The greatest teacher of them all...

The greatest teacher of them all...
There is much to learn, and we are yet to begin...

the happiness from within a pure mind - that happiness is perpetual

Inspired by the second verse of the Yammaka Vagga (The Twin Verses) of the Dhammapada - "Matthakundali Vatthu" - Happiness follows the doer of good

Once upon a time, long long ago, in a place far far away, as all good stories say, was the Munisangama Ashrama of the great muni, Rangabhashya. At the confluence of the great rivers, below the tall Himalayas, the most sacred of all places before one came to the vast plains of irrigated lands, more than a thousand monks resided and conducted their spiritual studies and learnt their skills at sanctification of the mind. Seekers of knowledge came to the Munisangama Ashrama from many regions, from all over the great land of the mighty rivers of the Sindhu and the Ganges, from the rivers to the southern regions of Jambudvipa, from all over the Himalayas, from the east, across the sea at Navadvipa, and from the west beyond the known regions of the mighty river of Sindhu and her sisters. There were the people from the south, and white skinned people who came from across the seas, or along the great mountain passes to the north of the Sindhu, and there were also people who would come from above the Himalayas.


They were all welcome at the Munisangama Ashrama, and a true seeker of knowledge was never refused permission to enter and stay. There were also several families who were resident at the outer areas around the Ashrama for many generations, and the great muni, Rangabhashyama's father, Neelamegha, had declared that students of knowledge had to also undergo the bliss and pain of marriage, family and old age to sharpen their thoughts and thereby learn dispassion and minimalism. It was said that Neelamegha's great grandfather had come from a remote village in the heart of the mountains below the Zhangzhung region of the great plateau above the mighty Himalayas.


There was a regularly used mountain path from these hidden valleys and remote villages to the great Indian plains below the Himalayas. This pathway took a persistent and brave traveler to the great mountain of Kangri Rinpoche, or Kailasa, in the Gangdise mountains of the high plateau above the Himalayas. These remote villages had strong trade links with the great ashramas of the Himalayas and small traders and caravans regularly traveled to sell their harvests and other produce. It was therefore never a surprise to see all sorts of people at the Munisangama Ashrama of the great muni, Rangabhashya, at any season or on any day.


And thus it was that, on one day, during a season of very intense monsoon, a caravan of traders came down from the remote villages of the hidden valleys inside the mighty Himalayas. The great muni, Rangabhashya, had with great foresight, established a camping ground for visiting caravans in forested areas across the river. This arrangement ensured that the comings and goings of the caravans did not disturb the life of the ashrama, and the traders and their servants and their animals could rest and arrange their tents in peace and without any disturbance. The great muni's brother-in-law, Alavanderasena, had been given instructions and the control to establish a small settlement of families who provided supplies, food and other needs for the traveling caravans. 


The caravan that arrived on a day of intense stormy rain seemed very unlike the usual trading groups that traveled together. There seemed to be several different caravans traveling south of the Himalayas. As Alavanderasena found out on enquiry, many landslides in the upper mountains during intense rainfall had delayed the caravans, and as a result, more than ten caravans had strung out, one after the other, and moved carefully through the dangerous high passes, and the treacherous low valley floor pathways alongside torrential rivers. Some travelers had died, some had returned, some were left to recover from monsoon illnesses with native herbal medicine men in the villages above, and some had been left behind with goods and carts that could not travel due to bad damage and repairs.


These were usual happenings, and the families at the caravan settlement were familiar with such events. Alavanderasena had distributed the caravans to separate camping areas in the forests, with the oldest and the largest ones getting sites near the river, while others got camping locations alongside smaller river streams that flowed inside the forests. The caravan animals needed to rest, the carts needed to be repaired, and everyone were simply tired and exhausted. Alavanderasena assigned 2-3 families to each caravan to attend to their needs and to take care of providing cooked food for the first two days, and to provide ample fodder stacks to satiate the cattle, camels, horses, mules and buffaloes in the caravan. There were other animals too, for trade, such as donkeys and exotic birds. One caravan had two elephants for sale, while another caravan had brought two tigers as a gift to a local king.


There was another major travel route that went east-west along the mighty river, and then turned northwards to Sravasti and the Jetavana monastery, where the Most Enlightened One would go to, for his annual retreat from the great University to the south. The Most Enlightened One would visit the nearby monasteries nearby, while he traveled with more than two thousand monks, students and others who would merely want to travel with him, and listen to his teachings on each evening at the places that he would camp. The great muni, Rangabhashya, looked forward to these visits by the Most Enlightened One, with the eagerness of a child waiting for his return of his parent. On such occasions, the great muni became a student and would rush to join the group of learners and travel with the Most Enlightened One for about 7-8 days.


An ashrama nearby had made arrangements for the Most Enlightened One and his more than two thousand monks and nearly another thousand followers of all manner. The sangha would stop at the ashrama for two nights while on its route northwards to Jetavana and Sravasti and on its route southwards to Nalanda and Rajgir. The muni, Balapilavarendra, was an earlier student of the great muni, Rangabhashya, and had gone ahead to the nearby region to establish the new ashram at the instructions of the elders at the Munisangama Ashrama. There was ample water here, and the place was in a secluded valley, away from the other caravan roads, and had large groves of wild mango and domesticated varieties. At the example of the great muni, Rangabhashya, several hundred monks of different orders of faith would proceed to the ashrama of Balapilavarendra, and seek the blessings of the Most Enlightened One and listen to his teachings during his stay.


This was the reason why the great muni, Rangabhashya, had located separate camping areas for the caravans coming down from the Himalayas or from the west, from the Sindhu and beyond, or from the golden kingdoms to the east of Navadvipa, even as far as Mon and Mranma. There were traders, vagrants, warriors, migrants, small tribes, or families and mercenaries of all sorts, and Rangabhashya was careful that they should not get any opportunity to disturb the manner of life and daily duties of the residents in the ashramas or nearby villages. The caravans were welcome to say at the caravan grounds, and were free to travel on the trade routes. Local businessmen, farmers, landlords, warriors and the monks and local families, and representatives of some local kings would visit the caravan camping grounds and conduct their trade and purchase and sell. At times, there were performers, drama artistes and performing animals, folk singers and chanters of traditional songs, who would travel in the caravans, and these people and their animals would be invited to the ashramas or villages to perform, sing or tell stories of their lands.


To be continued...

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