Bimbisāra

Bimbisara with his royal cortege issuing from the city of Rajagriha to visit the Buddha

Bimbisāra (T. gzugs can snying po གཟུགས་ཅན་སྙིང་པོ་; C. pinposuoluo) was a king of Magadha and a great patron of Gautama Buddha.

There are several accounts of how the Buddha and the king first met. In the Pali Jataka tales, it is said that the two first met in Rajgir, soon after Siddhartha Gautama renounced worldly life. The Pali Mahavamsa states that they were childhood friends.

After Siddhartha Guatama attained enlightenment and became the Buddha, he visited King Bimbisara at his court in Rajgir, and taught the dharma to the king and his entourage. Upon hearing the Buddha's sermon, the king and his attendants all attained the level of stream-enterer (sotapanna).

Bimbisāra was known for his extraordinary generosity towards the Buddha and his sangha. He donated land for the sangha to use, such as the bamboo grove Veṇuvana.

He was succeeded on the throne by his son, Ajātaśatru.

Sources

• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University