1 Bishop Bigandet says: 'In recording the conversion of a courtezan named Apapalika, her liberality and gifts to Budha and his disciples, and the preference designedly given to her over princes and nobles, who, humanely speaking, seemed in every respect better entitled to attentions — one is almost reminded of [Ilj D
34 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH.
25. While at Ambapilis mango grove the Blessed
One held that comprehensivfe religious discourse
with the disciples on the nature of upright conduct,
and of earnest contemplation, and of intelligence.
* Great is the fruit, great the advantage of earnest
contemplation when set round with upright conduct.
Great is the fruit, great the advantage of intellect
when set round with earnest contemplation. The
mind set round with intelligence is freed from the
great evils, that is to say, from sensuality, from
individuality, from delusion, and from ignorance.'
26. Now when the Blessed One had remained
as long as he wished at Ambapili's grove, he
addressed Ananda, and said : * Come, Ananda, let
us go on to Beluva 1 .'
' So be it, Lord/ said Ananda, in assent, to the Blessed One.
Then the Blessed One proceeded, with a great
company of the brethren, to Beluva, and there the
Blessed One stayed in the village itself.
27. Now the Blessed One there addressed the
brethren, and said : * O mendicants, do you take up
your abode round about Ves&li, each according to
the place where his friends, intimates, and close
companions may live, for the rainy season of vassa.
I shall enter upon the rainy season here at Beluva/
the conversion of " a woman that was a sinner," mentioned in the Gospels' (Legend of the Burmese Budha, 2nd ed. p. 258).
1 Beluva-g&mako ti Vesali-samtpe p&da-g&mako, 'avil-
lage on a slope at the foot of a hill near Vesali/ says Buddhaghosa,
(S. V. /au.)
mahA-parinibbAna-sutta.
* So be it, Lord ! ' said those brethren, in assent,
to the Blessed One. And they entered upon the
rainy season round about Vesili, each according
to the place where his friends or intimates or close
companions lived : whilst the Blessed One stayed
even there at Beluva.
28. Now when the Blessed One had thus entered
upon the rainy season, there fell upon him a dire
sickness, and sharp pains came upon him, even unto
death. But the Blessed One, mindful and self-
possessed, bore them without complaint.
29. Then this thought occurred to the Blessed
One, i It would not be right for me to pass away
from existence without addressing the disciples,
without taking leave of the order. Let me now,
by a strong effort of the will, bend this sickness
down again, and keep my hold on life till the
allotted time be come 1 /
30. And the Blessed One, by a strong effort of
the will, bent that sickness down again, and kept
his hold on life till the time he fixed upon should
come. And the sickness abated upon him.
31. Now very soon after the Blessed One began
to recover ; when he had quite got rid of the sick-
ness, he went out from the monastery, and sat down
behind the monastery on a seat spread out there.
And the venerable Ananda went to the place where
the Blessed One was, and saluted him, and took
a seat respectfully on one side, and addressed the
1 The commentary on ^fvita-sankh&ra/w adhitthsiya viha- reyyan is not quite clear, but the general meaning of the words cannot be very different from the version given in the text.
THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. Ctt.
Blessed One, and said : ' I have beheld, Lord, how
the Blessed One was in health, and I have beheld
how the Blessed One had to suffer. And though
at the sight of the sickness of the Blessed One my
body became weak as a creeper, and the horizon
became dim to me, and my faculties were no longer
clear yet notwithstanding I took some little comfort
from the thought that the Blessed One would not
pass away from existence until at least he had left
instructions as touching the order/
32. 'What, then, Ananda? Does the order ex-
pect that of me ? I have preached the truth without
making any distinction between exoteric and esote-
ric doctrine : for in respect of the truths, Ananda, the
Tath&gata has no such thing as the closed fist of
a teacher, who keeps some things back 2 . Surely,
Ananda, should there be any one who harbours the
thought, "It is I who will lead the brotherhood,"
or, " The order is dependent upon me," it is he who
1 Madhuraka-^ato viyd ti saw^ata-garubhdvo sa^i- ta/Mabh&vo (sic) sule utt&sita-sadiso : na pakkh&yantl ti na pakdsenti nanakarawa na upa/Mahanti: Dhammi pi ma/rc na ppa/ibhanti ti sati-ppa//Mna dhamma may- ha.m paka/a na honti. (S. V. fol. /am.) As the first clause is corrupt, I have translated madhuraka-^&to independently of it. Childers's reading na/rc na ppa/ibhanti is clearly incorrect. My own MS. of the Dtgha Nildya and the Tumour MS. of the Sam- yutta Nikaya agree with Buddhaghosa.
