Buddha's three sons (?)

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Aemilius
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Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Aemilius »

According to Lu Kuan Yu Buddha had three sons, one whom was Sunakshatra. He appears in the Shurangama sutra. This is told in the glossary of the Shurangama sutra (transl. by Lu Kuan Yu). I haven't found any mention of the name of the second son. Rahula should be well known to everybody.

Nichiren tradition has some information about Sunakshatra:
"Sunakshatra [善星比丘] (Zenshō-biku): One of Shakyamuni’s disciples, regarded as one of his sons from before becoming a monk. According to the Mahāparinirvāna Sutra, Sunakshatra joined the Buddhist Order, freed himself from all ties with the world of desire, and mastered the four stages of meditation. Influenced by evil teachers, however, he lost his mastery of the four stages of meditation and became attached to the mistaken view that there is no Buddha, no Law, and no attainment of nirvana. The Parinirvāna Sutra says: 'At that time the Thus Come One and [Bodhisattva] Kāshyapa went to where Sunakshatra was. The monk Sunakshatra saw them coming from afar and immediately evil thoughts arose in his mind. And because of this evil in his mind, he fell alive into the Avīchi hell.' ”

Mahaparinirvana sutra Chapter 7, On the Four Aspects, says:
"The Bodhisattva-mahasattva who abides in Parinirvana can well display such miracles and transformations and has no fear. O Kasyapa! Say not, therefore, that Rahula is the son of the Buddha. Why not? Because innumerable kalpas ago I had already done away with all existences of desire. That is why we say that the Tathagata is Eternal and Unchanging."
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Aemilius »

It is stated in the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter on Kashyapa:

"Kashyapa Bodhisattva said to the Buddha, "World Honored One, the Tathágata must have known, with his
power of knowing people's capacities, that Sunaksatra would destroy his roots of goodness. Why did you allow him to leave home to join the Sangha?" The Buddha replied, "Sons of good families, a long time ago, when I became a mendicant, my [half-]brother Nanda, my cousins Ánanda and Devadatta, and my son Rahula all followed me, renounced the world and practiced the way. If I had not allowed Sunaksatra to leave home, he would have succeeded to the throne. If so, he would have employed his power as he pleased and destroyed the Buddha-dharma. For this reason, I allowed him to leave home and engage in the practice of the way. Sons of good families, if Sunaksatra had not become a mendicant, he would have destroyed his roots of goodness. In that case, he would have been bereft of benefit for immeasurable lives. Now, after joining the Sangha, he destroyed his roots of goodness, but still he observed the precepts and paid homage to and revered the elders, the seniors and the virtuous people. He also practiced the first through the fourth meditations. These are good causes. Such good causes produce good things. When good things are produced, he would engage in the practice of the way. When he practiced the way, he would realize the highest, perfect Enlightenment. For this reason, I allowed Sunaksatra to leave home and join the Sangha. Sons of good families, if I had not allowed Monk Sunaksatra to renounce the world and receive the precepts, I would not have deserved to be called the Tathágata possessed of the ten powers.... Sons of good families, the Tathágata knows well the superior, average and inferior capacities of sentient beings. Therefore, the Buddha is called one who possess the power of knowing people's capacities."

quoted from Shinran Shonin's Kyogyoshinsho, Chapter 5.17 : A Collection of Passages Revealing the True Enlightenment of the Pure Land Way
translated into English as Pure Land Buddhism: Shinran’s Devotional Path to Enlightenment. 2000, Roy Melvyn
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Zhen Li
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Zhen Li »

Lu Kuan Yu (Charles Luk) was not a very accurate translator (Nattier had an article about his Vimalakirti, which was pretty harsh), but I think this is, in general, a matter of mistranslation. I suspect Lu Kuan Yu got this from a misreading of Yamamoto's translation of the Nirvana sutra, but the "three sons" is a pure confusion unless he has some more evidence.

The Pali sources are fairly unanimous on him being a Licchavi prince.

Yamamoto translates "善星比丘是佛菩薩時子," as "Bhiksu Sunaksatra was a son of the Buddha when as yet a Bodhisattva." The syntax of this passage is very odd in Chinese, and it looks almost like it was all shaken and jumbled around. I think it might be rather, "The Bhikṣu Sunakṣatra was a child when the Buddha was a bodhisattva." I.e., not yet an adult. If it just said 佛子 then it would also be the normal epithet for a disciple of the Buddha: son of the Buddha, not implying his actual son.

