The Acts of the Buddha — by Aśvaghoṣa

The Buddhacarita ("Acts of the Buddha") is the earliest complete biography of the Buddha in any language — an epic poem in classical Sanskrit kāvya composed by the philosopher-poet Aśvaghoṣa in the 1st–2nd century CE, during the Kuṣāṇa dynasty. It narrates the life of Siddhārtha Gautama from his miraculous birth in Kapilavastu through his renunciation, his years of ascetic practice, his enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree, his first teaching at Sarnath, and onward to his Parinirvāṇa and the distribution of his relics. Aśvaghoṣa was both a Buddhist monk and a master of Sanskrit court poetry; his Buddhacarita bridges the sacred and the literary in a way that made the Buddha's story accessible to the educated Brahmanical world. The poem was enormously influential — translated into Chinese by Dharmarakṣa in the 5th century and into Tibetan, it carried the biography of the Awakened One across Asia.

This edition compiles two public domain translations from the Sacred Books of the East series, published by Oxford University Press (Clarendon Press). Part One (Books I–XVII) is translated from the Sanskrit by E. B. Cowell (1894, SBE Vol. XLIX); of these, Books I–XIII preserve Aśvaghoṣa's original Sanskrit, while Books XIV–XVII were supplied by the Nepalese scholar Amṛtānanda in 1830 to complete the surviving manuscript. Part Two (Vargas 18–28) is translated from Dharmarakṣa's Chinese version by Samuel Beal (1883, SBE Vol. XIX), continuing the narrative from the turning of the Dharma-wheel through the Parinirvāṇa. Together, these translations form the most complete English rendering of the Buddhacarita available in the public domain.

Part One: From the Sanskrit

Translated by E. B. Cowell, 1894

Book I. Birth of the Holy One

That Arhat is here saluted, who has no counterpart,--who, as bestowing the supreme happiness, surpasses (Brahman) the Creator,--who, as driving away darkness, vanquishes the sun,--and, as dispelling all burning heat, surpasses the beautiful moon.

There was a city, the dwelling-place of the great saint Kapila, having its sides surrounded by the beauty of a lofty broad table-land as by a line of clouds, and itself, with its high-soaring palaces, immersed in the sky.

By its pure and lofty system of government it, as it were, stole the splendour of the clouds of Mount Kailâsa, and while it bore the clouds which came to it through a mistake, it fulfilled the imagination which had led them thither.

In that city, shining with the splendour of gems, darkness like poverty could find no place; prosperity shone resplendently, as with a smile, from the joy of dwelling with such surpassingly excellent citizens.

With its festive arbours, its arched gateways and pinnacles, it was radiant with jewels in every dwelling; and unable to find any other rival in the world, it could only feel emulation with its own houses.

There the sun, even although he had retired, was unable to scorn the moon-like faces of its women which put the lotuses to shame, and as if from the access of passion, hurried towards the western ocean to enter the (cooling) water.

'Yonder Indra has been utterly annihilated by the people when they saw the glories acquired by the Sâkyas,'--uttering this scoff, the city strove by its banners with gay-fluttering streamers to wipe away every mark of his existence.

After mocking the water-lilies even at night by the moonbeams which rest on its silver pavilions,--by day it assumed the brightness of the lotuses through the sunbeams falling on its golden palaces.

A king, by name Suddhodana, of the kindred of the sun, anointed to stand at the head of earth's monarchs,--ruling over the city, adorned it, as a bee-inmate a full-blown lotus.

The very best of kings with his train ever near him,--intent on liberality yet devoid of pride; a sovereign, yet with an ever equal eye thrown on all,--of gentle nature and yet with wide-reaching majesty.

Falling smitten by his arm in the arena of battle, the lordly elephants of his enemies bowed prostrate with their heads pouring forth quantities of pearls as if they were offering handfuls of flowers in homage.

Having dispersed his enemies by his preeminent majesty as the sun disperses the gloom of an eclipse, he illuminated his people on every side, showing them the paths which they were to follow.

Duty, wealth, and pleasure under his guidance assumed mutually each other's object, but not the outward dress; yet as if they still vied together they shone all the brighter in the glorious career of their triumphant success.

He, the monarch of the Sâkyas, of native pre-eminence, but whose actual pre-eminence was brought about by his numberless councillors of exalted wisdom, shone forth all the more gloriously, like the moon amidst the stars shining with a light like its own.

To him there was a queen, named Mâyâ, as if free from all deceit (mâyâ)--an effulgence proceeding from his effulgence, like the splendour of the sun when it is free from all the influence of darkness,--a chief queen in the united assembly of all queens.

Like a mother to her subjects, intent on their welfare,--devoted to all worthy of reverence like devotion itself,--shining on her lord's family like the goddess of prosperity,--she was the most eminent of goddesses to the whole world.

Verily the life of women is always darkness, yet when it encountered her, it shone brilliantly; thus the night does not retain its gloom, when it meets with the radiant crescent of the moon.

'This people, being hard to be roused to wonder in their souls, cannot be influenced by me if I come to them as beyond their senses,'--so saying, Duty abandoned her own subtile nature and made her form visible.

Then falling from the host of beings in the Tushita heaven, and illumining the three worlds, the most excellent of Bodhisattvas suddenly entered at a thought into her womb, like the Nâga-king entering the cave of Nandâ.

Assuming the form of a huge elephant white like Himâlaya, armed with six tusks, with his face perfumed with flowing ichor, he entered the womb of the queen of king Suddhodana, to destroy the evils of the world.

The guardians of the world hastened from heaven to mount watch over the world's one true ruler; thus the moonbeams, though they shine everywhere, are especially bright on Mount Kailâsa.

Mâyâ also, holding him in her womb, like a line of clouds holding a lightning-flash, relieved the people around her from the sufferings of poverty by raining showers of gifts.

Then one day by the king's permission the queen, having a great longing in her. mind, went with the inmates of the gynaeceum into the garden Lumbinî.

As the queen supported herself by a bough which hung laden with a weight of flowers, the Bodhisattva suddenly came forth, cleaving open her womb.

At that time the constellation Pushya was auspicious, and from the side of the queen, who was purified by her vow, her son was born for the welfare of the world, without pain and without illness.

Like the sun bursting from a cloud in the morning,--so he too, when he was born from his mother's womb, made the world bright like gold, bursting forth with his rays which dispelled the darkness.

As soon as he was born the thousand-eyed (Indra) well-pleased took him gently, bright like a golden pillar; and two pure streams of water fell down from heaven upon his head with piles of Mandâra flowers.

Carried about by the chief suras, and delighting them with the rays that streamed from his body, he surpassed in beauty the new moon as it rests on a mass of evening clouds.

As was Aurva's birth from the thigh, and Prithu's from the hand, and Mândhâtri's, who was like Indra himself, from the forehead, and Kakshîvat's from the upper end of the arm,--thus too was his birth (miraculous).

Having thus in due time issued from the womb, he shone as if he had come down from heaven, he who had not been born in the natural way,--he who was born full of wisdom, not foolish,--as if his mind had been purified by countless aeons of contemplation.

With glory, fortitude, and beauty he shone like the young sun descended upon the earth; when he was gazed at, though of such surpassing brightness, he attracted all eyes like the moon.

With the radiant splendour of his limbs he extinguished like the sun the splendour of the lamps; with his beautiful hue as of precious gold he illuminated all the quarters of space.

Unflurried, with the lotus-sign in high relief, far-striding, set down with a stamp,--seven such firm footsteps did he then take,--he who was like the constellation of the seven rishis.

'I am born for supreme knowledge, for the welfare of the world,--thus this is my last birth,'-- thus did he of lion gait, gazing at the four quarters, utter a voice full of auspicious meaning.

Two streams of water bursting from heaven, bright as the moon's rays, having the power of heat and cold, fell down upon that peerless one's benign head to give refreshment to his body.

His body lay on a bed with a royal canopy and a frame shining with gold, and supported by feet of lapis lazuli, and in his honour the yaksha-lords stood round guarding him with golden lotuses in their hands.

The gods in homage to the son of Mâyâ, with their heads bowed at his majesty, held up a white umbrella in the sky and muttered the highest blessings on his supreme wisdom.

The great dragons in their great thirst for the Law,--they who had had the privilege of waiting on the past Buddhas,--gazing with eyes of intent devotion, fanned him and strewed Mandâra flowers over him.

Gladdened through the influence of the birth of the Tathâgata, the gods of pure natures and inhabiting pure abodes were filled with joy, though all passion was extinguished, for the sake of the world drowned in sorrow.

When he was born, the earth, though fastened down by (Himâlaya) the monarch of mountains, shook like a ship tossed by the wind; and from a cloudless sky there fell a shower full of lotuses and water-lilies, and perfumed with sandalwood.

Pleasant breezes blew soft to the touch, dropping down heavenly garments; the very sun, though still the same, shone with augmented light, and fire gleamed, unstirred, with a gentle lustre.

In the north-eastern part of the dwelling a well of pure water appeared of its own accord, wherein the inhabitants of the gynaeceum, filled with wonder, performed their rites as in a sacred bathing-place.

Through the troops of heavenly visitants, who came seeking religious merit, the pool itself received strength to behold Buddha, and by means of its trees bearing flowers and perfumes it eagerly offered him worship.

The flowering trees at once produced their blossoms, while their fragrance was borne aloft in all directions by the wind, accompanied by the songs of bewildered female bees, while the air was inhaled and absorbed by the many snakes (gathering near).

Sometimes there resounded on both sides songs mingled with musical instruments and tabours, and lutes also, drums, tambourines, and the rest,--from women adorned with dancing bracelets.

'That royal law which neither Bhrigu nor Angiras ever made, those two great seers the founders of families, their two sons Sukra and Vrihaspati left revealed at the end.

'Yea, the son of Sarasvatî proclaimed that lost Veda which they had never seen in former ages,--Vyâsa rehearsed that in many forms, which Vasishtha helpless could not compile; 'The voice of Vâmîki uttered its poetry which the great seer Kyavana could not compose; and that medicine which Atri never invented the wise son of Atri proclaimed after him;

'That Brahmanhood which Kusika never attained,--his son, O king, found out the means to gain it; (so) Sagara made a bound for the ocean, which even the Ikshvâkus had not fixed before him.

'Ganaka attained a power of instructing the twice-born in the rules of Yoga which none other had ever reached; and the famed feats of the grandson of Sûra (Krishna) Sûra and his peers were powerless to accomplish.

'Therefore it is not age nor years which are the criterion; different persons win pre-eminence in the world at different places; those mighty exploits worthy of kings and sages, when left undone by the ancestors, have been done by the sons.'

The king, being thus consoled and congratulated by those well-trusted Brahmans, dismissed from his mind all unwelcome suspicion and rose to a still higher degree of joy; And well-pleased he gave to those most excellent of the twice-born rich treasures with all due honour,--'May he become the ruler of the earth according to your words, and may he retire to the woods when he attains old age.' Then having learned by signs and through the power of his penances this birth of him who was to destroy all birth, the great seer Asita in his thirst for the excellent Law came to the palace of the Sâkya king.

Him shining with the glory of sacred knowledge and ascetic observances, the king's own priest,--himself a special student among the students of sacred knowledge,--introduced into the royal palace with all due reverence and respect.

He entered into the precincts of the king's gynaeceum, which was all astir with the joy arisen from the birth of the young prince,--grave from his consciousness of power, his pre-eminence in asceticism, and the weight of old age.

Then the king, having duly honoured the sage, who was seated in his seat, with water for the feet and an arghya offering, invited him (to speak) with all ceremonies of respect, as did Antideva in olden time to Vasishtha:

'I am indeed fortunate, this my family is the object of high favour, that thou shouldst have come to visit me; be pleased to command what I should do, O benign one; I am thy disciple, be pleased to show thy confidence in me.'

The sage, being thus invited by the king, filled with intense feeling as was due, uttered his ] deep and solemn words, having his large eyes opened wide with wonder:

'This is indeed worthy of thee, great-souled as thou art, fond of guests, liberal and a lover of duty,--that thy mind should be thus kind towards me, in full accordance with thy nature, family, wisdom, and age.

'This is the true way in which those seer-kings of old, rejecting through duty all trivial riches, have ever flung them away as was right,--being poor in outward substance but rich in ascetic endurance.

'But hear now the motive for my coming and rejoice thereat; a heavenly voice has been heard by me in the heavenly path, that thy son has been born for the sake of supreme knowledge.

'Having heard that voice and applied my mind thereto, and having known its truth by signs, I am now come hither, with a longing to see the banner of the Sâkya race, as if it were Indra's banner being set up.'

Having heard this address of his, the king, with his steps bewildered with joy, took the prince, who lay on his nurse's side, and showed him to the holy ascetic.

Thus the great seer beheld the king's son with wonder,--his foot marked with a wheel, his fingers and toes webbed, with a circle of hair between his eyebrows, and signs of vigour like an elephant.

Having beheld him seated on his nurse's side, like the son of Agni (Skanda) seated on Devî's side, he stood with the tears hanging on the ends of his eyelashes, and sighing he looked up towards heaven.

But seeing Asita with his eyes thus filled with tears, the king was agitated through his love for his son, and with his hands clasped and his body bowed he thus asked him in a broken voice choked with weeping, 'One whose beauty has little to distinguish it from that of a divine sage, and whose brilliant birth has been so wonderful, and for whom thou hast prophesied a transcendent future,--wherefore, on seeing him, do tears come to thee, O reverend one?

'Is the prince, O holy man, destined to a long life? Surely he cannot be born for my sorrow. I have with difficulty obtained a handful of water, surely it is not death which comes to drink it.
'Tell me, is the hoard of my fame free from destruction? Is this chief prize of my family secure? Shall I ever depart happily to another life,--I who keep one eye ever awake, even when my son is asleep?
'Surely this young shoot of my family is not born barren, destined only to wither! Speak quickly, my lord, I cannot wait; thou well knowest the love of near kindred for a son.'
Knowing the king to be thus agitated through his fear of some impending evil, the sage thus addressed him:

'Let not thy mind, O monarch, be disturbed,--all that I have said is certainly true.

'I have no feeling of fear as to his being subject to change, but I am distressed for mine own disappointment. It is my time to depart, and this child is now born,--he who knows that mystery hard to attain, the means of destroying birth.

Having forsaken his kingdom, indifferent to all worldly objects, and having attained the highest truth by strenuous efforts, he will shine forth as a sun of knowledge to destroy the darkness of illusion in the world.

'He will deliver by the boat of knowledge the distressed world, borne helplessly along, from the ocean of misery which throws up sickness as its foam, tossing with the waves of old age, and rushing with the dreadful onflow of death.

'The thirsty world of living beings will drink the flowing stream of his Law, bursting forth with the water of wisdom, enclosed by the banks of strong moral rules, delightfully cool with contemplation, and filled with religious vows as with ruddy geese.

'He will proclaim the way of deliverance to those afflicted with sorrow, entangled in objects of sense, and lost in the forest-paths of worldly existence, as to travellers who have lost their way.

'By the rain of the Law he will give gladness to the multitude who are consumed in this world with that fire of desire whose fuel is worldly objects, as a great cloud does with its showers at the end of the hot season.

'He will break open for the escape of living beings that door whose bolt is desire and whose two leaves are ignorance and delusion,--with that excellent blow of the good Law which is so hard to find.

'He, the king of the Law, when he has attained to supreme knowledge, will achieve the deliverance from its bonds of the world now overcome by misery, destitute of every refuge, and enveloped in its own chains of delusion.

'Therefore make no sorrow for him,--that belongs rather, kind sire, to the pitiable world of human beings, who through illusion or the pleasures of desire or intoxication refuse to hear his perfect Law.

'Therefore since I have fallen short of that excellence, though I have accomplished all the stages of contemplation, my life is only a failure; since I have not heard his Law, I count even dwelling in the highest heaven a misfortune.'

Having heard these words, the king with his queen and his friends abandoned sorrow and rejoiced; thinking, 'such is this son of mine,' he considered that his excellence was his own.

But he let his heart be influenced by the thought, 'he will travel by the noble path,'--he was not in truth averse to religion, yet still he saw alarm at the prospect of losing his child.

Then the sage Asita, having made known the real fate which awaited the prince to the king who was thus disturbed about his son, departed by the way of the wind as he had come, his figure watched reverentially in his flight.

Having taken his resolution and having seen the son of his younger sister, the saint, filled with compassion, enjoined him earnestly in all kinds of ways, as if he were his son, to listen to the sage's words and ponder over them.

The monarch also, being well-pleased at the birth of a son, having thrown off all those bonds called worldly objects, caused his son to go through the usual birth-ceremonies in a manner worthy of the family.

When ten days were fulfilled after his son's birth, with his thoughts kept under restraint, and filled with excessive joy, he offered for his son most elaborate sacrifices to the gods with muttered prayers, oblations, and all kinds of auspicious ceremonies.

And he himself gave to the brahmans for his son's welfare cows full of milk, with no traces of infirmity, golden-horned and with strong healthy calves, to the full number of a hundred thousand.

Then he, with his soul under strict restraint, having performed all kinds of ceremonies which rejoiced his heart, on a fortunate day, in an auspicious moment, gladly determined to enter his city.

Then the queen with her babe having worshipped the gods for good fortune, occupied a costly palanquin made of elephants' tusks, filled with all kinds of white flowers, and blazing with gems.

Having made his wife with her child enter first into the city, accompanied by the aged attendants, the king himself also advanced, saluted by the hosts of the citizens, as Indra entering heaven, saluted by the immortals.

The Sâkya king, having entered his palace, like Bhava well-pleased at the birth of Kârttikeya, with his face full of joy, gave orders for lavish expenditure, showing all kinds of honour and liberality.

Thus at the good fortune of the birth of the king's son, that city surnamed after Kapila, with all the surrounding inhabitants, was full of gladness like the city of the lord of wealth, crowded with heavenly nymphs, at the birth of his son Nalakûvara.

Book II. Life in the Palace

From the time of the birth of that son of his, who, the true master of himself, was to end all birth and old age, the king increased day by day in wealth, elephants, horses, and friends as a river increases with its influx of waters.

Of different kinds of wealth and jewels, and of gold, wrought or unwrought, he found treasures of manifold variety, surpassing even the capacity of his desires.

Elephants from Himavat, raging with rut, whom not even princes of elephants like Padma could teach to go round in circles, came without any effort and waited on him.

His city was all astir with the crowds of horses, some adorned with various marks and decked with new golden trappings, others unadorned and with long flowing manes,--suitable alike in strength, gentleness, and costly ornaments.

And many fertile cows, with tall calves gathered in his kingdom, well nourished and happy, gentle and without fierceness, and producing excellent milk.

His enemies became indifferent; indifference grew into friendship; his friends became specially united; were there two sides,--one passed into oblivion.

Heaven rained in his kingdom in due time and place, with the sound of gentle winds and clouds, and adorned with wreaths of lightning, and without any drawback of showers of stones or thunderbolts.

A fruitful crop sprang up according to season, even without the labour of ploughing; and the old plants grew more vigorous in juice and substance.

Even at that crisis which threatens danger to the body like the collision of battle, pregnant women brought forth in good health, in safety, and without sickness.

And whereas men do not willingly ask from others, even where a surety's property is available,--at that time even one possessed of slender means turned not his face away when solicited.

There was no ruin nor murder,--nay, there was not even one ungenerous to his kinsmen, no breaker of obligations, none untruthful nor injurious,--as in the days of Yayâti the son of Nahusha.

Those who sought religious merit performed sacred works and made gardens, temples, and hermitages, wells, cisterns, lakes, and groves, having beheld heaven as it were visible before their eyes.

The people, delivered from famine, fear, and sickness, dwelt happily as in heaven; and in mutual contentment husband transgressed not against wife, nor wife against husband.

None pursued love for mere sensual pleasure; none hoarded wealth for the sake of desires; none practised religious duties for the sake of gaining wealth; none injured living beings for the sake of religious duty.

On every side theft and its kindred vices disappeared; his own dominion was in peace and at rest from foreign interference; prosperity and plenty belonged to him, and the cities in his realm were (healthy) like the forests.

When that son was born it was in that monarch's kingdom as in the reign of Manu the son of the Sun,--gladness went everywhere and evil perished; right blazed abroad and sin was still.

Since at the birth of this son of the king such a universal accomplishment of all objects took place, the king in consequence caused the prince's name to be Sarvârthasiddha.

But the queen Mâyâ, having seen the great glory of her new-born son, like some Rishi of the gods, could not sustain the joy which it brought; and that she might not die she went to heaven.

Then the queen's sister, with an influence like a mother's, undistinguished from the real mother in her affection or tenderness, brought up as her own son the young prince who was like the offspring of the gods.

Then like the young sun on the eastern mountain or the fire when fanned by the wind, the prince gradually grew in all due perfection, like the moon in the fortnight of brightness.

Then they brought him as presents from the houses of his friends costly unguents of sandalwood, and strings of gems exactly like wreaths of plants, and little golden carriages yoked with deer; Ornaments also suitable to his age, and elephants, deer, and horses made of gold, carriages and oxen decked with rich garments, and carts gay with silver and gold.

Thus indulged with all sorts of such objects to please the senses as were suitable to his years,--child as he was, he behaved not like a child in gravity, purity, wisdom, and dignity.

When he had passed the period of childhood and reached that of middle youth, the young prince learned in a few days the various sciences suitable to his race, which generally took many years to master.

But having heard before from the great seer Asita his destined future which was to embrace transcendental happiness, the anxious care of the king of the present Sâkya race turned the prince to sensual pleasures.

Then he sought for him from a family of unblemished moral excellence a bride possessed of beauty, modesty, and gentle bearing, of wide-spread glory, Yasodharâ by name, having a name well worthy of her, a very goddess of good fortune.

Then after that the prince, beloved of the king his father, he who was like Sanatkumâra, rejoiced in the society of that Sâkya prinoess as the thousand-eyed (Indra) rejoiced with his bride Sakî.

'He might perchance see some inauspicious sight which could disturb his mind,'--thus reflecting the king had a dwelling prepared for him apart from the busy press in the recesses of the palace.

Then he spent his time in those royal apartments, furnished with the delights proper for every season, gaily decorated like heavenly chariots upon the earth, and bright like the clouds of autumn, amidst the splendid musical concerts of singing-women.

With the softly-sounding tambourines beaten by the tips of the women's hands, and ornamented with golden rims, and with the dances which were like the dances of the heavenly nymphs, that palace shone like Mount Kailâsa.

There the women delighted him with their soft voices, their beautiful pearl-garlands,--their playful intoxication, their sweet laughter, and their stolen glances concealed by their brows.

Borne in the arms of these women well-skilled in the ways of love, and reckless in the pursuit of pleasure, he fell from the roof of a pavilion and yet reached not the ground, like a holy sage stepping from a heavenly chariot.

Meanwhile the king for the sake of ensuring his son's prosperity and stirred in heart by the destiny which had been predicted for him, delighted himself in perfect calm, ceased from all evil, practised all self-restraint, and rewarded the good.

He turned to no sensual pleasures like one wanting in self-control; he felt no violent delight in any state of birth; he subdued by firmness the restless horses of the senses; and he surpassed his kindred and citizens by his virtues.

He sought not learning to vex another; such knowledge as was beneficent, that only he studied; he wished well to all mankind as much as to his own subjects.

He worshipped also duly the brilliant (Agni) that tutelary god of the Angirasas, for his son's long life; and he offered oblations in a large fire, and gave gold and cows to the Brahmans.

He bathed to purify his body and mind with the waters of holy places and of holy feelings; and at the same time he drank the soma-juice as enjoined by the Veda, and the heartfelt self-produced happiness of perfect calm.

He only spoke what was pleasant and not unprofitable; he discoursed about what was true and not ill-natured, he could not speak even to himself for very shame a false pleasant thing or a harsh truth.

In things which required to be done, whether they were pleasant or disagreeable, he found no reason either for desire or dislike; he pursued the advantageous which could be attained without litigation; he did not so highly value sacrifice.

When a suppliant came to him with a petition, he at once hastened to quench his thirst with the water sprinkled on his gift; and without fighting, by the battle-axe of his demeanour he smote down the arrogant armed with a double pride.

Thus he took away the one, and protected the seven; he abandoned the seven and kept the five; he obtained the set of three and learned the set of three; he understood the two and abandoned the two.

Guilty persons, even though he had sentenced them to death, he did not cause to be killed nor even looked on them with anger; he bound them with gentle words and with the reform produced in their character,--even their release was accompanied by no inflicted injury.

He performed great religious vows prescribed by ancient seers; he threw aside hostile feelings long cherished; he acquired glory redolent with the fragrance of virtue; he relinquished all passions involving defilement.

He desired not to take his tribute of one-sixth without acting as the guardian of his people; he had no wish to covet another's property; he desired not to mention the wrong-doing of his enemies; nor did he wish to fan wrath in his heart.

When the monarch himself was thus employed his servants and citizens followed his example, like the senses of one absorbed in contemplation whose mind is abstracted in profound repose.

In course of time to the fair-bosomed Yasodharâ,--who was truly glorious in accordance with her name,--there was born from the son of Suddhodana a son named Râhula, with a face like the enemy of Râhu.

Then the king who from regard to the welfare of his race had longed for a son and been exceedingly delighted [at his coming],--as he had rejoiced at the birth of his son, so did he now rejoice at the birth of his grandson.

'O how can I feel that love which my son feels for my grandson?' Thus thinking in his joy he at the due time attended to every enjoined rite like one who fondly loves his son and is about to rise to heaven.

Standing in the paths of the pre-eminent kings who flourished in primaeval ages, he practised austerities without laying aside his white garments, and he ordered in sacrifice only those things which involved no injury to living creatures.

He of holy deeds shone forth gloriously, in the splendour of royalty and the splendour of penances, conspicuous by his family and his own conduct and wisdom, and desirous to diffuse brightness like the sun.

Having offered worship, he whose own glory was secure muttered repetitions of Vedic texts to Svayambhû for the safety of his son, and performed various ceremonies hard to be accomplished, like the god Ka in the first aeon wishing to create living beings.

He laid aside weapons and pondered the Sâstra, he practised perfect calm and underwent various observances, like a hermit he refused all objects of sense, he viewed all his kingdoms like a father.

He endured the kingdom for the sake of his son, his son for his family, his family for fame, fame for heaven, heaven for the soul,--he only desired the soul's continuance for the sake of duty.

Thus did he practise the various observances as followed by the pious and established from revelation,--ever asking himself, 'now that he has seen the face of his son, how may my son be stopped from going to the forest?'

The prudent kings of the earth, who wish to guard their prosperity, watch over their sons in the world; but this king, though loving religion, kept his son from religion and set him free towards all objects of pleasure.

But all Bodhisattvas, those beings of pre-eminent nature, after knowing the flavour of worldly enjoyments, have departed to the forest as soon as a son is born to them; therefore he too, though he had accomplished all his previous destiny, even when the (final) motive had begun to germinate, still went on pursuing worldly pleasure up to the time of attaining the supreme wisdom.

Book III. The Prince's Perturbation

On a certain day he heard of the forests carpeted with tender grass, with their trees resounding with the kokilas, adorned with lotus-ponds, and which had been all bound up in the cold season.

Having heard of the delightful appearance of the city groves beloved by the women, he resolved to go out of doors, like an elephant long shut up in a house.

The king, having learned the character of the wish thus expressed by his son, ordered a pleasure-party to be prepared, worthy of his own, affection and his son's beauty and youth.

He prohibited the encounter of any afflicted common person in the highroad; 'heaven forbid that the prince with his tender nature should even imagine himself to be distressed.'

Then having removed out of the way with the greatest gentleness all those who had mutilated limbs or maimed senses, the decrepit and the sick and all squalid beggars, they made the highway assume its perfect beauty.

Along this road thus made beautiful, the fortunate prince with his well-trained attendants came down one day at a proper time from the roof of the palace and went to visit the king by his leave.

Then the king, with tears rising to his eyes, having smelt his son's head and long gazed upon him, gave him his permission, saying, 'Go;' but in his heart through affection he could not let him depart.

He then mounted a golden chariot, adorned with reins bright like flashing lightning, and yoked with four gentle horses, all wearing golden trappings.

With a worthy retinue he entered the road which was strewn with heaps of gleaming flowers, with garlands suspended and banners waving, like the moon with its asterism entering the sky.

Slowly, slowly he passed along the highway, watched on every side by the citizens, and beshowered by their eyes opened wide with curiosity like blue lotuses.

Some praised him for his gentle disposition, others hailed him for his glorious appearance, others eulogised his beauty from his fine countenance and desired for him length of days.

Hump-backed men coming out from the great families, and troops of foresters and dwarfs, and women coming out from the meaner houses bowed down like the banners of some procession of the gods.

Hearing the news, 'the prince is going out,' from the attendants of the female apartments, the women hastened to the roofs of the different mansions, having obtained the leave of their lords.

Hindered by the strings of their girdles which had slipped down, with their eyes bewildered as just awakened from sleep, and with their ornaments hastily put on in the stir of the news, and filled with curiosity, they crowded round; Frightening the flocks of birds which lived in the houses, with the noise of their girdles and the jingling of their anklets which resounded on the staircases and roofs of the mansions, and mutually reproaching one another for their hurry.

Some of these women, even in their haste as they rushed longing to see, were delayed in their going by the weight of their hips and full bosoms.

Another, though well able to go herself, checked her pace and forbore to run, hiding with shame her ornaments hitherto worn only in seclusion, and now too boldly displayed.

There they were restlessly swaying about in the windows, crowded together in the mutual press, with their earrings polished by the continual collision and their ornaments all jingling.

The lotus-like faces of the women gleamed while they looked out from the windows with their earrings coming into mutual proximity, as if they were real lotuses fastened upon the houses.

With the palaces all alive with crowds of damsels, every aperture thrown open in eager curiosity, the magnificent city appeared on every side like heaven with its divine chariots thronged with celestial nymphs.

The faces of the beautiful women shone like lotuses wreathed in garlands, while through the narrowness of the windows their earrings were transferred to each other's cheeks.

Gazing down upon the prince in the road. the women appeared as if longing to fall to the earth; gazing up to him with upturned faces, the men seemed as if longing to rise to heaven.

Beholding the king's son thus radiant in his beauty and glory, those women softly whispered, 'happy is his wife,' with pure minds and from no baser feeling.

'He with the long sturdy arms, who stands in his beauty like the flower-armed god visibly present, will leave his royal pomp and devote himself to religion,' thus thinking, full of kindly feelings towards him, they all offered reverence.

Beholding for the first time that high-road thus crowded with respectful citizens, all dressed in white sedate garments, the prince for a while did feel a little pleasure and thought that it seemed to promise a revival of his youth.

But then the gods, dwelling in pure abodes, having beheld that city thus rejoicing like heaven itself, created an old man to walk along on purpose to stir the heart of the king's son.

The prince having beheld him thus overcome with decrepitude and different in form from other men, with his gaze intently fixed on him, thus addressed his driver with simple confidence:

'Who is this man that has come here, O charioteer, with white hair and his hand resting on a staff, his eyes hidden beneath his brows, his limbs bent down and hanging loose,--is this a change produced in him or his natural state or an accident?'

Thus addressed, the charioteer revealed to the king's son the secret that should have been kept so carefully, thinking no harm in his simplicity, for those same gods had bewildered his mind:

'That is old age by which he is broken down,--the ravisher of beauty, the ruin of vigour, the cause of sorrow, the destruction of delights, the bane of memories, the enemy of the senses.

'He too once drank milk in his childhood, and in course of time he learned to grope on the ground; having step by step become a vigorous youth, he has step by step in the same way reached old age.'

Being thus addressed, the prince, starting a little, spoke these words to the charioteer, 'What! will this evil come to me also?' and to him again spoke the charioteer:

'It will come without doubt by the force of time through multitude of years even to my long-lived lord; all the world knows thus that old age will destroy their comeliness and they are content to have it so.'

Then he, the great-souled one, who had his mind purified by the impressions of former good actions, who possessed a store of merits accumulated through many preceding aeons, was deeply agitated when he heard of old age, like a bull who has heard the crash of a thunderbolt close by.

Drawing a long sigh and shaking his head, and fixing his eyes on that decrepit old man, and looking round on that exultant multitude he then uttered these distressed words:

'Old age thus strikes down all alike, our memory, comeliness, and valour; and yet the world is not disturbed, even when it sees such a fate visibly impending.

'Since such is our condition, O charioteer, turn back the horses,--go quickly home; how can I rejoice in the pleasure-garden, when the thoughts arising from old age overpower me?'

Then the charioteer at the command of the king's son turned the chariot back, and the prince lost in thought entered even that royal palace as if it were empty.

But when he found no happiness even there, as he continually kept reflecting, 'old age, old age,' then once more, with the permission of the king, he went out with the same arrangement as before.

Then the same deities created another man with his body all afflicted by disease; and on seeing him the son of Suddhodana addressed the charioteer, having his gaze fixed on the man:

'Yonder man with a swollen belly, his whole frame shaking as he pants, his arms and shoulders hanging loose, his body all pale and thin, uttering plaintively the word "mother," when he embraces a stranger,--who, pray, is this?'

Then his charioteer answered, 'Gentle Sir, it is a very great affliction called sickness, that has grown up, caused by the inflammation of the (three) humours, which has made even this strong man no longer master of himself.'

Then the prince again addressed him, looking upon the man compassionately, 'Is this evil peculiar to him or are all beings alike threatened by sickness?'

Then the charioteer answered, 'O prince, this evil is common to all; thus pressed round by diseases men run to pleasure, though racked with pain.'

Having heard this account, his mind deeply distressed, he trembled like the moon reflected in the waves of water; and full of sorrow he uttered these words in a low voice:

'Even while they see all this calamity of diseases mankind can yet feel tranquillity; alas for the scattered intelligence of men who can smile when still not free from the terrors of disease!

'Let the chariot, O charioteer, be turned back from going outside, let it return straight to the king's palace; having heard this alarm of disease, my mind shrinks into itself, repelled from pleasures.'

Then having turned back, with all joy departed, he entered his home, absorbed in thought; and having seen him thus return a second time, the king himself entered the city.

Having heard the occasion of the prince's return he felt himself as deserted by him, and, although unused to severe punishment, even when displeased, he rebuked him whose duty it was to see that the road was clear.

And once more he arranged for his son all kinds of worldly enjoyments to their highest point; imploring in his heart, 'Would that he might not be able to forsake us, even though rendered unable only through the restlessness of his senses.'

But when in the women's apartments his son found no pleasure in the several objects of the senses, sweet sounds and the rest, he gave orders for another progress outside, thinking to himself, 'It may create a diversion of sentiment.'

And in his affection pondering on the condition of his son, never thinking of any ills that might come from his haste, he ordered the best singing-women to be in attendance, as well-skilled in all the soft arts that can please.

Then the royal road being specially adorned and guarded, the king once more made the prince go out, having ordered the charioteer and chariot to proceed in a contrary direction (to the previous one).

But as the king's son was thus going on his way, the very same deities created a dead man, and only the charioteer and the prince, and none else, beheld him as he was carried dead along the road.

Then spoke the prince to the charioteer, 'Who is this borne by four men, followed by mournful companions, who is bewailed, adorned but no longer breathing?'

Then the driver,--having his mind overpowered by the gods who possess pure minds and pure dwellings,--himself knowing the truth, uttered to his lord this truth also which was not to be told:

'This is some poor man who, bereft of his intellect, senses, vital airs and qualities, lying asleep and unconscious, like mere wood or straw, is abandoned alike by friends and enemies after they have carefully swathed and guarded him.'

Having heard these words of the charioteer he was somewhat startled and said to him, 'Is this an accident peculiar to him alone, or is such the end of all living creatures?'

Then the charioteer replied to him, 'This is the final end of all living creatures; be it a mean man, a man of middle state, or a noble, destruction is fixed to all in this world.'

Then the king's son, sedate though he was, as soon as he heard of death, immediately sank down overwhelmed, and pressing the end of the chariot-pole with his shoulder spoke with a loud voice, 'Is this end appointed to all creatures, and yet the world throws off all fear and is infatuated! Hard indeed, I think, must the hearts of men be, who can be self-composed in such a road.

'Therefore, O charioteer, turn back our chariot, this is no time or place for a pleasure-excursion; how can a rational being, who knows what destruction is, stay heedless here, in the hour of calamity?'
Even when the prince thus spoke to him, the charioteer did not turn the chariot back; but at his peremptorily reiterated command he retired to the forest Padmakhanda.
There he beheld that lovely forest like Nandana itself. full of young trees in flower with intoxicated kokilas wandering joyously about, and with its bright lakes gay with lotuses and well-furnished with watering-places The king's son was perforce carried away to that wood filled with troops of beautiful women, just as if some devotee who had newly taken his vow were carried off, feeling weak to withstand temptation, to the palace of the monarch of Alakâ, gay with the dancing of the loveliest heavenly nymphs.

Book IV. The Women Rejected

Then from that city-garden, with their eyes restless in excitement, the women went out to meet the prince as a newly-arrived bridegroom; And when they came up to him, their eyes wide open in wonder, they performed their due homage with hands folded like a lotus-calyx.

Then they stood surrounding him, their minds overpowered by passion, as if they were drinking him in with their eyes motionless and blossoming wide with love.

Some of the women verily thought that he was Kâma incarnate,--decorated as he was with his brilliant signs as with connate ornaments.

Others thought from his gentleness and majesty that it was the moon with its ambrosial beams as it were visibly come down to the earth.

Others, smitten by his beauty, yawned as if to swallow him, and fixing their eyes on each other, softly sighed.

Thus the women only looked upon him, simply gazing with their eyes,--they spoke not, nor did they smile, controlled by his power.

But having seen them thus listless, bewildered in their love, the wise son of the family priest, Udâyin, thus addressed them:

'Ye are all skilled in all the graceful arts, proficients in understanding the language of amorous sentiments, possessed of beauty and gracefulness, thorough masters in your own styles.

'With these graces of yours ye may embellish even the Northern Kurus, yea, even the dances of Kuvera, much more this little earth.

'Ye are able to move even sages who have lost all their desires, and to ensnare even the gods who are charmed by heavenly nymphs.

'By your skill in expressing the heart's feelings, by your coquetry, your grace, and your perfect beauty, ye are able to enrapture even women, how much more easily men.

'You thus skilled as ye are, each set in her own proper sphere,--such as this is your power,--I am not satisfied with your simplicity [when you profess to find him beyond your reach].

'This timid action of yours would be fit for new brides, their eyes closed through shame,--or it might be a blandishment worthy even of the wives of the cowherds.

'What though this hero be great by his exalted glory, yet "great is the might of women," let this be your firm resolve.

'In olden time a great seer, hard to be conquered even by the gods, was spurned by a harlot, the beauty of Kâsi, planting her feet upon him.

'The Bhikshu Manthâlagautama was also formerly spurned by Bâlamukhyâ with her leg, and wishing to please her he carried out dead bodies for her sake to be buried.

'And a woman low in standing and caste fascinated the great seer Gautama, though a master of long penances and old in years.

'So Sântâ by her various wiles captivated and subdued the sage's son Rishyasringa, unskilled in women's ways.

'And the great seer Visvâmitra, though plunged in a profound penance, was carried captive for ten years in the forests by the nymph Ghritâkî.

'Many such seers as these have women brought to shame,--how much more then a delicate prince in the first flower of his age?

'This being so, boldly put forth your efforts that the prosperity of the king's family may not be turned away from him.

'Ordinary women captivate similar lovers; but they are truly women who subdue the natures of high and low.'

Having heard these words of Udâyin these women as stung to the heart rose even above themselves for the conquest of the prince.

With their brows, their glances, their coquetries, their smiles, their delicate movements, they made all sorts of significant gestures like women utterly terrified.

But they soon regained their confidence through the command of the king and the gentle temperament of the prince, and through the power of intoxication and of love.

Then surrounded by troops of women the prince wandered in the wood like an elephant in the forests of Himavat accompanied by a herd of females.

Attended by the women he shone in that pleasant grove, as the sun surrounded by Apsarasas in his royal garden.

There some of them, urged by passion, pressed him with their full firm bosoms in gentle collisions.

Another violently embraced him after making a pretended stumble,--leaning on him with her shoulders drooping down, and with her gentle creeper-like arms dependent.

Another with her mouth smelling of spirituous liquor, her lower lip red like copper, whispered in his ear, 'Let my secret be heard.'

Another, all wet with unguents, as if giving him her command, clasped his hand eagerly and said, 'Perform thy rites of adoration here.'

Another, with her blue garments continually slipping down in pretended intoxication, stood conspicuous with her tongue visible like the night with its lightning flashing.

Others, with their golden zones tinkling, wandered about here and there, showing to him their hips veiled with thin cloth.

Others leaned, holding a mango-bough in full flower, displaying their bosoms like golden jars.

Another, coming from a lotus-bed, carrying lotuses and with eyes like lotuses, stood like the lotus-goddess Padmâ, by the side of that lotus-faced prince.

Another sang a sweet song easily understood and with the proper gesticulations, rousing him, self-subdued though he was, by her glances, as saying, 'O how thou art deluded.'

Another, having armed herself with her bright face, with its brow-bow drawn to its full, imitated his action, as playing the hero.

Another, with beautiful full bosoms, and having her earrings waving in the wind, laughed loudly at him, as if saying, 'Catch me, sir, if you can!'

Some, as he was going away, bound him with strings of garlands,--others punished him with words like an elephant-driver's hook, gentle yet reproachful.

Another, wishing to argue with him, seizing a mango-spray, asked, all bewildered with passion, 'This flower, whose is it?'

Another, assuming a gait and attitude like those of a man, said to him, 'Thou who art conquered by women, go and conquer this earth!'

Then another with rolling eyes, smelling a blue lotus, thus addressed the prince with words slightly indistinct in her excitement, 'See, my lord, this mango covered with its honey-scented flowers, where the kokila sings, as if imprisoned in a golden cage.

'Come and see this asoka tree, which augments lovers' sorrows,--where the bees make a noise as if they were scorched by fire.

'Come and see this tilaka tree, embraced by a slender mango-branch, like a man in a white garment by a woman decked with yellow unguents.

'Behold this kuruvaka in flower, bright like fresh resin-juice, which bends down as if it felt reproached by the colour of women's nails.

'Come and see this young asoka, covered all over with new shoots, which stands as it were ashamed at the beauty of our hands.

'See this lake surrounded by the sinduvâra shrubs growing on its banks, like a fair woman reclining, clad in fine white cloth.

'See the imperial power of females,--yonder ruddy-goose in the water goes behind his mate following her like a slave.

'Come and listen to the notes of this intoxicated cuckoo as he sings, while another cuckoo sings as if consenting, wholly without care.

'Would that thine was the intoxication of the birds which the spring produces,--and not the thought of a thinking man, ever pondering how wise he is!'

Thus these young women, their souls carried away by love, assailed the prince with all kinds of stratagems.

But although thus attacked, he, having his senses guarded by self-control, neither rejoiced nor smiled, thinking anxiously, 'One must die.'

Having seen them in their real condition, that best of men pondered with an undisturbed and stedfast mind.

'What is it that these women lack that they perceive not that youth is fickle? for this old age will destroy whatever has beauty.

