English-Buddha & His Dhamma

§ 18. Leaving His Home

1. Siddharth thought of taking Parivraja at the hands of Bharadwaja, who had his Ashram at Kapila-vatsu. Accordingly he rose the next day and started for the Ashram on his favourite horse Kanthaka, with his servant Channa walking along.

2. As he came near the Ashram, men and women came out and thronged the gates to meet him as a newly arrived bridegroom.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Some of the women verily thought that he was Kama incarnate, decorated as he was with his brilliant signs as with connate [?] ornaments.

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

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

8. Thus the women only looked upon him, simply gazing with their eyes. They spoke not, nor did they smile. They surrounded him and stood aghast, thinking of his decision to take Parivraja.

9. With great difficulty he extricated himself from the crowd and entered the gates of the Ashram.

10. Siddharth did not like [=wish] Suddhodana and Prajapati Gautami to be present to witness his Parivraja. For he knew that they would break down under the weight of grief. But they had already reached the Ashram without letting him know.

11. As he entered the compound of the Ashram, he saw in the crowd his father and mother.

12. Seeing his parents he first went to them and asked for their blessing. They were so choked with emotion that they could hardly say a word. They wept and wept, held him fast, and bathed him with their tears.

13. Channa had tied Kanthaka to a tree in the Ashram and was standing [by]. Seeing Suddhodana and Prajapati in tears, he too was overcome with emotion and was weeping.

14. Separating himself with great difficulty from his parents, Siddharth went to the place where Channa was standing. He gave him his dress and his ornaments to take back home.

15. Then he had his head shaved, as was required for a Parivrajaka. His cousin Mahanama had brought the clothes appropriate for a Parivrajaka, and a begging bowl. Siddharth wore them [=put them on].

16. Having thus prepared himself to enter the life of a Parivrajaka, Siddharth approached Bharadwaja [with a request] to confer on him Parivraja.

17. Bharadwaja, with the help of his disciples, performed the necessary ceremonies, and declared Siddharth Gautama to have become a Parivrajaka.

18. Remembering that he had given a double pledge to the Sakya Sangh, to take Parivraja and to leave the Sakya kingdom without undue delay, Siddharth Gautama immediately, on the completion of the Parivraja ceremony, started on his journey.

19. The crowd which had collected in the Ashram was unusually large. That was because the circumstances leading to Gautama's Parivraja were so extraordinary. As the prince stepped out of the Ashram, the crowd also followed him.

20. He left Kapilavatsu and proceeded in the direction of the river Anoma. Looking back ,he saw the crowd still following him.

21. He stopped and addressed them, saying, "Brothers and sisters, there is no use your following me. I have failed to settle the dispute between the Sakyas arid the Koliyas. But if you create public opinion in favour of settlement you might succeed. Be, therefore, so good as to return." Hearing his appeal, the crowd started going back.

22. Suddhodana and Gautami also returned to the palace.

23. Gautami was unable to bear the sight of the robes and the ornaments discarded by Siddharth. She had them thrown into a lotus pool.

24. Siddharth Gautama was only twenty-nine when he underwent Parivraja (Renunciation).

25. People admired him and sighed for him; saying, "Here was a Sakya blessed with high lineage, noble parentage, possessed of considerable riches, in the bloom of youthful vigour, accomplished in mind and body, brought up in luxury, who fought his kinsmen for the sake of maintaining peace on earth and goodwill towards men.

26. "Here was a Sakya youth who, when outvoted by his kinsmen, refused to submit, but preferred to undergo voluntary punishment which involved the exchange of riches for poverty, comfort for alms, home for homelessness. And so he goes, with none in the world to care for him, and with nothing in the world which he could claim as his own.

27. "His was an act of supreme sacrifice willingly made. His is a brave and a courageous act. There is no parallel to it in the history of the world. He deserves to be called a Sakya Muni or Sakya Sinha."

28. How true were the words of Kisa Gotami, a Sakya maiden. When referring to Siddharth Gautama, she said, "Blessed indeed is the mother, blessed indeed is the father, who has such a son. Blessed indeed is the wife who has such a husband."

§ 19. The Prince and the Servant

1. Channa too should have gone back home with Kanthaka. But he refused to go. He insisted on seeing the Prince off with Kanthaka at least to the banks of the river Anoma, and so insistent was Channa that the Gautama had to yield to his wishes.

2. At last they reached the banks of the river Anoma.

3. Then turning to Channa he said, "Good friend, thy devotion to me has been proved by thy thus following me. I am wholly won in heart by thee, ye who have such a love for your master.