2 Na tatth' Ananda Tath&gatassa dhammesu a£ariya- mu/Mi; on which Buddhaghosa say s, A k a r i y a - m u tth \ (M S . vuMl) ti yath& bdhirak&naw &£ariya-mu/Mi nama hoti: dahara- kdle kassa^i akathetvd pa££^ima-k&le mara»a-ma^e nipanni piya-manapassa antevasikassa kathenti: evam Ta- thagatassa idaw mahallaka-kale pa^ima-ZMane kathes- sami ti mu/Mitf* (MS. vuilhim) katvd pariharitvd Mapitaw ki«£i n'atthi ti. (S. V. /am.) Comp. Gataka II, 221, 250.
MA H A-PARINIBB AN A-S U TTA.
should lay down instructions in any matter concern-
ing the order. Now the Tathdgata, Ananda, thinks
not that it is he who should lead the brotherhood, or
that the order is dependent upon him. Why then
should he leave instructions in any matter concern-
ing the order ? I too, O Ananda, am now grown
old, and full of years, my journey is drawing to
its close, I have reached my sum of days, I am
turning eighty years of age ; and just as a worn-out
cart, Ananda, can only with much additional care
be made to move along, so, methinks, the body
of the Tath&gata can only be kept going with
much additional care 1 . It is only, Ananda, when
1 Vegha-missakena, the meaning of which is not clear. The Malalank&ra-vatthu, as rendered by Bigandet, has ' repairs/ The Sumangala Vilasint says, Veghamissakend ti baha-bandhana- £akka-bandhanadin£ pa/isankhara«ena veghamissakena ; thus giving the same meaning, but in such a way as to throw no light on the derivation of the word. The whole episode from § II, 27 to the end of the chapter occurs also word for word in the Satipa//Mna Vagga of the Saazyutta Nikaya, and the Burmese Phayre MS. there reads vekhamissakena, as the Burmese MS. does here. My Digha Nikaya confirms Childers's reading, which no doubt correctly represents the uniform tradition of the Ceylon MSS. The Sumangala Vil&sini goes on, maHe ti ^ara-saka/aw viya meghamissakena ma##e yapeti arahatta-phala- veghanena ^atu-iriya patha-kappanaaz Tathigatassa hoti nidasseti. Here the reading megha of the Tumour MS- must be a copyist's slip of the pen for vegha, and veghanena is no clearer than veghamissakena. On the use of the word missaka at the end of a compound see G&taka II, 8, 420, 433. I have translated on what seems to me the only solu- tion at present possible, namely, that an initial a has been dropt, and that vegha or vekhd=aveksha, 'attention, foresight, care.' In the same way though avala/z^eti does occur (Gataka I, 111), the more usual form in Pali, and the only one given by Childers, is vala^eti.
the Tathigata, ceasing to attend to any outward
thing, or to experience any sensation, becomes
plunged in that devout meditation of heart which is
concerned with no material object — it is only then
that the body of the Tath&gata is at ease.
33. ' Therefore, O Ananda, be ye lamps unto your-
selves. Be ye a refuge to yourselves. Betake
yourselves to no external refuge. Hold fast to the
truth as a lamp. Hold fast as a refuge to the truth.
Look not for refuge to any one besides yourselves.
And how, Ananda, is a brother to be a lamp unto
himself, a refuge to himself, betaking himself to no
external refuge, holding fast to the truth as a lamp,
holding fast as a refuge to the truth, looking not
for refuge to any one besides himself?
