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

h 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. And when the Blessed One had quite finished his meal, the courtezan had a low stool brought, and sat down at his side, and addressed the Blessed One, and said : ' Lord, I present this mansion to the order of mendicants, of which the Buddha is the chief.' And the Blessed One accepted the gift; and after instructing, and rousing, and inciting, and gladdening her with religious discourse, he rose from his seat and departed thence 1 .

1 Bishop Bigandet says: 'In recording the conversion of a courtezan named Apapalika, her liberality and gifts to Budha and his disciples, and the preference designedly given to her over princes and nobles, who, humanely speaking, seemed in every respect better entitled to attentions — one is almost reminded of [Ilj D

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25. While at Ambapilis mango grove the Blessed One held that comprehensivfe religious discourse with the disciples 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.'

26. Now when the Blessed One had remained as long as he wished at Ambapili's grove, he addressed Ananda, and said : * Come, Ananda, let us go on to Beluva 1 .'

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

Then the Blessed One proceeded, with a great company of the brethren, to Beluva, and there the Blessed One stayed in the village itself.

27. Now the Blessed One there addressed the brethren, and said : * O mendicants, do you take up your abode round about Vesâli, each according to the place where his friends, intimates, and close companions may live, for the rainy season of vassa. I shall enter upon the rainy season here at Beluva/ the conversion of " a woman that was a sinner," mentioned in the Gospels' (Legend of the Burmese Budha, 2nd ed. p. 258).

1 Beluva-gâmako ti Vesali-samtpe pâda-gâmako, 'avillage on a slope at the foot of a hill near Vesali/ says Buddhaghosa, (S. V. /au.)

II.

mahA-parinibbAna-sutta.

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* So be it, Lord ! ' said those brethren, in assent, to the Blessed One. And they entered upon the rainy season round about Vesili, each according to the place where his friends or intimates or close companions lived : whilst the Blessed One stayed even there at Beluva.

28.

inibbAna-sutta.

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* So be it, Lord ! ' said those brethren, in assent, to the Blessed One. And they entered upon the rainy season round about Vesili, each according to the place where his friends or intimates or close companions lived : whilst the Blessed One stayed even there at Beluva.

28. Now when the Blessed One had thus entered upon the rainy season, there fell upon him a dire sickness, and sharp pains came upon him, even unto death. But the Blessed One, mindful and self-possessed, bore them without complaint.

29. Then this thought occurred to the Blessed One, i It would not be right for me to pass away from existence without addressing the disciples, without taking leave of the order. Let me now, by a strong effort of the will, bend this sickness down again, and keep my hold on life till the allotted time be come 1 /

30. And the Blessed One, by a strong effort of the will, bent that sickness down again, and kept his hold on life till the time he fixed upon should come. And the sickness abated upon him.

31. Now very soon after the Blessed One began to recover ; when he had quite got rid of the sickness, he went out from the monastery, and sat down behind the monastery on a seat spread out there. And the venerable Ananda went to the place where the Blessed One was, and saluted him, and took a seat respectfully on one side, and addressed the

1 The commentary on ^fvita-sankhâra/w adhitthsiya vihareyyan is not quite clear, but the general meaning of the words cannot be very different from the version given in the text.

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THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. Ctt.

Blessed One, and said : ' I have beheld, Lord, how the Blessed One was in health, and I have beheld how the Blessed One had to suffer. And though at the sight of the sickness of the Blessed One my body became weak as a creeper, and the horizon became dim to me, and my faculties were no longer clear yet notwithstanding I took some little comfort from the thought that the Blessed One would not pass away from existence until at least he had left instructions as touching the order/

32. 'What, then, Ananda? Does the order expect that of me ? I have preached the truth without making any distinction between exoteric and esoteric doctrine : for in respect of the truths, Ananda, the Tathâgata has no such thing as the closed fist of a teacher, who keeps some things back 2 . Surely, Ananda, should there be any one who harbours the thought, "It is I who will lead the brotherhood," or, " The order is dependent upon me," it is he who