4. "I am pleased with your noble feelings towards me, even though I am powerless of conferring [=to confer] any reward.

5. "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.

6. "A son is brought up for the sake of the family; the father is honoured by the son for the sake of his own future support; the world shows kindness for the sake of hope; there is no such thing as unselfishness without a motive.

7. "Thou art the only exception. Take now this horse and return.

8. "The king, with his loving confidence still unshaken, must be enjoined to stay his grief.

9. "Tell him, I have left him--with no thirst for heaven, with no lack of love, nor feeling of anger.

10. "He should 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.

11. "Since separation is certain, how shall there not be repeated severings from one's kindred?

12. "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.

13. "The king, my father, requires to be looked after. The king may say, 'He is gone at a wrong time.' But there is no wrong time for duty.

14. "Do thou address the king, O friend, with these and suchlike words; and do thou use thy efforts so that he may not even remember me.

15. "Yes, do thou repeat to my mother my utter unworthiness to deserve her affection. She is a noble person, too noble for words."

16. Having heard these words, Channa, overwhelmed with grief, made reply with folded hands, his voice choked by emotion:

17. "Seeing that ye are causing affliction to thy kindred, my mind, O my Lord, sinks down like an elephant in a river of mud.

18. "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?

19. "Where is gone this delicacy of limb, fit to lie only in a palace, and where [in comparison] is the ground of the ascetic forest, covered with the shoots of rough Kusa grass?

20. "How could I, O Prince, by mine own will, --knowing this thy decision,--carry back the horse to the sorrow of Kapilavatsu?

21. "Surely thou will not abandon that fond old king, so devoted to his son, as a heretic might the true religion? .

22. "And her, thy second mother, worn with the care of bringing thee up,--thou will not surely forget her, as an ingrate does a benefit?

23. "Thou wilt not surely abandon thy wife endowed with all virtues, illustrious for her family, devoted to her husband and with a young son.

24. "Thou wilt not abandon the young son of Yeshodhara, worthy of all praise, thou the best of the cherishers of religion and fame, as a dissolute spendthrift his choicest glory?

25. "Or even if thy mind be resolved to abandon thy kindred and thy kingdom, thou will not, O Master, abandon me,--thy feet are my only refuge.

26. "I cannot go to the city with my soul thus burning, leaving thee behind in the forest.

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

28. "As for what thou sayest, thou must repeat my unworthiness to the king', who could think or believe it?" continued Channa. "Even if I ventured to speak it, with a heart ashamed and a tongue cleaving to my mouth, he may not appreciate it.

29. "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."

30. Having heard these words of Channa overcome with sorrow, Siddharth Gautama with the utmost gentleness answered:

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

32. "Even. if I, through affection, were not to abandon my kindred, death would still make us helplessly abandon one another.

33. "She, my mother, by whom I was born in the womb with great thirst and pains,--where am I now with regard to her, and where is she with regard to me?

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

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

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

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

38. "Say without reproaching me, to the people of Kapilavatsu, 'Let your love for him be given up, and hear his resolve.'"

39. Having heard this conversation between the master and the servant, Kanthaka, the noblest steed, licked his [=Gautam's] feet with his tongue and dropped hot tears.

40. With his hand whose fingers were untied [=not joined] with a membrane, and which was marked with the auspicious svastika, and with its middle part curved, Gautama stroked him and addressed him like a friend:

41. "Shed not tears, Kanthaka, bear with it, thy labours will soon have its [=their] fruit."

42. Then Channa, knowing that the time for the parting of the ways had come, forthwith paid honour to the sylvan dress of Gautama.

43. Then Gautama, having bidden good-bye to Kanthaka and Channa, went on his way.

44. 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.

45. Having looked back again he wept aloud, and embraced the horse Kanthaka with his arms; and then, hopeless and repeatedly lamenting, started on his return journey.

46. On the way, 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 on the road, knowing not what he was doing.

§20. The Return of Channa

1. Then Channa, in deep distress, when his master thus went into the forest, made every effort on the road to dissolve his load of sorrow.

2. His heart was so heavy that the road which he used to traverse in one night with Kanthaka, that same road he now took eight days to travel, pondering over his lord's absence.

3. The horse Kanthaka, though he still went on bravely, fagged and had lost all spirit; and decked though he was with ornaments, he in the absence of his master seemed to have lost all his beauty.

4. And turning round towards the direction in which his master went, 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.

5. Slowly the two at long last reached Kapila-vatsu, which seemed empty when deserted by Gautama. They reached the city in body but not in soul.

6. Bright as it was with lotus-covered waters, adorned with trees full of flowers, the citizens had lost all their gladness.

