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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12894 ***
+
+SACRED BOOKS OF THE EAST
+
+Including Selections from the Vedic Hymns, Zend-Avesta, Dhammapada,
+Upanishads, the Koran, and the Life of Buddha, with Critical and
+Biographical Sketches by Epiphanius Wilson, A.M.
+
+1900
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+VEDIC HYMNS
+
+Introduction
+To the Unknown God
+To the Maruts
+To the Maruts and Indra
+To Indra and the Maruts
+To Agni and the Maruts
+To Rudra
+To Rudra
+To Agní and the Maruts
+To Vâyu
+To Vâyu
+Indra and Agastya: A Dialogue
+To Soma and Rudra
+To Rudra
+To Vâta
+To Vâta
+
+
+THE ZEND-AVESTA
+
+Introduction
+Discovery of the Zend-Avesta
+The Creation
+Myth of Yima
+The Earth
+Contracts and Outrages
+Uncleanness
+Funerals and Purification
+Cleansing the Unclean
+Spells Recited During the Cleansing
+To Fires, Waters, Plants
+To the Earth and the Sacred Waters
+Prayer for Helpers
+A Prayer for Sanctity and its Benefits
+To the Fire
+To the Bountiful Immortals
+Praise of the Holy Bull
+To Rain as a Healing Power
+To the Waters and Light of the Sun
+To the Waters and Light of the Moon
+To the Waters and Light of the Stars
+
+
+THE DHAMMAPADA
+
+Introduction
+CHAPTER
+      I.--The Twin-Verses
+     II.--On Earnestness
+    III.--Thought
+     IV.--Flowers
+      V.--The Fool
+     VI.--The Wise Man
+    VII.--The Venerable
+   VIII.--The Thousands
+     IX.--Evil
+      X.--Punishment
+     XI.--Old Age
+    XII.--Self
+   XIII.--The World
+    XIV.--The Buddha--The Awakened
+     XV.--Happiness
+    XVI.--Pleasure
+   XVII.--Anger
+  XVIII.--Impurity
+    XIX.--The Just
+     XX.--The Way
+    XXI.--Miscellaneous
+   XXII.--The Downward Course
+  XXIII.--The Elephant
+   XXIV.--Thirst
+    XXV.--The Bhikshu
+   XXVI.--The Brâhmana
+
+THE UPANISHADS
+
+Introduction
+
+KAUSHÍTAKI-UPANISHAD.--
+  The Couch of Brahman
+  Knowledge of the Living Spirit
+  Life and Consciousness
+
+
+SELECTIONS FROM THE KORAN
+
+Introduction
+Mohammed and Mohammedanism
+Chapter I.----Entitled, the Preface
+Chapter II.---Entitled, the Cow
+Chapter III.--Entitled, the Family of Imran
+Chapter IV.---Entitled, Women
+Chapter V.----Entitled, the Table
+
+
+LIFE OF BUDDHA
+
+Introduction
+
+CHAPTER I.--
+  The Birth
+  Living in the Palace
+  Disgust at Sorrow
+  Putting Away Desire
+  Leaving the City
+
+CHAPTER II.--
+  The Return of Kandaka
+  Entering the Place of Austerities
+  The General Grief of the Palace
+  The Mission to Seek the Prince
+
+CHAPTER III.--
+  Bimbisara Râga Invites the Prince
+  The Reply to Bimbisara Râga
+  Visit to Ârada Udrarama
+  Defeats Mara
+  O-wei-san-pou-ti (Abhisambodhi)
+  Turning the Law-wheel
+
+CHAPTER IV.--
+  Bimbisara Râga Becomes a Disciple
+  The Great Disciple Becomes a Hermit
+  Conversion of the "Supporter of the Orphans and Destitute"
+  Interview Between Father and Son
+  Receiving the Getavana Vihara
+  Escaping the Drunken Elephant and Devadatta
+  The Lady Âmra Sees Buddha
+
+CHAPTER V.--
+  By Spiritual Power Fixing His Term of Years
+  The Differences of the Likkhavis
+  Parinirvana
+  Mahaparinirvana
+  Praising Nirvana
+  Division of the Sariras
+
+
+
+
+VEDIC HYMNS
+
+
+Translation by F. Max Müller.
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+The Vedic Hymns are among the most interesting portions of Hindoo
+literature. In form and spirit they resemble both the poems of the
+Hebrew psalter and the lyrics of Pindar. They deal with the most
+elemental religious conceptions and are full of the imagery of nature.
+It would be absurd to deny to very many of them the possession of the
+truest poetic inspiration. The scenery of the Himalayas, ice and snow,
+storm and tempest, lend their majesty to the strains of the Vedic poet.
+He describes the storm sweeping over the white-crested mountains till
+the earth, like a hoary king, trembles with fear. The Maruts, or
+storm-gods, are terrible, glorious, musical, riding on strong-hoofed,
+never-wearying steeds. There is something Homeric, Pindaric in these
+epithets. Yet Soma and Rudra are addressed, though they wield sharp
+weapons; and sharp bolts, i.e., those of the lightning, are spoken of as
+kind friends. "Deliver us," says the poet, "from the snare of Varuna,
+and guard us, as kind-hearted gods." One of the most remarkable of these
+hymns is that addressed to the Unknown God. The poet says: "In the
+beginning there arose the Golden Child. As soon as he was born he alone
+was the lord of all that is. He established the earth and this heaven."
+The hymn consists of ten stanzas, in which the Deity is celebrated as
+the maker of the snowy mountains, the sea and the distant river, who
+made fast the awful heaven, He who alone is God above all gods, before
+whom heaven and earth stand trembling in their mind. Each stanza
+concludes with the refrain, "Who is the God to whom we shall offer
+sacrifice?"
+
+We have in this hymn a most sublime conception of the Supreme Being, and
+while there are many Vedic hymns whose tone is pantheistic and seems to
+imply that the wild forces of nature are Gods who rule the world, this
+hymn to the Unknown God is as purely monotheistic as a psalm of David,
+and shows a spirit of religious awe as profound as any we find in the
+Hebrew Scriptures.
+
+It is very difficult to arrive at the true date of the Vedas. The word
+Veda means knowledge, and is applied to unwritten literature. The Vedas
+are therefore the oldest Sanscrit writings which exist, and stand in the
+same class with regard to Hindoo literature as Homer does with regard to
+Greek literature. Probably the earliest Vedas were recited a thousand
+years before Christ, while the more recent of the hymns date about five
+hundred before Christ. We must therefore consider them to be the most
+primitive form of Aryan poetry in existence.
+
+There is in the West a misunderstanding as to the exact meaning of
+"Vedic" and "Sanscrit"; for the latter is often used as if it were
+synonymous with Indian; whereas, only the later Indian literature can be
+classed under that head, and "Vedic" is often used to indicate only the
+Vedic Hymns, whereas it really denotes Hymns, Bráhmanas, Upanishads, and
+Sutras; in fact, all literature which orthodox Hindoos regard as sacred.
+The correct distinction then between the Vedic and the Sanscrit writings
+is that of holy writ and profane literature.
+
+E.W.
+
+
+
+VEDIC HYMNS
+
+
+TO THE UNKNOWN GOD
+
+
+In the beginning there arose the Golden Child. As soon as born, he alone
+was the lord of all that is. He established the earth and this
+heaven:--Who is the God to whom we shall offer sacrifice?
+
+He who gives breath, he who gives strength, whose command all the bright
+gods revere, whose shadow is immortality, whose shadow is death:--Who is
+the God to whom we shall offer sacrifice?
+
+He who through his might became the sole king of the breathing and
+twinkling world, who governs all this, man and beast:--Who is the God to
+whom we shall offer sacrifice?
+
+He through whose might these snowy mountains are, and the sea, they say,
+with the distant river; he of whom these regions are indeed the two
+arms:--Who is the God to whom we shall offer sacrifice?
+
+He through whom the awful heaven and the earth were made fast, he
+through whom the ether was established, and the firmament; he who
+measured the air in the sky:--Who is the God to whom we shall offer
+sacrifice?
+
+He to whom heaven and earth, standing firm by his will, look up,
+trembling in their mind; he over whom the risen sun shines forth:--Who
+is the God to whom we shall offer sacrifice?
+
+When the great waters went everywhere, holding the germ, and generating
+light, then there arose from them the breath of the gods:--Who is the
+God to whom we shall offer sacrifice?
+
+He who by his might looked even over the waters which held power and
+generated the sacrifice, he who alone is God above all gods:--Who is the
+God to whom we shall offer sacrifice?
+
+May he not hurt us, he who is the begetter of the earth, or he, the
+righteous, who begat the heaven; he who also begat the bright and mighty
+waters:--Who is the God to whom we shall offer sacrifice?
+
+Pragâpati, no other than thou embraces all these created things. May
+that be ours which we desire when sacrificing to thee: may we be lords
+of wealth!
+
+
+
+TO THE MARUTS[1]
+
+
+I
+
+Come hither, Maruts, on your chariots charged with lightning, resounding
+with beautiful songs, stored with spears, and winged with horses! Fly to
+us like birds, with your best food, you mighty ones! They come
+gloriously on their red, or, it may be, on their tawny horses which
+hasten their chariots. He who holds the axe is brilliant like
+gold;--with the tire of the chariot they have struck the earth. On your
+bodies there are daggers for beauty; may they stir up our minds as they
+stir up the forests. For yourselves, O well-born Maruts, the vigorous
+among you shake the stone for distilling Soma. Days went round you and
+came back, O hawks, back to this prayer, and to this sacred rite; the
+Gotamas making prayer with songs, pushed up the lid of the cloud to
+drink. No such hymn was ever known as this which Gotama sounded for you,
+O Maruts, when he saw you on golden wheels, wild boars rushing about
+with iron tusks. This comforting speech rushes sounding towards you,
+like the speech of a suppliant: it rushed freely from our hands as our
+speeches are wont to do.
+
+II
+
+Let us now proclaim for the robust host, for the herald of the powerful
+Indra, their ancient greatness! O ye strong-voiced Maruts, you heroes,
+prove your powers on your march, as with a torch, as with a sword! Like
+parents bringing a dainty to their own son, the wild Maruts play
+playfully at the sacrifices. The Rudras reach the worshipper with their
+protection, strong in themselves, they do not fail the sacrificer. For
+him to whom the immortal guardians have given fulness of wealth, and who
+is himself a giver of oblations, the Maruts, who gladden men with the
+milk of rain, pour out, like friends, many clouds. You who have stirred
+up the clouds with might, your horses rushed forth, self-guided. All
+beings who dwell in houses are afraid of you, your march is brilliant
+with your spears thrust forth. When they whose march is terrible have
+caused the rocks to tremble, or when the manly Maruts have shaken the
+back of heaven, then every lord of the forest fears at your racing, each
+shrub flies out of your way, whirling like chariot-wheels. You, O
+terrible Maruts, whose ranks are never broken, favorably fulfil our
+prayer! Wherever your glory-toothed lightning bites, it crunches cattle,
+like a well-aimed bolt. The Maruts whose gifts are firm, whose bounties
+are never ceasing, who do not revile, and who are highly praised at the
+sacrifices, they sing their song for to drink the sweet juice: they know
+the first manly deeds of the hero Indra. The man whom you have guarded,
+O Maruts, shield him with hundredfold strongholds from injury and
+mischief--the man whom you, O fearful, powerful singers, protect from
+reproach in the prosperity of his children. On your chariots, O Maruts,
+there are all good things, strong weapons are piled up clashing against
+each other. When you are on your journeys, you carry the rings on your
+shoulders, and your axle turns the two wheels at once. In their manly
+arms there are many good things, on their chests golden chains, flaring
+ornaments, on their shoulders speckled deer-skins, on their fellies
+sharp edges; as birds spread their wings, they spread out splendors
+behind. They, mighty by might, all-powerful powers, visible from afar
+like the heavens with the stars, sweet-toned, soft-tongued singers with
+their mouths, the Maruts, united with Indra, shout all around. This is
+your greatness, O well-born Maruts!--your bounty extends far, as the
+sway of Aditi. Not even Indra in his scorn can injure that bounty, on
+whatever man you have bestowed it for his good deeds. This is your
+kinship with us, O Maruts, that you, immortals, in former years have
+often protected the singer. Having through this prayer granted a hearing
+to man, all these heroes together have become well known by their
+valiant deeds. That we may long flourish, O Maruts, with your wealth, O
+ye racers, that our men may spread in the camp, therefore let me achieve
+the rite with these offerings. May this praise, O Maruts, this song of
+Mândârya, the son of Mâna, the poet, ask you with food for offspring for
+ourselves! May we have an invigorating autumn, with quickening rain!
+
+III
+
+For the manly host, the joyful, the wise, for the Maruts bring thou, O
+Nodhas, a pure offering. I prepare songs, like as a handy priest, wise
+in his mind, prepares the water, mighty at sacrifices. They are born,
+the tall bulls of heaven, the manly youths of Rudra, the divine, the
+blameless, pure, and bright like suns; scattering raindrops, full of
+terrible designs, like giants. The youthful Rudras, they who never grow
+old, the slayers of the demon, have grown irresistible like mountains.
+They throw down with their strength all beings, even the strongest, on
+earth and in heaven. They deck themselves with glittering ornaments for
+a marvellous show; on their chests they fastened gold chains for beauty;
+the spears on their shoulders pound to pieces; they were born together
+by themselves, the men of Dyu. They who confer power, the roarers, the
+devourers of foes, they made winds and lightnings by their powers. The
+shakers milk the heavenly udders, they sprinkle the earth all round with
+milk. The bounteous Maruts pour forth water, mighty at sacrifices, the
+fat milk of the clouds. They seem to lead about the powerful horse, the
+cloud, to make it rain; they milk the thundering, unceasing spring.
+Mighty they are, powerful, of beautiful splendor, strong in themselves
+like mountains, yet swiftly gliding along;--you chew up forests, like
+wild elephants, when you have assumed your powers among the red flames.
+Like lions they roar, the wise Maruts, they are handsome like gazelles,
+the all-knowing. By night with their spotted rain-clouds and with their
+spears--lightnings--they rouse the companions together, they whose ire
+through strength is like the ire of serpents. You who march in
+companies, the friends of man, heroes, whose ire through strength is
+like the ire of serpents, salute heaven and earth! On the seats on your
+chariots, O Maruts, the lightning stands, visible like light.
+All-knowing, surrounded with wealth, endowed with powers, singers, men
+of endless prowess, armed with strong rings, they, the archers, have
+taken the arrow in their fists. The Maruts who with the golden tires of
+their wheels increase the rain, stir up the clouds like wanderers on the
+road. They are brisk, indefatigable, they move by themselves; they throw
+down what is firm, the Maruts with their brilliant spears make
+everything to reel. We invoke with prayer the offspring of Rudra, the
+brisk, the pure, the worshipful, the active. Cling for happiness-sake to
+the strong company of the Maruts, the chasers of the sky, the powerful,
+the impetuous. The mortal whom ye, Maruts, protected, he indeed
+surpasses people in strength through your protection. He carries off
+booty with his horses, treasures with his men; he acquires honorable
+wisdom, and he prospers. Give, O Maruts, to our lords strength glorious,
+invincible in battle, brilliant, wealth-acquiring, praiseworthy, known
+to all men. Let us foster our kith and kin during a hundred winters.
+Will you then, O Maruts, grant unto us wealth, durable, rich in men,
+defying all onslaughts?--wealth a hundred and a thousand-fold, always
+increasing?--May he who is rich in prayers come early and soon!
+
+IV
+
+Sing forth, O Kanvas, to the sportive host of your Maruts, brilliant on
+their chariots, and unscathed,--they who were born together,
+self-luminous, with the spotted deer, the spears, the daggers, the
+glittering ornaments. I hear their whips, almost close by, when they
+crack them in their hands; they gain splendor on their way. Sing forth
+the god-given prayer to the wild host of your Maruts, endowed with
+terrible vigor and strength. Celebrate the bull among the cows, for it
+is the sportive host of the Maruts; he grew as he tasted the rain. Who,
+O ye men, is the strongest among you here, ye shakers of heaven and
+earth, when you shake them like the hem of a garment? At your approach
+the son of man holds himself down; the gnarled cloud fled at your fierce
+anger. They at whose racings the earth, like a hoary king, trembles for
+fear on their ways, their birth is strong indeed: there is strength to
+come forth from their mother, nay, there is vigor twice enough for it.
+And these sons, the singers, stretched out the fences in their racings;
+the cows had to walk knee-deep. They cause this long and broad unceasing
+rain to fall on their ways. O Maruts, with such strength as yours, you
+have caused men to tremble, you have caused the mountains to tremble. As
+the Maruts pass along, they talk together on the way: does anyone hear
+them? Come fast on your quick steeds! there are worshippers for you
+among the Kanvas: may you well rejoice among them. Truly there is enough
+for your rejoicing. We always are their servants, that we may live even
+the whole of life.
+
+V
+
+To every sacrifice you hasten together, you accept prayer after prayer,
+O quick Maruts! Let me therefore bring you hither by my prayers from
+heaven and earth, for our welfare, and for our great protection; the
+shakers who were born to bring food and light, self-born and
+self-supported, like springs, like thousandfold waves of water, aye,
+visibly like unto excellent bulls, those Maruts, like Soma-drops, which
+squeezed from ripe stems dwell, when drunk, in the hearts of the
+worshipper--see how on their shoulders there clings as if a clinging
+wife; in their hands the quoit is held and the sword. Lightly they have
+come down from heaven of their own accord: Immortals, stir yourselves
+with the whip! The mighty Maruts on dustless paths, armed with brilliant
+spears, have shaken down even the strong places. O ye Maruts, who are
+armed with lightning-spears, who stirs you from within by himself, as
+the jaws are stirred by the tongue? You shake the sky, as if on the
+search for food; you are invoked by many, like the solar horse of the
+day. Where, O Maruts, is the top, where the bottom of the mighty sky
+where you came? When you throw down with the thunderbolt what is strong,
+like brittle things, you fly across the terrible sea! As your conquest
+is violent, splendid, terrible, full and crushing, so, O Maruts, is your
+gift delightful, like the largess of a liberal worshipper,
+wide-spreading, laughing like heavenly lightning. From the tires of
+their chariot-wheels streams gush forth, when they send out the voice of
+the clouds; the lightnings smiled upon the earth, when the Maruts shower
+down fatness. Prisni brought forth for the great fight the terrible
+train of the untiring Maruts: when fed they produced the dark cloud, and
+then looked about for invigorating food. May this praise, O Maruts, this
+song of Mândârya, the son of Mâna, the poet, ask you with food for
+offspring for ourselves! May we have an invigorating autumn, with
+quickening rain!
+
+VI
+
+The Maruts charged with rain, endowed with fierce force, terrible like
+wild beasts, blazing in their strength, brilliant like fires, and
+impetuous, have uncovered the rain-giving cows by blowing away the
+cloud. The Maruts with their rings appeared like the heavens with their
+stars, they shone wide like streams from clouds as soon as Rudra, the
+strong man, was born for you, O golden-breasted Maruts, in the bright
+lap of Prisni. They wash their horses like racers in the courses, they
+hasten with the points of the reed on their quick steeds. O golden-jawed
+Maruts, violently shaking your jaws, you go quick with your spotted
+deer, being friends of one mind. Those Maruts have grown to feed all
+these beings, or, it may be, they have come hither for the sake of a
+friend, they who always bring quickening rain. They have spotted horses,
+their bounties cannot be taken away, they are like headlong charioteers
+on their ways. O Maruts, wielding your brilliant spears, come hither on
+smooth roads with your fiery cows whose udders are swelling; being of
+one mind, like swans toward their nests, to enjoy the sweet offering. O
+one-minded Maruts, come to our prayers, come to our libations like Indra
+praised by men! Fulfil our prayer, like the udder of a barren cow, and
+make the prayer glorious by booty to the singer. Grant us this strong
+horse for our chariot, a draught that rouses our prayers, from day to
+day, food to the singers, and to the poet in our homesteads luck,
+wisdom, inviolable and invincible strength. When the gold-breasted
+Maruts harness the horses to their chariots, bounteous in wealth, then
+it is as if a cow in the folds poured out to her calf copious food, to
+every man who has offered libations. Whatever mortal enemy may have
+placed us among wolves, shield us from hurt, ye Vasus! Turn the wheels
+with burning heat against him, and strike down the weapon of the impious
+fiend, O Rudras! Your march, O Maruts, appears brilliant, whether even
+friends have milked the udder of Prisni, or whether, O sons of Rudra,
+you mean to blame him who praises you, and to weaken those who are
+weakening Trita, O unbeguiled heroes. We invoke you, the great Maruts,
+the constant wanderers, at the offering of the rapid Vishnu; holding
+ladles and prayerful we ask the golden-colored and exalted Maruts for
+glorious wealth. The Dasagvas carried on the sacrifice first; may they
+rouse us at the break of dawn. Like the dawn, they uncover the dark
+nights with the red rays, the strong ones, with their brilliant light,
+as with a sea of milk. With the morning clouds, as if with glittering
+red ornaments, these Maruts have grown great in the sacred places.
+Streaming down with rushing splendor, they have assumed their bright and
+brilliant color. Approaching them for their great protection to help us,
+we invoke them with this worship, they whom Trita may bring near, like
+the five Hotri priests for victory, descending on their chariot to help.
+May that grace of yours by which you help the wretched across all
+anguish, and by which you deliver the worshipper from the reviler, come
+hither, O Maruts; may your favor approach us like a cow going to her
+calf!
+
+VII
+
+I come to you with this adoration, with a hymn I implore the favor of
+the quick Maruts. O Maruts, you have rejoiced in it clearly, put down
+then all anger and unharness your horses! This reverent praise of yours,
+O Maruts, fashioned in the heart, has been offered by the mind, O gods!
+Come to it, pleased in your mind, for you give increase to our worship.
+May the Maruts when they have been praised be gracious to us, and
+likewise Indra, the best giver of happiness, when he has been praised.
+May our lances through our valor stand always erect, O Maruts! I am
+afraid of this powerful one, and trembling in fear of Indra. For you the
+offerings were prepared--we have now put them away, forgive us! Thou
+through whom the Mânas see the mornings, whenever the eternal dawns
+flash forth with power, O Indra, O strong hero, grant thou glory to us
+with the Maruts, terrible with the terrible ones, strong and a giver of
+victory. O Indra, protect thou these bravest of men, let thy anger be
+turned away from the Maruts, for thou hast become victorious together
+with those brilliant heroes. May we have an invigorating autumn, with
+quickening rain!
+
+VIII
+
+O Maruts, that man in whose dwelling you drink the Soma, ye mighty sons
+of heaven, he indeed has the best guardians. You who are propitiated
+either by sacrifices or from the prayers of the sage, hear the call, O
+Maruts! Aye, the powerful man to whom you have granted a sage, he will
+live in a stable rich in cattle. On the altar of this strong man Soma is
+poured out in daily sacrifices; praise and joy are sung. To him let the
+mighty Maruts listen, to him who surpasses all men, as the flowing
+rain-clouds pass over the sun. For we, O Maruts, have sacrificed at many
+harvests, through the mercies of the storm-gods. May that mortal be
+blessed, O chasing Maruts, whose offerings you carry off. You take
+notice either of the sweat of him who praises you, ye men of true
+strength, or of the desire of the suppliant. O ye of true strength, make
+this manifest with might! strike the fiend with your lightning! Hide the
+hideous darkness, destroy every tusky fiend. Make the light which we
+long for!
+
+IX
+
+Endowed with exceeding vigor and power, the singers, the never
+flinching, the immovable, the impetuous, the most beloved and most
+manly, have decked themselves with their glittering ornaments, a few
+only, like the heavens with the stars. When you have seen your way
+through the clefts, like birds, O Maruts, on whatever road it be, then
+the clouds on your chariots trickle everywhere, and you pour out the
+honey-like fatness for him who praises you. At their racings the earth
+shakes, as if broken, when on the heavenly paths they harness their deer
+for victory. They the sportive, the roaring, with bright spears, the
+shakers of the clouds have themselves glorified their greatness. That
+youthful company, with their spotted horses, moves by itself; hence it
+exercises lordship, invested with powers. Thou indeed art true, thou
+searchest out sin, thou art without blemish. Therefore the manly host
+will help this prayer. We speak after the kind of our old father, our
+tongue goes forth at the sight of the Soma: when the singers had joined
+Indra in deed, then only they took their holy names;--these Maruts,
+armed with beautiful rings, obtained splendors for their glory, they
+obtained rays, and men to celebrate them; nay, armed with daggers,
+speeding along, and fearless, they found the beloved domain of the
+Maruts.
+
+X
+
+What then now? When will you take us as a dear father takes his son by
+both hands, O ye gods, for whom the sacred grass has been trimmed? Where
+now? On what errand of yours are you going, in heaven, not on earth?
+Where are your cows sporting? Where are your newest favors, O Maruts?
+Where the blessings? Where all delights? If you, sons of Prisni, were
+mortals, and your praiser an immortal, then never should your praiser be
+unwelcome, like a deer in pasture grass, nor should he go on the path of
+Yama. Let not one sin after another, difficult to be conquered, overcome
+us; may it depart together with greed. Truly they are terrible and
+powerful; even to the desert the Rudriyas bring rain that is never dried
+up. The lightning lows like a cow, it follows as a mother follows after
+her young, when the shower of the Maruts has been let loose. Even by day
+the Maruts create darkness with the water-bearing cloud, when they
+drench the earth. Then from the shouting of the Maruts over the whole
+space of the earth, men reeled forward. Maruts on your strong-hoofed,
+never-wearying steeds go after those bright ones, which are still locked
+up. May your fellies be strong, the chariots, and their horses, may your
+reins be well-fashioned. Speak forth forever with thy voice to praise
+the Lord of prayer, Agni, who is like a friend, the bright one. Fashion
+a hymn in thy mouth! Expand like the cloud! Sing a song of praise.
+Worship the host of the Maruts, the terrible, the glorious, the musical.
+May they be magnified here among us.
+
+XI
+
+Let your voice-born prayers go forth to the great Vishnu, accompanied by
+the Maruts, Evayâmarut, and to the chasing host, adorned with good
+rings, the strong, in their jubilant throng, to the shouting power of
+the Maruts. O Maruts, you who are born great, and proclaim it yourselves
+by knowledge, Evayâmarut, that power of yours cannot be approached by
+wisdom, that power of theirs cannot be approached by gift or might; they
+are like unapproachable mountains. They who are heard with their voice
+from the high heaven, the brilliant and strong, Evayâmarut, in whose
+council no tyrant reigns, the rushing chariots of these roaring Maruts
+come forth, like fires with their own lightning. The wide-striding
+Vishnu strode forth from the great common seat, Evayâmarut. When he has
+started by himself from his own place along the ridges, O ye striving,
+mighty Maruts, he goes together with the heroes, conferring blessings.
+Impetuous, like your own shout, the strong one made everything tremble,
+the terrible, the wanderer, the mighty, Evayâmarut; strong with him you
+advanced self-luminous, with firm reins, golden colored, well armed,
+speeding along. Your greatness is infinite, ye Maruts, endowed with full
+power, may that terrible power help, Evayâmarut. In your raid you are
+indeed to be seen as charioteers; deliver us therefore from the enemy,
+like shining fires. May then these Rudras, lively like fires and with
+vigorous shine, help, Evayâmarut. The seat of the earth is stretched out
+far and wide, when the hosts of these faultless Maruts come quickly to
+the races. Come kindly on your path, O Maruts, listen to the call of him
+who praises you, Evayâmarut. Confidants of the great Vishnu, may you
+together, like charioteers, keep all hateful things far, by your
+wonderful skill. Come zealously to our sacrifice, ye worshipful, hear
+our guileless call, Evayâmarut. Like the oldest mountains in the sky, O
+wise guardians, prove yourselves for him irresistible to the enemy.
+
+XII
+
+O Syâvâsva, sing boldly with the Maruts, the singers who, worthy
+themselves of sacrifice, rejoice in their guileless glory according to
+their nature. They are indeed boldly the friends of strong power; they
+on their march protect all who by themselves are full of daring. Like
+rushing bulls, these Maruts spring over the dark cows, and then we
+perceive the might of the Maruts in heaven and on earth. Let us boldly
+offer praise and sacrifice to your Maruts, to all them who protect the
+generation of men, who protect the mortal from injury. They who are
+worthy, bounteous, men of perfect strength, to those heavenly Maruts who
+are worthy of sacrifice, praise the sacrifice! The tall men, coming near
+with their bright chains, and their weapon, have hurled forth their
+spears. Behind these Maruts there came by itself the splendor of heaven,
+like laughing lightnings. Those who have grown up on earth, or in the
+wide sky, or in the realm of the rivers, or in the abode of the great
+heaven, praise that host of the Maruts, endowed with true strength and
+boldness, whether those rushing heroes have by themselves harnessed
+their horses for triumph, or whether these brilliant Maruts have in the
+speckled cloud clothed themselves in wool, or whether by their strength
+they cut the mountain asunder with the tire of their chariot; call them
+comers, or goers, or enterers, or followers, under all these names, they
+watch on the straw for my sacrifice. The men watch, and their steeds
+watch. Then, so brilliant are their forms to be soon, that people say,
+Look at the strangers! In measured steps and wildly shouting the gleemen
+have danced towards the cloud. They who appeared one by one like
+thieves, were helpers to me to see the light. Worship, therefore, O
+seer, that host of Maruts, and keep and delight them with your voice,
+they who are themselves wise poets, tall heroes armed with
+lightning-spears. Approach, O seer, the host of Maruts, as a woman
+approaches a friend, for a gift; and you, Maruts, bold in your strength,
+hasten hither, even from heaven, when you have been praised by our
+hymns. If he, after perceiving them, has approached them as gods with an
+offering, then may he for a gift remain united with the brilliant
+Maruts, who by their ornaments are glorious on their march. They, the
+wise Maruts, the lords, who, when there was inquiry for their kindred,
+told me of the cow, they told me of Prisni as their mother, and of the
+strong Rudra as their father. The seven and seven heroes gave me each a
+hundred. On the Yamunâ I clear off glorious wealth in cows, I clear
+wealth in horses.
