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PREFACE

This booklet needs no preface for those who are familiar with the sacred books of Buddhism, which have been

made accessible to the Western world by the indefatiable !eal and industry of scholars like Beal, Biandet,Buehler, Burnouf, "hilders, #lexander "soma, $hys %avids, %utoit, &itel, 'ausboell, 'oucaux, 'rancke,

&dmund (ardy, Spence (ardy, (odson, "harles $) *anmann, ') +ax +ueller, arl &uen Neumann,

-ldenber, Pischel, Schiefner, Senart, Seidenstuecker, Bhikkhu Nyanatiloka, %) +) Stron, (enry "larke

Warren, Wasseli.ew, Weber, Windisch, Winternit! / c)

To those not familiar with the sub.ect it may be stated that the bulk of its contents is derived from the old

Buddhist canon) +any passaes, and indeed the most important ones, are literally copied in translations from

the oriinal texts) Some are rendered rather freely in order to make them intelliible to the present eneration0

others have been rearraned0 and still others are abbreviated) Besides the three introductory and the three

concludin chapters there are only a few purely oriinal additions, which, however, are neither mere literary

embellishments nor deviations from Buddhist doctrines) Wherever the compiler has admitted moderni!ation hehas done so with due consideration and always in the spirit of a leitimate development) #dditions and

modifications contain nothin but ideas for which prototypes can be found somewhere amon the traditions of

Buddhism, and have been introduced as elucidations of its main principles)

The best evidence that this book characteri!es the spirit of Buddhism correctly can be found in the welcome it

has received throuhout the entire Buddhist world) It has even been officially introduced in Buddhist schools

and temples of 1apan and "eylon) Soon after the appearance of the first edition of 2345 the $iht $ev) Shaku

Soyen, a prominent Buddhist abbot of amakura, 1apan, had a 1apanese translation made by Teitaro Su!uki,

and soon afterwards a "hinese version was made by +r) -6(ara of -t!u, the talented editor of a Buddhist

periodical, who in the meantime has unfortunately met with a premature death) In 2347 the -pen "ourt

Publishin "ompany brouht out a 8erman edition by &) ') *) 8auss, and %r) *) de +illoue, the curator of the+usee 8uimet, of Paris, followed with a 'rench translation) %r) 'ederio $odriue! has translated the book

into Spanish and 'elix -rth into %utch) The privilee of translatin the book into $ussian, "!echic, Italian,

also into Siamese and other -riental tonues has been ranted, but of these latter the publishers have received

only a version in the 9rdu lanuae, a dialect of eastern India)

Buddhism, like "hristianity, is split up into innumerable sects, and these sects not infre:uently clin to their

sectarian tenets as bein the main and most indispensable features of their reliion) The present book follows

none of the sectarian doctrines, but takes an ideal position upon which all true Buddhists may stand as upon

common round) Thus the arranement into a harmonious and systematic form is the main oriinal feature of

this 8ospel of Buddha) "onsiderin the bulk of the various details of the Buddhist canon, however, it must berearded as a mere compilation, and the aim of the compiler has been to treat his material in about the same

way as he thinks that the author of the 'ourth 8ospel of the New Testament utili!ed the accounts of the life of

1esus of Na!areth) (e has ventured to present the data of the Buddha6s life in the liht of their reliio;

philosophical importance0 he has cut out most of their apocryphal adornments, especially those in which the

Northern traditions abound, yet he did not deem it wise to shrink form preservin the marvellous that appears

in the old records, whenever its moral seemed to .ustify its mention0 he only pruned away the exuberance of

wonder which delihts in relatin the most incredible thins, apparently put on to impress while in fact they

can only tire) +iracles have ceased to be a reliious test0 yet the belief in the miraculous powers of the +aster

still bears witness to the holy awe of the first disciples and reflects their reliious enthusiasm)

*est the fundamental idea of the Buddha6s doctrines be misunderstood, the reader is warned to take the term"self" in the sense in which the Buddha uses it) The <self< of man translates the word atman which can be and

has been understood, even the Buddhist canon, in a sense to which the Buddha would never have made any

ob.ection) The Buddha denies the existence of a <self< as it was commonly understood in his time0 he does not

deny man6s mentality, his spiritual constitution, the importance of his personality, in a word, his soul) But he

does deny the mysterious eo;entity, the atman, in the sense of a kind of soul;nomad which by some schools

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friends and enemies) This narrow view of "hristianity is refuted by the mere existence of Buddhism)

+ust we add that the lamentable exclusivesness that prevails in many "hristian churches, is not based upon

Scriptural teachins, but upon a wron metaphysics@

#ll the essential moral truths of "hristianity, especially the principle of a universal love, of the eradication of

hatred, are in our opinion deeply rooted in the nature of thins, and do not, as is often assumed, stand in

contradiction to the cosmic order of the world) 'urther, some doctrines of the constitution of existence have

been formulated by the church in certain symbols, and since these symbols contain contradictions and come in

conflict with science, the educated classes are estraned from reliion) Now, Buddhism is a reliion which

knows of no supernatural revelation, and proclaims doctrines that re:uire no other arument that the <come and

see)< The Buddha bases his reliion solely upon man6s knowlede of the nature of thins, upon provable truth)

Thus, we trust that a comparison of "hristianity with Buddhism will be a reat help to distinuish in both

reliions the essential from the accidental, the eternal from the transient, the truth from the alleory in which it

has found its symbolic expression) We are anxious to press the necessity of discriminatin between the symbol

and its meanin, between doma and reliion, between metaphysical theories and statements of fact, between

man;made formulas and eternal truth) #nd this is the spirit in which we offer this book to the public, cherishin

the hope that its will help to develop in "hristianity not less than in Buddhism the cosmic reliion of truth)

The strenth as well as the weakness of oriinal Buddhism lies in its philosophical character, which enabled a

thinker, but not the masses, to understand the dispensation of the moral law that pervades the world) #s such,

the oriinal Buddhism has been called by Buddhists the little vessel of salvation, or (inayana0 for it is

comparable to a small boat on which a man may cross the stream of worldliness, so as to reach the shore of

Nirvana)

'ollowin the spirit of a missionary propaanda, so natural to reliious men who are earnest in their

convictions, later Buddhists populari!ed the Buddha6s doctrines and made them accessible to the multitudes) It

is true that they admitted many mythical and even fantastic notions, but they succeeded nevertheless in

brinin its moral truths home to the people who could but incompletely rasp the philosophical meanin of

the Buddha6s reliion) They constructed, as they called it, a lare vessel of salvation, the +ahayana, in whichthe multitudes would find room and could be safely carried over) #lthouh the +ahayana un:uestionably has

its shortcomins, it must not be condemned offhand, for it serves its purpose) Without reardin it as the final

stae of the reliious development of the nations amon which it prevails, we must concede that it resulted

from an adaptation to their condition and has accomplished much to educate them) The +ahayana is a step

forward in so far as it chanes a philosophy into a reliion, and attempts to preach doctrines that were

neatively expressed, in positive propositions)

'ar from re.ectin the reliious !eal which ave rise to the +ahayana in Buddhism, we can still less .oin those

who denounce "hristianity on account of its domatoloy and mytholoical inredients) "hristianity has

certainly had and still has a reat mission in the evolution of mankind) It has succeeded in imbuin with the

reliion of charity and mercy the most powerful nations of the world, to whose spiritual needs it is especiallyadapted) It extends the blessins of universal ood;will with the least possible amount of antaonism to the

natural selfishness that is no stronly developed in the Western races) "hristianity is the reliion of love made

easy) This is its advantae) which, however, is not without its drawbacks) "hristianity teaches charity without

dispellin the eo;illusion0 and in this sense it surpasses even the +ahayana0 it is still more adapted to the

needs of multitudes than a lare vessel fitted to carry over those who embark on it0 it is comparable to a rand

bride, a +ahasetu, on which a child who has no comprehension as yet of the nature of self can cross the

stream of self;hood and worldly vanity)

# comparison of the many strikin areements between christianity and Buddhism may prove fatal to sectarian

conceptions of either reliion, but will in the end help to mature our insiht into the true sinificance of both) It

will brin out a nobler faith which aspires to be the cosmic reliion of universal truth) *et us hope that this

8ospel of Buddha will serve both Buddhists and "hristians as a help to penetrate further into the spirit of their

faith, so as to see its full heiht, lenth and breadth) #bove any (inayana, +ahayana, and +ahasetu is the

$eliion of Truth)



Paul "arus

*aSalle, Illinois, 9nited States)

2345

Next? The %isciple SpeaksSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE DISCIPLE SPEAKS

$&1-I"& at the lad tidinsA The Buddha our *ord has found the root of all evil0 he has shown us the way of

salvation) The Buddha dispels the illusions of our mind and redeems us from the terror of death)

The Buddha, our *ord, brins comfort to the weary and sorrow;laden0 he restores peace to those who are

broken down under the burden of life) (e ives courae to the weak when they would fain ive up self;reliance

and hope) ou who suffer from the tribulations of life, you who have to strule and endure, you who yearn fora life of truth, re.oice at the lad tidinsA There is balm for the wounded, and there is bread for the hunry)

There is water for the thirsty, and there is hope for the despairin) There is liht for those in darkness, and there

is inexhaustible blessin for the upriht)

(eal your wounds, you wounded, and eat your fill, you hunry) $est, you weary, and you who are thirsty

:uench your thirst) *ook up to the liht, you who sit in darkness0 be full of ood cheer, you who are forlorn)

Trust in truth, ou who love the truth, for the kindom of rihteousness is founded upon earth) The darkness of

error is dispelled by the liht of truth) We can see our way and take firm and certain steps) The Buddha, our

*ord, has revealed the truth) The truth cures our diseases and redeems us from perdition0 the truth strenthens

us in life and in death0 the truth alone can con:uer the evils of error) $e.oice at the lad tidinsA

Next? Samsara #nd NirvanaSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

SAMSARA AND NIRVANA

*-- about and contemplate lifeA &verythin is transient and nothin endures) There is birth and death,rowth and decay0 there is combination and separation) The lory of the world is like a flower? it stands in full

bloom in the mornin and fades in the heat of the day)

Wherever you look, there is a rushin and a strulin, and an eaer pursuit of pleasure) There is a panic fliht

from pain and death, and hot are the flames of burnin desires) The world is Canity 'air, full of chanes and

transformations) #ll is Samsara, the turnin Wheel of &xistence)

Is there nothin permanent in the world@ Is there in the universal turmoil no restin;place where our troubled

heart can find peace@ Is there nothin everlastin@ -h, that we could have cessation of anxiety, that our burnin

desires would be extinuishedA When shall the mind become tran:uil and composed@

The Buddha, our *ord, was rieved at the ills of life) (e saw the vanity of worldly happiness and souht

salvation in the one thin that will not fade or perish, but will abide for ever and ever)

ou who lon for life, learn that immortality is hidden in transiency) ou who wish for happiness without the



































stin of reret, lead a life of rihteousness) ou who yearn for riches, receive treasures that are eternal) Truth is

wealth, and a life of truth is happiness)

#ll compounds will be dissolved aain, but the verities which determine all combinations and separations as

laws of nature endure for ever and aye) Bodies fall to dust, but the truths of the mind will not be destroyed)

Truth knows neither birth nor death0 it has no beinnin and no end) Welcome the truth) The truth is the

immortal part of mind) &stablish the truth in your mind, for the truth is the imae of the eternal0 it portrays the

immutable0 it reveals the everlastin0 the truth ives unto mortals the boon of immortality)

The Buddha has proclaimed the truth0 let the truth of the Buddha dwell in your hearts) &xtinuish in yourselves

every desire that antaoni!es the Buddha, and in the perfection of your spiritual rowth you will become like

unto him) That of your heart which cannot or will not develop into Buddha must perish, for it is mere illusion

and unreal0 it is the source of your error0 it is the cause of your misery)

ou attain to immortality by fillin your minds with truth) Therefore, become like unto vessels fit to receive

the +aster6s words) "leanse yourselves of evil and sanctify your lives) There is no other way of reachin truth)

*earn to distinuish between Self and Truth) Self is the cause of selfishness and the source of evil0 truth cleavesto no self0 it is universal and leads to .ustice and rihteousness) Self, that which seems to those who love their

self as their bein, is not the eternal, the everlastin, the imperishable) Seek not self, but seek the truth)

If we liberate our souls from our petty selves, wish no ill to others, and become clear as a crystal diamond

reflectin the liht of truth, what a radiant picture will appear in us mirrorin thins as they are, without the

admixture of burnin desires, without the distortion of erroneous illusion, without the aitation of clinin and

unrest)

et you love self and will not abandon self;love) So be it, but then, verily, you should learn to distinuish

between the false self and the true self) The eo with all its eotism is the false self) It is an unreal illusion and

a perishable combination) (e only who identifies his self with the truth will attain Nirvana0 and he who hasentered Nirvana has attained Buddhahood0 he has ac:uired the hihest ood0 he has become eternal and

immortal)

#ll compound thins shall be dissolved aain, worlds will break to pieces and our individualities will be

scattered0 but the words of Buddha will remain for ever)

The extinction of self is salvation0 the annihilation of self is the condition of enlihtenment0 the blottin out of

self is Nirvana)

(appy is he who has ceased to live for pleasure and rests in the truth) Cerily his composure and tran:uility of

mind are the hihest bliss)

*et us take our refue in the Buddha, for he has found the everlastin in the transient) *et us take our refue in

that which is the immutable in the chanes of existence) *et us take our refue in the truth that is established

throuh the enlihtenment of the Buddha) *et us take our refue in the community of those who seek the truth

and endeavor to live in the truth)

Next? Truth, The Savior Sacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next



















TRUTH, THE SAVIOR

T(& thins of the world and its inhabitants are sub.ect to chane) They are combinations of elements that

existed before, and all livin creatures are what their past actions made them0 for the law of cause and effect is

uniform and without exception)

But in the chanin thins there is a constancy of law, and when the law is seen there is truth) The truth lies

hidden in Samsara as the permanent in its chanes)

Truth desires to appear0 truth lons to become conscious0 truth strives to know itself)

There is truth in the stone, for the stone is here0 and no power in the world, no od, no man, no demon, can

destroy its existence) But the stone has no consciousness) There is truth in the plant and its life can expand0 the

plant rows and blossoms and bears fruit) Its beauty is marvelous, but it has no consciousness) There is truth in

the animal0 it moves about and perceives its surroundins0 it distinuishes and learns to choose) There is

consciousness, but it is not yet the consciousness of Truth) It is a consciousness of self only)

The consciousness of self dims the eyes of the mind and hides the truth) It is the oriin of error, it is the sourceof illusion, it is the erm of evil) Self beets selfishness) There is no evil but what flows from self) There is no

wron but what is done by the assertion of self) Self is the beinnin of all hatred, of ini:uity and slander, of

impudence and indecency, of theft and robbery, of oppression and bloodshed) Self is +ara, the tempter, the

evil;doer, the creator of mischief) Self entices with pleasures) Self promises a fairy6s paradise) Self is the veil of

+aya, the enchanter) But the pleasures of self are unreal, its paradisian labyrinth is the road to misery, and its

fadin beauty kindles the flames of desires that never can be satisfied)

Who shall deliver us from the power of self@ Who shall save us from misery@ Who shall restore us to a life of

blessedness@

There is misery in the world of Samsara0 there is much misery and pain) But reater than all the misery is the bliss of truth) Truth ives peace to the yearnin mind0 it con:uers error0 it :uenches the flames of desires0 it

leads to Nirvana) Blessed is he who has found the peace of Nirvana) (e is at rest in the strules and

tribulations of life0 he is above all chanes0 he is above birth and death0 he remains unaffected by the evils of

life)

Blessed is he who has found enlihtenment) (e con:uers, althouh he may be wounded0 he is lorious and

happy, althouh he may suffer0 he is stron, althouh he may break down under the burden of his work0 he is

immortal, althouh he will die) The essence of his bein is purity and oodness)

Blessed is he who has attained the sacred state of Buddhahood, for he is fit to work out the salvation of his

fellow beins) The truth has taken its abode in him) Perfect wisdom illumines his understandin, and

rihteousness ensouls the purpose of all his actions) The truth is a livin power for ood, indestructible and

invincibleA Work the truth out in your mind, and spread it amon mankind, for truth alone is the savior from

evil and misery) The Buddha has found the truth and the truth has been proclaimed by the BuddhaA Blessed be

the BuddhaA

Next? The &nlihtenmentSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE ENLIGHTENMENT

There was in apilavatthu a Sakya kin, stron of purpose and reverenced by all men, a descendant of the



















-kkakas, who call themselves 8otama, and his name was Suddhodana or Pure;$ice) (is wife +ayadevi was

beautiful as the water;lily and pure in mind as the lotus) #s the Dueen of (eaven, she lived on earth, untainted

by desire, and immaculate)

The kin, her husband, honored her in her holiness, and the spirit of truth, lorious and stron in his wisdom

like unto a white elephant, descended upon her) When she knew that the hour of motherhood was near, she

asked the kin to send her home to her parents0 and Suddhodana, anxious about his wife and the child she

would bear him, willinly ranted her re:uest)

#t *umbini there is a beautiful rove, and when +ayadevi passed throuh it the trees were one mass of

frarant flowers and many birds were warblin in their branches) The Dueen, wishin to stroll throuh the

shady walks, left her olden palan:uin, and, when she reached the iant sala tree in the midst of the rove, felt

that her hour had come) She took hold of a branch) (er attendants hun a curtain about her and retired) When

the pain of travail came upon her, four pure;minded anels of the reat Brahma held out a olden net to receive

the babe, who came forth from her riht side like the risin sun briht and perfect)

The Brahma;anels took the child and placin him before the mother said? <$e.oice, - :ueen, a mihty son has

been born unto thee)<

#t her couch stood an aed woman implorin the heavens to bless the child) #ll the worlds were flooded with

liht) The blind received their siht by lonin to see the comin lory of the *ord0 the deaf and dumb spoke

with one another of the ood omens indicatin the birth of the Buddha to be) The crooked became straiht0 the

lame walked) #ll prisoners were freed from their chains and the fires of all the hells were extinuished)

No clouds athered in the skies and the polluted streams became clear, whilst celestial music ran throuh the

air and the anels re.oiced with ladness) With no selfish or partial .oy but for the sake of the law they re.oiced,

for creation enulfed in the ocean of pain was now to obtain release) The cries of beasts were hushed0 all

malevolent beins received a lovin heart, and peace reined on earth) +ara, the evil one, alone was rieved

and re.oiced not)

The Naa kins, earnestly desirin to show their reverence for most excellent law, as they had paid honor to

former Buddhas, now went to reet the Bodhisattva) They scattered before him mandara flowers, re.oicin with

heartfelt .oy to pay their reliious homae)

The royal father, ponderin the meanin of these sins, was now full of .oy and now sore distressed) The :ueen

mother, beholdin her child and the commotion which his birth created, felt in her timorous heart the pans of

doubt)

Now there was at that time in a rove near *umbini #sita, a rishi, leadin the life of a hermit) (e was a

Brahman of dinified mien, famed not only for wisdom and scholarship, but also for his skill in the

interpretation of sins) #nd the kin invited him to see the royal babe)

The seer, beholdin the prince, wept and sihed deeply) #nd when the kin saw the tears of #sita he became

alarmed and asked? <Why has the siht of my son caused thee rief and pain@<

But #sita6s heart re.oiced, and, knowin the kin6s mind to be perplexed, he addressed him, sayin? <The kin,

like the moon when full, should feel reat .oy, for he has beotten a wondrously noble son) I do not worship

Brahma, but I worship this child0 and the ods in the temples will descend from their places of honor to adore

him) Banish all anxiety and doubt) The spiritual omens manifested indicate that the child now born will brin

deliverance to the whole world)

<$ecollectin that I myself am old, on that account I could not hold my tears0 for now my end is comin on and

I shall not see the lory of this babe) 'or this son of thine will rule the world) The wheel of empire will come to

him) (e will either be a kin of kins to overn all the lands of the earth, or verily will become a Buddha) (e is

born for the sake of everythin that lives) (is pure teachin will be like the shore that receives the

shipwrecked) (is power of meditation will be like a cool lake0 and all creatures parched with the drouht of



lust may freely drink thereof) -n the fire of covetousness he will cause the cloud of his mercy to rise, so that

the rain of the law may extinuish it) The heavy ates of despondency will he open, and ive deliverance to all

creatures ensnared in the self;entwined meshes of folly and inorance) The kin of the law has come forth to

rescue from bondae all the poor, the miserable, the helpless)<

When the royal parents heard #sita6s words they re.oiced in their hearts and named their new;born infant

Siddhattha, that is he who has accomplished his purpose)<

#nd the :ueen said to her sister, Pa.apati? <# mother who has borne a future Buddha will never ive birth to

another child) I shall soon leave this world, my husband, the kin, and Siddhattha, my child) When I am one,

be thou a mother to him)< #nd Pa.apati wept and promised)

When the :ueen had departed from the livin, Pa.apati took the boy Siddhattha and reared him) #nd as the

liht of the moon increases little by little, so the royal child rew from day to day in mind and in body0 and

truthfulness and love resided in his heart) When a year had passed Suddhodana the kin made Pa.apati his

:ueen and there was never a better stepmother than she)

Next? The Ties -f *ifeSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE TIES OF LIFE

W(&N Siddhattha had rown to youth, his father desired to see him married, and he sent to all his kinsfolk,

commandin them to brin their princesses that the prince miht select one of them as his wife)

But the kinsfolk replied and said? <The prince is youn and delicate0 nor has he learned any of the sciences) (ewould not be able to maintain our dauhter, and should there be war he would be unable to cope with the

enemy)<

The prince was not boisterous, but pensive in his nature) (e loved to stay under the reat .ambu;tree in the

arden of his father, and, observin the ways of the world, ave himself up to meditation) #nd the prince said

to his father? <Invite our kinsfolk that they may see me and put my strenth to the test)< #nd his father did as

his son bade him)

When the kinsfolk came, and the people of the city apilavatthu had assembled to test the prowess and

scholarship of the prince, he proved himself manly in all the exercises both of the body and of the mind, and

there was no rival amon the youths and men of India who could surpass him in any test, bodily or mental) (ereplied to all the :uestions of the saes0 but when he :uestioned them, even the wisest amon them were

silenced)

Then Siddhattha chose himself a wife) (e selected his cousin asodhara, the entle dauhter of the kin of

oli) In their wedlock was born a son whom they named $ahula which means <fetter< or <tie,< and in

Suddhodana, lad that an heir was born to his son, said? <The prince havin beotten a son, will love him as I

love the prince) This will be a stron tie to bind Siddhattha6s heart to the interests of the world, and the

kindom of the Sakyas will remain under the scepter of my descendants)<

With no selfish aim, but reardin his child and the people at lare, Siddhattha, the prince, attended to hisreliious duties, bathin his body in the holy 8anes and cleansin his heart in the waters of the law) &ven as

men desire to ive happiness to their children, so did he lon to ive peace to the world)

Next? The Three Woes






















THE THREE WOES

T(& palace which the kin had iven to the prince was resplendent with all the luxuries of India0 for the kin

was anxious to see his son happy) #ll sorrowful sihts, all misery, and all knowlede of misery were kept awayfrom Siddhattha, for the kin desired that no troubles should come nih him0 he should not know that there was

evil in the world)

But as the chained elephant lons for the wilds of the .unles, so the prince was eaer to see the world, and he

asked his father, the kin, for permission to do so) #nd Suddhodana ordered a .ewel;fronted chariot with four

stately horses to be held ready, and commanded the roads to be adorned where his son would pass)

The houses of the city were decorated with curtains and banners, and spectators arraned themselves on either

side, eaerly a!in at the heir to the throne) Thus Siddhattha rode with "hanna, his charioteer, throuh the

streets of the city, and into a country watered by rivulets and covered with pleasant trees)

There by the wayside they met an old man with bent frame, wrinkled face and sorrowful brow, and the prince

asked the charioteer? <Who is this@ (is head is white, his eyes are bleared, and his body is withered) (e can

barely support himself on his staff)<

The charioteer, much embarrassed, hardly dared speak the truth) (e said? <These are the symptoms of old ae)

This same man was once a sucklin child, and as a youth full of sportive life0 but now, as years have passed

away, his beauty is one and the strenth of his life is wasted)<

Siddhattha was reatly affected by the words of the charioteer, and he sihed because of the pain of old ae)

<What .oy or pleasure can men take,< he thouht to himself, when they know they must soon wither and pine

awayA<

#nd loA while they were passin on, a sick man appeared on the way;side, aspin for breath, his body

disfiured, convulsed and roanin with pain) The prince asked his charioteer? <What kind of man is this@< #nd

the charioteer replied and said? <This man is sick) The four elements of his body are confused and out of order)

We are all sub.ect to such conditions? the poor and the rich, the inorant and the wise, all creatures that have

bodies are liable to the same calamity)<

#nd Siddhattha was still more moved) #ll pleasures appeared stale to him, and he loathed the .oys of life)

The charioteer sped the horses on to escape the dreary siht, when suddenly they were stopped in their fierycourse) 'our persons passed by, carryin a corpse0 and the prince, shudderin at the siht of a lifeless body,

asked the charioteer? <What is this they carry@ There are streamers and flower arlands0 but the men that follow

are overwhelmed with riefA<

The charioteer replied? <This is a dead man? his body is stark0 his life is one0 his thouhts are still0 his family

and the friends who loved him now carry the corpse to the rave)< #nd the prince was full of awe and terror?

<Is this the only dead man, he asked, or does the world contain other instances@<

With a heavy heart the charioteer replied? <#ll over the world it is the same) (e who beins life must end it)

There is no escape from death)<

With bated breath and stammerin accents the prince exclaimed? <- worldly menA (ow fatal is your delusionA

Inevitably your body will crumble to dust, yet carelessly, unheedinly, ye live on)< The charioteer observin

the deep impression these sad sihts had made on the prince, turned his horses and drove back to the city)

When they passed by the palace of the nobility, isa 8otami, a youn princess and niece of the kin, saw

















Siddhattha in his manliness and beauty, and, observin the thouhtfulness of his countenance, said? <(appy the

father that beot thee, happy the mother that nursed thee, happy the wife that calls husband this lord so

lorious)<

The prince hearin this reetin, said? <(appy are they that have found deliverance) *onin for peace of mind,

I shall seek the bliss of Nirvana)<

Then asked isa 8otami? <(ow is Nirvana attained@< The prince paused, and to him whose mind was

estraned from wron the answer came? <When the fire of lust is one out, then Nirvana is ained0 when the

fires of hatred and delusion are one out, then Nirvana is ained0 when the troubles of mind, arisin from blind

credulity, and all other evils have ceased, then Nirvana is ainedA<

Siddhattha handed her his precious pearl necklace as a reward for the wisdom she had inspired in him, and

havin returned home looked with disdain upon the treasures of his palace)

(is wife welcomed him and entreated him to tell her the cause of his rief) (e said? <I see everywhere the

impression of chane0 therefore, my heart is heavy) +en row old, sicken, and die) That is enouh to take away

the !est of life)<

The kin, his father, hearin that the prince had become estraned from pleasure, was reatly overcome with

sorrow and like a sword it pierced his heart)

Next? The Bodhisattvas $enunciationSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE BODHISATTVAS RENUNCIATIONIT was niht) The prince found no rest on his soft pillow0 he arose and went out into the arden) <#lasA< he

cried <all the world is full of darkness and inorance0 there is no one who knows how to cure the ills of

existence)< #nd he roaned with pain)

Siddhattha sat down beneath the reat .ambu;tree and ave himself to thouht, ponderin on life and death and

the evils of decay) "oncentratin his mind he became free from confusion) #ll low desires vanished from his

heart and perfect tran:uility came over him)

In this state of ecstasy he saw with his mental eye all the misery and sorrow of the world0 he saw the pains of

pleasure and the inevitable certainty of death that hovers over every bein0 yet men are not awakened to thetruth) #nd a deep compassion sei!ed his heart)

While the prince was ponderin on the problem of evil, he beheld with his mind6s eye under the .ambu tree a

lofty fiure endowed with ma.esty, calm and dinified) <Whence comest thou, and who mayst thou be asked

the prince)

In reply the vision said? <I am a samana) Troubled at the thouht of old ae, disease, and death I have left my

home to seek the path of salvation) #ll thins hasten to decay0 only the truth abideth forever) &verythin

chanes, and there is no permanency0 yet the words of the Buddhas are immutable) I lon for the happiness that

does not decay0 the treasure that will never perish0 the life that knows of no beinnin and no end) Therefore, Ihave destroyed all worldly thouht) I have retired into an unfre:uented dell to live in solitude0 and, bein for

food, I devote myself to the one thin needful)

Siddhattha asked? <"an peace be ained in this world of unrest@ I am struck with the emptiness of pleasure and

have become disusted with lust) #ll oppresses me, and existence itself seems intolerable)<



















The samana replied? <Where heat is, there is also a possibility of cold0 creatures sub.ect to pain possess the

faculty of pleasure0 the oriin of evil indicates that ood can be developed) 'or these thins are correlatives)

Thus where there is much sufferin, there will be much bliss, if thou but open thine eyes to behold it) 1ust as a

man who has fallen into a heap of filth ouht to seek the reat pond of water covered with lotuses, which is

near by? even so seek thou for the reat deathless lake of Nirvana to wash off the defilement of wron) If the

lake is not souht, it is not the fault of the lake) &ven so when there is a blessed road leadin the man held fast

by wron to the salvation of Nirvana, if the road is not walked upon, it is not the fault of the road, but of the

person) #nd when a man who is oppressed with sickness, there bein a physician who can heal him, does not

avail himself of the physician6s help, that is not the fault of the physician) &ven so when a man oppressed by

the malady of wron;doin does not seek the spiritual uide of enlihtenment, that is no fault of the evil;

destroyin uide)<

The prince listened to the noble words of his visitor and said? <Thou brinest ood tidins, for now I know that

my purpose will be accomplished) +y father advises me to en.oy life and to undertake worldly duties, such as

will brin honor to me and to our house) (e tells me that I am too youn still, that my pulse beats too full to

lead a reliious life)<

The venerable fiure shook his head and replied? <Thou shouldst know that for seekin a reliious life no time

can be inopportune)<

# thrill of .oy passed throuh Siddhattha6s heart) <Now is the time to seek reliion,< he said0 <now is the time to

sever all ties that would prevent me from attainin perfect enlihtenment0 now is the time to wander into

homelessness and, leadin a mendicant6s life, to find the path of deliverance)<

The celestial messener heard the resolution of Siddhattha with approval) <Now, indeed he added, is the time to

seek reliion) 8o, Siddhattha, and accomplish thy purpose) 'or thou art Bodhisatta, the Buddha;elect0 thou art

destined to enlihten the world) Thou art the Tathaata, the reat master, for thou wilt fulfill all rihteousness

and be %harmara.a, the kin of truth) Thou art Bhaavat, the Blessed -ne, for thou art called upon to become

the savior and redeemer of the world) 'ulfill thou the perfection of truth) Thouh the thunderbolt descend upon

thy head, yield thou never to the allurements that beuile men from the path of truth) #s the sun at all seasons pursues his own course, nor ever oes on another, even so if thou forsake not the straiht path of rihteousness,

thou shalt become a Buddha) Persevere in thy :uest and thou shalt find what thou seekest) Pursue thy aim

unswervinly and thou shalt ain the pri!e) Strule earnestly and thou shalt con:uer) The benediction of all

deities, of all saints of all that seek liht is upon thee, and heavenly wisdom uides thy steps) Thou shalt be the

Buddha, our +aster, and our *ord0 thou shalt enlihten the world and save mankind from perdition)

(avin thus spoken, the vision vanished, and Siddhattha6s heart was filled with peace) (e said to himself? <I

have awakened to the truth and I am resolved to accomplish my purpose) I will sever all the ties that bind me to

the world, and I will o out from my home to seek the way of salvation) The Buddhas are beins whose words

cannot fail? there is no departure from truth in their speech) 'or as the fall of a stone thrown into the air, as the

death of a mortal, as the sunrise at dawn, as the lion6s roar when he leaves his lair, as the delivery of a womanwith child, as all these thins are sure and certain;even so the word of the Buddhas is sure and cannot fail)

Cerily I shall become a Buddha)<

The prince returned to the bedroom of his wife to take a last farewell lance at those whom he dearly loved

above all the treasures of the earth) (e loned to take the infant once more into his arms and kiss him with a

partin kiss) But the child lay in the arms of his mother, and the prince could not lift him without awakenin

both) There Siddhattha stood a!in at his beautiful wife and his beloved son, and his heart rieved) The pain

of partin overcame him powerfully) #lthouh his mind was determined, so that nothin, be it ood or evil,

could shake his resolution, the tears flowed freely from his eyes, and it was beyond his power to check their

stream) But the prince tore himself away with a manly heart, suppressin his feelins but not extinuishin his

memory)

The Bodhisattva mounted his noble steed anthaka, and when he left the palace, +ara stood in the ate and

stopped him? <%epart not, - my *ord,< exclaimed +ara) <In seven days from now the wheel of empire will

appear, and will make thee soverein over the four continents and the two thousand ad.acent islands)



Therefore, stay, my *ord)<

The Bodhisattva replied? <Well do I know that the wheel of empire will appear to me0 but it is not sovereinty

that I desire) I will become a Buddha and make all the world shout for .oy)<

Thus Siddhattha, the prince, renounced power and worldly pleasures, ave up his kindom, severed all ties, and

went into homelessness) (e rode out into the silent niht, accompanied only by his faithful charioteer "hanna)

%arkness lay upon the earth, but the stars shone brihtly in the heavens)

Next? in BimbisaraSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

KING BIMBISARA

SI%%(#TT(# had cut his wavin hair and had exchaned his royal robe for a mean dress of the color of theround) (avin sent home "hanna, the charioteer, toether with the noble steed anthaka, to in

Suddhodana to bear him the messae that the prince had left the world, the Bodhisattva walked alon on the

hihroad with a bear6s bowl in his hand)

et the ma.esty of his mind was ill;concealed under the poverty of his appearance) (is erect ait betrayed his

royal birth and his eyes beamed with a fervid !eal for truth) The beauty of his youth was transfiured by

holiness and surrounded his head like a halo) #ll the people who saw this unusual siht a!ed at him in

wonder) Those who were in haste arrested their steps and looked back0 and there was no one who did not pay

him homae)

(avin entered the city of $a.aaha, the prince went from house to house silently waitin till the peopleoffered him food) Wherever the Blessed -ne came, the people ave him what they had0 they bowed before him

in humility and were filled with ratitude because he condescended to approach their homes) -ld and youn

people were moved and said? <This is a noble muniA (is approach is bliss) What a reat .oy for usA<

#nd in Bimbisara, noticin the commotion in the city, in:uired the cause of it, and when he learned the

news sent one of his attendants to observe the straner) (avin heard that the muni must be a Sakya and of

noble family, and that he had retired to the bank of a flowin river in the woods to eat the food in his bowl, the

kin was moved in his heart0 he donned his royal robe, placed his olden crown upon his head and went out in

the company of aed and wise counselors to meet his mysterious uest)

The kin found the muni of the Sakya race seated under a tree) "ontemplatin the composure of his face andthe entleness of his deportment, Bimbisara reeted him reverently and said? <- samana, thy hands are fit to

rasp the reins of an empire and should not hold a bear6s bowl) I am sorry to see thee wastin thy youth)

Believin that thou art of royal descent, I invite thee to .oin me in the overnment of my country and share my

royal power) %esire for power is becomin to the noble;minded, and wealth should not be despised) To row

rich and lose reliion is not true ain) But he who possesses all three, power, wealth, and reliion, en.oyin

them in discretion and with wisdom, him I call a reat master)<

The reat Sakyamuni lifted his eyes and replied? <Thou art known, - kin, to be liberal and reliious, and thy

words are prudent) # kind man who makes ood use of wealth is rihtly said to possess a reat treasure0 but the

miser who hoards up his riches will have no profit) "harity is rich in returns0 charity is the reatest wealth, for

thouh it scatters, it brins no repentance)

<I have severed all ties because I seek deliverance) (ow is it possible for me to return to the world@ (e who

seeks reliious truth, which is the hihest treasure of all, must leave behind all that can concern him or draw

away his attention, and must be bent upon that one oal alone) (e must free his soul from covetousness and



















lust, and also from the desire for power)

<Indule in lust but a little, and lust like a child will row) Wield worldly power and you will be burdened with

cares) Better than sovereinty over the earth, better than livin in heaven, better than lordship over all the

worlds, is the fruit of holiness) The Bodhisattva has reconi!ed the illusory nature of wealth and will not take

poison as food) Will a fish that has been baited still covet the hook, or an escaped bird love the net@ Would a

rabbit rescued from the serpent6s mouth o back to be devoured@ Would a man who has burnt his hand with a

torch take up the torch after he had dropped it to the earth@ Would a blind man who has recovered his siht

desire to spoil his eyes aain@

<The sick man sufferin from fever seeks for a coolin medicine) Shall we advise him to drink that which will

increase the fever@ Shall we :uench a fire by heapin fuel upon it@

<I pray thee, pity me not) $ather pity those who are burdened with the cares of royalty and the worry of reat

riches) They en.oy them in fear and tremblin, for they are constantly threatened with a loss of those boons on

whose possession their hearts are set, and when they die they cannot take alon either their old or the kinly

diadem)

<+y heart hankers after no vular profit, so I have put away my royal inheritance and prefer to be free from the burdens of life) Therefore, try not to entanle me in new relationships and duties, nor hinder me from

completin the work I have beun) I reret to leave thee) But I will o to the saes who can teach me reliion

and so find the path on which we can escape evil)

<+ay thy country en.oy peace and prosperity, and may wisdom be shed upon thy rule like the brihtness of the

noon;day sun) +ay thy royal power be stron and may rihteousness be the scepter in thine hand)<

The kin, claspin his hands with reverence, bowed down before Sakyamuni and said? <+ayest thou obtain that

which thou seekest, and when thou hast obtained it, come back, I pray thee, and receive me as thy disciple)<

The Bodhisattva parted from the kin in friendship and oodwill, and purposed in his heart to rant his re:uest)

Next? The Bodhisattva6s SearchSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE BODHISATTVA'S SEARCH

#*#$# and 9ddaka were renowned as teachers amon the Brahmans, and there was no one in those days who

surpassed them in learnin and philosophical knowlede) The Bodhisattva went to them and sat at their feet)(e listened to their doctrines of the atman or self, which is the eo of the mind and the doer of all doins) (e

learned their views of the transmiration of souls and of the law of karma0 how the souls of bad men had to

suffer by bein reborn in men of low caste, in animals, or in hell, while those who purified themselves by

libation, by sacrifices, and by self;mortification would become kins, or Brahmans, or devas, so as to rise

hiher and hiher in the rades of existence) (e studied their incantations and offerins and the methods by

which they attained deliverance of the eo from material existence in states of ecstasy)

#lara said? <What is that self which perceives the actions of the five roots of mind, touch, smell, taste, siht,

and hearin@ What is that which is active in the two ways of motion, in the hands and in the feet@ The problem

of the soul appears in the expressions 6I say,6 6I know and perceive,6 6I come,6 and 6I o6 or 6I will stay here)6 Thy

soul is not thy body0 it is not thy eye, not thy ear, not thy nose, not thy tonue, nor is it thy mind) The I is the

one who feels the touch in thy body) The I is the smeller in the nose, the taster in the tonue, the seer in the eye,

the hearer in the ear, and the thinker in the mind) The I moves thy hands and thy feet) The I is thy soul) %oubt

in the existence of the soul is irreliious, and without discernin this truth there is no way of salvation) %eep

speculation will easily involve the mind0 it leads to confusion and unbelief0 but a purification of the soul leads



















to the way of escape) True deliverance is reached by removin from the crowd and leadin a hermit6s life,

dependin entirely on alms for food) Puttin away all desire and clearly reconi!in the non;existence of

matter, we reach a state of perfect emptiness) (ere we find the condition of immaterial life) #s the mun.a rass

when freed from its horny case, as a sword when drawn from its scabbard, or as the wild bird escaped from its

prison, so the eo liberatin itself from all limitations, finds perfect release) This is true deliverance, but those

only who will have deep faith will learn)<

The Bodhisattva found no satisfaction in these teachins) (e replied? <People are in bondae, because they

have not yet removed the idea of the eo) The thin and its :uality are different in our thouht, but not in

reality) (eat is different from fire in our thouht, but you cannot remove heat from fire in reality) ou say that

you can remove the :ualities and leave the thin, but if you think your theory to the end, you will find that this

is not so)

<Is not man an oranism of many areates@ #re we not composed of various attributes@ +an consists of the

material form, of sensation, of thouht, of dispositions, and, lastly, of understandin) That which men call the

eo when they say 6I am6 is not an entity behind the attributes0 it oriinates by their co;operation) There is mind0

there is sensation and thouht, and there is truth0 and truth is mind when it walks in the path of rihteousness)

But there is no separate eo;soul outside or behind the thouht of man) (e who believes the eo is a distinct

bein has no correct conception) The very search for the atman is wron0 it is a wron start and it will lead youin a false direction)