7. When the two, their brightness gone and their eyes dim with tears, slowly entered the city, it seemed all bathed in gloom.

8. Having heard that they had returned with their limbs all relaxed, coming back without the pride of the Sakya race, the men of the city shed tears.

9. Full of wrath, the people followed Channa in the road, crying behind him with tears, "Where is the king's son, the glory of his race and his kingdom?"

10. "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."

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

§21 The Family in Mourning

1. The members of the family of Suddhodana were anxiously awaiting the return of Channa, in the hope that he might persuade Gautama to return home.

2. On entering the royal stable, Kanthaka uttered a loud sound, uttering his woe to the palace people.

3. Then the people who were in the neighbourhood of the king's inner apartments, thought in their hearts, "Since the horse Kanthaka neighs, it must be that the prince has come."

4. And 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. But they were disappointed. There was Kanthaka without the prince.

5. Gautami, abandoning all self-control, cried aloud--she fainted, and with a weeping face exclaimed:

6. "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?

7. "This earth is indeed unworthy as regards that peerless doer of noble actions, for such a virtuous hero has gone away from us.

8. "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 mark in the middle, walk on the hard ground of the skirts of the forest?

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

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

11. "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 today on the bare ground with only one rag of cloth interposed?"

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

13. Then Yeshodhara, forgetting that she had permitted him to go, fell upon the ground in utter bewilderment.

14. "How has he abandoned me. his lawful wife? He has left me widowed. He could have allowed his lawful wife to share his new life with him.

15. "I have no longing for the heaven' my one desire was that my beloved may never leave me either in this world or the next.

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

17. "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?

18. "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. But what can I do? My grief is too heavy for me to bear."

19. So fainting in her woe, Yeshodhara wept and wept aloud--self-possessed though she was by nature, yet in her distress she had lost her fortitude.

20. Seeing Yeshodhara 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.

21. Having heard of the arrival of both Channa and Kanthaka, and having learned of the fixed resolve of his son, Suddhodana fell, struck down by sorrow.

22. Distracted by his grief for his son, being held up for a moment by his attendants, Suddhodana gazed on the horse with his eyes filled with tears, and then falling on the ground wailed aloud.

23. Then Suddhodana got up and entered his temple, offered prayers, performed auspicious rites, and vowed certain sacrifices for the safe return of his son.

24. So Suddhodana, Gautami, and Yeshodhara passed their days asking, "How long, O God, how long, before, shall we see him again?"

PART II: RENUNCIATION FOR EVER

§ 1. From Kapilavatsu to Rajagraha

1. Leaving Kapilavatsu, Siddharth Gautama thought of going to Rajagraha, the capital of the kingdom of Magadha.

2. The reigning king was Bimbisara. It was a place which great philosophers and leaders of thought had made their headquarters.

3. With this thought in mind he crossed the Ganges, fearing not her rapid flow.

4. On his way he halted at the hermitage of a Brahmin woman, Saki, then at the hermitage of another Brahmin woman, by name Padma, and then at the hermitage of the Brahmin sage Raivata. All of them entertained him.

5. Having seen his personality and dignity and his splendid beauty, surpassing all other men, the people of that region were all astonished at him [=his] wearing the clothes of a sanyasi.

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

7. 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.

8. Those who were wearing gay-coloured dresses were ashamed when they saw him, those who were talking on random subjects fell to silence; no one indulged in an improper thought.

9. His eyebrows, his forehead, his mouth,--his body, his hand, his feet, or his gait,--whatever part of him anyone beheld, that at once rivetted his gaze.

10. After a long and arduous journey Gautama reached Rajagraha surrounded by five hills, well guarded and adorned with mountains, and supported and hallowed by auspicious and sacred places.

11. On reaching Rajagraha he selected a spot at the foot of the Pandava hill, and put up a small hut made of the leaves of trees for his sojourn.

12. Kapilavatsu by foot is nearly 400 miles distant from Rajagraha.

13. This long journey Siddharth Gautama did all on foot.

§ 2. King Bimbisara and his Advice

1. Next day he got up and started to go into the city with a begging bowl, asking for alms. A vast crowd gathered round him.

2. Then Sreniya Bimbisara, the lord of the kingdom 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 courtier recount it to him:

3. "He who was thus foretold by the Brahmins, 'He will either attain supreme wisdom or be the emperor of the earth'--it is he, the son of the king of the Sakyas, who is now an ascetic. It is he at whom the people are gazing at."

4. The king, having heard this and perceiving its meaning in his mind, thus at once spoke to that courtier, "Let it be known whither he is going"; and the courtier, receiving the command, followed the prince.

