1 This paragraph is spoken of as if it were a well-known sum- mary, and it is constantly repeated below. The word I have rendered 1 earnest contemplation' is samadhi, which occupies in the Pali Pi/akas very much the same position as faith does in the New Testament ; and this section shows that the relative import- ance of sam&dhi, pa«»a, and sila played a part in early Bud- * dhism just as the distinction between faith, reason, and works did afterwards in Western theology. It would be difficult to find a passage in which the Buddhist view of the relation of these conflicting ideas is stated with greater beauty of thought, or equal succinctness of form.
The expression 'set round with' is in Pdli paribhavita, which Dr. Morris holds to be etymologically exactly parallel to our phrase 'perfected by/ on the ground that facio is a causal of the Latin representative of the Sanskrit root bhfi. In the A^etokhila Sutta of the Ma^g^ima Nikaya eggs are said tobeparibhivitani by a brooding hen. Buddhaghosa says simply sila-paribhavito ti adesu yamhi sile Matva magga-sam&dhizrc nibbattenti so tena stlena paribhivito. 'The samddhi belonging to the (Noble Eightfold) Path is said to be paribh&vito by that virtue, in which they (that is, the converted) are steadfast whilst they practise the samadhi/
13. Now when the Blessed One had sojourned
at RS^agaha as long as he pleased, he addressed
the venerable Ananda, and said : ' Come, Ananda,
let us go to Ambala#/nk&/
' So be it, Lord ! ' said Ananda in assent, and the
Blessed One, with a large company of the brethren,
proceeded to Ambala/Mikd.
14. There the Blessed One stayed in the king's
house and held that comprehensive religious talk
with the brethren 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/
15. Now when the Blessed One had stayed as
long as was convenient at Ambala#^ik&, he ad-
dressed the venerable Ananda, and said : ' Come,
Ananda, let us go on to NdlandA/
' 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 Nilandi ; and there, at
Ndlandd, the Blessed One stayed in the P&v&rika
mango grove.
16. 1 Now the venerable S&riputta came to the
1 This conversation is given at length in the Sampasidaniya Sutta of the Digha Nik£ya, and also in the Satipa//Mna Vagga of the Sawyutta Nikaya. I have compressed mere repetitions at the places marked with [ ] where the preceding clauses are, in the text, repeated in full.
place where the Blessed One was, and having
saluted him, took his seat respectfully at his side,
and said : ' Lord ! such faith have I in the Blessed
One, that methinks there never has been, nor will
there be, nor is there now any other, whether
Samara or Brahman, who is greater and wiser than
the Blessed One, that is to say, as regards the
higher wisdom/
* Grand and bold are the words of thy mouth,
S&riputta : verily, thou hast burst forth into a song
of ecstasy ! of course then thou hast known all the
Blessed Ones who in the long ages of the past have
been Arahat Buddhas, comprehending their minds
with yours, and aware what their conduct was, what
their doctrine, what their wisdom, what their mode
of life, and what salvation they attained to ?'
' Not so, O Lord ! '
'Of course then thou hast perceived all the
Blessed Ones who in the long ages of the future
shall be Arahat Buddhas comprehending [in the
same manner their whole minds with yours] ?'
c Not so, O Lord!'
* But at least then, O Sdriputta, thou knowest me
a s the Arahat Buddha now alive, and hast pene-
trated my mind [in the manner I have mentioned]! '
' Not even that, O Lord ! '
c You see then, S&riputta, that you know not the
hearts of the Arahat Buddhas of the past and of the
future. Why therefore are your words so grand
and bold ? Why do you burst forth into such a
song of ecstasy ? '
17. 'O Lord! I have not the knowledge of the
hearts of the Arahat Buddhas that have been, and
are to come, and now are. I only know the lineage
14 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH.
of the faith. Just, Lord, as a king might have a
border city, strong in its foundations, strong in its
ramparts and tora^as, and with one gate alone ; and
the king might have a watchman there, clever, ex-
pert, and wise, to stop all strangers and admit only
friends. And he, on going over the approaches all
round the city, might not so observe all the joints
and crevices in the ramparts of that city as to know
where even a cat could get out. That might well
be. Yet all living things of larger size that entered
or left the city, would have to do so by that gate.
Thus only is it, Lord, that I know the lineage of
the faith. I know that the Arahat Buddhas of the
past, putting away all lust, ill-will, sloth, pride, and
doubt ; knowing all those mental faults which make
men weak ; training their minds in the four kinds of
mental activity; thoroughly exercising themselves
in the sevenfold higher wisdom, received the full
fruition of Enlightenment. And I know that the
Arahat Buddhas of the times to come will [do the
same]. And I know that the Blessed One, the
Arahat Buddha of to-day, has [done so] now V
1 8. There in the Pavarika mango grove the Blessed One held that comprehensive religious talk
1 The tertium quid of the comparison is the completeness of the knowledge. Sariputta acknowledges that he was wrong in jumping to the wide conclusion that his own lord and master was the wisest of all the teachers of the different religious systems that were known to him. So far — after the cross-examination by the Buddha — he admits that his knowledge does not reach. But he maintains that he does know that which is, to him, after all the main thing, namely, that all the Buddhas must have passed through the process here laid down as leading up to Buddhahood. The Pali of 'the full fruition of Enlightenment ' is anuttara/0 sammd- sambodhi/rc, which might be rendered ' Supreme Buddhahood/
MAHA-PARINIBBAN A-SUTTA .
with the brethren 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/
19. Now when the Blessed One had stayed as
long as was convenient at Nilandd, he addressed
the venerable Ananda, and said : ' Come, Ananda,
let us go on to P&/alig&ma/
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 Pd/aligima.
