At one time, the Buddha was living in the province of Kosala in a certain forest.
Now at that time, there was a builder named Bhāradvāja of the brahmin caste. He was doing some milling in that forest. He saw the Buddha sitting down cross-legged at the root of a certain sal tree, with his body straight.
Seeing this, he thought, “I enjoy milling here in this forest. I wonder what the monk Gotama enjoys doing in this forest?”
Then Bhāradvāja, the builder went up to the Buddha and asked him in verse:
“What kind of work do you do
as a monk in this sal jungle?
How do you find enjoyment
alone in the forest, Gotama?”
The Buddha:
“There’s nothing I need to do in the jungle,
my jungle of defilements is cut down at the root, it’s dried up.
With that jungle cleared and free of thorns,
I enjoy being alone in the forest.
I never experience displeasure in the practice of Dhamma.”
When the Buddha said this, Bhāradvāja said to the Buddha, “Excellent, Master Gotama! Excellent! Just as if someone turned upright, what was upside down, revealed what was hidden, pointed out the path to whoever was lost, or lit a lamp in the dark so people with good eyes could see what’s there, Master Gotama taught me the Dhamma, which is clear in many ways. I go for refuge to Master Gotama, to the Dhamma, and to the Saṅgha. From this day forth, may Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge to the Triple Gem for as long as I live.”
