Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Tulye pravese I take to be a so-called absolute locative case. As to the plural ‘ we,’ it refers to Sariputra. TI. A PARABLE. 61 was our own fault, not the Lord’s. For had we regarded the Lord at the time of his giving the allsurpassing demonstration of the law, that is, the exposition of supreme, perfect enlightenment, then, O Lord, we should have become adepts in those laws. But because, without understanding’ the mystery of the Lord, we, at the moment of the Bodhisattvas not being assembled, heard only in a hurry, caught, meditated, minded, took to heart the first lessons pronounced on the law, therefore, O Lord, I used to pass day and night in selfreproach. (But) to-day, O Lord, I have reached complete extinction; to-day, O Lord, I have become calm; to-day, O Lord, I am wholly come to rest; to-day, O Lord, I have reached Arhatship; to-day, O Lord, I am the Lord’s eldest son, born from his law, sprung into existence by the law, made by the law, inheriting from the law, accomplished by the law. My burning has left me, O Lord, now that I have heard this wonderful law, which I had not learnt before, announced by the voice from the mouth of the Lord. And on that occasion the venerable S4riputra addressed the Lord in the following stanzas: 1. I am astonished, great Leader, I am charmed to hear this voice; I feel no doubt any more; now am I fully ripe for the superior vehicle. 2. Wonderful is the voice? of the Sugatas; it dispels the doubt and pain of living beings; my pain also is all gone now that I, freed from imperfections, have heard that voice (or, call). 3. When I was taking my daily recreation or was 1 Rather, call. 62 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. ITI. walking in woody thickets, when betaking myself to the roots of trees or to mountain caves, I indulged in no other thought but this: 4. ‘O how am I deluded by vain thoughts! whereas the faultless laws are, nominally, equal, shall I in future not preach the superior law in the world ? 5. ‘The thirty-two characteristic signs have failed me, and the gold colour of the skin has vanished ; all the (ten) powers and emancipations have likewise been lost. O how have I gone astray at the equal laws! 6. ‘The secondary signs also of the great Seers, the eighty excellent specific signs, and the eighteen uncommon properties have failed me. O how am I deluded!’ 7. And when I had perceived thee, so benign and merciful to the world, and was lonely walking to take _ my daily recreation, I thought: ‘I am excluded from that inconceivable, unbounded knowledge!’ 8. Days and nights, O Lord, I passed always thinking of the same subject; I would ask the Lord whether I had lost my rank or not. g. In such reflections, O Chief of Ginas, I constantly passed my days and nights; and on seeing many other Bodhisattvas praised by the Leader of the world,
2Days and nights, O Lord, I passed always thinking of the same subject; I would ask the Lord whether I had lost my rank or not. g. In such reflections, O Chief of Ginas, I constantly passed my days and nights; and on seeing many other Bodhisattvas praised by the Leader of the world, 10. And on hearing this Buddha-law, I thought: ‘To be sure, this is expounded mysteriously’; it is an inscrutable, subtle, and faultless science, which is announced by the Ginas on the terrace of enlightenment.’ 1 Sandh4ya; the Chinese translation by Kumar4-giva, according to Stan. Julien’s version, has ‘suivant la convenance.’ II. A PARABLE. 63 11. Formerly I was attached to (heretical) theories, being a wandering monk and in high honour (or, of the same opinions) with the heretics!; afterwards has the Lord, regarding my disposition, taught me Nirvaza, to detach me from perverted views. 12. After having completely freed myself from all (heretical) views and reached the laws of void, (I conceive) that I have become extinct; yet this is not deemed to be extinction. 13. But when one becomes Buddha, a superior being, honoured by men, gods, goblins, Titans, and adorned with the thirty-two characteristic signs, then one will be completely extinct. 