(Part
Two) 2.
The Conversion of Yasha
While
the Buddha stayed at the Deer Park in Benares, a rich
young man called Yasha came to see him. Yasha
listened to the Buddha’s teachings and was so
enthralled by them that he became a monk (bhikkhu).
Towards
evening, an elderly man came to the Buddha and told
him that his son had left home that morning saying
he was going to visit the Buddha, but he had not returned.
Both he and his wife were worried, thinking robbers
must have killed him. The Buddha told the father not
to worry and that his son had become a monk. Then
he started to explain his teachings to Yasha’s
father and soon he too became a follower.
Yasha
had fifty-four friends who were presented to the Buddha
to hear his teachings. They too became monks. In this
way in a short time there were sixty followers.
