Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1The all-seeing Masters of the world send their looks in all directions of the horizon, and by opening the gate of immortality! they make people reach the (safe) shore *. 49. An inconceivable number of AZons now past were void, and all quarters wrapt in darkness, as the chief Ginas did not appear. 50. The dreary hells, the brute creation and demo nswere on the increase; thousands of ko/¢is of living beings fell into the state of ghosts*. 51. The heavenly bodies were on the wane; after their disappearance they entered upon evil ways; their course became wrong because they did not hear the law of the Buddhas. 52. All creatures lacked dutiful behaviour‘, purity, good state®, and understanding; their happiness was lost, and the consciousness of happiness was gone. 53. They did not observe the rules of morality ; were firmly rooted in the false law®; not being led by the Lord of the world, they were precipitated into a false course. 54. Hail! thou art come at last, O Light of the world! thou, born to be bounteous towards all beings. 1 In the Mahabhfrata III, 156, and Yogayatra I, 1, the sun is called ‘the opened gate of deliverance,’ mokshadvaram apavritam. 2 Atdrenti; the var. lect. avat4renti is out of place and destroys the metre. * Preta, properly ‘ deceased, a deceased one.’ The real meaning of the passage is that men at night fall asleep. ‘ Properly, movement, dary 4. 5 Gati, going, gait; the latter is really meant. * Asaddharme pratish/Aita; the real meaning may be, ‘ firmly established in the condition of non-existence,’ i. e. in sleep. Vii. ANCIENT DEVOTION. 17! 55. Hail! thou hast safely arrived at supreme Buddha-knowledge; we feel thankful before thee, and so does the world, including the gods. 56. By thy power, O mighty Lord, our aerial cars are glittering; to thee we present them, great Hero; deign to accept them, great Solitary. 57. Out of grace to us, O Leader, make use of them, so that we, as well as all (other) beings, may attain supreme enlightenment. After the great Brahma-angels, O monks, had celebrated the Lord Mahdbhig#4g#4n4bhibhd, the Tathagata, &c., face to face, with seasonable stanzas, they besought him: May the Lord move forward the wheel of the law! [&c., as above till both gods and men.] Thereupon, monks, those fifty hundred thousand myriads of kofis of Brahma-angels addressed the Lord, with one voice, in common chorus, with the following two stanzas: 58. Move forward the exalted, unsurpassed wheel! beat the drum of immortality! release all beings from hundreds of evils, and show the path of Nirvaza. 59. Expound the law we pray for; show thy favour to us and this world. Let us hear thy sweet and lovely voice which thou hast exercised during thousands of ko¢is of Eons.
2beat the drum of immortality! release all beings from hundreds of evils, and show the path of Nirvaza. 59. Expound the law we pray for; show thy favour to us and this world. Let us hear thy sweet and lovely voice which thou hast exercised during thousands of ko¢is of Eons. Now, monks, the Lord Mahabhig#ag#anabhibha, the Tathagata, &c., being acquainted with the prayer of the hundred thousand myriads of koéis of Brahmaangels and of the sixteen princes, his sons, commenced at that juncture to turn the wheel that has three turns and twelve parts, the wheel never moved by any ascetic, Brahman, god, demon, nor 172 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. VII. by any one else. (His preaching) consisted in this : This is pain; this is the origin of pain; this is the suppression of pain; this is the treatment leading to suppression of pain. He moreover extensively set forth how the series of causes and effects is evolved, (and said): It is thus, monks. From ignorance proceed conceptions (or fancies); from conceptions (or fancies) proceeds understanding!; from understanding name and form; from name and form the six senses?; from the six senses proceeds contact; from contact sensation ; from sensation proceeds longing ; from longing proceeds striving*; from striving as cause issues existence; from existence birth; from birth old age, death, mourning, lamentation, sorrow, dismay, and despondency. So originates this whole mass of misery. From the suppression of ignorance results the suppression of conceptions; from the suppression of conceptions results that of understanding; from the suppression of understanding results that of name and form; from the suppression of name and form results that of the six senses; from the suppression of the six senses results that of contact; from the suppression of contact results that of sensation; from the suppression of sensation results that of longing; from the suppression of longing results that of striving; from the suppression of striving results that of existence; from the suppression of existence results that of birth ; from the suppression of birth results that of old age, death, mourning, lamentation, sorrow, dismay, and 1 Or, distinctive knowledge, judgment. 2 And, the objects of the six senses. * Up4dana, also taking up, and material. VII. ANCIENT DEVOTION. 173 despondency. In this manner the whole mass of misery is suppressed.
