Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1f the Digha Nikaya and the Tumour MS. of the Sumangala Vilasini read pariz/u/Mita, and either spelling is correct. The 42 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. 5. A second and a third time did the Blessed One [say the same thing, and a second and a third time was Ananda's heart thus hardened} 6. Now the Blessed One addressed the venera- ble Ananda, and said : ' You may leave me, Ananda, awhile, and do whatever seemeth to thee fit/ ' So be it, Lord ! ' said the venerable Ananda, in assent, to the Blessed, and rising from his seat he saluted the Blessed One, and passing him on the right, sat down at the foot of a certain tree not far off thence. A 7. Now not long after the venerable Ananda had been gone, M&ra, the Evil One, approafched the Blessed One, and stood beside him. And so stand- ing there, he addressed the Blessed One in these words : ' Pass away now, Lord, from existence ; let the Blessed One now die. Now is the time for the Blessed One to pass away — even according to the fact is that the y or v in such cases is even less than euphonic ; it is an assistance not to the speaker, but merely to the writer. Thus in the Sinhalese duwanaw&, 'to run/ the spoken word is du- # anawd, and the w is written only to avoid the awkward use in the middle of a word of the initial sign for the sound a. That the speakers of Pali found no difficulty in pronouncing two vowels together is abundantly proved by numerous instances. The writers of Pali, in those cases in which the second vowel begins a word, use without hesitation the initial sign ; but in the middle of the word this would be so ungainly that they naturally prefer to insert a consonantal sign to carry the vowel sign. The varying readings I have pointed out are a strong confirmation of the cor- rectness of the pronunciation of modern native scholars ; and we may the more readily adopt it as the question is not really one concerning the pronunciation of Pali, but concerning the use which modern native copyists make of their own alphabet. I would pro- nounce therefore pari-u/Mita-^itto. III. M AH A-P ARINIBBAN A-SU TTA. 43 word which the Blessed One spoke when he said 1 : " I shall not die, O Evil One ! until the brethren and sisters of the order, and until the lay-disciples of either sex 2 shall have become true hearers, wise and well-trained, ready and learned, versed in the Scriptures, fulfilling all the greater and the lesser duties, correct in life, walking according to the pre- cepts — 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 ex- plain it and make it clear — until they, when others start vain doctrine, shall be able by the truth to vanquish and refute it, and so to spread the wonder- working truth abroad ! " ' 8. * And now, Lord, the brethren and sisters of the order and the lay-disciples of either sex have be- come [all this], are able to do [all this].
2til they, when others start vain doctrine, shall be able by the truth to vanquish and refute it, and so to spread the wonder- working truth abroad ! " ' 8. * And now, Lord, the brethren and sisters of the order and the lay-disciples of either sex have be- come [all this], are able to do [all this]. Pass away now therefore, Lord, from existence ; let the Blessed One now die ! The time has come for the Blessed One to pass away — even according to the word which he spake when he said, " I shall not die, O Evil One ! until this pure religion of mine shall have become successful, prosperous, widespread, and popular in all its full extent — until, in a word, it shall have been well proclaimed to men." And now, Lord, this pure religion of thine has become [all this]. Pass away now therefore, Lord, from 1 The words here quoted were spoken by the Buddha, after he had been enjoying the first bliss of Nirvawa, under the shepherd's Nigrodha tree (see my * Buddhist Birth Stories/ pp. 109-1 1 1). The Evil One then also tempted him to die (see below, paragraph III, 43), and this was his reply. 2 The whole paragraph is repeated, here and below, for each of these classes of persons. 44 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. existence; let the Blessed One now die! The time has come for the Blessed One to pass away ! ' 9. And when he had thus spoken, the Blessed One addressed M4ra, the Evil One, and said: 'O Evil One ! make thyself happy, the final extinction of the Tathdgata shall take place before long. At the end of three months from this time the TatM- gata will die ! ' 10. Thus the Blessed One while at the A^pila A'etiya deliberately and consciously rejected the rest of his allotted sum of life. And on his so rejecting it there arose a mighty earthquake, awful and terrible, and the thunders of heaven burst forth. And when the Blessed One beheld this, he broke out at that time into this hymn of exultation : ' His sum of life the sage renounced, The cause of life immeasurable or small ; With inward joy and calm, he broke, Like coat of mail, his life's own cause ! ' 11. Now the following thought occurred to the venerable Ananda : ' Wonderful indeed and marvel- lous is it that this mighty earthquake should arise, awful and terrible, and that the thunders of heaven should burst forth ! What may be the proximate, what the remote cause of the appearance of this earthquake ? ' 12. Then the venerable Ananda went up to the place where the Blessed One was, and did obeisance to the Blessed One, and seated himself respectfully at one side, and said : * Wonderful indeed and mar- vellous is it that this mighty earthquake should arise, awful and terrible, and that the thunders of III. mahA-parinibbana-sutta. 45 heaven should burst forth! What may be the proximate, what the remote cause of the appearance of this earthquake ? ' 13. * Eight are the proximate, eight the remote causes, Ananda, for the appearance of a mighty earthquake.
