NANDA TOURED HEAVEN AND HELL
- A Story from the Buddhist Sutra
Prince Siddhartha had a step brother named Nanda (not to be confused with Ananda
who wrote most of the Buddhist Scriptures), whose mother was Mahaprajapati.
May be I should clarify the family tree a little bit here:
King Suddhodhana and Queen Maya gave birth to Prince Siddhartha, but she past
away shortly after Gautama's birth. Therefore, King Suddhodhana's second wife,
Mahaprajapati, got the responsibility for upbringing the young Prince, who was
the first in line to the throne.
Prince Siddhartha married his cousin Princess Yasodhara, who gave birth to Rahula,
who was the second in line to the throne.
King Suddodhana and Mahaprajapati gave birth to Nanda, who was the third in
line to the throne.
1. A Womanizing Brother
Years later, Prince Siddhartha had renounced the heritage to the throne to became
the Buddha, and his son, Rahula, had followed him to become a young monk. Therefore,
Nanda became the first in line to the throne - but that was not what the Buddha
wanted to see, because all Nanda was interested in were women, and had shown
little capability to manage a Kingdom.
One day, as the Buddha came to Nanda's palace to collect the alms, he asked
Nanda what he had been doing recently. Nanda replied, "I have just fallen
in love with Janapada Kalyani, the most beautiful woman in Kapilavastu. I regret
that I do not have time to visit you because I have to take care of Kalyani,
to make her look pretty and charming. I do not want to do anything else but
to be with her all the time. Therefore, please tell me right away what offerings
will you accept so that I can return to my lovely Kalyani as soon as possible."
The Buddha thought sadly, "What kind of Leader will the people get?"
Without saying a word, he put down his begging bowl and returned to his monastery.
"Just a minute," cried Nanda. "I will give you an offering of
food." And, as he said this, he followed the Buddha into the monastery.
"Dear Brother," said the Buddha when he met Nanda at the monastery,
"Since I have to take care of all sentient beings, I have to take care
of you also. For your future, why don't you stay with me and join the Sangha?"
Nanda thought it was a joke. So he murmured, "I am willing....."
But, the Buddha took it seriously. He summoned Sariputra to shave Nanda's hair.
Nanda was shocked. But, as the elder brother looked at him solemnly, he dared
not to say no. But, after he had joined the Sangha, he always thought of Kalyani
and simply could not renounce his worldly desire and concentrate on studying
the Dharma. So one day, the Buddha brought him to a forest where a group of
monkeys was playing.
2. A Tour of Heaven
"How did Kalyani compare with the monkeys?" the Buddha asked.
"You are joking." replied Nanda. "Kalyani is the most beautiful
lady in our Kingdom. She is as pretty as a fairy nymph. How can a monkey be
compared with her?"
"Well, you say that your Kalyani is as pretty as a heavenly nymph."
said the Buddha. "I say she has no comparison with such a beautiful nymph
living in Heaven. If you wish to see how a nymph looks like, no problem. I will
bring you up there to meet one."
So, the Buddha used his mystic power to perform a miracle and took his brother
up to Heaven for a visit. What Nanda saw was a place lined with marvelous palaces
built in jade and precious stones, what he heard was melodic heavenly music
and what he smelt was floral fragrance. Moreover, what he met were fairy nymphs
whose prettiness was beyond verbal description.
A group of fairy nymphs came forward and surrounded Nanda. Nanda felt dizzy
with their beauty.
"We heard that in Kapilavastu on earth there is a Buddha whose brother
is called Nanda," said one of the nymphs. "Because Nanda had joined
the Sangha to cultivate his behavior, his karma will cause him to be reborn
as a heavenly being after his death. Then, we will be his concubines, making
love with him all day all night. Living here in heaven is nothing but joyfulness
and happiness. We can get whatever we want and there is no need to worry about
work and food. Life in here is much more enjoyable than life on earth."
"Oh, but you look like an ordinary human being," continued the fairy
nymph. "You have not yet cultivated enough good karma to come to Heaven
yet. You must finish your work in the Sangha before you are qualified to come
here."
"How do you compare those nymphs with Kalyani?" the Buddha asked his
brother.
"I am stupid," replied Nanda. "Kalyani looks like a monkey when
compared with those nymphs. In the past, I do not know that good karma will
bring me here. I will do more good deeds and avoid evil deeds so that I can
go to Heaven in my afterlife. Then, I will be able to make love to those beautiful
fairy nymphs for the next several thousand years!"
The Buddha remained silent. He thought, "All Nanda want is to go to Heaven
to enjoy his afterlife with those beautiful fairies. I will show him something
about Hell as well." Again, he used his mystic power, performed a miracle,
and took his brother down to Hell for a tour.
3. A Tour of Hell
As soon as they entered the Great Iron Circle Wall that surrounded Hell, Nanda
immediately felt the horrible atmosphere. Observing that Nanda hesitated to
go forward, the Buddha said, "Brother, don't get scared. We come here just
for a tour. Everything that happened here has nothing to do with us. If you
have any question, just ask any Hell Officer and he can give you a correct answer."
As Nanda toured around Hell, what he saw was absolutely terrifying: Hell Officers
punishing sinners by burning them in hot fires, putting sharp knives through
their bodies, throwing them into boiling oil and water, etc. etc. Here, people
are punished according to what they have done in their past lives, i.e., their
karma.
As Nanda walked passed a huge empty oil pan, he asked a Hell Officer standing
next to it, "What is the empty oil pan for?"
"In the Kingdom of Kapilavastu on earth, there is a Buddha whose brother
is called Nanda." replied the Hell Officer. "He will be reborn to
Heaven because he is trying to cultivate his karma. However, after he finishes
his enjoyment in Heaven, he will come down to Hell to face judgement by our
boss, King Yama. If he had done bad deeds in the past, we will immerse him into
boiling oil in this pan as punishment. We are waiting for him!"
Upon hearing this, Nanda was so terrified that he could not stand it anymore.
He just rushed out of Hell to see his brother Gautama Siddhartha. Now, he found
that all worldly enjoyments such as wealth, sex, love and power were just illusions,
and to get out of all sufferings and away from the pain of samara (cycle of
rebirth), he must follow the teachings of the Buddha wholeheartedly.