Buddhism in Translations: Chapter I -- The Buddha

¹IN reading the Pâli Scriptures one is impressed with the strong personal influence exercised by The Buddha over the hearts of his followers. He was regarded, not as a mere formulator of dry metaphysical propositions, but as a very wise and compassionate friend of his fellow-men. He was full of tact, and all his ways were ways of peace. To allay discord he would tell a little story or fable with a moral, and his epithet for one of whom he disapproved was merely "vain man." Anger, in fact, had no place in his character, and the reader of this book will find that it had equally none in his religio-philosophic system.

²The term "Buddha" means "Enlightened One," and signifies that the person to whom it is applied has solved the riddle of existence, and discovered the doctrine for the cessation of misery. It was by his attainment of this supreme "Enlightenment" or Wisdom that Gotama became a Buddha. During the thirty-five years of his life previous to that event, and during all previous existences from the time he set out towards the Buddhaship, he was a Bodhisatta,--a term which I have freely translated "Future Buddha," but which is more literally rendered "He whose essence is Wisdom."

³The Buddha's given name would appear to have been Siddhattha; but as the word means "Successful in his Objects," it looks as though it might be a simple epithet. The p. 2 Buddha belonged to the Sakya clan. The word "Sakya" means "Powerful;" and the families that bore the name had a reputation for pride and haughtiness. They were of the warrior caste, but cultivated the peaceful arts of agriculture. By his contemporaries The Buddha is usually called Gotama, or, as the word is sometimes Anglicized, the Gotamid. It is not quite clear why he and others of his clan should bear the name of Gotama in addition to that of Sakya. It may be they claimed descent from the ancient sage Gautama (Sanskrit "Gautama" becomes "Gotama" in Pâli), to whom are attributed some of the hymns of the Rig-Veda; or it may be, as Burnouf has suggested, "because Gautama was the sacerdotal family name of the military race of Sakyas, who, being of the warrior caste, had no ancestor or tutelar saint like the Brahmans, but might, as the Hindu law permits, have taken the name of the sage to whose family belonged their spiritual guide."

⁴The Buddha was a Hindu, born not far from the Ganges, and during his long ministry wandered about from place to place in the section of country about Benares, very much as did Christ in Samaria and Judea. And just as Christ once left his native country and went to Egypt, so The Buddha is said by native authorities to have paid a couple of visits to Ceylon; but the statement is, I fear, somewhat mythical.

⁵The date of Gotama Buddha is considered to be the sixth century before Christ. It would appear that he lived to his eightieth year, and the time of his death is given by scholars as about 480 B. C.

⁶The first eight sections of the present chapter are from the general introduction to the Jâtaka ("Book of Birth-Stories"). These Birth-Stories, five hundred and fifty in number, are so called because they are tales of the anterior existences of Gotama Buddha, while he was as yet but a p. 3 Future Buddha. The Jâtaka is an extensive work; five volumes have already been edited by Professor V. Fausböll, of Copenhagen, and more is yet to come. It consists of the Birth-Stories themselves, with a commentary and a long introduction. Examples of these Birth-Stories will be given further on; here we have only to do with the Introduction, the author of which and of the commentary is unknown.

⁷After a few preliminary remarks concerning the inception and plan of his work, the author begins by quoting entire the Story of Sumedha as contained in the metrical work called the Buddha-Vamsa ("History of the Buddhas"). He does not quote it all consecutively, but a few stanzas at a time as authority for his prose statements. In this prose is also some matter of a commentary nature, apparently later glosses and not a part of the original text. In my first translation I give the Story of Sumedha as quoted in this Introduction to the Jâtaka, but I give it consecutively and omit the prose, except that of some of the more interesting and explanatory passages, of the glosses especially, I have made foot-notes.

⁸After the Story of Sumedha our author gives formal descriptions of each of the twenty-four Buddhas that preceded Gotama. These descriptions, however, are tedious, and are not here translated. They mainly concern themselves with such details as the height of each Buddha, his length of life, how many conversions he made, the names of his father, mother, chief disciples, etc. But from the point where my second section begins to the end of the eighth I follow the native text without making any omissions. I have divided one continuous text into seven parts, and then given these divisions titles of my own devising.

⁹The reader is thus brought up to the ministry of The Buddha. This ministry lasted some forty-five years, and an account of part of it is given by the author of the Introduction. p. 4 It is, however, only a part that he gives, just enough to conduct his reader up to the time when The Buddha was presented with Jetavana monastery, the importance of which event to our author will be readily perceived when it is remembered that this was the monastery in which The Buddha is represented as having related the greater part of the Birth-Stories. As our author fails to give us a complete life of The Buddha, and as I know of none in Pâli literature, none is attempted in this book. But in order that the reader may have at an early stage an idea of what the matters were wherein The Buddha considered himself "enlightened," two passages are translated from the Mahâ-Vagga. Then follows a description of the daily routine of The Buddha's ministry, and the last section of this chapter gives the Pâli account of how The Buddha died. It is not because the philosophical ideas expressed and the references to meditation and trance made in these four sections are supposed to be self-explanatory, that I make no comment on them in this chapter; but because the next three chapters, as I have already stated in my General Introduction, are devoted to the Doctrine, and constitute the philosophical and systematic part of this work. It appeared desirable to give the reader a general idea of what the Buddhists consider to be the salient features of their system of religion before beginning its detailed discussion.

¹²A hundred thousand cycles vast And four immensities ago, There was a town named Amara, A place of beauty and delights. It had the noises ten complete And food and drink abundantly.

¹³The noise of elephant and horse, Of conch-shell, drum, and chariot, And invitations to partake-- "Eat ye, and drink!"--resounded loud.

¹⁴A town complete in all its parts, Where every industry was found, And eke the seven precious gems, And foreigners from many lands. A prosperous city of the gods, Full of good works and holy men.

¹⁵Within this town of Amara Sumedha lived, of Brahman caste, Who many tens of millions had, And grain and treasure in full store.

¹⁶A student he, and wise in spells, A master of the Vedas three. He fortunes told, tradition knew, And every duty of his caste.

¹⁷In secret then I sat me down, And thus to ponder I began: "What misery to be born again! And have the flesh dissolve at death!

¹⁸"Subject to birth, old age, disease, Extinction will I seek to find, Where no decay is ever known, Nor death, but all security.

¹⁹"What if I now should rid me of This body foul, this charnel-house, And go my way without a care, Or least regret for things behind!

²⁰"There is, there must be, an escape! Impossible there should not be! I'll make the search and find the way, Which from existence shall release!

²¹"Even as, although there misery is, Yet happiness is also found; So, though indeed existence is, A non-existence should be sought.

²²"Even as, although there may be heat, Yet grateful cold is also found; So, though the threefold fire exists, Likewise Nirvana should be sought.

²³"Even as, although there evil is, That which is good is also found; So, though 't is true that birth exists, That which is not birth should be sought.

²⁴"Even as a man befouled with dung, Seeing a brimming lake at hand, And nathless bathing not therein, Were senseless should he chide the lake;

²⁵"So, when Nirvana's lake exists To wash away corruption's stain, Should I not seek to bathe therein, I might not then Nirvana chide.

²⁶"Even as a man hemmed in by foes, Seeing a certain safe escape, And nathless seeking not to flee, Might not the blameless pathway chide;

²⁷"So, when my passions hem me in, And yet a way to bliss exists, Should I not seek to follow it, That way of bliss I might not chide.

²⁸"Even as a man who, sore diseased, When a physician may be had, Should fail to send to have him come, Might the physician then not chide;

²⁹"So, when diseased with passion, sore Oppressed, I seek the master not Whose ghostly counsel me might cure, The blame should not on him be laid.

³⁰"Even as a man might rid him of A horrid corpse bound to his neck, And then upon his way proceed, Joyous, and free, and unconstrained;

³¹"So must I likewise rid me of This body foul, this charnel-house, And go my way without a care, Or least regret for things behind.

³²"As men and women rid them of Their dung upon the refuse heap, And go their ways without a care, Or least regret for what they leave;

³³"So will I likewise rid me of This body foul, this charnel-house, And go my way as if I had Cast out my filth into the draught.

³⁴"Even as the owners leave and quit A worn-out, shattered, leaky ship, And go their ways without a care, Or least regret for what they leave;

³⁵"So will I likewise rid me of This nine-holed, ever-trickling frame, And go my way, as owners do, Who ship disrupted leave behind.

³⁶"Even as a man who treasure bears, And finds him in a robber-gang, Will quickly flee and rid him of The robbers, lest they steal his gold;

³⁷"So, to a mighty robber might Be likened well this body's frame. I'll cast it off and go my way, Lest of my welfare I be robbed."

³⁸Thus thinking, I on rich and poor All that I had in alms bestowed; Hundreds of millions spent I then, And made to Himavant my way.

³⁹Not far away from Himavant, There was a hill named Dhammaka, And here I made and patterned well A hermitage and hut of leaves.

⁴⁰A walking-place I then laid out, Exempted from the five defects, And having all the virtues eight; And there I gained the Six High Powers.

⁴¹Then ceased I cloaks of cloth to wear, For cloaks possess the nine defects,

⁴²And girded on a barken dress, Which is with virtues twelve endued.

⁴²My hut of leaves I then forsook, So crowded with the eight defects, And at the foot of trees I lived, For such abodes have virtues ten.

⁴³No sown and cultivated grain Allowed I then to be my food; But all the many benefits Of wild-fruit fare I made my own.

⁴⁴And strenuous effort made I there, The while I sat, or stood, or walked; And ere seven days had passed away, I had attained the Powers High.

⁴⁵When I had thus success attained, And made me master of the Law, A Conqueror, Lord of All the World, Was born, by name Dîpamkara.

⁴⁶What time he was conceived, was born, What time he Buddhaship attained, When first he preached,--the Signs appeared. I saw them not, deep sunk in trance.

⁴⁷Then, in the distant border-land, Invited they this Being Great, And everyone, with joyful heart, The pathway for his coming cleared.

⁴⁸Now so it happened at this time, That I my hermitage had left, And, barken garments rustling loud, Was passing o'er them through the air.

⁴⁹Then saw I every one alert, Well-pleased, delighted, overjoyed; And, coming downward from the sky, The multitude I straightway asked:

⁵⁰"Well-pleased, delighted, overjoyed, And all alert is everyone; For whom is being cleared the way, The path, the track to travel on?"

⁵¹When thus I asked, response was made: "A mighty Buddha has appeared, A Conqueror, Lord of All the World, Whose name is called Dîpamkara. For him is being cleared the way, The path, the track to travel on."

⁵²This word, "The Buddha," when I heard, Joy sprang up straightway in my heart; "A Buddha! Buddha!" cried I then, And publishèd my heart's content.

⁵³And standing there I pondered deep, By joyous agitation seized: "Here will I now some good seed sow, Nor let this fitting season slip."

⁵⁴"For a Buddha do ye clear the road? Then, pray, grant also me a place! I, too, will help to clear the way, The path, the track to travel on."

⁵⁵And so they granted also me A portion of the path to clear, And I gan clear, while still my heart Said "Buddha! Buddha!" o'er and o'er.

⁵⁶But ere my part was yet complete, Dîpamkara, the Mighty Sage, The Conqueror, came that way along, Thronged by four hundred thousand saints, Without depravity or spot, And having each the Six High Powers.

⁵⁷The people then their greetings gave, And many kettle-drums were beat, And men and gods, in joyous mood, Loud shouted their applauding cries.

⁵⁸Then men and gods together met, And saw each other face to face; And all with joined hands upraised Followed The Buddha and his train.

⁵⁹The gods, with instruments divine, The men, with those of human make, Triumphant music played, the while They followed in The Buddha's train.

⁶⁰Celestial beings from on high Threw broadcast over all the earth The Erythrina flowers of heaven, The lotus and the coral-flower.

⁶¹And men abiding on the ground On every side flung up in air Champakas, salalas, nîpas, Nâgas, punnâgas, ketakas.

⁶²Then loosened I my matted hair, And, spreading out upon the mud My dress of bark and cloak of skin, I laid me down upon my face.

⁶³"Let now on me The Buddha tread, With the disciples of his train; Can I but keep him from the mire, To me great merit shall accrue."

⁶⁴While thus I lay upon the ground, Arose within me many thoughts: "To-day, if such were my desire, I my corruptions might consume.

⁶⁵"But why thus in an unknown guise Should I the Doctrine's fruit secure? Omniscience first will I achieve, And be a Buddha in the world.

⁶⁶"Or why should I, a valorous man, The ocean seek to cross alone? Omniscience first will I achieve, And men and gods convey across.

⁶⁷"Since now I make this earnest wish, In presence of this Best of Men, Omniscience sometime I'll achieve, And multitudes convey across.

⁶⁸"I'll rebirth's circling stream arrest, Destroy existence's three modes; I'll climb the sides of Doctrine's ship, And men and gods convey across.

⁶⁹"A human being, male of sex, Who saintship gains, a Teacher meets, As hermit lives, and virtue loves, Nor lacks resolve, nor fiery zeal, Can by these eight conditions joined, Make his most earnest wish succeed."

⁷⁰Dîpamkara, Who Knew All Worlds, Recipient of Offerings, Came to a halt my pillow near, And thus addressed the multitudes:

⁷¹"Behold ye now this monk austere, His matted locks, his penance fierce! Lo! he, unnumbered cycles hence, A Buddha in the world shall be.

⁷²"From the fair town called Kapila His Great Retirement shall be made. Then, when his Struggle fierce is o'er, His stern austerities performed,--

⁷³"He shall in quiet sit him down Beneath the Ajapâla-tree; There pottage made of rice receive, And seek the stream Nerañjarâ.

⁷⁴"This pottage shall The Conqueror eat, Beside the stream Nerañjarâ, And thence by road triumphal go To where the Tree of Wisdom stands.

⁷⁵"Then shall the Peerless, Glorious One Walk to the right, round Wisdom's Throne, And there The Buddhaship achieve, While sitting at the fig-tree's root.

⁷⁶"The mother that shall bring him forth, Shall Mâyâ callèd be by name; Suddhodana his father's name; His own name shall be Gotama.

⁷⁷"Kolita, Upatissa too,-- These shall his Chief Disciples be; Both undepraved, both passion-free, And tranquil and serene of mind.

⁷⁸"Ânanda shall be servitor And on The Conqueror attend; Khemâ and Uppalavanna Shall female Chief Disciples be,

⁷⁹"Both undepraved, both passion-free, And tranquil and serene of mind. The Bo-tree of this Blessed One Shall be the tree Assattha called."

⁸⁰Thus spake Th' Unequalled, Mighty Sage; And all, when they had heard his speech, Both men and gods rejoiced, and said: "Behold a Buddha-scion here!"

⁸¹Now shouts were heard on every side, The people clapped their arms and laughed. Ten thousand worlds of men and gods Paid me their homage then and said:

⁸²"If of our Lord Dîpamkara The Doctrine now we fail to grasp, We yet shall stand in time to come Before this other face to face.

⁸³"Even as, when men a river cross, And miss th' opposing landing-place, A lower landing-place they find, And there the river-bank ascend;

⁸⁴"Even so, we all, if we let slip The present Conqueror that we have, Yet still shall stand in time to come Before this other, face to face."

⁸⁵Dîpamkara, Who All Worlds Knew, Recipient of Offerings, My future having prophesied, His right foot raised and went his way.

⁸⁶And all who were this Conqueror's sons, Walked to the right around me then; And serpents, men, and demigods, Saluting me, departed thence.

⁸⁷Now when The Leader of the World Had passed from sight with all his train, My mind with rapturous transport filled, I raised me up from where I lay.

⁸⁸Then overjoyed with joy was I, Delighted with a keen delight; And thus with pleasure saturate I sat me down with legs across.

⁸⁹And while cross-legged there I sat, I thus reflected to myself: "Behold! in trance am I adept, And all the Powers High are mine.

⁹⁰"Nowhere throughout a thousand worlds Are any seers to equal me; Unequalled in the magic gifts Have I this height of bliss attained."

⁹¹Now while I sat with legs across, The dwellers of ten thousand worlds Rolled forth a glad and mighty shout: "Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

⁹²"The presages that erst were seen, When Future Buddhas sat cross-legged, These presages are seen to-day-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

⁹³"' All cold is everywhere dispelled, And mitigated is the heat; These presages are seen to-day-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

⁹⁴"The system of ten thousand worlds Is hushed to quiet and to peace; These presages are seen to-day-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

⁹⁵"The mighty winds then cease to blow, Nor do the rivers onward glide; These presages are seen to-day-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

⁹⁶"All plants, be they of land or stream, Do straightway put their blossoms forth; Even so to-day they all have bloomed-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

⁹⁷"And every tree, and every vine, Is straightway laden down with fruit; Even so to-day they're laden down-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

⁹⁸"In sky and earth doth straightway then Full many a radiant gem appear; Even so to-day they shine afar-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

⁹⁹"Then straightway music's heard to play 'Mongst men on earth and gods in heaven; So all to-day in music join-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹⁰⁰"There falleth straightway down from heaven A rain of many-colored flowers; Even so to-day these flowers are seen-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹⁰¹"The mighty ocean heaves and roars, And all the worlds ten thousand quake; Even so is now this tumult heard-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹⁰²"Straightway throughout the whole of hell The fires ten thousand all die out; Even so to-day have all expired-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹⁰³"Unclouded then the sun shines forth, And all the stars appear to view; Even so to-day do they appear-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹⁰⁴"Straightway, although no rain hath fallen, Burst springs of water from the earth; Even so to-day they gush in streams-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹⁰⁵"And bright then shine the starry hosts And constellations in the sky; The moon in Libra now doth stand-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹⁰⁶"All beasts that lurk in holes and clefts, Then get them forth from out their lairs; Even so to-day they've left their dens-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹⁰⁷"Straightway content is all the world, And no unhappiness is known; Even so to-day are all content-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹⁰⁸"Then every sickness vanishes, And hunger likewise disappears; These presages are seen to-day-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹⁰⁹"Then lust doth dwindle and grow weak, And hate, infatuation too; Even so to-day they disappear-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹¹⁰"Then fear and danger are unknown; All we are freed from them to-day; And by this token we perceive-- 'Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!'

¹¹¹"No dust upwhirleth towards the sky; Even so to-day this thing is seen; And by this token we perceive-- 'Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!'

¹¹²"All noisome odors drift away, And heavenly fragrance fills the air; Even so the winds now sweetness waft-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹¹³"Then all the gods appear to view, Save those that hold the formless realm; Even so to-day these all are seen-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹¹⁴"Then clearly seen are all the hells, However many be their tale; Even so to-day may all be seen-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹¹⁵"Through walls, and doors, and mountain-rocks, One finds an easy passage then; Even so to-day they yield like air-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹¹⁶"Existence then forbears its round Of death and rebirth for a time; Even so to-day this thing is seen-- Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!

¹¹⁷"Do thou a strenuous effort make! Do not turn back! Go on! Advance! Most certainly we know this thing: 'Surely a Buddha thou shalt be!'"

¹¹⁸When I had heard The Buddha's speech, And what the worlds ten thousand said, Well-pleased, delighted, overjoyed, I thus reflected to myself:

¹¹⁹"The Buddhas never liars are; A Conqueror's word ne'er yet was vain; Nothing but truth The Buddhas speak-- Surely a Buddha I shall be!