32 And, the objects of the six senses. * Up4dana, also taking up, and material. VII. ANCIENT DEVOTION. 173 despondency. In this manner the whole mass of misery is suppressed. And while this wheel of the law, monks, was being moved onward? by the Lord Mahabhig#4g74nabhibhd, the Tathagata, &c., in presence of the world, including the gods, demons, and Brahma-angels ; of the assemblage, including ascetics and Brahmans; then, at that time, on that occasion, the minds of sixty? hundred thousand myriads of kofis of living beings were without effort freed from imperfections and became all possessed of the triple science, of the sixfold transcendent wisdom, of the emancipations and meditations. In due course, monks, the Lord Mahabhig#ag#4anabhibhd, the Tathagata, &c., again gave a second exposition of the law; likewise a third and a fourth exposition®. And at each exposition, monks, the minds of hundred thousands of myriads of kofis of beings, like the sands of the river Ganges, were without effort freed from imperfections. Afterwards, monks, the congregation of disciples of that Lord was so numerous as to surpass all calculation. Meanwhile, monks, the sixteen princes, the youths, had, full of faith, left home to lead the vagrant life of mendicants, and had all of them become novices, clever, bright, intelligent, pious, followers of the course (of duty) under many hundred thousand Buddhas, and striving after supreme, perfect en- rt. 1 Var. lect. sahapravartti Aedam buddhakshetram tena Bhagavaté, &c., ‘and while this Buddha-field moved on along with the Lord,’ or ‘ while this B. moved on with the Lord.’ * Sixty is the number of gha/ik4s, Indian half-hours, making one day. * Cf. the four vyfihas, appearances, divisions of the Lord Vishu. 174 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. VII. lightenment. These sixteen novices, monks, said to the Lord Mah4bhig#4g#anabhibhd, the Tathagata, &c., the following: O Lord, these many hundred thousand myriads of ko¢is of disciples of the Tathdgata have become very mighty, very powerful, very potent, owing to the Lord’s teaching of the law. Deign, O Lord, to teach us also, for mercy’s sake, the law with a view to supreme, perfect enlightenment, so that we also may follow the teaching of the Tathagata’. We want, O Lord, to see the knowledge of the Tath4gata ; the Lord can himself testify to this, for thou, O Lord, who knowest the disposition of all beings, also knowest ours. Then, monks, on seeing that those princes, the youths, had chosen the vagrant life of mendicants and become novices, the half of the whole retinue of the king Aakravartin, to the number of eighty hundred thousand myriads of kofis of living beings?, chose the vagrant life of mendicants.
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.
1The all-seeing Masters of the world send their looks in all directions of the horizon, and by opening the gate of immortality! they make people reach the (safe) shore *. 49. An inconceivable number of AZons now past were void, and all quarters wrapt in darkness, as the chief Ginas did not appear. 50. The dreary hells, the brute creation and demo nswere on the increase; thousands of ko/¢is of living beings fell into the state of ghosts*. 51. The heavenly bodies were on the wane; after their disappearance they entered upon evil ways; their course became wrong because they did not hear the law of the Buddhas. 52. All creatures lacked dutiful behaviour‘, purity, good state®, and understanding; their happiness was lost, and the consciousness of happiness was gone. 53. They did not observe the rules of morality ; were firmly rooted in the false law®; not being led by the Lord of the world, they were precipitated into a false course. 54. Hail! thou art come at last, O Light of the world! thou, born to be bounteous towards all beings. 1 In the Mahabhfrata III, 156, and Yogayatra I, 1, the sun is called ‘the opened gate of deliverance,’ mokshadvaram apavritam. 2 Atdrenti; the var. lect. avat4renti is out of place and destroys the metre. * Preta, properly ‘ deceased, a deceased one.’ The real meaning of the passage is that men at night fall asleep. ‘ Properly, movement, dary 4. 5 Gati, going, gait; the latter is really meant. * Asaddharme pratish/Aita; the real meaning may be, ‘ firmly established in the condition of non-existence,’ i. e. in sleep. Vii. ANCIENT DEVOTION. 17! 55. Hail! thou hast safely arrived at supreme Buddha-knowledge; we feel thankful before thee, and so does the world, including the gods. 56. By thy power, O mighty Lord, our aerial cars are glittering; to thee we present them, great Hero; deign to accept them, great Solitary. 57. Out of grace to us, O Leader, make use of them, so that we, as well as all (other) beings, may attain supreme enlightenment. After the great Brahma-angels, O monks, had celebrated the Lord Mahdbhig#4g#4n4bhibhd, the Tathagata, &c., face to face, with seasonable stanzas, they besought him: May the Lord move forward the wheel of the law! [&c., as above till both gods and men.] Thereupon, monks, those fifty hundred thousand myriads of kofis of Brahma-angels addressed the Lord, with one voice, in common chorus, with the following two stanzas: 58. Move forward the exalted, unsurpassed wheel! beat the drum of immortality! release all beings from hundreds of evils, and show the path of Nirvaza. 59. Expound the law we pray for; show thy favour to us and this world. Let us hear thy sweet and lovely voice which thou hast exercised during thousands of ko¢is of Eons.