5. With fixed 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 for alms, keeping his limbs and his wandering thoughts under control.

6. Having received such alms as were offered, he retired to a lonely corner of the mountain; and having eaten it there, he ascended the Pandava hill.

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

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

9. Like a mountain in stature, the king ascended the hill.

10. There he beheld Gautama, resplendent as he sat on his hams, with subdued senses, as if the mountain was moving, and he himself was a peak thereof.

11. Him, distinguished by his beauty of form and perfect tranquillity, filled with astonishment and affectionate regard, the king of men approached.

12. Bimbisara having courteously drawn nigh to him, inquired as to the condition of his bodily humours; and Gautama with equal gentleness assured the king of his health of mind and freedom from all ailments.

13. Then the king sat down on the clean surface of the rock, and being seated, he thus spoke, desiring to convey his state of mind:

14. "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,

15. "When I consider thy race, beginning with the sun, thy fresh youth, and thy conspicuous beauty, I wonder 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?

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

17. "If, therefore, gentle youth, thou desirest not thy paternal kingdom, then in thy generosity, accept forthwith one half of my kingdom.

18. "If thou actest thus, there will be no sorrow caused 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 this kindness. The prosperity of the good becomes very powerful, when aided by the good.

19. "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.

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

21. "Do thou, therefore, by pursuing the three objects of life, cause this personality 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.

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

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

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

25. "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.

26. "Youth in this present world is the enemy of religion and wealth--since pleasures, however much we guard against them, are hard to hold, therefore, wherever pleasures are to be found, there thy youth [should] seize them.

27. "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.

28. "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.

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

30. "Or, if religion is really thy one aim, then offer sacrifices,--this is thy family's immemorial custom, climbing to highest heaven by sacrifices.

31. "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 sacrifice which great sages reached by self-mortification."

§ 3. Gautama Answers Bimbisara

1. Thus spoke the monarch of the Magadhas, who spoke well and strongly like Indra; but having heard it, the prince did not falter. He was firm like a mountain.

2. Being thus addressed by the monarch of the Magadhas, Gautama, in a strong speech with friendly face,--self-possessed, unchanged, thus made answer:

3. "What you have said is not to be called a strange thing for thee. O King! Born as thou art in the great family whose ensign is the lion, and lover as thou art of thy friends, that ye should adopt this line of approach towards him who stands as one of thy friends is only natural.

4. "Amongst the evil-minded, a friendship worthy of their family ceases to continue, and fades; it is only the good who keep increasing the old friendship of their ancestors by a new succession of friendly acts.

5. "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?

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

7. "This thy suggestion 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.

8. "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.

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

10. "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.

11. "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?

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

13, "When it had rained a golden shower from heaven, and when he had conquered the continents and had even obtained the half of Sakra's throne, Mandhatri was still full of craving for worldly objects.

14. "Though he 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 was not satisfied.

15. "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 roots, fruits, and water, and who wear their twisted locks as long as snakes

16. "When they hear of the miseries of those who are intent on pleasure and are devoted to worldly pursuits, it well befits the self-controlled to fling it away.

17. "Success in pleasure is to be considered a misery in the man of pleasure, for he becomes intoxicated when the pleasures of his desire 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.

18. "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?

19. "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?

20. "What man of self-control could find satisfaction in these pleasures which are like flesh that has been flung away, and which produces [=produce] misery by their being held in common with kings?

21. "What man of self-control could find satisfaction in these pleasures, which, like the senses, are destructive, which bring calamity on every hand to those who abide in them?

22. "Those men of 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?

23. "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?

24. "He whose intellect is blinded with pleasures, the wretch who is the miserable slave of hope for the sake of pleasures, well deserves the pain of death even in the world of living.

25. "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 pleasures produce misery as their end.

26. "As for the common opinion, 'pleasures are enjoyment', 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.

27. "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.

28. "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 [=is] a means for washing, health, and strength.

29. "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?

30. "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.

31. "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 their turn pain.

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

33. "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.

34. "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.

35. "Since to be a king involves a wider range of responsibility, therefore the sorrows of a king are great; for a king is like a peg,--he endures trouble for the sake of the world.

36. "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?

37. "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?

38. "And even in royalty nothing more than one pair of garments is all he needs, and just enough food to keep off hunger; so only one bed, and only one seat is all that a king needs; other distinctions are only for pride.

39. "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 unnecessary?

40. "He then who has attained the auspicious road to happiness is not to be deceived in regard to pleasures. Remembering thy professed friendship, I ask, tell me again and again, are the pleasures worth anything?