+
+XIII
+
+Those who glance forth like wives and yoke-fellows, the powerful sons of
+Rudra on their way, they, the Maruts, have indeed made heaven and earth
+to grow; they, the strong and wild, delight in the sacrifices. When
+grown up, they attained to greatness; the Rudras have established their
+seat in the sky. While singing their song and increasing their vigor,
+the sons of Prisni have clothed themselves in beauty. When these sons of
+the cow adorn themselves with glittering ornaments, the brilliant ones
+put bright weapons on their bodies. They drive away every adversary;
+fatness streams along their paths;--when you, the powerful, who shine
+with your spears, shaking even what is unshakable by strength--when you,
+O Maruts, the manly hosts, had yoked the spotted deer, swift as thought,
+to your chariots;--when you had yoked the spotted deer before your
+chariots, hurling thunderbolt in the fight, then the streams of the
+red-horse rush forth: like a skin with water they water the earth. May
+the swiftly-gliding, swift-winged horses carry you hither! Come forth
+with your arms! Sit down on the grass-pile; a wide seat has been made
+for you. Rejoice, O Maruts, in the sweet food. Strong in themselves,
+they grew with might; they stepped to the firmament, they made their
+seat wide. When Vishnu saved the enrapturing Soma, the Maruts sat down
+like birds on their beloved altar. Like heroes indeed thirsting for
+fight they rush about; like combatants eager for glory they have striven
+in battles. All beings are afraid of the Maruts; they are men terrible
+to behold, like kings. When the clever Tvashtar had turned the
+well-made, golden, thousand-edged thunderbolt, Indra takes it to perform
+his manly deeds; he slew Vritra, he forced out the stream of water. By
+their power they pushed the well aloft, they clove asunder the rock,
+however strong. Blowing forth their voice the bounteous Maruts
+performed, while drunk of Soma, their glorious deeds. They pushed the
+cloud athwart this way, they poured out the spring to the thirsty
+Gotama. The Maruts with beautiful splendor approach him with help, they
+in their own ways satisfied the desire of the sage. The shelters which
+you have for him who praises you, grant them threefold to the man who
+gives! Extend the same to us, O Maruts! Give us, ye heroes, wealth with
+valiant offspring!
+
+XIV
+
+Who are these resplendent men, dwelling together, the boys of Rudra,
+also with good horses? No one indeed knows their births, they alone know
+each other's birthplace. They plucked each other with their beaks; the
+hawks, rushing like the wind, strove together. A wise man understands
+these secrets, that Prisni, the great, bore an udder. May that clan be
+rich in heroes by the Maruts, always victorious, rich in manhood! They
+are quickest to go, most splendid with splendor, endowed with beauty,
+strong with strength. Strong is your strength, steadfast your powers,
+and thus by the Maruts is this clan mighty. Resplendent is your breath,
+furious are the minds of the wild host, like a shouting maniac. Keep
+from us entirely your flame, let not your hatred reach us here. I call
+on the dear names of your swift ones, so that the greedy should be
+satisfied, O Maruts, the well-armed, the swift, decked with beautiful
+chains, who themselves adorn their bodies. Bright are the libations for
+you, the bright ones, O Maruts, a bright sacrifice I prepare for the
+bright. In proper order came those who truly follow the order, the
+bright born, the bright, the pure. On your shoulders, O Maruts, are the
+rings, on your chests the golden chains are fastened; far-shining like
+lightnings with showers, you wield your weapons, according to your wont.
+Your hidden splendors come forth; spread out your powers, O racers!
+Accept, O Maruts, this thousandfold, domestic share, as an offering for
+the house-gods. If you thus listen, O Maruts, to this praise, at the
+invocation of the powerful sage, give him quickly a share of wealth in
+plentiful offspring, which no selfish enemy shall be able to hurt. The
+Maruts, who are fleet like racers, the manly youths, shone like Yakshas;
+they are beautiful like boys standing round the hearth, they play about
+like calves who are still sucking. May the bounteous Maruts be gracious
+to us, opening up to us the firm heaven and earth. May that bolt of
+yours which kills cattle and men be far from us! Incline to us, O Vasus,
+with your favors. The Hotri priest calls on you again and again, sitting
+down and praising your common gift, O Maruts. O strong ones, he who is
+the guardian of so much wealth, he calls on you with praises, free from
+guile. These Maruts stop the swift, they bend strength by strength, they
+ward off the curse of the plotter, and turn their heavy hatred on the
+enemy. These Maruts stir up even the sluggard, even the vagrant, as the
+gods pleased. O strong ones, drive away the darkness, and grant us all
+our kith and kin. May we not fall away from your bounty, O Maruts, may
+we not stay behind, O charioteers, in the distribution of your gifts.
+Let us share in the brilliant wealth, the well-acquired, that belongs to
+you, O strong ones. When valiant men fiercely fight together, for
+rivers, plants, and houses, then, O Maruts, sons of Rudra, be in battles
+our protectors from the enemy. O Maruts, you have valued the praises
+which our fathers have formerly recited to you; with the Maruts the
+victor is terrible in battle, with the Maruts alone the racer wins the
+prize. O Maruts, may we have a strong son, who is lord among men, a
+ruler, through whom we may cross the waters to dwell in safety, and then
+obtain our own home for you. May Indra then, Varuna, Mitra, Agni, the
+waters, the plants, the trees of the forest be pleased with us. Let us
+be in the keeping, in the lap of the Maruts; protect us always with your
+favors.
+
+XV
+
+Sing to the company of the Maruts, growing up together, the strong among
+the divine host: they stir heaven and earth by their might, they mount
+up to the firmament from the abyss of Nirriti. Even your birth was with
+fire and fury, O Maruts! You, terrible, wrathful, never tiring! You who
+stand forth with might and strength; everyone who sees the sun, fears at
+your coming. Grant mighty strength to our lords, if the Maruts are
+pleased with our praise. As a trodden path furthers a man, may they
+further us; help us with your brilliant favors. Favored by you, O
+Maruts, a wise man wins a hundred, favored by you a strong racer wins a
+thousand, favored by you a king also kills his enemy: may that gift of
+yours prevail, O ye shakers. I invite these bounteous sons of Rudra,
+will these Maruts turn again to us? Whatever they hated secretly or
+openly, that sin we pray the swift ones to forgive. This praise of our
+lords has been spoken: may the Maruts be pleased with this hymn. Keep
+far from us, O strong ones, all hatred, protect us always with your
+favors!
+
+XVI
+
+Come hither, do not fail, when you march forward! Do not stay away, O
+united friends, you who can bend even what is firm. O Maruts,
+Ribhukshans, come hither on your flaming strong fellies, O Rudras, come
+to us to-day with food, you much-desired ones, come to the sacrifice,
+you friends of the Sobharis. For we know indeed the terrible strength of
+the sons of Rudra, of the vigorous Maruts, the liberal givers of rain.
+The clouds were scattered, but the monster remained, heaven and earth
+were joined together. O you who are armed with bright rings, the tracts
+of the sky expanded, whenever you stir, radiant with your own splendor.
+Even things that cannot be thrown down resound at your race, the
+mountains, the lord of the forest--the earth quivers on your marches.
+The upper sky makes wide room, to let your violence pass, O Maruts, when
+these strong-armed heroes display their energies in their own bodies.
+According to their wont these men, exceeding terrible, impetuous, with
+strong and unbending forms, bring with them beautiful light. The arrow
+of the Sobharis is shot from the bowstrings at the golden chest on the
+chariot of the Maruts. They, the kindred of the cow, the well-born,
+should enjoy their food, the great ones should help us. Bring forward, O
+strongly-anointed priests, your libations to the strong host of the
+Maruts, the strongly advancing. O Maruts, O heroes, come quickly hither,
+like winged hawks, on your chariot with strong horses, of strong shape,
+with strong naves, to enjoy our libations. Their anointing is the same,
+the golden chains shine on their arms, their spears sparkle. These
+strong, manly, strong-armed Maruts, do not strive among themselves; firm
+are the bows, the weapons on your chariot, and on your faces are
+splendors. They whose terrible name, wide-spreading like the ocean, is
+the one of all that is of use, whose strength is like the vigor of their
+father, worship these Maruts, and praise them! Of these shouters, as of
+moving spokes, no one is the last; this is theirs by gift, by greatness
+is it theirs. Happy is he who was under your protection, O Maruts, in
+former mornings, or who may be so even now. Or he, O men, whose
+libations you went to enjoy; that mighty one, O shakers, will obtain
+your favors with brilliant riches and booty. As the sons of Rudra, the
+servants of the divine Dyu, will it, O youths, so shall it be. Whatever
+liberal givers may worship the Maruts, and move about together as
+generous benefactors, even from them turn towards us with a kinder
+heart, you youths! O Sobhari, call loud with your newest song the young,
+strong, and pure Maruts, as the plougher calls the cows. Worship the
+Maruts with a song, they who are strong like a boxer, called in to
+assist those who call for him in all fights; worship them the most
+glorious, like bright-shining bulls. Yes, O united friends, kindred, O
+Maruts, by a common birth, the oxen lick one another's humps. O ye
+dancers, with golden ornaments on your chests, even a mortal comes to
+ask for your brotherhood; take care of us, ye Maruts, for your
+friendship lasts forever. O bounteous Maruts, bring us some of your
+Marut-medicine, you friends, and steeds. With the favors whereby you
+favor the Sindhu, whereby you save, whereby you help Krivi, with those
+propitious favors be our delight, O delightful ones, ye who never hate
+your followers. O Maruts, for whom we have prepared good altars,
+whatever medicine there is on the Sindhu, on the Asiknî, in the seas, on
+the mountains, seeing it, you carry it all on your bodies. Bless us with
+it! Down to the earth, O Maruts, with what hurts our sick
+one--straighten what is crooked!
+
+XVII
+
+Full of devotion like priests with their prayers, wealthy like pious
+men, who please the gods with their offerings, beautiful to behold like
+brilliant kings, without a blemish like the youths of our hamlets--they
+who are gold-breasted like Agni with his splendor, quick to help like
+self-harnessed winds, good leaders like the oldest experts, they are to
+the righteous man like Somas, that yield the best protection. They who
+are roaring and hasting like winds, brilliant like the tongues of fires,
+powerful like mailed soldiers, full of blessings like the prayers of our
+fathers, who hold together like the spokes of chariot-wheels, who glance
+forward like victorious heroes, who scatter ghrita like wooing youths,
+who chant beautifully like singers, intoning a hymn of praise, who are
+swift like the best of horses, who are bounteous like lords of chariots
+on a suit, who are hastening on like water with downward floods, who are
+like the manifold Angiras with their numerous songs. These noble sons of
+Sindhu are like grinding-stones, they are always like Soma-stones,
+tearing everything to pieces; these sons of a good mother are like
+playful children, they are by their glare like a great troop on its
+march. Illumining the sacrifice like the rays of the dawn, they shone
+forth in their ornaments like triumphant warriors; the Maruts with
+bright spears seem like running rivers, from afar they measure many
+miles. O gods, make us happy and rich, prospering us, your praisers, O
+Maruts! Remember our praise and our friendship, for from of old there
+are always with you gifts of treasures.
+
+XVIII
+
+O Indra, a thousand have been thy helps accorded to us, a thousand, O
+driver of the bays, have been thy most delightful viands. May thousands
+of treasures richly to enjoy, may goods come to us a thousandfold. May
+the Maruts come towards us with their aids, the mighty ones, or with
+their best aids from the great heaven, now that their furthest steeds
+have rushed forth on the distant shore of the sea; there clings to the
+Maruts one who moves in secret, like a man's wife,[2] and who is like a
+spear carried behind, well grasped, resplendent, gold-adorned; there is
+also with them Vâk,[3] like unto a courtly, eloquent woman. Far away the
+brilliant, untiring Maruts cling to their young maid, as if she belonged
+to them all; but the terrible ones did not drive away Rodasi, for they
+wished her to grow their friend. When the divine Rodasi with dishevelled
+locks, the manly-minded, wished to follow them, she went, like Sûryâ,[4]
+to the chariot of her servant, with terrible look, as with the pace of a
+cloud. As soon as the poet with the libations, O Maruts, had sung his
+song at the sacrifice, pouring out Soma, the youthful men placed the
+young maid in their chariot as their companion for victory, mighty in
+assemblies. I praise what is the praiseworthy true greatness of those
+Maruts, that the manly-minded, proud, and strong one drives with them
+towards the blessed mothers. They protect Mitra and Varuna from the
+unspeakable, and Aryaman also finds out the infamous. Even what is firm
+and unshakable is being shaken; but he who dispenses treasures, O
+Maruts, has grown in strength. No people indeed, whether near to us, or
+from afar, have ever found the end of your strength, O Maruts! The
+Maruts, strong in daring strength, have, like the sea, boldly surrounded
+their haters. May we to-day, may we tomorrow in battle be called the
+most beloved of Indra. We were so formerly, may we truly be so day by
+day, and may the lord of the Maruts be with us. May this praise, O
+Maruts, this song of Mândârya, the son of Mâna, the poet, ask you with
+food for offspring for ourselves! May we have an invigorating autumn,
+with quickening rain!
+
+XIX
+
+Who knows their birth? or who was of yore in the favor of the Maruts,
+when they harnessed the spotted deer? Who has heard them when they had
+mounted their chariots, how they went forth? For the sake of what
+liberal giver did they run, and their comrades followed, as streams of
+rain filled with food? They themselves said to me when day by day they
+came to the feast with their birds: they are manly youths and blameless;
+seeing them, praise them thus; they who shine by themselves in their
+ornaments, their daggers, their garlands, their golden chains, their
+rings, going on their chariots and on dry land. O Maruts, givers of
+quickening rain, I am made to rejoice, following after your chariots, as
+after days going with rain. The bucket which the bounteous heroes shook
+down from heaven for their worshipper, that cloud they send along heaven
+and earth, and showers follow on the dry land. The rivers having pierced
+the air with a rush of water, went forth like milk-cows; when your
+spotted deer roll about like horses that have hasted to the
+resting-place on their road. Come hither, O Maruts, from heaven, from
+the sky, even from near; do not go far away! Let not the Rasâ, the
+Anitabhâ, the Kubhâ, the Krumu, let not the Sindhu delay you! Let not
+the marshy Sarayu prevent you! May your favor be with us alone! The
+showers come forth after the host of your chariots, after the terrible
+Marut-host of the ever-youthful heroes. Let us then follow with our
+praises and our prayers each host of yours, each troop, each company. To
+what well-born generous worshipper have the Maruts gone to-day on that
+march, on which you bring to kith and kin the never-failing seed of
+corn? Give us that for which we ask you, wealth and everlasting
+happiness! Let us safely pass through our revilers, leaving behind the
+unspeakable and the enemies. Let us be with you when in the morning you
+shower down health, wealth, water, and medicine, O Maruts! That mortal,
+O men, O Maruts, whom you protect, may well be always beloved by the
+gods, and rich in valiant offspring. May we be such! Praise the liberal
+Maruts, and may they delight on the path of this man here who praises
+them, like cows in fodder. When they go, call after them as for old
+friends, praise them who love you, with your song!
+
+XX
+
+You have fashioned this speech for the brilliant Marut-host which shakes
+the mountains: celebrate then the great manhood in honor of that host
+who praises the warm milk of the sacrifice, and sacrifices on the height
+of heaven, whose glory is brilliant. O Maruts, your powerful men came
+forth searching for water, invigorating, harnessing their horses,
+swarming around. When they aim with the lightning, Trita shouts, and the
+waters murmur, running around on their course. These Maruts are men
+brilliant with lightning, they shoot with thunderbolts, they blaze with
+the wind, they shake the mountains, and suddenly, when wishing to give
+water, they whirl the hail; they have thundering strength, they are
+robust, they are ever-powerful. When you drive forth the nights, O
+Rudras, the days, O powerful men, the sky, the mists, ye shakers, the
+plains, like ships, and the strongholds, O Maruts, you suffer nowhere.
+That strength of yours, O Maruts, that greatness extended as far as the
+sun extends its daily course, when you, like your deer on their march,
+went down to the western mountain with untouched splendor. Your host, O
+Maruts, shone forth when, O sages, you strip, like a caterpillar, the
+waving tree. Conduct then, O friends, our service to a good end, as the
+eye conducts the man in walking. That man, O Maruts, is not overpowered,
+he is not killed, he does not fail, he does not shake, he does not drop,
+his goods do not perish, nor his protections, if you lead him rightly,
+whether he be a seer or a king. The men with their steeds, like
+conquerors of clans, like Aryaman, the Maruts, carrying waterskins, fill
+the well; when the strong ones roar, they moisten the earth with the
+juice of sweetness. When the Maruts come forth this earth bows, the
+heaven bows, the paths in the sky bow, and the cloud-mountains with
+their quickening rain. When you rejoice at sunrise, O Maruts, toiling
+together, men of sunlight, men of heaven, your horses never tire in
+running, and you quickly reach the end of your journey. On your
+shoulders are the spears, on your feet rings, on your chests golden
+chains, O Maruts, on your chariot gems; fiery lightnings in your fists,
+and golden headbands tied round your heads. O Maruts, you shake the red
+apple from the firmament, whose splendor no enemy can touch; the hamlets
+bowed when the Maruts blazed, and the pious people intoned their
+far-reaching shout. O wise Maruts, let us carry off the wealth of food
+which you have bestowed on us; give us, O Maruts, such thousandfold
+wealth as never fails, like the star Tishya from heaven! O Maruts, you
+protect our wealth of excellent men, and the seer, clever in song; you
+give to the warrior a strong horse, you make the king to be obeyed. O
+you who are quickly ready to help, I implore you for wealth whereby we
+may overshadow all men, like the sky. O Maruts, be pleased with this
+word of mine, and let us speed by its speed over a hundred winters!
+
+XXI
+
+The chasing Maruts with gleaming spears, the golden-breasted, have
+gained great strength, they move along on quick, well-broken
+horses;--when they went in triumph, the chariots followed. You have
+yourselves, you know, acquired power; you shine bright and wide, you
+great ones. They have even measured the sky with their strength;--when
+they went in triumph, the chariots followed. The strong heroes, born
+together, and nourished together, have further grown to real beauty.
+They shine brilliantly like the rays of the sun;--when they went in
+triumph, the chariots followed. Your greatness, O Maruts, is to be
+honored, it is to be yearned for like the sight of the sun. Place us
+also in immortality;--when they went in triumph, the chariots followed.
+O Maruts, you raise the rain from the sea, and rain it down, O yeomen!
+Your milch-cows, O destroyers, are never destroyed;--when they went in
+triumph, the chariots followed. When you have joined the deer as horses
+to the shafts, and have clothed yourselves in golden garments, then, O
+Maruts, you scatter all enemies;--when they went in triumph, the
+chariots followed. Not mountains, not rivers have kept you back,
+wherever you see, O Maruts, there you go. You go even round heaven and
+earth;--when they went in triumph, the chariots followed. Be it old, O
+Maruts, or be it new, be it spoken, O Vasus, or be it recited, you take
+cognizance of it all;--when they went in triumph, the chariots followed.
+Have mercy on us, O Maruts, do not strike us, extend to us your manifold
+protection. Do remember the praise, the friendship;--when they went in
+triumph, the chariots followed. Lead us, O Maruts, towards greater
+wealth, and out of tribulations, when you have been praised. O
+worshipful Maruts, accept our offering, and let us be lords of
+treasures!
+
+XXII
+
+O Agni, on to the strong host of the Maruts, bedecked with golden chains
+and ornaments. To-day I call the folk of the Maruts down from the light
+of heaven. As thou, Agni, thinkest in thine heart, to the same object my
+wishes have gone. Strengthen thou these Maruts, terrible to behold, who
+have come nearest to thy invocations. Like a bountiful lady, the earth
+comes towards us, staggering, yet rejoicing; for your onslaught, O
+Maruts, is vigorous, like a bear, and fearful, like a wild bull. They
+who by their strength disperse wildly like bulls, impatient of the yoke,
+they by their marches make the heavenly stone, the rocky mountain cloud
+to shake. Arise, for now I call with my hymns the troop of these Maruts,
+grown strong together, the manifold, the incomparable, as if calling a
+drove of bulls. Harness the red mares to the chariot, harness the ruddy
+horses to the chariots, harness the two bays, ready to drive in the
+yoke, most vehement to drive in the yoke. And this red stallion too,
+loudly neighing, has been placed here, beautiful to behold; may it not
+cause you delay on your marches, O Maruts; spur him forth on your
+chariots.
+
+We call towards us the glorious chariot of the Maruts, whereon there
+stands also Rodasî, carrying delightful gifts, among the Maruts.
+
+I call hither this your host, brilliant on chariots, terrible and
+glorious, among which she, the well-born and fortunate, the bounteous
+lady, is also magnified among the Maruts.
+
+XXIII
+
+O Rudras, joined by Indra, friends on golden chariots, come hither for
+our welfare! This prayer from us is acceptable to you like the springs
+of heaven to a thirsty soul longing for water. O you sons of Prisni, you
+are armed with daggers and spears, you are wise, carrying good bows and
+arrows and quivers, possessed of good horses and chariots. With your
+good weapons, O Maruts, you go to triumph! You shake the sky and the
+mountains for wealth to the liberal giver; the forests bend down out of
+your way from fear. O sons of Prisni, you rouse the earth when you, O
+terrible ones, have harnessed the spotted deer for triumph! The Maruts,
+blazing with the wind, clothed in rain, are as like one another as
+twins, and well adorned. They have tawny horses, and red horses, they
+are faultless, endowed with exceeding vigor; they are in greatness wide
+as the heaven. Rich in rain-drops, well adorned, bounteous, terrible to
+behold, of inexhaustible wealth, noble by birth, golden-breasted, these
+singers of the sky have obtained their immortal name. Spears are on your
+two shoulders, in your arms are placed strength, power, and might. Manly
+thoughts dwell in your heads, on your chariots are weapons, and every
+beauty has been laid on your bodies. O Maruts, you have given us wealth
+of cows, horses, chariots, and heroes, golden wealth! O men of Rudra,
+bestow on us great praise, and may I enjoy your divine protection! Hark,
+O heroes, O Maruts! Be gracious to us! You who are of great bounty,
+immortal, righteous, truly listening to us, poets, young, dwelling on
+mighty mountains, and grown mighty.
+
+XXIV
+
+I praise now the powerful company of these ever-young Maruts, who drive
+violently along with quick horses; aye, the sovereigns are lords of
+Amrita the immortal. The terrible company, the powerful, adorned with
+quoits on their hands, given to roaring, potent, dispensing treasures,
+they who are beneficent, infinite in greatness, praise, O poet, these
+men of great wealth! May your water-carriers come here to-day, all the
+Maruts who stir up the rain. That fire which has been lighted for you, O
+Maruts, accept it, O young singers! O worshipful Maruts, you create for
+man an active king, fashioned by Vibhvan; from you comes the man who can
+fight with his fist, and is quick with his arm, from you the man with
+good horses and valiant heroes. Like the spokes of a wheel, no one is
+last, like the days they are born on and on, not deficient in might. The
+very high sons of Prisni are full of fury, the Maruts cling firmly to
+their own will. When you have come forth with your speckled deer as
+horses on strong-fellied chariots, O Maruts, the waters gush, the
+forests go asunder;--let Dyu roar down, the bull of the Dawn. At their
+approach, even the earth opened wide, and they placed their own strength
+as a husband the germ. Indeed they have harnessed the winds as horses to
+the yoke, and the men of Rudra have changed their sweat into rain. Hark,
+O heroes, O Maruts! Be gracious to us! You who are of great bounty,
+immortal, righteous, truly listening to us, poets, young, dwelling on
+mighty mountains, and grown mighty.
+
+XXV
+
+They truly tried to make you grant them welfare. Do thou sing praises to
+Heaven, I offer sacrifice to the Earth. The Maruts wash their horses and
+race to the air, they soften their splendor by waving mists. The earth
+trembles with fear from their onset. She sways like a full ship, that
+goes rolling. The heroes who appear on their marches, visible from afar,
+strive together within the great sacrificial assembly. Your horn is
+exalted for glory, as the horns of cows; your eye is like the sun, when
+the mist is scattered. Like strong racers, you are beautiful, O heroes,
+you think of glory, like manly youths. Who could reach, O Maruts, the
+great wise thoughts, who the great manly deeds of you, great ones? You
+shake the earth like a speck of dust, when you are carried forth for
+granting welfare. These kinsmen are like red horses, like heroes eager
+for battle, and they have rushed forward to fight. They are like
+well-grown manly youths, and the men have grown strong, with streams of
+rain they dim the eye of the sun. At their outbreak there is none among
+them who is the eldest, or the youngest, or the middle: they have grown
+by their own might, these sons of Prisni, noble by birth, the boys of
+Dyaus; come hither to us!
+
+Those who like birds flew with strength in rows from the ridge of the
+mighty heaven to its ends, their horses shook the springs of the
+mountain cloud, so that people on both sides knew it. May Dyaus Aditi
+roar for our feast, may the dew-lighted Dawns come striving together;
+these, the Maruts, O poet, the sons of Rudra, have shaken the heavenly
+bucket cloud, when they had been praised.
+
+
+[Footnote 1: The Maruts are the "Storm-Gods".]
+
+[Footnote 2: The lightning.]
+
+[Footnote 3: The voice of thunder.]
+
+[Footnote 4: The dawn.]
+
+
+
+TO THE MARUTS AND INDRA
+
+
+The Prologue
+
+The sacrificer speaks:
+
+To what splendor do the Maruts all equally cling, they who are of the
+same age, and dwell in the same nest? With what thoughts?--from whence
+are they come? Do these heroes sing forth their own strength, wishing
+for wealth? Whose prayers have the youths accepted? Who has turned the
+Maruts to his own sacrifice? By what strong desire may we arrest them,
+they who float through the air like hawks?
+
+
+The Dialogue
+
+The Maruts speak:
+
+From whence, O Indra, dost thou come alone, thou who art mighty? O lord
+of men, what has thus happened to thee? Thou greetest us when thou
+comest together with us. Tell us then, thou with thy bay horses, what
+thou hast against us!
+
+Indra speaks:
+
+The sacred songs are mine, the prayers; sweet are the libations! My
+strength rises, my thunderbolt is hurled forth. They call for me, the
+hymns yearn for me. Here are my horses, they carry me hither.
+
+The Maruts speak:
+
+From thence, in company with our strong friends, having adorned our
+bodies, we now harness our fallow deer with all our might;--for, Indra,
+according to custom, thou hast come to be with us.
+
+Indra speaks:
+
+Where, O Maruts, was that custom with you, when you left me alone in the
+killing of Ahi? I indeed am terrible, powerful, strong,--I escaped from
+the blows of every enemy.
+
+The Maruts speak:
+
+Thou hast achieved much with us as companions. With equal valor, O hero!
+let us achieve then many things, O thou most powerful, O Indra! whatever
+we, O Maruts, wish with our mind.
+
+Indra speaks:
+
+I slew Vritra, O Maruts, with Indra's might, having grown powerful
+through my own vigor; I, who hold the thunderbolt in my arms, have made
+these all-brilliant waters to flow freely for man.
+
+The Maruts speak:
+
+Nothing, O mighty lord, is strong before thee: no one is known among the
+gods like unto thee. No one who is now born comes near, no one who has
+been born. Do what thou wilt do, thou who art grown so strong.
+
+Indra speaks:
+
+Almighty strength be mine alone, whatever I may do, daring in my heart;
+for I indeed, O Maruts, am known as terrible: of all that I threw down,
+I, Indra, am the lord.
+
+O Maruts, now your praise has pleased me, the glorious hymn which you
+have made for me, ye men!--for me, for Indra, for the joyful hero, as
+friends for a friend, for your own sake, and by your own efforts.
+
+Truly, there they are, shining towards me, bringing blameless glory,
+bringing food. O Maruts, wherever I have looked for you, you have
+appeared to me in bright splendor: appear to me also now!
+
+
+The Epilogue
+
+The sacrificer speaks:
+
+Who has magnified you here, O Maruts? Come hither, O friends, towards
+your friends. Ye brilliant Maruts, welcoming these prayers, be mindful
+of these my rites. The wisdom of Mânya has brought us hither, that he
+should help as the poet helps the performer of a sacrifice: turn hither
+quickly! Maruts, on to the sage! the singer has recited these prayers
+for you. May this your praise, O Maruts, this song of Mândârya, the son
+of Mâna, the poet, bring offspring for ourselves with food. May we have
+an invigorating autumn, with quickening rain.
+
+
+
+TO INDRA AND THE MARUTS
+
+
+Those who stand around him while he moves on, harness the bright red
+steed; the lights in heaven shine forth. They harness to the chariot on
+each side his two favorite bays, the brown, the bold, who can carry the
+hero. Thou who createst light where there was no light, and form, O men!
+where there was no form, hast been born together with the dawns.
+Thereupon they (the Maruts), according to their wont, assumed again the
+form of new-born babes, taking their sacred name. Thou, O Indra, with
+the swift Maruts, who break even through the stronghold, hast found even
+in their hiding-place the bright ones. The pious singers have, after
+their own mind, shouted towards the giver of wealth, the great, the
+glorious Indra. Mayest thou, host of the Maruts, be verily seen coming
+together with Indra, the fearless: you are both happy-making, and of
+equal splendor. With the beloved hosts of Indra, with the blameless,
+hasting (Maruts), the sacrificer cries aloud. From yonder, O traveller,
+Indra, come hither, or from the light of heaven; the singers all yearn
+for it;--or we ask Indra for help from here, or from heaven, or from
+above the earth, or from the great sky.
+
+
+
+TO AGNI[5] AND THE MARUTS
+
+
+Thou art called forth to this fair sacrifice for a draught of milk; with
+the Maruts come hither, O Agni! No god indeed, no mortal, is beyond the
+might of thee, the mighty one; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni! They
+who know of the great sky, the Visve Devas without guile; with those
+Maruts come hither, O Agni! The strong ones who sing their song,
+unconquerable by force; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni! They who
+are brilliant, of terrible designs, powerful, and devourers of foes;
+with the Maruts come hither, O Agni! They who in heaven are enthroned as
+gods, in the light of the firmament; with the Maruts come hither, O
+Agni! They who toss the clouds across the surging sea; with the Maruts
+come hither, O Agni! They who shoot with their darts across the sea with
+might; with the Maruts come hither, O Agni! I pour out to thee for the
+early draught the sweet juice of Soma; with the Maruts come hither, O
+Agni!
+
+
+[Footnote 5: Agni is the "God of Fire."]
