1.4.10

Lesson 1.4.10 Sāmaññaphalasuttaṃ – Pointing Out the Way to One Who Is Lost 

The Sāmaññaphalasutta refers to King Ajātasattu who killed his father, Bimbisāra, to gain the kingdom of Magadha. After his patricide, Ajātasattu became remorseful, restless and not able to sleep, and in spite of his many visits to various learned ascetics to heed their advice, he couldn’t find mental calm. He finally couldn’t resist his desire to meet the Enlightened One and accepted the invitation of his physician, Jīvaka, to visit the Buddha. During the meeting, he asked the question that had troubled him for so long: “What are the visible fruits, here and now, for someone who has left the householders life?” In reply, the Buddha challenged Ajātasattu to report the previous advice that he already received, and finally, conveyed to him the benefits of a moral life: “The way to find mental peace and mental calm is to avoid any unwholesome acts of body, deed and word, and to perform wholesome ones as well as devoting oneself to the different states of meditation up to the attainment of final liberation.” Thrilled, Ajātasattu expressed his admiration for the Buddha’s deep insight and explanation then asked for refuge. He further confessed the sin of his patricide and asked for forgiveness. The Buddha then encouragingly articulated that to understand one’s transgression as transgression, to make amends according to the Dhamma and to accomplish restraint in the future would enable one real growth in the Dhamma!