The story about Sama, a filial son

Buddha told this story at Jetavana.

There was a businessman who lived in Savatthi and was very rich, but he had only a son. The
son of the business man heard about Buddha, but he had never met the Buddha. One day, when
he was standing on the balcony and looking around to relax, he saw many people going to the
Jetavana to offer Buddha and listen to Buddha’s teachings. Curiously and excitedly, he wanted to
go to Jetavana to meet Buddha. He brought flowers, clothes and medicine to Jetavana to offer the
Buddha and monks, and then he stepped aside and sat down. 

After listening to a talk from the Buddha, the son of the businessman asked Buddha to become a
monk, but, at first Buddha refused him becoming a monk since he did not have permission from
his parents for becoming a monk. A little bit sad, he came back to ask his parents to satisfy his
purpose. However, his parents did not allow him to become a monk because they had only a son.
He tried to persuade his parents, but they had not accepted his idea. Persistently, he skipped
eating for one week, and he said to his parents that he would kill himself if he could not ordain to
be a monk. Finally, his parents allowed him to ordain as a monk.

 Before long, He was ordained as a monk by Buddha, and, after that, he went to a forest to
practice meditation since he wanted to achieve enlightenment in that life. Consequently, he was
diligent to practice meditation for ten years in the forest, but he had not achieved enlightenment
yet. One day, a monk from Jetavana visited his house, and he asked him to know about his
parents, ‘’ Venerable, do you know a business family in Jetavana whose son became the monk?’’

‘’ Yes, I know that family. They were very rich in the past, more than ten years ago; but, recently
they are very poor. A few recent years, their business was very bad, and their debtors also didn’t
pay back money or land to them. As a result, they become beggars.’’ 

The ascetic monk cried as a baby when he heard all that much about his parents, ‘’ Venerable, I
am the son of them.’’

‘’ Venerable, you should come back to take care of them.’’ Encouraged, the passenger. 

The ascetic monk thought that he could not achieve enlightenment after  more than ten years of
practice, so he should better come back to take care of his parents. The morning of the next day,
he offered his house to the passenger monk. And then he came back to Jetavana. On the way
back,  He was wondering whether he should visit the Buddha first. Decidedly, he visited Buddha
in Savatthi because he thought that he would not have time to visit Buddha anyway. By the
power of meditation,

The Buddha knew that his student, son of a businessman, was coming back to take care of his
parents, so Buddha gave him a teaching on the merit of parents to children and how children
should do to pay respect to their parents.
The next morning, he came back to Jetavana. He thought that his parents were very poor, so it
was better that he should bring something to offer his parents. So he went around the city for
alms.  When he got some porridge, he went to the front of his house. He saw his parents sitting in
front of the house. He felt very frustrated when he, himself, saw his parents were extremely
poor. 

‘’ We don’t have anything to offer you, monk.’’ Said his parents hopelessly. 

Ascetic monk suddenly cried. His mother was curious, so she came close to him to find out if she
could help him. When she came close to him, she could recognize he was her son; therefore, she
held his legs and cried. 

‘’ Don’t worry, mom. I will take good care of you from now.’’ Ascetic said warmly. 

Everyday ascetic monks offered his food after getting alms. Some days, he had to go to get alms
for two times to have enough food to support his parents and himself. However, some days he
got nothing or a few things to eat. So for a few months, he became thinner and weaker. One day,
one of his friends asked him, ‘’ Why do you look thinner and weaker?’’. He told him the trouble
that he was facing. But his friend did not sympathize with him, ‘’ Venerable, Buddha does not
allow us to support Lay Buddhists by the alms that we get.’’ Moreover, after that some monks
told the Buddha about his mistake. Buddha didn’t blame, but he encourage him, ‘’ in the past, I
also did to support my parents like him.’’

Long ago, in Varasani , there were two small villages located on two sides of a river. In one
village, all people were hunters. They supported themselves by hunting animals and fish. In the
opposite village, people did many jobs to support themselves, and of course, some also were
hunters. And two warrior hunters of two villages were close friends of each other. They used to
go hunting together, and they promised that if they would have a son and daughter, they would
let them get married. Before long, they all had a baby. And interestingly, the wife of the warrior
hunter of the hunter village gave birth to a son, named Dukulaka and the wife of the warrior
hunter of the opposite village gave birth to a daughter, named Parika. Dukulaka and Parika all
were good-looking, but they were different from other children in their activities. They all were
very compassionate and undesired. 

When they were in the age of sixteen, their parents wanted them to get married to each other.
Although they resolutely refused the arranged marriage of their parents, their wedding was still
organized. However, after getting married, they still did not sleep together since they wanted to
practice Dharma. Although their parents were hunters, they did want to hunt animals and fishes,
and they also did want to sell animals and fishes that their parents hunted. So one day, their
parents asked them, ‘’ Now what do you want to do?’’. And they all asked to become monks. At
first, their parents did allow it, but after a long time, they were allowed to become monks
because they did not want to survive by ordinary jobs.

