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Yasa The Youth Of Benares


At that time there was in Benares a noble youth, Yasa by name,

the son of a wealthy merchant. Troubled in his mind about the

sorrows of the world, he secretly rose up in the night and stole

away to the Blessed One.



The Blessed One saw Yasa, the noble youth, coming from afar. And

Yasa approached and exclaimed: "Alas, what distress! What

tribulations!"




The Blessed One said to Yasa: "Here is no distress; here are no

tribulations. Come to me and I will teach you the truth, and the

truth will dispel your sorrows."



And when Yasa, the noble youth, heard that there were neither

distress, nor tribulations, nor sorrows, his heart was comforted.

He went into the place where the Blessed One was, and sat down

near him.



Then the Blessed One preached about charity and morality. He

explained the vanity of the thought "I am"; the dangers of

desire, and the necessity of avoiding the evils of life in order

to walk on the path of deliverance.



Instead of disgust with the world, Yasa felt the cooling stream

of holy wisdom, and, having obtained the pure and spotless eye of

truth, he looked at his person, richly adorned with pearls and

precious stones, and his heart was filled with shame.



The Tathagata, knowing his inward thoughts, said:



"Though a person be ornamented with jewels, the heart may have

conquered the senses. The outward form does not constitute

religion or affect the mind. Thus the body of a samana may wear

an ascetic's garb while his mind is immersed in worldliness.



"A man that dwells in lonely woods and yet covets worldly

vanities, is a worldling, while the man in worldly garments may

let his heart soar high to heavenly thoughts.



"There is no distinction between the layman and the hermit, if

but both have banished the thought of self."



Seeing that Yasa was ready to enter upon the path, the Blessed

One said to him: "Follow me!" And Yasa joined the brotherhood,

and having put on a bhikkhu's robe, received the ordination.



While the Blessed One and Yasa were discussing the doctrine,

Yasa's father passed by in search of his son; and in passing he

asked the Blessed One: "Pray, Lord, hast thou seen Yasa, my son?"2



And the Buddha said to Yasa's father: "Come in, sir, thou wilt

find thy son"; and Yasa's father became full of joy and he

entered. He sat down near his son, but his eyes were holden and

he knew him not; and the Lord began to preach. And Yasa's father,

understanding the doctrine of the Blessed One, said:



"Glorious is the truth, O Lord! The Buddha, the Holy One, our

Master, sets up what has been overturned; he reveals what has

been hidden; he points out the way to the wanderer who has gone

astray; he lights a lamp in the darkness so that all who have

eyes to see can discern the things that surround them. I take

refuge in the Buddha, our Lord: I take refuge in the doctrine

revealed by him: I take refuge in the brotherhood which he has

founded. May the Blessed One receive me from this day forth while

my life lasts as a lay disciple who has taken refuge in him."



Yasa's father was the first lay-member who became the first lay

disciple of the Buddha by pronouncing the threefold formula of

refuge.



When the wealthy merchant had taken refuge in the Buddha, his

eyes were opened and he saw his son sitting at his side in a

bhikkhu's robe. "My son, Yasa," he said, "thy mother is absorbed

in lamentation and grief. Return home and restore thy mother to

life."



Then Yasa looked at the Blessed One, and the Blessed One said:

"Should Yasa return to the world and enjoy the pleasures of a

worldly life as he did before?"



And Yasa's father replied: "If Yasa, my son, finds it a gain to

stay with thee, let him stay. He has become delivered from the

bondage of worldliness."



When the Blessed One had cheered their hearts with words of truth

and righteousness, Yasa's father said: "May the Blessed One,

Lord, consent to take his meal with me together with Yasa as his

attendant?"



The Blessed One, having donned his robes, took his alms-bowl and

went with Yasa to the house of the rich merchant. When they had

arrived there, the mother and also the former wife of Yasa

saluted the Blessed One and sat down near him.



Then the Blessed One preached, and the women having understood

his doctrine, exclaimed: "Glorious is the truth, O Lord! We take

refuge in the Buddha, our Lord. We take refuge in the doctrine

revealed by him. We take refuge in the brotherhood which has been

founded by him. May the Blessed One receive us from this day

forth while our life lasts as lay disciples who have taken refuge

in him."



The mother and the wife of Yasa, the noble youth of Benares, were

the first women who became lay disciples and took their refuge in

the Buddha.



Now there were four friends of Yasa belonging to the wealthy

families of Benares. Their names were Vimala, Subahu, Punnaji,

and Gavampati.



When Yasa's friends heard that Yasa had cut off his hair and put

on bhikkhu robes to give up the world and go forth into

homelessness, they thought: "Surely that cannot be a common

doctrine, that must be a noble renunciation of the world, if

Yasa, whom we know to be good and wise, has shaved his hair and

put on bhikkhu robes to give up the world and go forth into

homelessness."



And they went to Yasa, and Yasa addressed the Blessed One,

saying: "May the Blessed One administer exhortation and

instruction to these four friends of mine." And the Blessed One

preached to them, and Yasa's friends accepted the doctrine and

took refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.



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