddy where the animals drink, it is
clear, while the middle of the pond, which should be clear, is muddy, the image of a
crowd of people pouring water into a full jar again and again until it overflows, but not
pouring water into an empty jar, the image of a flock of sheep attacking and devouring
the flesh of a tiger, the image of a swarm of frogs hunting and devouring the flesh of a
cobra, the image of golden swans digging for food on the ground, with a crow perched
on a branch above those golden swans, the image of a dry gourd sinking in water, the
image of a large rock floating on water, the image of people exchanging expensive
sandalwood for rotten vines, and the image of a pot of rice that is both raw, mushy, and
perfectly cooked.”

“Could King Pasenadi interpret the meaning you sent?” I asked.

“No,” Lord Phoche replied.

“Oh… If he couldn’t, what’s the point?” I asked.

“Normally, when the king has strange dreams, especially dreams that cause discomfort,
he will call the royal astrologers, who are Brahmins skilled in astrology, to interpret the
meaning.”

“And could those Brahmins interpret it?” I asked.

“No. Because those Brahmins don’t understand the language of the soul or the
language of feeling. Besides not understanding, they also use a conscious mind filled
with selfishness and favoritism, focused on gain, fame, and praise. There’s no way those
Brahmins could explain the meaning. In addition to misinterpreting, they also create
fear and anxiety, so that they will continue to rely on their rituals. They told King
Pasenadi that the dream was an ominous sign for him. And at that time, the country
had just suffered from the epidemic and drought, which further alarmed him. They
advised him to perform a grand offering to the gods to turn the bad luck into good
fortune, by performing a sacrifice using a large number of birds, four-legged land
animals, aquatic animals, and amphibians. Then chaos ensued because they had to
search for those animals during a time of famine. Livestock such as ducks, chickens,
cattle, and buffalo were scarce. If they wanted to find them, they had to go outside the
city to buy them from villagers in remote areas or order them from other cities that
had not been affected. But of course, at that time, there were hardly any cities that had
not been affected. So, he urgently called a meeting of all the ministers.”

“While they were meeting to discuss solutions, Queen Mallika, who could perceive her
husband’s feelings, came to ask King Pasenadi with concern about what happened and
why he looked so stressed and why there was such chaos outside the palace. King
Pasenadi told her everything. When Queen Mallika heard this, she questioned her
husband why he didn’t consult the Buddha, who was greater than any high Brahmin.
Upon hearing this, he immediately traveled to see the Buddha.”

“That time, he had to go to a new temple built and offered by Lady Visakha. This temple
was located east of Savatthi. This temple was named Buppharam Temple because it
was full of various flowers, especially orchids, which was the idea of the donor.”

“Lord, I have a question. Where is Buppharam Temple today?” I interjected.

“This place is located about 10 kilometers southeast of Savatthi, or the area that is
Phrae Province today. There is a small hill before reaching a large mountain range. At
that time, this area was still remote, like the edge of a forest, inhabited by various
animals. To travel there, one had to go through villagers’ rice fields, without a proper
road. But upon arrival, one would find a beautiful and vibrant environment, like
heaven. The approach to the hill and the temple area were adorned with various
flowering plants, both perennial and annual, especially orchids. Originally, the local
language called orchids ‘haen.’ When villagers referred to this temple, they wouldn’t
use its official name because the word ‘Buppha’ is formal. They would name it based on
what they saw or experienced. So, villagers called this temple Wat ‘Cho Haen,’ which
means the temple with many orchid sprays. About 600 years later, the word ‘haen’
became slang with a negative connotation, like a woman who is promiscuous. So, the
pronunciation was slightly changed to ‘Cho Hae.'”

“Oh… Buppharam Temple is Wat Phra That Cho Hae!” I exclaimed.

“Yes… In his later life, the Buddha often resided at this temple more than at Jetavana
Temple, because it was on a high ground with beautiful scenery. When he was there, he
could see the city of Savatthi from a distance.”

“Lord, I’m starting to wonder how the Buddha would interpret King Pasenadi’s dream.
For example, the image of the horse with two mouths, I can’t imagine what it means,” I
asked.

“Of course. In fact, you were present during that event. After Master Bavari passed
away, you lived in Savatthi, before you resided in Mueang Siaw, which is near Lamphun
City today, shortly before the Buddha’s passing. But at that time, you were residing at
Jetavana Vihara to teach the principles of Buddhism according to the Buddha’s
teachings, to ease the burden of the aging Buddha. And that day, you went to see the
Buddha at Buppharam Temple in the morning to talk with him.” Lord Phoche
explained.

“Your Majesty, why have you come to see the Tathagata without a prior appointment? Is there something troubling you?” the Buddha greeted King Pasenadi after the group
sat down in the pavilion facing west.