Rāhula

The second type of explanation consists of the more naturalistic argument that Yaśodharā was practicing religious austerities involving fasting and sleeping on a straw bed, which caused Rāhula's growth to slow down. She was involved in these practices during the time when Siddhārtha was practicing self-mortification. Later, King Śuddhodana prevented Yaśodharā from hearing any news of her former husband, and she gradually became healthier, as the pregnancy continued normally. However, some time later, the false rumor spread that the former prince had died of his ascetism. Yaśodharā became very desperate and depressed, endangering her own pregnancy. When the news reached the palace that Siddhārtha had attained enlightenment, Yaśodharā was overjoyed and gave birth to Rāhula. Buddhist Studies scholar John S. Strong notes that this account draws a parallel between the quest for enlightenment and Yaśodharā's path to being a mother, and eventually, they both are accomplished at the same time.^[23][30]

The late childbirth leads to doubts in the Śākya clan as to who is the father, as told in the Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition, in the Mahāprajñāpāramitāupadeśa and in the later Chinese Zabaozang jing (Chinese: 雜寶藏經).^[3] Since Rāhula's birth was not regarded by Buddhists to be a virginal or miraculous birth, tradition had to explain that Prince Siddhārtha was actually the father.^[19] Yaśodharā responded by putting her child on a stone in a pond of water and making an act of truth that if Rāhula really was his child, that Rāhula and the stone may not sink, but rather float back-and-forth. After she made the declaration, the child floated according to her vow.^[31][32] Strong notes that this is a symbolic parallel with the attainment of enlightenment by the Buddha—described as the "further shore"—and the return to teach humankind.^[23][32] The Mahāprajñāpāramitāupadeśa contains another account, in which Prince Siddhārtha has several wives, and a wife other than Yaśodharā is the one defending her, being witness of her purity in conduct.^[33]

Furthermore, in both the Mūlasarvāstivāda texts and the Mahāprajñāpāramitāupadeśa, there is a third account that proves Yaśodharā's purity in conduct: in this version, the Buddha made everyone around him look identical to him, through a

From a mythological and text critical point of view, Buddhist Studies scholar Kate Crosby argues that Prince Siddhārtha conceiving or giving birth to a son before his renunciation functions as a motif to prove that he was the best at each possible path in life: after having tried the life of a father to the fullest, he decided to leave it behind for a better alternative. In early Buddhist India, being a father and bearing a son was seen as a spiritual and religious path as well as that of renouncing one's family, and Prince Siddhārtha's bringing a son in the world before renunciation proves he was capable of both.^[41] Buddhist studies scholar John S. Strong hypothesizes that the Mūlasarvāstivāda version of the story of the prince conceiving a child on the eve of his departure was developed to prove that the Buddha was not physically disabled in some way. A disability might have raised doubts about the validity of his ordination in monastic tradition.^[42]

Ordination

The accounts continue and describe that Rāhula was raised by his mother Yaśodharā and grandfather King Śuddhodana.

Most traditions relate that the Buddha then called

According to the Pāli texts, once Rāhula had become novice, the Buddha taught Rāhula regularly.

Still in the same year as Rāhula's ordination, the Buddha taught his son the importance of telling the truth in a discourse known as the Ambalatthika-Rāhulovāda Sutta.[17]^[13] In this discourse, the Buddha taught and encouraged consistent self-reflection, to help let go of all evil actions that lead to harm to oneself and others, and to develop self-control and a moral life.^[50][62] He encouraged reflection before, during and after one's actions,^[62] and explained that lying makes the spiritual life void and empty,^[50] leading to many other evils.^[63]

When Rāhula became eighteen years old, the Buddha instructed Rāhula in a

Later, the Buddha declared that Rāhula was

Pāli texts state that despite Rāhula being his son, the Buddha did not particularly favor him: he is said to have loved problematic disciples such as Aṅgulimāla and Devadatta as much as his own son, without any bias.^[17] Schumann writes that the Buddha's relationship with his son was "... trusting and friendly, but not cordial or intimate", in order to prevent attachment in the monastic life. Schumann concludes that the Buddha's discourses to his son were essentially not different in nature from those he gave to his other disciples.^[74]

Later in Rāhula's life his mother Yaśodharā became ordained as a

Following the Pāli and Sanskrit language sources, Rāhula was the son of the Buddha-to-be throughout many lifetimes.^[9][17] He developed his habit of being amenable and easy to teach in previous lives.^[17][50] Pāli texts explain that in a previous life he was impressed by the son of a previous Buddha, and vowed to be like him in a future life.^[17]