<(ow much confusion of thouht comes from our interest in self, and from our vanity when thinkin 6I am so

reat,6 or 6I have done this wonderful deed@6 The thouht of thine eo stands between thy rational nature and

truth0 banish it, and then wilt thou see thins as they are) (e who thinks correctly will rid himself of inorance

and ac:uire wisdom) The ideas 6I am6 and 6I shall be6 or 6I shall not be6 do not occur to a clear thinker)

<+oreover, if our eo remains, how can we attain true deliverance@ If the eo is to be reborn in any of the three

worlds, be it in hell, upon earth, or be it even in heaven, we shall meet aain and aain the same inevitable

doom of sorrow) We shall remain chained to the wheel of individuality and shall be implicated in eotism and

wron) #ll combination is sub.ect to separation, and we cannot escape birth, disease, old ae, and death) Is thisa final escape@<

Said 9ddaka? <"onsider the unity of thins) Thins are not their parts, yet they exist) The members and orans

of thy body are not thine eo, but thine eo possesses all these parts) What, for instance, is the 8anes@ Is the

sand the 8anes@ Is the water the 8anes@ Is the hither bank the 8anes@ Is the hither bank the 8anes@ Is the

farther bank the 8anes@ The 8anes is a mihty river and it possesses all these several :ualities) &xactly so is

our eo)<

But the Bodhisattva replied? <Not so, sirA If we remove the water, the sand, the hither bank and the farther bank

where can we find any 8anes@ In the same way I observe the activities of man in their harmonious union, but

there is no round for an eo outside its parts)<

The Brahman sae, however, insisted on the existence of the eo, sayin? <The eo is the doer of our deeds)

(ow can there be karma without a self as its performer@ %o we not see around us the effects of karma@ What

makes men different in character, station, possessions, and fate@ It is their karma, and karma includes merit and

demerit) The transmiration of the soul is sub.ect to its karma) We inherit from former existences the evil

effects of our evil deeds and the ood effects of our ood deeds) If that were not so, how could we be

different@6

The Tathaata meditated deeply on the problems of transmiration and karma, and found the truth that lies in

them) <The doctrine of karma, he said, is undeniable, but the theory of the eo has no foundation) *ikeeverythin else in nature, the life of man is sub.ect to the law of cause and effect) The present reaps what the

past has sown, and the future is the product of the present) But there is no evidence of the existence of an

immutable eo;bein, of a self which remains the same and mirates from body to body) There is rebirth but no

transmiration)



<Is not this individuality of mine a combination, material as well as mental@ Is it not made up of :ualities that

spran into bein by a radual evolution@ The five roots of sense perception in this oranism have come from

ancestors who performed these functions) The ideas which I think, came to me partly from others who thouht

them, and partly they rise from combinations of the ideas in my own mind) Those who have used the same

sense;orans, and have thouht the same ideas before I was composed into this individuality of mine, are my

previous existences0 they are my ancestors as much as the I of yesterday is the father of the I of today, and the

karma of my past deeds affects the fate of my present existence)

<Supposin there were an atman that performs the actions of the senses then if the door of siht were torn down

and the eye plucked out, that atman would be able to peep throuh the larer aperture and see the forms of its

surroundins better and more clearly than before) It would be able to hear sounds better if the ears were torn

away0 smell better if the nose were cut off0 taste better if the tonue were pulled out0 and feel better if the body

were destroyed)

<I observe the preservation and transmission of character0 I perceive the truth of karma, but see no atman whom

your doctrine makes the doer of your deeds) There is rebirth without the transmiration of a self) 'or this

atman, this self, this eo in the 6I say6 and in the 6I will6 is an illusion) If this self were a reality, how could there

be an escape from selfhood@ The terror of hell would be infinite, and no release could be ranted) The evils of

existence would not be due to our inorance and wron;doin, but would constitute the very nature of our bein)<

Then the Bodhisattva went to the priests officiatin in the temples) But the entle mind of the Sakyamuni was

offended at the unnecessary cruelty performed on the altars of the ods) (e said? <Inorance only can make

these men prepare festivals and hold vast meetins for sacrifices) 'ar better to revere the truth than try to

appease the ods by sheddin blood) What love can a man possess who believes that the destruction of life will

atone for evil deeds@ "an a new wron expiate old wrons@ #nd can the slauhter of an innocent victim blot

out the evil deeds of mankind@ This is practicin reliion by the nelect of moral conduct) Purify your hearts

and cease to kill0 that is true reliion) $ituals have no efficacy0 prayers are vain repetitions0 and incantations

have no savin power) But to abandon covetousness and lust, to become free from evil passions, and to ive up

all hatred and ill;will, that is the riht sacrifice and the true worship)< 9$9C&*#

Next? 9ruvela, Place -f +ortificationSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

URUVELA, PLACE OF MORTIFICATION

T(& Bodhisattva went in search of a better system and came to a settlement of five bhikkhus in the .unle of9ruvela0 and when the Blessed -ne saw the life of those five men, virtuously keepin in check their senses,

subduin their passions, and practicin austere self;discipline, he admired their earnestness and .oined their

company) With holy !eal and a stron heart, the Sakyamuni ave himself up to meditative thouht and a

riorous mortification of the body) Whereas the five bhikkhus were severe, the Sakyamuni was severer still,

and so they revered him, their .unior, as their master)

So the Bodhisattva continued for six years patiently torturin himself and suppressin the wants of nature) (e

trained his body and exercised his mind in the modes of the most riorous ascetic life) #t last, he ate each day

one hemp rain only, seekin to cross the ocean of birth and death and to arrive at the shore of deliverance)

#nd when the Bodhisattva was ahunered, loA +ara, the &vil -ne, approached him and said? <Thou art

emaciated from fasts, and death is near) What ood is thy exertion@ %ein to live, and thou wilt be able to do

ood work)< But the Sakyamuni made reply? <- thou friend of the indolent, thou wicked one0 for what purpose

hast thou come@ *et the flesh waste away, if but the mind becomes more tran:uil and attention more steadfast)

What is life in this world@ %eath in battle is better to me than that I should live defeated)<



















#nd +ara withdrew, sayin? <'or seven years I have followed the Blessed -ne step by step, but I have found

no fault in the Tathaata)<

The Bodhisattva was shrunken and attenuated, and his body was like a withered branch0 but the fame of his

holiness spread in the surroundin countries, and people came from reat distances to see him and receive his

blessin) (owever, the (oly -ne was not satisfied) Seekin true wisdom he did not find it, and he came to the

conclusion that mortification would not extinuish desire nor afford enlihtenment in ecstatic contemplation)

Seated beneath a .ambu;tree, he considered the state of his mind and the fruits of his mortification) (is body

had become weaker, nor had his fasts advanced him in his search for salvation, and therefore when he saw that

it was not the riht path, he proposed to abandon it) (e went to bathe in the Neran.ara $iver, but when he

strove to leave the water he could not rise on account of his weakness) Then espyin the branch of a tree and

takin hold of it, he raised himself and left the stream) But while returnin to his abode, he staered and lay as

thouh dead)

There was a chief herdsman livin near the rove whose eldest dauhter was called Nanda0 and Nanda

happened to pass by the spot where the Blessed -ne had swooned, and bowin down before him she offered

him rice;milk and he accepted the ift) When he had partaken of the rice;milk all his limbs were refreshed, his

mind became clear aain, and he was stron to receive the hihest enlihtenment)

#fter this occurrence, the Bodhisattva aain took some food) (is disciples, havin witnessed the scene of

Nanda and observin the chane in his mode of livin, were filled with suspicion) They feared that Siddhattha6s

reliious !eal was flain and that he whom they had hitherto revered as their +aster had become oblivious of

his hih purpose)

When the Bodhisattva saw the bhikkhus turnin away from him, he felt sorry for their lack of confidence, and

was aware of the loneliness of his life) Suppressin his rief he wandered on alone, and his disciples said,

<Siddhattha leaves us to seek a more pleasant abode)< +#$#

Next? +ara, The &vil -neSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

MARA, THE EVIL ONE

T(& (oly -ne directed his steps to that blessed Bodhitree beneath whose shade he was to accomplish his

search) #s he walked, the earth shook and a brilliant liht transfiured the world) When he sat down the

heavens resounded with .oy and all livin beins were filled with ood cheer) +ara alone, lord of the fivedesires, briner of death and enemy of truth, was rieved and re.oiced not) With his three dauhters, Tanha,

$aa and #rati, the tempters, and with his host of evil demons, he went to the place where the reat samana

sat) But Sakyamuni heeded him not) +ara uttered fear;inspirin threats and raised a whirlwind so that the skies

were darkened and the ocean roared and trembled)

But the Blessed -ne under the Bodhi;tree remained calm and feared not) The &nlihtened -ne knew that no

harm could befall him)

The three dauhters of +ara tempted the Bodhisattva, but he paid no attention to them, and when +ara saw

that he could kindle no desire in the heart of the victorious samana, he ordered all the evil spirits at his

command to attack him and overawe the reat muni) But the Blessed -ne watched them as one would watch

the harmless ames of children) #ll the fierce hatred of the evil spirits was of no avail) The flames of hell

became wholesome bree!es of perfume, and the anry thunderbolts were chaned into lotus;blossoms)

When +ara saw this, he fled away with his army from the Bodhi;tree, whilst from above a rain of heavenly



















flowers fell, and voices of ood spirits were heard? <Behold the reat muniA his heart unmoved by hatred) The

wicked +ara6s host 6ainst him did not prevail) Pure is he and wise, lovin and full of mercy) #s the rays of the

sun drown the darkness of the world, so he who perseveres in his search will find the truth and the truth will

enlihten him)<

Next? &nlihtenment


ENLIGHTENMENT

T(& Bodhisattva, havin put +ara to fliht, ave himself up to meditation) #ll the miseries of the world, the

evils produced by evil deeds and the sufferins arisin therefrom, passed before his mental eye, and he thouht?

<Surely if livin creatures saw the results of all their evil deeds, they would turn away from them in disust)

But selfhood blinds them, and they clin to their obnoxious desires) They crave pleasure for themselves andthey cause pain to others0 when death destroys their individuality, they find no peace0 their thirst for existence

abides and their selfhood reappears in new births) Thus they continue to move in the coil and can find no

escape from the hell of their own makin) #nd how empty are their pleasures, how vain are their endeavorsA

(ollow like the plantain;tree and without contents like the bubble) The world is full of evil and sorrow, because

it is full of lust) +en o astray because they think that delusion is better than truth) $ather than truth they

follow error, which is pleasant to look at in the beinnin but in the end causes anxiety, tribulation, and

misery)<

#nd the Bodhisattva bean to expound the %harma) The %harma is the truth) The %harma is the sacred law)

The %harma is reliion) The %harma alone can deliver us from error, from wron and from sorrow)

Ponderin on the oriin of birth and death, the &nlihtened -ne reconi!ed that inorance was the root of all

evil0 and these are the links in the development of life, called the twelve nidanas? In the beinnin there is

existence blind and without knowlede0 and in this sea of inorance there are stirrins formative and

orani!in) 'rom stirrins, formative and orani!in, rises awareness or feelins) 'eelins beet oranisms that

live as individual beins) These oranisms develop the six fields, that is, the five senses and the mind) The six

fields come in contact with thins) "ontact beets sensation) Sensation creates the thirst of individuali!ed

bein) The thirst of bein creates a cleavin to thins) The cleavin produces the rowth and continuation of

selfhood) Selfhood continues in renewed birth) The renewed births of selfhood are the causes of sufferins, old

ae, sickness, and death) They produce lamentation, anxiety, and despair)

The cause of all sorrow lies at the very beinnin0 it is hidden in the inorance from which life rows) $emoveinorance and you will destroy the wron desires that rise from inorance0 destroy these desires and you will

wipe out the wron perception that rises from them) %estroy wron perception and there is an end of errors in

individuali!ed beins) %estroy the errors in individuali!ed beins and the illusions of the six fields will

disappear) %estroy illusions and the contact with thins will cease to beet misconception) %estroy

misconception and you do away with thirst) %estroy thirst and you will be free of all morbid cleavin) $emove

the cleavin and you destroy the selfishness of selfhood) If the selfishness of selfhood is destroyed you will be

above birth, old ae, disease, and death, and you will escape all sufferin)

The &nlihtened -ne saw the four noble truths which point out the path that leads to Nirvana or the extinction

of self? The first noble truth is the existence of sorrow) The second noble truth is the cause of sufferin) The

third noble truth is the cessation of sorrow) The fourth noble truth is the eihtfold path that leads to the

cessation of sorrow)

This is the %harma) This is the truth) This is reliion) #nd the &nlihtened -ne uttered this stan!a?



















<Throuh many births I souht in vain

The Builder of this (ouse of Pain)

Now, Builder, ou are plain to see,

#nd from this (ouse at last I6m free0

I burst the rafters, roof and wall,

#nd dwell in the Peace beyond them all)<

There is self and there is truth) Where self is, truth is not) Where truth is, self is not) Self is the fleetin error of

samsara0 it is individual separateness and that eotism which beets envy and hatred) Self is the yearnin for

pleasure and the lust after vanity) Truth is the correct comprehension of thins0 it is the permanent and

everlastin, the real in all existence, the bliss of rihteousness)

The existence of self is an illusion, and here is no wron in this world, no vice, no evil, except what flows from

the assertion of self) The attainment of truth is possible only when self is reconi!ed as an illusion)

$ihteousness can be practiced only when we have freed our mind from passions of eotism) Perfect peace can

dwell only where all vanity has disappeared)

Blessed is he who has understood the %harma) Blessed is he who does no harm to his fellow;beins) Blessed is

he who overcomes wron and is free from passion) To the hihest bliss has he attained who has con:uered allselfishness and vanity) (e has become the Buddha, the Perfect -ne)

Next? The 'irst "onvertsSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE FIRST CONVERTS

T(& Blessed -ne tarried in solitude seven times seven days, en.oyin the bliss of emancipation) #t that time

Tapussa and Bhallika, two merchants, came travelin on the road near by, and when they saw the reat samana,

ma.estic and full of peace, they approached him respectfully and offered him rice cakes and honey)

This was the first food that the &nlihtened -ne ate after he attained Buddhahood)

#nd the Buddha addressed them and pointed out to them the way of salvation) The two merchants, seein the

holiness of the con:ueror of +ara, bowed down in reverence and said? <We take our refue, *ord, in the

Blessed -ne and in the %harma)< Tapussa and Bhallika were the first that became followers of the Buddha and

they were lay disciples)

Next? The Brahma6s $e:uestSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE BRAHMA'S REQUEST

T(& Blessed -ne havin attained Buddhahood while restin under the shepherd6s Nirodha tree on the banks

of the river Neran.ara, pronounced this solemn utterance?

<(ow sure his pathway in this wood,

Who follows truth6s unchanin callA

(ow blessed, to be kind and ood,



































#nd practice self;restraint in allA

(ow liht, from passion to be free,

#nd sensual .oys to let o byA

#nd yet his reatest bliss will be

When he has :uelled the pride of 6I6)

<I have reconi!ed the deepest truth, which is sublime and peace;ivin6 but difficult to understand0 for most

men move in a sphere of worldly interests and find their deliht in worldly desires) The worldlin will not

understand the doctrine, for to him there is happiness in selfhood only, and the bliss that lies in a complete

surrender to truth is unintelliible to him) (e will call resination what to the enlihtened mind is the purest

.oy) (e will see annihilation where the perfected one finds immortality) (e will reard as death what the

con:ueror of self knows to be life everlastin) The truth remains hidden from him who is in the bondae of

hate and desire) Nirvana remains incomprehensible and mysterious to the vular whose minds are beclouded

with worldly interests) Should I preach the doctrine and mankind not comprehend it, it would brin me only

fatiue and trouble)<

+ara, the &vil -ne, on hearin the words of the Blessed Buddha, approached and said? <Be reeted, thou (oly

-ne) Thou hast attained the hihest bliss and it is time for thee to enter into the final Nirvana)<

Then Brahma Sahampati descended from the heavens and, havin worshiped the Blessed -ne, said? <#lasA the

world must perish, should the (oly -ne, the Tathaata, decide not to teach the %harma) Be merciful to those

that strule0 have compassion upon the sufferers0 pity the creatures who are hopelessly entanled in the snares

of sorrow) There are some beins that are almost free from the dust of worldliness) If they hear not the doctrine

preached, they will be lost) But if they hear it, they will believe and be saved)<

The Blessed -ne, full of compassion, looked with the eye of a Buddha upon all sentient creatures, and he saw

amon them beins whose minds were but scarcely covered by the dust of worldliness, who were of ood

disposition and easy to instruct) (e saw some who were conscious of the daners of lust and wron doin) #nd

the Blessed -ne said to Brahma Sahampati? <Wide open be the door of immortality to all who have ears to

hear) +ay they receive the %harma with faith)<

Then the Blessed -ne turned to +ara, sayin? <I shall not pass into the final Nirvana, - &vil -ne, until there be

not only brethren and sisters of an -rder, but also lay disciples of both sexes, who shall have become true

hearers, wise, well trained, ready and learned, versed in the scriptures, fulfillin all the reater and lesser

duties, correct in life, walkin accordin to the precepts;until they, havin thus themselves learned the doctrine,

shall be able to ive information to others concernin it, preach it, make it known, establish it, open it, minutely

explain it, and make it clear;until they, when others start vain doctrines, shall be able to van:uish and refute

them, and so to spread the wonderworkin truth abroad) I shall not die until the pure reliion of truth shall have

become successful, prosperous, widespread, and popular in all its full extent;until, in a word, it shall have been

well proclaimed amon menA<

Then Brahma Sahampati understood that the Blessed -ne had ranted his re:uest and would preach the

doctrine)

Next? 'oundin The indomSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next



















FOUNDING THE KINGDOM

UPAKA SEES THE BUDDHA

Now the Blessed -ne thouht? <To whom shall I preach the doctrine first@ +y old teachers are dead) They

would have received the ood news with .oy) But my five disciples are still alive) I shall o to them, and to

them shall I first proclaim the ospel of deliverance)<

#t that time the five bhikkhus dwelt in the %eer Park at Benares, and the Blessed -ne rose and .ourneyed to

their abode, not thinkin of their unkindness in havin left him at a time when he was most in need of their

sympathy and help, but mindful only of the services which they had ministered unto him, and pityin them for

the austerities which they practiced in vain)

9paka, a youn Brahman and a 1ain, a former ac:uaintance of Siddhattha, saw the Blessed -ne while he

.ourneyed to Benares, and, ama!ed at the ma.esty and sublime .oyfulness of his appearance, said to him? <Thy

countenance, my friend, is serene0 thine eyes are briht and indicate purity and blessedness)<

The holy Buddha replied? <I have obtained deliverance by the extinction of self) +y body is chastened, my

mind is free from desire, and the deepest truth has taken abode in my heart) I have obtained Nirvana, and this is

the reason that my countenance is serene and my eyes are briht) I now desire to found the kindom of truth

upon earth, to ive liht to those who are enshrouded in darkness and to open the ate of deathlessness)<

9paka replied? <Thou professest then, friend, to be 1ina, the con:ueror of the world, the absolute one and the

holy one)

The Blessed -ne said? <1inas are all those who have con:uered self and the passions of self0 those alone are

victorious who control their minds and abstain from evil) Therefore, 9paka, I am the 1ina)<

9paka shook his head) <Cenerable 8otama, he said, <thy way lies yonder,< and takin another road he went

away)

Next? The Sermon #t BenaresSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE SERMON AT BENARES-N seein their old teacher approach, the five bhikkus areed amon themselves not to salute him, nor to

address him as a master, but by his name only) <'or,< so they said, <he has broken his vow and has abandoned

holiness) (e is no bhikkhu, but 8otama, and 8otama has become a man who lives in abundance and indules

in the pleasures of worldliness)< But when the Blessed -ne approached in a dinified manner, they

involuntarily rose from their seats and reeted him in spite of their resolution) Still they called him by his name

and addressed him as <friend 8otama)<

When they had thus received the Blessed -ne, he said? <%o not call the Tathaata by his name nor address him

as 6friend,6 for he is the Buddha, the (oly -ne) The Buddha looks with a kind heart e:ually on all livin beins,and they therefore call him 6'ather)6 To disrespect a father is wron0 to despise him, is wicked) The Tathaata,

the Buddha continued, does not seek salvation in austerities, but neither does he for that reason indule in

worldly pleasures, nor live in abundance) The Tathaata has found the middle path)

<There are two extremes, - bhikkhus, which the man who has iven up the world ouht not to follow;the



















habitual practice, on the one hand, of self;indulence which is unworthy, vain and fit only for the worldly;

minded and the habitual practice, on the other hand, of self;mortification, which is painful, useless and

unprofitable)

<Neither abstinence from fish and flesh, nor oin naked, nor shavin the head, nor wearin matted hair, nor

dressin in a rouh arment, nor coverin oneself with dirt, nor sacrificin to #ni, will cleanse a man who is

not free from delusions) $eadin the Cedas, makin offerins to priests, or sacrifices to the ods, self;

mortification by heat or cold and many such penances performed for the sake of immortality, these do not

cleanse the man who is not free from delusions) #ner, drunkenness, obstinacy, biotry, deception, envy, self;

praise, disparain others, superciliousness and evil intentions constitute uncleanness0 not verily the eatin of

flesh)

<# middle path, - bhikkhus avoidin the two extremes, has been discovered by the Tathaata;a path which

opens the eyes, and bestows understandin, which leads to peace of mind, to the hiher wisdom, to full

enlihtenment, to NirvanaA What is that middle path, - bhikkhus, avoidin these two extremes, discovered by

the Tathaata;that path which opens the eyes, and bestows understandin, which leads to peace of mind, to the

hiher wisdom, to full enlihtenment, to Nirvana@ *et me teach you, - bhikkhus, the middle path, which keeps

aloof from both extremes) By sufferin, the emaciated devotee produces confusion and sickly thouhts in his

mind) +ortification is not conducive even to worldly knowlede0 how much less to a triumph over the sensesA

<(e who fills his lamp with water will not dispel the darkness, and he who tries to liht a fire with rotten wood

will fail) #nd how can any one be free from self by leadin a wretched life, if he does not succeed in :uenchin

the fires of lust, if he still hankers after either worldly or heavenly pleasures@ But he in whom self has become

extinct is free from lust0 he will desire neither worldly nor heavenly pleasures, and the satisfaction of his

natural wants will not defile him) (owever, let him be moderate, let him eat and drink accordin to the need of

the body)

<Sensuality is enervatin0 the self;indulent man is a slave to his passions, and pleasure;seekin is deradin

and vular) But to satisfy the necessities of life is not evil) To keep the body in ood health is a duty, for

otherwise we shall not be able to trim the lamp of wisdom, and keep our minds stron and clear) Watersurrounds the lotus flower, but does not wet its petals) This is the middle path, - bhikkhus, that keeps aloof

from both extremes)< #nd the Blessed -ne spoke kindly to his disciples, pityin them for their errors, and

pointin out the uselessness of their endeavors, and the ice of ill;will that chilled their hearts melted away

under the entle warmth of the +aster6s persuasion)

Now the Blessed -ne set the wheel of the most excellent law rollin, and he bean to preach to the five

bhikkhus, openin to them the ate of immortality, and showin them the bliss of Nirvana)

The Buddha said? <The spokes of the wheel are the rules of pure conduct? .ustice is the uniformity of their

lenth0 wisdom is the tire0 modesty and thouhtfulness are the hub in which the immovable axle of truth is

fixed) (e who reconi!es the existence of sufferin, its cause, its remedy, and its cessation has fathomed thefour noble truths) (e will walk in the riht path)

<$iht views will be the torch to liht his way) $iht aspirations will be his uide) $iht speech will be his

dwellin;place on the road) (is ait will be straiht, for it is riht behavior) (is refreshments will be the riht

way of earnin his livelihood) $iht efforts will be his steps? riht thouhts his breath0 and riht contemplation

will ive him the peace that follows in his footprints)

<Now, this, - bhikkhus, is the noble truth concernin sufferin? Birth is attended with pain, decay is painful,

disease is painful, death is painful) 9nion with the unpleasant is painful, painful is separation from the pleasant0

and any cravin that is unsatisfied, that too is painful) In brief, bodily conditions which sprin from attachmentare painful) This, then, - bhikkhus, is the noble truth concernin sufferin)

<Now this, - bhikkhus, is the noble truth concernin the oriin of sufferin? Cerily, it is that cravin which

causes the renewal of existence, accompanied by sensual deliht, seekin satisfaction now here, now there, the

cravin for the ratification of the passions, the cravin for a future life, and the cravin for happiness in this



life) This, then, - bhikkhus, is the noble truth concernin the oriin of sufferin)

<Now this, - bhikkhus, is the noble truth concernin the destruction of sufferin? Cerily, it is the destruction,

in which no passion remains, of this very thirst0 it is the layin aside of, the bein free from, the dwellin no

loner upon this thirst) This, then, - bhikkhus, is the noble truth concernin the destruction of sufferin)

<Now, this, - bhikkhus, is the noble truth concernin the way which leads to the destruction of sorrow) Cerily,

it is this noble eihtfold path0 that is to say? $iht views0 riht aspirations0 riht speech0 riht behavior0 riht

livelihood0 riht effort0 riht thouhts0 and riht contemplation) This, then, - bhikkhus, is the noble truth

concernin the destruction of sorrow)

<By the practice of lovin;kindness I have attained liberation of heart, and thus I am assured that I shall never

return in renewed births) I have even now attained Nirvana)<

When the Blessed -ne had thus set the royal chariot wheel of truth rollin onward, a rapture thrilled throuh all

the universes) The devas left their heavenly abodes to listen to the sweetness of the truth0 the saints that had

parted from life crowded around the reat teacher to receive the lad tidins0 even the animals of the earth felt

the bliss that rested upon the words of the Tathaata? and all the creatures of the host of sentient beins, ods,

men, and beasts, hearin the messae of deliverance, received and understood it in their own lanuae)

#nd when the doctrine was propounded, the venerable ondanna, the oldest one amon the five bhikkhus,

discerned the truth with his mental eye, and he said? <Truly, - Buddha, our *ord, thou hast found the truthA<

Then the other bhikkhus too, .oined him and exclaimed? <Truly, thou art the Buddha, thou hast found the truth)<

#nd the devas and saints and all the ood spirits of the departed enerations that had listened to the sermon of

the Tathaata, .oyfully received the doctrine and shouted? <Truly, the Blessed -ne has founded the kindom of

rihteousness) The Blessed -ne has moved the earth0 he has set the wheel of Truth rollin, which by no one in

the universe, be he od or man, can ever be turned back) The kindom of Truth will be preached upon earth0 it

will spread0 and rihteousness, ood;will, and peace will rein amon mankind)<

Next? The Sanha -r "ommunitySacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE SANGHA OR COMMUNITY

(#CIN8 pointed out to the five bhikkhus the truth, the Buddha said? <# man that stands alone, havin decided

to obey the truth, may be weak and slip back into his old ways) Therefore, stand ye toether, assist one another,and strenthen one another efforts) Be like unto brothers0 one in love, one in holiness, and one in your !eal for

the truth) Spread the truth and preach the doctrine in all :uarters of the world, so that in the end all livin

creatures will be citi!ens of the kindom of rihteousness) This is the holy brotherhood0 this is the church, the

conreation of the saints of the Buddha0 this is the Sanha that establishes a communion amon all those who

have taken their refue in the Buddha)<

ondanna was the first disciple of the Buddha who had thorouhly rasped the doctrine of the (oly -ne, and

the Tathaata lookin into his heart said? <Truly, ondanna has understood the truth)< Therefore the venerable

ondanna received the name <#nnata;ondanna that is, <ondanna who has understood the doctrine)< Then

the venerable ondanna spoke to the Buddha and said? <*ord, let us receive the ordination from the blessed

-ne)< #nd the Buddha said? <"ome, - bhikkhusA Well tauht is the doctrine) *ead a holy life for the extinction

of sufferin)<

Then ondanna and the other bhikkhus uttered three times these solemn vows? <To the Buddha will I look in

faith? (e, the Perfect -ne, is holy and supreme) The Buddha conveys to us instruction, wisdom, and salvation0



















he is the Blessed -ne, who knows the law of bein0 he is the *ord of the world, who yoketh men like oxen, the

Teacher of ods and men, the &xalted Buddha) Therefore, to the Buddha will I look in faith)

<To the doctrine will I look in faith? well;preached is the doctrine by the &xalted -ne) The doctrine has been

revealed so as to become visible0 the doctrine is above time and space) The doctrine is not based upon hearsay,

it means 6"ome and see60 the doctrine to welfare0 the doctrine is reconi!ed by the wise in their own hearts)

Therefore to the doctrine will I look in faith)

<To the community will I look in faith0 the community of the Buddha6s disciples instructs us how to lead a life

of rihteousness0 the community of the Buddha6s disciples teaches us how to exercise honesty and .ustice0 the

community of the Buddha6s disciples shows us how to practice the truth) They form a brotherhood in kindness

and charity, and their saints are worthy of reverence) The community of the Buddha6s disciples is founded as a

holy brotherhood in which men bind themselves toether to teach the behests of rectitude and to do ood)

Therefore, to the community will I look in faith)<

The ospel of the Blessed -ne increased from day to day, and many people came to hear him and to accept the

ordination to lead thenceforth a holy life for the sake of the extinction of sufferin) #nd the Blessed -ne seein

that it was impossible to attend to all who wanted to hear the truth and receive the ordination, sent out from the

number of his disciples such as were to preach the %harma, and said unto them?

<The %harma and the Cinaya proclaimed by the Tathaata shine forth when they are displayed, and not when

they are concealed) But let not this doctrine, so full of truth and so excellent, fall into the hands of those

unworthy of it, where it would be despised and contemned, treated shamefully, ridiculed and censured) I now

rant you, - bhikkhus, this permission) "onfer henceforth in the different countries the ordination upon those

who are eaer to receive it, when you find them worthy)

<8o ye now, - bhikkhus, for the benefit of the many, for the welfare of mankind, out of compassion for the

world) Preach the doctrine which is lorious in the beinnin, lorious in the middle, and lorious in the end, in

the spirit as well as in the letter) There are beins whose eyes are scarcely covered with dust, but if the doctrine

is not preached to them they cannot attain salvation) Proclaim to them a life of holiness) They will understandthe doctrine and accept it)<

#nd it became an established custom that the bhikkhus went out preachin while the weather was ood, but in

the rainy season they came toether aain and .oined their master, to listen to the exhortations of the Tathaata)

Next? asa, The outh -f BenaresSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

YASA, THE YOUTH OF BENARES

#T that time there was in Benares a noble youth, asa by name, the son of a wealthy merchant) Troubled in his

mind about the sorrows of the world, he secretly rose up in the niht and stole away to the Blessed -ne) The

Blessed -ne saw asa comin from afar) asa approached and exclaimed? <#las, what distressA What

tribulationsA<

The Blessed -ne said to asa? <(ere is no distress0 here are no tribulations) "ome to me and I will teach you

the truth, and the truth will dispel your sorrows)<

When asa, the noble youth, heard that there were neither distress, nor tribulations, nor sorrows, his heart was

comforted) (e went into the place where the Blessed -ne was, and sat down near him) Then the Blessed -ne

preached about charity and morality) (e explained the vanity of the thouht <I am<0 the daners of desire, and

the necessity of avoidin the evils of life in order to walk on the path of deliverance)



















Instead of disust with the world, asa felt the coolin stream of holy wisdom, and, havin obtained the pure

and spotless eye of truth, he looked at his person, richly adorned with pearls and precious stones, and his heart

was shamed)

The Tathaata, knowin his inward thouhts, said? <Thouh a person be ornamented with .ewels, the heart may

have con:uered the senses) The outward form does not constitute reliion or affect the mind) Thus the body of

a samana may wear an ascetic6s arb while his mind is immersed in worldliness) # man that dwells in lonely

woods and yet covets worldly vanities, is a worldlin, while the man in worldly arments may let his heart soar

hih to heavenly thouhts) There is no distinction between the layman and the hermit, if but both have banished

the thouht of self)<

Seein that asa was ready to enter upon the path, the Blessed -ne said to him? <'ollow meA< #nd asa .oined

the brotherhood, and havin put on a bhikkhu6s robe, received the ordination)

While the Blessed -ne and asa were discussin the doctrine, asa6s father passed by in search of his son0 and

in passin he asked the Blessed -ne? <Pray, *ord, hast thou seen asa, my son@<

The Buddha said to asa6s father? <"ome in, sir, thou wilt find thy son<0 and asa6s father became full of .oy

and he entered) (e sat down near his son, but his eyes were holden and he knew him not0 and the *ord bean to preach) #nd asa6s father, understandin the doctrine of the Blessed -ne, said?

<8lorious is the truth, - *ordA The Buddha, the (oly -ne, our +aster, sets up what has been overturned0 he

reveals what has been hidden0 he points out the way to the wanderer who has one astray0 he lihts a lamp in

the darkness so that all who have eyes to see can discern the thins that surround them) I take refue in the

Buddha, our *ord? I take refue in the doctrine revealed by him? I take refue in the brotherhood which he has

founded) +ay the Blessed -ne receive me from this day forth while my life lasts as a lay disciple who has

taken refue in him)< asa6s father was the first lay;member who became the first lay disciple of the Buddha by

pronouncin the three;fold formula of refue)

When the wealthy merchant had taken refue in the Buddha, his eyes were opened and he saw his son sittin athis side in a bhikkhu6s robe) <+y son, asa, he said, thy mother is absorbed in lamentation and rief) $eturn

home and restore thy mother to life)<

Then asa looked at the Blessed -ne, who said? <Should asa return to the world and en.oy the pleasures of a

worldly life as he did before@< asa6s father replied? <If asa, my son, finds it a ain to stay with thee, let him

stay) (e has become delivered from the bondae of worldliness)<

When the Blessed -ne had cheered their hearts with words of truth and rihteousness, asa6s father said? <+ay

the Blessed -ne, - *ord, consent to take his meal with me toether with asa as his attendant@< The Blessed

-ne, havin donned his robes, took his alms;bowl and went with asa to the house of the rich merchant) When

they had arrived there, the mother and also the former wife of asa saluted the Blessed -ne and sat down near

him)

Then the Blessed -ne preached, and the women havin understood his doctrine, exclaimed? <8lorious is the

truth, - *ordA We take refue in the Buddha, our *ord) We take refue in the doctrine revealed by him) We

take refue in the brotherhood which has been founded by him) +ay the Blessed -ne receive us from this day

forth while our life lasts as lay disciples who have taken refue in him)< The mother and the wife of asa, the

noble youth of Benares, were the first women who became lay disciples and took their refue in the Buddha)

Now there were four friends of asa belonin to the wealthy families of Benares) Their names were Cimala,

Subahu, Punna.i, and 8avampati)

When asa6s friends heard that asa had cut off his hair and put on bhikkhu robes to ive up the world and o

forth into homelessness, they thouht? <Surely that cannot be a common doctrine, that must be a noble

renunciation of the world)



#nd they went to asa, and asa addressed the Blessed -ne sayin? <+ay the Blessed -ne administer

exhortation and instruction to these four friends of mine)< #nd the Blessed -ne preached to them, and asa6s

friends accepted the doctrine and took refue in the Buddha, the %harma, and the Sanha)

Next? assapa, The 'ire;Worshiper Sacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

KASSAPA, THE FIRE-WORSHIPER

#T that time there lived in 9ruvela the 1atilas, Brahman hermits with matted hair, worshipin the fire and

keepin a fire;draon0 and assapa was their chief) assapa was renowned throuhout all India, and his name

was honored as one of the wisest men on earth and an authority on reliion) #nd the Blessed -ne went to

assapa of 9ruvela the 1atila, and said? <*et me stay a niht in the room where you keep your sacred fire)<

assapa, seein the Blessed -ne in his ma.esty and beauty, thouht to himself? <This is a reat muni and anoble teacher) Should he stay overniht in the room where the sacred fire is kept, the serpent will bite him and

he will die)< #nd he said? <I do not ob.ect to your stayin overniht in the room where the sacred fire is kept,

but the serpent lives there0 he will kill you and I should be sorry to see you perish)<

But the Buddha insisted and assapa admitted him to the room where the sacred fire was kept) #nd the Blessed

-ne sat down with body erect, surroundin himself with watchfulness) In the niht the draon came, belchin

forth in rae his fiery poison, and fillin the air with burnin vapor, but could do him no harm, and the fire

consumed itself while the World;honored -ne remained composed) #nd the venomous fiend became very

wroth so that he died in his aner) When assapa saw the liht shinin forth from the room he said? <#las,

what miseryA Truly, the countenance of 8otama the reat Sakyamuni is beautiful, but the serpent will destroy

him)<

In the mornin the Blessed -ne showed the dead body of the fiend to assapa, sayin? <(is fire has been

con:uered by my fire)< #nd assapa thouht to himself) <Sakyamuni is a reat samana and possesses hih

powers, but he is not holy like me)<

There was in those days a festival, and assapa thouht? <The people will come hither from all parts of the

country and will see the reat Sakyamuni) When he speaks to them, they will believe in him and abandon me)<

#nd he rew envious) When the day of the festival arrived, the Blessed -ne retired and did not come to

assapa) #nd assapa went to the Buddha on the next mornin and said? <Why did the reat Sakyamuni not

come@<

The Tathaata replied? <%idst thou not think, - assapa, that it would be better if I stayed away from the

festival@< #nd assapa was astonished and thouht? <8reat is Sakyamuni0 he can read my most secret

thouhts, but he is not holy like me)<

The Blessed -ne addressed assapa and said? <Thou seest the truth, but acceptest it not because of the envy

that dwells in thy heart) Is envy holiness@ &nvy is the last remnant of self that has remained in thy mind) Thou

art not holy, assapa0 thou hast not yet entered the path)< #nd assapa ave up his resistance) (is envy

disappeared, and, bowin down before the Blessed -ne, he said? <*ord, our +aster, let me receive the

ordination from the Blessed -ne)<

#nd the Blessed -ne said? <Thou, assapa, art chief of the 1atilas) 8o, then, first and inform them of thine

intention, and let them do as thou thinkest fit)< Then assapa went to the 1atilas and said? <I am anxious to lead

a reliious life under the direction of the reat Sakyamuni, who is the &nlihtened -ne, the Buddha) %o as ye

think best)<



















The 1atilas replied? <We have conceived a profound affection for the reat Sakyamuni, and if thou wilt .oin his

brotherhood, we will do likewise)< The 1atilas of 9ruvela now flun their paraphernalia of fire;worship into the

river and went to the Blessed -ne)

Nadi assapa and 8aya assapa, brothers of the reat 9ruvela assapa, powerful men and chieftains amon

the people, were dwellin below on the stream, and when they saw the instruments used in fire;worship

floatin in the river, they said? <Somethin has happened to our brother) #nd they came with their folk to

9ruvela) (earin what had happened, they, too, went to the Buddha)

The Blessed -ne, seein that the 1atilas of Nadi and 8aya, who had practiced severe austerities and worshiped

fire, were now come to him, preached a sermon on fire, and said? <&verythin, - 1atilas, is burnin) The eye is

burnin, all the senses are burnin, thouhts are burnin) They are burnin with the fire of lust) There is aner,

there is inorance, there is hatred, and as lon as the fire finds inflammable thins upon which it can feed, so

lon will it burn, and there will be birth and death, decay, rief, lamentation, sufferin, despair, and sorrow)

"onsiderin this, a disciple of the %harma will see the four noble truths and walk in the eihtfold path of

holiness) (e will become wary of his eye, wary of all his senses, wary of his thouhts) (e will divest himself of

passion and become free) (e will be delivered from selfishness and attain the blessed state of Nirvana)<

#nd the 1atilas re.oiced and took refue in the Buddha, the %harma, and the Sanha)

Next? The Sermon #t $a.aahaSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE SERMON AT RAJAGAHA

T(& Blessed -ne havin dwelt some time in 9ruvela went to $a.aaha, accompanied by a number of bhikkhus, many of whom had been 1atilas before) The reat assapa, chief of the 1atilas and formerly a fire

worshiper, went with him)

When the +aadha kin, Seniya Bimbisara, heard of the arrival of 8otama Sakyamuni, of whom the people

said, <(e is the (oly -ne, the blessed Buddha, uidin men as a driver curbs bullocks, the teacher of hih and

low,< he went out surrounded with his counselors and enerals and came to the rove where the Blessed -ne

was) There they saw the Blessed -ne in the company of assapa, the reat reliious teacher of the 1atilas, and

they were astonished and thouht? <(as the reat Sakyamuni placed himself under the spiritual direction of

assapa, or has assapa become a disciple of 8otama@<

The Tathaata, readin the thouhts of the people, said to assapa? <What knowlede hast thou ained, -assapa, and what has induced thee to renounce the sacred fire and ive up thine austere penances@<

assapa said? <The profit I derived from adorin the fire was continuance in the wheel of individuality with all

its sorrows and vanities) This service I have cast away, and instead of continuin penances and sacrifices I have

one in :uest of the hihest Nirvana) Since I have seen the liht of truth, I have abandoned worshipin the

fire)<

The Buddha, perceivin that the whole assembly was ready as a vessel to receive the doctrine, spoke thus to

Bimbisara the kin? <(e who knows the nature of self and understands how the senses act, finds no room for

selfishness, and thus he will attain peace unendin) The world holds the thouht of self, and from this arises

false apprehension) Some say that the self endures after death, some say it perishes) Both are wron and their

error is most rievous) 'or if they say the self is perishable, the fruit they strive for will perish too, and at some

time there will be no hereafter) 8ood and evil would be indifferent) This salvation from selfishness is without

merit)



















<When some, on the other hand, say the self will not perish, then in the midst of all life and death there is but

one identity unborn and undyin) If such is their self, then it is perfect and cannot be perfected by deeds) The

lastin, imperishable self could never be chaned) self would be lord and master, and there would be no use in

perfectin the perfect0 moral aims and salvation would be unnecessary)

<But now we see the marks of .oy and sorrow) Where is any constancy@ If there is no permanent self that does

our deeds, then there is no self0 there is no actor behind our actions, no perceiver behind our perception, no lord

behind our deeds)

<Now attend and listen? The senses meet the ob.ect and from their contact sensation is born) Thence results

recollection) Thus, as the sun6s power throuh a burnin;lass causes fire to appear, so throuh the coni!ance

born of sense and ob.ect, the mind oriinates and with it the eo, the thouht of self, whom some Brahman

teachers call the lord) The shoot sprins from the seed0 the seed is not the shoot0 both are not one and the same,

but successive phases in a continuous rowth) Such is the birth of animated life)

<e that are slaves of the self and toil in its service from morn until niht, ye that live in constant fear of birth,

old ae, sickness, and death, receive the ood tidins that your cruel master exists not) Self is an error, an

illusion, a dream) -pen your eyes and awaken) See thins as they are and ye will be comforted) (e who is

awake will no loner be afraid of nihtmares) (e who has reconi!ed the nature of the rope that seemed to be aserpent will cease to tremble)

<(e who has found there is no self will let o all the lusts and desires of eotism) The cleavin to thins,

covetousness, and sensuality inherited from former existences, are the causes of the misery and vanity in the

world) Surrender the raspin disposition of selfishness, and you will attain to that calm state of mind which

conveys perfect peace, oodness, and wisdom)<

#nd the Buddha breathed forth this solemn utterance?