¹²⁰"As clods thrown upward in the air Fall surely back upon the earth, So what the glorious Buddhas speak Is sure and steadfast to the end. Nothing but truth The Buddhas speak-- Surely a Buddha I shall be!

¹²¹"As also for each living thing The approach of death is ever sure, So what the glorious Buddhas speak Is sure and steadfast to the end. Nothing but truth The Buddhas speak-- Surely a Buddha I shall be!

¹²²"As at the waning of the night The rising of the sun is sure, So what the glorious Buddhas speak Is sure and steadfast to the end. Nothing but truth, etc.

¹²³"As, when he issues from his den, The roaring of the lion's sure, So what the glorious Buddhas speak Is sure and steadfast to the end. Nothing but truth, etc.

¹²⁴"As when a female has conceived, Her bringing forth of young is sure, So what the glorious Buddhas speak Is sure and steadfast to the end. Nothing but truth The Buddhas speak-- Surely a Buddha I shall be!

¹²⁵"Come now! I'll search that I may find Conditions which a Buddha make-- Above, below, to all ten points, Where'er conditions hold their sway."

¹²⁶And then I searched, and saw the First Perfection, which consists in Alms, That highroad great whereon of old The former seers had ever walked.

¹²⁷"Come now! This one as first adopt, And practise it determinedly; Acquire perfection in thine Alms, If thou to Wisdom wouldst attain.

¹²⁸"As when a jar is brimming full, And some one overturneth it, The jar its water all gives forth, And nothing for itself keeps back;

¹²⁹"So, when a suppliant thou dost see, Of mean, or high, or middling rank, Give all in Alms, in nothing stint, E'en as the overturnèd jar.

¹³⁰"But now there must be more than these Conditions which a Buddha make: Still others will I seek to find That shall in Buddhaship mature."

¹³¹Perfection Second then I sought, And lo! the Precepts came to view, Which mighty seers of former times Had practised and had follow'd.

¹³²"Come now! as second this adopt, And practise it determinedly; The Precepts to perfection keep, If thou to Wisdom wouldst attain.

¹³³"As when a Yak cow's flowing tail Is firmly caught by bush or thorn, She thereupon awaits her death, But will not tear and mar her tail;

¹³⁴"So likewise thou in stages four, Observe and keep the Precepts whole, On all occasions guard them well, As ever Yak cow does her tail.

¹³⁵"But now there must be more than these Conditions which a Buddha make; Still others will I seek to find That shall in Buddhaship mature."

¹³⁶And then Perfection Third I sought, Which is Renunciation called, Which mighty seers of former times Had practised and had follow'd.

¹³⁷"Come now! this one as third adopt, And practise it determinedly; Renounce, and in perfection grow, If thou to Wisdom wouldst attain.

¹³⁸"Even as a man who long has dwelt In prison, suffering miserably, No liking for the place conceives, But only longeth for release;

¹³⁹"So likewise thou must every mode Of being as a prison view-- Renunciation be thy aim; Thus from existence free thyself.

¹⁴⁰"But now there must be more than these Conditions which a Buddha make; Still others will I seek to find That shall in Buddhaship mature."

¹⁴¹And then I sought and found the Fourth Perfection, which is Wisdom called, Which mighty seers of former times Had practised and had follow'd.

¹⁴²"Come now! this one as fourth adopt, And practise it determinedly; Wisdom to its perfection bring, If thou to Wisdom wouldst attain.

¹⁴³"Just as a priest, when on his rounds, Nor low, nor high, nor middling folk Doth shun, but begs of everyone, And so his daily food receives;

¹⁴⁴"So to the learned ay resort, And seek thy Wisdom to increase; And when this Fourth Perfection's gained, A Buddha's Wisdom shall be thine.

¹⁴⁵"But now there must be more than these Conditions which a Buddha make; Still others will I seek to find That shall in Buddhaship mature."

¹⁴⁶And then I sought and found the Fifth Perfection, which is Courage called, Which mighty seers of former times Had practised and had follow'd.

¹⁴⁷"Come now! this one as fifth adopt, And practise it determinedly; In Courage perfect strive to be, If thou to Wisdom wouldst attain.

¹⁴⁸"Just as the lion, king of beasts, In crouching, walking, standing still, With courage ever is instinct, And watchful always, and alert;

¹⁴⁹"So thou in each repeated birth, Courageous energy display; And when this Fifth Perfection's gained, A Buddha's Wisdom shall be thine.

¹⁵⁰"But now there must be more than these Conditions which a Buddha make; Still others will I seek to find That shall in Buddhaship mature."

¹⁵¹And then I sought and found the Sixth Perfection, which is Patience called, Which mighty seers of former times Had practised and had follow'd.

¹⁵²"Come now! this one as sixth adopt, And practise it determinedly; And if thou keep an even mood, A Buddha's Wisdom shall be thine.

¹⁵³"Just as the earth, whate'er is thrown Upon her, whether sweet or foul, All things endures, and never shows Repugnance, nor complacency;

¹⁵⁴"E'en so, or honor thou, or scorn, Of men, with patient mood must bear; And when this Sixth Perfection's gained, A Buddha's Wisdom shall be thine.

¹⁵⁵"But now there must be more than these Conditions which a Buddha make; Still others will I seek to find That shall in Buddhaship mature."

¹⁵⁶And then I sought and found the Seventh Perfection, which is that of Truth, Which mighty seers of former times Had practised and had follow'd.

¹⁵⁷"Come now! this one as seventh adopt, And practise it determinedly; If thou art ne'er of double speech, A Buddha's Wisdom shall be thine.

¹⁵⁸"Just as the morning star on high Its balanced course doth ever keep, And through all seasons, times, and years, Doth never from its pathway swerve;

¹⁵⁹"So likewise thou in all thy speech Swerve never from the path of truth; And when this Seventh Perfection's gained, A Buddha's Wisdom shall be thine.

¹⁶⁰"But now there must be more than these Conditions which a Buddha make; Still others will I seek to find That shall in Buddhaship mature."

¹⁶¹And then I sought and found the Eighth Perfection, Resolution called, Which mighty seers of former times Had practised and had follow'd.

¹⁶²"Come now! this one as eighth adopt, And practise it determinedly; And when thou art immovable, A Buddha's Wisdom shall be thine.

¹⁶³"Just as a rocky mountain-peak, Unmovèd stands, firm-stablishèd, Unshaken by the boisterous gales, And always in its place abides;

¹⁶⁴"So likewise thou must ever be In Resolution firm intrenched; And when this Eighth Perfection's gained, A Buddha's Wisdom shall be thine.

¹⁶⁵"But now there must be more than these Conditions which a Buddha make; Still others will I seek to find That shall in Buddhaship mature."

¹⁶⁶And then I sought and found the Ninth Perfection, which is called Good-will; Which mighty seers of former times Had practised and had follow'd.

¹⁶⁷"Come now! this one as ninth adopt, And practise it determinedly; Unequalled be in thy Good-will, If thou to Wisdom wouldst attain.

¹⁶⁸"As water cleanseth all alike, The righteous and the wicked, too, From dust and dirt of every kind, And with refreshing coolness fills;

¹⁶⁹"So likewise thou both friend and foe, Alike with thy Good-will refresh, And when this Ninth Perfection's gained, A Buddha's Wisdom shall be thine.

¹⁷⁰"But now there must be more than these Conditions which a Buddha make; Still others will I seek to find That shall in Buddhaship mature."

¹⁷¹And then I sought and found the Tenth Perfection, called Indifference; Which mighty seers of former times Had practised and had follow'd.

¹⁷²"Come now! this one as tenth adopt, And practise it determinedly; And when thou art of equal poise, A Buddha's Wisdom shall be thine.

¹⁷³"Just as the earth, whate'er is thrown Upon her, whether sweet or foul, Indifferent is to all alike, Nor hatred shows, nor amity;

¹⁷⁴"So likewise thou in good or ill, Must even-balanced ever be; And when this Tenth Perfection's gained, A Buddha's Wisdom shall be thine.

¹⁷⁵"But earth no more conditions hath That in The Buddhaship mature; Beyond these are there none to seek; So practise these determinedly."

¹⁷⁶Now pondering these conditions ten, Their nature, essence, character,-- Such fiery vigor had they all, That all the worlds ten thousand quaked.

¹⁷⁷Then shook and creaked the wide, wide earth, As doth the sugar-mill at work; Then quaked the ground, as doth the wheel Of oil-mills when they're made to turn.

¹⁷⁸Th' entire assemblage that was there, And followed in The Buddha's train, Trembled and shook in great alarm, And fell astonied to the ground.

¹⁷⁹And many thousand waterpots, And many hundred earthen jars, Were one upon another dashed, And crushed and pounded into dust.

¹⁸⁰Excited, trembling, terrified, Confused, and sore oppressed in mind, The multitudes together came, And to Dîpamkara approached.

¹⁸¹"Oh, tell us what these signs portend. Will good or ill betide the world? Lo! terror seizes hold on all. Dispel our fears, All-Seeing One!"

¹⁸²The Great Sage, then, Dîpamkara, Allayed and pacified their fears:-- "Be comforted; and fear ye not For that the world doth quake and shake.

¹⁸³"Of whom to-day I made proclaim-- 'A glorious Buddha shall he be,'-- He now conditions pondereth, Which former Conquerors fulfilled.

¹⁸⁴"'T is while on these he is intent, As basis for The Buddhaship, The ground in worlds ten thousand shakes, In all the realms of gods and men."

¹⁸⁵When thus they'd heard The Buddha speak, Their anxious minds received relief; And all then drawing near to me, Again they did me reverence.

¹⁸⁶Thus on the road to Buddhaship, And firm determined in my mind, I raised me up from off my seat, And reverenced Dîpamkara.

¹⁸⁷Then as I raised me from my seat, Both gods and men in unison Sweet flowers of heaven and flowers of earth Profusely sprinkled on my head.

¹⁸⁸And gods and men in unison Their great delight proclaimed aloud:-- "A mighty prayer thou now hast made; Succeed according to thy wish!

¹⁸⁹"From all misfortunes be thou free, Let every sickness disappear!

¹⁹⁰Mayst thou no hindrance ever know, And highest Wisdom soon achieve!

¹⁹⁰"As, when the time of spring has come, The trees put forth their buds and flowers, Likewise dost thou, O Hero Great, With knowledge of a Buddha bloom.

¹⁹¹"As all they who have Buddhas been, The Ten Perfections have fulfilled, Likewise do thou, O Hero Great, The Ten Perfections strive to gain.

¹⁹²"As all they who have Buddhas been, On Wisdom's Throne their insight gained, Likewise do thou, O Hero Great, On Conqueror's Throne thy insight gain.

¹⁹³"As all they who have Buddhas been, Have made the Doctrine's Wheel to roll, Likewise do thou, O Hero Great, Make Doctrine's Wheel to roll once more.

¹⁹⁴"As on the mid-day of the month The moon in full perfection shines, Likewise do thou, with perfect mind, Shine brightly in ten thousand worlds.

¹⁹⁵"As when the sun, by Râhu freed, Shines forth exceeding bright and clear. So thou, when freed from ties of earth, Shine forth in bright magnificence.

¹⁹⁶"Just as the rivers of all lands Into the ocean find their way, May gods and men from every world Approach and find their way to thee."

¹⁹⁷Thus praised they me with glad acclaim; And I, beginning to fulfil The ten conditions of my quest, Re-entered then into the wood.

¹⁹⁸END OF THE STORY OF SUMEDHA.

¹Now in the same world-cycle that saw Dîpamkara, The One Possessing the Ten Forces, there were also three other Buddhas; but as none of them prophesied concerning the Future Buddha, I have not mentioned them. In the Commentary, however, all the Buddhas are mentioned from the beginning of that world-cycle on, as follows:--

²⁴⁷"Tanhamkara, Medhamkara, And also Saranamkara, Dîpamkara, the Buddha great, Kondañña, of all men the chief,

²⁴⁸"Mañgala, and Sumana too, Revata, Sobhita, the sage, Anomadassi, Paduma, Nârada, Padumuttara,

²⁴⁹"Sumedha, and Sujâta too, Piyadassi, the glorious one, Atthadassi, Dhammadassi, Siddhattha, guide of every man,

²⁵⁰"Tissa, Phussa, the Buddha great, Vipassi, Sikkhi, Vessabhû, Kakusandha, Konâgamana, Kassapa also, guide for men,--

²⁵¹"All these aforetime Buddhas were, Tranquil, from every passion free. And like the sun, the many-rayed, They chased away the darkness dense, And having flamed like tongues of fire, Became extinct with all their train."

²⁵²Our Future Buddha, in his passage through four immensities and a hundred thousand world-cycles to the present time,

²⁵³has made his wish under twenty-four of these Buddhas beginning with Dîpamkara. But since Kassapa, The Blessed One, there has been no Supreme Buddha excepting our present one. Accordingly, our Future Buddha has received recognition at the hands of twenty-four Buddhas beginning with Dîpamkara.

¹These eight conditions were all united in him when he made his earnest wish at the feet of Dîpamkara, saying,--

²Thereupon, putting forth a strenuous effort,--as it is said,--

³he discovered, not only the perfection which is called alms, but also all the others that go to make a Buddha. And in fulfilling them he reached his Vessantara existence. In so doing, all the blessings celebrated in the following stanzas as belonging to Future Buddhas who make the earnest wish were attained by him:--

²⁵²"Such men in every virtue trained, And destined for the Buddhaship, In all their weary rounds of birth, Though cycle-millions come and go,

²⁵³"Are never born inside of hell, Nor in the intermundane voids. They never share the Manes' thirst, Their hunger or ferocity, And though sometimes of low estate, Are never of the insect class.

²⁵⁴"When they appear among mankind, 'T is not as blind from birth they come, Deafness they never have to bear, Nor dumbness have they to endure.

²⁵⁵"They're never of the female sex, Nor as hermaphrodites appear, As eunuchs are they never classed, Those destined for the Buddhaship.

²⁵⁶"From all the five great crimes exempt, And pure in all their walks in life, They follow not vain heresy, For well they know how karma works.

²⁵⁷"Though in the heavens they may be born, Yet ne'er 'mongst those perception-reft; Nor are they destined to rebirth 'Mongst dwellers in the Pure Abodes.

²⁵⁸"These pleasure-abnegating men Live unattached in every birth, And ever toil to help the world; While all perfections they fulfil."

²⁵⁹Now in accomplishing these Ten Perfections there was no limit to the number of existences in which he fulfilled the perfection of almsgiving; as when he was born as the Brahman Akitti, the Brahman Samkha, king Dhanañjaya, Mahâ-Sudassana, Mahâ-Govinda, king Nimi, prince Canda, Visayha the treasurer, king Sivi, and king Vessantara. But the acme was reached when as the Wise Hare he said,--

²⁵⁹"There came a beggar, asked for food; Myself I gave that he might eat. In alms there's none can equal me; In alms have I perfection reached."

²⁶⁰Thus, in this offering up of his own life, he acquired the perfection of almsgiving in its highest degree.

²⁶¹Likewise there was no limit to the number of existences in which he fulfilled the precepts; as when he was born as the elephant-king Sîlava, the snake-king Campeyya, the snake-king Bhûridatta, the elephant-king Chaddanta, and prince Alînasattu, son of king Jayaddisa. But the acme was reached when, as related in the Samkhapâla Birth-Story, he said,--

²⁶⁰"They pierced me through with pointed stakes, They hacked me with their hunting-knives; Yet gainst these Bhojans raged I not, But kept the precepts perfectly."

²⁶²Thus, in giving up his own life, he acquired perfection in the keeping of the precepts.

²⁶³Likewise there was no limit to the number of existences in which he fulfilled the perfection of abnegation by abandoning

²⁶⁴his throne; as when he was born as prince Somanassa, prince Hatthipâla, and the pandit Ayoghara. But the acme was reached when, as related in the Lesser Sutasoma Birth-Story, he said,--

²⁶¹"A kingdom dropped into my hands; Like spittle vile I let it fall, Nor for it felt the smallest wish, And thus renunciation gained."

²⁶⁵Thus, free from attachment, he renounced a kingdom and retired from the world, and by so doing acquired the perfection of abnegation in its highest degree.

²⁶⁶Likewise there was no limit to the number of existences in which he fulfilled the perfection of knowledge; as when he was born as the pandit Vidhûra, the pandit Mahâ-Govinda, the pandit Kuddâla, the pandit Araka, the wandering ascetic Bodhi, and the pandit Mahosadha. But the acme was reached when, as the pandit Senaka of the Sattubhatta Birth-Story, he said,--

²⁶²"With wisdom sifted I the case, And freed the Brahman from his woe; In wisdom none can equal me: In wisdom I've perfection reached,"

²⁶⁷and displayed to all present the serpent which lay concealed in the bag, and in so doing acquired the perfection of wisdom in its highest degree.

²⁶⁸Likewise there was no limit to the number of existences in which he fulfilled the perfection of courage. But the acme was reached when, as related in the Greater Janaka Birth-Story, he said,--

²⁶³"Far out of sight of land were we, The crew were all as dead of fright; Yet still unruffled was my mind: In courage I've perfection reached."

²⁶⁹Thus it was in crossing the ocean he acquired the perfection of courage in its highest degree.

²⁷⁰Likewise in the Khantivâda Birth-Story, where he said,--

²⁶⁴"Like one insensible I lay, While with his hatchet keen he hacked, Nor raged I gainst Benares' king: In patience I've perfection reached,"

²⁷¹in enduring great suffering, while appearing to be unconscious, he acquired the perfection of patience in its highest degree.

²⁷²Likewise in the Greater Sutasoma Birth-Story, where he said,--

²⁶⁵"I kept the promise I had made, And gave my life in sacrifice, A hundred warriors set I free: In truth have I perfection reached,"

²⁷³in keeping his word at the sacrifice of his life, he acquired the perfection of truth in its highest degree.

²⁷⁴Likewise in the Mûgapakkha Birth-Story, where he said,--

²⁶⁶"'T is not that I my parents hate, 'T is not that glory I detest, But since omniscience I held dear, Therefore I kept my firm resolve,"

²⁷⁵in resolving on a course of conduct that cost him his life, he acquired the perfection of resolution in its highest degree.

²⁷⁶Likewise in the Ekarâja Birth-Story, where he said,--

²⁶⁷"No fear has any one of me, Nor have I fear of any one, In my good-will to all I trust, And love to dwell in lonely woods,"

²⁷⁷in the exercise of feelings of good-will, and in taking no thought for his life, he acquired the perfection of good-will in its highest degree.

²⁷⁸Likewise in the Lomahamsa Birth-Story, where he said,--

²⁶⁸"I laid me down among the dead, A pillow of their bones I made; While from the villages around, Some came to mock, and some to praise,"

²⁷⁹while village children flocked about him, and some spat and others showered fragrant garlands upon him, he was indifferent alike to pleasure and pain, and acquired the perfection of indifference in its highest degree.

²⁸⁰The above is an abridgment, but the full account is given in the Cariyâ-Pitaka.

²⁸¹Having thus fulfilled all the perfections, he said, in his existence as Vessantara,--

²⁶⁹"This earth, unconscious though she be, And ignorant of joy or grief, E'en she then felt alms' mighty power, And shook and quaked full seven times."

