The Buddha's father King Suddhodana

(Buddha’s Stories) The story of King Suddhodana, the Buddha’s father

Men are dumb, Dad - I know. I❤️U.

It's easy to love mom, but what about dad? What has the Men's Movement done for males in this patriarchy? (There are feminist men?) In the U.S., whether or not to celebrate "Father's Day" nationwide is a matter of debate. In 1908, Grace Golden Clayton proposed a day to honor men who had died in a U.S. mining accident. It was rejected then.

But in 1909, Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, who along with her five brothers had been raised by a single father, attended "Mother's Day" in a church.

Men's empowerment hike on Father's Day

She then convinced the Spokane Ministerial Association to celebrate Father's Day nationwide [7]. In addition to Father's Day, International Men's Day is celebrated in many countries on Nov. 19th in honor of men and boys [8]: Father's Day

In the Pāli canon, there are only two discourses (sutras) that explicitly reference Suddhodana, the Mahāpadāna Sutta (DN 14) and in the verse prologue of the Nālaka Sutta (Sn 3.11). In each of these discourses, Suddhodana is represented simply as the Buddha's father and as a Sakyan ruler.

Father for a Buddha

Good father had a bad Buddha who abandoned his newborn son?

(Buddha's Wisdom) The Buddha's son: the forgotten story of Rahula: Why did the Buddha abandon his newborn son, leaving him on welfare in flat in the winter with no schooling or support?

Afghan chieftain Indo-Scythia, Gandhara

Who is Prince Siddhattha's father, the Gandharan (Afghan territorial chieftain?*) King Suddhodana? In Theravada Buddhism (a major branch) — Suddhodana is recorded in the ancient Pali canon.

He was a Saka, Sakka, Shakya, Scythian, Sakiyan raja ("king," "leader," "head," "royal") in Kapilavatthu, the father of Prince Siddhattha Gotama, who became the historical Buddha.

He was the son of Sihahanu and Kaccana. His brothers were Dhotodana, Sakkodana, Sukkodana, and Amitodana, and his sisters were Amita and Pamita.

Maya was his chief consort. After her death, her sister Pajapati was elevated to that position (Mhv.ii.15f.; Dpv.iii.45; J.i.15, etc.)

Asita's visit to Suddhodana

When soothsayers predicted that his son Siddhattha had two destinies awaiting him, either that of a universal monarch (cakkavatti, chakravartin) if he stayed in the world or a universal teacher (Buddhahood) if he renounced it, he exerted his utmost effort to provide the prince with all kinds of sensual luxuries and hedonistic pleasures to hold him to the household life.

It is said (e.g., J.i.54) that when Asita, who was his father's [Brahmin] chaplain and teacher, visited King Suddhodana to see the newborn prince, he paid homage to the infant by allowing his feet to rest on his head. Suddhodana was filled with wonder and also worshipped the child.

I wish for you to be a noble warrior, my son.

Seven years later, at the annual Ploughing Festival ceremony, Suddhodana saw that the shadow of the jambu tree under which the child had been placed in the shade when he spontaneously went into meditative absorption (jhana, samadhi) did not move even as the sun traveled overhead. Then the child, seated cross-legged without moving, levitated in the air. So he again worshipped him (J.i.57f).

Life in the luxurious house of Saka

Twenty-nine years later, when in spite of all his father's efforts, Prince Siddhattha renounced and left behind the household life and took to practicing austerities in the East, Suddhodana sent a messenger/private investigator to find his son and see what he was up to.

The investigator returned with news that his son had died, owing to the severity of his penances (tapas). But Suddhodana refused to believe it, saying that his son would never die without achieving his spiritual goal (J.i.67).

When this was afterwards related to the Buddha, he taught the Maha Dhammapala Jataka, showing that in the past, too, Suddhodana had refused to believe that his son could have died even when he was shown the heap of his bones.

I failed as a father. My son left.

Seven years after that, when news reached Suddhodana that his son had reached enlightenment, he sent a messenger to Veluvana in Rajagaha ("Bamboo Grove" in Rajgir, where King Bimbisara reigned) with many others to invite the Buddha to return home and visit the seasonal capital of Kapilavatthu.