<%o not deceive, do not despise

&ach other, anywhere)%o not be anry, and do not

Secret resentment bear0

'or as a mother risks her life

#nd watches over her child,

So boundless be your love to all,

So tender, kind and mild)

<ea cherish ood;will riht and left,

'or all, both soon and late,

#nd with no hindrance, with no stint,

'rom envy free and hate0

While standin, walkin, sittin down,'orever keep in mind?

The rule of life that6s always best

Is to be lovin;kind)

<8ifts are reat, the foundin of viharas is meritorious, meditations and reliious exercises pacify the heart,

comprehension of the truth leads to Nirvana, but reater than all is lovin;kindness) #s the liht of the moon is

sixteen times stroner than the liht of all the stars, so lovin;kindness is sixteen times more efficacious in

liberatin the heart than all other reliious accomplishments taken toether) This state of heart is the best in the

world) *et a man remain steadfast in it while he is awake, whether he is standin, walkin, sittin, or lyin

down)<

When the &nlihtened -ne had finished his sermon, the +aadha kin said to the Blessed -ne? <In former

days, *ord, when I was a prince, I cherished five wishes) I wished? -, that I miht be inauurated as a kin)

This was my first wish, and it has been fulfilled) 'urther, I wished? +iht the (oly Buddha, the Perfect -ne,

appear on earth while I rule and miht he come to my kindom) This was my second wish and it is fulfilled



now) 'urther I wished? +iht I pay my respects to him) This was my third wish and it is fulfilled now) The

fourth wish was? +iht the Blessed -ne preach the doctrine to me, and this is fulfilled now)

<The reatest wish, however, was the fifth wish? +iht I understand the doctrine of the Blessed -ne) #nd this

wish is fulfilled too)

<8lorious *ordA +ost lorious is the truth preached by the TathaataA -ur *ord, the Buddha, sets up what has

been overturned0 he reveals what has been hidden0 he points out the way to the wanderer who has one astray0

he lihts a lamp in the darkness so that those who have eyes to see may see) I take my refue in the Buddha) I

take my refue in the %harma) I take my refue in the Sanha)<

The Tathaata, by the exercise of his virtue and by wisdom, showed his unlimited spiritual power) (e subdued

and harmoni!ed all minds) (e made them see and accept the truth, and throuhout the kindom the seeds of

virtue were sown)

Next? The in6s 8iftSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE KING'S GIFT

S&NI# BI+BIS#$#, the kin, havin taken his refue in the Buddha, invited the Tathaata to his palace,

sayin? <Will the Blessed -ne consent to take his meal with me tomorrow toether with the fraternity of

bhikkhus@< The next mornin the kin announced to the Blessed -ne that it was time for takin food? <Thou

art my most welcome uest, - *ord of the world, come0 the meal is prepared)<

The Blessed -ne havin donned his robes, took his alms;bowl and, toether with a reat number of bhikkhus,entered the city of $a.aaha) Sakka, the kin of the %evas, assumin the appearance of a youn Brahman,

walked in front, and said? <(e who teaches self;control with those who have learned self;control0 the redeemer

with those whom he has redeemed0 the Blessed -ne with those to whom he has iven peace, is enterin

$a.aaha (ail to the Buddha, our *ordA (onor to his name and blessins to all who take refue in him)< Sakka

intoned this stan!a?

<Blessed is the place in which the Buddha walks,

#nd blessed the ears which hear his talks0

Blessed his disciples, for they are

The tellers of his truth both near and far)

<If all could hear this truth so oodThen all men6s minds would eat rich food,

#nd stron would row men6s brotherhood)<

When the Blessed -ne had finished his meal, and had cleansed his bowl and his hands, the kin sat down near

him and thouht?

<Where may I find a place for the Blessed -ne to live in, not too far from the town and not too near, suitable

for oin and comin, easily accessible to all people who want to see him, a place that is by day not too

crowded and by niht not exposed to noise, wholesome and well fitted for a retired life@ There is my pleasure;

arden, the bamboo rove Celuvana, fulfillin all these conditions) I shall offer it to the brotherhood whose

head is the Buddha)<

The kin dedicated his arden to the brotherhood, sayin? <+ay the Blessed -ne accept my ift)< Then the

Blessed -ne, havin silently shown his consent and havin laddened and edified the +aadha kin by

reliious discourse, rose from his seat and went away)



















Next? Sariputta #nd +oallanaSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

SARIPUTTA AND MOGGALLANA

#T that time Sariputta and +oallana, two Brahmans and chiefs of the followers of San.aya, led a reliious

life) They had promised each other? <(e who first attains Nirvana shall tell the other one)<

Sariputta seein the venerable #ssa.i bein for alms, modestly keepin his eyes to the round and dinified

in deportment, exclaimed? <Truly this samana has entered the riht path0 I will ask him in whose name he has

retired from the world and what doctrine he professes)< Bein addressed by Sariputta, #ssa.i replied? <I am a

follower of the Buddha, the Blessed -ne, but bein a novice I can tell you the substance only of the doctrine)<

Said Sariputta? <Tell me, venerable monk0 it is the substance I want)< #nd #ssa.i recited the stan!a?

<Nothin we seek to touch or see

"an represent &ternity)

They spoil and die? then let us find

&ternal Truth within the mind)<

(avin heard this stan!a, Sariputta obtained the pure and spotless eye of truth and said? <Now I see clearly,

whatsoever is sub.ect to oriination is also sub.ect to cessation) If this be the doctrine I have reached the state

to enter Nirvana which heretofore has remained hidden from me)< Sariputta went to +oallana and told him,

and both said? <We will o to the Blessed -ne, that he, the Blessed -ne, may be our teacher)<

When the Buddha saw Sariputta and +oallana comin from afar, he said to his disciples, These two monksare hihly auspicious)< When the two friends had taken refue in the Buddha, the %harma and the Sanha, the

(oly -ne said to his other disciples? <Sariputta, like the first;born - son of a world;rulin monarch, is well

able to assist the kin as his chief follower to set the wheel of the law rollin)<

Now the people were annoyed) Seein that many distinuished youn men of the kindom of +aadha led a

reliious life under the direction of the Blessed -ne, they became anry and murmured? <8otama Sakyamuni

induces fathers to leave their wives and causes families to become extinct)< When they saw the bhikkhus, they

reviled them, sayin? <The reat Sakyamuni has come to $a.aaha subduin the minds of men) Who will be the

next to be led astray by him@<

The bhikkhus told it to the Blessed -ne, and the Blessed -ne said? <This murmurin, - bhikkhus, will not lastlon) it will last seven days) If they revile you, answer them with these words? 6It is by preachin the truth that

Tathaatas lead men) Who will murmur at the wise@ Who will blame the virtuous@ Who will condemn self;

control, rihteousness, and kindness@< #nd the Blessed -ne proclaimed?

<"ommit no wron, do only ood,

#nd let your heart be pure)

This is the doctrine Buddhas teach,

#nd this doctrine will endure)<

Next? #nathapindika, The +an -f WealthSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next



































ANATHAPINDIKA, THE MAN OF WEALTH

#T this time there was #nathapindika, a man of unmeasured wealth, visitin $a.aaha) Bein of a charitable

disposition, he was called <the supporter of orphans and the friend of the poor)< (earin that the Buddha had

come into the world and was stoppin in the bamboo rove near the city, he set out on that very niht to meet

the Blessed -ne)

#nd the Blessed -ne saw at once the sterlin :uality of #nathapindika6s heart and reeted him with words of

reliious comfort) #nd they sat down toether, and #nathapindika listened to the sweetness of the truth

preached by the Blessed -ne) #nd the Buddha said? <The restless, busy nature of the world, this, I declare, is at

the root of pain) #ttain that composure of mind which is restin in the peace of immortality) Self is but a heap

of composite :ualities, and its world is empty like a fantasy)

<Who is it that shapes our lives@ Is it Isvara, a personal creator@ If Isvara be the maker, all livin thins should

have silently to submit to their maker6s power) They would be like vessels formed by the potter6s hand0 and if it

were so, how would it be possible to practice virtue@ If the world had been made by Isvara there should be no

such thin as sorrow, or calamity, or evil0 for both pure and impure deeds must come from him) If not, there

would be another cause beside him, and he would not be self;existent) Thus, thou seest, the thouht of Isvara isoverthrown)

<#ain, it is said that the #bsolute has created us) But that which is absolute cannot be a cause) #ll thins

around us come from a cause as the plant comes from the seed0 but how can the #bsolute be the cause of all

thins alike@ If it pervades them, then, certainly, it does not make them)

<#ain, it is said that Self is the maker) But if self is the maker, why did it not make thins pleasin@ The

causes of sorrow and .oy are real and touchable) (ow can they have been made by self@

<#ain, if we adopt the arument that there is no maker, our fate is such as it is, and there is no causation, what

use would there be in shapin our lives and ad.ustin means to an end@ Therefore, we arue that all thins thatexist are not without cause) (owever, neither Isvara, nor the absolute, nor the self nor causeless chance, is the

maker, but our deeds produce results both ood and evil accordin to the law of causation)

<*et us, then, abandon the heresy of worshipin Isvara and of prayin to him0 let us no loner lose ourselves in

vain speculations or profitless subtleties0 let us surrender self and all selfishness, and as all thins are fixed by

causation, let us practice ood so that ood may result from our actions)<

#nd #nathapindika said? <I see that thou art the Buddha, the Blessed -ne the Tathaata, and I wish to open to

the my whole mind) (avin listened to my words advise me what I shall do) +y life is full of work, and havin

ac:uired reat wealth, I am surrounded with cares) et I en.oy my work, and apply myself to it with all

dilience) +any people are in my employ and depend upon the success of my enterprises)

<Now, I have heard thy disciples praise the bliss of the hermit and denounce the unrest of the world) 6The (oly

-ne,6 they say, 6has iven up his kindom and his inheritance, and has found the path of rihteousness, thus

settin an example to all the world how to attain Nirvana)6 +y heart yearns to do what is riht and to be a

blessin unto my fellows) *et me then ask thee, +ust I ive up my wealth, my home, and my business

enterprises, and, like thyself, o into homelessness in order to attain the bliss of a reliious life@<

#nd the Buddha replied? <The bliss of a reliious life is attainable by every one who walks in the noble

eihtfold path) (e that cleaves to wealth had better cast it away than allow his heart to be poisoned by it0 but he

who does not cleave to wealth, and possessin riches, uses them rihtly, will be a blessin unto his fellows) It isnot life and wealth and power that enslave men, but the cleavin to life and wealth and power) The bhikkhu

who retires from the world in order to lead a life of leisure will have no ain, for a life of indolence is an

abomination, and lack of enery is to be despised) The %harma of the Tathaata does not re:uire a man to o

into homelessness or to resin the world, unless he feels called upon to do so0 but the %harma of the Tathaata

re:uires every man to free himself from the illusion of self, to cleanse his heart, to ive up his thirst for



pleasure, and lead a life of rihteousness) #nd whatever men do, whether they remain in the world as artisans,

merchants, and officers of the kin, or retire from the world and devote themselves to a life of reliious

meditation, let them put their whole heart into their task0 let them be dilient and eneretic, and, if they are like

the lotus, which, althouh it rows in the water, yet remains untouched by the water, if they strule in life

without cherishin envy or hatred, if they live in the world not a life of self but a life of truth, then surely .oy,

peace, and bliss will dwell in their minds)<

Next? The Sermon -n "haritySacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE SERMON ON CHARITY

#N#T(#PIN%I# re.oiced at the words of the Blessed -ne and said? I dwell at Savatthi, the capital of

osala, a land rich in produce and en.oyin peace) Pasenadi is the kin of the country, and his name is

renowned amon our own people and our neihbors) Now I wish to found there a vihara which shall be a placeof reliious devotion for your brotherhood, and I pray you kindly to accept it)<

The Buddha saw into the heart of the supporter of orphans0 and knowin that unselfish charity was the movin

cause of his offer, in acceptance of the ift, the Blessed -ne said? <The charitable man is loved by all0 his

friendship is pri!ed hihly0 in death his heart is at rest and full of .oy, for he suffers not from repentance0 he

receives the openin flower of his reward and the fruit that ripens from it) (ard it is to understand? By ivin

away our food, we et more strenth, by bestowin clothin on others, we ain more beauty0 by donatin

abodes of purity and truth, we ac:uire reat treasures)

<There is a proper time and a proper mode in charity0 .ust as the viorous warrior oes to battle, so is the man

who is able to ive) (e is like an able warrior a champion stron and wise in action) *ovin and compassionatehe ives with reverence and banishes all hatred, envy, and aner)

<The charitable man has found the path of salvation) (e is like the man who plants a saplin, securin thereby

the shade, the flowers, and the fruit in future years) &ven so is the result of charity, even so is the .oy of him

who helps those that are in need of assistance0 even so is the reat Nirvana) We reach the immortal path only

by continuous acts of kindliness and we perfect our souls by compassion and charity)<

#nathapindika invited Sariputta to accompany him on his return to osala and help him in selectin a pleasant

site for the vihara)

Next? 1etavana, The CiharaSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE SERMON ON CHARITY

#N#T(#PIN%I# re.oiced at the words of the Blessed -ne and said? I dwell at Savatthi, the capital of

osala, a land rich in produce and en.oyin peace) Pasenadi is the kin of the country, and his name is

renowned amon our own people and our neihbors) Now I wish to found there a vihara which shall be a place

of reliious devotion for your brotherhood, and I pray you kindly to accept it)<

The Buddha saw into the heart of the supporter of orphans0 and knowin that unselfish charity was the movin

cause of his offer, in acceptance of the ift, the Blessed -ne said? <The charitable man is loved by all0 his



































friendship is pri!ed hihly0 in death his heart is at rest and full of .oy, for he suffers not from repentance0 he

receives the openin flower of his reward and the fruit that ripens from it) (ard it is to understand? By ivin

away our food, we et more strenth, by bestowin clothin on others, we ain more beauty0 by donatin

abodes of purity and truth, we ac:uire reat treasures)

<There is a proper time and a proper mode in charity0 .ust as the viorous warrior oes to battle, so is the man

who is able to ive) (e is like an able warrior a champion stron and wise in action) *ovin and compassionate

he ives with reverence and banishes all hatred, envy, and aner)

<The charitable man has found the path of salvation) (e is like the man who plants a saplin, securin thereby

the shade, the flowers, and the fruit in future years) &ven so is the result of charity, even so is the .oy of him

who helps those that are in need of assistance0 even so is the reat Nirvana) We reach the immortal path only

by continuous acts of kindliness and we perfect our souls by compassion and charity)<

#nathapindika invited Sariputta to accompany him on his return to osala and help him in selectin a pleasant

site for the vihara)

Next? 1etavana, The CiharaSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

JETAVANA, THE VIHARA

#N#T(#PIN%I#, the friend of the destitute and the supporter of orphans, havin returned home, saw the

arden of the heir;apparent, 1eta, with its reen roves and limpid rivulets, and thouht? <This is the place

which will be most suitable as a vihara for the brotherhood of the Blessed -ne)< #nd he went to the prince and

asked leave to buy the round) The prince was not inclined to sell the arden, for he valued it hihly) (e at firstrefused but said at last, <If thou canst cover it with old, then, and for no other price, shalt thou have it)<

#nathapindika re.oiced and bean to spread his old0 but 1eta said? <Spare thyself the trouble, for I will not

sell)< But #nathapindika insisted) Thus they contended until they resorted to the maistrate)

+eanwhile the people bean to talk of the unwonted proceedin, and the prince, hearin more of the details

and knowin that #nathapindika was not only very wealthy but also straihtforward and sincere, in:uired into

his plans) -n hearin the name of the Buddha, the prince became anxious to share in the foundation and he

accepted only one;half of the old, sayin? <ours is the land, but mine are the trees) I will ive the trees as my

share of this offerin to the Buddha)<

Then #nathapindika took the land and 1eta the trees, and they placed them in trust of Sariputta for the Buddha)#fter the foundations were laid, they bean to build the hall which rose loftily in due proportions accordin to

the directions which the Buddha had suested0 and it was beautifully decorated with appropriate carvins)

This vihara was called 1etavana, and the friend of the orphans invited the *ord to come to Savatthi and receive

the donation) #nd the Blessed -ne left apilavatthu and came to Savatthi)

While the Blessed -ne was enterin 1etavana, #nathapindika scattered flowers and burned incense, and as a

sin of the ift he poured water from a olden draon decanter, sayin, <This 1etavana vihara I ive for the use

of the brotherhood throuhout the world)< The Blessed -ne received the ift and replied? <+ay all evil

influences be overcome0 may the offerin promote the kindom of rihteousness and be a permanent blessin

to mankind in eneral, to the land of osala, and especially also to the iver)<

Then the kin Pasenadi, hearin that the *ord had come, went in his royal e:uipae to the 1etavana vihara and

saluted the Blessed -ne with clasped hands, sayin? <6Blessed is my unworthy and obscure kindom that it has

met with so reat a fortune) 'or how can calamities and daners befall it in the presence of the *ord of the

world, the %harmara.a, the in of Truth) Now that I have seen thy sacred countenance, let me partake of the



















refreshin waters of thy teachins) Worldly profit is fleetin and perishable, but reliious profit is eternal and

inexhaustible) # worldly man, thouh a kin, is full of trouble, but even a common man who is holy has peace

of mind)<

nowin the tendency of the kin6s heart, weihed down by avarice and love of pleasure, the Buddha sei!ed

the opportunity and said? <&ven those who, by their evil karma, have been born in low deree, when they see a

virtuous man, feel reverence for him) (ow much more must an independent kin, on account of merits

ac:uired in previous existences, when meetin a Buddha, conceive reverence for him) #nd now as I briefly

expound the law, let the +ahara.a listen and weih my words, and hold fast that which I deliverA

<-ur ood or evil deeds follow us continually like shadows) That which is most needed is a lovin heartA

$eard thy people as men do an only son) %o not oppress them, do not destroy them0 keep in due check every

member of thy body, forsake unrihteous doctrine and walk in the straiht path) &xalt not thyself by tramplin

down others, but comfort and befriend the sufferin) Neither ponder on kinly dinity, nor listen to the smooth

words of flatterers)

There is no profit in vexin oneself by austerities, but meditate on the Buddha and weih his rihteous law) We

are encompassed on all sides by the rocks of birth, old ae, disease, and death, and only by considerin and

practicin the true law can we escape from this sorrow;piled mountain) What profit, then, in practicinini:uity@

<#ll who are wise spurn the pleasures of the body) They loathe lust and seek to promote their spiritual

existence) When a tree is burnin with fierce flames, how can the birds conreate therein@ Truth cannot dwell

where passion lives) (e who does not know this, thouh he be a learned man and be praised by others as a

sae, is beclouded with inorance) To him who has this knowlede true wisdom dawns, and he will beware of

hankerin after pleasure) To ac:uire this state of mind, wisdom is the one thin needful) To nelect wisdom

will lead to failure in life) The teachins of all reliions should center here, for without wisdom there is no

reason)

<This truth is not for the hermit alone0 it concerns every human bein, priest and layman alike) There is nodistinction between the monk who has taken the vows, and the man of the world livin with his family) There

are hermits who fall into perdition, and there are humble householders who mount to the rank of rishis)

(ankerin after pleasure is a daner common to all0 it carries away the world) (e who is involved in its eddies

finds no escape) But wisdom is the handy boat, reflection is the rudder) The sloan of reliion calls you to

overcome the assaults of +ara, the enemy)

<Since it is impossible to escape the result of our deeds, let us practice ood works) *et us uard our thouhts

that we do no evil, for as we sow so shall we reap) There are ways from liht into darkness and from darkness

into liht) There are ways, also, from the loom into deeper darkness, and from the dawn into brihter liht)

The wise man will use the liht he has to receive more liht) (e will constantly advance in the knowlede of

truth)

<&xhibit true superiority by virtuous conduct and the exercise of reason0 meditate deeply on the vanity of

earthly thins, and understand the fickleness of life) &levate the mind, and seek sincere faith with firm purpose0

transress not the rules of kinly conduct, and let your happiness depend, not upon external thins, but upon

your own mind) Thus you will lay up a ood name for distant aes and will secure the favor of the Tathaata)<

The kin listened with reverence and remembered all the words of the Buddha in his heart)

Next? The Three "haracteristics #nd The 9ncreatedSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next



















THE THREE CHARACTERISTICS AND THE

UNCREATED

W(&N the Buddha was stayin at the Celuvana, the bamboo rove at $a.aaha, he addressed the brethren

thus? <Whether Buddhas arise, - priests, or whether Buddhas do not arise, it remains a fact and the fixed and

necessary constitution of bein that all conformations are transitory) This fact a Buddha discovers and masters,

and when he has discovered and mastered it, he announces, publishes, proclaims, discloses, minutely explains

and makes it clear that all conformations are transitory)

<Whether Buddhas arise, - priests, or whether Buddhas do not arise, it remains a fact and a fixed and necessary

constitution of bein, that all conformations are sufferin) This fact a Buddha discovers and masters, and when

he has discovered and mastered it, he announces, publishes, proclaims, discloses, minutely explains and makes

it clear that all conformations are sufferin)

<Whether Buddhas arise, - priests, or whether Buddhas do not arise, it remains a fact and a fixed and necessary

constitution of bein, that all conformations are lackin a self) This fact a Buddha discovers and masters, and

when he has discovered and mastered it, he announces, teaches, publishes, proclaims, discloses, minutelyexplains and makes it clear that all conformations are lackin a self)<

#nd on another occasion the Blessed -ne dwelt at Savatthi in the 1etavana, the arden of #nathapindika) #t

that time the Blessed -ne edified, aroused, :uickened and laddened the monks with a reliious discourse on

the sub.ect of Nirvana) #nd these monks raspin the meanin, thinkin it out, and acceptin with their hearts

the whole doctrine, listened attentively) But there was one brother who had some doubt left in his heart) (e

arose and claspin his hands made the re:uest? <+ay I be permitted to ask a :uestion@< When permission was

ranted he spoke as follows?

<The Buddha teaches that all conformations are transient, that all conformations are sub.ect to sorrow, that all

conformations are lackin a self) (ow then can there be Nirvana, a state of eternal bliss@<6

#nd the Blessed -ne, this connection, on that occasion, breathed forth this solemn utterance? <There is, -

monks, a state where there is neither earth, nor water, nor heat, nor air0 neither infinity of space nor infinity of

consciousness, nor nothinness, nor perception nor non;perception0 neither this world nor that world, neither

sun nor moon) It is the uncreate) That - monks, I term neither comin nor oin nor standin0 neither death nor

birth) It is without stability, without chane0 it is the eternal which never oriinates and never passes away)

There is the end of sorrow)

<It is hard to reali!e the essential, the truth is not easily perceived0 desire is mastered by him who knows, and to

him who sees ariht all thins are nauht) There is, - monks, an unborn, unoriinated, uncreated, unformed)

Were there not, - monks, this unborn, unoriinated, uncreated, unformed, there would be no escape from theworld of the born, oriinated, created, formed) Since, - monks, there is an unborn, unoriinated, uncreated and

unformed, therefore is there an escape from the born, oriinated, created, formed)<

Next? The Buddha6s 'ather Sacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE BUDDHA'S FATHER T(& Buddha6s name became famous over all India and Suddhodana, his father, sent word to him sayin? <I am

rowin old and wish to see my son before I die) -thers have had the benefit of his doctrine, but not his father

nor his relatives)< #nd the messener said? <- world;honored Tathaata, thy father looks for thy comin as the



















lily lons for the risin of the sun)<

The Blessed -ne consented to the re:uest of his father and set out on his .ourney to apilavatthu) Soon the

tidins spread in the native country of the Buddha? <Prince Siddhattha, who wandered forth from home into

homelessness to obtain enlihtenment, havin attained his purpose, is comin back)<

Suddhodana went out with his relatives and ministers to meet the prince) When the kin saw Siddhattha, his

son, from afar, he was struck with his beauty and dinity, and he re.oiced in his heart, but his mouth found no

words to utter) This, indeed, was his son0 these were the features of Siddhattha) (ow near was the reat samana

to his heart, and yet what a distance lay between themA That noble muni was no loner Siddhattha, his son0 he

was the Buddha, the Blessed -ne, the (oly -ne, *ord of truth, and teacher of mankind) Suddhodana the kin,

considerin the reliious dinity of his son, descended from his chariot and after salutin his son said? <It is

now seven years since I have seen thee) (ow I have loned for this momentA<

Then the Sakyamuni took a seat opposite his father, and the kin a!ed eaerly at his son) (e loned to call

him by his name, but he dared not) <Siddhattha,< he exclaimed silently in his heart, <Siddhattha, come back to

thine aed father and be his son aainA< But seein the determination of his son, he suppressed his sentiments,

and, desolation overcame him) Thus the kin sat face to face with his son, re.oicin in his sadness and sad in

his re.oicin) Well miht he be proud of his son, but his pride broke down at the idea that his reat son wouldnever be his heir)

<I would offer thee my kindom,< said, the kin, <but if I did, thou wouldst account it but as ashes)<

#nd the Buddha said? <I know that the kin6s heart is full of love and that for his son6s sake he feels deep rief)

But let the ties of love that bind him to the son whom he lost embrace with e:ual kindness all his fellow;beins,

and he will receive in his place a reater one than Siddhattha0 he will receive the Buddha, the teacher of truth,

the preacher of rihteousness, and the peace of Nirvana will enter into his heart)<

Suddhodana trembled with .oy when he heard the melodious words of his son, the Buddha, and claspin his

hands, exclaimed with tears in his eyes? <Wonderful in this chaneA The overwhelmin sorrow has passedaway) #t first my sorrowin heart was heavy, but now I reap the fruit of thy reat renunciation) It was riht

that, moved by thy mihty sympathy, thou shouldst re.ect the pleasures of royal power and achieve thy noble

purpose in reliious devotion) Now that thou hast found the path, thou canst preach the law of immortality to

all the world that yearns for deliverance)< The kin returned to the palace, while the Buddha remained in the

rove before the city)

Next? asodhara, The 'ormer WifeSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

YASODHARA, THE FORMER WIFE

-N next mornin the Buddha took his bowl and set out to be his food) #nd the news spread abroad? <Prince

Siddhattha is oin from house to house to receive alms in the city where he used to ride in a chariot attended

by his retinue) (is robe is like a red clod, and he holds in his hand an earthen bowl)<

-n hearin the strane rumor, the kin went forth in reat haste and when he met his son he exclaimed? <Why

dost thou thus disrace me@ nowest thou not that I can easily supply thee and thy bhikkhus with food@< #nd

the Buddha replied? <It is the custom of my race)<

But the kin said? <how can this be@ Thou art descended from kins, and not one of them ever beed for

food)<



















<- reat kin,< re.oined the Buddha thou and thy race may claim descent from kins0 my descent is from the

Buddhas of old) They, bein their food, lived on alms)< The kin made no reply, and the Blessed -ne

continued? <It is customary, - kin, when one has found a hidden treasure, for him to make an offerin of the

most precious .ewel to his father) Suffer me, therefore, to open this treasure of mine which is the %harma, and

accept from me this em<? #nd the Blessed -ne recited the followin stan!a?

<#rise from dreams and delusions,

#waken with open mind)

Seek only Truth) Where you find it,

Peace also you will find)<

Then the kin conducted the prince into the palace, and the ministers and all the members of the royal family

reeted him with reat reverence, but asodhara, the mother of $ahula, did not make her appearance) The kin

sent for asodhara, but she replied? <Surely, if I am deservin of any reard, Siddhattha will come and see me)<

The Blessed -ne, havin reeted all his relatives and friends, asked? <Where is asodhara@< #nd on bein

informed that she had refused to come, he rose straihtway and went to her apartments)

<I am free, the Blessed -ne said to his disciples, Sari putta and +oallana, whom he had bidden toaccompany him to the princess6s chamber0 <the princess, however, is not as yet free) Not havin seen me for a

lon time, she is exceedinly sorrowful) 9nless her rief be allowed its course her heart will cleave) Should she

touch the Tathaata, the (oly -ne, ye must not prevent her)<

asodhara sat in her room, dressed in mean arments, and her hair cut) When Prince Siddhattha entered, she

was, from the abundance of her affection, like an overflowin vessel, unable to contain her love) 'orettin

that the man whom she loved was the Buddha, the *ord of the world, the preacher of truth, she held him by his

feet and wept bitterly)

$ememberin, however, that Suddhodana was present, she felt ashamed, and risin, seated herself reverently at

a little distance)

The kin apoloi!ed for the princess, sayin? <This arises from her deep affection, and is more than a

temporary emotion) %urin the seven years that she has lost her husband, when she heard that Siddhattha had

shaved his head, she did likewise0 when she heard that he had left off the use of perfumes and ornaments, she

also refused their use) *ike her husband she had eaten at appointed times from an earthen bowl only) *ike him

she had renounced hih beds with splendid coverins, and when other princes asked her in marriae, she

replied that she was still his) Therefore, rant her foriveness)<

#nd the Blessed -ne spoke kindly to asodhara, tellin of her reat merits inherited from former lives) She

had indeed been aain and aain of reat assistance to him) (er purity, her entleness, her devotion had been

invaluable to the Bodhisattva when he aspired to attain enlihtenment, the hihest aim of mankind) #nd so

holy had she been that she desired to become the wife of a Buddha) This, then, is her karma, and it is the result

of reat merits) (er rief has been unspeakable, but the consciousness of the lory that surrounds her spiritual

inheritance increased by her noble attitude durin her life, will be a balm that will miraculously transform all

sorrows into heavenly .oy)

Next? $ahula, The SonSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

RAHULA, THE SON

+#N people in apilavatthu believed in the Tathaata and took refue in his doctrine, amon them Nanda



















Sidhattha6s half;brother, the son of Pa.apati0 %evadatta, his cousin and brother;in;law0 9pali the barber0 and

#nuruddha the philosopher) Some years later #nanda, another cousin of the Blessed -ne, also .oined the

Sanha)

#nanda was a man after the heart of the Blessed -ne0 he was his most beloved disciple, profound in

comprehension and entle in spirit) #nd #nanda remained always near the Blessed +aster of truth, until death

parted them)

-n the seventh day after the Buddha6s arrival in apilavatthu, asodhara dressed $ahula, now seven years old,

in all the splendor of a prince and said to him? <This holy man, whose appearance is so lorious that he looks

like the reat Brahma, is thy father) (e possesses four reat mines of wealth which I have not yet seen) 8o to

him and entreat him to put thee in possession of them, for the son ouht to inherit the property of his father)<

$ahula replied? <I know of no father but the kin) Who is my father@< The princess took the boy in her arms

and from the window she pointed out to him the Buddha, who happened to be near the palace, partakin of

food)

$ahula then went to the Buddha, and lookin up into his face said without fear and with much affection? <+y

fatherA< #nd standin near him, he added? <- samana, even thy shadow is a place of blissA<

When the Tathaata had finished his repast, he ave blessins and went away from the palace, but $ahula

followed and asked his father for his inheritance) No one prevented the boy, nor did the Blessed -ne himself)

Then the Blessed -ne turned to Sariputta, sayin? <+y son asks for his inheritance) I cannot ive him

perishable treasures that will brin cares and sorrows, but I can ive him the inheritance of a holy life, which is

a treasure that will not perish)<

#ddressin $ahula with earnestness, the Blessed -ne said? <8old and silver and .ewels are not in my

possession) But if thou art willin to receive spiritual treasures, and art stron enouh to carry them and to keep

them, I shall ive thee the four truths which will teach thee the eihtfold path of rihteousness) %ost thou desireto be admitted to the brotherhood of those who devote their life to the culture of the heart seekin for the

hihest bliss attainable@<

$ahula replied with firmness? <I do) I want to .oin the brotherhood of the Buddha)<

When the kin heard that $ahula had .oined the brotherhood of bhikkhus he was rieved) (e had lost

Siddhattha and Nanda, his sons, and %evadatta, his nephew) But now that his randson had been taken from

him, he went to the Blessed -ne and spoke to him) #nd the Blessed -ne promised that from that time forward

he would not ordain any minor without the consent of his parents or uardians)

Next? The $eulationsSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE REGULATIONS

*-N8 before the Blessed -ne had attained enlihtenment, self;mortification had been the custom amon those

who earnestly souht for salvation) %eliverance of the soul from all the necessities of life and finally from the body itself, they rearded as the aim of reliion) Thus, they avoided everythin that miht be a luxury in food,

shelter, and clothin, and lived like the beasts in the woods) Some went naked, while others wore the ras cast

away upon cemeteries or dun;heaps)

When the Blessed -ne retired from the world, he reconi!ed at once the error of the naked ascetics, and,



















considerin the indecency of their habit, clad himself in cast;off ras)

(avin attained enlihtenment and re.ected all unnecessary self;mortifications, the Blessed -ne and his

bhikkhus continued for a lon time to wear the cast;off ras of cemeteries and dun;heaps) Then it happened

that the bhikkhus were visited with diseases of all kinds, and the Blessed -ne permitted and explicitly ordered

the use of medicines, and amon them he even en.oined, whenever needed, the use of unuents) -ne of the

brethren suffered from a sore on his foot, and the Blessed -ne en.oined the bhikkhus to wear foot;coverins)

Now it happened that a disease befell the body of the Blessed -ne himself, and #nanda went to 1ivaka,

physician to Bimbisara, the kin) #nd 1ivaka, a faithful believer in the (oly -ne, ministered unto the Blessed

-ne with medicines and baths until the body of the Blessed -ne was completely restored)

#t that time, Pa..ota, kin of 9..eni, was sufferin from .aundice, and 1ivaka, the physician to kin Bimbisara,

was consulted) When in Pa..ota had been restored to health, he sent to 1ivaka a suit of the most excellent

cloth) #nd 1ivaka said to himself? <This suit is made of the best cloth, and nobody is worthy to receive it but

the Blessed -ne, the perfect and holy Buddha, or the +aadha kin, Seni.a Bimbisara)<

Then 1ivaka took that suit and went to the place where the Blessed -ne was0 havin approached him, and

havin respectfully saluted the Blessed -ne, he sat down near him and said? <*ord, I have a boon to ask of theBlessed -ne)< The Buddha replied? <The Tathaatas, 1ivaka, do not rant boons before they know what they

are)<

1ivaka said? <*ord, it is a proper and unob.ectionable re:uest)<

<Speak, 1ivaka, said the Blessed -ne)

<*ord of the world, the Blessed -ne wears only robes made of ras taken from a dun;heap or a cemetery, and

so also does the brotherhood of bhikkhus) Now, *ord, this suit has been sent to me by in Pa..ota, which is

the best and most excellent, and the finest and the most precious, and the noblest that can be found) *ord of the

world, may the Blessed -ne accept from me this suit, and may he allow the brotherhood of bhikkhus to wearlay robes)<

The Blessed -ne accepted the suit, and after havin delivered a reliious discourse, he addressed the bhikkhus

thus? <(enceforth ye shall be at liberty to wear either cast;off ras or lay robes) Whether ye are pleased with

the one or with the other, I will approve of it)<

When the people at $a.aaha heard, The Blessed -ne has allowed the bhikkhus to wear lay robes, those who

were willin to bestow ifts became lad) #nd in one day many thousands of robes were presented at $a.aaha

to the bhikkhus)

Next? Suddhodana #ttains NirvanaSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

SUDDHODANA ATTAINS NIRVANA

W(&N Suddhodana had rown old, he fell sick and sent for his son to come and see him once more before he

died0 and the Blessed -ne came and stayed at the sick;bed, and Suddhodana, havin attained perfectenlihtenment, died in the arms of the Blessed -ne)

#nd it is said that the Blessed -ne, for the sake of preachin to his mother +aya;devi, ascended to heaven and

dwelt with the devas) (avin concluded his pious mission, he returned to the earth and went about aain,

convertin those who listened to his teachins)



















Next? Women In The SanhaSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

WOMEN IN THE SANGHA

#S-%(#$# had three times re:uested of the Buddha that she miht be admitted to the Sanha, but her wish

had not been ranted) Now Pa.apati, the foster;mother of the Blessed -ne, in the company of asodhara, and

many other women, went to the Tathaata entreatin him earnestly to let them take the vows and be ordained

as disciples)

The Blessed -ne, foreseein the daner that lurked in admittin women to the Sanha, protested that while the

ood reliion ouht surely to last a thousand years it would, when women .oined it, likely decay after five

hundred years0 but observin the !eal of Pa.apati and asodhara for leadin a reliious life he could no loner

resist and assented to have them admitted as his disciples)

Then the venerable #nanda addressed the Blessed -ne thus? <#re women competent, venerable *ord, if they

retire from household life to the homeless state, under the doctrine and discipline announced by the Tathaata,

to attain to the fruit of conversion, to attain to a release from a wearisome repetition of rebirths, to attain to

saintship@< The Blessed -ne declared? <Women are competent, #nanda, if they retire from household life to

the homeless state, under the doctrine and discipline announced by the Tathaata, to attain to the fruit of

conversion, to attain to a release from a wearisome repetition of rebirths, to attain to saintship)

<"onsider, #nanda, how reat a benefactress Pa.apati has been) She is the sister of the mother of the Blessed

-ne, and as foster;mother and nurse, reared the Blessed -ne after the death of his mother) So, #nanda, women

may retire from household life to the homeless state, under the doctrine and discipline announced by the

Tathaata)<

Pa.apati was the first woman to become a disciple of the Buddha and to receive the ordination as a bhikkhuni)

Next? -n "onduct Toward WomenSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

ON CONDUCT TOWARD WOMENT(& bhikkhus came to the Blessed -ne and asked him? <- Tathaata, our *ord and +aster, what conduct

toward women dost thou prescribe to the samanas who have left the world@<

The Blessed -ne said? <8uard aainst lookin on a woman) If ye see a woman, let it be as thouh ye saw her

not, and have no conversation with her) If, after all, ye must speak with her, let it be with a pure heart, and

think to yourself, 6I as a samana will live in this sinful world as the spotless leaf of the lotus, unsoiled by the

mud in which it rows)6

<If the woman be old, reard her as your mother, if youn, as your sister, if very youn, as your child) The

samana who looks on a woman as a woman, or touches her as a woman, has broken his vow and is no loner a

disciple of the Tathaata) The power of lust is reat with men, and is to be feared withal0 take then the bow of

earnest perseverance, and the sharp arrow;points of wisdom) "over your heads with the helmet of riht

thouht, and fiht with fixed resolve aainst the five desires) *ust beclouds a man6s heart, when it is confused

with woman6s beauty, and the mind is da!ed)



































<Better far with red;hot irons bore out both your eyes, than encourae in yourself sensual thouhts, or look

upon a woman6s form with lustful desires) Better fall into the fierce tier6s mouth, or under the sharp knife of

the executioner, than dwell with a woman and excite in yourself lustful thouhts)

<# woman of the world is anxious to exhibit her form and shape, whether walkin, standin, sittin, or

sleepin) &ven when represented as a picture, she desires to captivate with the charms of her beauty, and thus

to rob men of their steadfast heart) (ow then ouht ye to uard yourselves@ By reardin her tears and her

smiles as enemies, her stoopin form, her hanin arms, and her disentanled hair as toils desined to entrap

man6s heart) Therefore, I say, restrain the heart, ive it no unbridled license)<

Next? Cisakha #nd (er 8iftsSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

VISAKHA AND HER GIFTS

CIS#(#, a wealthy woman in Savatthi who had many children and randchildren, had iven to the order the

Pubbarama or &astern 8arden, and was the first in Northern osala to become a matron of the lay sisters)

When the Blessed -ne stayed at Savatthi, Cisakha went up to the place where the Blessed -ne was, and

tendered him an invitation to take his meal at her house, which the Blessed -ne accepted) #nd a heavy rain fell

durin the niht and the next mornin0 and the bhikkhus doffed their robes to keep them dry and let the rain fall

upon their bodies)

When on the next day the Blessed -ne had finished his meal, she took her seat at his side and spoke thus?

