Fetching
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Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1t into being, and organised, contains within itself the inherent necessity of dissolution — how then can this be possible that such a being should not be dis- solved ? No such condition can exist ! And this mortal being, Ananda, has been relinquished, cast away, renounced, rejected, and abandoned by the Tath&gata. The remaining sum of life has been surrendered by him. Verily, the word has gone forth from the Tath£gata, saying, " The final extinc- tion of the Tathigata shall take place before long. At the end of three months from this time the Tath&gata will die!" That the Tathigata for the^ sake of living should repent him again of that saying — this can no wise be 1 ! ' 64. ' Come, Ananda, let us go to the Ku^tg&ra Hall, to the Mah&vana.' ' Even so, Lord ! ' said the venerable Ananda, in assent, to the Blessed One. Then the Blessed One proceeded, with Ananda phrase occurs pretty often. Trenckner (milinda-pawhaw, p. 422) proposes a correction into pa/ika££' eva. Palu^tti just below is noteworthy as an unusual contraction of palu^e iti. 1 I do not understand the connection of ideas between this paragraph and the idea repeated with such tedious iteration in the preceding paragraphs. The two seem to be in marked contrast, if not in absolute contradiction. Perhaps we have here the older tradition ; and certainly the latter utterance of the two is more in accordance with the general impression of the character, and with the other sayings, of Gotama as handed down in the Pali Pi/akas. 6o THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. with him, to the Mahivana to the KM&g£ra Hall : and when he had arrived there he addressed the venerable Ananda, and said : ' Go now, Ananda, and assemble in the Service Hall such of the brethren as reside in the neigh- bourhood of Ves&li/ 6 Even so, Lord/ said the venerable Ananda, in assent, to the Blessed One. And when he had as- sembled in the Service Hall such of the brethren as resided in the neighbourhood of Ves&li, he went to the Blessed One and saluted him and stood beside him. And standing beside him, he addressed the Blessed One, and said : ' Lord ! the assembly of the brethren has met together. Let the Blessed One do even as seemeth to him fit/ 65. Then the Blessed One proceeded to the Service Hall, and sat down there on the mat spread out for him. And when he was seated the Blessed One addressed the brethren, and said : ' Therefore, O brethren — ye to whom the truths I have perceived have been made known by me — having thoroughly made yourselves masters of them, practise them, meditate upon them, and spread them abroad ; in order that pure religion may last long and be perpetuated, in order that it may con- tinue to be for the good and happiness of the great multitudes, out of pity for the world, to the good and the gain and the weal of gods and men ! ' Which then, O brethren, are the truths which, when I had perceived, I made known to you, which, when you have mastered it behoves you to
2t it may con- tinue to be for the good and happiness of the great multitudes, out of pity for the world, to the good and the gain and the weal of gods and men ! ' Which then, O brethren, are the truths which, when I had perceived, I made known to you, which, when you have mastered it behoves you to practise, meditate upon, and spread abroad, in order that pure religion may last long and be perpetuated, in order III. MAHA-PARINIBBANA-SUTTA. 6l that it may continue to be for the good and the happiness of the great multitudes, out of pity for the world, to the good and the gain and the weal of gods and men ? ' They are these : The four earnest meditations. The fourfold great struggle against sin. The four roads to saintship. The five moral powers. The five organs of spiritual sense. The seven kinds of wisdom, and The noble eightfold path. These, O brethren, are the truths which, when I had perceived, I made known to you, which, when you have mastered it behoves you to practise, meditate upon, and spread abroad, in order that pure religion may last long and be perpetuated, in order that it may continue to be for the good and the happiness of the great multitudes, out of pity for the world, to the good and the gain and the weal of gods and men ! 66. And the Blessed One exhorted the brethren, and said : * Behold now, O brethren, I exhort you, saying, " All component things must grow old. Work out your salvation with diligence. The final extinction of the Tath&gata will take place before long. At the end of three months from this time the Tatha- gata will die ! " 4 My age is now full ripe, my life draws to its close : I leave you, I depart, relying on myself alone ! Be earnest then, O brethren ! holy, full of thought ! 62 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. Be steadfast in resolve ! Keep watch o'er your own hearts ! Who wearies not, but holds fast to this truth and law \ Shall cross this sea of life, shall make an end of grief/ End of the Third Portion for Recitation 2 . 1 Dhamma and vinaya. The Buddhist religion, as just summarised, and the regulations of the order. 2 It is of great interest to notice what are the points upon which Gotama, in this last address to his disciples, and at the solemn time when death was so near at hand, is reported to have lain such emphatic stress. Unfortunately we have only a fragment of the address, and, as it would seem from its commencement, only the closing fragment. This, however; is in the form of a summary, consisting of an enumeration of certain aggregates, the details of which must have been as familiar to the early Buddhists as the details of similar numerical terms — such as the ten command- ments, the twelve tribes, the seven deadly sins, the four gospels, and so on — afterwards were to the Christians.
