Sudatta wanted [Shakyamuni] to come to teach his excellent religion to the people of this kingdom. Realizing that a monastery where Shakyamuni and his followers could spend the rainy season was necessary, as soon as he returned to the city, he began to look for a suitable piece of ground that would not be too far away from the city but would be sufficiently remote that city noise would not disturb the meditations of the monks. He found a place south of the capital that he thought was just right. It was a grove belonging to Prince Jeta, with whom Sudatta discussed the possibilities of a purchase. Unwilling to part with the land, the prince said in jest, “If you want it all that badly, cover the ground with gold. That is my price.” Jeta never dreamed that Sudatta would go so far to acquire the land. But he did. So deep was his faith in the Buddha that he was willing to part with his entire wealth. To his way of thinking, wealth could always be acquired a second time, but there would be no second opportunity to hear a Buddha’s teachings if this first opportunity were allowed to slip by. He therefore had gold brought from home and began to cover the grove with it.

Prince Jeta was startled. By the time he had come to himself, most of the ground of the grove was already covered with gold. He asked Sudatta why he was so determined and learned that a truly rare Buddha had appeared in this world. He then proposed that they use all of this gold to erect part of the buildings for a splendid monastery. Sudatta could then add to them as was necessary. Together the two of them would build what, in honor of the prince, came to be called the Jetavana Monastery. Though it is possible that the entire compound was not completed all at once, even during the lifetime of Shakyamuni, Jetavana became the largest of all the Buddhist monasteries in India.