41. "I have not left home through anger, nor because my diadem has been dashed down by an enemy's arrow; nor have I set my desires on loftier objects, that I thus refuse thy proposal.

42. "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.

43. "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 wordly objects.

44. "He who lives on alms, my good friend, is not to be pitied. He has here the best happiness, perfect calm, and hereafter all sorrows are for him abolished.

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

46. "What thou has spoken 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."

§ 4. Reply by Gautama (concluded)

1. "I have been wounded by the strife of the world, and I have come out longing to obtain peace; I would not accept any empire in the third heaven, for saving me from all the ills of the earth; how much less amongst men?

2. "But as for what thou has said 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.

3. "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.

4. "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?

5. "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 anyone for length of life?

6. "It well befits the youthful son or the old man or the child so to act with all promptitude, that they may choose the path of the religious man whose soul is all mercy.

7. "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!

8. "To kill a helpless victim through a wish for future reward,--it would be unseemly action for a merciful, good-hearted man, even if the reward of the sacrifice were eternal.

9. "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.

10. "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?

11. "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."

12. The king himself, folding his hands, replied, "Thou art obtaining thy desire without hindrance; when thou has at last accomplished all that thou has to do, thou shall show hereafter thy favour towards me."

13. Having received a firm promise from Gautama to visit him again, the monarch, taking his courtiers with him, returned to the palace.

§ 5. News of Peace

1. While Gautama was staying in Rajagraha there came five other Parivrajakas, who also put up a hut by the side of the hut which Gautama had erected for himself.

2. These five Parivrajakas were Kaundinya, Ashvajit, Kasyapa, Mahanam, and Bhaduka.

3. They too were struck by Gautama's appearance, and wondered what could have led him to take Parivraja.

4. They questioned him over the issue in the same way as did King Bimbisara.

5. When he explained to them the circumstances which led him to take Parivraja, they said, "We have heard of it. But do you know what has happened since you left?" they asked.

6. Siddharth said, "No." Then they told him that after he left Kapilavatsu, there was a great agitation among the Sakyas against going to war with the Koliyas.

7. There were demonstrations and processions by men and women, boys and girls, carrying flags with such slogans as, "Koliyas are our brothers," "It is wrong for a brother to fight against brother." "Think of the exile of Siddharth Gautama," etc.

8. The result of the agitation was that the Sakya Sangh had to call a meeting and reconsider the question. This time the majority was for compromise with the Koliyas.

9. The Sangh decided to select five Sakyas to act as their envoys and negotiate peace with the Koliyas.

10. When the Koliyas heard of this they were very glad. They too selected five Koliyas to deal with the envoys of the Sakyas.

11. The envoys on the two sides met and agreed to appoint a permanent Council of Arbitration, with authority to settle every dispute regarding the sharing of the waters of the river Rohini, and both sides to abide by its decision. Thus the threatened war had ended in peace.

12. After informing Gautama of what had happened at Kapilavatsu, the Parivrajakas said, "There is now no need for you to continue to be a Parivrajaka. Why don't you go home and join your family?"

13. Siddharth said, "I am happy to have this good news. It is a triumph for me. But I will not go back to my home. I must not. I must continue to be a Parivrajaka."

14. Gautama asked the five Parivrajakas what their programme was. They replied, "We have decided to do tapasya. Why don't you join us?" Siddharth said, "By and b ; I must examine other ways first."

15. The five Parivrajakas then left.

§ 6. The Problem in a New Perspective

1. The news brought by the five Parivrajakas that the Koliyas and Sakyas had made peace, made Gautama very uneasy.

2. Left alone, he began to reflect on his own position, and to make sure if any reason was left for him to continue his Parivraja.

3. He had left his people for what?, he asked himself.

4. He had left his home because he was opposed to war. "Now that the war is over, is there any problem left to me? Does my problem end because war has ended?"

5. On a deep reflection, he thought not.

6. "The problem of war is essentially a problem of conflict. It is only a part of a larger problem.

7. "This conflict is going on not only between kings and nations, but between nobles and Brahmins, between householders, between mother and son, between son and mother, between father and son, between sister and brother, between companion and companion.

8. "The conflict between nations is occasional. But the conflict between classes is constant and perpetual. It is this which is the root of all sorrow and suffering in the world.

9. "True, I left home on account of war. But I cannot go back home, although the war between the Sakyas and Koliyas has ended. I see now that my problem has become wider. I have to find a solution for this problem of social conflict.

10. "How far do the old-established philosophies offer a solution of this problem?”

