The Golden Son ( သုဝဏၰသာမဇာတ္)

Keywords : Treat parents well with love and kindness; be polite and forgiving to others;be truthful in words and deeds.

These are the characters of nobility and truthfulness.
Worlds of Truth ( Sacca vaca) on noble deeds could bring miracles in life

The future Buddha demonstrated the virtues for Perfection in Compassion and Tolerance by looking after the blind parents and forgiving the king who had caused a serious harm to him.

This is the story of Future Buddha who survived inevitable death for being taking care of parents, and gentle and forgiving to others.



Once upon a time, in the foothills of Himavanta Mountains, there lived a hermit couple and their little son. The hermits would go into the forest every day to gather fruits and water for their daily meals, leaving the little son alone at home. While they were away, kein-na-ri (half-human-half-bird female creatures) would come for breast-feeding the little boy. The boy grew up strong and healthy, and his skin was golden color for which he was named Suvanna-sama (Thu-wunna-thama), the Golden Son.


Suvanna-sama grew up among animals in the forest, and being harmless to them they became very friendly. When his parents went out to gather fruits and water, he would take care of the daily chores in the house so that his parents could live comfortably in prayers and meditation. His animal friends always help him in his chores.



One day it was raining very heavily. The sky was dark, and streams were flooding. It was getting dark and his parents were late to come home. He became worried about his parents and went into the forest calling out to them. After sometimes, he heard his parents answered, and saw them sitting under a big tree. They shouted “ Don’t come near, there is danger over here. Just throw a rope to us”. He pulled down creepers from trees, made a rope, and threw one end of it to his parents. They followed the rope and finally reached him. He found that both of them were blind.


He was told that when it was raining heavily the hermits were soaking wet. They took shelter from rain under that big tree and the water dripping from their clothes got into a snake hole under the tree. The snake got angry and spat poison into their faces, and they became blinded by snake poison getting into their eyes. Suvanna-sama took them home by holding their hands and leading the way in darkness. He told them not worry, and that he would take care of their needs. Since then, the hermits had to stay home, and Suvanna-sama gathered fruits and fetched water for them.


Suvanna-sama made strings of rope at home, connecting his blind parents to food, water, toilet etc. He kept all their needs within easy reach, so that his parents could live comfortably as before even in blindness. His parents were very pleased with their son for looking after them so well. Suvanna-sama would go into forest daily to gather fruits when his friends, squirrels and birds helped him. He would go to river to collect water when deer helped him by carrying bamboo tubes filled with water on their backs.


One day, King Pili-yak-kha of Bara-nasi came hunting into the forest alone. When he came to the river where Suvanna-sama and deer used to come for collecting water, he found footprints of deer, and decided to wait for them here. The next day he found a flock of deer coming (with Suvanna-sama among them) to the other side of the river. The king saw a strange figure among the deer. He thought it was a golden deer or something else, and decided to get it without fail. He shot at the strange figure with a poisoned arrow. The arrow struck Suvanna-sama who fell down on the ground and deer ran away in fright.


Suvanna-sama was on the ground groaning in pain. He said “ I have never had enemy in this forest, and I have never hurt anyone in my life. My body is not good for hunting, and is useless for any purpose. Who could have done this to me? I am worried about my blind parents. Who will look after them if I die? ” The king heard Suvanna-sama, and he said to himself “ He is not blaming or angry at anyone in spite of been shot at. He could be a noble person and I have done a great mistake,” He asked his victim who he was, and Suvanna-sama told him who he was and of his blind parents.


Then Suvanna-sama became unconscious due to his arrow wound, and the king thought that the boy was dead. He said to himself that he was responsible for his mistake, and he should look after the blind hermits the rest of his life. So he went to the hermits’ place. When father hermit heard footsteps, he knew that it was not his son’s, which were always gentle. He asked, “ Who are you? ” The king replied who he was, and told them what had happened to their son, and that he would look after them in place of their son. Mother hermits cried out aloud to hear her son dead. Father hermit asked the king to take them to their son, and found that their son was not dead but unconscious by arrow-poison.


Father hermit told mother hermit that their son was still alive, and there was nothing they could do except saying “Words of Truth (Sacca-vaca)” and pray for their son. He called out to Guardian Gods of the World (Lawkapala deities) “My son Suvanna-sama is noble by conduct; always speaks the truth; looks after us well, and is kind and gentle. I truly love my son. For saying this truth, may the arrow-poison go away from my son”


They found Suvanna-sama moved a little. Mother hermit also said the same thing. They found their son moved a little more. Their callings were heard by the Guardian Angel of the forest Bhahu-sondri. She happened to be mother of Suvanna-sama in seven previous lives. She also said the “Words of Truth“ saying “ In all my previous lives as mother of Suvanna-sama, I truly loved my son. All trees in this forest are fragrant. For saying this truth, may the arrow-poison go away from my son”


A great miracle happened to Suvanna-sama and his parents. He became completely normal without a trace of wound, and the blind hermits could now see their son alive. They all became very happy for the great miracle and the Guardian Angel left them in great joy. King Pili-yak-kha was very astonished to see the great miracle. He realized that it was a miracle that could happen only for noble people. He asked Suvanna-sama for forgiveness and advise him how to become noble. Suvanna-sama replied “Be kind to the people, look after the parents well, and stop killing animals by hunting”. The king made a solemn promise, and went home.