The Buddha Attends a Sick Monk

Dr. Ven. Dodamgoda Sumanasara Thero
University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

" Whenever you look after a sick person, it is as if you were looking after me myself."

One day the Buddha was surveying the world and he saw that the monk Tissa was suffering from a skin disease at the monastery. At the beginning of the disease, small boils appeared over his body. Later, those boils gradually developed into big sores all over the body. No one assisted him or treated him to get rid of this disease.

His brother monks also neglected him due to the unpleasant smell of the sores. Due to this reason, the monk Tissa suffered a lot as well as his mentality deteriorated day by day. However, he had to lay down on the bed spending time alone in pain and sorrow in his room until he received help from others. Then the Buddha saw that the monk Tissa was in a lot of pain and sorrow. With great compassion, the Buddha approached him and observed his body. The Buddha himself went to the fireplace and boiled some water to clean and bathe the sick monk. Afterwards, he bathed him with warm water and cleaned his robes with hot water and got them dried in the sun. Then the sick monk was dressed by the Buddha with the help of Venerable Ananda Thero. Eventually, the Buddha asked all the monks at the monastery to assemble to the preaching hall and advised them, saying.

Dear monks, here, at this monastery you don’t have your parents, brothers, sisters or relatives to attend to and look after you when you are sick. Who will attend to and look after you if you don’t attend to and look after your brother monks? Further, the Buddha reminded the monks with great compassion about the importance of attending to and looking after sick monks as,

“Yogilananupattheiya so man upattheiya”

“Whenever you look after a sick person, it is as if you were looking after me myself.”

After that, the Buddha delivered a short sermon to all monks on the reality of the human body and its impermanence in the presence of the Rev. Tissa. Hearing this Dhamma sermon Rev. Tissa attained Arahanthship, the supreme bliss of Nibbana at the end of the sermon.

May you all be well and happy!