<&iht are the boons, *ord, which I be of the Blessed -ne)<

Said the Blessed -ne? <The Tathaatas, - Cisakha, rant no boons until they know what they are)< Cisakha

replied? <Befittin, *ord, and unob.ectionable are the boons I ask)<

(avin received permission to make known her re:uests, Cisakha said? <I desire, *ord, throuh all my life lon

to bestow robes for the rainy season on the Sanha, and food for incomin bhikkhus, and food for outoin

bhikkhus, and food for the sick, and food for those who wait upon the sick, and medicine for the sick and a

constant supply of rice milk for the Sanha, and bathin robes for the bhikkhunis, the sisters)< Said the Buddha?

<But what circumstance is it, - Cisakha, that thou hast in view in askin these eiht boons of the Tathaata@<

Cisakha replied? <I ave command, *ord, to my maidservant, sayin, 68o, and announce to the brotherhood that

the meal is ready)6 #nd the maid went, but when she came to the vihara, she observed that the bhikkhus haddoffed their robes while it was rainin, and she thouht? 6These are not bhikkhus, but naked ascetics lettin the

rain fall on them) So she returned to me and reported accordinly, and I had to send her a second time) Impure,

*ord, is nakedness, and revoltin) It was this circumstance, *ord, that I had in view in desirin to provide the

Sanha my life lon with special arments for use in the rainy season)

<#s to my second wish, *ord, an incomin bhikkhu, not bein able to take the direct roads, and not knowin

the place where food can be procured, comes on his way tired out by seekin for alms) It was this

circumstance, *ord, that I had in view in desirin to provide the Sanha my life lon with food for incomin

bhikkhus) Thirdly, *ord, an outoin bhikkhu, while seekin about for alms, may be left behind, or may arrive

too late at the place whither he desires to o, and will set out on the road in weariness)

<'ourthly, *ord, if a sick bhikkhu does not obtain suitable food, his sickness may increase upon him, and he

may die) 'ifthly, *ord, a bhikkhu who is waitin upon the sick will lose his opportunity of oin out to seek

food for himself) Sixthly, *ord, if a sick bhikkhu does not obtain suitable medicines, his sickness may increase

upon him, and he may die)



















<Seventhly, *ord, I have heard that the Blessed -ne has praised rice;milk, because it ives readiness of mind,

dispels huner and thirst0 it is wholesome for the healthy as nourishment, and for the sick as a medicine)

Therefore I desire to provide the Sanha my life lon with a constant supply of rice;milk)

<'inally, *ord, the bhikkhunis are in the habit of bathin in the river #chiravati with the courtesans, at the same

landin;place, and naked) #nd the courtesans, *ord, ridicule the bhikkhunis, sayin, 6What is the ood, ladies,

of your maintainin chastity when you are youn@ When you are old, maintain chastity then0 thus will you

obtain both worldly pleasure and reliious consolation)6 Impure, *ord, is nakedness for a woman, disustin,

and revoltin) These are the circumstances, *ord, that I had in view)<

The Blessed -ne said? <But what was the advantae you had in view for yourself, - Cisakha, in askin the

eiht boons of the Tathaatha@<

Cisakha replied? <Bhikkhus who have spent the rainy seasons in various places will come, *ord, to Savatthi to

visit the Blessed -ne) #nd on comin to the Blessed -ne they will ask, sayin? 6Such and such a bhikkhu,

*ord, has died) What, now, is his destiny@6 Then will the Blessed -ne explain that he has attained the fruits of

conversion0 that he has attained arahatship or has entered Nirvana, as the case may be)

<#nd I, oin up to them, will ask, <Was that brother, Sirs, one of those who had formerly been at Savatthi@6 Ifreply to me, (e has formerly been at Savatthi then shall I arrive at the conclusion, 'or a certainty did that

brother en.oy either the robes for the rainy season, or the food for the incomin bhikkhus, or the food for the

outoin bhikkhus, or the food for the sick, or the food for those that wait upon the sick, or the medicine for the

sick, or the constant supply of rice;milk)6

<Then will ladness sprin up within me0 thus laddened, .oy will come to me0 and so re.oicin all my mind

will be at peace) Bein thus at peace I shall experience a blissful feelin of content0 and in that bliss my heart

will be at rest) That will be to me an exercise of my moral sense, an exercise of my moral powers, an exercise

of the seven kinds of wisdomA This *ord, was the advantae I had in view for myself in askin those eiht

boons of the Blessed -ne)<

The Blessed -ne said? <It is well, it is well, Cisakha) Thou hast done well in askin these eiht boons of the

Tathaata with such advantaes in view) "harity bestowed upon those who are worthy of it is like ood seed

sown on a ood soil that yields an abundance of fruits) But alms iven to those who are yet under the tyrannical

yoke of the passions are like seed deposited in a bad soil) The passions of the receiver of the alms choke, as it

were, the rowth of merits)< #nd the Blessed -ne ave this thanks to Cisakha?

<- noble woman of an upriht life,

%isciple of the Blessed -ne, thou ivest

9nstintedly in purity of heart)

<Thou spreadest .oy, assuaest pain,

#nd verily thy ift will be a blessin#s well to many others as to thee)<

Next? The 9posatha #nd PatimokkhaSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE UPOSATHA AND PATIMOKKHA

W(&N Seniya Bimbisara, the kin of +aadha, was advanced in years, he retired from the world and led a

reliious life) (e observed that there were Brahmanical sects in $a.aaha keepin sacred certain days, and the



















people went to their meetin;houses and listened to their sermons) "oncernin the need of keepin reular days

for retirement from worldly labors and reliious instruction, the kin went to the Blessed -ne and said? <The

Parivra.aka, who belon) to the Titthiya school, prosper and ain adherents because they keep the eihth day

and also the fourteenth or fifteenth day of each half;month) Would it not be advisable for the reverend brethren

of the Sanha also to assemble on days duly appointed for that purpose@<

The Blessed -ne commanded the bhikkhus to assemble on the eihth day and also on the fourteenth or

fifteenth day of each half;month, and to devote these days to reliious exercises)

# bhikkhu duly appointed should address the conreation and expound the %harma) (e should exhort the

people to walk in the eihtfold path of rihteousness0 he should comfort them in the vicissitudes of life and

ladden them with the bliss of the fruit of ood deeds) Thus the brethren should keep the 9posatha) Now the

bhikkhus, in obedience to the rule laid down by the Blessed -ne, assembled in the vihara on the day appointed,

and the people went to hear the %harma, but they were reatly disappointed, for the bhikkhus remained silent

and delivered no discourse)

When the Blessed -ne heard of it, he ordered the bhikkhus to recite the Patimokkha, which is a ceremony of

disburdenin the conscience0 and he commanded them to make confession of their trespasses so as to receive

the absolution of the order) # fault, if there be one, should be confessed by the bhikkhu who remembers it anddesires to be cleansed, for a fault, when confessed, shall be liht on him)

#nd the Blessed -ne said? <The Patimokkha must be recited in this way? *et a competent and venerable

bhikkhu make the followin proclamation to the Sanha? <+ay the Sanha hear me Today is 9posatha, the

eihth, or the fourteenth or fifteenth day of the half;month) If the Sanha is ready, let the Sanha hold the

9posatha service and recite the Patimokkha) I will recite the Patimokkha)6 #nd the bhikkhus shall reply? 6We

hear it well and we concentrate well our minds on it, all of us)6 Then the officiatin bhikkhu shall continue? 6*et

him who has committed an offense confess it0 if there be no offense, let all remain silent0 from your bein

silent I shall understand that the reverend brethren are free from offenses) #s a sinle person who has been

asked a :uestion answers it, so also, if before an assembly like this a :uestion is solemnly proclaimed three

times, an answer is expected? if a bhikkhu, after a threefold proclamation, does not confess an existin offensewhich he remembers, he commits an intentional falsehood) Now, reverend brethren, an intentional falsehood

has been declared an impediment by the Blessed -ne) Therefore, if an offense has been committed by a

bhikkhu who remembers it and desires to become pure, the offense should be confessed by the bhikkhu0 and

when it has been confessed, it is treated duly)6<

Next? The SchismSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE SCHISM

W(I*& the Blessed -ne dwelt at osambi, a certain bhikkhu was accused of havin committed an offense,

and, as he refused to acknowlede it, the brotherhood pronounced aainst him the sentence of expulsion)

Now, that bhikkhu was erudite) (e knew the %harma, had studied the rules of the order, and was wise, learned,

intellient, modest, conscientious, and ready to submit himself to discipline) #nd he went to his companions

and friends amon the bhikkhus, sayin? <This is no offense, friends0 this is no reason for a sentence of

expulsion) I am not uilty) The verdict improper and invalid) Therefore I consider myself still as a member of

the order) +ay the venerable brethren assist me in maintainin my riht)<

Those who sided with the expelled brother went to the bhikkhus who had pronounced the sentence, sayin?

<This is no offense<0 while the bhikkhus who had pronounced the sentence replied? <This is an offense)< Thus

altercations and :uarrels arose, and the Sanha was divided into two parties, revilin and slanderin each other)



















#ll these happenins were reported to the Blessed -ne) Then the Blessed -ne went to the place where the

bhikkhus were who had pronounced the sentence of expulsion, and said to them? <%o not think, - bhikkhus,

that you are to pronounce expulsion aainst a bhikkhu, whatever be the facts of the case, simply by sayin? 6It

occurs to us that it is so, and therefore we are pleased to proceed thus aainst our brother)6 *et those bhikkhus

who frivolously pronounce a sentence aainst a brother who knows the %harma and the rules of the order, who

is learned, wise, intellient, modest, conscientious, and ready to submit himself to discipline, stand in awe of

causin divisions) They must not pronounce a sentence of expulsion aainst a brother merely because he

refuses to see his offense)<

Then the Blessed -ne rose and went to the brethren who sided with the expelled brother and said to them? <%o

not think, - bhikkhus, that if you have iven offense you need not atone for it, thinkin? 6We are without

offense)6 When a bhikkhu has committed an offense, which he considers no offense while the brotherhood

consider him uilty, he should think? 6These brethren know the %harma and the rules of the order0 they are

learned, wise, intellient, modest, conscientious, and ready to submit themselves to discipline0 it is impossible

that they should on my account act with selfishness or in malice or in delusion or in fear)6 *et him stand in awe

of causin divisions, and rather acknowlede his offense on the authority of his brethren)<

Both parties continued to keep 9posatha and perform official acts independently of one another0 and when

their doins were related to the Blessed -ne, he ruled that the keepin of 9posatha and the performance ofofficial acts were lawful, unob.ectionable, and valid for both parties) 'or he said? <The bhikkhus who side with

the expelled brother form a different communion from those who pronounced the sentence) There are venerable

brethren in both parties) #s they do not aree, let them keep 9posatha and perform official acts separately)<

#nd the Blessed -ne reprimanded the :uarrelsome bhikkhus, sayin to them? <*oud is the voice which

worldins make0 but how can they be blamed when divisions arise also in the Sanha@ (atred is not appeased

in those who think? 6(e has reviled me, he has wroned me, he has in.ured me)6 'or not by hatred is hatred

appeased) (atred is appeased by not;hatred) This is an eternal law)

<There are some who do not know the need of self;restraint0 if they are :uarrelsome we may excuse their

behavior) But those who know better, should learn to live in concord) If a man finds a wise friend who livesrihteously and is constant in his character, he may live with him, overcomin all daners, happy and mindful)

<But if he finds not a friend who lives rihteously and is constant in his character, let him rather walk alone,

like a kin who leaves his empire and the cares of overnment behind him to lead a life of retirement like a

lonely elephant in the forest) With fools there is no companionship) $ather than to live with men who are

selfish, vain, :uarrelsome, and obstinate let a man walk alone)<

#nd the Blessed -ne thouht to himself? <It is no easy task to instruct these headstron and infatuate fools)<

#nd he rose from his seat and went away)

Next? The $e;&stablishment -f "oncordSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF CONCORD

W(I*ST the dispute between the parties was not yet settled, the Blessed -ne left osambi, and wanderin

from place to place he came at last to Savatthi) In the absence of the Blessed -ne the :uarrels rew worse, so

that the lay devotees of osambi became annoyed and they said? <These :uarrelsome monks are a reat

nuisance and will brin upon us misfortune) Worried by their altercations the Blessed -ne is one, and has

selected another abode for his residence) *et us, therefore, neither salute the bhikkhus nor support them) They

are not worthy of wearin yellow robes, and must either propitiate the Blessed -ne, or return to the world)<



















#nd the bhikkhus of osambi, when no loner honored and no loner supported by the lay devotees, bean to

repent and said? <*et us o to the Blessed -ne and let him settle the :uestion of our disareement)< Both parties

went to Savatthi to the Blessed -ne) #nd the venerable Sariputta, havin heard of their arrival, addressed the

Blessed -ne and said? <These contentious, disputatious, and :uarrelsome bhikkhus of osambi, the authors of

dissensions, have come to Savatthi) (ow am I to behave, - *ord, toward those bhikkhus)<

<%o not reprove them, Sariputta, said the Blessed -ne, <'or harsh words do not serve as a remedy and are

pleasant to no one) #ssin separate dwellin;places to each party and treat them with impartial .ustice) *isten

with patience to both parties) (e alone who weihs both sides is called a muni) When both parties have

presented their case, let the Sanha come to an areement and declare the re;establishment of concord)<

Pa.apati, the matron, asked the Blessed -ne for advice, and the Blessed -ne said? <*et both parties en.oy the

ifts of lay members, be they robes or food, as they may need, and let no one receive preference over any

other)<

The venerable 9pali, havin approached the Blessed -ne, asked concernin the re;establishment of peace in

the Sanha? <Would it be riht, - *ord, said he, that the Sanha, to avoid further disputations, should declare

the restoration of concord without in:uirin into the matter of the :uarrel@<

The Blessed -ne said? <If the Sanha declares the reestablishment of concord without havin in:uired into the

matter, the declaration is neither riht nor lawful) There are two ways of re;establishin concord0 one is in the

letter, and the other one is in the spirit and in the letter)

<If the Sanha declares the re;establishment of concord without havin in:uired into the matter, the peace is

concluded in the letter only) But if the Sanha, havin in:uired into the matter and havin one to the bottom

of it, decides to declare the re;establishment of concord, the peace is concluded in the spirit and also in the

letter) The concord re;established in the spirit and in the letter is alone riht and lawful)<

#nd the Blessed -ne addressed the bhikkhus and told them the story of Prince %ihavu, the *on;lived) (e

said? <In former times, there lived at Benares a powerful kin whose name was Brahmadatta of asi0 and hewent to war aainst %ihiti, the *on;sufferin, a kin of osala, for he thouht, The kindom of osala is

small and %ihiti will not be able to resist my armies)< #nd %ihiti, seein that resistance was impossible

aainst the reat host of the kin of asi, fled leavin his little kindom in the hands of Brahmadatta0 and

havin wandered from place to place, he came at last to Benares, and lived there with his consort in a potter6s

dwellin outside the town)

<The :ueen bore him a son and they called him %ihavu) When %ihavu had rown up, the kin thouht to

himself? 6in Brahmadatta has done us reat harm, and he is fearin our revene0 he will seek to kill us)

Should he find us he will slay all three of us)6 #nd he sent his son away, and %ihavu havin received a ood

education from his father, applied himself diliently to learn all arts, becomin very skillful and wise)

<#t that time the barber of in %ihiti dwelt at Benares, and he saw the kin, his former master, and bein of

an avaricious nature, betrayed him to in Brahmadatta) When Brahmadatta, the kin of asi, heard that the

fuitive kin of osala and his :ueen, unknown and in disuise, were livin a :uiet life in a potter6s dwellin,

he ordered them to be bound and executed0 and the sheriff to whom the order was iven sei!ed in %ihiti

and led him to the place of execution)

<While the captive kin was bein led throuh the streets of Benares he saw his son who had returned to visit

his parents, and, careful not to betray the presence of his son, yet anxious to communicate to him his last

advice, he cried? 6- %ihavu, my sonA Be not far;sihted, be not near;sihted, for not by hatred is hatred

appeased0 hatred is appeased by not;hatred only)6

<The kin and :ueen of osala were executed, but %ihavu their son bouht stron wine and made the uards

drunk) When the niht arrived he laid the bodies of his parents upon a funeral pyre and burned them with all

honors and reliious rites) When in Brahmadatta heard of it, he became afraid, for he thouht, %ihavu, the

son of in %ihiti, is a wise youth and he will take revene for the death of his parents) If he espies a



favorable opportunity, he will assassinate me)6

<oun %ihavu went to the forest and wept to his heart6s content) Then he wiped his tears and returned to

Benares) (earin that assistants were wanted in the royal elephants6 stable, he offered his services and was

enaed by the master of the elephants) #nd it happened that the kin heard a sweet voice rinin throuh the

niht and sinin to the lute a beautiful son that laddened his heart) #nd havin in:uired amon his

attendants who the siner miht be, was told that the master of the elephants had in his service a youn man of

reat accomplishments, and beloved by all his comrades) They said (e is wont to sin to the lute, and he must

have been the siner that laddened the heart of the kin)6

<The kin summoned the youn man before him and, bein much pleased with %ihavu, ave him

employment in the royal castle) -bservin how wisely the youth acted, how modest he was and yet punctilious

in the performance of his work, the kin very soon ave him a position of trust) Now it came to pass that the

kin went huntin and became separated from his retinue, youn %ihavu alone remainin with him) #nd the

kin worn out from the hunt laid his head in the lap of youn %ihavu and slept)

<%ihavu thouht? 6People will forive reat wrons which they have suffered, but they will never be at ease

about the wron which they themselves have done) They will persecute their victims to the bitter end) This

in Brahmadatta has done us reat in.ury0 he robbed us of our kindom and slew my father and my mother)(e is now in my power) Thinkin thus he unsheathed his sword) Then %ihavu thouht of the last words of his

father) 6Be not far;sihted, be not near;sihted) 'or not by hatred is hatred appeased) (atred is appeased by not;

hatred alone);Thinkin thus, he put his sword back into the sheath)

<The kin became restless in his sleep and he awoke, and when the youth asked, 6Why art thou frihtened, -

kin@6 he replied? 6+y sleep is always restless because I often dream that youn %ihavu is comin upon me

with his sword) While I lay here with my head in thy lap I dreamed the dreadful dream aain0 and I awoke full

of terror and alarm)6 Then the youth, layin his left hand upon the defenseless kin6s head and with his riht

hand drawin his sword, said? 6I am %ihavu, the son of in %ihiti, whom thou hast robbed of his kindom

and slain toether with his :ueen, my mother) I know that men overcome the hatred entertained for wrons

which they have suffered much more easily than for the wrons which they have done, and so I cannot expectthat thou wilt take pity on me0 but now a chance for revene has come to me)

<The kin seein that he was at the mercy of youn %ihavu raised his hands and said? 68rant me my life, my

dear %ihavu, rant me my life) I shall be forever rateful to thee)6 #nd %ihavu said without bitterness or ill;

will? 6(ow can I rant thee thy life, - kin, since my life is endanered by thee@ I do not mean to take thy life)

It is thou, - kin, who must rant me my life)<

<#nd the kin said? 6Well, my dear %ihavu, then rant me my life, and I will rant thee thine)6 Thus, in

Brahmadatta of asi and youn %ihavu ranted each other6s life and took each other6s hand and swore an oath

not to do any harm to each other)

<Then in Brahmadatta of asi said to youn %ihavu? 6Why did thy father say to thee in the hour of his

death? <Be not far;sihted, be not near;sihted, for hatred is not appeased by hatred) (atred is appeased by not;

hatred alone,<;what did thy father mean by that@6

<The youth replied? 6When my father, - kin, in the hour of his death said? 6Be not far;sihted,< he meant, *et

6Be not hatred o far) #nd when my father said near;sihted,< he meant, be not hasty to fall out with thy

friends) #nd when he said 'or not by hatred is hatred appeased0 hatred is appeased by not;hatred, he meant

this? Thou hast killed my father and mother, - kin, and if I should deprive thee of thy life, then thy partisans

in turn would take away my life0 my partisans aain would deprive thine of their lives) Thus by hatred, hatred

would not be appeased) But now, - kin, thou hast ranted me my life, and I have ranted thee thine0 thus bynot;hatred hatred has been appeased)6

<Then in Brahmadatta of asi thouht? 6(ow wise is youn %ihavu that he understands in its full extent the

meanin of what his father spoke concisely)6 #nd the kin ave him back his father6s kindom and ave him

his dauhter in marriae)<



(avin finished the story, the Blessed -ne said? <Brethren, ye are my lawful sons in the faith, beotten by the

words of my mouth) "hildren ouht not to trample under foot the counsel iven them by their father0 do ye

henceforth follow my admonitions) Then the bhikkhus met in conference0 they discussed their differences in

mutual ood will, and the concord of the Sanha was re;established)

Next? The Bhikkhus $ebuked


THE BHIKKHUS REBUKED

IT happened that the Blessed -ne walked up and down in the open air unshod) When the elders saw that the

Blessed -ne walked unshod, they put away their shoes and did likewise) But the novices did not heed the

example of their elders and kept their feet covered)

Some of the brethren noticed the irreverent behavior of the novices and told the Blessed -ne0 and the Blessed-ne rebuked the novices and said? <If the brethren, even now, while I am yet livin, show so little respect and

courtesy to one another, what will they do when I have passed away@<

The Blessed -ne was filled with anxiety for the welfare of the truth0 and he continued? <&ven the laymen, -

bhikkhus, who move in the world, pursuin some handicraft that they may procure them a livin, will be

respectful, affectionate, and hospitable to their teachers) %o ye, therefore, - bhikkhus, so let your liht shine

forth, that ye, havin left the world and devoted your entire life to reliion and to reliious discipline, may

observe the rules of decency, be respectful, affectionate, and hospitable to your teachers and superiors, or those

who rank as your teachers and superiors) our demeanor, - bhikkhus, does not conduce to the conversion of

the unconverted and to the increase of the number of the faithful) It serves, - bhikkhus, to repel the

unconverted and to estrane them) I exhort you to be more considerate in the future, more thouhtful and morerespectful)<

Next? The 1ealousy -f %evadattaSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE JEALOUSY OF DEVADATTA

W(&N %evadatta, the son of Suprabuddha and a brother of asodhara, became a disciple, he cherished the

hope of attainin the same distinctions and honors as 8otama Siddhattha) Bein disappointed in his ambitions,

he conceived in his heart a .ealous hatred, and, attemptin to excel the Perfect -ne in virtue, he found fault

with his reulations and reproved them as too lenient)

%evadatta went to $a.aaha and ained the ear of #.atasattu, the son of in Bimbisara) #nd #.atasattu built a

new vihara for %evadatta, and founded a sect whose disciples were pleded to severe rules and self;

mortification)

Soon afterwards the Blessed -ne himself came to $a.aaha and stayed at the Celuvana vihara) %evadatta

called on the Blessed -ne, re:uestin him to sanction his rules of reater strinency, by which a reater

holiness miht be procured) <The body,< he said, consists of its thirty;two parts and has no divine attributes) It

is conceived in sin and born in corruption) Its attributes are liability to pain and dissolution, for it is

impermanent) It is the receptacle of karma which is the curse of our former existences0 it is the dwellin place

of sin and diseases and its orans constantly dischare disustin secretions) Its end is death and its oal the



































charnel house) Such bein the condition of the body it behooves us to treat it as a carcass full of abomination

and to clothe it in such ras only as have been athered in cemeteries or upon dun;hills)<

The Blessed -ne said? <Truly, the body is full of impurity and its end is the charnel house, for it is

impermanent and destined to be dissolved into its elements) But bein the receptacle of karma, it lies in our

power to make it a vessel of truth and not of evil) It is not ood to indule in the pleasures of the body, but

neither is it ood to nelect our bodily needs and to heap filth upon impurities) The lamp that is not cleansed

and not filled with oil will be extinuished, and a body that is unkempt, unwashed, and weakened by penance

will not be a fit receptacle for the liht of truth) #ttend to your body and its needs as you would treat a wound

which you care for without lovin it) Severe rules will not lead the disciples on the middle path which I have

tauht) "ertainly, no one can be prevented from keepin more strinent rules, if he sees fit to do so but they

should not be imposed upon any one, for they are unnecessary)<

Thus the Tathaata refused %evadatta6s proposal0 and %evadatta left the Buddha and went into the vihara

speakin evil of the *ord6s path of salvation as too lenient and altoether insufficient) When the Blessed -ne

heard of %evadatta6s intriues, he said? <#mon men there is no one who is not blamed) People blame him who

sits silent and him who speaks, they also blame the man who preaches the middle path)<

%evadatta instiated #.atasattu to plot aainst his father Bimbisara, the kin, so that the prince would no loner be sub.ect to him) Bimbisara was imprisoned by his son in a tower, where he died, leavin the kindom of

+aadha to his son #.atasattu)

The new kin listened to the evil advice of %evadatta, and he ave orders to take the life of the Tathaata)

(owever, the murderers sent out to kill the *ord could not perform their wicked deed, and became converted as

soon as they saw him and listened to his preachin) The rock hurled down from a precipice upon the reat

+aster split in twain, and the two pieces passed by on either side without doin any harm) Nalairi, the wild

elephant let loose to destroy the *ord, became entle in his presence0 and #.atasattu, sufferin reatly from the

pans of his conscience, went to the Blessed -ne and souht peace in his distress)

The Blessed -ne received #.atasattu kindly and tauht him the way of salvation0 but %evadatta still tried to become the founder of a reliious school of his own) %evadatta did not succeed in his plans and havin been

abandoned by many of his disciples, he fell sick, and then repented) (e entreated those who had remained with

him to carry his litter to the Buddha, sayin? <Take me, children, take me to him0 thouh I have done evil to

him, I am his brother;in;law) 'or the sake of our relationship the Buddha will save me)< #nd they obeyed,

althouh reluctantly)

#nd %evadatta in his impatience to see the Blessed -ne rose from his litter while his carriers were washin

their hands) But his feet burned under him0 he sank to the round0 and, havin chanted a hymn on the Buddha,

died)

Next? Name #nd 'ormSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

NAME AND FORM

-N one occasion the Blessed -ne entered the assembly hall and the brethren hushed their conversation) When

they had reeted him with clasped hands, they sat down and became composed) Then the Blessed -ne said?

<our minds are inflamed with intense interest0 what was the topic of your discussion@<

#nd Sariputta rose and spake? <World;honored master, were the nature of man6s own existence) We were tryin

to rasp the mixture of our own bein which is called Name and 'orm) &very human bein consists of

conformations, and there are three roups which are not corporeal) They are sensation, perception, and the



















dispositions0 all three constitute consciousness and mind, bein comprised under the term Name) #nd there are

four elements, the earthy element, the watery element, the fiery element, and the aseous element, and these

four elements constitute man6s bodily form, bein held toether so that this machine moves like a puppet) (ow

does this name and form endure and how can it live@<

Said the Blessed -ne? <*ife is instantaneous and livin is dyin) 1ust as a chariot;wheel in rollin rolls only at

one point of the tire, and in restin rests only at one point0 in exactly the same way, the life of a livin bein

lasts only for the period of one thouht) #s soon as that thouht has ceased the bein is said to have ceased) #s

it has been said? 6The bein of a past moment of thouht has lived, but does not live, nor will it live) The bein

of a future moment of thouht will live, but has not lived, nor does it live) The bein of the present moment of

thouht does live, but has not lived, nor will it live)6

<#s to Name and 'orm we must understand how they interact) Name has no power of its own, nor can it o on

of its own impulse, either to eat, or to drink, or to utter sounds, or to make a movement) 'orm also is without

power and cannot o on of its own impulse) It has no desire to eat, or to drink, or to utter sounds, or to make a

movement) But 'orm oes on when supported by Name, and Name when supported by 'orm) When Name has

a desire to eat, or to drink, or to utter sounds, or to make a movement, then 'orm eats, drinks, utters sounds,

makes a movement)

<It is as if two men, the one blind from birth and the other a cripple, were desirous of oin travelin, and the

man blind from birth were to say to the cripple as follows? 6See hereA I am able to use my les, but I have no

eyes with which to see the rouh and the smooth places in the road)6 #nd the cripple were to say to the man

blind from birth as follows? 6See hereA I am able to use my eyes, but I have no les with which to o forward

and back)6 #nd the man blind from birth, pleased and delihted, were to mount the cripple on his shoulders)

#nd the cripple sittin on the shoulders of the man blind from birth were to direct him, sayin, 6*eave the left

and o to the riht0 leave the riht and o to the left)6

<(ere the man blind from birth is without power of his own, and weak, and cannot o of his own impulse or

miht) The cripple also is without power of his own, and weak, and cannot o of his own impulse or miht) et

when they mutually support one another it is not impossible for them to o) In exactly the same way Name iswithout power of its own, and cannot sprin up of its own miht, nor perform this or that action) 'orm also is

without power of its own, and cannot sprin up of its own miht, nor perform this or that action) et when they

mutually support one another it is not impossible for them to sprin up and o on)

<There is no material that exists for the production of Name and 'orm0 and when Name and 'orm cease, they

do not o any whither in space) #fter Name and 'orm have ceased, they do not exist anywhere, any more than

there is heaped;up music material) When a lute is played upon, there is no previous store of sound0 and when

the music ceases it does not o any whither in space) When it has ceased, it exists nowhere in a stored;up state)

(avin previously been non;existent, it came into existence on account of the structure and stern of the lute

and the exertions of the performer0 and as it came into existence so it passes away) In exactly the same way, all

the elements of bein, both corporeal and non;corporeal come into existence after havin previously been non;existent0 and havin come into existence pass away)

<There is not a self residin in Name and 'orm, but the cooperation of the conformations produces what people

call a man) 1ust as the word 6chariot6 is but a mode of expression for axle, wheels, the chariot;body and other

constituents in their proper combination, so a livin bein is the appearance of the roups with the four

elements as they are .oined in a unit) There is no self in the carriae and there is no self in man) - bhikkhus,

this doctrine is sure and an eternal truth, that there is no self outside of its parts) This self of ours which

constitutes Name and 'orm is a combination of the roups with the four elements, but there is no eo entity, no

self in itself)

<Paradoxical thouh it may sound? There is a path to walk on, there is walkin bein done, but there is no

traveler) There are deeds bein done, but there is no doer) There is a blowin of the air, but there is no wind

that does the blowin) The thouht of self is an error and all existences are as hollow as the plantain tree and as

empty as twirlin water bubbles)



<Therefore, - bhikkhus, as there is no self, there is no transmiration of a self0 but there are deeds and the

continued effect of deeds) There is a rebirth of karma0 there is reincarnation) This rebirth, this reincarnation,

this reappearance of the conformations is continuous and depends on the law of cause and effect) 1ust as a seal

is impressed upon the wax reproducin the confiurations of its device, so the thouhts of men, their

characters, their aspirations are impressed upon others in continuous transference and continue their karma, and

ood deeds will continue in blessins while bad deeds will continue in curses)

<There is no entity here that mirates, no self is transferred from one place to another0 but there is a voice

uttered here and the echo of it comes back) The teacher pronounces a stan!a and the disciple who attentively

listens to his teacher6s instruction, repeats the stan!a) Thus the stan!a is reborn in the mind of the disciple) The

body is a compound of perishable orans) It is sub.ect to decay0 and we should take care of it as of a wound or

a sore0 we should attend to its needs without bein attached to it, or lovin it) The body is like a machine, and

there is no self in it that makes it walk or act, but the thouhts of it, as the windy elements, cause the machine

to work) The body moves about like a cart) Therefore 6tis said?

<#s ships are blown by wind on sails,

#s arrows fly from twanin bow,

So, when the force of thouht directs,

The body, followin, must o)<1ust as machines are worked by ropes,

So are the body6s ear and roove0

-bedient to the pull of mind,

-ur muscles and our members move)

<No independent 6I6 is here,

But many athered mobile forces0

-ur chariot is manned by mind,

#nd our karma is our horses)

<(e only who utterly abandons all thouht of the eo escapes the snares of the &vil -ne0 he is out of the reach

of +ara) Thus says the pleasure;promisin tempter?

<So lon as to those thins

"alled 6mine, and 6I6 and 6me6

our hunry heart still clins;

+y snares you cannot flee)

<The faithful disciple replies?

<Nauht6s mine and nauht of me,

The self I do not mindA

Thus +ara, I tell thee,

+y path thou canst not find)

<%ismiss the error of the self and do not clin to possessions which are transient, but perform deeds that are

ood, for deeds are endurin and in deeds your karma continues)

<Since, then, - bhikkhus, there is no self, there can not be any after life of a self) Therefore abandon all thouht

of self) But since there are deeds and since deeds continue, be careful with your deeds) #ll beins have karma

as their portion? they are heirs of their karma0 they are sprun from their karma0 their karma is their kinsman0

their karma is their refue0 karma allots beins to meanness or to reatness)

<#ssailed by death in life last throes

-n :uittin all thy .oys and woesWhat is thine own, thy recompense@

What stays with thee when passin hence@

What like a shadow follows thee

#nd will Beyond thine heirloom be@

<6Tis deeds, thy deeds, both ood and bad0



Nauht else can after death be had)

Thy deeds are thine, thy recompense0

They are thine own when oin hence0

They like a shadow follow thee

#nd will Beyond thine heirloom be)

<*et all then here perform ood deeds,

'or future weal a treasure store0

There to reap crops from noble seeds,

# bliss increasin evermore)<

Next? The 8oalSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE GOALT(& Blessed -ne thus addressed the bhikkhus? <It is throuh not understandin the four noble truths, -

bhikkhus, that we had to wander so lon in the weary path of samsara, both you and I)

<Throuh contact thouht is born from sensation, and is reborn by a reproduction of its form) Startin from the

simplest forms, the mind rises and falls accordin to deeds, but the aspirations of a Bodhisattva pursue the

straiht path of wisdom and rihteousness, until they reach perfect enlihtenment in the Buddha)

<#ll creatures are what they are throuh the karma of their deeds done in former and in present existences)

<The rational nature of man is a spark of the true liht0 it is the first step on the upward road) But new births are

re:uired to insure an ascent to the summit of existence, the enlihtenment of mind and heart, where the

immeasurable liht of moral comprehension is ained which is the source of all rihteousness) (avin attained

this hiher birth, I have found the truth and have tauht you the noble path that leads to the city of peace) I have

shown you the way to the lake of ambrosia, which washes away all evil desire) I have iven you the refreshin

drink called the perception of truth, and he who drinks of it becomes free from excitement, passion, and wron;

doin)

<The very ods envy the bliss of him who has escaped from the floods of passion and has climbed the shores of

Nirvana) (is heart is cleansed from all defilement and free from all illusion) (e is like unto the lotus which

rows in the water, yet not a drop of water adheres to its petals) The man who walks in the noble path lives inthe world, and yet his heart is not defiled by worldly desires)

<(e who does not see the four noble truths, he who does not understand the three characteristics and has not

rounded himself in the uncreate, has still a lon path to traverse by repeated births throuh the desert of

inorance with its miraes of illusion and throuh the morass of wron) But now that you have ained

comprehension, the cause of further mirations and aberrations is removed) The oal is reached) The cravin of

selfishness is destroyed, and the truth is attained) This is true deliverance0 this is salvation0 this is heaven and

the bliss of a life immortal)<

Next? +iracles 'orbiddenSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next



































MIRACLES FORBIDDEN

1-TI(#, the son of Subhadda, was a householder livin in $a.aaha) (avin received a precious bowl of

sandalwood decorated with .ewels, he erected a lon pole before his house and put the bowl on its top with this

leend? <Should a samana take this bowl down without usin a ladder or a stick with a hook, or without

climbin the pole, but by maic power, he shall receive as reward whatever he desires)<

The people came to the Blessed -ne, full of wonder and their mouths overflowin with praise, sayin? <8reat

is the Tathaata) (is disciples perform miracles) assapa, the disciple of the Buddha, saw the bowl on

1otikkha6s pole, and, stretchin out his hand, he took it down, carryin it away in triumph to the vihara)<

When the Blessed -ne heard what had happened, he went to assapa, and, breakin the bowl to pieces,

forbade his disciples to perform miracles of any kind)

Soon after this it happened that in one of the rainy seasons many bhikkhus were stayin in the Ca..i territory

durin a famine) #nd one of the bhikkhus proposed to his brethren that they should praise one another to the

householders of the villae, sayin? <This bhikkhu is a saint0 he has seen celestial visions0 and that bhikkhu

possesses supernatural ifts0 he can work miracles)< #nd the villaers said? <It is lucky, very lucky for us, thatsuch saints are spendin the rainy season with us)< #nd they ave willinly and abundantly, and the bhikkhus

prospered and did not suffer from the famine)

When the Blessed -ne heard it, he told #nanda to call the bhikkhus toether, and he asked them? <Tell me, -

bhikkhus, when does a bhikkhu cease to be a bhikkhu@<

#nd Sariputta replied? <#n ordained disciple must not commit any unchaste act) The disciple who commits an

unchaste act is no loner a disciple of the Sakyamuni) #ain, an ordained disciple must not take except what

has been iven him) disciple who takes, be it so little as a penny6s worth, is no loner a disciple of the

Sakyamuni) #nd lastly, an ordained disciple must not knowinly and malinantly deprive any harmless

creature of life, not even an earthworm or an ant) The disciple who knowinly and malinantly deprives anyharmless creature of its life is no loner a disciple of the Sakyamuni) These are the three reat prohibitions)<

#nd the Blessed -ne addressed the bhikkhus and said? <There is another reat prohibition which I declare to

you? #n ordained disciple must not boast of any superhuman perfection) The disciple who with evil intent and

from covetousness boasts of a superhuman perfection, be it celestial visions or miracles, is no loner a disciple

of the Sakyamuni) I forbid you, - bhikkhus, to employ any spells or supplications, for they are useless, since

the law of karma overns all thins) (e who attempts to perform miracles has not understood the doctrine of

the Tathaata)<

Next? The Canity -f WorldlinessSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE VANITY OF WORLDLINESS

T(&$& was a poet who had ac:uired the spotless eye of truth, and he believed in the Buddha, whose doctrine

ave him peace of mind and comfort in the hour of affliction) It happened that an epidemic swept over the

country in which he lived, so that many died, and the people were terrified) Some of them trembled with friht,

and in anticipation of their fate were smitten with all the horrors of death before they died, while others bean

to be merry, shoutin loudly, <*et us en.oy ourselves today, for we know not whether tomorrow we shall live<0

yet was their lauhter no enuine ladness, but a mere pretense and affectation)

#mon all these worldly men and women tremblin with anxiety, the Buddhist poet lived in the time of the



















pestilence, as usual, calm and undisturbed, helpin wherever he could and ministerin unto the sick, soothin

their pains by medicine and reliious consolation) #nd a man came to him and said?

<+y heart is nervous and excited, for I see people die) I am not anxious about others, but I tremble because of

myself) (elp me0 cure me of my fear)<

The poet replied? <There is help for him who has compassion on others, but there is no help for thee so lon as

thou clinest to thine own self alone) (ard times try the souls of men and teach them rihteousness and charity)

"anst thou witness these sad sihts around thee and still be filled with selfishness@ "anst thou see thy brothers,

sisters, and friends suffer, yet not foret the petty cravins and lust of thine own heart@ Noticin the desolation

in the mind of the pleasure;seekin man, the Buddhist poet composed this son and tauht it to the brethren in

the vihara?

<9nless you take refue in the Buddha and find rest in Nirvana,

our life is but vanity;empty and desolate vanity)

To see the world is idle, and to en.oy life is empty)

The world, includin man, is but like a phantom, and the hope of heaven is as a mirae)

<The worldlin seeks pleasures, fattenin himself like a caed fowl,

But the Buddhist saint flies up to the sun like the wild crane)The fowl in the coop has food but will soon be boiled in the pot0

No provisions are iven to the wild crane, but the heavens and the earth are his)

The poet said? <The times are hard and teach the people a lesson0 yet do they not heed it)< #nd he composed

another poem on the vanity of worldliness?

