1 The site of the Ve/uvana ('bambu forest') near Ra^agaha has not yet been discovered. ' It must have occupied about the position where the ancient basements, marked K. K. K. and G. in Cunning- ham's map of Rag-agnha (pi. xiv, Reports, vol. i), were found by him' (Rh. D,, ' Buddhism,' p. 62 note).
144 MAHAVAGGA. I, 23, I.
Bimbiscira by religious discourse, rose from his seat and went away.
And in consequence of this event the Blessed
One, after having delivered a religious discourse,
thus addressed the Bhikkhus : ' I allow you, O Bhik-
khus, to receive the donation of an arama (a park)/
1. At that time Sa%*aya, a paribba^aka (wan-
dering ascetic), resided at Ra^agaha with a great
retinue of paribba^akas, with two hundred and
fifty paribba^akas. At that time Sariputta and
Moggallana (two young Brahma^as) led a religious
life as followers of Sa^aya the paribba^aka ; these
had given their word to each other : 'He who first
attains to the immortal (am at a, i.e. Nirvana) shall
tell the other one/
2. Now one day the venerable Assa^i in the fore-
noon, having put on his under-robes, and having
taken his alms-bowl, and with his /£ivara on, entered
the city of Ra^agaha for alms ; his walking, turning
back, regarding, looking, drawing (his arms) back,
and stretching (them) out was decorous ; he turned
his eyes to the ground, and was dignified in deport-
ment. Now the paribba^aka S&riputta saw the
venerable Assa^i, who went through Ra^agaha for
alms, whose walking, &c, was decorous, who kept his
eyes on the ground, and was dignified in deportment.
Seeing him he thought : * Indeed this person is one
of those Bhikkhus who are the worthy ones (Arahats)
in the world, or who have entered the path of Arahat-
ship. What if I were to approach this Bhikkhu and
I, 23, 4. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 1 45
to ask htm: "In whose name, friend, have you retired
from the world? Who is your teacher? Whose
doctrine do you profess ?"'
3. Now the paribM^aka Sariputta thought : 'This
is not the time to ask this Bhikkhu ; he has entered
the interior yard of a house, walking for alms. What
if I were to follow this Bhikkhu step by step, accord-
ing to the course recognised by those who want
something V
And the venerable Assa^i, having finished his
alms-pilgrimage through Ra^agaha, went back with
the food he had received. Then the paribba^aka
Siriputta went to the place where the venerable
Assa^i was ; having approached him, he exchanged
greeting with the venerable Assa^i ; having ex-
changed with him greeting and complaisant words,
he stationed himself at his side ; standing at his side
the paribMjfaka S&riputta said to the venerable
Assa^i : ' Your countenance, friend, is serene ; your
complexion is pure and bright. In whose name,
friend, have you retired from the world? Who is
your teacher ? Whose doctrine do you profess2?'
4. (Assa^i replied) : ' There is, friend, the great
Samara Sakyaputta, an ascetic of the Sakya tribe ;
in His, the Blessed One's, name have I retired from
the world ; He, the Blessed One, is my teacher ; and
His, the Blessed One's, doctrine do I profess/
1 This seems to us the meaning of atthikehi upaw^ataw maggaw. Sariputta followed Assa^i as suppliants are accustomed to follow their proposed benefactor till a convenient season arrives for preferring their request.
2 The same words as are put in the mouth of Upaka, when addressing the Buddha, above, chap. 6, § 7 (and see below, § 6).
I46 MAHAVAGGA. 1,23,5.
'And what is the doctrine, Sir, which your teacher holds, and preaches to you?'
' I am only a young disciple, friend ; I have but
recently received the ordination ; and I have newly
adopted this doctrine and discipline. I cannot explain
to you the doctrine in detail ; but I will tell you in
short what it means.5
Then the paribba^aka Sariputta said to the vener-
able Assa^i : * Well, friend, tell me much or little as
you like, but be sure to tell me the spirit (of the doc-
trine); I want but the spirit; why do you make so
much of the letter ??
