Mưa hồng rơi xuống xứ Vesali và nhân quả từ ngàn kiếp

The land of Vesali was parched and cracked like fish entrails. Trees withered, and bodies of the dead lay scattered along the roads, giving off a terrible stench. The buzzing of flies blended with the cries of the living. Prince Mahali had ridden for days and nights from Vesali to Rajagriha, his clothes soaked with sweat and his body exhausted, yet his eyes brightened at the sight of the gate to Venuvana Monastery. "I must meet the World-Honored One. Only He can save my people," he murmured, his hands trembling on the reins.

Vesali had once been peaceful, but after the Buddha's father, King Suddhodana, passed away, the Buddha visited on His way to Rajagriha. He stayed for a time, and it was there that the Bhikkhuni Sangha was established, largely through the influence of Princess Gopa. Yet the king of Vesali had remained indifferent and did not welcome Him. Later, drought, pestilence, and evil spirits plagued the land. Though a good man, the king did not recognize his fault. He asked his people, "I think I may be at fault for our kingdom's misfortune. Who can point it out so I may repent?" No one could find any great error. Prince Mahali, who had taken refuge and attained the first stage of sainthood, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the fault lies in your indifference when the World-Honored One visited our land." The king then agreed to let the prince lead a delegation to invite the Buddha.

The prince went before King Bimbisara and bowed deeply. "Great King, my people are perishing. Please, allow me to meet the World-Honored One." King Bimbisara patted his shoulder. "This is simple. Go directly to the Buddha." Mahali's delegation entered Venuvana, and the Buddha consented. King Bimbisara hastily prepared a chariot and had a road cleared to the Ganges River. On the riverbank, the king of Vesali welcomed the Buddha with incense and flowers, as celestial beings gathered. When the Buddha stepped across the water, Mahali exclaimed, "Wherever Your feet touch, my people are saved!" The Buddha smiled gently. "Prince, it is the law of cause and effect that truly brings about such outcomes."

The moment the Buddha set foot in Vesali, rain poured down in torrents, flooding the parched fields. The king of Vesali cried out, "The Buddha has not even performed a rite, yet the rain arrives! His divine power is extraordinary!" The Buddha asked Ananda to recite a sutra. Ananda traveled throughout the city chanting it, and the pestilence vanished while flowers rained down from the heavens. The king said again, "World-Honored One, this divine power has saved my entire kingdom!" The Buddha looked at him calmly. "It is not divine power. It is the fruit of cause and effect." The monks asked, "Blessed One, what is the cause of this glory?" The Buddha explained, "In a past life, I was a father whose son became a Solitary Buddha and then entered nirvana. I wept, and every day I swept and adorned his shrine, making offerings of flowers. Because of that merit from making offerings, such glory now manifests manifold."

The Buddha then recited a verse: "By renouncing lesser joys, one obtains greater happiness. The wise abandon small pleasures to find vast, boundless joy." The king and the people awakened, no longer seeing the Buddha's deeds as miracles, but understanding the law of cause and effect. The Buddha returned to Rajagriha, and a Dragon King appeared, offering a lotus flower in reverence on the river.

From then on, Vesali revived. The people followed the Buddha's teachings, understanding that even small acts of generating merit from the past can bear great fruit. The lesson of cause and effect replaced superstition and belief in supernatural powers, teaching future generations to cultivate wholesome conditions.

*The Meaning of the Story*

Glory and the alleviation of suffering arise not from supernatural power, but from the karmic law of cause and effect. The wise renounce fleeting pleasures to make offerings and create merit, thereby attaining the boundless joy of liberation.

*Compiled from a Dharma talk by Venerable Thich Chan Quang.*