2beat the drum of immortality! release all beings from hundreds of evils, and show the path of Nirvaza. 59. Expound the law we pray for; show thy favour to us and this world. Let us hear thy sweet and lovely voice which thou hast exercised during thousands of ko¢is of Eons. Now, monks, the Lord Mahabhig#ag#anabhibha, the Tathagata, &c., being acquainted with the prayer of the hundred thousand myriads of koéis of Brahmaangels and of the sixteen princes, his sons, commenced at that juncture to turn the wheel that has three turns and twelve parts, the wheel never moved by any ascetic, Brahman, god, demon, nor 172 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. VII. by any one else. (His preaching) consisted in this : This is pain; this is the origin of pain; this is the suppression of pain; this is the treatment leading to suppression of pain. He moreover extensively set forth how the series of causes and effects is evolved, (and said): It is thus, monks. From ignorance proceed conceptions (or fancies); from conceptions (or fancies) proceeds understanding!; from understanding name and form; from name and form the six senses?; from the six senses proceeds contact; from contact sensation ; from sensation proceeds longing ; from longing proceeds striving*; from striving as cause issues existence; from existence birth; from birth old age, death, mourning, lamentation, sorrow, dismay, and despondency. So originates this whole mass of misery. From the suppression of ignorance results the suppression of conceptions; from the suppression of conceptions results that of understanding; from the suppression of understanding results that of name and form; from the suppression of name and form results that of the six senses; from the suppression of the six senses results that of contact; from the suppression of contact results that of sensation; from the suppression of sensation results that of longing; from the suppression of longing results that of striving; from the suppression of striving results that of existence; from the suppression of existence results that of birth ; from the suppression of birth results that of old age, death, mourning, lamentation, sorrow, dismay, and 1 Or, distinctive knowledge, judgment. 2 And, the objects of the six senses. * Up4dana, also taking up, and material. VII. ANCIENT DEVOTION. 173 despondency. In this manner the whole mass of misery is suppressed.
32 And, the objects of the six senses. * Up4dana, also taking up, and material. VII. ANCIENT DEVOTION. 173 despondency. In this manner the whole mass of misery is suppressed. And while this wheel of the law, monks, was being moved onward? by the Lord Mahabhig#4g74nabhibhd, the Tathagata, &c., in presence of the world, including the gods, demons, and Brahma-angels ; of the assemblage, including ascetics and Brahmans; then, at that time, on that occasion, the minds of sixty? hundred thousand myriads of kofis of living beings were without effort freed from imperfections and became all possessed of the triple science, of the sixfold transcendent wisdom, of the emancipations and meditations. In due course, monks, the Lord Mahabhig#ag#4anabhibhd, the Tathagata, &c., again gave a second exposition of the law; likewise a third and a fourth exposition®. And at each exposition, monks, the minds of hundred thousands of myriads of kofis of beings, like the sands of the river Ganges, were without effort freed from imperfections. Afterwards, monks, the congregation of disciples of that Lord was so numerous as to surpass all calculation. Meanwhile, monks, the sixteen princes, the youths, had, full of faith, left home to lead the vagrant life of mendicants, and had all of them become novices, clever, bright, intelligent, pious, followers of the course (of duty) under many hundred thousand Buddhas, and striving after supreme, perfect en- rt. 1 Var. lect. sahapravartti Aedam buddhakshetram tena Bhagavaté, &c., ‘and while this Buddha-field moved on along with the Lord,’ or ‘ while this B. moved on with the Lord.’ * Sixty is the number of gha/ik4s, Indian half-hours, making one day. * Cf. the four vyfihas, appearances, divisions of the Lord Vishu. 174 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. VII. lightenment. These sixteen novices, monks, said to the Lord Mah4bhig#4g#anabhibhd, the Tathagata, &c., the following: O Lord, these many hundred thousand myriads of ko¢is of disciples of the Tathdgata have become very mighty, very powerful, very potent, owing to the Lord’s teaching of the law. Deign, O Lord, to teach us also, for mercy’s sake, the law with a view to supreme, perfect enlightenment, so that we also may follow the teaching of the Tathagata’. We want, O Lord, to see the knowledge of the Tath4gata ; the Lord can himself testify to this, for thou, O Lord, who knowest the disposition of all beings, also knowest ours. Then, monks, on seeing that those princes, the youths, had chosen the vagrant life of mendicants and become novices, the half of the whole retinue of the king Aakravartin, to the number of eighty hundred thousand myriads of kofis of living beings?, chose the vagrant life of mendicants.
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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