Resolving a Dispute
One day, Sariputra obtained
consent from the Buddha to go travelling. When he had left, a Bikshu with the
insidious intention to slander came to report to the Buddha :" Sariputra
is unrepentant for the disputes he had incited which
involved several
Bikshus. And now he has gone on his travels without even apologising."
On hearing
this, the Buddha ordered for Sariputra to return to attend an assembly. When Sariputra arrived back at
the Vihara, the Buddha told him of the Bikshu's complaint and asked him if it was
true.
Sariputra
replied:" Buddha! I think you already know the truth."
The Buddha
said:" I know. And yet all the Bikshus are suspicious of your conduct.
This is a chance for you to clarify for yourself."
Sariputra
said:" I am almost eighty years of age now. All this time, I have never
killed, lied or said anything false even for a joke. Buddha! Now that I
have attained purity of mind and thought, how would I antagonise others and
enter into disputes with my fellow cultivators?"
He
continued:" I am like the vast earth which accomodates both the pure and the defiled. I will not reject them
whether they are good or evil. I am like water too. Water cleans the good as well as purifies the bad. Water has no discrimination
whatsoever.I am like the towering flames which could burn down the wild, without being selective at all. And I am like the
broom which could sweep away everything. My
mind practises in such a way that I would
not have engaged in disputes with other Bikshus and then just left for my travels. The Buddha
should understand, and so should that Bikshu who reported
this of me. Had I
done as he said, I would have asked him to accept my apology and repentance."
At this
point, the Buddha told the Bikshu who accused Sariputra to reconsider his
accusations.The
Bikshu stood up, and said to the Buddha with respect:" I know now that I
have wronged Sariputra. I hope the Buddha would accept my apology and repentance."
The Buddha
told him to personally apologise to Sariputra, and he did as instructed. The Buddha then said to Sariputra:"
You can now touch this Bikshu's head to accept his repentance in order to help him achieve purity of body and
mind."
The Buddha had skillfully solved this
controversy, and the Sangha resumed its harmony and peace.