The Life of the Buddha: The Master's Death.
Then the Exalted One said to Ananda: "Come, Ananda, let us go on to the Sala-grove of the Mallas, on the further side of the river Hiranyavati." And when they were come there, he said: "Spread over for me, I pray you, Ananda, the couch with its head to the north, between the Twin Sala trees. I am weary, Ananda, and would lie down." "Even so, lord!" said the venerable Ananda. And the Exalted One laid himself down on his right side, with one leg resting on the other; and he was mindful and self-possessed.
And now there came to pass certain marvels, and the Master spoke of these to Ananda, and said: "The twin Sala trees are all one mass of bloom with flowers out of season; all over the body of Him-who-has-thus-attained, these drop and sprinkle and scatter themselves, out of reverence for the successors of the Buddhas of old. And heavenly music sounds in the sky, out of reverence for the successors of the Buddhas of old. But it is not thus, Ananda, that He-who-has-thus-attained is rightly honoured, and revered. But the brother or the sister, the devout an or woman who continually fulfils all the greater and lesser duties, who is correct in life, walking according to the precepts it is he who rightly honours and reverences the Tathagata. And therefore, Ananda, be ye constant in the fulfilment of the greater and the lesser duties, and be ye correct in life, walking according to the precepts; and thus, Ananda, should it be taught." Then the Buddha addressed Ananda, and said to him that he saw a great host of the gods assembled together to behold the Tathagata upon the night of his final passing away; and a host of spirits of the air and of the earth, "of worldly mind, who dishevel their hair and weep, who stretch forth their arms and weep, who fall prostrate on the ground, and roll to and fro in anguish at the thought "Too soon will the Exalted One pass away! Too soon will the Exalted One die! Too soon will the Eye in the world pass away!'" "But," the Master continued, "the spirits who are free from passion bear it calm and self-possessed, mindful of the saying 'Impermanent, indeed, are all component things.'"
And the Master made mention of four places that should be visited by the clansmen with feelings of reverence the place where the Tathagata was born, the place where he attained Supreme Enlgihtenment, the place where the kingdom of righteousness was established, and the place where the Tathagata utterly passed away; "And they, Ananda, who shall die while they, with believing heart, are journeying on such a pilgrimage, shall be reborn after death, when the body shall dissolve, in the happy realms of heaven."
When Ananda enquired what should be done with the remains of the Tathagata, he answered: "Hinder not yourselves, Ananda, by honouring the remains of Him-who-has-thus-attained. Be zealous, I beseech you, Ananda, on your own behalf! Devote yourselves to your own good! There are lay disciples who will due honour to the remains of the Tathagata."
Now Ananda had not yet attained to Arahatta, he was still a student, and he went away to the monastery, and stood leaning against the lintel of the door, weeping at the thought 'Alas! I remain still but a learner, one who has yet to work out his own perfection. And the Master is about to pass away he who is so kind!' Then the Exalted One summoned the Brethren and said, "Where now, brethren, is Ananda?" and they answered: "The venerable Ananda, lord, has gone into the monastery, and is leaning against the lintel of the door, and weeping at the thought 'Alas! I remain still but a learner, one who has yet to work out his own perfection. And the Master is about to pass away he who is so kind!'" Then the Exalted One called a certain Brother and sent him to Ananda with the message: "Brother Ananda, the Master calls for thee." And Ananda came accordingly, and bowed before the Exalted One and took his seat respectfully. Then the Exalted One said: "Enough, Ananda! do not let yourself be troubled; do not weep! Have I not already, on former occasions, told you that it is in the very nature of all things most near and dear unto us that we must divide ourselves from them, leave them, sever ourselves from them. How, then, Ananda, can this be possible whereas anything whatever born, brought into being, and organized, contains within itself the inherent necessity of dissolution how, then, can this be possible, that such a being should not be dissolved? No such condition can exist. For a long time, Ananda, you have been very near to me by acts of love, kind and good, that never varies, and is beyond all measure. You have done well, Ananda! Be earnest in effort, and you too shall be free from the Intoxications of Sensuality, of Individuality, Delusion and Ignorance." And he praised the able service of Ananda before the whole asembly.