11. Can [=Could] he accept any one of the social philosophies?

12. He was determined to examine everything for himself.

PART III: IN SEARCH OF NEW LIGHT

§ 1. Halt at Brighu's Ashram

1. With the desire to pursue other ways, Gautama left Rajagraha to meet Arada Kalam.

2. On his way he beheld the hermitage of Brighu, and entered it out of curiosity.

3. The Brahmin inmates of the Ashram who had gone outside for the sake of fuel, having just come back with their hands full of fuel, flowers, and kusa grass, pre-eminent as they were in penances, and proficient in wisdom, went just to see him, and went not to their cells.

4. Then he, being duly honoured by those dwellers of the hermitage, paid his homage to the Elders of the Ashram.

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

6. He, the gentle one, saw for the first time the different kinds of penances practised by the ascetics in that sacred grove.

7. Then the Brahmin Brighu, well-versed in the technique of penance, told Gautama all the various kinds of penances and the fruits thereof.

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

9. "Some live like the birds on gleaned corn; others graze on grass like the deer,=; others live on air like the snakes, as if turned into ant-hills.

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

11. "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.

12. "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."

13. On hearing this Gautama said, "Today is my first sight of such a hermitage, and I do not understand this rule of penance.

14. "This is all I would say at the moment. This devotion of yours is for the sake of heaven--while my desire is that the ills of life on earth be probed and a solution found. Will you allow me to take your leave? I wish to learn the Sankhya Philosophy and train myself in the Samadhi marga, and see what help it can give me for the solution of my problem.

15. "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.

16. "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 like great sages, standing fast in the religious duties which are in accordance with former sages.

17. "I wish to go to Muni Arada Kalam, who is known to be the master of the subject."

18. Seeing his resolve, Brighu, the chief of the hermitage, said, " Prince, brave indeed is thy purpose, who, young as thou art, having pondered thoroughly between heaven and liberation have [=having] made up your mind for liberation, ye are indeed brave!

19. "If what you have said is thy settled purpose go quickly to Vindhyakoshth ; the Muni Arada lives there, who has gained an insight into absolute bliss.

20. "From him thou wilt learn the path; but as I foresee, this purpose of thine will go further, after having studied his theory."

21. Gautama thanked him, 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.

§ 2. Study of Sankhya

1. Leaving the Ashram of Brighu, Gautama started [out] to find the abode of Arada Kalam.

2. Arada Kalam was staying at Vaishali. Gautama went thither. On reaching Vaishali, he went to his Ashram.

3. Approaching Arada Kalam, he said, "I wish to be initiated into your doctrine and discipline."

4. Thereupon Arada Kalam said: "You are welcome. Such is my doctrine that an intelligent man like you in no long time may of himself comprehend, realise and attain my teaching and abide by it.

5. "Verily thou art a worthy vessel to receive this highest training."

6. The prince, having heard these words of Arada, was filled with great pleasure and thus made reply.

7. "This extreme kindliness which thou showest to me, makes me, imperfect as I am, seem even already to have attained perfection.

8. "Will you, therefore, deign to tell me what your doctrine is?"

9. Said Arada, "I am so much impelled by your noble nature, by your sincerity of character, and by your resolution, that I need not put you to any preliminary examination to test your worthiness.

10. "Listen, best of listeners, to our tenets."

11. He then expounded to Gautama the tenets of what was known as the Sankhya Philosophy.

12. At the conclusion of his discourse Arada Kalam said:

13. "These are, O Gautama, the tenets of our system. I have told them to you in a summary form."

14. Gautama was greatly pleased with the clear exposition given by Arada Kalam.

§ 3. Training in Samadhi Marga

1. At the time when Gautama was examining the various ways of finding a solution to his problem, he thought of getting himself acquainted with the Dhyana Marga (Concentration of the Mind).

2. There were three schools of the Dhyana Marga.

3. All of them had one thing in common, namely, that control of breathing was the means of achieving Dhyana.

4. One school followed a way of controlling breathing which is called Anapanasati.

5. Another school followed the way of control of breathing known as Pranayama. It divided the breathing process into three parts: (1) Breathing in (Puraka); (2) holding the breath (Kumbhaka); and (3) breathing out (Rechak). The third school was known as Samadhi School.

6. Arada Kalam was well known as the master of Dhyana Marga. Gautama felt that it might be well for him if he could get some training in the Dhyana Marga under Arada Kalam.