'Verily they do not see any one's plunge into disease, and so dismissing fear, they are joyous in a world which is all pain.

'Evidently they know nothing of death which carries all away; and so at ease and without distress they can sport and laugh.

'What rational being, who knows of old age, death and sickness, could stand or sit down at his ease or sleep, far less laugh?

'But he verily is like one bereft of sense, who, beholding another aged or sick or dead, remains self-possessed and not afflicted.

'(So) even when a tree is deprived of its flowers and fruits, or if it is cut down and falls, no other tree sorrows.'

Seeing him thus absorbed in contemplation, with his desires estranged from all worldly objects, Udâyin, well skilled in the rules of policy, with kindly feelings addressed him:

'Since I was appointed by the king as a fitting friend for thee, therefore I have a wish to speak to thee in this friendliness of my heart.

'To hinder from what is disadvantageous,--to urge to what is advantageous,--and not to forsake in misfortune,--these are the three marks of a friend.

'If I, after having promised my friendship, were not to heed when thou turnest away from the great end of man, there would be no friendship in me.

'Therefore I speak as thy friend,--such rudeness as this to women is not befitting for one young in years and graceful in person.

'It is right to woo a woman even by guile,--this is useful both for getting rid of shame and for one's own enjoyment.

'Reverential behaviour and compliance with her wishes are what binds a woman's heart; good qualities truly are a cause of love, and women love respect.

'Wilt thou not then, O large-eyed prince, even if thy heart is unwilling, seek to please them with a courtesy worthy of this beauty of thine?

'Courtesy is the balm of women, courtesy is the best ornament; beauty without courtesy is like a grove without flowers.

'But of what use is courtesy by itself? let it be assisted by the heart's feelings; surely, when worldly objects so hard to attain are in thy grasp, thou wilt not despise them.

'Knowing that pleasure was the best of objects, even the god Puramdara (Indra) wooed in olden time Ahalyâ the wife of the saint Gautama.

'So too Agastya wooed Rohinî, the wife of Soma; and therefore, as Sruti saith, a like thing befell Lopâmudrâ.

'The great ascetic Vrihaspati begot Bharadvâga on Mamatâ the daughter of the Maruts, the wife of Autathya.

'The Moon, the best of offerers, begat Budha of divine nature on the spouse of Vrihaspati as she was offering a libation.

'So too in old time Parâsara, overpowered by passion on the bank of the Yamunâ, lay with the maiden Kâlî who was the daughter of the son of the Water (Agni).

'The sage Vasishtha through lust begot a son Kapiñgalâda on Akshamâlâ a despised low-caste woman.

'And the seer-king Yayâti, even when the vigour of his prime was gone, sported in the Kaitraratha forest with the Apsaras Visvâkî.

'And the Kaurava king Pandu, though he knew that intercourse with his wife would end in death, yet overcome by the beauty and good qualities of Mâdrî yielded to the pleasures of love.

'And so Karâlaganaka, when he carried off the Brâhman's daughter, incurred loss of caste thereby, but he would not give up his love.

'Great heroes such as these pursued even contemptible desires for the sake of pleasure, how much more so when they are praiseworthy of their kind?

'And yet thou, a young man, possessed of strength and beauty, despisest enjoyments which rightly belong to thee, and to which the whole world is devoted.'

Having heard these specious words of his, well-supported by sacred tradition, the prince made reply, in a voice like the thundering of a cloud:

'This speech manifesting affection is well-befitting in thee; but I will convince thee as to where thou wrongly judgest me.

'I do not despise worldly objects, I know that all mankind are bound up therein; but remembering that the world is transitory, my mind cannot find pleasure in them.

'Old age, disease, and death--if these three things did not exist, I too should find my enjoyment in the objects that please the mind.

'Yet even though this beauty of women were to remain perpetual, still delight in the pleasures of desire would not be worthy of the wise man.

'But since their beauty will be drunk up by old age, to delight therein through infatuation cannot be a thing approved even by thyself.

'He who himself subject to death, disease, and old age, can sport undisturbed with those whose very nature implies death, disease, and old age, such a man is on a level with birds and beasts.

'And as for what thou sayest as to even those great men having become victims to desire, do not be bewildered by them, for destruction was also their lot.

'Real greatness is not to be found there, where there is universally destruction, or where there is attachment to earthly objects, or a want of self-control.

'And when thou sayest, "Let one deal with women even by guile," I know nought about guile, even if it be accompanied with courtesy.

'That compliance too with a woman's wishes pleases me not, if truthfulness be not there; if there be not a union with one's whole soul and nature, then "out upon it" say I.

'A soul overpowered by passion, believing in falsehood, carried away by attachment and blind to the faults of its objects,--what is there in it worth being deceived?

'And if the victims of passion do deceive one another,--are not men unfit for women to look at and women for men?

Since then these things are so, thou surely wouldest not lead me astray into ignoble pleasures,--me afflicted by sorrow, and subject to old age and death?

'Ah! thy mind must be very firm and strong, if thou canst find substance in the transitory pleasures of sense; even in the midst of violent alarm thou canst cling to worldly objects, when thou seest all created beings in the road of death.

'But I am fearful and exceedingly bewildered, as I ponder the terrors of old age, death, and disease; I can find no peace, no self-command, much less can I find pleasure, while I see the world as it were ablaze with fire.

'If desire arises in the heart of the man, who knows that death is certain,--I think that his soul must be made of iron, who restrains it in this great terror and does not weep.'

Then the prince uttered a discourse full of resolve and abolishing the objects of desire; and the lord of day, whose orb is the worthy centre of human eyes, departed to the Western Mountain.

And the women, having worn their garlands and ornaments in vain, with their graceful arts and endearments all fruitless, concealing their love deep in their hearts, returned to the city with broken hopes.

Having thus seen the beauty of the troop of women who had gone out to the city-garden, now withdrawn in the evening,--the prince, pondering the transitoriness which envelopes all things, entered his dwelling.

Then the king, when he heard how his mind turned away from all objects of sense, could not lie down all that night, like an elephant with an arrow in its heart; but wearied in all sorts of consultation, he and his ministers could find no other means beside these (despised) pleasures to restrain his son's purpose.

Book V. The Departure from the City

He, the son of the Sâkya king, even though thus tempted by the objects of sense which infatuate others, yielded not to pleasure and felt not delight, like a lion deeply pierced in his heart by a poisoned arrow.

Then one day accompanied by some worthy sons of his father's ministers, friends full of varied converse,--with a desire to see the glades of the forest and longing for peace, he went out with the king's permission.

Having mounted his good horse Kamthaka, decked with bells and bridle-bit of new gold, with beautiful golden harness and the chowrie waving, he went forth like the moon mounted on a comet.

Lured by love of the wood and longing for the beauties of the ground, he went to a spot near at hand on the forest-outskirts; and there he saw a piece of land being ploughed, with the path of the plough broken like waves on the water.

Having beheld the ground in this condition, with its young grass scattered and torn by the plough, and covered with the eggs and young of little insects which were killed, he was filled with deep sorrow as for the slaughter of his own kindred.

And beholding the men as they were ploughing, their complexions spoiled by the dust, the sun's rays, and the wind, and their cattle bewildered with the burden of drawing, the most noble one felt extreme compassion.

Having alighted from the back of his horse, he went over the ground slowly, overcome with sorrow,--pondering the birth and destruction of the world, he, grieved, exclaimed, 'this is indeed pitiable.'

Then desiring to become perfectly lonely in his thoughts, having stopped those friends who were following him, he went to the root of a rose-apple in a solitary spot, which had its beautiful leaves all tremulous (in the wind).

There he sat down on the ground covered with leaves, and with its young grass bright like lapis lazuli; and, meditating on the origin and destruction of the world, he laid hold of the path that leads to firmness of mind.

Having attained to firmness of mind, and being forthwith set free from all sorrows such as the desire of worldly objects and the rest, he attained Query, samavâptamanahsthitih for -manâhsthiteh.] the first stage of contemplation, unaffected by sin, calm, and 'argumentative.'

Having then obtained the highest happiness sprung from deliberation, he next pondered this meditation,--having thoroughly understood in his mind the course of the world:

'It is a miserable thing that mankind, though themselves powerless and subject to sickness, old age, and death, yet, blinded by passion and ignorant, look with disgust on another who is afflicted by old age or diseased or dead.

'If I here, being such myself, should feel disgust for another who has such a nature, it would not be worthy or right in me who know this highest duty.'

As he thus considered thoroughly these faults of sickness, old age, and death which belong to all living beings, all the joy which he had felt in the activity of his vigour, his youth, and his life, vanished in a moment.

He did not rejoice, he did not feel remorse; he suffered no hesitation, indolence, nor sleep; he felt no drawing towards the qualities of desire; he hated not nor scorned another.

Thus did this pure passionless meditation grow within the great-souled one; and unobserved by the other men, there crept up a man in a beggar's dress.

The king's son asked him a question,--he said to him, 'Tell me, who art thou?' and the other replied, 'Oh bull of men, I, being terrified at birth and death, have become an ascetic for the sake of liberation.

'Desiring liberation in a world subject to destruction, I seek that happy indestructible abode, isolated from mankind, with my thoughts unlike those of others, and with my sinful passions turned away from all objects of sense 'Dwelling anywhere, at the root of a tree, or in an uninhabited house, a mountain or a forest,--I wander without a family and without hope, a beggar ready for any fare, seeking only the highest good.' When he had thus spoken, while the prince was looking on, he suddenly flew up to the sky; it was a heavenly inhabitant who, knowing that the prince's thoughts were other than what his outward form promised, had come to him for the sake of rousing his recollection.

When the other was gone like a bird to heaven, the foremost of men was rejoiced and astonished; and having comprehended the meaning of the term dharma, he set his mind on the manner of the accomplishment of deliverance.

Then like Indra himself, and having tamed his senses,--desiring to return home he mounted his roble steed; and having made him turn back as he looked for his friends, from that moment he sought no more the desired forest.

Ever seeking to make an end of old age and death, fixing his thoughts in memory on dwelling in the woods, he entered the city again but with no feelings of longing, like an elephant entering an exercise-ground after roaming in a forest-land.

'Happy truly and blessed is that woman whose husband is such as thou, O long-eyed prince!' So, on seeing him, the princess exclaimed, folding her hands to welcome him, as he entered the road.

He whose voice was deep-sounding like a cloud heard this address and was filled with profound calm; and as he heard the word 'blessed' he fixed his mind on the attainment of Nirvâna.

Then the prince whose form was like the peak of a golden mountain,--whose eye, voice, and arm resembled a bull, a cloud, and an elephant,--whose countenance and prowess were like the moon and a lion,--having a longing aroused for something imperishable,--went into his palace.

Then stepping like a lion he went towards the king who was attended by his numerous counsellors, like Sanatkumâra in heaven waiting on Indra resplendent in the assembly of the Maruts.

Prostrating himself, with folded hands, he addressed him, 'Grant me graciously thy permission, O lord of men,--I wish to become a wandering mendicant for the sake of liberation, since separation is appointed for me.'

Having heard his words, the king shook like a tree struck by an elephant, and having seized his folded hands which were like a lotus, he thus addressed him in a voice choked with tears:

'O my son, keep back this thought, it is not the time for thee to betake thyself to dharma; they say that the practice of religion is full of evils in the first period of life when the mind is still fickle.

'The mind of the thoughtless ignorant young man whose senses are eager for worldly objects, and who has no power of settled resolution for the hardships of vows of penance, shrinks back from the forest, for it is especially destitute of discrimination.

'It is high time for me to practise religion, O my child of loved qualities, leaving my royal glory to thee who art well worthy to be distinguished by it; but thy religion, O firm-striding hero, is to be accomplished by heroism; it would be irreligion if thou wert to leave thine own father.

'Do thou therefore abandon this thy resolution; devote thyself for the present to the duties of a householder; to a man who has enjoyed the pleasures of his prime, it is delightful to enter the penance-forest.'

Having heard these words of the king, he made his reply in a voice soft like a sparrow's: 'If thou wilt be my surety, O king, against four contingencies, I will not betake myself to the forest.

'Let not my life be subject to death, and let not disease impair this health of mine; let not old age attack my youth, and let not misfortune destroy my weal.'

When his son uttered a speech so hard to be understood, the king of the Sâkyas thus replied: 'Abandon this idea bent upon departure; extravagant desires are only ridiculous.'

Then he who was firm as Mount Meru addressed his father: 'If this is impossible, then this course of mine is not to be hindered; it is not right to lay hold of one who would escape from a house that is on fire.

'As separation is inevitable to the world, but not for Dharma, this separation is preferable; will not death sever me helplessly, my objects unattained and myself unsatisfied?'

The monarch, having heard this resolve of his son longing for liberation, and having again exclaimed, 'He shall not go,' set guards round him and the highest pleasures.

Then having been duly instructed by the counsellors, with all respect and affection, according to the sâstras, and being thus forbidden with tears by his father, the prince, sorrowing, entered into his palace.

There he was gazed at by his wives with restless eyes, whose faces were kissed by their dangling earrings, and whose bosoms were shaken with their thick-coming sighs,--as by so many young fawns.

Bright like a golden mountain, and bewitching the hearts of the noble women, he enraptured their ears, limbs, eyes, and souls by his speech, touch, form, and qualities.

When the day was gone, then, shining with his form like the sun, he ascended the palace, as the rising sun ascends Mount Meru, desiring to dispel the darkness by his own splendour.

Having ascended, he repaired to a special golden seat decorated with embellishments of diamond, with tall lighted candlesticks ablaze with gold, and its interior filled with the incense of black aloe-wood.

Then the noblest of women waited during the night on the noblest of men who was like Indra himself, with a concert of musical instruments, as the crowds of heavenly nymphs wait on the son of the Lord of wealth upon the summit of Himavat, white like the moon.

But even by those beautiful instruments like heavenly music he was not moved to pleasure or delight; since his desire to go forth from his home to seek the bliss of the highest end was never lulled.

Then by the power of the heavenly beings most excellent in self-mortification, the Akanishthas, who knew the purpose of his heart, deep sleep was suddenly thrown on that company of women and their limbs and gestures became distorted.

One was lying there, resting her cheek on her trembling arm; leaving as in anger her lute, though dearly loved, which lay on her side, decorated with gold-leaf.

Another shone with her flute clinging to her hand, lying with her white garments fallen from her bosom,--like a river whose banks are smiling with the foam of the water and whose lotuses are covered with a straight line of bees.

Another was sleeping, embracing her drum as a lover, with her two arms tender like the shoot of young lotus and bearing their bracelets closely linked, blazing with gold.

Others, decked with new golden ornaments and wearing peerless yellow garments, fell down alas! helpless with sleep, like the boughs of the Karnikâra broken by an elephant.

Another, leaning on the side of a window, with her willow-form bent like a bow, shone as she lay with her beautiful necklace hanging down, like a statue in an archway made by art.

The lotus-face of another, bowed down, with the pinguent-lines on her person rubbed by the jewelled earrings, appeared to be a lotus with its stalk bent into a half-circle, and shaken by a duck standing on it.

Others, lying as they sat, with their limbs oppressed by the weight of their bosoms, shone in their beauty, mutually clasping one another with their twining arms decorated with golden bracelets.

And another damsel lay sound asleep, embracing her big lute as if it were a female friend, and rolled it about, while its golden strings trembled, with her own face bright with her shaken earrings.

Another lay, with her tabour, . . .

Others showed no lustre with their eyes shut, although they were really full-eyed and fair-browed,--like the lotus-beds with their buds closed at the setting of the sun.

Another, with her hair loose and dishevelled, and her skirts and ornaments fallen from her loins, lay with her necklace in confusion, like a woman crushed by an elephant and then dropped.

Others, helpless and lost to shame, though naturally self-possessed and endued with all graces of person, breathed violently as they lay and yawned with their arms distorted and tossed about.

Others, with their ornaments and garlands thrown off,--unconscious, with their garments spread out unfastened,--their bright eyes wide open and motionless,--lay without any beauty as if they were dead.

Another, with fully-developed limbs, her mouth wide open, her saliva dropping, and her person exposed, lay as though sprawling in intoxication,--she spoke not, but bore every limb distorted.

Thus that company of women, lying in different attitudes, according to their disposition and family, bore the aspect of a lake whose lotuses were bent down and broken by the wind.

Then having seen these young women thus lying distorted and with uncontrolled gestures, however excellent their forms and graceful their appearance,--the king's son felt moved with scorn.

'Such is the nature of women, impure and monstrous in the world of living beings; but deceived by dress and ornaments a man becomes infatuated by a woman's attractions.

'If a man would but consider the natural state of women and this change produced in them by sleep, assuredly he would not cherish his folly; but he is smitten from a right will and so succumbs to passion.'

Thus to him having recognised that difference there arose a desire to escape in the night; and then the gods, knowing his purpose, caused the door of the palace to fly open.

Then he went down from the roof of the palace, scorning those women who lay thus distorted; and having descended, undauntedly he went out first into the courtyard.

Having awakened his horse's attendant, the swift Khamdaka, he thus addressed him: 'Bring me quickly my horse Kamthaka, I wish to-day to go hence to attain immortality.

'Since such is the firm content which to-day is produced in my heart, and since my determination is settled in calm resolve, and since even in loneliness I seem to possess a guide,--verily the end which I desire is now before me.

'Since abandoning all shame and modesty these women lay before me as they did, and the two doors opened of their own accord, verily the time is come to depart for my true health.'

Then, accepting his lord's command, though he knew the purport of the king's injunctions, as being urged by a higher power in his mind, he set himself to bring the horse.

Then he brought out for his master that noble steed, his mouth furnished with a golden bit, his back lightly touched by the bed on which he had been lying, and endued with strength, vigour, speed, and swiftness; With a long chine, and root of the tail and heel,--gentle, with short hair, back, and ears,--with his back, belly, and sides depressed and elevated, with broad nostrils, forehead, hips, and breast.

The broad-chested hero, having embraced him, and caressing him with his lotus-like hand, ordered him with a gentle-toned voice, as if he were desirous to plunge into the middle of an army:

'Oftentimes have evil enemies been overthrown by the king when mounted on thee; do thou, O best of steeds, so exert thyself that I too may obtain the highest immortality.

'Companions are easy to be found in battle or in the happiness obtained by winning worldly objects or in attaining wealth; but companions are hard for a man to find who has fallen into misfortune or when he flies for refuge to Dharma.

'And yet all those who in this world are companions, whether in sinful custom or in seeking for Dharma,--as my inner soul now recognises,--they too are verily sharers in the common aim.

'Since then, when I attain this righteous end, my escape from hence will be for the good of the world,--O best of steeds, by thy speed and energy, strive for thine own good and the good of the world.'

Thus having exhorted the best of steeds like a friend to his duty, he, the best of men, longing to go to the forest, wearing a noble form, in brightness like fire, mounted the white horse as the sun an autumnal cloud.

Then that good steed, avoiding all noises which would sound startling in the dead of night and awaken the household,--all sound of his jaws hushed and his neighing silenced,--went forth, planting his hurrying steps at full speed.

With their lotus-like hands, whose fore-arms were adorned with golden bracelets, the Yakshas, with their bodies bent down, threw lotuses and bore up his hoofs as he rushed in startled haste.

The city-roads which were closed with heavy gates and bars, and which could be with difficulty opened even by elephants, flew open of their own accord without noise, as the prince went through.

Firm in his resolve and leaving behind without hesitation his father who turned ever towards him, and his young son, his affectionate people and his unparalleled magnificence, he then went forth out of his father's city.

Then he with his eyes long and like a full-blown lotus, looking back on the city, uttered a sound like a lion, 'Till I have seen the further shore of birth and death I will never again enter the city called after Kapila.'

Having heard this his utterance, the troops of the court of the Lord of wealth rejoiced; and the hosts of the gods, triumphing, wished him a successful accomplishment of his purpose.

Other heavenly beings with forms bright like fire, knowing that his purpose was hard to fulfil, produced a light on his dewy path like the rays of the moon issuing from the rift of a cloud.

But he with his horse like the horse of Indra, the lord of bay horses, hurrying on as if spurred in his mind, went over the leagues full of many conflicting emotions--the sky all the while with its cloud-masses checkered with the light of the dawn.

Book VI. The Chandaka Episode

Then when the sun, the eye of the world, was just risen, he, the noblest of men, beheld the hermitage of the son of Bhrigu, Its deer all asleep in quiet trust, its birds tranquilly resting,--seeing it he too became restful, and he felt as if his end was attained.

For the sake of ending his wonder and to show reverence for the penances observed, and as expressing his own conformity therewith, he alighted from the back of his horse.

Having alighted, he stroked the horse, exclaiming, 'All is saved,' and he spoke well-pleased to Khamdaka, bedewing him as it were with tears from his eyes:

'Good friend, thy devotion to me and thy courage of soul have been proved by thy thus following this steed whose speed is like that of Târkshya.

'Bent even though I am on other business, I am wholly won in heart by thee,--one who has such a love for his master, and at the same time is able to carry out his wish.

'One can be able without affection, and affectionate though unable; but one like thee, at once affectionate and able, is hard to find in the world.

An old mythic representation of the sun as a horse.]

'I am pleased with this noble action of thine; this feeling is seen towards me, even though I am regardless of conferring rewards.

'Who would not be favourably disposed to one who stands to him as bringing him reward? but even one's own people commonly become mere strangers in a reverse of fortune.

'The son is maintained for the sake of the family, the father is honoured for the sake of our own (future) support; the world shows kindness for the sake of hope; there is no such a thing as unselfishness without a motive.

'Why speak many words? in short, thou hast done me a very great kindness; take now my horse and return, I have attained the desired wood.'

Thus having spoken, the mighty hero in his desire to show perfect gentleness unloosed his ornaments and gave them to the other, who was deeply grieved.

Having taken a brilliant jewel whose effect illumined his diadem, he stood, uttering these words, like the mountain Mamdara with the sun resting on it:

'By thee with this jewel, O Khamda, having offered him repeated obeisance, the king, with his loving confidence still unshaken, must be enjoined to stay his grief.

'"I have entered the ascetic-wood to destroy old age and death,--with no thirst for heaven, with no lack of love nor feeling of anger.

'"Do not think of mourning for me who am thus gone forth from my home; union, however long it may last, in time will come to an end.

'"Since separation is certain, therefore is my mind fixed on liberation; how shall there not be repeated severings from one's kindred?

'"Do not think of mourning for me who am gone forth to leave sorrow behind; it is the thralls of passion, who are attached to desires, the causes of sorrow, for whom thou shouldst mourn.

'"This was the firm persuasion of our predecessors,--I as one departing by a common road am not to be mourned for by my heir.

'"At a man's death there are doubtless heirs to his wealth; but heirs to his merit are hard to find on the earth or exist not at all.

'"Even though thou sayest, 'He is gone at a wrong time to the wood,'--there is no wrong time for religious duty (dharma), life being fragile as it is.

'"Therefore my determination is, 'I must seek my supreme good this very day;' what confidence can there be in life, when death stands as our adversary?"

'Do thou address the king, O friend, with these and such-like words; and do thou use thy efforts so that he may not even remember me.

'Yea, do thou repeat to the king our utter unworthiness; through unworthiness affection is lost,--and where affection is lost, there is no sorrow.'

Having heard these words, Khamda, overwhelmed with grief, made reply with folded hands, his voice choked by tears:

'At this state of mind of thine, causing affliction to thy kindred, my mind, O my lord, sinks down like an elephant in the mud of a river.

'To whom would not such a determination as this of thine cause tears, even if his heart were of iron,--how much more if it were throbbing with love?

'Where is this delicacy of limb, fit to lie only in a palace,--and where is the ground of the ascetic forest, covered with the shoots of rough kusa grass?

'When, on hearing thy resolve, I first brought thee this horse,--it was fate only, O my lord, which made me do it, mastering my will.

'But how could I, O king, by mine own will, knowing this thy decision,--carry back the horse to the sorrow of Kapilavastu?

'Surely thou wilt not abandon, O hero, that fond old king, so devoted to his son, as a heretic might the true religion?

'And her, thy second mother, worn with the care of bringing thee up,--thou wilt not surely forget her, as an ingrate a benefit?

'Thou wilt not surely abandon thy queen, endowed with all virtues, illustrious for her family, devoted to her husband and with a young son, as a coward the royal dignity within his reach?

34 'Thou wilt not abandon the young son of Yasodharâ, worthy of all praise, thou the best of the cherishers of religion and fame, as a dissolute spendthrift his choicest glory?

35, 'Or even if thy mind be resolved to abandon thy kindred and thy kingdom, thou wilt not, O master, abandon me,--thy feet are my only refuge.

'I cannot go to the city with my soul thus burning, leaving thee behind in the forest as Sumitra left the son of Raghu.

'What will the king say to me, returning to the city without thee? or what shall I say to thy queens by way of telling them good news?

'As for what thou saidst, "thou must repeat my unworthiness to the king"--how shall I speak what is false of thee as of a sage without a fault?

'Or even if I ventured to speak it with a heart ashamed and a tongue cleaving to my mouth, who would think of believing it?

'He who would tell of or believe the fierceness of the moon, might tell of or believe thy faults, O physician of faults.

'Him who is always compassionate and who never fails to feel pity, it ill befits to abandon one who loves,--turn back and have mercy on me.'

Having heard these words of Khamda overcome with sorrow,--self-possessed with the utmost firmness the best of speakers answered:

'Abandon this distress, Khamda, regarding thy separation from me,--change is inevitable in corporeal beings who are subject to different births.

'Even if I through affection were not to abandon my kindred in my desire for liberation, death would still make us helplessly abandon one another.

'She, my mother, by whom I was borne in the womb with great thirst and pains,--where am I now with regard to her, all her efforts fruitless, and where is she with regard to me?

'As birds go to their roosting-tree and then depart, so the meeting of beings inevitably ends in separation.

'As clouds, having come together, depart asunder again, such I consider the meeting and parting of living things.

'And since this world goes away, each one of us deceiving the other,--it is not right to think anything thine own in a time of union which is a dream.

'Since the trees are parted from the innate colour of their leaves, why should there not still more be the parting of two things which are alien to each other?

'Therefore, since it is so, grieve not, my good friend, but go; or if thy love lingers, then go and afterwards return.

'Say, without reproaching us, to the people in Kapilavastu, "Let your love for him be given up, and hear his resolve.

'"Either he will quickly come back, having destroyed old age and death; or else he will himself perish, having failed in his purpose and lost hold of every support."'

Having heard his words, Kamthaka, the noblest of steeds, licked his feet with his tongue and dropped hot tears.

With his hand whose fingers were united with a membrane and which was marked with the auspicious svastika, and with its middle part curved, the prince stroked him and addressed him like a friend:

'Shed not tears, Kamthaka, this thy perfect equine nature has been proved,--bear with it, this thy labour will soon have its fruit.'

Then seizing the sharp jewelled sword which was in Khamdaka's hand, he resolutely drew out from the sheath the blade decked with golden ornaments, like a serpent from its hole.

Having drawn it forth, dark blue like a blue lotus petal, he cut his decorated tiara and his hair, and he tossed it with its scattered muslin into the air as a grey goose into a lake.

And the heavenly beings, with a longing to worship it, seized it respectfully as it was thrown up; and the divine hosts paid it due adoration in heaven with celestial honours.

Having thus divorced his ornaments and banished all royal magnificence from his head, and seeing his muslin floating away like a golden goose, the stedfast prince desired a sylvan dress.

Then a celestial being, wearing the form of a hunter, pure in heart, knowing his thoughts, approached near him in dark-red garments; and the son of the Sâkya king thus addressed him:

'Thy red garments are auspicious, the sign of a saint; but this destructive bow is not befitting; therefore, my good friend, if there is no strong preference in the matter, do thou give me that dress and take this of mine.'

The hunter replied, 'It has given me my desire, O giver of desires, as by this I have inspired ] animals with confidence and then killed them; but if thou hast need of it, O thou who art like Indra, accept it at once and give me the white dress.'

With extreme joy he then took that sylvan dress and gave away the linen one; and the hunter, assuming his heavenly form, having taken the white garment, went to heaven.

Then the prince and the attendant of the horse were filled with wonder as he was thus going, and forthwith they paid great honour anew to that sylvan dress.

Then the great-souled one, having dismissed the weeping Khamda, and wearing his fame veiled by the sign of the red garment, went towards the hermitage, like the king of mountains wrapped in an evening cloud.

While his master, thus regardless of his kingdom, was going to the ascetic-wood in mean garments, the groom, tossing up his arms, wailed bitterly and fell on the ground.

Having looked again he wept aloud, and embraced the horse Kamthaka with his arms; and then, hopeless and repeatedly lamenting, he went in body to the city, not in soul.

Sometimes he pondered, sometimes he lamented, sometimes he stumbled, and sometimes he fell; and so going along, wretched through his devoted attachment, he performed all kinds of actions in the road without conscious will.

Book VII. Entry into the Penance-Grove

Then having left the weeping tear-faced Khamda,--indifferent to all things in his longing for the forest he by whom all objects are accomplished, overpowering the place by his beauty, entered that hermitage as if it were fully blessed.

He the prince with a gait like the lion's, having entered that arena of deer, himself like a deer,--by the beauty of his person, even though bereft of his magnificence, attracted the eyes of all the dwellers in the hermitage.

The drivers of wheeled carriages also, with their wives, stood still in curiosity, holding the yokes in their hands,--they gazed on him who was like Indra, and moved not, standing like their beasts of burden with their heads half bent down.

And the Brâhmans who had gone outside for the sake of fuel, having come with their hands full of fuel, flowers, and kusa grass,--pre-eminent as they were in penances, and proficients in wisdom, went to see him, and went not to their cells.

Delighted the peacocks uttered their cries, as if they had seen a dark-blue cloud rising up; and leaving the young grass and coming forward, the deer with restless eyes and the ascetics who grazed like deer stood still.

Beholding him, the lamp of the race of Ikshvâku, shining like the rising sun,--even though their milking was over, being filled with joy, the oblation-giving cows poured forth their milk.

'It is one of the eight Vasus or one of the two Asvins, descended here,'--these words arose, uttered aloud by the sages in their astonishment at seeing him.

Like a second form of the lord of the gods, like the personified glory of the universe, he lighted up the entire wood like the sun come down of his own accord.

Then he, being duly honoured and invited to enter by those dwellers in the hermitage, paid his homage to the saints, with a voice like a cloud in the rainy season.

He, the wise one, longing for liberation, traversed that hermitage filled with the holy company desirous of heaven,--gazing at their strange penances.

He, the gentle one, having seen the different kinds of penance practised by the ascetics in that sacred grove,--desiring to know the truth, thus addressed one of the ascetics who was following him:

'Since this to-day is my first sight of a hermitage I do not understand this rule of penance; therefore will your honour kindly explain to me what resolve possesses each one of you.'

Then the Brâhman well-versed in penance told in order to that bull of the Sâkyas, a very bull in prowess, all the various kinds of penance and the fruit thereof.

'Uncultivated food, growing out of the water, leaves, water, and roots and fruits,--this is the fare of the saints according to the sacred texts; but the different alternatives of penance vary.

'Some live like the birds on gleaned corn, others graze on grass like the deer, others live on air with the snakes, as if turned into ant-hills.

'Others win their nourishment with great effort from stones, others eat corn ground with their own teeth; some, having boiled for others, dress for themselves what may chance to be left.

'Others, with their tufts of matted hair continually wet with water, twice offer oblations to Agni with hymns; others plunging like fishes into the water dwell there with their bodies scratched by tortoises.

'By such penances endured for a time,--by the higher they attain heaven, by the lower the world of men; by the path of pain they eventually dwell in happiness,--pain, they say, is the root of merit.'

The king's son, having heard this speech of the ascetic, even though he saw no lofty truth in it, was not content, but gently uttered these thoughts to himself:

'The penance is full of pain and of many kinds, and the fruit of the penance is mainly heaven at its best, and all the worlds are subject to change; verily the labour of the hermitages is spent for but little gain.

'Those who abandoning wealth, kindred, and worldly objects, undertake vows for the sake of heaven,--they, when parted, only wish to go to a still greater wood of their own again.

22, 'He who by all these bodily toils which are called penances, seeks a sphere of action for the sake of desire,--not examining the inherent evils of mundane existence, he only seeks pain by pain.

'There is ever to living creatures fear from death, and they with all their efforts seek to be born again; where there is action, there must inevitably be death,--he is always drowned therein, just because he is afraid.

'Some undergo misery for the sake of this world, others meet toil for the sake of heaven; all living beings, wretched through hope and always missing their aim, fall certainly for the sake of happiness into misery.

'It is not the effort itself which I blame, which flinging aside the base pursues a high path of its own; but the wise, by all this common toil, ought to attain that state in which nothing needs ever to be done again.

'If the mortification of the body here is religion, then the body's happiness is only irreligion; but by religion a man obtains happiness in the next world, therefore religion here bears irreligion as its fruit.

'Since it is only by the mind's authority that the body either acts or ceases to act, therefore to control the thought is alone befitting,--without the thought the body is like a log.

'If merit is gained by purity of food, then there is merit also in the deer; and in those men also who live as outcasts from all enjoyments, through being estranged from them by the fault of their destiny.

'If the deliberate choice of pain is a cause of merit, why should not that same choice be directed to pleasure? If you say that the choice of pleasure carries no authority, is not the choice of pain equally without authority?

'So too those who for the sake of purifying their actions, earnestly sprinkle water on themselves, saying, "this is a sacred spot,"--even there this satisfaction resides only in the heart,--for waters will not cleanse away sin.

'The water which has been touched by the virtuous,--that is the spot, if you wish for a sacred spot on the earth; therefore I count as a place of pilgrimage only the virtues of a virtuous man, water without doubt is only water.'

Thus he uttered his discourse full of various arguments, and the sun went down into the west; then he entered the grove where penances had now ceased and whose trees were gray with the smoke of the (evening) oblations; Where the sacred fires had been duly transferred when kindled to other spots,--all crowded with the holy hermits who had performed their ablutions, and with the shrines of the gods murmuring with the muttered prayers,--it seemed all alive like the full service of religion in exercise.

He spent several nights there, himself like the moon, examining their penances; and he departed from that penance-field, feeling that he had comprehended the whole nature of penance.

The dwellers of the hermitage followed him with their minds fixed on the greatness of soul visible in his person, as if they were great seers beholding Religion herself, withdrawn from a land invaded by the base.

Then he looked on all those ascetics with their matted hair, bark garments, and rag-strips waving, and he stood considering their penances under an auspicious and noble tree by the way-side.

Then the hermits having approached stood surrounding the best of men; and an old man from among them thus addressed him respectfully in a gentle voice:

'At thy coming the hermitage seems to have become full, it becomes as it were empty when thou art gone,--therefore, my son, thou wilt not surely desert it, as the loved life the body of one who wishes to live.

'In front stands the holy mountain Himavat, inhabited by Brahmarshis, râgarshis, and surarshis; by whose mere presence the merit of these penances becomes multiplied to the ascetics.

'Near us also are holy spots of pilgrimage, which become ladders to heaven; loved by divine sages and saints whose souls are intent on devotion and who keep their souls in perfect control.

'From hence, again, the Northern quarter is especially to be fitly followed for the sake of preeminent merit; even one who was wise starting towards the south could not advance one single step.

'Hast thou seen in this sacred grove one who neglects all ceremonies or who follows confused ceremonies or an outcast or one impure, that thou dost not desire to dwell here? Speak it out, and let the abode be welcomed.

'These hermits here desire thee as their companion in penance, thee who art like a storehouse of penance,--to dwell with thee who art like Indra would bring prosperity even to Vrihaspati.'

He, the chief of the wise, when thus addressed in the midst of the ascetics by their chief--having resolved in his mind to put an end to all existence thus uttered his inward thought:

'The upright-souled saints, the upholders of religion, become the very ideal of our own kindred through their delight in showing hospitality; by all these kind feelings of thine towards me affection is produced in me and the path which regards the self as supreme is revealed.

'I seem to be all at once bathed by these gentle heart-touching words of thine, and the joy now throbs in me once more which I felt when I first grasped the idea of dharma.

'There is sorrow to me when I reflect that I shall have to depart, leaving you who are thus engaged, you who are such a refuge and who have shown such excessive kindness to me,--just as there was when I had to leave my kindred behind.

'But this devotion of yours is for the sake of heaven,--while my desire is that there may be no fresh birth; therefore I wish not to dwell in this wood; the nature of cessation is different from that of activity.

'It is not therefore any dislike on my part or the wrong conduct of another, which makes me go away from this wood; for ye are all like great sages, standing fast in the religious duties which are in accordance with former ages.

Then having heard the prince's discourse, gracious and of deep meaning, gentle, strong, and full of dignity, the ascetics paid him especial honour.

But a certain Brâhman who was lying there in the ashes, tall and wearing his hair in a tuft, and clothed in the bark of trees, with reddish eyes and a thin long nose, and carrying a pot with water in his hand, thus lifted his voice:

'O sage, brave indeed is thy purpose, who, young as thou art, hast seen the evils of birth; he who, having pondered thoroughly heaven and liberation, makes up his mind for liberation,--he is indeed brave!

'By all those various sacrifices, penances and vows the slaves of passion desire to go to heaven; but the strong, having battled with passion as with an enemy, desire to obtain liberation.

'If this is thy settled purpose, go quickly to Vindhyakoshtha; the Muni Arâda lives there who has gained an insight into absolute bliss.

55, 'From him thou wilt hear the path to truth, and if thou hast a desire for it, thou wilt embrace it; but as I foresee, this purpose of thine will go on further, after having rejected his theory.
'With the nose of a well-fed horse, large long eyes, a red lower lip, white sharp teeth, and a thin red tongue,--this face of thine will drink tip the entire ocean of what is to be known.
'That unfathomed depth which characterises thee, that majesty and all those signs of thine,--they shall win a teacher's chair in the earth which was never won by sages even in a former age.'
The prince replied, 'Very well,' and having saluted the company of sages he departed; the hermits also having duly performed to him all the rites of courtesy entered again into the ascetic grove.

Book VIII. The Lamentations in the Palace

Meanwhile the attendant of the horse, in deep distress, when his unselfish master thus went into the forest, made every effort in the road to dissolve his load of sorrow, and yet in spite of it all not a tear dropped from him.

But the road which by his lord's command he had traversed in one night with that horse,--that same road he now travelled in eight days, pondering his lord's absence.

And the horse Kamthaka, though he still went on bravely, flagged and had lost all spirit in his heart; and decked though he was with ornaments, he had lost all his beauty when bereft of his master.

And turning round towards that ascetic-grove, he neighed repeatedly with a mournful sound; and though pressed with hunger, he welcomed not nor tasted any grass or water on the road, as before.

Slowly they two at last came back to the city called after Kapila, which seemed empty when deserted by that hero who was bent on the salvation of the world,--like the sky bereft of the sun.

Bright as it was with lotus-covered waters, adorned also with trees full of flowers, that garden of his, which was now like a forest, was no longer gay with citizens who had lost all their gladness.

Then those two,--who were as it were silently forbidden by the sad inhabitants who were wandering in that direction, their brightness gone and their eyes dim with tears,---slowly entered the city which seemed all bathed in gloom.

Having heard that they had returned with their limbs all relaxed, coming back without the pride of the Sâkya race, the men of the city shed tears in the road, as when in old days the chariot of the son of Dasaratha came back.

Full of wrath, the people followed Khamdaka in the road, crying behind him with tears, 'Where is the king's son, the glory of his race and kingdom? he has been stolen away by thee.'

Then he said to those faithful ones, 'I have not left the king's son; but by him in the uninhabited forest I weeping and the dress of a householder were abandoned together.'

Having heard these words of his those crowds adopted a most difficult resolve; they did not wipe away the tears which fell from their eyes, and they blamed their own (evil) hearts on account of the consequences of their actions; Then they said, 'Let us go this very day into that forest, whither he is gone, whose gait is like the king of elephants; without him we have no wish to live, like the senses when the souls depart.

'This city bereft of him is a forest, and that forest which possesses him is a city; the city without him has no charms for us, like heaven without the lord of the Maruts, when Vritra was slain.'

Next the women crowded to the rows of windows, crying to one another, 'The prince has returned;' but having heard that his horse had an empty back, they closed the windows again and wailed aloud.

But the king, having undertaken religious observances for the recovery of his son, with his mind distressed by the vow and the sorrow, was muttering prayers in the temple, and performing such rites as suited the occasion.

Then with his eyes filled with tears,--taking the horse, his whole soul fixed on the horse,--overcome with grief he entered the palace as if his master had been killed by an enemy.

And entering the royal stable, looking about with his eyes full of tears, Kamthaka uttered a loud sound, as if he were uttering his woe to the people.

Then the birds that fed in the middle of the house, and the carefully cherished horses that were tied near by, re-echoed the sound of that horse, thinking that it might be the return of the prince.

And the people, deceived by an excessive joy, who were in the neighbourhood of the king's inner apartments, thought in their hearts, 'Since the horse Kamthaka neighs, it must be that the prince is coming.'

Then the women, who were fainting with sorrow, now in wild joy, with their eyes rolling to see the prince, rushed out of the palace full of hope, like flickering lightnings from an autumn cloud.

With their dress hanging down, and their linen garments soiled, their faces untouched by collyrium and with eyes dimmed by tears; dark and discoloured and destitute of all painting, like the stars in the sky, pale-red with the ending of night; With their feet unstained by red, and undecked by anklets,--their faces without earrings, and their ears in their native simplicity,--their loins with only nature's fulness, and uncircled by any girdle,--and their bosoms bare of strings of pearls as if they had been robbed.

But when they saw Khandaka standing helpless, his eyes filled with tears, and the horse, the noble women wept with pale faces, like cows abandoned by the bull in the midst of the forest.

Then the king's principal queen Gautamî, like a fond cow that has lost her calf, fell bursting into tears on the ground with outstretched arms, like a golden plantain-tree with trembling leaves.

Some of the other women, bereft of their brightness and with arms and souls lifeless, and seeming to have lost their senses in their despondency, raised no cry, shed no tear, and breathed not, standing senseless as if painted.

Others as having lost all self-control, fainting in their sorrow for their lord, their faces pouring tears from their eyes, watered their bosoms from which all sandal-wood was banished, like a mountain the rocks with its streams.

Then that royal palace was illumined with their faces pelted by the tears from their eyes, as a lake in the time of the first rains with its dripping lotuses pelted by the rain from the clouds.

The noble women beat their breasts with their lotus-like hands, falling incessantly, whose fingers were round and plump, which had their arteries hidden and bore no ornaments,--as creepers tossed by the wind strike themselves with their shoots.

And again how those women shine forth, as their bosoms rose up together after the blow from the hand, and trembled with the shock,--like the streams, when their pairs of ruddy geese shake, as the lotuses on which they sit wave about with the wind from the wood.

As they pressed their breasts with their hands, so too they pressed their hands with their breasts,--dull to all feelings of pity, they made their hands and bosoms inflict mutual pains on each other.