14. All those (former) cares* have now been dispelled, since I have heard the voice. Now am I extinct, as thou announcest my destination (to Nirana) before the world including the gods. 15. When I first heard the voice of the Lord, I had a great terror lest it might be Mara, the evil one, who on this occasion had adopted the disguise of Buddha. 16. But when the unsurpassed Buddha-wisdom had been displayed in and established with argu- 1 Parivragakas Tirthikasammatas fa. The term parivragaka or parivr4g is occasionally applied to Buddhist monks, but here it would seem that the Brahmanistic monks are meant, the brahmasamsthas of Sankara in his commentary on Brahma- Stra III, 4,20. They are to be distinguished from the Tirthika’s. 2 Or, thoughts; one MS. has vyapanita sarv4ni ’mi (read °ni ’mi) manyit4ni; another reads, vy. sarvAni 'mi makéitAni. Manyita is a participle derived from the present tense of manyate, to mean, to mind, in the manner of gahita from gahati. Makéitani is hardly correct; it is, however, just possible that it is intended to stand for ma&-Aittani. 64 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. Til. ments, reasons, and illustrations, by myriads of ko/is, then I lost all doubt about the law I heard. 17. And when thou hadst mentioned to me! the thousands of ko/is of Buddhas, the past Ginas who have come to final rest, and how they preached this law by firmly establishing it through skilfulness ; 18. How the many future Buddhas and those who are now existing, as knowers of the real truth, shall expound or are expounding this law by hundreds of able devices ;
3How the many future Buddhas and those who are now existing, as knowers of the real truth, shall expound or are expounding this law by hundreds of able devices ; 19. And when thou wert mentioning thine own course after leaving home, how the idea of the wheel of the law presented itself to thy mind and how thou decidedst upon preaching the law ; 20. Then I was convinced: This is not M4ra; it is the Lord of the world, who has shown the true course; no M4ras can here abide. So then my mind (for a moment) was overcome with perplexity ; 21. But when the sweet, deep, and lovely voice of Buddha gladdened me, all doubts were scattered, my perplexity vanished, and I stood firm in knowledge. 22. I shall become a Tathagata, undoubtedly, worshipped in the world including the gods; I shall manifest Buddha-wisdom, mysteriously? rousing many Bodhisattvas. After this speech of the venerable S4riputra, the Lord said to him: I declare to thee, S4riputra, I announce to thee, in presence of this world including the gods, Maras, and Brahmas, in presence of this 1 ‘Yada 4a me Buddhasahasrako/yad, kirteshy (var. lect. kirtishy) atitan parinirvritim Ginin. Kirteshi is Sanskrit adikirtas. * Sandh4aya. Burnouf’s rendering ‘aux créatures’ points to satvaya, which is nothing but a misread sandhaya. Cf. stanza 37, below. III. A PARABLE. 65 people, including ascetics and Brahmans, that thou, S4riputra, hast been by me made ripe for supreme, perfect enlightenment, in presence of twenty hundred thousand myriads of ko/is of Buddhas, and that thou, Sariputra, hast for a long time followed my commandments. Thou, S4riputra, art, by the counsel of the Bodhisattva, by the decree of the Bodhisattva, reborn here under my rule. Owing to the mighty will of the Bodhisattva thou, S4riputra, hast no recollection of thy former vow to observe the (religious) course; of the counsel of the Bodhisattva, the decree of the Bodhisattva. Thou thinkest that thou hast reached final rest. I, wishing to revive and renew in thee the knowledge of thy former vow to observe the (religious) course, will reveal to the disciples the Dharmapary4ya called ‘the Lotus of the True Law,’ this SftrAnta, &c. Again, S4riputra, at a future period, after innumerable, inconceivable, immeasurable A£ons, when thou shalt have learnt the true law of hundred thousand myriads of ko¢is of Tathdgatas, showed devotion in various ways, and achieved the present Bodhisattva-course, thou shalt become in the world a Tathagata, &c., named Padmaprabha', endowed with science and conduct, a Sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed tamer of men, a master of gods and men?, a Lord Buddha. 1 Padma, Nelumbium Speciosum, having a rosy hue, we must infer that Sariputra will be reborn at twilight.