Then the Master said to Ananda: "Go now into the village of Kusinara, and inform the Mallas that the Tathagata is about to pass away, to the end that they may not afterwards reproach themselves by saying: 'In our own village the Tathagata died, and we took not the occasion to visit the Tathagata in his last hours.'" And the Mallas of Jusinara, with their young men and maidens and wives were grieved and saddened, and betook themselves to the Sala Grove where the Buddha was lying. And Ananda presented them to the Master, family by family, in the first watch of the night.
Now there was at this time a wanderer of the name of Subhadda, to whom the Buddha's approaching death was made known; and he desired to speak with the Master, for the dissipation of his doubt. To this end he approached Ananda; but he refused access to the Master, saying, "The Exalted One is weary, do not trouble him!" But the Exalted One overheard what was said, and desired that Subhadda should be given access; for he knew that the questions to be asked were sincere, and that Subhadda would understand the answers. And this was what Subhadda sought to know whether the leaders of other schools of thought, the masters of other congregations, such as Nigantha Nataputta, or Sanjaya the former teacher of Sariputta and Moggallana, esteemed as good men by many, had, as they claimed, attained a true understanding of things, or had some of them so attained, and not others? And the Exalted One declared: "In whatsoever doctrine and discipline, Subhadda, the Ariyan Eightfold Path is not found, there is not found any man of true sainthood, either of the first, the second, the third, or the fourth degree. But in that Doctrine and Discipline in which is found the Ariyan Eightfold Path, there are men of true sainthood, of all the four degrees. Void are the systems of other teachers void of true saints. But in this one, Subhadda, may the Brethren live the Perfect Life, that the world be not bereft of Arahats." And Subhadda's doubt being thus resolved, he resorted to the Exalted One, to the Law, and to the Congregation as his refuge, and he was recieved into the Order; and "ere long he attained to that supreme goal of the higher life (Nibbana), for the sake of which the clansmen go out from all and every household gain and comfort, to become houseless wanderers yea, that supreme goal did he, by himself, and while yet in this visible world, bring himself to the knowledge of, and continue to realize, and to see face to face! And he became conscious that birth was at an end, that the higher life had been fulfilled, that all that should be done had been accomplished, and that after this present life there would be no beyond." Thus it was that the venerable Subhadda became yet another among the Arahats; and he was the last disciple whom the Exalted One himself converted.
Now the Exalted One addressed the Brethren and said thrice, "It may be, Brethren, that there may be doubt of misgiving in the mind of some Brother as to the Buddha, or the doctrine, or the path, or the method. Inquire, Brethren, freely. Do not have to reproach yourselves afterwards with the thought: 'our teacher was face to face with us, and we could not bring ourselves to inquire of the Exalted One when we were face to face with him.'" But none had any doubt or misgiving. And the venerable Ananda said to the Exalted One: "How wonderful a thing is it, Lord, and how marvellous! Verily I believe that in this whole assembly of the Brethren there is not one Brother who has any doubt or misgiving as to the Buddha, or the doctrine, or the path or the method!" And the Buddha answered: "It is out of the fullness of faith that thou hast spoken, Ananda! But, Ananda, the Tathagata knows for certain that in his whole assembly of the Brethren there is not one Brother who has any doubt or misgiving as to the Buddha, or the doctrine, or the path, or the method! For even the most backward, Ananda, of all these five hundred brethren has become converted, is no longer liable to be born in a state of suffering, and is assured hereafter of attaining the Enlightenment of Arahatta."
Then again, the Exalted One addressed the Brethren and said: "Decay is inherent in all component things! Work out your salvation with diligence!"
This was the last word of Him-who-has-thus-attained. Then the Exalted One entered the first stage of Rapture, and the second, third, and fourth; and rising from the fourth stage, he entered into the station of the infinity of space; thence again into the station of the infinity of thought; thence again into the station of emptiness; then into the station between consciousness and unconsciousness; and then into the station where the consciousness both of sensations and ideas has wholly passed away. And now it seemed to Ananda that the Master had pased away; but he entered again into every station in reverse order until he reached the second stage of Rapture, and thence he passed into the third and fourth stages of Rapture. And passing out of the last stage of Rapture he immediately expired.