Legacy

Texts in the

As one of the enlightened disciples responsible for protecting the Buddha's dispensation, Rāhula has often been depicted in East Asian art. He is depicted with a large, "umbrella-shaped" head, prominent eyes and a hooked nose.[85]

The Chinese monks Xuan Zang and

The exhortations the Buddha gives to Rāhula have also become part of his legacy. The Ambalatthika-Rāhulovāda Sutta became one of the seven Buddhist texts recommended for study in the

consequentalist ethics in Buddhism, though this is disputed.^[62]

Rāhula is mentioned as one of the founders of a system of Buddhist philosophy called the

other disciples.^[95]

Childhood in Buddhism

From the narratives surrounding Rāhula several conclusions have been drawn with regard to Buddhist perspectives on childhood. Several scholars have raised Rāhula's example to indicate that children in Buddhism are seen as an obstacle to spiritual enlightenment,^[96] or that Buddhism, being a monastic religion, is not interested in children.^[97] Education scholar Yoshiharu Nakagawa argues, however, that Rāhula's story points at two ideals of childhood which exist parallel in Buddhism: that of the common child, subject to the human condition, and that of the child with a potential for enlightenment, who Crosby describes as a heroic disciple.^[98][99] Religion scholar Vanessa Sasson notes that although Prince Siddhārtha initially abandons his son, he comes back for him and offers a spiritual heritage to him as opposed to a material one. This heritage is given from a viewpoint of trust in the potential of the child Rāhula, presuming that the Buddhist path can also be accessed by children.^[100]

The acceptance of Rāhula in the monastic order as a child set a precedent, which later developed into a widespread Buddhist tradition of educating children in monasteries.^[101] The numerous teachings given to Rāhula have left behind teaching material which could be used for teaching children of different ages, and were sophisticated for the time period with regard to their age-specific material. Theravāda tradition further built on this genre, with Pāli manuals of religious teaching for novices.^[102] Writing about the Buddha's teachings methods used for Rahula, psychologist Kishani Townshend argues "... Buddha's use of Socratic questioning, poetic devices and role modelling are still relevant to developing virtue in today's children."^[103]

Notes

1. ^ According to some traditional sources, the prince is sixteen then.^[10] Furthermore, some sources say that Rāhula is born seven days before Prince Siddhārtha leaves the palace.^[11][12]
2. ^ In the texts of the Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition, the brother is another hermit, not the king, but he sends his brother to see the king for punishment.^[25]
3. ^ In the Pāli texts, no long gestation period of Rāhula is mentioned, but a similar motif occurs in the story of Suppāvāsā, with a similar karma in a past life.^[7]
4. ^ Yaśodharā had Rāhula present a gift to his real father, and he manages to find him straight away. In one version of the story the gift is a ring signet,^[34] in another version it is an aphrodisiac.^[32] (See § Ordination, below.)
5. ^ Indologist Bhikkhu Telwatte Rahula argues that the child was conscious of being without a father.^[45]

