Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1im to their village rest house. And the Blessed One signified, by silence, his consent. 21. Then the Pd/alig&ma disciples seeing that he had accepted the invitation, rose from their seats, and went away to the rest house, bowing to the Blessed One and keeping him on their right as they past him 2 . On arriving there they made the rest 1 From this sentence down to -«nd of the verses at Chap. II, § 3, is, with a few unimportant variations, word for word the same as Mah& Vagga VI, 28, 1, to VI, 29, 2. * It would be very rude to have left him otherwise. So in Europe a similar custom is carried still further, persons leaving the royal presence being expected to go out backwards. 1 6 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. house fit in every way for occupation \ placed seats in it, set up a water-pot, and fixed an oil lamp. Then they returned to the Blessed One, and bowing, stood beside him, and y said : ' All things are ready, Lord! It is time for you to do what you deem most fit/ 22. And the Blessed One robed himself, took his bowl and other things, went with the brethren to the rest house, washed his feet, entered the hall, and took his seat against the centre pillar, with his face towards the east. And the brethren also, after washing their feet, entered the hall, and took their seats round the Blessed One, against the western wall, and facing the east. And the Pi/alig&ma disci- ples too, after washing their feet, entered the hall, and took their seats opposite the Blessed One, against the eastern wall, and facing towards the west. 23. 2 Then the Blessed One addressed the Pa/ali- g£ma disciples, and said : ' Fivefold, O householders, is the loss of the wrong-doer through his want of rectitude. In the first place the wrong-doer, devoid of rectitude, falls into great poverty through sloth ; in the next place his evil repute gets noised abroad ; thirdly, whatever society he enters — whether of Br&hmans, nobles, heads of houses, or Samaras — 1 With reference to Oldenberg's note at Mah& Vagga, p. 384, it may be mentioned that Buddhaghosa says here, 'sabba-santha- rin' ti yathd sabbazra santhata/ra yeva. (S. V. fol. /e.) 2 The following sentences contain a synopsis of what was merely the elementary righteousness, the Adi-brahma-^ariyaw, quite distinct from, and not for a moment to be compared in glory with the Magga-brahma-£ariya/rc, the system developed in the Noble Eightfold Path. It will have been seen above, § 11, that the latter, to be perfect, must be untarnished by the attraction of the hope of heaven or the fear of hell. I. maha-parinibbAna-sutta. 17 he enters shyly and confused ; fourthly, he is full of anxiety when he dies ; and lastly, on the dis- solution of the body, after death, he is reborn into some unhappy state of suffering or woe 1 . This, O householders, is the fivefold loss of the evil-doer ! ' 24. ' Eivefold, O householders, is the gain of the well-doer through his practice of rectitude.
2iety when he dies ; and lastly, on the dis- solution of the body, after death, he is reborn into some unhappy state of suffering or woe 1 . This, O householders, is the fivefold loss of the evil-doer ! ' 24. ' Eivefold, O householders, is the gain of the well-doer through his practice of rectitude. In the first place the well-doer, strong in rectitude, acquires great wealth through his industry ; in the next place, good reports of him are spread abroad ; thirdly, whatever society he enters — whether of nobles, BrAh- mans, heads of houses, or members of the order — he enters confident and self-possessed ; fourthly, he dies without anxiety ; and lastly, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he is reborn into some happy state in heaven. This, O householders, is the fivefold gain of the well-doer.' 25. When the Blessed One had thus taught the disciples, and incited them, and roused them, and gladdened them, far into the night with religious discourse, he dismissed them, saying, ' The night is forspent, O householders. It is time for you to do w hatyou deem most fit/ ' Even so, Lord ! ' answered the disciples of Pi/aligama, and they rose from their ^ats, and bowing to the Blessed One, and keeping him on their right hand as they passed him, they departed thence. And the Blessed One, not long after the disciples 1 Four such states are mentioned, apdya, duggati, vinip&to, nirayo, all of which are temporary states. The first three ^em to be synonyms. The last is one of the four divisions into w hichthe first is usually divided, and is often translated hell; but n °t being an eternal state, and not being dependent or consequent u pon any judgment, it cannot accurately be so rendered. ["] C I 1 8 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. of Pi/aligdma had departed thence, entered into his private chamber. 26. At that time Sunidha and Vassakira, the chief ministers of Magadha, were building a fortress at Pd/alig£ma to repel the Vaggians, and there were a number of fairies who haunted in thousands the plots of ground there. Now, wherever ground is so occupied by powerful fairies, they bend the hearts of the most powerful kings and ministers to build dwelling-places there, and fairies of middling and inferior power bend in a similar way the hearts of middling or inferior kings and ministers. 27. And the Blessed One, with his great and clear vision, surpassing that of ordinary men, saw thousands of those fairies haunting Pd/aligima. And he rose up very early in the morning, and said to Ananda : 1 Who is it then, Ananda, who is build- ing a fortress at Pi/alig&ma ? ' 'Sunidha and VassakAra, Lord, the chief minis- ters of Magadha, are building a fortress there to keep back the Va^ians.' 28. They act, Ananda, as if they had consulted with the Tivatiwsa angels.
