Dr. Tin Win - Son and Parents

As I get older, I often think back on my life. Then I see things I didn't see before. I see things I already saw more clearly. I feel things more deeply and more delicately than I ever felt before.

I especially think more about my parents, who gave me life, who gave me life, and who gave me the knowledge of how to walk on a successful and satisfying path. I didn't just think about it for a moment, but as I thought about it over and over again, I realized that my attitude had become more sensitive, I respected my parents more, and I loved them more.

Then I started thinking more about children who repay their parents' kindness. Among the many people who repay their parents' kindness, the one who is most deeply ingrained in the minds of Buddhists is Suvanna Sama.

While I was still thinking that it would be good to reread the novel Suwanna Sama Jattawgyi, I met a retired professor, U Than Htut. He was very interested in the story of Sanre. Since the story of Suwanna Sama is about the love and care she has for her parents, it can be said that it is about Sanre.

When I started talking about it, my brother smiled very strangely and said, “Aye, even the gods treat those who provide for their parents.” Those words were spoken by Thuwanna Sama himself. I had a strong desire to reread the Thuwanna Sama story, so when I heard the words of U Than Htut, I quickly searched for them and read them.

While reading the Suvanna Sama Jataka, my devotion and devotion grew. And the young people of my age, my age, are far away from such topics and writings for some reason. I thought it would be good if they could tell me about such topics. That is why I chose a topic called Son and Parents.

The word "Suvanna" means "one with skin as golden as gold." The parents of Suvanna were Dukul and Parika. They lived in the forest and practiced the Dhamma.

The place where Dukula and Parika lived was in a forest on the banks of the Meghna River. The Meghna River flows through the Himalayas and flows into the Ganges River. The forest on the banks of the river was a secluded and peaceful place, and there were also many sweet and delicious fruits such as mangoes, jackfruit, mango, banana, and other fruits.

Dukul and Parika practiced meditation in their own time, and when they woke up from meditation, they themselves would pick and collect delicious fruits. They would take water from the Migupavaya River for drinking and carrying it to the monastery.

When Thuwanna was 16 years old, he thought that if my parents ever encountered trouble, I would be able to help them, so he took notes of the path, from the bends and turns of the road, to the path into the forest, to the path to fetch water.

One day, while Dukul and Parika were returning from picking fruits in the forest, they encountered a heavy rain. Dukul and Parika were soaking wet, so they went under a tree to wait for the rain. Under the tree was a hill. Dukul and Parika stood on the hill without realizing it. At that moment, raindrops fell on their bodies one by one. The raindrops were dripping down from their bodies. Since they were all wet, there were many raindrops falling. The raindrops seeped into the hill and entered the nostrils of the cobra that was hiding in the hill. Since the raindrops flowed over people's bodies, they also carried the smell of people's sweat. When the cobra smelled this smell, it got angry and blew air out of its nostrils. The air it blew out contained snake venom. Due to the snake venom, Dukul and Parika immediately lost their sight.

When Dukul and Parika lost their sight, they were late, partly because they didn't know how to get to the monastery, and partly because they were crying out of sadness. Even though the rain had stopped, they didn't get back to the monastery.

Not only Suwanna, but also her mother and father, fearing what dangers they might encounter if they did not return, went out into the forest to search for her.

When they called not only Suwanna but also their mother and father, Dukul and Parika were overjoyed. But at the same time, they were afraid that they would come to their side, which was in danger, and they shouted, "Son, don't come to our side."

The Venerable Thuwanna handed a long rope to his parents, and they followed him. When they met, they had to ask him how his parents had become blind.

When he learned about the benefits, his son, Suwanna, not only cried, but also laughed. When his parents asked him why he was crying and why he was laughing, he said that he was crying because his parents had lost their sight at a young age. He said that he was laughing because he was going to be able to support his parents himself.

Then, they gently guided the parents to the school grounds.

The school grounds also have ropes where parents can walk. Ropes are placed wherever parents move, making it convenient for them to go and come.

Since morning, Suvanna Saman Maha had been sweeping the grounds of the monastery. Then, after paying homage to his parents, he took a water pot and went down to the Meeka River. He drew water from the river and returned to the monastery. He offered his parents three glasses of water to drink. After his parents had washed their faces, he gave them the best fruits that they had picked the day before and kept them. After his parents had eaten, he took the rest and ate them.

