Many Indian people don't go to Gangotri, the source of the Ganges River, where the ice melts and becomes the water of the Ganges. The source of the Ganges River, I went there, bathed in it. I told you already. I count “one, two, three,” jump in and jump out, because it's too frozen. Even in May it's still frozen.
Now. “On the following day, the monks began a discussion in the Hall of Truth.” Just like the hall of meditation where the Master always comes and teaches and preaches, where the Buddha comes and preaches to the multitude, they call it the Hall of Truth.
“‘Brethren…’” They talk among themselves, the monks say to themselves, like brothers. “‘Brothers, Ciñcā Mānavikā, because she falsely accused the Possessor of Eminent Virtues…’” Meaning the Buddha. This is one of His titles also. “‘…the Foremost Recipient of Offerings, the Supremely Exalted, came to her utter ruin.’” Meaning this woman, she accused the Buddha, the Enlightened One, the Tathāgata, the Supreme Virtue, etc. They’re praising the Buddha with different titles. So, therefore, she came to utter ruin.
“The Master,” the Buddha, “approached and asked them, ‘Monks, what are you sitting here now and talking about?’ So when they told Him, He said, ‘Monks, this is not the first time she has falsely accused me and come to utter ruin herself. She did the same thing in a previous state of existence also.’ Having thus spoken, He said, ‘Unless a king discerns clearly fault on the part of another, after himself investigating carefully all the facts, both small and great, he should not inflict punishment.’” Meaning, you should not judge before you really thoroughly research about any matter, the facts. That's all. “So saying, He related in detail this Mahā Paduma Jātaka,” the story of the past of this woman in connection with Him in a former life.
Are you OK? You want to continue tomorrow? (No.) (Yes.) So tired. You all right? (No, no. We’re OK.) We have some high chairs outside. Could you please get me a high chair like that? Then you could sit in the corner. Give me a high chair outside. You know one of those chairs that we put in the kitchen. Small one is good enough, just so that he can sit more comfortably. I feel your discomfort. I do feel that. Two chairs for the two elderly… (No, no, one only.) One only? (I sit…) One only. (He's the only [one who] feels…) Yeah, of course, of course. Everybody's different. Bodies are different, age different, reaction different. So we cannot measure everybody the same. If he sits in the corner where you sit, then no disturbing. He changes, OK. It’s coming, coming. The chair is coming.
OK, so we continue with the story of the past, how this woman in a former life also did the same to the Buddha. So she kept going up, slandered Him, and went back to hell. And then after cleaning up the sin, went back up again, and did similar to the Buddha if He came back to life. The same with Devadatta. This is the thing. People are doing good things in this life or doing bad things in this life.
Yeah, it's OK. Why don't you take the round chair instead? Come here, here, anyway. Is this chair safe? I saw it broken. (No.) OK, come, come, come. Are you really OK? (Yes, OK.) All right, good. You're a tough guy, tough guy. Corner, corner, corner. Yeah, like that. Be careful with this spiritual equipment down there. Heavenly ears (earphones for translation). Careful, careful with the equipment. OK, good, good. That's it. Buddha, go up to your dais. I'm sorry for your inconvenience. (Thank You.) Yes, you are very welcome, my love. You’re very welcome. Sorry. I should have taken care earlier, but I thought you're a tough guy.
We used to have chairs and sofa and everything here, but no room anymore. It’s not like my house is uncivilized like this. We had a table, dining table, chairs, sofa, bed for me and for dogs. Now all gone, all gone, all gone out. In the evening, you can sit on some of the beds for the boys, and let all the boys go down on the floor, and sit there. A big bed, so even if you fall down, it doesn't matter. So it's easier for your legs. There was another person before, French, oh no, Togo. He also had a problem, looked similar to you.
So now… So the Buddha related… Relate, right? No. Relay or relate? Tell, recount… No. “Raconte.” How to say “raconte” in English? (Tell.) Tell? So simple? There’s a more elegant word than that?