3morning, and said to Ananda : 1 Who is it then, Ananda, who is build- ing a fortress at Pi/alig&ma ? ' 'Sunidha and VassakAra, Lord, the chief minis- ters of Magadha, are building a fortress there to keep back the Va^ians.' 28. They act, Ananda, as if they had consulted with the Tivatiwsa angels. [And telling him of what he had seen, and of the influence such fairies had, he added] : ' And among famous places of residence and haunts of busy men, this will become the chief, the city of PS/ali-putta, a centre for the interchange of all kinds of wares. But three dangers will hang over Pd/ali-putta, that of fire, that of water, and that of dissension V 1 This paragraph is of importance to the orthodox Buddhist as proving the Buddha's power of prophecy and the authority of the i I. maha-parinibbAna-sutta. 19 29. Now Sunldha and Vassakara, the chief ministers of Magadha, proceeded to the place where the Blessed One was. And when they had come there they exchanged with the Blessed One the greetings and compliments of friendship and civility, and stood there respectfully on one side. And, so standing, Sunldha and Vassak&ra, the chief ministers of Magadha, spake thus to the Blessed One : 'May the venerable Gotama do us the honour of taking his meal, together with the company of the brethren, at our house to-day/ And the Blessed One signified, by silence, his consent. 30. Then when Sunldha and Vassakara, the chief ministers of Magadha, perceived that he had given his consent, they returned to the place where they dwelt. And on arriving there, they prepared sweet dishes of boiled rice, and cakes ; and informed the Blessed One, saying : Buddhist scriptures. To those who conclude that such a passage must have been written after the event that is prophesied, it is valuable evidence of the age both of the Mah& Vagga and of the Mah&parinibb&na Sutta; — evidence, however, that cannot as yet be applied to its full extent, as the time at which Pa/ali-gama had grown into the great and important city of Pa/ali-putta is not as yet known with sufficient certainty. The late Burmese tradition on this point given in Bigandet's Legend of the Burmese Buddha, vol. ii, p. 183, can scarcely be depended upon, though it doubt- less rests on older documents, and is mentioned also by Hiouen Thsang. The curious popular belief as to good and bad fairies haunting the sites of houses gave rise to a quack science, akin to astrology, called vatthu-vi^a, which Buddhaghosa explains here at some length, and which is frequently condemned elsewhere in the Pali Pi/akas. See, for instance, § 1 of the Maha-sila/w, translated below in the Tevi^a Sutta. The belief is turned to ridicule in the edifying legend, No. 40, in my 'Buddhist Birth Stories/ pp. 326-334. 20 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1im to their village rest house. And the Blessed One signified, by silence, his consent. 21. Then the Pd/alig&ma disciples seeing that he had accepted the invitation, rose from their seats, and went away to the rest house, bowing to the Blessed One and keeping him on their right as they past him 2 . On arriving there they made the rest 1 From this sentence down to -«nd of the verses at Chap. II, § 3, is, with a few unimportant variations, word for word the same as Mah& Vagga VI, 28, 1, to VI, 29, 2. * It would be very rude to have left him otherwise. So in Europe a similar custom is carried still further, persons leaving the royal presence being expected to go out backwards. 1 6 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. house fit in every way for occupation \ placed seats in it, set up a water-pot, and fixed an oil lamp. Then they returned to the Blessed One, and bowing, stood beside him, and y said : ' All things are ready, Lord! It is time for you to do what you deem most fit/ 22. And the Blessed One robed himself, took his bowl and other things, went with the brethren to the rest house, washed his feet, entered the hall, and took his seat against the centre pillar, with his face towards the east. And the brethren also, after washing their feet, entered the hall, and took their seats round the Blessed One, against the western wall, and facing the east. And the Pi/alig&ma disci- ples too, after washing their feet, entered the hall, and took their seats opposite the Blessed One, against the eastern wall, and facing towards the west. 23. 2 Then the Blessed One addressed the Pa/ali- g£ma disciples, and said : ' Fivefold, O householders, is the loss of the wrong-doer through his want of rectitude. In the first place the wrong-doer, devoid of rectitude, falls into great poverty through sloth ; in the next place his evil repute gets noised abroad ; thirdly, whatever society he enters — whether of Br&hmans, nobles, heads of houses, or Samaras — 1 With reference to Oldenberg's note at Mah& Vagga, p. 384, it may be mentioned that Buddhaghosa says here, 'sabba-santha- rin' ti yathd sabbazra santhata/ra yeva. (S. V. fol. /e.) 2 The following sentences contain a synopsis of what was merely the elementary righteousness, the Adi-brahma-^ariyaw, quite distinct from, and not for a moment to be compared in glory with the Magga-brahma-£ariya/rc, the system developed in the Noble Eightfold Path. It will have been seen above, § 11, that the latter, to be perfect, must be untarnished by the attraction of the hope of heaven or the fear of hell. I. maha-parinibbAna-sutta. 17 he enters shyly and confused ; fourthly, he is full of anxiety when he dies ; and lastly, on the dis- solution of the body, after death, he is reborn into some unhappy state of suffering or woe 1 . This, O householders, is the fivefold loss of the evil-doer ! ' 24. ' Eivefold, O householders, is the gain of the well-doer through his practice of rectitude.
