A. Oh yes, seven years later, while he was living at Rajagriha, his father, King Suddhodana, sent a message to request him to come and let him see him again before he died.

86. Q. Did he go?

A. Yes. His father went with all his relatives and ministers to meet him and received him with great joy.

87. Q. Did he consent to resume his old rank?

A. No. In all sweetness he explained to his father that the Prince Siddhartha had passed out of existence, as such, and was now changed into the condition of a Buddha, to whom all beings were equally akin and equally dear. Instead of ruling over one tribe or nation, like an earthly king, he,

through his Dharma, would win the hearts of all men to be his followers.

88. Q. Did he see Yasodhara and his son Rahula?

A. Yes. His wife, who had mourned for him with deepest love, wept bitterly. She also sent Rahula to ask him to give him his inheritance, as the son of a prince.

89. Q. What happened?

A. To one and all he preached the Dharma as the cure for all sorrows. His father, son, wife, Ananda (his half-brother), Devadatta (his cousin and brother-in-law), were all converted and became his disciples. Two other famous ones were Anuruddha, afterwards a great metaphysician, and Upali, a barber, afterwards the greatest authority on Vinaya. Both of these gained great renown.

90. Q. Who was the first Bhikkhuni?

A. Prajapati, the aunt and foster-mother of Prince Siddhartha. With her, Yasodhara and many other ladies were admitted into the order as Bhikkhunis or female devotees.

91. Q. What effect did the taking up of the religious life by his sons Siddhartha and Ananda, his

nephew Devadatta, his son's wife Yasodhara and his grandson Rahula, have upon the old king Suddhodana?

A. It grieved him much and he complained to the Buddha, who then made it a rule of the order that no person should thenceforth be ordained without the consent of his parents if alive.

92. Q. Tell me about the fate of Devadatta?

A. He was a man of great intelligence and rapidly advanced in the knowledge of the Dharma, but being also extremely ambitious, he came to envy and hate the Buddha, and at last plotted to kill him. He also influenced Ajatashatru, son of King Bimbisara, to murder his noble father, and to become his--Devadatta's--disciple.

93. Q. Did he do any injury to the Buddha?

A. Not the least, but the evil he plotted against him recoiled upon himself, and he met with an awful death.

94. Q. For how many years was the Buddha engaged in teaching?

A. Forty-five years, during which time he preached a great many discourses. His custom and that of his

disciples was to travel and preach during the eight dry months, but during the season of Was--the rains--he and they would stop in the pansulas and viharas which had been built for them by various kings and other wealthy converts.