3rible, and that the thunders of III. mahA-parinibbana-sutta. 45 heaven should burst forth! What may be the proximate, what the remote cause of the appearance of this earthquake ? ' 13. * Eight are the proximate, eight the remote causes, Ananda, for the appearance of a mighty earthquake. What are the eight? This great earth, Ananda, is established on water, the water on wind, and the wind rests upon space. And at such a time, Ananda, as the mighty winds blow, the waters are shaken by the mighty winds as they blow, and by the moving water the earth is shaken. These are the first causes, proximate and remote, of the appearance of a mighty earthquake. 14. 'Again, Ananda, a Samawa or a Brihman of great (intellectual) power, and who has the feelings of his heart well under his control ; or a god or fairy (devati *) of great might and power, — when such a 1 Devatd is a fairy, god, genius, or angel. I am at a loss how to render this word without conveying an erroneous impression to those not familiar with ancient ideas, and specially with ancient Buddhist ideas, of the spirit world. It includes gods of all sorts ; tree and river nymphs ; the kindly fairies or ghosts who haunt houses (see my * Buddhist Birth Stories/ Tale No. 40) ; spirits in the ground (see above, § I, 26); the angels who minister at the great renunciation, the temptation, and the death of the Buddha; the guardian angels who watch over men, and towns, and countries ; and many other similar beings. ' Celestial being ' would be wholly inapplicable, for instance, to the creatures referred to in the curious passage above (§ I, 26). * Superhuman being ' would be an inaccu- rate rendering ; for all these light and airy shapes come below, and after, man in the Buddhist order of precedence. 'Spirit' being used of the soul inside the human body, and of the human soul after it has left the body, and figuratively of mental faculties — none of which are included under devatd — would suggest ideas incon- sistent with that of the Pali word. As there is therefore no appro- priate general word I have chosen, for each passage where the expression occurs, the word used in English of the special class 46 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH, one by intense meditation of the finite idea of earth or the infinite idea of water (has succeeded in realising the comparative value of things 1 ) he can make this earth move and tremble and be shaken violently. These are the second causes, proximate or remote, of the appearance of a mighty earth- quake. 1 5. 'Again, Ananda, when a Bodhisatta consciously and deliberately leaves his temporary form in the heaven of delight and descends into his mothers womb, then is this earth made to quake and tremble and is shaken violently. These are the third causes, proximate or remote, of the appearance of a mighty earthquake 2 . more particularly referred to in the passage of the text.
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.
1f the Digha Nikaya and the Tumour MS. of the Sumangala Vilasini read pariz/u/Mita, and either spelling is correct. The 42 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. 5. A second and a third time did the Blessed One [say the same thing, and a second and a third time was Ananda's heart thus hardened} 6. Now the Blessed One addressed the venera- ble Ananda, and said : ' You may leave me, Ananda, awhile, and do whatever seemeth to thee fit/ ' So be it, Lord ! ' said the venerable Ananda, in assent, to the Blessed, and rising from his seat he saluted the Blessed One, and passing him on the right, sat down at the foot of a certain tree not far off thence. A 7. Now not long after the venerable Ananda had been gone, M&ra, the Evil One, approafched the Blessed One, and stood beside him. And so stand- ing there, he addressed the Blessed One in these words : ' Pass away now, Lord, from existence ; let the Blessed One now die. Now is the time for the Blessed One to pass away — even according to the fact is that the y or v in such cases is even less than euphonic ; it is an assistance not to the speaker, but merely to the writer. Thus in the Sinhalese duwanaw&, 'to run/ the spoken word is du- # anawd, and the w is written only to avoid the awkward use in the middle of a word of the initial sign for the sound a. That the speakers of Pali found no difficulty in pronouncing two vowels together is abundantly proved by numerous instances. The writers of Pali, in those cases in which the second vowel begins a word, use without hesitation the initial sign ; but in the middle of the word this would be so ungainly that they naturally prefer to insert a consonantal sign to carry the vowel sign. The varying readings I have pointed out are a strong confirmation of the cor- rectness of the pronunciation of modern native scholars ; and we may the more readily adopt it as the question is not really one concerning the pronunciation of Pali, but concerning the use which modern native copyists make of their own alphabet. I would pro- nounce therefore pari-u/Mita-^itto. III. M AH A-P ARINIBBAN A-SU TTA. 43 word which the Blessed One spoke when he said 1 : " I shall not die, O Evil One ! until the brethren and sisters of the order, and until the lay-disciples of either sex 2 shall have become true hearers, wise and well-trained, ready and learned, versed in the Scriptures, fulfilling all the greater and the lesser duties, correct in life, walking according to the pre- cepts — 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 ex- plain it and make it clear — until they, when others start vain doctrine, shall be able by the truth to vanquish and refute it, and so to spread the wonder- working truth abroad ! " ' 8. * And now, Lord, the brethren and sisters of the order and the lay-disciples of either sex have be- come [all this], are able to do [all this].
