1 Nekkhamma is neither naishkramya nor naishkarmya, but naishkamya. Itivuttaka, fol. khi (Phayre MS.) : kamanam eta#z nissara^a^z yad idaw nekkhamma^, rupanam etazra nissarawaw yad idaw aruppa/rc.
I, 7, 9. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. IO5
the Cause of suffering, the Cessation of suffering,
the Path. Just as a clean cloth free from black
specks properly takes the dye, thus Yasa, the noble
youth, even while sitting there, obtained the pure
and spotless Eye of the Truth (that is, the know-
ledge): 'Whatsoever is subject to the condition
of origination is subject also to the condition of
cessation/
7. Now the mother of Yasa, the noble youth,
having gone up to his palace, did not see Yasa, the
noble youth, and she went to the se///£i, the house-
holder (her husband), and having approached him,
she said to the se^i, the householder : * Your son
Yasa, O householder, has disappeared/ Then the
se/^i, the householder, sent messengers on horse-
back to the four quarters of the horizon; and he
went himself to the deer park Isipatana. Then the
setthi, the householder, saw on the ground the marks
of the gilt slippers ; and when he saw them, he
followed them up.
8. And the Blessed One saw the se/^i, the house-
holder, coming from afar. On seeing him, he
thought : ' What if I were to effect such an exercise
of miraculous power, that the se#Ai, the householder,
sitting here, should not see Yasa, the noble youth,
who is sitting here also/ And the Blessed One
effected such an exercise of his miraculous power.
9. And the settki, the householder, went to the
place where the Blessed One was; having approached
him, he said to the Blessed One : ' Pray, Lord, has
the Blessed One seen Yasa, the noble youth?'
'Well, householder, sit down. Perhaps, sitting
here, you may see Yasa, the noble youth, sitting
here also/
I06 MAHAVAGGA. I, 7, 10.
And the se///£i, the householder, who thought :
' Indeed, sitting here I shall see Yasa, the noble youth,
sitting here also !' became glad and joyful, and having
respectfully saluted the Blessed One, he sat down
near him.
10. When the se///n, the householder, was sitting
near him, the Blessed One preached to him in due
course ; that is to say, he talked about the merits
obtained by alms-giving, .... (&c, as at end of § 5).
And the setthi, the householder, having seen the
Truth, having mastered the Truth, having penetrated
the Truth, having overcome uncertainty, having dis-
pelled all doubts, having gained full knowledge,
dependent on nobody else for the knowledge of the
doctrine of the Teacher, said to the Blessed One :
' Glorious, Lord ! glorious, Lord ! Just as if one should
set up, Lord, what had been overturned, or should
reveal what had been hidden, or should point out
the way to one who had lost his way, or should
bring a lamp into the darkness, in order that those
who had eyes might see visible things, thus has the
Blessed One preached the doctrine in many ways.
I take my refuge, Lord, in the Blessed One, and in
the Dhamma, and in the fraternity of Bhikkhus ;
may the Blessed One receive me from this day forth
while my life lasts as a disciple who has taken his
refuge in Him/
This was the first person in the world who became a lay-disciple by the formula of the holy triad.
11. And Yasa, the noble youth, while instruction
was administered (by the Buddha) to his father, con-
templated the stage of knowledge which he had
seen with his mind and understood ; and his mind
became free from attachment to the world, and was
I, 7, 13. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. IO7
released from the Asavas. Then the Blessed One
thought : ' Yasa, the noble youth, while instruction
was administered to his father, has contemplated the
stage of knowledge which he had seen with his mind
and understood ; and his mind has become free from
attachment to the world, and has become released
from the Asavas. It is impossible that Yasa, the noble
youth, should return to the world and enjoy pleasures,
as he did before, when he lived in his house. What
if I were now to put an end to that exertion of my
miraculous power.' And the Blessed One put an
end to that exertion of his miraculous power.
12. Then the se///^i, the householder, saw Yasa,
the noble youth, sitting there. On seeing him he
said to Yasa, the noble youth : ' My son Yasa, your
mother is absorbed in lamentation and grief; restore
your mother to life.'
13. Then Yasa, the noble youth, looked at the
Blessed One. And the Blessed One said to the
se^i, the householder : ' What do you think then,
O householder ? That Yasa has (first) won only an
imperfect 1 degree of knowledge and insight into the
Truth, as you have yourself? Or that rather he
was contemplating- the stage of knowledge which
he had seen with his mind and understood ; and that
his mind has thus become free from attachment to
the world, and has become released from the Asavas ?
Now would it then be possible, O householder, that
Yasa should return to the world and enjoy pleasures
as he did before, when he lived in his house V
' Not so, Lord/
1 The stage of a sekha, i. e. a person who has attained to any stage in the Noble Eightfold Path (such as sotapattiphala, &c.) inferior to the highest (Arahatship).
108 MAHAVAGGA. I, 7, 14.
' Yasa, the noble youth, O householder, had (first)
won, like yourself, an imperfect degree of knowledge
and insight into the Truth. But when he was con-
templating the stage of knowledge which he had
seen with his mind and understood, his mind has
become free from attachment to the world, and has
become released from the Asavas. It is impossible,
O householder, that Yasa, the noble youth, should
return to the world and enjoy pleasures as he did
before, when he lived in his house/
14. * It is all gain, Lord, to Yasa, the noble youth,
it is high bliss, Lord, for Yasa, the noble youth, that
the mind of Yasa, the noble youth, has become free
from attachment to the world, and has become re-
leased from the Asavas. Might, Lord, the Blessed
One consent to take his meal with me to-day together
with Yasa, the noble youth, as his attendant ?'