<It is ood to reform, and it is ood to exhort people to reform)

The thins of the world will all be swept away)

*et others be busy and buried with care)

+y mind all unvexed shall be pure)

<#fter pleasures they hanker and find no satisfaction0$iches they covet and can never have enouh)

They are like unto puppets held up by a strin)

When the strin breaks they come down with a shock)

<In the domain of death there are neither reat nor small0

Neither old nor silver is used, nor precious .ewels)

No distinction is made between the hih and the low)

#nd daily the dead are buried beneath the frarant sod)

<*ook at the sun settin behind the western hills)

ou lie down to rest, but soon the cock will announce morn)

$eform today and do not wait until it be too late

%o not say it is early, for the time :uickly passes by)<It is ood to reform and it is ood to exhort people to reform)

It is ood to lead a rihteous life and take refue in the Buddha6s name)

our talents may reach to the skies, your wealth may be untold;

But all is in vain unless you attain the peace of Nirvana)<

Next? Secrecy #nd Publicity




















SECRECY AND PUBLICITY

T(& Buddha said? <Three thins, - disciples, are characteri!ed by secrecy? love affairs, priestly wisdom, and

all aberrations from the path of truth) Women who are in love, - disciples seek secrecy and shun publicity0

priests who claim to be in possession of special revelation, - disciples, seek secrecy and shun publicity0 all

those who stray from the path of truth, - disciples, seek secrecy and shun publicity)

<Three thins, - disciples, shine before the world and cannot be hidden) What are the three@ The moon, -

disciples, illumines the world and cannot be hidden0 the sun, - disciples, illumines the world and cannot be

hidden0 and the truth proclaimed by the Tathaata illumines the world and cannot be hidden) These three

thins, - disciples, illumine the world and cannot be hidden) There is no secrecy about them)<

Next? The #nnihilation -f SufferinSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE ANNIHILATION OF SUFFERING

T(& Buddha said? <What, my friends, is evil@ illin is evil0 stealin is evil0 yieldin to sexual passion is evil0

lyin is evil0 slanderin is evil0 abuse is evil0 ossip is evil0 envy is evil0 hatred is evil0 to clin to false doctrine

is evil0 all these thins, my friends, are evil)

<#nd what, my friends, is the root of evil@ %esire is the root of evil0 hatred is the root of evil0 illusion is the

root of evil0 these thins are the root of evil)

<What, however, is ood@ #bstainin from killin is ood0 abstainin from theft is ood0 abstainin fromsensuality is ood0 abstainin from falsehood is ood0 abstainin from slander is ood0 suppression of

unkindness is ood0 abandonin ossip is ood0 lettin o all envy is ood0 dismissin hatred is ood0

obedience to the truth is ood0 all these thins are ood)

<#nd what, my friend, is the root of the ood@ 'reedom from desire is the root of the ood0 freedom from

hatred and freedom from illusion0 these thins, my friends, are the root of the ood)

<What, however, - brethren, is sufferin@ What is the oriin of sufferin@ What is the annihilation of

sufferin@ Birth is sufferin0 old ae is sufferin0 disease is sufferin0 death is sufferin0 sorrow and misery are

sufferin0 affliction and despair are sufferin0 to be united with loathsome thins is sufferin0 the loss of that

which we love and the failure in attainin that which is loned for are sufferin0 all these thins, - brethren,are sufferin)

<#nd what, - brethren, is the oriin of sufferin@ It is lust, passion, and the thirst for existence that yearns for

pleasure everywhere, leadin to a continual rebirth I It is sensuality, desire, selfishness0 all these thins, -

brethren, are the oriin of sufferin)

<#nd what is the annihilation of sufferin@ The radical and total annihilation of this thirst and the

abandonment, the liberation, the deliverance from passion, that, - brethren, is the annihilation of sufferin)

<#nd what, - brethren, is the path that leads to the annihilation of sufferin@ It is the holy eihtfold path thatleads to the annihilation of sufferin, which consists of riht views, riht decision, riht speech, riht action,

riht livin, riht strulin, riht thouhts, and riht meditation)

<In so far, - friends, as a noble youth thus reconi!es sufferin and the oriin of sufferin, as he reconi!es the

annihilation of sufferin, and walks on the path that leads to the annihilation of sufferin, radically forsakin



















passion, subduin wrath, annihilatin the vain conceit of the <I;am, leavin inorance, and attainin to

enlihtenment, he will make an end of all sufferin even in this life)<

Next? #voidin The Ten &vilsSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

AVOIDING THE TEN EVILS

T(& Buddha said? <#ll acts of livin creatures become bad by ten thins, and by avoidin the ten thins they

become ood) There are three evils of the body, four evils of the tonue, and three evils of the mind)

<The evils of the body are, murder, theft, and adultery0 of the tonue, lyin, slander, abuse, and idle talk0 of the

mind, covetousness, hatred, and error)

<I exhort you to avoid the ten evils? 2) ill not, but have reard for life) E) Steal not, neither do ye rob0 but helpeverybody to be master of the fruits of his labor) F) #bstain from impurity, and lead a life of chastity) 5) *ie

not, but be truthful) Speak the truth with discretion, fearlessly and in a lovin heart) 7) Invent not evil reports,

neither do ye repeat them) "arp not, but look for the ood sides of your fellow;beins, so that ye may with

sincerity defend them aainst their enemies) G) Swear not, but speak decently and with dinity) H) Waste not the

time with ossip, but speak to the purpose or keep silence) 3) "ovet not, nor envy, but re.oice at the fortunes of

other people) 4) "leanse your heart of malice and cherish no hatred, not even aainst your enemies0 but

embrace all livin beins with kindness) 2) 'ree your mind of inorance and be anxious to learn the truth,

especially in the one thin that is needful, lest you fall a prey either to scepticism or to errors) Scepticism will

make you indifferent and errors will lead you astray, so that you shall not find the noble path that leads to life

eternal)<

Next? The Preacher6s +issionSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE PREACHER'S MISSION

T(& Blessed -ne said to his disciples? <When I have passed away and can no loner address you and edify

your minds with reliious discourse, select from amon you men of ood family and education to preach thetruth in my stead) #nd let those men be invested with the robes of the Tathaata, let them enter into the abode

of the Tathaata, and occupy the pulpit of the Tathaata)

<The robe of the Tathaata is sublime forbearance and patience) The abode of the Tathaata is charity and love

of all beins) The pulpit of the Tathaata is the comprehension of the ood law in its abstract meanin as well

as in its particular application)

<The preacher must propound the truth with unshrinkin mind) (e must have the power of persuasion rooted in

virtue and in strict fidelity to his vows) The preacher must keep in his proper sphere and be steady in his

course) (e must not flatter his vanity by seekin the company of the reat, nor must he keep company with

persons who are frivolous and immoral) When in temptation, he should constantly think of the Buddha and he

will con:uer) #ll who come to hear the doctrine, the preacher must receive with benevolence, and his sermon

must be without invidiousness) The preacher must not be prone to carp at others, or to blame other preachers0

nor speak scandal, nor propaate bitter words) (e must not mention by name other disciples to vituperate them

and reproach their demeanor)



































<"lad in a clean robe, dyed with ood color, with appropriate underarments, he must ascend the pulpit with a

mind free from blame and at peace with the whole world) (e must not take deliht in :uarrelous disputations or

enae in controversies so as to show the superiority of his talents, but be calm and composed) No hostile

feelins shall reside in his heart, and he must never abandon the disposition of charity toward all beins) (is

sole aim must be that all beins become Buddhas) *et the preacher apply himself with !eal to his work, and the

Tathaata will show to him the body of the holy law in its transcendent lory) (e shall be honored as one

whom the Tathaata has blessed) The Tathaata blesses the preacher and also those who reverently listen to

him and .oyfully accept the doctrine)

<#ll those who receive the truth will find perfect enlihtenment) #nd, verily, such is the power of the doctrine

that even by the readin of a sinle stan!a, or by recitin, copyin, and keepin in mind a sinle sentence of the

ood law, persons may be converted to the truth and enter the path of rihteousness which leads to deliverance

from evil) "reatures that are swayed by impure passions, when they listen to the voice, will be purified) The

inorant who are infatuated with the follies of the world will, when ponderin on the profundity of the doctrine,

ac:uire wisdom) Those who act under the impulse of hatred will, when takin refue in the Buddha, be filled

with ood;will and love)

<# preacher must be full of enery, and cheerful hope, never tirin and never despairin of final success) #

preacher must be like a man in :uest of water who dis a well in an arid tract of land) So lon as he sees thatthe sand is dry and white, he knows that the water is still far off) But let him not be troubled or ive up the task

as hopeless) The work of removin the dry sand must be done so that he can di down deeper into the round)

#nd often the deeper he has to di, the cooler and purer and more refreshin will the water be) When after

some time of diin he sees that the sand be comes moist, he accepts it as a token that the water is near) So

lon as the people do not listen to the words of truth, the preacher knows that he has to di deeper into their

hearts0 but when they bein to heed his words he apprehends that they will soon attain enlihtenment)

<Into your hands, - you men of ood family and education who take the vow of preachin the words of the

Tathaata, the Blessed -ne transfers, intrusts, and commends the ood law of truth) $eceive the ood law of

truth, keep it, read and re;read it, fathom it, promulate it, and preach it to all beins in all the :uarters of the

universe)

<The Tathaata is not avaricious, nor narrow;minded, and he is willin to impart the perfect Buddha;

knowlede unto all who are ready and willin to receive it) %o you be like him) Imitate him and follow his

example in bounteously ivin, showin, and bestowin the truth) 8ather round you hearers who love to listen

to the benin and comfortin words of the law0 rouse the unbelievers to accept the truth and fill them with

deliht and .oy) Duicken them, edify them, and lift them hiher and hiher until they see the truth face to face

in all its splendor and infinite lory)<

When the Blessed -ne had thus spoken, the disciples said? <- thou who re.oicest in kindness havin its source

in compassion, thou reat cloud of ood :ualities and of benevolent mind, thou :uenchest the fire that vexeth

livin beins, thou pourest out nectar, the rain of the lawA We shall do, - *ord, what the Tathaata commands)We shall fulfill his behest0 the *ord shall find us obedient to his words)<

#nd this vow of the disciples resounded throuh the universe, and like an echo it came back from all the

Bodhisattvas who are to be and will come to preach the ood law of Truth to future enerations)

#nd the Blessed -ne said? <The Tathaata is like unto a powerful kin who rules his kindom with

rihteousness, but bein attacked by envious enemies oes out to wae war aainst his foes) When the kin

sees his soldiers fiht he is delihted with their allantry and will bestow upon them donations of all kinds) e

are the soldiers of the Tathaata, while +ara, the &vil -ne, is the enemy who must be con:uered) #nd the

Tathaata will ive to his soldiers the city of Nirvana, the reat capital of the ood law) #nd when the enemy isovercome, the %harma;ra.a, the reat kin of truth, will bestow upon all his disciples the most precious crown,

which .ewel brins perfect enlihtenment, supreme wisdom, and undisturbed peace)<

Next? The Teacher






THE TEACHER

T(IS is the %harmapada, the path of reliion pursued by those who are followers of the Buddha? "reatures

from mind their character derive0 mind;marshaled are they, mind;made) +ind is the source either of bliss or ofcorruption) By oneself evil is done0 by oneself one suffers0 by oneself evil is left undone0 by oneself one is

purified) Purity and impurity belon to oneself, no one can purify another) ou yourself must make an effort)

The Tathaatas are only preachers) The thouhtful who enter the way are freed from the bondae of +ara) (e

who does not rouse himself when it is time to rise0 who, thouh youn and stron, is full of sloth0 whose will

and thouhts are weak0 that la!y and idle man will never find the way to enlihtenment)

If a man hold himself dear, let him watch himself carefully0 the truth uards him who uards himself) If a man

makes himself as he teaches others to be, then, bein himself subdued, he may subdue others0 one6s own self is

indeed difficult to subdue) If some men con:uer in battle a thousand times a thousand men, and if another

con:uer himself, he is the reatest of con:uerors) It is the habit of fools, be they laymen or members of the

clery, to think, this is done by me) +ay others be sub.ect to me) In this or that transaction a prominent partshould be played by me)< 'ools do not care for the duty to be performed or the aim to be reached, but think of

themselves alone) &verythin is but a pedestal of their vanity)

Bad deeds, and deeds hurtful to ourselves, are easy to do0 what is beneficial and ood, that is very difficult) If

anythin is to be done, let a man do it, let him attack it viorouslyA

Before lon, alasA this body will lie on the earth, despised, without understandin, like a useless lo0 yet our

thouhts will endure) They will be thouht aain, and will produce action) 8ood thouhts will produce ood

actions, and bad thouhts will produce bad actions)

&arnestness is the path of immortality, thouhtlessness the path of death) Those who are in earnest do not die0

those who are thouhtless are as if dead already) Those who imaine they find truth in untruth, and see untruth

in truth, will never arrive at truth, but follow vain desires) They who know truth in truth, and untruth in untruth,

arrive at truth, and follow true desires) #s rain breaks throuh an ill;thatched house, passion will break throuh

an unreflectin mind) #s rain does not break throuh a well;thatched house, passion will not break throuh a

well;reflectin mind) lead the water wherever they like0 fletchers bend the arrow0 carpenters bend a lo of

wood0 wise people fashion themselves0 wise people falter not amidst blame and praise) (avin listened to the

law, they become serene, like a deep, smooth, and still lake)

If a man speaks or acts with an evil thouht, pain follows him as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws

the waon) #n evil deed is better left undone, for a man will repent of it afterwards0 a ood deed is better done,for havin done it one will not repent) If a man commits a wron let him not do it aain0 let him not deliht in

wrondoin0 pain is the outcome of evil) If a man does what is ood, let him do it aain0 let him deliht in it0

happiness is the outcome of ood)

*et no man think lihtly of evil, sayin in his heart, It will not come nih unto me)< #s by the fallin of

waterdrops a water;pot is filled, so the fool becomes full of evil, thouh he ather it little by little) *et no man

think lihtly of ood, sayin in his heart, It will not come nih unto me)< #s by the fallin of water;drops a

water;pot is filled, so the wise man becomes full of ood, thouh he ather it little by little)

(e who lives for pleasure only, his senses uncontrolled, immoderate in his food, idle, and weak, him +ara, the

tempter, will certainly overthrow, as the wind throws down a weak tree) (e who lives without lookin for pleasures, his senses well;controlled, moderate in his food, faithful and stron, him +ara will certainly not

overthrow, any more than the wind throws down a rocky mountain)

The fool who knows his foolishness, is wise at least so far) But a fool who thinks himself wise, he is a fool

indeed) To the evil;doer wron appears sweet as honey0 he looks upon it as pleasant so lon as it bears no fruit0

















but when its fruit ripens, then he looks upon it as wron) #nd so the ood man looks upon the oodness of the

%harma as a burden and an evil so lon as it bears no fruit0 but when its fruit ripens, then he sees its oodness)

# hater may do reat harm to a hater, or an enemy to an enemy0 but a wronly;directed mind will do reater

mischief unto itself) # mother, a father, or any other relative will do much ood0 but a well;directed mind will

do reater service unto itself)

(e whose wickedness is very reat brins himself down to that state where his enemy wishes him to be) (e

himself is his reatest enemy) Thus a creeper destroys the life of a tree on which it finds support)

%o not direct thy thouht to what ives pleasure, that thou mayest not cry out when burnin, <This is pain)<

The wicked man burns by his own deeds, as if burnt by fire) Pleasures destroy the foolish0 the foolish man by

his thirst for pleasures destroys himself as if he were his own enemy) The fields are damaed by hurricanes and

weeds0 mankind is damaed by passion, by hatred, by vanity, and by lust) *et no man ever take into

consideration whether a thin is pleasant or unpleasant) The love of pleasure beets rief and the dread of pain

causes fear0 he who is free from the love of pleasure and the dread of pain knows neither rief nor fear)

(e who ives himself to vanity, and does not ive himself to meditation, forettin the real aim of life and

raspin at pleasure, will in time envy him who has exerted himself in meditation) The fault of others is easilynoticed, but that of oneself is difficult to perceive) # man winnows his neihbor6s faults like chaff, but his own

fault he hides, as a cheat hides the false die from the ambler) If a man looks after the faults of others, and is

always inclined to take offense, his own passions will row, and he is far from the destruction of passions) Not

about the perversities of others, not about their sins of commission or omission, but about his own misdeeds

and neliences alone should a sae be worried) 8ood people shine from afar, like the snowy mountains0 bad

people are concealed, like arrows shot by niht)

If a man by causin pain to others, wishes to obtain pleasure for himself, he, entanled in the bonds of

selfishness, will never be free from hatred) *et a man overcome aner by love, let him overcome evil by ood0

let him overcome the reedy by liberality, the liar by truthA 'or hatred does not cease by hatred at any time0

hatred ceases by not hatred, this is an old rule)

Speak the truth, do not yield to aner0 ive, if thou art asked0 by these three steps thou wilt become divine) *et

a wise man blow off the impurities of his self, as a smith blows off the impurities of silver, one by one, little by

little, and from time to time)

*ead others, not by violence, but by rihteousness and e:uity) (e who possesses virtue and intellience, who is

.ust, speaks the truth, and does what is his own business, him the world will hold dear) #s the bee collects

nectar and departs without in.urin the flower, or its color or scent, so let a sae dwell in the community)

If a traveler does not meet with one who is his better, or his e:ual, let him firmly keep to his solitary .ourney0

there is no companionship with fools) *on is the niht to him who is awake0 lon is a mile to him who is tired0

lon is life to the foolish who do not know the true reliion) Better than livin a hundred years not seein the

hihest truth, is one day in the life of a man who sees the hihest truth)

Some form their %harma arbitrarily and fabricate it artificially0 they advance complex speculations and

imaine that ood results are attainable only by the acceptance of their theories0 yet the truth is but one0 there

are not different truths in the world) (avin reflected on the various theories, we have one into the yoke with

him who has shaken off all sin) But shall we be able to proceed toether with him@

The best of ways is the eihtfold path) This is the path) There is no other that leads to the purifyin of

intellience) 8o on this pathA &verythin else is the deceit of +ara, the tempter) If you o on this path, you willmake an end of painA Says the Tathaata, The path was preached by me, when I had understood the removal of

the thorn in the flesh)

Not only by discipline and vows, not only by much learnin, do I earn the happiness of release which no

worldlin can know) Bhikkhu, be not confident as lon as thou hast not attained the extinction of thirst) The



extinction of evil desire is the hihest reliion)

The ift of reliion exceeds all ifts0 the sweetness of reliion exceeds all sweetness0 the deliht in reliion

exceeds all delihts0 the extinction of thirst overcomes all pain) 'ew are there amon men who cross the river

and reach the oal) The reat multitudes are runnin up and down the shore0 but there is no sufferin for him

who has finished his .ourney)

#s the lily will row full of sweet perfume and deliht upon a heap of rubbish, thus the disciple of the truly

enlihtened Buddha shines forth by his wisdom amon those who are like rubbish, amon the people that walk

in darkness) *et us live happily then, not hatin those who hate usA #mon men who hate us let us dwell free

from hatredA

*et us live happily then, free from all ailments amon the ailinA #mon men who are ailin let us dwell free

from ailmentsA *et us live happily, then, free from reed amon the reedyA #mon men who are reedy let us

dwell free from reedA

The sun is briht by day, the moon shines by niht, the warrior is briht in his armor thinkers are briht in their

meditation0 but amon all, the brihtest, with splendor day and niht, is the Buddha, the #wakened, the (oly,

Blessed)

Next? The Two BrahmansSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE TWO BRAHMANS

#T one time when the Blessed -ne was .ourneyin throuh osala he came to the Brahman villae which iscalled +anasakata) There he stayed in a mano rove) #nd two youn Brahmans came to him who were of

different schools) -ne was named Casettha and the other Bharadva.a) #nd Casettha said to the Blessed -ne?

<We have a dispute as to the true path) I say the straiht path which leads unto a union with Brahma is that

which has been announced by the Brahman Pokkharasati, while my friend says the straiht path which leads

unto a union with Brahma is that which has been announced by the Brahman Tarukkha) Now, reardin thy

hih reputation, - samana, and knowin that thou art called the &nlihtened -ne, the teacher of men and ods,

the Blessed Buddha, we have come to ask thee, are all these paths salvation@ There are many roads all around

our villae, and all lead to +anasakata) Is it .ust so with the paths of the saes@ #re all paths to salvation, and

do they all lead to a union with Brahma@

Then the Blessed -ne proposed these :uestions to the two Brahmans? <%o you think that all paths are riht@<

Both answered and said? <es, 8otama, we think so)<

<But tell me, continued the Buddha has any one of the Brahmans, versed in the Cedas, seen Brahma face to

face@< <No sirA< was the reply)

<But, then,< said the Blessed -ne, has any teacher of the Brahmans, versed in the Cedas, seen Brahma face to

face@< The two Brahmans said? <No, sir)<

<But, then,< said the Blessed -ne, has any one of the authors of the Cedas seen Brahma face to face@< #ainthe two Brahmans answered in the neative and exclaimed? <(ow can any one see Brahma or understand him,

for the mortal cannot understand the immortal)< #nd the Blessed -ne proposed an illustration, sayin?

<It is as if a man should make a staircase in the place where four roads cross, to mount up into a mansion) #nd

people should ask him, Where, ood friends, is this mansion, to mount up into which you are makin this



















staircase@ nowest thou whether it is in the east, or in the south, or in the west, or in the north@ Whether it is

hih, or low, or of medium si!e@6 #nd when so asked he should answer, 6I know it not)6 #nd people should say

to him, 6But, then, ood friend, thou art makin a staircase to mount up into somethin;takin it for a mansion;

which all the while thou knowest not, neither hast thou seen it)6 #nd when so asked he should answer, That is

exactly what I do0 yea I know that I cannot know it)6 What would you think of him@ Would you not say that the

talk of that man was foolish talk@<

<In sooth, 8otama, said the two Brahmans, it be foolish talkA< The Blessed -ne continued? <Then the

Brahmans should say, 6We show you the way unto a union with what we know not and what we have not seen)<

This bein the substance of Brahman lore, does it not follow that their task is vain@<

<It does follow, replied Bharadva.a)

Said the Blessed -ne? <Thus it is impossible that Brahmans versed in the three Cedas should be able to show

the way to a state of union with that which they neither know nor have seen) 1ust as when a strin of blind men

are clinin one to the other) Neither can the foremost see, nor can those in the middle see, nor can the

hindmost see) &ven so, methinks the talk of the Brahmans versed in the three Cedas is but blind talk0 it is

ridiculous, consists of mere words, and is a vain and empty thin) Now suppose,< added the Blessed -ne that a

man should come hither to the bank of the river, and, havin some business on the other side, should want tocross) %o you suppose that if he were to invoke the other bank of the river to come over to him on this side, the

bank would come on account of his prayin@<

<"ertainly not, 8otama)<

<et this is the way of the Brahmans) They omit the practice of those :ualities which really make a man a

Brahman, and say, 6Indra, we call upon thee0 Soma, we call upon thee0 Caruna, we call upon thee0 Brahma, we

call upon thee)6 Cerily, it is not possible that these Brahmans, on account of their invocations, prayers, and

praises, should after death be united with Brahma)

<Now tell me,< continued the Buddha, <what do the Brahmans say of Brahma@ Is his mind full of lust@< #ndwhen the Brahmans denied this, the Buddha asked? <Is Brahma6s mind full of malice, sloth, or pride@<

<No sirA< was the reply) <(e is the opposite of all this)<

#nd the Buddha went on? <But are the Brahmans free from these vices@< <No, sirA< said Casettha)

The (oly -ne said? <The Brahmans clin to the five thins leadin to worldliness and yield to the temptations

of the senses0 they are entanled in the five hindrances, lust, malice, sloth, pride, and doubt) (ow can they be

united to that which is most unlike their nature@ Therefore the threefold wisdom of the Brahmans is a waterless

desert, a pathless .unle, and a hopeless desolation)<

When the Buddha had thus spoken, one of the Brahmans said? <We are told, 8otama, that the Sakyamuni

knows the path to a union with Brahma)<

#nd the Blessed -ne said? <What do you think, - Brahmans, of a man born and brouht up in +anasakata@

Would he be in doubt about the most direct way from this spot to +anasakata@<

<"ertainly not, 8otama)<

<Thus,< replied the Buddha, the Tathaata knows the straiht path that leads to a union with Brahma) (e knows

it as one who has entered the world of Brahma and has been born in it) There can be no doubt in theTathaata)<

The two youn Brahmans said? <If thou knowest the way show it to us)<

#nd the Buddha said? <The Tathaata sees the universe face to face and understands its nature) (e proclaims



the truth both in its letter and in its spirit, and his doctrine is lorious in its oriin, lorious in its proress,

lorious in its consummation) The Tathaata reveals the hiher life in its purity and perfection) (e can show

you the way to that which is contrary to the five reat hindrances) The Tathaata lets his mind pervade the four

:uarters of the world with thouhts of love) #nd thus the whole wide world, above, below, around, and

everywhere will continue to be filled with love, far;reachin, rown reat, and beyond measure) .ust as a

mihty trumpeter makes himself heard;;and that without difficulty;;in all the four :uarters of the earth0 even so

is the comin of the Tathaata? there is not one livin creature that the Tathaata passes by or leaves aside, but

reards them all with mind set free, and deep;felt love)

<This is the sin that a man follows the riht path? 9prihtness is his deliht, and he sees daner in the least of

those thins which he should avoid) (e trains himself in the commands of morality, he encompasseth himself

with holiness in word and deed0 he sustains his life by means that are :uite pure0 ood is his conduct, uarded

is the door of his senses0 mindful and self;possessed, he is altoether happy) (e who walks in the eihtfold

noble path with unswervin determination is sure to reach Nirvana) The Tathaata anxiously watches over his

children and with lovin care helps them to see the liht)

<When a hen has eiht or ten or twelve es, over which she has properly brooded, the wish arises in her heart,

6- would that my little chickens would break open the eshell with their claws, or with their beaks, and come

forth into the liht in safetyA6 yet all the while those little chickens are sure to break the e;shell and will comeforth into the liht in safety) &ven so, a brother who with firm determination walks in the noble path is sure to

come forth into the liht, sure to reach up to the hiher wisdom, sure to attain to the hihest bliss of

enlihtenment)<

Next? 8uard The Six DuartersSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

GUARD THE SIX QUARTERS

W(I*& the Blessed -ne was stayin at the bamboo rove near $a.aaha, he once met on his way Siala, a

householder, who, claspin his hands, turned to the four :uarters of the world, to the !enith above, and to the

nadir below) The Blessed -ne, knowin that this was done accordin to the traditional reliious superstition to

avert evil, asked Siala? <Why performest thou these strane ceremonies@<

#nd Siala in reply said? <%ost thou think it strane that I protect my home aainst the influences of demons@ I

know thou wouldst fain tell me, - 8otama Sakyamuni, whom people call the Tathaata and the Blessed

Buddha, that incantations are of no avail and possess no savin power) But listen to me and know, that in

performin this rite I honor, reverence, and keep sacred the words of my father)<

Then the Tathaata said? Thou dost well, - Siala, to honor, reverence, and keep sacred the words of thy

father0 and it is thy duty to protect thy home, thy wife, thy children, and thy children6s children aainst the

hurtful influences of evil spirits) I find no fault with the performance of thy father6s rite) But I find that thou

dost not understand the ceremony) *et the Tathaata, who now speaks to thee as a spiritual father and loves

thee no less than did thy parents, explain to thee the meanin of the six directions)

<To uard thy home by mysterious ceremonies is not sufficient0 thou must uard it by ood deeds) Turn to thy

parents in the &ast, to thy teachers in the South, to thy wife and children in the West, to thy friends in the

North, and reulate the !enith of thy reliious relations above thee, and the nadir of thy servants below thee)

Such is the reliion thy father wants thee to have, and the performance of the ceremony shall remind thee of

thy duties)<

#nd Siala looked up to the Blessed -ne with reverence as to his father and said? <Truly, 8otama, thou art the

Buddha, the Blessed -ne, the holy teacher) I never knew what I was doin, but now I know) Thou hast



















revealed to me the truth that was hidden as one who brineth a lamp into the darkness) I take my refue in the

&nlihtened Teacher, in the truth that enlihtens, and in the community of brethren who have been tauht the

truth)<

Next? Simha6s Duestion "oncernin #nnihilationSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

SIMHA'S QUESTION CONCERNING

ANNIHILATION

#T that time many distinuished citi!ens were sittin toether assembled in the town;hall and spoke in many

ways in praise of the Buddha, of the %harma, and of the Sanha) Simha, the eneral;in;chief, a disciple of the

Niantha sect, was sittin amon them) #nd Simha thouht? <Truly, the Blessed -ne must be the Buddha, the

(oly -ne) I will o and visit him)<

Then Simha, the eneral, went to the place where the Niantha chief, Nataputta, was0 and havin approached

him, he said? <I wish, *ord to visit the samana 8otama)< Nataputta said? <Why should you, Simha, who believe

in the result of actions accordin to their moral merit, o to visit the samana 8otama, who denies the result of

actions@ The samana 8otama, - Simha, denies the result of actions0 he teaches the doctrine of non;action0 and

in this doctrine he trains his disciples)<

Then the desire to o and visit the Blessed -ne, which had risen in Simha, the eneral, abated) (earin aain

the praise of the Buddha, of the %harma, and of the Sanha, Simha asked the Niantha chief a second time0

and aain Nataputta persuaded him not to o)

When a third time the eneral heard some men of distinction extol the merits of the Buddha, the %harma, and

the Sanha, the eneral thouht? <Truly the samana 8otama must be the (oly Buddha) What are the

Nianthas to me, whether they ive their consent or not@ I shall o without askin their permission to visit

him, the Blessed -ne, the (oly Buddha)< #nd Simha, the eneral, said to the Blessed -ne? <I have heard, *ord,

that the samana 8otama denies the result of actions0 he teaches the doctrine of non;action, sayin that the

actions of sentient beins do not receive their reward, for he teaches annihilation and the contemptibleness of

all thins0 and in this doctrine he trains his disciples) Teachest thou the doin away of the soul and the burnin

away of man6s bein@ Pray tell me, *ord, do those who speak thus say the truth, or do they bear false witness

aainst the Blessed -ne, passin off a spurious %harma as thy %harma@<

The Blessed -ne said <There is a way, Simha, in which one who says so, is speakin truly of me0 on the otherhand, Simha, there is a way in which one who says the opposite is speakin truly of me, too) *isten, and I will

tell thee? I teach, Simha, the not;doin of such actions as are unrihteous, either by deed, or by word, or by

thouht0 I teach the not;brinin about of all those conditions of heart which are evil and not ood) (owever, I

teach, Simha, the doin of such actions as are rihteous, by deed, by word, and by thouht0 I teach the brinin

about of all those conditions of heart which are ood and not evil)

<I teach, Simha, that all the conditions of heart which are evil and not ood, unrihteous action by deed, by

word, and by thouht, must be burnt away) (e who has freed himself, Simha, from all those conditions of heart

which are evil and not ood, he who has destroyed them as a palm;tree which is rooted out, so that they cannot

row up aain, such a man has accomplished the eradication of self)

<I proclaim, Simha, the annihilation of eotism, of lust, of ill;will, of delusion) (owever, I do not proclaim the

annihilation of forbearance, of love, of charity, and of truth) I deem, Simha, unrihteous actions contemptible,

whether they be performed by deed, or by word, or by thouht0 but I deem virtue and rihteousness

praiseworthy)<



















Simha said? <-ne doubt still lurks in my mind concernin the doctrine of the Blessed -ne) Will the Blessed

-ne consent to clear the cloud away so that I may understand the %harma as the Blessed -ne teaches it@<

The Tathaata havin iven his consent, Simha continued? <I am a soldier, - Blessed -ne, and am appointed

by the kin to enforce his laws and to wae his wars) %oes the Tathaata who teaches kindness without end

and compassion with all sufferers, permit the punishment of the criminal@ and further, does the Tathaata

declare that it is wron to o to war for the protection of our homes, our wives, our children, and our property@

%oes the Tathaata teach the doctrine of a complete self;surrender, so that I should suffer the evil;doer to do

what he pleases and yield submissively to him who threatens to take by violence what is my own@ %oes the

Tathaata maintain that all strife, includin such warfare as is waed for a rihteous cause should be

forbidden@<

The Buddha replied? <(e who deserves punishment must be punished, and he who is worthy of favor must be

favored) et at the same time he teaches to do no in.ury to any livin bein but to be full of love and kindness)

These in.unctions are not contradictory, for whosoever must be punished for the crimes which he has

committed, suffers his in.ury not throuh the ill;will of the .ude but on account of his evildoin) (is own acts

have brouht upon him the in.ury that the executer of the law inflicts) When a maistrate punishes, let him not

harbor hatred in his breast, yet a murderer, when put to death, should consider that this is the fruit of his own

act) #s soon as he will understand that the punishment will purify his soul, he will no loner lament his fate butre.oice at it)<

The Blessed -ne continued? <The Tathaata teaches that all warfare in which man tries to slay his brother is

lamentable, but he does not teach that those who o to war in a rihteous cause after havin exhausted all

means to preserve the peace are blameworthy) (e must be blamed who is the cause of war) The Tathaata

teaches a complete surrender of self, but he does not teach a surrender of anythin to those powers that are evil,

be they men or ods or the elements of nature) Strule must be, for all life is a strule of some kind) But he

that strules should look to it lest he strule in the interest of self aainst truth and rihteousness)

<(e who strules in the interest of self, so that he himself may be reat or powerful or rich or famous, will

have no reward, but he who strules for rihteousness and truth, will have reat reward, for even his defeatwill be a victory) Self is not a fit vessel to receive any reat success0 self is small and brittle and its contents

will soon be spilt for the benefit, and perhaps also for the curse, of others) Truth, however, is lare enouh to

receive the yearnins and aspirations of all selves and when the selves break like soap;bubbles, their contents

will be preserved and in the truth they will lead a life everlastin)

<(e who oeth to battle, - Simha, even thouh it be in a rihteous cause, must be prepared to be slain by his

enemies, for that is the destiny of warriors0 and should his fate overtake him he has no reason for complaint)

But he who is victorious should remember the instability of earthly thins) (is success may be reat, but be it

ever so reat the wheel of fortune may turn aain and brin him down into the dust) (owever, if he moderates

himself and, extinuishin all hatred in his heart lifts his down;trodden adversary up and says to him, "ome

now and make peace and let us be brothers, he will ain a victory that is not a transient success, for its fruitswill remain forever) 8reat is a successful eneral, - Simha, but he who has con:uered self is the reater victor)

<The doctrine of the con:uest of self, - Simha, is not tauht to destroy the souls of men, but to preserve them)

(e who has con:uered self is more fit to live, to be successful, and to ain victories than he who is the slave of

self) (e whose mind is free from the illusion of self, will stand and not fall in that battle of life) (e whose

intentions are rihteousness and .ustice, will meet with no failure, but be successful in his enterprises and his

success will endure) (e who harbors in his heart love of truth will live and not die, for he has drunk the water

of immortality) Strule then, - eneral, couraeously0 and fiht thy battles viorously, but be a soldier of

truth and the Tathaata will bless thee)<

When the Blessed -ne had spoken thus, Simha, the eneral, said? <8lorious *ord, lorious *ordA Thou hast

revealed the truth) 8reat is the doctrine of the Blessed -ne) Thou, indeed, art the Buddha, the Tathaata, the

(oly -ne) Thou art the teacher of mankind) Thou showest us the road of salvation, for this indeed is true

deliverance) (e who follows thee will not miss the liht to enlihten his path) (e will find blessedness and

peace) I take my refue, *ord, in the Blessed -ne, and in his doctrine, and in his brotherhood) +ay the Blessed



-ne receive me from this day forth while my life lasts as a disciple who has taken refue in him)<

The Blessed -ne said? <"onsider first, Simha, what thou doest) It is becomin that persons of rank like thyself

should do nothin without due consideration)<

Simha6s faith in the Blessed -ne increased) (e replied? <(ad other teachers, *ord, succeeded in makin me

their disciple, they would carry around their banners throuh the whole city of Cesali, shoutin? <Simha the

eneral has become our discipleA 'or the second time, *ord, I take my refue in the Blessed -ne, and in the

%harma, and in the Sanha0 may the Blessed -ne receive me from this day forth while my life lasts as a

disciple who has taken his refue in him)<

Said the Blessed -ne? <'or a lon time, Simha, offerins have been iven to the Nianthas in thy house) Thou

shouldst therefore deem it riht also in the future to ive them food when they come to thee on their alms;

pilrimae)< #nd Simha6s heart was filled with .oy) (e said? <I have been told, *ord? 6The samana 8otama

says? To me alone and to nobody else should ifts be iven) +y pupils alone and the pupils of no one else

should receive offerins)6 But the Blessed -ne exhorts me to ive also to the Nianthas) Well, *ord, we shall

see what is seasonable) 'or the third time, *ord, I take my refue in the Blessed -ne, and in his %harma, and in

his fraternity)<

Next? #ll &xistence Is SpiritualSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

ALL EXISTENCE IS SPIRITUAL

T(&$& was an officer amon the retinue of Simha who had heard of the discourses of the Blessed -ne, and

there was some doubt left in his heart) This man came to the Blessed -ne and said? <It is said, - *ord, that thesamana 8otama denies the existence of the soul) %o they who say so speak the truth, or do they bear false

witness aainst the Blessed -ne

#nd the Blessed -ne said? <There is a way in which those who say so are speakin truly of me0 on the other

hand, there is a way in which those who say so do not speak truly of me) The Tathaata teaches that there is no

self) (e who says that the soul is his self and that the self is the thinker of our thouhts and the actor of our

deeds, teaches a wron doctrine which leads to confusion and darkness) -n the other hand, the Tathaata

teaches that there is mind) (e who understands by soul mind, and says that mind exists, teaches the truth which

leads to clearness and enlihtenment)<

The officer said? <%oes, then, the Tathaata maintain that two thins exist@ that which we perceive with oursenses and that which is mental@<

Said the Blessed -ne? <I say to thee, thy mind is spiritual, but neither is the sense;perceived void of spirituality)

The bodhi is eternal and it dominates all existence as the ood law uidin all beins in their search for truth) It

chanes brute nature into mind, and there is no bein that cannot be transformed into a vessel of truth)<

Next? Identity #nd Non;IdentitySacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next



































IDENTITY AND NON-IDENTITY

9T#%#NT#, the head of the Brahmans in the villae of %anamati, havin approached the Blessed -ne

respectfully, reeted him and said? <I am told, - samana, that thou art the Buddha, the (oly -ne, the #ll;

knowin, the *ord of the world) But if thou wert the Buddha, wouldst thou not come like a kin in all thy lory

and power@< Said the Blessed -ne? <Thine eyes are holden) If the eye of thy mind were undimmed thou couldst

see the lory and the power of truth)<

Said utadanta? <Show me the truth and I shall see it) But thy doctrine is without consistency) If it were

consistent, it would stand0 but as it is not, it will pass away)< The Blessed -ne replied? <The truth will never

pass away)<

utadanta said? <I am told that thou teachest the law, yet thou tearest down reliion) Thy disciples despise rites

and abandon immolation, but reverence for the ods can be shown only by sacrifices) The very nature of

reliion consists in worship and sacrifice)< Said the Buddha? <8reater than the immolation of bullocks is the

sacrifice of self) (e who offers to the ods his evil desires will see the uselessness of slauhterin animals at

the altar) Blood has no cleansin power, but the eradication of lust will make the heart pure) Better than

worshipin ods is obedience to the laws of rihteousness)<

utadanta, bein of a reliious disposition and anxious about his fate after death, had sacrificed countless

victims) Now he saw the folly of atonement by blood) Not yet satisfied, however, with the teachins of the

Tathaata, utadanta continued? <Thou believest, - +aster, that beins are reborn0 that they mirate in the

evolution of life0 and that sub.ect to the law of karma we must reap what we sow) et thou teachest the non;

existence of the soulA Thy disciples praise utter self;extinction as the hihest bliss of Nirvana) If I am merely a

combination of the sankharas, my existence will cease when I die) If I am merely a compound of sensations

and ideas and desires, whither can I o at the dissolution of the body@<

Said the Blessed -ne? <- Brahman, thou art reliious and earnest) Thou art seriously concerned about thy soul)

et is thy work in vain because thou art lackin in the one thin that is needful) There is rebirth of character, but no transmiration of a self) Thy thouht;forms reappear, but there is no eo;entity transferred) The stan!a

uttered by a teacher is reborn in the scholar who repeats the words)

<-nly throuh inorance and delusion do men indule in the dream that their souls are separate and self;

existent entities) Thy heart, - Brahman, is cleavin still to self0 thou art anxious about heaven but thou seekest

the pleasures of self in heaven, and thus thou canst not see the bliss of truth and the immortality of truth)

<I say to thee? The Blessed -ne has not come to teach death, but to teach life, and thou discernest not the nature

of livin and dyin) This body will be dissolved and no amount of sacrifice will save it) Therefore, seek thou

the life that is of the mind) Where self is, truth cannot be0 yet when truth comes, self will disappear) Therefore,

let thy mind rest in the truth0 propaate the truth, put thy whole will in it, and let it spread) In the truth thoushalt live forever) Self is death and truth is life) The cleavin to self is a perpetual dyin, while movin in the

truth is partakin of Nirvana which is life everlastin)<

Then utadanta said? <Where, - venerable +aster, is Nirvana@< <Nirvana is wherever the precepts are obeyed

replied the Blessed -ne)

<%o I understand thee ariht,< re.oined the Brahman, <That Nirvana is not a place, and bein nowhere it is

without reality@< <Thou dost not understand me ariht,< said the Blessed -ne, <Now listen and answer these

:uestions? Where does the wind dwell

<Nowhere,< was the reply)

Buddha retorted? <Then, sir, there is no such thin as wind)< utadanta made no reply0 and the Blessed -ne

asked aain? <#nswer me, - Brahman, where does wisdom dwell@ Is wisdom a locality@<



<Wisdom has no allotted dwellin;place replied utadanta) Said the Blessed -ne? <+eanest thou that there is

no wisdom, no enlihtenment, no rihteousness, and no salvation, because Nirvana is not a locality@ #s a reat

and mihty wind which passeth over the world in the heat of the day, so the Tathaata comes to blow over the

minds of mankind with the breath of his love, so cool, so sweet, so calm, so delicate0 and those tormented by

fever assuae their sufferin and re.oice at the refreshin bree!e)<

Said utadanta? <I feel, - *ord, that thou proclaimest a reat doctrine, but I cannot rasp it) 'orbear with me

that I ask aain? Tell me, - *ord, if there be no atman JsoulK, how can there be immortality@ The activity of the

mind passeth, and our thouhts are one when we have done thinkin)<

Buddha replied? <-ur thinkin is one, but our thouhts continue) $easonin ceases, but knowlede remains)<

Said utadanta? <(ow is that@ #re not reasonin and knowlede the same@<

The Blessed -ne explained the distinction by an illustration? <It is as when a man wants, durin the niht, to

send a letter, and, after havin his clerk called, has a lamp lit, and ets the letter written) Then, when that has

been done, he extinuishes the lamp) But thouh the writin has been finished and the liht has been put out

the letter is still there) Thus does reasonin cease and knowlede remain0 and in the same way mental activity

ceases, but experience, wisdom, and all the fruits of our acts endure)<

utadanta continued? <Tell me, - *ord, pray tell me, where, if the sankharas are dissolved, is the identity of

my self) If my thouhts are propaated, and if my soul mirates, my thouhts cease to be my thouhts and my

soul ceases to be my soul) 8ive me an illustration, but pray, - *ord, tell me, where is the identity of my self@<

Said the Blessed -ne? <Suppose a man were to liht a lamp0 would it burn the niht throuh@< <es, it miht

do so,< was the reply)

<Now, is it the same flame that burns in the first watch of the niht as in the second@< utadanta hesitated) (e

thouht it is the same flame, but fearin the complications of a hidden meanin, and tryin to be exact, he said?