2iety when he dies ; and lastly, on the dis- solution of the body, after death, he is reborn into some unhappy state of suffering or woe 1 . This, O householders, is the fivefold loss of the evil-doer ! ' 24. ' Eivefold, O householders, is the gain of the well-doer through his practice of rectitude. In the first place the well-doer, strong in rectitude, acquires great wealth through his industry ; in the next place, good reports of him are spread abroad ; thirdly, whatever society he enters — whether of nobles, BrAh- mans, heads of houses, or members of the order — he enters confident and self-possessed ; fourthly, he dies without anxiety ; and lastly, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he is reborn into some happy state in heaven. This, O householders, is the fivefold gain of the well-doer.' 25. When the Blessed One had thus taught the disciples, and incited them, and roused them, and gladdened them, far into the night with religious discourse, he dismissed them, saying, ' The night is forspent, O householders. It is time for you to do w hatyou deem most fit/ ' Even so, Lord ! ' answered the disciples of Pi/aligama, and they rose from their ^ats, and bowing to the Blessed One, and keeping him on their right hand as they passed him, they departed thence. And the Blessed One, not long after the disciples 1 Four such states are mentioned, apdya, duggati, vinip&to, nirayo, all of which are temporary states. The first three ^em to be synonyms. The last is one of the four divisions into w hichthe first is usually divided, and is often translated hell; but n °t being an eternal state, and not being dependent or consequent u pon any judgment, it cannot accurately be so rendered. ["] C I 1 8 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. of Pi/aligdma had departed thence, entered into his private chamber. 26. At that time Sunidha and Vassakira, the chief ministers of Magadha, were building a fortress at Pd/alig£ma to repel the Vaggians, and there were a number of fairies who haunted in thousands the plots of ground there. Now, wherever ground is so occupied by powerful fairies, they bend the hearts of the most powerful kings and ministers to build dwelling-places there, and fairies of middling and inferior power bend in a similar way the hearts of middling or inferior kings and ministers. 27. And the Blessed One, with his great and clear vision, surpassing that of ordinary men, saw thousands of those fairies haunting Pd/aligima. And he rose up very early in the morning, and said to Ananda : 1 Who is it then, Ananda, who is build- ing a fortress at Pi/alig&ma ? ' 'Sunidha and VassakAra, Lord, the chief minis- ters of Magadha, are building a fortress there to keep back the Va^ians.' 28. They act, Ananda, as if they had consulted with the Tivatiwsa angels.
3morning, and said to Ananda : 1 Who is it then, Ananda, who is build- ing a fortress at Pi/alig&ma ? ' 'Sunidha and VassakAra, Lord, the chief minis- ters of Magadha, are building a fortress there to keep back the Va^ians.' 28. They act, Ananda, as if they had consulted with the Tivatiwsa angels. [And telling him of what he had seen, and of the influence such fairies had, he added] : ' And among famous places of residence and haunts of busy men, this will become the chief, the city of PS/ali-putta, a centre for the interchange of all kinds of wares. But three dangers will hang over Pd/ali-putta, that of fire, that of water, and that of dissension V 1 This paragraph is of importance to the orthodox Buddhist as proving the Buddha's power of prophecy and the authority of the i I. maha-parinibbAna-sutta. 19 29. Now Sunldha and Vassakara, the chief ministers of Magadha, proceeded to the place where the Blessed One was. And when they had come there they exchanged with the Blessed One the greetings and compliments of friendship and civility, and stood there respectfully on one side. And, so standing, Sunldha and Vassak&ra, the chief ministers of Magadha, spake thus to the Blessed One : 'May the venerable Gotama do us the honour of taking his meal, together with the company of the brethren, at our house to-day/ And the Blessed One signified, by silence, his consent. 30. Then when Sunldha and Vassakara, the chief ministers of Magadha, perceived that he had given his consent, they returned to the place where they dwelt. And on arriving there, they prepared sweet dishes of boiled rice, and cakes ; and informed the Blessed One, saying : Buddhist scriptures. To those who conclude that such a passage must have been written after the event that is prophesied, it is valuable evidence of the age both of the Mah& Vagga and of the Mah&parinibb&na Sutta; — evidence, however, that cannot as yet be applied to its full extent, as the time at which Pa/ali-gama had grown into the great and important city of Pa/ali-putta is not as yet known with sufficient certainty. The late Burmese tradition on this point given in Bigandet's Legend of the Burmese Buddha, vol. ii, p. 183, can scarcely be depended upon, though it doubt- less rests on older documents, and is mentioned also by Hiouen Thsang. The curious popular belief as to good and bad fairies haunting the sites of houses gave rise to a quack science, akin to astrology, called vatthu-vi^a, which Buddhaghosa explains here at some length, and which is frequently condemned elsewhere in the Pali Pi/akas. See, for instance, § 1 of the Maha-sila/w, translated below in the Tevi^a Sutta. The belief is turned to ridicule in the edifying legend, No. 40, in my 'Buddhist Birth Stories/ pp. 326-334. 20 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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