Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1and sees — this is the first position of mastery. 26. ' When a man having subjectively the idea of form sees externally forms which are boundless, and pleasant or unpleasant to the sight, and having mas- tered them, is conscious that he knows and sees — this is the second position of mastery. 27. 'When a man without the subjective idea of form sees externally forms which are finite, and plea- sant or unpleasant to the sight, and having mastered them, is conscious that he knows and sees — this .is the third position of mastery. 28. 'When a man without the subjective idea of form sees externally forms which are boundless, and pleasant or unpleasant to the sight, and having mastered them, is conscious that he knows and sees — this is the fourth position of mastery. 29. 'When a man without the subjective idea of form sees externally forms that are blue in colour, blue in appearance, and reflecting blue, — just, for passage on the nine successive ' Cessations/ of which an abstract will be found in Childers, sub voce nirodha. The two lists have been translated and commented upon by Burnouf (Lotus de la Bonne Loi, pp. 543, 824-832), who took the texts from the Mah£nid&na Sutta and the Sanglti Sutta respectively. The former has been reprinted in Grimblot's Sept Suttas Palis, where the passage will be found at pp. 261, 262. I regret that in my interpretation I have been compelled to differ so greatly from Burnouf. Though I have devoted much care and time to the subject, I do not suppose that I have understood it better than he did. We cannot hope to get to the bottom of what these old Buddhists thought about matter and mind from such curt lists as these. III. mahA-parinibbana-sutta. 51 instance, as the Umm& flower is blue in colour, blue in appearance, and reflecting blue ; or, again, as that fine muslin of Benares which, on whichever side you look at it, is blue in colour, blue in appearance, and reflecting blue, — when a man without the subjective idea of form sees externally forms which, just in that way, are blue, blue in colour, blue in appearance, and reflecting blue, and having mastered them, is conscious that he knows and sees — that is the fifth position of mastery/ 30-32. [The sixth, seventh, and eighth positions of mastery are explained in words identical with those used to explain the fifth ; save that yellow, red, and white are respectively substituted throughout for blue ; and the Ka/zik&ra flower, the Bandhu-^lvaka flower, and the morning star are respectively substi- tuted for the Umm& flower, as the first of the two objects given as examples.] 33. 'Now these stages of deliverance, Ananda [from the hindrance to thought arising from the sensations and ideas due to external forms 1 ], are eight in number. Which are the eight ? 34. ' A man possessed with the idea of form sees forms — this is the first stage of deliverance. 35.
2s examples.] 33. 'Now these stages of deliverance, Ananda [from the hindrance to thought arising from the sensations and ideas due to external forms 1 ], are eight in number. Which are the eight ? 34. ' A man possessed with the idea of form sees forms — this is the first stage of deliverance. 35. 'Without the subjective idea of form, he sees forms externally — this is the second stage of deli- verance. 1 These are the A/Ma Vimokkhd. Buddhaghosa has no com- ment upon them ; merely saying, * The passage on the Vimokkhas is easy to understand' — which is tantalizing. The last five Vi- mokkhas occur again below, in Chap. VI, §§11-13, where it is clear that they are used to express the progress through deep meditation, into absent-mindedness, abstraction, and being sunk in thought, until finally the thinker falls into actual trance. E 2 52 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. 36. ' With the thought " it is well," he becomes intent (upon what he sees) — this is the third stage of deliverance. 37. * By passing quite beyond all idea of form, by putting an end to all idea of resistance, by paying no attention to the idea of distinction, he, thinking " it is all infinite space," reaches (mentally) and re- mains in the state of mind in which the idea of the infinity of space is the only idea that is present — this is the fourth stage of deliverance. 38. * By passing quite beyond all idea of space being the infinite basis, he, thinking " it is all infinite reason," reaches (mentally) and remains in the state of mind to which the infinity of reason is alone present — this is the fifth stage of deliverance. 39. ' By passing quite beyond the mere conscious- ness of the infinity of reason, he, thinking " nothing at all exists," reaches (mentally) and remains in the state of mind to which nothing at all is specially present — this is the sixth stage of deliverance. 40. * By passing quite beyond all idea of nothing- ness he reaches (mentally) and remains in the state of mind to which neither ideas nor the absence of ideas are specially present — this is the seventh stage of deliverance. 41. 'By passing quite beyond the state of " neither ideas nor the absence of ideas" he reaches (men- tally) and remains in the state of mind in which both sensations and ideas have ceased to be — this is the eighth stage of deliverance. 42. ' Now these, Ananda, are the eight stages of deliverance. 43. ' On one occasion, Ananda, I was resting under the shepherd's Nigrodha tree on the bank of the III. maha-parinibbAna-sutta. 53 river Nera%ar£ immediately after having reached the great enlightenment. Then M£ra, the Evil One, came, Ananda, to the place where I was, and standing beside me he addressed me in the words : *' Pass away now, Lord, from existence ! Let the Blessed One now die! Now is the time for the Blessed One to pass away ! " 44.