So the Buddha told the story now of the past life with this woman. “At one time, Ciñcā Mānavikā…” This is a story of the past, titled “The Lewd Woman and the Youth.” “At that time, it appears Ciñcā Mānavikā was reborn as one of the chief consorts of the king, fellow-wife of the mother of the future Buddha.” A long time ago. “Prince Mahā Paduma.” At one time, the Buddha was the prince in another country. A long time before He became Buddha, He was also a prince, but in another lifetime, another country. His name is Prince Mahā Paduma. “She invited the Great Being to lie with her.” Meaning, the prince. At that time, they called him the Great Being, referring to the future Buddha. At that time, he wasn't a Buddha, the prince. So this woman, she wanted to seduce the prince, her stepson actually, to have a relationship with her, physical relationship with her, to lie down with her.
“And when he refused to do so, she disfigured her own body with her own hands, faked sickness, and told the king, ’Your son brought me to this pass because I would not lie with him.’” She told the opposite story, understand? Yeah. Women! “The king, hearing this, was filled with rage, and straightaway flung the Great Being…” Meaning, the future Buddha, the prince, at that time, “…down the Robbers’ Cliff. The deity dwelling in the mountain cared for him, and placed him safe and sound with the hood of the King of the Dragons. The King of the Dragons carried him to the abode of the dragons and honored him by conferring upon him half of his kingly power.” Wow. So kind! (Yes.)
Dragons, people fear them, thinking they’re bad, they breathe fire. They're so kind to the prince because he's a good boy. You see, when you’re good, even animals or dragons, or fierce beings, they're kind to you. Right. Kingly power even. Maybe gave him half of the kingdom and some of his magical power.
“After the Great Being…” meaning the prince at that time, and this future Buddha. “After the Great Being had dwelt there for a year, he conceived a desire to adopt the life of an ascetic. Accordingly, he went to the Himalaya country.”
Oh! Himalaya country, you know where it is? Just to test. You know where the Himalaya country is? No? (India.) India. Only you know? Do you know, two of you? I thought you did not know. (Of course. No, of course we know.) I thought the Indians didn't know where the Himalaya is, so I just tested. Just for fun; I know you know. I know, I know where the Himalaya is. I know the Gangotri. I know everything, some. I know something that the Indian people don't know.
Many Indian people don't go to Gangotri, the source of the Ganges River, where the ice melts and becomes the water of the Ganges. The source of the Ganges River, I went there, bathed in it. I told you already. I count “one, two, three,” jump in and jump out, because it's too frozen. Even in May it's still frozen. The water just melts directly from the ice, and around is still snowing everywhere. It doesn't snow, but the snow is still there. It takes a long time to melt because it’s very thick snow in the Himalaya, especially where the Ganges River, the source, the head of the Ganges River. That water is so clean.
I thought I’d follow all the Indians who believe that if you bathe in the Ganges River once, or wash yourself, then your sins are all washed. I just make sure that I do it three times. Because it’s very cold. No, no… I don't see anybody dip themselves in the Ganges River there. Only I did it. Everybody looked. “Oh!” The Indians wrapped themselves in a blanket. “Oh!” And they just used some water, dab, dab, dab, dab, dab… like that. And then they left. They believed their sins are gone. I did not believe sins are gone so fast. So I did it three times. And when you come out of the river of water, you feel like your body expands, and like many flowers open, blooming from your skin. And I did it again and again, three times, just to make sure. Everything good is three, right? They say. So I made sure my sins were gone. I wasn't sure but just to be safe.
Oh, man! When I came back from that trip, one of the Indian Master, Sawan Singh's disciples he was very old already with a beard, long, like, as much as the Master, and he looked like a Master himself, senior disciple of the older generation. He came and prostrated in front of me. I was so scared. I was reading some discarded piece of newspaper in English. I don't know who dropped it there, I was reading. He came and touched my feet to his head. Oh, I was so scared, I ran away. I wonder if it's because of the Himalaya experience, the Ganges River, that they knew I went there. They knew I went there. Maybe because of that. (Is it Charan Singh?) No, no, no. No. (Disciple of…) Disciple of… in a Sawan ashram. So it must be the disciple of Sawan Singh, because he was old, very old. But maybe a disciple of Kirpal Singh, I don't know. But he was very old already. I was only around 30. And his beard was so white and long, and his head, hair white, and he's very dignified, like a Master himself. An old disciple, older generation than me. I could call him like grandpa. Grandpa-disciple or grandpa-master, not the same generation. Not the same Master at that time.
