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

' By passing quite beyond all idea of form, by putting an end to all idea of sensory impact 2, by paying no attention to the idea of multiformity, he, thinking " it is all infinite space," reaches [mentally] and remains in the state of mind in which the idea of the infinity of space is the only idea that is present — this is the fourth stage of deliverance.

' By passing quite beyond all idea of space being the infinite basis, he, thinking " it is all infinite reason,"

1 These have already occurred in the Maha Nidana (p. 70 of the text). The English version here is made somewhat fuller.

2 On these technical terms see Mrs. Rhys Davids's ' Buddhist Psychology,' pp. 72, 182, 204.

p. 120

reaches [mentally] and remains in the state of mind to which the infinity of reason is alone present — this is the fifth stage of deliverance.

' By passing quite beyond the consciousness of the infinity of reason, he, thinking " nothing at all exists," reaches [mentally] and remains in the state of mind to which nothing at all is specially present — this is the sixth stage of deliverance.

' By passing quite beyond all idea of nothingness he reaches [mentally] and remains in the state of mind to which neither ideas nor the absence of ideas are specially present — this is the seventh stage of deliverance.

' By passing quite beyond the state of " neither ideas nor the absence of ideas " he reaches [mentally] and remains in the state of mind in which both sensations and ideas have ceased to be — this is the eighth stage of deliverance.

' Now these, Ananda, are the eight stages of
Deliverance.'

A

34. ' On one occasion, Ananda, I was resting under the goatherd's Nigrodha tree on the bank of the river Neranjara immediately after having reached the great enlightenment. Then Mara, the Evil One, came, Ananda, to the place where I was, and standing beside me he addressed me in the words : — " Pass away now, lord, from existence ! Let the Exalted One now die ! Now is the time for the Exalted One to pass away ! "

35. [113] ' And when he had thus spoken, Ananda, I addressed Mara, the Evil One, and said : — " I shall not pass away, O Evil One ! until not only the brethren and sisters of the Order, but also the lay-disciples of either sex shall have become true hearers, wise and well trained, ready and learned, carrying the doctrinal books in their memory, masters of the lesser corollaries that follow from the larger doctrine, correct in life, walking according to the precepts — until they, having thus themselves learned the doctrine, shall be able to tell others of it, preach it, make it known, establish it, open it, minutely explain it and make it clear — until

p. 121

they, when others start vain doctrine easy to be refuted by the truth, shall be able in refuting it to spread the wonder-working truth abroad ! I shall not die until this pure religion of mine shall have become successful, prosperous, wide-spread, and popular in all its full extent — until, in a word, it shall have been well proclaimed anions men ! '

O A

36. 'And now again to-day, Ananda, at Chapala's Shrine Mara, the Evil One, came to the place where I was, and standing beside me addressed me [in the same words]. /

$j. [114] ' And when he had thus spoken, Ananda, I answered him and said : — " Make thyself happy, the passing away of the Tathagata shall take place before long. At the end of three months from this time the Tathagata will pass away ! "

' And now again, Ananda, the Tathagata has to-day at Chapala's Shrine consciously and deliberately rejected the rest of his allotted term of life.'

38. [lis] And when he had thus spoken the venerable Ananda addressed the Exalted One, and said : — 4 Vouchsafe, lord, to remain during the aeon : live on through the kalpa, O Exalted One ! for the good and the happiness of the great multitudes, out of pity for the world, for the good and the gain and the weal of gods and men ! '

' Enough now, Ananda, beseech not the Tathagata ! ' was the reply. 'Thetime for making such request is past.

39. And again, the second time, the venerable
Ananda besought the Exalted One [in the same words.
And he received from the Exalted One the same^ reply].