Buddhist Stories: The Layperson Who Offered an Ashram to the Buddha, Part 3 of 8 Aug. 15, 2015

Lucky for him, he had a son who wanted to marry. Otherwise he had no chance to know the Buddha. So he said, “Vice (Deputy) Minister, who is the Buddha?” Hô Di, the buddy-in-law to be, said to him, “The Buddha was a prince. And then even when He was born, He walked seven steps. Because He observed that humans have four sufferings, like birth, old age, sickness, and death, so He left home. He had been an ascetic for six years. And then later, at the end He became a Buddha. His Light brightens many corners, even brightens the whole Three Worlds. That’s why we call Him Buddha.” “But Vice (Deputy) Minister, why is it called Sangha?” So the vice (deputy) minister told him, “After He became Buddha, the Brahma king came down and requested Him to impart teaching to all beings. And after the Buddha accepted that invitation, He went to the Deer park in Ba La Nại country. And then He stayed there and preached the four marvelous ways to deliver yourself and others from suffering. …All of them, 500 persons, all liberated. And then these people became meritorious enough, and they had enough power to be able to liberate other beings as well. That’s why we call them Sangha, meaning the assembly of saints.”