References

Citations

1. ^ ^{a b} Keown 2004, p. 233.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Irons 2007, p. 400.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Meeks 2016, p. 139.
4. ^ Strong 1997, p. 113.
5. ^ For the Apadāna, see Crosby (2013, p. 105). The other information is mentioned in Meeks (2016, p. 139).
6. ^ Crosby 2013, p. 109.
7. ^ ^{a b c d e} Rahula 1978, p. 136.
8. ^ Strong 1997, pp. 122–4.
9. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Buswell & Lopez 2013, Rāhula.
10. ^ Keown 2004, p. 267.
11. ^ Malalasekera 1960, Rāhulamātā.
12. ^ Sarao 2017, Biography of the Buddha and Early Buddhism.
13. ^ ^{a b c d e} Saddhasena 2003, p. 481.
14. ^ ^{a b c} Powers 2013, Rāhula.
15. ^ Violatti, Cristian (9 December 2013). "Siddhartha Gautama". World History Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 25 August 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
16. ^ Gnoli 1977, p. 119.
17. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p} Malalasekera 1960, Rāhula.
18. ^ ^{a b} Crosby 2013, p. 105.
19. ^ ^{a b} Strong 1997, p. 119.
20. ^ ^{a b} Meeks 2016, pp. 139–40.
21. ^ Sasson & Law 2008, p. 69.
22. ^ Sasson & Law 2008, pp. 69–70.
23. ^ ^{a b c} Meeks 2016, p. 140.
24. ^ Ohnuma 2012, p. 143.
25. ^ Péri 1918, p. 8.
26. ^ See Sasson & Law (2008, p. 69) and Strong (1997, p. 117). For the names of the two brothers, see Deeg (2010, pp. 59, 62).
27. ^ Shirane 2013, pp. 168–9.
28. ^ Meeks 2016, p. 141.
29. ^ Sergeevna 2019, p. 81.
30. ^ Strong 1997, pp. 118–9.
31. ^ ^{a b} Ohnuma 2012, p. 142.
32. ^ ^{a b c d} Strong 1997, p. 120.
33. ^ Meeks 2016, pp. 139–41.
34. ^ ^{a b} Edkins 2013, pp. 32–3.
35. ^ Meeks 2016, p. 142.
36. ^ Péri 1918, p. 22.
37. ^ Schumann 2004, p. 46.
38. ^ ^{a b} Eliade 1982, p. 74.
39. ^ Péri 1918, pp. 34–5.
40. ^ Schumann 2004, pp. 45–46.
41. ^ Crosby 2013, pp. 108–9.
42. ^ Strong 2001, The Great Departure.
43. ^ Different texts refer to different ages. For seven years, see Saddhasena (2003, p. 481); for nine years, see Meeks (2016, p. 136) and Schumann (2004, p. 123); for fifteen years, see Crosby (2013, p. 110).
44. ^ Rahula 1978, pp. 133–4.
45. ^ ^{a b c d} Rahula 1978, p. 134.
46. ^ ^{a b c} Strong 1997, p. 121.
47. ^ Ohnuma 2012, p. 145.
48. ^ ^{a b} Penner 2009, p. 68.
49. ^ Péri 1918, p. 5.
50. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Saddhasena 2003, p. 482.
51. ^ Rahula 1978, p. 83.
52. ^ ^{a b} Meeks 2016, p. 143.
53. ^ Edkins 2013, pp. 34–5.
54. ^ Keown 2004, p. 281.
55. ^ Schumann 2004, p. 163.
56. ^ Edkins 2013, p. 34.
57. ^ Crosby 2013, pp. 119–20.
58. ^ Crosby 2013, pp. 113, 115.
59. ^ ^{a b} Nakagawa 2005, p. 34.
60. Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived
    from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
61. ^ Both Buswell & Lopez (2013, Rāhula) and Malalasekera (1960, Rāhula) mention the alms, but only Malalasekera (1960, Rāhula) mentions the other travels.
62. ^ ^{a b c} Schlieter 2014, p. 319.
63. ^ ^{a b} Malalasekera 1960, Ambalatthika-Rāhulovāda Sutta.
64. ^ For the part on alms rounds, see Saddhasena (2003, p. 482). For the part about not-self, see Malalasekera (1960, Rāhula) and Crosby (2013, p. 115).
65. ^ ^{a b} Shaw 2006, pp. 189–93.
66. ^ Crosby 2013, p. 110.
67. ^ Crosby 2013, p. 115.
68. ^ Saddhasena 2003, pp. 482–3.
69. ^ Crosby 2013, p. 116.
70. ^ See Buswell & Lopez (2013, Rāhula) and Malalasekera (1960, Rāhula). For the Sanskrit translation, see Burnouf (2010, p. 489).
71. ^ Sarao 2004, p. 720.
72. precepts and to study, as well as avoiding being proud, see Irons (2007, p. 163); for the aspect of seeking praise, see Buswell & Lopez (2013
    , Rāhula).
73. ^ Malalasekera 1960, Tipallatthamiga Jātaka (No.16).
74. ^ Schumann 2004, pp. 123–4.
75. ^ See Malalasekera (1960, Rāhulamātā) and Crosby (2013, p. 112). Only Malalasekera mentions the mango juice and the recovery.
76. ^ See Baroni (2002, p. 261) and Schumann (2004, p. 123). For the information that he was fully ordained in Sāvatthī, see Sarao (2013, p. 157).
77. ^ Crosby 2013, p. 106.
78. ^ Dong 2010, p. 33.
79. ^ See Buswell & Lopez (2013, Rāhula) and Meeks (2016, pp. 137–8). For the number of 18, see Irons (2007, p. 400); Strong (1997, pp. 121–22). For the information that Biliyangqu zhou is an island, see Dong (2010, p. 59 n.11).
80. ^ Meeks 2016, p. 146.
81. ^ ^{a b} Strong 1997, p. 122.
82. ^ Keown 2004, p. 298.
83. ^ Baroni 2002, p. 262.
84. ^ Welter (2004, pp. 462–3) says Tiantai has only 23 patriarchs, whereas Irons (2007, p. 526) states they later expanded to 28.
85. ^ Watters 1898, p. 340.
86. ^ Meeks 2016, pp. 135–6.
87. ^ Meeks 2016, pp. 131–3, 147.
88. ^ ^{a b} Sergeevna 2019, p. 83.
89. ^ Meeks 2016, p. 137, n.2.
90. ^ Meeks 2016, p. 144.
91. ^ Sergeevna 2019, p. 82.
92. ^ Hazzra 1995, p. 38.
93. ^ Burnouf 2010, p. 418.
94. ^ Crosby 2013, p. 107.
95. ^ Crosby 2013, p. 121.
96. ^ Thompson et al. 2012, p. 61.
97. ^ Sasson 2014, pp. 594–5.
98. ^ Nakagawa 2005, p. 41.
99. ^ Crosby 2013, pp. 119, 121.
100. ^ Sasson 2014, p. 595.
101. ^ Nakagawa 2005, pp. 34–5.
102. ^ Crosby 2013, pp. 117–8.
103. ^ Townshend 2018, p. 11.

