Good Deeds Bring Happiness
The Story of Dhammika Upasaka
Chapter 1: Twin Verses • Verse 16
The Story of Dhammika Upasaka
Chapter 1: Twin Verses • Verse 16
The doer of good rejoices here and hereafter; he rejoices in both the worlds. He rejoices and exults, recollecting his own pure deeds.
While residing at the Jetavana Monastery in Savatthi, the Buddha spoke this verse with reference to Dhammika, a lay disciple.
Dhammika lived in Savatthi, was virtuous and devoted to charity, and regularly offered food and requisites to the monks. He was the leader of five hundred virtuous lay disciples of the Buddha, and he and his seven sons and seven daughters were all devoted to charitable giving.
When Dhammika fell gravely ill, he asked the Sangha to come to his bedside and recite the sacred texts.
While the monks recited the Mahasatipatthana Sutta, six decorated chariots arrived from six celestial worlds to invite him to their respective realms. Dhammika asked them to wait, not wanting to interrupt the recitation, but the monks, thinking he was asking them to stop, ended the recitation and left.
Dhammika then told his children about the six chariots waiting for him and chose the one from the Tusita world, asking a child to throw a garland onto it. The garland hung suspended in the air, visible to onlookers even though the chariot itself was invisible.
Dhammika told them, "I am going to the World of the Tusita gods; do not be disturbed. If you wish to be reborn with me, do good works as I have done." Then he passed away and was reborn in the Tusita world.
When the monks returned to the monastery, the Buddha asked whether the lay disciple had heard the Dhamma. They explained that he had interrupted them, crying "Wait! Wait!", causing his children to weep, at which point they had left.
The Buddha explained that Dhammika had not been speaking to them, but to the deities in their chariots, and that he had since been reborn among the Tusita gods. The Buddha remarked that those who are heedful, whether lay people or monks, rejoice both in this world and in the next.
The Story of Dhammika Upasaka
Chapter 1: Twin Verses • Verse 16
The doer of good rejoices here and hereafter; he rejoices in both the worlds. He rejoices and exults, recollecting his own pure deeds.
While residing at the Jetavana Monastery in Savatthi, the Buddha spoke this verse with reference to Dhammika, a lay disciple.
Dhammika lived in Savatthi, was virtuous and devoted to charity, and regularly offered food and requisites to the monks. He was the leader of five hundred virtuous lay disciples of the Buddha, and he and his seven sons and seven daughters were all devoted to charitable giving.
When Dhammika fell gravely ill, he asked the Sangha to come to his bedside and recite the sacred texts.
While the monks recited the Mahasatipatthana Sutta, six decorated chariots arrived from six celestial worlds to invite him to their respective realms. Dhammika asked them to wait, not wanting to interrupt the recitation, but the monks, thinking he was asking them to stop, ended the recitation and left.
Dhammika then told his children about the six chariots waiting for him and chose the one from the Tusita world, asking a child to throw a garland onto it. The garland hung suspended in the air, visible to onlookers even though the chariot itself was invisible.
Dhammika told them, "I am going to the World of the Tusita gods; do not be disturbed. If you wish to be reborn with me, do good works as I have done." Then he passed away and was reborn in the Tusita world.
When the monks returned to the monastery, the Buddha asked whether the lay disciple had heard the Dhamma. They explained that he had interrupted them, crying "Wait! Wait!", causing his children to weep, at which point they had left.
The Buddha explained that Dhammika had not been speaking to them, but to the deities in their chariots, and that he had since been reborn among the Tusita gods. The Buddha remarked that those who are heedful, whether lay people or monks, rejoice both in this world and in the next.