The best argument against Luk's argument is that the Nirvana sutra has about 30 passages with the formula: "I pity all and have loving thought, just as one has towards one’s only son, as in the case of Rahula." Clearly, this analogy rests on Rahula being the Buddha's only son.

As for the question of the statement from the Kāśyapa chapter, note that the Buddha never says that Sunakṣatra was a Śākya or from Kapilavastu. He mentions his kinsmen as an analogy: just as his kin left home and didn't take up the throne, and he ensures Sunakṣatra left home and didn't take up the Licchavi throne.
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Aemilius »

Please ! Already three sources have been mentioned. It doesn't rest on LuKuan Yu only. Other translations of Shurangama sutra also have it. Ven. Hsuan Hua's commentary on Shurangama knows him by the name Bhikshu Good Stars, (which is a translation of Su-nakshatra.) There are at least two sutras that mention him.
Sunaksatra is clearly included in the Nirvana sutra as one of the Shakyas, I can't see how the passage could be read otherwise. There is no mention of Licchavis in it.
Lu Kuan Yu is clearly refering to a tradition of Buddha having three sons.
This is not the first time that the buddhist traditions have different versions and different knowledge concerning the events and persons at the time of Gautama Shakyamuni. Far from it!
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Zhen Li »

Aemilius wrote: Sat May 20, 2023 8:42 am Sunaksatra is clearly included in the Nirvana sutra as one of the Shakyas, I can't see how the passage could be read otherwise. There is no mention of Licchavis in it.
Where does it say he's a Śākyan? It clearly does not. The burden of proof is on you to prove that he's a Śākyan, since every other source says he's a Licchavi.
Aemilius wrote: Sat May 20, 2023 8:42 am Please ! Already three sources have been mentioned. It doesn't rest on LuKuan Yu only. Other translations of Shurangama sutra also have it. Ven. Hsuan Hua's commentary on Shurangama knows him by the name Bhikshu Good Stars, (which is a translation of Su-nakshatra.) There are at least two sutras that mention him.
You did not quote the Śurāṅgama Sūtra. And the Śurāṅgama Sūtra doesn't say he is the Buddha's son, even metaphorically.
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by VolkerK »

There are different sources and explanations of Sunakshatra
Sunakshatra (Skt. Sunakṣatra; Tib. ལེགས་པའི་སྐར་མ་, Wyl. legs pa'i skar ma) — the Buddha's cousin, who followed him for many years and learned a great many teachings by heart, but still developed wrong views towards him and was later reborn as a preta.
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Sunakshatra
Sunakṣatra (सुनक्षत्र):—Son of Marudeva (son of Supratīka). He will be born in the future and become a king. He will have a son called Puṣkara. (see Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.12.12)

Sunakṣatra (सुनक्षत्र).—A King of Bhārata dynasty. It is stated in Bhāgavata, Skandha 9, that he was the son of Niramitra and the father of Bṛhatsena.

Sunakṣatra (सुनक्षत्र) or Cunda is the name of a disciple of the Buddha, according to the the Vinayamātṛkā of the Haimavatas, as mentioned in an appendix of the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter XLI. The Vinayamātṛkā of the Haimavatas knows of eight disciples who, “fan in hand, fanned the Buddha”. These were [viz., Sunakṣatra].
https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/sunakshatra
For instance, the monk Sunakshatra was the Buddha Shakyamuni's half brother and served him for twenty-four years. He knew by heart all the twelve categories ....
An Ocean of Blessings: Heart Teachings of Drubwang Penor Rinpoche
https://books.google.de/books?id=Htk4Dw ... ra&f=false
An example for a bad connection with the Buddha is the monk Sunakshatra, who
served the Buddha for twenty‐five years and knew the entire tripitaka by heart. He
thought he was equal to the Buddha and could not see any superior quality in the
Buddha. The consequences of that negative attitude toward the Buddha are said to be
500 rebirths as a preta and final rebirth in the Aviicii hell. It is further predicted that
Sunakshatra will be liberated at the time of ‘Buddha Rocana’, the last Buddhaof this
‘Fortunate Aeon’
http://www.dzogchenlineage.org/dp/Dharm ... %20Ch1.pdf

History of Shakya caste
https://wiki-discussions.boards.net/thr ... her-castes
VolkerK
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by VolkerK »