3sting of an enumeration of certain aggregates, the details of which must have been as familiar to the early Buddhists as the details of similar numerical terms — such as the ten command- ments, the twelve tribes, the seven deadly sins, the four gospels, and so on — afterwards were to the Christians. This summary of the Buddha's last address may fairly be taken as a summary of Buddhism, which thus appears to be simply a system of earnest self-culture and self-control. The following are the details of the aggregate technical terms used in the above summary, but it will be understood that the English equivalents used give rather a general than an exact representation of the ideas expressed by the Pali ones. To attempt more would demand a treatise rather than a note, and it has given me peculiar pleasure to learn, as these sheets are passing through the press, that my friend Dr. Morris intends to devote a book to the treatment of these seven ' Jewels of the Law,' as the JTulIa Vagga calls them (IX, i, 4), which form, when united, the bright diadem of Nirvana. The four Earnest Meditations (£att£ro Satipa//Mn£) are — 1. Meditation on the body. 2. Meditation on the sensations. 3. Meditation on the ideas. 4. Meditation on reason and character. III. maha-parinibbAna-sutta. 63 The fourfold Great Struggle against sin is divided into £att£ro Samappadhana, which are — 1. The struggle to prevent sinfulness arising. 2. The struggle to put away sinful states which have arisen. 3. The struggle to produce goodness not previously existing. 4. The struggle to increase goodness when it does exist. The four Roads to Saintship are four means by which Iddhl (see above, § 3, note) is to be acquired. They are the ^attiro Iddhipadd: 1. The will to acquire it united to earnest meditation and the struggle against sin. 2. The necessary exertion united to earnest meditation and the struggle against sin. 3. The necessary preparation of the heart united to earnest meditation and the struggle against sin. 4. Investigation united to earnest meditation and the struggle against sin. The five moral powers (pa#£a Balani) are said to be the same as the next class, called organs (Indriyani). It is no doubt most remarkable that, in a summary like this, two classes out of seven should be absolutely identical except in name. The differ- ence of name is altogether too unimportant to account, by itself, for the distinction made. Either the currently accepted explanation of one of the two aggregate terms must be incorrect, or we must look for some explanation of the repetition other than the mere desire to record the double title. Is it impossible that the one class 'Was split into two to bring the number of the classes up to the sacred number seven, corresponding to the seven Ratanas of a -X'akkavatti? The details of both classes are — 1. Faith. 2. Energy. 3. Thought. 4. Contemplation. 5. Wisdom. The seven kinds of Wisdom (satta Bo^^anga) are — 1. Energy. 2.
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.
1t into being, and organised, contains within itself the inherent necessity of dissolution — how then can this be possible that such a being should not be dis- solved ? No such condition can exist ! And this mortal being, Ananda, has been relinquished, cast away, renounced, rejected, and abandoned by the Tath&gata. The remaining sum of life has been surrendered by him. Verily, the word has gone forth from the Tath£gata, saying, " The final extinc- tion of the Tathigata shall take place before long. At the end of three months from this time the Tath&gata will die!" That the Tathigata for the^ sake of living should repent him again of that saying — this can no wise be 1 ! ' 64. ' Come, Ananda, let us go to the Ku^tg&ra Hall, to the Mah&vana.' ' Even so, Lord ! ' said the venerable Ananda, in assent, to the Blessed One. Then the Blessed One proceeded, with Ananda phrase occurs pretty often. Trenckner (milinda-pawhaw, p. 422) proposes a correction into pa/ika££' eva. Palu^tti just below is noteworthy as an unusual contraction of palu^e iti. 1 I do not understand the connection of ideas between this paragraph and the idea repeated with such tedious iteration in the preceding paragraphs. The two seem to be in marked contrast, if not in absolute contradiction. Perhaps we have here the older tradition ; and certainly the latter utterance of the two is more in accordance with the general impression of the character, and with the other sayings, of Gotama as handed down in the Pali Pi/akas. 6o THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. with him, to the Mahivana to the KM&g£ra Hall : and when he had arrived there he addressed the venerable Ananda, and said : ' Go now, Ananda, and assemble in the Service Hall such of the brethren as reside in the neigh- bourhood of Ves&li/ 6 Even so, Lord/ said the venerable Ananda, in assent, to the Blessed One. And when he had as- sembled in the Service Hall such of the brethren as resided in the neighbourhood of Ves&li, he went to the Blessed One and saluted him and stood beside him. And standing beside him, he addressed the Blessed One, and said : ' Lord ! the assembly of the brethren has met together. Let the Blessed One do even as seemeth to him fit/ 65. Then the Blessed One proceeded to the Service Hall, and sat down there on the mat spread out for him. And when he was seated the Blessed One addressed the brethren, and said : ' Therefore, O brethren — ye to whom the truths I have perceived have been made known by me — having thoroughly made yourselves masters of them, practise them, meditate upon them, and spread them abroad ; in order that pure religion may last long and be perpetuated, in order that it may con- tinue to be for the good and happiness of the great multitudes, out of pity for the world, to the good and the gain and the weal of gods and men ! ' Which then, O brethren, are the truths which, when I had perceived, I made known to you, which, when you have mastered it behoves you to
