Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1of the Blessed One, by the south and outside, to a spot on the south, and outside of the city, — paying it honour, and reverence, and respect, and homage, with dance and song and music, with garlands and perfumes, — and there, to the south of the city, let us perform the cremation ceremony ! ' 29. And thereupon eight chieftains among the Mallas bathed their heads, and clad themselves in new garments with the intention of bearing the body of the Blessed One. But, behold, they could not lift it up! 30. Then the Mallas of Kusiniri said to the venerable Anuruddha : ' What, Lord, can be the reason, what can be the cause that eight chieftains of the Mallas who have bathed their heads, and clad themselves in new garments with the intention is beautiful, would be wreaths of flowers, or single lotuses, hanging from the roof, or stretched along the sides. 124 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. of bearing the body of the Blessed One, are unable to lift it up?' ' It is because you, O V£se#^as, have one pur- pose, and the spirits have another purpose/ 31. ' But what, Lord, is the purpose of the spirits?' ' Your purpose, O Vfise/Afcas, is this, Let us carry the body of the Blessed One, by the south and out- side, to a spot on the south, and outside of the city, — paying it honour, and reverence, and respect, and homage, with dance and song and music, with gar- lands and perfumes, — and there, to the south of the city, let us perform the cremation ceremony. But the purpose of the spirits, Vise^as, is this, Let us carry the body of the Blessed One by the north to the north of the city, and entering the city by the north gate, let us bring it through the midst of the city into the midst thereof. And going out again by the eastern gate, — paying honour, and reverence, and respect, and homage to the body of the Blessed One, with heavenly dance, and song, and music, and garlands, and perfumes, — let us carry it to the shrine of the Mallas called Maku/a-bandhana, to the east of the city, and there let us perform the crema- tion ceremony/ ' Even according to the purpose of the spirits, so, Lord, let it be!' 32. Then immediately all Kusiniri down even to the dust bins and rubbish heaps became strewn knee-deep with Mand&rava flowers from heaven ! and while both the spirits from the skies, and the Mallas of Kusin&r& upon earth, paid honour, and reverence, and respect, and homage to the body of the Blessed One, with dance and song and music, with garlands and with perfumes, they carried the VI. mahA-parinibbAna-sutta. 125 body by the north to the north of the city ; and entering the city by the north gate they carried it through the midst of the city into the midst thereof; and going out again by the eastern gate they carried it to the shrine of the Mallas, called Maku/a-bandhana ; and there, to the east of the city, they laid down the body of the Blessed One \ 33.
2ering the city by the north gate they carried it through the midst of the city into the midst thereof; and going out again by the eastern gate they carried it to the shrine of the Mallas, called Maku/a-bandhana ; and there, to the east of the city, they laid down the body of the Blessed One \ 33. 2 Then the Mallas of Kusin&ri said to the venerable Ananda : c What should be done, Lord, with the remains of the Tathigata ? ' 'As men treat the remains of a king of kings, so, Vise/Mas, should they treat the remains of a Tathfigata.' ' And how, Lord, do they treat the remains of a king of kings ? ' ' They wrap the body of a king of kings, Vise//^as, in a new cloth. When that is done they wrap it in cotton wool. When that is done they wrap it in a new cloth, — and so on till they have wrapped the body in five hundred successive layers of both kinds. Then they place the body in an oil vessel of iron, and cover that close up with another oil vessel of iron. They then build a funeral pile of all kinds of perfumes, and burn the body of the king of kings. And then at the four cross roads they erect a d&gaba to the king of kings. This, V£se//^as, is the way in which they treat the remains of a king of kings. ' And as they treat the remains of a king of kings, so, Vcise/Mas, should they treat the remains of the 1 The point of this interesting legend is that the inhabitants of an Indian village of that time would have considered it a desecra- tion or pollution to bring a dead body into or through their village. 2 Compare Chap. V, §§ 25-30. i 126 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. Tathigata. At the four cross roads a digaba should be erected to the Tathigata. And whosoever shall there place garlands or perfumes or paint, or make salutation there, or become in its presence calm in heart — that shall long be to them for a profit and a joy.' 34. Therefore the Mallas gave orders to their attendants, saying, ' Gather together all the carded cotton wool of the Mallas ! ' 35. Then the Mallas of Kusiniri wrapped the body of the Blessed One in a new cloth. And when that was done, they wrapped it in cotton wool. And when that was done, they wrapped it in a new cloth, — and so on till they had wrapped the body of the Blessed One in five hundred layers of both kinds. And then they placed the body in an oil vessel of iron, and covered that close up with another oil vessel of iron. And then they built a funeral pile of all kinds of perfumes, and upon it they placed the body of the Blessed One. 36. Now at that time the venerable Mah& Kas- sapa was journeying along the high road from Pkvk to KusinirS. with a great company of the brethren, with about five hundred of the brethren. And the venerable Mahd Kassapa left the high road, and sat himself down at the foot of a certain tree. 37. Just at that time a certain naked ascetic who had picked up a Mand&rava flower in Kusin^rd was coming along the high road to Pdvd. 38.