3diately after having reached the great enlightenment. Then M£ra, the Evil One, came, Ananda, to the place where I was, and standing beside me he addressed me in the words : *' Pass away now, Lord, from existence ! Let the Blessed One now die! Now is the time for the Blessed One to pass away ! " 44. 'And when he had thus spoken, Ananda, I addressed M4ra, the Evil One, and said : " I shall not die, O Evil One! until not only the brethren and sisters of the order, but also the lay-disciples of either sex 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 ! 45. * " I shall not die until this pure religion of mine shall have become successful, prosperous, wide-spread, and popular in all its full extent — until, in a word, it shall have been well proclaimed among men ! " 46. ' And now again to-day, Ananda, at the -ATdpdla A^etiya, M&ra, the Evil One, came to the place where I was, and standing beside me addressed me [in the same words]. 47. ' And when he had thus spoken, Ananda, I answered him and said : " Make thyself happy, the final extinction of the Tathigata shall take place 54 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. before long. At the end of three months from this time the Tath&gata will die ! " 48. ' Thus, Ananda, the Tath&gata has now to-day at the AT&p&la A^etiya consciously and deli- berately rejected the rest of his allotted term of life. 1 49. And when he had thus spoken the venera- ble Ananda addressed the Blessed One, and said : ' Vouchsafe, Lord, to remain during the kalpa ! live on through the kalpa, O Blessed One ! for the good and the happiness of the great multitudes, out of pity for the world, for the good and the gain and the weal of gods and men ! ' 50. ' Enough now, Ananda, beseech not the Ta- th&gata!' was the reply. 'The time for making such request is past/ 51. And again, the second time, the venerable Ananda besought the Blessed One [in the same words. And he received from the Blessed One the same reply]. 52. And again, the third time, the venerable Ananda besought the Blessed One [in the same words]. 53. ' Hast thou faith, Ananda, in the wisdom of the Tathigata ? ' ' Even so, Lord ! ' ' Now why, then, Ananda, dost thou trouble the Tathagata even until the third time ? 7 54.
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.
1and sees — this is the first position of mastery. 26. ' When a man having subjectively the idea of form sees externally forms which are boundless, and pleasant or unpleasant to the sight, and having mas- tered them, is conscious that he knows and sees — this is the second position of mastery. 27. 'When a man without the subjective idea of form sees externally forms which are finite, and plea- sant or unpleasant to the sight, and having mastered them, is conscious that he knows and sees — this .is the third position of mastery. 28. 'When a man without the subjective idea of form sees externally forms which are boundless, and pleasant or unpleasant to the sight, and having mastered them, is conscious that he knows and sees — this is the fourth position of mastery. 29. 'When a man without the subjective idea of form sees externally forms that are blue in colour, blue in appearance, and reflecting blue, — just, for passage on the nine successive ' Cessations/ of which an abstract will be found in Childers, sub voce nirodha. The two lists have been translated and commented upon by Burnouf (Lotus de la Bonne Loi, pp. 543, 824-832), who took the texts from the Mah£nid&na Sutta and the Sanglti Sutta respectively. The former has been reprinted in Grimblot's Sept Suttas Palis, where the passage will be found at pp. 261, 262. I regret that in my interpretation I have been compelled to differ so greatly from Burnouf. Though I have devoted much care and time to the subject, I do not suppose that I have understood it better than he did. We cannot hope to get to the bottom of what these old Buddhists thought about matter and mind from such curt lists as these. III. mahA-parinibbana-sutta. 51 instance, as the Umm& flower is blue in colour, blue in appearance, and reflecting blue ; or, again, as that fine muslin of Benares which, on whichever side you look at it, is blue in colour, blue in appearance, and reflecting blue, — when a man without the subjective idea of form sees externally forms which, just in that way, are blue, blue in colour, blue in appearance, and reflecting blue, and having mastered them, is conscious that he knows and sees — that is the fifth position of mastery/ 30-32. [The sixth, seventh, and eighth positions of mastery are explained in words identical with those used to explain the fifth ; save that yellow, red, and white are respectively substituted throughout for blue ; and the Ka/zik&ra flower, the Bandhu-^lvaka flower, and the morning star are respectively substi- tuted for the Umm& flower, as the first of the two objects given as examples.] 33. 'Now these stages of deliverance, Ananda [from the hindrance to thought arising from the sensations and ideas due to external forms 1 ], are eight in number. Which are the eight ? 34. ' A man possessed with the idea of form sees forms — this is the first stage of deliverance. 35.