But when the messenger and his companions heard the Buddha teach, they renounced worldly life, entered the Monastic Order, and forgot their mission. This happened nine more times with different messengers.

On the tenth occasion, King Suddhodana sent Kaludayi (Sanskrit Kālodāyin) who had advance permission to join the Sangha on the express condition that he give the king's invitation to the Buddha.

Kaludayi kept his promise, the Buddha consented, and seven years after having left home to embark on a massive spiritual quest, he returned home to visit Kapilavatthu, staying in Nigrodharama. There, in reference to a rain shower that fell, he taught the Vessantara Jataka.

• The Buddha returns home, visits Kapilavatthu (Wisdom Library)

Life of the Buddha (Archaeological Museum of India, Sarnath, Gallery 1)

.

The next day, when King Suddhodana remonstrated his royal (noble, warrior) son, the Buddha, because he was seen "begging" (going on almsround) on the streets of Kapilavatthu, the Buddha told him that surviving on offerings was the custom of all buddhas. Hearing this, King Suddhodana became a stream enterer (sotapanna, the first stage of enlightenment).

Son, at 16, you shall marry the beautiful Bimba.

He then offered to feed his new teacher the Buddha, inviting him to visit the palace, where he entertained him. At the end of the meal offering, the Buddha further taught the king, who became a once returner (sakadagami, J.i.90; cf. DhA.iii.164f).

• This was when the Buddha was reunited with Princess Bimba (Yasodhara) and his 7-year-old son Rahula, both of whom were "saved" in that they were inspired to renounce their worldly lives in the palace and take up the path-of-practice the Buddha taught as wandering ascetics. In no long time, they both became enlightened. Many Saka/Shakya/Scythian relatives were inspired to follow suit, join the Sangha (spiritual community), and make an end of all suffering.

The king then became a nonreturner (anagami, the third of four stages of awakening) after hearing the Maha Dhammapala Jataka (DhA.i.99; J.iv.55).

Suddhodana was the Bodhisatta or Buddha-to-be’s father in numerous previous births, but he is mentioned as such by name in only a few birth (jātaka) tales, namely:

1. Kaṭṭhahāri Jātaka
2. Alīnacitta Jātaka
3. Susīma Jātaka
4. Bandhanāgāra Jātaka
5. Kosambiya Jātaka
6. Mahādhammapāla Jātaka
7. Dasaratha Jātaka
8. Hatthipāla Jātaka
9. Umaṅga Jātaka
10. Vessantara Jātaka.

• *Where is the real Kapilavatthu (Sanskrit Kapilavastu)? There were three seasonal capitals (with three palaces, one for each season) of the Sakas, Shakyas, Indo-Scythians of Gandhara, which we speculate were Kabul, Bamiyan, and Mes Aynak. Was Suddhodana really a "king" as we understand the term? A janapada is the "foothold of a family clan," in the case the Sakas. More likely he was a tribal leader as of the Pashtun's loya jirga. While the Pashtuns may be new to the area of Bamiyan, the tradition of leadership "councils" seems to be longstanding.
• SuttaVinaya.com: Appreciation of Parents' Love
• Nakula's dad the householder Nakula's mom the householder
• Buddhism for All - (Discussion & Learning) | Blessing #11 from the Mangala Sutta
• G. P. Malalasekera, Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, via WisdomLib.org, edited, clarified, and expanded by Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

How Siddhartha became the Buddha

Mountain discovery on Silk Road (video)

Uncovering a lost mountain metropolis

(nature video) Oct. 23, 2024: An isolated plateau in the highlands of southeastern Uzbekistan in Central Asia looks like an expanse of rolling hills. But look closer and a shard of pottery or the stony remnant of an ancient wall might hint at an archeological secret hidden for hundreds of years. Now a team of archeologists have used drone-mounted LiDAR to virtually peel back the layers of sediment and vegetation. Revealing two ancient cities, much larger than previously imagined, built 2,000 meters above sea level. The finding of these urban centers, called Tashbulak and Tugunbulak, at such high altitudes, may mean that highland areas may have played a more important role in medieval trade than previously thought.

• Read the paper: nature.com/articles/s4158...
• Buddhism in Uzbekistan, Central Asia
• Buddhism in Central Asia

This is a big deal with amazing art found (© Marc Dozier/Getty Images/Popular Mechanics).