+
+
+
+TO RUDRA[6]
+
+
+We offer these prayers to Rudra, the strong, whose hair is braided, who
+rules over heroes that he may be a blessing to man and beast, that
+everything in this our village may be prosperous and free from disease.
+Be gracious to us, O Rudra, and give us joy, and we shall honor thee,
+the ruler of heroes, with worship. What health and wealth father Manu
+acquired by his sacrifices, may we obtain the same, O Rudra, under thy
+guidance. O bounteous Rudra, may we by sacrifice obtain the good-will of
+thee, the ruler of heroes; come to our clans, well-disposed, and, with
+unarmed men, we shall offer our libation to thee. We call down for our
+help the fierce Rudra, who fulfils our sacrifice, the swift, the wise;
+may he drive far away from us the anger of the gods; we desire his
+good-will only. We call down with worship the red boar of the sky, the
+god with braided hair, the blazing form; may he who carries in his hand
+the best medicines grant us protection, shield, and shelter! This speech
+is spoken for the father of the Maruts, sweeter than sweet, a joy to
+Rudra; grant to us also, O immortal, the food of mortals, be gracious to
+us and to our kith and kin! Do not slay our great or our small ones, our
+growing or our grown ones, our father or our mother, and do not hurt our
+own bodies, O Rudra! O Rudra, hurt us not in our kith and kin, nor in
+our own life, not in our cows, nor in our horses! Do not slay our men in
+thy wrath: carrying libations, we call on thee always. Like a shepherd,
+I have driven these praises near to thee; O father of the Maruts, grant
+us thy favor! For thy good-will is auspicious, and most gracious, hence
+we desire thy protection alone. Let thy cow-slaying and thy man-slaying
+be far away, and let thy favor be with us, O ruler of heroes! Be
+gracious to us, and bless us, O god, and then give us twofold
+protection. We have uttered our supplication to him, desiring his help;
+may Rudra with the Maruts hear our call. May Mitra, Varuna, Aditi, the
+River, Earth, and the Sky, grant us this!
+
+
+[Footnote 6: Rudra is the "Father of the Maruts."]
+
+
+
+TO RUDRA
+
+
+O father of the Maruts, let thy favor come near, and do not deprive us
+of the sight of the sun; may the hero (Rudra) be gracious to our horse,
+and may we increase in offspring, O Rudra! May I attain to a hundred
+winters through the most blissful medicines which thou hast given! Put
+away far from us all hatred, put away anguish, put away sickness in all
+directions! In beauty thou art the most beautiful of all that exists, O
+Rudra, the strongest of the strong, thou wielder of the thunderbolt!
+Carry us happily to the other shore of our anguish, and ward off all
+assaults of mischief. Let us not incense thee, O Rudra, by our worship,
+not by bad praise, O hero, and not by divided praise! Raise up our men
+by thy medicines, for I hear thou art the best of all physicians. He who
+is invoked by invocations and libations, may I pay off that Rudra with
+my hymns of praise. Let not him who is kind-hearted, who readily hears
+our call, the tawny, with beautiful cheeks, deliver us to this wrath!
+The manly hero with the Maruts has gladdened me, the suppliant, with
+more vigorous health. May I without mischief find shade, as if from
+sunshine, may I gain the favor of Rudra! O Rudra, where is thy softly
+stroking hand which cures and relieves? Thou, the remover of all
+heaven-sent mischief, wilt thou, O strong hero, bear with me? I send
+forth a great, great hymn of praise to the bright tawny bull. Let me
+reverence the fiery god with prostrations; we celebrate the flaring name
+of Rudra. He, the fierce god, with strong limbs, assuming many forms,
+the tawny Rudra, decked himself with brilliant golden ornaments. From
+Rudra, who is lord of this wide world, divine power will never depart.
+Worthily thou bearest arrows and bow, worthily, O worshipful, the
+golden, variegated chain; worthily thou cuttest every fiend here to
+pieces, for there is nothing indeed stronger than thou, O Rudra. Praise
+him, the famous, sitting in his chariot, the youthful, who is fierce and
+attacks like a terrible lion. And when thou hast been praised, O Rudra,
+be gracious to him who magnifies thee, and let thy armies mow down
+others than us! O Rudra, a boy indeed makes obeisance to his father who
+comes to greet him: I praise the lord of brave men, the giver of many
+gifts, and thou, when thou hast been praised, wilt give us thy
+medicines. O Maruts, those pure medicines of yours, the most beneficent
+and delightful, O heroes, those which Manu, our father, chose, those I
+crave from Rudra, as health and wealth. May the weapon of Rudra avoid
+us, may the great anger of the flaring one pass us by. Unstring thy
+strong bows for the sake of our liberal lords, O bounteous Rudra, be
+gracious to our kith and kin. Thus, O tawny and manly god, showing
+thyself, so as neither to be angry nor to kill, be mindful of our
+invocations, and, rich in brave sons, we shall magnify thee in the
+congregation.
+
+
+
+TO AGNI AND THE MARUTS
+
+
+I implore Agni, the gracious, with salutations, may he sit down here,
+and gather what we have made. I offer him sacrifice as with racing
+chariots; may I, turning to the right, accomplish this hymn to the
+Maruts. Those who approached on their glorious deer, on their easy
+chariots, the Rudras, the Maruts--through fear of you, ye terrible ones,
+the forests even bend down, the earth shakes, and also the mountain
+cloud. At your shouting, even the mountain cloud, grown large, fears,
+and the ridge of heaven trembles. When you play together, O Maruts,
+armed with spears, you run together like waters. Like rich suitors the
+Maruts have themselves adorned their bodies with golden ornaments; more
+glorious for glory, and powerful on their chariots, they have brought
+together splendors on their bodies. As brothers, no one being the eldest
+or the youngest, they have grown up together to happiness. Young is
+their clever father Rudra, flowing with plenty is Prisni, always kind to
+the Maruts. O happy Maruts, whether you are in the highest, or in the
+middle, or in the lowest heaven, from thence, O Rudras, or thou also, O
+Agni, take notice of this libation which we offer. When Agni, and you,
+wealthy Maruts, drive down from the higher heaven over the ridges, give
+then, if pleased, you roarers, O destroyers of enemies, wealth to the
+sacrificer who prepares Soma-juice. Agni, be pleased to drink Soma with
+the brilliant Maruts, the singers, approaching in companies, with the
+men, who brighten and enliven everything; do this, Agni, thou who art
+always endowed with splendor.
+
+
+
+TO VÂYU
+
+
+Come hither, O Vâyu, thou beautiful one! These Somas are ready, drink of
+them, hear our call! O Vâyu, the praisers celebrate thee with hymns,
+they who know the feast-days, and have prepared the Soma. O Vâyu, thy
+satisfying stream goes to the worshipper, wide-reaching, to the
+Soma-draught. O Indra and Vâyu, these libations of Soma are poured out;
+come hither for the sake of our offerings, for the drops of Soma long
+for you. O Indra and Vâyu, you perceive the libations, you who are rich
+in booty; come then quickly hither! O Vâyu and Indra, come near to the
+work of the sacrificer, quick, thus is my prayer, O ye men! I call
+Mitra, endowed with holy strength, and Varuna, who destroys all enemies;
+who both fulfil a prayer accompanied by fat offerings. On the right way,
+O Mitra and Varuna, you have obtained great wisdom, you who increase the
+right and adhere to the right; These two sages, Mitra and Varuna, the
+mighty, wide-ruling, give us efficient strength.
+
+
+
+TO VÂYU
+
+
+O Vâyu, may the quick racers bring thee towards the offerings, to the
+early drink here, to the early drink of Soma! May the Dawn stand erect,
+approving thy mind! Come near on thy harnessed chariot to share, O Vâyu,
+to share in the sacrifice! May the delightful drops of Soma delight
+thee, the drops made by us, well-made, and heaven-directed, yes, made
+with milk, and heaven-directed. When his performed aids assume strength
+for achievement, our prayers implore the assembled steeds for gifts,
+yes, the prayers implore them. Vâyu yokes the two ruddy, Vâyu yokes the
+two red horses, Vâyu yokes to the chariot the two swift horses to draw
+in the yoke, the strongest to draw in the yoke. Awake Purandhi (the
+morning) as a lover wakes a sleeping maid, reveal heaven and earth,
+brighten the dawn, yes, for glory brighten the dawn. For thee the bright
+dawns spread out in the distance beautiful garments, in their houses, in
+their rays, beautiful in their new rays. To thee the juice-yielding cow
+pours out all treasures. Thou hast brought forth the Maruts from the
+flanks, yes, from the flanks of heaven. For thee the white, bright,
+rushing Somas, strong in raptures, have rushed to the whirl, they have
+rushed to the whirl of the waters. The tired hunter asks luck of thee in
+the chase; thou shieldest by thy power from every being, yes, thou
+shieldest by thy power from powerful spirits. Thou, O Vâyu, art worthy
+as the first before all others to drink these our Somas, thou art worthy
+to drink these poured-out Somas. Among the people also who invoke thee
+and have turned to thee, all the cows pour out the milk, they pour out
+butter and milk for the Soma.
+
+
+
+INDRA AND AGASTYA[7]: A DIALOGUE
+
+
+Indra: There is no such thing to-day, nor will it be so to-morrow. Who
+knows what strange thing this is? We must consult the thought of
+another, for even what we once knew seems to vanish.
+
+Agastya: Why dost thou wish to kill us, O Indra? the Maruts are thy
+brothers; fare kindly with them, and do not strike us in battle.
+
+The Maruts: O Brother Agastya, why, being a friend, dost thou despise
+us? We know quite well what thy mind was. Dost thou not wish to give to
+us?
+
+Agastya: Let them prepare the altar, let them light the fire in front!
+Here we two will spread for thee the sacrifice, to be seen by the
+immortal.
+
+Agastya: Thou rulest, O lord of treasures; thou, lord of friends, art
+the most generous. Indra, speak again with the Maruts, and then consume
+our offerings at the right season.
+
+
+[Footnote 7: Agastya is a worshipper of Indra.]
+
+
+
+TO SOMA AND RUDRA
+
+
+Soma and Rudra, may you maintain your divine dominion, and may the
+oblations reach you properly. Bringing the seven treasures to every
+house, be kind to our children and our cattle. Soma and Rudra, draw far
+away in every direction the disease which has entered our house. Drive
+far away Nirriti, and may auspicious glories belong to us! Soma and
+Rudra, bestow all these remedies on our bodies. Tear away and remove
+from us whatever evil we have committed, which clings to our bodies.
+Soma and Rudra, wielding sharp weapons and sharp bolts, kind friends, be
+gracious unto us here! Deliver us from the snare of Varuna, and guard
+us, as kind-hearted gods!
+
+
+
+TO RUDRA
+
+
+Offer ye these songs to Rudra whose bow is strong, whose arrows are
+swift, the self-dependent god, the unconquered conqueror, the
+intelligent, whose weapons are sharp--may he hear us! For, being the
+lord, he looks after what is born on earth; being the universal ruler,
+he looks after what is born in heaven. Protecting us, come to our
+protecting doors, be without illness among our people, O Rudra! May that
+thunderbolt of thine, which, sent from heaven, traverses the earth, pass
+us by! A thousand medicines are thine, O thou who art freely accessible;
+do not hurt us through our kith and kin! Do not strike us, O Rudra, do
+not forsake us! May we not be in thy way when thou rushest forth
+furiously. Let us have our altar and a good report among men--protect us
+always with your favors!
+
+
+
+TO VÂTA
+
+
+Now for the greatness of the chariot of Vâta. Its roar goes crashing and
+thundering. It moves touching the sky, and creating red sheens, or it
+goes scattering the dust of the earth. Afterwards there rise the gusts
+of Vâta, they go towards him, like women to a feast. The god goes with
+them on the same chariot, he, the king of the whole of this world. When
+he moves on his paths along the sky, he rests not even a single day; the
+friend of the waters, the first-born, the holy, where was he born,
+whence did he spring? The breath of the gods, the germ of the world,
+that god moves wherever he listeth; his roars indeed are heard, not his
+form--let us offer sacrifice to that Vâta!
+
+
+
+TO VÂTA
+
+
+May Vâta waft medicine, healthful, delightful to our heart; may he
+prolong our lives! Thou, O Vâta, art our father, and our brother, and
+our friend; do thou grant us to live! O Vâta, from that treasure of the
+immortal which is placed in thy house yonder, give us to live!
+
+I
+
+I magnify Agni, the Purohita, the divine ministrant of the sacrifice,
+the Hotri priest, the greatest bestower of treasures. Agni, worthy to be
+magnified by the ancient Rishis and by the present ones--may he conduct
+the gods hither. May one obtain through Agni wealth and welfare day by
+day, which may bring glory and high bliss of valiant offspring. Agni,
+whatever sacrifice and worship thou encompassest on every side, that
+indeed goes to the gods. May Agni the thoughtful Hotri, he who is true
+and most splendidly renowned, may the god come hither with the gods.
+Whatever good thou wilt do to thy worshipper, O Agni, that work verily
+is thine, O Angiras. Thee, O Agni, we approach day by day, O god who
+shinest in the darkness; with our prayer, bringing adoration to thee who
+art the king of all worship, the guardian of Rita, the shining one,
+increasing in thy own house. Thus, O Agni, be easy of access to us, as a
+father is to his son. Stay with us for our happiness.
+
+II
+
+We implore with well-spoken words the vigorous Agni who belongs to many
+people, to the clans that worship the gods, whom other people also
+magnify. Men have placed Agni on the altar as the augmenter of strength.
+May we worship thee, rich in sacrificial food. Thus be thou here to-day
+gracious to us, a helper in our striving for gain, O good one! We choose
+thee, the all-possessor, as our messenger and as our Hotri. The flames
+of thee, who art great, spread around; thy rays touch the heaven. The
+gods, Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman, kindle thee, the ancient messenger. The
+mortal, O Agni, who worships thee, gains through thee every prize. Thou
+art the cheerful Hotri and householder, O Agni, the messenger of the
+clans. In thee all the firm laws are comprised which the gods have made.
+In thee, the blessed one, O Agni, youngest god, all sacrificial food is
+offered. Sacrifice then thou who art gracious to us to-day and
+afterwards, to the gods that we may be rich in valiant men. Him, the
+king, verily the adorers approach reverentially. With oblations men
+kindle Agni, having overcome all failures. Destroying the foe, they
+victoriously got through Heaven and Earth and the waters; they have made
+wide room for their dwelling. May the manly Agni, after he has received
+the oblations, become brilliant at the side of Kanva; may he neigh as a
+horse in battles. Take thy seat; thou art great. Shine forth, thou who
+most excellently repairest to the gods. O Agni, holy god, emit thy red,
+beautiful smoke, O glorious one! Thou whom the gods have placed here for
+Manu as the best performer of the sacrifice, O carrier of oblations,
+whom Kanva and Medhyâtithi, whom Vrishan and Upastuta have worshipped,
+the winner of prizes. That Agni's nourishment has shone brightly whom
+Medhyâtithi and Kanva have kindled on behalf of Rita. Him do these
+hymns, him do we extol. Fill us with wealth, thou self-dependent one,
+for thou, O Agni, hast companionship with the gods. Thou art lord over
+glorious booty. Have mercy upon us; thou art great. Stand up straight
+for blessing us, like the god Savitri, straight a winner of booty, when
+we with our worshippers and with ointments call thee in emulation with
+other people. Standing straight, protect us by thy splendor from evil;
+burn down every ghoul. Let us stand straight that we may walk and live.
+Find out our worship among the gods. Save us, O Agni, from the sorcerer,
+save us from mischief, from the niggard. Save us from him who does us
+harm or tries to kill us, O youngest god with bright splendor! As with a
+club smite the niggards in all directions, and him who deceives us, O
+god with fiery jaws. The mortal who makes his weapons very sharp by
+night, may that impostor not rule over us. Agni has won abundance in
+heroes. Agni and the two Mitras have blessed Medhyâtithi. Agni has
+blessed Upastuta in the acquirement of wealth. Through Agni we call
+hither from afar Turvasa, Yadu, and Ugradeva. May Agni, our strength
+against the Dasyu, conduct hither Navavâstva, Brihadratha, and Turvîti.
+
+Manu has established thee, O Agni, as a light for all people. Thou hast
+shone forth with Kanva, born from Rita, grown strong, thou whom the
+human races worship. Agni's flames are impetuous and violent; they are
+terrible and not to be withstood. Always burn down the sorcerers, and
+the allies of the Yâtus, every ghoul.
+
+III
+
+We choose Agni as our messenger, the all-possessor, as the Hotri of this
+sacrifice, the highly wise. Agni and Agni! again they constantly invoked
+with their invocations, the lord of the clans, the bearer of oblations,
+the beloved of many. Agni, when born, conduct the gods hither for him
+who has strewn the sacrificial grass; thou art our Hotri, worthy of
+being magnified. Awaken them, the willing ones, when thou goest as
+messenger, O Agni. Sit down with the gods on the Barhis. O thou to whom
+Ghrita oblations are poured out, resplendent god, burn against the
+mischievous, O Agni, against the sorcerers. By Agni Agni is kindled, the
+sage, the master of the house, the young one, the bearer of oblations,
+whose mouth is the sacrificial spoon. Praise Agni the sage, whose
+ordinances for the sacrifice are true, the god who drives away sickness.
+Be the protector, O Agni, of a master of sacrificial food who worships
+thee, O god, as his messenger. Be merciful, O purifier, unto the man who
+is rich in sacrificial food, and who invites Agni to the feast of the
+gods. Thus, O Agni, resplendent purifier, conduct the gods hither to us,
+to our sacrifice and to our food. Thus praised by us with our new
+Gâyatra hymn, bring us wealth of valiant men and food. Agni with thy
+bright splendor be pleased, through all our invocations of the gods,
+with this our praise.
+
+IV
+
+With reverence I shall worship thee who art long-tailed like a horse,
+Agni, king of worship. May he, our son of strength, proceeding on his
+broad way, the propitious, become bountiful to us. Thus protect us
+always, thou who hast a full life, from the mortal who seeks to do us
+harm, whether near or afar. And mayest thou, O Agni, announce to the
+gods this our newest efficient Gâyatra song. Let us partake of all booty
+that is highest and that is middle; help us to the wealth that is
+nearest. O god with bright splendor, thou art the distributor. Thou
+instantly flowest for the liberal giver in the wave of the river, near
+at hand. The mortal, O Agni, whom thou protectest in battles, whom thou
+speedest in the races, he will command constant nourishment: Whosoever
+he may be, no one will overtake him, O conqueror Agni! His strength is
+glorious. May he, known among all tribes, win the race with his horses;
+may he with the help of his priests become a gainer. O Garâbodha!
+Accomplish this task for every house: a beautiful song of praise for
+worshipful Rudra. May he, the great, the immeasurable, the
+smoke-bannered, rich in splendor, incite us to pious thoughts and to
+strength. May he hear us, like the rich lord of a clan, the banner of
+the gods, on behalf of our hymns, Agni with bright light. Reverence to
+the great ones, reverence to the lesser ones! Reverence to the young,
+reverence to the old! Let us sacrifice to the gods, if we can. May I
+not, O gods, fall as a victim to the curse of my better.
+
+V
+
+I press on for you with my prayer to the all-possessing messenger, the
+immortal bearer of offerings, the best sacrificer. He, the great one,
+knows indeed the place of wealth, the ascent to heaven; may he conduct
+the gods hither. He, the god, knows how to direct the gods for the
+righteous worshipper, in his house. He gives us wealth dear to us. He is
+the Hotri; he who knows the office of a messenger, goes to and fro,
+knowing the ascent to heaven. May we be of those who have worshipped
+Agni with the gift of offerings, who cause him to thrive and kindle him.
+The men who have brought worship to Agni, are renowned as successful by
+wealth and by powerful offspring. May much-desired wealth come to us day
+by day; may gains arise among us. He, the priest of the tribes, the
+priest of men, pierces all hostile powers by his might as with a tossing
+bow.
+
+VI
+
+He has brought down the wisdom of many a worshipper, he who holds in his
+hand all manly power. Agni has become the lord of treasures, he who
+brought together all powers of immortality. All the clever immortals
+when seeking did not find the calf though sojourning round about us. The
+attentive gods, wearying themselves, following his footsteps, stood at
+the highest, beautiful standing-place of Agni. When the bright ones had
+done service to thee, the bright one, Agni, with Ghrita through three
+autumns, they assumed worshipful names; the well-born shaped their own
+bodies. Acquiring for themselves the two great worlds, the worshipful
+ones brought forward their Rudra-like powers. The mortal, when beings
+were in discord, perceived and found out Agni standing in the highest
+place. Being like-minded they reverentially approached him on their
+knees. Together with their wives they venerated the venerable one.
+Abandoning their bodies they made them their own, the one friend waking
+when the other friend closed his eyes. When the worshipful gods have
+discovered the thrice seven secret steps laid down in thee, they
+concordantly guard with them immortality. Protect thou the cattle and
+that which remains steadfast and that which moves. Knowing, O Agni, the
+established orders of human dwellings, distribute in due order gifts
+that they may live. Knowing the ways which the gods do, thou hast become
+the unwearied messenger, the bearer of oblations. They who knew the
+right way and were filled with good intentions, beheld from heaven the
+seven young rivers and the doors of riches. Saramâ found the strong
+stable of the cows from which human clans receive their nourishment. The
+Earth has spread herself far and wide with them who are great in their
+greatness, the mother Aditi, for the refreshment of the bird, with her
+sons who have assumed all powers of their own dominion, preparing for
+themselves the way to immortality. When the immortals created the two
+eyes of heaven, they placed fair splendor in him. Then they rush down
+like streams let loose. The red ones have recognized, O Agni, those
+which are directed downwards.
+
+VII
+
+Forward goes your strength tending heavenward, rich in offerings, with
+the ladle full of ghee. To the gods goes the worshipper desirous of
+their favor. I magnify with prayer Agni who has knowledge of prayers,
+the accomplisher of sacrifice, who hears us, and in whom manifold wealth
+has been laid down. O Agni, may we be able to bridle thee the strong
+god; may we overcome all hostile powers. Agni, inflamed at the
+sacrifice, the purifier who should be magnified, whose hair is
+flame--him we approach with prayers. With his broad stream of light the
+immortal Agni, clothed in ghee, well served with oblations, is the
+carrier of offerings at the sacrifice. Holding the sacrificial ladles,
+performing the sacrifice they have with right thought, pressingly
+brought Agni hither for help. The Hotri, the immortal god goes in front
+with his secret power, instigating the sacrifices. The strong is set at
+the races. He is led forth at the sacrifices, the priest, the
+accomplisher of sacrifice. He has been produced by prayer, the excellent
+one. I have established him, the germ of beings, forever the father of
+Daksha. I have laid thee down, the excellent one, with the nourishment
+of Daksha, O thou who art produced by power, O Agni, thee the
+resplendent one, O Usig. The priests, eager to set to work the Rita,
+kindle with quick strength Agni the governor, him who crosses the
+waters. I magnify the child of vigor at this sacrifice, who shines under
+the heaven, the thoughtful Agni. He who should be magnified and adored,
+who is visible through the darkness, Agni, the manly, is kindled. Agni,
+the manly, is kindled, he who draws hither the gods like a horse. The
+worshippers rich in offerings magnify him. We the manly ones will kindle
+thee the manly god, O manly Agni, who shinest mightily.
+
+VIII
+
+Produce thy stream of flames like a broad onslaught. Go forth impetuous
+like a king with his elephant, thou art an archer; shoot the sorcerers
+with thy hottest arrows. Thy whirls fly quickly. Fiercely flaming touch
+them. O Agni, send forth with the ladle thy heat, thy winged flames;
+send forth unfettered thy firebrands all around. Being the quickest,
+send forth thy spies against all evildoers. Be an undeceivable guardian
+of this clan. He who attacks us with evil spells, far or near, may no
+such foe defy thy track. Rise up, O Agni! Spread out against all foes!
+Burn down the foes, O god with the sharp weapon! When kindled, O Agni,
+burn down like dry brushwood, the man who exercises malice against us.
+Stand upright, strike the foes away from us! Make manifest thy divine
+powers, O Agni! Unbend the strong bows of those who incite demons
+against us. Crush all enemies, be they relations or strangers. He knows
+thy favor, O youngest one, who makes a way for a sacred speech like
+this. Mayest thou beam forth to his doors all auspicious days and the
+wealth and the splendor of the niggard. Let him, O Agni, be fortunate
+and blessed with good rain, who longs to gladden thee with constant
+offerings and hymns through his life in his house. May such longing ever
+bring auspicious days to him. I praise thy favor; it resounded here. May
+this song, which is like a favorite wife, awaken for thee. Let us
+brighten thee, being rich in horses and chariots. Mayest thou maintain
+our knightly power day by day. May the worshipper here frequently of his
+own accord approach thee, O god who shinest in darkness, resplendent day
+by day. Let us worship thee sporting and joyous, surpassing the splendor
+of other people. Whoever, rich in horses and rich in gold, approaches
+thee, O Agni, with his chariot full of wealth--thou art the protector
+and the friend of him who always delights in showing thee hospitality.
+Through my kinship with thee I break down the great foes by my words.
+That kinship has come down to me from my father Gotama. Be thou
+attentive to this our word, O youngest, highly wise Hotri, as the friend
+of our house. May those guardians of thine, infallible Agni, sitting
+down together protect us, the never sleeping, onward-pressing, kind,
+unwearied ones, who keep off the wolf, who never tire. Thy guardians, O
+Agni, who seeing have saved the blind son of Mamatâ from distress--He
+the possessor of all wealth has saved them who have done good deeds. The
+impostors, though trying to deceive, could not deceive. In thy
+companionship we dwell, protected by thee. Under thy guidance let us
+acquire gain. Accomplish both praises, O thou who art the truth! Do so
+by thy present power, O fearless one! May we worship thee, O Agni, with
+this log of wood. Accept the hymn of praise which we recite. Burn down
+those who curse us, the sorcerers. Protect us, O god who art great like
+Mitra, from guile, from revilement, and from disgrace.
+
+IX
+
+Bright, flaming, like the lover of the Dawn,[8] he has, like the light
+of the sky, filled the two worlds of Heaven and Earth which are turned
+towards each other. As soon as thou wert born thou hast excelled by thy
+power of mind; being the son of the gods thou hast become their father.
+Agni is a worshipper of the gods, never foolish, always discriminating;
+he is like the udder of the cows; he is the sweetness of food. Like a
+kind friend to men, not to be led astray, sitting in the midst, the
+lovely one, in the house; like a child when born, he is delightful in
+the house; like a race-horse which is well cared for, he has wandered
+across the clans. When I call to the sacrifice the clans who dwell in
+the same nest with the heroes, may Agni then attain all divine powers.
+When thou hast listened to these heroes, no one breaks those laws of
+thine. That verily is thy wonderful deed that thou hast killed, with thy
+companions, all foes; that, joined by the heroes, thou hast accomplished
+thy works. Like the lover of the Dawn, resplendent and bright, of
+familiar form: may he thus pay attention to this sacrificer. Carrying
+him they opened by themselves the doors of heaven. They all shouted at
+the aspect of the sun.
+
+X
+
+Like unto excellent wealth, like unto the shine of the sun, like unto
+living breath, like unto one's own son, like unto a quick takvan Agni
+holds the wood, like milk, like a milch cow, bright and shining. He
+holds safety, pleasant like a homestead, like ripe barley, a conqueror
+of men; like a Rishi uttering sacred shouts, praised among the clans;
+like a well-cared-for race-horse, Agni bestows vigor. He to whose flame
+men do not grow accustomed, who is like one's own mind, like a wife on a
+couch, enough for all happiness. When the bright Agni has shone forth,
+he is like a white horse among people, like a chariot with golden
+ornaments, impetuous in fights. Like an army which is sent forward he
+shows his vehemence, like an archer's shaft with sharp point. He who is
+born is one twin; he who will be born is the other twin--the lover of
+maidens, the husband of wives. As cows go to their stalls, all that
+moves and we, for the sake of a dwelling, reach him who has been
+kindled. Like the flood of the Sindhu he has driven forward the
+downward-flowing waters. The cows lowed at the sight of the sun.
+
+XI
+
+The Hotri goes forward in order to fulfil his duty by his wonderful
+power, directing upwards the brightly adorned prayer. He steps towards
+the sacrificial ladles which are turned to the right, and which first
+kiss his foundation. They have greeted with shouts the streams of Rita
+which were hidden at the birthplace of the god, at his seat. When He
+dwelt dispersed in the lap of the waters, he drank the draughts by the
+power of which he moves. Two beings of the same age try to draw that
+wonderful shape towards themselves, progressing in turns towards a
+common aim. Then he is to be proclaimed by us like a winner in a
+contest. The charioteer governs all things as if pulling in the reins of
+a draught-horse. He whom two beings of the same age serve, two twins
+dwelling together in one common abode, the gray one has been born as a
+youth by night as by day, the ageless one who wanders through many
+generations of men. The prayers, the ten fingers stir him up. We, the
+mortals, call him, the god, for his protection. From the dry land he
+hastens to the declivities. With those who approached him he has
+established new rules. Thou indeed, O Agni, reignest by thy own nature
+over the heavenly and over the terrestrial world as a shepherd takes
+care of his cattle. These two variegated, great goddesses striving for
+gloriousness, the golden ones who move crookedly, have approached thy
+sacrificial grass. Agni! Be gratified and accept graciously this prayer,
+O joy-giver, independent one, who art born in the Rita, good-willed one,
+whose face is turned towards us from all sides, conspicuous one, gay in
+thy aspect, like a dwelling-place rich in food.
+
+
+[Footnote 8: The sun.]