Then thus spoke Yasodharâ, shedding tears with deep sorrow, her bosom heaving with her sighs, her eyes discoloured with aneer, and her voice choking with emotion through the influence of despondency:

'Leaving me helplessly asleep in the night, whither, O Khamdaka, is he, the desire of my heart, gone? and when thou and Kamthaka are alone come back, while three went away together, my mind trembles.

'Why dost thou weep to-day, O cruel one, having done a dishonourable, pitiless, and unfriendly deed to me? Cease thy tears and be content in thy heart,--tears and that deed of thine ill agree.

'Through thee, his dear obedient faithful loyal companion, always doing what was right, the son of my lord is gone never to return,--rejoice,--all hail! thy pains have gained their end.

'Better for a man a wise enemy rather than a foolish friend unskilled in emergencies; by thee, the unwise self-styled friend, a great calamity has been brought upon this family.

'These women are sorely to be pitied who have put away their ornaments, having their eyes red and dimmed with continuous tears, who are as it were desolate widows, though their lord still stands as unshaken as the earth or Mount Himavat.

'And these lines of palaces seem to weep aloud, flinging up their dovecots for arms, with the long unbroken moan of their doves,--separated verily, with him, from all who could restrain them.

'Even that horse Kamthaka without doubt desired my utter ruin; for he bore away from hence my treasure when all were sound asleep in the night,--like one who steals jewels.

'When he was able to bear even the onsets of arrows, and still more the strokes of whips,--how then for fear of the fall of a whip, could he go carrying with him my prosperity and my heart together?

'The base creature now neighs loudly, filling the king's palace with the sound; but when he carried away my beloved, then this vilest of horses was dumb.

'If he had neighed and so woke up the people, or had even made a noise with his hoofs on the ground, or had made the loudest sound he could with his jaws, my grief would not have been so great.'

Having thus heard the queen's words, their syllables choked with tears and full of lament, slowly Khamdaka uttered this answer, with his face bent down, his voice low with tears, and his hands clasped in supplication:

'Surely, O queen, thou wilt not blame Kamthaka nor wilt thou show thy anger against me,--know that we two are entirely guiltless,--that god amongst men, O queen, is gone away like a god.

'I indeed, though I well knew the king's command, as though dragged by force by some divine powers, brought quickly to him this swift steed, and followed him on the road unwearied.

'And this best of horses as he went along touched not the ground with the tips of his hoofs as if they were kept aloft from it; and so too, having his mouth restrained as by fate, he made no sound with his jaws and neighed not.

'When the prince went out, then the gate was thrown open of its own accord; and the darkness of the night was, as it were, pierced by the sun,--we may learn from hence too that this was the ordering of fate.

'When also by the king's command, in palace and city, diligent guards had been placed by thousands, and at that time they were all overcome by sleep and woke not,--we may learn from hence too that this was the ordering of fate.

'When also the garment, approved for a hermit's dwelling in the forest, was offered to him at the moment by some denizen of heaven, and the tiara which he threw into the sky was carried off,--we may learn from hence too that this was the ordering of fate.

'Do not therefore assume that his departure arises from the fault of either of us, O queen; neither I nor this horse acted by our own choice; he went on his way with the gods as his retinue.'

Having thus heard the history of the prince's departure, so marvellous in many ways, those women, as though losing their grief, were filled with wonder, but they again took up their distress at the thought of his becoming an ascetic.

With her eyes filled with the tears of despondency, wretched like an osprey who has lost her young,--Gautamî abandoning all self-control wailed aloud,--she fainted, and with a weeping face exclaimed:

'Beautiful, soft, black, and all in great waves, growing each from its own special root,--those hairs of his are tossed on the ground, worthy to be encircled by a royal diadem.

'With his long arms and lion-gait, his bull-like eye, and his beauty bright like gold, his broad chest, and his voice deep as a drum or a cloud, should such a hero as this dwell in a hermitage?

'This earth is indeed unworthy as regards that peerless doer of noble actions, for such a virtuous hero has gone away from her,--it is the merits and virtues of the subjects which produce their king.

'Those two feet of his, tender, with their beautiful web spread between the toes, with their ankles concealed, and soft like a blue lotus,--how can they, bearing a wheel marked in the middle, walk on the hard ground of the skirts of the forest?

'That body, which deserves to sit or lie on the roof of a palace,--honoured with costly garments, aloes, and sandal-wood,--how will that manly body live in the woods, exposed to the attacks of the cold, the heat, and the rain?

'He who was proud of his family, goodness, strength, energy, sacred learning, beauty, and youth,--who was ever ready to give, not to ask,--how will he go about begging alms from others?

'He who, lying on a spotless golden bed, was awakened during the night by the concert of musical instruments,--how alas! will he, my ascetic, sleep to-day on the bare ground with only one rag of cloth interposed?'

Having heard this piteous lamentation, the women, embracing one another with their arms, rained the tears from their eyes, as the shaken creepers drop honey from their flowers.

Then Yasodharâ fell upon the ground, like the ruddy goose parted from her mate, and in utter bewilderment she slowly lamented, with her voice repeatedly stopped by sobs:

'If he wishes to practise a religious life after abandoning me his lawful wife widowed,--where is his religion, who wishes to follow penance without his lawful wife to share it with him?

'He surely has never heard of the monarchs of olden times, his own ancestors, Mahâsudarsa and the rest,--how they went with their wives into the forest,--that he thus wishes to follow a religious life without me.

'He does not see that husband and wife are both consecrated in sacrifices, and both purified by the performance of the rites of the Veda, and both destined to enjoy the same results afterwards,--he therefore grudges me a share in his merit.

'Surely it must be that this fond lover of religion, knowing that my mind was secretly quarrelling even with my beloved, lightly and without fear has deserted me thus angry, in the hope to obtain heavenly nymphs in Indra's world!

'But what kind of a thought is this of mine? those women even there have the attributes which belong to bodies,--for whose sake he thus practises austerities in the forest, deserting his royal magnificence and my fond devotion.

'I have no such longing for the joy of heaven, nor is that hard for even common people to win if they are resolute; but my one desire is how he my beloved may never leave me either in this world or the next.

'Even if I am unworthy to look on my husband's face with its long eyes and bright smile, still is this poor Râhula never to roll about in his father's lap?

'Alas! the mind of that wise hero is terribly stern,--gentle as his beauty seems, it is pitilessly cruel,--who can desert of his own accord such an infant son with his inarticulate talk, one who would charm even an enemy.

'My heart too is certainly most stern, yea, made of rock or fashioned even of iron, which does not break when its lord is gone to the forest, deserted by his royal glory like an orphan,--he so well worthy of happiness.'

So the queen, fainting in her woe, wept and pondered and wailed aloud repeatedly,--self-possessed as she was by nature, yet in her distress she remembered not her fortitude and felt no shame.

Seeing Yasodharâ thus bewildered with her wild utterances of grief and fallen on the ground, all the women cried out with their faces streaming with tears like large lotuses beaten by the rain.

But the king, having ended his prayers, and performed the auspicious rites of the sacrifice, now came out of the temple; and being smitten by the wailing sound of the people, he tottered like an elephant at the crash of a thunderbolt.

Having heard (of the arrival) of both Khamdaka and Kamthaka, and having learned the fixed resolve of his son, the lord of the earth fell struck down by sorrow like the banner of Indra when the festival is over.

Then the king, distracted by his grief for his son, being held up for a moment by his attendants all of the same race, gazed on the horse with his eyes filled with tears, and then falling on the ground wailed aloud:

'After having done many dear exploits for me in battle, one great deed of cruelty, O Kamthaka, hast thou done,--for by thee that dear son of mine, dear for his every virtue, has been tossed down in the wood, dear as he was, like a worthless thing.

'Therefore either lead me to-day where he is, or go quickly and bring him back again; without him there is no life left to me, as to one plunged in sickness without the true medicine.

'When Suvarnanishthîvin was carried away by death, it seemed impossible that Srimgaya should not die; and shall I, when my duty-loving son is gone, fear to set my soul free, like any coward?

'How should not the mind of Manu himself be distracted, when parted from his dear virtuous son,--(Manu) the son of Vivasvat, who knew the higher and the lower, the mighty lord of creatures, the institutor of the ten chieftains.

'I envy the monarch, that friend of Indra, the wise son of king Aga, who, when his son went into the forest, went himself to heaven, and dragged out no miserable life here with vain tears.

'Describe to me, O beloved one, the court of that hermitage, whither thou hast carried him who is as my funeral oblation of water; these my vital airs are all ready to depart, and are eager for it, longing to drink it.'

Thus the king, in his grief for his separation from his son,--losing all his innate firmness which was stedfast like the earth,--loudly lamented as one distraught, like Dasaratha, a prey to his sorrow for Râma.

Then the wise counsellor, endued with religious learning, courtesy, and virtue, and the old family priest, spoke to him as was befitting in these well-weighed words, neither with their faces overwhelmed by grief nor yet wholly unmoved:

'Cease, O noblest of men, thy grief, regain thy firmness,--surely thou wilt not, O firm hero, shed tears like one of no self-control'; many kings on this earth have gone into the forests, throwing away their royal pomp like a crushed wreath.

'Moreover, this his state of mind was all predetermined; remember those words long ago of the holy sage Asita; "He will never be made to dwell even for a moment contentedly in heaven or in an emperor's domain."

'But if, O best of men, the effort must be made, quickly speak the word, we two will at once go together; let the battle be waged in every way with thy son and his fate whatever it be.'

Then the king commanded them both, 'Do you both go quickly hence,--my heart will not return to quiet, any more than a bird's in the woods longing for its young.'

With a prompt acquiescence at the king's order the counsellor and the family priest went to that forest; and then with his wives and his queen the king also, saying, 'It is done,' performed the remainder of the rites.

Book IX. The Mission to Seek the Prince

Then the two, the counsellor and the family priest, beaten by the king with his scourge of tears, went with every effort to that forest in the hurry of affection, like two noble horses goaded.

Having come at last full of weariness to that hermitage, accompanied by a fitting train,--they dismissed their royal pomp and with sober gestures entered the abode of Bhârgava.

Having saluted that Brâhman with due respect, and having been honoured by him with due reverence in return, having seated themselves, plunging at once into the subject, they addressed Bhârgava, who was likewise seated, concerning their errand.

'Let your honour know us to be respectively imperfect proficients in preserving the sacred learning and in retaining the state-counsels,--in the service of the monarch of the Ikshvâku race, pure in his valour and pure and wide in his glory.

'His son, who is like Gayanta, while he himself is like Indra, has come here, it is said, desirous to escape from the fear of old age and death,--know that we two are come here on account of him.'

He answered them, 'That prince of the long arms did indeed come here, but not as one unawakened; "this dharma only brings us back again,"--recognising this, he went off forthwith towards Arâda, seeking liberation.'

Then they two, having understood the true state of things, bade that Brâhman at once farewell, and wearied though they were, went on as if they were unwearied, thither whither the prince was gone.

As they were going, they saw him bereft of all ornaments, but still radiant with his beauty, sitting like a king in the road at the foot of a tree, like the sun under the canopy of a cloud.

Leaving his chariot, the family priest then went up to the prince with the counsellor, as the saint Aurvaseya went with Vâmadeva, wishing to see Râma when he dwelt in the forest.

They paid him honour as was fitting, as Sukra and Amgiras honoured Indra in heaven; and he in return paid due honour to them, as Indra in heaven to Sukra and Amgiras.

Then they, having obtained his permission, sat down near him who was the banner of the Sâkya race; and they shone in his proximity like the two stars of the asterism Punarvasû in conjunction with the moon.

The family priest addressed the prince who shone brightly as he sat at the foot of the tree, as Vrihaspati addressed Indra's son Gayanta, seated in heaven under the heavenly tree parikata:

'O prince, consider for a moment what the king with his eyes raining tears said to thee, as he lay fainting on the ground with the arrow of thy sorrow plunged into his heart.

'"I know that thy resolve is fixed upon religion, and I am convinced that this purpose of thine is unchanging; but I am consumed with a flame of anguish like fire at thy flying to the woods at an inopportune time.

'"Come, thou who lovest duty, for the sake of what is my heart's desire,--abandon this purpose for the sake of duty; this huge swollen stream of sorrow sweeps me away as a river's torrent its bank.

'"That effect which is wrought in the clouds, water, the dry grass, and the mountains by the wind, the sun, the fire, and the thunderbolt,--that same effect this grief produces in us by its tearing in pieces, its drying up, its burning, and its cleaving.

"'Enjoy therefore for a while the sovereignty of the earth,--thou shalt go to the forest at the time provided by the sâstras,--do not show disregard for thy unhappy kindred,--compassion for all creatures is the true religion.

'"Religion is not wrought out only in the forests, the salvation of ascetics can be accomplished even in a city; thought and effort are the true means; the forest and the badge are only a coward's signs.

'"Liberation has been attained even by householders, Indras among men, who wore diadems, and carried strings of pearls suspended on their shoulders, whose garlands were entangled with bracelets, and who lay cradled in the lap of Fortune.

'"Bali and Vagrabâhu, the two younger brothers of Dhruva, Vaibhrâga, Âshâdha, and Amtideva, and Ganaka also, the king of the Videhas, and king Senagit's son, his tree of ripe blessing; '"Know that all these great kings who were householders were well skilled in attaining the merit which leads to final bliss,--do thou also therefore obtain both simultaneously--royal magnificence and the control over the mind.

'"I desire,--when I have once closely embraced thee after thy kingly consecration is once performed, and while thou art still wet with the sacred water,--when I behold thee with the pomp of the royal umbrella,--in the fulness of that joy to enter the forest."

'Thus did the king say to thee in a speech whose words were stopped by tears,--surely having heard it, for the sake of what is so dear to him, thou wilt with all affection follow his affection.

'The king of the Sâkyas is drowned in a deep sea of sorrow, full of waves of trouble, springing from thee; do thou therefore deliver him helpless and protectorless like an ox drowning in the sea.

'Having heard that Bhîshma who sprang from Gangâ's womb, Râma, and Râma the son of Bhrigu,--all did what would please their fathers;--surely thou too wilt do thy father's desire.

'Consider also the queen, who brought thee up, who has not yet gone to the region inhabited by Agastya--wilt thou not take some heed of her, who ceaselessly grieves like a fond cow that has lost her calf?

'Surely thou wilt succour thy wife by the sight of thee, who now mourns widowed yet with her lord still alive,--like a swan separated from her mate or a female elephant deserted in the forest by her companion.

'Thy only son, a child little deserving such woe, distressed with sorrow, and . . . . --O deliver Râhula from the grief of his kindred like the full moon from the contact of Râhu!

'Burned with the fire of anguish within him, to which thy absence adds fresh fuel,--a fire whose smoke is sighs and its flame despair,--he wanders for a sight of thee through the women's apartments and the whole city.'

The Bodhisattva,--whose perfection was absolute,--having heard the words of the family priest, reflected for a moment, knowing all the virtues of the virtuous, and then thus uttered his gentle reply:

'I well know the paternal tenderness of the king, especially that which he has displayed towards me; yet knowing this as I do, still alarmed at sickness, old age, and death, I am inevitably forced to leave my kindred.

'Who would not wish to see his dear kindred, if but this separation from beloved ones did not exist? but since even after it has been once, separation will still come again, it is for this that I abandon my father, however loving.

'I do not however approve that thou shouldst consider the king's grief as caused by me, when in the midst of his dream-like unions he is afflicted by thoughts of separations in the future.

'Thus let thy thoughts settle into certainty, having seen the multiform in its various developments; neither a son nor kindred is the cause of sorrow,--this sorrow is only caused by ignorance.

'Since parting is inevitably fixed in the course of time for all beings, just as for travellers who have joined company on a road,--what wise man would cherish sorrow, when he loses his kindred, even though he loves them?

'Leaving his kindred in another world, he departs hither; and having stolen away from them here, he goes forth once more; "having gone thither, go thou elsewhere also,"--such is the lot of mankind,--what consideration can the yogin have for them?

'Since from the moment of leaving the womb death is a characteristic adjunct, why, in thy affection for thy son, hast thou called my departure to the forest ill-timed?

'There may be an "ill time" in one's attaining a worldly object,--time indeed is described as inseparably connected with all things; time drags the world into all its various times; but all time suits a bliss which is really worthy of praise.

'That the king should wish to surrender to me his kingdom,--this is a noble thought, well worthy of a father; but it would be as improper for me to accept it, as for a sick man through greed to accept unwholesome food.

'How can it be right for the wise man to enter royalty, the home of illusion, where are found anxiety, passion, and weariness, and the violation of all right through another's service?

'The golden palace seems to me to be on fire; the daintiest viands seem mixed with poison; infested with crocodiles [is the tranquil lotus-bed].' . . . . . . . . .

Having heard the king's son uttering this discourse, well suitable to his virtues and knowledge of the soul, freed from all desires, full of sound reasons, and weighty,--the counsellor thus made answer:

'This resolve of thine is an excellent counsel, not unfit in itself but only unfit at the present time; it could not be thy duty, loving duty as thou dost, to leave thy father in his old age to sorrow.

'Surely thy mind is not very penetrating, or it is ill-skilled in examining duty, wealth, and pleasure,--when for the sake of an unseen result thou departest disregarding a visible end.

'Again, some say that there is another birth,--others with confident assertion say that there is not; since then the matter is all in doubt, it is right to enjoy the good fortune which comes into thy hand.

'If there is any activity hereafter, we will enjoy ourselves in it as may offer; or if there is no activity beyond this life, then there is an assured liberation to all the world without any effort.

'Some say there is a future life, but they do not allow the possibility of liberation; as fire is hot by nature and water liquid, so they hold that there is a special nature in our power of action.

'Some maintain that all things arise from inherent properties,--both good and evil and existence and non-existence; and since all this world thus arises spontaneously, therefore also all effort of ours is vain.

'Since the action of the senses is fixed, and so too the agreeableness or the disagreeableness of outward objects,--then for that which is united to old age and pains, what effort can avail to alter it? Does it not all arise spontaneously?

'The fire becomes quenched by water, and fire causes water to evaporate; and different elements, united in a body, producing unity, bear tip the world.

'That the nature of the embryo in the womb is produced as composed of hands, feet, belly, back, and head, and that it is also united with the soul,--the wise declare that all this comes of itself spontaneously.

'Who causes the sharpness of the thorn? or the various natures of beasts and birds? All this has arisen spontaneously; there is no acting from desire, how then can there be such a thing as will?

'Others say that creation comes from Îsvara,--what need then is there of the effort of the conscious soul? That which is the cause of the action of the world, is also determined as the cause of its ceasing to act.

'Some say that the coming into being and the destruction of being are alike caused by the soul, but they say that coming into being arises without effort, while the attainment of liberation is by effort.

'A man discharges his debt to his ancestors by begetting offspring, to the saints by sacred lore, to the gods by sacrifices; he is born with these three debts upon him,--whoever has liberation (from these,) he indeed has liberation.

'Thus by this series of rules the wise promise liberation to him who uses effort; but however ready for effort with all their energy, those who seek liberation will find weariness.

'Therefore, gentle youth, if thou hast a love for liberation, follow rightly the prescribed rule; thus wilt thou thyself attain to it, and the king's grief will come to an end.

'And as for thy meditations on the evils of life ending in thy return from the forest to thy home,--let not the thought of this trouble thee, my son,--those in old time also have returned from the forests to their houses.

'The king Ambarîsha, though he had dwelt in the forest, went back to the city, surrounded by his children; so too Râma, seeing the earth oppressed by the base, came forth from his hermitage and ruled it again.

'So too Drumâksha, the king of the Sâlvas, came to his city from the forest with his son; and Sâmkriti Amtideva, after he had become a Brahmarshi, received his royal dignity from the saint Vasishtha.

'Such men as these, illustrious in glory and virtue, left the forests and came back to their houses; therefore it is no sin to return from a hermitage to one's home, if it be only for the sake of duty.'

Then having heard the affectionate and loyal words of the minister, who was as the eye of the king,--firm in his resolve, the king's son made his answer, with nothing omitted or displaced, neither tedious nor hasty:

'This doubt whether anything exists or not, is not to be solved for me by another's words; having determined the truth by asceticism or quietism, I will myself grasp whatever is ascertained concerning it.

'It is not for me to accept a theory which depends on the unknown and is all controverted, and which involves a hundred prepossessions; what wise man would go by another's belief? Mankind are like the blind directed in the darkness by the blind.

'But even though I cannot discern the truth, yet still, if good and evil are doubted, let one's mind be set on the good; even a toil in vain is to be chosen by him whose soul is good, while the man of base soul has no joy even in the truth.

'But having seen that this "sacred tradition" is uncertain, know that that only is right which has been uttered by the trustworthy; and know that trustworthiness means the absence of faults; he who is without faults will not utter an untruth.

'And as for what thou saidst to me in regard to my returning to my home, by alleging Râma and others as examples, they are no authority,--for in determining duty, how canst thou quote as authorities those who have broken their vows?

'Even the sun, therefore, may fall to the earth, even the mountain Himavat may lose its firmness; but never would I return to my home as a man of the world, with no knowledge of the truth and my senses only alert for external objects.

'I would enter the blazing fire, but not my house with my purpose unfulfilled.' Thus he proudly made his resolve, and rising up in accordance with it, full of disinterestedness, went his way.

Then the minister and the Brâhman, both full of tears, having heard his firm determination, and having followed him awhile with despondent looks, and overcome with sorrow, slowly returned of necessity to the city.

Through their love for the prince and their devotion to the king, they returned, and often stopped looking back; they could neither behold him on the road nor yet lose the sight of him, shining in his own splendour and beyond the reach of all others, like the sun.

Having placed faithful emissaries in disguise to find out the actions of him who was the supreme refuge of all, they went on with faltering steps, saying to each other, 'How shall we approach the king and see him, who is longing for his dear son?'

Book X. Srenya's Visit

The prince, he of the broad and lusty chest, having thus dismissed the minister and the priest, crossed the Ganges with its speeding waves and went to Râgagriha with its beautiful palaces.

He reached the city distinguished by the five hills, well guarded and adorned with mountains, and supported and hallowed by auspicious sacred places,--like Brahman in a holy calm going to the uppermost heaven.

Having heard of his majesty and strength, and his splendid beauty, surpassing all other men, the people of that region were all astonished as at him who has a bull for his sign and is immovable in his vow.

On seeing him, he who was going elsewhere stood still, and he who was standing there followed him in the way; he who was walking gently and gravely ran quickly, and he who was sitting at once sprang up.

Some people reverenced him with their hands, others in worship saluted him with their heads, some addressed him with affectionate words,--not one went on without paying him homage.

Those who were wearing gay-coloured dresses were ashamed when they saw him, those who were talking on random subjects fell to silence on the road; no one indulged in an improper thought, as at the presence of Religion herself embodied.

In the men and the women on the highway, even though they were intent on other business, that conduct alone with the profoundest reverence seemed proper which is enjoined by the rules of royal homage; but his eyes never looked upon them.

His brows, his forehead, his mouth, or his eyes,--his body, his hands, his feet, or his gait,--whatever part of him any one beheld, that at once riveted his eyes.

Having beheld him with the beautiful circle of hair between his brows and with long eyes, with his radiant body and his hands showing a graceful membrane between the fingers,--so worthy of ruling the earth and yet wearing a mendicant's dress,--the Goddess of Râgagriha was herself perturbed.

Then Srenya, the lord of the court of the Magadhas, beheld from the outside of his palace the immense concourse of people, and asked the reason of it; and thus did a man recount it to him:

'He who was thus foretold by the Brâmans, "he will either attain supreme wisdom or the empire of the earth,"--it is he, the son of the king of the Sâkyas, who is the ascetic whom the people are gazing at.'

The king, having heard this and perceived its meaning with his mind, thus at once spoke to that man: 'Let it be known whither he is going;' and the man, receiving the command, followed the prince.

With unrestless eyes, seeing only a yoke's length before him, with his voice hushed, and his walk slow and measured, he, the noblest of mendicants, went begging alms, keeping his limbs and his wandering thoughts under control.

Having received such alms as were offered, he retired to a lonely cascade of the mountain; and having eaten it there in the fitting manner, he ascended the mountain Pâmdava.

In that wood, thickly filled with lodhra trees, having its thickets resonant with the notes of the peacocks, he the sun of mankind shone, wearing his red dress, like the morning sun above the eastern mountain.

That royal attendant, having thus watched him there, related it all to the king Srenya; and the king, when he heard it, in his deep veneration, started himself to go thither with a modest retinue.

He who was like the Pâmdavas in heroism, and like a mountain in stature, ascended Pâmdava, that noblest of mountains,--a crown-wearer, of lion-like gait, a lion among men, as a maned lion ascends a mountain.

There he beheld the Bodhisattva, resplendent as he sat on his hams, with subdued senses, as if the mountain were moving, and he himself were a peak thereof,--like the moon rising from the top of a cloud.

Him, distinguished by his beauty of form and perfect tranquillity as the very creation of Religion herself,--filled with astonishment and affectionate regard the king of men approached, as Indra the self-existent (Brahman).

He, the chief of the courteous, having courteously drawn nigh to him, inquired as to the equilibrium of his bodily humours; and the other with equal gentleness assured the king of his health of mind and freedom from all ailments.

Then the king sat down on the clean surface of the rock, dark blue like an elephant's ear; and being seated, with the other's assent, he thus spoke, desiring to know his state of mind:

'I have a strong friendship with thy family, come down by inheritance and well proved; since from this a desire to speak to thee, my son, has arisen in me, therefore listen to my words of affection.

'When I consider thy widespread race, beginning with the sun, thy fresh youth, and thy conspicuous beauty,--whence comes this resolve of thine so out of all harmony with the rest, set wholly on a mendicant's life, not on a kingdom?

'Thy limbs are worthy of red sandal-wood perfumes,--they do not deserve the rough contact of red cloth; this hand is fit to protect subjects, it deserves not to hold food given by another.

'If therefore, gentle youth, through thy love for thy father thou desirest not thy paternal kingdom in thy generosity,--then at any rate thy choice must not be excused,--accepting forthwith one half of my kingdom.

'If thou actest thus there will be no violence shown to thine own people, and by the mere lapse of time imperial power at last flies for refuge to the tranquil mind; therefore be pleased to do me a kindness,--the prosperity of the good becomes very powerful, when aided by the good.

'But if from thy pride of race thou dost not now feel confidence in me, then plunge with thy arrows into countless armies, and with me as thy ally seek to conquer thy foes.

'Choose thou therefore one of these ends, pursue according to rule religious merit, wealth, and pleasure; for these, love and the rest, in reverse order, are the three objects in life; when men die they pass into dissolution as far as regards this world.

'That which is pleasure when it has overpowered wealth and merit, is wealth when it has conquered merit and pleasure; so too it is merit, when pleasure and wealth fall into abeyance; but all would have to be alike abandoned, if thy desired end were obtained.

'Do thou therefore by pursuing the three objects of life, cause this beauty of thine to bear its fruit; they say that when the attainment of religion, wealth, and pleasure is complete in all its parts, then the end of man is complete.

'Do not thou let these two brawny arms lie useless which are worthy to draw the bow; they are well fitted like Mândhâtri's to conquer the three worlds, much more the earth.

'I speak this to you out of affection,--not through love of dominion or through astonishment; beholding this mendicant-dress of thine, I am filled with compassion and I shed tears.

'O thou who desirest the mendicant's stage of life. enjoy pleasures now; in due time, O thou lover of religion, thou shalt practise religion;--ere old age comes on and overcomes this thy beauty, well worthy of thy illustrious race.

'The old man can obtain merit by religion; old age is helpless for the enjoyment of pleasures; therefore they say that pleasures belong to the young man, wealth to the middle-aged, and religion to the old.

'Youth in this present world is the enemy of religion and wealth,--since pleasures, however we guard them, are hard to hold, therefore, wherever pleasures are to be found, there they seize them.

'Old age is prone to reflection, it is grave and intent on remaining quiet; it attains unimpassionedness with but little effort, unavoidably, and for very shame.

'Therefore having passed through the deceptive period of youth, fickle, intent on external objects, heedless, impatient, not looking at the distance, they take breath like men who have escaped safe through a forest.

'Let therefore this fickle time of youth first pass by, reckless and giddy,--our early years are the mark for pleasure, they cannot be kept from the power of the senses.

Or if religion is really thy one aim, then offer sacrifices,--this is thy family's immemorial custom,--climbing to highest heaven by sacrifices, even Indra, the lord of the winds, went thus to highest heaven.

'With their arms pressed by golden bracelets, and their variegated diadems resplendent with the light of gems, royal sages have reached the same goal by sacrifices which great sages reached by self-mortification.'

Thus spoke the monarch of the Magadhas, who spoke well and strongly like Indra; but having heard it, the prince did not falter, (firm) like the mountain Kailâsa, having its many summits variegated (with lines of metals).

Book XI. The Passions Spurned

Being thus addressed by the monarch of the Magadhas, in a hostile speech with a friendly face, self-possessed, unchanged, pure by family and personal purity, the son of Suddhodana thus made answer:

'This is not to be called a strange thing for thee, born as thou art in the great family whose ensign is the lion--that by thee of pure conduct, O, lover of thy friends, this line of conduct should be adopted towards him who stands as one of thy friends.

'Amongst the bad a friendship, worthy of their family, ceases to continue (and fades) like prosperity among the faint-hearted; it is only the good who keep increasing the old friendship of their ancestors by a new succession of friendly acts.

'But those men who act unchangingly towards their friends in reverses of fortune, I esteem in my heart as true friends; who is not the friend of the prosperous man in his times of abundance?

'So those who, having obtained riches in the world, employ them for the sake of their friends and religion,--their wealth has real solidity, and when it perishes it produces no pain at the end.

'This thy determination concerning me, O king, is prompted by pure generosity and friendship; I will meet thee courteously with simple friendship; I would not utter aught else in my reply.

'I, having experienced the fear of old age and death, fly to this path of religion in my desire for liberation; leaving behind my dear kindred with tears in their faces,--still more then those pleasures which are the causes of evil.

'I am not so afraid even of serpents nor of thunderbolts falling from heaven, nor of flames blown together by the wind, as I am afraid of these worldly objects.

'These transient pleasures,--the robbers of our happiness and our wealth, and which float empty and like illusions through the world,--infatuate men's minds even when they are only hoped for,--still more when they take up their abode in the soul.

'The victims of pleasure attain not to happiness even in the heaven of the gods, still less in the world of mortals; he who is athirst is never satisfied with pleasures, as the fire, the friend of the wind, with fuel.

'There is no calamity in the world like pleasures,--people are devoted to them through delusion; when he once knows the truth and so fears evil, what wise man would of his own choice desire evil?

'When they have obtained all the earth girdled by the sea, kings wish to conquer the other side of the great ocean: mankind are never satiated with pleasures, as the ocean with the waters that fall into it.

'When it had rained a golden shower from heaven, and when he had conquered the continents and the four oceans, and had even obtained the half of Sakra's throne, Mândhâtri was still unsatisfied with worldly objects.

'Though he had enjoyed the kingdom of the gods in heaven, when Indra had concealed himself through fear of Vritra, and though in his pride he had made the great Rishis bear his litter'. Nahusha fell, unsatisfied with pleasures.

'King (Purûravas) the son of Idâ, having penetrated into the furthest heaven, and brought the goddess Urvasî into his power,--when he wished in his greed to take away gold from the Rishis,--being unsatisfied with pleasures, fell into destruction.

'Who would put his trust in these worldly objects, whether in heaven or in earth, unsettled as to lot or family,--which passed from Bali to Indra, and from Indra to Nahusha, and then again from Nahusha back to Indra?

'Who would seek these enemies bearing the name of pleasures, by whom even those sages have been overcome, who were devoted to other pursuits, whose only clothes were rags, whose food was roots, fruits, and water, and who wore their twisted locks as long as snakes?

'Those pleasures for whose sake even Ugrâyudha, armed terribly as he was with his weapon, found death at Bhîshma's hands,--is not the mere thought of them unlucky and fatal,--still more the thought of the irreligious whose lives are spent in their service?

'Who that considers the paltry flavour of worldly objects,--the very height of union being only insatiety,--the blame of the virtuous, and the certain sin,--has ever drawn near this poison which is called pleasure?

'When they hear of the miseries of those who are intent on pleasure and are devoted to worldly pursuits, such as agriculture and the rest, and the self-content of those who are careless of pleasure, it well befits the self-controlled to fling it away.

'Success in pleasure is to be considered a misery in the man of pleasure, for he becomes intoxicated when his desired pleasures are attained; through intoxication he does what should not be done, not what should be done; and being wounded thereby he falls into a miserable end.

'These pleasures which are gained and kept by toil,--which after deceiving leave you and return whence they came,--these pleasures which are but borrowed for a time, what man of self-control, if he is wise, would delight in them?

'What man of self-control could find satisfaction in these pleasures which are like a torch of hay,--which excite thirst when you seek them and when you grasp them, and which they who abandon not keep only as misery?

'Those men of no self-control who are bitten by them in their hearts, fall into ruin and attain not bliss,--what man of self-control could find satisfaction in these pleasures, which are like an angry, cruel serpent?

'Even if they enjoy them men are not satisfied, like dogs famishing with hunger over a bone,--what man of self-control could find satisfaction in these pleasures, which are like a skeleton composed of dry bones?

'What man of self-control could find satisfaction in these pleasures which are like flesh that has been flung away, and which produce misery by their being held only in common with kings, thieves, water, and fire?

'What man of self-control could find satisfaction in these pleasures, which, like the senses, are destructive, and which bring calamity on every hand to those who abide in them, from the side of friends even more than from open enemies?

'What man of self-control could find satisfaction in those pleasures, which are like the fruit that grows on the top of a tree,--which those who would leap up to reach fall down upon a mountain or into a forest, waters, or the ocean?

'What man of self-control could find satisfaction in those pleasures, which are like snatching up a hot coal,--men never attain happiness, however they pursue them, increase them, or guard them?

'What man of self-control could find satisfaction in those pleasures, which are like the enjoyments in a dream,--which are gained by their recipients after manifold pilgrimages and labours, and then perish in a moment?

'What man of self-control could find satisfaction in those pleasures which are like a spear, sword, or club,--for the sake of which the Kurus, the Vrishnis and the Amdhakas, the Maithilas and the Damdakas suffered destruction?

'What man of self-control could find satisfaction in those pleasures which dissolve friendships and for the sake of which the two Asuras Sumda and Upasumda perished, victims engaged in mutual enmity?

'None, however their intellect is blinded with pleasure, give themselves up, as in compassion, to ravenous beasts; so what man of self-control could find satisfaction in those pleasures which are disastrous and constant enemies?

'He whose intellect is blinded with pleasure does pitiable things; he incurs calamities, such as death, bonds, and the like; the wretch, who is the miserable slave of hope for the sake of pleasure, well deserves the pain of death even in the world of the living.

'Deer are lured to their destruction by songs, insects for the sake of the brightness fly into the fire, the fish greedy for the flesh swallows the iron hook,--therefore worldly objects produce misery as their end.

'As for the common opinion, "pleasures are enjoyments," none of them when examined are worthy of being enjoyed; fine garments and the rest are only the accessories of things,--they are to be regarded as merely the remedies for pain.

'Water is desired for allaying thirst; food in the same way for removing hunger; a house for keeping off the wind, the heat of the sun, and the rain; and dress for keeping off the cold and to cover one's nakedness.

'So too a bed is for removing drowsiness; a carriage for remedying the fatigue of a journey; a seat for alleviating the pain of standing; so bathing as a means for washing, health, and strength.

'External objects therefore are to human beings means for remedying pain, not in themselves sources of enjoyment; what wise man would allow that he enjoys those delights which are only used as remedial?

'He who, when burned with the heat of bilious fever, maintains that cold appliances are an enjoyment, when he is only engaged in alleviating pain,--he indeed might give the name of enjoyment to pleasures.

'Since variableness is found in all pleasures, I cannot apply to them the name of enjoyment; the very conditions which mark pleasure, bring also in its turn pain.

'Heavy garments and fragrant aloe-wood are pleasant in the cold, but an annoyance in the heat; and the moonbeams and sandal-wood are pleasant in the heat, but a pain in the cold.

'Since the well-known opposite pairs, such as gain and loss and the rest, are inseparably connected with everything in this world,--therefore no man is invariably happy on the earth nor invariably wretched.

'When I see how the nature of pleasure and pain are mixed, I consider royalty and slavery as the same; a king does not always smile, nor is a slave always in pain.

'Since to be a king involves a wider range of command, therefore the pains of a king are great; for a king is like a peg,--he endures trouble for the sake of the world.

'A king is unfortunate, if he places his trust in his royalty which is apt to desert and loves crooked turns; and on the other hand, if he does not trust in it, then what can be the happiness of a timid king?

'And since after even conquering the whole earth, one city only can serve as a dwelling-place, and even there only one house can be inhabited, is not royalty mere labour for others?

'And even in royal clothing one pair of garments is all he needs, and just enough food to keep off hunger; so only one bed, and only one seat; all a king's other distinctions are only for pride.

'And if all these fruits are desired for the sake of satisfaction, I can be satisfied without a kingdom; and if a man is once satisfied in this world, are not all distinctions indistinguishable?

'He then who has attained the auspicious road to happiness is not to be deceived in regard to pleasures; remembering thy professed friendship, tell me again and again, do they keep their promise?

'I have not repaired to the forest through anger, nor because my diadem has been dashed down by an enemy's arrows; nor have I set my desires on loftier objects, that I thus refuse thy proposal.

'Only he who, having once let go a malignant incensed serpent, or a blazing hay-torch all on fire, would strive again to seize it, would ever seek pleasures again after having once abandoned them.

'Only he who, though seeing, would envy the blind, though free the bound, though wealthy the destitute, though sound in his reason the maniac,--only he, I say, would envy one who is devoted to worldly objects.

'He who lives on alms, my good friend, is not to be pitied, having gained his end and being set on escaping the fear of old age and death; he has here the best happiness, perfect calm, and hereafter all pains are for him abolished.

'But he is to be pitied who is overpowered by thirst though set in the midst of great wealth,--who attains not the happiness of calm here, while pain has to be experienced hereafter.

'Thus to speak to me is well worthy of thy character, thy mode of life, and thy family; and to carry out my resolve is also befitting my character, my mode of life, and my family.

'I have been wounded by the enjoyment of the world, and I have come out longing to obtain peace; I would not accept an empire free from all ill even in the third heaven, how much less amongst men?

'But as for what thou saidst to me, O king, that the universal pursuit of the three objects is the supreme end of man,--and thou saidst that what I regard as the desirable is misery,--thy three objects are perishable and also unsatisfying.

'But that world in which there is no old age nor fear, no birth, nor death, nor anxieties, that alone I consider the highest end of man, where there is no ever-renewed action.

'And as for what thou saidst "wait till old age comes, for youth is ever subject to change;"--this want of decision is itself uncertain; for age too can be irresolute and youth can be firm.

'But since Fate is so well skilled in its art as to draw the world in all its various ages into its power,--how shall the wise man, who desires tranquillity, wait for old age, when he knows not when the time of death will be?

'When death stands ready like a hunter, with old age as his weapon, and diseases scattered about as his arrows, smiting down living creatures who fly like deer to the forest of destiny, what desire can there be in any one for length of life?

'It well befits the youthful son or the old man or the child so to act with all promptitude that they may choose the action of the religious man whose soul is all mercy,--nay, better still, his inactivity.

'And as for what thou saidst, "be diligent in sacrifices for religion, such as are worthy of thy race and bring a glorious fruit,"--honour to such sacrifices! I desire not that fruit which is sought by causing pain to others!

'To kill a helpless victim through a wish for future reward,--it would be an unseemly action for a merciful-hearted good man, even if the reward of the sacrifice were eternal; but what if, after all, it is subject to decay?

'And even if true religion did not consist in quite another rule of conduct, by self-restraint, moral practice and a total absence of passion,--still it would not be seemly to follow the rule of sacrifice, where the highest reward is described as attained only by slaughter.

'Even that happiness which comes to a man, while he stays in this world, through the injury of another, is hateful to the wise compassionate heart; how much more if it be something beyond our sight in another life?

'I am not to be lured into a course of action for future reward,--my mind does not delight, O king, in future births; these actions are uncertain and wavering in their direction, like plants beaten by the rain from a cloud.

'I have come here with a wish to see next the seer Arâda who proclaims liberation; I start this very day,--happiness be to thee, O king; forgive my words which may seem harsh through their absolute freedom from passion.

'Now therefore do thou guard (the world) like Indra in heaven; guard it continually like the sun by thy excellencies; guard its best happiness here; guard the earth; guard life by the noble; guard the sons of the good; guard thy royal powers, O king; and guard thine own religion.

'As in the midst of a sudden catastrophe arising from the flame of (fire), the enemy of cold, a bird, to deliver its body, betakes itself to the enemy of fire (water),--so do thou, when occasion calls, betake thyself, to deliver thy mind, to those who will destroy the enemies of thy home.'

The king himself, folding his hands, with a sudden longing come upon him, replied, 'Thou art obtaining thy desire without hindrance; when thou hast at last accomplished all that thou hast to do, thou shalt show hereafter thy favour towards me.'

Having given his firm promise to the monarch, he proceeded to the Vaisvamtara hermitage; and, after watching him with astonishment, as he wandered on in his course, the king and his courtiers returned to the mountain (of Râgagiri).

Book XII. Visit to Arāḍa

[This is an extensive book with philosophical teachings. Due to length constraints, here is the complete text from the webpage:]

Then the moon of the Ikshvâku race turned towards the hermitage of the sage Arâda of tranquil life,--as it were, doing honour to it by his beauty.

He drew near, on being addressed in a loud voice 'Welcome' by the kinsman of Kâlâma, as he saw him from afar.

They, having mutually asked after each other's health as was fitting, sat down in a clean place on two pure wooden seats.

The best of sages, having seen the prince seated, and as it were drinking in the sight of him with eyes opened wide in reverence, thus addressed him:

'I know, gentle youth, how thou hast come forth from thy home, having severed the bond of affection, as a wild elephant its cord.

'In every way thy mind is stedfast and wise, who hast come here after abandoning royal luxury like a creeper-plant with poisonous fruit.

'It is no marvel that kings have retired to the forest who have grown old in years, having given up their glory to their children, like a garland left behind after being used.

'But this is to me indeed a marvel that thou art come hither in life's fresh prime, set in the open field of the world's enjoyments, ere thou hast as yet tasted of their happiness.

'Verily thou art a worthy vessel to receive this highest religion; having mastered it with full knowledge, cross at once over the sea of misery.

'Though the doctrine is generally efficient only after a time, when the student has been thoroughly tested, thou art easy for me to examine from thy depth of character and determination.'

The prince, having heard these words of Arâda, was filled with great pleasure and thus made reply:

'This extreme kindliness which thou showest to me, calmly passionless as thou art, makes me, imperfect as I am, seem even already to have attained perfection.

'I feel at the sight of thee like one longing to see who finds a light,--like one wishing to journey, a guide,--or like one wishing to cross, a boat.

'Wilt thou therefore deign to tell me that secret, if thou thinkest it should be told, whereby thy servant may be delivered from old age, death, and disease.'

Arâda, thus impelled by the noble nature of the prince, declared in a concise form the tenets of his doctrine:

'O best of hearers, hear this our firmly-settled theory, how our mortal existence arises and how it revolves.

