Part 05....This is a beautiful place and make it as beautiful as possible.
An old woman, who was poor, asked the Buddha in despair while he was begging: “If I am so poor, how can I give alms to you and the other monks? How can I be free from poverty?” The Buddha replied: “This is because you do not know how to give alms?” The old woman replied: “How can I give alms if I have no wealth?” The Buddha said: “You can give alms with many things, not just wealth or money or food.” He continued: “Your face can smile, be happy, laugh, and be joyful so that people around you can be happy and worry-free. Your mouth can be used to speak kind words, encourage everyone to be happy, or comfort them when they are sad.” “Your heart can be open, giving respect, trust, and peace. Your eyes can look at others with compassion. Your body can be used to help others.” “If you can do these things, you have given a lot of alms to those around you! In fact, you are not poor if you know how to give alms! A poor heart is called poor.”
🪷 This city of Rajagaha was a very important place for trade during the Buddha’s time because the city was rich in many kings and wealthy people, to the point that traces of chariots remain to this day.
🌿☘️Economics ☘️🍀
🌿Rajgaha was a city with a thriving trade, leading to the birth of a wealthy man, called the Rajgahasethi, a great city rich in wealth.
🌿In those days, trade was carried out by carts pulled by animals until the deep cart tracks were found in the rocks at the foot of Mount Udya, the southern gate of the city.
🌿Anathapindika Sethi brought hundreds of carts of goods from Savatthi to sell in Rajagaha regularly until he met the Buddha at Sitavan near the city and achieved the blissful fruition during his first visit to him.
🍀🍀🍀The Great Wealthy Man of Rajagaha🍀🍀
🍀1-Jotika Sethi The Sethi had a 7-story temple with 7 windows. The temple had a 7-story wall, with a kapok tree growing along the wall around it, and had great treasures, as well as a wife named Satulkaya, who was a deva from the Upper Kuru region.
The wealthy Jotika Sethi obtained these properties because the monks built a temple for the Buddha Vipassana.
Later, the wealthy man prayed to the Blessed One and soon attained the fruit of arahantship, becoming a unique person in the world.
🍀2- The wealthy man Jadila Sethi had a golden mountain of about 80 cubits, rising from the earth behind his house. This was the result of offering golden flowers to the stupa where the Buddha's relics were buried. Later, he took up the vows and became an arahant in just 2-3 days.
🍀3- The wealthy man Mendika Sethi had golden goats as big as elephants and as big as oxen, rising from behind his house in an area of about 8 karisas around it. These are the results of building four golden goats to support the feet of the Dhamma-sana, two more golden goats to support the feet of the floor, and six more golden goats to surround the center, etc. in the Vipassana Buddhist religion.
Mendaka Sethi, a Sotābān, has the support of the religion with four conditions.
🍀4-Punna Sethi, who earned wages for plowing the fields for Soman Sethi, received all the gold pieces. The king sent him to the kingdom, which was 80 cubits high, and he was the one who had the most gold pieces in the kingdom. The king appointed the Sethi as the Puthuthana Sethi.
This is the result of the present merit, by offering alms to Sāriputta, who had just passed away.
Having become a wealthy man, he also offered alms to the monks headed by the Buddha for seven days, listened to the Dhamma of the Blessed One, and attained the fruit of Sotābāṭha with his wife and daughter-in-law, Uttara.
🍀5-Kakavalliya Sethi had amassed 7 large pits of wealth. This was the result of alms offered to Mahakassapatra, who had just come out of Nirodhasamapatti.
🪷In the Atthakatha Ettakka of Visakhamika Mata, it is stated that in the kingdom of King Bimbisara, there were 5 people who had innumerable wealth: 1 Jotika, 1 Jadila, 1 Mendaka, 1 Punna, and 1 Kakkavalliya.
Sunday, 1st of the month of Migasir, Year of the Rooster
Chasak, Buddhist Era 2568
Corresponds to December 1, 2024
Buddha, Dharma, Sangha