Then the Exalted One said to Ananda: "Come, Ananda, let us go on to the Sala-grove of the Mallas, on the further side of the river Hiranyavati." And when they were come there, he said: "Spread over for me, I pray you, Ananda, the couch with its head to the north, between the Twin Sala trees. I am weary, Ananda, and would lie down." "Even so, lord!" said the venerable Ananda. And the Exalted One laid himself down on his right side, with one leg resting on the other; and he was mindful and self-possessed.
And now there came to pass certain marvels, and the Master spoke of these to Ananda, and said: "The twin Sala trees are all one mass of bloom with flowers out of season; all over the body of Him-who-has-thus-attained, these drop and sprinkle and scatter themselves, out of reverence for the successors of the Buddhas of old. And heavenly music sounds in the sky, out of reverence for the successors of the Buddhas of old. But it is not thus, Ananda, that He-who-has-thus-attained is rightly honoured, and revered. But the brother or the sister, the devout an or woman who continually fulfils all the greater and lesser duties, who is correct in life, walking according to the precepts it is he who rightly honours and reverences the Tathagata. And therefore, Ananda, be ye constant in the fulfilment of the greater and the lesser duties, and be ye correct in life, walking according to the precepts; and thus, Ananda, should it be taught." Then the Buddha addressed Ananda, and said to him that he saw a great host of the gods assembled together to behold the Tathagata upon the night of his final passing away; and a host of spirits of the air and of the earth, "of worldly mind, who dishevel their hair and weep, who stretch forth their arms and weep, who fall prostrate on the ground, and roll to and fro in anguish at the thought "Too soon will the Exalted One pass away! Too soon will the Exalted One die! Too soon will the Eye in the world pass away!'" "But," the Master continued, "the spirits who are free from passion bear it calm and self-possessed, mindful of the saying 'Impermanent, indeed, are all component things.'"
And the Master made mention of four places that should be visited by the clansmen with feelings of reverence the place where the Tathagata was born, the place where he attained Supreme Enlgihtenment, the place where the kingdom of righteousness was established, and the place where the Tathagata utterly passed away; "And they, Ananda, who shall die while they, with believing heart, are journeying on such a pilgrimage, shall be reborn after death, when the body shall dissolve, in the happy realms of heaven."
When Ananda enquired what should be done with the remains of the Tathagata, he answered: "Hinder not yourselves, Ananda, by honouring the remains of Him-who-has-thus-attained. Be zealous, I beseech you, Ananda, on your own behalf! Devote yourselves to your own good! There are lay disciples who will due honour to the remains of the Tathagata."
Now Ananda had not yet attained to Arahatta, he was still a student, and he went away to the monastery, and stood leaning against the lintel of the door, weeping at the thought 'Alas! I remain still but a learner, one who has yet to work out his own perfection. And the Master is about to pass away he who is so kind!' Then the Exalted One summoned the Brethren and said, "Where now, brethren, is Ananda?" and they answered: "The venerable Ananda, lord, has gone into the monastery, and is leaning against the lintel of the door, and weeping at the thought 'Alas! I remain still but a learner, one who has yet to work out his own perfection. And the Master is about to pass away he who is so kind!'" Then the Exalted One called a certain Brother and sent him to Ananda with the message: "Brother Ananda, the Master calls for thee." And Ananda came accordingly, and bowed before the Exalted One and took his seat respectfully. Then the Exalted One said: "Enough, Ananda! do not let yourself be troubled; do not weep! Have I not already, on former occasions, told you that it is in the very nature of all things most near and dear unto us that we must divide ourselves from them, leave them, sever ourselves from them. How, then, Ananda, can this be possible whereas anything whatever born, brought into being, and organized, contains within itself the inherent necessity of dissolution how, then, can this be possible, that such a being should not be dissolved? No such condition can exist. For a long time, Ananda, you have been very near to me by acts of love, kind and good, that never varies, and is beyond all measure. You have done well, Ananda! Be earnest in effort, and you too shall be free from the Intoxications of Sensuality, of Individuality, Delusion and Ignorance." And he praised the able service of Ananda before the whole asembly.
