Ajastya Research Paper

bestowed upon them because of the life that they were born in. This would not stop the bodhisattva from following his true destiny towards enlightenment. The Buddha in training left his wealth and headed for the woods where he would learn to not value materialistic things so he could head toward enlightenment. Ajastya decided that it would be fitting if he went off onto an island to further his distance away from things that would distract him. It was said that all of the animals on the island knew that he was an acetic so he would not bother them and vice versa. He decided that he would only eat was necessary and would only dink what was necessary. Ajastya had many visitors come through his island, he would proceed to feed them first and only
eat there left overs for himself so there would be nothing wasted. Ajastya became very famous for the deeds he was doing as an acetic, the word eventually get to the Lord of Gods which we saw in a previous tale of the Buddha.
This lord of Gods wanted to see if his asceticism was true so he decided to make a test for him. The Lord of Gods proceeded to start to take away valuable resources from the island so that the bodhisattva could not use it anymore. Ajastya did not notice that the fruits of the island were disappearing because he was meditating immensely and in turn did not need to eat or drink much. Since this act from the lord of gods did not get his attention the lord decided to do something so that the bodhisattva would now notice. The lord of Gods took every leaf off every tree and bush on the island. The bodhisattva who was in such deep meditation that he only needs a few of the fallen leaves from the trees to sustain him. The Lord of Gods finally decided to test Ajastya for the third time. This time the lord would show up in front of Ajastya every day during his meal time, Shakra the lord of Gods knew that he would feed him instead of feeding himself. Ajastya was ok with feeding Shakra because he knew that his generosity would prevail through the tough times he was currently
facing. After this test was complete Sharkra appeared in from of the young bodhisattva where he then proceeded to ask Ajastya what his motivation for becoming an acetic was at this time. Ajastya replied to the lord of gods by telling him that he feeds off the feeling he gets when he is able to better the lives of other beings. This idea transcends through the Buddhist practices that all Buddhists want everyone to be enlightened and would be delighted to teach them their ways. Sharkra told him that he would grant him one wish; the bodhisattva replied that he wanted Shakra to go away. Sharkra granted his wish but before the lord left he summoned a great feast in from of Ajastyas eyes then vanished.
The idea of generosity and charity is something that does not come easy to a mortal man. In this day and age many people feel like they are entitled to certain things and anyone who tries to take that away from them they become very angry. This young bodhisattva realized that the bliss he got from giving to other people was unlike anything he has ever experienced in his entire life. The feeling was so immense that he left the place where he grew up to peruse his spirituality. He was put through many tests and tempted to go back on his word, but the Buddha in training prevailed and at the end was rewarded for his triumph. Ture charity is doing things for others out of the kindness of your heart. This story exemplifies what it truly means to want to better the lives of others around you before yourself.
The next tale is about how powerful the strength of love is.
This life of the Buddha is one that highlights how strong love truly is, especially in Buddhist practice. The Bodhisattva was born into a family where he would become the great king Maitribala which translates to strength of loving kindness. This king could understand and sympathize with his people who were in deep suffering. Know if this fact of suffering the king would rule in such a way to reduce the suffering of his people. The king was smart enough to create an excellent relationship with all the other kings around him so that there would be no war or suffering in his kingdom. The other kings around him respected him for how he ran his kingdom. It was said in the story that even the people in his kingdom who would do wrong in his kingdom would be dealt with in such a compassionate way that they would not want to do any wrong ever again. This achievement would really help the king maintain the peace and love inside his kingdom. However one day all of this started to change because five demons had escaped from their lord and started to invade king Maitribala’s kingdom. These demons where specialized in draining the life force out of any living being that they came across. These demons where the ultimate tool for causing suffering wherever they may go. On the other hand the demons attempt to take over the kingdom was very unsuccessful. The demons were very confused because nothing like this had ever happened
before; they were used to always causing suffering. The demons decided to hatch a plan to enter the walls of the kingdom. They had the idea of disguising themselves as normal men so that they may understand why they could not enter the kingdom or what force was keeping them away. They quickly learned of how the king was running his kingdom and why they were not able to cause the suffering that they wanted to cause. As the disguised demons enter the kingdom they met the king upon arrival where they quickly tell the king that they are very hungry. The kindness of the king was shown to these demons because the king arranged that they be brought a wonderful feast so they may not be starving anymore. The demons received the feat that the king brought to them but before they would start to eat the food they told the king that this was not the type of food that they would eat. The king was