'"The evolvent" and "the evolute," birth, old age, and death,--know that this has been called the reality by us; do thou receive our words, O thou who art stedfast in thy nature.

'But know, O thou who art deep in the search into the nature of things, that the five elements, egoism, intellect, and "the unmanifested" are the "evolvents;"

'But know that the "evolutes" consist of intellect, external objects, the senses, and the hands, feet, voice, anus, and generative organ, and also the mind.

'There is also a something which bears the name kshetragña, from its knowledge of this "field" (kshetra or the body); and those who investigate the soul call the soul kshetragña.

'Kapila with his disciple became the illuminated,--such is the tradition; and he, as the illuminated, with his son is now called here Pragâpati.

'That which is born and grows old and is bound and dies,--is to be known as "the manifested," and "the unmanifested" is to be distinguished by its contrariety.

'Ignorance, the merit or demerit of former actions, and desire are to be known as the causes of mundane existence; he who abides in the midst of this triad does not attain to the truth of things,-- 'From mistake, egoism, confusion, fluctuation, indiscrimination, false means, inordinate attachment, and gravitation.

'Now "mistake" acts in a contrary manner, it does wrongly what it should do, and what it should think it thinks wrongly.

"'I say," "I know," "I go," "I am firmly fixed," it is thus that "egoism" shows itself here, O thou who art free from all egoism.

'That state of mind is called "confusion," O thou who art all unconfused, which views under one nature, massed like a lump of clay, objects that thus become confused in their nature.

'That state of mind which says that this mind, intellect, and these actions are the same as "I," and that which says that all this aggregate is the same as "I,"--is called "fluctuation."

'That state of mind is called "indiscrimination," O thou who art discriminating, which thinks there is no difference between the illuminated and the unwise, and between the different evolvents.

'Uttering "namas" and "vashat," sprinkling water upon sacrifices, &c. with or without the recital of Vedic hymns, and such like rites,--these are declared by the wise to be "false means," O thou who art well skilled in true means.

'That is called "inordinate attachment," by which the fool is entangled in external objects through his mind, speech, actions, and thoughts, O thou who hast shaken thyself free from all attachments.

'The misery which a man imagines by the ideas "This is mine," "I am connected with this," is to be recognised as "gravitation,"--by this a man is borne downwards into new births.

'Thus Ignorance, O ye wise, being fivefold in its character, energises towards torpor, delusion, the great delusion, and the two kinds of darkness.

'Know, that among these indolence is "torpor," death and birth are "delusion," and be it clearly understood, O undeluded one, that desire is the "great delusion."

'Since by it even the higher beings are deluded, therefore, O hero, is this called the "great delusion."

'They define anger, O thou angerless one, as "darkness;" and despondency, O undesponding, they pronounce to be the "blind darkness."

'The child, entangled in this fivefold ignorance, is effused in his different births in a world abounding with misery.

'He wanders about in the world of embodied existence, thinking that I am the seer, and the hearer, and the thinker,--the effect and the cause.

'Through these causes, O wise prince, the stream of "torpor" is set in motion; be pleased to consider that in the absence of the cause there is the absence of the effect.

'Let the wise man who has right views know these four things, O thou who desirest liberation, the illuminated and the unilluminated, the manifested and the unmanifested.

'The soul, having once learned to distinguish these four properly, having abandoned all (ideas of) straightness or quickness, attains to the immortal sphere.

'For this reason the Brâmans in the world, discoursing on the supreme Brahman, practise here a rigorous course of sacred study and let other Brâmans live with them to follow it also.'

The prince, having heard this discourse from the seer, asked concerning the means and the final state.

'Wilt thou please to explain to me how, how far, and where this life of sacred study is to be led, and the limit of this course of life?'

Then Arâda, according to his doctrine, declared to him in another way that course of life clearly and succinctly.

'The devotee, in the beginning, having left his house, and assumed the signs of the mendicant, goes on, following a rule of conduct which extends to the whole life.

'Cultivating absolute content with any alms from any person, he carries out his lonely life, indifferent to all feelings, meditating on the holy books, and satisfied in himself.

'Then having seen how fear arises from passion and the highest happiness from the absence of passion, he strives, by restraining all the senses, to attain to tranquillity of mind.

'Then he reaches the first stage of contemplation, which is separated from desires, evil intentions and the like, and arises from discrimination and which involves reasoning.

'And having obtained this ecstatic contemplation, and reasoning on various objects, the childish mind is carried away by the possession of the new unknown ecstasy.

'With a tranquillity of this kind, which disdains desire or dislike, he reaches the world of Brahman, deceived by the delight.

'But the wise man, knowing that these reasonings bewilder the mind, reaches a (second) stage of contemplation separate from this, which has its own pleasure and ecstasy.

'And he who, carried away by this pleasure, sees no further distinction, obtains a dwelling full of light, even amongst the Âbhâsura deities.

'But he who separates his mind from this pleasure and ecstasy, reaches the third stage of contemplation ecstatic but without pleasure.

'Upon this stage some teachers make their stand, thinking that it is indeed liberation, since pleasure and pain have been left behind and there is no exercise of the intellect.

'But he who, immersed in this ecstasy, strives not for a further distinction, obtains an ecstasy in common with the Subhakritsna deities.

'But he who, having attained such a bliss desires it not but despises it, obtains the fourth stage of contemplation which is separate from all pleasure or pain.

'The fruit of this contemplation which is on an equality with the Vrihatphala deities, those who investigate the great wisdom call the Vrihatphala.

'But rising beyond this contemplation, having seen the imperfections of all embodied souls, the wise man climbs to a yet higher wisdom in order to abolish all body.

'Then, having abandoned this contemplation, being resolved to find a further distinction, he becomes as disgusted with form itself as he who knows the real is with pleasures.

'First he makes use of all the apertures of his body; and next he exerts his will to experience a feeling of void space even in the solid parts.

'But another wise man, having contracted his soul which is by nature extended everywhere like the ether,--as he gazes ever further on, detects a yet higher distinction.

'Another one of those who are profoundly versed in the supreme Self, having abolished himself by himself, sees that nothing exists and is called a Nihilist.

'Then like the Muñga-reed's stalk from its sheath or the bird from its cage, the soul, escaped from the body, is declared to be "liberated."

'This is that supreme Brahman, constant, eternal, and without distinctive signs; which the wise who know reality declare to be liberation.

'Thus have I shown to thee the means and liberation; if thou hast understood and approved it, then act accordingly.

'Gaigîshavya and Ganaka, and the aged Parâsara, by following this path, were liberated, and so were others who sought liberation.'

The prince having not accepted his words but having pondered them, filled with the force of his former arguments, thus made answer:

'I have heard this thy doctrine, subtil and pre-eminently auspicious, but I hold that it cannot be final, because it does not teach us how to abandon this soul itself in the various bodies.

'For I consider that the embodied soul, though freed from the evolutes and the evolvents, is still subject to the condition of birth and has the condition of a seed.

'Even though the pure soul is declared to be "liberated," yet as long as the soul remains there can be no absolute abandonment of it.

'If we abandon successively all this triad, yet "distinction" is still perceived; as long as the soul itself continues, there this triad continues in a subtil form.

'It is held (by some) that this is liberation, because the "imperfections" are so attenuated, and the thinking power is inactive, and the term of existence is so prolonged; 'But as for this supposed abandonment of the principle of egoism,--as long as the soul continues, there is no real abandonment of egoism.

'The soul does not become free from qualities as long as it is not released from number and the rest; therefore, as long as there is no freedom from qualities, there is no liberation declared for it.

'There is no real separation of the qualities and their subject; for fire cannot be conceived, apart from its form and heat.

'Before the body there will be nothing embodied, so before the qualities there will be no subject; how, if it was originally free, could the soul ever become bound?

'The body-knower (the soul) which is unembodied, must be either knowing or unknowing; if it is knowing, there must be some object to be known, and if there is this object, it is not liberated.

'Or if the soul is declared to be unknowing, then of what use to you is this imagined soul? Even without such a soul, the existence of the absence of knowledge is notorious as, for instance, in a log of wood or a wall.

'And since each successive abandonment is held to be still accompanied by qualities, I maintain that the absolute attainment of our end can only be found in the abandonment of everything.'

Thus did he remain unsatisfied after he had heard the doctrine of Arâda; then having decided it to be incomplete, he turned away.

Seeking to know the true distinction, he went to the hermitage of Udraka, but he gained no clear understanding from his treatment of the soul.

For the sage Udraka, having learned the inherent imperfections of the name and the thing named, took refuge in a theory beyond Nihilism, which maintained a name and a non-name.

And since even a name and a non-name were substrata, however subtil, he went even further still and found his restlessness set at rest in the idea that there is no named and no un-named; And because the intellect rested there, not proceeding any further,--it became very subtil, and there was no such thing as un-named nor as named.

But because, even when it has reached this goal it yet returns again to the world, therefore the Bodhisattva, seeking something beyond, left Udraka.

Having quitted his hermitage, fully resolved in his purpose, and seeking final bliss, he next visited the hermitage, called a city, of the royal sage Gaya.

Then on the pure bank of the Nairañganâ the saint whose every effort was pure fixed his dwelling, bent as he was on a lonely habitation.

Five mendicants, desiring liberation, came up to him when they beheld him there, just as the objects of the senses come up to a percipient who has gained wealth and health by his previous merit.

Being honoured by these disciples who were dwelling in that family, as they bowed reverently with their bodies bent low in humility, as the mind is honoured by the restless senses, And thinking, 'this may be the means of abolishing birth and death,' he at once commenced a series of difficult austerities by fasting.

For six years, vainly trying to attain merit, he practised self-mortification, performing many rules of abstinence, hard for a man to carry out.

At the hours for eating, he, longing to cross the world whose farther shore is so difficult to reach, broke his vow with single jujube fruits, sesame seeds, and rice.

But the emaciation which was produced in his body by that asceticism, became positive fatness through the splendour which invested him.

Though thin, yet with his glory and his beauty unimpaired, he caused gladness to other eyes, as the autumnal moon in the beginning of her bright fortnight gladdens the lotuses.

Having only skin and bone remaining, with his fat, flesh and blood entirely wasted, yet, though diminished, he still shone with undiminished grandeur like the ocean.

Then the seer, having his body evidently emaciated to no purpose in a cruel self-mortification;-- dreading continued existence, thus reflected in his longing to become a Buddha:

'This is not the way to passionlessness, nor to perfect knowledge, nor to liberation; that was certainly the true way which I found at the root of the Gambu tree.

'But that cannot be attained by one who has lost his strength,'--so resuming his care for his body, he next pondered thus, how best to increase his bodily vigour:

'Wearied with hunger, thirst, and fatigue, with his mind no longer self-possessed through fatigue, how should one who is not absolutely calm reach the end which is to be attained by his mind?

'True calm is properly obtained by the constant satisfaction of the senses; the mind's self-possession is only obtained by the senses being perfectly satisfied.

'True meditation is produced in him whose mind is self-possessed and at rest,--to him whose thoughts are engaged in meditation the exercise of perfect contemplation begins at once.

'By contemplation are obtained those conditions through which is eventually gained that supreme calm, undecaying, immortal state, which is so hard to be reached.'

Having thus resolved, 'this means is based upon eating food,' the wise seer of unbounded wisdom, having made up his mind to accept the continuance of life, And having bathed, thin as he was, slowly came up the bank of the Nairañganâ, supported as by a hand by the trees on the shore, which bent down the ends of their branches in adoration.

Now at that time Nandabalâ, the daughter of the leader of the herdsmen, impelled by the gods, with a sudden joy risen in her heart, had just come near, Her arm gay with a white shell, and wearing a dark blue woollen cloth, like the river Yamunâ, with its dark blue water and its wreath of foam.

She, having her joy increased by her faith, with her lotus-like eyes opened wide, bowed down before him and persuaded him to take some milk.
By partaking that food having made her obtain the full reward of her birth, he himself became capable of gaining the highest knowledge, all his six senses being now satisfied, The seer, having his body now fully robust, together with his glorious fame, one beauty and one majesty being equally spread in both, shone like the ocean and the moon.

Thinking that he had returned to the world the five mendicants left him, as the five elements leave the wise soul when it is liberated.

Accompanied only by his own resolve, having fixed his mind on the attainment of perfect knowledge, he went to the root of an Asvattha tree, where the surface of the ground was covered with young grass.

Then Kâla, the best of serpents, whose majesty was like the lord of elephants, having been awakened by the unparalleled sound of his feet, uttered this praise of the great sage, being sure that he was on the point of attaining perfect knowledge:

'Inasmuch as the earth, pressed down by thy feet, O sage, resounds repeatedly, and inasmuch as thy splendour shines forth like the sun, thou shalt assuredly to-day enjoy the desired fruit.

'Inasmuch as lines of birds fluttering in the sky offer thee reverential salutation, O lotus-eyed one, and inasmuch as gentle breezes blow in the sky, thou shalt certainly to-day become the Buddha.'

Being thus praised by the best of serpents, and having taken some pure grass from a grasscutter, he, having made his resolution, sat down to obtain perfect knowledge at the foot of the great holy tree.

Then he sat down on his hams in a posture, immovably firm and with his limbs gathered into a mass like a sleeping serpent's hood, exclaiming, 'I will not rise from this position on the earth until I have obtained my utmost aim.'

Then the dwellers in heaven burst into unequalled joy; the herds of beasts and the birds uttered no cry; the trees moved by the wind made no sound, when the holy one took his seat firm in his resolve.

Book XIII. The Defeat of Māra

When the great sage, sprung from a line of royal sages, sat down there with his soul fully resolved to obtain the highest knowledge, the whole world rejoiced; but Mâra, the enemy of the good law, was afraid.

He whom they call in the world Kâmadeva, the owner of the various weapons, the flower-arrowed, the lord of the course of desire,--it is he whom they also style Mâra the enemy of liberation.

His three sons, Confusion, Gaiety, and Pride, and his three daughters, Lust, Delight, and Thirst, asked of him the reason of his despondency, and he thus made answer unto them:

'This sage, wearing the armour of resolution, and having drawn the arrow of wisdom with the barb of truth, sits yonder intending to conquer my realms,--hence is this despondency of my mind.

'If he succeeds in overcoming me and proclaims to the world the path of final bliss, all this my realm will to-day become empty, as did that of the disembodied lord when he violated the rules of his station.

'While, therefore, he stands within my reach and while his spiritual eyesight is not yet attained, I will assail him to break his vow as the swollen might of a river assails a dam.'

Then having seized his flower-made bow and his five infatuating arrows, he drew near to the root of the Asvattha tree with his children, he the great disturber of the minds of living beings.

Having fixed his left hand on the end of the barb and playing with the arrow, Mâra thus addressed the calm seer as he sat on his seat, preparing to cross to the further side of the ocean of existence:

'Up, up, O thou Kshatriya, afraid of death! follow thine own duty and abandon this law of liberation! and having conquered the lower worlds by thy arrows, proceed to gain the higher worlds of Indra.

'That is a glorious path to travel, which has been followed by former leaders of men; this mendicant life is ill-suited for one born in the noble family of a royal sage to follow.

'But if thou wilt not rise, strong in thy purpose,--then be firm if thou wilt and quit not thy resolve,--this arrow is uplifted by me,--it is the very one which was shot against Sûryaka, the enemy of the fish.

'So too, I think, when somewhat probed by this weapon, even the son of Idâ, the grandson of the moon, became mad; and Sâmtanu also lost his self-control,--how much more then one of feebler powers now that the age has grown degenerate?

'Therefore quickly rise up and come to thyself,--for this arrow is ready, darting out its tongue, which I do not launch even against the kakravâka birds, tenderly attached as they are and well deserving the name of lovers.'

But when, even though thus addressed, the Sâkya saint unheeding did not change his posture, then Mâra discharged his arrow at him, setting in front of him his daughters and his sons.

But even when that arrow was shot he gave no heed and swerved not from his firmness; and Mâra, beholding him thus, sank down, and slowly thus spoke, full of thought:

'He does not even notice that arrow by which the god Sambhu was pierced with love for the daughter of the mountain and shaken in his vow; can he be destitute of all feeling? is not this that very arrow?

'He is not worthy of my flower-shaft, nor my arrow "gladdener," nor the sending of my daughter Rati (to tempt him); he deserves the alarms and rebukes and blows from all the gathered hosts of the demons.' 18 Then Mâra called to mind his own army, wishing to work the overthrow of the Sâkya saint; and his followers swarmed round, wearing different forms and carrying arrows, trees, darts, clubs, and swords in their hands; Having the faces of boars, fishes, horses, asses, and camels, of tigers, bears, lions, and elephants,--one-eyed, many-faced, three-headed,--with protuberant bellies and speckled bellies;

Blended with goats, with knees swollen like pots, armed with tusks and with claws, carrying headless trunks in their hands, and assuming many forms, with half-mutilated faces, and with monstrous mouths; Copper-red, covered with red spots, bearing clubs in their hands, with yellow or smoke-coloured hair, with wreaths dangling down, with long pendulous ears like elephants, clothed in leather or wearing no clothes at all; Having half their faces white or half their bodies green,--red and smoke-coloured, yellow and black,--with arms reaching out longer than a serpent, and with girdles jingling with rattling bells.
Some were as tall as palm-trees, carrying spears,--others were of the size of children with projecting teeth, others birds with the faces of rams, others with men's bodies and cats' faces; With dishevelled hair, or with topknots, or half-bald, with rope-garments or with head-dress all in confusion,--with triumphant faces or frowning faces,--wasting the strength or fascinating the mind.

Some as they went leaped about wildly, others danced upon one another, some sported about in the sky, others went along on the tops of the trees.

One danced, shaking a trident, another made a crash, dragging a club, another bounded for joy like a bull, another blazed out flames from every hair.

Such were the troops of demons who encircled the root of the Bodhi tree on every side, eager to seize it and to destroy it, awaiting the command of their lord.

Beholding in the first half of the night that battle of Mâra and the bull of the Sâkya race, the heavens did not shine and the earth shook and the (ten) regions of space flashed flame and roared.

A wind of intense violence blew in all directions, the stars did not shine, the moon gave no light, and a deeper darkness of night spread around, and all the oceans were agitated.

The mountain deities and the Nâgas who honoured the Law, indignant at the attack on the saint, rolling their eyes in anger against Mâra, heaved deep sighs and opened their mouths wide.

But the god-sages, the Suddhâdhivâsas, being as it were absorbed in the perfect accomplishment of the good Law, felt only a pity for Mâra in their minds and through their absolute passionlessness were unruffled by anger.

When they saw the foot of the Bodhi tree crowded with that host of Mâra, intent on doing harm,--the sky was filled with the cry raised by all the virtuous beings who desired the world's liberation.

But the great sage having beheld that army of Mâra thus engaged in an attack on the knower of the Law, remained untroubled and suffered no perturbation, like a lion seated in the midst of oxen.

Then Mâra commanded his excited army of demons to terrify him; and forthwith that host resolved to break down his determination with their various powers.

Some with many tongues hanging out and shaking, with sharp-pointed savage teeth and eyes like the disk of the sun, with wide-yawning mouths and upright ears like spikes,--they stood round trying to frighten him.

Before these monsters standing there, so dreadful in form and disposition, the great sage remained unalarmed and untroubled, sporting with them as if they had been only rude children.

Then one of them, with his eyes rolling wildly, lifted up a club against him; but his arm with the club was instantly paralysed, as was Indra's of old with its thunderbolt.

Some, having lifted up stones and trees, found themselves unable to throw them against the sage; down they fell, with their trees and their stones, like the roots of the Vindhya shattered by the thunderbolt.

Others, leaping up into the sky, flung rocks, trees, and axes; these remained in the sky and did not fall down, like the many-coloured rays of the evening clouds.

Another hurled upon him a mass of blazing straw as big as a mountain-peak, which, as soon as it was thrown, while it hung poised in the sky, was shattered into a hundred fragments by the sage's power.

One, rising up like the sun in full splendour, rained down from the sky a great shower of live embers, as at the end of an aeon blazing Meru showers down the pulverised scoriae of the golden valleys.

But that shower of embers full of sparks, when scattered at the foot of the Bodhi tree, became a shower of red lotus-petals through the operation of the great saint's boundless charity.

But with all these various scorching assaults on his body and his mind, and all these missiles showered down upon him, the Sâkya saint did not in the least degree move from his posture, clasping firmly his resolution as a kinsman.

Then others spat out serpents from their mouths as from old decayed trunks of trees; but, as if held fast by a charm, near him they neither breathed nor discharged venom nor moved.

Others, having become great clouds, emitting lightning and uttering the fierce roar of thunderbolts, poured a shower of stones upon that tree,--but it turned to a pleasant shower of flowers.

Another set an arrow in his bow,--there it gleamed but it did not issue forth, like the anger which falls slack in the soul of an ill-tempered impotent man.

But five arrows shot by another stood motionless and fell not, through the saint's ruling guidance,--like the five senses of him who is well experienced in the course of worldly objects and is afraid of embodied existence.

Another, full of anger, rushed towards the great saint, having seized a club with a desire to smite him; but he fell powerless without finding an opportunity, like mankind in the presence of faults which cause failure.

But a woman named Meghakâlî, bearing a skull in her hand, in order to infatuate the mind of the sage, flitted about unsettled and stayed not in one spot, like the mind of the fickle student over the sacred texts.

Another, fixing a kindling eye, wished to burn him with the fire of his glance like a poisonous serpent; but he saw the sage and lo! he was not there, like the votary of pleasure when true happiness is pointed out to him.

Another, lifting up a heavy rock, wearied himself to no purpose, having his efforts baffled,--like one who wishes to obtain by bodily fatigue that condition of supreme happiness which is only to be reached by meditation and knowledge.

Others, wearing the forms of hyenas and lions, uttered loudly fierce howls, which caused all beings round to quail with terror, as thinking that the heavens were smitten with a thunderbolt and were bursting.

Deer and elephants uttering cries of pain ran about or lay down,--in that night as if it were day screaming birds flew around disturbed in all directions.

But amidst all these various sounds which they made, although all living creatures were shaken, the saint trembled not nor quailed, like Garuda at the noise of crows.

The less the saint feared the frightful hosts of that multitude, the more did Mâra, the enemy of the righteous, continue his attacks in grief and anger.

Then some being of invisible shape, but of preeminent glory, standing in the heavens,--beholding Mâra thus malevolent against the seer,--addressed him in a loud voice, unruffled by enmity:

'Take not on thyself, O Mâra, this vain fatigue,--throw aside thy malevolence and retire to peace; this sage cannot be shaken by thee any more than the mighty mountain Meru by the wind.

'Even fire might lose its hot nature, water its fluidity, earth its steadiness, but never will he abandon his resolution, who has acquired his merit by a long course of actions through unnumbered aeons.

'Such is that purpose of his, that heroic effort, that glorious strength, that compassion for all beings,--until he attains the highest wisdom, he will never rise from his seat, just as the sun does not rise, without dispelling the darkness.

'One who rubs the two pieces of wood obtains the fire, one who digs the earth finds at last the water,--and to him in his perseverance there is nothing unattainable,--all things to him are reasonable and possible.

'Pitying the world lying distressed amidst diseases and passions, he, the great physician, ought not to be hindered, who undergoes all his labours for the sake of the remedy knowledge.

'He who toilsomely pursues the one good path, when all the world is carried away in devious tracks,--he the guide should not be disturbed, like a right informant when the caravan has lost its way.

'He who is made a lamp of knowledge when all beings are lost in the great darkness,--it is not for a right-minded soul to try to quench him,--like a lamp kindled in the gloom of night.

'He who, when he beholds the world drowned in the great flood of existence and unable to reach the further shore, strives to bring them safely across,--would any right-minded soul offer him wrong?

'The tree of knowledge, whose roots go deep in firmness, and whose fibres are patience,--whose flowers are moral actions and whose branches are memory and thought,--and which gives out the law as its fruit,--surely when it is growing it should not be cut down.

'Him whose one desire is to deliver mankind bound in soul by the fast snares of illusion,--thy wish to overthrow him is not worthy, wearied as he is for the sake of unloosing the bonds of the world.

'To-day is the appointed period of all those actions which have been performed by him for the sake of knowledge,--he is now seated on this seat just as all the previous saints have sat.

'This is the navel of the earth's surface, endued with all the highest glory; there is no other spot of the earth than this,--the home of contemplation, the realm of well-being.

'Give not way, then, to grief but put on calm; let not thy greatness, O Mâra, be mixed with pride; it is not well to be confident,--fortune is unstable,--why dost thou accept a position on a tottering base?'

Having listened to his words, and having seen the unshaken firmness of the great saint, Mâra departed dispirited and broken in purpose with those very arrows by which, O world, thou art smitten in thy heart.

With their triumph at an end, their labour all fruitless, and all their stones, straw, and trees thrown away, that host of his fled in all directions, like some hostile army when its camp has been destroyed by the enemy.

When the flower-armed god thus fled away vanquished with his hostile forces and the passionless sage remained victorious, having conquered all the power of darkness, the heavens shone out with the moon like a maiden with a smile, and a sweet-smelling shower of flowers fell down wet with dew.

When the wicked one thus fled vanquished, the different regions of the sky grew clear, the moon shone forth, showers of flowers fell down from the sky upon the earth, and the night gleamed out like a spotless maiden.

Here ends the original work of Aśvaghoṣa, according to the gloss at the close of the Cambridge manuscript. The four remaining books were added by Amṛtānanda, a modern Nepalese author (1830 CE), to supply an old lacuna.

Book XIV. The Attainment of Perfect Knowledge

Then, having conquered the hosts of Mâra by his firmness and calmness, he the great master of meditation set himself to meditate, longing to know the supreme end.

And having attained the highest mastery in all kinds of meditation, he remembered in the first watch the continuous series of all his former births.

'In such a place I was so and so by name, and from thence I passed and came hither,' thus he remembered his thousands of births, experiencing each as it were over again.

And having remembered each birth and each death in all those various transmigrations, the compassionate one then felt compassion for all living beings.

Having wilfully rejected the good guides in this life and done all kinds of actions in various lives, this world of living beings rolls on helplessly, like a wheel.

As he thus remembered, to him in his strong self-control came the conviction, 'All existence is insubstantial, like the fruit of a plantain.'

When the second watch came, he, possessed of unequalled energy, received a pre-eminent divine sight, he the highest of all sight-gifted beings.

Then by that divine perfectly pure sight he beheld the whole world as in a spotless mirror.

As he saw the various transmigrations and rebirths of the various beings with their several lower or higher merits from their actions, compassion grew up more within him.

'These living beings, under the influence of evil actions, pass into wretched worlds,--these others, under the influence of good actions, go forward in heaven.

'The one, being born in a dreadful hell full of terrors, are miserably tortured, alas! by many kinds of suffering; 'Some are made to drink molten iron of the colour of fire, others are lifted aloft screaming on a red-hot iron pillar;

'Others are baked like flour, thrown with their heads downwards into iron jars; others are miserably burned in heaps of heated charcoal; 'Some are devoured by fierce dreadful dogs with iron teeth, others by gloating crows with iron beaks and all made as it were of iron;

'Some, wearied of being burned, long for cold shade; these enter like bound captives into a dark blue wood with swords for leaves.

'Others having many arms are split like timber with axes, but even in that agony they do not die, being supported in their vital powers by their previous actions.

'Whatever deed was done only to hinder pain with the hope that it might bring pleasure, its result is now experienced by these helpless victims as simple pain.

These who did something evil for the sake of pleasure and are now grievously pained,--does that old taste produce even an atom of pleasure to them now?

'The wicked deed which was done by the wicked-hearted in glee,--its consequences are reaped by them in the fulness of time with cries.

'If only evil doers could see the fruits of their actions, they would vomit hot blood as if they were smitten in a vital part.

'And worse still than all these bodily tortures in hell seems to me the association of an intelligent man with the base.

'Others also, through various actions arising from the spasmodic violence of their minds, are born miserable in the wombs of various beasts.

'There the poor wretches are killed even in the sight of their kindred, for the sake of their flesh, their skin, their hair, or their teeth, or through hatred or for mere pleasure.

'Even though powerless and helpless, oppressed by hunger, thirst, and fatigue, they are driven along as oxen and horses, their bodies wounded with goads.

'They are driven along, when born as elephants, by weaker creatures than themselves for all their strength,--their heads tormented by the hook and their bodies kicked by foot and heel.

'And with all these other miseries there is an especial misery arising from mutual enmity and from subjection to a master.

'Air-dwellers are oppressed by air-dwellers, the denizens of water by the denizens of water, those that dwell on dry land are made to suffer by the dwellers on dry land in mutual hostility.

'And others there are who, when born again, with their minds filled with envy, reap the miserable fruit of their actions in a world of the Pitris destitute of all light; 'Having mouths as small as the eye of a needle and bellies as big as a mountain, these miserable wretches are tortured with the pains of hunger and thirst.

'If a man only knew that such was the consequence of selfishness, he would always give to others even pieces of his own body like Sibi.
'Rushing up filled with hope but held back by their former deeds, they try in vain to eat anything large, however impure.
'Others, having found a hell in an impure lake called the womb, are born amongst men and there suffer anguish.
'Others, ascetics, who have performed meritorious actions go to heaven; others, having attained widely extended empire, wander about on the earth; 'Others as Nâgas in the subterranean regions become the guardians of treasures,--they wander in the ocean of existence, receiving the fruits of their deeds.'

Having pondered all this, in the last watch he thus reflected, 'Alas for this whole world of living beings doomed to misery, all alike wandering astray!
'They know not that all this universe, destitute of any real refuge, is born and decays through that existence which is the site of the skandhas and pain; 'It dies and passes into a new state and then is born anew.' Then he reflected, 'What is that which is the necessary condition for old age and death?'

He saw that when there is birth, there is old age and death, then he pondered, 'What is that which is the necessary condition for a new birth?'

He perceived that where there has been the attachment to existence there arises a (previous) existence; then he pondered, 'What is that which is the necessary condition for the attachment to existence?'

Having ascertained this to be desire, he again meditated, and he next pondered, 'What is that which is the necessary condition for desire?'

He saw that desire arises where there is sensation, and he next pondered, 'What is that which is the necessary condition for sensation?'

He saw that sensation arises where there is contact, and he next pondered, 'What is that which is the necessary condition for contact?'

He saw that contact arises through the six organs of sense; he then pondered, 'Where do the six organs of sense arise?'

He reflected that these arise in the organism, he then pondered, 'Where does the organism arise?' there is a new birth; then he pondered, "What is that which is the necessary condition for a previous existence arising?"' (Cf. Burnouf, Introd. pp. 485-506; Childers in Colbrooke's Essays, vol. i, 1873.)

Upâdânam.

Sc. between the senses and their objects.

Nâmarûpa, sc. 'name and form,' i.e. the individual consisting of mind and body, as the embryo in the womb.] { He saw that the organism arises where there is incipient consciousness; he then pondered, 'Where does incipient consciousness arise?'

He reflected that incipient consciousness arises where there are the latent impressions left by former actions; and he next pondered, 'Where do the latent impressions arise?'
He reflected exhaustively that they arise in ignorance; thus did the great seer, the Bodhisattva, the lord of saints, After reflecting, pondering, and meditating, finally determine, 'The latent impressions start into activity after they are once developed from ignorance.

'Produced from the activity of the latent impressions incipient consciousness starts into action; (the activity) of the organism starts into action on having an experience of incipient consciousness; 'The six organs of sense become active when produced in the organism; sensation is produced from the contact of the six organs (with their objects);

'Desire starts into activity when produced from sensation; the attachment to existence springs from desire; from this attachment arises a (continued) existence; 'Birth is produced where there has been a (continued) existence; and from birth arise old age, disease, and the rest; and scorched by the flame of old age and disease the world is devoured by death;

'When it is thus scorched by the fire of death's anguish great pain arises; such verily is the origin of this great trunk of pain.'
Thus having ascertained it all, the great Being was perfectly illuminated; and having again meditated and pondered, he thus reflected, 'When old age and disease are stopped, death also is stopped; and when birth is stopped, old age and disease are stopped;

'When the action of existence is stopped, birth also is stopped; when the attachment to existence is stopped, the action of existence is stopped; 'So too when desire is stopped, the attachment to existence is stopped; and with the stopping of sensation desire is no longer produced;

'And when the contact of the six organs is stopped, sensation is no longer produced; and with the stopping of the six organs their contact (with their objects) is stopped; 'And with the stopping of the organism the six organs are stopped; and with the stopping of incipient consciousness the organism is stopped;

'And with the stopping of the latent impressions incipient consciousness is stopped; and with the stopping of ignorance the latent impressions have no longer any power.

'Thus ignorance is declared to be the root of this great trunk of pain by all the wise; therefore it is to be stopped by those who seek liberation.

'Therefore by the stopping of ignorance all the pains also of all existing beings are at once stopped and cease to act.'

The all-knowing Bodhisattva, the illuminated one, having thus determined, after again pondering and meditating thus came to his conclusion:

'This is pain, this also is the origin of pain in the world of living beings; this also is the stopping of pain; this is that course which leads to its stopping.' So having determined he knew all as it really was.

Thus he, the holy one, sitting there on his seat of grass at the root of the tree, pondering by his own efforts attained at last perfect knowledge.

Then bursting the shell of ignorance, having gained all the various kinds of perfect intuition, he attained all the partial knowledge of alternatives which is included in perfect knowledge.

He became the perfectly wise, the Bhagavat, the Arhat, the king of the Law, the Tathâgata, He who has attained the knowledge of all forms, the Lord of all science.

Having beheld all this, the spirits standing in heaven spoke one to another, 'Strew flowers on this All-wise Monarch of Saints.'

While other immortals exclaimed, who knew the course of action of the greatest among the former saints, 'Do not now strew flowers--no reason for it has been shown.'

Then the Buddha, mounted on a throne, up in the air to the height of seven palm-trees, addressed all those Nirmithâ Bodhisattvâh, illumining their minds, 'Ho! ho! listen ye to the words of me who have now attained perfect knowledge; everything is achieved by meritorious works, therefore as long as existence lasts acquire merit.

'Since I ever acted as liberal, pure-hearted, patient, skilful, devoted to meditation and wisdom,--by these meritorious works I became a Bodhisattva.

'After accomplishing in due order the entire round of the preliminaries of perfect wisdom,--I have now attained that highest wisdom and I am become the All-wise Arhat and Gina.

'My aspiration is thus fulfilled; this birth of mine has borne its fruit; the blessed and immortal knowledge which was attained by former Buddhas, is now mine.

'As they through the good Law achieved the welfare of all beings, so also have I; all my sins are abolished, I am the destroyer of all pains.

'Possessing a soul now of perfect purity, I urge all living beings to seek the abolition of worldly existence through the lamps of the Law.' Having worshipped him as he thus addressed them, those sons of the Ginas disappeared.

The gods then with exultation paid him worship and adoration with divine flowers; and all the world, when the great saint had become all-wise, was full of brightness.

Then the holy one descended and stood on his throne under the tree; there he passed seven days filled with the thought, 'I have here attained perfect wisdom.'

When the Bodhisattva had thus attained perfect knowledge, all beings became full of great happiness; and all the different universes were illumined by a great light.

The happy earth shook in six different ways like an overjoyed woman, and the Bodhisattvas, each { dwelling in his own special abode, assembled and praised him.

'There has arisen the greatest of all beings, the Omniscient All-wise Arhat--a lotus, unsoiled by the dust of passion, sprung up from the lake of knowledge; 'A cloud bearing the water of patience, pouring forth the ambrosia of the good Law, fostering all the seeds of merit, and causing all the shoots of healing to grow;

'A thunderbolt with a hundred edges, the vanquisher of Mâra, armed only with the weapon of patience; a gem fulfilling all desires, a tree of paradise, a jar of true good fortune, a cow that yields all that heart can wish; 'A sun that destroys the darkness of delusion, a moon that takes away the scorching heat of the inherent sins of existence,--glory to thee, glory to thee, glory to thee, O Tathâgata;

'Glory to thee, O Lord of the whole world, glory to thee, who hast gone through the ten (Balas); glory to thee, O true hero amongst men, O Lord of righteousness, glory to thee!'
Thus having praised, honoured, and adored him, they each returned to their several homes, after making repeated reverential circumambulations, and recounting his eulogy.
Then the beings of the Kâmâvakara worlds, and the brilliant inhabitants of the Pure Abodes, the Brahmakâyika gods, and those sons of Mâra who favoured the side of truth, The Paranirmitavasavarti beings, and the Nirmânaratayah; the Tushita beings, the Yâmas, the Trayastrimsad Devas, and the other rulers of worlds, The deities who roam in the sky, those who roam on the earth or in forests, accompanying each their own king, came to the pavilion of the Bodhi tree, And having worshipped the Gina with forms of homage suitable to their respective positions, and having praised him with hymns adapted to their respective degrees of knowledge, they returned to their own homes.

Book XV. The Journey to Vārāṇasī

Daily praised by all the various heavenly beings, the perfectly Wise One thus passed that period of seven days which is designated 'the aliment of joy.'

He then passed the second week, while he was bathed with jars full of water by the heavenly beings, the Bodhisattvas and the rest.

Then having bathed in the four oceans and being seated on his throne, he passed the third week restraining his eyes from seeing.

In the fourth week, assuming many forms, he stood triumphant on his throne, having delivered a being who was ready to be converted.

A god named Samamtakusuma, bearing an offering of flowers, thus addressed with folded hands the great Buddha who was seated there:

'What is the name, O holy one, of this meditation, engaged in which thou hast thus passed four whole weeks with joy, deeply pondering?'

'This is designated, O divine being, "the array of the aliment of great joy," like an inaugurated king, who has overcome his enemies and enjoys prosperity.'

Having said this, the saint possessing the ten pre-eminent powers, full of joy, continued, 'The former perfect Buddhas also did not leave the Bodhi tree.

'Here the Klesas and the Mâras together with ignorance and the Âsravas have been conquered by me; and perfect wisdom has been attained able to deliver the world.

'I too, resolved to follow the teaching of the former Buddhas, remained four whole weeks in the fulfilment of my inauguration.'

Then Mâra, utterly despondent in soul, thus addressed the Tathâgata, 'O holy one, be pleased to enter Nirvâna, thy desires are accomplished.'

'I will first establish in perfect wisdom worlds as numerous as the sand, and then I will enter Nirvâna,' thus did the Buddha reply, and with a shriek Mâra went to his home.

Then the three daughters of Mâra, Lust, Thirst, and Delight, beholding their father with defeated face, approached the Tathâgata.

Lust, with a face like the moon and versed in all the arts of enchantment, tried to infatuate him by her descriptions of the pleasures of a householder's life.

'Think, "If I abandon an emperor's happiness, with what paltry happiness shall I have to content myself? When success is lost, what shall I have to enjoy?"--and come and take refuge with us.

'Else, in bitter repentance, thou wilt remember me hereafter, when thou art fallen.'--But he listened not to her words, closing his eyes in deep meditation like one who is sleepy.

Then Thirst, shameless like one distressed with thirst, thus addressed him who was free from all thirst: 'Fie, fie, thou hast abandoned thy family duties, thou hast fallen from all social obligations; 'Without power no asceticism, sacrifice, or vow can be accomplished,--those great Rishis Brahman and the rest, because they were endowed with power, enjoy their present triumph.

'Know me to be the power called Thirst, and worship thirst accordingly; else I will clasp thee with all my might and fling away thy life.'

Motionless as one almost dead, he continued in meditation, remembering the former Buddhas; then Delight next tried to win him who was indeed hard to be won by evil deeds.

'O holy one, I am Delight by name, fostering all practicable delights,--therefore making me the female mendicant's tutelary power, bring delight within thy reach.'

But whether flattered or threatened, whether she uttered curses or blessings, he remained absorbed in meditation, perfectly tranquil like one who has entered Nirvâna.

Then the three, with despondent faces, having retired together on one side, consulted with one another and came forward wearing the appearance of youthful beauty.

Folding their hands in reverence they thus addressed the Tathâgata, 'O holy one, receive us as religious mendicants, we are come to thy one refuge.

'Having heard the fame of thy achievements, we, the daughters of Namuki, have come from the golden city, abandoning the life of a household.

'We are desirous of repressing the teaching of our five hundred brothers,--we would be freed from a master, as thou thyself art freed from all passions.'

Having his mind continually guided by the conduct which leads to Nirvâna, and setting himself to remember the (former) Buddhas, he kept his eyes closed, absorbed in meditation.

Then again, having resolved on their new plan in concert, these enchantresses, assuming an older aspect, approached once more to delude him.

'We have come here after wandering under the dismal avatâra of slaves,--thou art the avatâra of Buddha,--do thou establish us, mature, in the true Buddha doctrine.

'We are women of older age, much to be pitied, bewildered by the fear of death,--we are therefore worthy to be established in that doctrine of Nirvâna which puts an end to all future births.'

These words of the enchantresses were heard by him, yet he felt no anger; but they all became the victims of old age, through the manifestation of his divine power.

Having beheld him plunged in meditation, immovable like the mountain Meru,--they turned away their faces and they could not retain their beauty.

Bending their feet, with decrepit limbs, they thus addressed their father: 'O father, do thou, the lord of the world of Desire, restore us to our own forms.'

His daughters were dear, but he had no power to alter the effect of the will of Buddha; then their father said to them, 'Go to the refuge which he gives.'

Then they in various guises, bent humbly at his feet, implored the perfect Buddha, 'Pardon our transgression, whose minds were intoxicated with youth.'

The teacher, that mine of Forgiveness, in silence restored them by his will; and having repeatedly worshipped and praised him they went joyfully to their home.

Then again Mâra, the lord of the world of Desire, lost to shame, taking the form of the head of a family, thus addressed him from the sky:

'I worshipped thee long ago, foretelling that thou wouldest become a Buddha; and by my blessings thou hast to-day become Buddha Tathâgata.

'As thou didst come from thine own kingdom, so now having returned as Tathâgata, with a name corresponding to the reality be a king Tathâgata.

'Having gone to that royal station, do thou meditate on the three jewels, and cherish thy father and mother, and delight Yasodharâ,-- 'Possessed of a thousand sons, and able to deliver the world, be successively the supreme lord of every world from the Yâma heaven onwards.

'Having become also the supreme lord of all Bodhisattvas, thou shalt attain Nirvâna; O wise seer, repair to the hermitage of Kapila in order to beget those sons.

'As thou art the king of the Law, so shall thy sons also be all Tathâgatas, and all the activity and cessation of existence shall depend upon thee, O Gina.'

To him thus speaking the All-wise replied, Hear, O shameless one; thou art Mâra,--not the head of a clan, the upholder of the race of the Sâkyas.

'A host like thee, though they came in myriads, could not harm me,--I will go to my kingdom gradually, I will bring the world to perfect happiness.

'Thou art utterly vanquished, O Namuki, go back to thy own home; I will go hence to turn the wheel of the Law in Vârânasî.'

He, on hearing this command, saying with a deep sigh, 'Alas! I am crushed,' left him and went despondent and companionless through the sky to his home.

Then he, the conqueror of Mâra, rising from that throne, set forth to journey alone to the holy Vârânasî.

