Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1as 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. Thought. 3. Contemplation. , 4. Investiga- tion (of scripture). 5. Joy. 6. Repose. 7. Serenity. The Noble Eightfold Path (ariyo a/Man giko Maggo) forms the subject of the Dhamma-^akka-ppavattana-sutta, translated in this volume, and consists of — 1. Right views. 2. High aims. 3. Right speech. 4. Upright conduct. 5. A harmless livelihood. 6. Perseverance in well-doing. 7. Intellectual activity. 8. Earnest thought. 6 4 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. Chapter IV. 1. Now the Blessed One early in the morning robed himself, and taking his bowl, entered VesAli for alms : and when he had passed through Vesili, and had eaten his meal and was returning from his alms-seeking he gazed at Ves&li with an elephant look 1 and addressed the venerable Ananda, and said : ' This will be the last time, Ananda, that the Tathigata will behold Ves&li. Come, Ananda, let us go on to Bha/^a-gima.' ' Even so, Lord!' said the venerable Ananda, in assent, to the Blessed One. And the Blessed One proceeded with a great company of the brethren to Bha«^a-gima ; and there the Blessed One stayed in the village itself. 2. There the Blessed One addressed the bre- thren, and said : ' It is through not understanding and grasping four truths 2 , O brethren, that we have had to run so long, to wander so long in this weary path of transmigration — both you and 1/ ' And what are these four ? The noble conduct of life, the noble earnestness in meditation, the noble kind of wisdom, and the noble salvation of freedom. But when noble conduct is realised and known, when noble meditation is realised and known, when noble wisdom is realised and known, when noble 1 Nigapalokitaw Ves^liyaw apaloketva\ The Buddhas were accustomed, says Buddhaghosa, on looking backwards to turn the whole body round as an elephant does ; because the bones in their neck were firmly fixed, more so than those of ordinary men ! 2 Or Conditions (Dhammd). They must, of course, be care- fully distinguished from the better known Four Noble Truths (Sa^dni) above, Chap. II, § 2. i IV. mahA-parinibbAna-sutta. 65 freedom is realised and known — then is the craving for existence rooted out, that which leads to re- newed existence is destroyed, and there is no more birth/ 3. Thus spake the Blessed One ; and when the Happy One had thus spoken, then again the teacher said 1 : ' Righteousness, earnest thought, wisdom, and freedom sublime — These are the truths realised by Gotama, far- renowned. Knowing. them, he, the knower, proclaimed the truth to the brethren. The master with eye divine, the quencher of griefs, must die!' 4.
2spoken, then again the teacher said 1 : ' Righteousness, earnest thought, wisdom, and freedom sublime — These are the truths realised by Gotama, far- renowned. Knowing. them, he, the knower, proclaimed the truth to the brethren. The master with eye divine, the quencher of griefs, must die!' 4. There too, while staying at Bha#a?a-gfima, the Blessed One held that comprehensive religious dis- course with the brethren on the nature of upright conduct, and of earnest contemplation, and of intel- ligence. ' 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. 1 This is merely a stock phrase for introducing verses which repeat the idea of the preceding phrase (see above, paragraph 32). It is an instructive sign of the state of mind in which such records are put together, that these verses could be ascribed to Gotama himself without any feeling of the incongruity involved. The last word means, completely gone out; and here refers to the ex- tinction of kilesa and ta»h£, which will bring about, inevitably, the extinction of being. Compare the passage quoted by Burnouf in Lotus de la Bonne Loi, p. 376. Probably the whole stanza formerly stood in some other connection, where the word parinibbuto had its more usual sense. See Buddhaghosa's note on IV, 23. [11] F I 66 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. 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/ 5. Now when the Blessed One had remained at Bha#a?a-gama as long as he desired, he addressed the venerable Ananda, and said : ' Come, Ananda, let us go on to Hatthi-gama/ ' Even so, Lord ! ' said Ananda, in assent, to the Blessed One. Then the Blessed One proceeded with a great company of the brethren to Hatthi-gfima. 6. [And in similar words it is then related how the Blessed One went on to Amba-gima, to Gambu- gima, and to Bhoga-nagara.] 7. Now there at Bhoga-nagara the Blessed One stayed at the Ananda Aetiya. There the Blessed One addressed the brethren, and said : ' 1 will teach you, O brethren, these four Great References \ Listen thereto, and give good heed, and I will speak.' ' Even so, Lord ! ' said the brethren, in assent 2 , to 1 The meaning of mahapadesa is not quite clear. Perhaps it should be rendered true authorities. I have followed Buddha- ghosa in taking apadesa as the last part of the compound. He says, mahdpadesd ti mahi-okise mahd-apadese vL Bud- dh&dayo mahante mahante apadisitva* vutt&ni mah&- k&ra«£ni ti attho, 'the causes (authorities) alleged when referring to Buddha and other great men/ 2 I ought perhaps to have explained why I have ventured to differ from Childers in the rendering of the common word pa/i- suwati.
