[Gad]

The story of Queen Mallika illustrates very well the importance of mindset. Queen Mallika was a lay disciple of Lord Buddha. She accomplished much merit and had great understanding of the Dhamma. Despite her qualities, she had still not reached the sotāpanna stage. She committed sexual misconduct. This act came back as nimitta at the time of his death. She took rebirth in Niraya hell. Thanks to his merits, his torture will last only 7 days. At the end of the 7 days, she took rebirth in the Tusita paradise.

During the 7 days, her husband asked Lord Buddha where she had taken rebirth. Lord Buddha diverted the question with a Dhamma topic. He didn’t want to add to her grief by telling her that she was in an apaya. At the end of the seventh day, he told her that she is a devi.

 

I retained this (correct me if I have incorrect views)

1) Despite our merits (she offered objects to Lord Buddha), we can fall into apaya at any time. This is the case as long as the sotāpanna stage is not reached.

2) This story shows that a small action can lead to apayas. One must be very careful. Sexual misconduct is insignificant compared to murder and apayagami action. Her human bhava was broken, because of this action. We must be extremely careful. As puthujunas, we do not know what our state of mind will be at the time of death. Our bhava may break.

3) This story goes against the general idea that apayas last for eons for everyone. The duration of our torment varies, depending on our merit. Queen Mallika went from Niraya to Tusita, in 7 days. Of course, the vast majority will be trapped for eons. We must keep in mind that our merits can be of help in the event of a fall.

There is a type of peta (hungry ghost) who undergoes torture one period and during another, they live like devas.You can see in the Petavatthu.

Let’s take a realm visible to our eyes, the animal world, for example. Some animals suffer more than others and even live better than humans. The pets of King Charles III of the United Kingdom live better than an orphan from my hometown Douala in Cameroon.In my country the majority of them (not all)  lack proper food and care. They fall into delinquency and are victims of human trafficking. King Charles III’s pets lack for nothing and are treated royally. These orphans are human but they are in abominable conditions. Of course, unlike pets, they can become sotāpanna, if the conditions are right.

In short, this story reminds us of the importance of the sotāpanna stage. Even a minute in an apaya is abominable. If we do not want to fall, we must reach this stage as quickly as possible.

Here is the link to the story of queen Mallika 

Queen Mallika.   

Mallikā

[Lal]

Thank you, Gad.

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Gad

[Author]

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