Sunakkhatta (सुनक्खत्त) is the name of a disciple of the Buddha, as mentioned in an appendix of the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter XLI. Ānanda fulfilled his mission with the greatest devotion for the last twenty-five years of the Teacher’s life. Before Ānanda took charge, other disciples functioned temporarily. The commtary of the Theragāthā and that of the Udāna record seven of them and the old canonical sources confirm this. Viz., Sunakkhatta (Jātaka, I, p. 389, l. 16).
https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/sunakkhatta
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Zhen Li »

Rigpa Wiki is not reliable; it doesn't cite its sources. The source is the only thing that matters in this regard. The Penor Rinpoche book also doesn't cite the source for this claim.
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Malcolm »

According to the Tibetan Vinaya, King Śuddhodana had four siblings, one whom was Śuklodana, and it is held that the latter had two sons, one called rGyal (Puṣya) and the other was a prince of the Śākyas called bZang ldan,

Tibetan sources such as Yang chen Gawey Lodo (dbyangs can dga' ba'i blo gros, 1740-1828) states in his Commentary on the Treatise of the Wise and Foolish that Sunakṣatra was the son of this man Śuklodana. His proper name was Puṣya (rgyal) or Sunakṣatra because he was born on the conjunction of Pusỵa and Thursday, which considered very auspicous. So in this case, it is held Sunakṣatra was a Śakyan, and the first cousin of the Buddha.
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Zhen Li »

So, if there were both a Licchavi and Śākyan Sunakṣatra, the question is, did both of them end up slandering the Buddha and suffering a bad rebirth? It seems like the Licchavi Sunakṣatra is predicted to have a birth in hell by the Buddha, but the one mentioned in Tibetan references ends up as a preta. I also wonder if there was some mixup at some point.
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Aemilius
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Aemilius »

VolkerK wrote: Sun May 21, 2023 8:32 pm There are different sources and explanations of Sunakshatra
Sunakshatra (Skt. Sunakṣatra; Tib. ལེགས་པའི་སྐར་མ་, Wyl. legs pa'i skar ma) — the Buddha's cousin, who followed him for many years and learned a great many teachings by heart, but still developed wrong views towards him and was later reborn as a preta.
https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Sunakshatra
Sunakṣatra (सुनक्षत्र):—Son of Marudeva (son of Supratīka). He will be born in the future and become a king. He will have a son called Puṣkara. (see Bhāgavata Purāṇa 9.12.12)

Sunakṣatra (सुनक्षत्र).—A King of Bhārata dynasty. It is stated in Bhāgavata, Skandha 9, that he was the son of Niramitra and the father of Bṛhatsena.

Sunakṣatra (सुनक्षत्र) or Cunda is the name of a disciple of the Buddha, according to the the Vinayamātṛkā of the Haimavatas, as mentioned in an appendix of the 2nd century Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra chapter XLI. The Vinayamātṛkā of the Haimavatas knows of eight disciples who, “fan in hand, fanned the Buddha”. These were [viz., Sunakṣatra].
https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/sunakshatra
For instance, the monk Sunakshatra was the Buddha Shakyamuni's half brother and served him for twenty-four years. He knew by heart all the twelve categories ....
An Ocean of Blessings: Heart Teachings of Drubwang Penor Rinpoche
https://books.google.de/books?id=Htk4Dw ... ra&f=false
An example for a bad connection with the Buddha is the monk Sunakshatra, who
served the Buddha for twenty‐five years and knew the entire tripitaka by heart. He
thought he was equal to the Buddha and could not see any superior quality in the
Buddha. The consequences of that negative attitude toward the Buddha are said to be
500 rebirths as a preta and final rebirth in the Aviicii hell. It is further predicted that
Sunakshatra will be liberated at the time of ‘Buddha Rocana’, the last Buddhaof this
‘Fortunate Aeon’
http://www.dzogchenlineage.org/dp/Dharm ... %20Ch1.pdf

History of Shakya caste
https://wiki-discussions.boards.net/thr ... her-castes
:anjali: :twothumbsup: :namaste:
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Malcolm »

Zhen Li wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 2:29 pm So, if there were both a Licchavi and Śākyan Sunakṣatra,
I think there was only one, and there are competing histories about the clan Sunakṣatra came from. Tibetan scholars universally state he was the Buddha’s first cousin. The only explicit mention of him by the name Sunakṣatra in the Tibetan canon I’ve been able to find is in the Nirvana Sutra.
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