<No, it is not)<

<Then,< continued the Blessed -ne, <there are two flames, one in the first watch and the other in the second

watch)< <No, sir,< said utadanta) <In one sense it is not the same flame, but in another sense it is the same

flame) It burns the same kind of oil, it emits the same kind of liht, and it serves the same purpose)<

<Cery well said the Buddha and would you call those flames the same that have burned yesterday and are

burnin now in the same lamp, filled with the same kind of oil, illuminatin the same room@< <They may have

been extinuished durin the day,< suested utadanta)

Said the Blessed -ne? <Suppose the flame of the first watch had been extinuished durin the second watch,

would you call it the same if it burns aain in the third watch@< $eplied utadanta? <In one sense it is a

different flame, in another it is not)<

The Tathaata asked aain? <(as the time that elapsed durin the extinction of the flame anythin to do with its

identity or non;identity@< <No, sir,< said the Brahman, <it has not) There is a difference and an identity, whether

many years elapsed or only one second, and also whether the lamp has been extinuished in the meantime or

not)<

<Well, then, we aree that the flame of today is in a certain sense the same as the flame of yesterday, and in

another sense it is different at every moment) +oreover, the flames of the same kind, illuminatin with e:ual

power the same kind of rooms, are in a certain sense the same)< <es, sir,< replied utadanta)

The Blessed -ne continued? <Now, suppose there is a man who feels like thyself, thinks like thyself, and acts

like thyself, is he not the same man as thou@< <No, sir,< interrupted utadanta)

Said the Buddha? <%ost thou deny that the same loic holds ood for thyself that holds ood for the thins of

the world@< utadanta bethouht himself and re.oined slowly? <No, I do not) The same loic holds ood



universally0 but there is a peculiarity about my self which renders it altoether different from everythin else

and also from other selves) There may be another man who feels exactly like me, thinks like me, and acts like

me0 suppose even he had the same name and the same kind of possessions, he would not be myself)<

<True, utadanta, answered Buddha, he would not be thyself) Now, tell me, is the person who oes to school

one, and that same person when he has finished his schoolin another@ Is it one who commits a crime, another

who is punished by havin his hands and feet cut off@< <They are the same, was the reply)

<Then sameness is constituted by continuity only@< asked the Tathaata) <Not only by continuity,< said

utadanta, but also and mainly by identity of character)<

<Cery well, concluded the Buddha, then thou areest that persons can be the same, in the same sense as two

flames of the same kind are called the same0 and thou must reconi!e that in this sense another man of the

same character and product of the same karma is the same as thou)< <Well, I do,< said the Brahman)

The Buddha continued? <#nd in this same sense alone art thou the same today as yesterday) Thy nature is not

constituted by the matter of which thy body consists, but by thy sankharas, the forms of the body, of sensations,

of thouhts) The person is the combination of the sankharas) Wherever they are, thou art) Whithersoever they

o, thou oest) Thus thou wilt reconi!e in a certain sense an identity of thy self, and in another sense adifference) But he who does not reconi!e the identity should deny all identity, and should say that the

:uestioner is no loner the same person as he who a minute after receives the answer) Now consider the

continuation of thy personality, which is preserved in thy karma) %ost thou call it death and annihilation, or life

and continued life@<

<I call it life and continued life,< re.oined utadanta, <for it is the continuation of my existence, but I do not

care for that kind of continuation) #ll I care for is the continuation of self in the other sense, which makes of

every man, whether identical with me or not, an altoether different person)<

<Cery well,< said Buddha) <This is what thou desirest and this is the cleavin to self) This is thy error) #ll

compound thins are transitory? they row and they decay) #ll compound thins are sub.ect to pain? they will be separated from what they love and be .oined to what they abhor) #ll compound thins lack a self, an atman,

an eo)<

<(ow is that@< asked utadanta) <Where is thy self@ asked the Buddha) #nd when utadanta made no reply, he

continued? <Thy self to which thou cleavest is a constant chane) ears ao thou wast a small babe0 then, thou

wast a boy0 then a youth, and now, thou art a man) Is there any identity of the babe and the man@ There is an

identity in a certain sense only) Indeed there is more identity between the flames of the first and the third

watch, even thouh the lamp miht have been extinuished durin the second watch) Now which is thy true

self, that of yesterday, that of today, or that of tomorrow, for the preservation of which thou clamorest@<

utadanta was bewildered) <*ord of the world,< he said, I see my error, but I am still confused)<

The Tathaata continued? <It is by a process of evolution that sankharas come to be) There is no sankhara

which has sprun into bein without a radual becomin) Thy sankharas are the product of thy deeds in former

existences) The combination of thy sankharas is thy self) Wheresoever they are impressed thither thy self

mirates) In thy sankharas thou wilt continue to live and thou wilt reap in future existences the harvest sown

now and in the past)<

<Cerily, - *ord,< re.oined utadanta, this is not a fair retribution) I cannot reconi!e the .ustice that others

after me will reap what I am sowin now)<

The Blessed -ne waited a moment and then replied? <Is all teachin in vain@ %ost thou not understand thatthose others are thou thyself Thou thyself wilt reap what thou sowest, not others) Think of a man who is ill;

bred and destitute, sufferin from the wretchedness of his condition) #s a boy he was slothful and indolent, and

when he rew up he had not learned a craft to earn a livin) Wouldst thou say his misery is not the product of

his own action, because the adult is no loner the same person as was the boy@



<I say to thee? Not in the heavens, not in the midst of the sea, not if thou hidest thyself away in the clefts of the

mountains, wilt thou find a place where thou canst escape the fruit of thine evil actions) #t the same time thou

art sure to receive the blessins of thy ood actions) To the man who has lon been travelin and who returns

home in safety, the welcome of kinfolk, friends, and ac:uaintances awaits) So, the fruits of his ood works bid

him welcome who has walked in the path of rihteousness, when he passes over from the present life into the

hereafter)<

utadanta said? <I have faith in the lory and excellency of thy doctrines) +y eye cannot as yet endure the

liht0 but I now understand that there is no self, and the truth dawns upon me) Sacrifices cannot save, and

invocations are idle talk) But how shall I find the path to life everlastin@ I know all the Cedas by heart and

have not found the truth)<

Said the Buddha? <*earnin is a ood thin0 but it availeth not) True wisdom can be ac:uired by practice only)

Practice the truth that thy brother is the same as thou) Walk in the noble path of rihteousness and thou wilt

understand that while there is death in self, there is immortality in truth)<

Said utadanta? <*et me take my refue in the Blessed -ne, in the %harma, and in the brotherhood) #ccept me

as thy disciple and let me partake of the bliss of immortality)<

Next? The Buddha -mnipresentSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE BUDDHA OMNIPRESENT

#N% the Blessed -ne thus addressed the brethren? <Those only who do not believe, call me 8otama, but you

call me the Buddha, the Blessed -ne, the Teacher) #nd this is riht, for I have in this life entered Nirvana,while the life of 8otama has been extinuished) Self has disappeared and the truth has taken its abode in me)

This body of mine is 8otama6s body and it will be dissolved in due time, and after its dissolution no one,

neither 8od nor man, will see 8otama aain) But the truth remains) The Buddha will not die0 the Buddha will

continue to live in the holy body of the law)

<The extinction of the Blessed -ne will be by that passin away in which nothin remains that could tend to

the formation of another self) Nor will it be possible to point out the Blessed -ne as bein here or there) But it

will be like a flame in a reat body of bla!in fire) That flame has ceased0 it has vanished and it cannot be said

that it is here or there) In the body of the %hanna, however, the Blessed -ne can be pointed out0 for the %harma

has been preached by the Blessed -ne)

<ou are my children, I am your father0 throuh me you have been released from your sufferins) I myself

havin reached the other shore, help others to cross the stream0 I myself havin attained salvation, am a savior

of others0 bein comforted, I comfort others and lead them to the place of refue) I shall fill with .oy all the

beins whose limbs lanuish0 I shall ive happiness to those who are dyin from distress0 I shall extend to them

succor and deliverance)

<I was born into the world as the kin of truth for the salvation of the world) The sub.ect on which I meditate is

truth) The practice to which I devote myself is truth) The topic of my conversation is truth) +y thouhts are

always in the truth) 'or loA my self has become the truth) Whosoever comprehendeth the truth will see the

Blessed -ne, for the truth has been preached by the Blessed -ne)<

Next? -ne &ssence, -ne *aw, -ne #imSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next



































ONE ESSENCE, ONE LAW, ONE AIM

T(& Tathaata addressed the venerable assapa, to dispel the uncertainty and doubt of his mind, and he said?

<#ll thins are made of one essence, yet thins are different accordin to the forms which they assume under

different impressions) #s they form themselves so they act, and as they act so they are) It is, assapa, as if a

potter made different vessels out of the same clay) Some of these pots are to contain suar, others rice, others

curds and milk0 others still are vessels of impurity) There is no diversity in the clay used0 the diversity of the

pots is only due to the mouldin hands of the potter who shapes them for the various uses that circumstances

may re:uire)

<#nd as all thins oriinate from one essence, so they are developin accordin to one law and they are

destined to one aim which is Nirvana) Nirvana comes to thee, assapa, when thou understandest thorouhly,

and when thou livest accordin to thy understandin, that all thins are of one essence and that there is but one

law) (ence, there is but one Nirvana as there is but one truth, not two or three)

<#nd the Tathaata is the same unto all beins, differin in his attitude only in so far as all beins are different)

The Tathaata recreates the whole world like a cloud sheddin its waters without distinction) (e has the same

sentiments for the hih as for the low, for the wise as for the inorant, for the noble;minded as for the immoral)

<The reat cloud full of rain comes up in this wide universe coverin all countries and oceans to pour down its

rain everywhere, over all rasses, shrubs, herbs, trees of various species, families of plants of different names

rowin on the earth, on the hills, on the mountains, or in the valleys) Then, assapa, the rasses, shrubs,

herbs, and wild trees suck the water emitted from that reat cloud which is all of one essence and has been

abundantly poured down0 and they will, accordin to their nature, ac:uire a proportionate development,

shootin up and producin blossoms and their fruits in season) $ooted in one and the same soil, all those

families of plants and erms are :uickened by water of the same essence)

<The Tathaata, however, - assapa, knows the law whose essence is salvation, and whose end is the peace of

Nirvana) (e is the same to all, and yet knowin the re:uirements of every sinle bein, he does not revealhimself to all alike) (e does not impart to them at once the fullness of omniscience, but pays attention to the

disposition of various beins)<

Next? The *esson 8iven To $ahulaSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE LESSON GIVEN TO RAHULAB&'-$& $ahula, the son of 8otama Siddhattha and asodhara, attained to the enlihtenment of true wisdom,

his conduct was not always marked by a love of truth, and the Blessed -ne sent him to a distant vihara to

overn his mind and to uard his tonue) #fter some time the Blessed -ne repaired to the place, and $ahula

was filled with .oy)

The Blessed -ne ordered the boy to brin him a basin of water and to wash his feet, and $ahula obeyed) When

$ahula had washed the Tathaata6s feet, the Blessed -ne asked? <Is the water now fit for drinkin@<

<No, my *ord,< replied the boy, <the water is defiled) Then the Blessed -ne said? <Now consider thine own

case) #lthouh thou art my son, and the randchild of a kin, althouh thou art a samana who has voluntarily

iven up everythin, thou art unable to uard thy tonue from untruth, and thus defilest thou thy mind)< #nd

when the water had been poured away, the Blessed -ne asked aain? <Is this vessel now fit for holdin water to

drink@<



















<No, my *ord,< replied $ahula, <the vessel, too, has become unclean)< #nd the Blessed -ne said? <Now

consider thine own case) #lthouh thou wearest the yellow robe, art thou fit for any hih purpose when thou

hast become unclean like this vessel@< Then the Blessed -ne, liftin up the empty basin and whirlin it round,

asked? <#rt thou not afraid lest it shall fall and break@< <No, my *ord,< replied $ahula, it is cheap, its loss will

not amount to much)<

<Now consider thine own case, said the Blessed -ne) Thou art whirled about in endless eddies of

transmiration, and as thy body is made of the same substance as other material thins that will crumble to

dust, there is no loss if it be broken) (e who is iven to speakin untruths is an ob.ect of contempt to the wise)<

$ahula was filled with shame, and the Blessed -ne addressed him once more? <*isten, and I will tell thee a

parable? There was a kin who had a very powerful elephant, able to cope with five hundred ordinary

elephants) When oin to war, the elephant was armed with sharp swords on his tusks, with scythes on his

shoulders, spears on his feet, and an iron ball at his tail) The elephant;master re.oiced to see the noble creature

so well e:uipped, and, knowin that a sliht wound by an arrow in the trunk would be fatal, he had tauht the

elephant to keep his trunk well coiled up) But durin the battle the elephant stretched forth his trunk to sei!e a

sword) (is master was frihtened and consulted with the kin, and they decided that the elephant was no loner

fit to be used in battle)

<- $ahulaA if men would only uard their tonues all would be wellA Be like the fihtin elephant who uards

his trunk aainst the arrow that strikes in the center) By love of truth the sincere escape ini:uity) *ike the

elephant well subdued and :uiet, who permits the kin to mount on his trunk, thus the man that reveres

rihteousness will endure faithfully throuhout his life)< $ahula hearin these words was filled with deep

sorrow0 he never aain ave any occasion for complaint, and forthwith he sanctified his life by earnest

exertions)

Next? The Sermon -n #buseSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE SERMON ON ABUSE

T(& Blessed -ne observed the ways of society and noticed how much misery came from malinity and foolish

offenses done only to ratify vanity and self;seekin pride) #nd the Buddha said? <If a man foolishly does me

wron, I will return to him the protection of my unrudin love0 the more evil comes from him, the more

ood shall o from me0 the frarance of oodness always comes to me, and the harmful air of evil oes to

him)<

# foolish man learnin that the Buddha observed the principle of reat love which commends the return of

ood for evil, came and abused him) The Buddha was silent, pityin his folly) When the man had finished his

abuse, the Buddha asked him, sayin? <Son, if a man declined to accept a present made to him, to whom would

it belon@< #nd he answered? <In that case it would belon to the man who offered it)<

<+y son,< said the Buddha thou hast railed at me, but I decline to accept thy abuse, and re:uest thee to keep it

thyself) Will it not be a source of misery to thee@ #s the echo belons to the sound, and the shadow to the

substance, so misery will overtake the evil;doer without fail)<

The abuser made no reply, and Buddha continued? <# wicked man who reproaches a virtuous one is like one

who looks up and spits at heaven0 the spittle soils not the heaven, but comes back and defiles his own person)

The slanderer is like one who flins dust at another when the wind is contrary0 the dust does but return on him

who threw it) The virtuous man cannot be hurt and the misery that the other would inflict comes back on

himself)< The abuser went away ashamed, but he came aain and took refue in the Buddha, the %harma, and

the Sanha)



















Next? The Buddha $eplies To The %evaSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE BUDDHA REPLIES TO THE DEVA

-N a certain day when the Blessed -ne dwelt at .etavana, the arden of #nathapindika, a celestial deva came

to him in the shape of a Brahman whose countenance was briht and whose arments were white like snow)

The deva asked :uestions which the Blessed -ne answered)

The deva said? <What is the sharpest sword@ What is the deadliest poison@ What is the fiercest fire@ What is the

darkest niht@< The Blessed -ne replied? <# word spoken in wrath is the sharpest sword0 covetousness is the

deadliest poison0 passion is the fiercest fire0 inorance is the darkest niht)<

The deva said? <Who ains the reatest benefit@ Who loses most@ Which armor is invulnerable@ What is the

best weapon@< The Blessed -ne replied? <(e is the reatest ainer who to others, and he loses most whoreedily receives without ratitude) Patience is an invulnerable armor0 wisdom is the best weapon)<

The deva said? <Who is the most danerous thief@ What is the most precious treasure@ Who is most successful

in takin away by violence not only on earth, but also in heaven@ What is the securest treasure;trove@< The

Blessed -ne replied? <&vil thouht is the most danerous thief0 virtue is the most precious treasure) The mind

takes possession of everythin not only on earth, but also in heaven, and immortality is its securest treasure;

trove)<

The deva said? <What is attractive@ What is disustin@ What is the most horrible pain@ What is the reatest

en.oyment@< The Blessed -ne replied? <8ood is attractive0 evil is disustin) # bad conscience is the most

tormentin pain0 deliverance is the heiht of bliss)<

The deva asked? <What causes ruin in the world@ What breaks off friendships@ What is the most violent fever@

Who is the best physician@< The Blessed -ne replied? <Inorance causes the ruin of the world) &nvy and

selfishness break off friendships) (atred is the most violent fever, and the Buddha is the best physician)<

The deva then asked and said? <Now I have only one doubt to be solved0 pray, clear it away? What is it fire can

neither burn, nor moisture corrode, nor wind crush down, but is able to reform the whole world@< The Blessed

-ne replied? <BlessinA Neither fire, nor moisture, nor wind can destroy the blessin of a ood deed, and

blessins reform the whole world)<

The deva, havin heard the words of the Blessed -ne, was full of exceedin .oy) "laspin his hands, he boweddown before him in reverence, and disappeared suddenly from the presence of the Buddha)

Next? Words -f InstructionSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

WORDS OF INSTRUCTION

T(& bhikkhus came to the Blessed -ne, and havin saluted him with clasped hands they said? <- +aster, thou

all;seein one, we all wish to learn0 our ears are ready to hear, thou art our teacher, thou art incomparable) "ut

off our doubt, inform us of the blessed %harma, - thou of reat understandin0 speak in the midst of us, - thou

who art all;seein, as is the thousand;eyed *ord of the ods) We will ask the muni of reat understandin, who



































has crossed the stream, one to the other shore, is blessed and of a firm mind? (ow does a bhikkhu wander

rihtly in the world, after havin one out from his house and driven away desire@<

The Buddha said? <*et the bhikkhu subdue his passion for human and celestial pleasures, then, havin

con:uered existence, he will command the %hartna) Such a one will wander rihtly in the world) (e whose

lusts have been destroyed, who is free from pride, who has overcome all the ways of passion, is subdued,

perfectly happy, and of a firm mind) Such a one will wander rihtly in the world) 'aithful is he who is

possessed of knowlede, seein the way that leads to Nirvana0 he who is not a partisan0 he who is pure and

virtuous, and has removed the veil from his eyes) Such a one will wander rihtly in the world)<

Said the bhikkhus? <"ertainly, - Bhaavat, it is so? whichever bhikkhu lives in this way, subdued and havin

overcome all bonds, such a one will wander rihtly in the world)<

The Blessed -ne said? <Whatever is to be done by him who aspires to attain the tran:uility of Nirvana let him

be able and upriht, conscientious and entle, and not proud) *et a man6s pleasure be the %harma, let him

deliht in the %harma, let him stand fast in the %harma, let him know how to in:uire into the %harma, let him

not raise any dispute that pollutes the %harma, and let him spend his time in ponderin on the well;spoken

truths of the %harma)

<# treasure that is laid up in a deep pit profits nothin and may easily be lost) The real treasure that is laid up

throuh charity and piety, temperance, self;control, or deeds of merit, is hid secure and cannot pass away) it is

never ained by despoilin or wronin others, and no thief can steal it) # man, when he dies, must leave the

fleetin wealth of the world, but this treasure of virtuous acts he takes with him) *et the wise do ood deeds0

they are a treasure that can never be lost)<

Then the bhikkhus praised the wisdom of the Tathaata? <Thou hast passed beyond pain0 thou art holy, -

&nlihtened -ne, we consider thee one that has destroyed his passions) Thou art lorious, thouhtful, and of

reat understandin) - thou who puttest an end to pain, thou hast carried us across our doubt) Because thou

sawest our lonin and carriedst us across our doubt, adoration be to thee, - muni, who hast attained the

hihest ood in the ways of wisdom) The doubt we had before, thou hast cleared away, - thou clearly;seeinone0 surely thou art a reat thinker, perfectly enlihtened, there is no obstacle for thee) #ll thy troubles are

scattered and cut off0 thou art calm, subdued, firm, truthful)

#doration be to thee, - noble sae, adoration be to thee, - thou best of beins0 in the world of men and ods

there is none e:ual to thee) Thou art the Buddha, thou art the +aster, thou art the muni that con:uers +ara0

after havin cut off desire thou hast crossed over and carriest this eneration to the other shore)<

Next? #mitabha, The 9nbounded *iht


AMITABHA, THE UNBOUNDED LIGHT

-N& of the disciples came to the Blessed -ne with a tremblin heart and his mind full of doubt) #nd he asked

the Blessed -ne? <- Buddha, our *ord and +aster, in what way do we ive up the pleasures of the world, if

thou forbiddest us to work miracles and to attain the supernatural@ Is not #mitabha, the infinite liht of

revelation, the source of innumerable miracles@<

#nd the Blessed -ne, seein the anxiety of a truth seekin mind, said? <- savaka, thou art a novice amon the

novices, and thou art swimmin on the surface of samsara) (ow lon will it take thee to rasp the truth@ Thou

hast not understood the words of the Tathaata) The law of karma is unbreakable, and supplications have no

effect, for they are empty words)<



















Said the disciple? <Sayest thou there are no miraculous and wonderful thins@<

The Blessed -ne replied? <Is it not a wonderful thin, mysterious and miraculous to the worldlin, that a man

who commits wron can become a saint, that by attainin true enlihtenment he will find the path of truth and

abandon the evil ways of selfishness@ The bhikkhu who renounces the transient pleasures of the world for the

eternal bliss of holiness, performs the only miracle that can truly be called a miracle) # holy man chanes the

curses of karma into blessins) But the desire to perform miracles arises either from covetousness or from

vanity) The mendicant does riht who does not think? <People should salute me0 who, thouh despised by the

world, yet cherishes no ill;will towards it) That mendicant does riht to whom omens, meteors, dreams, and

sins are thins abolished0 he is free from all their evils) #mitabha, the unbounded liht, is the source of

wisdom, of virtue, of Buddhahood) The deeds of sorcerers and miracle;moners are frauds, but what is more

wondrous, more mysterious, more miraculous than #mitabha@<

<But, +aster,< continued the savaka, is the promise of the happy reion vain talk and a myth@<

<What is this promise@< asked the Buddha0 and the disciple replied? <There is in the west a paradise called the

Pure *and, ex:uisitely adorned with old and silver and precious ems) There are pure waters with olden

sands, surrounded by pleasant walks and covered with lare lotus flowers) 1oyous music is heard, and flowers

rain down three times a day) There are sinin birds whose harmonious notes proclaim the praises of reliion,and in the minds of those who listen to their sweet sounds, remembrance arises of the Buddha, the law, and the

brotherhood) No evil birth is possible there, and even the name of hell is unknown) (e who fervently and with

a pious mind repeats the words 6#mitabha Buddha6 will be transported to the happy reion of this pure land,

and when death draws nih, the Buddha, with a company of saintly followers, will stand before him, and there

will be perfect tran:uility)<

<In truth,< said the Buddha, <there is such a happy paradise) But the country is spiritual and it is accessible only

to those that are spiritual) Thou sayest it lies in the west) This means, look for it where he who enlihtens the

world resides) The sun sinks down and leaves us in utter darkness, the shades of niht steal over us, and +ara,

the evil one, buries our bodies in the rave) Sunset is nevertheless no extinction, and where we imaine we see

extinction, there is boundless liht and inexhaustible life)<

<I understand,< said the savaka that the story of the Western Paradise is not literally true)<

<Thy description of paradise,< the Buddha continued, <is beautiful0 yet it is insufficient and does little .ustice to

the lory of the pure land) The worldly can speak of it in a worldly way only0 they use worldly similes and

worldly words) But the pure land in which the pure live is more beautiful than thou canst say or imaine)

(owever, the repetition of the name #mitabha Buddha is meritorious only if thou speak it with such a devout

attitude of mind as will cleanse thy heart and attune thy will to do works of rihteousness) (e only can reach

the happy land whose soul is filled with the infinite liht of truth) (e only can live and breathe in the spiritual

atmosphere of the Western Paradise who has attained enlihtenment) I say to thee, the Tathaata lives in the

pure land of eternal bliss even now while he is still in the body) The Tathaata preaches the law of reliion untothee and unto the whole world, so that thou and thy brethren may attain the same peace, the same happiness)<

Said the disciple? <Teach me, - *ord, the meditations to which I must devote myself in order to let my mind

enter into the paradise of the pure land)<

Buddha said? <There are five meditations) The first meditation is the meditation of love in which thou must so

ad.ust thy heart that thou lonest for the weal and welfare of all beins, includin the happiness of thine

enemies)

<The second meditation is the meditation of pity, in which thou thinkest of all beins in distress, vividlyrepresentin in thine imaination their sorrows and anxieties so as to arouse a deep compassion for them in thy

soul)

<The third meditation is the meditation of .oy in which thou thinkest of the prosperity of others and re.oicest

with their re.oicins)



<The fourth meditation is the meditation on impurity, in which thou considerest the evil conse:uences of

corruption, the effects of wrons and evils) (ow trivial is often the pleasure of the moment and how fatal are its

conse:uencesA

<The fifth meditation is the meditation on serenity, in which thou risest above love and hate, tyranny and

thraldom, wealth and want, and reardest thine own fate with impartial calmness and perfect tran:uility)

<# true follower of the Tathaata founds not his trust upon austerities or rituals, but ivin up the idea of self

relies with his whole heart upon #mitabha, which is the unbounded liht of truth)<

The Blessed -ne after havin explained his doctrine of #mitabha, the immeasurable liht which makes him

who receives it a Buddha, looked into the heart of his disciple and saw still some doubts and anxieties) #nd the

Blessed -ne said? <#sk me, my son, the :uestions which weih upon thy soul)<

The disciple said? <"an a humble monk, by sanctifyin himself, ac:uire the talents of supernatural wisdom

called #bhinnas and the supernatural powers called Iddhi@ Show me the Iddhi;pada, the path to the hihest

wisdom) -pen to me the 1hanas which are the means of ac:uirin samadhi, the fixity of mind which enraptures

the soul) #nd the Blessed -ne said? <Which are the #bhinnas@<

The disciple replied? <There are six #bhinnas? The celestial eye0 the celestial ear0 the body at will or the power

of transformation0 the knowlede of the destiny of former dwellins, so as to know former states of existence0

the faculty of readin the thouhts of others0 and the knowlede of comprehendin the finality of the stream of

life)<

#nd the Blessed -ne replied? <These are wondrous thins0 but verily, every man can attain them) "onsider the

abilities of thine own mind0 thou wert born about two hundred leaues from here and canst thou not in thy

thouht, in an instant travel to thy native place and remember the details of thy father6s home@ Seest thou not

with thy mind eye the roots of the tree which is shaken by the wind without bein overthrown@ %oes not the

collector of herbs see in his mental vision, whenever he pleases, any plant with its roots, its stern, its fruits,

leaves, and even the uses to which it can be applied@ "annot the man who understands lanuaes recall to hismind any word whenever he pleases, knowin its exact meanin and import@ (ow much more does the

Tathaata understand the nature of thins0 he looks into the hearts of men and reads their thouhts) (e knows

the evolution of beins and foresees their ends)<

Said the disciple? <Then the Tathaata teaches that man can attain throuh the 1hanas the bliss of #bhinna)<

#nd the Blessed -ne asked in reply? <Which are the 1hanas throuh which man reaches #bhinna@<

The disciple replied? <There are four 1hanas) The first 1hana is seclusion in which one must free his mind from

sensuality0 the second 1hana is a tran:uility of mind full of .oy and ladness0 the third 1hana is a takin deliht

in thins spiritual0 the fourth 1hana is a state of perfect purity and peace in which the mind is above all ladness

and rief)<

<8ood, my son,< en.oined the Blessed -ne) <Be sober and abandon wron practices which serve only to stultify

the mind)< Said the disciple? <'orbear with me, - Blessed -ne, for I have faith without understandin and I am

seekin the truth) - Blessed -ne, - Tathaata, my *ord and +aster, teach me the Iddhipada)<

The Blessed -ne said? <There are four means by which Iddhi is ac:uired? Prevent bad :ualities from arisin)

Put away bad :ualities which have arisen) Produce oodness that does not yet exist) Increase oodness which

already exists);Search with sincerity, and persevere in the search) In the end thou wilt find the truth)<

Next? The Teacher 9nknownSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next



















THE TEACHER UNKNOWN

T(& Blessed -ne said to #nanda? <There are various kinds of assemblies, - #nanda0 assemblies of nobles, of

Brahmans, of householders, of bhikkhus, and of other beins) When I used to enter an assembly, I always

became, before I seated myself, in color like unto the color of my audience, and in voice like unto their voice) I

spoke to them in their lanuae and then with reliious discourse I instructed, :uickened, and laddened them)

<+y doctrine is like the ocean, havin the same eiht wonderful :ualities) Both the ocean and my doctrine

become radually deeper) Both preserve their identity under all chanes) Both cast out dead bodies upon the

dry land) #s the reat rivers, when fallin into the main, lose their names and are thenceforth reckoned as the

reat ocean, so all the castes, havin renounced their lineae and entered the Sanha, become brethren and are

reckoned the sons of Sakyamuni) The ocean is the oal of all streams and of the rain from the clouds, yet is it

never overflowin and never emptied? so the %harma is embraced by many millions of people, yet it neither

increases nor decreases) #s the reat ocean has only one taste, the taste of salt, so my doctrine has only one

flavor, the flavor of emancipation) Both the ocean and the %harma are full of ems and pearls and .ewels, and

both afford a dwellin;place for mihty beins) These are the eiht wonderful :ualities in which my doctrine

resembles the ocean)

<+y doctrine is pure and it makes no discrimination between noble and inoble, rich and poor) +y doctrine is

like unto water which cleanses all without distinction) +y doctrine is like unto fire which consumes all thins

that exist between heaven and earth, reat and small) +y doctrine is like unto the heavens, for there is room in

it, ample room for the reception of all, for men and women, boys and irls, the powerful and the lowly)

<But when I spoke, they knew me not and would say, 6Who may this be who thus speaks, a man or a od@6

Then havin instructed, :uickened, and laddened them with reliious discourse, I would vanish away) But

they knew me not, even when I vanished away)<

Next? Parables / StoriesSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

PARABLES & STORIES

T(& Blessed -ne thouht? <I have tauht the truth which is excellent in the beinnin, excellent in the middle,

and excellent in the end0 it is lorious in its spirit and lorious in its letter) But simple as it is, the people cannot

understand it) I must speak to them in their own lanuae) I must adapt my thouhts to their thouhts) They are

like unto children, and love to hear tales) Therefore, I will tell them stories to explain the lory of the %harma)If they cannot rasp the truth in the abstract aruments by which I have reached it, they may nevertheless come

to understand it, if it is illustrated in parables)

Next? The Widow6s +ite, #nd The Three +erchantsSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE WIDOW'S MITE, AND THE THREEMERCHANTS

T(&$& was once a lone widow who was very destitute, and havin one to the mountain she beheld hermits



































holdin a reliious assembly) Then the woman was filled with .oy, and utterin praises, said, It is well, holy

priestsA but while others ive precious thins such as the ocean caves produce, I have nothin to offer)< (avin

spoken thus and havin searched herself in vain for somethin to ive, she recollected that some time before

she had found in a dun;heap two coppers, so takin these she offered them forthwith as a ift to the priesthood

in charity)

The superior of the priests, a saint who could read the hearts of men, disreardin the rich ifts of others and

beholdin the deep faith dwellin in the heart of this poor widow, and wishin the priesthood to esteem rihtly

her reliious merit, burst forth with full voice in a canto) (e raised his riht hand and said, <$everend priests

attendA< and then he proceeded?

<The poor coppers of this widow

To all purpose are more worth

Than all the treasures of the oceans

#nd the wealth of the broad earth)

<#s an act of pure devotion

She has done a pious deed0

She has attained salvation,

Bein free from selfish reed)<

The woman was mihtily strenthened in her mind by this thouht, and said, It is even as the Teacher says?

what I have done is as much as if a rich man were to ive up all his wealth)<

#nd the Teacher said? <%oin ood deeds is like hoardin up treasures, and he expounded this truth in a

parable? <Three merchants set out on their travels each with his wealth0 one of them ained much, the second

returned with his wealth, and the third one came home after havin lost his wealth) What is true in common life

applies also to reliion)

<The wealth is the state a man has reached, the ain is heaven0 the loss of his wealth means that a man will be

reborn in a lower state, as a deni!en of hell or as an animal) These are the courses that are open to the sinner)

<(e who brins back his wealth, like unto one who is born aain as a man) Those who throuh the exercise of

various virtues become pious householders will be born aain as men, for all beins will reap the fruit of their

actions) But he who increases his wealth is like unto one who practices eminent virtues) The virtuous, excellent

man attains in heaven to the lorious state of the ods)<

Next? The +an Born BlindSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE MAN BORN BLIND

T(&$& was a man born blind, and he said? <I do not believe in the world of liht and appearance) There are no

colors, briht or somber) There is no sun, no moon, no stars) No one has witnessed these thins)< (is friends

remonstrated with him, but he clun to his opinion? <What you say that you see,< he ob.ected, <are illusions) If

colors existed I should be able to touch them) They have no substance and are not real) &verythin real has

weiht, but I feel no weiht where you see colors)<

# physician was called to see the blind man) (e mixed four simples, and when he applied them to the cataract

of the blind man the ray film melted, and his eyes ac:uired the faculty of siht) The Tathaata is the

physician, the cataract is the illusion of the thouht <I am,< and the four simples are the four noble truths)



















Next? The *ost SonSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE LOST SON

T(&$& was a householder6s son who went away into a distant country, and while the father accumulatedimmeasurable riches, the son became miserably poor) #nd the son while searchin for food and clothin

happened to come to the country in which his father lived) The father saw him in his wretchedness, for he was

raed and brutali!ed by poverty, and ordered some of his servants to call him) When the son saw the place to

which he was conducted, he thouht, <I must have evoked the suspicion of a powerful man, and he will throw

me into prison)< 'ull of apprehension he made his escape before he had seen his father)

Then the father sent messeners out after his son, who was cauht and brouht back in spite of his cries and

lamentations) Thereupon the father ordered his servants to deal tenderly with his son, and he appointed a

laborer of his son6s rank and education to employ the lad as a helpmate on the estate) #nd the son was pleased

with his new situation) 'rom the window of his palace the father watched the boy, and when he saw that he was

honest and industrious, he promoted him hiher and hiher)

#fter some time, he summoned his son and called toether all his servants, and made the secret known to them)

Then the poor man was exceedinly lad and he was full of .oy at meetin his father) 1ust so little by little,

must the minds of men be trained for hiher truths)

Next? The 8iddy 'ishSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE GIDDY FISH

T(&$& was a bhikkhu who had reat difficulty in keepin his senses and passions under control0 so, resolvin

to leave the -rder, he came to the Blessed -ne to ask him for a release from the vows) #nd the Blessed -ne

said to the bhikkhu? <Take heed, my son, lest thou fall a prey to the passions of thy misuided heart) 'or I see

that in former existences, thou hast suffered much from the evil conse:uences of lust, and unless thou learnest

to con:uer thy sensual desire, thou wilt in this life be ruined throuh thy folly)

<*isten to a story of another existence of thine, as a fish) The fish could be seen swimmin lustily in the river,

playin with his mate) She, movin in front, suddenly perceived the meshes of a net, and slippin around

escaped the daner0 but he, blinded by love, shot eaerly after her and fell straiht into the mouth of the net)

The fisherman pulled the net up, and the fish, who complained bitterly of his sad fate, sayin, 6this indeed is the

bitter fruit of my folly,6 would surely have died if the Bodhisattva had not chanced to come by, and,

understandin the lanuae of the fish, took pity on him) (e bouht the poor creature and said to him? 6+y

ood fish, had I not cauht siht of thee this day, thou wouldst have lost thy life) I shall save thee, but

henceforth avoid the evil of lust)6 With these words he threw the fish into the water)

<+ake the best of the time of race that is offered to thee in thy present existence, and fear the dart of passion

which, if thou uard not thy senses, will lead thee to destruction)<

Next? The "ruel "rane -utwittedSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next



















































THE CRUEL CRANE OUTWITTED

# T#I*-$ who used to make robes for the brotherhood was wont to cheat his customers, and thus prided

himself on bein smarter than other men) But once, on enterin upon an important business transaction with a

straner, he met his master in the way of cheatin, and suffered a heavy loss)

The Blessed -ne said? <This is not an isolated incident in the reedy tailor6s fate0 in other incarnations he

suffered similar losses, and by tryin to dupe others ultimately ruined himself) This same reedy character

lived many enerations ao as a crane near a pond, and when the dry season set in he said to the fishes with a

bland voice? care you not anxious for your future welfare There is at present very little water and still less food

in this pond) What will you do should the whole pond become dry, in this drouht@6 6es, indeed6 said the fishes

what should we do@6 $eplied the crane? 6I know a fine, lare lake, which never becomes dry) Would you not

like me to carry you there in my beak@6 When the fishes bean to distrust the honesty of the crane, he proposed

to have one of them sent over to the lake to see it0 and a bi carp at last decided to take the risk for the sake of

the others, and the crane carried him to a beautiful lake and brouht him back in safety) Then all doubt

vanished, and the fishes ained confidence in the crane, and now the crane took them one by one out of the

pond and devoured them on a bi varana;tree)

<There was also a lobster in the pond, and when the crane wanted to eat him too, he said? 6I have taken all the

fishes away and put them in a fine, lare lake) "ome alon) I shall take thee, tooA6 6But how wilt thou hold me

to carry me alon@6 asked the lobster) 6I shall take hold of thee with my beak, said the crane) 6Thou wilt let me

fall if thou carry me like that) I will not o with theeA6 replied the lobster) 6Thou needst not fear,6 re.oined the

crane0 6I shall hold thee :uite tiht all the way)6

<Then said the lobster to himself? 6If this crane once ets hold of a fish, he will certainly never let him o in a

lakeA Now if he should really put me into the lake it would be splendid0 but if he does not, then I will cut his

throat and kill himA6 So he said to the crane? 6*ook here, friend, thou wilt not be able to hold me tiht enouh0

but we lobsters have a famous rip) If thou wilt let me catch hold of thee round the neck with my claws, I shall

be lad to o with thee)6

<The crane did not see that the lobster was tryin to outwit him, and areed) So the lobster cauht hold of his

neck with his claws as securely as with a pair of blacksmith6s pincers, and called out? 6$eady, ready, oA6 crane

took him and showed him the lake, and then turned off toward the varana;tree) 6+y dear uncleA6 cried the

lobster, <The lake lies that way, but thou art takin me this other way)6 #nswered the crane? 6Thinkest so@ #m I

thy dear uncle@ Thou meanest me to understand, I suppose, that I am thy slave, who has to lift thee up and

carry thee about with him, where thou pleasestA Now cast thine eye upon that heap of fish;bones at the root of

yonder varana;tree) 1ust as I have eaten those fish, every one of them, .ust so will I devour thee alsoA6

<6#hA those fishes ot eaten throuh their own stupidity, answered the lobster, 6but I am not oin to let thee kill

me) -n the contrary, it is thou that I am oin to destroy) 'or thou, in thy folly, hast not seen that I haveoutwitted thee) If we die, we both die toether0 for I will cut off this head of thine and cast it to the roundA6 So

sayin, he ave the crane6s neck a pinch with his claws as with a vise)

<Then aspin, and with tears tricklin from his eyes, and tremblin with the fear of death, the crane besouht

the lobster, sayin? 6-, my *ordA Indeed I did not intend to eat thee) 8rant me my lifeA6 6Cery wellA fly down

and put me into the lake,6 replied the lobster) #nd the crane turned round and stepped down into the lake, to

place the lobster on the mud at its ede) Then the lobster cut the crane6s neck throuh as clean as one would cut

a lotus;stalk with a huntin;knife, and then entered the waterA<

When the Teacher had finished this discourse, he added? <Not now only was this man outwitted in this way, butin other existences, too, by his own intriues)<

Next? 'our inds -f +eritSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next



















FOUR KINDS OF MERIT

T(&$& was a rich man who used to invite all the Brahmans of the neihborhood to his house, and, ivin

them rich ifts, offered reat sacrifices to the ods)

But the Blessed -ne said? <If a man each month repeat a thousand sacrifices and ive offerins without

ceasin, he is not e:ual to him who but for one moment fixes his mind upon rihteousness)< The Buddha

continued? <There are four kinds of offerin? first, when the ifts are lare and the merit small0 secondly, when

the ifts are small and the merit small0 thirdly, when the ifts are small and the merit lare0 and fourthly, when

the ifts are lare and the merit is also lare)

<The first is the case of the deluded man who takes away life for the purpose of sacrificin to the ods,

accompanied by carousin and feastin) (ere the ifts are reat, but the merit is small indeed) Next, the ifts

are small and the merit is also small, when from covetousness and an evil heart a man keeps to himself a part of

that which he intends to offer)

<The merit is reat, however, while the ift is small, when a man makes his offerin from love and with a

desire to row in wisdom and in kindness) #nd lastly, the ift is lare and the merit is lare, when a wealthy

man, in an unselfish spirit and with the wisdom of a Buddha, ives donations and founds institutions for the

best of mankind to enlihten the minds of his fellow;men and to administer unto their needs)<

Next? The *iht -f The WorldSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

T(&$& was a certain Brahman in osambi, a wranler and well versed in the Cedas) #s he found no one

whom he rearded his e:ual in debate he used to carry a lihted torch in his hand, and when asked for the

reason of his strane conduct, he replied? 6The world is so dark that I carry this torch to liht it up, as far as I

can)< # samana sittin in the market;place heard these words and said? <+y friend, if thine eyes are blind to the

siht of the omnipresent liht of the day, do not call the world dark) Thy torch adds nothin to the lory of the

sun and thy intention to illumine the minds of others is as futile as it is arroant)< Whereupon the Brahman

asked? <Where is the sun of which thou speakest@< #nd the samana replied? <The wisdom of the Tathaata isthe sun of the mind) (is radiancy is lorious by day and niht, and he whose faith is stron will not lack liht

on the path to Nirvana where he will inherit bliss everlastin)<

Next? *uxurious *ivinSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

LUXURIOUS LIVINGW(I*& the Buddha was preachin his doctrine for the conversion of the world in the neihborhood of

Savatthi, a man of reat wealth who suffered from many ailments came to him with clasped hands and said?