After collecting the food, he paid homage to his parents. Then, accompanied by deer, he went into the forest to pick fruits.

In the evening, Thuwanna returned to the monastery with the fruits he could pick. He bathed his parents with hot water if they needed it, and with cold water if they needed it. After that, he arranged a fire to warm them up because it was a cool place in the shade of the forest and the mountains. While his parents were warming themselves, he would pick up small fruits and feed them. Thuwanna took care of his parents every day and lived happily and peacefully in the forest on the banks of the Meeka River.

While Suvanna was doing good deeds in a peaceful life, there was a king named Pili Yakkha who ruled in Varanasi. He also loved deer meat more than any other meat. Therefore, he entrusted the responsibility of ruling the country to his mother and went to the Himalayas to hunt and eat deer. He shot and killed the deer in the forest, ate it himself, and then he came to the banks of the Meeka River.

As Suvanna and the deer used to go to fetch water together, they saw the deer's footprints on the banks of the Migara River. So, the king of Pili, with a pile of leaves and a poisoned arrow in his hand, waited in ambush.

In the evening, Suwanna and her friends came down to fetch water along with the deer, as they usually do. Two deer would team up and put a water pot on the deer's back, while Suwanna and her friends would hold the water pot and go to fetch water.

When Pili Yekha saw a strange sight that he had never seen before, he looked at it with amazement and thought. This man was very beautiful in appearance, and he was drawing water in the deep forest with deer that were afraid of people. Is he a man, a spirit, or a dragon? If I were to approach him and ask him who he was, if he said he was a spirit, he would fly to the sky. If he was a dragon, he would fall to the ground.

When I return to my country, Varanasi, they will ask me what I saw in the wild Himalayas. If I answer that I saw someone I don't know whether he was a man, a god, or a dragon, they will ridicule me.

So I thought I would shoot someone who doesn't know anything about this and then ask them questions.

The venerable Suvanna, who was sitting there in the shade of the leaves, was unaware of the thoughts of the Pili Yakkha, so he went to fetch water as usual. After the deer had finished drinking, the venerable Suvanna himself took a bath. He rose from the water, wearing a bright red robe, and carrying a water pot, which he had filled with water earlier, on his shoulders.

At that moment, King Pili Yakkha shot an arrow. The poisoned arrow entered one side of Suvanna Sama and exited the other.

The arrow is also a spear. The speed with which the arrow is fired is so strong that it enters from one side and exits from the other.

Despite the intensity, the monk Subhanna did not lose his composure. He held the water pot so that it would not break, and he raked the sand to make it still. Then he controlled himself and thought about which side the monastery where my parents lived was. He remembered the direction where my parents were, and he laid his head on that side and lay down to sleep. Then, if I respectfully pay homage to my mother and father, I will have no enemies in this forest. My parents will have no enemies either, and he spat out the blood that had filled his mouth.

Then I, without developing loving-kindness, went down to the water unconsciously. At that time, who would shoot arrows at me? My flesh is not good to eat. My skin is useless. My bones are useless. So why would they shoot arrows at me? I complained.

The king of Piliyakas only asked, "Who is this man who shot him with an arrow?" He did not use harsh words or curses. He thought, "I will go and talk to you first," and went to the monk Suvanna.

And then he introduced himself first, saying who he was. He was very arrogant. He could shoot even a large elephant without missing a beat. Everyone praised his archery skills. He was also a king, and he boasted a lot. Then he asked not only Thuwanna, but also who he was.

Not only Suwanna, but he also told the truth about who he was. And when they shoot their victims, they always shoot for whatever reason they need, such as skin, bones, tusks, etc. Now, he asked, "Why are you shooting at me when you can't get anything from me?"

Pili Yekha did not answer truthfully, saying that he did not know what kind of animal you were and that he shot you. When I was aiming to shoot the deer, you approached the deer and it got scared and ran away. So I lied and said that I was angry with you and shot you with an arrow.

It is pitiful not only to Suvanna but also to Pili Yakkha. Since I was a child, deer have not been afraid of me. When I grew up, deer and I used to look for fruits together. We used to draw water together. So it is impossible for deer to be afraid of me. The Kinnaras who live on the top of the Gandhamadana mountain are very afraid. Even the Kinnaras who are so afraid often travel with me throughout the forest. That is why they say it is impossible for deer to be afraid of me.

Then King Pili Yakkha said, "Don't be afraid when the deer see you."