+
+
+
+
+SELECTIONS FROM THE ZEND-AVESTA
+
+Translation by James Darmestetter
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+The study of religion, like the study of poetry, brings us face to face
+with the fundamental principles of human nature. Religion, whether it be
+natural religion or that which is formulated in a book, is as universal
+as poetry, and like poetry, existed before letters and writing. It is
+only in a serious and sympathetic frame of mind that we should approach
+the rudest forms of these two departments of human activity. A general
+analysis of the "Zend-Avesta" suggests to us the mind of the Persian
+sage Zarathustra, or Zoroaster, fixed upon the phenomena of nature and
+life, and trying to give a systematized account of them. He sees good
+and evil, life and death, sickness and health, right and wrong, engaged
+in almost equal conflict. He sees in the sun the origin of light and
+heat, the source of comfort and life to man. Thus he institutes the
+doctrine of Dualism and the worship of Fire. The evil things that come
+unexpectedly and irresistibly, he attributes to the Devas: the help and
+comfort that man needs and often obtains by means which are beyond his
+control, he attributes to the "Holy Immortal Ones," who stand around the
+Presence of Ormuzd. As he watches the purity of the flame, of the limpid
+stream, and of the sweet smelling ground, he connects it with the moral
+purity which springs from innocence and rectitude, and in his code it is
+as reprehensible to pollute the fire by burning the dead, or the stream
+by committing the corpse to its waves, or the earth by making it a
+burial-place, as it is to cheat or lie or commit an act of violence. The
+wonders of Nature furnish abundant imagery for his hymns or his
+litanies, and he relies for his cosmogony on the faint traditions of the
+past gathered from whatever nation, and reduced into conformity with his
+Dualistic creed.
+
+"Zend-Avesta" is the religious book of the Persians who professed the
+creed of Zarathustra, known in classic and modern times as Zoroaster.
+Zoroaster is to be classed with such great religious leaders as Buddha
+and Mohammed. He was the predecessor of Mohammed and the worship and
+belief which he instituted were trampled out in Persia by the forces of
+Islam in the seventh century of our era. The Persian Zoroastrians fled
+to India, where they are still found as Parsis on the west coast of
+Hindostan. The religion of Zoroaster was a Dualism. Two powerful and
+creative beings, the one good the one evil, have control of the
+universe. Thus, in the account of the creation, the two deities are said
+to have equal though opposite share in the work. This is indicated by
+the following passage--
+
+    The third of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda
+    (Ormuzd) created, was the strong, holy Môuru (Merv).
+
+    Thereupon came Angra Mainyu (Ahriman), who is all death, and he
+    counter-created plunder and sin.
+
+This constant struggle of the two divinities with their armies of good
+and bad spirits formed the background of Zoroastrian supernaturalism.
+The worship of the Persians was the worship of the powers of Nature, and
+especially of fire, although water, earth, and air, are also addressed
+in the litanies of the "Zend-Avesta." The down-falling water and the
+uprising mist are thus spoken of in one passage:--
+
+    As the sea (Vouru-kasha) is the gathering place of the waters,
+    rising up and going down, up the aërial way and down the earth,
+    down the earth and up the aërial way: thus rise up and roll
+    along! thou in whose rising and growing Ahura Mazda made the
+    aërial way.
+
+The sun is also invoked:--
+
+    Up! rise up and roll along! thou swift-horsed Sun, above Hara
+    Berezaiti, and produce light for the world.
+
+The earth was considered to be polluted by the burial of the dead, who
+are to be exposed in high places to be devoured by the birds of the air
+and swept away by the streams into which the rain should wash their
+remains. But the principal subjects of Zoroaster's teaching was the
+struggle between Ormuzd and Ahriman and their hosts "The Holy Immortal
+Ones" and the Devas, or evil spirits. This is the basis of all the
+activities of the world and, according to Zoroaster, is to result in a
+triumph of the good.
+
+Zoroaster taught that the life of man has two parts, that on earth and
+that beyond the grave. After his earthly life each one should be
+punished or rewarded according to his deeds.
+
+The "Zend-Avesta" cannot be dated earlier than the first century before
+our era. It consists of four books, of which the chief one is the
+Vendîdâd; the other three are the liturgical and devotional works,
+consisting of hymns, litanies, and songs of praise, addressed to the
+Deities and angels of Goodness.
+
+The Vendîdâd contains an account of the creation and counter-creation of
+Ormuzd and Ahriman, the author of the good things and of the evil things
+in the world. After this follows what we may call a history of the
+beginnings of civilization under Yima, the Persian Noah. The revelation
+is described as being made directly to Zoroaster, who, like Moses,
+talked with God. Thus, in the second fargard, or chapter, we read:--
+
+    Zarathustra (Zoroaster) asked Ahura Mazda (Ormuzd):--
+
+    "O Ahura Mazda (Ormuzd), most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the
+    material world, thou Holy One! Who was the first mortal, before
+    myself, Zarathustra, with whom thou, Ahura Mazda, didst
+    converse, whom thou didst teach the religion of Ahura, the
+    Religion of Zarathustra?"
+
+    Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+    "The fair Yima, the good shepherd, O holy Zarathustra! he was
+    the first mortal before thee, Zarathustra, with whom I, Ahura
+    Mazda, did converse, whom I taught the Religion of Ahura, the
+    Religion of Zarathustra. Unto him, O Zarathustra, I, Ahura
+    Mazda, spake, saying: 'Well, fair Yima, son of Vîvanghat, be
+    thou the Preacher and the bearer of my Religion!' And the fair
+    Yima, O Zarathustra, replied unto me, saying: 'I was not born, I
+    was not taught to be the preacher and the bearer of thy
+    Religion.'"
+
+The rest of the Vendîdâd is taken up with the praises of agriculture,
+injunctions as to the care and pity due to the dog, the guardian of the
+home and flock, the hunter and the scavenger. It includes an elaborate
+code of ceremonial purification, resembling on this point the Leviticus
+of the Bible, and it prescribes also the gradations of penance for sins
+of various degrees of heinousness.
+
+E.W.
+
+
+
+DISCOVERY OF THE ZEND-AVESTA
+
+
+The "Zend-Avesta" is the sacred book of the Parsis; that is to say, of
+the few remaining followers of that religion which reigned over Persia
+at the time when the second successor of Mohammed overthrew the
+Sassanian dynasty (A.D. 642), and which has been called Dualism, or
+Mazdeism, or Magism, or Zoroastrianism, or Fire-worship, according as
+its main tenet, or its supreme God, or its priests, or its supposed
+founder, or its apparent object of worship has been most kept in view.
+In less than a century after their defeat, most of the conquered people
+were brought over to the faith of their new rulers, either by force, or
+policy, or the attractive power of a simpler form of creed. But many of
+those who clung to the faith of their fathers, went and sought abroad
+for a new home, where they might freely worship their old gods, say
+their old prayers, and perform their old rites. That home they found at
+last among the tolerant Hindoos, on the western coast of India and in
+the peninsula of Guzerat. There they throve and there they live still,
+while the ranks of their co-religionists in Persia are daily thinning
+and dwindling away.[9]
+
+As the Parsis are the ruins of a people, so are their sacred books the
+ruins of a religion. There has been no other great belief in the world
+that ever left such poor and meagre monuments of its past splendor. Yet
+great is the value which that small book, the "Avesta," and the belief
+of that scanty people, the Parsis, have in the eyes of the historian and
+theologian, as they present to us the last reflex of the ideas which
+prevailed in Iran during the five centuries which preceded and the seven
+which followed the birth of Christ, a period which gave to the world the
+Gospels, the Talmud, and the Qur'ân. Persia, it is known, had much
+influence on each of the movements which produced, or proceeded from,
+those three books; she lent much to the first heresiarchs, much to the
+Rabbis, much to Mohammed. By help of the Parsi religion and the
+"Avesta," we are enabled to go back to the very heart of that most
+momentous period in the history of religious thought, which saw the
+blending of the Aryan mind with the Semitic, and thus opened the second
+stage of Aryan thought.
+
+Inquiries into the religion of ancient Persia began long ago, and it was
+the old enemy of Persia, the Greek, who first studied it. Aristotle,
+Hermippus, and many others wrote of it in books of which, unfortunately,
+nothing more than a few fragments or merely the titles have come down to
+us. We find much valuable information about it, scattered in the
+accounts of historians and travellers, extending over ten centuries,
+from Herodotos down to Agathias and Procopius (from B.C. 450 to A.D.
+550). The clearest and most faithful account of the Dualist doctrine is
+found in the treatise _De Iside et Osiride_, ascribed to Plutarch. But
+Zoroastrianism was never more eagerly studied than in the first
+centuries of the Christian era, though without anything of the
+disinterested and almost scientific curiosity of the earlier times.
+Religious and philosophic sects, in search of new dogmas, eagerly
+received whatever came to them bearing the name of Zoroaster. As Xanthos
+the Lydian, who is said to have lived before Herodotos, had mentioned
+Zoroastrianism, there came to light, in those later times, scores of
+oracles, styled "Oracula Chaldaïca sive Magica," the work of
+Neo-Platonists who were but very remote disciples of the Median sage. As
+his name had become the very emblem of wisdom, they would cover with it
+the latest inventions of their ever-deepening theosophy. Zoroaster and
+Plato were treated as if they had been philosophers of the same school,
+and Hierocles expounded their doctrines in the same book. Proclus
+collected seventy Tetrads of Zoroaster and wrote commentaries on them;
+but we need hardly say that Zoroaster commented on by Proclus was
+nothing more or less than Proclus commented on by himself. Prodicus, the
+Gnostic, possessed secret books of Zoroaster; and, upon the whole, it
+may be said that in the first centuries of Christianity, the religion of
+Persia was more studied and less understood than it had ever been
+before. The real object aimed at, in studying the old religion, was to
+form a new one.
+
+Throughout the Middle Ages nothing was known of Mazdeism but the name of
+its founder, who from a Magus was converted into a magician and master
+of the hidden sciences. It was not until the Renaissance that real
+inquiry was resumed. The first step was to collect all the information
+that could be gathered from Greek and Roman writers. That task was
+undertaken and successfully completed by Barnabé Brisson. A nearer
+approach to the original source was made in the following century by
+Italian, English, and French travellers in Asia. Pietro della Valle,
+Henry Lord, Mandelslo, Ovington, Chardin, Gabriel du Chinon, and
+Tavernier, found Zoroaster's last followers in Persia and India, and
+made known their existence, their manners, and the main features of
+their belief to Europe. Gabriel du Chinon saw their books and recognized
+that they were not all written in the same language, their original holy
+writ being no longer understood except by means of translations and
+commentaries in another tongue.
+
+In the year 1700, a professor at Oxford, Thomas Hyde, the greatest
+Orientalist of his time in Europe, made the first systematic attempt to
+restore the history of the old Persian religion by combining the
+accounts of the Mohammedan writers with "the true and genuine monuments
+of ancient Persia." Unfortunately the so-called genuine monuments of
+ancient Persia were nothing more than recent Persian compilations or
+refacimenti. But notwithstanding this defect, which could hardly be
+avoided then, and a distortion of critical acumen, the book of Thomas
+Hyde was the first complete and true picture of modern Parsîism, and it
+made inquiry into its history the order of the day. A warm appeal made
+by him to the zeal of travellers, to seek for and procure at any price
+the sacred books of the Parsis, did not remain ineffectual, and from
+that time scholars bethought themselves of studying Parsîism in its own
+home.
+
+Eighteen years later, a countryman of Hyde, George Boucher, received
+from the Parsis in Surat a copy of the Vendîdâd Sâda, which was brought
+to England in 1723 by Richard Cobbe. But the old manuscript was a sealed
+book, and the most that could then be made of it was to hang it by an
+iron chain to the wall of the Bodleian Library, as a curiosity to be
+shown to foreigners. A few years later, a Scotchman, named Fraser, went
+to Surat, with the view of obtaining from the Parsis, not only their
+books, but also a knowledge of their contents. He was not very
+successful in the first undertaking, and utterly failed in the second.
+
+In 1754 a young man, twenty years old, Anquetil Duperron, a scholar of
+the _École des Langues Orientales_ in Paris, happened to see a
+fac-simile of four leaves of the Oxford Vendîdâd, which had been sent
+from England, a few years before, to Etienne Fourmont, the Orientalist.
+He determined at once to give to France both the books of Zoroaster and
+the first European translation of them. Too impatient to set off to wait
+for a mission from the government which had been promised to him, he
+enlisted as a private soldier in the service of the French East India
+Company; he embarked at Lorient on February 24, 1755, and after three
+years of endless adventures and dangers through the whole breadth of
+Hindostan, at the very time when war was waging between France and
+England, he arrived at last in Surat, where he stayed among the Parsis
+for three years more. Here began another struggle, not less hard, but
+more decisive, against the same mistrust and ill-will which had
+disheartened Fraser; but he came out of it victorious, and prevailed at
+last on the Parsis to part both with their books and their knowledge. He
+came back to Paris on March 14, 1764, and deposited on the following day
+at the _Bibliothèque Royale_ the whole of the "Zend-Avesta," and copies
+of several traditional books. He spent ten years in studying the
+material he had collected, and published in 1771 the first European
+translation of the "Zend-Avesta."
+
+A violent dispute broke out at once, as half the learned world denied
+the authenticity of this "Avesta," which it pronounced a forgery. It was
+the future founder of the Royal Asiatic Society, William Jones, a young
+Oxonian then, who opened the war. He had been wounded to the quick by
+the scornful tone adopted by Anquetil towards Hyde and a few other
+English scholars: the "Zend-Avesta" suffered for the fault of its
+introducer, Zoroaster for Anquetil. In a pamphlet written in French,
+with a _verve_ and in a style which showed him to be a good disciple of
+Voltaire, William Jones pointed out, and dwelt upon, the oddities and
+absurdities with which the so-called sacred books of Zoroaster teemed.
+It is true that Anquetil had given full scope to satire by the style he
+had adopted: he cared very little for literary elegance, and did not
+mind writing Zend and Persian in French; so the new and strange ideas he
+had to express looked stranger still in the outlandish garb he gave
+them. Yet it was less the style than the ideas that shocked the
+contemporary of Voltaire. His main argument was that books, full of such
+silly tales, of laws and rules so absurd, of descriptions of gods and
+demons so grotesque, could not be the work of a sage like Zoroaster, nor
+the code of a religion so much celebrated for its simplicity, wisdom,
+and purity. His conclusion was that the "Avesta" was a rhapsody of some
+modern Guebre. In fact, the only thing in which Jones succeeded was to
+prove in a decisive manner that the ancient Persians were not equal to
+the _lumières_ of the eighteenth century, and that the authors of the
+"Avesta" had not read the "Encyclopédie."
+
+Jones's censure was echoed in England by Sir John Chardin and
+Richardson, in Germany by Meiners. Richardson tried to give a scientific
+character to the attacks of Jones by founding them on philological
+grounds. That the "Avesta" was a fabrication of modern times was shown,
+he argued, by the number of Arabic words he fancied he found both in the
+Zend and Pahlavi dialects, as no Arabic element was introduced into the
+Persian idioms earlier than the seventh century; also by the harsh
+texture of the Zend, contrasted with the rare euphony of the Persian;
+and, lastly, by the radical difference between the Zend and Persian,
+both in words and grammar. To these objections, drawn from the form, he
+added another derived from the uncommon stupidity of the matter.
+
+In Germany, Meiners, to the charges brought against the newly-found
+books, added another of a new and unexpected kind, namely, that they
+spoke of ideas unheard of before, and made known new things. "Pray, who
+would dare ascribe to Zoroaster books in which are found numberless
+names of trees, animals, men, and demons, unknown to the ancient
+Persians; in which are invoked an incredible number of pure animals and
+other things, which, as appears from the silence of ancient writers,
+were never known, or at least never worshipped, in Persia? What Greek
+ever spoke of Hôm, of Jemshîd, and of such other personages as the
+fabricators of that rhapsody exalt with every kind of praise, as divine
+heroes?"
+
+Anquetil and the "Avesta" found an eager champion in the person of
+Kleuker, professor in the University of Riga. As soon as the French
+version of the "Avesta" appeared, he published a German translation of
+it, and also of Anquetil's historical dissertations. Then, in a series
+of dissertations of his own, he vindicated the authenticity of the Zend
+books. Anquetil had already tried to show, in a memoir on Plutarch, that
+the data of the "Avesta" fully agree with the account of the Magian
+religion given in the treatise on "Isis and Osiris." Kleuker enlarged
+the circle of comparison to the whole of ancient literature.
+
+In the field of philology, he showed, as Anquetil had already done, that
+Zend has no Arabic elements in it, and that Pahlavi itself, which is
+more modern than Zend, does not contain any Arabic, but only Semitic
+words of the Aramean dialect, which are easily accounted for by the
+close relations of Persia with Aramean lands in the time of the
+Sassanian kings. He showed, lastly, that Arabic words appear only in the
+very books which Parsi tradition itself considers modern.
+
+Another stanch upholder of the "Avesta" was the numismatologist Tychsen,
+who, having begun to read the book with a prejudice against its
+authenticity, quitted it with a conviction to the contrary. "There is
+nothing in it," he writes, "but what befits remote ages, and a man
+philosophizing in the infancy of the world. Such traces of a recent
+period as they fancy to have found in it, are either due to
+misunderstandings, or belong to its later portions. On the whole there
+is a marvellous accordance between the 'Zend-Avesta' and the accounts of
+the ancients with regard to the doctrine and institutions of Zoroaster.
+Plutarch agrees so well with the Zend books that I think no one will
+deny the close resemblance of doctrines and identity of origin. Add to
+all this the incontrovertible argument to be drawn from the language,
+the antiquity of which is established by the fact that it was necessary
+to translate a part of the Zend books into Pahlavi, a language which was
+growing obsolete as early as the time of the Sassanides. Lastly, it
+cannot be denied that Zoroaster left books which were, through
+centuries, the groundwork of the Magic religion, and which were
+preserved by the Magi, as shown by a series of documents from the time
+of Hermippus. Therefore I am unable to see why we should not trust the
+Magi of our days when they ascribe to Zoroaster those traditional books
+of their ancestors, in which nothing is found to indicate fraud or a
+modern hand."
+
+Two years afterwards, in 1793, was published in Paris a book which,
+without directly dealing with the "Avesta," was the first step taken to
+make its authenticity incontrovertible. It was the masterly memoir by
+Sylvestre de Sacy, in which the Pahlavi inscriptions of the first
+Sassanides were deciphered for the first time and in a decisive manner.
+De Sacy, in his researches, had chiefly relied on the Pahlavi lexicon
+published by Anquetil, whose work vindicated itself thus--better than by
+heaping up arguments--by promoting discoveries. The Pahlavi inscriptions
+gave the key, as is well-known, to the Persian cuneiform inscriptions,
+which were in return to put beyond all doubt the genuineness of the Zend
+language.
+
+Tychsen, in an appendix to his Commentaries, pointed to the importance
+of the new discovery: "This," he writes, "is a proof that the Pahlavi
+was used during the reign of the Sassanides, for it was from them that
+these inscriptions emanated, as it was by them--nay, by the first of
+them, Ardeshîr Bâbagân--that the doctrine of Zoroaster was revived. One
+can now understand why the Zend books were translated into Pahlavi.
+Here, too, everything agrees, and speaks loudly for their antiquity and
+genuineness."
+
+About the same time Sir William Jones, then president of the Royal
+Asiatic Society, which he had just founded, resumed in a discourse
+delivered before that society the same question he had solved in such an
+off-hand manner twenty years before. He was no longer the man to say,
+"_Sied-il à un homme né dans ce siècle de s'infatuer de fables
+indiennes?_" and although he had still a spite against Anquetil, he
+spoke of him with more reserve than in 1771. However, his judgment on
+the "Avesta" itself was not altered on the whole, although, as he
+himself declared, he had not thought it necessary to study the text. But
+a glance at the Zend glossary published by Anquetil suggested to him a
+remark which makes Sir William Jones, in spite of himself, the creator
+of the comparative grammar of Sanscrit and Zend. "When I perused the
+Zend glossary," he writes, "I was inexpressibly surprised to find that
+six or seven words in ten are pure Sanscrit, and even some of their
+inflexions formed by the rules of the Vyácaran, as yushmácam, the
+genitive plural of yushmad. Now M. Anquetil most certainly, and the
+Persian compiler most probably, had no knowledge of Sanscrit, and could
+not, therefore, have invented a list of Sanscrit words; it is,
+therefore, an authentic list of Zend words, which has been preserved in
+books or by tradition; it follows that the language of the Zend was at
+least a dialect of the Sanscrit, approaching perhaps as nearly to it as
+the Prácrit, or other popular idioms, which we know to have been spoken
+in India two thousand years ago." This conclusion, that Zend is a
+Sanscrit dialect, was incorrect, the connection assumed being too close;
+but it was a great thing that the near relationship of the two languages
+should have been brought to light.
+
+In 1798 Father Paulo de St. Barthélemy further developed Jones's remark
+in an essay on the antiquity of the Zend language. He showed its
+affinity with the Sanscrit by a list of such Zend and Sanscrit words as
+were least likely to have been borrowed, viz., those that designate the
+degrees of relationship, the limbs of the body, and the most general and
+essential ideas. Another list, intended to show, on a special topic, how
+closely connected the two languages are, contains eighteen words taken
+from the liturgic language used in India and Persia. This list was not
+very happily drawn up, as out of the eighteen instances there is not a
+single one that stands inquiry; yet it was a happy idea, and one which
+has not even yet yielded all that it promised. His conclusions were that
+in a far remote antiquity Sanscrit was spoken in Persia and Media, that
+it gave birth to the Zend language, and that the "Zend-Avesta" is
+authentic: "Were it but a recent compilation," he writes, "as Jones
+asserts, how is it that the oldest rites of the Parsis, that the old
+inscriptions of the Persians, the accounts of the Zoroastrian religion
+by the classical writers, the liturgic prayers of the Parsis, and,
+lastly, even their books do not reveal the pure Sanscrit, as written in
+the land wherein the Parsis live, but a mixed language, which is as
+different from the other dialects of India as French is from Italian?"
+This amounted, in fact, to saying that the Zend is not derived from the
+Sanscrit, but that both are derived from another and older language. The
+Carmelite had a dim notion of that truth, but, as he failed to express
+it distinctly, it was lost for years, and had to be rediscovered.
+
+The first twenty-five years of this century were void of results, but
+the old and sterile discussions as to the authenticity of the texts
+continued in England. In 1808 John Leyden regarded Zend as a Prácrit
+dialect, parallel to Pali; Pali being identical with the Magadhi dialect
+and Zend with the Sauraseni. In the eyes of Erskine, Zend was a Sanscrit
+dialect, imported from India by the founders of Mazdeism, but never
+spoken in Persia. His main argument was that Zend is not mentioned among
+the seven dialects which were current in ancient Persia according to the
+Farhang-i Jehangiri, and that Pahlavi and Persian exhibit no close
+relationship with Zend.
+
+In Germany, Meiners had found no followers. The theologians appealed to
+the "Avesta," in their polemics, and Rhode sketched the religious
+history of Persia after the translations of Anquetil.
+
+Erskine's essay provoked a decisive answer from Emmanuel Rask, one of
+the most gifted minds in the new school of philology, who had the honor
+of being a precursor of both Grimm and Burnouf. He showed that the list
+of the Jehangiri referred to an epoch later than that to which Zend must
+have belonged, and to parts of Persia different from those where it must
+have been spoken; he showed further that modern Persian is not derived
+from Zend, but from a dialect closely connected with it; and, lastly, he
+showed what was still more important, that Zend was not derived from
+Sanscrit. As to the system of its sounds, Zend approaches Persian rather
+than Sanscrit; and as to its grammatical forms, if they often remind one
+of Sanscrit, they also often remind one of Greek and Latin, and
+frequently have a special character of their own. Rask also gave the
+paradigm of three Zend nouns, belonging to different declensions, as
+well as the right pronunciation of the Zend letters, several of which
+had been incorrectly given by Anquetil. This was the first essay on Zend
+grammar, and it was a masterly one.
+
+The essay published in 1831 by Peter von Bohlen on the origin of the
+Zend language threw the matter forty years back. According to him, Zend
+is a Prácrit dialect, as it had been pronounced by Jones, Leyden, and
+Erskine. His mistake consisted in taking Anquetil's transcriptions of
+the words, which are often so incorrect as to make them look like
+corrupted forms when compared with Sanscrit. And, what was worse, he
+took the proper names in their modern Parsi forms, which often led him
+to comparisons that would have appalled Ménage. Thus Ahriman became a
+Sanscrit word ariman, which would have meant "the fiend"; yet Bohlen
+might have seen in Anquetil's work itself that Ahriman is nothing but
+the modern form of Angra Mainyu, words which hardly remind one of the
+Sanscrit ariman. Again, the angel Vohu-manô, or "good thought," was
+reduced, by means of the Parsi form Bahman, to the Sanscrit bâhumân, "a
+long-armed god."
+
+At length came Burnouf. From the time when Anquetil had published his
+translation, that is to say during seventy years, no real progress had
+been made in knowledge of the Avesta texts. The notion that Zend and
+Sanscrit are two kindred languages was the only new idea that had been
+acquired, but no practical advantage for the interpretation of the texts
+had resulted from it. Anquetil's translation was still the only guide,
+and as the doubts about the authenticity of the texts grew fainter, the
+authority of the translation became greater, the trust reposed in the
+"Avesta" being reflected on to the work of its interpreter. The Parsis
+had been the teachers of Anquetil; and who could ever understand the
+holy writ of the Parsis better than the Parsis themselves? There was no
+one who even tried to read the texts by the light of Anquetil's
+translation, to obtain a direct understanding of them.
+
+About 1825 Eugène Burnouf was engaged in a course of researches on the
+geographical extent of the Aryan languages in India. After he had
+defined the limits which divide the races speaking Aryan languages from
+the native non-brahmanical tribes in the south, he wanted to know if a
+similar boundary had ever existed in the northwest; and if it is outside
+of India that the origin of the Indian languages and civilization is to
+be sought for. He was thus led to study the languages of Persia, and,
+first of all, the oldest of them, the Zend. But as he tried to read the
+texts by help of Anquetil's translation, he was surprised to find that
+this was not the clue he had expected. He saw that two causes had misled
+Anquetil: on the one hand, his teachers, the Parsi dasturs, either knew
+little themselves or taught him imperfectly, not only the Zend, but even
+the Pahlavi intended to explain the meaning of the Zend; so that the
+tradition on which his work rested, being incorrect in itself, corrupted
+it from the very beginning; on the other hand, as Sanscrit was unknown
+to him and comparative grammar did not as yet exist, he could not supply
+the defects of tradition by their aid. Burnouf, laying aside tradition
+as found in Anquetil's translation, consulted it as found in a much
+older and purer form, in a Sanscrit translation of the Yasna made in the
+fifteenth century by the Parsi Neriosengh in accordance with the old
+Pahlavi version. The information given by Neriosengh he tested, and
+either confirmed or corrected, by a comparison of parallel passages and
+by the help of comparative grammar, which had just been founded by Bopp,
+and applied by him successfully to the explanation of Zend forms. Thus
+he succeeded in tracing the general outlines of the Zend lexicon and in
+fixing its grammatical forms, and founded the only correct method of
+interpreting the "Avesta." He also gave the first notions of a
+comparative mythology of the "Avesta" and the "Veda," by showing the
+identity of the "Vedic Yama" with the "Avesta Yima," and of Traitâna
+with Thraêtaona and Ferìdûn. Thus he made his "Commentaire sur le Yasna"
+a marvellous and unparalleled model of critical insight and steady good
+sense, equally opposed to the narrowness of mind which clings to matters
+of fact without rising to their cause and connecting them with the
+series of associated phenomena, and to the wild and uncontrolled spirit
+of comparison, which, by comparing everything, confounds everything.
+Never sacrificing either tradition to comparison or comparison to
+tradition he knew how to pass from the one to the other, and was so
+enabled both to discover facts and to explain them.
+
+At the same time the ancient Persian inscriptions at Persepolis and
+Behistun were deciphered by Burnouf in Paris, by Lassen in Bonn, and by
+Sir Henry Rawlinson in Persia. Thus was revealed the existence, at the
+time of the first Achaemenian kings, of a language closely connected
+with that of the "Avesta," and the last doubts as to the authenticity of
+the Zend books were at length removed. It would have required more than
+an ordinary amount of scepticism to look still upon the Zend as an
+artificial language, of foreign importation, without root in the land
+where it was written, and in the conscience of the people for whom it
+was written, at the moment when a twin language, bearing a striking
+likeness to it in nearly every feature, was suddenly making itself heard
+from the mouth of Darius, and speaking from the very tomb of the first
+Achaemenian king. That unexpected voice silenced all controversies, and
+the last echoes of the loud discussion which had been opened in 1771
+died away unheeded.
+
+
+[Footnote 9: A century ago, it is said, they still numbered nearly
+100,000 souls; but there now remain no more than 8,000 or 9,000,
+scattered in Yazd and the surrounding villages. Houtum-Schindler gave
+8,499 in 1879; of that number there were 6,483 in Yazd, 1,756 in Kirmân,
+150 in Teherân.]
+
+
+
+SELECTIONS FROM THE ZEND-AVESTA
+
+
+THE CREATION[10]
+
+
+Ahura Mazda spake unto Spitama Zarathustra, saying:--
+
+"I have made every land dear to its people, even though it had no charms
+whatever in it: had I not made every land dear to its people, even
+though it had no charms whatever in it, then the whole living world
+would have invaded the Airyana Vaêgô. The first of the good lands and
+countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the Airyana Vaêgô, by the
+Vanguhi Dâitya. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he
+counter-created the serpent in the river and Winter, a work of the
+Devas. There are ten winter months there, two summer months; and those
+are cold for the waters, cold for the earth, cold for the trees. Winters
+fall there, the worst of all plagues. The second of the good lands and
+countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the plain which the
+Sughdhas inhabit. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he
+counter-created the locust, which brings death unto cattle and plants.
+The third of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created,
+was the strong, holy Môuru. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all
+death, and he counter-created plunder and sin. The fourth of the good
+lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the beautiful
+Bâkhdhi with high-lifted banners. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is
+all death, and he counter-created the ants and the ant-hills. The fifth
+of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was
+Nisâya, that lies between Môuru and Bâkhdhi. Thereupon came Angra
+Mainyu, who is all death, and he counter-created the sin of unbelief.