5. Then the venerable Assa^i pronounced to the
paribba^aka Sariputta the following text of the
\ Dhamma : ' Of all objects which proceed from a
\ cause, the Tathagata has explained the cause, and
I He has explained their cessation also; this is the
\ doctrine of the great Samara1/
\ And the paribbi^aka Sariputta after having heard
this text obtained the pure and spotless Eye of the
Truth (that is, the following knowledge) : ' Whatso-
ever is subject to the condition of origination is subject
also to the condition of cessation/ (And he said) : ' If
this alone be the Doctrine (the Dhamma), now you
have reached up to the state where all sorrow ceases
(i. e. Nirvana), (the state) which has remained unseen
1 This famous stanza doubtless alludes to the formula of the twelve Nidanas (see chap. 1. 2) which explains the origination and cessation of what are called here 'dhamma hetuppabhava/ Hetu and papaya (the word so frequently used in the formula of the Nidanas) are nearly synonymous. Colebrooke (Life and Essays, vol. ii. p. 419) says that the Bauddhas distinguish between hetu, ' proximate cause/ and papaya (pratyaya), 'concurrent occasion ; ' but, in practical use, this slight difference of meaning, if it really existed, has but little weight attached to it.
I, 24, I. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. I47
through many myriads of Kappas (world-ages) of the past/
6. Then the paribba£*aka Sariputta went to the
place where the paribba^aka MoggaMna was. And
the paribba^aka Moggallana saw the paribba^aka
Sariputta coming from afar ; seeing him he said
to the paribb&^aka Sariputta : ' Your countenance,
friend, is serene ; your complexion is pure and bright.
Have you then really reached the immortal, friend ?'
' Yes, friend, I have attained to the immortal/
* And how, friend, have you done so ?'
7-9. * I saw, friend, the Bhikkhu Assa^i who went
through R&^agaha for alms (&C.1, down to :); " But
I will tell you in short what it means."
'"Tell me much or little as you like, but be sure
to tell me the spirit (of the doctrine); I want but the
spirit ; why do you make so much of the letter ?"
10. * Then, friend, the Bhikkhu Assa^i pronounced
the following Dhamma sentence : "Of all objects
which proceed from a cause, the Tathagata has ex-
plained the cause, and He has explained their cessa-
tion also ; this is the doctrine of the great Samara."'
And the paribba^aka Moggallana, after having heard (&c, as in § 5, down to the end).
i. Then the paribba^aka Moggallana said to the paribb&^aka Sariputta : ' Let us go, friend, and join
1 See §§ 2-4. Instead of * The paribba^aka Sariputta/ of course, the pronoun of the first person is to be read ; instead of l The venerable Assa^i ' read, ' The Bhikkhu Assa^i ; ' and further, the vocative i Friend' (avuso), addressed to Moggallana, is inserted three or four times in the course of this narration.
148 MAHAVAGGA. I, 24, 2.
the Blessed One ; that He, the Blessed One, may be our teacher.'
(Sariputta replied): 'It is on our account, friend,
that these two hundred and fifty paribba^akas live
here (as followers of Sa^aya), and it is we whom
they regard ; let us first inform them also of our
intention ; then they may do what they think fit/
Then Sariputta and Moggallana went to the place
where those paribba^akas were ; having approached
them, they said to the paribba^akas : ' Friends, we
are going to join the Blessed One ; that He, the
Blessed One, may be our teacher.'
(The paribba^akas replied) : ' It is on your account,
Sirs, that we live here, and it is you whom we regard ;
if you, Sirs, are about to place yourselves under the
spiritual direction of the great Samara, we all will
place ourselves also under the spiritual direction of
the great Samara/
2. Then Sariputta and Moggallana went to the
place where the paribba^aka Sa/^aya was ; having
approached him, they said to the paribba^aka Sa$-
^aya: ' Friend, we are going to join the Blessed One ;
that He, the Blessed One, may be our teacher/
(Sa^aya replied) : ' Nay, friends, do not go ; let
us all three share in the leadership of this body (of
disciples).'
And a second time Sariputta and Moggallana said,
&c. And a third time Sariputta and Moggallana
said, &c. (And a third time he replied) : ' Nay,
friends, do not go; let us all three share in the
leadership of this body (of disciples).'
3. But Sariputta and Moggallana took with them
those two hundred and fifty paribba^akas and went
to the Ve/uvana. But the paribba^aka Sa/^aya
I, 24, 3. ADMISSION TO THE ORDER OF BHIKKHUS. 1 49
began, on the spot, to vomit hot blood from his mouth x.