3mahd-apadese vL Bud- dh&dayo mahante mahante apadisitva* vutt&ni mah&- k&ra«£ni ti attho, 'the causes (authorities) alleged when referring to Buddha and other great men/ 2 I ought perhaps to have explained why I have ventured to differ from Childers in the rendering of the common word pa/i- suwati. The root sru seems to have meant 'to sound' before it meant 'to hear;' and, whether this be so or not, pa/i-su*&ti means not simply 'to consent/ but 'to answer (assentingly).' It IV. mahA-parinibbAna-sutta. 67 the Blessed One, and the Blessed One spoke as follows : 8. 'In the first place, brethren, a brother may say thus : " From the mouth of the Blessed One himself have I heard, from his own mouth have I received it. This is the truth, this the law, this the teaching of the Master." The word spoken, bre- thren, by that brother should neither be received with praise nor treated with scorn. Without praise and without scorn every word and syllable should be carefully understood, and then put beside the scripture and compared with the rules of the order 1 . If when so compared they do not har- monise with the scripture, and do not fit in with the rules of the order, then you may come to the con- clusion, " Verily, this is not the word of the Blessed One, and has been wrongly grasped by that brother?" Therefore, brethren, you should reject it. But if they harmonise with the scripture and fit in with the rules of the order, then you may come to the conclusion, " Verily, this is the word of the Blessed One, and has been well grasped by that brother." This, brethren, you should receive as the first Great Reference. 9. * Again, brethren, a brother may say thus : "In such and such a dwelling-place there is a com- pany of the brethren with their elders and leaders. From the mouth of that company have I heard, has been pointed out to me that answer was formerly 'and- swerian/ where swerian is probably not unrelated to the root svar, * to sound/ 1 Sutte otaretabbani vinaye sandassetabba'ni, where one would expect to find the word Pi/aka if it had been in use when this passage was first written or composed. F 2 68 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. face to face have I received it. This is the truth, this the law, this the teaching of the Master." The word spoken, brethren, by that brother should neither be received with praise nor treated with scorn. Without praise and without scorn every word and syllable should be carefully understood, and then put beside the scripture and compared with the rules of the order. If when so compared they do not harmonise with the scripture, and do not fit in with the rules of the order, then you may come to the conclusion, "Verily, this is not the word of the Blessed One, and has been wrongly grasped by that company of the brethren." There- fore, brethren, you should reject it.
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.
1as 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. Thought. 3. Contemplation. , 4. Investiga- tion (of scripture). 5. Joy. 6. Repose. 7. Serenity. The Noble Eightfold Path (ariyo a/Man giko Maggo) forms the subject of the Dhamma-^akka-ppavattana-sutta, translated in this volume, and consists of — 1. Right views. 2. High aims. 3. Right speech. 4. Upright conduct. 5. A harmless livelihood. 6. Perseverance in well-doing. 7. Intellectual activity. 8. Earnest thought. 6 4 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. Chapter IV. 1. Now the Blessed One early in the morning robed himself, and taking his bowl, entered VesAli for alms : and when he had passed through Vesili, and had eaten his meal and was returning from his alms-seeking he gazed at Ves&li with an elephant look 1 and addressed the venerable Ananda, and said : ' This will be the last time, Ananda, that the Tathigata will behold Ves&li. Come, Ananda, let us go on to Bha/^a-gima.' ' Even so, Lord!' said the venerable Ananda, in assent, to the Blessed One. And the Blessed One proceeded with a great company of the brethren to Bha«^a-gima ; and there the Blessed One stayed in the village itself. 2. There the Blessed One addressed the bre- thren, and said : ' It is through not understanding and grasping four truths 2 , O brethren, that we have had to run so long, to wander so long in this weary path of transmigration — both you and 1/ ' And what are these four ? The noble conduct of life, the noble earnestness in meditation, the noble kind of wisdom, and the noble salvation of freedom. But when noble conduct is realised and known, when noble meditation is realised and known, when noble wisdom is realised and known, when noble 1 Nigapalokitaw Ves^liyaw apaloketva\ The Buddhas were accustomed, says Buddhaghosa, on looking backwards to turn the whole body round as an elephant does ; because the bones in their neck were firmly fixed, more so than those of ordinary men ! 2 Or Conditions (Dhammd). They must, of course, be care- fully distinguished from the better known Four Noble Truths (Sa^dni) above, Chap. II, § 2. i IV. mahA-parinibbAna-sutta. 65 freedom is realised and known — then is the craving for existence rooted out, that which leads to re- newed existence is destroyed, and there is no more birth/ 3. Thus spake the Blessed One ; and when the Happy One had thus spoken, then again the teacher said 1 : ' Righteousness, earnest thought, wisdom, and freedom sublime — These are the truths realised by Gotama, far- renowned. Knowing. them, he, the knower, proclaimed the truth to the brethren. The master with eye divine, the quencher of griefs, must die!' 4.
