chanted lectures (kōshiki) rites, and images were used in dedication to Rāhula. On regular days of religious observance, male and female novices performed rites and gave lectures in honor of Rāhula. These were popular with the laypeople, as well as with priests that aimed to revive Indian Buddhism, in particular early Buddhist monastic discipline. In the kōshiki Rāhula was praised extensively, and was described as the "Eldest Child", eldest being a devotional term, since Prince Siddhārtha had no other children. Thus, the person of Rāhula became an object of devotion and inspiration for monks who wished to observe monastic discipline well. The Lotus Sūtra, as well as later East Asian texts such as the Raun Kōshiki, relate that Gautama Buddha predicts Rāhula will become a Buddha in a future life, named "Stepping on Seven Treasure Flowers" (). In these texts, Rāhula is seen as a Mahāyāna type of Buddha-to-be, who would save many sentient beings and lives in a Pure Land. The exhortations the Buddha gives to Rāhula have also become part of his legacy. The Ambalatthika-Rāhulovāda Sutta became one of the seven Buddhist texts recommended for study in the inscriptions of the Emperor Aśoka. This discourse has been raised by modern ethicists as evidence for consequentalist ethics in Buddhism, though this is disputed. Rāhula is mentioned as one of the founders of a system of Buddhist philosophy called the Vaibhāṣika, which was part of the Sarvāstivāda schools. He is also considered by some Thai schools of Buddhist borān meditation to be the patron of their tradition, which is explained by referring to Rāhula's gradual development in meditation as opposed to the instant enlightenment of other disciples. Childhood in Buddhism From the narratives surrounding Rāhula several conclusions have been drawn with regard to Buddhist perspectives on childhood. Several scholars have raised Rāhula's example to indicate that children in Buddhism are seen as an obstacle to spiritual enlightenment, or that Buddhism, being a monastic religion, is not interested in children. Education scholar Yoshiharu Nakagawa argues, however, that Rāhula's story points at two ideals of childhood which exist parallel in Buddhism: that of the common child, subject to the human condition, and that of the child with a potential for enlightenment, who Crosby describes as a heroic disciple. Religion scholar Vanessa Sasson notes that although Prince Siddhārtha initially abandons his son, he comes back for him and offers a spiritual heritage to