So anyway, maybe because of that, Indian people, they respect people who went to the Himalaya, Gangotri, and still survive and come back. Because some people don't come back. It's dangerous. They say that. I didn't feel any danger, but they say it’s very dangerous to go there. If anyone can go there once in their lifetime, then they can boast about it, and everybody knows about it and… Is that true? (Yes.) But why? It's dangerous? Or because the…
(No, Ganges is supposed to be a very blessed river.) Supposed to be what? (Blessed river. Ganges is supposed to be a very blessed river.) (Divine river.) Huh? A divine river. Pure. (Pure. Divine.) Meaning, if you went there and take a bath, then you became purified. (Yes.) Like a saint. (Right.) OK. I should go again and then back again and then more and more pure all the time. (No, we are coming here for that only.) Oh, God. Not the Gangotri? (No, no.) All right then. I'm not a river, OK? (No, not river.) In case you're mistaken. (Ocean of Love.) OK, OK. Anyway… All right.
So the Buddha said that his stepmother, the queen, the queen stepmother of him, at one time, long time ago when he was a prince, accused him falsely for sleeping with… no, of wanting to sleep with her. And he refused. So she beat herself up, tore her clothes, to make the king jealous, and feel like his son did something bad to his wife, his second wife, something like that. He had many concubines anyway. So what's wrong with losing only one. He had so many wives that some of them he never even knew where she lived or what she did in the palace.
Most kings are like that, they have many, many concubines. So maybe they have three wives, main wives, and the rest are concubines they don't even know. Concubine, he doesn't even know them. Never had a chance to talk to them or touch them, nothing. But nobody is allowed to marry them. Nobody is allowed to touch them, either. They’re, like, finished. That's the old time.
So now the king threw him down the cliff. But the celestial beings and the dragons saved him, saved him and cared for him. But in one year after, he wanted to become a monk, ascetic monk. “So accordingly, he went to the Himalayan country.” You know, right? India. So, everything good happens in India. How come he kept being reborn again, again and again in India?
India seems to be the cradle of spiritual spirits, spiritual lineage, spiritual Masters, somehow. I don't know why. Probably it's a good place to be. Because Indian people, they respect so much the Saints. And they have freedom of religion. They even worship stones, cows, rats, snakes. So they harm no one. So if I go to India, I’d probably have all the great honor, never slandered, nothing. Because even the rat can be a guru there, so why not me? I was thinking about that. In other countries, some people believe, some people not, some people pray, some people slander. But in India, I’d be safe. So one day if you don't find me anymore here, then you’ll know. You’ll know. You’ll know why, and you’ll know where I will be.
Indian people, they’re so pure. You know they have temples for rats. (Yes.) They feed rats. And that temple, one is very famous. There're many… a lot of rats live there, and they drink together in one bowl of milk. They give them milk every day. And the humans come and even drink with the rats. Yeah, for blessing, like Prasad. Just like you want me to give you (vegan) cakes, candies. The rats, if they drink together same milk in the bowl with the rats, they feel (Good.) blessed. Understand? Yes. And then they also wish to be born again as a rat. Yeah! Some people worship… Some worship snakes and wish to be born as a snake. You don't know.
Indian people, they are very liberal. They respect all beings. They even worship Ganesh, which is an elephant. Is Ganesh an elephant, or a monkey? (Yes. Ganesh, son of Lord Shiva.) Monkey or elephant? (Elephant.) Elephant. And they also… There’s Hanuman. They also worship a monkey. (Monkey.) Yeah. Hanuman. You see? (Yes.) You see that? (Yes.) And here, they don't even worship anybody. Not to talk about monkey or elephant, they kill them and eat them. If the Buddha is born now, maybe He’d also become soup. Who knows? If they don't have any more monkey and elephant or rat to kill or to put in a laboratory for torturing, tests, maybe they put the Buddha in there. Who knows? Scary humans.