20. 1 Now the disciples at Pd/alig&ma heard of his
arrival there, and they went to the place where he
was, took their seats respectfully beside him, and
invited him to their village rest house. And the
Blessed One signified, by silence, his consent.
21. Then the Pd/alig&ma disciples seeing that he
had accepted the invitation, rose from their seats,
and went away to the rest house, bowing to the
Blessed One and keeping him on their right as they
past him 2 . On arriving there they made the rest
1 From this sentence down to -«nd of the verses at Chap. II, § 3, is, with a few unimportant variations, word for word the same as Mah& Vagga VI, 28, 1, to VI, 29, 2.
* It would be very rude to have left him otherwise. So in Europe a similar custom is carried still further, persons leaving the royal presence being expected to go out backwards.
1 6 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH.
house fit in every way for occupation \ placed seats
in it, set up a water-pot, and fixed an oil lamp.
Then they returned to the Blessed One, and bowing,
stood beside him, and y said : ' All things are ready,
Lord! It is time for you to do what you deem
most fit/
22. And the Blessed One robed himself, took his
bowl and other things, went with the brethren to
the rest house, washed his feet, entered the hall,
and took his seat against the centre pillar, with his
face towards the east. And the brethren also, after
washing their feet, entered the hall, and took their
seats round the Blessed One, against the western
wall, and facing the east. And the Pi/alig&ma disci-
ples too, after washing their feet, entered the hall,
and took their seats opposite the Blessed One, against
the eastern wall, and facing towards the west.
23. 2 Then the Blessed One addressed the Pa/ali-
g£ma disciples, and said : ' Fivefold, O householders,
is the loss of the wrong-doer through his want of
rectitude. In the first place the wrong-doer, devoid
of rectitude, falls into great poverty through sloth ;
in the next place his evil repute gets noised abroad ;
thirdly, whatever society he enters — whether of
Br&hmans, nobles, heads of houses, or Samaras —
1 With reference to Oldenberg's note at Mah& Vagga, p. 384, it may be mentioned that Buddhaghosa says here, 'sabba-santha- rin' ti yathd sabbazra santhata/ra yeva. (S. V. fol. /e.)
2 The following sentences contain a synopsis of what was merely the elementary righteousness, the Adi-brahma-^ariyaw, quite distinct from, and not for a moment to be compared in glory with the Magga-brahma-£ariya/rc, the system developed in the Noble Eightfold Path. It will have been seen above, § 11, that the latter, to be perfect, must be untarnished by the attraction of the hope of heaven or the fear of hell.
maha-parinibbAna-sutta.
he enters shyly and confused ; fourthly, he is full
of anxiety when he dies ; and lastly, on the dis-
solution of the body, after death, he is reborn into
some unhappy state of suffering or woe 1 . This, O
householders, is the fivefold loss of the evil-doer ! '
24. ' Eivefold, O householders, is the gain of the
well-doer through his practice of rectitude. In the
first place the well-doer, strong in rectitude, acquires
great wealth through his industry ; in the next place,
good reports of him are spread abroad ; thirdly,
whatever society he enters — whether of nobles, BrAh-
mans, heads of houses, or members of the order —
he enters confident and self-possessed ; fourthly, he
dies without anxiety ; and lastly, on the dissolution
of the body, after death, he is reborn into some
happy state in heaven. This, O householders, is
the fivefold gain of the well-doer.'
25. When the Blessed One had thus taught the
disciples, and incited them, and roused them, and
gladdened them, far into the night with religious
discourse, he dismissed them, saying, ' The night is
forspent, O householders. It is time for you to do
w hatyou deem most fit/ ' Even so, Lord ! ' answered
the disciples of Pi/aligama, and they rose from their
^ats, and bowing to the Blessed One, and keeping
him on their right hand as they passed him, they
departed thence.
And the Blessed One, not long after the disciples
1 Four such states are mentioned, apdya, duggati, vinip&to, nirayo, all of which are temporary states. The first three ^em to be synonyms. The last is one of the four divisions into w hichthe first is usually divided, and is often translated hell; but n °t being an eternal state, and not being dependent or consequent u pon any judgment, it cannot accurately be so rendered.
1 8 THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. CH.
of Pi/aligdma had departed thence, entered into his private chamber.
26. At that time Sunidha and Vassakira, the
chief ministers of Magadha, were building a fortress
at Pd/alig£ma to repel the Vaggians, and there
were a number of fairies who haunted in thousands
the plots of ground there. Now, wherever ground
is so occupied by powerful fairies, they bend the
hearts of the most powerful kings and ministers to
build dwelling-places there, and fairies of middling
and inferior power bend in a similar way the hearts
of middling or inferior kings and ministers.
27. And the Blessed One, with his great and
clear vision, surpassing that of ordinary men, saw
thousands of those fairies haunting Pd/aligima.
And he rose up very early in the morning, and said
to Ananda : 1 Who is it then, Ananda, who is build-
ing a fortress at Pi/alig&ma ? '
'Sunidha and VassakAra, Lord, the chief minis-
ters of Magadha, are building a fortress there to keep
back the Va^ians.'
28. They act, Ananda, as if they had consulted
with the Tivatiwsa angels. [And telling him of
what he had seen, and of the influence such fairies
had, he added] : ' And among famous places of
residence and haunts of busy men, this will become
the chief, the city of PS/ali-putta, a centre for the
interchange of all kinds of wares. But three dangers
will hang over Pd/ali-putta, that of fire, that of water,
and that of dissension V