²⁸²And having thus caused the earth to quake by his mighty deeds of merit, at the end of that existence he died, and was reborn in the Tusita heaven.

²⁸³Accordingly the period from the time when he fell at the feet of Dîpamkara to his birth in the city of the Tusita gods constitutes the Distant Epoch.

¹Now while the Future Buddha was still dwelling in the city of the Tusita gods, the "Buddha-Uproar," as it is called, took place. For there are three uproars which take place in the world,--the Cyclic-Uproar, the Buddha-Uproar, and the Universal-Monarch-Uproar. They occur as follows:--

²When it is known that after the lapse of a hundred thousand years the cycle is to be renewed, the gods called Loka-byûhas, inhabitants of a heaven of sensual pleasure, wander about through the world, with hair let down and flying in the wind, weeping and wiping away their tears with their hands, and with their clothes red and in great disorder. And thus they make announcement:--

³"Sirs, after the lapse of a hundred thousand years, the cycle is to be renewed; this world will be destroyed; also the mighty ocean will dry up; and this broad earth, and Sineru, the monarch of the mountains, will be burnt up and destroyed,--up to the Brahma heavens will the destruction of the world extend. Therefore, sirs, cultivate friendliness; cultivate compassion, joy, and indifference; wait on your mothers; wait on your fathers; and honor your elders among your kinsfolk."

⁴This is called the Cyclic-Uproar.

⁵Again, when it is known that after a lapse of a thousand years an omniscient Buddha is to arise in the world, the guardian angels of the world wander about, proclaiming:

⁶"Sirs, after the lapse of a thousand years a Buddha will arise in the world."

⁷This is called the Buddha-Uproar.

⁸And lastly, when they realize that after the lapse of a hundred years a Universal Monarch is to arise, the terrestrial deities wander about, proclaiming:--

⁹"Sirs, after the lapse of a hundred years a Universal Monarch is to arise in the world."

¹⁰This is called the Universal-Monarch-Uproar. And these three are mighty uproars.

¹¹When of these three Uproars they hear the sound of the Buddha-Uproar, the gods of all ten thousand worlds come together into one place, and having ascertained what particular being is to be The Buddha, they approach him, and beseech him to become one. But it is not till after omens have appeared that they beseech him.

¹²At that time, therefore, having all come together in one world, with the Catûm-Mahârâjas, and with the Sakka, the Suyâma, the Santusita, the Paranimmita-Vasavatti, and the Mahâ-Brahma of each several world, they approached the Future Buddha in the Tusita heaven, and besought him, saying,--

¹³"Sir, it was not to acquire the glory of a Sakka, or of a Mâra, or of a Brahma, or of a Universal Monarch, that you fulfilled the Ten Perfections; but it was to gain omniscience

¹⁴in order to save the world, that you fulfilled them. Sir, the time and fit season for your Buddhaship has now arrived."

¹⁵But the Great Being, before assenting to their wish, made what is called the five great observations. He observed, namely, the time, the continent, the country, the family, and the mother and her span of life.

¹⁶In the first of these observations he asked himself whether it was the right time or no. Now it is not the right time when the length of men's lives is more than a hundred thousand years. And why is it not the right time? Because mortals then forget about birth, old age, and death. And if The Buddhas, who always include in their teachings the Three Characteristics, were to attempt at such a time to discourse concerning transitoriness, misery, and the lack of substantive reality, men would not think it worth while listening to them, nor would they give them credence. Thus there would be no conversions made; and if there were no conversions, the dispensation would not conduce to salvation. This, therefore, is not the right time.

¹⁷Also it is not the right time when men's lives are less than a hundred years. And why is it not the right time? Because mortals are then exceedingly corrupt; and an exhortation given to the exceedingly corrupt makes no impression, but, like a mark drawn with a stick on the surface of the water, it immediately disappears. This, therefore, also is not the right time.

¹⁸But when the length of men's lives is between a hundred years and a hundred thousand years, then is it the right time. Now at that time men's lives were a hundred years; accordingly the Great Being observed that it was the right time for his birth.

¹⁹Next he made the observation concerning the continent. Looking over the four continents with their attendant isles, he reflected: "In three of the continents the Buddhas are never born; only in the continent of India are they born." Thus he decided on the continent.

²⁰Next he made the observation concerning the place. "The continent of India is large," thought he, "being ten

²¹thousand leagues around. In which of its countries are The Buddhas born?" Thus he decided on the Middle Country.

²²The Middle Country is the country defined in the Vinaya as follows:--

²³"It lies in the middle, on this side of the town Kajañgala on the east, beyond which is Mahâ-Sâla, and beyond that the border districts. It lies in the middle, on this side of the river Salalavatî on the southeast, beyond which are the border districts. It lies in the middle, on this side of the town Setakannika on the south, beyond which are the border districts. It lies in the middle, on this side of the Brahmanical town Thûna on the west, beyond which are the border districts. It lies in the middle, on this side of the hill Usîraddhaja on the north, beyond which are the border districts."

²⁴It is three hundred leagues in length, two hundred and fifty in breadth, and nine hundred in circumference. In this country are born The Buddhas, the Private Buddhas, the Chief Disciples, the Eighty Great Disciples, the Universal Monarch, and other eminent ones, magnates of the warrior caste, of the Brahman caste, and the wealthy householders. "And in it is this city called Kapilavatthu," thought he, and concluded that there he ought to be born.

²⁵Then he made the observation concerning the family. "The Buddhas," thought he, "are never born into a family of the peasant caste, or of the servile caste; but into one of the warrior caste, or of the Brahman caste, whichever at the time is the higher in public estimation. The warrior caste is now the higher in public estimation. I will be born into a warrior family, and king Suddhodana shall be my father." Thus he decided on the family.

²⁶Then he made the observation concerning the mother. "The mother of a Buddha," thought he, "is never a wanton, nor a drunkard, but is one who has fulfilled the perfections through a hundred thousand cycles, and has kept the five precepts unbroken from the day of her birth. Now this queen Mahâ-Mâyâ is such a one; and she shall be my mother."--

²⁷"But what shall be her span of life?" continued he. And he perceived that it was to be ten months and seven days.

²⁸Having thus made the five great observations, he kindly made the gods the required promise, saying,--

²⁹"Sirs, you are right. The time has come for my Buddhaship."

³⁰Then, surrounded by the gods of the Tusita heaven, and dismissing all the other gods, he entered the Nandana Grove of the Tusita capital,--for in each of the heavens there is a Nandana Grove. And here the gods said, "Attain in your next existence your high destiny," and kept reminding him that he had already paved the way to it by his accumulated merit. Now it was while he was thus dwelling, surrounded by these deities, and continually reminded of his accumulated merit, that he died, and was conceived in the womb of queen Mahâ-Mâyâ. And in order that this matter may be fully understood, I will give the whole account in due order.

³¹It is related that at that time the Midsummer Festival had been proclaimed in the city of Kapilavatthu, and the multitude were enjoying the feast. And queen Mahâ-Mâyâ, abstaining from strong drink, and brilliant with garlands and perfumes, took part in the festivities for the six days previous to the day of full moon. And when it came to be the day of full moon, she rose early, bathed in perfumed water, and dispensed four hundred thousand pieces of money in great largess. And decked in full gala attire, she ate of the choicest food; after which she took the eight vows, and entered her elegantly furnished chamber of state. And lying down on the royal couch, she fell asleep and dreamed the following dream:--

³²The four guardian angels came and lifted her up, together with her couch, and took her away to the Himalaya Mountains. There, in the Manosilâ table-land, which is sixty leagues in extent, they laid her under a prodigious sal-tree,

³³seven leagues in height, and took up their positions respectfully at one side. Then came the wives of these guardian angels, and conducted her to Anotatta Lake, and bathed her, to remove every human stain. And after clothing her with divine garments, they anointed her with perfumes and decked her with divine flowers. Not far off was Silver Hill, and in it a golden mansion. There they spread a divine couch with its head towards the east, and laid her down upon it. Now the Future Buddha had become a superb white elephant, and was wandering about at no great distance, on Gold Hill. Descending thence, he ascended Silver Hill, and approaching from the north, he plucked a white lotus with his silvery trunk, and trumpeting loudly, went into the golden mansion. And three times he walked round his mother's couch, with his right side towards it, and striking her on her right side, he seemed to enter her womb. Thus the conception took place in the Midsummer Festival.

³⁴On the next day the queen awoke, and told the dream to the king. And the king caused sixty-four eminent Brahmans to be summoned, and spread costly seats for them on ground festively prepared with green leaves, Dalbergia flowers, and so forth. The Brahmans being seated, he filled gold and silver dishes with the best of milk-porridge compounded with ghee, honey, and treacle; and covering these dishes with others, made likewise of gold and silver, he gave the Brahmans to eat. And not only with food, but with other gifts, such as new garments, tawny cows, and so forth, he satisfied them completely. And when their every desire had been satisfied, he told them the dream and asked them what would come of it.

³⁵"Be not anxious, great king!" said the Brahmans; "a child has planted itself in the womb of your queen, and it is a male child and not a female. You will have a son. And he, if he continue to live the household life, will become a Universal Monarch; but if he leave the household life and retire from the world, he will become a Buddha, and roll back the clouds of sin and folly of this world."

³⁶Now the instant the Future Buddha was conceived in the

³⁷womb of his mother, all the ten thousand worlds suddenly quaked, quivered, and shook. And the Thirty-two Prognostics appeared, as follows: an immeasurable light spread through ten thousand worlds; the blind recovered their sight, as if from desire to see this his glory; the deaf received their hearing; the dumb talked; the hunchbacked became straight of body; the lame recovered the power to walk; all those in bonds were freed from their bonds and chains; the fires went out in all the hells; the hunger and thirst of the Manes was stilled; wild animals lost their timidity; diseases ceased among men; all mortals became mild-spoken; horses neighed and elephants trumpeted in a manner sweet to the ear; all musical instruments gave forth their notes without being played upon; bracelets and other ornaments jingled; in all quarters of the heavens the weather became fair; a mild, cool breeze began to blow, very refreshing to men; rain fell out of season; water burst forth from the earth and flowed in streams; the birds ceased flying through the air; the rivers checked their flowing; in the mighty ocean the water became sweet; the ground became everywhere covered with lotuses of the five different colors; all flowers bloomed, both those on land and those that grow in the water; trunk-lotuses bloomed on the trunks of trees, branch-lotuses on the branches, and vine-lotuses on the vines; on the ground, stalk-lotuses, as they are called, burst through the overlying rocks and came up by sevens; in the sky were produced others, called hanging-lotuses; a shower of flowers fell all about; celestial music was heard to play in the sky; and the whole ten thousand worlds became one mass of garlands of the utmost possible magnificence, with waving chowries, and saturated with the incense-like fragrance of flowers, and resembled a bouquet of flowers sent whirling through the air, or a closely woven wreath, or a superbly decorated altar of flowers.

³⁸From the time the Future Buddha was thus conceived, four angels with swords in their hands kept guard, to ward off all harm from both the Future Buddha and the Future Buddha's mother. No lustful thought sprang up in the mind of the Future Buddha's mother; having reached the

³⁹pinnacle of good fortune and of glory, she felt comfortable and well, and experienced no exhaustion of body. And within her womb she could distinguish the Future Buddha, like a white thread passed through a transparent jewel. And whereas a womb that has been occupied by a Future Buddha is like the shrine of a temple, and can never be occupied or used again, therefore it was that the mother of the Future Buddha died when he was seven days old, and was reborn in the Tusita heaven.

⁴⁰Now other women sometimes fall short of and sometimes run over the term of ten lunar months, and then bring forth either sitting or lying down; but not so the mother of a Future Buddha. She carries the Future Buddha in her womb for just ten months, and then brings forth while standing up. This is a characteristic of the mother of a Future Buddha. So also queen Mahâ-Mâyâ carried the Future Buddha in her womb, as it were oil in a vessel, for ten months; and being then far gone with child, she grew desirous of going home to her relatives, and said to king Suddhodana,--

⁴¹"Sire, I should like to visit my kinsfolk in their city Devadaha."

⁴²"So be it," said the king; and from Kapilavatthu to the city of Devadaha he had the road made even, and garnished it with plantain-trees set in pots, and with banners, and streamers; and, seating the queen in a golden palanquin borne by a thousand of his courtiers, he sent her away in great pomp.

⁴³Now between the two cities, and belonging to the inhabitants of both, there was a pleasure-grove of sal-trees, called Lumbini Grove. And at this particular time this grove was one mass of flowers from the ground to the topmost branches, while amongst the branches and flowers hummed swarms of bees of the five different colors, and flocks of various kinds of birds flew about warbling sweetly. Throughout the whole of Lumbini Grove the scene resembled the Cittalatâ Grove in Indra's paradise, or the magnificently decorated banqueting pavilion of some potent king.

⁴⁴When the queen beheld it she became desirous of disporting

⁴⁵herself therein, and the courtiers therefore took her into it. And going to the foot of the monarch sal-tree of the grove, she wished to take hold of one of its branches. And the sal-tree branch, like the tip of a well-steamed reed, bent itself down within reach of the queen's hand. Then she reached out her hand, and seized hold of the branch, and immediately her pains came upon her. Thereupon the people hung a curtain about her, and retired. So her delivery took place while she was standing up, and keeping fast hold of the sal-tree branch.

⁴⁶At that very moment came four pure-minded Mahâ-Brahma angels bearing a golden net; and, receiving the Future Buddha on this golden net, they placed him before his mother and said,--

⁴⁷"Rejoice, O queen! A mighty son has been born to you."

⁴⁸Now other mortals on issuing from the maternal womb are smeared with disagreeable, impure matter; but not so the Future Buddha. He issued from his mother's womb like a preacher descending from his preaching-seat, or a man coming down a stair, stretching out both hands and both feet, unsmeared by any impurity from his mother's womb, and flashing pure and spotless, like a jewel thrown upon a vesture of Benares cloth. Notwithstanding this, for the sake of honoring the Future Buddha and his mother, there came two streams of water from the sky, and refreshed the Future Buddha and his mother.

⁴⁹Then the Brahma angels, after receiving him on their golden net, delivered him to the four guardian angels, who received him from their hands on a rug which was made of the skins of black antelopes, and was soft to the touch, being such as is used on state occasions; and the guardian angels delivered him to men who received him on a coil of fine cloth; and the men let him out of their hands on the ground, where he stood and faced the east. There, before him, lay many thousands of worlds, like a great open court; and in them, gods and men, making offerings to him of perfumes, garlands, and so on, were saying,--

⁵⁰"Great Being! There is none your equal, much less your superior."

⁵¹When he had in this manner surveyed the four cardinal points, and the four intermediate ones, and the zenith, and the nadir, in short, all the ten directions in order, and had nowhere discovered his equal, he exclaimed, "This is the best direction," and strode forward seven paces, followed by Mahâ-Brahma holding over him the white umbrella, Suyâma bearing the fan, and other divinities having the other symbols of royalty in their hands. Then, at the seventh stride, he halted, and with a noble voice, he shouted the shout of victory, beginning,--

⁵²"The Chief am I in all the world."

⁵³Now in three of his existences did the Future Buddha utter words immediately on issuing from his mother's womb: namely, in his existence as Mahosadha; in his existence as Vessantara; and in this existence.

⁵⁴As respects his existence as Mahosadha, it is related that just as he was issuing from his mother's womb, Sakka, the king of the gods, came and placed in his hand some choice sandal-wood, and departed. And he closed his fist upon it, and issued forth.

⁵⁵"My child," said his mother, "what is it you bring with you in your hand?"

⁵⁶"Medicine, mother," said he.

⁵⁷Accordingly, as he was born with medicine in his hand, they gave him the name of Osadha-Dâraka [Medicine-Child]. Then they took the medicine, and placed it in an earthenware jar; and it was a sovereign remedy to heal all the blind, the deaf, and other afflicted persons who came to it. So the saying sprang up, "This is a great medicine, this is a great medicine!" And thus he received the name of Mahosadha [Great Medicine-Man].

⁵⁸Again, in the Vessantara existence, as he was issuing from his mother's womb, he stretched out his right hand, and said,--

⁵⁹"Pray, mother, is there anything in the house? I want to give alms."

⁶⁰Then, after he had completely issued forth, his mother said,--

⁶¹"It's a wealthy family, my son, into which you are born;" and putting his hand in her own, she had them place in his a purse containing a thousand pieces of money.

⁶²Lastly, in this birth he shouted the shout of victory above-mentioned.

⁶³Thus in three of his existences did the Future Buddha utter words immediately on issuing from his mother's womb. And just as at the moment of his conception, so also at the moment of his birth appeared the Thirty-two Prognostics.

⁶⁴Now at the very time that our Future Buddha was born in Lumbini Grove there also came into existence the mother of Râhula, and Channa the courtier, Kâludâyi the courtier, Kanthaka the king of horses, the Great Bo-tree, and the four urns full of treasure. Of these last, one was a quarter of a league in extent, another a half-league, the third three quarters of a league, and the fourth a league. These seven are called the Connate Ones.

⁶⁵Then the inhabitants of both cities took the Future Buddha, and carried him to Kapilavatthu.

¹ON this same day the happy and delighted hosts of the Heaven of the Thirty-three held a celebration, waving their cloaks and giving other signs of joy, because to king Suddhodana in Kapilavatthu had been born a son who should sit at the foot of the Bo-tree, and become a Buddha.

²Now it came to pass at that time that an ascetic named Kâladevala, who was an intimate friend of king Suddhodana, and practised in the eight stages of meditation, went, after

³his daily meal, to the Heaven of the Thirty-three to take his noon-day rest. And as he was sitting there resting, he noticed these gods, and said,--

⁴"Why do you frolic so joyously? Let me too know the reason."

⁵"Sir," replied the gods, "it is because a son has been born to king Suddhodana, who shall sit at the foot of the Bo-tree, and become a Buddha, and cause the Wheel of the Doctrine to roll; in him we shall be permitted to behold the infinite and masterful ease of a Buddha, and shall hear the Doctrine."

⁶On hearing this, the ascetic descended from the world of the gods in haste, and entered the dwelling of the king; and having seated himself on the seat assigned to him, he said,--

⁷"Great king, I hear that a son has been born to you. I would see him."

⁸Then the king had the prince magnificently dressed, and brought in, and carried up to do reverence to the ascetic. But the feet of the Future Buddha turned and planted themselves in the matted locks of the ascetic. For in that birth there was no one worthy of the Future Buddha's reverence; and if these ignorant people had succeeded in causing the Future Buddha to bow, the head of the ascetic would have split in seven pieces.

⁹"It is not meet that I compass my own death," thought the ascetic, and rose from his seat, and with joined hands did reverence to the Future Buddha. And when the king had seen this wonder, he also did reverence to his son. Now the ascetic could look backward into the past for forty world-cycles, and forward into the future for forty world-cycles,--in all, eighty world-cycles. And, noting on the person of the Future Buddha all the lucky marks and characteristics, he began to reflect and consider whether or not they prophesied his Buddhaship. And perceiving that undoubtedly he would become a Buddha, he thought to himself, "What a marvellous personage he is!" and smiled.