1 Madhuraka-^ato viyd ti saw^ata-garubhdvo sa^ita/Mabhâvo (sic) sule uttâsita-sadiso : na pakkhâyantl ti na pakdsenti nanakarawa na upa/Mahanti: Dhammi pi ma/rc na ppa/ibhanti ti sati-ppa//Mna dhamma mayha.m paka/a na honti. (S. V. fol. /am.) As the first clause is corrupt, I have translated madhuraka-^&to independently of it. Childers's reading na/rc na ppa/ibhanti is clearly incorrect. My own MS.

i na pakdsenti nanakarawa na upa/Mahanti: Dhammi pi ma/rc na ppa/ibhanti ti sati-ppa//Mna dhamma mayha.m paka/a na honti. (S. V. fol. /am.) As the first clause is corrupt, I have translated madhuraka-^&to independently of it. Childers's reading na/rc na ppa/ibhanti is clearly incorrect. My own MS. of the Dtgha Nildya and the Tumour MS. of the Samyutta Nikaya agree with Buddhaghosa.

2 Na tatth' Ananda Tathâgatassa dhammesu a£ariyamu/Mi; on which Buddhaghosa say s, A k a r i y a - m u tth \ (M S . vuMl) ti yath& bdhirakânaw &£ariya-mu/Mi nama hoti: daharakdle kassa^i akathetvd pa££^ima-kâle mara»a-ma^e nipanni piya-manapassa antevasikassa kathenti: evam Tathagatassa idaw mahallaka-kale pa^ima-ZMane kathessami ti mu/Mitf* (MS. vuilhim) katvd pariharitvd Mapitaw ki«£i n'atthi ti. (S. V. /am.) Comp. Gataka II, 221, 250.

II.

MA H A-PARINIBB AN A-S U TTA.

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should lay down instructions in any matter concerning the order. Now the Tathdgata, Ananda, thinks not that it is he who should lead the brotherhood, or that the order is dependent upon him. Why then should he leave instructions in any matter concerning the order ? I too, O Ananda, am now grown old, and full of years, my journey is drawing to its close, I have reached my sum of days, I am turning eighty years of age ; and just as a worn-out cart, Ananda, can only with much additional care be made to move along, so, methinks, the body of the Tathâgata can only be kept going with much additional care 1 . It is only, Ananda, when

1 Vegha-missakena, the meaning of which is not clear. The Malalankâra-vatthu, as rendered by Bigandet, has ' repairs/ The Sumangala Vilasint says, Veghamissakend ti baha-bandhana- £akka-bandhanadin£ pa/isankhara«ena veghamissakena ; thus giving the same meaning, but in such a way as to throw no light on the derivation of the word. The whole episode from § II, 27 to the end of the chapter occurs also word for word in the Satipa//Mna Vagga of the Saazyutta Nikaya, and the Burmese Phayre MS. there reads vekhamissakena, as the Burmese MS. does here. My Digha Nikaya confirms Childers's reading, which no doubt correctly represents the uniform tradition of the Ceylon MSS. The Sumangala Vilâsini goes on, maHe ti ^ara-saka/aw viya meghamissakena ma##e yapeti arahatta-phalaveghanena ^atu-iriya patha-kappanaaz Tathigatassa hoti nidasseti. Here the reading megha of the Tumour MSmust be a copyist's slip of the pen for vegha, and veghanena is no clearer than veghamissakena. On the use of the word missaka at the end of a compound see Gâtaka II, 8, 420, 433. I have translated on what seems to me the only solution at present possible, namely, that an initial a has been dropt, and that vegha or vekhd=aveksha, 'attention, foresight, care.' In the same way though avala/z^eti does occur (Gataka I, 111), the more usual form in Pali, and the only one given by Childers, is vala^eti.

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CH.