7. So he spoke to Arada Kalam and asked him if he would be so good as to give training in the Dhyana Marga.

8. Arada Kalam replied, "With great pleasure."

9. Arada Kalam taught him his technique of the Dhyana Marga. It consisted of seven stages.

10. Gautama practised the technique every day.

11. After acquiring complete mastery over it, Gautama asked Arada Kalam if there was anything further to be learned.

12. Arada Kalam replied, "No friend, that is all that I have to teach." With this, Gautama took leave of Arada Kalam.

13. Gautama had heard of another yogi, by name Uddaka Ramaputta, who was reputed to have devised a technique which enabled a Dhyani to go one stage higher than that devised by Arada Kalam.

14. Gautama thought of learning his technique, and experiencing the highest stage of Samadhi. Accordingly he went to the Ashram of Uddaka Ramaputta, and placed himself under his training.

15. Within a short time did Gautama master the technique of Uddaka's eighth stage. After having perfected himself in the technique of Uddaka Rama-putta, Gautama asked him the same question which he had asked Arada Kalam, "Is there anything further to be learned?"

16. And Uddaka Ramaputta gave the same reply, "No, friend, there is nothing more that I can teach you."

17. Arada Kalam and Uddaka Ramaputta were famous for their mastery of Dhyana Marga in the country of the Kosalas. But Gautama had heard that there were similar masters of Dhyana Marga in the country of the Magadhas. He thought he should have a training in their system also.

18. Gautama accordingly went to Magadha.

19. He found that their technique of Dhyana Marga, though based on control of breathing, was different from what was in vogue in the Kosala country.

20. The technique was not to breathe, but to reach concentration by stopping breathing.

21. Gautama learned this technique. When he tried concentration by stopping breathing, he found that piercing sounds used to come out of his ears, and his head appeared to him to be pierced as though by a sharp pointed knife.

22. It was a painful process. But Gautama did not fail to master it.

23. Such was his training in the Samadhi Marga.

§ 4. Trial of Asceticism

1. Gautama had given a trial to the Sankhya and Samadhi Marga. But he had left the Ashram of the Brighus without giving a trial to Asceticism.

2. He felt he should give it a trial and gain experience for himself, so that he could speak authoritatively about it.

3. Accordingly Gautama went to the town of Gaya. From there he reconnoitred the surrounding country and fixed his habitation at Uruvela, in the hermitage of Negari, the Royal Seer of Gaya, for practising asceticism. It was a lonely and solitary place on the banks of the river Nairanjana for practising asceticism.

4. At Uruvela he found the five Parivrajakas whom he had met at Rajagraha, and who had brought news of peace. They too were practising asceticism.

5. The mendicants saw him there and approached him, to take them with him. Gautama agreed.

6. Thereon they served him reverently, abiding as pupils under his orders, and were humble and compliant.

7. The austerities and self-mortification practised by Gautama were of the severest sort.

8. Sometimes he visited two but not more than seven houses a day, and took at each only two but not more than seven morsels.

9. He lived on a single saucer of food a day, but not more than seven saucers.

10. Sometimes he had but one meal a day, or one every two days, and so on, up to once every seven days, or only once a fortnight, on a rigid scale of rationing.

11. As he advanced in the practice of asceticism, his sole diet was herbs gathered green, or the grain of wild millets and paddy, or snippets [of?] hide, or water-plants, or the red powder round rice-grains within the husk, or the discarded scum of rice on the boil, or the flour of oilseeds.

12. He lived on wild roots and fruit, or on windfalls only.

13. His raiment was of hemp, or hempen mixture of cerements of rags from the dust-heap, of bark, of the black antelope's pelt either whole or split down the middle, of grass, of strips of bark or wood, hair of men or animals woven into a blanket, or of owl's wings.

14. He plucked out the hair of his head and the hair of his beard, never quitted the upright for the sitting posture, squatted and never rose up, moving only squatting.

15. After this wise, in diverse fashions, be lived to torment and to torture his body--to such a length in asceticism did he go.

16. To such a length in loathliness did he go that there became accumulated on his body the dirt and filth for years, till it dropped off by itself.

17. He took up his abode in the awesome depths of the forest, depths so awesome that it was reputed that none but the senseless could venture without his hair standing on end.

18. When the cold season brought chill wintry nights, then it was that in the dark half of the months he dwelt by night in the open air and in the dark thicket by day.

19. But when there came the last broiling month of summer before the rains, he made his dwelling under the baking sun by day and in the stifling thicket by night.

20. In a charnel ground did he lay down, with charred bones for pillow.

21. Thereafter Gautama lived on a single bean a day--on a single sesamum seed a day--or a single grain of rice a day.

22. When he was living on a single fruit a day, his body grew emaciated in the extreme.

23. If he sought to feel his belly, it was his backbone which he found in his grasp; if he sought to feel his backbone, he found himself grasping his belly, so closely did his belly cleave to his backbone, and all because he ate so little.