The Blessed One expressed his consent by remain-
ing silent. Then the se//^i, the householder, when he
understood that the Blessed One had accepted his
invitation, rose from his seat, respectfully saluted the
Blessed One, and passing round him with his right
side towards him, departed thence.
15. And Yasa, the noble youth, soon after the
se^i, the householder, was gone, said to the Blessed
One: ' Lord, let me receive the pabba^a and
upasampada ordinations from the Blessed One.'
' Come, O Bhikkhu/ said the Blessed One, * well
taught is the doctrine ; lead a holy life for the sake
of the complete extinction of suffering/
Thus this venerable person received the upasam-
pada ordination. At that time there were seven
Arahats in the world.
End of the story of Yasa's pabba^^a.
I, 8, 3. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. IO9
1. And in the forenoon the blessed One, having
put on his under-robes 1, took his alms-bowl, and,
with his /£ivara on, went with the venerable Yasa
as his attendant to the house of the settki, the house-
holder. When he had arrived there, he sat down
on a seat laid out for him. Then the mother and
the former wife of the venerable Yasa went to the
place where the Blessed One was ; having approached
him and having respectfully saluted the Blessed One,
they sat down near him.
2. Then the Blessed One preached to them in due
course ; that is to say, he talked about the merits ob-
tained by alms-giving, (&c, as in chap. 7. 5,6, down
to :) ; thus they obtained, while sitting there, the pure
and spotless Eye of the Truth (that is, the knowledge) :
' Whatsoever is subject to the condition of origina-
tion is subject also to the condition of cessation/
3. And having seen the Truth, .... (&c, as above,
§§ 5, 6, down to :), dependent on nobody else for know-
ledge of the Teacher's doctrine, they thus spoke to the
Blessed One: 'Glorious, Lord! glorious Lord! Just
as if one should set up (&c, as in chap. 7. 10, down to :).
We take our refuge, Lord, in the Blessed One, and in
the Dhamrna, and in the fraternity of Bhikkhus ;
may the Blessed One receive us from this day forth,
while our life lasts, as disciples who have taken their
refuge in Him/
These were the first females in the world who became lay-disciples by the formula of the holy triad.
1 The rules about the dress of a Bhikkhu who is going to the village are given in the iTullavagga VIII, 4, 3 ; 5, 2. Compare Rh. D.'s note on the Maha-parinibbana Sutta V, 45.
IIO MAHAVAGGA. I, 8, 4.
4. And the mother and the father and the former
wife of the venerable Yasa with their own hands
served and offered1 excellent food, both hard and
soft, to the Blessed One and to the venerable Yasa ;
and when the Blessed One had finished his meal,
and cleansed his bowl and his hands, they sat down
near him. Then the Blessed One taught, incited,
animated, and gladdened the mother, and father, and
the former wife of the venerable Yasa by religious
discourse ; and then he rose from his seat and went
away.
1. Now four lay persons, friends of the venerable
Yasa, belonging to the setthi families of Benares,
and to the highest after the se/^i families, by name
Vimala, SuMhu, Yunnagi, and Gavampati, heard :
' Yasa, the noble youth, has cut off his hair and beard,
and has put on yellow robes, and has given up the
world, and gone forth into the houseless state/ When
they had heard that, they thought : ' Surely that
cannot be a common doctrine and discipline, that
cannot be a common renunciation of the world, if
Yasa, the noble youth, has cut off his hair and beard,
and has put on yellow robes, and has given up the
world, and gone forth into the houseless state/
1 According to Subhuti (in Childers's Dictionary) sampavareti means that the host hands dishes to the guest until the latter says, 'I have had enough/ Childers accordingly translates sampava- reti, ' to cause to refuse.' But as pavareti means, 'to cause to accept/ it is impossible that sampavareti should have exactly the opposite meaning. We prefer, therefore, to take it as an emphatic synonym of pavareti.
I, 9, 4. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. Ill
2. Those four persons went to the place where
the venerable Yasa was ; having approached him
and having respectfully saluted the venerable Yasa,
they stood by his side. And the venerable Yasa
went with his four lay-friends to the place where
the Blessed One was ; having approached him and
having respectfully saluted the Blessed One, he sat
down near him. Sitting near him the venerable
Yasa said to the Blessed One : ' Lord, here are
four lay -friends of mine, belonging to the sett hi
families of Benares and to the highest after the
settki families ; their names are Vimala, Subahu,
Vunna.g'i, and Gavampati. May the Blessed One
administer exhortation and instruction to these four
persons/
3. Then the Blessed One preached to them, .... (&c, as in chap. 8. 2).
4. And having seen the Truth, (&c, down to :)
dependent on nobody else for the knowledge of
the Teachers doctrine, they thus spoke to the
Blessed One : ' Lord, let us receive the pabba^a
and upasampada ordinations from the Blessed
One/
' Come, O Bhikkhus/ said the Blessed One, ' well
taught is the doctrine ; lead a holy life for the sake
of the complete extinction of suffering/
Thus these venerable persons received the upa-
sampada ordination. And the Blessed One admi-
nistered to these Bhikkhus exhortation and instruc-
tion by discourse relating to the Dhamma. While
they received exhortation and instruction from the
Blessed One by discourse relating to the Dhamma,
their minds became free from attachment to the
world, and were released from the Asavas.
112 MAHAVAGGA. I, ro.
At that time there were eleven Arahats in the world.
Here ends the story of the ordination of the four laymen.
Now fifty lay persons, friends of the venerable
Yasa, belonging to the highest families in the country
and to those next to the highest, heard, .... (&c,
as in chap. 9, §§ 1, 2, 3, 4, down to:). While they
received exhortation and instruction from the Blessed
One by discourse relating to the Dhamma, their
minds became free from attachment to the world,
and were released from the Asavas.