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There seem to be different traditions about who was related to who and in what way. MPPS has Bhadra and Tiṣya (another word for Puṣya) as sons of Śuklodana, but Pali Proper Names (which is a very accurate index of the Pali Tipitaka) says:
Sukkodana, Sukkhodana. A Sākiyan prince, son of Sihahanu and paternal uncle of Gotama Buddha (Mhv.ii.20; see SNA.i.357). Mahānāma and Anuruddha were his sons. MA.i.289.
But the MPPS says that Mahānām and Anuruddha were the sons of Amṛtodana.
Then for Tissa, there are almost 50 people by that name in the Tipiṭaka (so a mixup is possible). But the Śākyan Tissa became an arhat:
14. Tissa Thera.-An arahant. Son of the Buddha's paternal aunt, Amitā. He entered the Order and dwelt in a woodland settlement, but he was proud of his rank and irritable and captious in his conduct. He once came to the Buddha in tears because his colleagues had teased him on account of his talkativeness (S.ii.282; MA.i.289). On another occasion, the Buddha, with his celestial eye, saw Tissa sleeping with open mouth during the siesta and, sending a ray of glory, woke him. Tissa's heart was filled with anguish and when he confessed to his colleagues his mental laziness and distaste for religion, they brought him to the Buddha. The Buddha preached to him the Tissa Sutta, at the end of which he became an arahant (Thag.v.39; but see v.1162; S.iii.106f; ThagA.i.105). ...

The Dhammapada Commentary (i.31ff) calls him Thullatissa. He entered the Order when old and became fat through idleness. He spent most of his time in the Waiting-hall draped in rich robes. Monks, taking him for a Mahā Thera, begged the privilege of performing various services for him, such as massaging his feet. But when they discovered his attainments, they reviled him and he sought the Buddha. The Buddha, however, asked him to obtain their pardon for having failed to show them due honour, and when he refused, related to him the story of Nārada and Devala.
Lamotte's theory was that the MPPS was composed by a Sarvāstivādin, so perhaps this is something in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, though not in the extant Sanskrit, which differs from the other traditions.

I also think this could be a convenient mixup. Puṣya/Tiṣya is a Sunakṣatra, so it's just another epithet for the same name that was exceedingly common. Anyone born under an auspicious asterism could equally be Sunakṣatra.

As for the Tibetan Nirvana Sutra, does it say that Sunakṣatra is a Śākyan? Or just uses the name? Because the Chinese doesn't give any reference to his clan.
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Aemilius »

The Threefold Lotus sutra in fact says in the Chapter IX Prediction of the Destiny of Arhats, Training and Trained when giving a prediction of future buddhahood to Rahula:

"At present as my eldest son
He is revealed to all."

(page 183, The Threefold Lotus sutra, Bunno Kato et al, Kosei publ., Tokyo, 22. printing 2005)
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

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Aemilius wrote: Sat Jun 10, 2023 2:12 pm The Threefold Lotus sutra in fact says in the Chapter IX Prediction of the Destiny of Arhats, Training and Trained when giving a prediction of future buddhahood to Rahula:

"At present as my eldest son
He is revealed to all."

(page 183, The Threefold Lotus sutra, Bunno Kato et al, Kosei publ., Tokyo, 22. printing 2005)
Of course, Rahula was born to the Buddha before he had disciples.

The timeline simply doesn't work for the Buddha to have had other biological children. If we look at the Lalitavistara, we can't see any point at which other children could have been born.

According to the Bhadrakalpāvadāna, Rahula remained in Yaśodhara's womb while the Buddha was away from Kapilavastu, and gave birth to him at the point that he attained Buddhahood. This would also make the timeline very convoluted—although it is not a popular rendition outside of Nepal.
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Aemilius »

According to Etienne Lamotte Gopa is mentioned as Shakyamuni's wife in several Mahayana sutras besides Lalitavistara, there is no mention of Yasodhara in Lalitavistara. His wife there is Gopa. In the Shurangamasamadhi sutra Gopa has a chapter, and she features also in the Suvarnabhasha sutra.

In the footnotes of the Shurangamasamadhi Lamotte says:" According to the Mahayana Upadesha of Nagarjuna bodhisattva Siddhartha had two wives; first was called Gopa or Gopiya, second was called Yashodhara, first one did not give children."

"Mulasarvastivadin Vinaya attributes three wives to Him, each surrounded by 20 000 courtesans: Yashodhara, Gopa, and Mrigaja"
"Seven days before the Great Departure, when the future Buddha was returning to His palace, Mrigaja addressed Him with the famous stanza: "Nibbuta nuna sa mala; Shakyamuni in thanks cast a necklace to the young woman,"

(T 1450, ch3. p. 114b, Rockhill op. cit. pp 23-24)

Buston's Blue Annals mentions that bodhisattva Gautama had two wives and gives their tibetan names.

