Rahula- Buddhist FigureMortal"Foremost in Desire for Training"

A Fetter Is Born

Rahula was born on the very night his father decided to leave the palace and seek enlightenment. When Siddhartha heard that his wife Yasodhara had given birth, he said, "Rāhula is born, a fetter has arisen." He named the boy "Fetter" and left that night. Rahula spent his first seven years in the palace at Kapilavatthu, raised by his mother and grandmother Mahapajapati Gotami, never knowing his father.

Give Me My Inheritance

When the Buddha returned to Kapilavatthu as an awakened teacher, Yasodhara sent the young Rahula to him. "Give me my inheritance," the boy said. The Buddha did not give him gold or a throne. He ordained Rahula into the monastic order, making him the first novice monk in Buddhism at seven years old. The Buddha entrusted his training to Sariputta.

The Teaching on Truthfulness

The Buddha set a basin of dirty foot-water before Rahula. That, he said, was the mind of a person who lies without shame. He taught the boy to reflect before, during, and after every action: "Does this action lead to harm for myself, for others, or for both?" If so, the action should not be done. This discourse is preserved in the Ambalatthika-rahulovada Sutta.

Foremost in Training

The Buddha declared Rahula foremost among his disciples in desire for training. He attained full enlightenment after the Buddha guided him through an analysis of the aggregates of experience, showing how none could be identified as "self." The boy whose name meant "fetter" achieved the same freedom as his father.