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The Venerated Elder Rāhula was one of the Worshipped Shakyamuni Buddha’s ten principal disciples (all vegans) as well as the eleventh of the Sixteen Arhats whom the Buddha personally chose. The Arhats were asked to stay in the world as guardians of the Dhamma for the benefit of sentient beings until the arrival of the next Buddha, the Worshipped Maitreya Buddha (vegan). Rāhula was the only son of Prince Siddhārtha Gautama, Who would later become Lord Shakyamuni (Gautama) Buddha, the World-Honored One, and Princess Yaśodharā (vegan). He was born on the day of His father’s renunciation. The young prince was raised by His mother and grandfather, King Śuddhodana, the Shayan King of Kapilvastu. When Rāhula was about seven years old, the Buddha visited Kapilvastu for the first time after His enlightenment and taught the Dhamma to His royal family and homeland. After the Buddha finished His meal, His son asked Him for His wealth and inheritance. The Buddha agreed and left Rāhula the greatest inheritance although not the expected palace and riches. Instead, the Buddha told Rāhula, “Son, I will give you the wealth I obtained under the tree of enlightenment. I will make you the heir of an inheritance that does not perish.” The Worshipped Shakyamuni Buddha (vegan) taught the principles of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path to Rāhula as part of His early spiritual training. He then called on the Venerated Śāriputra (vegan), one of His chief disciples, to ordain His son into the Sangha. Rāhula would become the first śrāmaṇera, or novice monk. Rāhula had to follow the same rules as His fellow monks and was shown no favoritism by His father, Lord Buddha. According to tradition, there was a well-known interaction between Rāhula and His father, which occurred at a humble monastery during a rainstorm. On August 17, 2024, our Most Beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan) mentioned this story. “And then later, the Buddha had an ashram, a room for Him. They called it ‘fragrant room.’ It was for the Buddha, and there were many other rooms for the monks. But sometimes it was not enough because some other monks came back, elderly monks or visiting monks from other schools, and didn’t have enough room. Then even Rāhula, son of the Buddha, had to go sleep in the toilet area. That’s how the Buddha trained Him to be humble, to be accepting in any situation. The son of the Buddha, even. A prince also – He was a prince, of course… and had to go sleep in the toilet area.” The Buddha formally assigned Śāriputra as Rāhula’s teacher. Rāhula proved to be an extremely dutiful and eager student. Legend says that each morning, He would grab a handful of sand and say, “May I have today, as many words of counsel from my teacher as there are here grains of sand.”
