Now I know that Tep and David love Thera Sariputra the most. I have collected a near-complete life story of Sariputra thera, so I plan to present a series of short sessions starting today.
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Sariputra's Youth
[from Dhamma Group]
Sariputra was born in a village in Magadha at southern India. His father was a noted Brahmin scholar. When his mother conceived him, she had extraordinary wisdom, which was believed to be influenced by the baby in her womb. Even her younger brother, also a noted scholar, was defeated in every discussion with her. Knowing that his sister conceived a baby who would become a man of great wisdom, he left home to search for more knowledge so as not to be outdone by his nephew in future.
At the age of eight, Sariputra was able to understand all the books he read. Once, a wealthy man held a banquet to entertain the king, the princes, ministers and scholars. The eight-year-old Sariputra was also one of the invited guests. He impressed everyone at the banquet with his eloquent speech and great wisdom. The king was so pleased that he awarded a village to Sariputra.
The young Sariputra was a handsome scholar who enjoyed great reputation in the academic field. When he was twenty years old, he and Moggallana,his best friend since childhood,left his home and began to search for Truth. He actually became a disciple of a Brahmin scholar, and Mogallana was his classmate. Both of them later decided to leave their teacher as they felt that he could not satisfy their quest for knowledge. They then set up a study group and recruited students on their own. Sariputra and Mogallana shared a common ambition of a search for the Truth. However, they both thought their wisdom was peerless and no one could qualify to be their teacher.
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Love Buddha's dhamma,
yawares/sirikanya
