ate: 07/05/2025 07/06/2025
Location: Star Lake Meditation Center
Teacher: Shilin Long
Dharma Talk
Śikṣaṭi and the Birth of Madhurasatya
In the country of Śrāvastī, there once lived a wealthy brāhmaṇa named Śikṣaṭi. Although he possessed vast wealth, he had no children. Troubled by this, he consulted local heretics who, after reading his features, flatly declared that he had no karmic conditions for having children.
Returning home, Śikṣaṭi brooded over the thought that, without an heir, all his property would revert to the king after his death. This weighed heavily on him, leaving him visibly distressed and joyless.
One day, a bhikṣuṇī who was acquainted with Śikṣaṭi’s wife came to the house on her alms round. Seeing Śikṣaṭi so pale and anxious, she inquired with concern, “Why does your husband look so sorrowful? What has happened?”
His wife explained the situation in detail.
Upon hearing it, the bhikṣuṇī said, “These heretics lack ultimate wisdom. How can they know the karma of past, present, and future lives? You should consult the Venerable Buddha. He is an awakened being who has realized the truth of all phenomena and can penetrate past and future without obstruction.”
Following her advice, Śikṣaṭi felt a glimmer of hope. Filled with reverence, he went to the Jetavana Monastery and respectfully bowed before the Buddha, expressing his concerns.
The Buddha, observing the karmic conditions, said, “Do not worry. In the future, you shall have a son of great merit. When he grows up, he will renounce the world and cultivate the path.”
Śikṣaṭi was overjoyed. In his happiness, he invited the Buddha and the bhikṣus to his house the next day for alms offering.
The following day, Śikṣaṭi and his wife prepared a grand feast to offer to the Sangha. After the offering, the Buddha and the monks were returning when they passed by a clear and sweet lake. The group stopped to rest and wash their alms bowls by the lakeside.
While they were resting under a tree, a monkey approached Venerable Ānanda, gesturing for his alms bowl. Ānanda was unsure of the monkey’s intentions and feared it might damage the bowl, so he ignored it. The Buddha then said, “Ānanda, give it the bowl. Do not worry.”
The monkey, holding the bowl, ran swiftly to a tree with a beehive. It drew out honey, mixed it with cool spring water, and offered it to the Buddha. The compassionate Buddha shared the honey water with the assembly, thus increasing the monkey’s merit.
Delighted to have the chance to offer to the Buddha and the Sangha, the monkey danced with joy—but in its exuberance, it slipped and fell into a deep pit and died.
The monkey was reborn in Śikṣaṭi’s house. When the time came, Śikṣaṭi’s wife gave birth to a boy of noble and handsome appearance. Most miraculously, during the birth, all the household vessels overflowed with honey. This auspicious sign filled the couple with great joy.
As a new father, Śikṣaṭi invited astrologers to divine his son’s future. They named him Madhurasatya (meaning “Sweet-Filled”) and predicted that he possessed great merit and would have a bright future.
As Madhurasatya grew, he developed a strong desire for monastic life and begged his parents to let him renounce the world. But his parents, deeply attached to their only child, could not bring themselves to consent.
Resolute in his aspiration, Madhurasatya said to them, “Ordaining is my greatest wish in this life. If you do not allow me to fulfill it, I will end my life and leave this world.”
Alarmed, his parents remembered the words the Buddha had spoken years ago and realized there was no point in stopping him. They tearfully gave their consent.
Madhurasatya took leave of his parents and went to the Jetavana Monastery. He respectfully prostrated before the Buddha and requested to be ordained. Seeing that the conditions were ripe, the Buddha compassionately said, “Welcome, bhikṣu,” and immediately, his hair fell away and robes appeared on his body.
With his own vow and the Buddha’s spiritual power, Madhurasatya instantly manifested the appearance of a monk. Upon hearing the subtle Dharma, he attained Arhatship.
Later, when bhikṣus went traveling to teach in the world, if they were thirsty, Madhurasatya would throw his bowl into the sky, and it would naturally fill with sweet honey water to quench their thirst.
Venerable Ānanda, witnessing this extraordinary reward, felt curious and asked the Buddha about its cause. The Buddha then recounted Madhurasatya’s past-life story.
Ānanda further asked, “World-Honored One, why was Madhurasatya born as a monkey in his previous life?”
The Buddha replied, “In the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, there was a young monk who once mocked an Arhat for leaping over a ditch, saying he looked like a monkey. Realizing his offense, the monk sincerely repented. Though he avoided rebirth in hell, he still had to undergo five hundred rebirths as a monkey.
“Because he had formerly renounced the world and upheld pure precepts, he retained wholesome roots. Rejoicing in offering honey to the Buddha, he thereby accumulated even more merit and was able to escape the animal realm. That young monk is now Madhurasatya.”After hearing this teaching, the bhikṣus deeply understood the importance of precepts. The Buddha further encouraged the assembly to diligently guard body, speech, and mind in daily life. By purifying the mind of defilements, one can sever afflictions and attain liberation from birth and death.