2s examples.] 33. 'Now these stages of deliverance, Ananda [from the hindrance to thought arising from the sensations and ideas due to external forms 1 ], are eight in number. Which are the eight ? 34. ' A man possessed with the idea of form sees forms — this is the first stage of deliverance. 35. 'Without the subjective idea of form, he sees forms externally — this is the second stage of deli- verance. 1 These are the A/Ma Vimokkhd. Buddhaghosa has no com- ment upon them ; merely saying, * The passage on the Vimokkhas is easy to understand' — which is tantalizing. The last five Vi- mokkhas occur again below, in Chap. VI, §§11-13, where it is clear that they are used to express the progress through deep meditation, into absent-mindedness, abstraction, and being sunk in thought, until finally the thinker falls into actual trance. E 2 52 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. 36. ' With the thought " it is well," he becomes intent (upon what he sees) — this is the third stage of deliverance. 37. * By passing quite beyond all idea of form, by putting an end to all idea of resistance, by paying no attention to the idea of distinction, he, thinking " it is all infinite space," reaches (mentally) and re- mains in the state of mind in which the idea of the infinity of space is the only idea that is present — this is the fourth stage of deliverance. 38. * By passing quite beyond all idea of space being the infinite basis, he, thinking " it is all infinite reason," reaches (mentally) and remains in the state of mind to which the infinity of reason is alone present — this is the fifth stage of deliverance. 39. ' By passing quite beyond the mere conscious- ness of the infinity of reason, he, thinking " nothing at all exists," reaches (mentally) and remains in the state of mind to which nothing at all is specially present — this is the sixth stage of deliverance. 40. * By passing quite beyond all idea of nothing- ness he reaches (mentally) and remains in the state of mind to which neither ideas nor the absence of ideas are specially present — this is the seventh stage of deliverance. 41. 'By passing quite beyond the state of " neither ideas nor the absence of ideas" he reaches (men- tally) and remains in the state of mind in which both sensations and ideas have ceased to be — this is the eighth stage of deliverance. 42. ' Now these, Ananda, are the eight stages of deliverance. 43. ' On one occasion, Ananda, I was resting under the shepherd's Nigrodha tree on the bank of the III. maha-parinibbAna-sutta. 53 river Nera%ar£ immediately after having reached the great enlightenment. Then M£ra, the Evil One, came, Ananda, to the place where I was, and standing beside me he addressed me in the words : *' Pass away now, Lord, from existence ! Let the Blessed One now die! Now is the time for the Blessed One to pass away ! " 44.
3diately after having reached the great enlightenment. Then M£ra, the Evil One, came, Ananda, to the place where I was, and standing beside me he addressed me in the words : *' Pass away now, Lord, from existence ! Let the Blessed One now die! Now is the time for the Blessed One to pass away ! " 44. 'And when he had thus spoken, Ananda, I addressed M4ra, the Evil One, and said : " I shall not die, O Evil One! until not only the brethren and sisters of the order, but also the lay-disciples of either sex 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 ! 45. * " I shall not die until this pure religion of mine shall have become successful, prosperous, wide-spread, and popular in all its full extent — until, in a word, it shall have been well proclaimed among men ! " 46. ' And now again to-day, Ananda, at the -ATdpdla A^etiya, M&ra, the Evil One, came to the place where I was, and standing beside me addressed me [in the same words]. 47. ' And when he had thus spoken, Ananda, I answered him and said : " Make thyself happy, the final extinction of the Tathigata shall take place 54 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. before long. At the end of three months from this time the Tath&gata will die ! " 48. ' Thus, Ananda, the Tath&gata has now to-day at the AT&p&la A^etiya consciously and deli- berately rejected the rest of his allotted term of life. 1 49. And when he had thus spoken the venera- ble Ananda addressed the Blessed One, and said : ' Vouchsafe, Lord, to remain during the kalpa ! live on through the kalpa, O Blessed One ! for the good and the happiness of the great multitudes, out of pity for the world, for the good and the gain and the weal of gods and men ! ' 50. ' Enough now, Ananda, beseech not the Ta- th&gata!' was the reply. 'The time for making such request is past/ 51. And again, the second time, the venerable Ananda besought the Blessed One [in the same words. And he received from the Blessed One the same reply]. 52. And again, the third time, the venerable Ananda besought the Blessed One [in the same words]. 53. ' Hast thou faith, Ananda, in the wisdom of the Tathigata ? ' ' Even so, Lord ! ' ' Now why, then, Ananda, dost thou trouble the Tathagata even until the third time ? 7 54.
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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