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

whatever he may do, in going out and coming in, in looking and watching, in bending in his arm or stretching it forth, in wearing his robes or carrying his bowl, in eating and drinking, in consuming or tasting, in walking or standing or sitting, in sleeping or waking, in talking and in being silent.

* Thus let a brother, O mendicants, be mindful and thoughtful ; this is our instruction to you V

1 This doctri ne of being ' mindful and thoughtful ' — s a t o s a m p agzno — is one of the lessons most frequently inculcated in the Pali Pi/akas, and is one of the ' Seven Jewels of the Law.' It is fully treated of in each of the Nikayas, forming the subject of the Maha Satippa//Mna Sutta in the Digha Nikdya, and the Satipa//Mna Sutta of the Ma^g^ima Nikaya, and the Satippa/Mana Vaggo of the Sazrayutta Nikaya, as well as of various passages in the Anguttara Nikaya and of the work called Vibhahga in the Abhidhamma Pi/aka. I am glad to learn that Dr. Morris intends to collect and compare all these passages in his forthcoming work on the ' Seven Jewels of the Law.' These sections of the Mahaparinibbina Sutta and the treatment in the Vibhahga have preserved, in Dr. Morris's opinion, the oldest form of the doctrine. Compare Chap. II, § 34.

Buddhaghosa has no comment here on the subject itself, reserving what he has to say for the comment on the Suttas devoted entirely to it ; but he observes in passing that the reason why the Blessed One laid stress, at this particular time and place, on the necessity of being 'mindful and thoughtful/ was because of the imminent approach of the beautiful courtezan in whose grove they were staying. The use of the phrase sati upa/Mapetabba Wow, Chap. V, § 13 (text. p. 51), in reference to the way in which women should be treated, is quite in accordance with this explanation. But see the next note.

p. 30

1 6. 1 Now the courtezan Ambapâli heard that the Blessed One had arrived at Vesâli, and was staying at her mango grove. And ordering a number of magnificent vehicles to be made ready, she mounted one of them, and proceeded with her train towards her garden. She went in the carriage as far as the ground was passable for carriages ; there she alighted ; and she proceeded on foot to the place where the Blessed One was, and took her seat respectfully on one side. And when she was thus seated the Blessed One instructed, aroused, incited, and gladdened her with religious discourse.

17. Then she — instructed, aroused, incited, and gladdened with his words — addressed the Blessed One, and said :

'May the Blessed One do me the honour of taking his meal, together with the brethren, at my house to-morrow/

And the Blessed One gave, by silence, his consent. Then when Ambapdli the courtezan saw that the Blessed One had consented, she rose from her seat and bowed down before him, and keeping him on her right hand as she past him, she departed thence.

l, together with the brethren, at my house to-morrow/

And the Blessed One gave, by silence, his consent. Then when Ambapdli the courtezan saw that the Blessed One had consented, she rose from her seat and bowed down before him, and keeping him on her right hand as she past him, she departed thence.

1 From this point down to the words ' he rose from his seat/ in §11, 24, is, with a few unimportant variations, word for word the same as Mahi Vagga VI, 30, 1, to VI, 30, 6. But the passage there follows immediately after the verses translated above, § I, 34, so that the events here (in §§ 16-22) localised at Vesali, are there localised at Ko/igama. Our section II, 5 is then inserted between our sections II, 22 and II, 23; and our section II, 12 does not occur at all, the Blessed One only reaching Ambapali's grove when he goes there (as in our section II, 23) to partake of the meal to which he had been invited. Buddhaghosa passes over this discrepancy in silence.

II.

M AH A-PARINIBBANA-SU TTA.

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18. Now the Li^^avis of Vesâli heard that the Blessed One had arrived at Vesali, and was staying at Ambapâli's grove. And ordering a number of magnificent carriages to be made ready, they mounted one of them and proceeded with their train to Vesdli. Some of them were dark, dark in colour, and wearing dark clothes and ornaments : some of them were fair, fair in colour, and wearing light clothes and ornaments : some of them were red, ruddy in colour, and wearing red clothes and ornaments: some of them were white, pale in colour, and wearing white clothes and ornaments.