Then the Master said to Ananda: "Go now into the village of Kusinara, and inform the Mallas that the Tathagata is about to pass away, to the end that they may not afterwards reproach themselves by saying: 'In our own village the Tathagata died, and we took not the occasion to visit the Tathagata in his last hours.'" And the Mallas of Jusinara, with their young men and maidens and wives were grieved and saddened, and betook themselves to the Sala Grove where the Buddha was lying. And Ananda presented them to the Master, family by family, in the first watch of the night.
Now there was at this time a wanderer of the name of Subhadda, to whom the Buddha's approaching death was made known; and he desired to speak with the Master, for the dissipation of his doubt. To this end he approached Ananda; but he refused access to the Master, saying, "The Exalted One is weary, do not trouble him!" But the Exalted One overheard what was said, and desired that Subhadda should be given access; for he knew that the questions to be asked were sincere, and that Subhadda would understand the answers. And this was what Subhadda sought to know whether the leaders of other schools of thought, the masters of other congregations, such as Nigantha Nataputta, or Sanjaya the former teacher of Sariputta and Moggallana, esteemed as good men by many, had, as they claimed, attained a true understanding of things, or had some of them so attained, and not others? And the Exalted One declared: "In whatsoever doctrine and discipline, Subhadda, the Ariyan Eightfold Path is not found, there is not found any man of true sainthood, either of the first, the second, the third, or the fourth degree. But in that Doctrine and Discipline in which is found the Ariyan Eightfold Path, there are men of true sainthood, of all the four degrees. Void are the systems of other teachers void of true saints. But in this one, Subhadda, may the Brethren live the Perfect Life, that the world be not bereft of Arahats." And Subhadda's doubt being thus resolved, he resorted to the Exalted One, to the Law, and to the Congregation as his refuge, and he was recieved into the Order; and "ere long he attained to that supreme goal of the higher life (Nibbana), for the sake of which the clansmen go out from all and every household gain and comfort, to become houseless wanderers yea, that supreme goal did he, by himself, and while yet in this visible world, bring himself to the knowledge of, and continue to realize, and to see face to face! And he became conscious that birth was at an end, that the higher life had been fulfilled, that all that should be done had been accomplished, and that after this present life there would be no beyond." Thus it was that the venerable Subhadda became yet another among the Arahats; and he was the last disciple whom the Exalted One himself converted.
Now the Exalted One addressed the Brethren and said thrice, "It may be, Brethren, that there may be doubt of misgiving in the mind of some Brother as to the Buddha, or the doctrine, or the path, or the method. Inquire, Brethren, freely. Do not have to reproach yourselves afterwards with the thought: 'our teacher was face to face with us, and we could not bring ourselves to inquire of the Exalted One when we were face to face with him.'" But none had any doubt or misgiving. And the venerable Ananda said to the Exalted One: "How wonderful a thing is it, Lord, and how marvellous! Verily I believe that in this whole assembly of the Brethren there is not one Brother who has any doubt or misgiving as to the Buddha, or the doctrine, or the path or the method!" And the Buddha answered: "It is out of the fullness of faith that thou hast spoken, Ananda! But, Ananda, the Tathagata knows for certain that in his whole assembly of the Brethren there is not one Brother who has any doubt or misgiving as to the Buddha, or the doctrine, or the path, or the method! For even the most backward, Ananda, of all these five hundred brethren has become converted, is no longer liable to be born in a state of suffering, and is assured hereafter of attaining the Enlightenment of Arahatta."
Then again, the Exalted One addressed the Brethren and said: "Decay is inherent in all component things! Work out your salvation with diligence!"
This was the last word of Him-who-has-thus-attained. Then the Exalted One entered the first stage of Rapture, and the second, third, and fourth; and rising from the fourth stage, he entered into the station of the infinity of space; thence again into the station of the infinity of thought; thence again into the station of emptiness; then into the station between consciousness and unconsciousness; and then into the station where the consciousness both of sensations and ideas has wholly passed away. And now it seemed to Ananda that the Master had pased away; but he entered again into every station in reverse order until he reached the second stage of Rapture, and thence he passed into the third and fourth stages of Rapture. And passing out of the last stage of Rapture he immediately expired.
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place time topic people language
India - Ancient - Religion/philosophy - Indians/Buddhists - English
India - Ancient - Religion/philosophy - Indians/Buddhists - English
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