The Parable of the Rich Father and the Poor Son
The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wondrous Dharma,
Chapter 4：Faith and Understanding
A boy was born in a certain rich house. He ran away from home when he was young and wandered in another country, living in poverty for many years. His father was greatly pained by the loss of his only child and searched all over the country for his son. Eventually the father could not find his son and settled down in a certain town, and started to live in a grand mansion with many servants. The son wandered aimlessly until he reached the age of fifty, at which point he spontaneously reached his home country. He found himself standing right before the gate of his father’s house, although he had no idea who dwelled within it. He peeped inside the gate and found that everything there was very beautiful and awe-inspiring. He thought, “If I linger here for too long, I might be caught and forced to work or worse,” and ran away.
During all these years, not a single day had passed for the father without thinking of his lost son. Upon his first glance from inside the house, he recognized that the man standing at the gate was his son. Startled to see that his son had suddenly run away, he dispatched some attendants to bring the man back. When the son was caught by the attendants, he was so terrified that he fainted and collapsed to the ground. Seeing this from afar, the father decided not to bring his son back by force. He then sent two servants with disheveled appearances to talk to his son. The son was invited to work at the rich elder’s house to shovel dung; he accepted the job and started working there without worries. The rich man purposely smeared his body with mud and dust, and worked with the laborers in order to get close to his son. He said to his son, “I feel like a father to you,” and gave him a new name. For twenty years, the son continued to remove dung and clean filth.
By the end of the twenty years of menial work, the son had become comfortable working in the rich man’s house. Nevertheless, his abject mentality still remained. Eventually, the elder fell ill, and knowing that his death was approaching, he entrusted his son with the management of the storehouse that contained his wealth. Within a short time, the son became familiar with his father’s entire household and all his possessions, and became confident of his ability to manage his father’s house by himself. At long last the father was convinced of the spiritual growth of his son, and knowing that his end was near, he assembled all members of the house and declared, “This man is actually my real son, and all the wealth that I possess now belongs to my son.” Having gained the immense treasure unexpectedly, the son was filled with a pleasure he had never felt before, thinking, “I had never thought of seeking this wealth, but it has come to me all by itself.”
Commentary
The rich father symbolizes the Buddha and the poor son symbolizes us human beings. We have run away from the Buddha and have been wandering aimlessly within the realm of human suffering. However, we are getting close to our parent, the Buddha, spontaneously, without even knowing it ourselves. That is because we are endowed with buddha-nature, even though we are unaware of it. When the Buddha found us, he immediately recognized us as his children. He is always thinking of us. The Buddha tries to lead us to enlightenment immediately, but we turn our back on the Buddha, thinking that the Buddha’s awakening is not something that we can even think of approaching. At this juncture the Buddha uses skillful means to enable us to stay close to him in such a way that we can feel at ease. “Removing dung” symbolizes the fact that we have continued the practice of removing our delusions.
The poor son continued the practice diligently for twenty years, but he was still unable to overcome his abject mentality. Even though the Buddha said, “I feel like a father to you, so I will give you a new name,” he made a clear distinction between himself and the Buddha. As a result of the many years of practice, the poor son has become familiar with the treasure in the storehouse (the Buddha’s teachings) and has become the manager of the storehouse, but he does not think that the wealth is his. Just like the poor son in the parable, we are unable to recognize that we possess the treasure, that is, the buddha-nature.
Through the practice of the teachings, our confidence has grown gradually. Now the Buddha is telling us that “All living beings are my children, and I am their father. All living beings can become buddhas.” Finally, we have come to realize that we are as one with the Buddha.
We already have encountered the Lotus Sutra. We therefore are able to get close to the Buddha immediately. To do so, we must at first cast away our sense of inferiority. Let us open up and say to ourselves, “I can become a buddha too; I am as one with the universe.” Firm confidence will grow within us when we have faith in the Lotus Sutra and practice its teachings. When you encounter sufferings, please remember the father who is shoveling dung along with his son, wearing dirty clothes.
The Buddha is always with us.
Editorial supervision by the Chuo Academic
Research Institute