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.
1Tulye pravese I take to be a so-called absolute locative case. As to the plural ‘ we,’ it refers to Sariputra. TI. A PARABLE. 61 was our own fault, not the Lord’s. For had we regarded the Lord at the time of his giving the allsurpassing demonstration of the law, that is, the exposition of supreme, perfect enlightenment, then, O Lord, we should have become adepts in those laws. But because, without understanding’ the mystery of the Lord, we, at the moment of the Bodhisattvas not being assembled, heard only in a hurry, caught, meditated, minded, took to heart the first lessons pronounced on the law, therefore, O Lord, I used to pass day and night in selfreproach. (But) to-day, O Lord, I have reached complete extinction; to-day, O Lord, I have become calm; to-day, O Lord, I am wholly come to rest; to-day, O Lord, I have reached Arhatship; to-day, O Lord, I am the Lord’s eldest son, born from his law, sprung into existence by the law, made by the law, inheriting from the law, accomplished by the law. My burning has left me, O Lord, now that I have heard this wonderful law, which I had not learnt before, announced by the voice from the mouth of the Lord. And on that occasion the venerable S4riputra addressed the Lord in the following stanzas: 1. I am astonished, great Leader, I am charmed to hear this voice; I feel no doubt any more; now am I fully ripe for the superior vehicle. 2. Wonderful is the voice? of the Sugatas; it dispels the doubt and pain of living beings; my pain also is all gone now that I, freed from imperfections, have heard that voice (or, call). 3. When I was taking my daily recreation or was 1 Rather, call. 62 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. ITI. walking in woody thickets, when betaking myself to the roots of trees or to mountain caves, I indulged in no other thought but this: 4. ‘O how am I deluded by vain thoughts! whereas the faultless laws are, nominally, equal, shall I in future not preach the superior law in the world ? 5. ‘The thirty-two characteristic signs have failed me, and the gold colour of the skin has vanished ; all the (ten) powers and emancipations have likewise been lost. O how have I gone astray at the equal laws! 6. ‘The secondary signs also of the great Seers, the eighty excellent specific signs, and the eighteen uncommon properties have failed me. O how am I deluded!’ 7. And when I had perceived thee, so benign and merciful to the world, and was lonely walking to take _ my daily recreation, I thought: ‘I am excluded from that inconceivable, unbounded knowledge!’ 8. Days and nights, O Lord, I passed always thinking of the same subject; I would ask the Lord whether I had lost my rank or not. g. In such reflections, O Chief of Ginas, I constantly passed my days and nights; and on seeing many other Bodhisattvas praised by the Leader of the world,
2Days and nights, O Lord, I passed always thinking of the same subject; I would ask the Lord whether I had lost my rank or not. g. In such reflections, O Chief of Ginas, I constantly passed my days and nights; and on seeing many other Bodhisattvas praised by the Leader of the world, 10. And on hearing this Buddha-law, I thought: ‘To be sure, this is expounded mysteriously’; it is an inscrutable, subtle, and faultless science, which is announced by the Ginas on the terrace of enlightenment.’ 1 Sandh4ya; the Chinese translation by Kumar4-giva, according to Stan. Julien’s version, has ‘suivant la convenance.’ II. A PARABLE. 63 11. Formerly I was attached to (heretical) theories, being a wandering monk and in high honour (or, of the same opinions) with the heretics!; afterwards has the Lord, regarding my disposition, taught me Nirvaza, to detach me from perverted views. 12. After having completely freed myself from all (heretical) views and reached the laws of void, (I conceive) that I have become extinct; yet this is not deemed to be extinction. 13. But when one becomes Buddha, a superior being, honoured by men, gods, goblins, Titans, and adorned with the thirty-two characteristic signs, then one will be completely extinct. 