Sources

• Baroni, Helen J. (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism (PDF),
  ISBN 978-0-8239-2240-6, archived
  (PDF) from the original on 28 May 2015, retrieved 31 October 2018
• ISBN 978-0-226-08125-0, archived
  (PDF) from the original on 21 July 2015
• ISBN 978-0-691-15786-3, archived
  (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2017
• Crosby, Kate (2013), "The Inheritance of Rāhula: Abandoned Child, Boy Monk, Ideal Son and Trainee", in Sasson, Vanessa R. (ed.), Little Buddhas: Children and Childhoods in Buddhist Texts and Traditions,
  ISBN 978-0-19-994561-0
  • Vanessa R. Sasson; Franz Metcalf (26 April 2018). "Buddhist Views of Childhood". Oxford Bibliographies.
    doi:10.1093/OBO/9780199791231-0073
    .
• Deeg, M. (2010), "Chips from a Biographical Workshop—Early Chinese Biographies of the Buddha: The Late Birth of Rāhula and Yaśodharā's Extended Pregnancy", in Covill, L.; Roesler, U.; Shaw, S. (eds.), Lives Lived, Lives Imagined: Biography in the Buddhist Traditions,
  ISBN 978-0-86171-578-7
• Dong, L. (2010), "Two Decades of Local Democratic Experiment in China: Developments and Changing Assessments", Southeast Review of Asian Studies, 32: 48–67,
  CiteSeerX 10.1.1.453.4579
• Edkins, Joseph (2013), Chinese Buddhism: A Volume of Sketches, Historical, Descriptive and Critical,
  ISBN 978-1-136-37881-2
• ISBN 0-226-20403-0
• Gnoli, Raniero (1977), The Gilgit Manuscript of the Sanghabhedavastu, vol. 1, Instituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente
• Hazzra, Kanai Lal (1995), The Rise and Decline of Buddhism in India (PDF),
  ISBN 978-81-215-0651-9, archived from the original
  (PDF) on 20 July 2015, retrieved 31 October 2018
• Irons, Edward (2007), Encyclopedia of Buddhism (PDF),
  ISBN 978-0-8160-5459-6, archived
  (PDF) from the original on 24 August 2015, retrieved 31 October 2018
• ISBN 978-0-19-157917-2
• OCLC 793535195
• Meeks, Lori (27 June 2016), "Imagining Rāhula in Medieval Japan" (PDF),
  doi:10.18874/jjrs.43.1.2016.131-151, archived
  (PDF) from the original on 5 November 2018
• Nakagawa, Yoshiharu (2005), "The Child as Compassionate Bodhisattva and as Human Sufferer/Spiritual Seeker: Intertwined Buddhist Images", in Yust, Karen-Marie; Johnson, Aostre N.; Sasso, Sandy Eisenberg; Roehlkepartain, Eugene C. (eds.), Nurturing Child and Adolescent Spirituality: Perspectives from the World's Religious Traditions,
  ISBN 978-1-4616-6590-8
• Ohnuma, Reiko (2012), Ties That Bind: Maternal Imagery and Discourse in Indian Buddhism,
  ISBN 978-0-19-991567-5
• Penner, Hans H. (2009), Rediscovering the Buddha: The Legends and Their Interpretations,
  ISBN 978-0-19-538582-3
• doi:10.3406/befeo.1918.5886
• ISBN 978-1-78074-476-6
• Rahula, T. (1978), A Critical Study of the Mahāvastu,
  OCLC 5680748
• Saddhasena, D. (2003), "Rāhula", in
  OCLC 2863845613
• Sarao, K. T. S. (2004), "Rahula" (PDF), in Jestice, Phyllis G. (ed.), Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia,