They walked along the Migassamata river to Himavat mountain. And then they chose a cave in
the Himavat as their house. Every day, in the morning, they went to the forest to take food to
survive and wood to keep warm at night. Time flies, they had lived happily as ascetic monks for
several years, and one day Sakkha appeared as a passenger to visit them. Sakkha used his power
and Sakkha knew that they were going to have a serious accident in their eyes. So by
compassion, the passenger said to them,’’ You all are going to have a serious accident about the
eyes. So you should have a baby now. It will be able to take care of you in the future.’’ 

Dukulaka said,’’ We vowed to devote all our lives for ascetic practice, so we cannot have sex
with each other.’’

Passenger was silent for a while and then he said, ‘’ Ok, so you just touch the navel of Parika.’’

After that the passenger appeared as the Sakkha, king of heaven and then he vanished into the
thin air. 

After Dukulaka touched her navel nine months, Parika gave birth to a son, named Sama. Sama
was as special a person as his parents. He was very compassionate with all kinds of animals in
the forest, and he also followed his parents to practice meditation. Sama was taken care of by his
parents, and Sama lived happily beside his parents and animals in the forest. But one day, As
usual, his parents went to the deep forest to take food and wood, and when they were on the way
back, they saw a black cloud moving forward to them. They quickly ran to a bush and bent their
bodies down to avoid the black cloud. Unfortunately, that bush was the net of a poison snake. 
The snake was angry when others touched its net, so it sprayed poison on Dukulaka and Parika.
The poison made the eyes of Dukulaka and Parika blind. Since that time, Sama had to take care
of his parents. Sama took food, water to serve his parents; he also tied ropes around the house to
avoid his parents get lost. 

One day, Sama rode the deers to the river to take water for his parents; after he let the deers to
drink water in the river, he went into the river where the water was clearest and he filled clear
water full of the bowl. And then he calmly stepped to the shore. But when he was out of the river
and stepped on the sand field of the shore, he was shot by an arrow. The arrow pierced through
his left shoulder. That was the arrow of the king of Varasani; It was an arrow that was
impregnated by poison. the king thought that Sama was a snake deity since the king thought that
normal people could not survive in the deep forest like that

Sama sat down and then he lay down, his head pointed toward the house of his parents. He was
wondering that who shot him, so he asked, 

‘’ Who was shooting me

When I was taking water

Brahmin, slave or solder 

Please, let me know your name?

Standing behind a bush, the king thought, ‘’ this person is very special. He was shot by my
arrow, but he doesn’t get angry.’’ So he walked slowly toward Sama. When Sama saw the king
he asked,
‘’ Can’t you use my flesh as your food

 And can’t you use my skin for decoration?

Why do you shoot me?’’

The king said to Sama, ‘’ I was shooting the deer, but When you were out of the water, the deer
ran away, so my arrow unfortunately shot you. I am so sorry that.’’

Sama quoted a verse to answer the king,

‘’ I have lived here since I was born

 All animal are my friends

Not any animal have run away when they meet me

Impossible that the deer ran away when it saw me.’’

The king thought that he could not lie to Sama, He said to Sama, ‘’ Not any deer ran away when
they saw you Sama. It was my fault. Anyway, do you live with any people here in this forest?’’

Sama was in pain, but he still tried to answer the king,’’I am Sama, the son of Dukulaka and
Parika. I live here with my parents, and they are blind. Consequently they depend on me to
survive since they cannot find food for themselves. I don’t feel afraid of death because it is the
nature of everything in the world, but I really worry about my parents. When I die, nobody will
take care of them.’’

The king thought,’’ This man is not a normal person. He still thinks of his parents when he is
going to die. I felt guilty with a saint. To expiate my mistake I should promise to take care of his
parents.’’ And then the king said to Sama, ‘’ Sama, don’t worry. I am the king of Varasani. I am
on the way to hunt animal to relax, but now I made mistake, so I promise that I will take good
care of your parents.’’

Sama smiled happily when he heard the king say to him like that, ‘’ Please take good care of
them, sir. They live in a cave that is about twenty miles far from here. Go forward the direction
of my head and you will see them.’’ After giving instruction for the king, Sama was silent. His
body was very cold and stiff; Sama died. 

 After checking the Sama’s body. The king thought that Sama died since Sama stopped
breathing. So the king went toward the direction that Sama’s head was pointing toward to find
Sama’s parents. When king arrived at the house of Sama, the king saw a middle man sitting in
the small house near a cave, the man was meditating.  King thought, ‘’ he must be father of
Sama. So if I let him know that I killed Sama, he must be very angry and he may say some bad
words to me. And I may insult him if I mayn’t calm my mind at that time. So I should ask him
why did he stay here in this forest.’’ When the king was moving forward Dukulaka, the sound,
made by king when he stepped over the leaves, signal Dukulana that someone moving forward
him, but not Sama since he could realize the familiar sound that made my Sama. 

