19. Ven. Vakkali
Aspiration in the Past
This Vakkali was a man of good family during the time of Buddha Padumuttara. Like all
Ascetic Life in His Final Existence
The worthy man devoted himself to deeds of merit till his death. When he passed away from that existence, he was reborn only in the fortunate destinations, and during the time of Buddha Gotama, he was reborn in a Brahmin family in Sāvatthī. He was named by his parents Vakkali.
When he grew up, he was educated in the three Vedas. One day, he saw the Buddha, accompanied by many monastics, going on alms round in the city of Sāvatthī. He was captivated by the majesty of the Buddha’s physical appearance, so much so that he followed the Buddha and entered the Buddha’s monastery along with the line of monastics. There he kept gazing at the splendour of the Buddha. At the time the Buddha was delivering a discourse, he sat right in front of him.
Vakkali’s devotion became so deep that he could not stay away from the Buddha for any length of time. He, therefore, decided that he would not remain in household life, because as a householder he would not be able to see the Buddha all day long, but as a monastic he could get that opportunity. So he went to the Buddha and pleaded with him that he be admitted into the Saṅgha. He was then admitted.
As a monastic, Ven. Vakkali never missed a chance of looking at the Buddha except at the meal time. He did nothing in the conduct of a monastic either in learning or in meditation, but spent all of his time gazing at the Buddha. The Buddha knew that the time for Ven. Vakkali’s Awakening was not yet due and therefore did not say anything about the negligence of his duties.
When the right time arrived, the Buddha said to Ven. Vakkali: “Vakkali, what is the use of you gazing at this putrid body of mine? Vakkali, he who sees the Dhamma, indeed sees me; he who sees me, sees the Dhamma. Vakkali, one who looks at the Dhamma, actually looks at me. He that really wishes to see me must be one who looks at the Dhamma.”
Although the Buddha exhorted Ven. Vakkali with these words, Ven. Vakkali could not tear himself away from the Buddha. The Buddha saw that the monastic needed to be emotionally awakened for Awakening. So, on the eve of the Rains Retreat (Vassa) period, the Buddha went to Rājagaha and there he said to Ven. Vakkali on the day the Rains Retreat began: “Vakkali, go away! Leave my presence!”
It is impossible to disobey an order given by the Buddha. Ven. Vakkali had to obey for at least three months during the Rains Retreat period. There was nothing he could do about it. He felt desperate and forlorn. Thinking: “Better to die than be denied the presence of the Buddha,” he left for the Gijjhakūṭa mountain which had steep cliffs.
The Buddha saw in his mind the despondency that had overtaken Ven. Vakkali. “Without getting mental succour from me, Ven. Vakkali would have wasted his great merit which is now sufficient for him to gain Awakening,” thought the Buddha. Accordingly, he emitted the Buddha radiance towards Ven. Vakkali so that he could see him again. That vision brought immediate relief to Ven. Vakkali’s burning heart, as though the dart of sorrow that had pierced it had suddenly been removed. Then to fill Vakkali’s heart with delightful satisfaction and gladness, the Buddha uttered the following verse (Dhp 381):
Pāmojja-bahulo bhikkhu, pasanno Buddha-sāsane,
adhigacche padaṁ santaṁ, saṅkhārūpasamaṁ sukhaṁ.
Being overjoyed and full of confidence in the Buddha’s teaching consisting of the threefold training, the monastic will attain the tranquil Nibbāna, the cessation of conditioning, the blissful.
According to the commentary of the Collection of the Numerical Discourses (Aṅguttara-nikāya) the Buddha extended his hand to Ven. Vakkali and ordained him by summoning him with: “Come, monastic.”
The commentary on the Dhamma Verses (Dhammapada) adds that after saying the above verse, the Buddha, extending his hand to Ven. Vakkali, and uttered these verses (DhpA XXV.11, PTS 4.119):
Ehi Vakkali mā bhāyi, olokehi Tathāgataṁ,
ahaṁ taṁ uddharissāmi, paṅke sannaṁ va kuñjaraṁ.
Come, Vakkali, do not be afraid, look at the Realised One, I will lift you to Nibbāna from the depths of the beginningless Saṁsāra, just as one lifts a tusker from the mire.
Ehi Vakkali mā bhāyi, olokehi Tathāgataṁ,
ahaṁ taṁ mocayissāmi, rāhuggahaṁ va sūriyaṁ.
Come, Vakkali, do not be afraid, look at the Realised One. I will free you from the captivity of the defilements, just as I would free the sun from the captivity of Rāhu.
Ehi Vakkali mā bhāyi, olokehi Tathāgataṁ,
ahaṁ taṁ mocayissāmi, rāhuggahaṁ va candimaṁ
Come, Vakkali, do not be afraid, look at the Realised One. I will free you from the captivity of the defilements, just as I would free the moon from the captivity of Rāhu.
Then Ven. Vakkali said to himself: “I am now seeing the Buddha in person, and he has extended his hand to me. Oh, how glad I am! Where should I go now?” And not being able to decide on which direction he should proceed, he moved up skyward in the direction of the Buddha, and just as his first foot was resting on the mountain, he reflected on the verses uttered by the Buddha, and overcoming delightful satisfaction through insight into the three characteristics of conditioned phenomena, he became an Arahat, together with analytical knowledge. Then he descended to the ground and stood worshipping the Buddha.
Foremost Title Achieved
On one occasion, in the midst of a congregation, the Buddha declared:
Etad-aggaṁ bhikkhave mama sāvakāmaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ
saddhādhimuttānaṁ yad-idaṁ Vakkali.
Monastics, among the male monastic disciples who are very devoted to the Buddha, Vakkali is the foremost (etad-agga).
In the case of other monastics, their devotion to the Buddha had to be bolstered up. With Vakkali, his conviction and devotion was too strong, so that the Buddha had to temper it by expelling him from his presence. Hence he was the foremost monastic in the degree of devotion to the Buddha.