I will explain to you the story behind this large snake, referred to as a Naga. This particular snake is oftentimes referred to as “The Serpent King”.
Just keep in mind, that these types of stories may or may not be true. But, whether it is true or false, there are still lessons to be learned that are helpful to your journey to Enlightenment.
So, I will share the story of these snakes and why they are typically placed at the base of the stairs to Temples but, I am unsure if this story is true. I suspect that it is not true but, I was not there to know for myself.
Nonetheless, there are three primary lessons that you can learn from this story, so I will share it with you, then help you understand the lessons that will be beneficial to your journey to Enlightenment.
The story goes, that during the lifetime of The Buddha there was a large snake that was very close to being reborn in the human realm. Therefore, it could transition itself to look like a human being. It could change its physical appearance at will.
This snake was interested in attaining Enlightenment therefore, on one occasion, it changed its appearance to look like an Ordained Practitioner and went into the location where The Buddha was teaching in order to learn his Teachings.
Looking like an Ordained Practitioner, the snake sat down right along with all the other Ordained Practitioners. The Buddha was teaching for an extended period of time, as he often did, and many people were falling asleep.
You might consider falling asleep during a Teacher’s talk as disrespectful but, that is not how an Enlightened being sees it, and surely not, a Fully Perfectly Enlightened Buddha. A Buddha understands, that to learn these Teachings takes a certain amount of energy and effort, and the mind will need to be challenged to work to listen, learn, and understand. Therefore, it is not uncommon for a Student to fall asleep while applying effort and energy to deeply learning these Teachings.
So, along with all the other Ordained Practitioners, The Serpent King fell asleep. As The Serpent King fell asleep, it lost its awareness of mind and, therefore, turned back into looking like a snake.
Then, as the various Ordained Practitioners awoke from their sleep, they noticed there was as large snake among them, and became fearful.
They decided to go get The Buddha. An Enlightened being has no fear, so they figured that, with his wisdom and lack of fear, The Buddha would know what to do.
The Buddha came to see what was happening, and as he showed up to the area where The Serpent King was, the snake woke up from its sleep.
The Buddha asked the snake what he was doing.
The Serpent King replied, that he wanted to learn The Teachings of The Buddha to be able to attain Enlightenment.
The Buddha informed the snake, that while that was an admirable pursuit, he would be unable to attain Enlightenment while in the animal realm. That he would need to be in the human or heavenly realm to attain Enlightenment. And, since he heard that he was able to transition himself to look like a human being, he must be really close to being reborn in the human realm so, perhaps in his next life he would be able to attain Enlightenment.
The Buddha asked the snake if it would be possible for him to leave, because he is teaching several humans and, because they were not yet Enlightened, they had fear and it would be challenging for them to learn as long as the snake was there.
The snake pleaded with The Buddha and asked him to be able to stay.
The Buddha explained that it would be best if he left so that he could teach the human beings and then, in his next life, he could learn The Teachings from a human existence and, then, perhaps attain Enlightenment.
So, the snake reluctantly agreed to leave. But, he said he would stand just outside from where The Buddha was teaching and that he would “stand guard”. That if anyone had ill will towards The Teachings of The Buddha, he would not let them enter to learn his Teachings.
And, this is why we have these snakes positioned here in front of these steps.
The Ordained Practitioners use to teach up here above this staircase.
As you can see, the idea of this story being true is unable to be determined because none of us where there during that timeframe. I have never seen a snake that is able to transition itself to look like a human being but, scientists share with us, that 99% of all animals that once existed no longer exist today. The animals that we are seeing represent only 1% of all animals that once existed.
Whether the story is true or false, there are still lessons to be learned here that will help you in your journey to Enlightenment.
First, an Enlightened being does not have any fear. By the time you get to Enlightenment, you will have eliminated 100% of all your fear.
Second, it is only in the human and heavenly realms that beings are able to attain Enlightenment. And, thank goodness you are now in the human realm. So, do not allow this human existence to go to waste. Do not allow the mind to be complacent in its journey to Enlightenment. Apply effort and energy towards learning, growing, and developing on The Path to Enlightenment.
And third, if you come to visit a Temple, it is important not to have ill will towards The Teachings of The Buddha. Having ill will towards The Teachings of The Buddha would be, to be interested in changing his Teachings.
Once The Teachings of a Buddha have been changed, they will no longer lead to Enlightenment and you are causing harm to yourself and countless other beings. So, when you come to learn The Teachings of The Buddha, learn them as they are: learning by investigation and examination, reflecting to independently verify them, and practice his Teachings to produce the results of the Enlightened mind. But, it is important to never change The Teachings of a Buddha because they would no longer be effective at producing Enlightenment and it would cause harm to you and countless other people.
A Buddha has already done the hard work of figuring out how to attain Enlightenment. All you need to do is, actively learn, reflect on, and practice his Teachings, with the guidance of a Teacher, to experience the results of the Enlightened mind. But, changing his Teachings will not allow you to attain Enlightenment and changing a Buddha’s Teachings would be to have ill will towards his Teachings and countless other beings because, it would cause significant harm to change a Buddha’s Teachings.
Getting to Enlightenment is the very best thing that could ever happen for you and those around you. But, if someone changed The Teachings of The Buddha, they would no longer produce Enlightenment, therefore, changing a Buddha’s Teachings would cause you and countless others harm, because you would not be able to experience Enlightenment.
A Buddha’s Teachings are timeless, they are just as applicable during the lifetime of a Buddha, and throughout the entire history of the world. A Buddha’s Teachings are based on The Natural Laws of Existence, and these natural laws do not change. Therefore, a Buddha’s Teachings are timeless and they do not need to be changed. They will work to help countless beings attain Enlightenment, if they are not modified in anyway.
