Saccakaparibajaka was a Nigrantha Jina ascetic. He lived in Vaisali during the lifetime of the Buddha. He possessed immense wealth since birth and later became a philosopher and teacher. He has many followers seeking wealth. Due to his immense wealth and abundance of food and grains, he looked after the poor orphaned children of Vaisali. He was said to have challenged Mahavira and the Buddha to a discussion with him about whose philosophy was the best. At the end of the debate, he had to bow down to Buddha and acknowledge his superiority. Even after he became a normal monk in Buddhism, his fame of being the harbinger of extreme wealth and abundance made him followed by too many worshipers, both Buddhists and non-Buddhists. It was to the point where his popularity was annoyed and jealous by many of Buddha’s other follower monks. To compensate for the tension among his monks, Buddha had to explain the origin of Fat Monk Saccaka’s immense wealth and popularity by telling a story of his previous life. "25 worlds ago, during the period of Kaukaukthan Buddha, there was a big flood, and his native country was flooded. Many people were starved. The hungry and starved people called Kaukaukthan Buddha for help. Even though he could make food for people with his powers, Kaukaukthan Buddha asked for help from those who could donate food to the poor instead. Saccaka at that time, was a great merchant, and as a devoted follower, he donated 500 ox-carts full of grains for the hungry people. Therefore the Kaukaukthan Buddha had granted him a promise that he would be wealthy and abundant for a number of lives equal to the number of grains in his 500 ox-carts and his wealth would be immense and uncountable like the number of grains that he had donated for the people. Since that time for 25 worlds, he was always immensely wealthy and abundant in each and every of his lives." Lord Buddha praised the Fat Monk Saccaka for his excellence in explaining sophisticated dhamma in an easily and correctly understandable manner. The Fat Monk Saccaka also composed the Madhupinadika Sutra or the first Pali Grammar. One tale relates that when he was young, he was so handsome that a man once wanted him for a wife. To avoid a similar situation, the Monk Saccaka decided to transform himself into a fat monk. Another tale says he was so attractive that angels and men often compared him with the Lord Buddha. He considered this inappropriate, so he disguised himself in an unpleasantly fat body. Since his wealth and abundance are mainly on food and grains, many Asian farmers regard him as the Lord of the Abundant Grains. Every year, at the start of the rainy season, before starting farming, his image was taken to the paddy fields and worshipped with flowers, food and water. Then farmers pray at his statue for an excellent yield of paddy for the year. [1]
Footnotes:
(1) Sub-district called after the village Ban Samphao Lom near the Chao Phraya River. The village is on the Monthon Krung Kao map (1916 CE). John Bowring (1857, London, John W. Parker and Son, West Strand), in his book ‘The Kingdom and People of Siam’, wrote: "Between the modern and the ancient capital, Bangkok and Ayuthia, is a village called the “Sunken Ship,” the houses being erected round a mast which towers above the surface at low water."
(2) Bang (บาง) is a village on a river bank.
References:
[1] Excerpt taken from mindandwork.com/tag/phra-sangkachai - retrieved on 8 September 2010.