  ISBN 978-1-57607-355-1, archived
  (PDF) from the original on 11 September 2018
• Sarao, K. T. S. (January 2013), "The Buddhist and Jaina Texts", in Sarao, K. T. S.; Long, Jeffery D. (eds.), Buddhism and Jainism,
  ISBN 9789402408515
• Sarao, K. T. S. (2017), "History, Indian Buddhism", in Sarao, K. T. S.; Long, Jeffery D. (eds.), Buddhism and Jainism,
  ISBN 9789402408515
• Sasson, Vanessa R.; Law, Jane Marie (2008), Imagining the Fetus: The Unborn in Myth, Religion, and Culture,
  ISBN 978-0-19-970174-2
• Sasson, Vanessa R. (April 2014), "Buddhism and Children",
  PMID 24731761
• Schlieter, Jens (2014), "Endure, Adapt, or Overcome? The Concept of Suffering in Buddhist Bioethics", in Green, Ronald M.; Palpant, Nathan J. (eds.), Suffering and Bioethics,
  ISBN 978-0-19-992618-3
• ISBN 978-81-208-1817-0
• Sekiguchi, Shizuo (1998), "Raun kōshiki shōkō", Ube kokubun kenkyū 羅云講式小考 (in Japanese), vol. 29, pp. 3–20
• Sergeevna, Lepyokhova Elena (2019), "Образ Рахулы в японских ритуальных текстах косики" [The image of Rahula in Japanese ritual texts of Koshiki], Religiovedenie (in Russian) (2),
  ISSN 2072-8662
• Shaw, Sarah (2006), Buddhist Meditation: An Anthology of Texts from the Pāli Canon (PDF),
  ISBN 978-0-415-35918-4, archived from the original
  (PDF) on 11 September 2018
• Shirane, H. (2013), Record of Miraculous Events in Japan: The Nihon Ryoiki, Columbia University Press
• ISBN 978-0-8248-1699-5
• ISBN 978-1-78074-054-6
• Thompson, J.M.; Mauk, H.; Kelly, V.; Cook, M.; Matthews, M. (2012), "Women and Children Last? Buddhism, Children, and the Naga-King's Daughter", Virginia Review of Asian Studies: 60–81
• Townshend, K. (2018), Evolving Emotions: Critically Analysing the Associations between Mindful Parenting and Affect Regulation (PDF) (PhD thesis), University of Adelaideb
• Watters, T. (1898), "Art. XVIII.—The Eighteen Lohan of Chinese Buddhist Temples",
  S2CID 163796720
• Welter, Albert (2004), "Lineage" (PDF), in
  ISBN 978-0-02-865720-2, archived from the original
  (PDF) on 12 September 2015

Further reading

• The Buddha and His Teaching, by
  ISBN 967-9920-44-5
  . A classic book about Buddhism from a Sri Lankan monk, with a section about the Buddha's encounters with Rāhula (pp. 94–102).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rahula.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Ekottara Āgama 17.1: Ānāpānasmṛti Sūtra

• Rāhula Sutta, the Pāli text in which the Buddha gives advice to Rāhula about meditation, translated by John Ireland, hosted on the website Access to Insight. Archived from the original on 1 July 2006.
• The poems attributed to Rāhula, as found in the
  Bhikkhu Sujato
  and Jessica Walton, hosted on Sutta Central.
• Talk about Rāhula, based on the Pāli tradition and a book of
  Ñānamoli Bhikkhu, speaker unknown, hosted by the London Buddhist Centre
  .

Buddhist titles
Preceded by Āryadeva	Chan and Zen lineages (According to the Zen schools of China and Japan)	Succeeded by Sanghānandi