Here ends the story of Brahma's request.
I, 6, 4. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 89
1. Now the Blessed One thought : 'To whom shall
I preach the doctrine first ? Who will understand
this doctrine easily ?' And the Blessed One thought:
'There is A/ara Kalama1; he is clever, wise, and
learned ; long since have the eye of his mind been
darkened by scarcely any dust. What if I were to
preach the doctrine first to A/&ra Kaldma? He will
easily understand this doctrine/
2. Then an invisible deity said to the Blessed
One: 'A/ara Kalama has died, Lord, seven days
ago/ And knowledge sprang up in the Blessed
One's mind that A/ara Kal&ma had died seven days
ago. And the Blessed One thought: 'Highly noble
was A/ara Kalama. If he had heard my doctrine,
he would easily have understood it/
3. Then the Blessed One thought: 'To whom
shall I preach the doctrine first? Who will under-
stand this doctrine easily?' And the Blessed One
thought: 'There is Uddaka Ramaputta1; he is
clever, wise, and learned ; long since have the eye of
his mind been darkened by scarcely any dust. What
if I were to preach the doctrine first to Uddaka Rama-
putta? He will easily understand this doctrine/
4. Then an invisible deity said to the Blessed
One: 'Uddaka Ramaputta has died, Lord, yesterday
evening/ And knowledge arose in the Blessed
One's mind that Uddaka Ramaputta had died the
previous evening. And the Blessed One thought:
1 A/ara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta were the two teachers to whom Gotama had attached himself first after his pabba^a. See Fausboll's 6rataka, vol. i. p. 66 ; Rh. D., Buddhism, p. 34.
90 MAHAVAGGA. 1, 6, g.
( Highly noble was Uddaka Ramaputta. If he had
heard my doctrine, he would easily have under-
stood it/
5. Then the Blessed One thought: 'To whom
shall I preach the doctrine first? Who will under-
stand this doctrine easily?' And the Blessed One
thought: 'The five Bhikkhus1 have done many ser-
vices to me2; they attended on me during the time
of my exertions (to attain sanctification by under-
going austerities). What if I were to preach the
doctrine first to the five Bhikkhus?'
6. Now the Blessed One thought: 'Where do the
five Bhikkhus dwell now ?' And the Blessed One
saw by the power of his divine, clear vision, surpass-
ing that of men, that the five Bhikkhus were living
at Benares, in the deer park Isipatana3. And the
Blessed One, after having remained at Uruvela as
long as he thought fit, went forth to Benares.
7. Now Upaka, a man belonging to the A^ivaka
sect (i. e. the sect of naked ascetics), saw the Blessed
One travelling on the road, between Gaya and the
Bodhi tree ; and when he saw him, he said to the
Blessed One: 'Your countenance, friend, is serene;
your complexion is pure and bright. In whose
1 See about the five companions of Buddha's self-mortification, in the time before the sambodhi, the (rataka, vol. i. p. 67 ; Hardy, Manual, p. 165 ; Rh. D., Buddhism, p. 35. The names of the five Bhikkhus were, Kondanna., Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahanama, Assag-i.
2 Perhaps instead of kho 'me (=kho ime) we should read kho me.
3 ' The Mrigadawa, or Deer Park, is represented by a fine wood, which still covers an area of about half a mile, and extends from the great tower of Dhamek on the north, to the Chaukundi mound on the south/ Cunningham, Arch. Reports, I, p. 107.
1,6,10. Admission to the Order of Bhikkhus. 9 1
name, friend, have you retired from the world?
Who is your teacher? Whose doctrine do you
profess?'
8. When Upaka the A^ivaka had spoken thus,
the Blessed One addressed him in the following
stanzas : ' I have overcome all foes ; I am all-wise ;
I am free from stains in every way ; I have left
everything ; and have obtained emancipation by the
destruction of desire. Having myself gained know-
ledge, whom should I call my master? I have no
teacher ; no one is equal to me ; in the world of men
and of gods no being is like me. I am the holy One
in this world, I am the highest teacher, I alone am
the absolute Sambuddha ; I have gained coolness (by
the extinction of all passion) and have obtained Nir-
vana. To found the Kingdom of Truth I go to the
city of the Kasis (Benares); I will beat the drum of
the Immortal in the darkness of this world/
9. (Upaka replied): 'You profess then, friend, to be the holy, absolute ^ina1/
(Buddha said) : i Like me are all £inas who have
reached extinction of the Asavas 2 ; I have overcome
(g\K& me) all states of sinfulness ; therefore, Upaka,
am I the Gina.'