<World;honored Buddha, pardon me for my want of respect in not salutin thee as I ouht but I suffer reatly

from obesity, excessive drowsiness, and other complaints, so that I cannot move without pain)<



































The Tathaata, seein the luxuries with which the man was surrounded asked him? <(ast thou a desire to know

the cause of thy ailments@< #nd when the wealthy man expressed his willinness to learn, the Blessed -ne

said? <There are five thins which produce the condition of which thou complainest? opulent dinners, love of

sleep, hankerin after pleasure, thouhtlessness, and lack of occupation) &xercise self;control at thy meals, and

take upon thyself some duties that will exercise thy abilities and make thee useful to thy fellow;men) In

followin this advice thou wilt prolon thy life)<

The rich man remembered the words of the Buddha and after some time havin recovered his lihtness of body

and youthful buoyancy returned to the World;honored -ne and, comin afoot without horses and attendants,

said to him? <+aster, thou hast cured my bodily ailments0 I come now to seek enlihtenment of my mind)<

#nd the Blessed -ne said? <The worldlin nourishes his body, but the wise man nourishes his mind) (e who

indules in the satisfaction of his appetites works his own destruction0 but he who walks in the path will have

both the salvation from evil and a prolonation of life)<

Next? The "ommunication -f BlissSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE COMMUNICATION OF BLISS

#NN#B(#$#, the slave of Sumana, havin .ust cut the rass on the meadow, saw a samana with his bowl

bein for food) Throwin down his bundle of hay he ran into the house and returned with the rice that had

been provided for his own food) The samana ate the rice and laddened him with words of reliious comfort)

The dauhter of Sumana havin observed the scene from a window called out? <8oodA #nnabhara, oodA Cery

oodA< Sumana hearin these words in:uired what she meant, and on bein informed about #nnabhara6sdevotion and the words of comfort he had received from the samana, went to his slave and offered him money

to divide the bliss of his offerin) <+y lord, said #nnabhara, let me first ask the venerable man)< #nd

approachin the samana, he said? <+y master has asked me to share with him the bliss of the offerin I made

thee of my allowance of rice) Is it riht that I should divide it with him@<

The samana replied in a parable) (e said? <In a villae of one hundred houses a sinle liht was burnin) Then

a neihbor came with his lamp and lit it0 and in this same way the liht was communicated from house to house

and the brihtness in the villae was increased) Thus the liht of reliion may be diffused without stintin him

who communicates it) *et the bliss of thy offerin also be diffused) %ivide it)<

#nnabhara returned to his master6s house and said to him? <I present thee, my lord, with a share of the bliss ofmy offerin) %ein to accept it)< Sumana accepted it and offered his slave a sum of money, but #nnabhara

replied? <Not so, my lord0 if I accept thy money it would appear as if I sold thee my share) Bliss cannot be sold0

I be thou wilt accept it as a ift)< The master replied? <Brother #nnabhara, from this day forth thou shalt be

free) *ive with me as my friend and accept this present as a token of my respect)<

Next? The *istless 'oolSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE LISTLESS FOOL

T(&$& was a rich Brahman, well advanced in years, who, unmindful of the impermanence of earthly thins



































and anticipatin a lon life, had built himself a lare house) The Buddha wondered why a man so near to death

had built a mansion with so many apartments, and he sent #nanda to the rich Brahman to preach to him the

four noble truths and the eihtfold path of salvation) The Brahman showed #nanda his house and explained to

him the purpose of its numerous chambers, but to the instruction of the Buddha6s teachins he ave no heed)

#nanda said? <It is the habit of I fools to say, 6I have children and wealth)6 (e who says so is not even master of

himself0 how can he claim possession of children, riches, and servants@ +any are the anxieties of the worldly,

but they know nothin of the chanes of the future)<

Scarcely had #nanda left, when the old man was stricken with apoplexy and fell dead) The Buddha said, for the

instruction of those who were ready, to learn? <# fool, thouh he live in the company of the wise, understands

nothin of the true doctrine, as a spoon tastes not the flavor of the soup) (e thinks of himself only, and

unmindful of the advice of ood counselors is unable to deliver himself)<

Next? $escue In The %esertSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

RESCUE IN THE DESERT

T(&$& was a disciple of the Blessed -ne, full of enery and !eal for the truth, who, livin under a vow to

complete a meditation in solitude, flaed in a moment of weakness) (e said to himself? <The Teacher said

there are several kinds of men0 I must belon to the lowest class and fear that in this birth there will be neither

path nor fruit for me) What is the use of a hermit6s life if I cannot by constant endeavor attain the insiht of

meditation to which I have devoted myself@< #nd he left the solitude and returned to the 1etavana)

When the brethren saw him they said to him? <Thou hast done wron, - brother, after takin a vow, to ive up

the attempt of carryin it out<0 and they took him to the +aster) When the Blessed -ne saw them he said? <Isee, - mendicants, that you have brouht this brother here aainst his will) What has he done@<

<*ord, this brother, havin taken the vows of sanctifyin a faith, has abandoned the endeavor to accomplish the

aim of a member of the order, and has come back to us)< Then the Teacher said to him? Is it true that thou hast

iven up tryin@<

<It is true, - Blessed -ne I was the reply)

The +aster said? <This present life of thine is a time of race) If thou fail now to reach the happy state thou wilt

have to suffer remorse in future existences) (ow is it, brother, that thou hast proved so irresolute@ Why, in

former states of existence thou wert full of determination) By thy enery alone the men and bullocks of fivehundred waons obtained water in the sandy desert, and were saved) (ow is it that thou now ivest up@< By

these few words that brother was re;established in his resolution) But the others besouht the Blessed -ne,

sayin? <*ordA Tell us how this was)<

<*isten, then, - mendicantsA< said the Blessed -ne0 and havin thus excited their attention, he made manifest a

thin concealed by chane of birth) -nce upon a time, when Brahmadatta was reinin in asi, the Bodhisattva

was born in a merchant6s family0 and when he rew up, he went about traffickin with five hundred carts) -ne

day he arrived at a sandy desert many leaues across) The sand in that desert was so fine that when taken in the

closed fist it could not be kept in the hand) #fter the sun had risen it became as hot as a mass of burnin

embers, so that no man could walk on it) Those, therefore, who had to travel over it took wood, and water, and

oil, and rice in their carts, and traveled durin the niht) #nd at daybreak they formed an encampment and

spread an awnin over it, and, takin their meals early, they passed the day lyin in the shade) #t sunset they

supped, and when the round had become cool they yoked their oxen and went on) The travelin was like a

voyae over the sea? a desert;pilot had to be chosen, and he brouht the caravan safe to the other side by his

knowlede of the stars)



















<Thus the merchant of our story crossed the desert) #nd when he had passed over fifty;nine leaues he thouht,

<Now, in one more niht we shall et out of the sand, and after supper he directed the waons to be yoked, and

so set out) The pilot had cushions arraned on the foremost cart and lay down, lookin at the stars and directin

the men where to drive) But worn out by want of rest durin the lon march, he fell asleep, and did not

perceive that the oxen had turned round and taken the same road by which they had come) The oxen went on

the whole niht throuh) Towards dawn the pilot woke up, and, observin the stars, called out? <Stop the

waons, stop the waonsA< The day broke .ust as they stopped and were drawin up the carts in a line) Then the

men cried out? <Why, this is the very encampment we left yesterdayA We have but little wood left and our water

is all oneA We are lostA< #nd unyokin the oxen and spreadin the canopy over their heads, they lay down in

despondency, each one under his waon)

But the Bodhisattva said to himself, <If I lose heart, all these will perish, and walked about while the mornin

was yet cool) -n seein a tuft of kusa;rass, he thouht? <This could have rown only by soakin up some

water which must be beneath it)< #nd he made them brin a spade and di in that spot) #nd they du sixty

cubits deep) #nd when they had ot thus far, the spade of the diers struck on a rock0 and as soon as it struck,

they all ave up in despair) But the Bodhisattva thouht, <There must be water under that rock,< and

descendin into the well he ot upon the stone, and stoopin down applied his ear to it and tested the sound of

it) (e heard the sound of water urlin beneath, and when he ot out he called his pae) <+y lad, if thou

ivest up now, we shall all be lost) %o not lose heart) Take this iron hammer, and o down into the pit, and ivethe rock a ood blow)<

The lad obeyed, and thouh they all stood by in despair, he went down full of determination and struck at the

stone) The rock split in two and fell below, so that it no loner blocked the stream, and water rose till its depth

from the bottom to the brim of the well was e:ual to the heiht of a palm;tree) #nd they all drank of the water,

and bathed in it) Then they cooked rice and ate it, and fed their oxen with it) #nd when the sun set, they put a

fla in the well, and went to the place appointed) There they sold their merchandise at a ood profit and

returned to their home, and when they died they passed away accordin to their deeds) #nd the Bodhisattva

ave ifts and did other virtuous acts, and he also passed away accordin to his deeds)

#fter the Teacher had told the story he formed the connection by sayin in conclusion, <The caravan theBodhisattva, the future Buddha0 the pae who at that time despaired not, but broke the stone, and ave water to

the multitude, was this brother without perseverance0 and the other men were attendants on the Buddha)<

Next? The Sower Sacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE SOWER B(#$#%C#1#, a wealthy Brahman farmer, was celebratin his harvest;thanksivin when the Blessed -ne

came with his alms;bowl, bein for food) Some of the people paid him reverence, but the Brahman was

anry and said? <- samana, it would be more fittin for thee to o to work than to be) I plouh and sow, and

havin plouhed and sown, I eat) If thou didst likewise, thou, too, wouldst have somethin to eat)<

The Tathaata answered him and said? <- Brahman, if too, plouh and sow, and havin plouhed and sown, I

eat)< <%ost thou profess to be a husbandman@< replied the Brahman) <Where, then, are thy bullocks@ Where is

the seed and the plouh@<

The Blessed -ne said? <'aith is the seed I sow? ood works are the rain that fertili!es it0 wisdom and modesty

are the plouh0 my mind is the uidin;rein0 I lay hold of the handle of the law0 earnestness is the oad I use,

and exertion is my drauht;ox) This plouhin is plouhed to destroy the weeds of illusion) The harvest it

yields is the immortal fruits of Nirvana, and thus all sorrow ends)< Then the Brahman poured rice;milk into a

olden bowl and offered it to the Blessed -ne, sayin? <*et the Teacher of mankind partake of the rice;milk,



















for the venerable 8otama plouhs a plouhin that bears the fruit of immortality)<

Next? The -utcastSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE OUTCAST

W(&N Bhaavat dwelt at Savatthi in the 1etavana, he went out with his alms;bowl to be for food and

approached the house of a Brahman priest while the fire of an offerin was bla!in upon the altar) #nd the

priest said? <Stay there, - shavelin0 stay there, - wretched samana0 thou art an outcast)<

The Blessed -ne replied? <Who is an outcast@ #n outcast is the man who is anry and bears hatred0 the man

who is wicked and hypocritical, he who embraces error and is full of deceit) Whosoever is a provoker and is

avaricious, has evil desires, is envious, wicked, shameless, and without fear to commit wron, let him be

known as an outcast) Not by birth does one become an outcast, not by birth does one become a Brahman0 bydeeds one becomes an outcast, by deeds one becomes a Brahman)<

Next? The Woman #t The WellSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE WOMAN AT THE WELL

#N#N%#, the favorite disciple of the Buddha, havin been sent by the *ord on a mission, passed by a well

near a villae, and seein Pakati, a irl of the +atana caste, he asked her for water to drink) Pakati said? <-

Brahman, I am too humble and mean to ive thee water to drink, do not ask any service of me lest thy holiness

be contaminated, for I am of low caste)< #nd #nanda replied? <I ask not for caste but for water<0 and the

+atana irl6s heart leaped .oyfully and she ave #nanda to drink)

#nanda thanked her and went away0 but she followed him at a distance) (avin heard that #nanda was a

disciple of 8otama Sakyamuni, the irl repaired to the Blessed -ne and cried? <- *ord help me, and let me live

in the place where #nanda thy disciple dwells, so that I may see him and minister unto him, for I love #nanda)<

The Blessed -ne understood the emotions of her heart and he said? <Pakati, thy heart is full of love, but thou

understandest not thine own sentiments) It is not #nanda that thou lovest, but his kindness) #ccept, then, thekindness thou hast seen him practice unto thee, and in the humility of thy station practice it unto others) Cerily

there is reat merit in the enerosity of a kin when he is kind to a slave0 but there is a reater merit in the slave

when he inores the wrons which he suffers and cherishes kindness and ood;will to all mankind) (e will

cease to hate his oppressors, and even when powerless to resist their usurpation will with compassion pity their

arroance and supercilious demeanor)

<Blessed art thou, Pakati, for thouh thou art a +atana thou wilt be a model for noblemen and noble women)

Thou art of low caste, but Brahmans may learn a lesson from thee) Swerve not from the path of .ustice and

rihteousness and thou wilt outshine the royal lory of :ueens on the throne)<

Next? The Peacemaker Sacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next



















































THE PEACEMAKER

IT is reported that two kindoms were on the vere of war for the possession of a certain embankment which

was disputed by them) #nd the Buddha seein the kins and their armies ready to fiht, re:uested them to tell

him the cause of their :uarrels) (avin heard the complaints on both sides, he said?

<I understand that the embankment has value for some of your people0 has it any intrinsic value aside from its

service to your men@<

<It has no intrinsic value whatever was the reply)

The Tathaata continued? <Now when you o to battle is it not sure that many of your men will be slain and

that you yourselves, - kins, are liable to lose your lives@< #nd they said? <It is sure that many will be slain

and our own lives be .eopardi!ed)<

<The blood of men, however,< said Buddha, <has it less intrinsic value than a mound of earth@< <No,< the kins

said, <The lives of men and above all the lives of kins, are priceless)< Then the Tathaata concluded? care you

oin to stake that which is priceless aainst that which has no intrinsic value whatever@;;The wrath of the twomonarchs abated, and they came to a peaceable areement)

Next? The (unry %oSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE HUNGRY DOG

T(&$& was a reat kin who oppressed his people and was hated by his sub.ects0 yet when the Tathaata

came into his kindom, the kin desired much to see him) So he went to the place where the Blessed -ne

stayed and asked? <- Sakyamuni, canst thou teach a lesson to the kin that will divert his mind and benefit him

at the same time@<

#nd the Blessed -ne said? <I shall tell thee the parable of the hunry do? There was a wicked tyrant0 and the

od Indra, assumin the shape of a hunter, came down upon earth with the demon +atali, the latter appearin

as a do of enormous si!e) (unter and do entered the palace, and the do howled so woefully that the royal

buildins shook by the sound to their very foundations) The tyrant had the awe;inspirin hunter brouht before

his throne and in:uired after the cause of the terrible bark) The hunter said, <The do is hunry,< whereupon

the frihtened kin ordered food for him) #ll the food prepared at the royal ban:uet disappeared rapidly in thedo6s .aws, and still he howled with portentous sinificance) +ore food was sent for, and all the royal store;

houses were emptied, but in vain) Then the tyrant rew desperate and asked? 6Will nothin satisfy the cravins

of that woeful beast@6 <Nothin,< replied the hunter, nothin except perhaps the flesh of all his enemies)6 6#nd

who are his enemies@6 anxiously asked the tyrant) The hunter replied? 6The do will howl as lon as there are

people hunry in the kindom, and his enemies are those who practice in.ustice and oppress the poor)< The

oppressor of the people, rememberin his evil deeds, was sei!ed with remorse, and for the first time in his life

he bean to listen to the teachins of rihteousness)<

(avin ended his story, the Blessed -ne addressed the kin, who had turned pale, and said to him? <The

Tathaata can :uicken the spiritual ears of the powerful, and when thou, reat kin, hearest the do bark, think

of the teachins of the Buddha, and thou mayest still learn to pacify the monster)<

Next? The %espot "uredSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next



































THE DESPOT CURED

IN8 B$#(+#%#TT# happened to see a beautiful woman, the wife of a Brahman merchant and,

conceivin a passion for her ordered a precious .ewel secretly to be dropped into the merchant6s carriae) The

.ewel was missed, searched for, and found) The merchant was arrested on the chare of stealin, and the kin pretended to listen with reat attention to the defense, and with seemin reret ordered the merchant to be

executed, while his wife was consined to the royal harem)

Brahmadatta attended the execution in person, for such sihts were wont to ive him pleasure, but when the

doomed man looked with deep compassion at his infamous .ude, a flash of the Buddha6s wisdom lit up the

kin6s passion beclouded mind0 and while the executioner raised the sword for the fatal stroke, Brahmadatta felt

the effect in his own mind, and he imained he saw himself on the block) <(old, executionerA< shouted

Brahmadatta, it is the kin whom thou slayestA< But it was too lateA The executioner had done the bloody deed)

The kin fell back in a swoon, and when he awoke a chane had come over him) (e had ceased to be the cruel

despot and henceforth led a life of holiness and rectitude) The people said that the character of the Brahman

had been impressed into his mind)

- you who commit murders and robberiesA The evil of self;delusion covers your eyes) If you could see thins

as they are, not as they appear, you would no loner inflict in.uries and pain on your own selves) ou see not

that you will have to atone for your evil deeds, for what you sow you will reap)

Next? Casavadatta, The "ourtesanSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

VASAVADATTA, THE COURTESAN

T(&$& was a courtesan in +athura named Casavadatta) She happened to see 9pautta, one of Buddha6s

disciples, a tall and beautiful youth, and fell desperately in love with him) sent an invitation to the youn man,

but he replied? <The time has not yet arrived when 9pautta will visit Casavadatta)< The courtesan was

astonished at the reply, and she sent aain for him, sayin? <Casavadatta desires love, not old, from

9pautta)< But 9pautta made the same enimatic reply and did not come)

# few months later Casavadatta was havin a love intriue with the chief of the artisans) But at that time awealthy merchant came to +athura, and fell in love with Casavadatta) Seein his wealth, and fearin the

.ealousy of her other lover, she contrived the death of the chief of the artisans, and concealed his body under a

dun;hill) When the chief of the artisans had disappeared, his relatives and friends searched for him and found

his body) Casavadatta was tried by a .ude, and condemned to have her ears and nose, her hands and feet cut

off, and flun into a raveyard) Casavadatta had been a passionate irl, but kind to her servants, and one of her

maids followed her, and out of love for her former mistress ministered to her in her aonies, and chased away

the crows)

Now the time had arrived when 9pautta decided to visit Casavadatta) When he came, the poor woman

ordered her maid to collect and hide under a cloth her severed limbs0 and he reeted her kindly, but she said

with petulance? <-nce this body was frarant like the lotus, and I offered thee my love) In those days I wascovered with pearls and fine muslin) Now I am manled by the executioner and covered with filth and blood)<

<Sister,< said the youn man, <it is not for my pleasure that I approach thee) It is to restore to thee a nobler

beauty than the charms which thou hast lost) I have seen with mine eyes the Tathaata walkin upon earth and

teachin men his wonderful doctrine) But thou wouldst not have listened to the words of rihteousness while



















surrounded with temptations while under the spell of passion and yearnin for worldly pleasures) Thou wouldst

not have listened to the teachins of the Tathaata, for thy heart was wayward, and thou didst set thy trust on

the sham of thy transient charms) The charms of a lovely form are treacherous, and :uickly lead into

temptations, which have proved too stron for thee) But there is a beauty which will not fade, and if thou wilt

but listen to the doctrine of our *ord, the Buddha, thou wilt find that peace which thou wouldst have found in

the restless world of sinful pleasures)<

Casavadatta became calm and a spiritual happiness soothed the tortures of her bodily pain0 for where there is

much sufferin there is also reat bliss) (avin taken refue in the Buddha, the %harma, and the Sanha, she

died in pious submission to the punishment of her crime)

Next? The +arriae;'east In 1ambunadaSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE MARRIAGE-FEAST IN JAMBUNADAT(&$& was a man in 1ambunada who was to be married the next day, and he thouht, <Would that the

Buddha, the Blessed -ne, miht be present at the weddin)< #nd the Blessed -ne passed by his house and met

him, and when he read the silent wish in the heart of the brideroom, he consented to enter) When the When

the (oly -ne appeared with the retinue of his many bhikkhus, the host, whose means were limited, received

them as best he could, sayin? <&at, my *ord, and all thy conreation, accordin to your desire)<

While the holy men ate, the meats and drinks remained undiminished, and the host thouht to himself? <(ow

wondrous is thisA I should have had plenty for all my relatives and friends) Would that I had invited them all)

all)< When this thouht was in the host6s mind, all his relatives and friends entered the house0 and althouh the

hall in the house was small there was room in it for all of them) They sat down at the table and ate, and therewas more than enouh for all of them) The Blessed -ne was pleased to see so many uests full of ood cheer

and he :uickened them and laddened them with words of truth, proclaimin the bliss of rihteousness?

<The reatest happiness which a mortal man can imaine is the bond of marriae that ties toether two lovin

hearts) But there is a reater happiness still? it is the embrace of truth) %eath will separate husband and wife,

but death will never affect him who has espoused the truth) Therefore be married unto the truth and live with

the truth in holy wedlock) The husband who loves his wife and desires for a union that shall be everlastin

must be faithful to her so as to be like truth itself, and she will rely upon him and revere him and minister unto

him) #nd the wife who loves her husband and desires a union that shall be everlastin must be faithful to him

so as to be like truth itself0 and he will place his trust in her, he will provide for her) Cerily, I say unto you,

their children will become like their parents and will bear witness to their happiness) *et no man be sinle, letevery one be wedded in holy love to the truth) #nd when +ara, the destroyer, comes to separate the visible

forms of your bein, you will continue to live in the truth, and will partake of the life everlastin, for the truth

is immortal)<

There was no one amon the uests but was strenthened in his, spiritual life, and reconi!ed the sweetness of

a life of rihteousness0 and they took refue in the Buddha, the %harma, and the Sanha)

Next? In Search -f # Thief




































IN SEARCH OF A THIEF

(#CIN8 sent out his disciples, the Blessed -ne himself wandered from place to place until he reached

9ruvela) -n his way he sat down in a rove to rest, and it happened that in that same rove was a party of

thirty friends who were en.oyin themselves with their wives0 and while they were sportin, some of their

oods were stolen) Then the whole party went in search of the thief and, meetin the Blessed -ne sittin under

a tree, saluted him and said? <Pray, *ord, didst thou see the thief pass by with our oods@<

#nd the Blessed -ne said? <Which is better for you, that you o in search for the thief or for yourselves@< #nd

the youths cried? <In search for ourselvesA<

<Well then,< said the Blessed -ne <sit down and I will preach the truth to you)< #nd the whole party sat down

and they listened eaerly to the words of the Blessed -ne) (avin rasped the truth, they praised the doctrine

and took refue in the Buddha)

Next? In The $ealm -f amara.aSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

IN THE REALM OF YAMARAJA

T(&$& was a Brahman, a reliious man and fond in his affections but without deep wisdom) (e had a son of

reat promise, who, when seven years old, was struck with a fatal disease and died) The unfortunate father was

unable to control himself0 he threw himself upon the corpse and lay there as one dead) The relatives came and

buried the dead child and when the father came to himself, he was so immoderate in his rief that he behaved

like an insane person) (e no loner ave way to tears but wandered about askin for the residence ofamara.a, the kin of death, humbly to be of him that his child miht be allowed to return to life)

(avin arrived at a reat Brahman temple the sad father went throuh certain reliious rites and fell asleep)

While wanderin on in his dream he came to a deep mountain pass where he met a number of samanas who

had ac:uired supreme wisdom) <ind sirs,< he said, <"an you not tell me where the residence of amara.a is@<

#nd they asked him, <8ood friend, why wouldst thou know@< Whereupon he told them his sad story and

explained his intentions) Pityin his self;delusion, the samanas said? <No mortal man can reach the place where

ama reins, but some four hundred miles westward lies a reat city in which many ood spirits live0 every

eihth day of the month ama visits the place, and there mayst thou see him who is the in of %eath and ask

him for a boon)<

The Brahman re.oicin at the news went to the city and found it as the samanas had told him) (e was admitted

to the dread presence of ama, the in of %eath, who, on hearin his re:uest, said? <Thy son now lives in the

eastern arden where he is disportin himself0 o there and ask him to follow thee)< Said the happy father?

<(ow does it happen that my son, without havin performed one ood work, is now livin in paradise@<

amara.a replied? <(e has obtained celestial happiness not for performin ood deeds, but because he died in

faith and in love to the *ord and +aster, the most lorious Buddha) The Buddha says? 6The heart of love and

faith spreads as it were a beneficent shade from the world of men to the world of ods)6 This lorious utterance

is like the stamp of a kin6s seal upon a royal edict)<

The happy father hastened to the place and saw his be beloved child playin with other children, all

transfiured by the peace of the blissful existence of a heavenly life) (e ran up to his boy and cried with tears

runnin down his cheeks? <+y son, my son, dost thou not remember me, thy father who watched over thee

with lovin care and tended thee in thy sickness@ $eturn home with me to the land of the livin)< But the boy,

while strulin to o back to his playmates, upbraided him for usin such strane expressions as father and

son) <In my present state, he said, <I know no such words, for I am free from delusion)<



















-n this, the Brahman departed, and when he woke from his dream he bethouht himself of the Blessed +aster

of mankind, the reat Buddha, and resolved to o to him, lay bare his rief, and seek consolation) (avin

arrived at the 1etavana, the Brahman told his story and how his boy had refused to reconi!e him and to o

home with him)

#nd the World;honored -ne said? <Truly thou art deluded) When man dies the body is dissolved into its

elements, but the spirit is not entombed) It leads a hiher mode of life in which all the relative terms of father,

son, wife, mother, are at an end, .ust as a uest who leaves his lodin has done with it, as thouh it were a

thin of the past) +en concern themselves most about that which passes away0 but the end of life :uickly

comes as a burnin torrent sweepin away the transient in a moment) They are like a blind man set to look after

a burnin lamp) # wise man, understandin the transiency of worldly relations, destroys the cause of rief, and

escapes from the seethin whirlpool of sorrow) $eliious wisdom lifts a man above the pleasures and pains of

the world and ives him peace everlastin)< The Brahman asked the permission of the Blessed -ne to enter the

community of his bhikkhus, so as to ac:uire that heavenly wisdom which alone can ive comfort to an afflicted

heart)

Next? The +ustard SeedSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE MUSTARD SEED

T(&$& was a rich man who found his old suddenly transformed into ashes0 and he took to his bed and

refused all food) # friend, hearin of his sickness, visited the rich man and learned the cause of his rief) #nd

the friend said? <Thou didst not make ood use of thy wealth) When thou didst hoard it up it was not better than

ashes) Now heed my advice) Spread mats in the ba!aar0 pile up these ashes, and pretend to trade with them)<

The rich man did as his friend had told him, and when his neihbors asked him, <Why sellest thou ashes@< hesaid? <I offer my oods for sale)<

#fter some time a youn irl, named isa 8otami, an orphan and very poor, passed by, and seein the rich

man in the ba!aar, said? <+y lord, why pilest thou thus up old and silver for sale@< #nd the rich man said?

<Wilt thou please hand me that old and silver@< #nd isa 8otami took up a handful of ashes, and loA they

chaned back into old) "onsiderin that isa 8otami had the mental eye of spiritual knowlede and saw the

real worth of thins, the rich man ave her in marriae to his son, and he said? <With many, old is no better

than ashes, but with isa 8otami ashes become pure old)<

#nd isa 8otami had an only son, and he died) In her rief she carried the dead child to all her neihbors,

askin them for medicine, and the people said? <She has lost her senses) The boy is dead) #t lenth isa8otami met a man who replied to her re:uest? <I cannot ive thee medicine for thy child, but I know a

physician who can)< The irl said? <Pray tell me, sir0 who is it@< #nd the man replied? <8o to Sakyamuni, the

Buddha)<

isa 8otami repaired to the Buddha and cried? <*ord and +aster, ive me the medicine that will cure my boy)<

The Buddha answered? <I want a handful of mustard;seed)< #nd when the irl in her .oy promised to procure it,

the Buddha added? <The mustard;seed must be taken from a house where no one has lost a child, husband,

parent, or friend)< Poor isa 8otami now went from house to house, and the people pitied her and said? <(ere

is mustard;seed0 take itA< But when she asked %id a son or dauhter, a father or mother, die in your family@<

They answered her? <#las the livin are few, but the dead are many) %o not remind us of our deepest rief)<

#nd there was no house but some beloved one had died in it)

isa 8otami became weary and hopeless, and sat down at the wayside, watchin the lihts of the city, as they

flickered up and were extinuished aain) #t last the darkness of the niht reined everywhere) #nd she

considered the fate of men, that their lives flicker up and are extinuished) #nd she thouht to herself? <(ow



















selfish am I in my riefA %eath is common to all0 yet in this valley of desolation there is a path that leads him to

immortality who has surrendered all selfishness)<

Puttin away the selfishness of her affection for her child, isa 8otami had the dead body buried in the forest)

$eturnin to the Buddha, she took refue in him and found comfort in the %harma, which is a balm that will

soothe all the pains of our troubled hearts)

The Buddha said? <The life of mortals in this world is troubled and brief and combined with pain) 'or there is

not any means by which those that have been born can avoid dyin0 after reachin old ae there is death0 of

such a nature are livin beins) #s ripe fruits are early in daner of fallin, so mortals when born are always in

daner of death) #s all earthen vessels made by the potter end in bein broken, so is the life of mortals) Both

youn and adult, both those who are fools and those who are wise, all fall into the power of death0 all are

sub.ect to death)

<-f those who, overcome by death, depart from life, a father cannot save his son, nor kinsmen their relations)

+ark I while relatives are lookin on and lamentin deeply, one by one mortals are carried off, like an ox that

is led to the slauhter) So the world is afflicted with death and decay, therefore the wise do not rieve, knowin

the terms of the world) In whatever manner people think a thin will come to pass, it is often different when it

happens, and reat is the disappointment0 see, such are the terms of the world)

<Not from weepin nor from rievin will any one obtain peace of mind0 on the contrary, his pain will be the

reater and his body will suffer) (e will make himself sick and pale, yet the dead are not saved by his

lamentation) People pass away, and their fate after death will be accordin to their deeds) If a man live a

hundred years, or even more, he will at last be separated from the company of his relatives, and leave the life of

this world) (e who seeks peace should draw out the arrow of lamentation, and complaint, and rief) (e who

has drawn out the arrow and has become composed will obtain peace of mind0 he who has overcome all sorrow

will become free from sorrow, and be blessed)<

Next? Walkin -n Water Sacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

WALKING ON WATER

S-9T( of Savatthi is a reat river, on the banks of which lay a hamlet of five hundred houses) Thinkin of the

salvation of the people, the World;honored -ne resolved to o to the villae and preach the doctrine) (avin

come to the riverside he sat down beneath a tree, and the villaers seein the lory of his appearance

approached him with reverence0 but when he bean to preach, they believed him not)

When the world;honored Buddha had left Savatthi Sariputta felt a desire to see the *ord and to hear him

preach) "omin to the river where the water was deep and the current stron, he said to himself? <This stream

shall not prevent me) I shall o and see the Blessed -ne, and he stepped upon the water which was as firm

under his feet as a slab of ranite) When he arrived at a place in the middle of the stream where the waves were

hih, Sariputta6s heart ave way, and he bean to sink) But rousin his faith and renewin his mental effort, he

proceeded as before and reached the other bank)

The people of the villae were astonished to see Sariputta, and they asked how he could cross the stream where

there was neither a bride nor a ferry) Sariputta replied? <I lived in inorance until I heard the voice of the

Buddha) #s I was anxious to hear the doctrine of salvation, I crossed the river and I walked over its troubled

waters because I had faith) 'aith) nothin else, enabled me to do so, and now I am here in the bliss of the

+aster6s presence)<

The World;honored -ne added? <Sariputta, thou hast spoken well) 'aith like thine alone can save the world



















THE PATIENT ELEPHANT

W(I*& the Blessed -ne was residin in the 1etavana, there was a householder livin in Savatthi known to all

his neihbors as patient and kind, but his relatives were wicked and contrived a plot to rob him) -ne day they

came to the householder and by worryin him with all kinds of threats took away a oodly portion of his

property) (e did not o to court, nor did he complain, but tolerated with reat forbearance the wrons he

suffered) The neihbors wondered and bean to talk about it, and rumors of the affair reached the ears of the

brethren in 1etavana) While the brethren discussed the occurrence in the assembly hall, the Blessed -ne entered

and asked <What was the topic of your conversation@< #nd they told him)

Said the Blessed -ne? <The time will come when the wicked relatives will find their punishment) - brethren,

this is not the first time that this occurrence took place0 it has happened before,< and he told them a world;old

tale? -nce upon a time, when Brahmadatta was kin of Benares, the Bodhisattva was born in the (imalaya

reion as an elephant) (e rew up stron and bi, and raned the hills and mountains, the peaks and caves of

the torturous woods in the valleys) -nce as he went he saw a pleasant tree, and took his food, standin under it)

Then some impertinent monkeys came down out of the tree, and .umpin on the elephant6s back, insulted and

tormented him reatly0 they took hold of his tusks, pulled his tail and disported themselves, thereby causin

him much annoyance) The Bodhisattva, bein full of patience, kindliness and mercy, took no notice at all oftheir misconduct which the monkeys repeated aain and aain)

<-ne day the spirit that lived in the tree, standin upon the tree;trunk, addressed the elephant sayin, 6+y lord

elephant, why dost thou put up with the impudence of these bad monkeys@6 #nd he asked the :uestion in a

couplet as follows?

<6Why do you patiently endure each freak

These mischievous and selfish monkeys wreak@6

<The Bodhisattva, on hearin this, replied, If, Tree sprite, I cannot endure these monkeys6 ill treatment without

abusin their birth, lineae and persons, how can I walk in the eihtfold noble path@ But these monkeys will dothe same to others thinkin them to be like me) If they do it to any roue elephant, he will punish them indeed,

and I shall be delivered both from their annoyance and the uilt of havin done harm to others)6 Sayin this he

repeated another stan!a?

<If they will treat another one like me,

(e will destroy them0 and I shall be free)

<# few days after, the Bodhisattva went elsewhere, and another elephant, a savae beast, came and stood in his

place) The wicked monkeys thinkin him to be like the old one, climbed upon his back and did as before) The

roue elephant sei!ed the monkeys with his trunk, threw them upon the round, ored them with his tusk and

trampled them to mincemeat under his feet)<

When the +aster had ended this teachin, he declared the truths, and identified the births, sayin? <#t that time

the mischievous monkeys were the wicked relatives of the ood man, the roue elephant was the one who will

punish them, but the virtuous noble elephant was the Tathaata himself in a former incarnation)<

#fter this discourse one of the brethren rose and asked leave to propose a :uestion and when the permission

was ranted he said? <I have heard the doctrine that wron should be met with wron and the evil doer should

be checked by bein made to suffer, for if this were not done evil would increase and ood would disappear)

What shall we do@< Said the Blessed -ne? <Nay, I will tell you ou who have left the world and have adopted

this lorious faith of puttin aside selfishness, you shall not do evil for evil nor return hate for hate) Neitherthink that you can destroy wron by retaliatin evil for evil and thus increasin wron) *eave the wicked to

their fate and their evil deeds will sooner or later in one way or another brin on their own punishment)< #nd

the Tathaata repeated these stan!as?