+The sixth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created,
+was the house-deserting Harôyu. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all
+death, and he counter-created tears and wailing. The seventh of the good
+lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was Vaêkereta, of the
+evil shadows. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he
+counter-created the Pairika Knâthaiti, who clave unto Keresâspa. The
+eighth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created,
+was Urva of the rich pastures. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all
+death, and he counter-created the sin of pride. The ninth of the good
+lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was Khnenta which the
+Vehrkânas inhabit. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he
+counter-created a sin for which there is no atonement, the unnatural
+sin. The tenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda,
+created, was the beautiful Harahvaiti. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who
+is all death, and he counter-created a sin for which there is no
+atonement, the burying of the dead. The eleventh of the good lands and
+countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the bright, glorious
+Haêtumant. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he
+counter-created the evil work of witchcraft. And this is the sign by
+which it is known, this is that by which it is seen at once: wheresoever
+they may go and raise a cry of sorcery, there the worst works of
+witchcraft go forth. From there they come to kill and strike at heart,
+and they bring locusts as many as they want. The twelfth of the good
+lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was Ragha of the
+three races. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he
+counter-created the sin of utter unbelief. The thirteenth of the good
+lands and countries which I, Ahura Mazda, created, was the strong, holy
+Kakhra. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all death, and he
+counter-created a sin for which there is no atonement, the cooking of
+corpses. The fourteenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura
+Mazda, created, was the four-cornered Varena, for which was born
+Thraêtaona, who smote Azi Dahâka. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is
+all death, and he counter-created abnormal issues in women and barbarian
+oppression. The fifteenth of the good lands and countries which I, Ahura
+Mazda, created, was the Seven Rivers. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who
+is all death, and he counter-created abnormal issues in women and
+excessive heat. The sixteenth of the good lands and countries which I,
+Ahura Mazda, created, was the land by the sources of the Rangha, where
+people live who have no chiefs. Thereupon came Angra Mainyu, who is all
+death, and he counter-created Winter, a work of the Devas. There are
+still other lands and countries, beautiful and deep, longing and asking
+for the good, and bright."
+
+
+[Footnote 10: This chapter is an enumeration of sixteen perfect lands
+created by Ahura Mazda, and of as many plagues created in opposition by
+Angra Mainyu. Many attempts have been made, not only to identify these
+sixteen lands, but also to draw historical conclusions from their order
+of succession, as representing the actual order of the migrations and
+settlements of the old Iranian tribes. But there is nothing in the text
+to support such wide inferences. We have here nothing more than a
+geographical description of Iran, seen from the religious point of
+view.]
+
+
+
+MYTH OF YIMA
+
+
+Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda:--
+
+"O Ahura Mazda, most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world,
+thou Holy One! Who was the first mortal, before myself, Zarathustra,
+with whom thou, Ahura Mazda, didst converse, whom thou didst teach the
+Religion of Ahura, the Religion of Zarathustra?"
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"The fair Yima, the good shepherd, O holy Zarathustra! he was the first
+mortal, before thee, Zarathustra, with whom I, Ahura Mazda, did
+converse, whom I taught the Religion of Ahura, the Religion of
+Zarathustra. Unto him, O Zarathustra, I, Ahura Mazda, spake, saying:
+'Well, fair Yima, son of Vîvanghat, be thou the preacher and the bearer
+of my Religion!' And the fair Yima, O Zarathustra, replied unto me,
+saying: 'I was not born, I was not taught to be the preacher and the
+bearer of thy Religion.' Then I, Ahura Mazda, said thus unto him, O
+Zarathustra, 'Since thou dost not consent to be the preacher and the
+bearer of my Religion, then make thou my world increase, make my world
+grow: consent thou to nourish, to rule, and to watch over my world.' And
+the fair Yima replied unto me, O Zarathustra, saying: 'Yes! I will make
+thy world increase, I will make thy world grow. Yes! I will nourish, and
+rule, and watch over thy world. There shall be, while I am king, neither
+cold wind nor hot wind, neither disease nor death.' Then I, Ahura Mazda,
+brought two implements unto him: a golden seal and a poniard inlaid with
+gold. Behold, here Yima bears the royal sway! Thus, under the sway of
+Yima, three hundred winters passed away, and the earth was replenished
+with flocks and herds, with men and dogs and birds and with red blazing
+fires, and there was room no more for flocks, herds, and men. Then I
+warned the fair Yima, saying: 'O fair Yima, son of Vîvanghat, the earth
+has become full of flocks and herds, of men and dogs and birds and of
+red blazing fires, and there is room no more for flocks, herds, and
+men.' Then Yima stepped forward, in light, southwards, on the way of the
+sun, and afterwards he pressed the earth with the golden seal, and bored
+it with the poniard, speaking thus: 'O Spenta Ârmaiti, kindly open
+asunder and stretch thyself afar, to bear flocks and herds and men.' And
+Yima made the earth grow larger by one-third than it was before, and
+there came flocks and herds and men, at their will and wish, as many as
+he wished. Thus, under the sway of Yima, six hundred winters passed
+away, and the earth was replenished with flocks and herds, with men and
+dogs and birds and with red blazing fires, and there was room no more
+for flocks, herds, and men. And I warned the fair Yima, saying: 'O fair
+Yima, son of Vîvanghat, the earth has become full of flocks and herds,
+of men and dogs and birds and of red blazing fires, and there is room no
+more for flocks, herds, and men.'
+
+"Then Yima stepped forward, in light, southwards, on the way of the sun,
+and afterwards he pressed the earth with the golden seal, and bored it
+with the poniard, speaking thus: 'O Spenta Ârmaiti, kindly open asunder
+and stretch thyself afar, to bear flocks and herds and men.' And Yima
+made the earth grow larger by two-thirds than it was before, and there
+came flocks and herds and men, at their will and wish, as many as he
+wished. Thus, under the sway of Yima, nine hundred winters passed away,
+and the earth was replenished with flocks and herds, with men and dogs
+and birds and with red blazing fires, and there was room no more for
+flocks, herds, and men. And I warned the fair Yima, saying: 'O fair
+Yima, son of Vîvanghat, the earth has become full of flocks and herds,
+of men and dogs and birds and of red blazing fires, and there is room no
+more for flocks, herds, and men.' Then Yima stepped forward, in light,
+southwards, on the way of the sun, and afterwards he pressed the earth
+with the golden seal, and bored it with the poniard, speaking thus: 'O
+Spenta Ârmaiti, kindly open asunder and stretch thyself afar, to bear
+flocks and herds and men.' And Yima made the earth grow larger by
+three-thirds than it was before, and there came flocks and herds and
+men, at their will and wish, as many as he wished."
+
+
+
+THE EARTH
+
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the first place
+where the Earth feels most happy? Ahura Mazda answered: "It is the place
+whereon one of the faithful steps forward, O Spitama Zarathustra! with
+the log in his hand, the Baresma in his hand, the milk in his hand, the
+mortar in his hand, lifting up his voice in good accord with religion,
+and beseeching Mithra, the lord of the rolling country-side, and Râma
+Hvâstra." O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the
+second place where the Earth feels most happy? Ahura Mazda answered: "It
+is the place whereon one of the faithful erects a house with a priest
+within, with cattle, with a wife, with children, and good herds within;
+and wherein afterwards the cattle continue to thrive, virtue to thrive,
+fodder to thrive, the dog to thrive, the wife to thrive, the child to
+thrive, the fire to thrive, and every blessing of life to thrive." O
+Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the third place
+where the Earth feels most happy? Ahura Mazda answered: "It is the place
+where one of the faithful sows most corn, grass, and fruit, O Spitama
+Zarathustra! where he waters ground that is dry, or drains ground that
+is too wet." O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the
+fourth place where the Earth feels most happy? Ahura Mazda answered: "It
+is the place where there is most increase of flocks and herds." O Maker
+of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the fifth place where the
+Earth feels most happy? Ahura Mazda answered: "It is the place where
+flocks and herds yield most dung."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the first place
+where the Earth feels sorest grief? Ahura Mazda answered: "It is the
+neck of Arezûra, whereon the hosts of fiends rush forth from the burrow
+of the Drug." O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the
+second place where the Earth feels sorest grief? Ahura Mazda answered:
+"It is the place wherein most corpses of dogs and of men lie buried." O
+Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the third place
+where the Earth feels sorest grief? Ahura Mazda answered: "It is the
+place whereon stand most of those Dakhmas on which the corpses of men
+are deposited." O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is
+the fourth place where the Earth feels sorest grief? Ahura Mazda
+answered: "It is the place wherein are most burrows of the creatures of
+Angra Mainyu." O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is
+the fifth place where the Earth feels sorest grief? Ahura Mazda
+answered: "It is the place whereon the wife and children of one of the
+faithful, O Spitama Zarathustra! are driven along the way of captivity,
+the dry, the dusty way, and lift up a voice of wailing."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who is the first that
+rejoices the Earth with greatest joy? Ahura Mazda answered: "It is he
+who digs out of it most corpses of dogs and men." O Maker of the
+material world, thou Holy One! Who is the second that rejoices the Earth
+with greatest joy? Ahura Mazda answered: "It is he who pulls down most
+of those Dakhmas on which the corpses of men are deposited. Let no man
+alone by himself carry a corpse. If a man alone by himself carry a
+corpse, the Nasu rushes upon him. This Drug Nasu falls upon and stains
+him, even to the end of the nails, and he is unclean, thenceforth,
+forever and ever." O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What
+shall be the place of that man who has carried a corpse alone? Ahura
+Mazda answered: "It shall be the place on this earth wherein is least
+water and fewest plants, whereof the ground is the cleanest and the
+driest and the least passed through by flocks and herds, by the fire of
+Ahura Mazda, by the consecrated bundles of Baresma, and by the
+faithful." O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How far from
+the fire? How far from the water? How far from the consecrated bundles
+of Baresma? How far from the faithful? Ahura Mazda answered: "Thirty
+paces from the fire, thirty paces from the water, thirty paces from the
+consecrated bundles of Baresma, three paces from the faithful. There, on
+that place, shall the worshippers of Mazda erect an enclosure, and
+therein shall they establish him with food, therein shall they establish
+him with clothes, with the coarsest food and with the most worn-out
+clothes. That food he shall live on, those clothes he shall wear, and
+thus shall they let him live, until he has grown to the age of a Hana,
+or of a Zaurura, or of a Pairista-khshudra. And when he has grown to the
+age of a Hana, or of a Zaurura, or of a Pairista-khshudra, then the
+worshippers of Mazda shall order a man strong, vigorous, and skilful, to
+cut the head off his neck, in his enclosure on the top of the mountain:
+and they shall deliver his corpse unto the greediest of the
+corpse-eating creatures made by the beneficent Spirit, unto the
+vultures, with these words: 'The man here has repented of all his evil
+thoughts, words, and deeds. If he has committed any other evil deed, it
+is remitted by his repentance: if he has committed no other evil deed,
+he is absolved by his repentance, forever and ever.'" O Maker of the
+material world, thou Holy One! Who is the third that rejoices the Earth
+with greatest joy? Ahura Mazda answered: "It is he who fills up most
+burrows of the creatures of Angra Mainyu." O Maker of the material
+world, thou Holy One! Who is the fourth that rejoices the Earth with
+greatest joy? Ahura Mazda answered: "It is he who sows most corn, grass,
+and fruit, O Spitama Zarathustra! who waters ground that is dry, or
+drains ground that is too wet. Unhappy is the land that has long lain
+unsown with the seed of the sower and wants a good husbandman, like a
+well-shapen maiden who has long gone childless and wants a good husband.
+He who would till the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra! with the left arm
+and the right, with the right arm and the left, unto him will she bring
+forth plenty of fruit: even as it were a lover sleeping with his bride
+on her bed; the bride will bring forth children, the earth will bring
+forth plenty of fruit. He who would till the earth, O Spitama
+Zarathustra! with the left arm and the right, with the right arm and the
+left, unto him thus says the Earth: 'O thou man! who dost till me with
+the left arm and the right, with the right arm and the left, here shall
+I ever go on bearing, bringing forth all manner of food, bringing corn
+first to thee.' He who does not till the Earth, O Spitama Zarathustra!
+with the left arm and the right, with the right arm and the left, unto
+him thus says the Earth: 'O thou man! who dost not till me with the left
+arm and the right, with the right arm and the left, ever shalt thou
+stand at the door of the stranger, among those who beg for bread; the
+refuse and the crumbs of the bread are brought unto thee, brought by
+those who have profusion of wealth.'"
+
+O maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the food that
+fills the Religion of Mazda?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"It is sowing corn again and again, O Spitama Zarathustra! He who sows
+corn, sows righteousness: he makes the Religion of Mazda walk, he
+suckles the Religion of Mazda; as well as he could do with a hundred
+man's feet, with a thousand woman's breasts, with ten thousand
+sacrificial formulas. When barley was created, the Devas started up;
+when it grew, then fainted the Devas' hearts; when the knots came, the
+Devas groaned; when the ear came, the Devas flew away. In that house the
+Devas stay, wherein wheat perishes. It is as though red hot iron were
+turned about in their throats, when there is plenty of corn. Then let
+people learn by heart this holy saying: 'No one who does not eat, has
+strength to do heavy works of holiness, strength to do works of
+husbandry, strength to beget children. By eating every material creature
+lives, by not eating it dies away.'"
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who is the fifth that
+rejoices the Earth with greatest joy?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"It is he who kindly and piously gives to one of the faithful who tills
+the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra! He who would not kindly and piously
+give to one of the faithful who tills the earth, O Spitama Zarathustra!
+Spenta Ârmaiti will throw him down into darkness, down into the world of
+woe, the world of hell, down into the deep abyss."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall bury in the
+earth either the corpse of a dog or the corpse of a man, and if he shall
+not disinter it within half a year, what is the penalty that he shall
+pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Five hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, five hundred stripes with
+the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall bury in the
+earth either the corpse of a dog or the corpse of a man, and if he shall
+not disinter it within a year, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"A thousand stripes with the Aspahê-astra, a thousand stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall bury in the
+earth either the corpse of a dog or the corpse of a man, and if he shall
+not disinter it within the second year, what is the penalty for it? What
+is the atonement for it? What is the cleansing from it?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"For that deed there is nothing that can pay, nothing that can atone,
+nothing that can cleanse from it; it is a trespass for which there is no
+atonement, forever and ever."
+
+When is it so?
+
+"It is so, if the sinner be a professor of the Religion of Mazda, or one
+who has been taught in it. But if he be not a professor of the Religion
+of Mazda, nor one who has been taught in it, then his sin is taken from
+him, if he makes confession of the Religion of Mazda and resolves never
+to commit again such forbidden deeds.
+
+"The Religion of Mazda indeed, O Spitama Zarathustra! takes away from
+him who makes confession of it the bonds of his sin; it takes away the
+sin of breach of trust; it takes away the sin of murdering one of the
+faithful; it takes away the sin of burying a corpse; it takes away the
+sin of deeds for which there is no atonement; it takes away the worst
+sin of usury; it takes away any sin that may be sinned. In the same way
+the Religion of Mazda, O Spitama Zarathustra! cleanses the faithful from
+every evil thought, word, and deed, as a swift-rushing mighty wind
+cleanses the plain. So let all the deeds he doeth be henceforth good, O
+Zarathustra! a full atonement for his sin is effected by means of the
+Religion of Mazda."
+
+
+
+CONTRACTS AND OUTRAGES[11]
+
+
+"He that does not restore a loan to the man who lent it, steals the
+thing and robs the man. This he doeth every day, every night, as long as
+he keep in his house his neighbor's property, as though it were his
+own."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How many in number are thy
+contracts, O Ahura Mazda?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"They are six in number, O holy Zarathustra. The first is the
+word-contract; the second is the hand-contract; the third is the
+contract to the amount of a sheep; the fourth is the contract to the
+amount of an ox; the fifth is the contract to the amount of a man; the
+sixth is the contract to the amount of a field, a field in good land, a
+fruitful one, in good bearing. The word-contract is fulfilled by words
+of mouth. It is cancelled by the hand-contract; he shall give as damages
+the amount of the hand-contract. The hand-contract is cancelled by the
+sheep-contract; he shall give as damages the amount of the
+sheep-contract. The sheep-contract is cancelled by the ox-contract; he
+shall give as damages the amount of the ox-contract. The ox-contract is
+cancelled by the man-contract; he shall give as damages the amount of
+the man-contract. The man-contract is cancelled by the field-contract;
+he shall give as damages the amount of the field-contract."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the
+word-contract, how many are involved in his sin?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for three hundred years."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the
+hand-contract, how many are involved in his sin?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for six hundred years."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the
+sheep-contract, how many are involved in his sin?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for seven hundred years."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the
+ox-contract, how many are involved in his sin?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for eight hundred years."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the
+man-contract, how many are involved in his sin?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for nine hundred years."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the
+field-contract, how many are involved in his sin?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"His sin makes his Nabânazdistas answerable for a thousand years."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the
+word-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Three hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, three hundred stripes with
+the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the
+hand-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Six hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, six hundred stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the
+sheep-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Seven hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seven hundred stripes with
+the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the
+ox-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Eight hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, eight hundred stripes with
+the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the
+man-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Nine hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, nine hundred stripes with
+the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man break the
+field-contract, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"A thousand stripes with the Aspahê-astra, a thousand stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana."
+
+If a man rise up with a weapon in his hand, it is an Âgerepta. If he
+brandish it, it is an Avaoirista. If he actually smite a man with
+malicious aforethought, it is an Aredus. Upon the fifth Aredus he
+becomes a Peshôtanu.
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! He that committeth an
+Âgerepta, what penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Five stripes with the Aspahê-astra, five stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana; on the second Âgerepta, ten stripes with the
+Aspahê-astra, ten stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the third, fifteen
+stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifteen stripes with the Sraoshô-karana;
+on the fourth, thirty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, thirty stripes with
+the Sraoshô-karana; on the fifth, fifty stripes with the Aspahê-astra,
+fifty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the sixth, sixty stripes with
+the Aspahê-astra, sixty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the seventh,
+ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana."
+
+If a man commit an Âgerepta for the eighth time, without having atoned
+for the preceding, what penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+If a man commit an Âgerepta, and refuse to atone for it, what penalty
+shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit an
+Avaoirista, what penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Ten stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ten stripes with the Sraoshô-karana;
+on the second Avaoirista, fifteen stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifteen
+stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the third, thirty stripes with the
+Aspahê-astra, thirty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the fourth,
+fifty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifty stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana; on the fifth, seventy stripes with the Aspahê-astra,
+seventy stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the sixth, ninety stripes
+with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit an
+Avaoirista for the seventh time, without having atoned for the
+preceding, what penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit an
+Avaoirista, and refuse to atone for it, what penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit an Aredus,
+what penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Fifteen stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifteen stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana.
+
+"On the second Aredus, thirty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, thirty
+stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the third, fifty stripes with the
+Aspahê-astra, fifty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; on the fourth,
+seventy stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seventy stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana; on the fifth, ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra,
+ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit an Aredus
+for the sixth time, without having atoned for the preceding, what
+penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man commit an Aredus,
+and refuse to atone for it, what penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite another and
+hurt him sorely, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Thirty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, thirty stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana; the second time, fifty stripes with the Aspahê-astra,
+fifty stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; the third time, seventy stripes
+with the Aspahê-astra, seventy stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; the
+fourth time, ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with
+the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+If a man commit that deed for the fifth time, without having atoned for
+the preceding, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+If a man commit that deed and refuse to atone for it, what is the
+penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite another so
+that the blood come, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Fifty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifty stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana; the second time, seventy stripes with the Aspahê-astra,
+seventy stripes with the Sraoshô-karana; the third time, ninety stripes
+with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+If he commit that deed for the fourth time, without having atoned for
+the preceding, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite another so
+that the blood come, and if he refuse to atone for it, what is the
+penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite another so
+that he break a bone, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Seventy stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seventy stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana; the second time, ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra,
+ninety stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+If he commit that deed for the third time, without having atoned for the
+preceding, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite another so
+that he break a bone, and if he refuse to atone for it, what is the
+penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite another so
+that he give up the ghost, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana."
+
+If he commit that deed again, without having atoned for the preceding,
+what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man smite another so
+that he give up the ghost, and if he refuse to atone for it, what is the
+penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana.
+
+"And they shall thenceforth in their doings walk after the way of
+holiness, after the word of holiness, after the ordinance of holiness.
+
+"If men of the same faith, either friends or brothers, come to an
+agreement together, that one may obtain from the other either goods, or
+a wife, or knowledge, let him who desires goods have them delivered to
+him; let him who desires a wife receive and wed her; let him who desires
+knowledge be taught the holy word, during the first part of the day and
+the last, during the first part of the night and the last, that his mind
+may be increased in intelligence and wax strong in holiness. So shall he
+sit up, in devotion and prayers, that he may be increased in
+intelligence: he shall rest during the middle part of the day, during
+the middle part of the night, and thus shall he continue until he can
+say all the words which former Aêthra-paitis have said.
+
+"Before the boiling water publicly prepared, O Spitama Zarathustra! let
+no one make bold to deny having received from his neighbor the ox or the
+garment in his possession.
+
+"Verily I say it unto thee, O Spitama Zarathustra! the man who has a
+wife is far above him who lives in continence; he who keeps a house is
+far above him who has none; he who has children is far above the
+childless man; he who has riches is far above him who has none. And of
+two men, he who fills himself with meat receives in him Vohu Manô much
+better than he who does not do so; the latter is all but dead; the
+former is above him by the worth of an Asperena, by the worth of a
+sheep, by the worth of an ox, by the worth of a man. This man can strive
+against the onsets of Astô-vidhôtu; he can strive against the
+well-darted arrow; he can strive against the winter fiend, with thinnest
+garment on; he can strive against the wicked tyrant and smite him on the
+head; he can strive against the ungodly fasting Ashemaogha.
+
+"On the very first time when that deed has been done, without waiting
+until it is done again, down there the pain for that deed shall be as
+hard as any in this world: even as if one should cut off the limbs from
+his perishable body with knives of brass, or still worse; down there the
+pain for that deed shall be as hard as any in this world: even as if one
+should nail his perishable body with nails of brass, or still worse;
+down there the pain for that deed shall be as hard as any in this world:
+even as if one should by force throw his perishable body headlong down a
+precipice a hundred times the height of a man, or still worse; down
+there the pain for that deed shall be as hard as any in this world: even
+as if one should by force impale his perishable body, or still worse;
+down there the pain for this deed shall be as hard as any in this world:
+to-wit, the deed of a man, who, knowingly lying, confronts the
+brimstoned, golden, truth-knowing water with an appeal unto Rashnu and a
+lie unto Mithra."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! He who, knowingly lying,
+confronts the brimstoned, golden, truth-knowing water with an appeal
+unto Rashnu and a lie unto Mithra, what is the penalty that he shall
+pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Seven hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seven hundred stripes with
+the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+
+[Footnote 11: This chapter is the only one in the Vendîdâd that deals
+with legal subjects.]
+
+
+
+UNCLEANNESS[12]
+
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Here is a man watering a
+corn-field. The water streams down the field; it streams again; it
+streams a third time; and the fourth time, a dog, a fox, or a wolf
+carries some Nasu into the bed of the stream: what is the penalty that
+this man shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"There is no sin upon a man for any Nasu that has been brought by dogs,
+by birds, by wolves, by winds, or by flies. For were there sin upon a
+man for any Nasu that might have been brought by dogs, by birds, by
+wolves, by winds, or by flies, how soon all this material world of mine
+would be only one Peshôtanu, bent on the destruction of righteousness,
+and whose soul will cry and wail! so numberless are the beings that die
+upon the face of the earth."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Does water kill?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Water kills no man: Astô-vîdhôtu binds him, and, thus bound, Vayu
+carries him off; and the flood takes him up, the flood takes him down,
+the flood throws him ashore; then birds feed upon him. When he goes
+away, it is by the will of Fate he goes."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Does fire kill?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Fire kills no man: Astô-vîdhôtu binds him, and, thus bound, Vayu
+carries him off; and the fire burns up life and limb. When he goes away,
+it is by the will of Fate he goes."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If the summer is past and
+the winter has come, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"In every house, in every borough, they shall raise three rooms for the
+dead."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How large shall be those
+rooms for the dead?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Large enough not to strike the skull of the man, if he should stand
+erect, or his feet or his hands stretched out: such shall be, according
+to the law, the rooms for the dead. And they shall let the lifeless body
+lie there, for two nights, or for three nights, or a month long, until
+the birds begin to fly, the plants to grow, the hidden floods to flow,
+and the wind to dry up the earth. And as soon as the birds begin to fly,
+the plants to grow, the hidden floods to flow, and the wind to dry up
+the earth, then the worshippers of Mazda shall lay down the dead on the
+Dakhma, his eyes towards the sun. If the worshippers of Mazda have not,
+within a year, laid down the dead on the Dakhma, his eyes towards the
+sun, thou shalt prescribe for that trespass the same penalty as for the
+murder of one of the faithful; until the corpse has been rained on,
+until the Dakhma has been rained on, until the unclean remains have been
+rained on, until the birds have eaten up the corpse."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Is it true that thou,
+Ahura Mazda, seizest the waters from the sea Vouru-kasha with the wind
+and the clouds? That thou, Ahura Mazda, takest them down to the corpses?
+that thou, Ahura Mazda, takest them down to the Dakhmas? that thou,
+Ahura Mazda, takest them down to the unclean remains? that thou, Ahura
+Mazda, takest them down to the bones? and that then thou, Ahura Mazda,
+makest them flow back unseen? that thou, Ahura Mazda, makest them flow
+back to the sea Pûitika?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"It is even so as thou hast said, O righteous Zarathustra! I, Ahura
+Mazda, seize the waters from the sea Vouru-kasha with the wind and the
+clouds. I, Ahura Mazda, take them to the corpses; I, Ahura Mazda, take
+them down to the Dakhmas; I, Ahura Mazda, take them down to the unclean
+remains; I, Ahura Mazda, take them down to the bones; then I, Ahura
+Mazda, make them flow back unseen; I, Ahura Mazda, make them flow back
+to the sea Pûitika. The waters stand there boiling, boiling up in the
+heart of the sea Pûitika, and, when cleansed there, they run back again
+from the sea Pûitika to the sea Vouru-kasha, towards the well-watered
+tree, whereon grow the seeds of my plants of every kind by hundreds, by
+thousands, by hundreds of thousands. Those plants, I, Ahura Mazda, rain
+down upon the earth, to bring food to the faithful, and fodder to the
+beneficent cow; to bring food to my people that they may live on it, and
+fodder to the beneficent cow.
+
+"This is the best, this is the fairest of all things, even as thou hast
+said, O pure Zarathustra!"
+
+With these words, the holy Ahura Mazda rejoiced the holy Zarathustra:
+"Purity is for man, next to life, the greatest good, that purity, O
+Zarathustra, that is in the Religion of Mazda for him who cleanses his
+own self with good thoughts, words, and deeds."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! This Law, this
+fiend-destroying Law of Zarathustra, by what greatness, goodness, and
+fairness is it great, good, and fair above all other utterances?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"As much above all other floods as is the sea Vouru-kasha, so much above
+all other utterances in greatness, goodness, and fairness is this Law,
+this fiend-destroying Law of Zarathustra. As much as a great stream
+flows swifter than a slender rivulet, so much above all other utterances
+in greatness, goodness, and fairness is this Law, this fiend-destroying
+Law of Zarathustra. As high as the great tree stands above the small
+plants it overshadows, so high above all other utterances in greatness,
+goodness, and fairness is this Law, this fiend-destroying Law of
+Zarathustra. As high as heaven is above the earth that it compasses
+around, so high above all other utterances is this Law, this
+fiend-destroying Law of Mazda. Therefore, he will apply to the Ratu, he
+will apply to the Srao-shâ-varez; whether for a draona-service that
+should have been undertaken and has not been undertaken; or for a draona
+that should have been offered up and has not been offered up; or for a
+draona that should have been intrusted and has not been intrusted. The
+Ratu has power to remit him one-third of his penalty: if he has
+committed any other evil deed, it is remitted by his repentance; if he
+has committed no other evil deed, he is absolved by his repentance
+forever and ever."
