The Iron Will of Sthulabhadra

Sthulabhadra was once the chief minister's son and lived a life of intense pleasure, deeply in love with a beautiful courtesan named Kosha. He lived in her palace for twelve years. However, upon the death of his father, he experienced a profound awakening, renounced the world, and became a Jain monk under Acharya Bhadrabahu.

During the monsoon season (Chaturmas), Jain monks must stay in one place. Three of his fellow monks took difficult vows: one stood near a snake's hole, one sat near a well wheel, and one stayed outside in the elements.

Sthulabhadra approached his Guru and asked, 'Permit me to spend the four months in the picture gallery of Kosha, the courtesan.' The Guru, knowing Sthulabhadra's inner strength, agreed.

Kosha was overjoyed to see him return. For four months, she used all her beauty, art, and charm to tempt him back to his old life. She dressed in fine silks, danced, sang, and offered him luxurious food. Sthulabhadra lived in the very room where he had previously enjoyed immense pleasure.

Yet, for four months, he remained completely unshaken, absorbed in deep meditation, viewing her body as merely a temporary collection of atoms, and his own desires as passing clouds.

When the monsoon ended, the monks returned to their Guru. The Guru praised the first three monks for their difficult physical austerities. But when Sthulabhadra arrived, the Guru stood up and took seven steps forward to welcome him, declaring his austerity the greatest.

'To avoid the fire is difficult,' the Guru explained. 'But to sit inside the roaring fire and not let a single hair be burned—that is the mark of a supreme conqueror.'