<Who harms the man who does no harm,



-r strikes at him who strikes him not,

Shall soon some punishment incur

Which his own wickedness beot,;

<-ne of the ravest ills in life,

&ither a loathsome dread disease,

-r sad old ae, or loss of mind,

-r wretched pain without surcease,

<-r conflaration, loss of wealth0

-r of his nearest kin he shall

See some one die that6s dear to him,

#nd then he6ll be reborn in hell)<

Next? The *ast %aysSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE LAST DAYS

W(&N the Blessed -ne was residin on the mounted called Culture6s Peak, near $a.aaha, #.atasattu kin of

+aadha, who reined in the place of Bimbisara, planned an attack on the Ca..is, and he said to Cassakara, his

prime mister? <I will root out the Ca..is, mihty thouh they be) I will destroy the Ca..is0 I will brin them to

utter ruinA "ome now, - Brahman, and o to the Blessed -ne0 in:uire in my name for his health, and tell him

my purpose) Bear carefully in mind what the Blessed -ne may say, and repeat it to me, for the Buddhas speak

nothin untrue)<

When Cassakara, the prime minister, had reeted the Blessed -ne and delivered his messae, the venerable

#nanda stood behind the Blessed -ne and fanned him, and the Blessed -ne said to him? <(ast thou heard,

#nanda, that the Ca..is hold full and fre:uent public assemblies@< (e replied, <*ord, so I have heard)<

<So lon, #nanda,< said the Blessed -ne, <as the Ca..is hold these full and fre:uent public assemblies, they

may be expected not to decline, but to prosper) So lon as they meet toether in concord, so lon as they honor

their elders, so lon as they respect womanhood, so lon as they remain reliious, performin all proper rites,

so lon as they extend the rihtful protection, defense and support to the holy ones, the Ca..is may be expected

not to decline, but to prosper)< Then the Blessed -ne addressed Cassakara and said? <When I stayed, -

Brahman, at Cesali, I tauht the Ca..is these conditions of welfare, that so lon as they should remain well

instructed, so lon as they will continue in the riht path, so lon as they live up to the precepts ofrihteousness, we could expect them not to decline, but to prosper)<

#s soon as the kin6s messener had one, the Blessed -ne had the brethren, that were in the neihborhood of

$a.aaha, assembled in the service;hall and addressed them, sayin? <I will teach you, - bhikkhus, the

conditions of the welfare of a community) *isten well, and I will speak)

<So lon, - bhikkhus, as the brethren hold full and fre:uent assemblies, meetin in concord, risin in concord,

and attendin in concord to the affairs of the Sanha0 so lon as they, - bhikkhus, do not abroate that which

experience has proved to be ood, and introduce nothin except such thins as have been carefully tested0 so

lon as their elders practice .ustice0 so lon as the brethren esteem, revere, and support their elders, and

hearken unto their words0 so lon as the brethren are not under the influence of cravin, but deliht in the

blessins of reliion, so that ood and holy men shall come to them and dwell amon them in :uiet0 so lon as

the brethren shall not be addicted to sloth and idleness0 so lon as the brethren shall exercise themselves in the

sevenfold hiher wisdom of mental activity, search after truth, enery, .oy, modesty, self;control, earnest

contemplation, and e:uanimity of mind, so lon the Sanha may be expected to prosper) Therefore, -



















bhikkhus, be full of faith, modest in heart, afraid of sin, anxious to learn, stron in enery, active in mind, and

full of wisdom)

Next? Sariputta6s 'aithSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

SARIPUTTA'S FAITH

T(& Blessed -ne proceeded with a reat company of the brethren to Nalanda0 and there he stayed in a mano

rove) Now the venerable Sariputta came to the place where the Blessed -ne was, and havin saluted him,

took his seat respectfully at his side, and said? <*ordA such faith have I in the Blessed -ne, that methinks there

never has been, nor will there be, nor is there now any other, who is reater or wiser than the Blessed -ne, that

is to say, as reards the hiher wisdom)<

$eplied the Blessed -ne? <8rand and bold are the words of thy mouth, Sariputta? verily, thou hast burst forthinto a son of ecstasyA Surely then thou hast known all the Blessed -nes who in the lon aes of the past have

been holy Buddhas@< <Not so, - *ordA< said Sariputta)

#nd the *ord continued? <Then thou hast perceived all the Blessed -nes who in the lon aes of the future

shall be holy Buddhas@< <Not so, - *ordA<

<But at least then, - Sariputta, thou knowest me as the holy Buddha now alive, and hast penetrated my mind)<

<Not even that, - *ordA<

<Thou seest then, Sariputta, that thou knowest not the hearts of the holy Buddhas of the past nor the hearts of

those of the future) Why, therefore, are thy words so rand and bold@ Why burstest thou forth into such a sonof ecstasy@<

<- *ordA I have not the knowlede of the hearts of all the Buddhas that have been and are to come, and now

are) I only know the lineae of the faith) 1ust as a kin, *ord, miht have a border city, stron in its

foundations, stron in its ramparts and with one ate only0 and the kin miht have a watchman there, clever,

expert, and wise, to stop all straners and admit only friends) #nd on oin over the approaches all about the

city, he miht not be able so to observe all the .oints and crevices in the ramparts of that city as to know where

such a small creature as a cat could et out) That miht well be) et all livin beins of larer si!e that entered

or left the city, would have to pass throuh that ate) Thus only is it, *ord, that I know the lineae of the faith) I

know that the holy Buddhas of the past, puttin away all lust, ill;will, sloth, pride, and doubt, knowin all those

mental faults which make men weak, trainin their minds in the four kinds of mental activity, thorouhlyexercisin themselves in the sevenfold hiher wisdom, received the full fruition of &nlihtenment) #nd I know

that the holy Buddhas of the times to come will do the same) #nd I know that the Blessed -ne, the holy

Buddha of today, has done so now)<

<8reat is thy faith, - Sariputta,< replied the Blessed -ne, <but take heed that it be well rounded)<

Next? The Cisit To PataliputtaSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next



































THE VISIT TO PATALIPUTTA

W(&N the Blessed -ne had stayed as lon as convenient at Nalanda, he went to Pataliputta, the frontier town

of +aadha0 and when the disciples at Pataliputta heard of his arrival, they invited him to their villae rest;

house) #nd the Blessed -ne robed himself, took his bowl and went with the brethren to the rest;house) There

he washed his feet, entered the hall, and seated himself aainst the center pillar, with his face towards the east)

The brethren, also, havin washed their feet, entered the hall, and took their seats round the Blessed -ne,

aainst the western wall, facin the east) #nd the lay devotees of Pataliputta, havin also washed their feet,

entered the hall, and took their seats opposite the Blessed -ne aainst the eastern wall, facin towards the west)

Then the Blessed -ne addressed the lay;disciples of Pataliputta, and he said? <'ivefold - householders, is the

loss of the wron;doer throuh his want of rectitude) In the first place, the wron;doer, devoid of rectitude,

falls into reat poverty throuh sloth0 in the next place, his evil repute ets noised abroad0 thirdly, whatever

society he enters, whether of Brahmans, nobles, heads of houses, or samanas, he enters shyly and confusedly0

fourthly, he is full of anxiety when he dies0 and lastly, on the dissolution of the body after death, his mind

remains in an unhappy state) Wherever his karma continues, there will be sufferin and woe) This, -

householders, is fivefold loss of the evil;doerA

<'ivefold, - householders, is the ain of the well;doer throuh his practice of rectitude) In the first place the

well doer, stron in rectitude, ac:uires property throuh his industry0 in the next place, ood reports of him are

spread abroad0 thirdly, whatever society he enters, whether of nobles, Brahmans, heads of houses, or members

of the order, he enters with confidence and self;possession0 fourthly, he dies without anxiety0 and, lastly, on the

dissolution of the body after death, his mind remains in a happy state) Wherever his karma continues, there will

be heavenly bliss and peace) This, - householders, is the fivefold ain of the well doer)< When the Blessed

-ne had tauht the disciples, and incited them, and roused them, and laddened them far into the niht with

reliious edification, he dismissed them, sayin, <The niht is far spent, - householders) It is time for you to do

what ye deem most fit)<

<Be it so, *ordA< answered the disciples of Pataliputta, and risin from their seats, they bowed to the Blessed-ne, and keepin him on their riht hand as they passed him, they departed thence)

While the Blessed -ne stayed at Pataliputta, the kin of +aadha sent a messener to the overnor of

Pataliputta to raise fortifications for the security of the town) The Blessed -ne seein the laborers at work

predicted the future reatness of the place, sayin? <The men who build the fortress act as if they had consulted

hiher powers) 'or this city of Pataliputta will be a dwellin;place of busy men and a center for the exchane

of all kinds of oods) But three daners han over Pataliputta, that of fire, that of water, that of dissension)<

When the overnor heard of the prophecy of Pataliputta6s future, he reatly re.oiced and named the city;ate

throuh which the Buddha had one towards the river 8anes, <The 8otama 8ate)< +eanwhile the people

livin on the banks of the 8anes arrived in reat numbers to pay reverence to the *ord of the world0 and many persons asked him to do them the honor to cross over in their boats) But the Blessed -ne considerin the

number of the boats and their beauty did not want to show any partiality, and by acceptin the invitation of one

to offend all the others) (e therefore crossed the river without any boat, sinifyin thereby that the rafts of

asceticism and the audy ondolas of reliious ceremonies were not staunch enouh to weather the storms of

samsara, while the Tathaata can walk dry;shod over the ocean of worldliness) #nd as the city ate was called

after the name of the Tathaata so the people called this passae of the river <8otama 'ord)<

Next? The +irror -f Truth




















THE MIRROR OF TRUTH

T(& Blessed -ne proceeded to the villae Nadika with a reat company of brethren and there he stayed at the

Brick (all) #nd the venerable #nanda went to the Blessed -ne and mentionin to him the names of the

brethren and sisters that had died, anxiously in:uired about their fate after death, whether they had been reborn

in animals or in hell, or as hosts, or in any place of woe)

The Blessed -ne replied to #nanda and said? <Those who have died after the complete destruction of the three

bonds of lust, of covetousness and of the eotistical cleavin to existence, need not fear the state after death)

They will not be reborn in a state of sufferin0 their minds will not continue as a karma of evil deeds or sin, but

are assured of final salvation)

<When they die, nothin will remain of them but their ood thouhts, their rihteous acts, and the bliss that

proceeds from truth and rihteousness) #s rivers must at last reach the distant main, so their minds will be

reborn in hiher states of existence and continue to be pressin on to their ultimate oal which is the ocean of

truth, the eternal peace of Nirvana) +en are anxious about death and their fate after death0 but consider, it is not

at all strane, #nanda, that a human bein should die) (owever, that thou shouldst in:uire about them, and

havin heard the truth still be anxious about the dead, this is wearisome to the Blessed -ne) I will, therefore,teach thee the mirror of truth and let the faithful disciple repeat it?

<6(ell is destroyed for me, and rebirth as an animal, or a host, or in any place of woe) I am converted0 I am no

loner liable to be reborn in a state of sufferin, and am assured of final salvation)6

<What, then, #nanda, is this mirror of truth@ It is the consciousness that the elect disciple is in this world

possessed of faith in the Buddha, believin the Blessed -ne to be the (oly -ne, the 'ully;enlihtened -ne,

wise, upriht, happy, world;knowin, supreme, the Bridler of men6s wayward hearts, the Teacher of ods and

men, the blessed Buddha) It is further the consciousness that the disciple is possessed of faith in the truth

believin the truth to have been proclaimed by the Blessed -ne, for the benefit of the world, passin not away,

welcomin all, leadin to salvation, to which throuh truth the wise will attain, each one by his own efforts)

<#nd, finally, it is the consciousness that the disciple is possessed of faith in the order, believin in the efficacy

of a union amon those men and women who are anxious to walk in the noble eihtfold path0 believin this

church of the Buddha, of the rihteous, the upriht, the .ust, the law abidin, to be worthy of honor, of

hospitality, of ifts, and of reverence0 to be the supreme sowin;round of merit for the world0 to be possessed

of the virtues beloved by the ood, virtues unbroken, intact, unspotted, unblemished, virtues which make men

truly free, virtues which are praised by the wise, are untarnished by the desire of selfish aims, either now or in a

future life, or by the belief in the efficacy of outward acts, and are conducive to hih and holy thouht) This is

the mirror of truth which teaches the straihtest way to enlihtenment which is the common oal of all livin

creatures) (e who possesses the mirror of truth is free from fear0 he will find comfort in the tribulations of life,

and his life will be a blessin to all his fellow;creatures)<

Next? The "ourtesan #mbapaliSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE COURTESAN AMBAPALI

T(&N the Blessed -ne proceeded with a reat number of brethren to Cesali, and he stayed at the rove of the

courtesan #mbapali) #nd he said to the brethren? <*et a brother, - bhikkhus, be mindful and thouhtful) *et a

brother, whilst in the world, overcome the rief which arises from bodily cravin, from the lust of sensations,

and from the errors of wron reasonin) Whatever you do, act always in full presence of mind) Be thouhtful in

eatin and drinkin, in walkin or standin, in sleepin or wakin, while talkin or bein silent)<



















When the courtesan #mbapali heard that the Blessed -ne was stayin in her mano rove, she was

exceedinly lad and went in a carriae as far as the round was passable for carriaes) There she alihted and

thence proceedin to the place where the Blessed -ne was, she took her seat respectfully at his feet on one

side) #s a prudent woman oes forth to perform her reliious duties, so she appeared in a simple dress without

any ornaments, yet beautiful to look upon) The Blessed -ne thouht to himself? <This woman moves in

worldly circles and is a favorite of kins and princes0 yet is her heart calm and composed) oun in years, rich,

surrounded by pleasures, she is thouhtful and steadfast) This, indeed, is rare in the world) Women, as a rule,

are scant in wisdom and deeply immersed in vanity0 but she, althouh livin in luxury, has ac:uired the

wisdom of a master, takin deliht in piety, and able to receive the truth in its completeness)<

When she was seated, the Blessed -ne instructed, aroused, and laddened her with reliious discourse) #s she

listened to the law, her face brihtened with deliht) Then she rose and said to the Blessed -ne? <Will the

Blessed -ne do me the honor of takin his meal, toether with the brethren, at my house tomorrow@< #nd the

Blessed -ne ave, by silence, his consent)

Now, the *icchavi, a wealthy family of princely rank, hearin that the Blessed -ne had arrived at Cesali and

was stayin at #mbapali6s rove, mounted their manificent carriaes, and proceeded with their retinue to the

place where the Blessed -ne was) The *icchavi were oreously dressed in briht colors and decorated with

costly .ewels) #nd #mbapali drove up aainst the youn *icchavi, axle to axle, wheel to wheel, and yoke toyoke, and the *icchavi said to #mbapali, the courtesan? <(ow is it, #mbapali, that you drive up aainst us

thus@<

<+y lords,< said she, <I have .ust invited the Blessed -ne and his brethren for their tomorrow6s meal)< #nd the

princes replied? <#mbapaliA ive up this meal to us for a hundred thousand)<

<+y lords, were you to offer all Cesali with its sub.ect territory, I would not ive up so reat an honorA<

Then the *icchavi went on to #mbapali6s rove) When the Blessed -ne saw the *icchavi approachin in the

distance, he addressed the brethren, and said? <- brethren, let those of the brethren who have never seen the

ods a!e upon this company of the *icchavi, for they are dressed oreously, like immortals)<

#nd when they had driven as far the round was passable for carriaes, the *icchavi alihted and went on foot

to the place where the Blessed -ne was, takin their seats respectfully by his side) #nd when they were thus

seated, the Blessed -ne instructed, aroused, and laddened them with reliious discourse) Then they addressed

the Blessed -ne and said? <Will the Blessed -ne do us the honor of takin his meal, toether with the brethren,

at our palace tomorrow@<

<- *icchavi,< said the Blessed -ne, I have promised to dine tomorrow with #mbapali, the courtesan)< Then

the *icchavi, expressin their approval of the words of the Blessed -ne, arose from their seats and bowed

down before the Blessed -ne, and, keepin him on their riht hand as they passed him, they departed thence0

but when they came home, they cast up their hands, sayin? <# worldly woman has outdone us0 we have beenleft behind by a frivolous irlA<

#t the end of the niht #mbapali, the courtesan, made ready in her mansion sweet rice and cakes, and on the

next day announced throuh a messener the time to the Blessed -ne, sayin, <The hour, *ord, has come, and

the meal is readyA< #nd the Blessed -ne robed himself early in the mornin, took his bowl, and went with the

brethren to the place where #mbapali6s dwellin;house was0 and when they had come there they seated

themselves on the seats prepared for them) #mbapali, the courtesan, set the sweet rice and cakes before the

order, with the Buddha at their head, and waited upon them till they refused to take more)

When the Blessed -ne had finished his meal, the courtesan had a low stool brouht, and sat down at his side,and addressed the Blessed -ne, and said? <*ord, I present this mansion to the order of bhikkhus, of which the

Buddha is the chief)< #nd the Blessed -ne accepted the ift0 and after instructin, arousin, and laddenin her

with reliious edification, he rose from his seat and departed thence)



Next? The Buddha6s 'arewellSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE BUDDHA'S FAREWELL

W(&N the Blessed -ne had remained as lon as he wished at #mbapali6s rove, he went to Beluva, nearCesali) There the Blessed -ne addressed the brethren, and said? <- mendicants, take up your abode for the

rainy season round about Cesali, each one accordin to the place where his friends and near companions may

live) I shall enter upon the rainy season here at Beluva)<

When the Blessed -ne had thus entered upon the rainy season there fell upon him a dire sickness and sharp

pains came upon him even unto death) But the Blessed -ne, mindful and self;possessed, bore his ailments

without complaint) Then this thouht occurred to the Blessed) It would not be riht for me to pass away from

life without addressin the disciples, without takin leave of the order) *et me now, by a stron effort of the

will, subdue this sickness, and keep my hold on life till the allotted time have come)< #nd the Blessed -ne by a

stron effort of the will subdued the sickness, and kept his hold on life till the time he fixed upon should come)

#nd the sickness abated)

Thus the Blessed -ne bean to recover0 and when he had :uite ot rid of the sickness, he went out from the

monastery, and sat down on a seat spread out in the open air) #nd the venerable #nanda, accompanied by

many other disciples, approached where the Blessed -ne was, saluted him, and takin a seat respectfully on

one side, said? <6I have beheld, *ord, how the Blessed -ne was in health, and I have beheld how the Blessed

-ne had to suffer) #nd thouh at the siht of the sickness of the Blessed -ne my body became weak as a

creeper, and the hori!on became dim to me, and my faculties were no loner clear, yet notwithstandin I took

some little comfort from the thouht that the Blessed -ne would not pass away from existence until at least he

had left instructions as touchin the order)<

The Blessed -ne addressed #nanda in behalf of the order, sayin? <What, then, #nanda, does the order expect

of me@ I have preached the truth without makin any distinction between doctrine hidden or revealed0 for in

respect of the truth, #nanda, the Tathaata has no such thin as the closed fist of a teacher, who keeps some

thins back)

<Surely, #nanda, should there be any one who harbor the thouht, <It is I who will lead the brotherhood,6 or,

6The order is dependent upon me,6 he should lay down instructions in any matter concernin the order) Now the

Tathaata, #nanda, thinks not that it is he who should lead the brotherhood, or that the order is dependent upon

him) Why, then, should the Tathaata leave instructions in any matter concernin the order@

<I am now rown old, - #nanda, and full of years0 my .ourney is drawin to its close, I have reached the sumof my days, I am turnin eihty years of ae) 1ust as a wornout cart can not be made to move alon without

much difficulty, so the body of the Tathaata can only be kept oin with much additional care) It is only when

the Tathaata, #nanda, ceasin to attend to any outward thin, becomes pluned in that devout meditation of

heart which is concerned with no bodily ob.ect, it is only then that the body of the Tathaata is at ease)

<Therefore, - #nanda, be ye lamps unto yourselves) $ely on yourselves, and do not rely on external help) (old

fast to the truth as a lamp) Seek salvation alone in the truth) *ook not for assistance to any one besides

yourselves)

<#nd how, #nanda, can a brother be a lamp unto himself, rely on himself only and not on any external help,

holdin fast to the truth as his lamp and seekin salvation in the truth alone, lookin not for assistance to anyone besides himself@ (erein, - #nanda, let a brother, as he dwells in the body, so reard the body that he,

bein strenuous, thouhtful, and mindful, may, whilst in the world, overcome the rief which arises from the

body6s cravins) While sub.ect to sensations let him continue so to reard the sensations that he, bein

strenuous, thouhtful, and mindful, may, whilst in the world, overcome the rief which arises from the

sensations) #nd so, also, when he thinks or reasons, or feels, let him so reard his thouhts that bein



















strenuous, thouhtful and mindful he may, whilst in the world, overcome the rief which arises from the

cravin due to ideas, or to reasonin, or to feelin)

<Those who, either now or after I am dead, shall be lamps unto themselves, relyin upon themselves only and

not relyin upon any external help, but holdin fast to the truth as their lamp, and seekin their salvation in the

truth alone, and shall not look for assistance to any one besides themselves, it is they, #nanda, amon my

bhikkhus, who shall reach the very topmost heihtA But they must be anxious to learn)<

Next? The Buddha #nnounces (is %eathSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

THE BUDDHA ANNOUNCES HIS DEATH

S#I% the Tathaata to #nanda? <In former years, #nanda, +ara, the &vil -ne, approached the holy Buddha

three times to tempt him) #nd now, #nanda, +ara, the &vil -ne, came aain today to the place where I was,and, standin beside me, addressed me in the same words as he did when I was restin under the shepherd6s

Nirodha tree on the bank of the Neran.ara $iver? 6Be reeted, thou (oly -ne) Thou hast attained the hihest

bliss and it is time for thee to enter into the final Nirvana)6;#nd when +ara had thus spoken, #nanda, I

answered him and said? 6+ake thyself happy, - wicked one0 the final extinction of the Tathaata shall take

place before lon)<

The venerable #nanda addressed the Blessed -ne and said? <Couchsafe, *ord, to remain with us, - Blessed

-ne I for the ood and the happiness of the reat multitudes, out of pity for the world, for the ood and the ain

of mankindA< Said the Blessed -ne? <&nouh now, #nanda, beseech not the TathaataA<

#nd aain, a second time, the venerable #nanda besouht the Blessed -ne in the same words) (e receivedfrom the Blessed -ne the same reply) #nd aain, the third time, the venerable #nanda besouht the Blessed

-ne to live loner0 and the Blessed -ne said? <(ast thou faith, #nanda@< Said #nanda? <I have, my *ordA<

The Blessed -ne, seein the :uiverin eyelids of #nanda, read the deep rief in the heart of his beloved

disciple, and he asked aain? <(ast thou, indeed, faith, #nanda@< #nd #nanda said? <I have faith, my *ord)<

Then the Blessed -ne continued? <If thou hast faith, #nanda in the wisdom of the Tathaata, why, then,

#nanda, dost thou trouble the Tathaata even until the third time@ (ave I not formerly declared to you that it is

in the very nature of all compound thins that they must be dissolved aain@ We must separate ourselves from

all thins near and dear to us, and must leave them) (ow then, #nanda, can it be possible for me to remain,

since everythin that is born, or brouht into bein, and orani!ed, contains within itself the inherent necessityof dissolution@ (ow, then, can it be possible that this body of mine should not be dissolved@ No such condition

can existA #nd this mortal existence, - #nanda, has been relin:uished, cast away, renounced, re.ected, and

abandoned by the Tathaata)<

#nd the Blessed -ne said to #nanda? <8o now, #nanda, and assemble in the Service (all such of the brethren

as reside in the neihborhood of Cesali)<

Then the Blessed -ne proceeded to the Service (all, and sat down there on the mat spread out for him) #nd

when he was seated, the Blessed -ne addressed the brethren, and said? <- brethren, ye to whom the truth has

been made known, havin thorouhly made yourselves masters of it, practice it, meditate upon it, and spread it

abroad, in order that pure reliion may last lon and be perpetuated, in order that it may continue for the ood

and happiness of the reat multitudes, out of pity for the world, and to the ood and ain of all livin beinsA

Star;a!in and astroloy, forecastin lucky or unfortunate events by sins, pronosticatin ood or evil, all

these are thins forbidden) (e who lets his heart o loose without restraint shall not attain Nirvana0 therefore,

must we hold the heart in check, and retire from worldly excitements and seek tran:uility of mind) &at your



















food to satisfy your huner, and drink to satisfy your thirst) Satisfy the necessities of life like the butterfly that

sips the flower, without destroyin its frarance or its texture) It is throuh not understandin and raspin the

four truths, - brethren, that we have one astray so lon and wandered in this weary path of transmirations,

both you and I, until we have found the truth) Practice the earnest meditations I have tauht you) "ontinue in

the reat strule aainst sin) Walk steadily in the roads of saintship) Be stron in moral powers) *et the orans

of your spiritual sense be :uick) When the seven kinds of wisdom enlihten your mind, you will find the noble,

eihtfold path that leads to Nirvana)

<Behold, - brethren, the final extinction of the Tathaata will take place before lon) I now exhort you, sayin?

#ll component thins must row old and be dissolved aain) Seek ye for that which is permanent, and work out

your salvation with dilience)<

Next? "hunda, The SmithSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next

CHUNDA, THE SMITHT(& Blessed -ne went to Pava) When "hunda, the worker in metals, heard that the Blessed -ne had come to

Pava and was stayin in his mano rove, he came to the Buddha and respectfully invited him and the brethren

to take their meal at his house) #nd "hunda prepared rice;cakes and a dish of dried boar6s meat)

When the Blessed -ne had eaten the food prepared by "hunda, the worker in metals, there fell upon him a dire

sickness, and sharp pain came upon him even unto death) But the Blessed -ne, mindful and self;possessed,

bore it without complaint) #nd the Blessed -ne addressed the venerable #nanda, and said? <"ome, #nanda, let

us o on to usinara)<

-n his way the Blessed -ne rew tired, and he went aside from the road to rest at the foot of a tree, and said?

<'old the robe, I pray thee, #nanda, and spread it out for me) I am weary, #nanda, and must rest awhileA< <Be

it so, *ordA< said the venerable #nanda0 and he spread out the robe folded fourfold) The Blessed -ne seated

himself, and when he was seated he addressed the venerable #nanda, and said? <'etch me some water, I pray

thee, #nanda) I am thirsty, #nanda, and would drink)<

When he had thus spoken, the venerable #nanda said to the Blessed -ne? <But .ust now, *ord, five hundred

carts have one across the brook and have stirred the water0 but a river, - *ord, is not far off) Its water is clear

and pleasant, cool and transparent, and it is easy to et down to it) the Blessed -ne may both drink water and

cool his limbs)<

# second time the Blessed -ne addressed the venerable #nanda, sayin? <'etch me some water, I pray thee,

#nanda, I am thirsty, #nanda, and would drink)<

#nd a second time the venerable #nanda said? <*et us o to the river)<

Then the third time the Blessed -ne addressed the venerable #nanda, and said? <'etch me some water, I pray

thee, #nanda, I am thirsty, #nanda and would drink)< <Be it so, *ordA< said the venerable #nanda in assent to

the Blessed -ne0 and, takin a bowl, he went down to the streamlet) #nd loA the streamlet, which, stirred up by

wheels, had become muddy, when the venerable #nanda came up to it, flowed clear and briht and free from

all turbidity) #nd he thouht? <(ow wonderful, how marvelous is the reat miht and power of the TathaataA<

#nanda brouht the water in the bowl to the *ord, sayin? <*et the Blessed -ne take the bowl) *et the (appy

-ne drink the water) *et the Teacher of men and ods :uench his thirst) Then the Blessed -ne drank of the

water)



















Now, at that time a man of low caste, named Pukkusa, a youn +alla, a disciple of #lara alama, was passin

alon the hih road from usinara to Pava) Pukkusa, the youn +alla, saw the Blessed -ne seated at the foot

of a tree) -n seein him he went up to the place where the Blessed -ne was, and when he had come there, he

saluted the Blessed -ne and took his seat respectfully on one side) Then the Blessed -ne instructed, edified,

and laddened ukkusa, the youn +alla, with reliious discourse)

#roused and laddened by the words of the Blessed -ne, Pukkusa, the youn +alla, addressed a certain man

who happened to pass by, and said? <'etch me, I pray thee, my ood man, two robes of cloth of old, burnished

and ready for wear)<

<Be it so, sirA< said that man in assent to Pukkusa, the youn +alla0 and he brouht two robes of cloth of old,

burnished and ready for wear)

The +alla Pukkusa presented the two robes of cloth of old, burnished and ready for wear, to the Blessed -ne,

sayin? <*ord, these two robes of burnished cloth of old are ready for wear) +ay the Blessed -ne show me

favor and accept them at my handsA<

The Blessed -ne said? <Pukkusa, robe me in one, and #nanda in the other one)< #nd the Tathaata6s body

appeared shinin like a flame, and he was beautiful above all expression)

The venerable #nanda said to the Blessed -ne? <(ow wonderful a thin is it, *ord, and how marvelous, that

the color of the skin of the Blessed -ne should be so clear, so exceedinly brihtA When I placed this robe of

burnished cloth of old on the body of the Blessed -ne, loA it seemed as if it had lost its splendorA<

The Blessed -ne said? <There are two occasions on which a Tathaata6s appearance becomes clear and

exceedin briht) In the niht, #nanda, in which a Tathaata attains to the supreme and perfect insiht, and in

the niht in which he passes finally away in that utter passin away which leaves nothin whatever of his

earthly existence to remain)

#nd the Blessed -ne addressed the venerable #nanda, and said? <Now it may happen, #nanda, that some oneshould stir up remorse in "hunda, the smith, by sayin? 6It is evil to thee, "hunda, and loss to thee, that the

Tathaata died, havin eaten his last meal from thy provision)6 #ny such remorse, #nanda, in "hunda, the

smith, should be checked by sayin? 6It is ood to thee, "hunda, and ain to thee, that the Tathaata died,

havin eaten his last meal from thy provision) 'rom the very mouth of the Blessed -ne, - "hunda, have I

heard, from his own mouth have I received this sayin, <These two offerins of food are of e:ual fruit and of

much reater profit than any other? the offerins of food which a Tathaata accepts when he has attained

perfect enlihtenment and when he passes away by the utter passin away in which nothin whatever of his

earthly existence remains behind;these two offerins of food are of e:ual fruit and of e:ual profit, and of much

reater fruit and much reater profit than any other) There has been laid up by "hunda, the smith, a karma

redoundin to lenth of life, redoundin to ood birth, redoundin to ood fortune, redoundin to ood fame,

redoundin to the inheritance of heaven and of reat power)<6 In this way, #nanda, should be checked anyremorse in "hunda, the smith)<

Then the Blessed -ne, perceivin that death was near, uttered these words? <(e who ives away shall have real

ain) (e who subdues himself shall be free, he shall cease to be a slave of passions) The rihteous man casts

off evil0 and by rootin out lust, bitterness, and illusion, do we reach Nirvana)<


ENTERING INTO NIRVANA

T(&N the +allas, with their youn men and maidens and their wives, bein rieved, and sad, and afflicted at


















heart, went to the 9pavattana, the sala rove of the +allas, and wanted to see the Blessed -ne, in order to

partake of the bliss that devolves upon those who are in the presence of the (oly -ne)

The Blessed -ne addressed them and said? <Seekin the way, ye must exert yourselves and strive with

dilience) It is not enouh to have seen me Walk as I have commanded you0 free yourselves from the tanled

net of sorrow) Walk in the path with steadfast aim) # sick man may be cured by the healin power of medicine

and will be rid of all his ailments without beholdin the physician) (e who does not do what I command sees

me in vain) This brins no profit0 while he who lives far off from where I am and yet walks rihteously is ever

near me) # man may dwell beside me, and yet, bein disobedient, be far away from me) et he who obeys the

%harma will always en.oy the bliss of the Tathaata6s presence)<

Then the mendicant Subhadda went to the sala rove of the +allas and said to the venerable #nanda? <I have

heard from fellow mendicants of mine, who were deep stricken in years and teachers of reat experience?

6Sometimes and full seldom do Tathaatas appear in the world, the holy Buddhas)6 Now it is said that today in

the last watch of the niht, the final passin away of the samana 8otama will take place) +y mind is full of

uncertainty, yet have I faith in the samana 8otama and trust he will be able so to present the truth that I may

become rid of my doubts) - that I miht be allowed to see the samana 8otamaA<

When he had thus spoken the venerable #nanda said to the mendicant Subhadda? <&nouhA friend Subhadda)Trouble not the Tathaata) The Blessed -ne is weary)< Now the Blessed -ne overheard this conversation of

the venerable #nanda with the mendicant Subhadda) #nd the Blessed -ne called the venerable #nanda, and

said? <#nandaA %o not keep out Subhadda) Subhadda may be allowed to see the Tathaata) Whatever Subhadda

will ask of me, he will ask from a desire for knowlede, and not to annoy me, and whatever I may say in

answer to his :uestions, that he will :uickly understand)<

Then the venerable #nanda said? <Step in, friend Subhadda0 for the Blessed -ne ives thee leave)<

When the Blessed -ne had instructed Subhadda, and aroused and laddened him with words of wisdom and

comfort, Subhadda said to the Blessed -ne? <8lorious *ord, lorious *ordA +ost excellent are the words of thy

mouth, most excellentA They set up that which has been overturned, they reveal that which has been hidden)They point out the riht road to the wanderer who has one astray) They brin a lamp into the darkness so that

those who have eyes to see can see) Thus, *ord, the truth has been made known to me by the Blessed -ne and I

take my refue in the Blessed -ne, in the Truth, and in the -rder) +ay the Blessed -ne accept me as a disciple

and true believer, from this day forth as lon as life endures)<

#nd Subhadda, the mendicant, said to the venerable #nanda? <8reat is thy ain, friend #nanda, reat is thy

ood fortune, that for so many years thou hast been sprinkled with the sprinklin of discipleship in this

brotherhood at the hands of the +aster himselfA<

Now the Blessed -ne addressed the venerable #nanda, and said? <It may be, #nanda, that in some of you the

thouht may arise The word of the +aster is ended, we have no teacher moreA6 But it is not thus, #nanda, thatyou should reard it) It is true that no more shall I receive a body, for all future sorrow has now forever passed

away) But thouh this body will be dissolved, the Tathaata remains) The truth and the rules of the order which

I have set forth and laid down for you all, let them, after I am one, be a teacher unto you)When I am one,

#nanda, let the order, if it should so wish, abolish all the lesser and minor precepts)<

Then the Blessed -ne addressed the brethren, and said? <There may be some doubt or misivin in the mind of

a brother as to the Buddha, or the truth, or the path) %o not have to reproach yourselves afterwards with the

thouht, 6We did not in:uire of the Blessed -ne when we were face to face with him)6 Therefore in:uire now, -

brethren, in:uire freely)<

The brethren remained silent) Then the venerable #nanda said to the Blessed -ne? <Cerily, I believe that in this

whole assembly of the brethren there is not one brother who has any doubt or misivin as to the Buddha, or

the truth, or the pathA<

Said the Blessed -ne? <It is out of the fullness of faith that thou hast spoken, #nandaA But #nanda, the



Tathaata knows for certain that in this whole assembly of the brethren there is not one brother who has any

doubt or misivin as to the Buddha, or the truth, or the pathA 'or even the most backward, #nanda, of all these

brethren has become converted, and is assured of final salvation)<

Then the Blessed -ne addressed the brethren and said? <If ye now know the %harma the cause of all sufferin,

and the path of salvation, - disciples, will ye then say? 6We respect the +aster, and out of reverence for the

+aster do we thus speak@6< The brethren replied? <That we shall not, - *ord)<

#nd the (oly -ne continued? <-f those beins who live in inorance, shut up and confined, as it were, in an

e, I have first broken the e;shell of inorance and alone in the universe obtained the most exalted,

universal Buddhahood) Thus, - disciples, I am the eldest, the noblest of beins)

<But what ye speak, - disciples, is it not even that which ye have yourselves known, yourselves seen,

yourselves reali!ed@< #nanda and the brethren said? <It is, - *ord)<

-nce more the Blessed -ne bean to speak? <Behold now, brethren, said he, I exhort you, sayin, 6%ecay is

inherent in all component thins, but the truth will remain forever Work out your salvation with dilienceA<

This was the last word of the Tathaata) Then the Tathaata fell into a deep meditation, and havin passed

throuh the four .hanas, entered Nirvana)

When the Blessed -ne entered Nirvana there arose, at his passin out of existence, a mihty earth:uake,

terrible and awe;inspirin? and the thunders of heaven burst forth, and of those of the brethren who were not

yet free from passions some stretched out their arms and wept, and some fell headlon on the round, in

anuish at the thouht? <Too soon has the Blessed -ne diedA Too soon has the (appy -ne passed away from

existenceA Too soon has the *iht of the world one outA<

Then the venerable #nuruddha exhorted the brethren and said? <&nouh, my brethrenA Weep not, neither

lamentA (as not the Blessed -ne formerly declared this to us, that it is in the very nature of all thins near and

dear unto us, that we must separate from them and leave them, since everythin that is born, brouht into

bein, and orani!ed, contains within itself the inherent necessity of dissolution@ (ow then can it be possiblethat the body of the Tathaata should not be dissolved@ No such condition can existA Those who are free from

passion will bear the loss, calm and self;possessed, mindful of the truth he has tauht us)<

The venerable #nuruddha and the venerable #nanda spent the rest of the niht in reliious discourse) Then the

venerable #nuruddha said to the venerable #nanda? <8o now, brother #nanda, and inform the +allas of

usinara sayin, 6The Blessed -ne has passed away? do, then, whatsoever seemeth fitA6< #nd when the +allas

had heard this sayin they were rieved, and sad, and afflicted at heart)

Then the +allas of usinara ave orders to their attendants, sayin, <8ather toether perfumes and arlands,

and all the music in usinaraA< #nd the +allas of usinara took the perfumes and arlands, and all the musical

instruments, and five hundred arments, and went to the sala rove where the body of the Blessed -ne lay)

There they passed the day in payin honor and reverence to the remains of the Blessed -ne, with hymns, and

music, and with arlands and perfumes, and in makin canopies of their arments, and preparin decorative

wreaths to han thereon) #nd they burned the remains of the Blessed -ne as they would do to the body of a

kin of kins)

When the funeral pyre was lit, the sun and moon withdrew their shinin, the peaceful streams on every side

were torrent;swollen, the earth :uaked, and the sturdy forests shook like aspen leaves, whilst flowers and

leaves fell untimely to the round, like scattered rain, so that all usinara became strewn knee;deep with

mandara flowers rainin down from heaven)

When the burnin ceremonies were over, %evaputta said to the multitudes that were assembled round the pyre?

<Behold, - brethren, the earthly remains of the Blessed -ne have been dissolved, but the truth which he has

tauht us lives in our minds and cleanses us from all error) *et us, then, o out into the world, as compassionate

and merciful as our reat master, and preach to all livin beins the four noble truths and the eihtfold path of

rihteousness, so that all mankind may attain to a final salvation, takin refue in the Buddha, the %harma, and



the Sanha)<

When the Blessed -ne had entered into Nirvana and the +allas had burned the body with such ceremonies as

would indicate that he was the reat kin of kins, ambassadors came from all the empires that at the time had

embraced his doctrine, to claim a share of the relics0 and the relics were divided into eiht parts and eiht

daobas were erected for their preservation) -ne daoba was erected by the +allas, and seven others by the

seven kins of those countries whose people had taken refue in the Buddha)

Next? "onclusionSacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous

CONCLUSION

W(&N the Blessed -ne had passed away into Nirvana, the disciples came toether and consulted what to do in

order to keep the %harma pure and uncorrupted by heresies)

9pali rose, sayin? <-ur reat +aster used to say to the brethren? 6- bhikkhusA after my final entrance into

Nirvana you must reverence and obey the law) $eard the law as your master) The law is like unto a liht that

shines in the darkness, pointin out the way0 it is also like unto a precious .ewel to ain which you must shun

no trouble, and be ready to brin any sacrifice0 even, should it be needed, your own lives) -bey the %harma

which I have revealed to you0 follow it carefully and if as in no way different from myself)6 Such were the

words of the Blessed -ne) The law, accordinly, which the Buddha has left us as a precious inheritance has

now become the visible body of the Tathaata) *et us, therefore, revere it and keep it sacred) 'or what is the

use of erectin daobas for relics, if we nelect the spirit of the +aster6s teachins@<

Then #nuruddha arose and said? <*et us bear in mind, - brethren, that 8otama Siddhattha has revealed thetruth to us) (e was the (oly -ne and the Perfect -ne and the Blessed -ne, because the eternal truth had taken

abode in him) The Tathaata tauht us that the truth existed before he was born into this world, and will exist

after he has entered into Nirvana) The Tathaata said? 6The truth is omnipresent and eternal, endowed with

excellencies innumerable, above all human nature, and ineffable in its holiness)6

<Now let us bear in mind that not this or that law which is revealed to us in the %hanna is the Buddha, but the

entire truth, the truth which is eternal, omnipresent, immutable, and most excellent) +any reulations of the

Sanha are temporary0 they were prescribed because they suited the occasion and were needed for some

transient emerency) The truth, however, is not temporary) The truth is not arbitrary nor a matter of opinion,

but can be investiated, and he who earnestly searches for the truth will find it) The truth is hidden to the blind,

but he who has the mental eye sees the truth) The truth is Buddha6s essence, and the truth will remain theultimate standard) *et us, then, revere the truth0 let us in:uire into the truth and state it, and let us obey the

truth) 'or the truth is Buddha our +aster, our Teacher)<

#nd assapa rose and said? <Truly thou hast spoken well, - brother #nuruddha) Neither is there any conflict

of opinion on the meanin of our reliion) 'or the Blessed -ne possesses three personalities and each of them

is of e:ual importance to us) There is the %harma aya) There is the Nirmana aya) There is the Sambhoa

aya) Buddha is the all;excellent truth, eternal, omnipresent, and immutable? this is the Sambhoa aya which

is in a state of perfect bliss) Buddha is the all;lovin teacher assumin the shape of the beins whom he

teaches? this is the Nirmana aya, his apparitional body) Buddha is the all;blessed dispensation of reliion0 he

is the spirit of the Sanha and the meanin of the commands left us in his sacred word, the %harma? this is the

%harma aya, the body of the most excellent law)

<If Buddha had not appeared to us as 8otama Sakyamuni, how could we have the sacred traditions of his

doctrine@ #nd if the enerations to come did not have the sacred traditions preserved in the Sanha, how could

they know anythin of the reat Sakyamuni@ #nd neither we nor others would know anythin about the most

















excellent truth which is eternal, omnipresent, and immutable) *et us then keep sacred and revere the traditions0

let us keep sacred the memory of 8otama Sakyamuni, so that people may find the truth)<

Then the brethren decided to convene a synod to lay down the doctrines of the Blessed -ne, to collate the

sacred writins, and to establish a canon which should serve as a source of instruction for future enerations)

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