Dialogues of the Buddha, Part II — trans. T. W. and C. A. F. Rhys Davids (1910)

26. [48] ' " I grant ye leave, brethren ! Fare ye forth on the mission that is for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, to take compassion on the world and to work profit and good and happiness to gods and men. Go not singly but in pairs ; teach ye,

1 Patimokkha, literally the Disburdenment. The text as we have it (translated in ' Vinaya Texts/ Vol. I) dates only from the times of early Buddhism, and it is not likely that this technical name used as the title was much older.

p. 38

brethren, the Truth, lovely in its origin, lovely in its progress, lovely in its consummation, both in the spirit and in the letter ; proclaim ye the higher life in all its fullness and in all its purity. Beings there are whose eyes are hardly dimmed with dust, perishing because they hear not the Truth ; they will become knowers of the Truth. Moreover, brethren, after every six years have passed come ye to Bandhumati, there to recite the Patimokkha."

' Then those bhikkhus, brethren, for the most part on that very day, set forth on their mission among the people.

27. ' Now at that time, brethren, there was a very great number of religious dwellings in Jambudipa — some 84,000. As one year was drawing to a close the angels proclaimed the news : — " Ho, friends ! one year is ending ; now five years remain. At the end of five years we have to go to Bandhumati to recite the Patimokkha."

' And [this they did at the close of each remaining year, proclaiming] at the end of the sixth year : — " Ho, friends ! The six years are at an end. Now is the time for us to go to Bandhumati to recite the Patimokkha." Then, brethren, those bhikkhus, some by their own magic power, some by the magic power of the gods, on that very day came to Bandhumati to recite the Patimokkha.

28. [49] ' Then verily, brethren, did Vipassi, the Exalted One, Arahant, Buddha Supreme, thus rehearse a Patimokkha : —

" How may ye best the flesh subdue ?

Be patient, brethren, be forbearing.
What is the highest, what the best ?

Nirvana, brethren, say the Buddhas.
For he 's no Wanderer who harms

His fellow man ; he's no recluse
Who works his neighbour injury.

Work ye no evil ; give yourselves to good ;

Cleanse ye your hearts, — so runs the Buddhas' word.

p. 39

Blame not, strike not, restrain self in the Law,
With temperance eat, lonely seek rest and sleep,
Given to thoughts sublime, — so runs the Buddhas'
word '."

29. [so] ' At one time I, brethren, was dwelling at Ukka/7//a, in the Delectable Wood, beneath a giant sal tree. Now to me as I meditated in solitude this idea arose in my mind : — " There is but one abode of beings easily accessible that I have not dwelt in for a very long time, and that is among the gods of the Pure Mansions 2. What if I were now to repair thither ? Then, brethren, as a strong man stretching his bent arm out, or drawing back his outstretched arm, so did I vanish from beneath the giant sal tree in the Delectable Wood at Ukka//^a and appear among the gods of the Aviha heaven. In that group of gods, brethren, several thousands of them came up to me, and saluting me, stood by and spake thus : —

1 " Friend, it is now ninety-one aeons since Vipassi the Exalted One, Arahant, Buddha Supreme, arose in the world. Vipassi, friend, was of the noble class and was born in a noble family. Vipassi, friend, was by family a KondaMa. . . . The span of life in his time, friend, was 80,000 years. He attained enlightenment, friend, under a trumpet-flower tree His chief disciples, friend, were a pair named Kha^a and Tissa. [5l] He had, friend, three companies of disciples, sixty-eight lacs, one lac, and eighty thousand in number. His special attendant, friend, was named Asoka. His father was the raja Bandhuman, whose ranee, Bandhumati, was his mother, and whose seat was the town of Bandhu-

1 These verses, except lines 8 and 9, have been included in the
Dhammapada 184-6.