Lectures on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra), Part Four

King Śuddhodana Pays Homage to the World-Honored One

All the people of the world, including all sentient beings throughout the three realms (the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm), feel great joy and delight upon hearing the Buddha's voice of Dharma. When King Śuddhodana first saw the Buddha—since the World-Honored One had left home to cultivate the path in the Snow Mountains, this was the first time King Śuddhodana had seen Him—there was still the bond of father and son between them, and he still regarded the Buddha as his own son. At the moment he first saw the Buddha, the thought in his mind was still that He was his father's son, that the Buddha was his child, and that the Buddha should bow to him. So King Śuddhodana stood there waiting for the World-Honored One to bow to him, while the World-Honored One stood opposite, waiting for King Śuddhodana to bow to Him, because the World-Honored One knew that He was the supreme honored one of the three realms; although King Śuddhodana was His father, he was still just an ordinary being. At this point, a disciple of the World-Honored One said to King Śuddhodana: "The World-Honored One is now the supreme honored one of the three realms; you should pay homage to the World-Honored One." Upon hearing this, King Śuddhodana understood, and immediately prostrated before the World-Honored One.