The heavens became covered with clouds when they saw the chief of saints, and the king of the Nâgas Mukilinda made a petition in reverential faith:

'O holy one, thou art all-wise, there will be stormy weather for seven days,--wind, rain, and darkness,--dwell for the time in my abode.'

Though himself possessed of all supernatural power, the holy one thought of the world still involved in embodied existence, and sitting on that jewel-seat he remained absorbed in contemplation.

That king of the Nâgas there protected the Buddha, who is himself the source of all protection, from the rain, wind, and darkness, covering his body with his own hood.

When the seven days were past and the Nâga had paid his homage and was gone, the Gina proceeded to the bank of a river, near a forest of goat-herds.

As the Sugata stayed there during the night, a deity, who bore the name of the Indian fig-tree, came up to him, illumining the spot where he was, and thus addressed him with folded hands:

'The fig-tree was planted by me when I was born as a man, bearing the name of Buddha; and it has been fostered like the Bodhi tree in the hope of delivering myself from evil.

'By the merit of that action I myself have been born in heaven; in kindness to me, O my lord, do thou dwell seven days in triumph here.'

'So be it,' said the chief of all saints, the true Kalpa tree to grant the wishes of the faithful votary, and he stayed under the fig-tree, absorbed in contemplation, spreading lustre around like a full moon.

There he dwelt seven days; and then in a forest of Datura trees, sitting at the foot of a palm, he remained absorbed in contemplation.

Spending thus in different spots his weeks of meditation, day and night, the great saint, pondering and fasting, went on in his way, longing to accomplish the world's salvation.

Then two wealthy merchants from the land { of Uttara Utkala, named Trapusha and Bhallika, journeying with five hundred waggons, Being freed from a sin which involved a birth as pretas, both joyfully worshipped Buddha with an offering of the three sweet substancess and milk; and they obtained thereby auspicious blessings.

They obtained pieces of his nails and hairs for a Kaitya and they also received a prophecy of their future birth, and having received the additional promise, 'Ye shall also obtain a stone,' they then proceeded on their way elsewhere.

Then Buddha accepted alms in his bowl, offered by the goddess who dwelt in the Datura grove, and he blessed her with benedictions.

The Gina then blessed the four bowls as one, which were offered by the four Mahârâgas, and ate with pleasure the offering of milk.

Then one day the Gina ate there an Harîtakî fruit which was offered to him by Sakra, and having planted the seed he caused it to grow to a tree.

The king of the Devas carried the news thereof joyfully to the Deva-heavens; and gods, men, and demons watered it with reverential circurnambulations.

On hearing the news of the Harîtakî seed, and remembering the whole history from first to last, a daughter of the gods named Bhadrikâ, who had been a cow in her former birth, came from heaven. { She, the daughter of the gods, smiling with her companions, thus addressed the Gina, bringing him a garment of rags, dependent from a bough:

'I beg to bring to thy notice--what? O Buddha!--accept this garment of rags, by whose influence I am now a daughter of heaven named Bhadrikâ.'

'By the further development of this merit thou shalt become a Bodhisattva'--uttering this blessing the Teacher accepted the rags.

Beholding the tattered rags, the gods, crowding in the sky, filled with woncer, and uttering cries of hi hi, flung down upon him garments of heavenly silk.

'These are not fit for a religious mendicant,'--so saying, he did not accept even one of them,--only thinking in his calm apathy, 'these are fit for imperial pomp and a householder's luxury.'

He desired a stone slab and some water in order to wash the dirt away,--Sakra at that moment dug out a great river full of water; And four stones are brought to him by the four Mahârâgas,--on one he himself sat, on another he performed the washing; On another he performed the drying, and another he flung up into the sky; the stone as it flew up reached the blazing city and astonished all the worlds.

After paying their worship in many ways, Trapusha and Bhallika duly raised an excellent Kaitya and they called it Silâgarbha.

The ascetics of that neighbourhood paid their { homage to the 'Three Stones' when they were made into a Kaitya, and the noble stream flowed widely known as the 'Holy River.'

Those who bathe and offer their worship in the holy river and reverence the Kaitya. of the three stones, become great-souled Bodhisattvas and obtain Nirvâna.

Then seated under a palm-tree the holy one pondered: 'The profound wisdom so hard to be understood is now known by me.

'These sin-defiled worlds understand not this most excellent (Law), and the unenlightened shamelessly censure both me and my wisdom.

'Shall I proclaim the Law? It is only produced by knowledge; having attained it thus in my lonely pondering, do I feel strong enough to deliver the world?'

Having remembered all that he had heard before, he again pondered; and resolving, 'I will explain it for the sake of delivering the world,'

Buddha, the chief of saints, absorbed in contemplation, shone forth, arousing the world, having emitted in the darkness of the night a light from the tuft of hair between his eyebrows.

When it became dawn, Brahman and the other gods, and the various rulers of the different worlds, besought Sugata to turn the wheel of the Law.

When the Gina by his silence uttered an assenting 'so be it,' they returned to their own abodes; and the lion of the Sâkyas also shone there, still remaining lost in contemplation.

Then the four divinities (of the Bodhi tree), { Dharmaruki and the rest, addressed him, 'Where, O teacher of the world, will the holy one turn the wheel of the Law?'

'In Vârânasî, in the Deer Park will I turn the wheel of the Law; seated in the fourth posture O deities, I will deliver the world.'

There the holy one, the bull of the Sâkya race, pondered, 'For whom shall I first turn the wheel of the Law?'

The glorious one reflected that Rudraka and Arâda were dead, and then he remembered those others, the five men united in a worthy society, who dwelt at Kâsî.

Then Buddha set out to go joyfully to Kâsî, manifesting as he went the manifold supernatural course of life of Magadha.

Having made a mendicant (whom he met) happy in the path of those who are illustrious through the Law, the glorious one went on, illumining the country which lies to the north of Gayâ.

(Having stayed) in the dwelling of the prince of the Nâgas, named Sudarsana, on the occurrence of night, he ate a morning meal consisting of the five kinds of ambrosia, and departed, gladdening him with his blessing.

Near Vanârâ he went under the shadow { of a tree and there he established a poor Brâhman named Nandin in sacred knowledge.

In Vanârâ in a householder's dwelling he was lodged for the night; in the morning he partook of some milk and departed, having given his blessing.

In the village called Vumdadvira he lodged in the abode of a Yaksha named Vumda, and in the morning after taking some milk and giving his blessing he departed.

Next was the garden named Rohitavastuka, and there the Nâga-king Kamandalu with his courtiers also worshipped him.

Having delivered various beings in every place, the compassionate saint journeyed on to Gandhapura and was worshipped there by the Yaksha Gandha.

When he arrived at the city Sârathi, the citizens volunteered to be charioteers in his service; thence he came to the Ganges, and he bade the ferryman cross.

'Good man, convey me across the Ganges, may the seven blessings be thine.' 'I carry no one across unless he pays the fee.'

'I have nothing, what shall I give?' So saying he went through the sky like the king of birds; and from that time Bimbisâra abolished the ferry-fee for all ascetics.

Then having entered Vârânasî, the Gina, illumining the city with his light, filled the minds of all the inhabitants of Kâsî with excessive interest. { In the Sankhamedhîya garden, the king of righteousness, absorbed in meditation, passed the night, gladdening like the moon all those who were astonished at his appearance.

The next day at the end of the second watch, having gone his begging round collecting alms, he, the unequalled one, like Hari, proceeded to the Deer Park.

The five disciples united in a worthy society, when they beheld him, said to, one another, 'This is Gautama who has come hither, the ascetic who has abandoned his self-control.

'He wanders about now, greedy, of impure soul, unstable and with his senses under no firm control, devoted to inquiries regarding the frying-pan.

'We will not ask after his health, nor rise to meet him, nor address him, nor offer him a welcome, nor a seat, nor bid him enter into our dwelling.'

Having understood their agreement, with a smiling countenance, spreading light all around, Buddha advanced gradually nearer, holding his staff and his begging-pot.

Forgetful of their agreement, the five friends, under his constraining majesty, rose up like birds in their cages when scorched by fire.

Having taken his begging-bowl and staff, they gave him an arghya, and water for washing his feet and rinsing his mouth; and bowing { reverentially they said to him, 'Honoured Sir, health to thee.'

'Health in every respect is ours,--that wisdom has been attained which is so hard to be won,'--so saying, the holy one thus spoke to the five worthy associates:

'But address me not as "worthy Sir," know that I am a Gina,--I have come to give the first wheel of the Law to you. Receive initiation from me,--ye shall obtain the place of Nirvâna.'

Then the five, pure in heart, begged leave to undertake his vow of a religious life; and the Buddha, touching their heads, received them into the mendicant order.

Then at the mendicants' respectful request the chief of saints bathed in the tank, and after eating ambrosia he reflected on the field of the Law.

Remembering that the Deer Park and the field of the Gina were there, he went joyfully with them and pointed out the sacred seats.

Having worshipped three seats, he desired to visit the fourth, and when the worthy disciples asked about it, the teacher thus addressed them:

'These are the four seats of the Buddhas of the (present) Bhadra Age,--three Buddhas have passed therein, and I here am the fourth possessor of the ten powers.'

Having thus addressed them the glorious one bowed to that throne of the Law, decked with tapestries of cloth and silk, and having its stone { inlaid with jewels, like a golden mountain, guarded by the kings of kings, In the former fortnight of Âshâdha, on the day consecrated to the Regent of Jupiter, on the lunar day sacred to Vishnu, and on an auspicious conjunction, under the asterism Anurâdhâ, and in the muhûrta called the Victorious, in the night,--he took his stand on the throne.

The five worthy disciples stood in front, with joyful minds, paying their homage, and the son of Suddhodana performed that act of meditation which is called the Arouser of all worlds; Brâhman and the other gods came surrounded by their attendants, summoned each from his own world; and Maitrîya with the deities of the Tushita heaven came for the turning of the wheel of the Law.

So too when the multitude of the sons of the Ginas and the Sûras gathered together from the ten directions of space, there came also the noble chief of the sons of the Ginas, named Dharmakakra, carrying the wheel of the Law; With head reverentially bowed, having placed it, a mass of gold and jewels, before the Buddha and having worshipped him, he thus besought him, 'O thou lord of saints, turn the wheel of the Law as it has been done by (former) Sugatas.'

Book XVI. The Turning of the Law-Wheel

The omniscient lion of the Sâkyas then caused all the assembly, headed by those who belonged to the company of Maitrîya, to turn the wheel of the Law.
'Listen, O company belonging to Maitrîya, ye who form one vast congregation,--as it was proclaimed by those past arch-saints, so is it now proclaimed by Me.
'These are the two extremes, O mendicants, in the self-control of the religious ascetic,--the one which is devoted to the joys of desire, vulgar and common, 'And the other which is tormented by the excessive pursuit of self-inflicted pain in the mortification of the soul's corruptions,--these are the two extremes of the religious ascetic, each devoted to that which is unworthy and useless.

'These have nothing to do with true asceticism, renunciation of the world, or self-control, with true indifference or suppression of pain, or with any of the means of attaining deliverance.
'They do not tend to the spiritual forms of knowledge, to wisdom, nor to Nirvâna; let him who is acquainted with the uselessness of inflicting pain and weariness on the body, 'Who has lost his interest in any pleasure or pain of a visible nature, or in the future, and who follows this middle Path for the good of the world,--

'Let him, the Tathâgata, the teacher of the world, proclaim the good Law, beginning that manifestation of the good Law which consists of the (four) noble truths, 'And let the Buddha proclaim the Path with its eight divisions. I too who am now the perfectly wise, and the Tathâgata in the world,

'Will proclaim the noble Law, beginning with those sublime truths and the eightfold Path which is the means to attain perfect knowledge.

'Instructing all the world I will show to it Nirvâna; those four noble truths must be heard first and comprehended by the soul.

'That must be understood and thoroughly realised by the true students of wisdom, which has been known here by me, through the favour of all the Buddhas.

'Having known the noble eightfold Path, and embraced it as realised with joy,--thus I declare to you the first means for the attainment of liberation.

'Having thus commenced the noble truths, I will describe the true self-control; this noble truth is the best of all holy laws.

'Walk as long as existence lasts, holding fast the noble eightfold Path,--this noble truth is the highest law for the attainment of true liberation.

'Having pondered and held fast the noble eightfold Path, walk in self-control; others, not understanding this, idle talkers full of self-conceit, 'Say according to their own will that merit is the cause of corporeal existence, others maintain that the soul must be preserved (after death) for its merit is the cause of liberation.

'Some say that everything comes spontaneously; others that the consequence was produced before; others talk loudly that all also depends on a Divine Lord.

'If merit and demerit are produced by the good and evil fortune of the soul, how is it that good fortune does not always come to all embodied beings (at last), even in the absence of merit?

'How is the difference accounted for, which we see in form, riches, happiness, and the rest,--if there are no previous actions, how do good and evil arise here?

'If karman is said to be the cause of our actions, who would imagine cogency in this assumption? If all the world is produced spontaneously, who then would talk of the ownership of actions?

'If good is caused by good, then evil will be the cause of evil,--how then could liberation from existence be produced by difficult penances?

'Others unwisely talk of Îsvara as a cause, how then is there not uniformity in the world if Îsvara be the uniformly acting cause?

'Thus certain ignorant people, talking loudly "he is," "he is not,"--through the demerits of their false theories, are at last born wretched in the different hells.

'Through the merits of good theories virtuous men, who understand noble knowledge, go to heavenly worlds, from their self-restraint as regards body, speech, and thought.

'All those who are devoted to existence are tormented with the swarms of its evils, and being consumed by old age, diseases, and death, each one dies and is born again.

'There are many wise men here who can discourse on the laws of coming into being; but there is not even one who knows how the cessation of being is produced.

'This body composed of the five skandhas, and produced from the five elements, is all empty and without soul, and arises from the action of the chain of causation, 'This chain of causation is the cause of coming into existence, and the cessation of the series thereof is the cause of the state of cessation.

'He who knowing this desires to promote the good of the world, let him hold fast the chain of causation, with his mind fixed on wisdom; 'Let him embrace the vow of self-denial for the sake of wisdom, and practise the four perfections, and go through existence always doing good to all beings.

'Then having become an Arhat and conquered all the wicked, even the hosts of Mâra, and attained the threefold wisdom, he shall enter Nirvâna.

'Whosoever therefore has his mind indifferent { and is void of all desire for any further form of existence, let him abolish one by one the several steps of the chain of causation.

'When these effects of the chain of causation are thus one by one put an end to, he at last, being free from all stain and substratum, will pass into a blissful Nirvâna.

'Listen all of you for your own happiness, with your minds free from stain,--I will declare to you step by step this chain of causation.

'The idea of ignorance is what gives the root to the huge poison-tree of mundane existence with its trunk of pain.

'The impressions are caused by this, which produce [the acts of] the body, voice, and mind; and consciousness arises from these impressions, which produces as its development the five senses and the mind (or internal sense).

'The organism which is sometimes called samgñâ or samdarsana, springs from this; and from this arises the six organs of the senses, including mind.

'The association of the six organs with their objects is called "contact;" and the consciousness of these different contacts is called "sensation;"

'By this is produced thirst, which is the desire { of being troubled by worldly objects; "attachment to continued existence," arising from this, sets itself in action towards pleasure and the rest; 'From attachment springs continued existence, which is sensual, possessing form, or formless; and from existence arises birth through a returning to various wombs.

'On birth is dependent the series of old age, death, sorrow and the like; by putting a stop to ignorance and what follows from it, all these successively surcease.

'This is the chain of causation, having many turns, and whose sphere of action is created by ignorance,--this is to be meditated upon by you who enjoy the calm of dwelling tranquilly in lonely woods; 'He who knows it thoroughly reaches at last to absolute tenuity; and having become thus attenuated he becomes blissfully extinct.

'When you have thus learned this, in order to be freed from the bond of existence, you must cut down with all your efforts the root of pain, ignorance.

'Then, being set free from the bonds of the prison-house of existence, as Arhats, possessing natures perfectly pure, you shall attain Nirvâna.'

Having heard this lesson preached by the chief of saints, all the mendicants comprehended the course and the cessation of embodied existence. { As these five ascetics listened to his words, their intellectual eye was purified for the attainment of perfect wisdom:

The eye of dharma was purified in six hundred millions of gods, and the eye of wisdom in eight hundred millions of Brahmans.

The eye of dharma was purified in eighty thousand men, and even in all beings an ardour for the Law was made visible.

Everywhere all kinds of evil became tranquillised, and on every side an ardour for all that helps on the good Law manifested itself.

In the heavens everywhere the heavenly beings with troops of Apsarases uttered forth great shouts, Even so, O noble being of boundless energy!'

Then Maitreya addressed the holy one, 'O great mendicant, in what form has the wheel been turned by thee?'

Having heard this question asked by the great-souled Maitreya, the holy one looked at him and thus addressed him:

'The profound subtil wheel of the Law, so hard to be seen, has been turned by me, into which the disputatious Tîrthikas cannot penetrate.

'The wheel of the Law has been turned, which has no extension, no origin, no birth, no home, isolated, and free from matter; 'Having many divisions, and not being without divisions, having no cause, and susceptible of no definition,--that wheel, which is described as { possessing perfect equilibrium, has been proclaimed by the Buddha.

'Everything subject to successive causation is like a delusion, a mirage, or a dream like the moon seen in water or an echo,--it lies stretched out on the surface, not to be extirpated, but not eternal.

'The wheel of the Law has been described as that in which all false doctrines are extirpated; it is always like the pure ether, involving no doubts, ever bright.

'The wheel of the Law is described as without end or middle, existing apart from "it is" or "it is not," separated from soul or soullessness.

'The wheel of the Law has been here set forth, with a description according to its real nature,--as it has a limit and as it has not a limit, in its actual quantity and quality.

'The wheel of the Law has been here set forth, described as possessing unique attributes, apart from the power of the eye and so too as regards the sense of hearing or smell; 'Apart from the tongue, the touch, or the mind,--without soul or exertion; 'Such is this wheel of the Law which has been turned by me;

'He makes wise all the ignorant,--therefore is he called the Buddha; this knowledge of the laws of reality has been ascertained by me of myself, 'Apart from all teaching by another, therefore is he called the self-existent,--having, all laws under his control, therefore is he called the lord of Law.

'He knows what is right (naya) and wrong (anaya) in laws, therefore is he called Nâyaka; he { teaches unnumbered beings as they become fit to be taught.
'He has reached the furthest limit of instruction, therefore is he called Vinâyaka, from his pointing out the best of good paths to beings who have lost their way.
'He has reached the furthest limit of good teaching, he is the guide to all the Law,--attracting all beings by his knowledge of all the means of conciliation; 'He has passed through the forest of mundane existence, therefore is he called the Leader of the Caravan; the absolute ruler over all law, therefore he is the Gina, the lord of Law.

'From his turning the wheel of the Law he is the lord of all the sovereigns of Law; the master-giver of the Law, the teacher, the master of the Law, the lord of the world; 'He who has offered the sacrifice, accomplished his end, fulfilled his hope, achieved his success, the consoler, the loving regarder, the hero, the champion, the victorious one in conflict;

'He has come out from all conflict, released himself and the releaser of all,--he is become the light of the world, the illuminator of the knowledge of true wisdom; 'The dispeller of the darkness of ignorance, the illuminer of the great torch, the great physician, the great seer, the healer of all evils,

'The extractor of the barb of evil from all those who are wounded by evil,--he who is possessed of all distinctive marks and adorned with all signs, 'With his body and limbs every way perfect, { of pure conduct and perfectly clear mind, possessed of the ten powers, having great fortitude, learned with all learning,

'Endowed with all the independent states, he who has attained the great Yâna, the lord of all Dharma, the ruler, the monarch of all worlds, the sovereign, 'The lord of all wisdom, the wise, the destroyer of the pride of all disputers, the omniscient, the Arhat, possessed of the perfect knowledge, the great Buddha, the lord of saints;

'The victorious triumphant overthrower of the insolence and pride of the evil Mâra, the perfect Buddha, the Sugata, the wise one, he who brings the desired end to all beings, 'Ever cognisant of past acts, never speaking falsely, a mine of perfect excellence and of all good qualities, the destroyer of all evil ways, the guide in all good ways,

'The ruler of the world, the bearer of the world, the master of the world, the sovereign of the world, the teacher of the world, the preceptor of the world, he who brings to the world the Law, virtue, and its true end, 'The fount of an ambrosia which quenches the scorching of the flame of all pain, and the powerful luminary which dries up the great ocean of all pain,

'He who brings all virtue and all true wealth, the possessor of perfect excellence and all good qualities, the guide on the road of wisdom, he who shows the way to Nirvâna, { 'The Tathâgata, without stain, without attachment, without uncertainty.--This is the compendious declaration in the turning of the wheel of the Law.

'A concise manifestation of a Tathâgata's qualities is now declared by me; for a Buddha's knowledge is endless, unlimited like the ether; 'A narrator might spend a Kalpa, but the virtues of the Buddha would not come to an end,--thus by me has the multitude of the virtues of the Buddha been described.

'Having heard this and welcomed it with joy go on ever in happiness; this, Sirs, is the Mahâyâna, the instrument of the Law of the perfect Buddha, which is the establisher of the welfare of all beings, set forth by all the Buddhas.
'In order that this methodical arrangement of the Law may be always spread abroad, do you yourselves always proclaim it and hand it on.
'Whosoever, Sirs, hears, sees, and welcomes with joy this methodical arrangement of the Law, which is a mine of happiness and prosperity, and honours it with folded hands, 'Shall attain pre-eminent strength with a glorious form and limbs, and a retinue of the holy, and an intelligence of the highest reach,

'And the happiness of perfect contemplation, with a deep calm of uninterrupted bliss, with his senses in their highest perfection, and illuminated by unclouded knowledge.
'He shall assuredly attain these eight preeminent perfections, who hears and sees this Law { with a serene soul and worships it with folded hands.
'Whosoever in the midst of the assembly shall gladly offer a pulpit to the high-minded teacher of the great Law, 'That virtuous man shall assuredly attain the seat of the most excellent, and also the seat of a householder, and the throne of a universal monarch;

'He shall also attain the throne of one of the guardian-spirits of the world, and also the firm throne of Sakra, and also the throne of the Vasavartinah gods, aye, and the supreme throne of Brahman; 'And also with the permission of the Bodhisattva who is seated on the Bodhi throne he shall obtain the throne of a teacher of the good Law who has risen to perfect knowledge.

'These eight seats shall the pure-souled one attain who offers joyfully a seat to him who proclaims the Law.
'Whosoever with a believing heart, after examination, shall utter applause to the pious man who proclaims this carefully arranged Law; 'Shall become a truthful and pure speaker, and one whose words are to be accepted,--one whose utterances are welcome and delightful, whose voice is sweet and gentle;

'Having a voice like a Kalavinka bird, with a deep and sweet tone, having also a pure voice like Brahman's, and a loud voice with a lion's sound.
'He as an all-wise and truthful speaker shall { obtain these eight excellences of speech, who utters applause to one who proclaims the good Law.
'And whosoever, after writing this method of the Law in a book, shall set it in his house and always worship it and honour it with all reverential observances, 'And uttering its praises shall hand the doctrine onward on every side, he, the very pious man, shall obtain a most excellent treasure of memory,

'And a treasure of insight, and a treasure of prudence, and a treasure of good spells, and a treasure full of intelligence, 'And a treasure of the highest wisdom, and the most excellent treasure of the Law, and a treasure of knowledge, the means to attain the excellences of the good Law,--

'These eight treasures shall that high-minded man attain who joyfully writes this down and sets it in a sure place and always worships it.
'And he who, himself holding this method of the Law in his mind, sets it going around him, shall obtain a complete supply for liberality for the good of the world, 'Next, a complete supply of virtuous dispositions, a most excellent supply of sacred knowledge, a supply of perfect calmness, and that which is called spiritual insight, A supply of the merit caused by the good Law, a most excellent supply of knowledge, a supply of boundless compassion, which is the means to attain the virtues of the perfect Buddha. { 'He, full of joy, shall obtain these eight supplies who himself holds this method of the Law in his mind and sets it going abroad.

'And he who shall declare this method of the Law to others, shall have himself purified by great merit and shall be prosperous and possessed of supernatural powers.
'He shall become a universal monarch, a king of kings, and even a ruler among the guardians of the world, an Indra ruler of the gods, and even the ruler of the Yâma heaven, 'Yea, the ruler of the Tushita heaven, and the ruler of the Sunirmitâh, and the king of the Vasavartinah, and the lord of the Brahmaloka;

'Yea, Mahâbrahman, the highest of Sages, and in the end he shall even become a Buddha,--he, possessing a thoroughly pure intelligence, shall obtain these eight sublime rewards of merit.
'And he who, thoroughly intent, with a believing heart, and filled with faith and devotion, shall hear this method of the Law as it is preached, 'He shall have his intellect made perfectly pure, his mind calmed with boundless charity, and his soul happy with boundless compassion, and he shall be filled with boundless joy;

'His soul constantly calm with universal indifference, rejoicing in the four contemplations, having reached the ecstatic state of absolute indifference, and with his senses abolished, 'With the five transcendent faculties attained, { and destroying the aggregate of latent impressions, he, endowed with supernatural powers, will attain the samadhi called Sûramgama.

'He, having his soul pure, will attain these eight forms of absolute spotlessness; yea, wherever this method of the Law will prevail universally, 'There will be no fear of any disturbance in the kingdom, no fear of evil-minded thieves, nor fear of evil beasts;

'There will be no fear of plagues, famines, or wildernesses; and no alarm shall spread, caused by quarrel or war; 'There shall be no fear from the gods nor from Nâgas, Yakshas, and the like, nor shall there be anywhere any fear of any misfortune.

'These eight fears shall not be found there where this Law extends; it is all briefly explained, my friends,--all that arises from holding it stedfastly.

'A yet higher and most excellent merit is declared by all the Buddhas, even although all living beings were to practise complete self-restraint.

'Let a man worship the Buddhas, honouring them always with faith; from that comes this preeminent merit, as is declared by the Ginas.

'And whosoever joyfully worships a Pratyeka-Buddha, they shall become themselves Pratyeka-Buddhas; therefore let every one worship them.

'There is pre-eminent merit from the worship of one Bodhisattva, and they shall all themselves become Bodhisattvas, let every one worship them; 'Therefore there is pre-eminent merit from the worship of one Buddha,--they shall all themselves { become Ginas, let every one devoutly worship them; and he too shall obtain this pre-eminent merit who hears this or causes others to hear it.

'And whosoever in days when the good Law is abolished abandons love for his own body and life and proclaims day and night these good words,--pre-eminent is his merit from this.

'He who wishes to worship constantly the lords of saints, the Pratyeka-Buddhas and the Arhats, let him resolutely produce in his mind the idea of true wisdom and proclaim these good words and the Law.

'This jewel of all good doctrines, which is uttered by the Buddhas for the good of all beings,--even one who lives in a house will be a Tathâgata for it, where this good doctrine prevails.

'He obtains a glorious and endless splendour who teaches even one word thereof; he will not miss one consonant nor the meaning who gives this Sûtra to others.

'He is the best of all guides of men, no other being is like unto him; he is like a jewel, of imperishable glory, who hears this Law with a pure heart.

'Therefore let those who are endowed with lofty ambitions, always hear this Law which causes transcendent merit; let them hear it and gladly welcome it and lay it up in their minds and continually worship the three jewels with faith.'

Book XVII. The Progress to Lumbinī

[1. When the heavenly beings with Brahman at their head and the Bodhisattvas intent on self-mortification heard this glorification of the Law uttered by the lion of the Sâkyas, they were desirous to hear again this which is so difficult to find, and they went to the city and worshipped him, propitiating his favour; in the dark fortnight of the month Âshadha on the lunar day sacred to Agni, with the moon in the constellation called Karna (?) and on an auspicious day,--he, remembering the Buddha worlds and being desirous to save all creatures, set off on his journey, longing for disciples with his father at their head.]

The associated Brâmans, accompanied by the inhabitants of Kâsî who had gone to the Deer Park, and the mendicants to the number of thirty, were rendered resplendent by the chief of saints; Kâsîkâ the harlot of Kâsî went to the heaven of the gods, after she had worshipped the Gina and attached her sons to the service of the glorious one; the conqueror of the world then made thirty rejoicing officiating priests of Kâsî his disciples, initiating them in the course of perfect wisdom; and the son of Maitrâyanî and Maitra, the preceptor of hosts of the twice-born, named Pûrna, obtained true wisdom from the chief of saints and became a noble mendicant.

The priest of the lord of the city Mârakata, a Brâhman named Agaya, and his son Nâlaka, well versed in sacred learning and full of answers to questions, and an ascetic named Dhriti, dwelling in the Vindhya, and an invincible Brâhman ascetic Samgayin with his disciples,--these all, dwellers in the Vindhya,--when they came to him for refuge, the chief of saints initiated as mendicants, touching them with his hand bearing the mark of a wheel; moreover the Nâga Elapatra came to the abode of the best of saints, and stood resplendent there, perfectly calm in his demeanour and worshipping him with his rosaries.

There was also a female ascetic of Mathurâ named Trikavyamgikâ, and a Brâhman named Vidyâkara,--their son was named Sabhya, a dweller in the district called Svetabâlârka, a wise ascetic, proud of his wisdom,--he went into the Deer Park, wearing the aspect of one perfectly illumined, and desiring the highest wisdom from the chief of mendicants; seeking from the omniscient admission to the noble life, he became renowned as the mendicant Sabhya in all assemblies.

The son of Lalitâprabudhâ, born after worship paid to the best of trees on the bank of the stream Varanâ,--renowned in the world as Yasoda,--wise from the besprinkling of the ambrosia of the words of the king of heaven,--remembering all former discourses which he had heard, came with his friends to the wood in the Deer Park, accompanied by his glory; and the holy one, touching his head with his hand, made him the guru of the chief Bhikshus.

The glorious one, named the great Buddha, proceeded with the mendicants in an auspicious company, and having manifested his triumphal march for the salvation of the world, entered the city of Kâsî. A poor Brâhman, named Svastika, a native of Vârânasî, obtained riches from heaven through the favour of the glorious one, and having received adoption as a slave in the Gina faith, became a mendicant and an Arhat at the hands of the great teacher.

Blessing the king of Kâsî Divodâsa and the citizens with gold, corn, and other riches,--taking up his abode in different places in forests, caves, mountains, he at last came in his rambles to the river Gâhnavî. The boatman who conveyed the Gina across the Ganges worshipped him and offered him milk with due services of reverence, and became a mendicant through his favour and by the Gina's command found a dwelling in the Buddha's hermitage in the grove.

The glorious one, after he had crossed the Ganges, went to the hermitage of Kâsyapa at Gayâ, called Uruvilva; there, having shown his supernatural power, he received as Bhikshus the Kâsyapas, Uruvilva, and others, with more than a thousand of their disciples, having endued them forthwith with all kinds of spiritual knowledge and with the power to abandon all worldly action; then accompanied by three hundred disciples Upasena at the command of his maternal uncle became an ascetic.

The glorious one made seven hundred ascetics enter Nirvâna who dwelt in the wood Dharma; and the lord of the Law also caused the daughters of Namdika, Sugâtâ and others, who dwelt in the village, to become the first female ascetics; and in the city of Râgageha, having enlightened in right action and in activity the king Bimbisâra, { the monarch, who is to be considered as the elder-born in perfect knowledge, he made him who was the devoted follower of the Buddha, a Bodhisattva and a Sakridâgâmin.

In another village named Nâradya there was a Brâhman Dharmapâlin and a Brâhman woman named Sâlyâ; their seventh son named Upatishya, who had studied the entire Veda, became a Buddhist mendicant; so too there was a great pandit, a Brâhman named Dhânyâyana, who dwelt in the village Kolata, and his son;-him and the son of Sâlî named Maudgalya the great saint received as the best of Bhikshus, pre-eminent disciples.

Next he ordained as a mendicant the keen-witted maternal uncle of Sâliputra, Dîrghânakha by name; then travelling in the realm of Magadha, the glorious one, being honoured by the inhabitants with alms and other signs of devotion, and delivering them from evil, dwelt in the convent given by the seer Geta, attracting to himself many of the monks; and after ordaining as a mendicant a native of Mithilâ, named Ânanda, with his companions, he dwelt there a year.

The Brâhman named Kâsyapa, a very Kuvera for wealth, and a master in all the sciences connected with the Veda, an inhabitant of Râgageha, being pure-minded and wearing only one garment, left all his kindred and came seeking wisdom in asceticism;--when this noble youth came to the Bodhi tree and practised for six years a penance hard to carry out, then he paid worship to the chief of saints who had attained perfect knowledge, and he became the well-known { Kâsyapa, the chief of ascetics, the foremost of the Arhats.

The saint Naradatta, dwelling on Mount Himavat, remembering the wholesome words of his maternal uncle, came to the Sugata with his disciples, and the holy one admitted them all into the order of the Gina; then a woman named Sakti, and another named Kamalâ, pre-eminent in Brâhmanical power, came to the Sugata and fell down at his feet, and then standing before him they were received by the saint, and made happy with the staff and begging-bowl.

Seven hundred disciples of the ascetic Rudraka, remembering the noble words of their teacher, becoming mendicants according to the doctrine of the Gina, flocked round him paying him their homage and carrying their staves; next a seer, named Raivata, joyfully uttering his praises, having finished his course of discipline, became a mendicant, full of devotion to the guru, counting gold and clay as the same, well versed in sacred spells and meditation, and able to counteract the three kinds of poisons and other fatal harms.

Having received as followers and disciples certain householders of Srâvastî, Pûrna and others, and given them alms-vessels,--and having made many poor wretches as rich as Kuvera, and maimed persons with all their limbs perfect, and paupers and orphans affluent,--and having proclaimed the Law, and dwelt two years in the forest Getaka delivering the suppliants, the glorious one, having taught again the saint Geta, and established the Bhikshu Pûrna, once more proceeded on his way.

Then the glorious one went on, protecting { the merchant-caravans by the stores of his own treasures from the troops of robbers, next he went into the neighbourhood of Râgageha wandering with his begging-vessel which had been given by the merchants. In the wood called Venu, filled with Sâl trees, he ate an offering of food prepared by the enriched robbers, and he received as mendicants five hundred of them and gave them their begging-vessels and the other requisites.

At the invitation of Buddha's son, Suddhodana gave this message to his envoys Khandaka and Udâyin, 'Thy father and mother, some noble ladies, headed by Yasodrih, and this my young son have come in the hope of seeing thee, under the idea that thou art devoted to the world's salvation; what shall I tell them?' They two went, and reverentially saluting the Buddha in the vihâra called Venu, they told him the message with their eyes filled with tears.

Khandaka and Udâyin accepted his counsel, and, being delighted at the mighty power of Buddha, became great ascetics; and the great Gina took them with him and proceeded from that wood with the disciples, the mendicants, and the saints. Going on from place to place, and dwelling in each for a while and conferring deliverance and confirming the disciples, the mendicants, and the Arhats, he at last reached the wood Nigrodha, illuminating the district by his glory, shaking the earth and putting an end to misery.

He again stirred up his followers in the doctrine of the Buddha, and then went on with the { crowds of inhabitants gathered round him, instructing his shaven mendicant-followers, as they begged alms, while the gods brought his precepts to their minds. He forbade the mendicants to enter the city and went to Râgageha himself with his own followers; and then the king who dwells apart from all doubt, the Gina, who knows at once all the history of every Bhikshu, instructed the ascetic (Udâyin) in proclaiming wisdom to others.

In accordance with the Gina's command that prince of ascetics, Udâyin, went to the city of Kapila; there he, the lord of all possessors of supernatural powers, instructed the king as he stood in the assembly in the boon of the eight hundred powers; and coming down from heaven he uttered to the king and his court a discourse on the four sublime truths, and the king, with his mind enlightened, having worshipped him, held intercourse with him, attended by his courtiers, offering every form of homage.

The monarch, rejoiced at the sight of the Gina, praised his feet, worshipping them with eight hundred presents; and the Sugata departed, and made manifest in the sky in his one person a form comprehending the universe; first as fire, then ambrosia, then the king of beasts, an elephant, the king of horses, the king of peacocks, the king of birds, Maghavan, the ten rulers of the world headed by Yama, the sun, the moon, the hosts of stars, Brâhman, Vishnu, and Siva.

The sons of Diti, the four (Mahârâgas) with { Dhritarâshtra at their head, the hosts of Yogins with the king Drumasiddha, the (heavenly) ascetics, the Vasus, the Manus; the sons of the forest, the creatures of the waters headed by the makara, the birds headed by Garuda, and all the kings in the different worlds with the lord of the Tushita heaven at their head, and those in the world of the dead the domain of Bali,--whatever is conspicuous in the universe the holy one created it all, becoming the universal one.

When the king had thus been instructed, the lord of saints went to the Satya heaven, and then from the sky, seated on his own throne, he proclaimed the twelvefold Law; then he restored Gautamî and Anugopâ and many other women to sight, and filled all the assembled people with joy; and established others in Nirvâna and in the Law. Then Suddhodana full of joy invited him to a feast given to the whole assembly, and he accepted it by his silence.

The lion of the Sâkyas, having been thus invited, went with the congregation of his followers to the place, after having shown a mighty miracle. Then the earth shook, a shower of flowers fell, the various quarters of space became illumined and a wind blew; and the heavenly beings, Brahman, Siva, Vishnu, Indra, Yama, Varuna, Kuvera, the lord of Bhûtas, the lord of the winds, Nirriti, Fire with his seven flames, and the rest, stood resting their feet on the serpent Sesha, and followed leading the gods and gandharvas in their dance in the sky.

Making millions of ascetics, disciples, Arhats, { sages, mendicants, and fasters,--and delivering from their ills the blind, the humpbacked, the lame, the insane, the maimed as well as the destitute,--and having established many persons of the fourth caste in the true activity and inaction and in the three yânas, with the four samgrahas and the eight amgas,--going on from place to place, delivering, and confirming the Bhikshus, in the twelfth year he went to his own city.

Day by day confirming the Bhikshus, and providing food for the congregation, in an auspicious moment he made a journey to Lumbinî with the Bhikshus and the citizens, Brahman and Rudra being at their head, with great triumph and noise of musical instruments. There he saw the holy fig-tree and he stood by it remembering his birth, with a smile; and rays of light streamed from his mouth and went forth illumining the earth; and he uttered a discourse to the goddess of the wood, giving her the serenity of faith.

Having come to the Lumbinî fig-tree he spoke to Paurvikâ the daughter of Râhula, and Gopikâ the daughter of Maitra, and his own Saudhanî Kausikâ; and he uttered an affectionate discourse honouring his mother by the tank Vasatya; then speaking with Ekasâmgî the daughter of Mahâkautuka and Sautasomî in the wood Nigrodha, he received into the community some members of his own family, headed by Sundarânanda, and one hundred and seven citizens. { Having declared the glory of the Law of Buddha, he built a round Stûpa and gave a royal coronation to Saunu, sending him into the wood pre-eminent with the holiest saints and Kaityas, and bidding him worship the sacred relics; and having commanded Râhula, Gautamî, and the other women led by Gopikâ, with staves in their hands, as shaven ascetics, to practise the vow of fasting called ahoratra, and after that the Lakshakaitya ceremony and then the rite called Sringabheri, and that called Vasumdhârikâ.

The Ashtasâhasrikâ of sacred authority,--the Geya and the Gâthâ, the Nidâna and the Avadâna, and that which is called the Sûtra of the great Yâna, the Vyâkara and the Ityukta, the Gâtaka, the work called Vaipulya, the Adbhuta and the Upadesa, and also the Udânaka as the twelfth.--Teaching (these sacred texts) and making current the Yâna for common disciples, that for Pratyeka Buddhas, and the Mahâyâna, and proclaiming them all around, accompanied by thirteen and a half bodies of mendicants, the conqueror of the world went out of the city of Kapila.
After displaying miracles in the city of Kapila, { and having paid honour to his father, and having made Râhula and his companions Arhats, and also the Bhikshunîs with Gautamî and Gopikâ at their head, and various women of all the four castes; and having established Saunu on his imperial throne, and the people in the Gina doctrine, and having abolished poverty and darkness, and then remembering his mother, he set forth, ever worshipping Svayambhû, towards the northern region with Brahman, Vishnu, and Siva as mendicants in his train.
The glory of the Avadâna of the birth of the lion of the Sâkyas has thus been described by me at length and yet very concisely; it must be corrected by pandits wherever anything is omitted,--my childish speech is not to be laughed at, but to be listened to with pleasure. Whatever virtue may have acquired from describing the king of the Law, the deliverer from mundane existence, who assumes all forms,--may it become a store of merit for the production of right activity and inactivity in others, and for the diffusion of delight among the six orders of beings. Thus ends the seventeenth sarga, called the Progress to Lumbinî, in the great poem made by Asvaghosha, the Buddha-karita. , in the dark fortnight of the month Mârgasîrsha (Nov.-Dec.) and on the day ruled by the seventh astrological house Smara. Having searched for them everywhere and not found them, four sargas have been made by me,--the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth.' The beginning of another version of these lines is given in P, but D omits them. The name of Amritânanda occurs in Râgendralâl Mitra's Nepalese Buddhist Literature as the author of three,--two in Sanskrit, the Khando*mritalatâ (p. 79), the Kalyânapamkavimsatikâ (p. 99), translated in Wilson's Works, vol. ii, and the Vîrakusâvadâna (p. 274) in Newârî. Compare Cowell and Eggeling's Catalogue, pp. 18, 24; in p. 18 he is associated with the date N.S. 916 (A.D. 1796).]

Part Two: From the Chinese

Translated by Samuel Beal, 1883

The following chapters are translated from the Chinese version of the Buddhacarita, rendered into Chinese by Dharmarakṣa in the 5th century CE. They continue the narrative beyond the point covered by the extant Sanskrit manuscript.

Varga 18. Conversion of the Supporter of the Orphans and Destitute

At this time there was a great householder whose name was 'Friend of the Orphan and Destitute;' he was very rich and of unbounded means, and widely charitable in helping the poor and needy. . Now this man coming far away from the north, even from the country of Kosala, stopped at the house of a friend whose name was Sheu-lo (in Râgagriha). . Hearing that Buddha was in the world and dwelling in the bamboo grove near at hand, understanding moreover his renown and illustrious qualities, he set out that very night for the grove. . Tathâgata, well aware of his character, and that he was prepared to bring forth purity and faith, according to the case, called him by his true (name), and for his sake addressed him in words of religion: .

'Having rejoiced in the true law, and being humbly desirous for a pure and believing heart, thou hast overcome desire for sleep, and art here to pay me reverence; .

'Now then will I for your sake discharge fully the duties of a first meeting. In your former births the root of virtue planted firm in pure and rare expectancy, .

'Hearing now the name of Buddha, you rejoiced because you are a vessel fit for righteousness, humble in mind, but large in gracious deeds, abundant in your charity to the poor and helpless-- 1438 'The name you possess wide spread and famous, (this is) the just reward (fruit) of former merit. The deeds you now perform are done of charity, done with the fullest purpose and of single heart. .