2til they, when others start vain doctrine, shall be able by the truth to vanquish and refute it, and so to spread the wonder- working truth abroad ! " ' 8. * And now, Lord, the brethren and sisters of the order and the lay-disciples of either sex have be- come [all this], are able to do [all this]. Pass away now therefore, Lord, from existence ; let the Blessed One now die ! The time has come for the Blessed One to pass away — even according to the word which he spake when he said, " I shall not die, O Evil One ! until this pure religion of mine shall have become successful, prosperous, widespread, and popular in all its full extent — until, in a word, it shall have been well proclaimed to men." And now, Lord, this pure religion of thine has become [all this]. Pass away now therefore, Lord, from 1 The words here quoted were spoken by the Buddha, after he had been enjoying the first bliss of Nirvawa, under the shepherd's Nigrodha tree (see my * Buddhist Birth Stories/ pp. 109-1 1 1). The Evil One then also tempted him to die (see below, paragraph III, 43), and this was his reply. 2 The whole paragraph is repeated, here and below, for each of these classes of persons. 44 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. existence; let the Blessed One now die! The time has come for the Blessed One to pass away ! ' 9. And when he had thus spoken, the Blessed One addressed M4ra, the Evil One, and said: 'O Evil One ! make thyself happy, the final extinction of the Tathdgata shall take place before long. At the end of three months from this time the TatM- gata will die ! ' 10. Thus the Blessed One while at the A^pila A'etiya deliberately and consciously rejected the rest of his allotted sum of life. And on his so rejecting it there arose a mighty earthquake, awful and terrible, and the thunders of heaven burst forth. And when the Blessed One beheld this, he broke out at that time into this hymn of exultation : ' His sum of life the sage renounced, The cause of life immeasurable or small ; With inward joy and calm, he broke, Like coat of mail, his life's own cause ! ' 11. Now the following thought occurred to the venerable Ananda : ' Wonderful indeed and marvel- lous is it that this mighty earthquake should arise, awful and terrible, and that the thunders of heaven should burst forth ! What may be the proximate, what the remote cause of the appearance of this earthquake ? ' 12. Then the venerable Ananda went up to the place where the Blessed One was, and did obeisance to the Blessed One, and seated himself respectfully at one side, and said : * Wonderful indeed and mar- vellous is it that this mighty earthquake should arise, awful and terrible, and that the thunders of III. mahA-parinibbana-sutta. 45 heaven should burst forth! What may be the proximate, what the remote cause of the appearance of this earthquake ? ' 13. * Eight are the proximate, eight the remote causes, Ananda, for the appearance of a mighty earthquake.
3rible, and that the thunders of III. mahA-parinibbana-sutta. 45 heaven should burst forth! What may be the proximate, what the remote cause of the appearance of this earthquake ? ' 13. * Eight are the proximate, eight the remote causes, Ananda, for the appearance of a mighty earthquake. What are the eight? This great earth, Ananda, is established on water, the water on wind, and the wind rests upon space. And at such a time, Ananda, as the mighty winds blow, the waters are shaken by the mighty winds as they blow, and by the moving water the earth is shaken. These are the first causes, proximate and remote, of the appearance of a mighty earthquake. 14. 'Again, Ananda, a Samawa or a Brihman of great (intellectual) power, and who has the feelings of his heart well under his control ; or a god or fairy (devati *) of great might and power, — when such a 1 Devatd is a fairy, god, genius, or angel. I am at a loss how to render this word without conveying an erroneous impression to those not familiar with ancient ideas, and specially with ancient Buddhist ideas, of the spirit world. It includes gods of all sorts ; tree and river nymphs ; the kindly fairies or ghosts who haunt houses (see my * Buddhist Birth Stories/ Tale No. 40) ; spirits in the ground (see above, § I, 26); the angels who minister at the great renunciation, the temptation, and the death of the Buddha; the guardian angels who watch over men, and towns, and countries ; and many other similar beings. ' Celestial being ' would be wholly inapplicable, for instance, to the creatures referred to in the curious passage above (§ I, 26). * Superhuman being ' would be an inaccu- rate rendering ; for all these light and airy shapes come below, and after, man in the Buddhist order of precedence. 'Spirit' being used of the soul inside the human body, and of the human soul after it has left the body, and figuratively of mental faculties — none of which are included under devatd — would suggest ideas incon- sistent with that of the Pali word. As there is therefore no appro- priate general word I have chosen, for each passage where the expression occurs, the word used in English of the special class 46 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH, one by intense meditation of the finite idea of earth or the infinite idea of water (has succeeded in realising the comparative value of things 1 ) he can make this earth move and tremble and be shaken violently. These are the second causes, proximate or remote, of the appearance of a mighty earth- quake. 1 5. 'Again, Ananda, when a Bodhisatta consciously and deliberately leaves his temporary form in the heaven of delight and descends into his mothers womb, then is this earth made to quake and tremble and is shaken violently. These are the third causes, proximate or remote, of the appearance of a mighty earthquake 2 . more particularly referred to in the passage of the text.
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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