And the Blessed One saw them, Sariputta and
Moggallana, coming from afar ; on seeing them he
thus addressed the Bhikkhus : * There, O Bhikkhus,
two companions arrive, Kolita and Upatissa2; these
will be a pair of (true) pupils, a most distinguished,
auspicious pair/
When3 (Sariputta and Moggallana), who had
reached emancipation in the perfect destruction of
the substrata (of existence), which is a profound
subject accessible only to knowledge, came to the
Ve/uvana, the Teacher, who saw them, foretold about
1 The later Burmese and Chinese works translated by Bigandet (Life of Gaudama, p. 152) and by Beal (Romantic Legend, p. 330) add that he died. This is not in the Pali text, and the Sinhalese account given by Hardy (Manual, p. 197) is directly opposed to that statement.
2 Upatissa was called Sariputta after his mother (' The Son of Sari ') ; Kolita had the family name Moggallana (compare Beal, Romantic Legend, pp. 324, 331). The name Upatissa occurs in Asoka's well-known edict which has been found at Bairat. The king there quotes ' The Question of Upatissa ' among the texts, the study of which he recommends to the brethren and sisters of the fraternity and to the laymen of either sex. This very probably refers to the dialogue between Assa^i and Sariputta.
3 As to this repetition of what had been related before, comp. the note on chap. 15. 6, 7. The words from gambhire down to upadhisazrakhaye form a .rloka. This is one of several instances where an older passage in verse, and probably first composed in some nearly related dialect, appears in the Pali Pi/akas in prose. It is this which explains the extraordinary grammatical construction of the first seven words. Compare Rh. D.'s note on the similar instance at Maha-parinibbana Sutta V, 62. The exclamation put into the mouth of Sariputta, and afterwards of Moggallana (above, chap. 23, §§ 5, 10), ought also, perhaps, to be included in the same category.
T 50 MAHAVAGGA. I, 24, 4.
them : * These two companions who are now coming —
Kolita and Upatissa — these will be a pair of (true)
pupils, a most distinguished, auspicious pair.'
4. Then Siriputta and Moggallana went to the
place where the Blessed One was; having approached
him, they prostrated themselves, inclining their heads
to the feet of the Blessed One, and said 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 upasampadg, ordi-
nation.
5. At that time many distinguished young Maga-
dha noblemen led a religious life under the direction
of the Blessed One. The people were annoyed,
murmured, and became angry (saying), ' The Sa-
mara Gotama causes fathers to beget no sons ; the
Samara Gotama causes wives to become widows ;
the Samara Gotama causes families to become
extinct. Now he has ordained one thousand GWilas,
and he has ordained these two hundred and fifty
paribb^akas who were followers of Sa^aya ; and
these many distinguished young Magadha noblemen
are now leading a religious life under the direction
of the Samara Gotama/ And moreover, when they
saw the Bhikkhus, they reviled them in the following
stanza : ' The great Samara has come to Giribba^a
(i. e. Ra^agaha) of the Magadha people, leading with
him all the followers of Sa^aya ; who will be the
next to be led by him?'
6. Some Bhikkhus heard those people that were
I, 25,1. Admission to the Order of Bhikkhus. 151
annoyed, murmured, and had become angry ; these
Bhikkhus told this thing to the Blessed One. (He
replied) : ' This noise, O Bhikkhus, will not last
long ; it will last only seven days ; after seven days
it will be oven And if they revile you, O Bhikkhus,
in this stanza : " The great Sama/za has come, &c.,"
you should reply to the revilers in the following
stanza : " It is by means of the true doctrine that the
great heroes, the Tath&gatas, lead men. Who will
murmur at the wise, who lead men by the power of
the Truth ?"'
7. At that time the people, when seeing the Bhik-
khus, reviled them in the following stanza : ' The
great Samara has come, &c/
Then the Bhikkhus replied to the revilers in the
following stanza : ' It is by means of the true doc-
trine, &c/
Then the people understood: * It is by truth, and
not by wrong, that the Sakyaputtiya Samaras lead
men;' and thus that noise lasted only seven days,
and after seven days it was over.