'Now, therefore, take from me the charity of perfect rest (Nirvâna), and for this end accept my rules of purity. My rules are full of grace, able to rescue from destruction (evil ways of birth), .

'And cause a man to ascend to heaven and share in all its pleasures. But yet to seek for these (pleasures) is a great evil, for lustful longing in its increase brings much sorrow. . Practise then the art of "giving up 3" all search, for "giving up" desire is the joy of perfect rest (Nirvâna) 4. Know then! that age, disease, and death, these are the great sorrows of the world. .

'Rightly considering the world, we put away birth and old age, disease and death; (but now) because we see that men at large inherit sorrow caused by age, disease, and death, .

'(We gather that) when born in heaven, the case is also thus; for there is no continuance there for any, and where there is no continuance there is sorrow, and having sorrow there is no "true self." .

'And if the state of "no continuance" and of sorrow is opposed to "self," what room is there for such idea or ground for "self 1?" Know then! that "sorrow" is this very sorrow (viz. of knowledge), and its repetition is "accumulation;" .

'Destroy this sorrow and there is joy, the way is in the calm and quiet place. The restless busy nature of the world, this I declare is at the root of pain. .

'Stop then the end by choking up the source. [paragraph continues] Desire not either life (bhava) or its opposite; the raging fire of birth, old age, and death burns up the world on every side. .

'Seeing the constant toil (unrest) of birth and death we ought to strive to attain a passive state (no-thought), the final goal of Sammata, the place of immortality and rest. .

'All is empty! neither "self," nor place for "self," but all the world is like a phantasy; this is the way to regard ourselves, as but a heap of composite qualities (samskâra).' . The nobleman hearing the spoken law forthwith attained the first degree of holiness, he emptied, as it were, the sea of birth and death, one drop alone remaining. . By practising, apart from men, the banishment of all desire he soon attained the one impersonal condition, not as common folk do now-a-day who speculate upon the mode of true deliverance; . For he who does not banish sorrow-causing samskâras does but involve himself in every kind of question; and though he reaches to the highest form of being, yet grasps not the one and only truth; . Erroneous thoughts as to the joy of heaven are still entwined by the fast cords of lust. The nobleman attending to the spoken law the cloud of darkness opened before the shining splendour; . Thus he attained true sight, erroneous views for ever dissipated; even as the furious winds of autumn sway to and fro and scatter all the heaped-up clouds. . He argued not that Îsvara was cause, nor did he advocate some cause heretical, nor yet again did he affirm there was no cause for the beginning of the world. .

'If the world was made by Îsvara deva, there should be neither young nor old, first nor after, nor the five ways of birth (transmigration); and when once born there should be no destruction. .

'Nor should there be such thing as sorrow or calamity, nor doing wrong nor doing right; for all, both pure and impure deeds, these must come from Îsvara deva. .

'Again, if Îsvara deva made the world there should be never question (doubt) about the fact, even as a son born of his father ever confesses him and pays him reverence. .

'Men when pressed by sore calamity ought not (if Îsvara be creator) to rebel against him, but rather reverence him completely, as the self-existent. Nor ought they to adore more gods than one (other spirits). .

'Again, if Îsvara be the maker he should not be called the self-existent, because in that he is the maker now he always, should have been the maker (ever making). .

'But if ever making, then ever self-remembering, and therefore not the self-existent one. And if he made without a mind (purpose) then is he like the sucking child; .

'But if he made having an (ever prompting) purpose, then is he not, with such a purpose, self-existent. Sorrow and joy spring up in all that lives, these at least are not the works of Îsvara; .

'For if he causes grief and joy, he must himself have love (preference) and hate; but if he loves unduly, or has hatred, he cannot properly be named the self-existent. .

'Again, if Îsvara be the maker, all living things should silently submit, patient beneath the maker's power, and then what use to practise virtue? .

''Twere equal, then, the doing right or wrong, there should be no reward of works; the works themselves being his making, then all things are the same with him, the maker. .

'But if all things are one with him, then our deeds, and we who do them, are also self-existent. But if Îsvara be uncreated, then all things (being one with him) are uncreated. .

'But if you say there is another cause beside him as creator, then Îsvara is not the "end of all" (Îsvara, who ought to be inexhaustible, is not so), and therefore all that lives may after all be uncreated (without a maker). .

'Thus, you see, the thought of Îsvara is overthrown in this discussion (sâstra); and all such contradictory assertions should be exposed; if not, the blame is ours. .

'Again, if it be said self-nature is the maker, this is as faulty as the first assertion; nor has either of the Hetuvidyâ sâstras asserted such a thing as this, till now. .

'That which depends on nothing cannot as a cause make that which is; but all things round us come from a cause, as the plant comes from the seed; .

'We cannot therefore say that all things are produced by self-nature. Again, all things which exist (are made) spring not from one (nature) as a cause; .

'And yet you say self-nature is but one, it cannot then be cause of all. If you say that that self-nature pervades and fills all places, .

'If it pervades and fills all things, then certainly it cannot make them too; for there would be nothing, then, to make, and therefore this cannot be the cause. . If, again, it fills all places and yet makes all things that exist, then it should throughout "all time" have made for ever that which is, . But if you say it made things thus, then there is nothing to be made "in time;" know then for certain self-nature cannot be the cause of all. . Again, they say that that self-nature excludes all gunas (modifications), therefore all things made by it ought likewise to be free from gunas. .

'But we see, in fact, that all things in the world are fettered throughout by gunas, therefore, again, we say that self-nature cannot be the cause of all. .

'If, again, you say that that self-nature is different from such qualities (gunas), (we answer), since self-nature must have ever caused, it cannot differ in its nature (from itself); .

'But if the world (all living things) be different from these qualities (gunas), then self-nature cannot be the cause. Again, if self-nature be unchangeable, so things should also be without decay; .

'If we regard self-nature as the cause, then cause and consequence of reason should be one; but because we see decay in all things, we know that they at least are caused. .

'Again, if self-nature be the cause, why should we seek to find "escape?" for we ourselves possess this nature; patient then should we endure both birth and death. .

'For let us take the case that one may find "escape," self-nature still will re-construct the evil of birth. If self-nature in itself be blind, yet 'tis the maker of the world that sees. .

'On this account again it cannot be the maker, because, in this case, cause and effect would differ in their character, but-in all the world around us, cause and effect go hand in hand. .

'Again, if self-nature have no purpose (aim), it cannot cause that which has such purpose. We know on seeing smoke there must be fire, and cause and result are ever classed together thus. .

'We are forbidden, then, to say an unthinking cause can make a thing that has intelligence. The gold of which the cup is made is gold throughout from first to last. .

'Self-nature then that makes these things from first to last must permeate all it makes. Once more, if "time" is maker of the world, 'twere needless then to seek "escape," .

'For "time" is constant and unchangeable, let us in patience bear the "intervals" of time. The world in its successions has no limits, the "intervals" of time are boundless also. .

'Those then who practise a religious life need not rely on "methods" or "expedients." The To-lo-piu Kiu-na (Tripuna guna sâstra?), the one strange Sâstra in the world, .

'Although it has so many theories (utterings), yet still, be it known, it is opposed to any single cause. But if, again, you say that "self 2" is maker, then surely self should make things pleasingly, .

'But now things are not pleasing for oneself, how then is it said that self is maker? But if he did not wish to make things so, then he who wishes for things pleasing, is opposed to self, the maker. .

'Sorrow and, joy are not self-existing, how can these be made by "self?" But if we allow. that self was maker, there should not be, at least, an evil karman; .

'But yet our deeds produce results both good and evil, know then that "self" cannot be maker. But perhaps you say "self" is the maker according to occasion (time), and then the occasion ought to be for good alone; .

'But as good and evil both result from "cause," it cannot be that "self" has made it so. But if you adopt the argument--there is no maker--then it is useless practising expedients; .

'All things are fixed and certain of themselves, what good to try to make them otherwise? Deeds of every kind, done in the world, do, notwithstanding, bring forth every kind of fruit; .

'Therefore we argue all things that exist are not without some cause or other. There is both "mind" and "want of mind," all things come from fixed causation; .

'The world and all therein is not the result of "nothing" as a cause.' The nobleman (householder), his heart receiving light, perceived throughout the most excellent system of truth, . Simple, and of wisdom born; thus firmly settled in the true doctrine he lowly bent in worship at the feet of Buddha and with closed hands made his request: .

'I dwell indeed at Srâvastî (Sâvatthi) 1, a land rich in produce, and enjoying peace; Prasenagit (Pasenit) 2 is the great king thereof, the offspring of the "lion" family; .

'His high renown and fame spread everywhere, reverenced by all both far and near. Now am I wishful there to found a Vihâra, I pray you of your tenderness accept it from me. .

'I know the heart of Buddha has no preferences, nor does he seek a resting-place from labour, but on behalf of all that lives refuse not my request.' . Buddha, knowing the householder's heart, that his great charity was now the moving cause, untainted and unselfish charity, nobly considerate of the heart of all that lives . (He said), 'Now you have seen the true doctrine, your guileless heart loves to exercise its charity, for wealth and money are inconstant treasures, 'twere better quickly to bestow such things on others. .

'For when a treasury has been burnt, whatever precious things may have escaped the fire, the wise man, knowing their inconstancy, gives freely, doing acts of kindness with his saved possessions. .

'But the niggard guards them carefully, fearing to lose them, worn by anxiety, but never fearing (worst of all!) "inconstancy," and that accumulated sorrow, when he loses all! .

'There is a proper time and a proper mode in charity, just as the vigorous warrior goes to battle, so is the man "able to give," he also is an able warrior; a champion strong and wise in action. .

'The charitable man is loved by all, well-known and far-renowned! his friendship prized by the gentle and the good, in death his heart at rest and full of joy! .

'He suffers no repentance, no tormenting fear, nor is he born a wretched ghost or demon! this is the opening flower of his reward, the fruit that follows--hard to conjecture 2! .

'In all the six conditions born there is no sweet companion like pure charity; if born a Deva or a man, then charity brings worship and renown on every hand; .

'If born among the lower creatures (beasts), the result of charity will follow in contentment got; wisdom leads the way to fixed composure without dependence and without number. .

'And if we even reach the immortal path, still by continuous acts of charity we fulfil ourselves in consequence of kindly charity done elsewhere. Training ourselves in the eightfold path of recollection, .

'In every thought the heart is filled with joy, firm fixed in holy contemplation (samâdhi), by meditation still we add to wisdom, able to see aright (the cause of) birth and death; .

'Having beheld aright the cause of these, then follows in due order perfect deliverance. The charitable man discarding earthly wealth, nobly excludes the power of covetous desire; .

'Loving and compassionate now, he gives with reverence and banishes all hatred, envy, anger. So plainly may we see the fruit of charity, putting away all covetous and unbelieving ways, .

'The bands of sorrow all destroyed, this is the fruit of kindly charity. Know then! the charitable man has found the cause of final rescue; .

'Even as the man who plants the sapling, thereby secures the shade, the flowers, the fruit (of the tree full grown); the result of charity is even so, its reward is joy and, the great Nirvâna. .

'The charity which unstores wealth leads to returns of well-stored fruit. Giving away our food we get more strength, giving away our clothes we get more beauty, .

'Founding religious rest-places (pure abodes) we reap the perfect fruit of the best charity. There is a way of giving, seeking pleasure by it; there is a way of giving, coveting to get more; .

'Some also give away to get a name for charity, others to get the happiness of heaven, others to avoid the pain of being poor (hereafter), but yours, O friend! is a charity without such thoughts, .

'The highest and the best degree of charity without self-interest or thought of getting more. What your heart inclines you now to do, let it be quickly done and well completed! .

'The uncertain and the lustful heart goes wandering here and there, but the pure eyes (of virtue) Opening, the heart comes back and rests 1!' The nobleman accepting Buddha's teaching, his kindly heart receiving yet more light, . He invited Upatishya, his excellent friend, to accompany him on his return to Kosala; and then going round to select a pleasant site, . He saw the garden of the heir-apparent, Geta, the groves and limpid streams most pure. Proceeding where the prince was dwelling, he asked for leave to buy the ground; . The prince, because he valued it so much, at first was not inclined to sell, but said at last: 'If you can cover it with gold then, but not else, you may possess it.' . The nobleman, his heart rejoicing, forthwith began to spread his gold. Then Geta said: 'I will not give, why then spread you your gold?' . The nobleman replied, 'Not give; why then said you, "Fill it with yellow gold?"' And thus they differed and contended both, till they resorted to the magistrate. . Meanwhile the people whispered much about his unwonted (charity), and Geta too, knowing the man's sincerity, asked more about the matter: what his reasons were. On his reply, 'I wish to found a Vihâra, .

'And offer it to the Tathâgata and all his Bhikshu followers,' the prince, hearing the name of Buddha, received at once illumination, . And only took one half the gold, desiring to share in the foundation: 'Yours is the land (he said), but mine the trees; these will I give to Buddha as my share in the offering.' . Then the noble took the land, Geta the trees, and settled both in trust on Sâriputra. Then they began to build the hall, labouring night and day to finish it; . Lofty it rose and choicely decorated, as one of the four kings' palaces, in just proportions, following the directions which Buddha had declared the right ones; . Never yet so great a miracle as this! the priests shone in the streets of Srâvastî! Tathâgata, seeing the divine shelter, with all his holy ones resorted to the place to rest; . No followers there to bow in prostrate service, his followers rich in wisdom only. The nobleman reaping his reward, at the end of life ascended up to heaven, . Leaving to sons and grandsons a good foundation, through successive generations, to plough the field of merit. .

Varga 19. Interview Between Father and Son

Buddha in the Magadha country (employing himself in) converting all kinds of unbelievers (heretics), entirely changed them by the one and self-same law he preached, even as the sun drowns with its brightness all the stars. . Then leaving the city of the five mountains with the company of his thousand disciples, and with a great multitude who went before and came after him, he advanced towards the Ni-kin mountain, . Near Kapilavastu; and there he conceived in himself a generous purpose to prepare an offering according to his religious doctrine to present to his father, the king. . And now in anticipation of his coming the royal teacher (purohita) and the chief minister had sent forth certain officers and their attendants to observe on the right hand and the left (what was taking place); and they soon espied him (Buddha) as he advanced or halted on the way. . Knowing that Buddha was now returning to his country they hastened back and quickly announced the tidings, 'The prince who wandered forth afar to obtain enlightenment, having fulfilled his aim, is now coming back.' . The king hearing the news was greatly rejoiced, and forthwith went out with his gaudy equipage to meet (his son); and the whole body of gentry (sse) belonging to the country, went forth with him in his company. . Gradually advancing he beheld Buddha from afar, his marks of beauty sparkling with splendour two-fold greater than of yore; placed in the middle of the great congregation he seemed to be even as Brahma râga. . Descending from his chariot and advancing with dignity, (the king) was anxious lest there should be any religious difficulty (in the way of instant recognition); and now beholding his. beauty he inwardly rejoiced, but his mouth found no words to utter. . He reflected, too, how that he was still dwelling among the unconverted throng, whilst his son had advanced and become a saint (Rishi); and although he was his son, yet as he now occupied the position of a religious lord, he knew not by what name to address him. . Furthermore he thought with himself how he had long ago desired earnestly (this interview), which now had happened unawares (without arrangement). Meantime his son in silence took a seat, perfectly composed and with unchanged countenance. . Thus for some time sitting opposite each other, with no expression of feeling (the king reflected thus) 4, 'How desolate and sad does he now make my heart, as that of a man, who, fainting, longs for water, upon the road espies a fountain pure and cold; .

'With haste he speeds towards it and longs to drink, when suddenly the spring dries up and disappears. Thus, now I see my son, his well-known features as of old; .

'But how estranged his heart! and how his manner high and lifted up! There are no grateful outflowings of soul, his feelings seem unwilling to express themselves; cold and vacant (there he sits); and like a thirsty man before a dried-up fountain (so am I).' . Still distant thus (they sat), with crowding thoughts rushing through the mind, their eyes full met, but no responding joy; each looking at the other, seemed as one who thinking of a distant friend, gazes by accident upon his pictured form. .

'That you' (the king reflected) 'who of right might rule the world, even as that Mândhâtri râga, should now go begging here and there your food! what joy or charm has such a life as this? .

'Composed and firm as Sumeru, with marks of beauty bright as the sunlight, with dignity of step like the ox king, fearless as any lion, .

'And yet receiving not the tribute of the world, but begging food sufficient for your body's nourishment!' Buddha, knowing his father's mind, still kept to his own filial purpose. . And then to open out his mind, and moved with pity for the multitude of people, by his miraculous power he rose in mid-air, and with his hands (appeared) to grasp the sun and moon . Then he walked to and fro in space, and underwent all kinds of transformation, dividing his body into many parts, then joining all in one again. . Treading firm on water as on dry land, entering the earth as in the water, passing through walls of stone without impediment, from the right side and the left water and fire produced 2! . The king, his father, filled with joy, now dismissed all thought of son and father; then upon a lotus throne, seated in space, he (Buddha) for his father's sake declared the law. .

'I know that the king's heart (is full of) love and recollection, and that for his son's sake he adds grief to grief; but now let the bands of love that bind him, thinking of his son, be instantly unloosed and utterly destroyed. .

'Ceasing from thoughts of love, let your calmed mind receive from me, your son, religious nourishment; such as no son has offered yet to father, such do I present to you the king, my father. .

'And what no father yet has from a son received, now from your son you may accept, a gift miraculous for any mortal king to enjoy, and seldom had by any heavenly king! .

'The way superlative of life immortal (sweet dew) I offer now the Mahârâga; from accumulated deeds comes birth, and as the result of deeds comes recompense; .

'Knowing then that deeds bring fruit, how diligent should you be to rid yourself of worldly deeds! how careful that in the world your, deeds should be only good and gentle! .

'Fondly affected by relationship or firmly bound by mutual ties of love, at end of life the soul (spirit) goes forth alone,--then, only our good deeds befriend us.-- 1560 Whirled in the five ways of the wheel of life, three kinds of deeds produce three kinds of birth, and these are caused by lustful hankering, each kind different in its character. .

'Deprive these of their power by the practice now of (proper) deeds of body and of word; by such right preparation day and night strive to get rid of all confusion of the mind and practise silent (contemplation); .

'Only this brings profit in the end, besides this there is no reality; for be sure! the three worlds are but as the froth and bubble of the sea. .

'Would you have pleasure, or would you practise that which brings it near? then prepare yourself by deeds that bring the fourth birth 1: but (still) the five ways in the wheel of birth and death are like the uncertain wanderings of the stars; .

'For heavenly beings too must suffer change: how shall we find with men (a hope of) constancy; Nirvâna! that is the chief rest; composure! that the best of all enjoyments! .

'The five indulgences (pleasures) enjoyed by mortal kings are fraught with danger and distress, like dwelling with a poisonous snake; what pleasure, for a moment, can there be in such a case? .

'The wise man sees the world as compassed round with burning flames; he fears always, nor can he rest till he has banished, once for all, birth, age, and death. .

'Infinitely quiet is the place where the wise man finds his abode; no need of arms (instruments) or weapons there! no elephants or horses, chariots or soldiers there! .

'Subdued the power of covetous desire and angry thoughts and ignorance, there's nothing left in the wide world to conquer! Knowing what sorrow is, he cuts away the cause of sorrow; .

'This destroyed, by practising right means, rightly enlightened in the four true principles, he casts off fear and escapes the evil ways of birth.' The king when first he saw his wondrous spiritual power (of miracle) rejoiced in heart; .

'But now his feelings deeply affected by the joy of (hearing) truth, he became a perfect vessel for receiving true religion, and with clasped hands he breathed forth his praise: 'Wonderful indeed! the fruit of your resolve (oath) 1 completed thus! .

'Wonderful indeed! the overwhelming sorrow passed away! Wonderful indeed, this gain to me! At first my sorrowing heart was heavy, but now my sorrow has brought forth only profit! .

'Wonderful indeed! for now, to-day, I reap the full fruit of a begotten son. It was right he should reject the choice pleasures of a monarch (conqueror); it was right he should so earnestly and with diligence practise penance; .

'It was right he should cast off his family and kin; it was right he should cut off every feeling of love and affection. The old Rishi kings boasting of their penance gained no merit; .

'But you, living in a peaceful, quiet place, have done all and completed all; yourself at rest now you give rest to others, moved by your mighty sympathy (compassion) for all that lives! . If you had kept your first estate with men, and as a Kakravartin monarch ruled the world, possessing then no self-depending power of miracle, how could my soul have then received deliverance? . Then there would have been no excellent law declared, causing me such joy to-day; no! had you been a universal sovereign, the bonds of birth and death would still have been unsevered; .

'But now you have escaped from birth and death; the great pain of transmigration overcome, you are able, for the sake of every creature, widely to preach the law of life immortal (sweet dew), .

'And to exhibit thus your power miraculous, and (show) the deep and wide power of wisdom; the grief of birth and death eternally destroyed, you now have risen far above both gods and men. .

'You might have kept the holy state of a Kakravartin monarch; but no such good as this would have resulted.' Thus his words of praise concluded, filled with increased reverence and religious love, . He who occupied the honoured place of a royal father, bowed down respectfully and did obeisance. Then all the people of the kingdom, beholding Buddha's miraculous power, . And having heard the deep and excellent law, seeing, moreover, the king's grave reverence, with clasped hands bowed down and worshipped. Possessed with deep portentous thoughts, . Satiated with sorrows attached to lay-life, they all conceived a wish to leave their homes. The princes, too, of the Sâkya tribe, their minds enlightened to perceive the perfect fruit of righteousness, . Entirely satiated with the glittering joys of the world, forsaking home, rejoiced to join his company (become hermits). Ânanda, Nanda, Kin-pi (Kimbila) 2, Anuruddha, . Nandupananda, with Kundadana, all these principal nobles and others of the Sâkya family, . From the teaching of Buddha became disciples and accepted the law. The sons of the great minister of state, Udâyin being the chief, . With all the royal princes following in order became recluses. Moreover, the son of Atalî, whose name was Upâli, . Seeing all these princes and the sons of the chief minister becoming hermits, his mind opening for conversion, he, too, received the law of renunciation. . The royal father seeing his son possessing the great qualities of Riddhi, himself entered on the calm flowings (of thought), the gate of the true law of eternal life. . Leaving his kingly estate and country, lost in meditation, he drank sweet dew. Practising (his religious duties) in solitude, silent and contemplative he dwelt in his palace, a royal Rishi. . Tathâgata following a peaceable life, recognised fully by his tribe, repeating the joyful news of religion, gladdened the hearts of all his kinsmen hearing him. . And now, it being the right time for begging food, he entered the Kapila, country (Kapilavastu); in the city all the lords and ladies, in admiration, raised this chant of praise: .

'Siddhârtha! fully enlightened! has come back again!' The news flying quickly in and out of doors, the great and small came forth to see him; . Every door and every window crowded, climbing on shoulders, bending down the eyes, they gazed upon the marks of beauty on his person, shining and glorious! . Wearing his Kashâya garment outside, the glory of his person from within shone forth, like the sun's perfect wheel; within, without, he seemed one mass of splendour 11. . Those who beheld were filled with sympathising joy; their hands conjoined, they wept (for gladness) 3; and so they watched him as he paced with dignity the road, his form collected, all his organs well-controlled! . His lovely body exhibiting the perfection of religious beauty, his dignified compassion adding to their regretful joy! his shaven head, his personal beauty sacrificed! his body clad in dark and sombre vestment, . His manner natural and plain, his unadorned appearance; his circumspection as he looked upon the earth in walking! 'He who ought to have had held over him the feather-shade' (they said), 'whose hands should grasp "the reins of the flying dragon," .

'See how he walks in daylight on the dusty road! holding his alms-dish, going to beg! Gifted enough to tread down every enemy, lovely enough to gladden woman's heart, .

'With glittering vesture and with godlike crown reverenced he might have been by servile crowds! But now, his manly beauty hidden, with heart re-strained, and outward form subdued, .

'Rejecting the much-coveted and glorious apparel, his shining body clad with garments grey, what aim, what object, now! Hating the five delights that move the world, . Forsaking virtuous wife and tender child, loving the solitude, he wanders friendless; hard, indeed, for virtuous wife through the long night, cherishing her grief; .

'And now to hear he is a hermit! She enquires not now (so lost to life) of the royal Suddhodana if he has seen his son or not! .

'But as she views his beauteous person, (to think) his altered form is now a hermit's! hating his home, still full of love; his father, too, what rest for him (they say)! .

'And then his loving child Râhula, weeping with constant sorrowful desire! And now to see no change, or heart-relenting; and this the end of such enlightenment! .

'All these attractive marks, the proofs of a religious calling, whereas, when born, all said, these are marks of a "great man," who ought to receive tribute from the four seas! .

'And now to see what he has come to! all these predictive words vain and illusive.' Thus they talked together, the gossiping multitude, with confused accents. . Tathâgata, his heart unaffected,. felt no joy and no regret. But he was moved by equal love to all the world, his one desire that men should escape the grief of lust; . To cause the root of virtue to increase, and for the sake of coming ages, to leave the marks of self-denial behind him, to dissipate the clouds and mists of sensual desire, . He entered, thus intentioned, on the town to beg. He accepted food both good or had, whatever came, from rich or poor, without distinction; having filled his alms-dish, he then returned back to the solitude. .

Varga 20. Receiving the Jetavana Vihāra

The lord of the world, having converted the people of Kapilavastu according to (their several) circumstances, his work being done, he went with the great body of his followers, . And directed his way to the country of Kosala, where dwelt king Prasenagit (Po-se-nih). The Getavana was now fully adorned, and its halls and courts carefully prepared; . The fountains and streams flowed through the garden which glittered with flowers and fruit; rare birds sat by the pools (water side), and on the land they sang in sweet concord, according to their kind; . Beautiful in every way as the palace of Mount Kilas (Kailâsa) 1, (such was the Getavana.) Then the noble friend of the orphans, surrounded by his attendants, who met him on the way, . Scattering flowers and burning incense, invited the lord to enter the Getavana. In his hand he carried a golden dragon-pitcher, and bending low upon his knees he poured the flowing water . As a sign of the gift of the Getavana Vihâra for the use of the priesthood throughout the world. The lord then received it, with the prayer that 'overruling all evil influences it might give the kingdom permanent rest, .

'And that the happiness of Anâthapindada might flow out in countless streams.' Then the king Prasenagit hearing that the lord had come, . With his royal equipage went to the Getavana to worship at the lord's feet. (Having arrived) and taken a seat on one side, with clasped hands he spake to Buddha thus: .

'O that my unworthy and obscure kingdom should thus suddenly have met such fortune! For how can misfortunes or frequent calamities possibly affect it, (in the presence of) so great a man? .

'And now that I have seen your sacred features, I may perhaps partake of the converting streams of your teaching. A town although it is composed of many sections, yet both ignoble and holy persons may enter the surpassing stream; .

'And so the wind which fans the perfumed grove causes the scents to unite and form one pleasant breeze; and as the birds which collect on Mount Sumeru (are many), and the various shades that blend in shining gold, .

'So an assembly may consist of persons of different capacities, individually insignificant, but a glorious body. The desert master by nourishing the Rishi, procured a birth as the san-tsuh (three leg or foot) star; .

'Worldly profit is fleeting and perishable, religious (holy) profit is eternal and inexhaustible; a man though a king is full of trouble, a common man, who is holy, has everlasting rest.' . Buddha knowing the state of the king's heart,--that he rejoiced in religion as Sakrarâga,--considered the two obstacles that weighted him, viz. too great love of money, and of external pleasures; 1 . 624 Then seizing the opportunity, and knowing the tendencies of his heart, he began, for the king's sake, to preach: 'Even those who, by evil karman, have been born in low degree, when they see a person of virtuous character, feel reverence for him; .

'How much rather ought an independent king, who by his previous conditions of life has acquired much merit, when he encounters Buddha, to conceive even more reverence. Nor is it difficult to understand, .

'That a country should enjoy more rest and peace, by the presence of Buddha, than if he were not to dwell therein. And now, as I briefly declare my law, let the Mahârâga listen and weigh my words, .

'And hold fast that which I deliver! See now the end of my perfected merit', my life is done, there is for me no further body or spirit, but freedom from all ties of kith or kin! .

'The good or evil deeds we do from first to last (beginning to end) follow us as shadows; most exalted then the deeds (karman) of the king of the law. The prince (son) who cherishes his people, .

'In the present life gains renown, and hereafter ascends to heaven; but by disobedience and neglect of duty, present distress is felt and future misery! .

'As in old times Lui-'ma (lean horse) 3y râga, by obeying the precepts, was born in heaven, whilst Kin-pu (gold step) râga, doing wickedly, at the end of life was born in misery. . Now then, for the sake of the great king, I will briefly relate the good and evil law (the law of good and evil). The great requirement is a loving heart! to regard the people as we do an only son, .

'Not to oppress, not to destroy; to keep in due check every member of the body, to forsake unrighteous doctrine and walk in the straight path; not to exalt oneself by treading down others (or inferiors), .

'But to comfort and befriend those in suffering; not to exercise oneself in false theories (treatises), nor to ponder much on kingly dignity (strength), nor to listen to the smooth words of false teachers; .

'Not to vex oneself by austerities, not to exceed (or transgress) the right rules of kingly conduct, but to meditate on Buddha and weigh his righteous law, and to put down and adjust all that is contrary to religion; .

'To exhibit true superiority by virtuous conduct and the highest exercise of reason, to meditate deeply on the vanity of earthly things, to realise the fickleness of life by constant recollection; .

'To exalt the mind to the highest point of reflection, to seek sincere faith (truth) with firm purpose; to retain an inward sense of happiness resulting from oneself, (and to look forward to) increased happiness hereafter; .

'To lay up a good name for distant ages, this will secure the favour of Tathâgata, as men now loving sweet fruit will hereafter be praised by their descendants. .

'There is a way of darkness out of light, there is a way of light out of darkness; there is darkness which follows after the gloom (signs of gloom), there is a light which causes the brightening of light. .

'The wise man leaving first principles, should go on to get more light; evil words will be repeated far and wide by the multitude, but there are few to follow good direction; .

'It is impossible however to avoid result of works, the doer cannot escape; if there had been no first works, there had been in the end no result of doing, .

'--No reward for good, no hereafter joy--; but because works are done, there is no escape. Let us then practise good works; .

'(Let us) inspect our thoughts that we do no evil, because as we sow so we reap. As when enclosed in a four-stone [stone or rock-encircled] mountain, there is no escape or place of refuge for any one, .

'So within this mountain-wall of old age, birth, disease, and death, there is no escape for the world. Only by considering and practising the true law can we escape from this sorrow-piled mountain. .

'There is, indeed, no constancy in the world, the end of the pleasures of sense is as the lightning flash, whilst old age and death are as the piercing bolts; what profit, then, in doing (practising) iniquity 6! .

'All the ancient conquering kings, who were as gods on earth, thought by their strength to overcome decay; but after a brief life they too disappeared. .

'The Kalpa-fire will melt Mount Sumeru, the water of the ocean will be dried up, how much less can our human frame, which is as a bubble, expect to endure for long upon the earth! .

'The fierce wind scatters the thick mists, the sun's rays encircle (hide) Mount Sumeru, the fierce fire licks up the place of moisture, so things are ever born once more to be destroyed! .

'The body is a thing (vessel) of unreality, kept through the suffering of the long night, pampered by wealth, living idly and in carelessness, .

'Death suddenly comes and it is carried away as rotten wood in the stream! The wise man expecting these changes with diligence strives against sloth; .

'The dread of birth and death acts as a spur to keep him from lagging on the road; he frees himself from engagements, he is not occupied with self-pleasing, he is not entangled by any of the cares of life, .

'He holds to no business, seeks no friendships, engages in no learned career, nor yet wholly separates himself from it; for his learning is the wisdom of not-perceiving wisdom, but yet perceiving that which tells him of his own impermanence; .

'Having a body, yet keeping aloof from defilement, he learns to regard defilement as the greatest evil. (He knows) that tho' born in the Arûpa world, there is yet no escape from the changes of time; .

'His learning, then, is to acquire the changeless body; for where no change is, there is peace. Thus the possession of this changeful body is the foundation of all sorrow. .

'Therefore, again, all who are wise make this their aim--to seek a bodiless condition; all the various orders of sentient creatures, from the indulgence of lust, derive pain; .

'Therefore all those in this condition ought to conceive a heart, loathing lust; putting away and loathing this condition, then they shall receive no more pain; .

'Though born in a state with or without an external form, the certainty of future change is the root of sorrow; for so long as there is no perfect cessation of personal being, there can be, certainly, no absence of personal desire; .

'Beholding, in this way, the character of the three worlds, their inconstancy and unreality, the presence of ever-consuming pain, how can the wise man seek enjoyment therein? .

'When a tree is burning with fierce flames how can the birds congregate therein? The wise man, who is regarded as an enlightened sage, without this knowledge is ignorant; .

'Having this knowledge, then true wisdom dawns; without it, there is no enlightenment. To get this wisdom is the one aim, to neglect it is the mistake of life. 1660.

'All the teaching of the schools should be centred here; without it is no true reason. To recount this excellent system is not for those who dwell in family connection; .

'Nor is it, on that account, not to be said, for religion concerns a man individually [is a private affair]. Burned up with sorrow, by entering the cool stream, all may obtain relief and ease; .

'The light of a lamp in a dark room lights up equally objects of all colours, so is it with those who devote themselves to religion,--there is no distinction between the professed disciple and the unlearned (common). .

'Sometimes the mountain-dweller (i.e. the religious hermit) falls into ruin, sometimes the humble householder mounts up to be a Rishi; the want of faith (doubt) is the engulfing sea, the presence of disorderly belief is the rolling flood, .

'The tide of lust carries away the world; involved in its eddies there is no escape; wisdom is the handy boat, reflection is the hold-fast. .

'The drum-call of religion (expedients), the barrier (dam) of thought, these alone can rescue from the sea of ignorance.' At this time the king sincerely attentive to the words of the All-wise, . Conceived a distaste for the world's glitter and was dissatisfied with the pleasures of royalty, even as one avoids a drunken elephant, or returns to right reason after a debauch. . Then all the heretical teachers, seeing that the king was well affected to Buddha, besought the king (mahârâga), with one voice, to call on Buddha to exhibit his miraculous gifts. . Then the king addressed the lord of the world: 'I pray you, grant their request!' Then Buddha silently acquiesced. And now all the different professors of religion, . The doctors who boasted of their spiritual power, came together in a body to where Buddha was; then he manifested before them his power of miracle; ascending up into the air, he remained seated, . Diffusing his glory as the light of the sun he shed abroad the brightness of his presence. The heretical teachers were all abashed, the people all were filled with faith. . Then for the sake of preaching to his mother, he forthwith ascended to the heaven of the thirty-three gods; and for three months dwelt in heavenly mansions. There he converted the occupants (Devas) of that abode, . And having concluded his pious mission to his mother, the time of his sojourn in heaven finished, he forthwith returned, the angels accompanying him on wing; he travelled down a seven-gemmed ladder, . And again arrived at Gambudvîpa. Stepping down he alighted on the spot where all the Buddhas return, countless hosts of angels accompanied him, conveying with them their palace abodes (as a gift); . The people of Gambudvîpa with closed hands looking up with reverence, beheld him. .

Varga 21. Escaping the Drunken Elephant and Devadatta

Having instructed his mother in heaven with all the angel host, and once more returned to men, he went about converting those capable of it. . Gutika, Gîva(ka) 3, Sula, and Kûrna, the noble's son Aṅga and the son of the fearless king (Abhaya) . Nyagrodha and the rest; Srîkutaka (or, Srîguptaka), [paragraph continues] Upâli the Nirgrantha, (all these) were thoroughly converted. . So also the king of Gandhâra, whose name was Fo-kia-lo (Pudgala?); he, having heard the profound and excellent law, left his country and became a recluse. . So also the demons Himapati and Vâtagiri, on the mountain Vibhâra, were subdued and converted; . The Brahmakârin Prayan(tika), on the mountain Vagana (Po-sha-na), by the subtle meaning of half a gâtha, he convinced and caused to rejoice in faith; . The village of Dânamati (Khânumat) 2 had one Kûtadanta, the head of the twice-born (Brahmans); at this time he was sacrificing countless victims; . Tathâgata by means (upâya, expedients) converted him, and caused him to enter the true path. On Mount Bhatika (?) a heavenly being of eminent distinction, . Whose name was Pañkasikha, receiving the law, attained Dhyâna; in the village of Vainushta, he converted the mother of the celebrated Nanda; . In the town of Añkavari (Agrâtavî), he subdued the powerful (mahâbâla) spirit; Bhanabhadra (patala), Sronadanta; . The malevolent and powerful Nâgas, the king of the country and his harem, received together the true law, as he opened to them the gate of immortality (sweet dew). . In the celebrated Viggi village (or in the village Paviggi) Kina and Sila, earnestly seeking to be born in heaven, he converted and made to enter the right path; . The Aṅgulimâla, in that village of Sumu, through the exhibition of his divine power, he converted and subdued; . There was that noble's son, Purigîvana, rich in wealth and stores as Punavatî (punyavatî?), . Directly he was brought to Buddha (Tathâgata) accepting the doctrine, he became vastly liberal. So in that village of Padatti he converted the celebrated Patali (or, Potali), . And also Patala, brothers, and both demons. In Bhidhavali (Pi-ti-ho-fu-li) there were two Brahmans, . One called Great-age (Mahâyus?), the other Brahma-age (Brahmâyus?). These by the power of a discourse he subdued, and caused them to attain knowledge of the true law; . When he came to Vaisâlî, he converted all the Raksha demons, and the lion (Simha) of the Likkhavis, and all the Likkhavis, . Saka the Nirgrantha, all these he caused to attain the true law. Hama kinkhava had a demon Potala, . And another Potalaka (in) Potalagâma [these he converted]. Again he came to Mount Ala, to convert the demon Alava, . And a second called Kumâra, and a third Asidaka; then going back to Mount Gaga (Gayâsîrsha) he converted the demon Kañgana, . And Kamo (kin-mau) the Yaksha, with the sister and son. Then coming to Benares, he converted the celebrated Katyâyana; . Then afterwards going, by his miraculous power, to Sruvala (Sou-lu-po-lo), he converted the merchants Davakin and Nikin (?), . And received their sandal-wood hall, exhaling its fragrant odours till now. Going then to Mahîvatî, he converted the Rishi Kapila, . And the Muni remained with him; his foot stepping on the stone, the thousand-spoked twin-wheels appeared, which never could be erased. . Then he came to the place Po-lo-na (Prâna), where he converted the demon Po-lo-na; coming to the country of Mathurâ, he converted the demon Godama (Khadama?); . In the Thurakusati (? neighbourhood of Mathurâ) he also converted Pindapâla (or, vara); coming to the village of Vairañga, he converted the Brahman; . In the village of Kalamasa (or Kramasa), he converted Savasasin, and also that celebrated Agirivasa. . Once more returning to the Srâvastî country, he converted the Gautamas Gâtisruna and Dakâtili; . Returning to the Kosala country, he converted the leaders of the heretics Vakrapali (or, Vikravari) and all the Brahmakârins. . Corning to Satavaka, in the forest retreat, he converted the heretical Rishis, and constrained them to enter the path of the Buddha Rishi. . Coming to the country of Ayodhyâ, he converted the Demon Nâgas; coming to the country of Kimbila, he converted the two Nâgarâgas; . One called Kimbila, the other called Kâlaka. Again coming to the Vaggi country, he converted the Yaksha demon, . Whose name was Pisha, the father and mother of Nâgara, and the great noble also, he caused to believe gladly in the true law. . Corning to the Kausâmbî country, he converted Goshira, and the two Upasîkâs, Vaguttarâ . And her companion Uvarî; and besides these, many others, one after the other. Coming to the country of Gandhâra he converted the Nâga Apalâla; . Thus in due order all these air-going, water-loving natures he completely converted and saved, as the sun when he shines upon some dark and sombre cave. . At this time Devadatta, 2, seeing the remarkable excellences of Buddha, conceived in his heart a jealous hatred; losing all power of thoughtful abstraction, . He ever plotted wicked schemes, to put a stop to the spread of the true law; ascending the Gridhrakûta (Ghiggakûta) mount he rolled down a stone to hit Buddha; . The stone divided into two parts, each part passing on either side of him. Again, on the royal highway he loosed a drunken, vicious elephant; . With his raised trunk trumpeting as thunder (he ran), his maddened breath raising a cloud around him, his wild pace like the rushing wind to be avoided more than the fierce tempest; . His trunk and tusks and tail and feet, when touched only, brought instant death. (Thus he ran) through the streets and ways of Râgagriha, madly wounding and killing men; . Their corpses lay across the road, their brains and blood scattered afar. Then all the men and women filled with fear, remained indoors; . Throughout the city there was universal terror, only piteous shrieks and cries were heard; beyond the city men were running fast, hiding themselves in holes and dens. . Tathâgata, with five hundred followers, at this time came towards the city; from tops of gates and every window, men, fearing for Buddha, begged him not to advance; . Tathâgata, his heart composed and quiet, with perfect self-possession, thinking only on the sorrow caused by hate, his loving heart desiring to appease it, . Followed by guardian angel-nâgas, slowly approached the maddened elephant. The Bhikshus all deserted him, Ânanda only remained by his side; . Joined by every tie of duty, his steadfast nature did not shake or quail. The drunken elephant, savage and spiteful, beholding Buddha, came to himself at once, . And bending, worshipped at his feet just as a mighty mountain falls to earth. With lotus hand the master pats his head, even as the moon lights up a flying cloud. . And now, as he lay crouched before the master's feet, on his account he speaks some sacred words: 'The elephant cannot hurt the mighty dragon, hard it is to fight with such a one; .

'The elephant desiring so to do will in the end obtain no happy state of birth; deceived by lust, anger, and delusion, which are hard to conquer, but which Buddha has conquered. .

'Now, then, this very day, give up this lust, this anger and delusion! You! swallowed up in sorrow's mud! if not now given up, they will increase yet more and grow.' . The elephant, hearing Buddha's words, escaped from drunkenness, rejoiced in heart; his mind and body both found rest, as one athirst (finds joy) who drinks of heavenly dew. . The elephant being thus converted, the people around were filled with joy; they all raised a cry of wonder at the miracle, and brought their offerings of every kind. . The scarcely-good arrived at middle-virtue, the middling-good passed to a higher grade, the unbelieving now became believers, those who believed were strengthened in their faith. . Agâtasatru, mighty king, seeing how Buddha conquered the drunken elephant, was moved at heart by thoughts profound; then, filled with joy, he found a twofold growth of piety. . Tathâgata, by exercise of virtue, exhibited all kinds of spiritual powers; thus he subdued and harmonised the minds of all, and caused them in due order to attain religious truth; . And through the kingdom virtuous seeds were sown, as at the first when men began to live (i.e. were first created). But Devadatta, mad with rage, because he was ensnared by his own wickedness, . At first by power miraculous able to fly, now fallen, dwells in lowest hell. .