+
+How long shall the piece of ground lie fallow whereon dogs or men have
+died?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"A year long shall the piece of ground lie fallow whereon dogs or men
+have died, O holy Zarathustra! A year long shall no worshipper of Mazda
+sow or water that piece of ground whereon dogs or men have died; he may
+sow as he likes the rest of the ground; he may water it as he likes. If
+within the year they shall sow or water the piece of ground whereon dogs
+or men have died, they are guilty of the sin of 'burying the dead'
+towards the water, towards the earth, and towards the plants."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If worshippers of Mazda
+shall sow or water, within the year, the piece of ground whereon dogs or
+men have died, what is the penalty that they shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"They are Peshôtanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If worshippers of Mazda
+want to till that piece of ground again, to water it, to sow it, and to
+plough it, what shall they do?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"They shall look on the ground for any bones, hair, dung, urine, or
+blood that may be there."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If they shall not look on
+the ground for any bones, hair, dung, urine, or blood that may be there,
+what is the penalty that they shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"They are Peshôtanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on
+the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as the top
+joint of the little finger, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to
+the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Thirty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, thirty stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on
+the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as the top
+joint of the fore-finger, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the
+ground, what penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Fifty stripes with the Aspahê-astra, fifty stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on
+the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as the top
+joint of the middle finger, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to
+the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Seventy stripes with the Aspahê-astra, seventy stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on
+the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as a finger
+or as a rib, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what
+penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Ninety stripes with the Aspahê-astra, ninety stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on
+the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as two
+fingers or as two ribs, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the
+ground, what penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He is a Peshôtanu: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, two
+hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on
+the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as an
+arm-bone or as a thigh-bone, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to
+the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Four hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, four hundred stripes with
+the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on
+the ground a bone of a dead dog, or of a dead man, as large as a man's
+skull, and if grease or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what
+penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Six hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, six hundred stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw on
+the ground the whole body of a dead dog, or of a dead man, and if grease
+or marrow flow from it on to the ground, what penalty shall he pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"A thousand stripes with the Aspahê-astra, a thousand stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a worshipper of Mazda,
+walking, or running, or riding, or driving, come upon a corpse in a
+stream of running water, what shall he do?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Taking off his shoes, putting off his clothes, while the others wait, O
+Zarathustra! he shall enter the river, and take the dead out of the
+water; he shall go down into the water ankle-deep, knee-deep,
+waist-deep, or a man's full depth, till he can reach the dead body."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If, however, the body be
+already falling to pieces and rotting, what shall the worshipper of
+Mazda do?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He shall draw out of the water as much of the corpse as he can grasp
+with both hands, and he shall lay it down on the dry ground; no sin
+attaches to him for any bone, hair, grease, dung, urine, or blood, that
+may drop back into the water."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of the water in
+a pond does the Drug Nasu defile with corruption, infection, and
+pollution?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Six steps on each of the four sides. As long as the corpse has not been
+taken out of the water, so long shall that water be unclean and unfit to
+drink. They shall, therefore, take the corpse out of the pond, and lay
+it down on the dry ground. And of the water they shall draw off the
+half, or the third, or the fourth, or the fifth part, according as they
+are able or not; and after the corpse has been taken out and the water
+has been drawn off, the rest of the water is clean, and both cattle and
+men may drink of it at their pleasure, as before."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of the water in
+a well does the Drug Nasu defile with corruption, infection, and
+pollution?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"As long as the corpse has not been taken out of the water, so long
+shall that water be unclean and unfit to drink. They shall, therefore,
+take the corpse out of the well, and lay it down on the dry ground. And
+of the water in the well they shall draw off the half, or the third, or
+the fourth, or the fifth part, according as they are able or not; and
+after the corpse has been taken out and the water has been drawn off,
+the rest of the water is clean, and both cattle and men may drink of it
+at their pleasure, as before."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of a sheet of
+snow or hail does the Drug Nasu defile with corruption, infection, and
+pollution?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Three steps on each of the four sides. As long as the corpse has not
+been taken out of the water, so long shall that water be unclean and
+unfit to drink. They shall, therefore, take the corpse out of the water,
+and lay it down on the dry ground. After the corpse has been taken out,
+and the snow or the hail has melted, the water is clean, and both cattle
+and men may drink of it at their pleasure, as before."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What part of the water of
+a running stream does the Drug Nasu defile with corruption, infection,
+and pollution?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Three steps down the stream, nine steps up the stream, six steps
+across. As long as the corpse has not been taken out of the water, so
+long shall the water be unclean and unfit to drink. They shall,
+therefore, take the corpse out of the water, and lay it down on the dry
+ground. After the corpse has been taken out and the stream has flowed
+three times, the water is clean, and both cattle and men may drink of it
+at their pleasure, as before."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the Haoma that has
+been touched with Nasu from a dead dog, or from a dead man, be made
+clean again?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"It can, O holy Zarathustra! If it has been prepared for the sacrifice,
+there is to it no corruption, no death, no touch of any Nasu. If it has
+not been prepared for the sacrifice, the stem is defiled the length of
+four fingers: it shall be laid down on the ground, in the middle of the
+house, for a year long. When the year is past, the faithful may drink of
+its juice at their pleasure, as before."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Whither shall we bring,
+where shall we lay the bodies of the dead, O Ahura Mazda?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"On the highest summits, where they know there are always corpse-eating
+dogs and corpse-eating birds, O holy Zarathustra! There shall the
+worshippers of Mazda fasten the corpse, by the feet and by the hair,
+with brass, stones, or clay, lest the corpse-eating dogs and the
+corpse-eating birds shall go and carry the bones to the water and to the
+trees."
+
+If they shall not fasten the corpse, so that the corpse-eating dogs and
+the corpse-eating birds may go and carry the bones to the water and to
+the trees, what is the penalty that they shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"They shall be Peshôtanus: two hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra,
+two hundred stripes with the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Whither shall we bring,
+where shall we lay the bones of the dead, O Ahura Mazda?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"The worshippers of Mazda shall make a receptacle out of the reach of
+the dog, of the fox, and of the wolf, and wherein rain-water cannot
+stay. They shall make it, if they can afford it, with stones, plaster,
+or earth; if they cannot afford it, they shall lay down the dead man on
+the ground, on his carpet and his pillow, clothed with the light of
+heaven, and beholding the sun."
+
+
+[Footnote 12: This chapter deals chiefly with uncleanness arising from
+the dead, and with the means of removing it from men and things.]
+
+
+
+FUNERALS AND PURIFICATION
+
+
+If a dog or a man die under a hut of wood or a hut of felt, what shall
+the worshippers of Mazda do?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"They shall search for a Dakhma, they shall look for a Dakhma all
+around. If they find it easier to remove the dead, they shall take out
+the dead, they shall let the house stand, and shall perfume it with
+Urvâsna or Vohú-gaona, or Vohú-kereti, or Hadhâ-naepata, or any other
+sweet-smelling plant. If they find it easier to remove the house, they
+shall take away the house, they shall let the dead lie on the spot, and
+shall perfume the house with Urvâsna, or Vohú-gaona, or Vohú-kereti, or
+Hadhâ-naêpata, or any other sweet-smelling plant."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If in the house of a
+worshipper of Mazda a dog or a man happens to die, and it is raining, or
+snowing, or blowing, or it is dark, or the day is at its end, when
+flocks and men lose their way, what shall the worshippers of Mazda do?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"The place in that house whereof the ground is the cleanest and the
+driest, and the least passed through by flocks and herds, by the fire of
+Ahura Mazda, by the consecrated bundles of Baresma, and by the
+faithful."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How far from the fire? How
+far from the water? How far from the consecrated bundles of Baresma? How
+far from the faithful?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Thirty paces from the fire; thirty paces from the water; thirty paces
+from the consecrated bundles of Baresma; three paces from the
+faithful;--on that place they shall dig a grave, half a foot deep if the
+earth be hard, half the height of a man if it be soft; they shall cover
+the surface of the grave with ashes or cow-dung; they shall cover the
+surface of it with dust of bricks, of stones, or of dry earth. And they
+shall let the lifeless body lie there, for two nights, or three nights,
+or a month long, until the birds begin to fly, the plants to grow, the
+hidden floods to flow, and the wind to dry up the earth. And when the
+birds begin to fly, the plants to grow, the hidden floods to flow, and
+the wind to dry up the earth, then the worshippers of Mazda shall make a
+breach in the wall of the house, and two men, strong and skilful, having
+stripped their clothes off, shall take up the body from the clay or the
+stones, or from the plastered house, and they shall lay it down on a
+place where they know there are always corpse-eating dogs and
+corpse-eating birds. Afterwards the corpse-bearers shall sit down, three
+paces from the dead, and the holy Ratu shall proclaim to the worshippers
+of Mazda thus: 'Worshippers of Mazda, let the urine be brought here
+wherewith the corpse-bearers there shall wash their hair and their
+bodies.'"
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the urine
+wherewith the corpse-bearers shall wash their hair and their bodies? Is
+it of sheep or of oxen? Is it of man or of woman?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"It is of sheep or of oxen; not of man nor of woman, except a man or a
+woman who has married the next-of-kin: these shall therefore procure the
+urine wherewith the corpse-bearers shall wash their hair and their
+bodies."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Can the way, whereon the
+carcasses of dogs or corpses of men have been carried, be passed through
+again by flocks and herds, by men and women, by the fire of Ahura Mazda,
+by the consecrated bundles of Baresma, and by the faithful?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"It cannot be passed through again by flocks and herds, nor by men and
+women, nor by the fire of Ahura Mazda, nor by the consecrated bundles of
+Baresma, nor by the faithful. They shall therefore cause a yellow dog
+with four eyes,[13] or a white dog with yellow ears, to go three times
+through that way. When either the yellow dog with four eyes, or the
+white dog with yellow ears, is brought there, then the Drug Nasu flies
+away to the regions of the north, in the shape of a raging fly, with
+knees and tail sticking out, droning without end, and like unto the
+foulest Khrafstras. If the dog goes unwillingly, O Spitama Zarathustra,
+they shall cause the yellow dog with four eyes, or the white dog with
+yellow ears, to go six times through that way. When either the yellow
+dog with four eyes, or the white dog with yellow ears, is brought there,
+then the Drug Nasu flies away to the regions of the north, in the shape
+of a raging fly, with knees and tail sticking out, droning without end,
+and like unto the foulest Khrafstras. If the dog goes unwillingly, they
+shall cause the yellow dog with four eyes, or the white dog with yellow
+ears, to go nine times through that way. When either the yellow dog with
+four eyes, or the white dog with yellow ears, has been brought there,
+then the Drug Nasu flies away to the regions of the north, in the shape
+of a raging fly, with knees and tail sticking out, droning without end,
+and like unto the foulest Khrafstras. An Âthravan shall first go along
+the way and shall say aloud these victorious words: 'Yathâ ahû
+vairyô:--The will of the Lord is the law of righteousness. The gifts of
+Vohu-manô to the deeds done in this world for Mazda. He who relieves the
+poor makes Ahura king. What protector hast thou given unto me, O Mazda!
+while the hate of the wicked encompasses me? Whom but thy Âtar and
+Vohu-manô, through whose work I keep on the world of righteousness?
+Reveal therefore to me thy Religion as thy rule! Who is the victorious
+who will protect thy teaching? Make it clear that I am the guide for
+both worlds. May Sraosha come with Vohu-manô and help whomsoever thou
+pleasest, O Mazda! Keep us from our hater, O Mazda and Spenta Ârmaiti!
+Perish, O fiendish Drug! Perish, O brood of the fiend! Perish, O
+creation of the fiend! Perish, O world of the fiend! Perish away, O
+Drug! Rush away, O Drug! Perish away, O Drug! Perish away to the regions
+of the north, never more to give unto death the living world of
+Righteousness!' Then the worshippers of Mazda may at their will bring by
+those ways sheep and oxen, men and women, and Fire, the son of Ahura
+Mazda, the consecrated bundles of Baresma, and the faithful. The
+worshippers of Mazda may afterwards prepare meals with meat and wine in
+that house; it shall be clean, and there will be no sin, as before."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw
+clothes, either of skin or woven, upon a dead body, enough to cover the
+feet, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Four hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, four hundred stripes with
+the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw
+clothes, either of skin or woven, upon a dead body, enough to cover both
+legs, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Six hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, six hundred stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man shall throw
+clothes, either of skin or woven, upon a dead body, enough to cover the
+whole body, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"A thousand stripes with the Aspahê-astra, a thousand stripes with the
+Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man, by force,
+commits the unnatural sin, what is the penalty that he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Eight hundred stripes with the Aspahê-astra, eight hundred stripes with
+the Sraoshô-karana."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man voluntarily
+commits the unnatural sin, what is the penalty for it? What is the
+atonement for it? What is the cleansing from it?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"For that deed there is nothing that can pay, nothing that can atone,
+nothing that can cleanse from it; it is a trespass for which there is no
+atonement, forever and ever."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Who is the man that is a
+Deva? Who is he that is a worshipper of the Devas? that is a male
+paramour of the Devas? that is a female paramour of the Devas? that is a
+wife to the Deva? that is as bad as a Deva? that is in his whole being a
+Deva? Who is he that is a Deva before he dies, and becomes one of the
+unseen Devas after death?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"The man that lies with mankind as man lies with womankind, or as woman
+lies with mankind, is the man that is a Deva; this one is the man that
+is a worshipper of the Devas, that is a male paramour of the Devas, that
+is a female paramour of the Devas, that is a wife to the Deva; this is
+the man that is as bad as a Deva, that is in his whole being a Deva;
+this is the man that is a Deva before he dies, and becomes one of the
+unseen Devas after death: so is he, whether he has lain with mankind as
+mankind, or as womankind."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Shall the man be clean who
+has touched a corpse that has been dried up and dead more than a year?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"He shall. The dry mingles not with the dry. Should the dry mingle with
+the dry, how soon all this material world of mine would be only one
+Peshôtanu, bent on the destruction of righteousness, and whose soul will
+cry and wail! so numberless are the beings that die upon the face of the
+earth."
+
+
+[Footnote 13: A dog with two spots above the eyes.]
+
+
+
+CLEANSING THE UNCLEAN
+
+
+Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda:--
+
+O most beneficent Spirit, Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! To
+whom shall they apply here below, who want to cleanse their body defiled
+by the dead?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"To a pious man, O Spitama Zarathustra! who knows how to speak, who
+speaks truth, who has learned the Holy Word, who is pious, and knows
+best the rites of cleansing according to the law of Mazda. That man
+shall fell the trees off the surface of the ground on a space of nine
+Vibâzus square; in that part of the ground where there is least water
+and where there are fewest trees, the part which is the cleanest and
+driest, and the least passed through by sheep and oxen, and by the fire
+of Ahura Mazda, by the consecrated bundles of Baresma, and by the
+faithful."
+
+How far from the fire? How far from the water? How far from the
+consecrated bundles of Baresma? How far from the faithful?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Thirty paces from the fire, thirty paces from the water, thirty paces
+from the consecrated bundles of Baresma, three paces from the faithful.
+Then thou shalt dig a hole, two fingers deep if the summer has come,
+four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come." How far from one
+another? "One pace." How much is the pace? "As much as three feet. Then
+thou shalt dig three holes more, two fingers deep if the summer has
+come, four fingers deep if the winter and ice have come." How far from
+the former six? "Three paces." What sort of paces? "Such as are taken in
+walking." How much are those three paces? "As much as nine feet. Then
+thou shalt draw a furrow all around with a metal knife. Then thou shalt
+draw twelve furrows; three of which thou shalt draw to surround and
+divide from the rest the first three holes; three thou shalt draw to
+surround and divide the first six holes; three thou shalt draw to
+surround and divide the nine holes; three thou shalt draw around the
+three inferior holes, outside the six other holes. At each of the three
+times nine feet, thou shalt place stones as steps to the holes; or
+potsherds, or stumps, or clods, or any hard matter. Then the man defiled
+shall walk to the holes; thou, O Zarathustra! shalt stand outside by the
+furrow, and thou shalt recite, 'Nemaskâ yâ ârmaitis izâkâ'; and the man
+defiled shall repeat, 'Nemaskâ yâ ârmaitis izâkâ.' The Drug becomes
+weaker and weaker at every one of those words which are a weapon to
+smite the fiend Angra Mainyu, to smite Aeshma of the murderous spear, to
+smite the Mâzainya fiends, to smite all the fiends. Then thou shalt take
+for the gômêz a spoon of brass or of lead. When thou takest a stick with
+nine knots, O Spitama Zarathustra! to sprinkle the gômêz from that
+spoon, thou shalt fasten the spoon to the end of the stick. They shall
+wash his hands first. If his hands be not washed first, he makes his
+whole body unclean. When he has washed his hands three times, after his
+hands have been washed, thou shalt sprinkle the forepart of his skull;
+then the Drug Nasu rushes in front, between his brows. Thou shalt
+sprinkle him in front between the brows; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon
+the back part of the skull. Thou shalt sprinkle the back part of the
+skull; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the jaws. Thou shalt sprinkle the
+jaws; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right ear. Thou shalt sprinkle
+the right ear; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left ear. Thou shalt
+sprinkle the left ear; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right
+shoulder. Thou shalt sprinkle the right shoulder; then the Drug Nasu
+rushes upon the left shoulder. Thou shalt sprinkle the left shoulder;
+then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right arm-pit. Thou shalt sprinkle
+the right arm-pit; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left arm-pit. Thou
+shalt sprinkle the left armpit; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the
+chest. Thou shalt sprinkle the chest; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the
+back. Thou shalt sprinkle the back; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the
+right nipple. Thou shalt sprinkle the right nipple; then the Drug Nasu
+rushes upon the left nipple. Thou shalt sprinkle the left nippíe; then
+the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right rib. Thou shalt sprinkle the right
+rib; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left rib. Thou shalt sprinkle
+the left rib; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right hip. Thou shalt
+sprinkle the right hip; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left hip.
+Thou shalt sprinkle the left hip; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the
+sexual parts. Thou shalt sprinkle the sexual parts. If the unclean one
+be a man, thou shalt sprinkle him first behind, then before; if the
+unclean one be a woman, thou shalt sprinkle her first before, then
+behind; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right thigh. Thou shalt
+sprinkle the right thigh; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left thigh.
+Thou shalt sprinkle the left thigh; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the
+right knee. Thou shalt sprinkle the right knee; then the Drug Nasu
+rushes upon the left knee. Thou shalt sprinkle the left knee; then the
+Drug Nasu rushes upon the right leg. Thou shalt sprinkle the right leg;
+then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left leg. Thou shalt sprinkle the
+left leg; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the right ankle. Thou shalt
+sprinkle the right ankle; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the left ankle.
+Thou shalt sprinkle the left ankle; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the
+right instep. Thou shalt sprinkle the right instep; then the Drug Nasu
+rushes upon the left instep. Thou shalt sprinkle the left instep; then
+the Drug Nasu turns round under the sole of the foot; it looks like the
+wing of a fly. He shall press his toes upon the ground and shall raise
+up his heels; thou shalt sprinkle his right sole; then the Drug Nasu
+rushes upon the left sole. Thou shalt sprinkle the left sole; then the
+Drug Nasu turns round under the toes; it looks like the wing of a fly.
+He shall press his heels upon the ground and shall raise up his toes;
+thou shalt sprinkle his right toe; then the Drug Nasu rushes upon the
+left toe. Thou shalt sprinkle the left toe; then the Drug Nasu flies
+away to the regions of the north, in the shape of a raging fly, with
+knees and tail sticking out, droning without end, and like unto the
+foulest Khrafstras. And thou shalt say these victorious, most healing
+words: 'The will of the Lord is the law of righteousness. The gifts of
+Vohu-manô to deeds done in this world for Mazda. He who relieves the
+poor makes Ahura king. What protector hadst thou given unto me, O Mazda!
+while the hate of the wicked encompasses me? Whom, but thy Âtar and
+Vohu-manô, through whose work I keep on the world of Righteousness?
+Reveal therefore to me thy Religion as thy rule! Who is the victorious
+who will protect thy teaching? Make it clear that I am the guide for
+both worlds. May Sraosha come with Vohu-manô and help whomsoever thou
+pleasest, O Mazda! Keep us from our hater, O Mazda and Spenta Ârmaiti!
+Perish, O fiendish Drug! Perish, O brood of the fiend! Perish, O world
+of the fiend! Perish away, O Drug! Rush away, O Drug! Perish away, O
+Drug! Perish away to the regions of the north, never more to give unto
+death the living world of Righteousness.'
+
+"Afterwards the man defiled shall sit down, inside the furrows, outside
+the furrows of the six holes, four fingers from those furrows. There he
+shall cleanse his body with thick handfuls of dust. Fifteen times shall
+they take up dust from the ground for him to rub his body, and they
+shall wait there until he is dry even to the last hair on his head. When
+his body is dry with dust, then he shall step over the holes containing
+water. At the first hole he shall wash his body once with water; at the
+second hole he shall wash his body twice with water; at the third hole
+he shall wash his body thrice with water. Then he shall perfume his body
+with Urvâsna, or Vohû-gaona, or Vohû-kereti, or Hadhâ-naêpata, or any
+other sweet-smelling plant; then he shall put on his clothes, and shall
+go back to his house. He shall sit down there in the place of infirmity,
+inside the house, apart from the other worshippers of Mazda. He shall
+not go near the fire, nor near the water, nor near the earth, nor near
+the cow, nor near the trees, nor near the faithful, either man or woman.
+Thus shall he continue until three nights have passed. When three nights
+have passed, he shall wash his body, he shall wash his clothes with
+gômêz and water to make them clean. Then he shall sit down again in the
+place of infirmity, inside the house, apart from the other worshippers
+of Mazda. He shall not go near the fire, nor near the water, nor near
+the earth, nor near the cow, nor near the trees, nor near the faithful,
+either man or woman. Thus shall he continue until six nights have
+passed. When six nights have passed, he shall wash his body, he shall
+wash his clothes with gômêz and water to make them clean. Then he shall
+sit down again in the place of infirmity, inside the house, apart from
+the other worshippers of Mazda. He shall not go near the fire, nor near
+the water, nor near the earth, nor near the cow, nor near the trees, nor
+near the faithful, either man or woman. Thus shall he continue, until
+nine nights have passed. When nine nights have passed, he shall wash his
+body, he shall wash his clothes with gômêz and water to make them clean.
+He may thenceforth go near the fire, near the water, near the earth,
+near the cow, near the trees, and near the faithful, either man or
+woman.
+
+"Thou shalt cleanse a priest for a blessing of the just. Thou shalt
+cleanse the lord of a province for the value of a camel of high value.
+Thou shalt cleanse the lord of a town for the value of a stallion of
+high value. Thou shalt cleanse the lord of a borough for the value of a
+bull of high value. Thou shalt cleanse the master of a house for the
+value of a cow three years old. Thou shalt cleanse the wife of the
+master of a house for the value of a ploughing cow. Thou shalt cleanse a
+menial for the value of a draught cow. Thou shalt cleanse a young child
+for the value of a lamb. These are the heads of cattle--flocks or
+herds--that the worshippers of Mazda shall give to the man who has
+cleansed them, if they can afford it; if they cannot afford it, they
+shall give him any other value that may make him leave their houses well
+pleased with them, and free from anger. For if the man who has cleansed
+them leave their houses displeased with them, and full of anger, then
+the Drug Nasu enters them from the nose of the dead, from the eyes, from
+the tongue, from the jaws, from the sexual organs, from the hinder
+parts. And the Drug Nasu rushes upon them even to the end of the nails,
+and they are unclean thenceforth forever and ever. It grieves the sun
+indeed, O Spitama Zarathustra! to shine upon a man defiled by the dead;
+it grieves the moon, it grieves the stars. That man delights them, O
+Spitama Zarathustra! who cleanses from the Nasu the man defiled by the
+dead; he delights the fire, he delights the water, he delights the
+earth, he delights the cow, he delights the trees, he delights the
+faithful, both men and women."
+
+Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda:--
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What shall be his reward,
+after his soul has parted from his body, who has cleansed from the Nasu
+the man defiled by the dead?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"The welfare of Paradise thou canst promise to that man, for his reward
+in the other world."
+
+Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda:--
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! How shall I fight against
+that Drug who from the dead rushes upon the living? How shall I fight
+against that Nasu who from the dead defiles the living?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Say aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said twice. Say
+aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said thrice. Say aloud
+those words in the Gâthas that are to be said four times. And the Drug
+shall fly away like the well-darted arrow, like the felt of last year,
+like the annual garment of the earth."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! If a man who does not know
+the rites of cleansing according to the law of Mazda, offers to cleanse
+the unclean, how shall I then fight against that Drug who from the dead
+rushes upon the living? How shall I fight against that Drug who from the
+dead defiles the living?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Then, O Spitama Zarathustra! the Drug Nasu appears to wax stronger than
+she was before. Stronger then are sickness and death and the working of
+the fiend than they were before."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! What is the penalty that
+he shall pay?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"The worshippers of Mazda shall bind him; they shall bind his hands
+first; then they shall strip him of his clothes, they shall cut the head
+off his neck, and they shall give over his corpse unto the greediest of
+the corpse-eating creatures made by the beneficent Spirit, unto the
+vultures, with these words: 'The man here has repented of all his evil
+thoughts, words, and deeds. If he has committed any other evil deed, it
+is remitted by his repentance; if he has committed no other evil deed,
+he is absolved by his repentance forever and ever.'"
+
+Who is he, O Ahura Mazda! who threatens to take away fulness and
+increase from the world, and to bring in sickness and death?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"It is the ungodly Ashemaogha, O Spitama Zarathustra! who in this
+material world cleanses the unclean without knowing the rites of
+cleansing according to the law of Mazda. For until then, O Spitama
+Zarathustra! sweetness and fatness would flow out from that land and
+from those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase
+and growth, and a growing of corn and grass."
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! When are sweetness and
+fatness to come back again to that land and to those fields, with health
+and healing, with fulness and increase and growth, and a growing of corn
+and grass?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Sweetness and fatness will never come back again to that land and to
+those fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and
+growth, and a growing of corn and grass, until that ungodly Ashemaogha
+has been smitten to death on the spot, and the holy Sraosha of that
+place has been offered up a sacrifice for three days and three nights,
+with fire blazing, with Baresma tied up, and with Haoma prepared. Then
+sweetness and fatness will come back again to that land and to those
+fields, with health and healing, with fulness and increase and growth,
+and a growing of corn and grass."
+
+
+
+SPELLS RECITED DURING THE CLEANSING
+
+
+Zarathustra asked Ahura Mazda:--
+
+O Ahura Mazda! most beneficent Spirit, maker of the material world, thou
+Holy One! How shall I fight against that Drug who from the dead rushes
+upon the living? How shall I fight against that Drug who from the dead
+defiles the living?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"Say aloud those words in the Gâthas that are to be said twice. 'I drive
+away Angra Mainyu from this house, from this borough, from this town,
+from this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from
+the very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of the
+house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the
+lord of the land; from the whole of the world of Righteousness. I drive
+away the Nasu, I drive away direct defilement, I drive away indirect
+defilement, from this house, from this borough, from this town, from
+this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the
+very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of the
+house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the
+lord of the land; from the whole of the world of Righteousness.'"
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which are those words in
+the Gâthas that are to be said thrice?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"'I drive away Indra, I drive away Sauru, I drive away the Deva
+Naunghaithya from this house, from this borough, from this town, from
+this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the
+very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of the
+house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the
+lord of the land; from the whole of the world of Righteousness. I drive
+away Tauru, I drive away Zairi, from this house, from this borough, from
+this town, from this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the
+dead, from the very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the
+master of the house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the
+town, from the lord of the land; from the whole of the holy world.'"
+
+O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which are those words in
+the Gâthas that are to be said four times?
+
+Ahura Mazda answered:--
+
+"These are the words in the Gâthas that are to be said four times, and
+thou shalt four times say them aloud: 'I drive away Aêshma, the fiend of
+the murderous spear, I drive away the Deva Akatasha, from this house,
+from this borough, from this town, from this land; from the very body of
+the man defiled by the dead, from the very body of the woman defiled by
+the dead; from the master of the house, from the lord of the borough,
+from the lord of the town, from the lord of the land; from the whole of
+the world of Righteousness. I drive away the Varenya Devas, I drive away
+the Wind-Deva, from this house, from this borough, from this town, from
+this land; from the very body of the man defiled by the dead, from the
+very body of the woman defiled by the dead; from the master of the
+house, from the lord of the borough, from the lord of the town, from the
+lord of the land; from the whole of the world of Righteousness.'"
+
+
+
+TO FIRES, WATERS, PLANTS
+
+
+We worship thee, the Fire, O Ahura Mazda's son! We worship the fire
+Berezi-savangha (of the lofty use), and the fire Vohu-fryâna (the good
+and friendly), and the fire Urvâ-zista (the most beneficial and most
+helpful), and the fire Vâzista (the most supporting), and the fire
+Spenista (the most bountiful), and Nairya-sangha the Yazad of the royal
+lineage, and that fire which is the house-lord of all houses and
+Mazda-made, even the son of Ahura Mazda, the holy lord of the ritual
+order, with all the fires. And we worship the good and best waters
+Mazda-made, holy, all the waters Mazda-made and holy, and all the plants
+which Mazda made, and which are holy. And we worship the Mâthra-spenta
+(the bounteous word-of-reason), the Zarathustrian law against the Devas,
+and its long descent. And we worship Mount Ushi-darena which is
+Mazda-made and shining with its holiness, and all the mountains shining
+with holiness, and of abundant glory, and which Mazda made. And we
+worship the good and pious prayer for blessings, and these waters and
+these lands, and all the greatest chieftains, lords of the ritual order;
+and I praise, invoke, and glorify the good, heroic, bountiful Fravashis
+of the saints, those of the house, the Vîs, the Zantuma, the Dahvyuma,
+and the Zarathustrôtema, and all the holy Yazads!
+
+
+
+TO THE EARTH AND THE SACRED WATERS
+
+
+And now we worship this earth which bears us, together with Thy wives, O
+Ahura Mazda! yea, those Thy wives do we worship which are so desired
+from their sanctity. We sacrifice to their zealous wishes, and their
+capabilities, their inquiries, and their wise acts of pious reverence,
+and with these their blessedness, their full vigor and good portions,
+their good fame and ample wealth. O ye waters! now we worship you, you
+that are showered down, and you that stand in pools and vats, and you
+that bear forth our loaded vessels, ye female Ahuras of Ahura, you that
+serve us in helpful ways, well forded and full-flowing, and effective
+for the bathings, we will seek you and for both the worlds! Therefore
+did Ahura Mazda give you names, O ye beneficent ones! when He who made
+the good bestowed you. And by these names we worship you, and by them we
+would ingratiate ourselves with you, and with them would we bow before
+you, and direct our prayers to you with free confessions of our debt. O
+waters, ye who are productive, and ye maternal ones, ye with heat that
+suckles the frail and needy before birth, ye waters that have once been
+rulers of us all, we will now address you as the best, and the most
+bountiful; those are yours, those good objects of our offerings, ye long
+of arm to reach our sickness, or misfortune, ye mothers of our life!
+
+
+
+PRAYER FOR HELPERS
+
+
+And now in these Thy dispensations, O Ahura Mazda! do Thou wisely act
+for us, and with abundance with Thy bounty and Thy tenderness as
+touching us; and grant that reward which Thou hast appointed to our
+souls, O Ahura Mazda! Of this do Thou Thyself bestow upon us for this
+world and the spiritual; and now as part thereof do Thou grant that we
+may attain to fellowship with Thee, and Thy Righteousness for all
+duration. And do Thou grant us, O Ahura! men who are righteous, and both
+lovers and producers of the Right as well. And give us trained beasts
+for the pastures, broken in for riding, and for bearing, that they may
+be in helpful companionship with us, and as a source of long enduring
+vigor, and a means of rejoicing grace to us for this. So let there be a
+kinsman lord for us, with the laborers of the village, and so likewise
+let there be the clients. And by the help of those may we arise. So may
+we be to You, O Ahura Mazda! holy and true, and with free giving of our
+gifts.
+
+
+
+
+A PRAYER FOR SANCTITY AND ITS BENEFITS
+
+
+I pray with benedictions for a benefit, and for the good, even for the
+entire creation of the holy and the clean; I beseech for them the
+generation which is now alive, for that which is just coming into life,
+and for that which shall be hereafter. And I pray for that sanctity
+which leads to prosperity, and which has long afforded shelter, which
+goes on hand in hand with it, which joins it in its walk, and of itself
+becoming its close companion as it delivers forth its precepts, bearing
+every form of healing virtue which comes to us in waters, appertains to
+cattle, or is found in plants, and overwhelming all the harmful malice
+of the Devas, and their servants who might harm this dwelling and its
+lord, bringing good gifts, and better blessings, given very early, and
+later gifts, leading to successes, and for a long time giving shelter.