¹⁰Next he considered in his mind whether he would live to see him attain the Buddhaship; and he perceived that he was

¹¹not to have that opportunity. For he would die before that time, and be reborn in the formless mode of existence, where it would be out of the power of even a hundred or a thousand Buddhas to come and enlighten him. And he thought, "It will not be mine to behold this so marvellous a personage when he has become a Buddha. My loss, alas, will be great," and wept.

¹²The people noticed his behavior, and said to him,--

¹³"Our good father smiled but a moment ago, and now has begun to weep. Reverend sir, is any misfortune to happen to our young master?"

¹⁴"No misfortune is to happen to him. He will become a Buddha without any manner of doubt."

¹⁵"Then why did you weep?"

¹⁶"I wept at the thought of my own great loss; for, alas, I am not to have an opportunity of seeing this marvellous person after he has become a Buddha."

¹⁷Next he considered in his mind whether or not any of his relatives were to have the opportunity; and he saw that his sister's child Nâlaka was to have it. And he went to his sister's house, and inquired,--

¹⁸"Where is your son Nâlaka?"

¹⁹"Good father, he is in the house."

²⁰"Call him hither."

²¹"My child," said he to the lad when he had come, "a son has been born in the family of Suddhodana the king, who is the coming Buddha. Thirty-five years from now he will become a Buddha, and you will have an opportunity of seeing him. Retire from the world this very day."

²²And the child did so, although he belonged to a family possessing eight hundred and seventy millions of treasure; for he thought, "My uncle would not lay such a command upon me for any trifling reason." Sending to the bazaar, he procured some yellow garments, and an earthenware bowl, and cut off his hair and his beard, and put on the yellow garments. And stretching out his joined hands in the direction of the Future Buddha, he said, "I retire from the world to follow earth's greatest being." Then he prostrated himself,

²³so that he touched the ground with the fivefold contact. Having thus done reverence, he placed the bowl in his scrip, slung the latter over his shoulder, and going to the Himalaya Mountains, he there performed the duties of a monk.

²⁴And after the Great Being had achieved the absolute and supreme wisdom, Nâlaka came to him, and had him prescribe the Nâlaka course of conduct. Then, returning to the Himalaya Mountains, he attained to saintship, and adopted that excellent course. And keeping alive for seven months more, and being at the time near a certain Gold Hill, he passed out of existence by that final extinction in which none of the elements of being remain.

²⁵Now on the fifth day they bathed the Future Buddha's head, saying, "We will perform the rite of choosing a name for him." And they prepared the royal palace by anointing it with four kinds of perfumes, and by scattering Dalbergia blossoms and other flowers, five sorts in all. And making some porridge of whole rice-grains boiled in milk, they invited one hundred and eight Brahmans, men who had mastered the three Vedas. And having seated these Brahmans in the royal palace, and fed them with delicate food, and showed them every attention, they asked them to observe the marks and characteristics of the Future Buddha's person, and to prophesy his fortune.

²⁶Among the hundred and eight,--

²⁷⁰"Râma, Dhaja, Lakkhana, also Manti, Kondañña, Bhoja, Suyâma, Sudatta, These Brahmans eight were there with senses six subdued; They from the magic books disclosed his fortune."

²⁷¹These eight Brahmans were the fortune-tellers, being the same who had interpreted the dream of the night of the

²⁷²conception. Seven of these raised two fingers each, and gave a double interpretation, saying, "If a man possessing such marks and characteristics continue in the household life, he becomes a Universal Monarch; if he retire from the world, he becomes a Buddha." And then they set forth all the glory of a Universal Monarch.

²⁷³But the youngest of them all, a youth whose clan-name was Kondañña, after examining the splendid set of marks and characteristics on the person of the Future Buddha, raised only one finger, and gave but a single interpretation, saying, "There is here naught to make him stay in the household life. He will most undoubtedly become a Buddha, and remove the veil of ignorance and folly from the world." For this Kondañña was one who had made an earnest wish under former Buddhas, and was now in his last existence. Therefore it was that he outstripped the other seven in knowledge, and saw but one future; inasmuch as a person possessed of such marks and characteristics would never stay in the household life, but would undoubtedly become a Buddha. So he raised only one finger, and gave that interpretation.

²⁷⁴Then the seven Brahmans went home and said to their sons, "Children, we are old, but whether we ourselves are alive or not when the son of Suddhodana the king shall attain omniscience, you, at least, should then retire from the world under his dispensation."

²⁷⁵And after these seven persons had lived out their term of life they passed away according to their deeds; but Kondañña, being younger, was still alive and hale. And when the Great Being, after making the great retirement in pursuit of wisdom, had arrived at Uruvelâ in his progress from place to place, he thought: "How pleasant indeed is this spot! How suitable for the struggles of a young man desirous of struggling!" and took up his abode there. Kondañña heard the news that the Great Being had retired from the world, and drawing near to the sons of those seven Brahmans, he spoke to them as follows:--

²⁷⁶"I hear that prince Siddhattha has retired from the world. Now he will unquestionably become a Buddha, and if your

²⁷⁷fathers were alive they would follow after him this very day. If you also would like to retire from the world, come with me. I mean to follow after that man in his retirement from the world."

²⁷⁸But they could not all agree; and three of them did not retire from the world. But the remaining four did so, and made the Brahman Kondañña their chief. And these five persons became known as the "Band of Five Elders."

²⁷⁹Then said the king, "What shall my son see to make him retire from the world?"

²⁸⁰"The four signs."

²⁸¹"What four?"

²⁸²"A decrepit old man, a diseased man, a dead man, and a monk."

²⁸³"From this time forth," said the king, "let no such persons be allowed to come near my son. It will never do for my son to become a Buddha. What I would wish to see is my son exercising sovereign rule and authority over the four great continents and the two thousand attendant isles, and walking through the heavens surrounded by a retinue thirty-six leagues in circumference." And when he had so spoken he placed guards for a distance of a quarter of a league in each of the four directions, in order that none of these four kinds of men might come within sight of his son.

²⁸⁴On this same day, also, eighty thousand clansmen assembled together in the festival-hall, and each dedicated a son, saying,--

²⁸⁵"Whether the young prince become a Buddha or a king, we will each one give a son: so that if he become a Buddha, he shall be followed and surrounded by monks of the warrior caste; and if he become a king, by nobles of the warrior caste."

²⁸⁶And the king procured nurses for the Future Buddha,--women of fine figure, and free from all blemish. And so the Future Buddha began to grow, surrounded by an immense retinue, and in great splendor.

²⁸⁷Now on a certain day the king celebrated the Sowing

²⁸⁸Festival, as it was called. On that day they used to decorate the whole city, so that it looked like a palace of the gods; and all the slaves and other servants would put on new tunics; and, perfumed and garlanded, they would assemble together at the king's palace, where a thousand plows were yoked for the royal plowing.

²⁸⁹On this occasion there were one hundred and eight plows, all save one ornamented with silver, as were also the reins for the oxen and the cross-bars of the plows. But the plow that was held by the king was ornamented with red gold, as also the horns, the reins, and the goads for the oxen. And the king issued forth with a large retinue, taking his son along with him. And in the field where the plowing was to be done was a solitary rose-apple tree of thick foliage and dense shade. Underneath this tree the king had a couch placed for the young prince, and spread over his head a canopy that was studded with gold stars; and he surrounded him with a screen, and appointed those that should watch by him; and then, decked with all his ornaments and surrounded by his courtiers, he proceeded to the place where they were to plow. On arriving there, the king took the gold plow, and the courtiers took the silver plows,--one hundred and eight save one, and the farmers the other plows; and then all plowed forward and back. The king went from the hither side to the farther side, and from the farther side back again; and the pomp and magnificence of the festival was at its climax.

²⁹⁰Now the nurses who were sitting about the Future Buddha came out from behind the screen to behold the royal magnificence. And the Future Buddha, looking hither and thither and seeing no one, arose in haste and sat him down cross-legged, and mastering his inspirations and his expirations, entered on the first trance. The nurses delayed a little, being detained by the abundance of good things to eat. And the shadows of the other trees passed over to the east, but the shadow of the rose-apple tree remained steadily circular. Suddenly the nurses remembered that they had left their young master alone; and

²⁹¹raising the screen, they entered and saw the Future Buddha sitting cross-legged on the couch, and also noticed the miracle of the shadow. Then they went and announced to the king,--

²⁹²"Sire, thus and so is the prince sitting; and the shadows of the other trees have passed over to the east, but the shadow of the rose-apple tree remains steadily circular."

²⁹³And the king came in haste, and seeing the miracle, he did obeisance to his son, saying, "This, dear child, is my second obeisance."

²⁹⁴And thus, in due course, the Future Buddha attained to the age of sixteen years. And the king built three palaces for the Future Buddha, suited to the three seasons,--one of nine stories, another of seven stories, and another of five stories. And he provided him with forty thousand dancing girls. And the Future Buddha, with his gayly dressed dancers, was like a god surrounded by hosts of houris; and attended by musical instruments that sounded of themselves, and in the enjoyment of great magnificence, he lived, as the seasons changed, in each of these three palaces. And the mother of Râhula was his principal queen.

²⁹⁵Now while he was thus enjoying great splendor, one day there arose the following discussion among his relatives:--

²⁹⁶"Siddhattha is wholly given over to pleasure, and is not training himself in any manly art. What could he do if war were to occur? "

²⁹⁷The king sent for the Future Buddha, and said,--

²⁹⁸"My child, your relatives are saying that you are not training yourself, but are wholly given over to pleasure. Now what do you think we had best do?"

²⁹⁹"Sire, I do not need to train myself. Let the crier go about the city beating the drum, to announce that I will show my proficiency. On the seventh day from now I will show my proficiency to my relatives."

³⁰⁰The king did so. And the Future Buddha assembled together bowmen that could shoot like lightning and at a hair's-breadth; and in the midst of the populace, and before his

³⁰¹kinsfolk, he exhibited a twelvefold skill, such as none of the other bowmen could equal. All of which is to be understood after the manner related in the Sarabhañga Birth-Story. So the assembly of his kinsfolk doubted him no longer.

¹NOW on a certain day the Future Buddha wished to go to the park, and told his charioteer to make ready the chariot. Accordingly the man brought out a sumptuous and elegant chariot, and adorning it richly, he harnessed to it four state-horses of the Sindhava breed, as white as the petals of the white lotus, and announced to the Future Buddha that everything was ready. And the Future Buddha mounted the chariot, which was like to a palace of the gods, and proceeded towards the park.

²"The time for the enlightenment of prince Siddhattha draweth nigh," thought the gods; "we must show him a sign:" and they changed one of their number into a decrepit old man, broken-toothed, gray-haired, crooked and bent of body, leaning on a staff, and trembling, and showed him to the Future Buddha, but so that only he and the charioteer saw him.

³Then said the Future Buddha to the charioteer, in the manner related in the Mahâpadâna,--

⁴"Friend, pray, who is this man? Even his hair is not like that of other men." And when he heard the answer, he said, "Shame on birth, since to every one that is born old age must come." And agitated in heart, he thereupon returned and ascended his palace.

⁵"Why has my son returned so quickly?" asked the king.

⁶"Sire, he has seen an old man," was the reply; "and

⁷because he has seen an old man, he is about to retire from the world."

⁸"Do you want to kill me, that you say such things? Quickly get ready some plays to be performed before my son. If we can but get him to enjoying pleasure, he will cease to think of retiring from the world." Then the king extended the guard to half a league in each direction.

⁹Again, on a certain day, as the Future Buddha was going to the park, he saw a diseased man whom the gods had fashioned; and having again made inquiry, he returned, agitated in heart, and ascended his palace.

¹⁰And the king made the same inquiry and gave the same orders as before; and again extending the guard, placed them for three quarters of a league around.

¹¹And again on a certain day, as the Future Buddha was going to the park, he saw a dead man whom the gods had fashioned; and having again made inquiry, he returned, agitated in heart, and ascended his palace.

¹²And the king made the same inquiry and gave the same orders as before; and again extending the guard, placed them for a league around.

¹³And again on a certain day, as the Future Buddha was going to the park, he saw a monk, carefully and decently clad, whom the gods had fashioned; and he asked his charioteer, "Pray, who is this man?"

¹⁴Now although there was no Buddha in the world, and the charioteer had no knowledge of either monks or their good qualities, yet by the power of the gods he was inspired to say, "Sire, this is one who has retired from the world;" and he thereupon proceeded to sound the praises of retirement from the world. The thought of retiring from the world was a pleasing one to the Future Buddha, and this day he went on until he came to the park. The repeaters of the Dîgha, however, say that he went to the park after having seen all the Four Signs on one and the same day.

¹⁵When he had disported himself there throughout the day,

¹⁶and had bathed in the royal pleasure-tank, he went at sunset and sat down on the royal resting-stone with the intention of adorning himself. Then gathered around him his attendants with diverse-colored cloths, many kinds and styles of ornaments, and with garlands, perfumes, and ointments. At that instant the throne on which Sakka was sitting grew hot. And Sakka, considering who it could be that was desirous of dislodging him, perceived that it was the time of the adornment of a Future Buddha. And addressing Vissakamma, he said,--

¹⁷"My good Vissakamma, to-night, in the middle watch, prince Siddhattha will go forth on the Great Retirement, and this is his last adorning of himself. Go to the park, and adorn that eminent man with celestial ornaments."

¹⁸"Very well," said Vissakamma, in assent; and came on the instant, by his superhuman power, into the presence of the Future Buddha. And assuming the guise of a barber, he took from the real barber the turban-cloth, and began to wind it round the Future Buddha's head; but as soon as the Future Buddha felt the touch of his hand, he knew that it was no man, but a god.

¹⁹Now once round his head took up a thousand cloths, and the fold was like to a circlet of precious stones; the second time round took another thousand cloths, and so on, until ten times round had taken up ten thousand cloths. Now let no one think, "How was it possible to use so many cloths on one small head?" for the very largest of them all had only the size of a sâma-creeper blossom, and the others that of kutumbaka flowers. Thus the Future Buddha's head resembled a kuyyaka blossom twisted about with lotus filaments.

²⁰And having adorned himself with great richness,--while adepts in different kinds of tabors and tom-toms were showing their skill, and Brahmans with cries of victory and joy, and bards and poets with propitious words and shouts of praise saluted him,--he mounted his superbly decorated chariot.

²¹At this juncture, Suddhodana the king, having heard that

²²the mother of Râhula had brought forth a son, sent a messenger, saying, "Announce the glad news to my son."

²³On hearing the message, the Future Buddha said, "An impediment [râhula] has been born; a fetter has been born."

²⁴"What did my son say?" questioned the king; and when he had heard the answer, he said, "My grandson's name shall be prince Râhula from this very day."

²⁵But the Future Buddha in his splendid chariot entered the city with a pomp and magnificence of glory that enraptured all minds. At the same moment Kisâ Gotamî, a virgin of the warrior caste, ascended to the roof of her palace, and beheld tile beauty and majesty of the Future Buddha, as he circumambulated the city; and in her pleasure and satisfaction at the sight, she burst forth into this song of joy:--

²⁷¹"Full happy now that mother is, Full happy now that father is, Full happy now that woman is, Who owns this lord so glorious!"

²⁷²On hearing this, the Future Buddha thought, "In beholding a handsome figure the heart of a mother attains Nirvana, the heart of a father attains Nirvana, the heart of a wife attains Nirvana. This is what she says. But wherein does Nirvana consist? "And to him, whose mind was already averse to passion, the answer came: "When the fire of lust is extinct, that is Nirvana; when the fires of hatred and infatuation are extinct, that is Nirvana; when pride, false belief, and all other passions and torments are extinct, that is Nirvana. She has taught me a good lesson. Certainly, Nirvana is what I am looking for. It behooves me this very day to quit the household life, and to retire from the world in quest of Nirvana. I will send this lady a teacher's fee." And

²⁷³loosening from his neck a pearl necklace worth a hundred thousand pieces of money, he sent it to Kisâ Gotamî. And great was her satisfaction at this, for she thought, "Prince Siddhattha has fallen in love with me, and has sent me a present."

²⁷⁴And the Future Buddha entered his palace in great splendor, and lay on his couch of state. And straightway richly dressed women, skilled in all manner of dance and song, and beautiful as celestial nymphs, gathered about him with all kinds of musical instruments, and with dance, song, and music they endeavored to please him. But the Future Buddha's aversion to passion did not allow him to take pleasure in the spectacle, and he fell into a brief slumber. And the women, exclaiming, "He for whose sake we should perform has fallen asleep. Of what use is it to weary ourselves any longer?" threw their various instruments on the ground, and lay down. And the lamps fed with sweet-smelling oil continued to burn. And the Future Buddha awoke, and seating himself cross-legged on his couch, perceived these women lying asleep, with their musical instruments scattered about them on the floor,--some with their bodies wet with trickling phlegm and spittle; some grinding their teeth, and muttering and talking in their sleep; some with their mouths open; and some with their dress fallen apart so as plainly to

²⁷⁵disclose their loathsome nakedness. This great alteration in their appearance still further increased his aversion for sensual pleasures. To him that magnificent apartment, as splendid as the palace of Sakka, began to seem like a cemetery filled with dead bodies impaled and left to rot; and the three modes of existence appeared like houses all ablaze. And breathing forth the solemn utterance, "How oppressive and stifling is it all!" his mind turned ardently to retiring from the world. "It behooves me to go forth on the Great Retirement this very day," said he; and he arose from his couch, and coming near the door, called out,--

²⁷⁶"Who's there?"

²⁷⁷"Master, it is I, Channa," replied the courtier who had been sleeping with his head on the threshold.

²⁷⁸"I wish to go forth on the Great Retirement to-day. Saddle a horse for me."

²⁷⁹"Yes, sire." And taking saddle and bridle with him, the courtier started for the stable. There, by the light of lamps fed with sweet-smelling oils, he perceived the mighty steed Kanthaka in his pleasant quarters, under a canopy of cloth beautified with a pattern of jasmine flowers. "This is the

²⁸⁰one for me to saddle to-day," thought he; and he saddled Kanthaka.

²⁸¹"He is drawing the girth very tight," thought Kanthaka, whilst he was being saddled;" it is not at all as on other days, when I am saddled for rides in the park and the like. It must be that to-day my master wishes to issue forth on the Great Retirement." And in his delight he neighed a loud neigh. And that neigh would have spread through the whole town, had not the gods stopped the sound, and suffered no one to hear it.

²⁸²Now the Future Buddha, after he had sent Channa on his errand, thought to himself, "will take just one look at my son;" and, rising from the couch on which he was sitting, he went to the suite of apartments occupied by the mother of Rahula, and opened the door of her chamber. Within the chamber was burning a lamp fed with sweet-smelling oil, and the mother of Râhula lay sleeping on a couch strewn deep with jasmine and other flowers, her hand resting on the head of her son. When the Future Buddha reached the threshold, he paused, and gazed at the two from where he stood.

²⁸³"If I were to raise my wife's hand from off the child's head, and take him up, she would awake, and thus prevent my departure. I will first become a Buddha, and then come back and see my son." So saying, he descended from the palace.

²⁸⁴Now that which is said in the Jâtaka Commentary, "At that time Râhula was seven days old, "is not found in the other commentaries. Therefore the account above given is to be accepted.

²⁸⁵When the Future Buddha had thus descended from the palace, he came near to his horse, and said,--

²⁸⁶"My dear Kanthaka, save me now this one night; and then, when thanks to you I have become a Buddha, I will save the world of gods and men." And thereupon he vaulted upon Kanthaka's back.