2t it may con- tinue to be for the good and happiness of the great multitudes, out of pity for the world, to the good and the gain and the weal of gods and men ! ' Which then, O brethren, are the truths which, when I had perceived, I made known to you, which, when you have mastered it behoves you to practise, meditate upon, and spread abroad, in order that pure religion may last long and be perpetuated, in order III. MAHA-PARINIBBANA-SUTTA. 6l that it may continue to be for the good and the happiness of the great multitudes, out of pity for the world, to the good and the gain and the weal of gods and men ? ' They are these : The four earnest meditations. The fourfold great struggle against sin. The four roads to saintship. The five moral powers. The five organs of spiritual sense. The seven kinds of wisdom, and The noble eightfold path. These, O brethren, are the truths which, when I had perceived, I made known to you, which, when you have mastered it behoves you to practise, meditate upon, and spread abroad, in order that pure religion may last long and be perpetuated, in order that it may continue to be for the good and the happiness of the great multitudes, out of pity for the world, to the good and the gain and the weal of gods and men ! 66. And the Blessed One exhorted the brethren, and said : * Behold now, O brethren, I exhort you, saying, " All component things must grow old. Work out your salvation with diligence. The final extinction of the Tath&gata will take place before long. At the end of three months from this time the Tatha- gata will die ! " 4 My age is now full ripe, my life draws to its close : I leave you, I depart, relying on myself alone ! Be earnest then, O brethren ! holy, full of thought ! 62 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. Be steadfast in resolve ! Keep watch o'er your own hearts ! Who wearies not, but holds fast to this truth and law \ Shall cross this sea of life, shall make an end of grief/ End of the Third Portion for Recitation 2 . 1 Dhamma and vinaya. The Buddhist religion, as just summarised, and the regulations of the order. 2 It is of great interest to notice what are the points upon which Gotama, in this last address to his disciples, and at the solemn time when death was so near at hand, is reported to have lain such emphatic stress. Unfortunately we have only a fragment of the address, and, as it would seem from its commencement, only the closing fragment. This, however; is in the form of a summary, consisting of an enumeration of certain aggregates, the details of which must have been as familiar to the early Buddhists as the details of similar numerical terms — such as the ten command- ments, the twelve tribes, the seven deadly sins, the four gospels, and so on — afterwards were to the Christians.
3sting of an enumeration of certain aggregates, the details of which must have been as familiar to the early Buddhists as the details of similar numerical terms — such as the ten command- ments, the twelve tribes, the seven deadly sins, the four gospels, and so on — afterwards were to the Christians. This summary of the Buddha's last address may fairly be taken as a summary of Buddhism, which thus appears to be simply a system of earnest self-culture and self-control. The following are the details of the aggregate technical terms used in the above summary, but it will be understood that the English equivalents used give rather a general than an exact representation of the ideas expressed by the Pali ones. To attempt more would demand a treatise rather than a note, and it has given me peculiar pleasure to learn, as these sheets are passing through the press, that my friend Dr. Morris intends to devote a book to the treatment of these seven ' Jewels of the Law,' as the JTulIa Vagga calls them (IX, i, 4), which form, when united, the bright diadem of Nirvana. The four Earnest Meditations (£att£ro Satipa//Mn£) are — 1. Meditation on the body. 2. Meditation on the sensations. 3. Meditation on the ideas. 4. Meditation on reason and character. III. maha-parinibbAna-sutta. 63 The fourfold Great Struggle against sin is divided into £att£ro Samappadhana, which are — 1. The struggle to prevent sinfulness arising. 2. The struggle to put away sinful states which have arisen. 3. The struggle to produce goodness not previously existing. 4. The struggle to increase goodness when it does exist. The four Roads to Saintship are four means by which Iddhl (see above, § 3, note) is to be acquired. They are the ^attiro Iddhipadd: 1. The will to acquire it united to earnest meditation and the struggle against sin. 2. The necessary exertion united to earnest meditation and the struggle against sin. 3. The necessary preparation of the heart united to earnest meditation and the struggle against sin. 4. Investigation united to earnest meditation and the struggle against sin. The five moral powers (pa#£a Balani) are said to be the same as the next class, called organs (Indriyani). It is no doubt most remarkable that, in a summary like this, two classes out of seven should be absolutely identical except in name. The differ- ence of name is altogether too unimportant to account, by itself, for the distinction made. Either the currently accepted explanation of one of the two aggregate terms must be incorrect, or we must look for some explanation of the repetition other than the mere desire to record the double title. Is it impossible that the one class 'Was split into two to bring the number of the classes up to the sacred number seven, corresponding to the seven Ratanas of a -X'akkavatti? The details of both classes are — 1. Faith. 2. Energy. 3. Thought. 4. Contemplation. 5. Wisdom. The seven kinds of Wisdom (satta Bo^^anga) are — 1. Energy. 2.
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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