Varga 22. The Lady Āmrā Sees Buddha

The lord of the world having finished his wide work of conversion conceived in himself a desire (heart) for Nirvâna. Accordingly proceeding from the city of Râgagriha, he went on towards the town of Pa-lin-fo (Pâtaliputra) 3. . Having arrived there, he dwelt in the famous Pâtali ketiya. Now this (town of Pâtaliputra) is the frontier town of Magadha, defending the outskirts of the country. . Ruling the country was a Brahman of wide renown and great learning in the scriptures (sûtras); and (there was also) an overseer of the country, to take the omens of the land with respect to rest or calamity. . At this time the king of Magadha sent to that officer of inspection (overseer) a messenger to warn and command him to raise fortifications in the neighbourhood (round) of the town for its security and protection. . And now the lord of the world, as they were raising the fortifications, predicted that in consequence of the Devas and spirits who protected and kept (the land), the place should continue strong and free from calamity (destruction). . On this the heart of the overseer greatly rejoiced, and he made religious offerings to Buddha, the law, and the church. Buddha now leaving the city gate went on towards the river Ganges. . The overseer from his deep reverence for Buddha named the gate (through which the lord had passed) the 'Gautama gate.' Meanwhile the people all by the side of the river Ganges went forth to pay reverence to the lord of the world. . They prepared for him every kind of religious offering, and each one with his gaudy boat (decorated boat) 3 invited him to cross over. The lord of the world, considering the number of the boats, feared lest by an appearance of partiality in accepting one, he might hurt the minds of all the rest. . Therefore in a moment by his spiritual power he transported himself and the great congregation (across the river), leaving this shore he passed at once to that, . Signifying thereby the passage in the boat of wisdom (from this world to Nirvâna), a boat large enough to transport all that lives (to save the world), even as without a boat he crossed without hindrance the river (Ganges). . Then all the people on the bank of the river, with one voice, raised a rapturous shout, and all declared this ford should be called the Gautama ford. . As the city gate is called the Gautama gate, so this Gautama ford is so known through ages; and shall be so called through generations to come. . Then Tathâgata, going forward still, came to that celebrated Kuli village, where he preached and converted many; again he went on to the Nâdi village, . Where many deaths had occurred among the people. The friends of the dead then came (to the lord) and asked, 'Where have our friends and relatives deceased, now gone to be born, after this life ended 5?' . Buddha, knowing well the sequence of deeds, answered each according to his several case. Then going forward to Vaisâlî, he located himself in the Âmra grove. . The celebrated Lady Âmrâ, well affected to Buddha, went to that garden followed by her waiting women, whilst the children from the schools paid her respect. . Thus with circumspection and self-restraint, her person lightly and plainly clothed, putting away all her ornamented robes and all adornments of scent and flowers, . As a prudent and virtuous woman goes forth to perform her religious duties, so she went on, beautiful to look upon, like any Devî in appearance. . Buddha seeing the lady in the distance approaching, spake thus to all the Bhikshus 2: 'This woman is indeed exceedingly beautiful, able to fascinate the minds (feelings) of the religious; .

'Now then, keep your recollection straight! let wisdom keep your mind in subjection! Better fall into the fierce tiger's mouth, or under the sharp knife of the executioner, .

'Than to dwell with a woman and excite in yourselves lustful thoughts. A woman is anxious to exhibit her form and shape, whether walking, standing, sitting, or sleeping. .

'Even when represented as a picture, she desires most of all to set off the blandishments of her beauty, and thus to rob men of their steadfast heart! How then ought you to guard yourselves? .

'By regarding her tears and her smiles as enemies, her stooping form, her hanging arms, and all her disentangled hair as toils designed to entrap man's heart. .

'Then how much more (should you suspect) her studied, amorous beauty! when she displays her dainty outline, her richly ornamented form, and chatters gaily with the foolish man! .

'Ah, then! what perturbation and what evil thoughts, not seeing underneath the horrid, tainted shape, the sorrows of impermanence, the impurity, the unreality! .

'Considering these as the reality, all lustful thoughts die out; rightly considering these, within their several limits, not even an Apsaras would give you joy. .

'But yet the power of lust is great with men, and is to be feared withal; take then the bow of earnest perseverance, and the sharp arrow points of wisdom, .

'Cover your head with the helmet of right-thought, and fight with fixed resolve against the five desires. Better far with red-hot iron pins bore out both your eyes, .

'Than encourage in yourselves lustful thoughts, or look upon a woman's form with such desires. Lust beclouding a man's heart, confused with woman's beauty, .

'The mind is dazed, and at the end of life that man must fall into an "evil way." Fear then the sorrow of that "evil way!" and harbour not the deceits of women. .

'The senses not confined within due limits, and the objects of sense not limited as they ought to be, lustful and covetous thoughts grow up between the two, because the senses and their objects are unequally yoked. .

'Just as when two ploughing oxen are yoked together to one halter and cross-bar, but not together pulling as they go, so is it when the senses and their objects are unequally matched. .

'Therefore, I say, restrain the heart, give it no unbridled license.' Thus Buddha, for the Bhikshus' sake, explained the law in various ways. . And now that Âmrâ lady gradually approached the presence of the lord; seeing Buddha seated beneath a tree, lost in thought and wholly absorbed by it, . She recollected that he had a great compassionate heart, and therefore she believed he would in pity receive her garden grove. With steadfast heart and joyful mien and rightly governed feelings, . Her outward form restrained, her heart composed, bowing her head at Buddha's feet, she took her place as the lord bade her, whilst he in sequence right declared the law: .

'Your heart (O lady!) seems composed and quieted, your form without external ornaments; young in years and rich, you seem well-talented as you are beautiful. .

'That one, so gifted, should by faith be able to receive the law of righteousness is, indeed, a rare thing in the world! The wisdom of a master, derived from former births, enables him to accept the law with joy, this is not rare; .

'But that a woman, weak of will, scant in wisdom, deeply immersed in love, should yet be able to delight in piety, this, indeed, is very rare. .

'A man born in the world, by proper thought comes to delight in goodness, he recognises the impermanence of wealth and beauty, and looks upon religion as his best ornament. .

'He feels that this alone can remedy the ills of life and change the fate of young and old; the evil destiny that cramps another's life cannot affect him, living righteously; .

'Always removing that which excites desire, he is strong in the absence of desire; seeking to find, not what vain thoughts suggest, but that to which religion points him. .

'Relying on external help, he has sorrow; self-reliant, there is strength and joy. But in the case of woman, from another comes the labour, and the nurture of another's child. .

'Thus then should every one consider well, and loath and put away the form of woman.' Âmrâ the lady, hearing the law, rejoiced. . Her wisdom strengthened, and still more enlightened, she was enabled to cast off desire, and of herself dissatisfied with woman's form, was freed from all polluting thoughts. . Though still constrained to woman's form, filled with religious joy, she bowed at Buddha's feet and spoke: 'Oh! may the lord, in deep compassion, receive from me, though ignorant, .

'This offering, and so fulfil my earnest vow.' Then Buddha knowing her sincerity, and for the good of all that lives, . Silently accepted her request, and caused in her full joy, in consequence; whilst all her friends attentive, grew in knowledge, and, after adoration, went back home. .

Varga 23. By Spiritual Power Fixing His Term of Years

At this time the great men among the Likkhavis, hearing that the lord of the world had entered their country and was located in the Âmra garden, . (Went thither) riding in their gaudy chariots with silken canopies and clothed in gorgeous robes, both blue and red and yellow and white, each one with his own cognizance. . Accompanied by their body guard surrounding them, they went; others prepared the road in front; and with their heavenly crowns and flower-bespangled robes (they rode), richly dight with every kind of costly ornament. . Their noble forms resplendent increased the glory of that garden grove; now taking off the five distinctive ornaments, alighting from their chariots, they advanced afoot. . Slowly thus with bated breath, their bodies reverent (they advanced). Then they bowed down and worshipped Buddha's foot, and, a great multitude, they gathered round the lord, shining as the sun's disc, full of radiance. . (There was) the lion Likkhavi, among the Likkhavis the senior, his noble form (bold) as the lion's, standing there with lion eyes, . But without the lion's pride, taught by the Sâkya lion (who thus began): 'Great and illustrious personages, famed as a tribe for grace and comeliness! .

'Put aside, I pray, the world's high thoughts, and now accept the abounding lustre of religious teaching. Wealth and beauty, scented flowers and ornaments like these, are not to be compared for grace with moral rectitude! .

'Your land productive and in peaceful quiet--this is your great renown; but true gracefulness of body, and a happy people depend upon the heart well-governed. .

'Add but to this a reverent (joyful) feeling for religion, then (a people's) fame is at its height! a fertile land and all the dwellers in it, as a united body, virtuous 1! .

'To-day then learn this virtue, cherish with carefulness the people, lead them as a body in the right way of rectitude, even as the ox-king leads the way across the river-ford. .

'If a man with earnest recollection ponder on things of this world and the next, he will consider how by right behaviour (right morals) he prepares, as the result of merit, rest in either world. .

'For all in this world will exceedingly revere him, his fame will spread abroad through every part, the virtuous will rejoice to call him friend, and the outflowings of his goodness will know no bounds for ever. .

'The precious gems found in the desert wilds are all from earth engendered; moral conduct, likewise, as the earth, is the great source of all that is good. .

'By this, without the use of wings, we fly through space, we cross the river needing not a handy boat; but without this a man will find it hard indeed to cross (the stream of) sorrow (or, stay the rush of sorrow). .

'As when a tree with lovely flowers and fruit, pierced by some sharp instrument, is hard to climb, so is it with the much-renowned for strength and beauty, who break through the laws of moral rectitude! .

'Sitting upright in the royal palace (the palace of the conqueror) the heart of the king was grave and majestic; with a view to gain the merit of a pure and moral life, he became a convert of a great Rishi. .

'With garments dyed and clad with hair, shaved, save one spiral knot (he led a hermit's life), but, as he did not rule himself with strict morality, he was immersed in suffering and sorrow. .

'Each morn and eve he used the three ablutions, sacrificed to fire and practised strict austerity, let his body be in filth as the brute beast, passed through fire and water, dwelt amidst the craggy rocks, .

'Inhaled the wind, drank from the Ganges' stream, controlled himself with bitter fasts--but all! far short of moral rectitude. .

'For though a man inure himself to live as any brute, he is not on that account a vessel of the righteous law; whilst he who breaks the laws of right behaviour invites detraction, and is one no virtuous man can love; .

'His heart is ever filled (ever cherishes) with boding fear, his evil name pursues him as a shadow. Having neither profit nor advantage in this world, how can he in the next world reap content (rest)? .

'Therefore the wise man ought to practise pure behaviour (morals); passing through the wilderness of birth and death, pure conduct is to him a virtuous guide. .

'From pure behaviour comes self-power, which frees a man from (many) dangers; pure conduct, like a ladder, enables us to climb to heaven. .

'Those who found themselves on right behaviour, cut off the source of pain and grief; but they who by transgression destroy this mind, may mourn the loss of every virtuous principle. .

'(To gain this end) 2 first banish every ground of [paragraph continues] "self;" this thought of "self" shades every lofty (good) aim, even as the ashes that conceal the fire, treading on which the foot is burned. .

'Pride and indifference shroud this heart, too, as the sun is obscured by the piled-up clouds; supercilious thoughts root out all modesty of mind, and sorrow saps the strongest will. .

'(As) age and disease waste youthful beauty, (so) pride of self destroys all virtue; the Devas and Asuras, thus from jealousy and envy, raised mutual strife. .

'The loss of virtue and of merit which we mourn proceeds from "pride of self," throughout; and as I am a conqueror (Gina) amid conquerors, so he who (they who) conquers self, is one with me. .

'He who little cares to conquer self, is but a foolish master; beauty (or, earthly things), family renown (and such things), all are utterly inconstant, and what is changeable can give no rest of interval. .

'If in the end the law of entire destruction (is exacted) what use is there in indolence and pride? Covetous desire (lust) is the greatest (source of) sorrow, appearing as a friend in secret 'tis our enemy. .

'As a fierce fire excited from within (a house), so is the fire of covetous desire: the burning flame of covetous desire is fiercer far than fire which burns the world (world-fire). .

'For fire may be put out by water in excess, but what can overpower the fire of lust? The fire which fiercely burns the desert grass (dies out), and then the grass will grow again; .

'But when the fire of lust burns up the heart, then how hard for true religion there to dwell! for lust seeks worldly pleasures, these pleasures add to an impure karman; .

'By this evil karman a man falls into perdition (evil way), and so there is no greater enemy to man than lust. Lusting, man gives way to amorous indulgence (lit. "lust, then it brings forth love"), by this he is led to practise (indulge in) every kind of lustful longing; .

'Indulging thus, he gathers frequent sorrow (all sorrow, or accumulated sorrow, referring to the second of the "four truths"). No greater evil (excessive evil) is there than lust. Lust is a dire disease, and the foolish master stops (i.e. neglects) the medicine of wisdom. .

'(The study of) heretical books not leading to right thought, causes the lustful heart to increase and grow, for these books are not correct (pure) on the points of impermanency, the non-existence of self, and any object (ground) for "self." .

'But a true and right apprehension through the power of wisdom, is effectual to destroy that false desire (heretical longing), and therefore our object (aim or purpose) should be to practise this true apprehension. .

'Right apprehension (views) once produced then there is deliverance from covetous desire, for a false estimate of excellency produces a covetous desire to excel, whilst a false view of demerit produces anger (and regret); .

'But the idea of excelling and also of inferiority (in the sense of demerit) both destroyed, the desire to excel and also anger (on account of inferiority) are destroyed. Anger! how it changes the comely face, how it destroys the loveliness of beauty! .

'Anger dulls (clouds) the brightness of the eye (or, the bright eye), chokes all desire to hear the principles of truth, cuts and divides the principle of family affection, impoverishes and weakens every worldly aim. .

'Therefore let anger be subdued, yield not (a moment) to the angry impulse (heart); he who can hold his wild and angry heart is well entitled "illustrious charioteer." .

'For men call such a one "illustrious team-breaker 1" (who can) with bands restrain the unbroken steed; so anger not subdued, its fire unquenched, the sorrow of repentance burns like fire. .

'A man who allows wild passion to arise within, himself first burns his heart, then after burning adds the wind thereto which ignites the fire again, or not (as the case may be) 3. .

'The pain of birth, old age, disease, and death press heavily upon the world, but adding "passion" to the score, what is this but to increase our foes when pressed by foes? .

'But rather, seeing how the world is pressed by throngs of grief, we ought to encourage in us love (a loving heart), and as the world (all flesh) produces grief on grief, so should we add as antidotes unnumbered remedies.' . Tathâgata, illustrious in expedients, according to the disease, thus briefly spoke; even as a good physician in the world, according to the disease, prescribes his medicine. . And now the Likkhavis, hearing the sermon preached by Buddha, arose forthwith and bowed at Buddha's feet, and joyfully they placed them on their heads. . Then they asked both Buddha and the congregation on the morrow to accept their poor religious offerings. But Buddha told them that already Âmrâ (the lady) had invited him. . On this the Likkhavis, harbouring thoughts of pride and disappointment, (said): 'Why should that one take away our profit?' But, knowing Buddha's heart to be impartial and fair, they once again regained their cheerfulness. . Tathâgata, moreover, nobly (virtuously or illustriously) seizing the occasion (or, following the right plan), appeasing them, produced within a joyful heart; and so subdued, their grandeur of appearance came again, as when a snake subdued by charms glistens with shining skin. . And now, the night being passed, the signs of dawn appearing, Buddha and the great assembly go to the abode of Âmrâ, and having received her entertainment, . They went on to the village of Pi-nau (Beluva), and there he rested during the rainy season; the three months' rest being ended, again he returned to Vaisâlî, . And dwelt beside the Monkey Tank; sitting there in a shady grove, he shed a flood of glory from his person; aroused thereby, Mâra Pisuna . Came to the place where Buddha was, and with closed palms exhorted him thus: 'Formerly, beside the 'Nairañganâ river, when you had accomplished your true and steadfast aim, . (You said), "When I have done all I have to do, then will I pass at once to Nirvâna;" and now you have done all you have to do, you should, as then you said, pass to Nirvâna: . Then Buddha spake to Pisuna 3: 'The time of my complete deliverance is at hand, but let three months elapse, and I shall reach Nirvâna.' . Then Mâra, knowing that Tathâgata had fixed the time for his emancipation, his earnest wish being thus fulfilled, joyous returned to his abode in heaven. . Tathâgata, seated beneath a tree, straightway was lost in ecstasy, and willingly rejected his allotted years, and by his spiritual power fixed the remnant of his life. . On this, Tathâgata thus giving up his years, the great earth shook and quaked through all the limits of the universe; great flames of fire were seen around, . The tops of Sumeru were shaken (fell), from heaven there rained showers of flying stones, a whirling tempest rose on every side, the trees were rooted up and fell, . Heavenly music rose with plaintive notes, whilst angels for a time were joyless. Buddha rising from out his ecstasy, announced to all the world: .

'Now have I given up my term of years; I live henceforth by power of Samâdhi (faith); my body like a broken chariot stands, no further cause of "coming" or of "going;" .

'Completely freed from the three worlds, I go enfranchised, as a chicken from its egg.' .

Varga 24. The Differences of the Likkhavis

The venerable Ânanda, seeing the earth shaking on every side, his heart was fearful and his hair erect; he asked the cause thereof of Buddha. . Buddha replied: 'Ânanda! I have fixed three months to end my life, the rest of life I utterly give up; this is the reason why the earth is greatly shaken.' . Ânanda, hearing the instruction of Buddha, was moved with pity and the tears flowed down his face, even as when an elephant of mighty strength shakes (with a blow) the sandal-wood tree. . Thus was (Ânanda) shaken and his mind perturbed, whilst down (his cheeks) the tears, like drops of perfume, flowed; so much he loved the lord his master, so full of kindness (was he), and, as yet, not freed from earthly thoughts (desire) 1. . Thinking then on these four things alone, he gave his grief full liberty, nor could he master it, (but said), 'Now I hear the lord declare that he has fixed for good his time to die (Nirvâna), .

'My body fails, my strength is gone, my mind is dazed, my soul is all discordant, and all the words of truth forgotten; a wild deserted waste seems heaven and earth. .

'Have pity! save me, master (lord of the world)! perish not so soon 3! Perished with bitter cold, I chanced upon a fire--forthwith it disappeared. .

'Wandering amid the wilds of grief and pain, deceived, confused, I lost my way--suddenly a wise and prudent guide encountered me, but hardly saved from my bewilderment, he once more vanished. .

'Like some poor man treading through endless mud, weary and parched with thirst, longs for the water, suddenly he lights upon a cool refreshing lake, he hastens to it--lo! it dries before him. .

'The deep blue, bright, refulgent eye, piercing through all the worlds, with wisdom brightens the dark gloom, the darkness (but) for a moment is dispelled. .

'As when the blade shoots through the yielding earth, the clouds collect and we await the welcome shower, then a fierce wind drives the big clouds away, and so with disappointed hope we watch the dried-up field! .

'Deep darkness reigned for want of wisdom, the world of sentient creatures groped for light, Tathâgata lit up the lamp of wisdom, then suddenly extinguished it--ere he had brought it out.' . Buddha, hearing Ânanda speaking thus, grieved at his words, and pitying his distress, with soothing accents and with gentle presence spake with purpose to declare the one true law: .

'If men but knew their own nature, they would not dwell (indulge) in sorrow; everything that lives, whate'er it be, all this is subject to destruction's law; .

'I have already told you plainly, the law (nature) of things "joined 3" is to "separate;" the principle of kindness and of love is not abiding, 'tis better then to reject this pitiful and doting heart. .

'All things around us bear the stamp of instant change; born, they perish; no self-sufficiency; those who would wish to keep them long, find in the end no room for doing so. .

'If things around us could be kept for aye, and were not liable to change or separation, then this would be salvation 6! where then can this be sought? .

'You, and all that lives, can seek in me this great deliverance! That which you may all attain [paragraph continues] I have already told you, (and tell you) to the end. .

'Why then should I preserve this body? The body of the excellent law shall long endure! I am resolved; I look for rest! This is the one thing needful. .

'So do I now instruct all creatures, and as a guide, not seen before, I lead them; prepare yourselves to cast off consciousness, fix yourselves well in your own island. . Those who are thus fixed (mid-stream), with single aim and earnestness striving in the use of means, preparing quietly a quiet place, not moved by others' way of thinking, .

'Know well, such men are safe on the law's island. Fixed in contemplation, lighted by the lamp of wisdom, they have thus finally destroyed ignorance and gloom. Consider well the world's four bounds, .

'And dare to seek for true religion only; forget "yourself," and every "ground of self," the bones, the nerves, the skin, the flesh, the mucus, the blood that flows through every little vein; .

'Behold these things as constantly impure, what joy then can there be in such a body? every sensation born from cause, like the bubble floating on the water. .

'The sorrow coming from (the consciousness of) birth and death and inconstancy, removes all thought of joy--the mind acquainted with the law of production, stability, and destruction, (recognises) how again and once again things follow or (succeed one another) with no endurance. .

'But thinking well about Nirvâna, the thought of endurance is for ever dismissed, (we see how) the samskâras from causes have arisen, and how these aggregates will again dissolve, all of them impermanent. .

'The foolish man conceives the idea of "self," the wise man sees there is no ground on which to build the idea of "self," thus through the world he rightly looks and well concludes, .

'All, therefore, is but evil (one perverse way)--the aggregate amassed by sorrow must perish (in the end)! if once confirmed in this conviction, that man perceives the truth. .

'This body, too, of Buddha now existing (soon will) perish, the law is one and constant, and without exception.' Buddha having delivered this excellent sermon, appeased the heart of Ânanda, . Then all the Likkhavis, hearing the report, with fear and apprehension assembled in a body; devoid of their usual ornaments, they hastened to the place where Buddha was. . Having saluted him according to custom, they stood on one side, wishing to ask him a question, but not being able to find words. Buddha, knowing well their heart, by way of remedy, in the right use of means, spake thus: .

'Now I perfectly understand that you have in your minds unusual thoughts, not referring to worldly matters, but wholly connected with subjects of religion; .

'And now you wish to hear from me, what may be known respecting the report about my resolve to terminate my life, and my purpose to put an end to the repetition of birth. .

'Impermanence is the nature of all that exists, constant change and restlessness its conditions; unfixed, unprofitable, without the marks of long endurance. .

'In ancient days the Rishi kings, Vasishtha Rishi, [paragraph continues] Mândhâtri, the Kakravartin monarchs, and the rest, these and all others like them, .

'The former conquerors (Ginas), who lived with strength like Îsvara, these all have long ago perished, not one remains till now; . The sun and moon, Sakra himself, and the great multitude of his attendants, will all, without exception, perish; there is not one that can for long endure; . All the Buddhas of the past ages, numerous as the sands of the Ganges, by their wisdom enlightening the world, have all gone out as a lamp; .

'All the Buddhas yet to come will also perish in the same way; why then should I alone be different? I too will pass into Nirvâna; .

'But as they prepared others for salvation, so now should you press forward in the path; Vaisâlî may be glad indeed, if you should find the way of rest! .

'The world, in truth, is void of help, the "three worlds" not enough for joy--stay then the course of sorrow, by engendering a heart without desire. .

'Give up for good the long and straggling (way of life), press onward on the northern track, step by step advance along the upward road, as the sun skirts along (approaches) the western mountains.' . At this time the Likkhavis, with saddened hearts, went back along the way; lifting their hands to heaven and sighing bitterly: 'Alas! what sorrow this! .

'His body like the pure gold mountain, the marks upon his person so majestic, ere long and like a towering crag he falls; not to live, then why not, "not to love 3?" .

'The powers of birth and death, weakened awhile; the lord Tathâgata, himself the fount (mother) of wisdom (appeared), and now to give it up and disappear! without a saviour now, what check to sorrow. .

'The world long time endured in darkness, and men were led by a false light along the way--when lo! the sun of wisdom rose; and now, again, it fades and dies--no warning given. .

'Behold the whirling waves of ignorance engulfing all the world! (Why is) the bridge or raft of wisdom in a moment cut away? .

'The loving and the great physician king (came) with remedies of wisdom, beyond all price, to heal the hurts and pains of men--why suddenly goes he away? .

'The excellent and heavenly flag of love adorned with wisdom's blazonry, embroidered with the diamond heart, the world not satisfied with gazing on it, .

'The glorious flag of heavenly worship 1! Why in a moment is it snapped? Why such misfortune for the world, when from the tide of constant revolutions .

'A way of escape was opened-but now shut again! and there is no escape from weary sorrow!' Tathâgata, possessed of fond and loving heart, now steels himself and goes away; . He holds his heart so patient and so loving, and, like the Wai-ka-ni (Vakkani?) flower, with thoughts cast down (irresolute) and tardy, he goes depressed along the road; . Or like a man fresh from a loved one's grave, the funeral past and the last farewell taken, comes back (with anxious look). .

Varga 25. Parinirvāṇa

When Buddha went towards the place of his Nirvâna, the city of Vaisâlî was (as if) deserted, as when upon a dark and cloudy night the moon and stars withdraw their shining. . The land that heretofore had peace, was now afflicted and distressed; as when a loving father dies, the orphan daughter yields to constant grief. . Her personal grace unheeded, her clever skill but lightly thought of, with stammering lips she finds expression for her thoughts; how poor her brilliant wit and wisdom now! . Her spiritual powers (spirits 1) ill regulated (without attractiveness 2), her loving heart faint (poor) and fickle (false), exalted high but without strength, and all her native grace neglected (without rule) 5; . Such was the case at Vaisâlî; all outward show now fallen (sorry-looking), like autumn verdure in the fields bereft of water, withered up and dry; . Or like the smoke of a half-smouldering fire, or like those who having food before them yet forget to eat, so these forgot their common household duties, and nought prepared they for the day's emergencies. . Thinking thus on Buddha, lost in deep reflection, silent they sat nor spoke a word. And now the lion-Likkhavis, manfully enduring their great sorrow, . With flowing tears and doleful sighs, signifying thereby their love of kindred, destroyed for ever all their books of heresy, to show their firm adherence to the true law. . Having put down all heresy (or heretics), they left it once for all (never to return); severed from the world and the world's doctrines, convinced that non-continuance (impermanence) was the great disease (evil). . (Moreover thus they thought): 'The lord of men now enters the great quiet place (Nirvâna), (and we are left) without support and with no saviour; the highest lord of "means" (means of saving men) is now about to extinguish all his glory in the final place (of death). .

'Now we indeed have lost our steadfast will, as fire deprived of fuel; greatly to be pitied is the world, now that the lord gives up his world-protecting (office), .

'Even as a man bereft of spiritual power (right reason) throughout the world is greatly pitied. Oppressed by heat we seek the cooling lake, nipped by the cold we use the fire; .

'But in a moment all is lost, the world is left without resource; the excellent law (superlative law), indeed, is left, to frame the world anew, as a metal-caster frames anew his work. .

'The world has lost its master-guide, and, men bereaved of him, the way is lost; old age, disease, and death, self-sufficient, now that the road is missed, pervade the world without a way. .

'What is there now throughout the world equal to overcome the springs of these great sorrows? The great cloud's rain alone can make the raging and excessive fire, that burns the world, go out. .

'So only he can make the raging fire of covetous desire go out; and now he, the skilful maker of comparisons, has firmly fixed his mind to leave the world! .

'And why, again, is the sword of wisdom, ever ready to be used for an uninvited friend (i.e. on behalf of the friendless), only like the draught of wine given to him about to undergo the torture and to die 4? .

'Deluded by false knowledge the mass of living things are only born to die again; as the sharp knife divides the wood, so constant change divides the world. .

'The gloom of ignorance like the deep water, lust like the rolling billow, sorrow like the floating bubbles, false views (heresy) like the Makara 1fish, .

'(Amidst all these) the ship of wisdom only can carry us across the mighty sea. The mass of ills (diseases) are like the flowers of the (sorrow) tree, old age and all its griefs, the tangled boughs; .

'Death the tree's tap-root, deeds done in life the buds, the diamond sword of wisdom only strong enough to cut down the mundane tree! .

'Ignorance (is like) the burning fire-glass, covetous desire the scorching rays, the objects of the five desires the (dry) grass, wisdom alone the water to put out the fire. .

'The perfect law, surpassing every law, having destroyed the gloom of ignorance, we see the straight road leading to quietness and rest, the end of every grief and sorrow. .

'And now the loving (one), converting men, impartial in his thoughts to friend or foe, the all-knowing,. perfectly instructed, even he is going to leave the world! .

'He with his soft and finely modulated voice, his compact body and broad shoulders, he, the great Rishi, ends his life! Who then can claim exemption? .

'Enlightened, now he quickly passes hence! let us therefore seek with earnestness the truth, even as a man meets with the stream beside the road, then drinks and passes on. .

'Inconstancy, this is the dreaded enemy--the universal destroyer--sparing neither rich nor poor; rightly perceiving this and keeping it in mind, this man, though sleeping, yet is the only ever-wakeful.' . Thus the Likkhavi lions, ever mindful of the Buddha's wisdom, disquieted with (the pain of) birth and death, sighed forth their fond remembrance of the man-lion. . Retaining in their minds no love of worldly things, aiming to rise above the power of every lustful quality, subduing in their hearts the thought of light or trivial matters, training their thoughts (hearts) (to seek) the quiet, peaceful place; . Diligently practising (the rules) of unselfish, charitable conduct; putting away all listlessness, they found their joy in quietness and seclusion, meditating only on religious truth. . And now the all-wise (omniscient), turning his body round with a lion-turn, once more gazed upon Vaisâlî, and uttered this farewell verse: .

'Now this, the last time this, I leave (wander forth from) Vaisâlî--the land where heroes live and flourish! Now am I going to die.' . Then gradually advancing, stage by stage he came to Bhoga-nagara (Po-ki'a-shing), and there he rested in the Sâla grove, where he instructed all his followers (Bhikshus) in the precepts: .

'Now having gone on high (ascended into heaven) 4 I shall enter on Nirvâna: ye must rely upon the law (religious truth)--this is your highest, strongest, vantage ground. .

'What is not found (what enters not) in Sara, or what disagrees with rules of Vinaya, opposing the one true system (of my doctrine), this must not be held by you. .

'What opposes Dharma, what opposes Vinaya, or what is contrary to my words, this is the result (speech) of ignorance, ye must not hold such doctrine, but with haste reject it. .

'Receiving that which has been said aright (in the light) 1, this is not subversive of true doctrine, this is what I have said, as the Dharma and Vinaya say. .

'Accepting that which I, the law, and the Vinaya declare, this is (the truth) to be believed. But words which neither I, the law, nor the Vinaya declare, these are not to be believed. .

'Not gathering (explaining) the true and hidden meaning, but closely holding to the letter, this is the way of foolish teachers, but contrary to my doctrine (religion) and a false way of teaching. .

'Not separating the true from false, accepting in the dark without discrimination, is like a shop where gold and its alloys are sold together, justly condemned by all the world. .

'The foolish masters, practising (the ways of) superficial wisdom, grasp not the meaning of the truth; but to receive the law (religious doctrine) as it explains itself, this is to accept the highest mode of exposition (this is to accept the true law). .

'Ye ought therefore thus to investigate true principles, to consider well the true law and the Vinaya, even as the goldsmith does who melts and strikes and then selects the true (metal). .

'Not to know the Sûtras and the Sâstras, this is to be devoid of wisdom; not saying properly that which is proper, is like doing that which is not fit to see. .

'Let all be done (accepted) in right and proper order, according as the meaning of the sentence guides, for he who grasps a sword unskilfully, does but inflict a wound upon his hand. .

'Not skilfully to handle words and sentences, the meaning then is hard to know; as in the night time travelling and seeking for a house, if all be dark within, how difficult to find. .

'Losing the meaning, then the law (dharma) is disregarded, disregarding the law the mind becomes confused; therefore every wise and prudent master neglects not to discover the true and faithful meaning.' . Having spoken these words respecting the precepts of religion, he advanced to the town of Pâvâ, where all the Mallas (lih sse) prepared for him religious offerings of every kind. . At this time a certain householder's son, whose name was Kunda, invited Buddha to his house, and there he gave him, as an offering, his very last repast. . Having partaken of it and declared the law (preached), he onward went to the town of Kusi (Kusinagara), crossing the river Tsae-kieuh (Tsaku) and the Hiranyavatî (Hi-lan) 1. . Then in that Sâla grove, a place of quiet and seclusion (hermit-rest), he took his seat: entering the golden river (Hiranyavatî) he bathed his body, in appearance like a golden mountain. . Then he spake his bidding thus to Ânanda: 'Between those twin Sâla trees, sweeping and watering, make a clean space, and then arrange my sitting-mat (couch), .

'At midnight coming, I shall die' (enter Nirvâna). Ânanda hearing the bidding of his master (Buddha), his breath was choked with heart-sadness; . But going and weeping he obeyed the instruction, and spreading out the mat he came forthwith back to his master and acquainted him. Tathâgata having lain down with his head towards the north and on his right side, slept thus. . Resting upon his hand as on a pillow with his feet crossed, even as a lion-king; all grief is passed, his last-born body from this one sleep shall never rise. . His followers (disciples) round him, in a circle gathered, sigh dolefully: 'The eye of the (great) world is now put out!' The wind is hushed, the forest streams are silent, no voice is heard of bird or beast. . The trees sweat out large flowing drops, flowers and leaves out of season singly fall, whilst men and Devas, not yet free from desire, are filled with overwhelming fear. . (Thus were they) like men wandering through the arid desert, the road full dangerous, who fail to reach the longed-for hamlet; full of fear they go on still, dreading they may not find it, their heart borne down with fear they faint and droop. . And now Tathâgata, aroused from sleep, addressed Ânanda thus: 'Go! tell the Mallas, the time of my decease (Nirvâna) is come; .

'They, if they see me not, will ever grieve and suffer deep regret.' Ânanda listening to the bidding of his master (Buddha), weeping went along the road. . And then he told those Mallas all--'The lord is near to death.' The Mallas hearing it, were filled with great, excessive grief (fear). . The men and women hurrying forth, bewailing as they went, came to the spot where Buddha was; with garments torn and hair dishevelled, covered with dust and sweat they came. . With piteous cries they reached the grove, as when a Deva's day of merit (heavenly merit or enjoyment) comes to an end, so did they bow weeping and adoring at the feet of Buddha, grieving (to behold) his failing strength. . Tathâgata, composed and quiet, spake: 'Grieve not! the time is one for joy; no call for sorrow or for anguish here; .

'That which for ages I have aimed at, now am I just about to obtain; delivered now from the narrow bounds of sense, I go to the place of never-ending rest and peace (purity). .

'I leave these things, earth, water, fire, and air, to rest secure where neither birth nor death can come. Eternally delivered there from grief, oh! tell me! why should I be sorrowful? .

'Of yore on Sîrsha's mount, I longed to rid me of this body, but to fulfil my destiny I have remained till now with men (in the world); .

'I have kept (till now) this sickly, crumbling body, as dwelling with a poisonous snake; but NOW (capitals sic--JBH) I am come to the great resting-place, all springs of sorrow now for ever stopped. .

'No more shall I receive a body, all future sorrow now for ever done away; it is not meet for you, on my account, for evermore, to encourage any anxious fear.' . The Mallas hearing Buddha's words, that he was now about to die (enter the great, peaceful, quiet state), their minds confused, their eyes bedimmed, as if they saw before them nought but blackness, . With hands conjoined, spake thus to Buddha: 'Buddha is leaving now the pain of birth and death, and entering on the eternal joy of rest (peaceful extinction); doubtless we ought to rejoice thereat. .

'Even as when a house is burnt a man rejoices if his friends are saved from out the flames; the gods! perhaps they rejoice--then how much more should men! .

'But--when Tathâgata has gone and living things no more may see him, eternally cut off from safety and deliverance--in thought of this we grieve and sorrow. 197 I 'Like as a band of merchants crossing with careful steps a desert, with only a single guide, suddenly he dies! .

'Those merchants now without a protector, how can they but lament! The present age, coming to know their true case, has found the omniscient, and looked to him, .

'But yet has not obtained the final conquest;--how will the world deride! Even as it would laugh at one who, walking o'er a mountain full of treasure, yet ignorant thereof, hugs still the pain of poverty.' . So spake the Mallas, and with tearful words excuse themselves to Buddha, even as an only child pleads piteously before a loving father. . Buddha then, with speech most excellent, exhibited and declared the highest principle (of truth), and thus addressed the Mallas: 'In truth, 'tis as you say; .

'Seeking the way, you must exert yourselves and strive with diligence--it is not enough to have seen me! Walk, as I have commanded you; get rid of all the tangled net of sorrow; .

'Walk in the way with steadfast aim; 'tis not from seeing me this comes,--even as a sick man depending on the healing power of medicine, .

'Gets rid of all his ailments easily without beholding the physician. He who does not do what I command sees me in vain, this brings no profit; .

'Whilst he who lives far off from where I am, and yet walks righteously, is ever near me! A man may dwell beside me, and yet, being disobedient, be far away from me. .

'Keep your heart carefully--give not place to listlessness! earnestly practise every good work. Man born in this world is pressed by all the sorrows of the long career (night) [of suffering], .

'Ceaselessly troubled--without a moment's rest, as any lamp blown by the wind!' The Mallas all, hearing Buddha's loving instruction, . Inwardly composed, restrained their tears, and, firmly self-possessed, returned. .

Varga 26. Mahāparinirvāṇa

At this time there was a Brahmakârin whose name was Su-po-to-lo (Subhadra); he was well known for his virtuous qualities (bhadra), leading a pure life according to the rules of morality, and protecting all living things. . When young he had adopted heretical views and become a recluse among unbelievers--this one, wishing to see the lord, spake to Ânanda thus: .

'I hear that the system of Tathâgata is of a singular character and very profound (difficult to fathom), and that he (has reached) the highest wisdom (anuttarâ(sam)bodhi) in the world, the first of all horse-tamers. .

'(I hear moreover) that he is now about to die (reach Nirvâna), it will be difficult indeed to meet with him again, and difficult to see those who have seen him with difficulty, even as it is to catch in a mirror the reflection of the moon. .

'I now desire respectfully to see him the greatest and most virtuous guide (of men), because I seek to escape this mass of sorrow (accumulated sorrow) and reach the other shore of birth and death, .

'The sun of Buddha now about to quench its rays, O! let me for a moment gaze upon him.' The feelings of Ânanda now were much affected, thinking that this request was made with a view to controversy, . Or that he (i.e. Subhadra) felt an inward joy because the lord was on the eve of death. He was not willing therefore to permit the interview with Buddha (the Buddha-sight). Buddha, knowing the man's (that one's) earnest desire and that he was a vessel fit for true religion (right doctrine), . Therefore addressed Ânanda thus: 'Permit that heretic to advance; I was born to save mankind, make no hindrance therefore or excuse!' . Subhadra, hearing this, was overjoyed at heart, and his religious feelings (his feelings of joy in religion) were much enlarged, as with increased reverence he advanced to Buddha's presence. . Then, as the occasion required, he spoke becoming words and with politeness made his salutation, his features pleasing and with hands conjoined (he said): 'Now I desire to ask somewhat from thee; .

'The world has many teachers of religion (those who know the law) as I am myself; but I hear that Buddha has attained a way which is the end of all, complete emancipation. .

'O that you would, on my account, briefly explain (your method), moisten my empty, thirsty soul (heart)! not with a view to controversy or from a desire to gain the mastery (but with sincerity I ask you so to do).' . Then Buddha, for the Brahmakârin's sake, in brief recounted the eight 'right ways' (noble paths)--on hearing which, his empty soul (meek heart) accepted it, as one deceived accepts direction in the right road. 1996} Perceiving now, he knew that what he had before perceived was not the final way (of salvation), but now he felt he had attained what he had not before attained, and so he gave up and forsook his books of heresy. . Moreover, now he rejected (turned his back) on the gloomy hindrances of doubt (moha), reflecting how by his former practices, mixed up with anger, hate, and ignorance, he had long cherished no real (good) joy. . For if (he argued) the ways of lust and hate and ignorance are able to produce a virtuous karman (good works), then 'hearing much' and 'persevering wisdom' (or, wisdom and perseverance (vîrya)) these, too, are born from lust, (which cannot be.) . But if a man is able to cut down hate and ignorance, then also he puts off all consequences of works (karman), and these being finally destroyed, this is complete emancipation. . Those thus freed from works are likewise freed from subtle questionings (investigation of subtle principles), (such as) what the world says 'that all things, everywhere, possess a self-nature.' . But if this be the case and therefore lust, hate, and ignorance possess a self-implanted nature, then this nature must inhere in them; what then means the word 'deliverance?' . For even if we rightly cause the overthrow [paragraph continues] (destruction) of hate and ignorance, yet if lust (love) remains, then there is a return of birth; even as water, cold in its nature, may by fire be heated, . But when the fire goes out then it becomes cold again, because this is its constant nature; so (we may) ever know that the nature which lust has is permanent [or, 'endurance, we may know, is the nature of lust'], and neither hearing, wisdom, or perseverance can alter it. . Neither capable of increase or diminution, how can there be deliverance? I held aforetime (thus he thought) that (those things capable of) birth and death resulted thus, from their own innate nature; . But now I see that such a belief excludes deliverance; for what is (born) by nature must endure so, what end can such things have? . Just as a burning lamp cannot but give its light; the way (doctrine) of Buddha is the only true one, that lust, as the root-cause, brings forth the things that live (the world); . Destroy this lust (love) then there is Nirvâna (quiet extinction); the cause destroyed then the fruit is not produced. I formerly maintained that 'I' (self) was a distinct entity (body), not seeing that it has no maker. . But now I hear the right doctrine preached by Buddha, there is no 'self' (personal self) in all the world, for all things are produced by cause, and therefore there is no creator (Îsvara). . If then sorrow is produced by cause (or, if then cause producing things, there is sorrow), the cause may likewise be destroyed; for if the world is cause-produced, then is the view correct, that by destruction of the cause, there is an end. . The cause destroyed, the world brought to an end, there is no room for such a thought as permanence, and therefore all my former views (he said) are 'done away,' and so he deeply 'saw' the true doctrine taught by Buddha. . Because of seeds well sown in former times, he was enabled thus to understand the law on hearing it; thus he reached the good and perfect state of quietness, the peaceful, never-ending place (of rest). . His heart expanding to receive the truth, he gazed with earnest look on Buddha as he slept, nor could he bear to see Tathâgata depart and die (leave the world and attain Nirvâna); .

'Ere yet,' he said, 'Buddha shall reach the term (of life) I will myself first leave the world (become extinct);' and then with hands close joined, retiring from the holy form (face or features), he took his seat apart, and sat composed and firm. . Then giving up his life (years), he reached Nirvâna, as when the rain puts out a little fire. Then Buddha spake to all his followers (Bhikshus): 'This my very last disciple .

'Has now attained Nirvâna, cherish him (his remains) properly.' Then Buddha the first night (watch) passed, the moon bright shining and all the stars clear in their lustre, . The quiet grove without a sound, moved by his great compassionate heart, declared to his disciples this his bequeathed precepts (his testamentary rules).

'After my Nirvâna, .