²⁸⁷Now Kanthaka was eighteen cubits long from his neck to his tail, and of corresponding height; he was strong and swift, and white all over like a polished conch-shell. If he neighed or stamped, the sound was so loud as to spread

²⁸⁸through the whole city; therefore the gods exerted their power, and muffled the sound of his neighing, so that no one heard it; and at every step he took they placed the palms of their hands under his feet.

²⁸⁹The Future Buddha rode on the mighty back of the mighty steed, made Channa hold on by the tail, and so arrived at midnight at the great gate of the city.

²⁹⁰Now the king, in order that the Future Buddha should not at any time go out of the city without his knowledge, had caused each of the two leaves of the gate to be made so heavy as to need a thousand men to move it. But the Future Buddha had a vigor and a strength that was equal, when reckoned in elephant-power, to the strength of ten thousand million elephants, and, reckoned in man-power, to the strength of a hundred thousand million men.

²⁹¹"If," thought he, "the gate does not open, I will straightway grip tight hold of Kanthaka with my thighs, and, seated as I am on Kanthaka's back, and with Channa holding on by the tail, I will leap up and carry them both with me over the wall, although its height be eighteen cubits."

²⁹²"If," thought Channa, "the gate is not opened, I will place my master on my shoulder, and tucking Kanthaka under my arm by passing my right hand round him and under his belly, I will leap up and carry them both with me over the wall."

²⁹³"If," thought Kanthaka, "the gate is not opened, with my master seated as he is on my back, and with Channa holding on by my tail, I will leap up and carry them both with me over the wall."

²⁹⁴Now if the gate had not opened, verily one or another of these three persons would have accomplished that whereof he thought; but the divinity that inhabited the gate opened it for them.

²⁹⁵At this moment came Mâra, with the intention of persuading

²⁹⁶the Future Buddha to turn back; and standing in the air, he said,--

²⁹⁷"Sir, go not forth! For on the seventh day from now the wheel of empire will appear to you, and you shall rule over the four great continents and their two thousand attendant isles. Sir, turn back!"

²⁹⁸"Who are you?"

²⁹⁹"I am Vasavatti."

³⁰⁰"Mâra, I knew that the wheel of empire was on the point of appearing to me; but I do not wish for sovereignty. I am about to cause the ten thousand worlds to thunder with my becoming a Buddha."

³⁰¹"I shall catch you," thought Mâra, "the very first time you have a lustful, malicious, or unkind thought." And, like an ever-present shadow, he followed after, ever on the watch for some slip.

³⁰²Thus the Future Buddha, casting away with indifference a universal sovereignty already in his grasp,--spewing it out as if it were but phlegm,--departed from the city in great splendor on the full-moon day of the month Âsâlhi, when the moon was in Libra. And when he had gone out from the city, he became desirous of looking back at it; but no sooner had the thought arisen in his mind, than the broad earth, seeming to fear lest the Great Being might neglect to perform the act of looking back, split and turned round like a potter's wheel. When the Future Buddha had stood a while facing the city and gazing upon it, and had indicated in that place the spot for the "Shrine of the Turning Back of Kanthaka," he turned Kanthaka in the direction in which he meant to go, and proceeded on his way in great honor and exceeding glory.

³⁰³For they say the deities bore sixty thousand torches in front of him, and sixty thousand behind him, and sixty

³⁰⁴thousand on the right hand, and sixty thousand on the left hand. Other deities, standing on the rim of the world, bore torches past all numbering; and still other deities, as well as serpents and birds, accompanied him, and did him homage with heavenly perfumes, garlands, sandal-wood powder, and incense. And the sky was as full of coral flowers as it is of pouring water at the height of the rainy season. Celestial choruses were heard; and on every side bands of music played, some of eight instruments, and some of sixty,--sixty-eight hundred thousand instruments in all. It was as when the storm-clouds thunder on the sea, or when the ocean roars against the Yugandhara rocks.

³⁰⁵Advancing in this glory, the Future Buddha in one night passed through three kingdoms, and at the end of thirty leagues he came to the river named Anomâ.

³⁰⁶But was this as far as the horse could go? Certainly not. For he was able to travel round the world from end to end, as it were round the rim of a wheel lying on its hub, and yet get back before breakfast and eat the food prepared for him. But on this occasion the fragrant garlands and other offerings which the gods and the serpents and the birds threw down upon him from the sky buried him up to his haunches; and as he was obliged to drag his body and cut his way through the tangled mass, he was greatly delayed. Hence it was that he went only thirty leagues.

³⁰⁷And the Future Buddha, stopping on the river-bank, said to Channa,--

³⁰⁸"What is the name of this river?"

³⁰⁹"Sire, its name is Anomâ [Illustrious]."

³¹⁰"And my retirement from the world shall also be called Anomâ," replied the Future Buddha. Saying this, he gave the signal to his horse with his heel; and the horse sprang over the river, which had a breadth of eight usabhas, and landed on the opposite bank. And the Future Buddha, dismounting and standing on the sandy beach that stretched away like a sheet of silver, said to Channa,--

³¹¹"My good Channa, take these ornaments and Kanthaka and go home. I am about to retire from the world."

³¹²"Sire, I also will retire from the world."

³¹³Three times the Future Buddha refused him, saying, "It is not for you to retire from the world. Go now!" and made him take the ornaments and Kanthaka.

³¹⁴Next he thought, "These locks of mine are not suited to a monk; but there is no one fit to cut the hair of a Future Buddha. Therefore I will cut them off myself with my sword." And grasping a simitar with his right hand, he seized his top-knot with his left hand, and cut it off, together with the diadem. His hair thus became two finger-breadths in length, and curling to the right, lay close to his head. As long as he lived it remained of that length, and the beard was proportionate. And never again did he have to cut either hair or beard.

³¹⁵Then the Future Buddha seized hold of his top-knot and diadem, and threw them into the air, saying,--

³¹⁶"If I am to become a Buddha, let them stay in the sky; but if not, let them fall to the ground."

³¹⁷The top-knot and jewelled turban mounted for a distance of a league into the air, and there came to a stop. And Sakka, the king of the gods, perceiving them with his divine eye, received them in an appropriate jewelled casket, and established it in the Heaven of the Thirty-three as the "Shrine of the Diadem."

²⁷²"His hair he cut, so sweet with many pleasant scents, This Chief of Men, and high impelled it towards the sky; And there god Vâsava, the god with thousand eyes, In golden casket caught it, bowing low his head."

³¹⁸Again the Future Buddha thought, "These garments of mine, made of Benares cloth, are not suited to a monk."

³¹⁹Now the Mahâ-Brahma god, Ghatîkâra, who had been a friend of his in the time of the Buddha Kassapa, and whose affection for him had not grown old in the long interval. since that Buddha, thought to himself,--

³²⁰"To-day my friend has gone forth on the Great Retirement. I will bring him the requisites of a monk."

²⁷³"Robes, three in all, the bowl for alms, The razor, needle, and the belt, And water-strainer,--just these eight Are needed by th' ecstatic monk."

³²¹Taking the above eight requisites of a monk, he gave them to him.

³²²When the Future Buddha had put on this most excellent vesture, the symbol of saintship and of retirement from the world, he dismissed Channa, saying,--

³²³"Channa, go tell my father and my mother from me that I am well."

³²⁴And Channa did obeisance to the Future Buddha; and keeping his right side towards him, he departed.

³²⁵But Kanthaka, who had stood listening to the Future Buddha while he was conferring with Channa, was unable to bear his grief at the thought, "I shall never see my master any more." And as he passed out of sight, his heart burst, and he died, and was reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-three as the god Kanthaka.

³²⁶At first the grief of Channa had been but single; but now he was oppressed with a second sorrow in the death of Kanthaka, and came weeping and wailing to the city.

¹NOW the Future Buddha, having thus retired from the world,--in that place there was a mango-grove named Anupiya, and here he first spent a week in the joy of having retired from the world,--in one day went on foot to Râjagaha, a distance of thirty leagues, and entering the city, he begged for food from house to house without passing any by. By the beauty of the Future Buddha, the whole city was thrown into a commotion, like that into which Râjagaha was thrown by the entrance of Dhanapâlaka, or like that into which the

²heavenly city was thrown by the entrance of the chief of the Titans.

³Then ran the king's men to the palace, and made announcement,--

⁴"Sire, there is a being of such and such appearance going about the city begging for food. Whether he be a god, or a man, or a serpent, or a bird, we do not know."

⁵Then the king, standing on the roof of his palace, and thence beholding the Great Being, became amazed and astonished, and commanded his men,--

⁶"Look ye now! Go and investigate this! If this person be not a man, he will vanish from sight as soon as he leaves the city; if, namely, he be a god, he will depart by way of the air; if a serpent, he will sink into the ground. But if he be a human being, he will eat the food he has obtained in alms."

⁷Now the Great Being, after collecting a number of scraps, sufficient, as he judged, for his sustenance, left the city by the same gate he had entered, and sitting down with his face to the east, in the shade of Pandava rock, he attempted to eat his meal. But his stomach turned, and he felt as if his inwards were on the point of coming out by his mouth. Thereupon, in the midst of his distress at that repulsive food, --for in that existence he had never before so much as seen such fare,--he began to admonish himself, saying, "Siddhattha, although you were born into a family having plenty to eat and drink, into a station in life where you lived on fragrant third season's rice with various sauces of the finest flavors, yet when you saw a monk clad in garments taken from the rubbish heap, you exclaimed, 'Oh, when shall I be like him, and eat food which I have begged? Will that time ever come?' And then you retired from the world. And

⁸now that you have your wish, and have renounced all, what, pray, is this you are doing?" When he had thus admonished himself, his disgust subsided, and he ate his meal.

⁹Then the king's men went and announced to the king what they had seen. And the king, on hearing the report of the messengers, issued hastily from the city, and approaching the Future Buddha, and being pleased with his deportment, he tendered him all his kingly glory.

¹⁰"Great king," replied the Future Buddha, "I do not seek for the gratification of my senses or my passions, but have retired from the world for the sake of the supreme and absolute enlightenment."

¹¹"Verily," said the king, when his repeated offers had all been refused, "you are sure to become a Buddha; but when that happens, your first journey must be to my kingdom."

¹²The above is an abridgment, but the full account, beginning with the lines,--

¹³can be found by referring to the "Discourse on Retirement from the World," and its commentary.

¹⁴Then the Future Buddha, having made the king the required promise, proceeded on his way; and coming to Âlâra Kâlâma and Uddaka, the disciple of Râma, he acquired from them the eight stages of meditation. But becoming convinced that they did not lead to enlightenment, he ceased to practise them. And being desirous of making the Great Struggle, so as to show the world of gods and men his fortitude and heroism, he went to Uruvelâ, and saying, "Truly, delightful is this spot," he there took up his abode, and began the Great Struggle.

¹⁵And those five persons, Kondañña and the others, who since their retirement from the world, were wandering about for alms through villages, market-towns, and royal cities, here met with the Future Buddha. And during the six

¹⁶years of the Great Struggle, they swept his cell, and did all manner of service for him, and kept constantly at his beck and call, all the time saying, "Now he will become a Buddha, now he will become a Buddha."

¹⁷And the Future Buddha, thinking, "I will carry austerity to the uttermost," tried various plans, such as living on one sesamum seed or on one grain of rice a day, and even ceased taking nourishment altogether, and moreover rebuffed the gods when they came and attempted to infuse nourishment through the pores of his skin. By this lack of nourishment. his body became emaciated to the last degree, and lost its golden color, and became black, and his thirty-two physical characteristics as a great being became obscured. Now, one day, as he was deep in a trance of suppressed breathing, he was attacked by violent pains, and fell senseless to the ground, at one end of his walking-place.

¹⁸And certain of the deities said, "The monk Gotama is dead;" but others said, "This is a practice of the saints." Then those who thought he was dead went to king Suddhodana, and announced to him that his son was dead.

¹⁹"Did he die after becoming a Buddha, or before?" asked the king.

²⁰"He was unable to become a Buddha, but in making the Struggle, he fell to the ground and died."

²¹When the king heard this, he refused to credit it, saying, "I do not believe it. Death cannot come to my son before he attains to enlightenment."

²²But why would not the king believe it? Because of the miracles he had seen,--the first when the ascetic Kâladevala had been compelled to do homage to the Future Buddha, and the other which happened to the rose-apple tree.

²³But the Future Buddha recovering his consciousness, and standing up, the deities went a second time to the king, and told him that his son was well again.

²⁴Said the king, "I knew that my son could not have died."

²⁵Now the six years which the Great Being thus spent in austerities were like time spent in endeavoring to tie the air

²⁶into knots. And coming to the decision, "These austerities are not the way to enlightenment," he went begging through villages and market-towns for ordinary material food, and lived upon it. And his thirty-two physical characteristics as a great being again appeared, and the color of his body became like unto gold.

²⁷Then the band of five priests thought, "It is now six years that this man has been performing austerities without being able to attain to omniscience. And how much less can he be expected to do so in future, now that he has again taken to ordinary material food begged from town to town! He has become luxurious, and given up the Struggle. For us to look for any benefit to come from that quarter would be as reasonable as if a man were to imagine he could bathe his head in a dew-drop. We will have nothing more to do with him." With that they took their bowls and robes, and left the Great Being, and going eighteen leagues off, entered Isipatana.

¹NOW at that time there lived in Uruvelâ a girl named Sujâtâ, who had been born in the family of the householder Senâni, in General's Town. On reaching maturity she made a prayer to a certain banyan-tree, saying, "If I get a husband of equal rank with myself, and my first-born is a son, I will make a yearly offering to you of the value of a hundred thousand pieces of money." And her prayer had been successful.

²And wishing to make her offering on the day of full moon of the month Visâkhâ, full six years after the Great Being commenced his austerities, she first pastured a thousand cows in Latthimadhu Wood, and fed their milk to five hundred cows and the milk of these five hundred cows to two hundred and fifty, and so on down to feeding the milk

³of sixteen cows to eight. This "working the milk in and in," as it is called, was done to increase the thickness and the sweetness and the strength-giving properties of the milk. And when it came to be the full-moon day of Visâkhâ, she resolved to make her offering, and rose up early in the morning, just when night was breaking into day, and gave orders to milk the eight cows. The calves had not come at the teats of the cows; yet as soon as new pails were put under the udders, the milk flowed in streams of its own accord. When she saw this miracle, Sujâtâ took the milk with her own hands and placed it in a new vessel, and herself made a fire and began to cook it. While the milk-rice was cooking, immense bubbles arose, and turning to the right, went round together; but not a single drop ran over the edge, and not a particle of smoke went up from the fireplace. On this occasion the four guardian angels were present, and stood guard over the fireplace; Mahâ-Brahma bore aloft the canopy of state, and Sakka raked the fire-brands together and made the fire blaze up brightly. And just as a man crushes honey out of a honey-comb that has formed around a stick, so the deities by their superhuman power collected an amount of vital sap sufficient for the sustenance of the gods and men of all the four great continents and their two thousand attendant isles, and infused it into the milk-rice. At other times, to be sure, the deities infuse this sap into each mouthful; but on the day of the attainment of the Buddhaship, and on the day of decease, they place it in the kettle itself.

⁴When Sujâtâ had seen so many miracles appear to her in one day, she said to her slave-girl Punnâ,--

⁵"Punnâ, dear girl, the deity is very graciously disposed to us to-day. I have never before seen so many marvellous things happen in so short a time. Run quickly, and get everything ready at the holy place."

⁶"Yes, my lady," replied the slave-girl, and ran in great haste to the foot of the tree.

⁷Now that night the Future Buddha had five great dreams, and on considering their meaning reached the conclusion, "Without doubt I shall become a Buddha this very day."

⁸And when night was over, and he had cared for his person, he came early in the morning to that tree, to await the hour to go begging. And when he sat down he illumined the whole tree with his radiance.

⁹Then came Punnâ, and saw the Future Buddha sitting at the foot of the tree, contemplating the eastern quarter of the world. And when she beheld the radiance from his body lighting up the whole tree with a golden color, she became greatly excited, saying to herself, "Our deity, methinks, has come down from the tree to-day, and has seated himself, ready to receive our offering in person." And she ran in great haste, and told Sujâtâ of the matter.

¹⁰When Sujâtâ heard this news, she was overjoyed; and saying, "From this day forth be to me in the room of an eldest daughter," she decked Punnâ with all the ornaments appropriate to that position. And since a Future Buddha on the day he attains the Buddhaship must needs receive a golden dish worth a hundred thousand pieces of money, therefore the idea occurred to her of putting the milk-rice in a golden dish. And bringing out a golden dish that was worth a hundred thousand, she took up the cooking-vessel and began to pour out the milk-rice. All the milk-rice rolled off like water from a lotus-leaf, and exactly filled the dish. Then, covering the dish with another, which was also made of gold, and wrapping it in a cloth, she adorned herself in all her ornaments, and with the dish on her head proceeded in state to the foot of the banyan-tree. As soon as she caught sight of the Future Buddha she was exceedingly overjoyed, supposing him to be the tree-god; and as she advanced she kept constantly bowing. And taking the pot from her head, she uncovered it, and with some flower-scented water in a golden vase, drew near and took up a position close to the Future Buddha. The earthenware bowl which the Future Buddha had kept so long, and which had been given him by Ghatîkarâ, the Mahâ-Brahma god, at that instant disappeared; and the Future Buddha, stretching out his right hand in an attempt to find his bowl, grasped the vase of water. Next Sujâtâ placed the dish of milk-rice in the hand of the Great

¹¹Being. Then the Great Being looked at Sujâtâ; and she perceived that he was a holy man, and did obeisance, and said,--

¹²"Lord, accept my donation, and go whithersoever it seemeth to you good." And adding, "May your wishes prosper like mine own," she departed, caring no more for her golden dish worth a hundred thousand pieces of money than if it had been a dead leaf.

¹³The Future Buddha rose from his seat and walked round the tree with his right side towards it; and taking the dish, he proceeded to the banks of the Nerañjarâ and descended into its waters, just as many thousands of Future Buddhas before him had descended on the day of their complete enlightenment.--The spot where he bathed is now a place of pilgrimage named Suppatitthita, and here he deposited the dish on the bank before descending into the water.--After bathing he dressed himself in that garb of saintship which had been the dress of many hundreds of thousands of Future Buddhas before him; and sitting down with his face to the east, he made the whole of the thick, sweet milk-rice into forty-nine pellets of the size of the fruit of the single-seeded palmyra-tree, and ate it. And he took no further nourishment until the end of the seven weeks, or forty-nine days, which he spent on the throne of wisdom after he had become a Buddha. During all that time he had no other nourishment; he neither bathed, nor rinsed his mouth, nor did he ease himself; but was wholly taken up by the delights of the Trances, of the Paths, and of the Fruits.