‘’ I am the king of Varasani, and I am on the way to hunt animals. Sir, Can you let me know who
you are and what is the reason for your living here? Moreover, I can realize that you are blind, so
how do you survive here in this forest?’’

Dukulaka said calmly,’’ Sir, I am Dukulaka, son of a hunter. I live here with my wife and my
son, Sama. My wife and I are blind, and we depend on our son, Sama, to survive. Sorry that he
cannot meet you now since he is on the way to take water for us.’’

The king felt extremely guilty and he thought that he could not continue to hide his mistake, ‘’
Sir, your son, Sama was killed by my arrow. But don’t worry that nobody will take care of you. I
promised to Sama that I will stay here and take care of both of you forever. From now I am the
servant of you.’’

When the king and Dukulana were talking, Parika was sitting inside the cave, and she was
shocked when she heard that Sama died, ‘’ Dukulana, please let me know. Who are you talking
to? And Why did Sama die?’’ and she quoted a verse,

‘’ As the clove is very weak

And was broken by strong wind

Sama, my son died

Nothing can make me sad than this news.’’

Dukulana sadly answer his wife,

‘’ king of Varasani is him

His poison arrow killed our son

On the shore of the river

But you should not insult him.’’

Parika was a little bit angry, 

‘’ Sama is the person that we can reside in 

And is he happiness of us

How can’t I contain

Angry feeling about person who killed our son.’’

Dukulana quickly encouraged Parika,

‘’ Sama is the place for us to reside in

And is the happiness of us

But the saint taught 

We should not stay angry.’’

When Dukulana just stopped quoting his verse, he and Parika cried loudly and pitifully. The king
felt extremely guilty and he said to the parents of Sama, ‘’ Please don’t be so painful. I will take
good care of you all.  With this archery, I can kill deer, pig and I will take also fruit to support to
you.’’

But the parents of Sama refused the will of the king, ‘’ you are king of a country. You should not
do that. Everything appears and dies; that is the nature of universe.’’

King felt happy when he heard parents say, ‘’ you all are special people. So from now you will
be my parents.’’

Sama’s parents insisted the king to take them to the place that Sama died since they wanted to
stay in

Sama’s body, ‘’ I don’t ask you to take care of us, but please take us to the Sama’s body.’’

King refused to take them to the place where Sama died as he thought that they would suffer
when they could see Sama’s body. However, parents of Sama persisted to insist him; at the end
he led them to the shore of river where Sama died.’’

When the parents of Sama reached the shore of the river, Dukulana bent his head to the chest of
Sama, and Parika held the legs of Sama. They all cried bitterly.

Parika sorrowfully, 

‘’ Sama are you sleeping

Or you are sulking?

What made you tired

Lying down and don’t replying to us.

Who will make hair for me

Who will clean wipe the house

If Sama really died

I also don’t want to live more.’’

Parika kept silent for a while and she thought,’’ I will try to pray to the earth and the sun, so may
my son can be revive.’’And then she prayed,

‘’ with the merit of practice good deed

Of Sama my son

Please let the poison

Out of his body.

If Sama was taking care of his parents

With his honest thought and actions

Please relinquish the poison

And let him revive.

And by merit that we have made 

Dukulana and Parika

Please let  Sama free from the poison.’’

When Parika just stopped praying, Sama shook his body. And then his father, Dukulana also did
pray as his mother, Parika did. And when Dukulana just stopped praying, Sama turned his body,
but he was still unconscious. At that time, a goddess who was the mother of Sama when he was a
god in heaven knew that Sama was going to die. So she flew down to the place where Sama was
lying and she also prayed for Sama. By the merit of practice, the prayer of goddess maid Sama is
revived. And then the goddess also used her power to make the eyes of the parents of Sama
recover.

Observing the miraculous things that happened to Sama and his parents, the king was very
surprised, but he started having a strong belief in doing good deeds. And then he asked Sama to
teach him what he should do. Sama taught the king,’’ you should be diligent to take care of your
mother. You should take care of your wives. You should take good care of your servants.
Moreover you should be compassionate to monks, brahmins, animals and birds. If you can do all
those things, you live happily in this life and you will be able to reborn in the heaven in the
afterlife.’’

After listening to the teaching of Sama, the king said farewell to Sama and his parents and then
he came back to his palace. Sama and his parents came back to their house in the deep forest to
continue to practice meditation.
After telling the story, the Buddha said that the king was Ananda. The goddess was
Uppavalanna; Sama was the Buddha; mother of Sama was Bhaddakàpilàni and father of Sama
was Kassapa.

Pandit

2015, Songkhla, Thailand