Did Buddha Leave his Wife and Son? By Nikhil Sablania
The Buddha didn’t leave his wife and son for purely spritual gains or out of any irresponsibility or insensitivity. First you should know the history and the Buddhist concept. He left because he wanted to save them. There was a water dispute between his community and Koli community. His community wanted to rage a battle but he resisted. As per his community rules, a dissent in a community decision had only two paths. One, the whole family be punished by taking their property or the accuser had to leave, banished. He choose the second path to save his wife and son. Later, the community regretted and asked him to come back, but he refused because he wanted a strong solution for human suffering. However, later his wife became head nun in womens’ church (sangha) and son became his disciple. But his son passed away at the age of ten. The path of the Buddha was respected by his wife, who remained a Buddhist nun forever. Apart from his wife and son, many of his family members also left worldly pleasures and joined his sangha (monetary). And in India, it’s a cherished and respected thought that one who seeks spritual path, the family loves and supports this. So is in Jainism and Hinduism. Indians consider physical world as Maya (Illusion) and belive in a world of God where matter ceases to rule. Also, the concept of family was not restricted mere to children parent-relationship. The group cohessiveness was profound and one never felt alone in the family that included lot of people, as one unit of physical and emotional beings. Today, the world is different and feelings are structured by present social norms. But at the time of the Buddha, people had different social norms and feelings. So feeling of today’s man is incomparable to the man of 2500 years ago. – Nikhil Sablania
On a question raised by a western person.
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