¹⁴Now when he had consumed the milk-rice, he took the golden dish; and saying, "If I am to succeed in becoming a Buddha to-day, let this dish go up-stream; but if not, let it go down-stream," he threw it into the water. And it swam, cleaving the stream, until it came to the middle of the river, and then, like a fleet horse, it ran up-stream for a distance of eighty cubits, keeping all the while in the middle of the stream. Then it dived into a whirlpool and went to the palace of the black snake-king, and hit, "click! click!" against the dishes that had been used by the last three Buddhas, and

¹⁵took its place at the end of the row. When the black snake-king heard the noise, he exclaimed,--

¹⁶and so on, through several hundred laudatory verses. As a matter of only yesterday and to-day did the times of the snake-king's appearance above ground seem to him; and his body at such times towered up into the sky to a height of one and three quarters leagues.

¹⁷Then the Future Buddha took his noonday rest on the banks of the river, in a grove of sal-trees in full bloom. And at nightfall, at the time the flowers droop on their stalks, he rose up, like a lion when he bestirs himself, and went towards the Bo-tree, along a road which the gods had decked, and which was eight usabhas wide.

¹⁸The snakes, the fairies, the birds, and other classes of beings did him homage with celestial perfumes, flowers, and other offerings, and celestial choruses poured forth heavenly music; so that the ten thousand worlds were filled with these perfumes, garlands, and shouts of acclaim.

¹⁹Just then there came from the opposite direction a grasscutter named Sotthiya, and he was carrying grass. And when he saw the Great Being, that he was a holy man, he gave him eight handfuls of grass. The Future Buddha took the grass, and ascending the throne of wisdom, stood on the southern side and faced the north. Instantly the southern half of the world sank, until it seemed to touch the Avîci hell, while the northern half rose to the highest of the heavens.

²⁰"Methinks," said the Future Buddha, "this cannot be the place for the attainment of the supreme wisdom;" and walking round the tree with his right side towards it, he came to the western side and faced the east. Then the western half of the world sank, until it seemed to touch the Avîci hell, while the eastern half rose to the highest of the heavens. Wherever, indeed, he stood, the broad earth rose and fell, as though it had been a huge cart-wheel lying on its hub, and some one were treading on the rim.

²¹"Methinks," said the Future Buddha, "this also cannot be the place for the attainment of supreme wisdom;" and walking round the tree with his right side towards it, he came to the northern side and faced the south. Then the northern half of the world sank, until it seemed to touch the Avîci hell, while the southern half rose to the highest of the heavens.

²²"Methinks," said the Future Buddha, "this also cannot be the place for the attainment of supreme wisdom;" and walking round the tree with his right side towards it, he came to the eastern side and faced the west. Now it is on the eastern side of their Bo-trees that all The Buddhas have sat cross-legged, and that side neither trembles nor quakes.

²³Then the Great Being, saying to himself, "This is the immovable spot on which all The Buddhas have planted themselves! This is the place for destroying passion's net!" took hold of his handful of grass by one end, and shook it out there. And straightway the blades of grass formed themselves into a seat fourteen cubits long, of such symmetry of shape as not even the most skilful painter or carver could design.

²⁴Then the Future Buddha turned his back to the trunk of the Bo-tree and faced the east. And making the mighty resolution, "Let my skin, and sinews, and bones become dry, and welcome! and let all the flesh and blood in my body dry up! but never from this seat will I stir, until I have attained the supreme and absolute wisdom!" he sat himself down cross-legged in an unconquerable position, from which not even the descent of a hundred thunder-bolts at once could have dislodged him.

²⁵At this point the god Mâra, exclaiming, "Prince Siddhattha is desirous of passing beyond my control, but I will never allow it!" went and announced the news to his army, and sounding the Mâra war-cry, drew out for battle. Now Mâra's army extended in front of him for twelve leagues, and to the right and to the left for twelve leagues, and in the rear as far as to the confines of the world, and it was nine leagues high. And when it shouted, it made an earthquake-like

²⁶roaring and rumbling over a space of a thousand leagues. And the god Mâra, mounting his elephant, which was a hundred and fifty leagues high, and had the name "Girded-with-mountains," caused a thousand arms to appear on his body, and with these he grasped a variety of weapons. Also in the remainder of that army, no two persons carried the same weapon; and diverse also in their appearances and countenances, the host swept on like a flood to overwhelm the Great Being.

²⁷Now deities throughout the ten thousand worlds were busy singing the praises of the Great Being. Sakka, the king of the gods, was blowing the conch-shell Vijayuttara. (This conch, they say, was a hundred and twenty cubits long, and when once it had been filled with wind, it would sound for four months before it stopped.) The great black snake-king sang more than a hundred laudatory verses. And Mahâ-Brahma stood holding aloft the white umbrella. But as Mâra's army gradually drew near to the throne of wisdom, not one of these gods was able to stand his ground, but each fled straight before him. The black snake-king dived into the ground, and coming to the snake-abode, Mañjerika, which was five hundred leagues in extent, he covered his face with both hands and lay down. Sakka slung his conch-shell Vijayuttara over his back, and took up his position on the rim of the world. Mahâ-Brahma left the white umbrella at the end of the world, and fled to his Brahma-abode. Not a single deity was able to stand his ground, and the Great Being was left sitting alone.

²⁸Then said Mâra to his followers,--

²⁹"My friends, Siddhattha, the son of Suddhodana, is far greater than any other man, and we shall never be able to fight him in front. We will attack him from behind." All the gods had now disappeared, and the Great Being looked around on three sides, and said to himself, "There is no one here." Then looking to the north, he perceived Mâra's army coming on like a flood, and said,--

³⁰"Here is this multitude exerting all their strength and power against me alone. My mother and father are not here,

³¹nor my brother, nor any other relative. But I have these Ten Perfections, like old retainers long cherished at my board. It therefore behooves me to make the Ten Perfections my shield and my sword, and to strike a blow with them that shall destroy this strong array." And he remained sitting, and reflected on the Ten Perfections.

³²Thereupon the god Mâra caused a whirlwind, thinking, "By this will I drive away Siddhattha." Straightway the east wind and all the other different winds began to blow; but although these winds could have torn their way through mountain-peaks half a league, or two leagues, or three leagues high, or have uprooted forest-shrubs and trees, or have reduced to powder and scattered in all directions, villages and towns, yet when they reached the Future Buddha, such was the energy of the Great Being's merit, they lost all power and were not able to cause so much as a fluttering of the edge of his priestly robe.

³³Then he caused a great rain-storm, saying, "With water will I overwhelm and drown him." And through his mighty power, clouds of a hundred strata, and clouds of a thousand strata arose, and also the other different kinds. And these rained down, until the earth became gullied by the torrents of water which fell, and until the floods had risen over the tops of every forest-tree. But on coming to the Great Being, this mighty inundation was not able to wet his priestly robes as much as a dew-drop would have done.

³⁴Then he caused a shower of rocks, in which immense mountain-peaks flew smoking and flaming through the sky. But on reaching the Future Buddha they became celestial bouquets of flowers.

³⁵Then he caused a shower of weapons, in which single-edged, and double-edged swords, spears, and arrows flew smoking and flaming through the sky. But on reaching the Future Buddha they became celestial flowers.

³⁶Then he caused a shower of live coals, in which live coals as red as kimsuka flowers flew through the sky. But they scattered themselves at the Future Buddha's feet as a shower of celestial flowers.

³⁷Then he caused a shower of hot ashes, in which ashes that glowed like fire flew through the sky. But they fell at the Future Buddha's feet as sandal-wood powder.

³⁸Then he caused a shower of sand, in which very fine sand flew smoking and flaming through the sky. But it fell at the Future Buddha's feet as celestial flowers.

³⁹Then he caused a shower of mud, in which mud flew smoking and flaming through the sky. But it fell at the Future Buddha's feet as celestial ointment.

⁴⁰Then he caused a darkness, thinking, "By this will I frighten Siddhattha, and drive him away." And the darkness became fourfold, and very dense. But on reaching the Future Buddha it disappeared like darkness before the light of the sun.

⁴¹Mâra, being thus unable with these nine storms of wind, rain, rocks, weapons, live coals, hot ashes, sand, mud, and darkness, to drive away the Future Buddha, gave command to his followers, "Look ye now! Why stand ye still? Seize, kill, drive away this prince!" And, arming himself with a discus, and seated upon the shoulders of the elephant "Girded-with-mountains," he drew near the Future Buddha, and said,--

⁴²"Siddhattha, arise from this seat! It does not belong to you, but to me."

⁴³When the Great Being heard this he said,--

⁴⁴"Mâra, you have not fulfilled the Ten Perfections in any of their three grades; nor have you made the five great donations; nor have you striven for knowledge, nor for the welfare of the world, nor for enlightenment. This seat does not belong to you, but to me."

⁴⁵Unable to restrain his fury, the enraged Mâra now hurled his discus. But the Great Being reflected on the Ten Perfections, and the discus changed into a canopy of flowers,

⁴⁶and remained suspended over his head. Yet they say that this keen-edged discus, when at other times Mâra hurled it in anger, would cut through solid stone pillars as if they had been the tips of bamboo shoots. But on this occasion it became a canopy of flowers. Then the followers of Mâra began hurling immense mountain-crags, saying, "This will make him get up from his seat and flee." But the Great Being kept his thoughts on the Ten Perfections, and the crags also became wreaths of flowers, and then fell to the ground.

⁴⁷Now the gods meanwhile were standing on the rim of the world, and craning their necks to look, saying,--

⁴⁸"Ah, woe the day! The handsome form of prince Siddhattha will surely be destroyed! What will he do to save himself?"

⁴⁹Then the Great Being, after his assertion that the seat which Future Buddhas had always used on the day of their complete enlightenment belonged to him, continued, and said,--

⁵⁰"Mâra, who is witness to your having given donations?" Said Mâra, "All these, as many as you see here, are my witnesses;" and he stretched out his hand in the direction of his army. And instantly from Mâra's army came a roar, "I am his witness! I am his witness!" which was like to the roar of an earthquake.

⁵¹Then said Mâra to the Great Being,--

⁵²"Siddhattha, who is witness to your having given donations?"

⁵³"Your witnesses," replied the Great Being, "are animate beings, and I have no animate witnesses present. However, not to mention the donations which I gave in other existences, the great seven-hundred-fold donation which I gave in my Vessantara existence shall now be testified to by the solid earth, inanimate though she be." And drawing forth his right hand from beneath his priestly robe, he stretched it out towards the mighty earth, and said, "Are you witness, or are you not, to my having given a great seven-hundred-fold donation in my Vessantara existence?"

⁵⁴And the mighty earth thundered, "I bear you witness!" with a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand roars, as if to overwhelm the army of Mâra.

⁵⁵Now while the Great Being was thus calling to mind the donation he gave in his Vessantara existence, and saying to himself, "Siddhattha, that was a great and excellent donation which you gave," the hundred-and-fifty-league-high elephant "Girded-with-mountains" fell upon his knees before the Great Being. And the followers of Mâra fled away in all directions. No two went the same way, but leaving their head-ornaments and their cloaks behind, they fled straight before them.

⁵⁶Then the hosts of the gods, when they saw the army of Mâra flee, cried out, "Mâra is defeated! Prince Siddhattha has conquered! Let us go celebrate the victory!" And the snakes egging on the snakes, the birds the birds, the deities the deities, and the Brahma-angels the Brahma-angels, they came with perfumes, garlands, and other offerings in their hands to the Great Being on the throne of wisdom. And as they came,--

²⁷⁴"The victory now hath this illustrious Buddha won! The Wicked One, the Slayer, hath defeated been!" Thus round the throne of wisdom shouted joyously The bands of snakes their songs of victory for the Sage;

²⁷⁵"The victory now hath this illustrious Buddha won! The Wicked One, the Slayer, hath defeated been!" Thus round the throne of wisdom shouted joyously The flocks of birds their songs of victory for the Sage;

²⁷⁶"The victory now hath this illustrious Buddha won! The Wicked One, the Slayer, hath defeated been!" Thus round the throne of wisdom shouted joyously The bands of gods their songs of victory for the Sage;

²⁷⁷"The victory now hath this illustrious Buddha won! The Wicked One, the Slayer, hath defeated been!" Thus round the throne of wisdom shouted joyously The Brahma-angels songs of victory for the Saint.

²⁷⁸And the remaining deities, also, throughout the ten thousand worlds, made offerings of garlands, perfumes, and ointments, and in many a hymn extolled him.

²⁷⁹It was before the sun had set that the Great Being thus vanquished the army of Mâra. And then, while the Bo-tree in homage rained red, coral-like sprigs upon his priestly robes, he acquired in the first watch of the night the knowledge of previous existences; in the middle watch of the night, the divine eye; and in the last watch of the night, his intellect fathomed Dependent Origination.

²⁸⁰Now while he was musing on the twelve terms of Dependent Origination, forwards and backwards, round and back again, the ten thousand worlds quaked twelve times, as far as to their ocean boundaries. And when the Great Being, at the dawning of the day, had thus made the ten thousand worlds thunder with his attainment of omniscience, all these worlds became most gloriously adorned. Flags and banners erected on the eastern rim of the world let their streamers fly to the western rim of the world; likewise those erected on the western rim of the world, to the eastern rim of the world; those erected on the northern rim of the world, to the southern rim of the world; and those erected on the southern rim of the world, to the northern rim of the world; while those erected on the level of the earth let theirs fly until they beat against the Brahma-world; and those of the Brahma-world let theirs hang down to the level of the earth. Throughout the ten thousand worlds the flowering trees bloomed; the fruit trees were weighted down by their burden of fruit; trunk-lotuses bloomed on the trunks of trees; branch-lotuses on the branches of trees; vine-lotuses on the vines; hanging-lotuses in the sky; and stalk-lotuses burst through the rocks and came up by sevens. The system of ten thousand worlds was like a bouquet of flowers sent whirling through the air, or like a thick carpet of flowers; in the intermundane spaces the eight-thousand-league-long hells, which not even the light of seven suns had formerly been able to illumine, were now flooded with radiance; the eighty-four-thousand-league-deep ocean became sweet to the

²⁸¹taste; the rivers checked their flowing; the blind from birth received their sight; the deaf from birth their hearing; the cripples from birth the use of their limbs; and the bonds and fetters of captives broke and fell off.

²⁸²When thus he had attained to omniscience, and was the centre of such unparalleled glory and homage, and so many prodigies were happening about him, he breathed forth that solemn utterance which has never been omitted by any of The Buddhas:--

²⁷⁸"Through birth and rebirth's endless round, Seeking in vain, I hastened on, To find who framed this edifice. What misery!--birth incessantly!

²⁷⁹"O builder! I've discovered thee! This fabric thou shalt ne'er rebuild! Thy rafters all are broken now, And pointed roof demolished lies! This mind has demolition reached, And seen the last of all desire!"

²⁸³The period of time, therefore, from the existence in the Tusita Heaven to this attainment of omniscience on the throne of wisdom, constitutes the Intermediate Epoch.

¹Hail to that Blessed One, that Saint, and Supreme Buddha!

²AT that time The Buddha, The Blessed One, was dwelling at Uruvelâ at the foot of the Bo-tree on the banks of the river Nerañjarâ, having just attained the Buddhaship. Then The Blessed One sat cross-legged for seven days together at the foot of the Bo-tree experiencing the bliss of emancipation.

³Then The Blessed One, during the first watch of the night, thought over Dependent Origination both forward and back:--

⁴Thus does this entire aggregation of misery arise. But on the complete fading out and cessation of ignorance ceases karma; on the cessation of karma ceases consciousness; on the cessation of consciousness cease name and form; on the cessation of name and form cease the six organs of sense; on the cessation of the six organs of sense ceases contact; on the cessation of contact ceases sensation; on the cessation of sensation ceases desire; on the cessation of desire ceases attachment; on the cessation of attachment ceases existence; on the cessation of existence ceases birth; on the cessation of birth cease old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, misery, grief, and despair. Thus does this entire aggregation of misery cease.

⁵Then The Blessed One, concerning this, on that occasion, breathed forth this solemn utterance,--

⁶Then The Blessed One, during the middle watch of the

⁷night, thought over Dependent Origination both forward and back:--On ignorance depends karma. . . . Thus does this entire aggregation of misery arise. But on the complete fading out and cessation of ignorance ceases karma. . . . Thus does this entire aggregation of misery cease.

⁸Then The Blessed One, concerning this, on that occasion, breathed forth this solemn utterance,--

⁹Then The Blessed One, during the last watch of the night, thought over Dependent Origination both forward and back:--On ignorance depends karma. . . . Thus does this entire aggregation of misery arise. But on the complete fading out and cessation of ignorance ceases karma. . . . Thus does this entire aggregation of misery cease.

¹⁰Then The Blessed One, concerning this, on that occasion, breathed forth this solemn utterance,--

¹¹End of the account of what took place under the Bo-tree.

¹²Then The Blessed One, after the lapse of seven days, arose from that state of exalted calm, and leaving the foot of the Bo-tree, drew near to where the Ajapâla (that is, the Goatherd's) banyan-tree was; and having drawn near, he sat cross-legged at the foot of the Ajapâla banyan-tree for seven days together, experiencing the bliss of emancipation.

¹³Then a certain Brahman, who was of a proud and contemptuous disposition, drew near to where The Blessed One

¹⁴was; and having drawn near, he exchanged greetings with The Blessed One. And having passed with him the greetings of friendship and civility, he stood respectfully at one side. And standing respectfully at one side, the Brahman spoke to The Blessed One as follows:--

¹⁵"Gotama, what is it constitutes a Brahman? and what are the Brahman-making qualities?"

¹⁶Then The Blessed One, concerning this, on that occasion, breathed forth this solemn utterance,--

¹⁷End of the account of what took place under the Ajapâla-tree.

¹⁸Then The Blessed One, after the lapse of seven days, arose from that state of exalted calm, and leaving the foot of the Ajapâla banyan-tree, drew near to where the Mucalinda tree was; and having drawn near, he sat cross-legged at the foot of the Mucalinda tree for seven days together, experiencing the bliss of emancipation.

¹⁹Now at that time a great cloud appeared out of season, and for seven days it was rainy, cloudy weather, with a cold wind. Then issued Mucalinda, the serpent-king, from his abode, and enveloping the body of The Blessed One seven times with his folds, spread his great hood above his head, saying,--

²⁰"Let neither cold nor heat, nor gnats, flies, wind, sunshine, nor creeping creatures come near The Blessed One!"

²¹Then, when seven days had elapsed, and Mucalinda, the serpent-king, knew that the storm had broken up, and that the clouds had gone, he unwound his coils from the body of The Blessed One. And changing his natural appearance into that of a young man, he stood before The Blessed One, and with his joined hands to his forehead did reverence to The Blessed One.

²²Then The Blessed One, concerning this, on that occasion, breathed forth this solemn utterance,--

²³End of the account of what took place under the Mucalinda-tree.

¹NOW at that time, Sañjaya, the wandering ascetic, was dwelling at Râjagaha in company with a large following of wandering ascetics, two hundred and fifty in number; and at that time Sâriputta and Moggallâna were leading the religious life under Sañjaya, the wandering ascetic. And they had made this compact: "That one of us who shall first attain to the deathless is to tell it to the other."