3f the brethren, with about five hundred of the brethren. And the venerable Mahd Kassapa left the high road, and sat himself down at the foot of a certain tree. 37. Just at that time a certain naked ascetic who had picked up a Mand&rava flower in Kusin^rd was coming along the high road to Pdvd. 38. And the venerable Mah£ Kassapa saw the naked ascetic coming in the distance ; and when he had seen him he said to the naked ascetic : ' O friend ! surely thou knowest our Master ? ' VI. mahA-parinibbana-sutta. 127 4 Yea, friend ! I know him. This day the Samara Gotama has been dead a week ! That is how I obtained this MandcLrava flower/ 39. And immediately of those of the brethren who were not yet free from the passions, some stretched out their arms and wept, and some fell headlong on the ground, and some reeled to and fro in anguish at the thought : ' Too soon has the Blessed One died ! Too soon has the Happy One passed away from existence ! Too soon has the Light gone out in the world ! ' But those of the brethren who were free from the passions (the Arahats) bore their grief collected and composed at the thought : ' Impermanent are all component things ! How is it possible that they should not be dissolved ? ' 40. Now at that time a brother named Subhadda, who had been received into the order in his old age, was seated there in their company l . And Subhadda the old addressed the brethren, and said : ' Enough, brethren ! Weep not, neither lament ! We are well rid of the great Samara. We used to be annoyed by being told, " This beseems you, this beseems you not." But now we shall be able to do whatever we like ; and what we do not like, that we shall not have to do ! ' 1 At p. xxvi of the Introduction to his edition of the Maha* Vagga, Dr. Oldenberg identifies this Subhadda with Subhadda the last convert, mentioned above in Chap. V, §§ 52-68. They are different persons ; the last convert being represented as a young man of high character, incapable of the conduct here ascribed to this Subhadda. The last convert was a Brahman, traditionally supposed to be younger brother to Anns. Konda##a, the first convert ; this Subhadda had been a barber in the village Atuma. 128 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. 41. But the venerable Mahi Kassapa addressed the brethren, and said : ' Enough, my brethren ! Weep not, neither lament! Has not the Blessed One formerly declared this to us, that it is in the very nature of all things, near and dear unto us, that we must divide ourselves from them, leave them, sever ourselves from them ? How then, brethren, can this be possible — that whereas any- thing whatever born, brought into being, and or- ganised contains within itself the inherent necessity of dissolution — how then can this be possible that such a being should not be dissolved ? No such condition can exist ! ' 42.
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.
1of the Blessed One, by the south and outside, to a spot on the south, and outside of the city, — paying it honour, and reverence, and respect, and homage, with dance and song and music, with garlands and perfumes, — and there, to the south of the city, let us perform the cremation ceremony ! ' 29. And thereupon eight chieftains among the Mallas bathed their heads, and clad themselves in new garments with the intention of bearing the body of the Blessed One. But, behold, they could not lift it up! 30. Then the Mallas of Kusiniri said to the venerable Anuruddha : ' What, Lord, can be the reason, what can be the cause that eight chieftains of the Mallas who have bathed their heads, and clad themselves in new garments with the intention is beautiful, would be wreaths of flowers, or single lotuses, hanging from the roof, or stretched along the sides. 124 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. of bearing the body of the Blessed One, are unable to lift it up?' ' It is because you, O V£se#^as, have one pur- pose, and the spirits have another purpose/ 31. ' But what, Lord, is the purpose of the spirits?' ' Your purpose, O Vfise/Afcas, is this, Let us carry the body of the Blessed One, by the south and out- side, to a spot on the south, and outside of the city, — paying it honour, and reverence, and respect, and homage, with dance and song and music, with gar- lands and perfumes, — and there, to the south of the city, let us perform the cremation ceremony. But the purpose of the spirits, Vise^as, is this, Let us carry the body of the Blessed One by the north to the north of the city, and entering the city by the north gate, let us bring it through the midst of the city into the midst thereof. And going out again by the eastern gate, — paying honour, and reverence, and respect, and homage to the body of the Blessed One, with heavenly dance, and song, and music, and garlands, and perfumes, — let us carry it to the shrine of the Mallas called Maku/a-bandhana, to the east of the city, and there let us perform the crema- tion ceremony/ ' Even according to the purpose of the spirits, so, Lord, let it be!' 32. Then immediately all Kusiniri down even to the dust bins and rubbish heaps became strewn knee-deep with Mand&rava flowers from heaven ! and while both the spirits from the skies, and the Mallas of Kusin&r& upon earth, paid honour, and reverence, and respect, and homage to the body of the Blessed One, with dance and song and music, with garlands and with perfumes, they carried the VI. mahA-parinibbAna-sutta. 125 body by the north to the north of the city ; and entering the city by the north gate they carried it through the midst of the city into the midst thereof; and going out again by the eastern gate they carried it to the shrine of the Mallas, called Maku/a-bandhana ; and there, to the east of the city, they laid down the body of the Blessed One \ 33.