34. ' Herein, O Ananda, let a brother, as he dwells
in the body, so regard the body that he, being
strenuous, thoughtful, and mindful, may, whilst in
the world, overcome the grief which arises from,
bodily craving — while subject to sensations let him
continue so to regard the sensations that he, being"
strenuous, thoughtful, and mindful, may, whilst ia
the world, overcome the grief which arises from the
sensations — and so, also, as he thinks, or reasons,
or feels, let him overcome the grief which arises
from the craving due to ideas, or to reasoning, or
to feeling.
35. * And whosoever, Ananda, either now or after
I am dead, shall be a lamp unto themselves, and a
refuge unto themselves, shall betake themselves to
no external refuge, but holding fast to the truth
as their lamp, and holding fast as their refuge to
the truth, shall look not for refuge to any one
besides themselves — it is they, Ananda, among my
mahA-parinibbana-sutta.
bhikkhus, who shall reach the very topmost Height ! — but they must be anxious to learn V
End of the Second Portion for Recitation.
1 Tamatagge me te Ananda bhikkhu bhavissanti ye keki sikkh&kdma\ The Burmese MSS. for me te read p'ete, which is a little easier. Buddhaghosa says, Tamatagge ti tamagge. Maggfte takdro padasandhivasena vutto. Idaw vuttazra hoti ime aggatama ime aggama ti : evaza sabbaoz taraa- yog&m i^inditva 4 ativiya agge uttama-bh&ve te Ananda mamam bhikkhu bhavissanti. Kesaw ati-agge bhavis- santi? Ye ke£i sikkhak&md sabbesa^ te £atu-sati-ppa/- /Mna-go£ar& kz. bhikkhu agge bhavissanti ti. Arahatta- tiku/ena desawam gawhati, * Tamatagge is for tamagge. The t in the middle is used for euphony. This word means, "these are the most pre-eminent, the very chief." Having, as above stated, broken every bond of darkness (tama) those bhikkhus of mine, Ananda, will be at the very top, in the highest condition. They will be at the very top of whom ? Those bhikkhus who are willing to learn, and those who exercise themselves in the four ways of being mindful and thoughtful, they shall be at the top of all (the rest). Thus does he make Arahatship the three-peaked height of his discourse' (compare on this last phrase Nibb&nena desanaku/a^ gawhati, Gataka I, 275, 393, 401 ; and see also I, 114). Uttama, the highest (scil. bhava, condition), is used abso- lutely of Arahatship or Nirvawa at G&taka I, 96; Aggaphala occurs in the same sense at Gataka I, 114; and even Phalagga at Mah. 102. The last words, 'but they must be anxious to learn,' seem to me to be an after thought. It is only those who are thoroughly determined to work out their own salvation, without looking for safety to any one else, even to the Buddha himself, who will, whilst in the world, enter into and experience Nirvdwa. But, of course, let there be no mistake, merely to reject the vain baubles of the current superstitious beliefs is not enough. There is plenty to learn and to acquire, of which enough discourse is elsewhere. For a gg am & in the comment we must read aggatamd. If one could read amatagge in the text, all difficulty would vanish ; but this would be too bold, and neither do I see how the use of anamatagge can help us.
CH,
Chapter III.
i \ Now the Blessed One robed himself early in
the morning, and taking his bowl in the robe,
went into Vesdli for alms, and when he returned he
sat down on the seat prepared for him, and after
he had finished eating the rice he addressed the
venerable Ananda, and said : ' Take up the mat,
Ananda ; I will go to spend the day at the A£p&la
Tsfetiya.'
* So be it, Lord ! ' said the venerable Ananda, in
assent, to the Blessed One. And taking up the mat
he followed step for step behind the Blessed One.
2. So the Blessed One proceeded to the AT&pila
A!etiya, and when he had come there he sat down
on the mat spread out for him, and the venerable
Ananda took his seat respectfully beside him. Then
the Blessed One addressed the venerable Ananda,
and said : * How delightful a spot, Ananda, is Ves&li,
and the Udena Ajetiya, and the Gotamaka A!etiya,
and the Sattambaka Ajetiya, and the Bahuputta
Aetiya, and the Sdrandada Ajetiya, and the ATipila
ATetiya.
3. 'Ananda! whosoever has thought out, deve-
loped, practised, accumulated, and ascended to the
very heights of the four paths to Iddhi 2 , and so