²Then the venerable Assaji, having put on his tunic in the morning and taken his bowl and his robes, entered Râjagaha for alms, winning the minds of men with his advancing and his retiring, with his looking and his gazing, with his drawing in his arms and his stretching out his arms, and having his eyes cast down, and perfect in his deportment. And Sâriputta, the wandering ascetic, saw the venerable Assaji going the rounds of Râjagaha for alms, winning the minds of men with his advancing and his retiring, with his looking and

³his gazing, with his drawing in his arms and his stretching out his arms, and having his eyes cast down, and perfect in his deportment. And when he had seen him, it occurred to him as follows:--

⁴"This must be a priest who is either a saint already, or has entered the path which conducts to saintship. What if now I draw near to this priest, and ask him, 'To follow whom, brother, did you retire from the world? Who is your teacher? and whose doctrine do you approve?'"

⁵Then it occurred to Sâriputta, the wandering ascetic, as follows:--

⁶"It is not a fit time to ask this priest questions while he is inside the city, and going the rounds for alms. What if now I follow in the wake of this priest in the manner approved of for those who have requests to prefer?"

⁷Then the venerable Assaji, after he had gone the rounds of Râjagaha and obtained alms, issued from the city; and Sâriputta, the wandering ascetic, drew near to where the venerable Assaji was; and having drawn near, he exchanged greetings with the venerable Assaji; and having passed with him the greetings of friendship and civility, he stood respectfully at one side. And standing respectfully at one side, Sâriputta, the wandering ascetic, spoke to the venerable Assaji as follows:--

⁸"Placid, brother, are all your organs of sense; clear and bright is the color of your skin. To follow whom, brother, did you retire from the world? Who is your teacher? and whose doctrine do you approve?"

⁹"Brother, there is a great Sakyaputta monk, one who has retired from the world out of the Sakya clan. To follow this Blessed One have I retired from the world, and this Blessed One is my teacher, and the Doctrine of this Blessed One do I approve."

¹⁰"But what, venerable sir, is your teacher's doctrine? and what does he proclaim?"

¹¹"Brother, I am a novice and a new-comer, and the time is but short since I retired from the world under this Doctrine and Discipline. I am not able to expound to you the Doctrine

¹²at any great length, but I can tell you the substance of it in brief."

¹³Then Sâriputta, the wandering ascetic, spoke to the venerable Assaji as follows:--

¹⁴"So be it, brother. Whether little or much, tell it me. Tell me only the substance; it is the substance I want. Why should you make a long matter of it?"

¹⁵Then the venerable Assaji recited to Sâriputta, the wandering ascetic, the following exposition of the Doctrine:--

¹⁶On hearing this exposition of the Doctrine, there arose in the mind of Sâriputta, the wandering ascetic, a clear and distinct perception of the Doctrine that whatever is subject to origination is subject also to cessation." If this is the Doctrine," said he, "then, indeed, have you reached the sorrowless state lost sight of and neglected for many myriads of world-cycles."

¹⁷Then Sâriputta, the wandering ascetic, drew near to where Moggallâna, the wandering ascetic, was. And Moggallâna, the wandering ascetic, saw Sâriputta, the wandering ascetic, approaching from afar; and when he had seen him, he spoke to Sâriputta, the wandering ascetic, as follows:--

¹⁸"Placid, brother, are all your organs of sense; clear and bright is the color of your skin. Brother, have you attained to the deathless?"

¹⁹"Yea, brother, I have attained to the deathless."

²⁰"But how, brother, did you attain to the deathless?"

²¹"Brother, just now I saw Assaji the priest going the rounds of Râjagaha for alms, winning the minds of men with his advancing and his retiring, with his looking and his gazing, with his drawing in his arms and his stretching out his arms, and having his eyes cast down, and perfect in his deportment; and when I had seen him, it occurred to me as follows:--

²²"This must be a priest who is either a saint already, or has entered the path which conducts to saintship. What if now I were to draw near to this priest, and ask him, 'To follow whom, brother, did you retire from the world? Who is your Teacher? and whose doctrine do you approve?' Then, brother, it occurred to me as follows: 'It is not a fit time to ask this priest questions while he is inside the city and going the round for alms. What if now I follow in the wake of this priest in the manner approved of for those who have requests to prefer?' Then, brother, Assaji the priest, after he had gone the rounds of Râjagaha and obtained alms, issued from the city; and I, brother, drew near to where Assaji the priest was; and having drawn near, I exchanged greetings with the venerable Assaji; and having passed with him the greetings of friendship and civility, I stood respectfully at one side. And standing respectfully at one side, I spoke, brother, to the venerable Assaji as follows: 'Placid, brother, are all your organs of sense; clear and bright is the color of your skin. To follow whom, brother, did you retire from the world? Who is your teacher? and whose doctrine do you approve?' 'Brother, there is a great Sakyaputta monk, one who has retired from the world out of the Sakya clan. To follow this Blessed One have I retired from the world, and this Blessed One is my teacher, and the Doctrine of this Blessed One do I approve.' 'But what, venerable sir, is your teacher's doctrine? and what does he proclaim?' 'Brother, I am a novice and a new-comer, and the time is but short since I retired from the world under the Doctrine and Discipline. I am not able to expound to you the Doctrine at any great length, but I can tell you the substance of it in brief.' 'So be it, brother. Whether little or much, tell it me. Tell me only the substance; it is the substance I want. Why should you make a long matter of it?' Then, brother, Assaji the priest recited to me the following exposition of the Doctrine:--

²³On hearing this exposition of the Doctrine, there arose in the mind of Moggallâna, the wandering ascetic, a clear and distinct perception of the Doctrine that whatever is subject to origination is subject also to cessation. "If this is the Doctrine," said he, "then, indeed, have you reached the sorrowless state lost sight of and neglected for many myriads of world-cycles."

¹HABITS are of two kinds, the profitable, and the unprofitable. Of these, the unprofitable habits of The Blessed One had been extirpated by his attainment of saintship at the time he sat cross-legged under the Bo-tree. Profitable habits, however, remained to The Blessed One.

²These were fivefold: his before-breakfast habits; his after-breakfast habits; his habits of the first watch of the night; his habits of the middle watch of the night; his habits of the last watch of the night.

³His before-breakfast habits were as follows:--

⁴The Blessed One would rise early in the morning, and when, out of kindness to his body-servant and for the sake of bodily comfort, he had rinsed his mouth and otherwise cared for his person, he would sit retired until it was time to go begging. And when it came time, he would put on his tunic, girdle, and robes, and taking his bowl, he would enter the village or the town for alms. Sometimes he went alone, sometimes surrounded by a congregation of priests; sometimes without anything especial happening, sometimes with the accompaniment of many prodigies.

⁵While, namely, the Lord of the World is entering for

⁶alms, gentle winds clear the ground before him; the clouds let fall drops of water to lay the dust in his pathway, and then become a canopy over him; other winds bring flowers and scatter them in his path; elevations of ground depress themselves, and depressions elevate themselves; wherever he places his foot, the ground is even and pleasant to walk upon, or lotus-flowers receive his tread. No sooner has he set his right foot within the city-gate than the rays of six different colors which issue from his body race hither and thither over palaces and pagodas, and deck them, as it were, with the yellow sheen of gold, or with the colors of a painting. The elephants, the horses, the birds, and other animals give forth melodious sounds; likewise the tom-toms, lutes, and other musical instruments, and the ornaments worn by the people.

⁷By these tokens the people would know, "The Blessed One has now entered for alms;" and in their best tunics and best robes, with perfumes, flowers, and other offerings, they issue forth from their houses into the street. Then, having zealously paid homage to The Blessed One with the perfumes, flowers, and other offerings, and done him obeisance, some would implore him, "Reverend Sir, give us ten priests to feed;" some, "Give us twenty;" and some, "Give us a hundred priests." And they would take the bowl of The Blessed One, and prepare a seat for him, and zealously show their reverence for him by placing food in the bowl.

⁸When he had finished his meal, The Blessed One, with due consideration for the different dispositions of their minds, would so teach them the Doctrine that some would become established in the refuges, some in the five precepts, some would become converted, some would attain to the fruit of either once returning, or of never returning, while some would become established in the highest fruit, that of saintship, and would retire from the world. Having shown this kindness to the multitude, he would rise from his seat, and return to the monastery.

⁹On his arrival there, he would take his seat in a pavilion, on the excellent Buddha-mat which had been spread for him, where he would wait for the priests to finish their meal. When the priests had finished their meal, the body-servant would announce the fact to The Blessed One. Then The Blessed One would enter the perfumed chamber.

¹⁰These, then, were his before-breakfast habits.

¹¹Then The Blessed One, having thus finished his before-breakfast duties, would first sit in the perfumed chamber, on a seat that had been spread for him by his body-servant, and would wash his feet. Then, taking up his stand on the landing of the jewelled staircase which led to the perfumed chamber, he would exhort the congregation of the priests, saying,--

¹²"O priests, diligently work out your salvation; for not often occur the appearance of a Buddha in the world and existence among men and the propitious moment and retirement from the world and the opportunity to hear the true Doctrine."

¹³At this point some would ask The Blessed One for exercises in meditation, and The Blessed One would assign them exercises suited to their several characters. Then all would do obeisance to The Blessed One, and go to the places where they were in the habit of spending the night or the day--some to the forest, some to the foot of trees, some to the hills, and so on, some to the heaven of the four great kings, . . . and some to Vasavatti's heaven.

¹⁴Then The Blessed One, entering the perfumed chamber, would, if he wished, lie down for a while, mindful and conscious, and on his right side after the manner of a lion. And secondly, his body being now refreshed, he would rise, and gaze over the world. And thirdly, the people of the village or town near which he might be dwelling, who had given him breakfast, would assemble after breakfast at the monastery, again in their best tunics and their best robes, and with perfumes, flowers, and other offerings.

¹⁵Thereupon The Blessed One, when his audience had assembled, would approach in such miraculous manner as was fitting; and taking his seat in the lecture-hall, on the excellent Buddha-mat which had been spread for him, he would teach the Doctrine, as suited the time and occasion. And when he perceived it was time, he would dismiss the audience, and the people would do obeisance to The Blessed One, and depart.

¹⁶These were his after-breakfast habits.

¹⁷When he had thus finished his after-breakfast duties, he would rise from the excellent Buddha-seat, and if he desired to bathe, he would enter the bath-house, and cool his limbs with water made ready by his body-servant. Then the body-servant would fetch the Buddha-seat, and spread it in the perfumed chamber. And The Blessed One, putting on a tunic of double red cloth, and binding on his girdle, and throwing his upper robe over his right shoulder, would go thither and sit down, and for a while remain solitary, and plunged in meditation. After that would come the priests from here and from there to wait on The Blessed One. And some would propound questions, some would ask for exercises in meditation, and some for a sermon; and in granting their desires The Blessed One would complete the first watch of the night.

¹⁸These were his habits of the first watch of the night.

¹⁹And now, when The Blessed One had finished his duties of the first watch of the night, and when the priests had done him obeisance and were departing, the deities throughout the entire system of ten thousand worlds would seize the opportunity to draw near to The Blessed One and ask him any questions that might occur to them, even such as were but four syllables long. And The Blessed One in answering their questions would complete the middle watch of the night.

²⁰These were his habits of the middle watch of the night.

²¹The last watch of the night he would divide into three parts, and as his body would be tired from so much sitting since the morning, he would spend one part in pacing up

²²and down to free himself from the discomfort. In the second part he would enter the perfumed chamber, and would lie down mindful and conscious, and on his right side after the manner of a lion. In the third part he would rise, and taking his seat, he would gaze over the world with the eye of a Buddha, in order to discover any individual who, under some former Buddha, with alms-giving, or keeping the precepts, or other meritorious deeds, might have made the earnest wish.

²³These were his habits of the last watch of the night.

¹THEN The Blessed One addressed the venerable Ânanda:--

²"Let us go hence, Ânanda. To the further bank of the Hiraññavatî river, and to the city of Kusinârâ and the sal-tree grove Upavattana of the Mallas will we draw near."

³"Yes, Reverend Sir," said the venerable Ânanda to The Blessed One in assent.

⁴Then The Blessed One, accompanied by a large congregation of priests, drew near to the further bank of the Hiraññavatî river, and to the city of Kusinârâ and the sal-tree grove Upavattana of the Mallas; and having drawn near, he addressed the venerable Ânanda:--

⁵"Be so good, Ânanda, as to spread me a couch with its head to the north between twin sal-trees. I am weary, Ânanda, and wish to lie down."

⁶"Yes, Reverend Sir," said the venerable Ânanda to The Blessed One in assent, and spread the couch with its head to the north between twin sal-trees. Then The Blessed One lay down on his right side after the manner of a lion, and placing foot on foot, remained mindful and conscious.

⁷Now at that time the twin sal-trees had completely burst forth into bloom, though it was not the flowering season;

⁸and the blossoms scattered themselves over the body of The Tathâgata, and strewed and sprinkled themselves in worship of The Tathâgata. Also heavenly Erythrina flowers fell from the sky; and these scattered themselves over the body of The Tathâgata, and strewed and sprinkled themselves in worship of The Tathâgata. Also heavenly sandal-wood powder fell from the sky; and this scattered itself over the body of The Tathâgata, and strewed and sprinkled itself in worship of The Tathâgata. And music sounded in the sky in worship of The Tathâgata, and heavenly choruses were heard to sing in worship of The Tathâgata.

⁹Then The Blessed One addressed the venerable Ânanda:--

¹⁰"The twin sal-trees, Ânanda, have completely burst forth into bloom, though it is not the flowering season; and the blossoms have scattered themselves over the body of The Tathâgata, and have strewn and sprinkled themselves in worship of The Tathâgata. Also heavenly Erythrina flowers have fallen from the sky; and these have scattered themselves over the body of The Tathâgata, and have strewn and sprinkled themselves in worship of The Tathâgata. Also heavenly sandal-wood powder has fallen from the sky; and this has scattered itself over the body of The Tathâgata, and has strewn and sprinkled itself in worship of The Tathâgata. Also music is sounding in the sky in worship of The Tathâgata, and heavenly choruses are heard to sing in worship of The Tathâgata. But it is not by all this, Ânanda, that The Tathâgata is honored, esteemed, revered, worshiped, or venerated; but the priest, Ânanda, or the priestess, or the lay disciple, or the female lay disciple, who shall fulfil all the greater and lesser duties, conducting himself with propriety and in accordance with the precepts, by him is The Tathâgata honored, esteemed, revered, and worshiped with the best of worship. Accordingly, Ânanda, train yourselves,

¹¹and fulfil all the greater and lesser duties, and conduct yourselves with propriety and in accordance with the precepts."

¹²Now at that time the venerable Upavâna was standing in front of The Blessed One, and fanning him. Then The Blessed One was harsh to the venerable Upavâna saying,--

¹³"Step aside, O priest; stand not in front of me." Then it occurred to the venerable Ânanda as follows:--

¹⁴"Here, this venerable Upavâna has for a long time been the body-servant of The Blessed One, and kept himself at his beck and call; yet, although his last moments are near, The Blessed One is harsh to the venerable Upavâna saying, 'Step aside, O priest; stand not in front of me.' What, pray, was the reason, and what was the cause, that The Blessed One was harsh to the venerable Upavâna saying, 'Step aside, O priest; stand not in front of me'?"

¹⁵Then the venerable Ânanda spoke to The Blessed One as follows:--

¹⁶"Reverend Sir, here this venerable Upavâna has for a long time been the body-servant of The Blessed One, and kept himself at his beck and call; yet, although his last moments are near, The Blessed One is harsh to the venerable Upavâna saying, 'Step aside, O priest; stand not in front of me.' Reverend Sir, what, pray, was the reason, and what was the cause, that The Blessed One was harsh to the venerable Upavâna saying, 'Step aside, O priest; stand not in front of me'?"

¹⁷"Ânanda, almost all the deities throughout ten worlds have come together to behold The Tathâgata. For an extent, Ânanda, of twelve leagues about the city Kusinârâ and the sal-tree grove Upavattana of the Mallas, there is not a spot of ground large enough to stick the point of a hair into, that is not pervaded by powerful deities. And these deities, Ânanda, are angered, saying, 'From afar have we come to behold The Tathâgata, for but seldom, and on rare occasions, does a Tathâgata, a saint, and Supreme Buddha arise in the world; and now, to-night, in the last watch, will The Tathâgata pass into Nirvana; but this powerful priest stands in front of The Blessed One, concealing him, and we have no

¹⁸chance to see The Tathâgata, although his last moments are near.' Thus, Ânanda, are these deities angered."

¹⁹"What are the deities doing, Reverend Sir, whom The Blessed One perceives?"

²⁰"Some of the deities, Ânanda, are in the air with their minds engrossed by earthly things, and they let fly their hair and cry aloud, and stretch out their arms and cry aloud, and fall headlong to the ground and roll to and fro, saying, 'All too soon will The Blessed One pass into Nirvana; all too soon will The Happy One pass into Nirvana; all too soon will The Light of the World vanish from sight!' Some of the deities, Ânanda, are on the earth with their minds engrossed by earthly things, and they let fly their hair and cry aloud, and stretch out their arms and cry aloud, and fall headlong on the ground and roll to and fro, saying, 'All too soon will The Blessed One pass into Nirvana; all too soon will The Happy One pass into Nirvana; all too soon will The Light of the World vanish from sight.' But those deities which are free from passion, mindful and conscious, bear it patiently, saying, 'Transitory are all things. How is it possible [that whatever has been born, has come into being, and is organized and perishable, should not perish? That condition is not possible.]'"

²¹. . . . . . . . . . .

²²(Chapter v., page 5316.)

²³Then the venerable Ânanda entered the monastery, and, leaning against the bolt of the door, he wept, saying,--

²⁴"Behold, I am but a learner and not yet perfect, and my Teacher is on the point of passing into Nirvana, he who was so compassionate to me."

²⁵Then The Blessed One addressed the priests:--

²⁶"Where, O priests, is Ânanda?"

²⁷"Reverend Sir, the venerable Ânanda has entered the monastery, and leaning against the bolt of the door, he weeps, saying, 'Behold, I am but a learner, and not yet perfect, and my Teacher is on the point of passing into Nirvana, he who was so compassionate to me.'"

²⁸Then The Blessed One addressed a certain priest, saying,--

²⁹"Go, O priest, and say to the venerable Ânanda from me, 'The Teacher calleth thee, brother Ânanda.'"

³⁰"Yes, Reverend Sir," said the priest to The Blessed One in assent, and drew near to where the venerable Ânanda was; and having drawn near, he spoke to the venerable Ânanda as follows:--

³¹"The Teacher calleth thee, brother Ânanda."

³²"Yes, brother," said the venerable Ânanda to the priest in assent, and drew near to where The Blessed One was; and having drawn near and greeted The Blessed One, he sat down respectfully at one side. And the venerable Ânanda being seated respectfully at one side, The Blessed One spoke to him as follows:--

³³"Enough, Ânanda, do not grieve, nor weep. Have I not already told you, Ânanda, that it is in the very nature of all things near and dear unto us that we must divide ourselves from them, leave them, sever ourselves from them? How is it possible, Ânanda, that whatever has been born, has come into being, is organized and perishable, should not perish? That condition is not possible. For a long time, Ânanda, have you waited on The Tathâgata with a kind, devoted, cheerful, single-hearted, unstinted service of body, with a kind, devoted, cheerful, single-hearted, unstinted service of voice, with a kind, devoted, cheerful, single-hearted, unstinted service of mind. You have acquired much merit, Ânanda; exert yourself, and soon will you be free from all depravity."

