Buddhist Suttas — SBE Vol. 11 (Clarendon Press, 1881) page scans

nd 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.

p. 20

THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE.

CH.

'The hour of food has come, O Gotama, and all is ready/

And the Blessed One robed himself early, took his bowl with him, and repaired with the brethren to the dwelling-place of Sunldha and Vassakâra, and sat down on the seat prepared for him. And with their own hands they set the sweet rice and the cakes before the brethren with the Buddha at their head, and waited on them till they had had enough. And when the Blessed One had finished eating his meal, the ministers brought a low seat, and sat down respectfully at his side.

31. And when they were thus seated the Blessed
One gave thanks in these verses : —

4 Wheresoe'er the prudent man shall take up his abode

Let him support there good and upright men of self-control.

Let him give gifts to all such deities as may be there.

Revered, they will revere him : honoured, they honour him again ; Are gracious to him as a mother to her own, her only son.

And the man who has the grace of the gods, good fortune he beholds V

1 This passage gives Buddhaghosa a good deal of difficulty, as it apparently inculcates offerings to the gods, which is contrary not only to both the letter and spirit of Buddhism, but also to the practice of Buddhists. He explains away the gifts to the deities by saying they are gifts of merit only (patti) — the giver giving the four necessaries to Bhikkhus, and then expressing a wish that the Devatas should share in his pu##a. I am inclined to think, on the authority of the Deva-dhamma Gataka (No. 9 in ' Buddhist

I.

MAHA-PARINIBBANA-SUTTA.

p. 21

32. And when he had thanked the ministers in these verses he rose from his seat and departed thence. And they followed him as he went, saying, ' The gate the Samara Gotama goes out by to-day shall be called Gotamas gate, and the ferry at which he crosses the river shall be called Gotama's ferry/ And the gate he went out at was called Gotamas gate.

33. But the Blessed One went on to the river. * And at that time the river Ganges was brimful and overflowing 1 ; and wishing to cross to the opposite bank, some began to seek for boats, some for rafts of wood, while some made rafts of basket-work 2 . Then the Blessed One as instantaneously as a strong man would stretch forth his arm, or draw it back again when he had stretched it forth, vanished from this side of the river, and stood on the further bank with the company of the brethren.

34.

afts of wood, while some made rafts of basket-work 2 . Then the Blessed One as instantaneously as a strong man would stretch forth his arm, or draw it back again when he had stretched it forth, vanished from this side of the river, and stood on the further bank with the company of the brethren.

34. And the Blessed One beheld the people looking for boats and rafts, and as he beheld them he brake forth at that time into this song : —

' They who cross the ocean drear
Making a solid path across the pools —

Birth Stories '), that by the deities are here meant the * good and
upright men of self-control/ mentioned in the previous clause.
The verses were perhaps originally non-Buddhistic.

1 Samatittika kakapeyyd. See the note on Tevi^a Sutta
I, 19, translated below, where the same expression occurs.

2 Ulumpan ti pâra/rc gamanatthaya awiyo ko//etva katam; kullan ti valli-ddihi bandhitva katabbaw, says Buddhaghosa. The spelling u/umpaw would correspond better to the Sanskrit form u</upa, and has been chosen by Childers in his dictionary, and by Oldenberg in his transliteration of this passage (Maha Vagga VI, 28 : 11, 12).

p. 22

THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE.

CH.

Whilst the vain world ties its basket rafts —
These are the wise, these are the saved indeed 1 !'

End of the First Portion for Recitation.

1 That is, those who cross the 'ocean drear' of ta«h£, or craving; avoiding, by means of the 'dyke* or causeway of the Noble Path, the ' pools ' or shallows of lust, and ignorance, and delusion (comp. Dhp. v. 91), whilst the vain world looks for salvation from rites, and ceremonies, and gods, — ' these are the wise, these are the saved indeed ! '

How the metre of the verses in the text fell into the confusion in which it at present stands is not easy to see. One would expect —

Ye visa^a pallalani taranti 2Jimyz.ni saraw Kulla/w hi ^ano bandhati ti»;/a medhdvino ^ana\ That a gloss can creep into the text, even in verses, is clear from the indisputable instance at Gataka II, 35; and the words setuai katvâna would have been a very natural gloss had the passage once stood as above. Then supposing that a copyist or reciter had found the words ye visa^a pallalani setum katvana taranti a««avaw saraw, he might have corrected, as he thought, the order of the words so as to avoid any possibility of the words being taken to mean that the setu, the solid causeway, was made over the awwavaw sara/ra, the vastly deep, which would be palpably absurd. Buddhaghosa found setuw katvâna in the text, but it is not possible to tell in what order he found the words. The Tumour MS. of the Sumangala Vilasint has pabandhati, but a Ceylon copy of the Samanta Pasadikd confirms the Burmese reading bandhati at Mahd Vagga VI, 28, 13. I need scarcely say that the translation follows the printed text. We know too little about the history of the Pali Suttas to be able to do more than make a passing note of such curiosities.

On vanishing away from a place, comp.

dikd confirms the Burmese reading bandhati at Mahd Vagga VI, 28, 13. I need scarcely say that the translation follows the printed text. We know too little about the history of the Pali Suttas to be able to do more than make a passing note of such curiosities.

On vanishing away from a place, comp. below, III, 22.

II.

MA HA-PARIN IBBAN A-SUTTA.

p. 23

Chapter II.

1. Now the Blessed One addressed the venerable Ananda, and said : ' Come, Ananda, let us go on to Kotfgâma/

' So be it, Lord ! ' said Ananda, in assent, to the
Blessed One.

The Blessed One proceeded with a great company of the brethren to Ko/igâma ; and there he stayed in the village itself 1 .

2. And at that place the Blessed One addressed the brethren, and said : c It is through not understanding and grasping four Noble Truths, O brethren, that we have had to run so long, to wander so long in this weary path of transmigration, both you and IT

' And what are these four ? *

' The noble truth about sorrow ; the noble truth about the cause of sorrow ; the noble truth about the cessation of sorrow ; and the noble truth about the path that leads to that cessation. But when these noble truths are grasped and known the craving for existence is rooted out, that which leads to renewed existence is destroyed, and then there is no more birth ! '

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

1 As will be observed from the similar passages that follow, there is a regular sequence of clauses in the set descriptions of the Buddha's movements. The last clause should specify the particular grove or house where the Blessed One stayed ; but it is also (in this and one or two other cases) inserted with due regularity even when it adds nothing positive to the sense.

p. 24

CH.

* By not seeing the four Noble Truths as they really are,

Long is the path that is traversed through many a birth ;

When these are grasped, the cause of birth is then removed, The root of sorrow rooted out, and there is no more birth/

4. There too, while staying at Korigâma, the Blessed One held that comprehensive religious discourse with the brethren on the nature of upright conduct, and of earnest contemplation, and of intelligence. ' Great is the fruit, great the advantage of earnest contemplation when set round with upright conduct. Great is the fruit, great the advantage of intellect when set round with earnest contemplation. The mind set round with intelligence is freed from the great evils, — that is to say, from sensuality, from individuality, from delusion, and from ignorance/

5. Now when the Blessed One had remained as long as was convenient at Ko/igâma, he addressed the venerable Ananda, and said : 6 Come, Ananda, let us go on to the villages of Nddika/

* So be it, Lord ! ' said Ananda, in assent, to the Blessed One.