The great emperor of India Ashoka, 250 years BC. united half of Asia under his leadership, recognized the teachings of Buddha. It became his way of life. While remaining emperor, he lived as a man who owned nothing.
When his son Kunala, heir to the throne, asked his father for permission to become a monk, Ashoka began to dance. He said:
“I was waiting for you to realize one day!”
After some time, his daughter Singhamitra asked her father:
“I also want to go into the world of meditation.”
Ashoka said:
- Go, this is my only happiness!
He sent her to Ceylon, where she took sannyas. Together with his daughter, Ashoka sent a branch of a sacred tree, under which Buddha became enlightened.
The tree was huge. It is said that hundreds of carts could fit underneath it. The extremists destroyed him, but he was not destined to die.
The branch of this tree, rooted in Ceylon, returned and was planted in its original place.
A parable has been preserved about Ashoka's son Kunal, as a true follower of the teachings of Buddha.
The name Kunala was given to him because of his unusually beautiful eyes. They were as good as the eyes of the kunala bird.
Kunala lived away from the noise of the palace, indulging in thoughts about the perishability of the world. One of the queens was inflamed with passion for a beautiful young man, but all her attempts at seduction and threats did not achieve their goal. Thirsting for revenge, she cunningly sought to have him sent to one of the distant regions, and sent there an order certified by the stolen royal seal. The order said that the prince's eyes should be torn out. When it was received, no one could dare to raise their hand to the beautiful eyes of the king's son. Kunala himself appointed a reward to the one who fulfills the imaginary will of the sovereign, thinking that this is his true will! Finally, there was a man of disgusting appearance who agreed to carry out the sentence.
When, amidst the groans of the weeping crowd, the executioner tore out the first eye, Kunala took it in his hands and said:
- Oh, my eye, why don’t you see more of the images that you just saw? Rough core of meat! How people are deceived who, trusting you, say: “I see!”
And when his second eye was torn out, he said:
- This eye was torn out of my flesh, but for this I acquired perfect, infallible eyes of wisdom.
The king left me, but I am the son of the Great King of Truth, and they will call me his child.
After some time, he learned that the command came from the queen. Then he said:
“Let her enjoy life and power for a long time, the one who brought me such great benefit.”
He left his wife completely destitute. Arriving at his father's city, he began to sing in front of the palace. The king, hearing the sound of the lute and the unique voice of his son, called him to him, but when he saw the blind man, he did not recognize Kunal in him.
Finally, the truth surfaced. The king, filled with grief and anger, intended to put the guilty queen to death as a martyr. But Kunala said:
“Father, it’s not right for you to kill her.” Do as honor commands, do not kill a woman! There is no higher reward than the reward for forgiveness and patience, O Lord!
He fell at his father's feet, saying:
- O king, I do not feel any pain. And, despite the fate that befell me, I do not feel anger. My heart is full of nothing but compassion for the woman who ordered my eyes to be plucked out.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru