One day, as Kacchayana was approaching a river, he heard weeping. He stopped and, parting the tall grasses, saw an old woman crouching on the riverbank. He asked her in the gentlest possible voice, "What unhappiness makes you weep this way?" At first, she stiffened in fear. But the man's kind eyes gazing down on her eased her alarm, and haltingly she told her story.

Yasodhara hurried to her son and urged him to ask his father's blessing. Rahula did as he was told. Shakyamuni, turning back to look at his son, nodded and instructed the boy to follow as he continued walking. The boy did so in silence. When they reached the forest, Shakyamuni ordered Sariputta to shave Rahula's head, exchange his clothes for those of a monk, and make him a novice in the Sangha. Rahula is said to have been nine at the time.

Before becoming a monk, Anuruddha had worn beautiful clothes, slept on the softest bedding, and lived in comfort surrounded by servants. Now he found that wearing ragged robes, begging for food, sleeping outside, and other aspects of his new life of severe discipline were very difficult. But with stubborn perseverance, he finally became accustomed to the life of a monk, only to be assaulted by the fatigue brought on by such strict training.