14. All those (former) cares* have now been dispelled, since I have heard the voice. Now am I extinct, as thou announcest my destination (to Nirana) before the world including the gods. 15. When I first heard the voice of the Lord, I had a great terror lest it might be Mara, the evil one, who on this occasion had adopted the disguise of Buddha. 16. But when the unsurpassed Buddha-wisdom had been displayed in and established with argu- 1 Parivragakas Tirthikasammatas fa. The term parivragaka or parivr4g is occasionally applied to Buddhist monks, but here it would seem that the Brahmanistic monks are meant, the brahmasamsthas of Sankara in his commentary on Brahma- Stra III, 4,20. They are to be distinguished from the Tirthika’s. 2 Or, thoughts; one MS. has vyapanita sarv4ni ’mi (read °ni ’mi) manyit4ni; another reads, vy. sarvAni 'mi makéitAni. Manyita is a participle derived from the present tense of manyate, to mean, to mind, in the manner of gahita from gahati. Makéitani is hardly correct; it is, however, just possible that it is intended to stand for ma&-Aittani. 64 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. Til. ments, reasons, and illustrations, by myriads of ko/is, then I lost all doubt about the law I heard. 17. And when thou hadst mentioned to me! the thousands of ko/is of Buddhas, the past Ginas who have come to final rest, and how they preached this law by firmly establishing it through skilfulness ; 18. How the many future Buddhas and those who are now existing, as knowers of the real truth, shall expound or are expounding this law by hundreds of able devices ;
3How the many future Buddhas and those who are now existing, as knowers of the real truth, shall expound or are expounding this law by hundreds of able devices ; 19. And when thou wert mentioning thine own course after leaving home, how the idea of the wheel of the law presented itself to thy mind and how thou decidedst upon preaching the law ; 20. Then I was convinced: This is not M4ra; it is the Lord of the world, who has shown the true course; no M4ras can here abide. So then my mind (for a moment) was overcome with perplexity ; 21. But when the sweet, deep, and lovely voice of Buddha gladdened me, all doubts were scattered, my perplexity vanished, and I stood firm in knowledge. 22. I shall become a Tathagata, undoubtedly, worshipped in the world including the gods; I shall manifest Buddha-wisdom, mysteriously? rousing many Bodhisattvas. After this speech of the venerable S4riputra, the Lord said to him: I declare to thee, S4riputra, I announce to thee, in presence of this world including the gods, Maras, and Brahmas, in presence of this 1 ‘Yada 4a me Buddhasahasrako/yad, kirteshy (var. lect. kirtishy) atitan parinirvritim Ginin. Kirteshi is Sanskrit adikirtas. * Sandh4aya. Burnouf’s rendering ‘aux créatures’ points to satvaya, which is nothing but a misread sandhaya. Cf. stanza 37, below. III. A PARABLE. 65 people, including ascetics and Brahmans, that thou, S4riputra, hast been by me made ripe for supreme, perfect enlightenment, in presence of twenty hundred thousand myriads of ko/is of Buddhas, and that thou, Sariputra, hast for a long time followed my commandments. Thou, S4riputra, art, by the counsel of the Bodhisattva, by the decree of the Bodhisattva, reborn here under my rule. Owing to the mighty will of the Bodhisattva thou, S4riputra, hast no recollection of thy former vow to observe the (religious) course; of the counsel of the Bodhisattva, the decree of the Bodhisattva. Thou thinkest that thou hast reached final rest. I, wishing to revive and renew in thee the knowledge of thy former vow to observe the (religious) course, will reveal to the disciples the Dharmapary4ya called ‘the Lotus of the True Law,’ this SftrAnta, &c. Again, S4riputra, at a future period, after innumerable, inconceivable, immeasurable A£ons, when thou shalt have learnt the true law of hundred thousand myriads of ko¢is of Tathdgatas, showed devotion in various ways, and achieved the present Bodhisattva-course, thou shalt become in the world a Tathagata, &c., named Padmaprabha', endowed with science and conduct, a Sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed tamer of men, a master of gods and men?, a Lord Buddha. 1 Padma, Nelumbium Speciosum, having a rosy hue, we must infer that Sariputra will be reborn at twilight.
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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