+And so the greatest, and the best, and most beautiful benefits of
+sanctity fall likewise to our lot for the sacrifice, homage,
+propitiation, and the praise of the Bountiful Immortals, for the
+bringing prosperity to this abode, and for the prosperity of the entire
+creation of the holy, and the clean, and as for this, so for the
+opposition of the entire evil creation. And I pray for this as I praise
+through Righteousness, I who am beneficent, those who are likewise of a
+better mind.
+
+
+
+TO THE FIRE
+
+
+I offer my sacrifice and homage to thee, the Fire, as a good offering,
+and an offering with our hail of salvation, even as an offering of
+praise with benedictions, to thee, the Fire, O Ahura Mazda's son! Meet
+for sacrifice art thou, and worthy of our homage. And as meet for
+sacrifice, and thus worthy of our homage, mayest thou be in the houses
+of men who worship Mazda. Salvation be to this man who worships thee in
+verity and truth, with wood in hand, and Baresma ready, with flesh in
+hand, and holding too the mortar. And mayest thou be ever fed with wood
+as the prescription orders. Yea, mayest thou have thy perfume justly,
+and thy sacred butter without fail, and thine andirons regularly placed.
+Be of full-age as to thy nourishment, of the canon's age as to the
+measure of thy food, O Fire, Ahura Mazda's son! Be now aflame within
+this house; be ever without fail in flame; be all a-shine within this
+house; be on thy growth within this house; for long time be thou thus to
+the furtherance of the heroic renovation, to the completion of all
+progress, yea, even till the good heroic millennial time when that
+renovation shall have become complete. Give me, O Fire, Ahura Mazda's
+son! a speedy glory, speedy nourishment, and speedy booty, and abundant
+glory, abundant nourishment, abundant booty, an expanded mind, and
+nimbleness of tongue for soul and understanding, even an understanding
+continually growing in its largeness, and that never wanders, and long
+enduring virile power, an offspring sure of foot, that never sleeps on
+watch, and that rises quick from bed, and likewise a wakeful offspring,
+helpful to nurture, or reclaim, legitimate, keeping order in men's
+meetings, yea, drawing men to assemblies through their influence and
+word, grown to power, skilful, redeeming others from oppression, served
+by many followers, which may advance my line in prosperity and fame, and
+my Vîs, and my Bantu, and my province, yea, an offering which may
+deliver orders to the Province as firm and righteous rulers. And mayest
+thou grant me, O Fire, Ahura Mazda's Son! that whereby instructors may
+be given me, now and for evermore, giving light to me of Heaven, the
+best life of the saints, brilliant, all glorious. And may I have
+experience of the good reward, and the good renown, and of the long
+forecasting preparation of the soul. The Fire of Ahura Mazda addresses
+this admonition to all for whom he cooks the night and morning meal.
+From all these, O Spitama! he wishes to secure good care, and healthful
+care as guarding for salvation, the care of a true praiser. At both the
+hands of all who come by me, I, the Fire, keenly look: What brings the
+mate to his mate, the one who walks at large, to him who sits at home?
+We worship the bounteous Fire, the swift-driving charioteer. And if this
+man who passes brings him wood brought with sacred care, or if he brings
+the Baresma spread with sanctity, or the Hadhâ-naêpata plant, then
+afterwards Ahura Mazda's Fire will bless him, contented, not offended,
+and in its satisfaction saying thus: May a herd of kine be with thee,
+and a multitude of men, may an active mind go with thee, and an active
+soul as well. As a blest soul mayest thou live through thy life, the
+nights which thou shall live. This is the blessing of the Fire for him
+who brings it wood well dried, sought out for flaming, purified with the
+earnest blessing of the sacred ritual truth. We strive after the flowing
+on of the good waters, and their ebb as well, and the sounding of their
+waves, desiring their propitiation; I desire to approach them with my
+praise.
+
+
+
+TO THE BOUNTIFUL IMMORTALS
+
+
+I would worship these with my sacrifice, those who rule aright, and who
+dispose of all aright, and this one especially I would approach with my
+praise (Ahura Mazda). He is thus hymned in our praise-songs. Yea, we
+worship in our sacrifice that deity and lord, who is Ahura Mazda, the
+Creator, the gracious helper, the maker of all good things; and we
+worship in our sacrifice Spitama Zarathustra, that chieftain of the
+rite. And we would declare those institutions established for us, exact
+and undeviating as they are. And I would declare forth those of Ahura
+Mazda, those of the Good Mind, and of Asha Vahista, and those of
+Khshatra-vairya, and those of the Bountiful Âramaiti, and those of Weal
+and Immortality, and those which appertain to the body of the Kine, and
+to the Kine's soul, and those which appertain to Ahura Mazda's Fire, and
+those of Sraosha the blessed, and of Rashnu the most just, and those of
+Mithra of the wide pastures, and of the good and holy Wind, and of the
+good Mazdayasnian Religion, and of the good and pious Prayer for
+blessings, and those of the good and pious Prayer which frees one from
+belying, and the good and pious Prayer for blessing against unbelieving
+words. And these we would declare in order that we may attain unto that
+speech which is uttered with true religious zeal, or that we may be as
+prophets of the provinces, that we may succor him who lifts his voice
+for Mazda, that we may be as prophets who smite with victory, the
+befriended of Ahura Mazda, and persons the most useful to him, holy men
+who think good thoughts, and speak good words, and do good deeds. That
+he may approach us with the Good Mind, and that our souls may advance in
+good, let it thus come; yea, "how may my soul advance in good? let it
+thus advance."
+
+
+
+PRAISE OF THE HOLY BULL
+
+
+Hail, bounteous bull! Hail to thee, beneficent bull! Hail to thee, who
+makest increase! Hail to thee, who makest growth! Hail to thee, who dost
+bestow his part upon the righteous faithful, and wilt bestow it on the
+faithful yet unborn! Hail to thee, whom the Gahi kills, and the ungodly
+Ashemaogha, and the wicked tyrant.
+
+
+
+TO RAIN AS A HEALING POWER
+
+
+"Come, come on, O clouds, from up above, down on the earth, by thousands
+of drops, by myriads of drops"--thus say, O holy Zarathustra! "to
+destroy sickness, to destroy death, to destroy the sickness that kills,
+to destroy death that kills, to destroy Gadha and Apagadha. If death
+come after noon, may healing come at eve! If death come at eve, may
+healing come at night! If death come at night, may healing come at dawn!
+And showers shower down new water, new earth, new plants, new healing
+powers, and new healing."
+
+
+
+TO THE WATERS AND LIGHT OF THE SUN
+
+
+"As the sea Vouru-kasha is the gathering place of the waters, rising up
+and going down, up the aërial way and down the earth, down the earth and
+up the aerial way: thus rise up and roll along! thou in whose rising and
+growing Ahura Mazda made the aerial way. Up! rise up and roll along!
+thou swift-horsed Sun, above Hara Berezaiti, and produce light for the
+world, and mayest thou, O man! rise up there, if thou art to abide in
+Garô-nmânem, along the path made by Mazda, along the way made by the
+gods, the watery way they opened. And the Holy Word shall keep away the
+evil. Of thee, O child! I will cleanse the birth and growth; of thee, O
+woman! I will make the body and the strength pure; I make thee rich in
+children and rich in milk; rich in seed, in milk, in fat, in marrow, and
+in offspring. I shall bring to thee a thousand pure springs, running
+towards the pastures that give food to the child."
+
+
+
+TO THE WATERS AND LIGHT OF THE MOON
+
+
+As the sea Vouru-kasha is the gathering place of the waters, rising up
+and going down, up the aërial way and down the earth, down the earth and
+up the aërial way: Thus rise up and roll along! thou in whose rising and
+growing Ahura Mazda made the earth. Up! rise up, thou Moon, that dost
+keep in thee the seed of the bull; rise up above Hara Berezaiti, and
+produce light for the world, and mayest thou, O man! rise up there, if
+thou art to abide in Garô-nmânem, along the path made by Mazda, along
+the way made by the gods, the watery way they opened. And the Holy Word
+shall keep away the evil: Of thee, O child! I will cleanse the birth and
+growth; of thee, O woman! I will make the body and the strength pure; I
+make thee rich in children and rich in milk; rich in seed, in milk, in
+fat, in marrow, and in offspring. I shall bring to thee a thousand pure
+springs, running towards the pastures that give food to the child.
+
+
+
+TO THE WATERS AND LIGHT OF THE STARS
+
+
+As the sea Vouru-kasha is the gathering place of the waters, rising up
+and going down, up the aërial way and down the earth, down the earth and
+up the aërial way: Thus rise up and roll along! thou in whose rising and
+growing Ahura Mazda made everything that grows. Up! rise up, ye deep
+Stars, that have in you the seed of waters; rise up above Hara
+Berezaiti, and produce light for the world, and mayest thou, O man! rise
+up there, if thou art to abide in Garô-nmânem, along the path made by
+Mazda, along the way made by the gods, the watery way they opened. Thus
+rise up and roll along! ye in whose rising and growing Ahura Mazda made
+everything that rises. In your rising, away will the Kahvuzi fly and
+cry; away will the Ayêhi fly and cry; away will the Gahi, who follows
+the Yâtu, fly and cry.
+
+
+
+
+THE DHAMMAPADA
+
+
+Translation by F. Max Müller
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+The "Dhammapada," or "Path to Virtue," is one of the most practical
+ethical hand-books of Buddhism. It is included in the canon of
+Buddhistic Scriptures, and is one of the Eastern books which can be read
+with delight to-day by those who are classed as general readers. It is
+divided into twenty-six chapters, and the keynote of it is struck by the
+sentence "The virtuous man is happy in this world, and he is happy in
+the next; he is happy in both. He is happy when he thinks of the good he
+has done; he is still more happy when going on the good path." The first
+step in the "good path" is earnestness, for as the writer says,
+"Earnestness is the path of immortality (Nirvana), thoughtlessness the
+path of death; those who are in earnest do not die, those who are
+thoughtless are as if dead already." Earnestness, in this connection,
+evidently means the power of reflection, and of abstracting the mind
+from mundane things. There is something very inspiring in the sentence,
+"When the learned man drives away vanity by earnestness, he, the wise,
+climbing the terraced heights of wisdom, looks down upon the fools: free
+from sorrow he looks upon the sorrowing crowd, as one that stands on a
+mountain looks down upon them that stand upon the plain." This reminds
+us of Lucretius,
+
+  "How sweet to stand, when tempests tear the main,
+  On the firm cliff, and mark the seaman's toil!
+  Not that another's danger soothes the soul,
+  But from such toil how sweet to feel secure!
+  How sweet, at distance from the strife, to view
+  Contending hosts, and hear the clash of war!
+  But sweeter far on Wisdom's height serene,
+  Upheld by Truth, to fix our firm abode;
+  To watch the giddy crowd that, deep below,
+  Forever wander in pursuit of bliss;
+  To mark the strife for honors, and renown,
+  For wit and wealth, insatiate, ceaseless urged,
+  Day after day, with labor unrestrained."
+
+It is curious to see the atheistic Epicurean and the devout Buddhist
+meeting on a common ground. But the beauties of the "Dhammapada" can
+only be realized by a careful study of this charming work. We would
+point out, for instance, in the chapter on Flowers, what is a piece of
+golden advice to all readers of books: "The disciple will find out the
+plainly shown path of virtue, as a clever man finds the right flower."
+
+Neither the date nor the authorship of the "Dhammapada" is known, but
+there is conclusive evidence that this canon existed before the
+Christian era. Many scholars agree in ascribing its utterances to Buddha
+himself, while others are of the opinion that it is a compilation made
+by Buddhist monks from various sources.
+
+E.W.
+
+
+
+
+THE DHAMMAPADA
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE TWIN-VERSES
+
+
+All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on
+our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts
+with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of
+the ox that draws the carriage.
+
+All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on
+our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts
+with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never
+leaves him.
+
+"He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me"--in those who
+harbor such thoughts hatred will never cease.
+
+"He abused me, he beat me, he defeated me, he robbed me"--in those who
+do not harbor such thoughts hatred will cease.
+
+For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by
+love--this is an old rule.
+
+The world does not know that we must all come to an end here; but those
+who know it, their quarrels cease at once.
+
+He who lives looking for pleasures only, his senses uncontrolled,
+immoderate in his food, idle, and weak, Mâra (the tempter) will
+certainly overthrow him, as the wind throws down a weak tree.
+
+He who lives without looking for pleasures, his senses well controlled,
+moderate in his food, faithful and strong, him Mâra will certainly not
+overthrow, any more than the wind throws down a rocky mountain.
+
+He who wishes to put on the yellow dress without having cleansed himself
+from sin, who disregards also temperance and truth, is unworthy of the
+yellow dress.
+
+But he who has cleansed himself from sin, is well grounded in all
+virtues, and endowed also with temperance and truth: he is indeed worthy
+of the yellow dress.
+
+They who imagine truth in untruth, and see untruth in truth, never
+arrive at truth, but follow vain desires.
+
+They who know truth in truth, and untruth in untruth, arrive at truth,
+and follow true desires.
+
+As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break through
+an unreflecting mind.
+
+As rain does not break through a well-thatched house, passion will not
+break through a well-reflecting mind.
+
+The evil-doer mourns in this world, and he mourns in the next; he mourns
+in both. He mourns and suffers when he sees the evil result of his own
+work.
+
+The virtuous man delights in this world, and he delights in the next; he
+delights in both. He delights and rejoices, when he sees the purity of
+his own work.
+
+The evil-doer suffers in this world, and he suffers in the next; he
+suffers in both. He suffers when he thinks of the evil he has done; he
+suffers more when going on the evil path.
+
+The virtuous man is happy in this world, and he is happy in the next; he
+is happy in both. He is happy when he thinks of the good he has done; he
+is still more happy when going on the good path.
+
+The thoughtless man, even if he can recite a large portion of the law,
+but is not a doer of it, has no share in the priesthood, but is like a
+cow-herd counting the cows of others.
+
+The follower of the law, even if he can recite only a small portion of
+the law, but, having forsaken passion and hatred and foolishness,
+possesses true knowledge and serenity of mind, he, caring for nothing in
+this world or that to come, has indeed a share in the priesthood.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+ON EARNESTNESS
+
+
+Earnestness is the path of immortality (Nirvâna), thoughtlessness the
+path of death. Those who are in earnest do not die, those who are
+thoughtless are as if dead already.
+
+Having understood this clearly, those who are advanced in earnestness
+delight in earnestness, and rejoice in the knowledge of the elect.
+
+These wise people, meditative, steady, always possessed of strong
+powers, attain to Nirvâna, the highest happiness.
+
+If an earnest person has roused himself, if he is not forgetful, if his
+deeds are pure, if he acts with consideration, if he restrains himself,
+and lives according to law--then his glory will increase.
+
+By rousing himself, by earnestness, by restraint and control, the wise
+man may make for himself an island which no flood can overwhelm.
+
+Fools follow after vanity. The wise man keeps earnestness as his best
+jewel.
+
+Follow not after vanity, nor after the enjoyment of love and lust! He
+who is earnest and meditative, obtains ample joy.
+
+When the learned man drives away vanity by earnestness, he, the wise,
+climbing the terraced heights of wisdom, looks down upon the fools: free
+from sorrow he looks upon the sorrowing crowd, as one that stands on a
+mountain looks down upon them that stand upon the plain.
+
+Earnest among the thoughtless, awake among the sleepers, the wise man
+advances like a racer, leaving behind the hack.
+
+By earnestness did Maghavan (Indra) rise to the lordship of the gods.
+People praise earnestness; thoughtlessness is always blamed.
+
+A Bhikshu (mendicant) who delights in earnestness, who looks with fear
+on thoughtlessness, moves about like fire, burning all his fetters,
+small or large.
+
+A Bhikshu (mendicant) who delights in reflection, who looks with fear on
+thoughtlessness, cannot fall away from his perfect state--he is close
+upon Nirvâna.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THOUGHT
+
+
+As a fletcher makes straight his arrow, a wise man makes straight his
+trembling and unsteady thought, which is difficult to guard, difficult
+to hold back.
+
+As a fish taken from his watery home and thrown on the dry ground, our
+thought trembles all over in order to escape the dominion of Mâra, the
+tempter.
+
+It is good to tame the mind, which is difficult to hold in and flighty,
+rushing wherever it listeth; a tamed mind brings happiness.
+
+Let the wise man guard his thoughts, for they are difficult to perceive,
+very artful, and they rush wherever they list: thoughts well guarded
+bring happiness.
+
+Those who bridle their mind which travels far, moves about alone, is
+without a body, and hides in the chamber of the heart, will be free from
+the bonds of Mâra, the tempter.
+
+If a man's faith is unsteady, if he does not know the true law, if his
+peace of mind is troubled, his knowledge will never be perfect.
+
+If a man's thoughts are not dissipated, if his mind is not perplexed, if
+he has ceased to think of good or evil, then there is no fear for him
+while he is watchful.
+
+Knowing that this body is fragile like a jar, and making his thought
+firm like a fortress, one should attack Mâra, the tempter, with the
+weapon of knowledge, one should watch him when conquered, and should
+never rest.
+
+Before long, alas! this body will lie on the earth, despised, without
+understanding, like a useless log.
+
+Whatever a hater may do to a hater, or an enemy to an enemy, a
+wrongly-directed mind will do him greater mischief.
+
+Not a mother, not a father, will do so much, nor any other relatives; a
+well-directed mind will do us greater service.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+FLOWERS
+
+
+Who shall overcome this earth, and the world of Yama, the lord of the
+departed, and the world of the gods? Who shall find out the plainly
+shown path of virtue, as a clever man finds the right flower?
+
+The disciple will overcome the earth, and the world of Yama, and the
+world of the gods. The disciple will find out the plainly shown path of
+virtue, as a clever man finds the right flower.
+
+He who knows that this body is like froth, and has learnt that it is as
+unsubstantial as a mirage, will break the flower-pointed arrow of Mâra,
+and never see the king of death.
+
+Death carries off a man who is gathering flowers, and whose mind is
+distracted, as a flood carries off a sleeping village.
+
+Death subdues a man who is gathering flowers, and whose mind is
+distracted, before he is satiated in his pleasures.
+
+As the bee collects nectar and departs without injuring the flower, or
+its color or scent, so let a sage dwell in his village.
+
+Not the perversities of others, not their sins of commission or
+omission, but his own misdeeds and negligences should a sage take notice
+of.
+
+Like a beautiful flower, full of color, but without scent, are the fine
+but fruitless words of him who does not act accordingly.
+
+But, like a beautiful flower, full of color and full of scent, are the
+fine and fruitful words of him who acts accordingly.
+
+As many kinds of wreaths can be made from a heap of flowers, so many
+good things may be achieved by a mortal when once he is born.
+
+The scent of flowers does not travel against the wind, nor that of
+sandal-wood, or of Tagara and Mallikâ flowers; but the odor of good
+people travels even against the wind; a good man pervades every place.
+
+Sandal-wood or Tagara, a lotus-flower, or a Vassikî, among these sorts
+of perfumes, the perfume of virtue is unsurpassed.
+
+Mean is the scent that comes from Tagara and sandal-wood; the perfume of
+those who possess virtue rises up to the gods as the highest.
+
+Of the people who possess these virtues, who live without
+thoughtlessness, and who are emancipated through true knowledge, Mâra,
+the tempter, never finds the way.
+
+As on a heap of rubbish cast upon the highway the lily will grow full of
+sweet perfume and delight, thus among those who are mere rubbish the
+disciple of the truly enlightened Buddha shines forth by his knowledge
+above the blinded worldling.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE FOOL
+
+
+Long is the night to him who is awake; long is a mile to him who is
+tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law.
+
+If a traveller does not meet with one who is his better, or his equal,
+let him firmly keep to his solitary journey; there is no companionship
+with a fool.
+
+"These sons belong to me, and this wealth belongs to me," with such
+thoughts a fool is tormented. He himself does not belong to himself; how
+much less sons and wealth?
+
+The fool who knows his foolishness, is wise at least so far. But a fool
+who thinks himself wise, he is called a fool indeed.
+
+If a fool be associated with a wise man even all his life, he will
+perceive the truth as little as a spoon perceives the taste of soup.
+
+If an intelligent man be associated for one minute only with a wise man,
+he will soon perceive the truth, as the tongue perceives the taste of
+soup.
+
+Fools of poor understanding have themselves for their greatest enemies,
+for they do evil deeds which bear bitter fruits.
+
+That deed is not well done of which a man must repent, and the reward of
+which he receives crying and with a tearful face.
+
+No, that deed is well done of which a man does not repent, and the
+reward of which he receives gladly and cheerfully.
+
+As long as the evil deed done does not bear fruit, the fool thinks it is
+like honey; but when it ripens, then the fool suffers grief.
+
+Let a fool month after month eat his food (like an ascetic) with the tip
+of a blade of Ku['s]a-grass, yet is he not worth the sixteenth particle
+of those who have well weighed the law.
+
+An evil deed, like newly-drawn milk, does not turn suddenly;
+smouldering, like fire covered by ashes, it follows the fool.
+
+And when the evil deed, after it has become known, turns to sorrow for
+the fool, then it destroys his bright lot, nay, it cleaves his head.
+
+Let the fool wish for a false reputation, for precedence among the
+Bhikshus, for lordship in the convents, for worship among other people!
+
+"May both the layman and he who has left the world think that this is
+done by me; may they be subject to me in everything which is to be done
+or is not to be done," thus is the mind of the fool, and his desire and
+pride increase.
+
+"One is the road that leads to wealth, another the road that leads to
+Nirvâna"--if the Bhikshu, the disciple of Buddha, has learnt this, he
+will not yearn for honor, he will strive after separation from the
+world.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE WISE MAN
+
+
+If you see a man who shows you what is to be avoided, who administers
+reproofs, and is intelligent, follow that wise man as you would one who
+tells of hidden treasures; it will be better, not worse, for him who
+follows him.
+
+Let him admonish, let him teach, let him forbid what is improper!--he
+will be beloved of the good, by the bad he will be hated.
+
+Do not have evil-doers for friends, do not have low people for friends:
+have virtuous people for friends, have for friends the best of men.
+
+He who drinks in the law lives happily with a serene mind: the sage
+rejoices always in the law, as preached by the elect.
+
+Well-makers lead the water wherever they like; fletchers bend the arrow;
+carpenters bend a log of wood; wise people fashion themselves.
+
+As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind, wise people falter not amidst
+blame and praise.
+
+Wise people, after they have listened to the laws, become serene, like a
+deep, smooth, and still lake.
+
+Good men indeed walk warily under all circumstances; good men speak not
+out of a desire for sensual gratification; whether touched by happiness
+or sorrow wise people never appear elated or depressed.
+
+If, whether for his own sake, or for the sake of others, a man wishes
+neither for a son, nor for wealth, nor for lordship, and if he does not
+wish for his own success by unfair means, then he is good, wise, and
+virtuous.
+
+Few are there among men who arrive at the other shore (become Arhats);
+the other people here run up and down the shore.
+
+But those who, when the law has been well preached to them, follow the
+law, will pass over the dominion of death, however difficult to cross.
+
+A wise man should leave the dark state of ordinary life, and follow the
+bright state of the Bhikshu. After going from his home to a homeless
+state, he should in his retirement look for enjoyment where enjoyment
+seemed difficult. Leaving all pleasures behind, and calling nothing his
+own, the wise man should purge himself from all the troubles of the
+mind.
+
+Those whose mind is well grounded in the seven elements of knowledge,
+who without clinging to anything, rejoice in freedom from attachment,
+whose appetites have been conquered, and who are full of light, they are
+free even in this world.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE VENERABLE
+
+
+There is no suffering for him who has finished his journey, and
+abandoned grief, who has freed himself on all sides, and thrown off all
+fetters.
+
+They exert themselves with their thoughts well-collected, they do not
+tarry in their abode; like swans who have left their lake, they leave
+their house and home.
+
+Men who have no riches, who live on recognized food, who have perceived
+void and unconditioned freedom (Nirvâna), their path is difficult to
+understand, like that of birds in the air.
+
+He whose appetites are stilled, who is not absorbed in enjoyment, who
+has perceived void and unconditioned freedom (Nirvâna), his path is
+difficult to understand, like that of birds in the air.
+
+The gods even envy him whose senses, like horses well broken in by the
+driver, have been subdued, who is free from pride, and free from
+appetites; such a one who does his duty is tolerant like the earth, or
+like a threshold; he is like a lake without mud; no new births are in
+store for him.
+
+His thought is quiet, quiet are his word and deed, when he has obtained
+freedom by true knowledge, when he has thus become a quiet man.
+
+The man who is free from credulity, but knows the uncreated, who has cut
+all ties, removed all temptations, renounced all desires, he is the
+greatest of men.
+
+In a hamlet or in a forest, on sea or on dry land, wherever venerable
+persons (Arahanta) dwell, that place is delightful.
+
+Forests are delightful; where the world finds no delight, there the
+passionless will find delight, for they look not for pleasures.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE THOUSANDS
+
+
+Even though a speech be a thousand (of words), but made up of senseless
+words, one word of sense is better, which if a man hears, he becomes
+quiet.
+
+Even though a Gâthâ (poem) be a thousand (of words), but made up of
+senseless words, one word of a Gâthâ is better, which if a man hears, he
+becomes quiet.
+
+Though a man recite a hundred Gâthâs made up of senseless words, one
+word of the law is better, which if a man hears, he becomes quiet.
+
+If one man conquer in battle a thousand times a thousand men, and if
+another conquer himself, he is the greatest of conquerors.
+
+One's own self conquered is better than all other people; not even a
+god, a Gandharva, not Mâra (with Brâhman) could change into defeat the
+victory of a man who has vanquished himself, and always lives under
+restraint.
+
+If a man for a hundred years sacrifice month by month with a thousand,
+and if he but for one moment pay homage to a man whose soul is grounded
+in true knowledge, better is that homage than a sacrifice for a hundred
+years.
+
+If a man for a hundred years worship Agni (fire) in the forest, and if
+he but for one moment pay homage to a man whose soul is grounded in true
+knowledge, better is that homage than sacrifice for a hundred years.
+
+Whatever a man sacrifice in this world as an offering or as an oblation
+for a whole year in order to gain merit, the whole of it is not worth a
+quarter a farthing; reverence shown to the righteous is better.
+
+He who always greets and constantly reveres the aged, four things will
+increase to him: life, beauty, happiness, power.
+
+But he who lives a hundred years, vicious and unrestrained, a life of
+one day is better if a man is virtuous and reflecting.
+
+And he who lives a hundred years, ignorant and unrestrained, a life of
+one day is better if a man is wise and reflecting.
+
+And he who lives a hundred years, idle and weak, a life of one day is
+better if a man has attained firm strength.
+
+And he who lives a hundred years, not seeing beginning and end, a life
+of one day is better if a man sees beginning and end.
+
+And he who lives a hundred years, not seeing the immortal place, a life
+of one day is better if a man sees the immortal place.
+
+And he who lives a hundred years, not seeing the highest law, a life of
+one day is better if a man sees the highest law.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+EVIL
+
+
+A man should hasten towards the good, and should keep his thought away
+from evil; if a man does what is good slothfully, his mind delights in
+evil.
+
+If a man commits a sin, let him not do it again; let him not delight in
+sin: the accumulation of evil is painful.
+
+If a man does what is good, let him do it again; let him delight in it:
+the accumulation of good is delightful.
+
+Even an evil-doer sees happiness so long as his evil deed does not
+ripen; but when his evil deed ripens, then does the evil-doer see evil.
+
+Even a good man sees evil days so long as his good deed does not ripen;
+but when his good deed ripens, then does the good man see good things.
+
+Let no man think lightly of evil, saying in his heart, It will not come
+nigh unto me. Even by the falling of water-drops a water-pot is filled;
+the fool becomes full of evil, even if he gather it little by little.
+
+Let no man think lightly of good, saying in his heart, It will not come
+nigh unto me. Even by the falling of water-drops a water-pot is filled;
+the wise man becomes full of good, even if he gather it little by
+little.
+
+Let a man avoid evil deeds, as a merchant, if he has few companions and
+carries much wealth, avoids a dangerous road; as a man who loves life
+avoids poison.
+
+He who has no wound on his hand, may touch poison with his hand; poison
+does not affect one who has no wound; nor is there evil for one who does
+not commit evil.
+
+If a man offend a harmless, pure, and innocent person, the evil falls
+back upon that fool, like light dust thrown up against the wind.
+
+Some people are born again; evil-doers go to hell; righteous people go
+to heaven; those who are free from all worldly desires attain Nirvâna.
+
+Not in the sky, not in the midst of the sea, not if we enter into the
+clefts of the mountains, is there known a spot in the whole world where
+a man might be freed from an evil deed.
+
+Not in the sky, not in the midst of the sea, not if we enter into the
+clefts of the mountains, is there known a spot in the whole world where
+death could not overcome the mortal.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+PUNISHMENT
+
+
+All men tremble at punishment, all men fear death; remember that you are
+like unto them, and do not kill, nor cause slaughter.
+
+All men tremble at punishment, all men love life; remember that thou art
+like unto them, and do not kill, nor cause slaughter.
+
+He who, seeking his own happiness, punishes or kills beings who also
+long for happiness, will not find happiness after death.
+
+He who, seeking his own happiness, does not punish or kill beings who
+also long for happiness, will find happiness after death.
+
+Do not speak harshly to anyone; those who are spoken to will answer thee
+in the same way. Angry speech is painful: blows for blows will touch
+thee.
+
+If, like a shattered metal plate (gong), thou utter nothing, then thou
+hast reached Nirvâna; anger is not known to thee.
+
+As a cow-herd with his staff drives his cows into the stable, so do Age
+and Death drive the life of men.
+
+A fool does not know when he commits his evil deeds: but the wicked man
+burns by his own deeds, as if burnt by fire.
+
+He who inflicts pain on innocent and harmless persons, will soon come to
+one of these ten states:--
+
+He will have cruel suffering, loss, injury of the body, heavy
+affliction, or loss of mind.
+
+A misfortune coming from the king, or a fearful accusation, or loss of
+relations, or destruction of treasures.
+
+Lightning-fire will burn his houses; and when his body is destroyed, the
+fool will go to hell.
+
+Not nakedness, not platted hair, not dirt, not fasting, or lying on the
+earth, not rubbing with dust, not sitting motionless, can purify a
+mortal who has not overcome desires.
