Angulimala Thera regrets inability to help expectant motherBUDDHISM: He was perfecting his spiritual path, matters of body meant little to him in comparison to his aspiration to attain his spiritual goal of final emancipation.
One day, on his daily rounds for morning alms in the village, Angulimala Thera came upon a house where an expectant mother was screaming in excruciating pain. She was suffering from prolonged throes of labour. Everyone in the family was afraid that she would not be able to bear it any longer and that she and her unborn baby were in grave danger. On seeing Angulimala Thera, on that fateful day, the family elders rushed to him and implored him to relieve the pregnant mother from her woeful state. They desperately pleaded him to use his spiritual powers to save the pregnant mother and her unborn baby from imminent death. Angulimala Thera confessed his inadequacy in handling temporal matters such as childbirth. He regretted that he could do nothing to help the sorrowful plight of the expectant mother as he had no training and skill in delivering a baby. The deep anguish among the family members caused him great disappointment and a feeling of utter helplessness. Deep compassion arose in him over the sorrowful state of the expectant mother. He felt miserable over his inability to relieve her suffering. |
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