³⁴Then The Blessed One addressed the priests:--

³⁵"Priests, of all those Blessed Ones who aforetime were saints and Supreme Buddhas, all had their favorite body-servants, just as I have now my Ânanda. And, priests, of all those Blessed Ones who in the future shall be saints and Supreme Buddhas, all will have their favorite body-servants, just as I have now my Ânanda. Wise, O priests, is Ânanda --he knows when it is a fit time to draw near to see The Tathâgata, whether for the priests, for the priestesses, for the

³⁶lay disciples, for the female lay disciples, for the king, for the king's courtiers, for the leaders of heretical sects, or for their adherents.

³⁷"Ânanda, O priests, has four wonderful and marvellous qualities. And what are the four? O priests, if an assembly of priests draw near to behold Ânanda, it is delighted with beholding him; and if then Ânanda hold a discourse on the Doctrine, it is also delighted with the discourse; and when Ânanda, O priests, ceases to speak, the assembly of priests is still unsated. O priests, if an assembly of priestesses . . . an assembly of lay disciples . . . an assembly of female lay disciples draw near to behold Ânanda, it is delighted with beholding him; and if then Ânanda hold a discourse on the Doctrine, it is also delighted with the discourse; and when Ânanda, O priests, ceases to speak, the assembly of female lay disciples is still unsated.

³⁸"A Universal Monarch, O priests, has four wonderful and marvellous qualities. And what are the four? O priests, if an assembly of men of the warrior caste . . . an assembly of men of the Brahman caste . . . an assembly of householders . . . an assembly of monks draw near to behold the Universal Monarch, it is delighted with beholding him; and if then the Universal Monarch hold a discourse, it is also delighted with the discourse; and when the Universal Monarch, O priests, ceases to speak, the assembly of monks is still unsated.

³⁹"In exactly the same way, O priests, Ânanda has four wonderful and marvellous qualities. O priests, if an assembly of priests . . . an assembly of priestesses . . . an assembly of lay disciples . . . an assembly of female lay disciples draw near to behold Ânanda, it is delighted with beholding him; and if then Ânanda hold a discourse on the Doctrine, it is also delighted with the discourse; and when Ânanda, O priests, ceases to speak, the assembly of female lay disciples is still unsated. These, O priests, are the four wonderful and marvellous qualities possessed by Ânanda."

⁴⁰When The Blessed One had thus spoken, the venerable Ânanda spoke to him as follows:--

⁴¹"Reverend Sir, let not The Blessed One pass into Nirvana

⁴²in this wattel-and-daub town, this town of the jungle, this branch village. For there are other great cities, Reverend Sir, to wit, Campâ, Râjagaha, Sâvatthi, Sâketa, Kosambî, and Benares. Let The Blessed One pass into Nirvana in one of them. In them are many wealthy men of the warrior caste, many wealthy men of the Brahman caste, and many wealthy householders who are firm believers in The Tathâgata, and they will perform the funeral rites for The Tathâgata."

⁴³"O Ânanda, say not so! O Ânanda, say not so, that this is a wattel-and-daub town, a town of the jungle, a branch village. There was once, Ânanda, a king called Sudassana the Great, who was a Universal Monarch, a virtuous king of justice, a victorious ruler of the four quarters of the earth, possessing a secure dominion over his territory and owning the seven precious gems. This city Kusinârâ, Ânanda, was the capital of king Sudassana the Great, and had then the name of Kusâvatî. From the east to the west it was twelve leagues in length, and from the north to the south it was seven leagues in breadth. Kusâvatî, the capital, Ânanda, was prosperous and flourishing, populous and thronging with people, and well provided with food. As Âlakamandâ, the capital of the gods, Ânanda, is prosperous and flourishing, populous and thronging with gods, and is well provided with food, in exactly the same way, Ânanda, Kusâvatî, the capital, was prosperous and flourishing, populous and thronging with people, and well provided with food. Kusâvatî, the capital, Ânanda, was neither by day nor night without the ten noises,--to wit, the noise of elephants, the noise of horses, the noise of chariots, the noise of drums, the noise of tabors, the noise of lutes, the noise of song, the noise of cymbals, the noise of gongs, and the tenth noise of people crying, 'Eat ye, and drink!'

⁴⁴"Go thou, Ânanda, and enter the city Kusinârâ, and announce to the Kusinârâ-Mallas:--

⁴⁵"'To-night, O ye Vâsetthas, in the last watch, The

⁴⁶Tathâgata will pass into Nirvana. Be favorable, be favorable, O ye Vâsetthas, and suffer not that afterwards ye feel remorse, saying, "The Tathâgata passed into Nirvana while in our borders, but we did not avail ourselves of the opportunity of being present at the last moments of The Tathâgata."'"

⁴⁷"Yes, Reverend Sir," said the venerable Ânanda to The Blessed One in assent; and putting on his tunic, and taking his bowl and his robes, he went to Kusinârâ with another member of the Order.

⁴⁸Now at that time, the Kusinârâ-Mallas were assembled together in the town-hall on some matter of business. And the venerable Ânanda drew near to the town-hall of the Kusinârâ-Mallas; and having drawn near, he made announcement to the Kusinârâ-Mallas, as follows:--

⁴⁹"To-night, O ye Vâsetthas, in the last watch, The Tathâgata will pass into Nirvana. Be favorable, be favorable, O ye Vâsetthas, and suffer not that afterwards ye feel remorse, saying, 'The Tathâgata passed into Nirvana while in our borders, but we did not avail ourselves of the opportunity of being present at the last moments of The Tathâgata.'"

⁵⁰The Mallas, on hearing this speech of the venerable Ânanda, and their children and their daughters-in-law and their wives were grieved and sorrowful and overwhelmed with anguish of mind, and some let fly their hair and cried aloud, and stretched out their arms and cried aloud, and fell headlong to the ground and rolled to and fro, saying, "All too soon will The Blessed One pass into Nirvana; all too soon will The Happy One pass into Nirvana; all too soon will The Light of the World vanish from sight." Then the Mallas and their children and their daughters-in-law and their wives, being grieved and sorrowful and overwhelmed with anguish of mind, drew near to the sal-tree grove Upavattana of the Mallas, and to where the venerable Ânanda was.

⁵¹Then it occurred to the venerable Ânanda as follows:--

⁵²"If I shall cause the Kusinârâ-Mallas one by one to do reverence to The Blessed One, the day will dawn ere they have finished. What if now I marshal the Mallas by families,

⁵³and cause them by families to do reverence to The Blessed One, and say, 'Reverend Sir, a Malla named so-and-so, with his children, his wife, his following, and his friends, bows low in reverence at the feet of The Blessed One.'"

⁵⁴And the venerable Ânanda marshalled the Mallas by families, and caused them by families to do reverence to The Blessed One, Baying, "Reverend Sir, a Malla named so-and-so, with his children, his wife, his following, and his friends, bows low in reverence at the feet of The Blessed One." And the venerable Ânanda by this device succeeded in causing all the Kusinari-Mallas to do reverence to The Blessed One before the end of the first watch of the night.

⁵⁵Now at that time Subhadda, a wandering ascetic, was dwelling at Kusinârâ. And Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, heard the report:--

⁵⁶"To-night, in the last watch, the monk Gotama will pass into Nirvana."

⁵⁷Then it occurred to Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, as follows:--

⁵⁸"I have heard wandering ascetics, that were old men, advanced in years, teachers, and teachers' teachers, declare, 'But seldom, and on rare occasions, does a Tathâgata, a saint, and Supreme Buddha arise in the world.' And to-night, in the last watch, the monk Gotama will pass into Nirvana. And a certain question has arisen in my mind, and I am persuaded of the monk Gotama that he can so teach me the Doctrine that I shall be relieved of this my doubt."

⁵⁹Then Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, drew near to the sal-tree grove Upavattana of the Mallas, and to where the venerable Ânanda was, and having drawn near, he spoke to the venerable Ânanda as follows:--

⁶⁰"Ânanda, I have heard wandering ascetics, that were old men, advanced in years, teachers, and teachers' teachers, declare, 'But seldom, and on rare occasions, does a Tathâgata, a saint, and Supreme Buddha arise in the world.' And to-night, in the last watch, the monk Gotama will pass into Nirvana. And a certain doubt has arisen in my mind, and I am persuaded of the monk Gotama that he can so teach

⁶¹me the Doctrine that I shall be relieved of this my doubt. Let me, then, Ânanda, have an opportunity of seeing the monk Gotama."

⁶²When Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, had so spoken, the venerable Ânanda spoke to him as follows:--

⁶³"Enough of that, brother Subhadda; trouble not The Tathâgata. The Blessed One is weary."

⁶⁴And a second time Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, . . .

⁶⁵And a third time Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, spoke to the venerable Ânanda as follows:--

⁶⁶"Ânanda, I have heard wandering ascetics, old men, advanced in years, teachers, and teachers' teachers, when they said, 'But seldom, and on rare occasions, does a Tathâgata, a saint, and Supreme Buddha arise in the world.' And to-night, in the last watch, the monk Gotama will pass into Nirvana. And a certain doubt has arisen in my mind, and I am persuaded of the monk Gotama that he can so teach me the Doctrine that I shall be relieved of this my doubt. Let me, then, Ânanda, have an opportunity of seeing the monk Gotama."

⁶⁷And a third time the venerable Ânanda spoke to Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, as follows:--

⁶⁸"Enough of that, brother Subhadda; trouble not The Tathâgata. The Blessed One is weary."

⁶⁹Now The Blessed One chanced to hear the conversation between the venerable Ânanda and the wandering ascetic Subhadda. And The Blessed One called to the venerable Ânanda:--

⁷⁰"Enough, Ânanda; hinder not Subhadda. Let Subhadda, Ânanda, have an opportunity of beholding The Tathâgata. Whatever Subhadda shall ask of me, he will ask for the sake of information, and not for the sake of troubling me, and he will quickly understand my answers to his questions."

⁷¹Then the venerable Ânanda spoke to Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, as follows:--

⁷²"You may come, brother Subhadda; The Blessed One grants you an audience."

⁷³Then Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, drew near to

⁷⁴where The Blessed One was; and having drawn near, he exchanged greetings with The Blessed One; and having passed with him the greetings of friendship and civility, he sat down respectfully at one side. And seated respectfully at one side, Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, spoke to The Blessed One as follows:--

⁷⁵"Gotama, all those monks and Brahmans who possess a large following and crowds of hearers and disciples, and who are distinguished, renowned leaders of sects, and highly esteemed by the multitudes,--to wit, Pûrana Kassapa, Makkhali Gosâla, Ajita Kesakambali, Pakudha Kaccâyana, Sañjaya Belatthiputta, Nigantha Nâthaputta,--have they all done as they maintain, discovered the truth, or have they not? or have some of them done so, and others not?"

⁷⁶"Enough, O Subhadda; let us leave the question, 'Have they all done as they maintain, discovered the truth, or have they not? or have some of them done so, and others not?' The Doctrine will I teach you, Subhadda. Listen to me, and pay strict attention, and I will speak."

⁷⁷"Yes, Reverend Sir," said Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, to The Blessed One in assent. And The Blessed One spoke as follows:--

⁷⁸"Subhadda, in whatever doctrine and discipline the noble eightfold path is not found, therein also is not found the monk of the first degree, nor the monk of the second degree, nor the monk of the third degree, nor the monk of the fourth degree; and in whatever doctrine and discipline, O Subhadda, the noble eightfold path is found, therein also are found the monk of the first degree, and the monk of the second degree, and the monk of the third degree, and the monk of the fourth degree. Now in this Doctrine and Discipline, O Subhadda, the noble eightfold path is found: and therein alone, O Subhadda, are found the monk of the first degree, and the monk of the second degree, and the monk of the third degree, and the monk of the fourth degree. Destitute of true monks are all other creeds. But let these my priests, O Subhadda, live rightly, and the world will not be destitute of saints.

⁷⁹nor the monk of the second degree, nor the monk of the third degree, nor the monk of the fourth degree. Destitute of monks are all other creeds. But let these my priests, O Subhadda, live rightly, and the world will not be destitute of saints."

⁸⁰When The Blessed One had thus spoken, Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, spoke to him as follows:--

⁸¹"O wonderful is it, Reverend Sir! O wonderful is it, Reverend Sir! It is as if, Reverend Sir, one were to set up that which was overturned, or were to disclose that which was hidden, or were to point out the way to a lost traveller, or were to carry a lamp into a dark place that they who had eyes might see forms. Even so has The Blessed One expounded the Doctrine in many different ways. Reverend Sir, I betake myself to The Blessed One for refuge, to the Doctrine, and to the Congregation of the priests. Suffer me to retire from the world under The Blessed One; suffer me to receive ordination."

⁸²"Subhadda, any one who aforetime has been an adherent of another sect and afterwards desires to retire from the world and receive ordination under this Doctrine and Discipline, must first spend four months on probation; and after the lapse of four months, strenuous-minded priests receive him into the Order and confer on him the priestly ordination. Nevertheless, in this matter of probation I recognize a difference in persons."

⁸³"Reverend Sir, if all they who aforetime have been adherents of other sects and afterwards desire to retire from the world and receive ordination under this Doctrine and Discipline, must first spend four months on probation, and after the lapse of four months strenuous-minded priests receive them into the Order, and confer on them the priestly ordination,

⁸⁴then am I ready to spend four years on probation, and after the lapse of four years, let strenuous-minded priests' receive me into the Order and confer on me the priestly ordination."

⁸⁵Then The Blessed One said to the venerable Ânanda,

⁸⁶"Well, then, Ânanda, receive Subhadda into the Order."

⁸⁷"Yes, Reverend Sir," said the venerable Ânanda to The Blessed One in assent.

⁸⁸Then Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, spoke to the venerable Ânanda as follows:--

⁸⁹"How fortunate you priests are, brother Ânanda! How supremely fortunate, brother Ânanda, that you all have been sprinkled with the sprinkling of discipleship at the hands of The Teacher himself."

⁹⁰And Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, retired from the world under The Blessed One, and received ordination. And without delay, after he had received ordination, the venerable Subhadda began to live solitary and retired, vigilant, strenuous, and zealous; and in no long time, and while yet alive, he came to learn for himself, and to realize, and to live in the possession of that highest good to which the holy life conducts, and for the sake of which youths of good family so nobly retire from the household life to the houseless one. And he knew that for him rebirth was exhausted, that he had lived the holy life, that he had done what it behooved him to do, and that he was no more for this world. So the venerable Subhadda became of the number of the saints, and he was the last disciple made by The Blessed One himself.

⁹¹End of the Hiraññavatî Recitation, which is the Fifth.

⁹²Then The Blessed One addressed the venerable Ânanda:--

⁹³"It may be, Ânanda, that some of you will think, 'The word of The Teacher is a thing of the past; we have now no Teacher.' But that, Ânanda, is not the correct view. The Doctrine and Discipline, Ânanda, which I have taught and enjoined upon you is to be your teacher when I am gone. But whereas now, Ânanda, all the priests address each other with the title of 'brother,' not so must they address each other after I am gone. A senior priest, Ânanda, is to address

⁹⁴a junior priest either by his given name, or by his family name, or by the title of 'brother;' a junior priest is to address a senior priest with the title 'reverend sir,' or 'venerable.' If the Order, Ânanda, wish to do so, after I am gone they may abrogate all the lesser and minor precepts. On Channa, Ânanda, after I am gone, the higher penalty is to be inflicted."

⁹⁵"Reverend Sir, what is this higher penalty?"

⁹⁶"Let Channa, Ânanda, say what he likes, he is not to be spoken to nor admonished nor instructed by the priests."

⁹⁷Then The Blessed One addressed the priests:--

⁹⁸"It may be, O priests, that some priest has a doubt or perplexity respecting either The Buddha or the Doctrine or the Order or the Path or the course of conduct. Ask any questions, O priests, and suffer not that afterwards ye feel remorse, saying, 'Our Teacher was present with us, but we failed to ask him all our questions.'"

⁹⁹When he had so spoken, the priests remained silent.

¹⁰⁰And a second time The Blessed One, and a third time The Blessed One addressed the priests:--

¹⁰¹"It may be, O priests, that some priest has a doubt or perplexity respecting either The Buddha or the Doctrine or the Order or the Path or the course of conduct. Ask any question, O priests, and suffer not that afterwards ye feel remorse, saying, 'Our Teacher was present with us, but we failed to ask him all our questions.'"

¹⁰²And a third time the priests remained silent.

¹⁰³Then The Blessed One addressed the priests:--

¹⁰⁴"It may be, O priests, that it is out of respect to The Teacher that ye ask no questions. Then let each one speak to his friend."

¹⁰⁵And when he had thus spoken, the priests remained silent.

¹⁰⁶Then the venerable Ânanda spoke to The Blessed One as follows:--

¹⁰⁷"It is wonderful, Reverend Sir! It is marvellous, Reverend

¹⁰⁸Sir! Reverend Sir, I have faith to believe that in this congregation of priests not a single priest has a doubt or perplexity respecting either The Buddha or the Doctrine or the Order or the Path or the course of conduct."

¹⁰⁹"With you, Ânanda, it is a matter of faith, when you say that; but with The Tathâgata, Ânanda, it is a matter of knowledge that in this congregation of priests not a single priest has a doubt or perplexity respecting either The Buddha or the Doctrine or the Order or the Path or the course of conduct. For of all these five hundred priests, Ânanda, the most backward one has become converted, and is not liable to pass into a lower state of existence, but is destined necessarily to attain supreme wisdom."

¹¹⁰Then The Blessed One addressed the priests:--

¹¹¹"And now, O priests, I take my leave of you; all the constituents of being are transitory; work out your salvation with diligence."

¹¹²And this was the last word of The Tathâgata.

¹¹³Thereupon The Blessed One entered the first trance; and rising from the first trance, he entered the second trance; and rising from the second trance, he entered the third trance; and rising from the third trance, he entered the fourth trance; and rising from the fourth trance, he entered the realm of the infinity of space; and rising from the realm of the infinity of space, he entered the realm of the infinity of consciousness; and rising from the realm of the infinity of consciousness, he entered the realm of nothingness; and rising from the realm of nothingness, he entered the realm of neither perception nor yet non-perception; and rising from the realm of neither perception nor yet non-perception, he arrived at the cessation of perception and sensation.

¹¹⁴Thereupon the venerable Ânanda spoke to the venerable Anuruddha as follows:--

¹¹⁵"Reverend Anuruddha, The Blessed One has passed into Nirvana."

¹¹⁶"Nay, brother Ânanda, The Blessed One has not passed into Nirvana; he has arrived at the cessation of perception and sensation."

¹¹⁷Thereupon The Blessed One rising from the cessation of his perception and sensation, entered the realm of neither perception nor yet non-perception; and rising from the realm of neither perception nor yet non-perception, he entered the realm of nothingness; and rising from the realm of nothingness, he entered the realm of the infinity of consciousness; and rising from the realm of the infinity of consciousness, he entered the realm of the infinity of space; and rising from the realm of the infinity of space, he entered the fourth trance; and rising from the fourth trance, he entered the third trance; and rising from the third trance, he entered the second trance; and rising from the second trance, he entered the first trance; and rising from the first trance, he entered the second trance; and rising from the second trance, he entered the third trance; and rising from the third trance, he entered the fourth trance; and rising from the fourth trance, immediately The Blessed One passed into Nirvana.