19. And Ambapali drove up against the young Li^^avis, axle to axle, wheel to wheel, and yoke to yoke, and the \Akkha.v\s said to Ambapali the courtezan, ' How is it, Ambapâli, that thou drivest up against us thus ? '

' My Lords, I have just invited the Blessed One and his brethren for their morrow's meal,' said she.

' Ambapâli ! give up this meal to us for a hundred thousand/ said they.

• My Lords, were you to offer all Vesâli with its subject territory 1 , I would not give up so honourable a feast !'

Then the Li^Mavis cast up their hands * exclaiming, 'We are outdone by this mango girl! we are out-reached by this mango girl 3 ! ' and they went on to Ambapâli's grove.

20. When the Blessed One saw the Li^£//avis

1 Siharan ti sa-^anapadan. (S. V. /au.)

2 Ahguli poMesu/w. Childers translates this phrase 'to snap the fingers as a token of pleasure;' but Buddhaghosa says, angul! poMesun ti ahguli Mlesu/w. (S. V. /au.)

* Ambapali means mango grower, one who looks after mangoes.

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THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE.

CH.

approaching in the distance, he addressed the brethren, and said :

* O brethren, let those of the brethren who have never seen the Tavatiwsa gods, gaze upon this company of the Li£££avis, behold this company of the LL&£^avis, compare this company of the Li^Aavis — even as a company of Tivatiwsa gods 1 .'

21.

n the distance, he addressed the brethren, and said :

* O brethren, let those of the brethren who have never seen the Tavatiwsa gods, gaze upon this company of the Li£££avis, behold this company of the LL&£^avis, compare this company of the Li^Aavis — even as a company of Tivatiwsa gods 1 .'

21. And when they had ridden as far as the ground was passable for carriages, the \Akkkaxis alighted there, and then went on on foot to the place where the Blessed One was, and took their seats respectfully by his side. And when they were thus seated the Blessed One instructed and roused and incited and gladdened them with religious discourse 2 .

22. Then they instructed and roused and incited and gladdened with his words, addressed the Blessed One, and said, ' May the Blessed One do us the honour of taking his meal, together with the brethren, at our house to-morrow ? '

' O Li^^avis, I have promised to dine to-morrow with Ambapâli the courtezan/ was the reply.

1 The Tavatitfzsa-deva are the gods in the heaven of the Great Thirty-Three, the principal deities of the Vedic Pantheon. Buddhaghosa says, 'Ima/rc Li^avi-parisaaz tumhakara £ittena Tavatitfzsa-parisaztf upasa/wharatha upanetha alliyâpetha : Yath' eva hi Tavatirasa abhirupa pasadika nil£di-nana-va«»a evaw U ime Li^Mavi-ra^ano ptti. Tavati/rcsehi samake katvd passathd ti attho.'

2 The Malalahkara-vatthu gives the substance of the discourse on this occasion. * The princes had come in their finest and richest dress ; in their appearance they vied in beauty with the nats (or angels). But foreseeing the ruin and misery that was soon to come upon them all, the Buddha exhorted his disciples to entertain a thorough contempt for things that are dazzling to the eyes, but essentially perishable and unreal in their nature/ — Bigandet, 2nd ed. p. 260.

II.

mahA-parinibbana-sutta.

p. 33

Then the LL&6^avis cast up their hands, exclaiming, ' We are outdone by this mango girl ! we are outreached by this mango girl ! ' And expressing their thanks and approval of the words of the Blessed One, they rose from their seats and bowed down before the Blessed One, and keeping him on their right hand as they past him, they departed thence.

23. And at the end of the night Ambapâli the courtezan made ready in her mansion sweet rice and cakes, and announced the time to the Blessed One, saying, ' The hour, Lord, has come, and the meal is ready!'

And the Blessed One robed himself early in the morning, and took his bowl, and went with the brethren to the place where Ambapili's dwellinghouse was : and when he had come there he seated himself on the seat prepared for him. And Ambapâli the courtezan set the sweet rice and cakes before the order, with the Buddha at their head, and waited upon them till they refused any more.

24.