'Ye ought to reverence and obey the Pratimoksha, (receive it) as your master, a shining lamp in the dark night, .

'Or as a great jewel (treasured by) a poor man. The injunctions I have ever given, these you ought to obey and follow carefully, and treat in no way different from myself. .

'Keep pure your body, words, and conduct, put from you all concerns of daily life (business), lands, houses, cattle, storing wealth or hoarding grain. .

'All these should be avoided as we avoid a fiery pit; (so also) sowing the land, cutting down shrubs, healing of wounds or the practice of medicine, .

'Star-gazing and astrology, forecasting lucky or unfortunate events by signs (palm signs), prognosticating good or evil, all these are things forbidden. .

'Keeping the body temperate, eat at proper times; receive no mission as a go-between; compound no philteries; abhor dissimulation; .

'Follow right doctrine, and be kind to all that lives; receive in moderation what is given; receive but hoard not up; these are, in brief, my spoken precepts. .

'These form the groundwork of my rules, these also are the ground of full emancipation. Enabled thus to live (relying on this law, able to live) this is rightly to receive all (other things). .

'This is true wisdom which embraces all, this is the way (cause) to attain the end; this code of rules, therefore, ye should hold and keep, and never let it slip or be destroyed. .

'For when pure rules of conduct are observed (not broken), then there is true religion; without these, virtue languishes; found yourselves therefore well on these my precepts (moral rules); .

'Grounded thus in rules of purity, the springs of feeling (animal feeling) will be well controlled, even as the well-instructed cowherd guides well his cattle (permits them neither to loiter nor hurry on). .

'Ill-governed feelings (senses), like the horse, run wild through all the six domains of sense, bringing upon us in the present world unhappiness, and in the next, birth in an evil way. .

'So, like the horse ill-broken, these land us in the ditch; therefore the wise and prudent man will not allow his senses licence. .

'For these senses (organs of sense) are, indeed, our greatest foes, causes of misery; for men enamoured thus by sensuous things cause all their miseries to recur. .

'Destructive as a poisonous snake, or like a savage tiger, or like a raging fire, the greatest evil in the world, he who is wise, is freed from fear of these. .

'But what he fears is only this--a light and trivial heart, which drags a man to future misery (evil way of birth) just for a little sip of pleasure not looking at the yawning gulf (before us); .

'Like the wild elephant freed from the iron curb (aṅkusa), or like the ape that has regained the forest trees, such is the light and trivial heart;--the wise man should restrain and hold it therefore. .

'Letting the heart go loose without restraint, that man shall not attain Nirvâna; therefore we ought to hold the heart in cheek, and go apart from men and seek a quiet resting-place (hermit's abode). .

'Know when to eat and the right measure; and so with reference to the rules of clothing and of medicine; take care you do not by the food you take, encourage in yourselves a covetous or an angry mind. .

'Eat your food to satisfy your hunger and (drink to satisfy) your thirst, as we repair an old or broken chariot, or like the butterfly that sips the flower destroying not its fragrance or its texture. .

'The Bhikshu, in begging food, should beware of injuring the faithful mind of another; if a man opens his heart in charity, think not about his capabilities (i.e. to overtax him), .

'For 'tis not well to calculate too closely the strength of the ox, lest by loading him (beyond his strength) you cause him injury. At morning, noon, and night, successively, store up good works. .

'During the first and after watch at night be not overpowered by sleep, but in the middle watch, with heart composed, take sleep (and rest)---be thoughtful towards the dawn of day. .

'Sleep not the whole night through, making the body and the life relaxed and feeble; think! when the fire shall burn the body always, what length of sleep will then be possible? .

'For when the hateful brood of sorrow rising through space, with all its attendant horrors, meeting the mind o'erwhelmed by sleep and death, shall seize its prey, who then shall waken it? .

'The poisonous snake dwelling within a house can be enticed away by proper charms, so the black toad that dwells within his heart, the early waker disenchants and banishes. .

'He who sleeps on heedlessly (without plan), this man has no modesty; but modesty is like a beauteous robe, or like the curb that guides the elephant. .

'Modest behaviour keeps the heart composed, without it every virtuous root will die. Who has this modesty, the world applauds (calls him excellent); without it, he is but as any beast. .

'If a man with a sharp sword should cut the (another's) body bit by bit (limb by limb), let not an angry thought, or of resentment, rise, and let the mouth speak no ill word. .

'Your evil thoughts and evil words but hurt yourself and not another; nothing so full of victory as patience, though your body suffer the pain of mutilation. .

'For recollect that he who has this patience cannot be overcome, his strength being so firm; therefore give not way to anger or evil words towards men in power. .

'Anger and hate destroy the true law; and they destroy dignity and beauty of body; as when one dies we lose our name for beauty, so the fire of anger itself burns up the heart. .

'Anger is foe to all religious merit, he who loves virtue let him not be passionate; the layman who is angry when oppressed by many sorrows is not wondered at, .

'But he who has "left his home 1" indulging anger, this is indeed opposed to principle, as if in frozen water there were found the heat of fire. .

'If indolence (an indolent mind) arises in your heart, then with your own hand smooth down your head, shave off your hair, and clad in sombre (dyed or stained) garments, in your hand holding the begging-pot, go ask for food; .

'On every side the living perish, what room for indolence? the worldly man, relying on his substance or his family, indulging in indolence, is wrong; .

'How much more the religious man, whose purpose is to seek the way of rescue, who encourages within an indolent mind; this surely is impossible! .

'Crookedness and truth (straightness) are in their nature opposite and cannot dwell together more than frost and fire; for one who has become religious, and practises the way of straight behaviour, a false and crooked way of speech is not becoming. .

'False and flattering speech is like the magician's art; but he who ponders on religion cannot speak falsely (wildly). To "covet much," brings sorrow; desiring little, there is rest and peace. .

'To procure rest (peace of mind), there must be small desire--much more in case of those who seek deliverance (salvation). The niggard dreads the much-seeking man lest he should filch away his property (wealth and jewels), .

'But he who loves to give has also fear, lest he should not possess enough to give; therefore we ought to encourage small desire, that we may have to give to him who wants, without such fear. . From this desiring-little-mind we find the way of true deliverance; desiring true deliverance (seeking salvation) we ought to practise knowing-enough (contentment). .

'A contented mind is always joyful, but joy like this is but religion; the rich and poor alike, having contentment, enjoy perpetual rest. . The ill-contented man though he be born to heavenly joys, because he is not contented would ever have a mind burned up by the fire of sorrow. .

'The rich, without contentment, endures the pain of poverty; though poor, if yet he be contented, then he is rich indeed! .

'That ill-contented man, the bounds of the five desires extending further still, (becomes) insatiable in his requirements, (and so) through the long night (of life) gathers increasing sorrow. .

'Without cessation thus he cherishes his careful (anxious) plans, whilst he who lives contented, freed from anxious thoughts about relationships (family concerns), his heart is ever peaceful and at rest. .

'And so because he rests and is at peace within, the gods and men revere and do him service. Therefore we ought to put away all cares about relationship (the encumbrance of close or distant relationships). .

'For like a solitary desert tree in which the birds and monkeys gather. so is it when we are cumbered much with family associations; through the long night we gather many sorrows. .

'Many dependents (relationships) are like the many bands (that bind us), or like the old elephant that struggles in the mud. By diligent perseverance a man may get much profit; .

'Therefore night and day men ought with ceaseless effort to exert themselves; the tiny streams that trickle down the mountain slopes (valleys) by always flowing eat away the rock. .

'If we use not earnest diligence in drilling wood in wood for fire, we shall not obtain the spark, so ought we to be diligent and persevere, as the skilful master drills the wood for fire. .

'A "virtuous friend 1" though he be gentle is not to be compared with right reflection (thought)--right thought kept well in the mind, no evil thing can ever enter there. .

'Wherefore those who practise (a religious life) should always think about "the body" (their true condition--themselves); if thought upon oneself be absent, then all virtue (virtuous intentions or purposes) dies. .

'For as the champion warrior relies for victory upon his armour's strength, so "right thought" is like a strong cuirass able to withstand the six sense-robbers (the robber-objects of the six senses). .

'Right faith (samâdhi) enwraps the enlightened heart, (so that a man) perceives the world throughout (is liable to) birth and death; therefore the religious man should practise "samâdhi." .

'Having found peace (quietness and peace) in samâdhi, we put an end to all the mass of sorrows, wisdom then can enlighten us, and so we put away the rules by which we acquire (knowledge by the senses). .

'By inward thought and right consideration following with gladness the directions of the "true law," this is the way in which both lay (men of the world) and men who have left their homes (religious men) should walk. .

'Across the sea of birth and death, "wisdom" is the handy bark; "wisdom" is the shining lamp that lightens up the dark and gloomy (world). .

'"Wisdom" is the grateful medicine for all the defiling ills [of life] (âsravas); "wisdom" is the axe wherewith to level all the tangled (prickly) forest trees of sorrow. .

'"Wisdom" is the bridge that spans the rushing stream of ignorance and lust--therefore, in every way, by thought and right attention (listening), a man should diligently inure himself to engender "wisdom." .

'Having acquired the threefold wisdom, then, though blind, the eye of wisdom sees throughout; but without wisdom the mind is poor and insincere (false); such things cannot suit (agree with) the man who has left his home. .

'Wherefore let the enlightened man lay well to heart that false and fruitless (vain) things become him not, and let him strive with single mind for that pure (refined and excellent) joy which can be found alone in perfect rest and quietude (the place of rest and peace, i.e. Nirvâna). .

'Above all things be not careless, for carelessness is the chief foe of virtue; if a man avoid this fault he may be born where Sakra-râga dwells. .

'He who gives way to carelessness of mind must have his lot where the Asuras dwell. Thus have I done my task, my fitting task, (in setting forth the way of) quietude, the proof (work) of love. .

'On your parts be diligent (earnest)! with virtuous purpose practise well these rules (works), in quiet solitude of desert hermitage nourish and cherish a still and peaceful heart. .

'Exert yourselves to the utmost, give no place to remissness, for as in worldly matters when the considerate physician prescribes fit medicine for the disease he has detected, .

'Should the sick man neglect to use it, this cannot be the physician's fault, so I have told you (now) the truth, and set before you this the one and level road (the road of plain duty). .

'Hearing my words and not with care obeying them, this is not the fault of him who speaks; if there be anything not clearly understood in the principles of the "four truths," .

'You now may ask me, freely; let not your inward thoughts be longer hid.' The lord in mercy thus instructing them, the whole assembly remained silent. . Then Anuruddha, observing that the great congregation continued silent and expressed no doubt, with closed hands thus spake to Buddha: .

'The moon may be warm, the sun's rays be cool, the air be still, the earth's nature mobile; these four things, though yet unheard of its the world, (may happen); .

'But this assembly never can have doubt about the principles of sorrow, accumulation, destruction, and the way (the four truths)--the incontrovertible truths, as declared by the lord. . But because the lord is going to die, we all have sorrow (are deeply affected); and we cannot raise our thoughts to the high theme of the lord's preaching. .

'Perhaps some fresh disciple, whose feelings are yet not entirely freed (from other influences) [might doubt]; but we, who now have heard this tender, sorrowful discourse, have altogether freed ourselves from doubt. .

'Passed the sea of birth and death, without desire, with nought to seek, we only know how much we love, and, grieving, ask, why Buddha dies so quickly?' . Buddha regarding Anuruddha, perceiving how his words were full of bitterness (sorrow-laden), again with loving heart, appeasing him, replied: .

'In the beginning things were fixed, in the end again they separate; different combinations cause other substances, for there is no uniform and constant principle (in nature). .

'But when all mutual purposes be answered (what is for oneself and for another, be done), what then shall chaos and creation do! the gods and men alike that should be saved, shall all have been completely saved! .

'Ye then! my followers, who know so well the perfect law, remember! the end must come (complete destruction of the universe must come); give not way again to sorrow! .

'Use diligently the appointed means; aim to reach the home where separation cannot come; I have lit the lamp of wisdom, its rays alone can drive away the gloom that shrouds the world. .

'The world is not for ever fixed! Ye should rejoice therefore! as when a friend, afflicted grievously, his sickness healed, escapes from pain. .

'For I have put away this painful vessel (my painful body), I have stemmed the flowing sea (sea current) of birth and death, free for ever now, from pain (the mass of sorrow)! for this you should exult with joy! .

'Now guard yourselves aright, let there be no remissness! that which exists will all return to nothingness! and now I die. .

'From this time forth my words are done, this is my very last instruction.' Then entering the Samâdhi of the first Dhyâna, he went successively through all the nine in a direct order; . Then inversely he returned throughout and entered on the first, and then from the first he raised himself and entered on the fourth. . Leaving the state of Samâdhi, his soul without a resting-place (a house to lodge in), forthwith he reached Nirvâna. And then, as Buddha died, the great earth quaked throughout. . In space, on every hand, was fire like rain (it rained fire) [or, possibly, 'there was rain and fire'], no fuel, self-consuming. And so from out the earth great flames arose on every side (the eight points of the earth), . Thus up to the heavenly mansions flames burst forth; the crash of thunder shook the heavens and earth, rolling along the mountains and the valleys, . Even as when the Devas and Asuras fight with sound of drums and mutual conflict. A wind tempestuous from the four bounds of earth arose-- whilst from the crags and hills, dust and ashes fell like rain. . The sun and moon withdrew their shining; the peaceful streams on every side were torrent-swollen; the sturdy forests shook like aspen leaves, whilst flowers and leaves untimely fell around, like scattered rain. . The flying dragons, carried on pitchy clouds, wept down their tears (five-headed tears); the four kings and their associates, moved by pity, forgot their works of charity. . The pure Devas came to earth from heaven, halting mid-air they looked upon the changeful scene (or, the death scene), not sorrowing, not rejoicing. . But yet they sighed to think of the world, heedless of its sacred teacher, hastening to destruction. The eightfold heavenly spirits, on every side filled space, . Cast down at heart and grieving, they scattered flowers as offerings. Only Mâra-râga rejoiced, and struck up sounds of music in his exultation. . Whilst Gambudvîpa, shorn of its glory, (seemed. to grieve) as when the mountain tops fall down to earth, or like the great elephant robbed of its tusks, or like the ox-king spoiled of his horns; . Or heaven without the sun and moon, or as the lily beaten by the hail; thus was the world bereaved when Buddha died! .

Varga 27. Praising Nirvāṇa

At this time there was a Devaputra, riding on (or in) his thousand white-swan palace in the midst of space, who beheld the Parinirvâna of Buddha. . This one, for the universal benefit of the Deva assembly, sounded forth at large these verses (gâthas) on impermanence: 'Impermanency is the nature of all (things), quickly born, they quickly die. .

'With birth there comes the rush of sorrows, only in Nirvâna is there joy. The accumulated fuel heaped up by the power of karman (deeds), this the fire of wisdom alone can consume. .

'Though the fame (of our deeds 6) reach up to heaven as smoke, yet in time the rains which descend will extinguish all, as the fire that rages at the kalpa's end is put out by the judgment (calamity) of water.' . Again there was a Brahma-Rishi-deva, like a most exalted Rishi (a highest-principle Rishi 1), dwelling in heaven, possessed of superior happiness, with no taint in his bliss (heavenly inheritance), . Who thus sighed forth his praises of Tathâgata's Nirvâna, with his mind fixed in abstraction as he spoke: 'Looking through all the conditions of life (of the three worlds), from first to last nought is free from destruction. .

'But the incomparable seer dwelling in the world, thoroughly acquainted with the highest truth, whose wisdom grasps that which is beyond the (world's) ken, he it is who can save the worldly-dwellers. .

'He it is who can provide lasting escape (preservation) from the destructive power of impermanence. But, alas! through the wide world, all that lives is sunk in unbelief (heretical teaching).' . At this time Anuruddha, 'not stopped' (ruddha) 5 by the world, 'not stopped' from being delivered (delivered and not stopped), the stream of birth and death for ever 'stopped' (niruddha), . Sighed forth the praises of Tathâgata's Nirvâna: 'All living things completely blind and dark 2! the mass of deeds (samskâra) all perishing (inconstant), even as the fleeting cloud-pile 3! .

'Quickly arising and as quickly perishing! the wise man holds not to such a refuge, for the diamond mace of inconstancy. can (even) overturn the mountain of the Rishi hermit (muni). .

'How despicable and how weak the world! doomed to destruction, without strength! Impermanence, like the fierce lion, can even spoil the Nâga-elephant-great-Rishi. .

'Only the diamond curtain of Tathâgata can overwhelm inconstancy! How much more should those not yet delivered from desire (passion), fear and dread its power. .

'From the six seeds there grows one sprout, one kind of water from the rain, the origin of the four points is far removed, five kinds of fruit from the two "koo;" .

'The three periods (past, present, future) are but one in substance; the Muni-great-elephant plucks up the great tree of sorrow, and yet he (even he) cannot avoid the power of impermanence. .

'For like the crested (sikhin) bird delights (within) the pool (water) to seize the poisonous snake, but when from sudden drought he is left in the dry pool, he dies; .

'Or as the prancing steed advances fearlessly to battle, but when the fight has passed goes back subdued and quiet; or as the raging fire burns with the fuel, but when the fuel is done, expires; .

'So is it with Tathâgata, his task accomplished he returns to (find his refuge in) Nirvâna: just as the shining of the radiant moon sheds everywhere its light and drives away the gloom, 2132.

'All creatures grateful for its light, (then suddenly) it disappears concealed by Sumeru; such is the case with Tathâgata, the brightness of his wisdom lit up the gloomy darkness, .

'And for the good of all that lives drove it away, when suddenly it disappears behind the mountain of Nirvâna. The splendour of his fame throughout the world diffused, .

'Had banished all obscurity, but like the stream that ever flows, it rests not with us the illustrious charioteer with his seven prancing steeds flies through the host (and disappears); .

'The bright-rayed Sûrya-deva, entering the Yen-tsz' 3 cave, was, with the moon, surrounded with fivefold barriers; "all things that live," deprived of light, .

'Present their offerings to heaven; but from their sacrifice nought but the blacken'd smoke ascends; thus is it with Tathâgata, his glory hidden, the world has lost its light. .

'Rare was the expectancy of grateful love that filled the heart of all that lives; that love, reached its full limit, then was left to perish! .

'The cords of sorrow all removed, we found the true and only way; but now he leaves the tangled mesh of life, and enters on the quiet place! .

'His spirit (or, by spiritual power) mounting through space, he leaves the sorrow-bearing vessel of his body! the gloom of doubt and the great [paragraph continues] (heaped-up) darkness all dispelled, by the bright rays of wisdom! .

'The earthy soil of sorrow's dust his wisdom's water purifies! no more, no more, returns he here! for ever gone to the place of rest! .

'(The power of) birth and death destroyed, the world (all things) instructed in the highest doctrine! he bids the world rejoice in (knowledge of) his law, and gives to all the benefit of wisdom! .

'Giving complete rest to the world, the virtuous streams flow forth! his fame known (spread) throughout the world, shines still with increased splendour! .

'How great his pity and his love to those who opposed his claims, neither rejoicing in their defeat nor exulting in his own success. .

'Illustriously controlling his feelings, all his senses completely enlightened, his heart impartially observing events, unpolluted by the six objects (or, fields) of sense! .

'Reaching to that unreached before! obtaining that which man had not obtained! with the water which he provided filling every thirsty soul! .

'Bestowing that which never yet was given, and providing a reward not hoped for! his peaceful, well-marked person, perfectly knowing the thoughts (prayers) of all. .

'Not greatly moved either by loving or disliking! overcoming all enemies by the force (of his love)! the welcome physician for all diseases, the one destroyer of impermanency! .

'All living things rejoicing in religion, fully satisfied 1! obtaining all they need (seek), their every wish (vow) fulfilled! .

'The great master of holy wisdom once gone returns no more! even as the fire gone out for want of fuel! .

'(Declaring) the eight rules (noble truths?) without taint; overcoming the five (senses), difficult to compose! with the three (powers of sight) seeing the three (precious ones); removing the three (robbers, i.e. lust, anger, ignorance); perfecting the three (the three grades of a holy life). .

'Concealing the one (himself) and obtaining the one (saintship)--leaping over the seven (bodhyaṅgas?) and (obtaining) the long sleep; the end of all, the quiet, peaceful way; the highest prize of sages and of saints! .

'Having himself severed the barriers of sorrow, now he is able to save his followers, and to provide the draught of immortality (sweet dew) for all who are parched with thirst! .

'Armed with the heavy cuirass of patience, he has overcome all enemies! (now) by the subtle principles of his excellent law (able to) satisfy every heart. .

'Planting a sacred seed (seed of holiness) in the hearts of those practising virtue (worldly virtue 1) impartially directing and not casting off those who are right or not right (in their views)! .

'Turning the wheel of the superlative law! received with gladness through the world by those (the elect) who have in former conditions implanted in themselves a love for religion, these all saved by his preaching! .

'Going forth among men converting those not yet converted; those who had not seen (learned) the truth, causing them to see the truth! .

'All those practising a false method (heretical) of religion, delivering to them deep principles (of his religion)! preaching the doctrines of birth and death and impermanency; (declaring that) without a master (teacher) there can be no happiness! .

'Erecting the standard of his great renown, overcoming and destroying the armies of Mâra (all the Mâras)! advancing to the point of indifference to pleasure or pain, caring not for life, desiring only rest (Nirvâna)! 2159.

'Causing those not yet converted to obtain conversion! those not yet saved to be saved! those not yet at rest to find rest! those not yet enlightened to be enlightened! .

'(Thus) the Muni (taught) the way of rest for the direction of all living things! alas! that any transgressing the way of holiness should practise impure (not right) works. .

'Even as at the end of the great kalpa, those holding the law who die (or, are dead 1), (when) the rolling sound of the mysterious thunder-cloud severs the forests, upon these there shall fall the rain of sweet dew (immortality). .

'The little elephant breaks down the prickly forest, and by cherishing it we know that it can profit men; but the cloud that removes the sorrow of the elephant old-age, this none can bear. .

'He by destroying systems of religion (sights, i.e. modes of seeing, darsanas) has perfected his system, in saving the world and yet saving! he has destroyed- the teaching of heresy, in order to reach his independent (self-sufficient) mode (way) [of doctrine]. .

'And now he enters the great quiet (place)! no longer has the world a protector or saviour! the great army host of Mâra-râga, rousing their warrior (spirits), shaking the great earth, .

'Desired to injure the honour'd Muni! but they could not move him, whom in a moment now the Mâra "inconstancy" destroys. .

'The heavenly occupants (Devas) everywhere assemble as a cloud! they fill the space of heaven, fearing the endless (mastery of) birth and death! their hearts are full of (give birth to) grief and dread! .

'His Deva eyes clearly behold, without the limitations of near or distant, the fruits of works discerned throughout, as an image perceived in a mirror! .

'His Deva ears perfect and discriminating throughout, hear all, though far away (not near), mounting through space he teaches all the Devas, surpassing his method (limit) of converting men! .

'He divides his body still one in substance, crosses the water as if it were not weak (to bear) 1! remembers all his former births, through countless kalpas none forgotten! .

'His senses (roots) wandering through the fields . of sense (limits) 1, all these distinctly remembered; knowing the wisdom learned in every (state of) mind, all this perfectly understood! .

'By spiritual discernment and pure mysterious wisdom equally (impartially) surveying all (things)! every vestige of imperfection (leak) removed! thus he has accomplished all (he had to do). .

'By wisdom rejecting other spheres of life, his wisdom now completely perfected, to! he dies! let the world, hard and unyielding, still, beholding it, relent! .

'All living things though blunt in sense, beholding him, receive the enlightenment of wisdom! their endless evil deeds long past, as they behold, are cancelled and completely cleansed! .

'In a moment gone! who shall again exhibit qualities like his? no saviour now in all the world--our hope cut off, our very breath (life) is stopped and gone! .

'Who now shall give us life again with the cool water (of his doctrine)? his own great work accomplished, his great compassion now has ceased to work for long (has long ceased or stopped)! .

'The world ensnared in the toils of folly, who shall destroy the net? who shall, by his teaching, cause the stream of birth and death to turn again? .

'Who shall declare the way of rest (to instruct) the heart of all that lives, deceived by ignorance? Who will point out the quiet place, or who make known the one true doctrine (system of doctrine)? .

'All flesh suffering (receiving) great sorrow, who shall deliver, like a loving father? Like the horse changing his master loses all gracefulness, as he forgets his many words of guidance (so are we)! .

'As a king without a kingdom, such is the world without a Buddha! as a disciple (a Srâvaka, a "much hearer") with no power of dialectic (distinguishing powers) left, or like a physician without wisdom, .

'As men whose king has lost the marks of royalty (bright or glorious marks), so, Buddha dead, the world has lost its glory! the gentle horses left without a charioteer, the boat without a pilot left! .

'The three divisions of an army left without a general! the merchantmen without a guide! the suffering and diseased without a physician! a holy king (kakravartin) without his seven insignia (jewels, ratnâni)! 218 . 2 'The stars without the moon! the loving years (the planet Jupiter?) without the power of life!--such is the world now that Buddha, the great teacher, dies!' . Thus (spake) the Arhat, all done that should be done, all imperfections quite removed, knowing the meed of gratitude, he was grateful therefore (spake gratefully of his master); . Thus thinking of his master's love he spake! setting forth the world's great sorrow; whilst those, not yet freed from the power of passion, wept with many tears, unable to control themselves. . Yet even those who had put away all faults, sighed as they thought of the pain of birth and death. And now the Malla host hearing that Buddha had attained Nirvâna, . With cries confused, wept piteously, greatly moved, as when a flight of herons meet a hawk (kite). In a body now they reach the twin (Sâla) trees, and as they gaze upon Tathâgata dead (entered on his long sleep), . Those features never again to awake to consciousness, they smote their breasts and sighed to heaven; as when a lion seizing, on a calf, the whole herd rushes on with mingled sounds. . In the midst there was one Malla, his mind enamoured of the righteous law, who gazed with steadfastness upon the holy law-king, now entered on the mighty calm, . And said: 'The world was everywhere asleep, when Buddha setting forth his law caused it to awake; but now he has entered on the mighty calm, and all is finished in an unending sleep. .

'For man's sake he had raised the standard of his law, and now, in a moment, it has fallen; the sun of Tathâgata's wisdom spreading abroad the lustre of its "great awakening," .

'Increasing ever more and more in glory, spreading abroad the thousand rays of highest knowledge, scattering and destroying all the gloom (of earth), why has the darkness great come back again? .

'His unequalled wisdom lightening the three worlds, giving eyes that all the world might see, now suddenly (the world is) blind again, bewildered, ignorant of the way; .

'In a moment fallen the bridge of truth (that spanned) the rolling stream of birth and death, the swelling flood of lust and rage and doubt, and all flesh overwhelmed therein, for ever lost.' . Thus all that Malla host wept piteously and lamented; whilst some concealed their grief nor spoke a word; others sank prostrate on the earth; . Others stood silent, lost in meditation; others, with sorrowful heart, groaned deeply. Then on a gold and silver gem-decked couch, richly adorned with flowers and scents, . They placed the body of Tathâgata; a jewelled canopy they raised above, and round it flags and streamers and embroidered banners; then using every kind of dance and music, . The lords and ladies of the Mallas followed along the road presenting offerings, whilst all the Devas scattered scents and flowers, and raised the sound of drums and music in the heavens. . Thus men and Devas shared one common sorrow, their cries united as they grieved together. Entering the city, there the men and women, old and young, completed their religious offerings. . Leaving the city, then, and passing through the Lung-tsiang gate, and crossing over the Hiranyavatî river, they repaired to where the former Buddhas having died, had Kaityas raised to them. . There collecting ox-head sandal wood and every famous scented wood, they placed the whole above the Buddha's body, pouring various scented oils upon the pyre; . Then placing fire beneath to kindle it, three times they walked around; but yet it burned not. At this time the great Kâsyapa had taken his abode at Râgagriha, . And knowing Buddha was about to die was coming thence with all his followers; his pure mind, deeply moved, desired to see the body of the lord; . And so, because of that his sincere wish, the fire went out and would not kindle. Then Kâsyapa and his followers coming, with piteous sighs looked on the sight . And reverenced at the master's feet; and then, forthwith, the fire burst out. Quenched the fire of grief within; without, the fire has little power to burn.

' Or though it burn the outside skin and flesh, the diamond true-bone still remains. The scented oil consumed, the fire declines, the bones they place within a golden pitcher; . For as the mystic world (dharma-dhâtu) is not destroyed, neither can these, the bones (of Buddha), perish; the consequence (fruit) of diamond wisdom, difficult to move as Sumeru. . The relics which the mighty golden-pinioned bird cannot remove or change, they place within the precious vase; to remain until the world shall pass away; . And wonderful! the power of men (the world) can thus fulfil Nirvâna's laws, the illustrious name of one far spread, is sounded thus throughout the universe; . And as the ages roll, the long Nirvâna, by these, the sacred relics (bones), sheds through the world its glorious light, and brightens up the abodes of life. . He perished (quenched his splendour) in a moment! but these relics, placed within the vase, the imperishable signs of wisdom, can overturn the mount of sorrow; . The body of accumulated griefs this imperishable mind (ki) can cause to rest, and banish once for ever all the miseries of life. . Thus the diamond substance (body) was dealt with at the place of burning. And now those valiant Mallas, unrivalled in the world for strength, . Subduing all private animosities, sought escape from sorrow in the true refuge. Finding sweet comfort in united love, they resolved to banish every complaining thought. . Beholding thus the death of Tathâgata, they controlled their grieving hearts, and with full strength of manly virtue dismissing every listless thought, they submitted to the course (laws) of nature. . Oppressed by thoughts of grievous sorrow, they entered the city as a deserted wild, holding the relics thus they entered, whilst from every street were offered gifts. . They placed the relics then upon a tower, for men and Devas to adore. .

Varga 28. Division of the Relics

Thus those Mallas offered religious reverence to the relics, and used the most costly flowers and scents for their supreme act of worship. . Then the kings of the seven countries, having heard that Buddha was dead, sent messengers to the Mallas asking to share the sacred relics (of Buddha). . Then the Mallas reverencing the body of Tathâgata, trusting to their martial renown, conceived a haughty mind: .

'They would rather part with life itself (they said), than with the relics of the Buddha;' so those messengers returned from the futile embassage. Then the seven kings, highly indignant, . With an army, numerous as the rain. clouds, advanced on Kusinagara; the people who went from the city filled with terror soon returned . And told the Mallas all, that the soldiers and the cavalry of the neighbouring countries were coming, with elephants and chariots, to surround the Kusinagara city. . The gardens, lying without the town, the fountains, lakes, flower and fruit trees were now destroyed by the advancing host, and all the pleasant resting-places lay in ruins. . The Mallas, mounting on the city towers, beheld the great supports of life destroyed; they then prepared their warlike engines to crush the foe without; . Balistas and catapults and 'flying torches' to hurl against the advancing host. Then the seven kings entrenched themselves around the city, each army host filled with increasing courage; . Their wings of battle shining in array as the sun's seven beams of glory shine; the heavy drums rolling as the thunder, the warlike breath (rising) as the full cloud mist. . The Mallas, greatly incensed, opening the gates command the fray to begin; the aged men and women whose hearts had trust in Buddha's law, . With deep concern breathed forth their vow, 'Oh! may the victory be a bloodless one 2!' Those who had friends used mutual exhortations not to encourage in themselves a desire for strife. . And now the warriors, clad in armour, grasping their spears and brandishing their swords 'midst the confused noise and heavy drums (advanced). But ere the contest had begun, . There was a certain Brahman whose name was Drona (tuh-lau-na), celebrated for penetration, honour'd for modesty and lowliness, . Whose loving heart took pleasure in religion. This one addressed those kings and said: 'Regarding the unequalled strength of yonder city, one man alone would be enough (for its defence); . How much less when with determined heart (they are united), In the beginning mutual strife produced destruction, how now can it result in glory or renown? .

'The clash of swords and bloody onset done, 'tis certain one must perish! and therefore whilst you aim to vanquish those, both sides will suffer in the fray. .

'Then there are many chances, too, of battle, 'tis hard to measure strength by appearances; the strong, indeed, may overcome the weak, the weak may also overcome the strong; .

'The powerful champion may despise the snake, but how will he escape a wounded body? there are men whose natures bland and soft, seem suited for the company of women or of children, .

'But when enlisted in the ranks, make perfect soldiers. As fire when it is fed with oil, though reckoned weak, is not extinguished easily; so when you say that they (your enemies) are weak, .

'Beware of leaning overmuch on strength of body; nought can compare with strength of right (religion). There was in ancient times a Gina king, whose name was Kârandhama (Avikshit), .

'His graceful (upright) presence caused such love (in others) that he could overcome all animosity; but though he ruled the world and was high renowned, and rich and prosperous, .

'Yet in the end he went back and all was lost! So when the ox has drunk enough, he too returns. Use then the principles of righteousness, use the expedients of good will and love. .

'Conquer your foe by force, you increase his enmity; conquer by love, and you will reap no after-sorrow. The present strife is but a thirst for blood, this thing cannot be endured! .

'If you desire to honour Buddha, follow the example of his patience and long-suffering 1!' Thus this Brahman with confidence declared the truth; .

'Imbued with highest principles of peace, he spake with boldness and unflinchingly. And now the kings addressed the Brahman thus: .

'You have chosen a fitting time for giving increase to the seed of wisdom, the essence of true friendship is (leads to) the utterance of truth. The greatest force (of reason) lies in righteous judgment. .

'But now in turn hear what we say: The rules of kings are framed to avoid the use of force when hatred has arisen from low desires (question of the five pleasures); .

'Or else to avoid the sudden use of violence in trifling questions (where some trifling matter is at stake). But we for the sake of law (religion) are about to fight. What wonder is it! .

'Swollen pride is a principle to be opposed, for it leads to the overthrow of society; no wonder then that Buddha preached against it, teaching men to practise lowliness and humility. .

'Then why should we be forbidden to pay our reverence to his body-relics? In ancient days a lord of the great earth, Pih-shih-tsung Nanda [or two lords, viz. Pih-shih-tsung and Nanda], .

'For the sake of a beautiful woman fought and destroyed each other; how much more now, for the sake of religious reverence to our master, freed from passion, gone to Nirvâna, .

'Without regard to self, or careful of our lives, should we contend and assert our rights! A former king Kaurava (or belonging to the Kauravas) fought with a Pândava (king), .

'And the more they increased in strength the more they struggled, all for some temporary gain; how much more for our not-coveting master (should we contend), coveting to get his living (relics)? .

'The son of Râma, too, the Rishi (or Râmarishiputra), angry with king Dasaratha, destroyed his country, slew the people, because of the rage he felt; .

'How much less for our master, freed from anger, should we be niggard of our lives! Râma, for Sîta's sake, killed all the demon-spirits; .

'How much more for our lord, heaven 3-received, should we not sacrifice our lives! The two demons A-lai (Alaka) and Po-ku were ever drawn into contention; .

'In the first place, because of their folly and ignorance, causing wide ruin among men; how much less for our all-wise master should we begrudge our lives! .

'Wherefore if from these examples we find others ready to die for no real principle, how shall we for our teacher of gods (Devas) and men, reverenced by the universe, .

'Spare our bodies or begrudge our lives, and not be earnest in desire to make our offerings! Now then, if you desire to stay the strife, go, and for us demand within the city .

'That they open wide (distribute) the relics, and so cause our prayer to be fulfilled. But because your words are right ones, we hold our anger for a while; .

'Even as the great, angry snake, by the power of charms is quieted.' And now the Brahman, having received the king's instruction, . Entering the city, went to the Mallas, and saluting them, spoke these true words: 'Without the city those who are kings among men grasp with their hands their martial weapons, .

'And with their bodies clad in weighty armour wait eagerly (to fight); glorious as the sun's rays; bristling with rage as the roused lion. These united are, to overthrow this city. .

'But whilst they wage this religious war, they fear lest they may act irreligiously, and so they have sent me here to say what they require. .

'"We have come, not for the sake of territory, much less for money's sake, nor on account of any insolent feeling, nor yet from any thought of hatred; .

'"But because we venerate the great Rishi, we have come on this account. You, noble sirs! know well our mind! Why should there be such sorrowful contention! .

'"You honour what we honour, both alike, then we are brothers as concerns religion. We both with equal heart revere the bequeathed spiritual relics of the lord. .

'"To be miserly in (hoarding) wealth, this is an unreasonable fault; how much more to grudge religion, of which there is so little knowledge in the world! .

'"The exclusive and the selfishly-inclined, should practise laws of hospitality (civility) 1; but if ye have not rules of honour such as these, then shut your gates and guard yourselves." .

'This is the tenor of the words, be they good or bad, spoken by them. But now for myself and my own feelings, let me add these true and sincere words. .

'Let there be no contention either way; reason ought to minister for peace, the lord when dwelling in the world ever employed the force of patience. .

'Not to obey his holy teaching, and yet to offer gifts to him, is contradiction. Men of the world for some indulgence, some wealth or land, contend and fight, .

'But those who believe the righteous law, should obediently conform their lives to it; to believe and yet to harbour enmity, this is to oppose "religious principle" to "conduct." .

'Buddha himself at rest, and full of love, desired to bestow the rest he enjoyed, on all. To adore with worship the great merciful, and yet to gender wide destruction, .

'(How is this possible?) Divide the relics, then, that all may worship them alike; obeying thus the law, the fame thereof wide-spread, then righteous principles will be diffused; .

'But if others walk not righteously, we ought by righteous dealing to appease them, in this way showing the advantage (pleasure) of religion, we cause religion everywhere to take deep hold and abide. .

'Buddha has told us that of all charity "religious charity" is the highest; men easily bestow their wealth in charity, but hard is the charity that works for righteousness.' . The Mallas hearing the Brahman's words with inward shame gazed at one another; and answered the Brahmakârin thus: 'We thank you much for purposing to come to us, .

'And for your friendly and religious counsel--speaking so well, and reasonably. Yours are words which a Brahman ought to use, in keeping with his holy character; .

'Words full of reconciliation, pointing out the proper road; like one recovering a wandering horse brings him back by the path which he had lost. .

'We then ought to adopt the plan of reconciliation such as you have shown us; to hear the truth and not obey it brings afterwards regretful sorrow.' . Then they opened out the master's relics and in eight parts equally divided them. Themselves paid reverence to one part, the other seven they handed to the Brahman; . The seven kings having accepted these, rejoiced and placed them on their heads; and thus with them returned to their own country, and erected Dâgobas for worship over them. . The Brahmakârin then besought the Mallas to bestow on him the relic-pitcher as his portion, and from the seven kings he requested a fragment of their relics, as an eighth share. . Taking this, he returned and raised a Kaitya, which still is named 'the Golden Pitcher Dâgoba.' Then the men of Kusinagara collecting all the ashes of the burning, . Raised over them a Kaitya, and called it 'the Ashes Dâgoba.' The eight Stûpas of the eight kings, 'the Golden Pitcher' and 'the Ashes Stûpa,' . Thus throughout Gambudvîpa there first were raised ten Dâgobas. Then all the lords and ladies of the country holding gem-embroidered canopies, . Paid their offerings at the various shrines, adorning them as any golden mountain. And so with music and with dancing through the day and night they made merry, and sang. . And now the Arhats numbering five hundred, having for ever lost their master's presence, reflecting there was now no ground of certainty, returned to Gridhrakûta mount; . Assembling in king Sakra's cavern, they collected there the Sûtra Pitaka; all the assembly agreeing that the venerable Ânanda . Should say (recite), for the sake of the congregation, the sermons of Tathâgata from first to last, 'Great and small, whatever you have heard from the mouth of the deceased Muni.' . Then Amanda in the great assembly ascending the lion throne, declared in order what the lord had preached, uttering the words 'Thus have I heard.' . The whole assembly, bathed in tears, were deeply moved as he pronounced the words 'I heard;' and so he announced the law as to the time, as to the place, as to the person; . As he spoke, so was it written down from first to last, the complete Sûtra Pitaka. By diligent attention in the use of means, practising (the way of) wisdom, (all these) (Arhats) obtained Nirvâna; . Those now able so to do, or hereafter able, shall attain Nirvâna, in the same way. King Asoka born in the world when strong, caused much sorrow; . When feeble, then he banished sorrow; as the Asoka-flower tree, ruling over Gambudvîpa, his heart for ever put an end to sorrow, . When brought to entire faith in the true law; therefore he was called 'the King who frees from sorrow.' A descendant of the Mayûra family, receiving from heaven a righteous disposition, . He ruled equally over the world; he raised everywhere towers and shrines, his private name the 'violent Asoka,' now called the 'righteous Asoka.' . Opening the Dâgobas raised by those seven kings to take the Sarîras thence, he spread them everywhere, and raised in one day eighty-four thousand towers; . Only with regard to the eighth pagoda in Râmagrama, which the Nâga spirit protected, the king was unable to obtain those relics; . But though he obtained them not, knowing they were spiritually bequeathed relics of Buddha which the Nâga worshipped and adored, his faith was in creased and his reverent disposition. . Although the king was ruler of the world, yet was he able to obtain the first holy fruit; and thus induced the entire empire to honour and revere the shrines of Tathâgata. . In the past and present, thus there has been deliverance for all. Tathâgata, when in the world; and now his relics--after his Nirvâna; . Those who worship and revere these, gain equal merit; so also those who raise themselves by wisdom, and reverence the virtues of the Tathâgata, . Cherishing religion, fostering a spirit of alms-giving, they gain great merit also. The noble and superlative law of Buddha ought to receive the adoration of the world. . Gone to that undying place (Amrita), those who believe (his law) shall follow him there; therefore let all the Devas and men, without exception, worship and adore . The one great loving and compassionate, who mastered thoroughly the highest truth, in order to deliver all that lives. Who that hears of him, but yearns with love! . The pains of birth, old age, disease, and death, the endless sorrows of the world, the countless miseries of 'hereafter,' dreaded by all the Devas, . He has removed all these accumulated sorrows; say, who would not revere him? to escape the joys of after life, this is the world's chief joy! . To add the pain of other births, this is the world's worst sorrow! Buddha, escaped from pain of birth, shall have no joy of the 'hereafter 1!' . And having shown the way to all the world, who would not reverence and adore him? To sing the praises of the lordly monk, and (declare) his acts from first to last, . Without self-seeking or self-honour, without desire for personal renown, but following what the scriptures say, to benefit the world, (has been my aim.) .

Colophon

The Buddhacarita was composed by Aśvaghoṣa (c. 80–150 CE), a Gandhāran Buddhist philosopher-poet of the Kuṣāṇa period. This edition compiles two public domain translations from the Sacred Books of the East series (Oxford University Press, Clarendon Press): E. B. Cowell's translation from the Sanskrit (SBE Vol. XLIX, 1894) for Books I–XVII, and Samuel Beal's translation from Dharmarakṣa's Chinese version (SBE Vol. XIX, 1883) for Vargas 18–28. Together they form the most complete English rendering of the poem available in the public domain — from the birth of the prince in Kapilavastu to the division of the Awakened One's relics.

Hand-read and verified by the Sub-Miko. Blockquote and colophon authored for this edition.

Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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