As Siddhartha had several wives, it is only logical that he had also several sons.

In a Driking Kagyu life story of Siddhartha we find:"In addition He accepted other Queens and their retinues, totaling 84 000 in all."
(The Great Kagyu Masters the Golden Lineage Treasury, Snow Lion 1990)

Modern buddhists, ethnic or non-ethnic, tend to be lutheran-protestant in style and attitude, and thus they automatically make Siddhartha Gautama a monogamous person, which he wasn't. Therefore we must value the information which Etienne Lamotte and Drikung Kagyu have told us as very precious.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Bristollad »

As Siddhartha had several wives, it is only logical that he had also several sons.
It's possible, but logically, that is all we can say. It doesn't follow that he had children with every wife or that his other children were sons.
The antidote—to be free from the suffering of samsara—you need to be free from delusion and karma; you need to be free from ignorance, the root of samsara. So you need to meditate on emptiness. That is what you need. Lama Zopa Rinpoche
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Zhen Li »

Assuming Gopā is different from Yaśodharā, there is no evidence she had a son.

The idea that the Buddha only had one wife is not Lutheran, as it is simply what is claimed in the Pāli tradition. Gopā is not said to be the Buddha's wife anywhere in the Pāli Tipiṭaka. The Dīrghāgama says that she practiced chastity and abhorred the female form so much that she transformed into a man, after death she went to be born in Trāyastriṃśa as the son of Śakra.

In agreement with the Āgama claim of Gopā's chastity, Nāgarjuna states in the Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra that she was infertile (bandhya) and had no children. As for Mṛgajā, according to the Mūlasarvāstivādavinaya, the Buddha gave her a necklace, but didn't marry her—Śuddhodana gave her to Rāhula (apparently paralleled in T191). Also, it doesn't really make sense to suggest that he would have had sex just prior to the great departure when he was at the height of dissatisfaction with worldly life and pleasures.

I would say that while it is true that he had multiple courtesans (though 84000 is a typical hyperbole), it is clear that Yaśodharā was his primary wife and probably the only one with whom he had a son.
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Aemilius »

Zhen Li wrote: Sun Jun 11, 2023 12:57 pm Assuming Gopā is different from Yaśodharā, there is no evidence she had a son.

The idea that the Buddha only had one wife is not Lutheran, as it is simply what is claimed in the Pāli tradition. Gopā is not said to be the Buddha's wife anywhere in the Pāli Tipiṭaka. The Dīrghāgama says that she practiced chastity and abhorred the female form so much that she transformed into a man, after death she went to be born in Trāyastriṃśa as the son of Śakra.

In agreement with the Āgama claim of Gopā's chastity, Nāgarjuna states in the Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra that she was infertile (bandhya) and had no children. As for Mṛgajā, according to the Mūlasarvāstivādavinaya, the Buddha gave her a necklace, but didn't marry her—Śuddhodana gave her to Rāhula (apparently paralleled in T191). Also, it doesn't really make sense to suggest that he would have had sex just prior to the great departure when he was at the height of dissatisfaction with worldly life and pleasures.

I would say that while it is true that he had multiple courtesans (though 84000 is a typical hyperbole), it is clear that Yaśodharā was his primary wife and probably the only one with whom he had a son.
There is no evidence for that. Lalitavistara only speaks of Gopa. As told earlier. And Nichiren, who is regarded more or less omniscient by his school and tradition, says he had several sons. As does also the chinese tradition represented by Lu Kuan Yu.

If Siddhartha's departure from worldy life happened at the age of 29, as is commonly taught, (but again this is not the only tradition). Then he should have had ample time to get lots of children, there should be no problem with of lack of time (!). Even if left home a the age of 19, he would have had time to acquire several children.

And about the Lotus sutra passage: You should not confuse spiritual sons with biological sons. Buddha's eldest spiritual sons are the five ascetics. Rahula was very far from spiritual seniority in the early Sangha. There were at least 1300 spiritually elder monks in the Sangha, i.e. spiritually elder than Rahula.
svaha
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Zhen Li
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Re: Buddha's three sons (?)

Post by Zhen Li »

It’s all speculation, and traditions differ on these various points. I’m happy to change my mind if I see clear and indisputable textual evidence from a mainstream sutra text.
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