2ering the city by the north gate they carried it through the midst of the city into the midst thereof; and going out again by the eastern gate they carried it to the shrine of the Mallas, called Maku/a-bandhana ; and there, to the east of the city, they laid down the body of the Blessed One \ 33. 2 Then the Mallas of Kusin&ri said to the venerable Ananda : c What should be done, Lord, with the remains of the Tathigata ? ' 'As men treat the remains of a king of kings, so, Vise/Mas, should they treat the remains of a Tathfigata.' ' And how, Lord, do they treat the remains of a king of kings ? ' ' They wrap the body of a king of kings, Vise//^as, in a new cloth. When that is done they wrap it in cotton wool. When that is done they wrap it in a new cloth, — and so on till they have wrapped the body in five hundred successive layers of both kinds. Then they place the body in an oil vessel of iron, and cover that close up with another oil vessel of iron. They then build a funeral pile of all kinds of perfumes, and burn the body of the king of kings. And then at the four cross roads they erect a d&gaba to the king of kings. This, V£se//^as, is the way in which they treat the remains of a king of kings. ' And as they treat the remains of a king of kings, so, Vcise/Mas, should they treat the remains of the 1 The point of this interesting legend is that the inhabitants of an Indian village of that time would have considered it a desecra- tion or pollution to bring a dead body into or through their village. 2 Compare Chap. V, §§ 25-30. i 126 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. Tathigata. At the four cross roads a digaba should be erected to the Tathigata. And whosoever shall there place garlands or perfumes or paint, or make salutation there, or become in its presence calm in heart — that shall long be to them for a profit and a joy.' 34. Therefore the Mallas gave orders to their attendants, saying, ' Gather together all the carded cotton wool of the Mallas ! ' 35. Then the Mallas of Kusiniri wrapped the body of the Blessed One in a new cloth. And when that was done, they wrapped it in cotton wool. And when that was done, they wrapped it in a new cloth, — and so on till they had wrapped the body of the Blessed One in five hundred layers of both kinds. And then they placed the body in an oil vessel of iron, and covered that close up with another oil vessel of iron. And then they built a funeral pile of all kinds of perfumes, and upon it they placed the body of the Blessed One. 36. Now at that time the venerable Mah& Kas- sapa was journeying along the high road from Pkvk to KusinirS. with a great company of the brethren, with about five hundred of the brethren. And the venerable Mahd Kassapa left the high road, and sat himself down at the foot of a certain tree. 37. Just at that time a certain naked ascetic who had picked up a Mand&rava flower in Kusin^rd was coming along the high road to Pdvd. 38.
3f the brethren, with about five hundred of the brethren. And the venerable Mahd Kassapa left the high road, and sat himself down at the foot of a certain tree. 37. Just at that time a certain naked ascetic who had picked up a Mand&rava flower in Kusin^rd was coming along the high road to Pdvd. 38. And the venerable Mah£ Kassapa saw the naked ascetic coming in the distance ; and when he had seen him he said to the naked ascetic : ' O friend ! surely thou knowest our Master ? ' VI. mahA-parinibbana-sutta. 127 4 Yea, friend ! I know him. This day the Samara Gotama has been dead a week ! That is how I obtained this MandcLrava flower/ 39. And immediately of those of the brethren who were not yet free from the passions, some stretched out their arms and wept, and some fell headlong on the ground, and some reeled to and fro in anguish at the thought : ' Too soon has the Blessed One died ! Too soon has the Happy One passed away from existence ! Too soon has the Light gone out in the world ! ' But those of the brethren who were free from the passions (the Arahats) bore their grief collected and composed at the thought : ' Impermanent are all component things ! How is it possible that they should not be dissolved ? ' 40. Now at that time a brother named Subhadda, who had been received into the order in his old age, was seated there in their company l . And Subhadda the old addressed the brethren, and said : ' Enough, brethren ! Weep not, neither lament ! We are well rid of the great Samara. We used to be annoyed by being told, " This beseems you, this beseems you not." But now we shall be able to do whatever we like ; and what we do not like, that we shall not have to do ! ' 1 At p. xxvi of the Introduction to his edition of the Maha* Vagga, Dr. Oldenberg identifies this Subhadda with Subhadda the last convert, mentioned above in Chap. V, §§ 52-68. They are different persons ; the last convert being represented as a young man of high character, incapable of the conduct here ascribed to this Subhadda. The last convert was a Brahman, traditionally supposed to be younger brother to Anns. Konda##a, the first convert ; this Subhadda had been a barber in the village Atuma. 128 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH. 41. But the venerable Mahi Kassapa addressed the brethren, and said : ' Enough, my brethren ! Weep not, neither lament! Has not the Blessed One formerly declared this to us, that it is in the very nature of all things, near and dear unto us, that we must divide ourselves from them, leave them, sever ourselves from them ? How then, brethren, can this be possible — that whereas any- thing whatever born, brought into being, and or- ganised contains within itself the inherent necessity of dissolution — how then can this be possible that such a being should not be dissolved ? No such condition can exist ! ' 42.
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.
No commentary for this page.