§ 5. Abandonment of Asceticism

1. The austerities and mortification practised by Gautama were of the severest sort. They lasted for a long period of six years.

2. At the end of six years his body had become so weak that he was quite unable to move.

3. Yet he had seen no new light, and was no nearer to the solution to the problem of misery in the world on which his mind was centred.

4. He reflected to himself, "This is not the way, even to passionlessness, nor to perfect knowledge, nor to liberation.

5. "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.

6. "Has not something like this happened to me?

7. "It is not the effort itself which I blame,--which flinging aside the base pursues a high path of its own.

8. "What I ask is, 'Can the mortification of the body be called religion?'

9. "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 thought the body is like a dog.

10. "If there was only the body to be considered, merit may [=might] be gained by purity of food, but then there is merit also in the doer. But of what good is it?

11. "New light cannot be attained by him who has lost his strength and is wearied with hunger, thirst, and fatigue, with his mind no longer self-possessed through fatigue.

12. "How could he who is not absolutely calm, reach the end which is to be attained by his mind?

13. "True calm and the self-possession of the mind is properly obtained by the constant satisfaction of the body's wants."

14. At this time there lived at Uruvela a house-holder, by name Senani. Sujata was his daughter.

15. Sujata had uttered a wish to a Banyan Tree, and vowed a yearly offering to it, if she should have a son.

16. The wish having been fulfilled, she sent her maid Punna to prepare the place for the offering.

17. Punna, finding Gautama sitting beneath the Banyan Tree, thought he was the god of the tree who had come down.

18. Sujata came and offered Gautama the food prepared by her, in a golden bowl.

19. He took the bowl to the river bank, bathed at a ford or a bathing place called Suppatitthita, and ate the food.

20. Thus ended his trial of asceticism.

21. The five ascetics who were with Gautama became angry with him for having given up the life of austerity and self-mortification, and in disgust left him.

PART IV: ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE VISION OF A NEW WAY

§ 1. Meditation for New Light

1. Having refreshed himself with food, Gautama sat thinking over his past experiences. He realised that all paths had failed.

2. The failure was so complete that it could have led anyone into a state of frustration. He was, of course, sorry. But frustration as such did not touch him.

3. He was always hopeful of finding a way. So much so that on the night of the day on which he partook of the food sent by Sujata, Gautama had five dreams, and when he awoke he interpreted his dreams to mean that he was sure to attain enlightenment.

4. He had also tried to forecast his future. This he did by throwing the bowl of food Sujata's maid brought, into the river Nairanja, saying, "If I am to have enlightenment let the bowl ascend the stream; if not, let it go down." The vessel, indeed, began to float against the current and at last sank near the abode of Kala, a Naga king.

5. Fortified with hope and determination, he left Uruvela and towards evening went along the wide road to Gaya. There he saw a Banyan Tree. He thought of sitting under it in meditation, in the hope of a new light dawning upon him and enabling him to find a way which would solve his problem.

6. After trying each of the four directions he chose the East, which is always chosen by all the great sages for the removal of all defilements.

7. Gautama sat down cross-legged and upright under the Banyan Tree. Determined to achieve enlightenment, he said to himself, "Skin, sinew and bone may dry up as they will, my flesh and blood may dry in my body, but without attaining complete enlightenment I will not leave this seat."

8. Then Kala, the king of the Nagas, whose majesty was like the lord of elephants, and his wife Suvarnaprabhasa, having been awakened by the vision of Gautama sitting under the Banyan Tree, uttered this in praise of him, being sure that he was destined to attain perfect knowledge.

9. "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 reap the desired fruit.

10. "Inasmuch as flocks 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 attain thy object."

11. As he sat down for meditation, a crowd of evil thoughts and evil passions--mythologically called the children of Mara (Kama), which is another name for evil passions--entered his mind.

12. Gautama was greatly frightened lest they should overpower him and defeat his purpose.

13. He knew that in this battle with evil passions many Rishis and Brahmins had succumbed.

14. So he summoned all the courage he had and said to Mara, "Faith is found in me, and heroism and wisdom. How can ye evil passions defeat me? The streams even of rivers may this wind dry up. Ye would be unable to dry up my resolutions, when I am so intent. Better to me is death in battle than that I should be defeated in life."

15. The evil passions entered the mind of Gautama as a crow goes after a stone that looks like a hump of fat, thinking surely, "here I shall find a tender morsel, here perchance is something sweet."

16. And finding no sweetness there, the crow departs thence. So like a crow attacking a rock, the evil passions left Gautama in disgust.