When he had spoken thus, Upaka the A^ivaka
replied: 'It may be so, friend ;' shook his head, took
another road, and went away.
10. And the Blessed One, wandering from place
to place, came to Benares, to the deer park Isipatana,
to the place where the five Bhikkhus were. And
1 G in a, or the victorious One, is one of the many appellations common to the founders of the Bauddha and Gaina sects.
2 Sensuality, individuality, delusion, and ignorance (Kama, Bhava, Di///H, and Avigg-a).
9 2 M AH AVAGGA. . I, 6, I T.
the five Bhikkhus saw the Blessed One coming from
afar ; when they saw him, they concerted with each
other, saying, 'Friends, there comes the samara
Gotama, who lives in abundance, who has given up
his exertions, and who has turned to an abundant
life. Let us not salute him ; nor rise from our seats
when he approaches ; nor take his bowl and his
robe from his hands. But let us put there a seat;
if he likes, let him sit down/
li. But when the Blessed One gradually ap-
proached near unto those five Bhikkhus, the five
Bhikkhus kept not their agreement. They went
forth to meet the Blessed One ; one took his bowl
and his robe, another prepared a seat, a third one
brought water for the washing of the feet, a foot-stool,
and a towel1. Then the Blessed One sat down
on the seat they had prepared ; and when he was
seated, the Blessed One washed his feet. Now they
addressed the Blessed One by his name, and with
the appellation i Friend/
12. When they spoke to him thus, the Blessed
One said to the five Bhikkhus : ' Do not address, O
Bhikkhus, the Tathagata by his name, and with the
appellation " Friend." The Tathagata, O Bhikkhus,
is the holy, absolute Sambuddha. Give ear, O
Bhikkhus! The immortal (Amata) has been won
(by me) ; I will teach you ; to you I preach the doc-
trine. If you walk in the way I show you, you will,
ere long, have penetrated to the truth, having your-
selves known it and seen it face to face ; and you
1 Buddhaghosa, in a note on ^iillavagga II, i, i, says that padapiMa is a stool to put the washed foot on, padakathalika (or padakathalika ?), a stool to put the unwashed foot on, or a cloth to rub the feet with (padaghawsana).
I, 6, 16. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 93
will live in the possession of that highest goal of the
holy life, for the sake of which noble youths fully
give up the world and go forth into the houseless
state/
13. When he had spoken thus, the five monks
said to the Blessed One : * By those observances,
friend Gotama, by those practices, by those austeri-
ties, you have not been able to obtain power surpass-
ing that of men, nor the superiority of full and holy
knowledge and insight. How will you now, living
in abundance, having given up your exertions, having
turned to an abundant life, be able to obtain power
surpassing that of men, and the superiority of full
and holy knowledge and insight?'
14. When they had spoken thus, the Blessed One
said to the five Bhikkhus : ' The Tathagata, O Bhik-
khus, does not live in abundance, he has not given
up exertion, he has not turned to an abundant life.
The Tathagata, O Bhikkhus, is the holy, absolute
Sambuddha. Give ear, O Bhikkhus ; the immortal
has been won (by me); I will teach you, to you I
will preach the doctrine. If you walk in the way
I show you, you will, ere long, have penetrated to the
truth, having yourselves known it and seen it face to
face ; and you will live in the possession of that
highest goal of the holy life, for the sake of which
noble youths fully give up the world and go forth
into the houseless state.'
15. And the five Bhikkhus said to the Blessed
One a second time (as above). And the Blessed
One said to the five Bhikkhus a second time (as
above). And the five Bhikkhus said to the Blessed
One a third time (as above).
16. When they had spoken thus, the Blessed One
94 MAHAVAGGA. I, 6, 17.
said to the five Bhikkhus : ' Do you admit, O Bhik-
khus, that I have never spoken to you in this way
before this day?*
' You have never spoken so, Lord/
' The Tathagata, O Bhikkhus, is the holy, abso-
lute Sambuddha. Give ear, O Bhikkhus, &c. (as
above)/
And the Blessed One was able to convince the
five Bhikkhus ; and the five Bhikkhus again1 listened
willingly to the Blessed One ; they gave ear, and
fixed their mind on the knowledge (which the Buddha
imparted to them).
