No Heroes (3) - Buddha & Beef...

By Manuwant Choudhary

Prince Siddharth left his kingdom in Nepal to become a bhikhsu (monk) and went out in search of truth.

For years he wandered in the forests.

It is only after long hours of isolation and deep meditation that he learned about the truths.

But he still had no followers...

It was only after sometime a few learnt of his special powers that he got five disciples.

Now the rule for a monk is that he must go to the first house with his begging bowl and eat the food only once in a day.

So one day when the Buddha went to seek alms...he knocked on a door...an old lady emerged and put something in his bowl.

To the horror of Buddha's disciples...they saw the food in the bowl -  beef.

But what shocked them even more is when they see Buddha eat the beef.

They were fully convinced that the Buddha was a fake messiah...how could he eat beef when he himself preached non-violence.

The disciples were angry and they left the Buddha.

It is only when the Buddha's powers spread far and wide that the disciples returned but still not convinced.

So they asked the Buddha why he had eaten beef that day.

The Buddha replied,

"I ate beef because I could see that it was the only food the poor lady had in her house and instead of eating herself she offered me that food..what could be more loving and kind...in fact my refusal to eat beef that day would be violence...."