Asia (the East) connected with the Roman Empire (the West) for centuries through the Silk Road

A mountaintop discovery is changing everything we knew about the Silk Road

• A new LiDAR survey of previously discovered Silk Road sites reveals a more sprawling urban history than first imagined.
• An aerial survey of the Tashbulak and Tugunbulak sites in Uzbekistan, Central Adia, uncovered more than 300 medieval archeological features, suggesting a robust urban community.
• The Silk Road or Route — which existed from 114 B.C. to 1450 A.D. — was a vital and expansive trade route that connected the Eastern and Western worlds.

A new survey of two archeological sites along the Silk Road has unveiled a stunning new discovery that rewrites our understanding of the famed Eurasian (Europe-Asia) trade route that spanned continents and centuries.

Monk meditates on Silk Road (en.unesco.org)

As reported in Newsweek, a new aerial survey of Tashbulak and Tugunbulak — two archeological sites roughly three miles apart in the Uzbekistan mountains — utilized LiDAR (a remote sensing technology that uses laser pulses to penetrate obstacles and create 3D images of a landscape) to reveal more than 300 medieval archeological features.

• [Buddhism in Central Asia was prevalent along the Silk Road. Its history there is closely related to the Silk Road transmission of Buddhism during the first millennium of the common era. It has been argued that the spread of Indian culture and religions, especially Buddhism, as far as Sogdia, corresponded to the rule of the Kidarites over the regions from Sogdia to Gandhara [4]. Islam invaded and displaced Buddhism. Uzbekistan [5] and Kazakhstan [6] have the most Buddhists, largely practiced by their Koryo-saram minority, although the former has the lowest percentage of Buddhists. Due to historical Tibetan, Mongol, and Manchurian influence, Kyrgyzstan [7] has the highest percentage of Buddhists in Central Asia. More]

Empires of the Silk Road (C. I. Beckwith)

The two sites, which were discovered in 2011 and 2015, are located 6,562 to 7,218 feet above sea level. At that elevation, the land was unlikely to have supported large-scale urban development at the time, given the difficulties posed to construction and agriculture.

But this new survey — the results of which were published in Nature — indicates that that’s exactly what occurred at Tashbulak and Tugunbulak.

“The LiDAR results indicate that the scale of urbanization in this area was much more expansive than previously known,” Brown University researcher Zachary Silvia told Newsweek.

Silvia, while not involved directly in the study, has published a News & Views article for Nature about the results and singled out the significance of this revelation

 “This is the first — and probably only — ancient or medieval city located at this elevation in Central Asia, which forces us to reconsider what we know about urbanization in the area.”

Among the structures discovered by the study’s LiDAR flights were “watchtowers connected with walls along a ridgeline, evidence of terracing, and a central fortress surrounded by walls made of stone and mud brick.”

The Silk Road (Valerie Hansen)

But while this survey revealed what structures were once present at Tashbulak and Tugunbulak, there are still more questions to be answered.

“Typically, remote sensing techniques are one tool within the broader tool kit of the archaeologist,” Silvia noted to Newsweek. “The next step for the team would be to confirm their findings through geophysics — techniques that ‘see’ below the surface — and targeted excavations that can confirm whether or not this is indeed such an extensive settlement. I am optimistic that this is precisely what the team will find in the coming years.” Source

• Valeriana everything we know about Mexico's lost city
• VIDEO: 100-million-year-old discovery: Scientists uncover ancient seafloor hidden deep beneath earth (MSN) A groundbreaking discovery has revealed remnants of an ancient seafloor beneath the Pacific Ocean, potentially rewriting Earth's geological history! Scientists believe this is just the beginning of uncovering hidden structures in Earth's depths, offering new insights into our planet’s complex past. What other secrets lie beneath? Location: London WooGlobe Ref: WGA177390.
• VIDEO: Top 10 mysterious moving statues that scientists can't explain
• Are the ancient precision-cut granite Barabar caves in India older than we think?
• Scientists may have finally found the origin of one of history's most important inventions
• Scientists decipher 3,000-year-old map to find location of Noah's Ark
• Michael Natale, Popular Mechanics via MSN, Oct. 29, 2024; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly