Buddhist Suttas, Vol. XI of The Sacred Books of the East

That's French for "the ancient system," as in the ancient system of feudal privileges and the exercise of autocratic power over the peasants. The ancien regime never goes away, like vampires and dinosaur bones they are always hidden in the earth, exercising a mysterious influence. It is not paranoia to believe that the elites scheme against the common man. Inform yourself about their schemes here.

Re: Buddhist Suttas, Vol. XI of The Sacred Books of the East

Postby admin » Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:54 am

Part 1 of 3

TEVIGGA-SUTTANTA.

INTRODUCTION TO THE TEVIGGA SUTTA.


THIS is the twelfth and last Sutta in the first division of the Dîgha Nikâya, which is called the Sîlakkhandha Vaggo, because the whole of its twelve Dialogues deal, from one point of view or another, with Sîla, or Right Conduct.

There is another Sutta sometimes called by the same name, No. 21 in the Middle Fifty of the Magghima Nikâya: but it has nothing, except the name, in common with the present. It is called Tevigga Sutta merely because Gotama is there described by the complimentary title of Tevigga, 'Wise in the Vedas;' and its full name is the Tevigga-vakkhagotta-sutta[1].

I have made the present translation from a text constituted from three MSS.,--my own MS. of the Dîgha Nikâya, referred to as D; the Turnour MS. of the same in the Indian Office, referred to as T; both in Sinhalese characters: and the Phayre MS. in the same place, in Burmese characters, referred to as P.

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In this book we have Right Conduct used as a sort of argumentum ad hominem for the conversion of two earnest young Brâhmans.

[1. It may be noted, in passing, that the substance of it recurs as the Vakhhagotta Samyutta in the Samyutta Nikâya.]



They ask which is the true path to a state of union (in the next birth) with God. After arguing, in a kind of Socratic dialogue, that on their own showing, on the basis of facts they themselves admitted, the Brâhmans could have no real knowledge of their God, Gotama maintains that union with a God whom they admitted to be pure and holy must be unattainable by men impure and sinful and self-righteous, however great their knowledge of the Vedas. And he then lays down, not without occasional beauty of language, that system of Right Conduct, which must be the only direct way to a real union with God.

One would think perhaps that such a Sutta might be adapted, without very great difficulty, for use as a missionary tract, so closely does it remind us of the argument of many a sermon on the text, 'Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven!' And it is true that the Teviggâ--the men of special knowledge in the three Vedas--correspond exactly in most essential particulars with the Scribes and Pharisees of the New Testament. They were the official preservers by repeating, as the Scribes were by copying, the sacred books; and they were the recognised interpreters, and the sole custodians of the traditional interpretation--which too often explained away the real meaning--of those books. It follows that as the law in both cases was included in the sacred books, it was they who, in both cases, were the real lawgivers, and practically the only lawyers. And as almost all learning was confined to, or in close connection with the sacred books, the Teviggâ were the chief Pandits, as the Scribes were the 'Doctors of the Law.' Like the Pharisees, too, the Brâhmans laid claim to peculiar sanctity; and many of them in the pride of their education, their birth, and their wealth, looked down with self-righteous scorn on the masses of the people. And while, on the other hand, the Brâhmans further resembled the Scribes and Pharisees in that many of them were justly deserving of the respect in which they were held; it is only the undeserving who, in both cases, are intended to be condemned.

But whatever interpretation of the 'kingdom of heaven' the reader may adopt, it must be very different from anything the Sutta can mean by 'a state of union with Brahmâ.' It is not easy to say what opinion is really imputed to the young Brâhmans before their conversion. It is probably meant that they were seeking a way by which their Self should become identified, after death, with Brâhman; a way by which they could escape from the immortality of transmigration, from existence altogether as separate individuals[1]. And in holding out a hope of union with Brahmâ as a result of the practice of universal love[2], the Buddha is most probably intended to mean 'a union with Brahmâ' in the Buddhist sense--that is to say, a temporary companionship as a separate being with the Buddhist Brahmâ, to be enjoyed by a new individual not consciously identical with its predecessor. It is just possible that the argumentum ad hominem should be extended to this part of the Sutta; and that the statement in III, 1 should be taken to mean, 'This (universal love) is the only way to that kind of union with your own Brahmâ which you desire.' But such a yielding to heretical opinion at the close of his own exposition of the truth would scarcely be imputed to a Buddha.

Just as during the time of the early Christians, in the way which Archbishop Trench has so instructively pointed out, it was not men only who received a new birth and a new baptism, but old words and terms of common use were also infused with a new spirit; so the Indian reformer, while clothing his new system in the current phraseology, infused a different and in many cases a higher meaning into the old expressions.

[1. Compare Professor Max Müller's Preface to the Sacred Books of the East, vol. i. p. xxx.

2. See Chapter III, งง 1, 2.]


Thus, for instance, Tevigga (Sanskrit Traividya) meant either knowledge of the Three Vedas, or as an adjective, a Brâhman possessed of that knowledge; and then, as a noun of multitude, such an assembly of those Brâhmans as is described in the first sections of our Sutta. As there were many Brâhmans who had not that knowledge, the word naturally came to imply a person worthy of the respect due to special learning, and was used as a complimentary title, not very different from our Doctor. It is preserved as an epithet of Arahats in the Buddhist writings, but as meaning one possessed of the knowledge of a fundamental threefold doctrine of Buddhism, the doctrine of the impermanency, the inherent pain, and the absence of any abiding principle (any Self) in the confections or component things[1]. That is to say, the knowledge of the Vedas was replaced by a knowledge of the real character of the deceptive and evanescent phenomena by which we are encircled, and of which we form a part.

So also with regard to Brahmâ. The name was retained, but the idea was entirely changed. The course of religious belief had passed among the Indian section of the Aryan tribes through the usual stages of animism and polytheism to a kind of pantheism peculiar to India, in which Brahman was held to be a first cause, the highest self, emotionless, infinite, absolute. As the Buddhist system was constructed without any use of the previous idea of a separate soul, or self, or ghost, or spirit, supposed to exist inside the human body, this woven chain of previous speculation had as little importance for it as theological discussions have for positivism. But Buddhism fell into what to the positivist would be the unpardonable sin--perhaps inevitable at the time and place of its youth--of continuing to express a belief in the external spirits, big and little, of the then Hindu pantheon.

[1. See Kulla Vagga VI, 6, 2, = Gâtaka, vol. i. p. 217; Mahâvamsa, p. 79; Dîpavamsa XV, 80 (where the Arahats are women); and on 'confections' below, in the Introduction to the 'Book of the Great King of Glory.']


They were preserved very much in the previous order of precedence, and were all--except Mâra, the Evil One, and his personal following, and a few others--supposed to be passably good Buddhists. They were not feared any more; they were patronized as a kind of fairies, usually beneficent, though always more or less foolish and ignorant. They were of course not worshipped any more, for they were much less worthy of reverence than any wise and good man. And they were not eternal,--all of them, even the very best or highest, being liable, like all things and all other creatures, to dissolution. If they had behaved well they were then reborn under happy outward conditions, and might even look forward to being some day born as men, so that they could attain to the supreme goal of the Buddhist faith, to that bliss which passeth not away,--the Nirvâna of a perfect life in Arahatship.

The duty of a Buddhist who had entered the Noble Path towards these light and airy shapes--for to such vain things had the great gods fallen--was the same as his duty towards every fellow creature; pity for his ignorance, sympathy with his weakness, equanimity (the absence of fear or malice, or the sense of any differing or opposing interest), and the constant feeling of a deep and lasting love, all pervading, grown great, and beyond measure.

No exception was made in the case of Brahmâ. He, like every other creature that had life, was evanescent, was bound by the chain of existence, the result of ignorance, and could only find salvation by walking along the Noble Eightfold Path. It must be remembered that the Brahmâ of modern times, the God of the ardent theism of some of the best of the later Hindus, had not then come into existence: that conception was one effect of the influence of Mohammadan and Christian thought upon Hindu minds. And it would be useless to conjecture how the Buddhist theory might have been modified by contact with that ideal.

While regarded however as essentially of the same class as all other external spirits, Brahmâ was still regarded as a superior spirit, as a very devout Buddhist, and as a kind of king among the angels. The Brahmâ of this world system, who was living in Gotama's time, and who is living now, acquired his present exalted position from his virtue in a previous birth as a Bhikkhu named Sahaka in the time when Kassapa Buddha's religion flourished upon earth[1]. According to the author of the Gâtaka commentary, he assisted at the future Buddha's birth[2]; and twice afterwards he rendered service to the Bodisat just before the great conflict with Mâra[3]. And when after the victory the Blessed One hesitated whether it would be of any use to tell to others the truth he had found, it was Brahmâ who appeared and besought him to proclaim the truth[4] . Brahmâ Sahampati was the first to give utterance to the universal sorrow which followed on the death of the Buddha[5]; and at a critical period in the later history of the Buddhist church he is represented to have descended from heaven, and to have appeared to the Thera Sâlha, to confirm his wavering faith[6].

These instances will show the high character ascribed to the Brahmâ of the world system in which we live; and in each of the infinite world systems which are scattered through space there is supposed to be a like finite, temporary, virtuous Brahmâ sitting as king over the most exalted of the angel hosts.

It must be evident that it follows, without the possibility of question, that the early Buddhists cannot with any accuracy be described as 'monotheists,' and it is much to be regretted that even cultured and scholarly writers still speak of them as such, and can suggest that the independent monotheism of the later Jews can be paralleled by a supposed monotheism among the Buddhists[7].

[1. Teste a comment quoted by Childers, Dict. p. 227.

2. 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' p. 66.

3. Ibid. pp. 92, 97.

4. Ibid. p. 111. Related already in the Mahâ Vagga I, 2; 6, 7.

5. Book of the Great Decease, Chapter VI, ง 4.

6. 'Mahâvamsa, p. 17.

7 'Their (the Jews') monotheism was perhaps independently evolved; but the Buddhists at least showed a contemporary monotheism.' Mr. Huth, in 'Life &c. of Buckle,' p. 238.]


And even if the idea of Brahmâ were at all the same as the idea of God, a union with this Brahmâ would mean a merely temporary life as an angel in the Brahmâ heaven--such a life as is represented below to have been the result of the noble life and noble thoughts of the Great King of Glory. But this was not the supreme goal of the Buddhist faith; and the angel, though the same person as the king, from the Buddhist point of view (as resulting from, and carrying on, the same Karma), would be a different person from the king, according to the Christian point of view; for there is no mention of the passage of a soul from the earth to heaven, no conscious identity, no continuing memory.

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We may draw, from the above, two conclusions. Firstly, that the use of a word in Sanskrit authors is but very little guide to the meaning of the corresponding word in the Pâli Buddhist scriptures whenever the word has reference to an idea of a religious character.

And, secondly, that very little reliance can be placed, without careful investigation, on a resemblance--however close at first sight-between a passage in the Pâli Pitakas and a passage in the New Testament.

It is true that many passages in these two literatures can be easily shown to have a similar tendency. But when some writers on the basis of such similarities proceed to argue that there must have been some historical connection between the two, and that the New Testament, as the later, must be the borrower, I venture to think that they are wrong. There does not seem to me to be the slightest evidence of any historical connection between them; and whenever the resemblance is a real one--and it often turns out to be really least when it first seems to be greatest, and really greatest when it first seems least--it is due, not to any borrowing on the one side or on the other, but solely to the similarity of the conditions under which the two movements grew.

This does not of course apply to the later literature of the two religions; and it ought not to detract from the very great value and interest of the parallels which may be adduced from the earlier books. If we wish to understand what it was that gave such life and force to the stupendous movement which is called Buddhism, we cannot refrain from comparing it--not only in the points in which it agrees with it, but also in the points in which it differs from it--with our own faith. I trust I have not been wrong in making use occasionally of this method, though the absence of any historical connection between the New Testament and the Pâli Pitakas has always seemed to me so clear, that it would be unnecessary to mention it. But when a reviewer who has been kind enough to appreciate, I am afraid too highly, what he calls my 'service in giving, for the first time, a thoroughly human, acceptable, and coherent' account of the 'life of Buddha,' and of the 'simple groundwork of his religion' has gone on to conclude that the parallels I had thus adduced are 'an unanswerable indication of the obligations of the New Testament to Buddhism,' I must ask to be allowed to enter a protest against an inference which seems to me to be against the rules of sound historical criticism.
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Re: Buddhist Suttas, Vol. XI of The Sacred Books of the East

Postby admin » Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:55 am

Part 2 of 3

ON KNOWLEDGE OF THE VEDAS.

TEVIGGA-SUTTA.

CHAPTER I.


1. This have I heard. At one time when the Blessed One was journeying through Kosala with a great company of the brethren, with about five hundred brethren, he came to the Brâhman village in Kosala which is called Manasâkata. And there at Manasâkata the Blessed One stayed in the mango grove, on the bank of the river Akiravatî, to the south of Manasâkata [1].

2. Now at that time many very distinguished and wealthy Brâhmans were staying at Manasâkata--to wit, Kankî the Brâhman, Târukkha the Brâhman, Pokkharasâti the Brâhman, Gânussoni the Brâhman, Todeyya the Brâhman, and other very distinguished and wealthy Brâhmans[2].

[1. Burnouf, in a long note at 'Lotus,' &c., p. 491, already attempted to show that the river Akiravatî is the same as the modern Rapti, which he supposed to be a corruption of the latter part of the longer name. Hiouen Thsang mentions a river A-chi-lo-fa-ti, which is doubtless the same. It is evidently the river on which stood the town of Sâvatthi, and near to which lay the Getavana monastery (see 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' p. 331); and it must therefore, in accordance with Burnouf's conjecture, be the Rapti, which is the Sanskrit Irâvati. The Phayre Burmese MS. has almost always Akîravatî.

2 Buddhaghosa says that

Kankî lived at Opasâda,
Târukkha lived at Ikkhagala, {footnote p. 167}
Pokkharasâdi (sic MS.) lived at Ukkattha,
Gânussoni lived at Sâvatthi, and
Todeyya lived at Tudigâma.

There is some difference in the MSS. as to the spelling of these names: T. reads Kankî; P. T. and D. Pokkharasâti (Sanskrit Paushkarasâdi); P. Gânuyoni, T. Gânusoni, D. Gânusoni; P. Toreyya, and Burnouf Nodeyya (which is possibly merely a misreading). Gânusoni was converted by the Bhaya-bherava Sutta, and I think it very probable that the other names are also those of subsequent converts.

Buddhaghosa adds that because Manasâkata was a pleasant place the Brâhmans had built huts there on the bank of the river and fenced them in, and used to go and stay there from time to time to repeat their mantras.]


3. Now a conversation sprung up between Vâsettha and Bhâradvâga, when they were taking exercise (after their bath) and walking up and down in thoughtful mood, as to which was the true path, and which the false[1].

4. The young Brâhman Vâsettha spake thus:

'This is the straight path, this the direct way which leads him, who acts according to it, into a state of union with Brahmâ[2]--I mean that which has been announced by the Brâhman Pokkarasâti.'

5. The young Brâhman Bhâradvâga spake thus:

[1. Ganghâvihâram anukankamantânam anuvikarantânam. On the first word see Gâtaka II, 2 7 2 (and comp. I 1, 2 40). Kankamati is to walk up and down thinking. I have added 'after their bath' from Buddhaghosa, who says that this must be understood to have taken place when, after learning by heart and repeating all day, they went down in the evening to the river-side to bathe, and then walked up and down on the sand.

2. Brahma-sahavyatâya. The first part of the compound is masculine (see below, ง 12), but the Buddhists probably included under the name, when put into the mouth of Brâhmans, all that the Brahmans included under both Brahmâ and Brâhman. The Buddhist archangel or god Brahmâ is different from both, being part of an entirely different system of thought.]


'This is the straight path, this the direct way which leads him, who acts according to it, into a state of union with Brahmâ--I mean that which has been announced by the Brâhman Târukkha.'

6. But neither was the young Brâhman Vâsettha able to convince the young Brâhman Bhâradvâga, nor was the young Brâhman Bhâradvâga able to convince the young Brâhman Vâsettha.

7. Then the young Brâhman Vâsettha said to the young Brâhman Bhâradvâga:

'That Samana Gotama, Bhâradvâga, of the Sakya clan, who left the Sakya tribe to adopt the religious life, is now staying at Manasâkata, in the mango grove, on the bank of the river Akiravatî, to the south of Manasâkata. Now regarding that venerable Gotama, such is the high reputation that has been noised abroad, that he is said to be "a fully enlightened one, blessed and worthy, abounding in wisdom and goodness, happy, with knowledge of the world, unsurpassed as a guide to erring mortals, a teacher of gods and men, a blessed Buddha[1]." Come, then, Bhâradvâga, let us go to the place where the Samana Gotama is; and when we have come there, let us ask the Samana Gotama touching this matter. What the Samana Gotama shall declare unto us, that let us bear in mind.'

'Very well, my friend!' said the young Brâhman Bhâradvâga, in assent, to the young Brâhman Vâsettha.

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8. Then the young Brâhman Vâsettha and the young Brâhman Bhâradvâga went on to the place where the Blessed One was.

[1. See below, ง 46.]


And when they had come there, they exchanged with the Blessed One the greetings and compliments of friendship and civility, and sat down beside him.

And while they were thus seated the young Brâhman Vâsettha said to the Blessed One:

'As we, Gotama, were taking exercise and walking up and down, there sprung up a conversation between us on which was the true path and which the false. I said thus:

'"This is the straight path, this the direct way which leads him, who acts according to it, into a state of union with Brahmâ--I mean that which has been announced by the Brâhman Pokkarasâti."

'Bhâradvâga said thus:

'"This is the straight path, this the direct way which leads him, who acts according to it, into a state of union with Brahmâ--I mean that which has been announced by the Brâhman Târukkha."

'Regarding this matter, Gotama, there is a strife, a dispute, a difference of opinion between us.'

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9. 'So you say, Vâsettha, that you said thus:

'"This is the straight path, this the direct way which leads him, who acts according to it, into a state of union with Brahmâ--I mean that which has been announced by the Brâhman Pokkarasâti."

'While Bhâradvâga said thus:

'"This is the straight path, this the direct way which leads him, who acts according to it, into a state of union with Brahmâ--I mean that which has been announced by the Brâhman Târukkha."

'Wherein, then, O Vâsettha, is there a strife, a dispute, a difference of opinion between you[1]?'

10. 'Concerning the true path and the false, Gotama. Various Brâhmans, Gotama, teach various paths--the Addhariya Brâhmans, the Tittiriya Brâhmans, the Khandoka Brâhmans, the Khandava Brâhmans, the Brahmakariya Brâhmans[2]. Are all those saving paths? Are they all paths which will lead him, who acts according to them, into a state of union with Brahmâ?

'Just, Gotama, as near a village or a town there are many and various paths[3], yet they all meet together in the village--just in that way are all the various paths taught by various Brâhmans-the Addhariya Brâhmans, the Tittiriya Brâhmans, the Khandoka Brâhmans, the Khandava Brâhmans, the Brahmakariya Brâhmans. Are all these saving paths? Are they all paths which will lead him, who acts according to them, into a state of union with Brahmâ?'

11. 'Do you say that they all lead aright, Vâsettha

'I say so, Gotama.'

'Do you really say that they all lead aright, Vâsettha?'

'So I say, Gotama.'

[1. This is either mildly sarcastic--as much as to say, 'that is six to one, and half a dozen to the other'--or is intended to lead on Vâsettha to confess still more directly the fact that the different theologians held inconsistent opinions.

2. P. here Atthariyâ, but below Addhariyâ (Sans. Adhvaryu); D. Titittiriyâ, T. Tattiriyâ, P. apparently Titthiriyâ (Sans. Taittirîya); D. Khandâva, T. P. omit (? Sans. Khândasa); all three MSS. Khandoka (Sans. Khandoga); p. Bavhadigâ here and below Kavhadigâ for Brahmakariyâ (? Sans. Brahmakârî). See 'Lotus,' p. 493.

3. Maggâni, which is noteworthy as a curious change of gender.]


12. 'But then, Vâsettha, is there a single one of the Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas who has ever seen Brahmâ face to face?'

'No, indeed, Gotama!'

'But is there then, Vâsettha, a single one of the teachers of the Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas who has seen Brahmâ face to face?'

'No, indeed, Gotama!'

'But is there then, Vâsettha, a single one of the pupils of the teachers of the Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas who has seen Brahmâ face to face?'

'No, indeed, Gotama!'

'But is there then, Vâsettha, a single one of the Brâhmans up to the seventh generation who has seen Brahmâ face to face?'

'No, indeed, Gotama!'

13. 'Well then, Vâsettha, those ancient Rishis of the Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas, the authors of the verses, the utterers of the verses, whose ancient form of words so chaunted, uttered, or composed, the Brâhmans of to-day chaunt over again or repeat; intoning or reciting exactly as has been intoned or recited--to wit, Atthaka, Vâmaka, Vâmadeva, Vessâmitta, Yamataggi, Angirasa, Bhâradvâga, Vâsettha, Kassapa, and Bhagu[1]--did even they speak thus, saying: "We know it, we have seen it, where Brahmâ is, whence Brahmâ is, whither Brahmâ is?"'

'Not so, Gotama!'

[1. See Mahâ Vagga VI, 35, 2.]


14. 'Then you say, Vâsettha [that not one of the Brâhmans, or of their teachers, or of their pupils, even up to the seventh generation, has ever seen Brahmâ face to face. And that even the Rishis of old, the authors and utterers of the verses, of the ancient form of words which the Brâhmans of to-day so carefully intone and recite precisely as they have been handed down--even they did not pretend to know or to have seen where or whence or whither Brahmâ is][1]. So that the Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas have forsooth said thus: "What we know not, what we have not seen, to a state of union with that we can show the way, and can say: 'This is the straight path, this is the direct way which leads him, who acts according to it, into a state of union with Brahmâ!'"

'Now what think you, Vâsettha? Does it not follow, this being so, that the talk of the Brâhmans, versed though they be in the Three Vedas, is foolish talk?'

'In sooth, Gotama, that being so, it follows that the talk of the Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas is foolish talk!'

15. 'Verily, Vâsettha, that Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas should be able to show the way to a state of union with that which they do not know, neither have seen--such a condition of things has no existence!

[1. In the text งง 12, 13 are repeated word for word.

2. Andhavenî paramparam samsattâ. The Phayre MS. has replaced venî by pavenî, after the constant custom of the Burmese MSS. to improve away unusual or difficult expressions. Buddhaghosa explains andhaveni by andhapaveni, and tells a tale of a wicked wight, who meeting a company of blind men, told them of a certain village wherein plenty of good food was to be had. When they besought him for hire to lead them there, be took the money, made one blind man catch hold of his stick, the next of that one, and so on, and then led them on till they came to a wilderness. There he deserted them, and they all--still {footnote p. 174} holding each the other, and vainly, and with tears, seeking both their guide and the path--came to a miserable end!]


'Just, Vâsettha, as when a string of blind men are clinging one to the other[2], neither can the foremost see, nor can the middle one see, nor can the hindmost see--just even so, methinks, Vâsettha, is the talk of the Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas but blind talk: the first sees not, the middle one sees not, nor can the latest see. The talk then of these Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas turns out to be ridiculous, mere words, a vain and empty thing!'

------------------------

16. 'Now what think you, Vâsettha? Can the Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas--like other, ordinary, folk--see the sun and the moon as they pray to, and praise, and worship them, turning round with clasped hands towards the place whence they rise and where they set?'

'Certainly, Gotama, they [can][1].'

17. 'Now what think you, Vâsettha? The Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas, who can very well--like other, ordinary, folk--see the sun and the moon as they pray to, and praise, and worship them, turning round with clasped hands to the place whence they rise and where they set--are those Brâhmans, versed in the Three Vedas, able to point out the way to a state of union with the sun or the moon, saying: "This is the straight path, this the direct way which leads him, who acts according to it, to a state of union with the sun or the moon?"'

'Certainly not, Gotama!'

[1. The words of the question are repeated in the text in this and the following answers. It must be remembered, for these sections, that the sun and moon were Gods just as much as Brahmâ.]


18. 'So you say, Vâsettha, that the Brâhmans [are not able to point out the way to union with that which they have seen], and you further say that [neither any one of them, nor of their pupils, nor of their predecessors even to the seventh generation has ever seen Brahmâ]. And you further say that even the Rishis of old, [whose words they hold in such deep respect, did not pretend to know, or to have seen where, or whence, or whither Brahmâ is. Yet these Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas say, forsooth, that they can point out the way to union with that which they know not, neither have seen!]' Now what think you, Vâsettha? Does it not follow that, this being so, the talk of the Brâhmans, versed though they be in the Three Vedas, is foolish talk?'

'In sooth, Gotama, that being so, it follows that the talk of the Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas is foolish talk!'

19. 'Very good, Vâsettha. Verily then, Vâsettha, that Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas should be able to show the way to a state of union with that which they do not know, neither have seen--such a condition of things has no existence.

------------------------

'Just, Vâsettha, as if a man should say, "How I long for, how I love the most beautiful woman in this land!"

'And people should ask him, "Well! good friend! this most beautiful woman in the land whom you thus love and long for, do you know whether that beautiful woman is a noble lady or a Brâhman woman, or of the trader class, or a Sûdra?"

'But when so asked he should answer "No."

[1. The text repeats at length the words of งง 12, 13, 14.]


'And when people should ask him, "Well! good friend! this most beautiful woman in all the land, whom you so love and long for, do you know what the name of that most beautiful woman is, or what is her family name, whether she be tall or short, dark or of medium complexion, black or fair, or in what village or town or city she dwells?"

'But when so asked he should answer "No."

'And then people should say to him, "So then, good friend, whom you know not, neither have seen, her do you love and long for?"

'And then when so asked he should answer "Yes."'

'Now what think you, Vâsettha? Would it not turn out, that being so, that the talk of that man was foolish talk?'

'In sooth, Gotama, it would turn out, that being so, that the talk of that man was foolish talk!'

20. 'And just even so, Vâsettha, though you say that the Brahmans [are not able to point out the way to union with that which they have seen], and you further say that [neither any one of them, nor of their pupils, nor of their predecessors even to the seventh generation has ever seen Brahmâ]. And you further say that even the Rishis of old, [whose words they hold in such deep respect, did not pretend to know, or to have seen where, or whence, or whither Brahmâ is. Yet these Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas say, forsooth, that they can point out the way to union with that which they know not, neither have seen!] Now what think you, Vâsettha? Does it not follow that, this being so, the talk of the Brâhmans, versed though they be in the Three Vedas, is foolish talk?'

'In sooth, Gotama, that being so, it follows that the talk of the Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas is foolish talk!'

'Very good, Vâsettha. Verily then, Vâsettha, that Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas should be able to show the way to a state of union with that which they do not know, neither have seen--such a condition of things has no existence.'

------------------------

21. 'Just, Vâsettha, as if a man should make a staircase in the place where four roads cross, to mount up into a mansion. And people should say to him, "Well, good friend, this mansion, to mount up into which you are making this staircase, do you know whether it is in the east, or in the south, or in the west, or in the north? whether it is high or low or of medium size?'

'And when so asked he should answer "No."'

'And people should say to him, "But then, good friend, you are making a staircase to mount up into something--taking it for a mansion--which, all the while, you know not, neither have seen!"

'And when so asked he should answer "Yes."'

'Now what think you, Vâsettha? Would it not turn out, that being so, that the talk of that man was foolish talk?'

'In sooth, Gotama, it would turn out, that being so, that the talk of that man was foolish talk!'

22. 'And just even so, Vâsettha, though you say that the Brâhmans [are not able to point out the way to union with that which they have seen], and you further say that [neither any one of them, nor of their pupils, nor of their predecessors even to the seventh generation has ever seen Brahmâ]. And you further say that even the Rishis of old, [whose words they hold in such deep respect, did not pretend to know, or to have seen where, or whence, or whither Brahmâ is. Yet these Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas say, forsooth, that they can point out the way to union with that which they know not, neither have seen!] Now what think you, Vâsettha? Does it not follow that, this being so, the talk of the Brahmans versed in the Three Vedas is foolish talk?'

'In sooth, Gotama, that being so, it follows that the talk of the Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas is foolish talk!'

23. 'Very good, Vâsettha. Verily then, Vâsettha, that Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas should be able to show the way to a state of union with that which they do not know, neither have seen--such condition of things has no existence.'

24. 'Again, Vâsettha, if this river Akiravatî were full of water even to the brim, and overflowing[1]. And a man with business on the other side, bound for the other side, should come up, and want to cross over. And he, standing on this bank, should invoke the further bank, and say, "Come hither, O further bank! come over to this side!"

[1. Samatittikâ kâkapeyyâ, a stock phrase used of a river in flood time. Buddhaghosa says, Samatittikâ ti samaharitâ (sic ? samâharitâ): kâkapeyyâ ti yatthakatthaki tîre thitena kâkena sakkâ pâtun ti kâkapeyyâ, which does not seem to me to solve the question as to the origin and history of these difficult terms. With respect to the right form of samatittikâ it should be noticed that the northern Buddhist spelling is samatîrthakâ (Sukhavatîvyûha, ed. Max Müller in J. R. A. S. for 1880, p. 182), and that both Childers and Oldenberg have read samatitthikâ in the Burmese MSS. of Mahâparinibbâna Sutta I, 33 = Mahâ Vagga VI, 28. Now the difference in Burmese letters between tt and tth (### and ###) is so very small that the copyists frequently write one for the other; and even in good MSS. where the two are not confounded, it is sometimes difficult to tell which is really meant. When talking of rivers the mention of titthas seems so appropriate {footnote p. 179} that a copyist, and especially a Burmese copyist, would naturally read a doubtful combination as tth; so that even if all Burmese MSS. spell this word with tth (which is by no means certain), very little reliance should be placed upon the fact. On the other hand, the distinction in Sinhalese between tt and tth is very marked (### and ###) and the Sinhalese MSS. all read tt. I think therefore that Childers was right in finally adopting samatittikâ as the correct Pâli form. In the numerous words in which Buddhist Sanskrit has a form differing in a way which sets philological rules at defiance from the corresponding Pâli form, Childers thought (see Dict. p. xi, where the list of words might be greatly extended) that the Sanskrit was always derived from the Pâli, and the Sanskrit writers had merely blundered. I venture, with great diffidence, to doubt this. It seems more likely that, at least in many instances, both Pâli and Sanskrit were alike derived from a previous Prâkrit form, and that in differently interpreting a difficult word, both Sanskrit and Pâli authors made mistakes. That may be the case here; and it is almost certain that the original word had nothing to do with tîrtha. How easily this idea could be adopted we see from the fact that Childers when first editing the MSS. (in the J. R. A. S. for 1874), and when he had only Sinhalese MSS. then before him, altered their reading into samatitthikâ, and put this form into his Dictionary; though he afterwards (in the separate edition), and after noting that reading in the Phayre MS., chose the other. But what, after all, does 'having equal or level tîrthas or landing-places' mean, when spoken of a river? Comp. Samatittikam bhuñgâmi (Mil. 213, 214); Sabbato tittam pokkharanim (Gât. I, 339, text tittham); and Samatittiko telapatto (ibid. 393, text บiyo, but see p. 400). The root perhaps is TRIP.

Kâkapeyya, according to Buddhaghosa, would mean 'crow-drinkable.' Crows do not drink on the wing; and they could stand to drink either when a river actually overflowed its banks and formed shallows on the adjoining land; or when in the hot season it had formed shallows in its own bed. 'Crow-drinkable' might mean therefore just as well 'shallow' as 'overflowing.' Had the word originally anything to do with kâka after all?]


'Now what think you, Vâsettha? Would the further bank of the river Akiravatî, by reason of that man's invoking and praying and hoping and praising, come over to this side?'

'Certainly not, Gotama!'

25. 'In just the same way, Vâsettha, do the Brahmans versed in the Three Vedas--omitting the practice of those qualities which really make a man a Brâhman, and adopting the practice of those qualities which really make men not Brâhmans--say thus: "Indra we call upon, Soma we call upon, Varuna we call upon, Îsâna we call upon, Pagâpati we call upon, Brahma we call upon, Mahiddhi we call upon, Yama we call upon[1]!" Verily, Vâsettha, that those Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas, but omitting the practice of those qualities which really make a man a Brâhman, and adopting the practice of those qualities which really make men not Brâhmans--that they, by reason of their invoking and praying and hoping and praising, should, after death and when the body is dissolved, become united with Brahmâ--verily such a condition of things has no existence!'

------------------------

26. 'Just, Vâsettha, as if this river Akiravatî were full, even to the brim, and overflowing. And a man with business on the other side, bound for the other side, should come up, and want to cross over. And he, on this bank, were to be bound tightly, with his arms behind his back, by a strong chain. Now what think you, Vâsettha, would that man be able to get over from this bank of the river Akiravatî to the further bank?'

[1. The Sinhalese MSS. omit Mahiddhi and Yama, but repeat the verb 'we call upon' three times after Brahmâ. It is possible that the Burmese copyist has wrongly inserted them to remove the strangeness of this repetition. The comment is silent.]


'Certainly not, Gotama!'

27. 'In the same way, Vâsettha, there are five things leading to lust, which are called in the Discipline of the Noble One a "chain" and a "bond."'

'What are the five?'

'Forms perceptible to the eye; desirable, agreeable, pleasant, attractive forms, that are accompanied by lust and cause delight. Sounds of the same kind perceptible to the ear. Odours of the same kind perceptible to the nose. Tastes of the same kind perceptible to the tongue. Substances of the same kind perceptible to the body by touch. These five things predisposing to passion are called in the Discipline of the Noble One a "chain" and a "bond." And these five things predisposing to lust, Vâsettha, do the Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas cling to, they are infatuated by them, guilty of them, see not the danger of them, know not how unreliable they are, and so enjoy them.

28. 'And verily, Vâsettha, that Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas, but omitting the practice of those qualities which really make a man a Brâhman, and adopting the practice of those qualities which really make men non-Brâhmans--clinging to these five things predisposing to passion, Infatuated by them, guilty of them, seeing not their danger, knowing not their unreliability, and so enjoying them-that these Brâhmans should after death, on the dissolution of the body, become united to Brahmâ--such a condition of things has no existence.'

29. 'Again, Vâsettha, if this river Akiravatl were full of water even to the brim, and overflowing. And a man with business on the other side, bound for the other side, should come up, and want to cross over. And if he covering himself up, even to his head, were to lie down, on this bank, to sleep.

'Now what think you, Vâsettha? Would that man be able to get over from this bank of the river Akiravatl to the further bank?'

'Certainly not, Gotama!'

30. 'And in the same way, Vâsettha, there are these five hindrances, in the Discipline of the Noble One, which are called "veils[1]," and are called "hindrances[2]," and are called "obstacles[3]," and are called entanglements[4]."

'Which are the five?'

'The hindrance of lustful desire,

The hindrance of malice,

The hindrance of sloth and idleness,

The hindrance of pride and self-righteousness,

The hindrance of doubt.

These are the five hindrances, Vâsettha, which, in the Discipline of the Noble One, are called veils, and are called hindrances, and are called obstacles, and are called entanglements.

31. 'Now with these five hindrances, Vâsettha, the Brâhmans versed in the Three Vedas are veiled, hindered, obstructed, and entangled.

[1. Âvaranâ.

2. Nîvaranâ.

3. All three MSS. onahâ. S. V. reads onaddham in the text, and explains it by onahâ.

4. All three MSS. pariyonahâ. S. V. reads pariyoddham in the text, and explains it by pariyonahâ.]


32. 'And verily, Vâsettha, that Brahmans versed in the Three Vedas, but omitting the practice of those qualities which really make a man a Brâhman, and adopting the practice of those qualities which really make men non-Brâhmans--veiled, hindered, obstructed, and entangled by these Five Hindrances--that these Brahmans should after death, on the dissolution of the body, become united to Brahmâ--such a condition of things has no existence.'

------------------------

33. 'Now what think you, Vâsettha, and what have you heard from the Brâhmans aged and well-stricken in years, when the learners and teachers are talking together? Is Brahmâ in possession of wives and wealth, or is he not[1]?'

'He is not, Gotama.'

'Is his mind full of anger, or free from anger?'

'Free from anger, Gotama.'

'Is his mind full of malice, or free from malice?'

'Free from malice, Gotama.'

'Is his mind depraved, or pure?'

'It is pure, Gotama.'

'Has he self-mastery, or has he not[3]?'

'He has, Gotama.'

34. 'Now what think you, Vâsettha, are the

[1. Sapariggaho vâ Brahmâ apariggaho vâ ti. Buddhaghosa says on Vâsettha's reply, 'Kâmakkhandassa abhâvato itthipariggaheno apariggaho,' thus restricting the 'possession' to women, with especial reference to the first 'hindrance;' but the word in the text, though doubtless alluding to possession of women in particular, includes more. Compare, on the general idea of the passage, the English expression 'no encumbrances.'

2. Asankilittha-kitto. That is, says Buddhaghosa, 'free from mental sloth and idleness, self-righteous ness, and pride.'

3. Vasavattî vi avasavattî va. Buddhaghosa says, in explanation of the answer: 'By the absence of doubt he has his mind under control' (vase vatteti).]


Brahmans versed in the Vedas in the possession of wives and wealth, or are they not?'

'They are, Gotama.'

'Have they anger in their hearts, or have they not?'

'They have, Gotama.'

'Do they bear malice, or do they not?'

'They do, Gotama.'

'Are they pure in heart, or are they not?'

'They are not, Gotama.'

'Have they self-mastery, or have they not?'

'They have not, Gotama.'

35. 'Then you say, Vâsettha, that the Brahmans are in possession of wives and wealth, and that Brahmâ is not. Can there, then, be agreement and likeness between the Brâhmans with their wives and property, and Brahmâ, who has none of these things?'

'Certainly not, Gotama!'

36. 'Very good, Vâsettha. But, verily, that these Brahmans versed in the Vedas, who live married and wealthy should after death, when the body is dissolved, become united with Brahmâ, who has none of these things--such a condition of things has no existence.'

------------------------

37. 'Then you say, too, Vâsettha, that the Brâhmans bear anger and malice in their hearts, and are sinful and uncontrolled, whilst Brahmâ is free from anger and malice, and sinless, and has self-mastery. Now can there, then, be concord and likeness between the Brahmans and Brahmâ?'

'Certainly not, Gotama!'

38. 'Very good, Vâsettha. That these Brâhmans versed in the Vedas and yet bearing anger and malice in their hearts, sinful, and uncontrolled, should after death, when the body is dissolved, become united to Brahmâ, who is free from anger and malice, sinless, and has self-mastery--such a condition of things has no existence.'

39. 'So that thus then, Vâsettha, the Brâhmans, versed though they be in the Three Vedas, while they sit down (in confidence), are sinking down (in the mire)[1]; and so sinking they are arriving only at despair, thinking the while that they are crossing over into some happier land.

'Therefore is it that the threefold wisdom of the Brâhmans, wise in their Three Vedas, is called a waterless desert, their threefold wisdom is called a pathless jungle, their threefold wisdom is called destruction!'

========================

40. When he had thus spoken, the young Brâhman Vâsettha said to the Blessed One:

'It has been told me, Gotama, that the Samana Gotama knows the way to the state of union with Brahmâ.

41. 'What do you think, Vâsettha, is not Manasâkata near to this spot, not distant from this spot?'

'Just so, Gotama. Manasâkata is near to, is not far from here.'

42. 'Now what think you, Vâsettha, suppose there were a man born in Manasâkata, and people should ask him, who never till that time had left Manasâkata, which was the way to Manasâkata. Would that man, born and brought up in Manasâkata, be in any doubt or difficulty?'

[1. Âsîditva samsîdanti. I have no doubt the commentator is right in his explanation of these figurative expressions. Confident in their knowledge of the Vedas, and in their practice of Vedic ceremonies, they neglect higher things; and so, sinking into sin and superstition, 'they are arriving only at despair, thinking the while that they are crossing over into some happier land.']


'Certainly not, Gotama! And why? If the man had been born and brought up in Manasâkata, every road that leads to Manasâkata would be perfectly familiar to him.'

43. 'That man, Vâsettha, born and brought up at Manasâkata might, if he were asked the way to Manasâkata, fall into doubt and difficulty, but to the Tathâgata, when asked touching the path which leads to the world of Brahmâ, there can be neither doubt nor difficulty. For Brahmâ, I know, Vâsettha, and the world of Brahmâ, and the path which leadeth unto it. Yea, I know it even as one who has entered the Brahma world, and has been born within it!'

------------------------

44. When he had thus spoken, Vâsettha the young Brâhman said to the Blessed One:

'So has it been told me, Gotama, even that the Samana Gotama knows the way to a state of union with Brahmâ. It is well! Let the venerable Gotama be pleased to show us the way to a state of union with Brahma, let the venerable Gotama save the Brâhman race!'

45. 'Listen then, Vâsettha, and give ear attentively, and I will speak!'

'So be it, Lord!' said the young Brâhman Vâsettha, in assent, to the Blessed One.

46. Then the Blessed One spake, and said:

Know, Vâsettha, that[1] (from time to time) a

[1. From here down to the end of p. 200 is a repetition word for {footnote p. 187} word of Sâmañña Phala Sutta, pp. 133 and following; including the passages there parallel to those in Subha Sutta, p. 157, and in Brahma-gâla Sutta, pp. 5-16.]


Tathâgata is born into the world, a fully Enlightened One, blessed and worthy, abounding in wisdom and goodness, happy, with knowledge of the world, unsurpassed as a guide to erring mortals, a teacher of gods and men, a Blessed Buddha[1]. He, by himself, thoroughly understands, and sees, as it were, face to face this universe--the world below with all its spirits, and the worlds above, of Mara and of Brahma--and all creatures, Samanas and Brâhmans, gods and men, and he then makes his knowledge known to others. The truth doth he proclaim both in its letter and in its spirit, lovely in its origin, lovely in its progress, lovely in its consummation: the higher life doth he make known, in all its purity and in all its perfectness.

47. 'A householder (gahapati), or one of his children, or a man of inferior birth in any class, listens to that truth[2]. On hearing the truth he has faith in the Tathâgata, and when he has acquired that faith he thus considers with himself:

'"Full of hindrances is household life, a path defiled by passion: free as the air is the life of him who has renounced all worldly things. How difficult is it for the man who dwells at home to live the higher life in all its fulness, in all its purity, in all its bright perfection! Let me then cut off my hair and beard, let me clothe myself in the orange-coloured robes, and let me go forth from a household life into the homeless state!"

[1. See above, ง 7.

2. The point is, that the acceptance of this 'Doctrine and Discipline' is open to all, not of course that Brâhmans never accept it.]


48. 'Then before long, forsaking his portion of wealth, be it great or be it small; forsaking his circle of relatives, be they many or be they few, he cuts off his hair and beard, he clothes himself in the orange-coloured robes, and he goes forth from the household life into the homeless state.

49. 'When he has thus become a recluse he passes a life self-restrained according to the rules of the Pâtimokkha; uprightness is his delight, and he sees danger in the least of those things he should avoid; he adopts and trains himself in the precepts; he encompasses himself with holiness in word and deed; he sustains his life by means that are quite pure; good is his conduct, guarded the door of his senses; mindful and self-possessed, he is altogether happy[1]!'

[1. The argument is resumed after the Three Sîlas, or Descriptions of Conduct--a text, doubtless older than the Suttas in which it occurs, setting forth the distinguishing moral characteristics of a member of the Order.

The First Sîla is an expansion of the Ten Precepts ('Buddhism,' p. 160), but omitting the fifth, against the use of intoxicating drinks. The Second Sîla is a further expansion of the first and then of the last four, and finally of the fourth Precept. The Third Sîla is directed against auguries, divinations, prophecies, astrology, quackery, ritualism, and the worship of Gods (including Brahmâ).

These Three Sîlas may perhaps have been inserted in the Sutta as a kind of counterpoise to the Three Vedas. Our Sutta really reads better without them; but they are interesting in themselves, and the third is especially valuable as evidence of ancient customs and beliefs.]
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Re: Buddhist Suttas, Vol. XI of The Sacred Books of the East

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Part 3 of 3

CHAPTER II.

THE SHORT PARAGRAPHS ON CONDUCT.

THE KÛLA SÎLAM[1].


1. 'Now wherein, Vâsettha, is his conduct good?'

'Herein, O Vâsettha, that putting away the murder of that which lives, he abstains from destroying life. The cudgel and the sword he lays aside; and, full of modesty and pity, he is compassionate and kind to all creatures that have life!

'This is the kind of goodness that he has.

2. 'Putting away the theft of that which is not his, he abstains from taking anything not given. He takes only what is given, therewith is he content, and he passes his life in honesty and in purity of heart!

'This, too, is the kind of goodness that he has.

3. 'Putting away inchastity, he lives a life of chastity and purity, averse to the low habit of sexual intercourse.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2.)[2]

[1. There is no division into actual chapters in the original, but it is convenient to arrange the following enumeration of moral precepts separately, as they occur in various suttas in the same order--and are always divided into the three divisions of Lower, Medium, and Higher Morality.

2. The clause 'this, too, is the kind of goodness that he has' is repeated in the text after each section. The clause, which differs {footnote p. 190} in the different suttas in which this enumeration of Buddhist morality is found, is distinct from the enumeration itself, and, like the opening reference to Vâsettha, characteristic only of the particular Sutta.]


4. 'Putting away lying, he abstains from speaking falsehood. He speaks truth, from the truth he never swerves; faithful and trustworthy, he injures not his fellow man by deceit.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)

5. 'Putting away slander, he abstains from calumny. What he hears here he repeats not elsewhere to raise a quarrel against the people here: what he hears elsewhere he repeats not here to raise a quarrel against the people there. Thus he lives as a binder together of those who are divided, an encourager of those who are friends, a peacemaker, a lover of peace, impassioned for peace, a speaker of words that make for peace.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)

6. 'Putting away bitterness of speech, he abstains from harsh language. Whatever word is humane, pleasant to the ear, lovely, reaching to the heart, urbane, pleasing to the people, beloved of the people--such are the words he speaks.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)

7. 'Putting away foolish talk, he abstains from vain conversation. In season he speaks; he speaks that which is; he speaks fact; he utters good doctrine; he utters good discipline; he speaks, and at the right time, that which redounds to profit, is well-grounded, is well-defined, and is full of wisdom.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)

8. 'He refrains from injuring any herb or any creature. He takes but one meal a day; abstaining from food at night time, or at the wrong time. He abstains from dancing, singing, music, and theatrical shows. He abstains from wearing, using, or adorning himself with garlands, and scents, and unguents, and he abstains from lofty couches and large beds.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)

9. 'He abstains from the getting of silver or gold. He abstains from the getting of grain uncooked. He abstains from the getting of flesh that is raw. He abstains from the getting of any woman or girl. He abstains from the getting of bondmen or bondwomen. He abstains from the getting of sheep or goats. He abstains from the getting of fowls or swine. He abstains from the getting of elephants, cattle, horses, and mares. He abstains from the getting of fields or lands.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)

10. 'He refrains from carrying out those commissions on which messengers can be sent. He refrains from buying and selling. He abstains from tricks with false weights, alloyed metals, or false measures. He abstains from bribery, cheating, fraud, and crooked ways.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)

11. 'He refrains from maiming, killing, imprisoning, highway robbery, plundering villages, or obtaining money by threats of violence.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)'

------------------------

End of the Short Paragraphs on Conduct.

THE MIDDLE PARAGRAPHS ON CONDUCT.

THE MAGGHIMA SÎLAM.


1. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brâhmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to injuring plants or vegetables: that is to say, the germs arising from roots, the germs arising from trunks of trees, the germs arising from joints, the germs arising from buds, or the germs arising, from seeds. He, on the other hand, refrains from injuring such plants or animals.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)

2. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brâhmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to storing up property: that is to say, meat, drink, clothes, equipages, beds, perfumes, and grain. He, on the other hand, refrains from storing up such property.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2.)

3. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brahmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to witnessing public spectacles: that is to say, dancing, singing, concerts, theatrical representations, recitations, instrumental music, funeral ceremonies, drummings, balls, gymnastics, tumblings, feasts in honour of the dead, combats between elephants, horses, buffaloes, bulls, goats, rams, cocks, and quails, cudgel playing, boxing, wrestling, fencing, musters, marching, and reviews of troops. He, on the other hand, refrains from such public spectacles.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2.)

4. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brâhmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to occupying their time with games detrimental to their progress in virtue: that is to say, with a board of sixty-four squares, or of one hundred squares; tossing up; hopping over diagrams formed on the ground; removing substances from a heap without shaking the remainder; dicing; trap-ball; sketching rude figures; tossing balls; blowing trumpets; ploughing matches; tumbling; forming mimic windmills; guessing at measures; chariot races; archery; shooting marbles from the fingers; guessing other people's thoughts; and mimicking other people's acts. He, on the other hand, refrains from such games detrimental to virtue.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2.)

5. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brâhmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to the use of elevated and ornamented couches or things to recline upon: that is to say, of large couches; ornamented beds; coverlets with long fleece; embroidered counterpanes; woollen coverlets, plain or worked with thick flowers; cotton coverlets, worked with knots, or dyed with figures of animals; fleecy carpets; carpets inwrought with gold or with silk; far-spreading carpets; rich elephant housings, trappings, or harness; rugs for chariots; skins of the tiger or antelope; and pillows or cushions ornamented with gold lace or embroidery. He, on the other hand, refrains from the use of such elevated or ornamented couches or things to recline upon.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2.)

6. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brâhmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to the use of articles for the adornment of their persons: that is to say, unguents; fragrant oils; perfumed baths; shampooings; mirrors; antimony for the eyebrows and eyelashes; flowers; cosmetics; dentifrices; bracelets; diadems; handsome walking-sticks; tiaras; swords; umbrellas; embroidered slippers; fillets; jewelry; fans of the buffalo tail; and long white garments. He, on the other hand, refrains from the use of such articles for the adornment of the person.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)

7. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brâhmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to mean talk: that is to say, tales of kings, of robbers, or of ministers of state; tales of arms, of war, of terror; conversation respecting meats, drinks, clothes, couches, garlands, perfumes, relationships, equipages, streets, villages, towns, cities, provinces, women, warriors, demigods; fortune-telling; hidden treasures in jars; ghost stories; empty tales; disasters by sea; accidents on shore; things which are, and things which are not. He, on the other hand, refrains from such mean conversation.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)

8. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brâhmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to wrangling: that is to say, to saying, "You are ignorant of this doctrine and discipline, but I understand them!" "What do you know of doctrine or discipline?" "You are heterodox, but I am orthodox!" "My discourse is profitable, but yours is worthless!" "That which you should speak first you speak last, and that which you should speak last you speak first!" "What you have long studied I have completely overturned!" "Your errors are made quite plain!" "You are disgraced!" "Go away and escape from this disputation; or if not, extricate yourself from your difficulties!" He, on the other hand, refrains from such wrangling.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)

9. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brahmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to performing the servile duties of a go-between: that is to say, between kings, ministers of state, soldiers, Brahmans, people of property, or young men, who say, "Come here!" "Go there!" "Take this to such a place!" "Bring that here!" But he refrains from such servile duties of a messenger.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)

10. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brâhmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to hypocrisy: that is to say, they speak much; they make high professions; they disparage others; and they are continually thirsting after gain. But he refrains from such hypocritical craft.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2.)'

------------------------

End of the Middle Paragraphs on Conduct.

THE LONG PARAGRAPHS ON CONDUCT.

THE MAHÂ SÎLAM.


1. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brâhmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue to gain a livelihood by such low arts, by such lying practices as these: that is to say, by divination from marks on the body; by auguries; by the interpretation of prognostics, of dreams, and of omens, good or bad; by divinations from the manner in which cloth and other such things have been bitten by rats; by sacrifices to the god of fire, offerings of Dabba grass, offerings with a ladle, offerings of husks, of bran, of rice, of clarified butter, of oil, and of liquids ejected from the mouth; and by bloody sacrifices; by teaching spells for preserving the body, for determining lucky sites, for protecting fields, for luck in war, against ghosts and goblins, to secure good harvests, to cure snake bites, to serve as antidotes for poison, and to cure bites of scorpions or rats; by divination, by the flight of hawks, or by the croaking of ravens; by guessing at length of life; by teaching spells to ward off wounds; and by pretended knowledge of the language of beasts.--

'He, on the other hand, refrains from seeking a livelihood by such low arts, by such lying practices.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2.)

2. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brâhmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue to gain a livelihood by such low arts, by such lying practices as these: that is to say, by explaining the good and bad points in jewels, sticks, garments, swords, arrows, bows, weapons of war, women, men, youths, maidens, male and female slaves, elephants, horses, bulls, oxen, goats, sheep, fowl, snipe, iguanas, long-eared creatures, turtle, and deer.--

'He, on the other hand, refrains from seeking a livelihood by such low arts, by such lying practices.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2.)

3. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brâhmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue to gain a livelihood by such low arts and such lying practices as these: that is to say, by foretelling future events, as these:

'"There will be a sortie by the king." "There will not be a sortie by the king." "The king within the city will attack." "The king outside the city will retreat." "The king within the city will gain the victory." "The king outside the city will be defeated." "The king outside the city will be the conqueror." "The king inside the city will be vanquished." Thus prophesying to this one victory and to that one defeat.--

'He, on the other hand, refrains from seeking a livelihood by such low arts, by such lying practices.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2.)

4. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brahmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue to gain a livelihood by such low arts and such lying practices as these: that is to say, by predicting--

'"There will be an eclipse of the moon." "There will be an eclipse of the sun." "There will be an eclipse of a planet." "The sun and the moon will be in conjunction." "The sun and the moon will be in opposition." "The planets will be in conjunction." "The planets will be in opposition." "There will be falling meteors, and fiery coruscations in the atmosphere." "There will be earthquakes, thunderbolts, and forked lightnings." "The rising and setting of the sun, moon, or planets will be cloudy or clear." And then: "The eclipse of the moon will have such and such a result." "The eclipse of the sun will have such and such a result." "The eclipse of the moon will have such and such a result." "The sun and the moon being in conjunction will have such and such a result." "The sun and the moon being in opposition will have such and such a result." "The planets being in conjunction will have such and such a result." "The planets being in opposition will have such and such a result." "The falling meteors and fiery coruscations in the atmosphere will have such and such a result." "The earthquakes, thunderbolts, and forked lightnings will have such and such a result." "The rising and setting of the sun, moon, or planets, cloudy or clear, will have such and such a result."

'He, on the other hand, refrains from seeking a livelihood by such low arts, by such lying practices.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2.)

5. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brâhmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue to gain a livelihood by such low arts and such lying practices as these: that is to say, by predicting--

'"There will be an abundant rainfall." "There will be a deficient rainfall." "There will be an abundant harvest." "There will be famine." "There will be tranquillity." "There will be disturbances." "The season will be sickly." "The season will be healthy." p. 199 Or by drawing deeds, making up accounts, giving pills, making verses, or arguing points of casuistry.--

'He, on the other hand, refrains from seeking a livelihood by such low arts, by such lying practices.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)

6. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brâhmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue to gain a livelihood by such low arts and such lying practices as these: that is to say, by giving advice touching the taking in marriage, or the giving in marriage; the forming of alliances, or the dissolution of connections; the calling in property, or the laying of it out. By teaching spells to procure prosperity, or to cause adversity to others; to remove sterility; to produce dumbness, locked-jaw, deformity, or deafness. By obtaining oracular responses by the aid of a mirror, or from a young girl, or from a god. By worshipping the sun, or by worshipping Brahmâ; by spitting fire out of their mouths, or by laying hands on people's heads.--

'He, on the other hand, refrains from seeking a livelihood by such low arts, by such lying practices.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2)

7. 'Or whereas some Samana-Brâhmans, who live on the food provided by the faithful, continue to gain a livelihood by such low arts and such lying practices as these: that is to say, by teaching the ritual for making vows and performing them; for blessing fields; for imparting virility and rendering impotent; for choosing the site of a house; for performing a house-warming. By teaching forms of words to be used when cleansing the mouth, when bathing, and when making offerings to the god of fire. By prescribing medicines to produce vomiting or purging, or to remove obstructions in the higher or lower intestines, or to relieve head-ache. By preparing oils for the ear, collyriums, catholicons, antimony, and cooling drinks. By practising cautery, midwifery, or the use of root decoctions or salves.--

'He, on the other hand, refrains from seeking a livelihood by such low arts, by such lying practices.

'This, too, (&c., see ง II, 2.)'

------------------------

End of the Long Paragraphs on Conduct.

CHAPTER III.

1. [1] 'And he lets his mind pervade one quarter of the world with thoughts of Love, and so the second, and so the third, and so the fourth. And thus the whole wide world, above, below, around, and everywhere, does he continue to pervade with heart of Love, far-reaching, grown great, and beyond measure.

2. 'Just, Vâsettha, as a mighty trumpeter makes himself heard--and that without difficulty--in all the four directions; even so of all things that have shape or life, there is not one that he passes by or leaves aside, but regards them all with mind set free, and deep-felt love.

'Verily this, Vâsettha, is the way to a state of union with Brahmâ.

3. 'And he lets his mind pervade one quarter of the world with thoughts of pity, sympathy, and equanimity, and so the second, and so the third, and so the fourth. And thus the whole wide world, above, below, around, and everywhere, does he continue to pervade with heart of pity, sympathy, and equanimity, far-reaching, grown great, and beyond measure.

[1. This paragraph occurs frequently; see, inter alia, below, Mahâ-Sudassana Sutta II, 8. It will be seen from 'Buddhism,' pp. 170, 171, that these meditations play a great part in later Buddhism, and occupy very much the place that prayer takes in Christianity. A fifth, the meditation on Impurity, has been added, at what time I do not know, before the last. All five are practised in Siam (Alabaster, 'Wheel of the Law,' p. 168).]


4. 'Just, Vâsettha, as a mighty trumpeter makes himself heard--and that without difficulty--in all the four directions; even so of all things that have shape or life, there is not one that he passes by or leaves aside, but regards them all with mind set free, and deep-felt pity, sympathy, and equanimity.

'Verily this, Vâsettha, is the way to a state of union with Brahmâ.'

5. 'Now what think you, Vâsettha, will the Bhikkhu[1] who lives thus be in possession of women and of wealth, or will he not?'

'He will not, Gotama!'

'Will he be full of anger, or free from anger?'

'He will be free from anger, Gotama!'

'Will his mind be full of malice, or free from malice?'

'Free from malice, Gotama!'

'Will his mind be sinful, or pure?'

'It will be pure, Gotama!'

'Will he have self-mastery, or will he not?'

'Surely he will, Gotama!'

6. 'Then you say, Vâsettha, that the Bhikkhu is free from household cares, and that Brahmâ is free from household cares. Is there then agreement and likeness between the Bhikkhu and Brahmâ?'

'There is, Gotama!'

7. 'Very good, Vâsettha. Then in sooth, Vâsettha, that the Bhikkhu who is free from household cares should after death, when the body is dissolved, become united with Brahmâ, who is the same--such a condition of things is every way possible!

[1. Or 'Member of our Order.' See the note on Mahâparinibbâna Sutta I, 6.]


8. 'And so you say, Vâsettha, that the Bhikkhu is free from anger, and free from malice, pure in mind, and master of himself; and that Brahmâ is free from anger, and free from malice, pure in mind, and master of himself. Then in sooth, Vâsettha, that the Bhikkhu who is free from anger, free from malice, pure in mind, and master of himself should after death, when the body is dissolved, become united with Brahmâ, who is the same-such a condition of things is every way possible!'

------------------------

9. When he had thus spoken, the young Brahmans Vâsettha and Bhâradvâga addressed the Blessed One, and said:

'Most excellent, Lord, are the words of thy mouth, most excellent! just as if a man were to set up that which is thrown down, or were to reveal that which is hidden away, or were to point out the right road to him who has gone astray, or were to bring a lamp into the darkness, so that those who have eyes can see external forms;--just even so, Lord, has the truth been made known to us, in many a figure, by the Blessed One. And we, even we, betake ourselves, Lord, to the Blessed One as our refuge, to the Truth, and to the Brotherhood. May the Blessed One accept us as disciples, as true believers, from this day forth, as long as life endures!'

========================

End of the Tevigga Suttanta.
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Re: Buddhist Suttas, Vol. XI of The Sacred Books of the East

Postby admin » Sat Jul 10, 2021 11:01 am

ÂKANKHEYYA SUTTA.

INTRODUCTION


JUST as the Tevigga Sutta is an argumentum ad hominem to the man wise in the Vedas, and seeking through that knowledge for union with the Deity, urging him to adopt rather the Buddhist method of a life of righteousness here on earth; so the present Sutta is a similar argument addressed to the seeker after the various things specified in its different sections. If he should desire any of these things then let him live the life of uprightness as set out in the opening section, and cultivate the intelligent earnestness and spiritual insight described in the refrain.

The two combined amount, as would naturally be expected, to the Nirvâna of a perfect life in Arahatship--the supreme goal not only of every good Buddhist, but of every good Buddhist argument. As applied in the earlier sections it is only a re-statement of a familiar doctrine; as applied in the later sections it has the additional interest of showing us the answer of early Buddhism to the mystics, as the Tevigga shows us its answer to the theologians. And in the answer we find the details of some curious beliefs which existed in India when Buddhism arose, and which in after times, and especially in the northern church, had so disastrous an effect upon it.

With regard to the reality of these mystical powers our Sutta gives an uncertain sound; leaving, however, an impression rather in its favour. The argument is equally good either way, but the author of the Sutta is so engrossed with Arahatship that he does not stay to say whether he regards the belief in the powers referred to as a delusion or not. I have no doubt that he really believed in their theoretical possibility, which is elsewhere also in the Pâli Pitakas accepted or implied; though the practical effect of the belief has greatly varied among Buddhists in different times and countries. In the southern church, which adhered more closely to the simple doctrines of early Buddhism, these beliefs have been relegated to the region of legend and fairy tale; in the northern church there have been found, from time to time, believers who attached to them a practical importance. There is a useful analogy between the expressions used in 1 Samuel xxviii, and those in the latter part of our Suttas; and between the general position of witchcraft in the history of Christianity, and of these beliefs in the history of Buddhism; but it would take too long to carry out the comparison and contrast in detail here, and with due regard to the necessary limitations under which the comparison should be made. The analogy only reaches to their history, and to their relative importance in the religious systems with which they were connected; the two sets of belief themselves are fundamentally different, the Indian beliefs being much more nearly allied to modern spiritualism and mesmerism.

We have a curious instance of the way in which such legends grow in a parallel passage of the earlier and later lives of Gotama as accepted by orthodox Buddhists. In the Mahâ Vagga[1] it is said that during the first watch of the night following on Gotama's victory over the Evil One, he fixed his mind upon the Chain of Causation, during the second watch he did the same, and during the third watch he did the same--the only difference in the narrative being the verses with which in each of the three watches the meditation closed.

In the life of Gotama prefixed to the Gâtakas[2]. the simplicity of this account is improved away by saying that in the first watch he acquired the knowledge of Past Births (Pubbe-nivâsa-nânâ, described in our ง 17), in the second the knowledge of Present Births (Dibba-kakkhu, described in our ง 19), and only in the third the knowledge of the Chain of Causation (Patikka-samuppâda). It is curious that in the corresponding passage of the northern Buddhist Sanskrit poem, the Lalita Vistara[1], we find precisely the same tradition, which must therefore have been current in both northern and southern churches before the fifth century of our era.

[1. I, 1, 2-6.

2. Gâtaka I, 75, translated in 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' p. 102.]


I think it is quite possible that at that time it had become part of the Buddhist theory that every Arahat possessed this supernatural insight; and as Gotama was supposed by the authors of these two later works to have acquired Arahatship by his victory over the Evil One, it naturally seemed to them proper to say that he then also acquired these particular powers. It is clear that even in the time when the Pitakas were put into their present form it was considered that the Buddha had acquired them[2], and that they could be acquired by less exalted persons[3]. In the later literature several instances are given of particular persons who possessed one or other of them in a greater or less degree; but it is instructive to notice that these are always persons who lived long before the time of the writer who records the instances.

The early Buddhist doctrine as to witchcraft, astrology, omens, auguries, sacrifices, prophecies, and the like, will be found in the Mahâ Sîla (above, pp. 196-200), and in the Third Fetter (below, p. 222).

[1. Calcutta edition, pp. 440-448.

2. See, for instance, the Tevigga-vakkhagotta Sutta.

3. Sâmañña Phala Sutta, pp. 144-154.]


IF HE SHOULD DESIRE--.

ÂKANKHEYYA-SUTTA


1. Thus have I heard. The Blessed One was once staying at Sâvatthi in Anâtha Pindika's park.

There the Blessed One addressed the Brethren, and said, 'Bhikkhus.' 'Yea, Lord!' said the Brethren, in assent, to the Blessed One.

Then spake the Blessed One:

2. 'Continue, Brethren, in the practice of Right Conduct[1], adhering to the Rules of the Order[2]; continue enclosed by the restraint of the Rules of the Order, devoted to uprightness in life[3]; train yourselves according to the Precepts[4], taking them upon you in the sense of the danger in the least offence.

3. 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, to become beloved, popular, respected among his fellow-disciples, let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within[5], let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation[6], let him look through things[7], let him be much alone!'

[1. Sîla.

2. Pâtimokkhâ.

3. Âkâragokarâ. Comp. Tevigga Sutta I, 49.

4. Sikkhâpadesu. The Buddhist Decalogue (given in 'Buddhism,' p. 160).

5. Agghattam keto samatham.

6. Ghâna.

7. Vipassanâ: it is always used, in contrast to samatha {footnote p. 211} (note 5), of insight into objective phenomena. These three qualities are constantly referred to as parts of Arahatship. The Rev. David da Silva makes vipassanâ identical with the sevenfold perception (saññâ, mentioned as conditions of the welfare of a community in the Book of the Great Decease, Chap. I, ง 10).]


4. 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, to receive the requisites--clothing, food, lodging, and medicine, and other necessaries for the sick--let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

5. 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, that to those people among whom he receives the requisites--clothing, food, lodging, and medicine, and other necessaries for the sick--that charity of theirs should redound to great fruit and great advantage, let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

6. 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, that those relatives of his, of one blood with him, dead and gone, who think of him with believing heart should find therein great fruit and great advantage[1], let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

[1. Even after death those who remember the Buddha, the Truth, or the Order with believing heart can reap spiritual advantage. Compare the Dhammapada commentary, p. 97.]

7. 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, that he should be victorious over discontent and lust[1], that discontent should never overpower him, that he should master and subdue any discontent that had sprung up within him, let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

8. 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, that he should be victorious over (spiritual) danger and dismay, that neither danger nor dismay should ever overcome him, that he should master and subdue every danger and dismay, let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

9. 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, to realise the hopes of those spiritual men who live in the bliss which comes, even in this present world, from the four Ghânas, should he desire not to fall into the pains and difficulties (which they avoid), let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone[2]!'

[1. Aratiratisaho. Arati is the disinclination to fulfil the duties of a Samana, discontent with the restrictions of the Order.

2. The bliss here referred to, and described in detail below, Mahâ-Sudassana Sutta, Chap. III, is the 'ecstasy of contemplation' referred to in the refrain.]


10. 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, to reach with his body and remain in those stages of deliverance which are incorporeal, and pass beyond phenomena[1], let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

11. 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, by the complete destruction of the three Bonds to become converted, to be no longer liable to be reborn in a state of suffering, and to be assured of final salvation[2], let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

12. 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, by the complete destruction of the three Bonds, and by the reduction to a minimum of lust, hatred, and delusion, to become a Sakadâgâmin, and (thus) on his first return to this world to make an end of sorrow, let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

[1. These are the eight Vimokkhâ, a list of which occurs in the Great Decease, Chap. III, งง 33-42.

2. On this and the two following sections compare Mahâparinibbâna Sutta II, 7, and on the Bonds or Fetters below, p. 222.

3. Opapâtika. This is another of those words which, from their connoting Buddhist ideas unknown in Europe, are really untranslatable. It means a being who springs into existence without the intervention of parents, and therefore, as it were, {footnote p. 214} uncaused, and seeming to appear by chance. All the higher devas (angels or gods) are opapâtika, there being no sex or birth in the highest heavens; and it is with especial allusion to this that the word is here used. There is of course from the Buddhist point of view (which admits of nothing without a cause) a very sufficient cause for the sudden appearance of an opapâtika in heaven, viz. the karma of a being who has past away somewhere else; but the Buddhist theory necessitated the choice of an expression which would give no countenance to the (heretical) idea of a soul flying away after the death of its body from one world to another.

In the expression 'which bind people to this world,' by world is meant the Rûpa-loka, or world of form, which include all those parts of the universe whose inhabitants have an outward form and are subject to lusts.]


13. 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, by the complete destruction of the five Bonds which bind people to this earth, to become an inheritor of the highest heavens[3], there to pass entirely away, thence never to return, let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

14.[1] 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, to exercise one by one each of the different Iddhis, being one to become multiform, being multiform to become one; to become visible, or to become invisible; to go without being stopped to the further side of a wall, or a fence, or a mountain, as if through air; to penetrate up and down through solid ground, as if through water; to walk on the water without dividing it, as if on solid ground; to travel cross-legged through the sky, like the birds on wing; to touch and feel with the hand even the sun and the moon, mighty and powerful though they be; and to reach in the body even up to the heaven of Brahmâ; let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

[1. With this paragraph compare Mahâparinibbâna Sutta III, 14, and Sâmañña Phala Sutta, p. 145.]


15.[1] 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, to hear with clear and heavenly ear, surpassing that of men, sounds both human and celestial, whether far or near, let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

16.[2] 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, to comprehend by his own heart the hearts of other beings and of other men; to discern the passionate mind to be passionate, and the calm mind calm; the angry mind to be angry, and the peaceable peaceable; the deluded mind to be deluded, and the wise mind wise; the concentrated thoughts to be concentrated, and the scattered to be scattered; the lofty mind to be lofty, and the narrow mind narrow; the sublime thoughts to be sublime, and the mean to be mean; the steadfast mind to be steadfast, and the wavering to be wavering; the free mind to be free, and the enslaved mind to be enslaved; let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

[1. With this paragraph compare Sâmañña Phala Sutta, p. 146.

2. Compare M. P. S. I, 16, and Sâmañña Phala Sutta, p. 147.]


17. 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, to be able to call to mind his various temporary states in days gone by; such as one birth, two births, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred or a thousand, or a hundred thousand births[1]; his births in many an æon of destruction, in many an æon of renovation, in many an æon of both destruction and renovation[2]; (so as to be able to say), "In that place such was my name, such my family, such my caste[3], such my subsistence, such my experience of comfort or of pain, and such the limit of my life; and when I passed from thence, I took form again in that other place where my name was so and so, such my family, such my caste, such my subsistence, such my experience of comfort or of joy, and such my term of life; and when I fell from thence, I took form in such and such a place[4];"--should he desire thus to call to mind his temporary states in days gone by in all their modes and all their details let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

[1. The Lalita Vistara (p. 442) characteristically carries this enumeration further up into innumerable kotis and niyutas of births.

2. This is based on the Buddhist theory of the periodical destruction and renovation of the universe, each of which takes countless years to be accomplished.

3. Vanna, colour.

4. The text of this clause recurs nearly word for word in the Brahma-gâla Sutta, pp. 17-21: and in the Lalita Vistara, Chap. XXII, p. 442; and exactly in the Sâmañña Phala Sutta, p. 148.

5. This paragraph recurs in the Sâmañña Phala Sutta, p. 150, and in nearly the same words in the Lalita Vistara, Chap. XXII.]


18.[5] 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, to see with pure and heavenly vision, surpassing that of men, beings as they pass from one state of existence and take form in others; beings base or noble, good-looking or ill-favoured, happy or miserable, according to the karma they inherit--(if he should desire to be able to say), "These beings, reverend sirs, by their bad conduct in action, by their bad conduct in word, by their bad conduct in thought, by their speaking evil of the Noble Ones[1], by their adhesion to false doctrine, or by their acquiring the karma of false doctrine[2], have been reborn, on the dissolution of the body after death, in some unhappy state of suffering or woe[3]." "These beings, reverend sirs, by their good conduct in action, by their good conduct in word, by their good conduct in thought, by their not speaking evil of the Noble Ones, by their adhesion to right doctrine, by their acquiring the karma of right doctrine, have been reborn, on the dissolution of the body after death, into some happy state in heaven;"--should he desire thus to see with pure and heavenly vision, surpassing that of men, beings as they thus pass from one state of existence and take form in others; beings base or noble, good-looking or ill-favoured, happy or miserable, according to the karma they inherit; let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

[1. This is a collective term, meaning Buddhas, Pakkeka Buddhas, Arahats, Anâgâmins, Sakadâgâmins, and Sotâpannas; that is, those who are walking in the Noble Eightfold Path.

2. The Pâli is mikkha- (and below sammâ-) ditthi-kamma-samâdâna; the Lalita Vistara, whose other expressions are identical with the Pâli, has, very strangely, mithyâ- (and below samyag-) ditthi-karma-dharma-samâdâna.

3. See note on M. P. S., Chap. I, ง 23.]


19.[1] 'If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, by the destruction of the great evils (Âsavas[2]), by himself, and even in this very world, to know and realise and attain to Arahatship, to emancipation of heart, and emancipation of mind, let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude of heart which springs from within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look through things, let him be much alone!'

20. 'Continue therefore, Brethren, in the practice of Right Conduct, adhering to the Rules of the Order; continue enclosed by the restraint of the Rules of the Order, devoted to uprightness in life; train yourselves according to the Precepts, taking them upon you in the sense of the danger in the least offence. For to this end alone has all, that has been said, been said!'

21. Thus spake the Blessed One. And those Brethren, delighted in heart, exalted the word of the Blessed One.

------------------------

End of the Âkankheyya Sutta.

[1. Compare Sâmañña Phala Sutta, p. 151; Mahâparinibbâna Sutta II, 7; and Lalita Vistara, Chap. XXII, p. 442.

2. Sensuality, individuality, delusion, and ignorance.]
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Re: Buddhist Suttas, Vol. XI of The Sacred Books of the East

Postby admin » Sat Jul 10, 2021 11:03 am

ETOKHILA-SUTTA.

INTRODUCTION


THE following translation has been made from a text, based on the Turnour and Phayre MSS. in the India Office, of which Dr. Morris was kind enough to allow me the use. The Suttas in the Magghima Nikâya are usually distinguished by the way in which a single thought or one or two allied thoughts are stated shortly at the commencement, and are then elaborated and repeated through a number of consecutive and carefully-balanced paragraphs arranged in a literary form that would now be considered monotonous and tiresome in the extreme. The repetitions in the Suttas of the Dîgha Nikâya are no doubt equally artificial, but the train of reasoning being longer and more varied, there is always the hope of a change in the form, or of a new departure in the thought, to sustain the reader's flagging interest.

The argument of this Sutta may be shortly stated thus. The means by which freedom from barrenness and bondage of heart can be reached are zeal and determined effort. But that zeal will be crippled in its struggle against barrenness by want of confidence in the teacher, his doctrine, his order, or his system of self-culture, and by want of concord with the brethren. And that zeal will be crippled in its struggle against bondage by sensuality, by sloth, or by a craving after a future life in any of its various forms. If the disciple be strenuously diligent in the struggle against these things he need not fear or doubt, he will never fail, but will assuredly reach even to the supreme security of Arahatship.

When I first read this Sutta I was irresistibly reminded of that passage in the New Testament where the exhortation to the disciple, 'giving all diligence' to add to his faith virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, and brotherly kindness, is followed by the figure that these things will make him to be 'neither barren nor unfruitful;' and closes with the promise that if be do these things, giving diligence to make his calling and election sure, he shall never fall, but shall enter into that everlasting kingdom which is the supreme goal of the Christian life.

The analogy is sufficiently close to throw considerable light upon our Sutta, but it touches only the barrenness. The bondage is specially Buddhistic, and is allied with the doctrine of the Sanyoganas, or fetters, which the pilgrim along the Noble Path has to break before he can reach the full fruit of Arahatship. It should be compared also with the fivefold bond mentioned in the Tevigga Sutta, Chap. I, งง 26-28, the word there used being bandhanam, as against vinibandhanam here, and the fivefold bond being a fivefold division of our first bondage.

The ten fetters are--

1. The delusion of self (sakkâya-ditthi).

2. Doubt (vikikikkhâ).

3. Reliance on the efficacy of rites and ceremonies (sîlabbata-parâmâsa).

4. The bodily lusts or passions (kâma).

5. Hatred, ill-feeling (patigha).

6. Desire for a future life in the worlds of form (rûparâga).

7. Desire for a future life in the formless worlds (arûparâga).

8. Pride (mâno).

9. Self-righteousness (uddhakka).

10. Ignorance (aviggâ).

Here the 4th fetter is correlative to our first bondage; the 6th fetter to our 2nd and 3rd bondage; and part of the 3rd fetter to our 5th bondage.

The 2nd, 3rd, and 5th bondage are in fact but a new way of stating the fundamental Buddhist doctrine that good must be pursued without any ulterior motive; and that that man is not spiritually free in whom there is still the least hankering after any future life beyond the grave.

BARRENNESS AND BONDAGE.

KETOKHILA-SUTTA.


1. Thus have I heard. The Blessed One was once dwelling at Sâvatthi, in the park of Anâtha Pindika.

There the Blessed One addressed the brethren, saying, 'Brethren!'

'Yea, Lord!' said those brethren, in assent, to the Blessed One.

Then the Blessed One spake:

2. 'Whatsoever brother, O Bhikkhus, has not quite become free from the five kinds of spiritual barrenness[1], has not altogether broken through the five kinds of mental bondage[2]--that such a one should reach up to the full advantage of, should attain to the full growth in, to full breadth in, this doctrine and discipline[3]--that can in no wise be!'

------------------------

3. 'And who has not become free from the five kinds of spiritual barrenness?'

'In the first place, O Bhikkhus, when a brother doubts in the Teacher (Satthâ), is uncertain regarding him, has not confidence in him, and has not faith in him; then is his mind not inclined towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

[1. Pañka ketokhilâ.

2. Pañka ketaso vinibandhâ.

3. Dhamma-vinaye. On the disputed question as to whether this compound is a Dvanda or not, see Dr. Oldenberg, Mahâ Vagga, p. x. M. Léon Feer ('Études Bouddhiques,' p. 203) has taken it as Tatpurusha; and it would be hazardous to say that it is never used as such. Here I think it is a Dvandva.]


'But whosesoever mind inclineth not towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has not become free from this first spiritual barrenness.

4. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, when a brother doubts in the System of Belief (Dhamma), is uncertain regarding it, has not confidence in it, has not faith in it; then is his mind not inclined towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth not towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has not become free from this second spiritual barrenness.

5. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, when a brother has doubt in the Brotherhood (Sangha), is uncertain about it, has no confidence in it, has no faith in it; then is his mind not inclined towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth not towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has not become free from this third spiritual barrenness.

6. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, when a brother has doubt in the System of Self-culture (Sikkhâ), is uncertain about it, has no confidence in it, has no faith in it; then is his mind not inclined towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth not towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has not become free from this fourth spiritual barrenness.

7. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, when a brother is angry with his fellow-disciples, discontented with them, excited against them, barren towards them, the mind of the brother, O Bhikkhus, thus angry with his fellow-disciples, discontented with them, excited against them, barren towards them does not incline towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth not towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has not become free from this fifth spiritual barrenness.

'It is such a one, O Bhikkhus, who is not free from the five kinds of spiritual barrenness.'

------------------------

8. 'And who has not broken through the five kinds of spiritual bondage?'

'In the first place, O Bhikkhus, when a brother has not got rid of the passion for lusts (kâme), has not got rid of the desire after lusts, has not got rid of the attraction to lusts, has not got rid of the thirst for lusts, has not got rid of the fever of lust, has not got rid of the craving after lusts.--

'Whatsoever brother, O Bhikkhus, has not got rid of the passion for lusts, has not got rid of the desire after lusts, has not got rid of the attraction to lusts, has not got rid of the thirst for lusts, has not got rid of the fever of lust, has not got rid of the craving after lusts, his mind does not incline to zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth not toward zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has not broken through this first spiritual bondage.

9. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, when a brother has not got rid of the passion for a body[1] (kâye), has not got rid of the desire after a body, has not got rid of the attraction to a body, has not got rid of the thirst for a body, has not got rid of the fever of a body, has not got rid of the craving after a body.--

[1. It is possible that kâya may be used here in a technical sense, as the group or aggregate of qualities, apart from form, which go {footnote p. 226} to make up an individual. This paragraph would then correspond to the 7th Samyogana.]


'Whatsoever brother, O Bhikkhus, has not got rid of the passion for a body, has not got rid of the desire after a body, has not got rid of the attraction to a body, has not got rid of the thirst for a body, has not got rid of the fever of a body, has not got rid of the craving after a body, his mind does not incline to zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth not toward zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has not broken through this second spiritual bondage.

10. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, when a brother has not got rid of the passion for a form (rûpe), has not got rid of the desire after a form, has not got rid of the attraction to a form, has not got rid of the thirst for a form, has not got rid of the fever of a form, has not got rid of the craving after a form.--

'Whatsoever brother, O Bhikkhus, has not got rid of the passion for a form, has not got rid of the desire after a form, has not got rid of the attraction to a form, has not got rid of the thirst for a form, has not got rid of the fever of a form, has not got rid of the craving after a form, his mind does not incline to zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth not toward zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has not broken through this third spiritual bondage.

11. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, a brother may have eaten enough and to satiety, and begins to follow after the case of sleep, the ease of softness, the ease of sloth.

'Whatsoever brother, O Bhikkhus, when he has eaten enough and to satiety, begins to follow after the ease of sleep, the ease of softness, the ease of sloth, his mind does not incline to zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth not toward zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has not broken through this fourth spiritual bondage.

12. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, a brother may have adopted the religious life in the aspiration of belonging to some one or other of the angel hosts', and thinking to himself: "By this morality, or by this observance, or by this austerity, or by this religious life, I shall become an angel, or one of the angels!"--

'Whatsoever brother, O Bhikkhus, may have adopted the religious life in the aspiration of belonging to some one or other of the angel hosts, and thinking to himself: "By this morality, or by this observance, or by this austerity, or by this religious life, I shall become an angel, or one of the angels!" his mind does not incline to zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth not toward zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has not broken through this fifth spiritual bondage.

'It is such a one, O Bhikkhus, who has not broken through the five kinds of mental bondage.

[1. Aññataram deva-nikâyam. Compare Mahâparinibbâna Sutta, Chap. I, ง 11, Chap. II, ง 9.]


13. 'And whatsoever brother, O Bhikkhus, has not quite become free from the five kinds of spiritual barrenness, has not altogether broken through the five kinds of mental bondage--that such a one should reach up to the full advantage of, should attain to the full growth in, to full breadth in, this doctrine and discipline--that can in no wise be!

------------------------

14. 'But whatsoever brother, O Bhikkhus, has become quite free from the five kinds of mental barrenness, has altogether broken through the five kinds of spiritual bondage--that such a one should reach up to the full advantage of, should attain to full growth in, to full breadth in, this doctrine and discipline--that can well be!'

15. 'And who has become free from the five kinds of spiritual barrenness?'

'In the first place, O Bhikkhus, when a brother does not doubt in the Teacher (Satthâ), is not uncertain regarding him, has confidence in him, and has faith in him; then his mind does incline to zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has become free from this first spiritual barrenness.

16. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, when a brother does not doubt in the System of Belief (Dhamma), is not uncertain regarding it, has confidence in it, and has faith in it; then his mind does incline to zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has become free from this second spiritual barrenness.

17. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, when a brother does not doubt in the Brotherhood (Sangha), is not uncertain about it, has confidence in it, and has faith in it; then his mind does incline to zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has become free from this third spiritual barrenness.

18. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, when a brother does not doubt in the System of Self-culture (Sikkhâ), is not uncertain about it, has confidence in it, and has faith in it; then his mind does incline to zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has become free from this fourth spiritual barrenness.

19. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, when a brother is not angry with his fellow-disciples, is not discontented with them, is not excited against them, is not barren towards them, the mind of the brother, O Bhikkhus, who is thus not angry with his fellow-disciples, not discontented with them, not excited against them, not barren towards them, does incline toward zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

But whosesoever mind inclineth towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has become free from this fifth spiritual barrenness.'

------------------------

20. 'And who has broken through the five kinds of spiritual bondage?'

'In the first place, O Bhikkhus, when a brother has got rid of the passion after lusts (kâme), has got rid of the desire after lusts, has got rid of the attraction to lusts, has got rid of the thirst for lusts, has got rid of the fever of lust, has got rid of the craving after lusts.--

'Whatsoever brother, O Bhikkhus, has got rid of the passion after lusts, has got rid of the desire after lusts, has got rid of the attraction to lusts, has got rid of the thirst for lusts, has got rid of the fever of lust, has got rid of the craving after lusts, his mind does incline to zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has become free from this first spiritual bondage.

21. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, when a brother has got rid of the passion after a body (kâye), has got rid of the desire after a body, has got rid of the attraction to a body, has got rid of the thirst for a body, has got rid of the fever of a body, has got rid of the craving after a body.--

'Whatsoever brother, O Bhikkhus, has got rid of the passion after a body, has got rid of the desire after a body, has got rid of the attraction to a body, has got rid of the thirst for a body, has got rid of the fever of a body, has got rid of the craving after a body, his mind does incline to zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has become free from this second spiritual bondage.

22. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, when a brother has got rid of the passion for a form (rûpe), has got rid of the desire after a form, has got rid of the attraction to a form, has got rid of the thirst for a form, has got rid of the fever of a form, has got rid of the craving after a form.--

'Whatsoever brother, O Bhikkhus, has got rid of the passion for a form, has got rid of the desire after a form, has got rid of the attraction to a form, has got rid of the thirst for a form, has got rid of the fever of a form, has got rid of the craving after a form, his mind does incline to zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has become free from this third spiritual bondage.

23. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, when a brother does not, having eaten enough and to satiety, begin to follow after the ease of sleep, the ease of softness, the ease of sloth.

'Whatsoever brother, O Bhikkhus, does not, having eaten enough and to satiety, begin to follow after the ease of sleep, the ease of softness, the ease of sloth, his mind does incline to zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has become free from this fourth spiritual bondage[1].

24. 'And further, O Bhikkhus, when a brother has not adopted the religious life in the aspiration of belonging to some one or other of the angel hosts, thinking to himself: "By this morality, or by this observance, or by this austerity, or by this religious life, I shall become an angel, or one of the angels!"--

[1. In this section, and in section 11, I have rendered sukha by ease, and not by happiness, as I think the former is always its more exact meaning in such passages.]


'Whatsoever brother, O Bhikkhus, has not adopted the religious life in the aspiration of belonging to some one or other of the angel hosts, thinking to himself: "By this morality, or by this observance, or by this austerity, or by this religious life, I shall become an angel, or one of the angels!" his mind does incline to zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle.

'But whosesoever mind inclineth towards zeal, exertion, perseverance, and struggle, he has become free from this fifth spiritual bondage.

'It is such a one, O Bhikkhus, who has broken through the five kinds of spiritual bondage.

25. 'Whatsoever brother, O Bhikkhus, has become quite free from the five kinds of mental barrenness, has altogether broken through the five kinds of spiritual bondage--that such a one should reach up to the full advantage of, should attain to full growth in, to full breadth in, this doctrine and discipline--that can well be!

------------------------

26. 'He practises the (first) road to saintship', which is accompanied by the union of the will to acquire it with earnest contemplation, and with the struggle against sin. He practises the (second) road to saintship, which is accompanied by the union of exertion with earnest contemplation, and with the struggle against sin. He practises the (third) road to saintship, which is accompanied by the union of thought with earnest contemplation, and with the struggle against sin. He practises the (fourth) road to saintship, which is accompanied by the union of investigation with earnest contemplation and the struggle against sin[1],--and strong determination too as a fifth.

[1. Iddhipâdam. Here Iddhi must be (spiritual) welfare.]



27. 'The brother, O Bhikkhus, thus endowed with fifteenfold determination[2] becomes destined to come forth into the light, capable of the higher wisdom, sure of attaining to the supreme security[3].

28. 'Just, O Bhikkhus, as when a hen has eight or ten or twelve eggs, and the hen has properly brooded over them, properly sat upon them, properly sat herself round them, however much such a wish may arise on her heart as this, "O would that my little chickens should break open the eggshell with the points of their claws, or with their beaks, and come forth into the light in safety!" yet all the while those little chickens are sure to break the egg-shell with the points of their claws, or with their beaks, and to come forth into the light in safety.

29. 'Just even so, a brother thus endowed with fifteenfold determination is sure to come forth into the light, sure to reach up to the higher wisdom, sure to attain to the supreme security[4]!'

[1. The text of this section, so far, will be found in Childers's dictionary, sub voce Iddhipâdo.

2. That is, the four Iddhipâdas, and Ussolhi, each multiplied by three.

3. Anuttarassa Yogakkhemassa; that is, Nirvâna. Compare Dhammapada, ver. 23 and p. 180.

4. The tertium quid of the parable is the absolute certainty of the event which will follow on the hen having duly and diligently followed the law of her instinct, even though she, meanwhile, in her ignorance, be full of doubt and desire. The certainty of the delivery of a woman with child is not unfrequently used as a symbol of what can be absolutely depended upon. So of 'the word of the glorious Buddhas,' which endureth for ever, in 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' p. 18. I have attempted to imitate the play in the text upon the two words for the 'coming forth into the light,' {footnote p. 235} figuratively and literally, of the disciple and of the little chicken. The first is in Pâli bhabbo abhinibbidâya (from vid), the latter is aho vata ... sotthinâ abhinibbhiggeyyan (from bhid). On sammâ-paribhavitâni, here applied to the andâni, see above, Mahâparinibbâna Sutta, Chap. I, ง 12, note.]


30. Thus spake the Blessed One. And those Brethren, delighted in heart, exalted the word of the Blessed One.

------------------------

End of the Sutta, the sixth, on barrenness and bondage.
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Re: Buddhist Suttas, Vol. XI of The Sacred Books of the East

Postby admin » Sat Jul 10, 2021 11:14 am

Part 1 of 2

MAHÂ-SUDASSANA SUTTA.

INTRODUCTION


THE following translation is made from a text based on three MSS. from the same sources as those referred to at the commencement of the Tevigga Sutta, and referred to in my notes by the same letters.

This Sutta follows in the Dîgha Nikâya immediately after the Book of the Great Decease, and is based on the same legend as the Mahâ-Sudassana Gâtaka, No. 95 in Mr. Fausböll's edition. As the latter differs in several important particulars from our Sutta, it is probably not taken directly from it, but is merely derived from the same source. To facilitate comparison between the two I add here a translation of the Gâtaka, which has not been reached as yet in my 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' and which is very short.

The part enclosed in brackets is the comment, which was probably written in Ceylon in the fifth century of our era, and I have included that part of the comment which is explanatory of the words in the verse, as it is of more than usual interest. There is every reason to believe, for the reasons given in the Introduction to the 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' that the stories themselves belong to a very early period in the history of Buddhism; and we may be sure that if this particular story had been abstracted by the author of the commentary from our Sutta, he would not have ventured to introduce such serious changes into what he regarded as sacred writ.

MAHÂ-SUDASSANA GÂTAKA.

THE GREAT KING OF GLORY


['How transient are all component things.' This the Master told when lying on his death-couch, concerning that word of Ânanda the Thera, when he said, 'Do not, O Blessed One, die in this little town,' and so on.

When the Tathâgata was at the Getavana[1] he thought 'the Thera Sâriputta, who was born at Nâlagâma, has died, on the day of the full moon in the month of Kattika, in that very village[2]; and Mahâ Moggallâna in the latter, the dark half of that same month. As my two chief disciples are thus dead; I too will pass away at Kusinârâ.' Thereupon he proceeded straight on to that place, and lay down on the Uttara-sîsaka couch, between the twin Sâla trees, never to rise again.

[1. It is not easy with our present materials to reconcile the apparently conflicting statements with regard to the Buddha's last journey. According to the Mâlâlankâra-vatthu this refers here to a residence at the Getavana, which took place between the end of § 30 in Chap. II, in the Book of the Great Decease, and the beginning of § 31. It will be noticed that § 31 speaks of 'the monastery,' which is apparently an undesigned confirmation of this tradition. (Such undesigned circumstances, however really undesigned, are very far, of course, from proving the actual truth of the tradition. They would only show that it was older than the time when the works in which they occur were put into their present shape.)

Mr. Fausböll, by his punctuation, includes these words in the following thought ascribed to the Blessed One, but I think they only describe the time at which the thought is supposed to have arisen.

2. Or perhaps 'at Varaka.' I do not understand the word varaka, which has puzzled Mr. Fausböll. The modern name of the village, afterwards the site of the famous Buddhist university of Nâlanda, is Baragaon. The full-moon day in Kattika is the 1st of December. An account of the death of Sâriputta will be found in the Mâlâlankâra-vatthu (Bigandet, 'Legend,' &c., 3rd ed., II, 1-25), and of the murder of Moggallâna by the Niganthas in the Dhammapada commentary (Fausböll, p. 298 seq.), of which Spence Hardy's account ('Manual of Buddhism,' p. 338) is nearly a translation; and Bigandet's account (loc. cit. pp. 25-27) is an abridgment.]


Then the venerable Ânanda besought him, saying, 'Let not the Blessed One die in this little township[1], in this little town in the jungle, in this branch township. Let the Blessed One die in one of the other great cities, such as Râgagaha, and the rest!'

But the Master answered, 'Say not, Ânanda, that this is a little township, a little town in the jungle, a branch township. I was dwelling formerly in this town at the time when I was Sudassana, the king of kings; and then it was a great city, surrounded by a jewelled rampart, twelve leagues in length!'

And at the request of the Thera, he, telling the tale, uttered the Mahâ-Sudassana Sutta.]

Now on that occasion when Queen Subhaddâ saw Mahâ Sudassana, when he had come down out of the Palace of Righteousness, and was lying down, not far off, on the appropriate couch, spread out in the grove of the seven kinds of gems, and when she said: 'Thine, O king, are these four and eighty thousand cities, of which the chief is the royal city of Kusavâtî. Quicken thy desire after these!'

Then replied Mahâ Sudassana, 'Speak not thus, O queen! but exhort me rather, saying, "Cast away desire for these, long not after them[2]!"

And when she asked, 'Why so, O king?' 'To-day my time is come, and I shall die!' was his reply[3].

Then the weeping queen, wiping her eyes, brought herself with difficulty and distress to address him accordingly. And having spoken, she wept, and lamented; and the other four and eighty thousand women wept too, and lamented; and of the attendant courtiers not one could restrain himself, but all also wept.

But the Bodisat stopped them all, saying, 'Enough my friends! Be still!' And he exhorted the queen, saying, 'Neither do thou, O queen, weep: neither do thou lament. For even unto a grain of sesamum fruit there is no such thing as a compound which is permanent! All are transient, all have the inherent quality of dissolution!'

[1. Khuddaka-nagarake. See the note on Mahâparinibbâna Sutta, ver. 60. Both these speeches are different from those given on the same occasion in the Sutta below.

2. This question and answer are not in the Sutta.]


And when he had so said, he further uttered this stanza:

'How transient are all component things!
Growth is their nature and decay:
They are produced, they are dissolved again:
And then is best,--when they have sunk to rest[1]!'

[In these verses the words 'How transient are all component things!' mean 'Dear lady, Subhaddâ, wheresoever and by whatsoever causes made or come together, compounds[2],--that is, all those things which possess the essential constituents (whether material or mental) of existing things[3],--all these compounds are impermanence itself. For of these form[4] is impermanent, reason[5] is impermanent, the (mental) eye[6] is impermanent, and qualities[7] are impermanent. And whatever treasure there be, whether conscious or unconscious, that is transitory. Understand therefore "How transient are all component things!"

'And why? "Growth is their nature and decay." These, all, have the inherent quality of coming into (individual) existence, and have also the inherent quality of growing old; or (in other words) their very nature is to come into existence and to be broken up. Therefore should it be understood that they are impermanent.

[1. All this is omitted in the Sutta. It is true the verse occurs there, but it is placed in the Sutta in the mouth of the Teacher, after the account of Mahâ Sudassana's death.

The last clause is literally, 'Blessed is their cessation,' where the word for cessation, upasamo, is derived from the word sam, 'to be calm, to be quiet,' and means cessation by sinking into rest. Compare below.

2. Sankhârâ.

3. Khandâyatanâdayo.

4. Rûpam.

5. Viññânam.

6. Kakkhum.

7. Dhammâ.

8. Thiti.]


'And since they are impermanent, when "they are produced, they are dissolved again." Having come into existence, having reached a state[8], they are surely dissolved. For all these things come into existence, taking an individual form; and are dissolved, being broken up. To them as soon as there is birth, there is what is called a state; as soon as there is a state, there is what is called disintegration[1]. For to the unborn there is no such thing as state, and there is no such thing as a state which is without disintegration. Thus are all compounds, having attained to the three characteristic marks (of impermanency, pain, and want of any abiding principle[2]), subject, in this way and in that way, to dissolution. All these component things therefore, without exception, are impermanent, momentary[3], despicable, unstable, disintegrating, trembling, quaking, unlasting, sure to depart[4], only for a time[5], and without substance;--as temporary[5] as a phantom, as the mirage, or as foam!

'How then in these, dear lady Subhaddâ, is there any sign of ease? Understand rather that "then is best, when they have sunk to rest;" but their sinking to rest, their cessation, comes from the cessation of the whole round (of life), and is the same as Nirvâna. That and this are one[6]. And hence there is no such thing as ease.']

------------------------

And when Mahâ Sudassana had thus brought his discourse to a point with the ambrosial great Nirvâna, he made exhortation also to the rest of the great multitude, saying, 'Give gifts! Observe the precepts! Keep the sacred days[7]!' and became an inheritor of the world of the gods.

[When the Master had concluded this lesson in the truth, he summed up the Gâtaka, saying, 'She who was then Subhaddâ the queen was the mother of Râhula, the great adviser was Râhula, the rest of the retinue the Buddha's retinue, and Mahâ Sudassana I myself.']

[1. Bhango.

2. Anekkam, dukkham, anattam. See Gâtaka I, 275; and, on the last, Mahâparinibbâna Sutta I, to, and Mahâ Vagga I, vi, 38-47.

3. Khanikâ. See Oldenberg's note on Dîpavamsa I, 53.

4. Pâyâtâ, literally 'departed.' The forms payâti and payâto, given by Childers, should be corrected into pâyâti and pâyâto. See Gâtaka I, 146.

5. Tâvakâlikâ, See Gâtaka I, 121, where the word is used of a cart let out on hire for a time only.

6. 'Tad ev ekam ekam, which is not altogether without ambiguity.

7. This paragraph, too, is omitted in the Sutta.]


INTRODUCTION (continued)

The word translated 'component things' or 'compounds' in this Gâtaka is sankhârâ, literally confections, from kar, 'to do,' and sam, 'together.' It is a word very frequently used in Buddhist writings, and a word consequently of many different connotations; and there is, of course, no exactly corresponding word in English. 'Production' would often be very nearly correct, although it fails entirely to give the force of the preposition sam; but a greater objection to that word is the fact that it is generally used, not of things that have come into being of themselves, but of things that have been produced by some one else. It suggests, if it does not imply, a producer; which is contrary to the whole spirit of the Buddhist passages in which the word sankhârâ occurs. In this important respect the word 'compound' is a much more accurate translation, though it lays somewhat too much stress on the sam.

The term Confections (to coin a rendering) is sometimes used, as in the first line of these verses (as used in this connection), to denote all things which have been brought together, made up, by pre-existing causes; and in this sense it includes, as the commentator here points out, all those material or mental qualities which unite to form an individual, a separate thing or being, whether conscious or unconscious.

It is more usually used, with special reference to their origin from pre-existing causes, and with allusion to the wider class denoted by the same word, of the mental confections only, of all sentient beings generally, or of man alone. In this sense it forms by itself one of the five classes or aggregates (khandhâ) into which the material and mental qualities of each separate individual are divided in Buddhist writings--the class of dispositions, capabilities, and all that goes together to make what we call character. This class has naturally enough been again divided and subdivided; and a full list of the Confections in this sense, as now acknowledged by orthodox Buddhists, will be found in my manual 'Buddhism.' At the time when the Pâli Pitakas reached their present form, no such elaborate list of Confections in detail seems to have been made; but the general sense of the word was, as is quite clear from the passages in which it occurs, the idea which these details together convey. It is this second and more usual meaning of the term which is more especially emphasised in the concluding verse of the above stanza.

------------------------

I have ventured to dwell so far on the word Confections, because the commentator here says that the cessation of these Confections is the same thing as Nirvâna; and the question of Nirvâna engrosses so large a share of the attention of those who are interested in Buddhism.

Whether it is entitled to do so is open to serious question. The Buddhist salvation was held to consist in a change of heart, a modification of personal character, to be attained to in this world, and forming the subject of Gotama's first discourse, 'The Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteousness[1].' When looked at from different points of view this state of mind was denoted, in the very numerous passages in which it is mentioned or referred to, under a great variety of different names or epithets, suggestive of the different points of view from which it could be regarded. The term Nibbâna, or Nirvâna, is only one of those epithets; and it is a most significant fact, to which I would invite especial attention, that it is an epithet comparatively very seldom employed in the Pâli Pitakas themselves. It is to the state of mind itself, the salvation which every Arahat has reached while yet alive, in a word, to Arahatship, that importance ought to be attached, rather than to that particular connotation of it suggested by the word Nirvâna.

One of the many ideas involved in Arahatship was the absolute dissolution of individuality. Gotama, whether rightly or wrongly is here of no importance, held that freedom from pain, absolute ease, happiness, was incompatible with existence as a distinct individual (whether animal, god, or man). The cessation of the Confections, so far from being a thing to be dreaded, was the inevitable result of the emancipation of heart and mind in Arahatship.

[1. The Dhamma-kakka-ppavattana Sutta, translated below.]


But it was not a thing to be desired, and could not, in fact, be brought about apart from all the other things involved in Arahatship. The formation of these Confections ceases in Nirvâna, and in Nirvâna alone; and when the poet declares that their cessation is blessed, he is saying the same thing as if he had said 'Nirvâna is blessed[1].'

------------------------

Turning now to the Sutta itself, we find that the portion of the legend omitted in the Gâtaka throws an unexpected light upon the tale; for it commences with a long description of the riches and glory of Mahâ Sudassana, and reveals in its details the instructive fact that the legend is nothing more nor less than a spiritualist's sun-myth.

It cannot be disputed that the sun-myth theory has become greatly discredited, and with reason, by having been used too carelessly and freely as an explanation of religious legends of different times and countries which have really no historical connection with the earlier awe and reverence inspired by the sun. The very mention of the word sun-myth is apt to call forth a smile of incredulity, and the indubitable truth which is the basis of the theory has not sufficed to protect it from the shafts of ridicule. The 'Book of the Great King of Glory' seems to afford a useful example both of the extent to which the theory may be accepted, and of the limitations under which it should always be applied.

[1. In this respect it should be noticed that the very word here used for cessation, upasamo, is used as one among a string of epithets of Arahatship at Dhamma-kakka-ppavattana Sutta, § 3, = Gâtaka I, 97, and again in Dhammapada, verses 368, 381. In this last passage the whole of the phrase in the last verse in our stanza recurs in the accusative case as an equivalent to Arahatship, and the comma inserted by Mr. Fausböll between sankhârûpasamam and sukham is, in both verses, unnecessary.]


It must at once be admitted that whether the whole story is based on a sun-story, or whether certain parts or details of it are derived from things first spoken about the sun, or not, it is still essentially Buddhistic. A large proportion of its contents has nothing at all to do with the worship of the sun; and even that which has, had not, in the mind of the author, when the book was put together. Whether indebted to a sun-myth or not, it is therefore perfectly true and valid evidence of the religious belief of the people among whom it was current; and no more shows that the Buddhists were unconscious sun worshippers than the story of Samson, under any theory of its possible origin, would prove the same of the Jews.

What we really have is a kind of wonderful fairy tale, a gorgeous poem, in which an attempt is made to describe in set terms the greatest possible glory and majesty of the greatest possible king, in order to show that all is vanity, save only righteousness-just such a poem as a Jewish prophet might have written of Solomon in all his glory. It would have been most strange, perhaps impossible, for the author to refrain from using the language of the only poets he knew, who had used their boldly figurative language in an attempt to describe the appearance of the sun.

To trace back all the rhetorical phrases of our Sutta to their earliest appearance in the Vedic hymns would be an interesting task of historical philology, though it would throw more light upon Buddhist forms of speech than upon Buddhist forms of belief. In M. Senart's valuable work, 'La Legende du Bouddha,' he has already done this with regard to the seven treasures (mentioned in the early part of the Sutta) on the basis of the corresponding passage in the later Buddhist Sanskrit poem called the Lalita Vistara. The descriptions of the royal city and of its wondrous Palace of Righteousness have been probably originated by the author, though on the same lines; and it reminds one irresistibly, in many of its expressions, of the similar, but simpler and more beautiful poem in which a Jewish author, some three centuries afterwards, described the heavenly Jerusalem.

When the Northern Buddhists, long afterwards, had smothered the simple teaching of the founder of their religion under the subtleties of theological and metaphysical speculation, and had forgotten all about the Noble Path, their goal was no longer a change of heart in the Arahatship to be reached on earth, but a life of happiness, under a change of outward condition, in a heaven of bliss beyond the skies. One of the most popular books among the Buddhists of China and Japan is a description of this heavenly paradise of theirs, called the Sukhâvatî-vyûha, the 'Book of the Happy Country,' the Sanskrit text of which has been just published by Professor Max Müller in the volume of the journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for the present year. It is instructive to find that several of the expressions used are word for word the same as the corresponding phrases in the 'Book of the Great King of Glory.'

THE GREAT KING OF GLORY[1].

MAHÂ-SUDASSANA-SUTTA.

CHAPTER I.


1. Thus have I heard. The Blessed One was once staying at Kusinârâ in the Upavattana, the Sâla grove of the Mallas, between the twin Sâla trees, at the time of his death.

2. Now the venerable Ânanda went up to the place where the Blessed One was, and bowed down before him, and took his seat respectfully on one side. And when he was so seated, the venerable Ânanda said to the Blessed One:

2 'Let not the Blessed One die in this little wattel and daub town, in this town in the midst of the jungle, in this branch township. For, Lord, there are other great cities, such as Kampâ, Râgagaha, Sâvatthi, Sâketa, Kosambi, and Benâres. Let the Blessed One die in one of them. There there are many wealthy nobles and Brâhmans and heads of houses, believers in the Tathâgata, who will pay due honour to the remains of the Tathâgata.'

[1. Sudassana means 'beautiful to see, having a glorious appearance,' and is the name of many kings and heroes in Indian legend.

2. From here down to the end of the next section is found also, nearly word for word, in the Mahâparinibbâna Sutta, above, pp. 99, 100. Compare also Mahâ-Sudassana Gâtaka, No. 95.]


3. 'Say not so, Ânanda! Say not so, Ânanda, that this is but a small wattel and daub town, a town in the midst of the jungle, a branch township. Long ago, Ânanda, there was a king, by name Mahâ-Sudassana, a king of kings, a righteous man who ruled in righteousness, an anointed Kshatriya[1], Lord of the four quarters of the earth, conqueror, the protector of his people, possessor of the seven royal treasures. This Kusinârâ, Ânanda, was the royal city of king Mahâ-Sudassana, under the name of Kusâvatî[2], and on the east and on the west it was twelve leagues in length, and on the north and on the south it was seven leagues in breadth. That royal city Kusâvatî, Ânanda, was mighty, and prosperous, and full of people, crowded with men, and provided with all things for food. just, Ânanda, as the royal city of the gods, Âlakamandâ by name, is mighty, prosperous, and full of people, crowded with the gods, and provided with all kinds of food, so. Ânanda, was the royal city Kusâvatî mighty and prosperous, full of people, crowded with men, and provided with all kinds of food. Both by day and by night, Ânanda, the royal city Kusâvatî resounded with the ten cries; that is to say, the noise of elephants, and the noise of horses, and the noise of chariots; the sounds of the drum, of the tabor, and of the lute; the sound of singing, and the sounds of the cymbal and of the gong; and lastly, with the cry, "Eat, drink, and be merry[1]!"

[1. Khattiyo muddhâvasitto, which does not occur in the Mahâparinibbâna Sutta, the Mahâpadhâna Sutta, the Lakkhana Sutta, and other places where this stock description of a Kakkavatti is found. It is omitted also in the Lalita Vistara. The Burmese Phayre MS. of the India Office reads here muddâbhisitto, but this is an unnecessary correction. So the name of the Hindu caste mentioned in the Sahyâdri Khanda of the Skanda Purâna is spelt both ways. The epithet is probably inserted here from § 12 below.

2. Kusâvatî was the name of a famous city mentioned as the capital of Southern Kusala in post-Buddhistic Sanskrit plays and epic poems. In the Mahâbhârata it is called Kusavatî. It is said to have been so named after Kusa, son of Râma, by whom it was built; and it is also called Kusasthalî.]


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4. 'The royal city Kusâvatî, Ânanda, was surrounded by Seven Ramparts. Of these, one rampart was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal, and one of agate, and one of coral, and one of all kinds of gems[2]!'

[1. This enumeration is found also at Gâtaka, p. 3, only that the chank is added there--wrongly, for that makes the number of cries eleven.

2. Beryl, agate, and coral are doubtful renderings of Pâli names of precious substances, the exact meaning of which has been discussed on the very slender evidence available (and hence, it seems to me, with very little certain result) by Burnouf in the 'Lotus de la Bonne Loi,' pp. 319-321; and Professor Max Müller has a further note in the journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1890, p. 178. The Pâli words here are in the first column:

1. Sovannamayo, / Suvarnasya;

2. Rûpimayo, / Rûpasya;

3. Veluriyamayo, / Vaidûryasya;

4. Phalikamayo, / Sphatikasya;

5. Lohitankamayo, / Lohitamuktasya;

6. Masâragallamayo, / Asmagarbhasya;

7. Sabbaratanamayo, / Musâragalvasya:


those in the second being taken from the Sukhavatîvyûha in the corresponding to § 6 below. It is quite possible that passage the writers of these passages used the rarer words only as names of precious substances, without attaching any clearly distinct meaning to each (compare Rev. xxi. 19-21). The Pâli author seems to have been hard put to it to find enough names to fill up the sacred number seven; just as in the 'Seven jewels' of the Dhamma, the sacred number seven is reached by giving to one jewel two distinct names (Pañk indriyâni = pañka balâni). At Kulla Vagga IX, 1, 4. we find the following enumeration of {footnote p. 250} ratanas as found in the ocean, though only Nos. 1, 4, 5, 6 are really produced there:

1. Mutta.
2. Mani.
3. Veluriyo.
4. Sankho.
5. Silâ
6. Pavâlam.
7. Ragatam.
8. Gâtarûpam.
9. Lohitanko.
10. Masâragallam.
]


5. 'To the royal city Kusâvatî, Ânanda, there were Four Gates. One gate was of gold, and one of silver, and one of jade, and one of crystal. At each gate seven pillars were fixed; in height as three times or as four times the height of a man. And one pillar was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal, and one of agate, and one of coral, and one of all kinds of gems.

6. 'The royal city Kusâvatî, Ânanda, was surrounded by Seven Rows of Palm Trees. One row was of palms of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal, and one of agate, and one of coral, and one of all kinds of gems.

7. 'And the Golden Palms had trunks of gold, and leaves and fruits of silver. And the Silver Palms had trunks of silver, and leaves and fruits of gold. And the Palms of Beryl had trunks of beryl, and leaves and fruits of crystal. And the Crystal Palms had trunks of crystal, and leaves and fruits of beryl. And the Agate Palms had trunks of agate, and leaves and fruits of coral. And the Coral Palms had trunks of coral, and leaves and fruits of agate. And the Palms of every kind of Gem had trunks and leaves and fruits of every kind of gem.

8.[1] 'And when those rows of palm trees, Ânanda, were shaken by the wind, there arose a sound sweet, and pleasant, and charming, and intoxicating.

[1. This section and § 9 should be compared with one in the Sukhavatîvyûha, translated by Professor Max Müller as follows (journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1880, p. 170):

'And again, O Sâriputra, when those rows of palm trees and {footnote p. 251} strings of bells in that Buddha country are moved by the wind, a sweet and enrapturing sound proceeds from them. Yes, O Sâriputra, as from a heavenly musical instrument consisting of a hundred thousand kotis of sounds, when played by Âryas, a sweet and enrapturing sound proceeds; a sweet and enrapturing sound proceeds from those rows of palm trees and strings of bells moved by the wind.

'And when the men there hear that sound, reflection on Buddha arises in their body, reflection on the Law, reflection on the Assembly.'

Compare also below, § 81, and Gâtaka I, 32.]


'Just, Ânanda, as the seven kind of instruments yield, when well played upon, to the skilful man, a sound sweet, and pleasant, and charming, and intoxicating-just even so, Ânanda, when those rows of palm trees were shaken by the wind, there arose a sound sweet, and pleasant, and charming, and intoxicating.

9. 'And whoever, Ânanda, in the royal city Kusâvatî were at that time gamblers, drunkards, and given to drink, they used to dance round together to the sound of those palms when shaken by the wind.

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10. 'The Great King of Glory, Ânanda, was the possessor of Seven Precious Things, and was gifted with Four Marvellous Powers.'

'What are those seven?'

11.[1] 'In the first place, Ânanda, when the Great King of Glory, on the Sabbath day[2], on the day of the full moon, had purified himself, and had gone up into the upper story of his palace to keep the sacred day, there then appeared to him the heavenly Treasure of the Wheel[1], with its nave, its tire, and all its thousand spokes complete.

[1. The following enumeration is found word for word in several other Pâli Suttas, and occurs also, in almost identical terms, in the Lalita Vistara (Calcutta edition, pp. 14-19).

2. 'Uposatha, a weekly sacred day; being full-moon day, new-moon day, and the two equidistant intermediate days. Comp. § 21.]


12. 'When he beheld it the Great King of Glory thought:

'"This saying have I heard, 'When a king of the warrior race, an anointed king, has purified himself on the Sabbath day, on the day of the full moon, and has gone up into the upper story of his palace to keep the sacred day; if there appear to him the heavenly Treasure of the Wheel, with its nave, its tire, and all its thousand spokes complete-that king becomes a king of kings invincible.' May I, then, become a king of kings invincible[2]."

13. 'Then, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory rose from his seat, and reverently uncovering from one shoulder his robe, he held in his left hand a pitcher, and with his right hand he sprinkled water up over the Wheel, as he said:

'"Roll onward, O my Lord, the Wheel! O my Lord, go forth and overcome!"

14. 'Then the wondrous Wheel, Ânanda, rolled onwards towards the region of the East, and after it went the Great King of Glory[3], and with him his army, horses, and chariots, and elephants, and men. And in whatever place, Ânanda, the Wheel stopped, there the Great King of Glory took up his abode, and with him his army, horses, and chariots, and elephants, and men.

[1. Kakka-ratanam, where the kakka is the disk of the sun.

2. Kakkavattirâgâ.

3. Atha kho kakka-ratanam puratthimam disam pavatti anvad eva râgâ Mahâsudassano, &c. Here anvad must be the Sanskrit anvañk. The Lalita Vistara has anveti in the corresponding passage, and the (Phayre Burmese) MS. here reads anud eva. The verb in the second clause must be supplied, as {footnote p. 253} is the case in the one or two other passages where I have met with this phrase.]


15. 'Then, Ânanda, all the rival kings in the region of the East came to the Great King of Glory and said:

'"Come, O mighty king! Welcome, O mighty king! All is thine, O mighty king! Do thou, O mighty king, be a Teacher to us!"

16. 'Thus spake the Great King of Glory:

'"Ye shall slay no living thing.

'"Ye shall not take that which has not been given.

'"Ye shall not act wrongly touching the bodily desires.

'"Ye shall speak no lie.

'"Ye shall drink no maddening drink.

'"Ye shall eat as ye have eaten[1]."

17. 'Then, Ânanda, all the rival kings in the region of the East became subject unto the Great King of Glory.

18. 'But the wondrous Wheel, Ânanda, having plunged down into the great waters in the East, rose up out again, and rolled onward to the region of the South [and there all happened as had happened in the region of the East. And in like manner the wondrous Wheel rolled onward to the extremest boundary of the West and of the North; and there, too, all happened as had happened in the region of the East].

[1. Yathâbhuttambhuñgatha. Buddhaghosa has no comment on this. I suppose it means, 'Observe the rules current among you regarding clean and unclean meats.' If so, the Great King of Glory disregards the teaching of the Âmagandha Sutta, quoted in 'Buddhism,' p. 131.]


19. 'Now when the wondrous Wheel, Ânanda, had gone forth conquering and to conquer o'er the whole earth to its very ocean boundary, it returned back again to the royal city of Kusâvatî and remained fixed on the open terrace in front of the entrance to the inner apartments of the Great King of Glory, as a glorious adornment to the inner apartments of the Great King of Glory.

20. 'Such, Ânanda, was the wondrous Wheel which appeared to the Great King of Glory.

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21. 'Now further, Ânanda, there appeared to the Great King of Glory the Elephant Treasure[1], all white, sevenfold firm[2], wonderful in power, flying through the sky--the Elephant-King, whose name was "The Changes of the Moon[3]."

22. 'When he beheld it the Great King of Glory was pleased at heart at the thought

[1. Hatthi-ratana.

2. Satta-ppatittho, that is, perhaps, in regard to its four legs, two tusks, and trunk. The expression is curious, and Buddhaghosa has no note upon it. It is quite possible that it merely signifies 'exceeding firm,' the number seven being used without any hard and fast interpretation.

3. Uposatho. In the Lalita Vistara its name is 'Wisdom' (Bodhi). Uposatha is the name for the sacred day of the moon's changes-first, and more especially the full-moon day; next, the new-moon day; and lastly, the days equidistant between these two. It was therefore a weekly sacred day, and, as Childers says, may often be well rendered 'Sabbath.']


'"Auspicious were it to ride upon that Elephant, if only it would submit to be controlled!"

23. 'Then, Ânanda, the wondrous Elephant--like a fine elephant of noble blood long since well trained--submitted to control.

24. 'When as before, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory, to test that wondrous Elephant, mounted on to it early in the morning, it passed over along the broad earth to its very ocean boundary, and then returned again, in time for the morning meal, to the royal city of Kusâvatî[1].

25. 'Such, Ânanda, was the wondrous Elephant that appeared to the Great King of Glory.

26. 'Now further, Ânanda, there appeared to the Great King of Glory the Horse Treasure[2], all white with a black head, and a dark mane, wonderful in power, flying through the sky-the Charger-King, whose name was "Thunder-cloud[3]."

27. 'When he beheld it, the Great King of Glory was pleased at heart at the thought:

'"Auspicious were it to ride upon that Horse if only it would submit to be controlled!"

28. 'Then, Ânanda. the wondrous Horse--like a fine horse of the best blood long since well trained--submitted to control.

[1. Compare on this and § 29 my 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' p. 85, where a similar phrase is used of Kanthaka.

2 Assa-ratanam.

3 Valâhako. Compare the Valâhassa Gâtaka (Fausböll, No. 196, called in the Burmese MS. Valâhakassa Gâtaka), of which the Chinese story translated by Mr. Beal at pp. 332-340 of his 'Romantic History,' &c., is an expanded and altered version. In the Valâhaka Samyutta of the Samyutta Nikâya the spirits of the skies are divided into Unha-valâhakâ Devâ, Sîta-valâhakâ Devâ, Abbha-valâhakâ Devâ, Vâta-valâhakâ Devâ, and Vassa-valâhakâ Devâ, that is, the cloud-spirits of cold, heat, air, wind, and rain respectively.]


29. 'When as before, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory, to test that wondrous Horse, mounted on to it early in the morning, it passed over along the broad earth to its very ocean boundary, and then returned again, in time for the morning meal, to the royal city of Kusâvatî.

30. 'Such, Ânanda, was the wondrous Horse that appeared to the Great King of Glory.

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31. 'Now further, Ânanda, there appeared to the Great King of Glory the Gem-Treasure[1]. That Gem was the Veluriya, bright, of the finest species, with eight facets, excellently wrought, clear, transparent, perfect in every way.

32. 'The splendour, Ânanda, of that wondrous Gem spread round about a league on every side.

33. 'When as before, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory, to test that wondrous Gem, set all his fourfold army in array and raised aloft the Gem upon his standard top, he was able to march out in the gloom and darkness of the night.

34. 'And then too, Ânanda, all the dwellers in the villages, round about, set about their daily work, thinking, "The daylight hath appeared."

35. 'Such, Ânanda, was the wondrous Gem that appeared to the Great King of Glory.

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36. 'Now further, Ânanda, there appeared to the Great King of Glory the Woman-Treasure[2], graceful in figure, beautiful in appearance, charming in manner, and of the most fine complexion; neither very tall, nor very short; neither very stout, nor very slim; neither very dark, nor very fair; surpassing human beauty, she had attained unto the beauty of the gods[1].

[1. Mani-ratanam.

2 Itthi-ratanam.]


37. 'The touch too, Ânanda, of the skin of that wondrous Woman was as the touch of cotton or of cotton wool: in the cold her limbs were warm, in the heat her limbs were cool; while from her body was wafted the perfume of sandal wood and from her mouth the perfume of the lotus.

38. 'That Pearl among Women too, Ânanda, used to rise up before the Great King of Glory, and after him retire to rest; pleasant was she in speech, and ever on the watch to hear what she might do in order so to act as to give him pleasure.

39. 'That Pearl among Women too, Ânanda, was never, even in thought, unfaithful to the Great King of Glory--how much less then could she be so with the body!

40. 'Such, Ânanda, was the Pearl among Women who appeared to the Great King of Glory.

------------------------

41. 'Now further, Ânanda, there appeared unto the Great King of Glory a Wonderful Treasurer[2], possessed, through good deeds done in a former birth, of a marvellous power of vision by which he could discover treasure, whether it had an owner or whether it had not.

[1. The above description of an ideally beautiful woman is of frequent occurrence.

2. Gahapati-ratanam. The word gahapati has been hitherto usually rendered 'householder,' but this may often, and would certainly here, convey a wrong impression. There is no single word in English which is an adequate rendering of the term, for it connotes a social condition now no longer known among us. The gahapati was the head of a family, the representative in a village community of a family, the pater familias. So the god of fire, with allusion to the sacred fire maintained in each household, is called in the Rig-veda the grihapati, the pater familias, {footnote p. 258} of the human race. Thence it is often used in opposition to brâhmana very much as we might use 'yeoman' in opposition to 'clerk' (Gâtaka I, 83, and below, § 53); and the two combined are used in opposition to people of other ranks and callings held to be less honourable than that of clerk or yeoman (Gâtaka I, 218). In this respect the term gahapati is nearly equivalent, though from a different point of view, to the Kshatriyas and Vaisyas of the Hindu caste division; but the compound brâhmana-gahapatikâ as a collective term comes to be about equivalent to 'priests and laymen' (see, for instance, below, § 53, and Mahâ Vagga I, 22; 3, 4, &c.). Then again the gahapati is distinct from the subordinate members of the family, who had not the control and management of the common property (Sâmañña Phala Sutta, 133, = Tevigga Sutta I, 47); and it is this implication of the term that is emphasised in the text. Buddhaghosa uses, as an explanatory phrase, the words setthi-gahapati. See further the passages quoted in the index to the Kulla Vagga (p. 354).]


42. 'He went up to the Great King of Glory, and said:

'"Do thou, O king, take thine case! I will deal with thy wealth even as wealth should be dealt with."

43. 'Then, as before, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory, to test that wonderful Treasurer, went on board a boat, and had it pushed out into the current in the midst of the river Ganges. Then he said to the wonderful steward:

'"I have need, O Treasurer, of yellow gold!"

'"Let the ship then, O Great King, go alongside either of the banks."

'"It is here, O Treasurer, that I have need of yellow gold."

44. 'Then the wonderful Treasurer reached down to the water with both his hands, and drew up a jar full of yellow gold, and said to the Great King of Glory--

'"Is that enough, O Great King? Have I done enough, O Great King?"

'And the Great King of Glory replied:

'"It is enough, O Treasurer. You have done enough, O Treasurer. You have offered me enough, O Treasurer!"

45. 'Such was the wonderful Treasurer, Ânanda, who appeared to the Great King of Glory.

------------------------

46. 'Now further, Ânanda, there appeared to the Great King of Glory a Wonderful Adviser[1], learned, clever, and wise; and qualified to lead the Great King of Glory to undertake what he ought to undertake, and to leave undone what he ought to leave undone.

47. 'He went up to the Great King of Glory, and said:

'"Do thou, O King, take thine ease! I will be thy guide."

48. 'Such, Ânanda, was the wonderful Adviser who appeared to the Great King of Glory.

'The Great King of Glory was possessed of these Seven Precious Things.

------------------------

49. 'Now further, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory was gifted with Four Marvellous Gifts[2].'

'What are the Four Marvellous Gifts?'

[1. Parinâyaka-ratanam. Buddhaghosa says that he was the eldest son of the king; but this is probably a mere putting back into the Sutta of a later idea derived from the summary in the Gâtaka. The Lalita Vistara makes him a general.

2. Katûhi iddhîhi. Here again, as elsewhere, it will be noticed that there is nothing supernatural about these four Iddhis. See {footnote p. 260} the notes above on the 'Book of the Great Decease,' I, 1; III, 2. They are merely attributes accompanying or forming part of the majesty (iddhi) of the Kakkavatti.]


50. 'In the first place, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory was graceful in figure, handsome in appearance, pleasing in manner, and of most beautiful complexion, beyond what other men are.

'The Great King of Glory, Ânanda, was endowed with this First Marvellous Gift.

51. 'And besides that, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory was of long life, and of many years, beyond those of other men.

'The Great King of Glory, Ânanda, was endowed with this Second Marvellous Gift.

52. 'And besides that, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory was free from disease, and free from bodily suffering; and his internal fire was neither too hot nor too cold, but such as to promote good digestion, beyond that of other men[1].

[1. Samavepâkiniyâ gahaniyâ samannâgato nâtisîtâya nâkkunhâya. The same thing is said of Ratthapâla in the Ratthapâla Sutta, where Gogerly renders the whole passage, 'Ratthapâla is healthy, free from pain, having a good digestion and appetite, being troubled with no excess of either heat or cold' (journal of the Ceylon Asiatic Society, 1847-1848, p. 98). The gahani is a supposed particular organ or function situate at the junction of the stomach and intestines. Moggallâna explains it, udare tu tathâ pâkanalasmim gahani (Abhidhâna-ppadîpikî, 972), where Subhûti's Sinhalese version is 'kukshi, pakâgni,' and his English version, 'the belly, the internal fire which promotes digestion.' Buddhaghosa explains samavipâkiyâ kammagâ-tego-dhâtuyâ, and adds, 'If a man's food is dissolved the moment he has eaten it, or if it remains like a lump, he has not the samavepâkini gahani, but he who has appetite (bhattakkhando) when the time for food comes round again, he has the samavepâkini gahani,'--which is delightfully naïve.]


'The Great King of Glory, Ânanda, was endowed with this Third Marvellous Gift.

53. 'And besides that, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory was beloved and popular with Brâhmans and with laymen alike[1]. Just, Ânanda, as a father is near and dear to his own sons, just so, Ânanda, was the Great King of Glory beloved and popular with Brâhmans and with laymen alike. And just, Ânanda, as his sons are near and dear to a father, just so, Ânanda, were Brâhmans and laymen alike near and dear to the Great King of Glory.

54. 'Once, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory marched out with all his fourfold army to the pleasure ground. There, Ânanda, the Brâhmans and laymen went up to the Great King of Glory, and said:

'"O King, pass slowly by, that we may look upon thee for a longer time!"

'But the Great King of Glory, Ânanda, addressed his charioteer, and said:

'"Drive on the chariot slowly, charioteer, that I may look upon my people (Brâhmans and laymen) for a longer time!"

55. 'This was the Fourth Marvellous Gift, Ânanda, with which the Great King of Glory was endowed.

56. 'These are the Four Marvellous Gifts, Ânanda, with which the Great King of Glory was endowed.

------------------------

57. 'Now to the Great King of Glory, Ânanda, there occurred the thought:

[1. Brâhmana-gahapatikânam. See the note on § 41.]


'"Suppose, now, I were to make Lotus-ponds in the spaces between these palms, at every hundred bow lengths."

'Then, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory, in the spaces between those palms, at distances of a hundred bow lengths, made Lotus-ponds.

58. 'And those Lotus-ponds, Ânanda, were faced with tiles of four kinds. One kind of tile was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal.

59. 'And to each of those Lotus-ponds, Ânanda, there were four flights of steps, of four different kinds. One flight of steps was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal. The flight of golden steps had balustrades of gold, with the cross bars and the figure head of silver. The flight of silver steps had balustrades of silver, with the cross bars and the figure head of gold. The flight of beryl steps had balustrades of beryl, with the cross bars and the figure head of crystal. The flight of crystal steps had balustrades of crystal, with cross bars and figure head of beryl.

60. 'And round those Lotus-ponds there ran, Ânanda, a double railing. One railing was of gold, and one was of silver. The golden railing had its posts of gold, and its cross bars and its capitals of silver. The silver railing had its posts of silver, and its cross bars and its capitals of gold[1].

[1. Pokkharani, the word translated Lotus-pond, is an artificial pool or small lake for water plants. There are some which are probably nearly as old as this passage still in good preservation in Anurâdhapuru in Ceylon. Each is oblong, and has its tiles and its four flights of steps, and some had railings. The balustrades, cross bars, figure head, and railing are in Pâli thambhâ, sûkiyo, unhîsam, and vedikâ, of the exact meaning of which I am not quite confident. They do not occur in the description {footnote p. 263} of the Lotus-lakes in Sukhavatî. General Cunningham says that the cross bars of the Buddhist railings are called sûkiyo in the inscriptions at Bharhut (The Stupa of Bharhut, p. 127). Buddhaghosa, who is good enough to tell us the exact number of the ponds-to wit, 84,000, has no explanation of these words, merely saying that of the two vedikâs one was at the limit of the tiles and one at the limit of the parivena. The phrases in the text are repeated below, §§ 73-87, of the Palace of Righteousness.]


61. 'Now, to the Great King of Glory, Ânanda, there occurred the thought:

'"Suppose, now, I were to have flowers of every season planted in those Lotus-ponds for the use of all the people-to wit, blue water lilies and blue lotuses, white lotuses and white water lilies."

'Then, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory had flowers of every season planted in those Lotus-ponds for the use of all the people-to wit, blue water lilies and blue lotuses, white lotuses and white water lilies.

62. 'Now, to the Great King of Glory, Ânanda, occurred the thought:

'"Suppose, now, I were to place bathing-men on the banks of those Lotus-ponds, to bathe such of the people as come there from time to time."

'Then, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory placed bathing-men on the banks of those Lotus-ponds, to bathe such of the people as come there from time to time.

63. 'Now, to the Great King of Glory, Ânanda, occurred the thought:

'"Suppose, now, I were to establish a perpetual grant by the banks of those Lotus-ponds--to wit, food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, raiment for the naked, means of conveyance for those who have need of it, couches for the tired, wives for those who want wives, gold for the poor, and money for those who are in want."

'Then, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory established a perpetual grant by the banks of those Lotus-ponds--to wit, food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, raiment for the naked, means of conveyance for those who needed it, couches for the tired, wives for those who wanted wives, gold for the poor, and money for those who were in want.

------------------------

64. 'Now, Ânanda, the people (Brâhmans and laymen) went to the Great King of Glory, taking with them much wealth. And they said:

'"This abundant wealth, O King, have we brought here for the use of the King of Kings. Let the King accept it of us!"

'"I have enough wealth, my friends, laid up for myself, the produce of righteous taxation. Do you keep this, and take away more with you!"

65. 'When those men were thus refused by the King they went aside and considered together, saying:

'"It would not beseem us now, were we to take back this wealth to our own houses. Suppose, now, we were to build a mansion for the Great King of Glory."

66. 'Then they went to the Great King of Glory, and said:

'"A mansion would we build for thee, O King!"'

'"Then, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory signified, by silence, his consent.

------------------------

67. 'Now, Ânanda, when Sakka, the king of the gods, became aware in his mind of the thoughts that were in the heart of the Great King of Glory, he addressed Vissakamma the god[1], and said:

'"Come now, Vissakamma, create me a mansion for the Great King of Glory--a palace which shall be called 'Righteousness[2].'"

68. '"Even so, Lord!" said Vissakamma, in assent, Ânanda, to Sakka, the king of the gods. And as instantaneously as a strong man might stretch forth his folded arm, or draw in his arm again when it was stretched forth, so quickly did he vanish from the heaven of the Great Thirty-Three, and appeared before the Great King of Glory.

69. 'Then, Ânanda, Vissakamma the god said to the Great King of Glory:

'"I would create for thee, O King, a mansion--a palace which shall be called 'Righteousness!'"

'Then, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory signified, by silence, his consent.

------------------------

70. 'So Vissakamma the god, Ânanda, created for the Great King of Glory a mansion--a palace to be called "Righteousness."

71. 'The Palace of Righteousness, Ânanda, was on the east and on the west a league in length, and on the north and on the south half a league in breadth.

72. 'The ground-floor, Ânanda, of the Palace of Righteousness[3], in height as three times the height to which a man can reach, was built of bricks, of four kinds. One kind of brick was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal.

[1. Vissakammam devaputtam, where devaputtam means not 'son of a god,' but 'belonging to, born into the class of, the gods.'

2. Dhammam nâma Pâsâdam.

3. Dhammassa pâsâdassa vatthum.]


73. 'To the Palace of Righteousness, Ânanda, there were eighty-four thousand pillars of four kinds. One kind of pillar was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal.

74. 'The Palace of Righteousness, Ânanda, was fitted up with seats of four kinds. One kind of seat was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal.

75. 'In the Palace of Righteousness, Ânanda, there were twenty-four staircases of four kinds. One staircase was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal. The staircase of gold had balustrades of gold, with the cross bars and the figure head of silver. The staircase of silver had balustrades of silver, with the cross bars and the figure head of gold. The staircase of beryl had balustrades of beryl, with the cross bars and the figure head of crystal. The staircase of crystal had balustrades of crystal, with cross bars and figure head of beryl.

76. 'In the Palace of Righteousness, Ânanda, there were eighty-four thousand chambers of four kinds. One kind of chamber was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal.

'In the golden chamber a silver couch was spread; in the silver chamber a golden couch; in the beryl chamber a couch of ivory; and in the crystal chamber a couch of coral.

'At the door of the golden chamber there stood a palm tree of silver; and its trunk was of silver, and its leaves and fruits of gold.

'At the door of the silver chamber there stood a palm tree of gold; and its trunk was of gold, and its leaves and fruits of silver.

'At the door of the beryl chamber there stood a palm tree of crystal; and its trunk was of crystal, and its leaves and fruits of beryl.

'At the door of the crystal chamber there stood a palm tree of beryl; and its trunk was of beryl, and its leaves and fruits of crystal.

------------------------

77. 'Now there occurred, Ânanda, to the Great King of Glory this thought:

'"Suppose, now, I were to make a grove of palm trees, all of gold, at the entrance to the chamber of the Great Complex[1], under the shade of which I may pass the heat of the day."

'Then, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory made a grove of palm trees, all of gold, at the entrance to the chamber of the Great Complex, under the shade of which he might pass the heat of the day.

78. 'The Palace of Righteousness, Ânanda, was surrounded by a double railing. One railing was of gold, and one was of silver. The golden railing had its posts of gold, and its cross bars and its figure head of silver. The silver railing had its posts of silver, and its cross bars and its figure head of gold[2].

79. 'The Palace of Righteousness, Ânanda, was hung round with two networks of bells. One network of bells was of gold, and one was of silver.

[1. Mahâvyûhassa kutâgârassa dvâre. The 'Great Complex' contains a double allusion, in the same spirit in which the whole legend has been worked out: 1. To the Great Complex as a name of the Sun-God recorded as a unity of the four mythological deities, Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pragumna, and Aniruddha; and 2. To the Great Complex as a name of a particular kind of deep religious meditation or speculation.

2. See above, § 60, and the note on § 54.]


The golden network had bells of silver, and the silver network had bells of gold.

80. 'And when those networks of bells, Ânanda, were shaken by the wind there arose a sound sweet, and pleasant, and charming, and intoxicating.

'Just, Ânanda, as the seven kind of instruments yield, when well played upon, to the skilful man, a sound sweet, and pleasant, and charming, and intoxicating--just even so, Ânanda, when those networks of bells were shaken by the wind, there arose a sound sweet, and pleasant, and charming, and intoxicating.

81. 'And whoever, Ânanda, in the royal city Kusâvatî were at that time gamblers, drunkards, and given to drink, they used to dance round together to the sound of those networks of bells when shaken by the wind.

------------------------

82. 'When the Palace of Righteousness, Ânanda, was finished it was hard to look at, destructive to the eyes. just, Ânanda, as in the last month of the rains in the autumn time, when the sky has become clear and the clouds have vanished away, the sun, springing up along the heavens, is hard to look at, and destructive to the eyes,--just so, Ânanda, when the Palace of Righteousness was finished was it hard to look at, and destructive to the eyes.

------------------------

83. 'Now there occurred, Ânanda, to the Great King of Glory this thought:

'"Suppose, now, in front of the Palace of Righteousness, I were to make a Lotus-lake to bear the name of 'Righteousness.'"

'Then, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory made a Lotus-lake to bear the name of "Righteousness."

84. 'The Lake of Righteousness, Ânanda, was on the east and on the west a league in length, and on the north and on the south half a league in breadth.

85. 'The Lake of Righteousness, Ânanda, was faced with tiles of four kinds. One kind of tile was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal.

86. 'The Lake of Righteousness, Ânanda, had four and twenty flights of steps, of four different kinds. One flight of steps was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal. The flight of golden steps had balustrades of gold, with the cross bars and the figure head of silver. The flight of silver steps had balustrades of silver, with the cross bars and the figure head of gold. The flight of beryl steps had balustrades of beryl, with the cross bars and the figure head of crystal. The flight of crystal steps had balustrades of crystal, with cross bars and figure head of beryl.

87. 'Round the Lake of Righteousness, Ânanda, there ran a double railing. One railing was of gold, and one was of silver. The golden railing had its posts of gold, and its cross bars and its capitals of silver. The silver railing had its posts of silver, and its cross bars and its capitals of gold.

88. 'The Lake of Righteousness, Ânanda, was surrounded by seven rows of palm trees. One row was of palms of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal, and one of agate, and one of coral, and one of all kinds of gems.

89. 'And the golden palms had trunks of gold, and leaves and fruits of silver. And the silver palms had trunks of silver, and leaves and fruits of gold. And the palms of beryl had trunks of beryl, and leaves and fruits of crystal. And the crystal palms had trunks of crystal, and leaves and fruits of beryl. And the agate palms had trunks of agate, and leaves and fruits of coral. And the coral palms had trunks of coral, and leaves and fruits of agate. And the palms of every kind of gem had trunks and leaves and fruits of every kind of gem.

90. 'And when those rows of palm trees, Ânanda, were shaken by the wind, there arose a sound sweet, and pleasant, and charming, and intoxicating.

'Just, Ânanda, as the seven kind of instruments yield, when well played upon, to the skilful man, a sound sweet, and pleasant, and charming, and intoxicating,--just even so, Ânanda, when those rows of palm trees were shaken by the wind, there arose a sound sweet, and pleasant, and charming, and intoxicating.

91. 'And whoever, Ânanda[1], in the royal city Kusâvatî were at that time gamblers, drunkards, and given to drink, they used to dance round together to the sound of those palms when shaken by the wind.

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92. 'When the Palace of Righteousness, Ânanda, was finished, and the Lotus-lake of Righteousness was finished, the Great King of Glory entertained with all good things those of the Samanas who, at that time, were held in high esteem, and those of the Brâhmans who, at that time, were held in high esteem. Then he ascended up into the Palace of Righteousness.'

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End of the First Portion for Recitation.

[1. This paragraph is perhaps repeated by mistake; but it is scarcely less in harmony with its context at § 8 than it is here. It is more probable that § 92 followed, originally, immediately after § 82, with the Lotus-lake clause omitted.]
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Re: Buddhist Suttas, Vol. XI of The Sacred Books of the East

Postby admin » Sat Jul 10, 2021 11:17 am

Part 2 of 2

CHAPTER II.

1. 'Now there occurred, Ânanda, this thought to the Great King of Glory:

'"Of what previous character, now, may this be the fruit, of what previous character the result, that I am now so mighty and so great?"

2. 'And then occurred, Ânanda, to the Great King of Glory this thought:

'"Of three qualities is this the fruit, of three qualities the result, that I am now so mighty and so great,--that is to say, of giving, of self-conquest, and of self-control[1]."

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3. 'Now the Great King of Glory, Ânanda, ascended up into the chamber of the Great Complex; and when he had come there he stood at the door, and there he broke out into a cry of intense emotion:

'"Stay here, O thoughts of lust!

'"Stay here, O thoughts of ill-will!

'"Stay here, O thoughts of hatred!

'"Thus far only, O thoughts of lust!

'"Thus far only, O thoughts of ill-will

'"Thus far only, O thoughts of hatred!"

[1. I have here translated kamma by 'previous character' and by 'quality.' The easiest plan would, no doubt, have been, to preserve in the translation the technical term karma, which is explained at some length in 'Buddhism,' pp. 99-106.]


4. 'And when, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory had entered the chamber of the Great Complex, and had seated himself upon the couch of gold, having put away all passion and all unrighteousness, he entered into, and remained in, the First Ghâna,--a state of joy and ease, born of seclusion, full of reflection, full of investigation.

5. 'By suppressing reflection and investigation, he entered into, and remained in, the Second Ghâna,--a state of joy and ease, born of serenity, without reflection, without investigation, a state of elevation of mind, of internal calm.

6. 'By absence of the longing after joy, he remained indifferent, conscious, self-possessed, experiencing in his body that ease which the noble ones announce, saying, "The man indifferent and self-possessed is well at ease," and thus he entered into, and remained in, the Third Ghâna.

7. 'By putting away ease, by putting away pain, by the previous dying away both of gladness and of sorrow, he entered into, and remained in, the Fourth Ghâna,--a state of purified self-possession and equanimity, without ease, and without pain[1].

------------------------

[1. The above paragraphs are an endeavour to express the inmost feelings when they are first strung to the uttermost by the intense effects of deep religious emotion, and then feel the effects of what may be called, for want of a better word, the reaction. Most deeply religious natures have passed through such a crisis; and though the feelings are perhaps really indescribable, this passage is dealing, not with a vain mockery, but with a very real event in spiritual experience.]


8. 'Then, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory went out from the chamber of the Great Complex, and entered the golden chamber and sat himself down on the silver couch. And he let his mind pervade one quarter of the world with thoughts of Love; and so the second quarter, and so the third, and so the fourth. And thus the whole wide world, above, below, around, and everywhere, did he continue to pervade with heart of Love, far-reaching, grown great, and beyond measure, free from the least trace of anger or ill-will.

9. 'And he let his mind pervade one quarter of the world with thoughts of Pity; and so the second quarter, and so the third, and so the fourth. And thus the whole wide world, above, below, around, and everywhere, did he continue to pervade with heart of Pity, far-reaching, grown great, and beyond measure, free from the least trace of anger or ill-will.

10. 'And he let his mind pervade one quarter of the world with thoughts of Sympathy; and so the second quarter, and so the third, and so the fourth. And thus the whole wide world, above, below, around, and everywhere, did he continue to pervade with heart of Sympathy, far-reaching, grown great, and beyond measure, free from the least trace of anger or ill-will.

11. 'And he let his mind pervade one quarter of the world with thoughts of Equanimity[1]; and so the second quarter, and so the third, and so the fourth. And thus the whole wide world, above, below, around, and everywhere, did he continue to pervade with heart of Equanimity, far-reaching, grown great, and beyond measure, free from the least trace of anger or ill-will.

[1. These are the four Appamaññas or infinite feelings, also called (e.g. below, § II, 36) the four Brahma-vihâras. They are here very appropriately represented to follow immediately after {footnote p. 274} the state of feeling described in the Ghânas; but they ought to be the constant companions of a good Buddhist (see Khaggavisâna Sutta 8; and compare also Tevigga Sutta III, 7; Gâtaka, vol. i. p. 246; and the Araka Gâtaka, No. 169).]


12. 'The Great King of Glory, Ânanda, had four and eighty thousand cities, the chief of which was the royal city of Kusâvatî:

'Four and eighty thousand palaces, the chief of which was the Palace of Righteousness:

'Four and eighty thousand chambers, the chief of which was the chamber of the Great Complex:

'Four and eighty thousand divans, of gold, and silver, and ivory, and sandal wood, spread with long-haired rugs, and cloths embroidered with flowers, and magnificent antelope skins; covered with lofty canopies; and provided at both ends with purple cushions:

'Four and eighty thousand state elephants, with trappings of gold, and gilded flags, and golden coverings of network,--of which the king of elephants, called "the Changes of the Moon," was chief:

'Four and eighty thousand state horses, with trappings of gold, and gilded flags, and golden coverings of network,--of which "Thunder-cloud," the king of horses, was the chief:

'Four and eighty thousand chariots, with coverings of the skins of lions, and of tigers, and of panthers,--of which the chariot called "the Flag of Victory" was the chief:

'Four and eighty thousand gems, of which the Wondrous Gem was the chief:

'Four and eighty thousand wives, of whom the Queen of Glory was the chief:

'Four and eighty thousand yeomen, of whom the Wonderful Steward was the chief:

'Four and eighty thousand nobles, of whom the Wonderful Adviser was the chief:

'Four and eighty thousand cows, with jute trappings, and horns tipped with bronze:

'Four and eighty thousand myriads of garments, of delicate textures, of flax, and cotton, and silk, and wool:

'Four and eighty thousand dishes, in which, in the evening and in the morning, rice was served[1].

------------------------

13. 'Now at that time, Ânanda, the four and eighty thousand state elephants used to come every evening and every morning to be of service to the Great King of Glory.

14. 'And this thought occurred to the Great King of Glory:

'"These eighty thousand elephants come every evening and every morning to be of service to me. Suppose, now, I were to let the elephants come in alternate forty thousands, once each, every alternate hundred years!"

15. 'Then, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory said to the Great Adviser:

'"O, my friend, the Great Adviser! these eighty thousand elephants come every evening and every morning to be of service to me. Now, let the elephants come, O my friend, the Great Adviser, in alternate forty thousands, once each, every alternate hundred years!"

[1. Most of the trappings and cloths here mentioned are the same as those referred to in the Magghima Sîla, §§ 5, 6, 7 recurring in the Tevigga Sutta, and in the Brahmagâla Sutta. The whole paragraph is four times repeated below, §§ 29, 31, 33, 37.]


'"Even so, Lord!" said the Wonderful Adviser, in assent, to the Great King of Glory.

16. 'From that time forth, Ânanda, the elephants came in alternate forty thousands, once each, every alternate hundred years.

------------------------

17. 'Now, Ânanda, after the lapse of many years, of many hundred years, of many thousand years, there occurred to the Queen of Glory[1] this thought:

'"'Tis long since I have beheld the Great King of Glory. Suppose, now, I were to go and visit the Great King of Glory."

18. 'Then, Ânanda, the Queen of Glory said to the women of the harem:

'"Arise now, dress your hair, and clad yourselves in fresh raiment. 'Tis long since we have beheld the Great King of Glory. Let us go and visit the Great King of Glory!"

19. "'Even so, Lady!" said the women of the harem, Ânanda, in assent, to the Queen of Glory. And they dressed their hair, and clad themselves in fresh raiment, and came near to the Queen of Glory.

20. 'Then, Ânanda, the Queen of Glory said to the Great Adviser:

'"Arrange, O Great Adviser, the fourfold army in array. 'Tis long since I have beheld the Great King of Glory. I am about to go to visit the Great King of Glory."

[1. Subhaddâ Devî. Subhadda, 'glorious, magnificent,' is a not uncommon name both for men and women in Buddhist and post-Buddhistic Hindu literature.]


21. '"Even so, O Queen!" said the Great Adviser, Ânanda, in assent, to the Queen of Glory. And he set the fourfold army in array, and had the fact announced to the Queen of Glory in the words:

'"The fourfold army, O Queen, is set for thee in array. Do now whatever seemeth to thee fit."

22. 'Then, Ânanda, the Queen of Glory, with the fourfold army, repaired, with the women of the harem, to the Palace of Righteousness. And when she had arrived there she mounted up into the Palace of Righteousness, and went on to the chamber of the Great Complex. And when she had reached it, she stopped and leant against the side of the door.

23. 'When, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory heard the noise he thought:

'"What, now, may this noise, as of a great multitude of people, mean?"

24. And going out from the chamber of the Great Complex, he beheld the Queen of Glory standing leaning up against the side of the door. And when he beheld her, he said to the Queen of Glory:

'"Stop there, O Queen! Enter not!"

------------------------

25. 'Then the Great King of Glory, Ânanda, said to one of his attendants:

'"Arise, good man! take the golden couch out of the chamber of the Great Complex, and make it ready under that grove of palm trees which is all of gold."

26. '"Even so, Lord!" said the man, in assent, to the Great King of Glory. And he took the golden couch out of the chamber of the Great Complex, and made it ready under that grove of palm trees which was all of gold.

27. 'Then, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory laid himself down in the dignified way a lion does; and lay with one leg resting on the other, calm and self-possessed.

------------------------

28. 'Then, Ânanda, there occurred to the Queen of Glory this thought:

'"How calm are all the limbs of the Great King of Glory! How clear and bright is his appearance! O may it not be that the Great King of Glory is dead[1]!"

29. 'And she said to the Great King of Glory:

'"Thine, O King, are those four and eighty thousand cities, the chief of which is the royal city of Kusâvatî. Arise, O King, re-awaken thy desire for these! quicken thy longing after life!

'"Thine, O King, are those four and eighty thousand palaces, the chief of which is the Palace of Righteousness. Arise, O King, re-awaken thy desire for these! quicken thy longing after life!

'"Thine, O King, are those four and eighty thousand chambers, the chief of which is the chamber of the Great Complex. Arise, O King, re-awaken thy desire for these! quicken thy longing after life!

'"Thine, O King, are those four and eighty thousand divans, of gold, and silver, and ivory, and sandal wood, spread with long-haired rugs, and cloths embroidered with flowers, and magnificent antelope skins; covered with lofty canopies; and provided at both ends with purple cushions. Arise,

[1. The rather curious connexion between these clauses is worthy of notice in comparison with the legend of the 'Transfiguration' just before the Buddha's death (above, pp. 80-82).]


O King, re-awaken thy desire for these! quicken thy longing after life!

'"Thine, O King, are those four and eighty thousand state elephants, with trappings of gold, and gilded flags, and golden coverings of network,-of which the king of elephants, called 'the Changes of the Moon,' is chief. Arise, O King, re-awaken thy desire for these! quicken thy longing after life!

'"Thine, O King, are those four and eighty thousand state horses, with trappings of gold, and gilded flags, and golden coverings of network, of which 'Thunder-cloud,' the king of horses, is the chief. Arise, O King, re-awaken thy desire for these! quicken thy longing after life!

'"Thine, O King, are those four and eighty thousand chariots, with coverings of the skins of lions, and of tigers, and of panthers,-of which the chariot called 'the Flag of Victory' is the chief. Arise, O King, re-awaken thy desire for these! quicken thy longing after life!

'"Thine, O King, are those four and eighty thousand gems, of which the Wondrous Gem is the chief. Arise, O King, re-awaken thy desire for these! quicken thy longing after life!

'"Thine, O King, are those four and eighty thousand wives, of whom the Queen of Glory is the chief. Arise, O King, re-awaken thy desire for these! quicken thy longing after life!

'"Thine, O King, are those four and eighty thousand yeomen, of whom the Wonderful Steward is the chief. Arise, O King, re-awaken thy desire for these! quicken thy longing after life!

'"Thine, O King, are those four and eighty thousand nobles, of whom the Wonderful Adviser is the chief Arise, O King, re-awaken thy desire for these! quicken thy longing after life!

'"Thine, O King, are those four and eighty thousand cows, with jute trappings, and horns tipped with bronze. Arise, O King, re-awaken thy desire for these! quicken thy longing after life!

'"Thine, O King, are those four and eighty thousand myriads of garments, of delicate textures, of flax, and cotton, and silk, and wool. Arise, O King, re-awaken thy desire for these! quicken thy longing after life!

'"Thine, O King, are those four and eighty thousand dishes, in which, in the evening and in the morning, rice is served. Arise, O King, re-awaken thy desire for these! quicken thy longing after life!"

------------------------

30. 'When she had thus spoken, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory said to the Queen of Glory:

'"Long hast thou addressed me, O Queen, in pleasant words, much to be desired, and sweet. Yet now in this last time you speak in words unpleasant, disagreeable, not to be desired."

31. '"How then, O King, shall I address thee?"

'"Thus, O Queen, shouldst thou address me:--The nature of all things near and dear to us, O King, is such that we must leave them, divide ourselves from them, separate ourselves from them[1]. Pass not away, O King, with longing in thy heart. Sad is the death of him who longs, unworthy is the death of him who longs[2]. Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand cities, the chief of which is the royal city of Kusâvatî. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

[1. The Pâli words are the same as those at the beginning of the constantly repeated longer phrase to the same effect in the Book of the Great Decease.

2. Compare Gâtaka, No. 34.]


'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand palaces, the chief of which is the Palace of Righteousness. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand chambers, the chief of which is the chamber of the Great Complex. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand divans, of gold, and silver, and ivory, and sandal wood, spread with long-haired rugs, and cloths embroidered with flowers, and magnificent antelope skins; covered with lofty canopies; and provided at both ends with purple cushions. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand state elephants, with trappings of gold, and gilded flags, and golden coverings of network,--of which the king of elephants, called 'the Changes of the Moon,' is chief. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand state horses, with trappings of gold, and gilded flags, and golden coverings of network,--of which 'Thunder-cloud,' the king of horses, is the chief Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand chariots, with coverings of the skins of lions, and of tigers, and of panthers,--of which the chariot called 'the Flag of Victory' is the chief. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand gems, of which the Wondrous Gem is the chief. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand wives, of whom the Queen of Glory is the chief. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand yeomen, of whom the Wonderful Steward is the chief Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand nobles, of whom the Wonderful Adviser is the chief. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and. eighty thousand cows, with jute trappings, and horns tipped with bronze. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand myriads of garments, of delicate textures, of flax, and cotton, and silk, and wool. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand dishes, in which, in the evening and in the morning, rice is served. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!"

------------------------

32. 'When he thus spake, Ânanda, the Queen of Glory wept and poured forth tears.

33. 'Then, Ânanda, the Queen of Glory wiped away her tears, and addressed the Great King of Glory, and said:

'"The nature of all things near and dear to us, O King, is such that we must leave them, divide ourselves from them, separate ourselves from them. Pass not away, O King, with longing in thy heart. Sad is the death of him who longs, unworthy is the death of him who longs. Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand cities, the chief of which is the royal city of Kusâvatî. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand palaces, the chief of which is the Palace of Righteousness. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand chambers, the chief of which is the chamber of the Great Complex. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand divans, of gold, and silver, and ivory, and sandal wood, spread with long-haired rugs, and cloths embroidered with flowers, and magnificent antelope skins; covered with lofty canopies; and provided at both ends with purple cushions. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand state elephants, with trappings of gold, and gilded flags, and golden coverings of network,--of which the king of elephants, called 'the Changes of the Moon,' is chief Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand state horses, with trappings of gold, and gilded flags, and golden coverings of network,--of which 'Thunder-cloud,' the king of horses, is the chief. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand chariots, with coverings of the skins of lions, and of tigers, and of panthers,--of which the chariot called 'the Flag of Victory' is the chief. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand gems, of which the Wondrous Gem is the chief. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand wives, of whom the Queen of Glory is the chief. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand yeomen, of whom the Wonderful Steward is the chief. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand nobles, of whom the Wonderful Adviser is the chief. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand cows, with jute trappings, and horns tipped with bronze. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand myriads of garments, of delicate textures, of flax, and cotton, and silk, and wool. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

'"Thine, O King, are these four and eighty thousand dishes, in which, in the evening and in the morning, rice is served. Cast away desire for these! long not after life!

------------------------

34. 'Then immediately, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory died. Just, Ânanda, as when a yeoman has eaten a hearty meal he becomes all drowsy, just so were the feelings he experienced, Ânanda, as death came upon the Great King of Glory.

35. 'When the Great King of Glory, Ânanda, had died, he came to life again in the happy world of Brahmâ.

36. 'For eight and forty thousand years, Ânanda, the Great King of Glory lived the happy life of a prince; for eight and forty thousand years he was viceroy and heir-apparent; for eight and forty thousand years he ruled the kingdom; and for eight and forty thousand years he lived, as a layman, the noble life in the Palace of Righteousness. And then, when full of noble thoughts, he died; he entered, after the dissolution of the body, the noble world of Brahma[1].

------------------------

37. 'Now it may be, Ânanda, that you may think "The Great King of Glory of that time was another person." But, Ânanda, you should not view the matter thus. I at that time was the Great King of Glory.

'Mine at that time were the four and eighty thousand cities, of which the chief was the royal city of Kusâvatî.

'Mine were the four and eighty thousand palaces, of which the chief was the Palace of Righteousness.

'Mine were the four and eighty thousand chambers, of which the chief was the chamber of the Great Complex.

[1. The 'noble thoughts' are the Brahma-vihâras, described above, Chap. II, §§ 8-11. The 'noble life' is the Brahmakariyam, which does not mean the same as it does in Sanskrit. The adjective Brahma may have reference here also to the subsequent (and consequent?) rebirth in the Brahma-loka.]


'Mine were the four and eighty thousand divans, of gold, and silver, and ivory, and sandal wood, spread with long-haired rugs, and cloths embroidered with flowers, and magnificent antelope skins; covered with lofty canopies; and provided at both ends with purple cushions.

'Mine were the four and eighty thousand state elephants, with trappings of gold, and gilded flags, and golden coverings of network,--of which the king of elephants, called "the Changes of the Moon," was chief.

'Mine were the four and eighty thousand state horses, with trappings, of gold, and gilded flags, and golden coverings of network,--of which "Thunder-cloud," the king of horses, was the chief.

'Mine were the four and eighty thousand chariots, with coverings of the skins of lions, and of tigers, and of panthers,--of which the chariot called "the Flag of Victory" was the chief.

'Mine were the four and eighty thousand gems, of which the Wondrous Gem was the chief.

'Mine were the four and eighty thousand wives, of whom the Queen of Glory was the chief.

'Mine were the four and eighty thousand yeomen, of whom the Wonderful Steward was the chief.

'Mine were the four and eighty thousand nobles, of whom the Wonderful Adviser was the chief,

'Mine were the four and eighty thousand cows, with jute trappings, and horns tipped with bronze.

'Mine were the four and eighty thousand myriads of garments, of delicate textures, of flax, and cotton, and silk, and wool.

'Mine were the four and eighty thousand dishes, in which, in the evening and in the morning, rice was served.

------------------------

38. 'Of those four and eighty thousand cities, Ânanda, one was that city in which, at that time, I used to dwell--to wit, the royal city of Kusâvatî.

'Of those four and eighty thousand palaces too, Ânanda, one was that palace in which, at that time, I used to dwell--to wit, the Palace of Righteousness.

'Of those four and eighty thousand chambers too, Ânanda, one was that chamber in which, at that time, I used to dwell--to wit, the chamber of the Great Complex.

Of those four and eighty thousand divans too, Ânanda, one was that divan which, at that time, I used to occupy--to wit, one of gold, or one of silver, or one of ivory, or one of sandal wood.

'Of those four and eighty thousand state elephants too, Ânanda, one was that elephant which, at that time, I used to ride--to wit, the king of elephants, "the Changes of the Moon."

'Of those four and eighty thousand horses too, Ânanda, one was that horse which, at that time, I used to ride--to wit, the king of horses, "the Thunder-cloud."

'Of those four and eighty thousand chariots too, Ânanda, one was that chariot in which, at that time, I used to ride--to wit, the chariot called "the Flag of Victory."

'Of those four and eighty thousand wives too, Ânanda, one was that wife who, at that time, used to wait upon me--to wit, either a lady of noble birth, or a Velâmikânî.

'Of those four and eighty thousand myriads of suits of apparel too, Ânanda, one was the suit of apparel which, at that time, I wore--to wit, one of delicate texture, of linen, or cotton, or silk, or wool.

'Of those four and eighty thousand dishes too, Ânanda, one was that dish from which, at that time, I ate a measure of rice and the curry suitable thereto.

------------------------

39. 'See, Ânanda, how all these things are now past, are ended, have vanished away. Thus impermanent, Ânanda, are component things; thus transitory, Ânanda, are component things; thus untrustworthy, Ânanda, are component things. Insomuch, Ânanda, is it meet to be weary of, is it meet to be estranged from, is it meet to be set quite free from the bondage of all component things!

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40. 'Now I call to mind, Ânanda, how in this spot my body had been six times buried. And when I was dwelling here as the righteous king who ruled in righteousness, the lord of the four regions of the earth, the conqueror, the protector of his people, the possessor of the seven royal treasures--that was the seventh time.

41. 'But I behold not any spot, Ânanda, in the world of men and gods, nor in the world of Mâra, nor in the world of Brahma,--no, not among the race of Samanas or Brâhmans, of gods or men,--where the Tathâgata for the eighth time will lay aside his body[1].'

[1. The whole of this conversation between the Great King of Glory and the Queen is very much shorter in the Gâtaka, the enumeration of the possessions of the Great King being omitted (except the first clause referring to the four and eighty thousand cities), and clauses 34-38, 40, and 41 being also left out, § 39 and the concluding being placed in the mouth of the King immediately after § 33. This may be perhaps partly explained by the narrative style in which the Gâtakas are composed--a style incompatible {footnote p. 289} with the repetitions of the Suttas, and confined to the facts of the story.

But I think that no one can read this Sutta in comparison with the short passage found in the Book of the Great Decease (above, pp. 99-101) without feeling that the latter is the more original of the two, and that the legend had not, when the Book of the Great Decease was composed, attained to its present extended form.

We seem therefore really to have three stages of the legend before us, and though the Gâtaka story was actually put into its present shape at a known date (the fifth century of our era) long after the latest possible date for the Book of the Great King of Glory, it has probably preserved for us a reminiscence of what the legend was at the time when the Book of the Great Decease was composed.]


42. Thus spake the Blessed One; and when the Happy One had thus spoken, once again the Teacher said:

How transient are all component things!
Growth is their nature and decay:
They are produced, they are dissolved again:
And then is best, when they have sunk to rest[1]!'


------------------------

End of the Mahâ-Sudassana Sutta.

[1. On this celebrated verse, see the note at Mahâparinibbâna Sutta VI, 16, where it is put into the mouth of Sakka, the king of the gods, and the discussion in the Introduction to this Sutta.]
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Re: Buddhist Suttas, Vol. XI of The Sacred Books of the East

Postby admin » Sat Jul 10, 2021 11:21 am

SABBASÂVA SUTTA.

INTRODUCTION


DR. MORRIS, who had borrowed the Phayre and Turnour MSS. of the Magghima Nikâya from the India Office Library, has been good enough to transcribe the text of this Sutta for me.

I had hoped from the Rev. David da Silva's analysis of the Sutta in the Ceylon Friend for 1872, that it would determine the exact meaning of the difficult word Âsava as used in the theory of Arahatship, and in the important passage (the Faith, Reason, and Works paragraph) repeated so often in the Mahâparinibbâna Sutta. It will be seen that this is scarcely the case, but as it does throw light on the ideas wrapped up in the word, and contains a very interesting passage[1] on the especial value attached in Buddhism to the mental habit we should now call agnosticism, I have adhered to the intention of including it in this volume.

The word Âsava seems in this Sutta to be used in a general sense,--not confined only to the Âsavas of sensuality, individuality, delusion, and ignorance, but including the more various defilements or imperfections of mind, out of which those especial defilements will proceed.

[1. งง 9, 10.]


Incidentally reference is made to the well-known Buddhist doctrine, that the right thing is to seek after the Nirvâna of a perfect life in Arahatship, and not to trouble and confuse oneself by the discussion of speculative questions as to past or future existence, or even as to the presence within the body of a soul. Buddhism is not only independent of the theory of soul, but regards the consideration of that theory as worse than profitless, as the source of manifold delusions and superstitions. Practically this comes, however, to much the same thing as the denial of the existence of the soul; just as agnosticism is, at best, but an earnest and modest sort of atheism. And we have seen above that anattam, the absence of a soul or self as abiding principle, is one of the three parts of Buddhist wisdom (viggâ)[1] and of Buddhist perception (saññâ)[2]. The reconciliation of these two doctrines, of the agnosticism and of the denial, is, I think, that the absence of soul is only predicated of those five Aggregates of parts and powers to which a good Buddhist should confine his attention. These alone he should consider; and he does wrong to care whether beyond and beside them a soul has, or has not, any real existence.

I may add that the importance of the Âsavas appears from the fact that elsewhere the knowledge of them, of their origin, of their cessation, and of the way that leads to their cessation is placed on the road to Arahatship immediately after, and parallel to, the knowledge of Suffering, of its origin, of its cessation, and of the way that leads to its cessation--the knowledge, that is, of the four Noble Truths[3].

The Âsavas there meant are sensuality, individuality (or life), and ignorance; and the expressions 'to him who knows, to him who sees' (gânato passato) are used there much in the same way as they are in our ง 3. Perhaps this was the passage which Burnouf had in his mind when he wrongly said[4] that he had found in the Mahâparinibbâna Sutta an enumeration of three classes of Âsavas, whereas that Sutta always divides them into four classes.

[1. See above, p. 162.

2. See above, p. 9.

3. Sâmañña Phala Sutta, p. 152.

4. Lotus de la Bonne Loi, p. 823.]


I am unable to suggest any good translation of the term itself--simple though it is. It means literally 'a running or flowing,' or (thence) 'a leak;' but as that figure is not used in English in a spiritual sense, it is necessary to choose some other figure and it is not easy to find one that is appropriate. 'Sin' would be very misleading, the Christian idea of sin being inconsistent with Buddhist ethics. A 'fault' in the geological use of the word comes somewhat nearer. 'Imperfection' is too long, and for 'stain' the Pâli has a different word[1]. In the Book of the Great Decease I have chosen 'evil;' here I leave the word untranslated.

[1. Rago. See the verses translated in 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' p. 164.]


ALL THE ASAVAS.

SABBÂSAVA-SUTTA.


1. Thus have I heard. The Blessed One was once staying at Sâvatthi, at the Getavana, in Anâtha Pindika's park.

There the Blessed One addressed the brethren, and said, 'Bhikkhus.'

'Yea, Lord!' said those brethren, in assent, to the Blessed One.

Then the Blessed One spake:

2. 'I will teach you, O brethren, the lesson of the subjugation of all the Âsavas. Listen well, and attend, and I will speak!'

'Even so, Lord!' said the brethren, in assent, to the Blessed One.

Then the Blessed One spake:

'I say that there is destruction of the Âsavas, brethren, to him who knows, to him who sees; not to him who knows not, to him who sees not. And what do I say, brethren, is the destruction of the Âsavas to him who knows, to him who sees? It is (a matter of) wise consideration, and of foolish consideration.

3. 'In him, brethren, who considers unwisely, Âsavas which have not arisen spring up, and Âsavas which have arisen are increased. In him, brethren, who considers wisely, Âsavas which have not arisen spring not up, and Âsavas which have arisen do not increase.

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4. 'There are Âsavas which should be abandoned, brethren, by insight, there are Âsavas which should be abandoned by subjugation, there are Âsavas which should be abandoned by right use, there are Âsavas which should be abandoned by endurance, there are Âsavas which should be abandoned by avoidance, there are Âsavas which should be abandoned by removal, there are Âsavas which should be abandoned by cultivation.

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5. 'And which, brethren, are the Âsavas which should be abandoned by insight[1]?'

'In the first place, brethren, the ignorant unconverted man, who perceives not the Noble Ones, who comprehends not, nor is trained according to the doctrine of the noble ones; who perceives not good men, who comprehends not, nor is trained according to the doctrine of good men; he neither understands what things ought to be considered, nor what things ought not to be considered; the things that ought not to be considered, those he considers; and the things that ought to be considered, those he does not consider.

6. 'And which, brethren, are those things which he should not consider, which he nevertheless considers?

'There are things which, when a man considers them, the Âsava of Lust springs up within him, which had not sprung up before; and the Âsava of Lust, which had sprung up, grows great; the Âsava of Life springs up within him, which had not sprung up before; and the Âsava of Life, which had sprung up, grows great; the Âsava of Ignorance springs up within him, which had not sprung up before; and the Âsava of Ignorance, which had sprung up grows great.

[1. Dassanâ.]


'These are the things which ought not to be considered, things which he considers.

7. 'And which, brethren, are those things which should be considered, which he nevertheless does not consider?

'There are things, brethren, which, when a man considers them, the Âsava of Lust, if it had not sprung up before, springs not up within him; and the Âsava of Lust, which had sprung up, is put away; the Âsava of Life, if it had not sprung up before, springs not up within him; and the Âsava of Life, which had sprung up, is put away; the Âsava of Ignorance, if it had not sprung up before, springs not up within him; and the Âsava of Ignorance, which had sprung up, is put away.

'These are the things which ought to be considered, things which he does not consider.

8. 'It is by his consideration of those things, which ought not to be considered; and by his non-consideration of those things, which ought to be considered, that Âsavas arise within him which had not sprung up; and Âsavas which had sprung up, grow great.'

------------------------

9. 'Unwisely doth he consider thus:

'"Have I existed during the ages that are past, or have I not? What was I during the ages that are past? How was I during the ages that are past? Having been what, what did I become in the ages that are past? Shall I exist during the ages of the future, or shall I not? What shall I be during the ages of the future? How shall I be during the ages of the future? Having been what, what shall I become during the ages of the future?"

'Or he debates within himself as to the present:

Do I after all exist, or am I not? How am I? This is a being; whence now did it come, and whither will it go?

10. 'In him, thus unwisely considering, there springs up one or other of the six (absurd) notions[1].

'As something true and real he gets the notion, "I have a self!"

'As something true and real he gets the notion, "I have not a self!"

'As something true and real he gets the notion, "By my self, I am conscious of my self!"

'As something true and real he gets the notion, "By myself I am conscious of my non-self!"

'Or, again, he gets the notion, "This soul of mine can be perceived, it has experienced the result of good and evil actions committed here and there: now this soul of mine is permanent, lasting, eternal, has the inherent quality of never changing, and will continue for ever and ever!"

11. 'This, brethren, is called the walking in delusion, the jungle of delusion[2], the wilderness of delusion, the puppet show of delusion, the writhing of delusion, the fetter of delusion.

[1. Khannam ditthînam.

2. Ditthi-gahanam, with allusion, doubtless, if the reading is correct, to gahanam.]


12. 'Bound, brethren, with this fetter of delusion, the ignorant unconverted man becomes not freed from birth, decay, and death, from sorrows, lamentations, pains, and griefs, and from expedients[1]--he does not become free, I say, from pain.

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13. 'But the wise man, brethren, the disciple walking in the Noble Path, who perceives the noble ones; who comprehends, and is trained according to, the doctrine of the Noble Ones; who perceives good men, who comprehends, and is trained according to, the doctrine of good men; he understands both what things ought to be considered, and what things ought not to be considered--and thus understanding, the things that ought to be considered those he considers; and the things that ought not to be considered, those he does not consider.

14, 'And which, brethren, are those things which ought not to be considered, and which he does not consider?

'There are things which, when a man considers them, the Âsava of Lust springs up within him, which had not sprung up before; and the Âsava of Lust, which had sprung up, grows great; the Âsava of Life springs up within him, which had not sprung up before; and the Âsava of Life, which had sprung up, grows great; the Âsava of Ignorance springs up within him, which had not sprung up before; and the Âsava of Ignorance, which had sprung up, grows great.

'These are the things which ought not to be considered, things which he considers.

[1. That is, the practice of rites and ceremonies and the worship of Gods.]


15. 'And which, brethren, are those things which should be considered, and which he does consider?

'There are things, brethren, which, when a man considers them, the Âsava of Lust, if it had not sprung up before, springs not up within him; and the Âsava of Lust, which had sprung up, is put away; the Âsava of Life, if it had not sprung up before, springs not up within him; and the Âsava of Life, which had sprung up, is put away; the Âsava of Ignorance, if it had not sprung up before, springs not up within him; and the Âsava of Ignorance, which had sprung up, is put away.

'These are the things which ought to be considered, things which he does not consider.

16. 'It is by his not considering those things which ought to be considered, and by his considering those things which ought not to be considered, that Âsavas which had not sprung up within him spring not up, and Âsavas which had sprung up are put away.

17. 'He considers, "This is suffering." He considers, "This is the origin of suffering." He considers, "This is the cessation of suffering." He considers, "This is the way which leads to the cessation of suffering." And from him, thus considering, the three fetters fall away--the delusion of self, hesitation, and the dependence on rites and ceremonies.

These are the Âsavas, brethren, which are to be abandoned by insight.

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18. 'And which are the Âsavas to be abandoned by subjugation (samvarâ)?

'Herein, brethren, a Bhikkhu, wisely reflecting, remains shut in by the subjugation of the organ of Sight. For whereas to the man not shut in by the subjugation of the organ of sight Âsavas may arise, full of vexation and distress, to the man shut in by the subjugation of the organ of sight the Âsavas, full of vexation and distress, are not.

19. 'Wisely reflecting, he remains shut in by the subjugation of the organ of Hearing. For whereas to the man not shut in by the subjugation of the organ of hearing Âsavas may arise, full of vexation and distress, to the man shut in by the subjugation of the organ of hearing the Âsavas, full of vexation and distress, are not.

20. 'Wisely reflecting, he remains shut in by the subjugation of the organ of Smell. For whereas to the man not shut in by the subjugation of the organ of smell Âsavas may arise, full of vexation and distress, to the man shut in by the subjugation of the organ of smell the Âsavas, full of vexation and distress, are not.

21. 'Wisely reflecting, he remains shut in by the subjugation of the organ of Taste. For whereas to the man not shut in by the subjugation of the organ of taste Âsavas may arise, full of vexation and distress, to the man shut in by the subjugation of the organ of taste the Âsavas, full of vexation and distress, are not.

22. 'Wisely reflecting, he remains shut in by the subjugation of the organ of Touch. For whereas to the man not shut in by the subjugation of the organ of touch Âsavas may arise, full of vexation and distress, to the man shut in by the subjugation of the organ of touch the Âsavas, full of vexation and distress, are not.

23. 'Wisely reflecting, he remains shut in by the subjugation of the organ of Mind. For whereas to the man not shut in by the subjugation of the organ of mind Âsavas may arise, full of vexation and distress, to the man shut in by the subjugation of the organ of mind the Âsavas, full of vexation and distress, are not.

'These, brethren, are called the Âsavas to be abandoned by subjugation.

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24. 'And which are the Âsavas to be abandoned by right use[1]?

'Herein, brethren, a Bhikkhu, wisely reflecting, makes use of his robes for the purpose only of warding off the cold, of warding off the heat, of warding off the contact of gad-flies and mosquitoes, of wind and sun, and snakes; and of covering his nakedness[2].

25. 'Wisely reflecting, he makes use of alms, not for sport or sensual enjoyment, not for adorning or beautifying himself, but solely to sustain the body in life, to prevent its being injured, to aid himself in the practice of a holy life--thinking the while, "Thus shall I overcome the old pain, and shall incur no new; and everywhere shall I be at ease, and free from blame."

26. 'Wisely reflecting, he makes use of an abode; only to ward off cold, to ward off heat, to ward off the contact of gad-flies and mosquitoes, of wind and sun, and snakes; only to avoid the dangers of the climate, and to secure the delight of privacy.

[1. Patisevanâ.

2. Compare Dickson's Kammavâkâ, p. 7, where the reading, however, is wrong.]


27. 'Wisely reflecting, he makes use of medicine and other necessaries for the sick; only to ward off the pain that causes injury, and to preserve his health.

28. 'For whereas, brethren, to the man not making such right use, Âsavas may arise, full of vexation and distress; to the man making such right use, the Âsavas, full of vexation and distress, are not.

'These, brethren, are called the Âsavas to be abandoned by right use.

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29. 'And which, brethren, are the Âsavas to be abandoned by endurance[1]?

'Herein, brethren, a Bhikkhu, wisely reflecting, is patient under cold and heat, under hunger and thirst, under the contact of gad-flies and mosquitoes, of wind and sun, and snakes; he is enduring under abusive words, under bodily suffering, under pains however sharp, rough, severe, unpleasant, disagreeable, and destructive even to life.

30. 'For whereas, brethren, to the man who endureth not, Âsavas may arise, full of vexation and distress; to him who endures, the Âsavas, full of vexation and distress, are not.

'These, brethren, are called the Âsavas to be abandoned by endurance.

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31. 'And which, brethren, are the Âsavas to be abandoned by avoidance[2]?

'Herein, brethren, a Bhikkhu wisely reflecting, avoids a rogue elephant, he avoids a furious horse, be avoids a wild bull, he avoids a mad dog, a snake, a stump in the path, a thorny bramble, a pit, a precipice, a dirty tank or pool. When tempted to sit in a place where one should not sit, or to walk where one should not walk, or to cultivate the acquaintance of bad companions, he is skilled to shun the evil: and wisely reflecting he avoids that, as a place whereon one should not sit, that, as a place wherein one should not walk, those men, as companions that are bad.

[1. Adhivâsanâ.

2. Parivagganâ.]


32. 'For whereas, brethren, to the man who avoideth not, Âsavas may arise, full of vexation and distress; to him who avoids, the Âsavas, full of vexation and distress, are not.

'These, brethren, are called the Âsavas to be abandoned by avoidance.

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33. 'And which, brethren, are the Âsavas to be abandoned by removal[1]?

'Herein, brethren, a Bhikkhu, wisely reflecting, when there has sprung up within him a lustful thought, that he endureth not, he puts it away, he removes it, he destroys it, he makes it not to be; when there has sprung up within him an angry thought, a malicious thought, some sinful, wrong disposition, that he endureth not, he puts it away, he removes it, he destroys it, he makes it not to be.

34. 'For whereas, brethren, to the man who removeth not, Âsavas may arise, full of vexation and distress; to him who removes, the Âsavas, full of vexation and distress, are not.

'These, brethren, are called the Âsavas to be abandoned by removal.

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35. 'And which, brethren, are the Âsavas to be abandoned by cultivation[2]?

[1. Vinodanâ.

2 Bhâvanâ.]


'[1]Herein, brethren, a Bhikkhu, wisely reflecting, cultivates that part of the higher wisdom called Mindfulness, dependent on seclusion, dependent on passionlessness, dependent on the utter ecstasy of contemplation, resulting in the passing off of thoughtlessness.

36. 'He cultivates that part of the higher wisdom called Search after Truth, he cultivates that part of the higher wisdom called Energy, he cultivates that part of the higher wisdom called joy, he cultivates that part of the higher wisdom called Peace, he cultivates that part of the higher wisdom called Earnest Contemplation, he cultivates that part of the higher wisdom called Equanimity--each dependent on seclusion, dependent on passionlessness, dependent on the utter ecstasy of contemplation, resulting in the passing off of thoughtlessness.

37. 'For whereas, brethren, to the man who cultivateth not, Âsavas may arise, full of vexation and distress; to him who cultivates, the Âsavas, full of vexation and distress, are not.

'These, brethren, are called the Âsavas to be abandoned by cultivation.

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38. 'And then when a Bhikkhu has by insight put away the Âsavas to be abandoned by insight, and by subjugation has put away the Âsavas to be abandoned by subjugation, and by right use has put away the Âsavas to be abandoned by right use, and by endurance has put away the Âsavas to be abandoned by endurance, and by avoidance has put away the Âsavas to be abandoned by avoidance, and by removal has put away the Âsavas to be abandoned by removal, and by cultivation has put away the Âsavas to be abandoned by cultivation--that Bhikkhu, brethren, remains shut in by the subjugation of the Âsavas, he has destroyed that Craving Thirst, by thorough penetration of mind he has rolled away every Fetter, and he has made an end of Pain.

[1. Compare Mahâparinibbâna Sutta I, 9.]


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39. Thus spake the Blessed One; and those Bhikkhus, glad at heart, exalted the word of the Blessed One.

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End of the Sabbâsava Sutta.
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