2spoken, then again the teacher said 1 : ' Righteousness, earnest thought, wisdom, and freedom sublime — These are the truths realised by Gotama, far- renowned. Knowing. them, he, the knower, proclaimed the truth to the brethren. The master with eye divine, the quencher of griefs, must die!' 4. There too, while staying at Bha#a?a-gfima, the Blessed One held that comprehensive religious dis- course with the brethren on the nature of upright conduct, and of earnest contemplation, and of intel- ligence. ' 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. 1 This is merely a stock phrase for introducing verses which repeat the idea of the preceding phrase (see above, paragraph 32). It is an instructive sign of the state of mind in which such records are put together, that these verses could be ascribed to Gotama himself without any feeling of the incongruity involved. The last word means, completely gone out; and here refers to the ex- tinction of kilesa and ta»h£, which will bring about, inevitably, the extinction of being. Compare the passage quoted by Burnouf in Lotus de la Bonne Loi, p. 376. Probably the whole stanza formerly stood in some other connection, where the word parinibbuto had its more usual sense. See Buddhaghosa's note on IV, 23. [11] F I 66 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. 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/ 5. Now when the Blessed One had remained at Bha#a?a-gama as long as he desired, he addressed the venerable Ananda, and said : ' Come, Ananda, let us go on to Hatthi-gama/ ' Even so, Lord ! ' said Ananda, in assent, to the Blessed One. Then the Blessed One proceeded with a great company of the brethren to Hatthi-gfima. 6. [And in similar words it is then related how the Blessed One went on to Amba-gima, to Gambu- gima, and to Bhoga-nagara.] 7. Now there at Bhoga-nagara the Blessed One stayed at the Ananda Aetiya. There the Blessed One addressed the brethren, and said : ' 1 will teach you, O brethren, these four Great References \ Listen thereto, and give good heed, and I will speak.' ' Even so, Lord ! ' said the brethren, in assent 2 , to 1 The meaning of mahapadesa is not quite clear. Perhaps it should be rendered true authorities. I have followed Buddha- ghosa in taking apadesa as the last part of the compound. He says, mahdpadesd ti mahi-okise mahd-apadese vL Bud- dh&dayo mahante mahante apadisitva* vutt&ni mah&- k&ra«£ni ti attho, 'the causes (authorities) alleged when referring to Buddha and other great men/ 2 I ought perhaps to have explained why I have ventured to differ from Childers in the rendering of the common word pa/i- suwati.
3mahd-apadese vL Bud- dh&dayo mahante mahante apadisitva* vutt&ni mah&- k&ra«£ni ti attho, 'the causes (authorities) alleged when referring to Buddha and other great men/ 2 I ought perhaps to have explained why I have ventured to differ from Childers in the rendering of the common word pa/i- suwati. The root sru seems to have meant 'to sound' before it meant 'to hear;' and, whether this be so or not, pa/i-su*&ti means not simply 'to consent/ but 'to answer (assentingly).' It IV. mahA-parinibbAna-sutta. 67 the Blessed One, and the Blessed One spoke as follows : 8. 'In the first place, brethren, a brother may say thus : " From the mouth of the Blessed One himself have I heard, from his own mouth have I received it. This is the truth, this the law, this the teaching of the Master." The word spoken, bre- thren, by that brother should neither be received with praise nor treated with scorn. Without praise and without scorn every word and syllable should be carefully understood, and then put beside the scripture and compared with the rules of the order 1 . If when so compared they do not har- monise with the scripture, and do not fit in with the rules of the order, then you may come to the con- clusion, " Verily, this is not the word of the Blessed One, and has been wrongly grasped by that brother?" Therefore, brethren, you should reject it. But if they harmonise with the scripture and fit in with the rules of the order, then you may come to the conclusion, " Verily, this is the word of the Blessed One, and has been well grasped by that brother." This, brethren, you should receive as the first Great Reference. 9. * Again, brethren, a brother may say thus : "In such and such a dwelling-place there is a com- pany of the brethren with their elders and leaders. From the mouth of that company have I heard, has been pointed out to me that answer was formerly 'and- swerian/ where swerian is probably not unrelated to the root svar, * to sound/ 1 Sutte otaretabbani vinaye sandassetabba'ni, where one would expect to find the word Pi/aka if it had been in use when this passage was first written or composed. F 2 68 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. face to face have I received it. This is the truth, this the law, this the teaching of the Master." The word spoken, brethren, by that brother should neither be received with praise nor treated with scorn. Without praise and without scorn every word and syllable should be carefully understood, and then put beside the scripture and compared with the rules of the order. If when so compared they do not harmonise with the scripture, and do not fit in with the rules of the order, then you may come to the conclusion, "Verily, this is not the word of the Blessed One, and has been wrongly grasped by that company of the brethren." There- fore, brethren, you should reject it.
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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