1 7. And the Blessed One thus addressed the five
Bhikkhus2: 'There are two extremes, O Bhikkhus,
which he who has given up the world, ought to
avoid. What are these two extremes? A life given
to pleasures, devoted to pleasures and lusts : this is
degrading, sensual, vulgar, ignoble, and profitless;
and a life given to mortifications : this is painful,
ignoble, and profitless. By avoiding these two ex-
tremes, O Bhikkhus, the Tathagata has gained the
knowledge of the Middle Path which leads to insight,
which leads to wisdom, which conduces to calm, to
knowledge, to the Sambodhi, to Nirvana.
18. ' Which, O Bhikkhus, is this Middle Path the
knowledge of which the Tathagata has gained, which
leads to insight, which leads to wisdom, which con-
1 As they had done before when they underwent austerities together with the Bodhisatta at Uruvela.
2 Of the literature that exists referring to the discourse which follows now (the Dhamma/fcakkappavattana Sutta), it will suffice to quote M. Feer's Etudes Bouddhiques, I, p. 189 seq., and Rh. D., 'Buddhist Suttas from the Pali/ pp. 137-155, and in the Fort- nightly Review for December 1879.
I, 6, 22. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 95
duces to calm, to knowledge, to the Sambodhi, to.
Nirvana? It is the holy eightfold Path, namely,)
Right Belief, Right Aspiration, Right Speech, Right j
Conduct, Right Means of Livelihood, Right Endea- j
vour, Right Memory, Right Meditation. This, O *
Bhikkhus, is the Middle Path the knowledge of
which the Tathagata has gained, which leads to in-
sight, which leads to wisdom, which conduces to
calm, to knowledge, to the Sambodhi, to Nirvana.
19. 'This, O Bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of
Suffering : Birth is suffering ; decay is suffering ;
illness is suffering ; death is suffering. Presence of
objects we hate, is suffering ; Separation from objects
we love, is suffering ; not to obtain what we desire,
is suffering. Briefly, the fivefold clinging to exist-
ence1 is suffering.
20. 'This, O Bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of the
Cause of suffering : Thirst, that leads to re-birth,
accompanied by pleasure and lust, finding its delight
here and there. (This thirst is threefold), namely,
thirst for pleasure, thirst for existence, thirst for
prosperity.
21. 'This, O Bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of
the Cessation of suffering: (it ceases with) the com-
plete cessation of this thirst, — a cessation which
consists in the absence of every passion, — with the
abandoning of this thirst, with the doing away with
it, with the deliverance from it, with the destruction
of desire.
22. 'This, O Bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of the Path which leads to the cessation of suffering:
1 Clinging to the five elements of existence, rupa, vedana, sawwa, sa#/khara, vmwa«a. See § 38 seq.
96 MAHAVAGGA. I, 6, 23.
that holy eightfold Path, that is to say, Right Belief,
Right Aspiration, Right Speech, Right Conduct,
Right Means of Livelihood, Right Endeavour, Right
Memory, Right Meditation.
23. '"This is the Noble Truth of Suffering ;"—
thus, O Bhikkhus, of this doctrine, which formerly
had not been heard of, have I obtained insight,
knowledge, understanding, wisdom, intuition. "This
Noble Truth of Suffering must be understood," thus,
O Bhikkhus, of this doctrine, .... (&c, down to in-
tuition). " This Noble Truth of Suffering I have
understood/' thus, O Bhikkhus, of this doctrine,
.... (&c, down to intuition).
24. '"This is the Noble Truth of the Cause of
suffering," thus, O Bhikkhus, (&c.) " This Noble
Truth of the Cause of suffering must be abandoned1
.... has been abandoned by me," thus, O Bhikkhus,
(&c.)
25. "' This is the Noble Truth of the Cessation of
suffering," thus, O Bhikkhus, (&c.) "This Noble
Truth of the Cessation of suffering must be seen
face to face .... has been seen by me face to face,"
thus, O Bhikkhus, (&c.)
26. '" This is the Noble Truth of the Path which
leads to the cessation of suffering/' thus, O Bhikkhus,
(&c.) " This Noble Truth of the Path which leads
to the cessation of suffering, must be realised ....
has been realised by me," thus, O Bhikkhus, (&c.)
27. 'As long, O Bhikkhus, as I did not possess
with perfect purity this true knowledge and insight
into these four Noble Truths, with its three modifi-