+
+He who, though dressed in fine apparel, exercises tranquillity, is
+quiet, subdued, restrained, chaste, and has ceased to find fault with
+all other beings, he indeed is a Brâhmana, an ascetic (Sramana), a friar
+(Bhikshu).
+
+Is there in this world any man so restrained by shame that he does not
+provoke reproof, as a noble horse the whip?
+
+Like a noble horse when touched by the whip, be ye strenuous and eager,
+and by faith, by virtue, by energy, by meditation, by discernment of the
+law, you will overcome this great pain, perfect in knowledge and in
+behavior, and never forgetful.
+
+Well-makers lead the water wherever they like; fletchers bend the arrow;
+carpenters bend a log of wood; good people fashion themselves.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+OLD AGE
+
+
+How is there laughter, how is there joy, as this world is always
+burning? Do you not seek a light, ye who are surrounded by darkness?
+
+Look at this dressed-up lump, covered with wounds, joined together,
+sickly, full of many schemes, but which has no strength, no hold!
+
+This body is wasted, full of sickness, and frail; this heap of
+corruption breaks to pieces, life indeed ends in death.
+
+After one has looked at those gray bones, thrown away like gourds in the
+autumn, what pleasure is there left in life!
+
+After a stronghold has been made of the bones, it is covered with flesh
+and blood, and there dwell in it old age and death, pride and deceit.
+
+The brilliant chariots of kings are destroyed, the body also approaches
+destruction, but the virtue of good people never approaches
+destruction--thus do the good say to the good.
+
+A man who has learnt little, grows old like an ox; his flesh grows, but
+his knowledge does not grow.
+
+Looking for the maker of this tabernacle, I have run through a course of
+many births, not finding him; and painful is birth again and again. But
+now, maker of the tabernacle, thou hast been seen; thou shalt not make
+up this tabernacle again. All thy rafters are broken, thy ridge-pole is
+sundered; the mind, approaching the Eternal (Visankhâra, Nirvâna), has
+attained to the extinction of all desires.
+
+Men who have not observed proper discipline, and have not gained wealth
+in their youth, perish like old herons in a lake without fish.
+
+Men who have not observed proper discipline, and have not gained wealth
+in their youth, lie, like broken bows, sighing after the past.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+SELF
+
+
+If a man hold himself dear, let him watch himself carefully; during one
+at least out of the three watches a wise man should be watchful.
+
+Let each man direct himself first to what is proper, then let him teach
+others; thus a wise man will not suffer.
+
+If a man make himself as he teaches others to be, then, being himself
+well subdued, he may subdue others; for one's own self is difficult to
+subdue.
+
+Self is the lord of self, who else could be the lord? With self well
+subdued, a man finds a lord such as few can find.
+
+The evil done by one's self, self-forgotten, self-bred, crushes the
+foolish, as a diamond breaks even a precious stone.
+
+He whose wickedness is very great brings himself down to that state
+where his enemy wishes him to be, as a creeper does with the tree which
+it surrounds.
+
+Bad deeds, and deeds hurtful to ourselves, are easy to do; what is
+beneficial and good, that is very difficult to do.
+
+The foolish man who scorns the rule of the venerable (Arhat), of the
+elect (Ariya), of the virtuous, and follows a false doctrine, he bears
+fruit to his own destruction, like the fruits of the Katthaka reed.
+
+By one's self the evil is done, by one's self one suffers; by one's self
+evil is left undone, by one's self one is purified. The pure and the
+impure stand and fall by themselves, no one can purify another.
+
+Let no one forget his own duty for the sake of another's, however great;
+let a man, after he has discerned his own duty, be always attentive to
+his duty.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE WORLD
+
+
+Do not follow the evil law! Do not live on in thoughtlessness! Do not
+follow false doctrine! Be not a friend of the world.
+
+Rouse thyself! do not be idle! Follow the law of virtue! The virtuous
+rest in bliss in this world and in the next.
+
+Follow the law of virtue; do not follow that of sin. The virtuous rest
+in bliss in this world and in the next.
+
+Look upon the world as you would on a bubble, look upon it as you would
+on a mirage: the king of death does not see him who thus looks down upon
+the world.
+
+Come, look at this world, glittering like a royal chariot; the foolish
+are immersed in it, but the wise do not touch it.
+
+He who formerly was reckless and afterwards became sober brightens up
+this world, like the moon when freed from clouds.
+
+He whose evil deeds are covered by good deeds, brightens up this world,
+like the moon when freed from clouds.
+
+This world is dark, few only can see here; a few only go to heaven, like
+birds escaped from the net.
+
+The swans go on the path of the sun, they go miraculously through the
+ether; the wise are led out of this world, when they have conquered Mâra
+and his train.
+
+If a man has transgressed the one law, and speaks lies, and scoffs at
+another world, there is no evil he will not do.
+
+The uncharitable do not go to the world of the gods; fools only do not
+praise liberality; a wise man rejoices in liberality, and through it
+becomes blessed in the other world.
+
+Better than sovereignty over the earth, better than going to heaven,
+better than lordship over all worlds, is the reward of Sotâpatti, the
+first step in holiness.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE BUDDHA--THE AWAKENED
+
+
+He whose conquest cannot be conquered again, into whose conquest no one
+in this world enters, by what track can you lead him, the Awakened, the
+Omniscient, the trackless?
+
+He whom no desire with its snares and poisons can lead astray, by what
+track can you lead him, the Awakened, the Omniscient, the trackless?
+
+Even the gods envy those who are awakened and not forgetful, who are
+given to meditation, who are wise, and who delight in the repose of
+retirement from the world.
+
+Difficult to obtain is the conception of men, difficult is the life of
+mortals, difficult is the hearing of the True Law, difficult is the
+birth of the Awakened (the attainment of Buddhahood).
+
+Not to commit any sin, to do good, and to purify one's mind, that is the
+teaching of all the Awakened.
+
+The Awakened call patience the highest penance, long-suffering the
+highest Nirvâna; for he is not an anchorite (Pravra-gita) who strikes
+others, he is not an ascetic (Sramana) who insults others.
+
+Not to blame, not to strike, to live restrained under the law, to be
+moderate in eating, to sleep and sit alone, and to dwell on the highest
+thoughts--this is the teaching of the Awakened.
+
+There is no satisfying lusts, even by a shower of gold pieces; he who
+knows that lusts have a short taste and cause pain, he is wise; even in
+heavenly pleasures he finds no satisfaction, the disciple who is fully
+awakened delights only in the destruction of all desires.
+
+Men, driven by fear, go to many a refuge, to mountains and forests, to
+groves and sacred trees.
+
+But that is not a safe refuge, that is not the best refuge; a man is not
+delivered from all pains after having gone to that refuge.
+
+He who takes refuge with Buddha, the Law, and the Church; he who, with
+clear understanding, sees the four holy truths: pain, the origin of
+pain, the destruction of pain, and the eightfold holy way that leads to
+the quieting of pain;--that is the safe refuge, that is the best refuge;
+having gone to that refuge, a man is delivered from all pain.
+
+A supernatural person (a Buddha) is not easily found: he is not born
+everywhere. Wherever such a sage is born, that race prospers.
+
+Happy is the arising of the Awakened, happy is the teaching of the True
+Law, happy is peace in the church, happy is the devotion of those who
+are at peace.
+
+He who pays homage to those who deserve homage, whether the awakened
+(Buddha) or their disciples, those who have overcome the host of evils,
+and crossed the flood of sorrow, he who pays homage to such as have
+found deliverance and know no fear, his merit can never be measured by
+anyone.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+HAPPINESS
+
+
+We live happily indeed, not hating those who hate us! among men who hate
+us we dwell free from hatred! We live happily indeed, free from ailments
+among the ailing! among men who are ailing let us dwell free from
+ailments!
+
+We live happily indeed, free from greed among the greedy! among men who
+are greedy let us dwell free from greed!
+
+We live happily indeed, though we call nothing our own! We shall be like
+the bright gods, feeding on happiness!
+
+Victory breeds hatred, for the conquered is unhappy. He who has given up
+both victory and defeat, he, the contented, is happy.
+
+There is no fire like passion; there is no losing throw like hatred;
+there is no pain like this body; there is no happiness higher than rest.
+
+Hunger is the worst of diseases, the elements of the body the greatest
+evil; if one knows this truly, that is Nirvâna, the highest happiness.
+
+Health is the greatest of gifts, contentedness the best riches; trust is
+the best of relationships, Nirvâna the highest happiness.
+
+He who has tasted the sweetness of solitude and tranquillity, is free
+from fear and free from sin, while he tastes the sweetness of drinking
+in the law.
+
+The sight of the elect (Ariya) is good, to live with them is always
+happiness; if a man does not see fools, he will be truly happy.
+
+He who walks in the company of fools suffers a long way; company with
+fools, as with an enemy, is always painful; company with the wise is
+pleasure, like meeting with kinsfolk.
+
+Therefore, one ought to follow the wise, the intelligent, the learned,
+the much enduring, the dutiful, the elect; one ought to follow such a
+good and wise man, as the moon follows the path of the stars.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+PLEASURE
+
+
+He who gives himself to vanity, and does not give himself to meditation,
+forgetting the real aim of life and grasping at pleasure, will in time
+envy him who has exerted himself in meditation.
+
+Let no man ever cling to what is pleasant, or to what is unpleasant. Not
+to see what is pleasant is pain, and it is pain to see what is
+unpleasant.
+
+Let, therefore, no man love anything; loss of the beloved is evil. Those
+who love nothing, and hate nothing, have no fetters.
+
+From pleasure comes grief, from pleasure comes fear; he who is free from
+pleasure knows neither grief nor fear.
+
+From affection comes grief, from affection comes fear; he who is free
+from affection knows neither grief nor fear.
+
+From lust comes grief, from lust comes fear; he who is free from lust
+knows neither grief nor fear.
+
+From love comes grief, from love comes fear; he who is free from love
+knows neither grief nor fear.
+
+From greed comes grief, from greed comes fear; he who is free from greed
+knows neither grief nor fear.
+
+He who possesses virtue and intelligence, who is just, speaks the truth,
+and does what is his own business, him the world will hold dear.
+
+He in whom a desire for the Ineffable (Nirvâna) has sprung up, who in
+his mind is satisfied, and whose thoughts are not bewildered by love, he
+is called ûrdhvamsrotas (carried upwards by the stream).
+
+Kinsmen, friends, and lovers salute a man who has been long away, and
+returns safe from afar.
+
+In like manner his good works receive him who has done good, and has
+gone from this world to the other;--as kinsmen receive a friend on his
+return.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+ANGER
+
+
+Let a man leave anger, let him forsake pride, let him overcome all
+bondage! No sufferings befall the man who is not attached to name and
+form, and who calls nothing his own.
+
+He who holds back rising anger like a rolling chariot, him I call a real
+driver; other people are but holding the reins.
+
+Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good; let him
+overcome the greedy by liberality, the liar by truth!
+
+Speak the truth, do not yield to anger; give, if thou art asked for
+little; by these three steps thou wilt go near the gods.
+
+The sages who injure nobody, and who always control their body, they
+will go to the unchangeable place (Nirvâna), where, if they have gone,
+they will suffer no more.
+
+Those who are ever watchful, who study day and night, and who strive
+after Nirvâna, their passions will come to an end.
+
+This is an old saying, O Atula, this is not as if of to-day: "They blame
+him who sits silent, they blame him who speaks much, they also blame him
+who says little; there is no one on earth who is not blamed."
+
+There never was, there never will be, nor is there now, a man who is
+always blamed, or a man who is always praised.
+
+But he whom those who discriminate praise continually day after day, as
+without blemish, wise, rich in knowledge and virtue, who would dare to
+blame him, like a coin made of gold from the Gambû river? Even the gods
+praise him, he is praised even by Brâhman.
+
+Beware of bodily anger, and control thy body! Leave the sins of the
+body, and with thy body practise virtue!
+
+Beware of the anger of the tongue, and control thy tongue! Leave the
+sins of the tongue, and practise virtue with thy tongue!
+
+Beware of the anger of the mind, and control thy mind! Leave the sins of
+the mind, and practise virtue with thy mind!
+
+The wise who control their body, who control their tongue, the wise who
+control their mind, are indeed well controlled.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+IMPURITY
+
+
+Thou art now like a sear leaf, the messengers of death (Yama) have come
+near to thee; thou standest at the door of thy departure, and thou hast
+no provision for thy journey.
+
+Make thyself an island, work hard, be wise! When thy impurities are
+blown away, and thou art free from guilt, thou wilt enter into the
+heavenly world of the elect (Ariya).
+
+Thy life has come to an end, thou art come near to death (Yama), there
+is no resting-place for thee on the road, and thou hast no provision for
+thy journey.
+
+Make thyself an island, work hard, be wise! When thy impurities are
+blown away, and thou art free from guilt, thou wilt not enter again into
+birth and decay.
+
+Let a wise man blow off the impurities of himself, as a smith blows off
+the impurities of silver, one by one, little by little, and from time to
+time.
+
+As the impurity which springs from the iron, when it springs from it,
+destroys it; thus do a transgressor's own works lead him to the evil
+path.
+
+The taint of prayers is non-repetition; the taint of houses, non-repair;
+the taint of complexion is sloth; the taint of a watchman,
+thoughtlessness.
+
+Bad conduct is the taint of woman, niggardliness the taint of a
+benefactor; tainted are all evil ways, in this world and in the next.
+
+But there is a taint worse than all taints--ignorance is the greatest
+taint. O mendicants! throw off that taint, and become taintless!
+
+Life is easy to live for a man who is without shame: a crow hero, a
+mischief-maker, an insulting, bold, and wretched fellow.
+
+But life is hard to live for a modest man, who always looks for what is
+pure, who is disinterested, quiet, spotless, and intelligent.
+
+He who destroys life, who speaks untruth, who in the world takes what is
+not given him, who goes to another man's wife; and the man who gives
+himself to drinking intoxicating liquors, he, even in this world, digs
+up his own root.
+
+O man, know this, that the unrestrained are in a bad state; take care
+that greediness and vice do not bring thee to grief for a long time!
+
+The world gives according to their faith or according to their pleasure:
+if a man frets about the food and the drink given to others, he will
+find no rest either by day or by night.
+
+He in whom that feeling is destroyed, and taken out with the very root,
+finds rest by day and by night.
+
+There is no fire like passion, there is no shark like hatred, there is
+no snare like folly, there is no torrent like greed.
+
+The fault of others is easily perceived, but that of one's self is
+difficult to perceive; a man winnows his neighbor's faults like chaff,
+but his own fault he hides, as a cheat hides the bad die from the
+player.
+
+If a man looks after the faults of others, and is always inclined to be
+offended, his own passions will grow, and he is far from the destruction
+of passions.
+
+There is no path through the air, a man is not a Samana outwardly. The
+world delights in vanity, the Tathâgatas (the Buddhas) are free from
+vanity.
+
+There is no path through the air, a man is not a Samana outwardly. No
+creatures are eternal; but the awakened (Buddha) are never shaken.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+THE JUST
+
+
+A man is not just if he carries a matter by violence; no, he who
+distinguishes both right and wrong, who is learned and guides others,
+not by violence, but by the same law, being a guardian of the law and
+intelligent, he is called just.
+
+A man is not learned because he talks much; he who is patient, free from
+hatred and fear, he is called learned.
+
+A man is not a supporter of the law because he talks much; even if a man
+has learnt little, but sees the law bodily, he is a supporter of the
+law, a man who never neglects the law.
+
+A man is not an elder because his head is gray; his age may be ripe, but
+he is called "Old-in-vain."
+
+He in whom there is truth, virtue, pity, restraint, moderation, he who
+is free from impurity and is wise, he is called an elder.
+
+An envious, stingy, dishonest man does not become respectable by means
+of much talking only, or by the beauty of his complexion.
+
+He in whom all this is destroyed, and taken out with the very root, he,
+when freed from hatred, is called respectable.
+
+Not by tonsure does an undisciplined man who speaks falsehood become a
+Samana; can a man be a Samana who is still held captive by desire and
+greediness?
+
+He who always quiets the evil, whether small or large, he is called a
+Samana (a quiet man), because he has quieted all evil.
+
+A man is not a mendicant (Bhikshu) simply because he asks others for
+alms; he who adopts the whole law is a Bhikshu, not he who only begs.
+
+He who is above good and evil, who is chaste, who with care passes
+through the world, he indeed is called a Bhikshu.
+
+A man is not a Muni because he observes silence if he is foolish and
+ignorant; but the wise who, as with the balance, chooses the good and
+avoids evil, he is a Muni, and is a Muni thereby; he who in this world
+weighs both sides is called a Muni.
+
+A man is not an elect (Ariya) because he injures living creatures;
+because he has pity on all living creatures, therefore is a man called
+Ariya.
+
+Not only by discipline and vows, not only by much learning, not by
+entering into a trance, not by sleeping alone, do I earn the happiness
+of release which no worldling can know. O Bhikshu, he who has obtained
+the extinction of desires has obtained confidence.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+THE WAY
+
+
+The best of ways is the eightfold; the best of truths the four words;
+the best of virtues passionlessness; the best of men he who has eyes to
+see.
+
+This is the way, there is no other that leads to the purifying of
+intelligence. Go on this path! This is the confusion of Mâra, the
+tempter.
+
+If you go on this way, you will make an end of pain! The way preached by
+me, when I had understood the removal of the thorns in the flesh.
+
+You yourself must make an effort. The Tathâgatas (Buddhas) are only
+preachers. The thoughtful who enter the way are freed from the bondage
+of Mâra.
+
+"All created things perish," he who knows and sees this becomes passive
+in pain; this is the way to purity.
+
+"All created things are grief and pain," he who knows and sees this
+becomes passive in pain; this is the way that leads to purity.
+
+"All forms are unreal," he who knows and sees this becomes passive in
+pain; this is the way that leads to purity.
+
+He who does not rouse himself when it is time to rise, who, though young
+and strong, is full of sloth, whose will and thought are weak, that lazy
+and idle man never finds the way to knowledge.
+
+Watching his speech, well restrained in mind, let a man never commit any
+wrong with his body! Let a man but keep these three roads of action
+clear, and he will achieve the way which is taught by the wise.
+
+Through zeal knowledge is gained, through lack of zeal knowledge is
+lost; let a man who knows this double path of gain and loss thus place
+himself that knowledge may grow.
+
+Cut down the whole forest of desires, not a tree only! Danger comes out
+of the forest of desires. When you have cut down both the forest of
+desires and its undergrowth, then, Bhikshus, you will be rid of the
+forest and of desires!
+
+So long as the desire of man towards women, even the smallest, is not
+destroyed, so long is his mind in bondage, as the calf that drinks milk
+is to its mother.
+
+Cut out the love of self, like an autumn lotus, with thy hand! Cherish
+the road of peace. Nirvâna has been shown by Sugata (Buddha).
+
+"Here I shall dwell in the rain, here in winter and summer," thus the
+fool meditates, and does not think of death.
+
+Death comes and carries off that man, honored for his children and
+flocks, his mind distracted, as a flood carries off a sleeping village.
+
+Sons are no help, nor a father, nor relations; there is no help from
+kinsfolk for one whom death has seized.
+
+A wise and well-behaved man who knows the meaning of this should quickly
+clear the way that leads to Nirvâna.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+MISCELLANEOUS
+
+
+If by leaving a small pleasure one sees a great pleasure, let a wise man
+leave the small pleasure, and look to the great.
+
+He who, by causing pain to others, wishes to obtain pleasure for
+himself, he, entangled in the bonds of hatred, will never be free from
+hatred.
+
+What ought to be done is neglected, what ought not to be done is done;
+the desires of unruly, thoughtless people are always increasing.
+
+But they whose whole watchfulness is always directed to their body, who
+do not follow what ought not to be done, and who steadfastly do what
+ought to be done, the desires of such watchful and wise people will come
+to an end.
+
+A true Brâhmana goes scathless, though he have killed father and mother,
+and two valiant kings, though he has destroyed a kingdom with all its
+subjects.
+
+A true Brâhmana goes scathless, though he have killed father and mother,
+and two holy kings, and an eminent man besides.
+
+The disciples of Gotama (Buddha) are always well awake, and their
+thoughts day and night are always set on Buddha.
+
+The disciples of Gotama are always well awake, and their thoughts day
+and night are always set on the law.
+
+The disciples of Gotama are always well awake, and their thoughts day
+and night are always set on the church.
+
+The disciples of Gotama are always well awake, and their thoughts day
+and night are always set on their body.
+
+The disciples of Gotama are always well awake, and their mind day and
+night always delights in compassion.
+
+The disciples of Gotama are always well awake, and their mind day and
+night always delights in meditation.
+
+It is hard to leave the world to become a friar, it is hard to enjoy the
+world; hard is the monastery, painful are the houses; painful it is to
+dwell with equals to share everything in common, and the itinerant
+mendicant is beset with pain. Therefore let no man be an itinerant
+mendicant, and he will not be beset with pain.
+
+A man full of faith, if endowed with virtue and glory, is respected,
+whatever place he may choose.
+
+Good people shine from afar, like the snowy mountains; bad people are
+not seen, like arrows shot by night.
+
+Sitting alone, lying down alone, walking alone without ceasing, and
+alone subduing himself, let a man be happy near the edge of a forest.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+THE DOWNWARD COURSE
+
+
+He who says what is not goes to hell; he also who, having done a thing,
+says I have not done it. After death both are equal: they are men with
+evil deeds in the next world.
+
+Many men whose shoulders are covered with the yellow gown are
+ill-conditioned and unrestrained; such evil-doers by their evil deeds go
+to hell.
+
+Better it would be to swallow a heated iron ball, like flaring fire,
+than that a bad unrestrained fellow should live on the charity of the
+land.
+
+Four things does a reckless man gain who covets his neighbor's
+wife--demerit, an uncomfortable bed, thirdly, punishment, and lastly,
+hell.
+
+There is demerit, and the evil way to hell: there is the short pleasure
+of the frightened in the arms of the frightened, and the king imposes
+heavy punishment; therefore let no man think of his neighbor's wife.
+
+As a grass-blade, if badly grasped, cuts the arm, badly-practised
+asceticism leads to hell.
+
+An act carelessly performed, a broken vow, and hesitating obedience to
+discipline (Brâhma-kariyam), all these bring no great reward.
+
+If anything is to be done, let a man do it, let him attack it
+vigorously! A careless pilgrim only scatters the dust of his passions
+more widely.
+
+An evil deed is better left undone, for a man repents of it afterwards;
+a good deed is better done, for having done it, one does not repent.
+
+Like a well-guarded frontier fort, with defences within and without, so
+let a man guard himself. Not a moment should escape, for they who allow
+the right moment to pass, suffer pain when they are in hell.
+
+They who are ashamed of what they ought not to be ashamed of, and are
+not ashamed of what they ought to be ashamed of, such men, embracing
+false doctrines, enter the evil path.
+
+They who fear when they ought not to fear, and fear not when they ought
+to fear, such men, embracing false doctrines, enter the evil path.
+
+They who see sin where there is no sin, and see no sin where there is
+sin, such men, embracing false doctrines, enter the evil path.
+
+They who see sin where there is sin, and no sin where there is no sin,
+such men, embracing the true doctrine, enter the good path.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+THE ELEPHANT
+
+
+Silently I endured abuse as the elephant in battle endures the arrow
+sent from the bow: for the world is ill-natured.
+
+They lead a tamed elephant to battle, the king mounts a tamed elephant;
+the tamed is the best among men, he who silently endures abuse.
+
+Mules are good, if tamed, and noble Sindhu horses, and elephants with
+large tusks; but he who tames himself is better still.
+
+For with these animals does no man reach the untrodden country
+(Nirvâna), where a tamed man goes on a tamed animal--on his own
+well-tamed self.
+
+The elephant called Dhanapâlaka, his temples running with pungent sap,
+and who is difficult to hold, does not eat a morsel when bound; the
+elephant longs for the elephant grove.
+
+If a man becomes fat and a great eater, if he is sleepy and rolls
+himself about, that fool, like a hog fed on grains, is born again and
+again.
+
+This mind of mine went formerly wandering about as it liked, as it
+listed, as it pleased; but I shall now hold it in thoroughly, as the
+rider who holds the hook holds in the furious elephant.
+
+Be not thoughtless, watch your thoughts! Draw yourself out of the evil
+way, like an elephant sunk in mud.
+
+If a man find a prudent companion who walks with him, is wise, and lives
+soberly, he may walk with him, overcoming all dangers, happy, but
+considerate.
+
+If a man find no prudent companion who walks with him, is wise, and
+lives soberly, let him walk alone, like a king who has left his
+conquered country behind--like an elephant in the forest.
+
+It is better to live alone: there is no companionship with a fool; let a
+man walk alone, let him commit no sin, with few wishes, like an elephant
+in the forest.
+
+If the occasion arises, friends are pleasant; enjoyment is pleasant,
+whatever be the cause; a good work is pleasant in the hour of death; the
+giving up of all grief is pleasant.
+
+Pleasant in the world is the state of a mother, pleasant the state of a
+father, pleasant the state of a Samana, pleasant the state of a
+Brâhmana.
+
+Pleasant is virtue lasting to old age, pleasant is a faith firmly
+rooted; pleasant is attainment of intelligence, pleasant is avoiding of
+sins.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+THIRST
+
+
+The thirst of a thoughtless man grows like a creeper; he runs from life
+to life, like a monkey seeking fruit in the forest.
+
+Whomsoever this fierce poisonous thirst overcomes, in this world, his
+sufferings increase like the abounding Bîrana grass.
+
+But from him who overcomes this fierce thirst, difficult to be conquered
+in this world, sufferings fall off, like water-drops from a lotus leaf.
+
+This salutary word I tell you, "Do ye, as many as are here assembled,
+dig up the root of thirst, as he who wants the sweet-scented Usîra root
+must dig up the Bîrana grass, that Mâra, the tempter, may not crush you
+again and again, as the stream crushes the reeds."
+
+As a tree, even though it has been cut down, is firm so long as its root
+is safe, and grows again, thus, unless the feeders of thirst are
+destroyed, this pain of life will return again and again.
+
+He whose thirty-six streams are strongly flowing in the channels of
+pleasure, the waves--his desires which are set on passion--will carry
+away that misguided man.
+
+The channels run everywhere, the creeper of passion stands sprouting; if
+you see the creeper springing up, cut its root by means of knowledge.
+
+A creature's pleasures are extravagant and luxurious; given up to
+pleasure and deriving happiness, men undergo again and again birth and
+decay.
+
+Beset with lust, men run about like a snared hare; held in fetters and
+bonds, they undergo pain for a long time, again and again.
+
+Beset with lust, men run about like a snared hare; let therefore the
+mendicant drive out thirst, by striving after passionlessness for
+himself.
+
+He who, having got rid of the forest of lust (after having reached
+Nirvâna), gives himself over to forest-life (to lust), and who, when
+free from the forest (from lust), runs to the forest (to lust), look at
+that man! though free, he runs into bondage.
+
+Wise people do not call that a strong fetter which is made of iron,
+wood, or hemp; passionately strong is the care for precious stones and
+rings, for sons and a wife.
+
+That fetter wise people call strong which drags down, yields, but is
+difficult to undo; after having cut this at last, people leave the
+world, free from cares, and leaving the pleasures of love behind.
+
+Those who are slaves to passions, run down the stream of desires, as a
+spider runs down the web which he has made himself; when they have cut
+this, at last, wise people go onwards, free from cares, leaving all pain
+behind.
+
+Give up what is before, give up what is behind, give up what is between,
+when thou goest to the other shore of existence; if thy mind is
+altogether free, thou wilt not again enter into birth and decay.
+
+If a man is tossed about by doubts, full of strong passions, and
+yearning only for what is delightful, his thirst will grow more and
+more, and he will indeed make his fetters strong.
+
+If a man delights in quieting doubts, and, always reflecting, dwells on
+what is not delightful, he certainly will remove, nay, he will cut the
+fetter of Mâra.
+
+He who has reached the consummation, who does not tremble, who is
+without thirst and without sin, he has broken all the thorns of life:
+this will be his last body.
+
+He who is without thirst and without affection, who understands the
+words and their interpretation, who knows the order of letters (those
+which are before and which are after), he has received his last body, he
+is called the great sage, the great man.
+
+"I have conquered all, I know all, in all conditions of life I am free
+from taint; I have left all, and through the destruction of thirst I am
+free; having learnt myself, whom should I indicate as my teacher?"
+
+The gift of the law exceeds all gifts; the sweetness of the law exceeds
+all sweetness; the delight in the law exceeds all delights; the
+extinction of thirst overcomes all pain.
+
+Riches destroy the foolish, if they look not for the other shore; the
+foolish by his thirst for riches destroys himself, as if he were
+destroying others.
+
+The fields are damaged by weeds, mankind is damaged by passion:
+therefore a gift bestowed on the passionless brings great reward.
+
+The fields are damaged by weeds, mankind is damaged by hatred: therefore
+a gift bestowed on those who do not hate brings great reward.
+
+The fields are damaged by weeds, mankind is damaged by vanity: therefore
+a gift bestowed on those who are free from vanity brings great reward.
+
+The fields are damaged by weeds, mankind is damaged by lust: therefore a
+gift bestowed on those who are free from lust brings great reward.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+THE BHIKSHU
+
+
+Restraint in the eye is good, good is restraint in the ear, in the nose
+restraint is good, good is restraint in the tongue.
+
+In the body restraint is good, good is restraint in speech, in thought
+restraint is good, good is restraint in all things. A Bhikshu,
+restrained in all things, is freed from all pain.
+
+He who controls his hand, he who controls his feet, he who controls his
+speech, he who is well controlled, he who delights inwardly, who is
+collected, who is solitary and content, him they call Bhikshu.
+
+The Bhikshu who controls his mouth, who speaks wisely and calmly, who
+teaches the meaning and the law, his word is sweet.
+
+He who dwells in the law, delights in the law, meditates on the law,
+recollects the law: that Bhikshu will never fall away from the true law.
+
+Let him not despise what he has received, nor ever envy others: a
+mendicant who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.
+
+A Bhikshu who, though he receives little, does not despise what he has
+received, even the gods will praise him, if his life is pure, and if he
+is not slothful.
+
+He who never identifies himself with name and form, and does not grieve
+over what is no more, he indeed is called a Bhikshu.
+
+The Bhikshu who behaves with kindness, who is happy in the doctrine of
+Buddha, will reach the quiet place (Nirvâna), happiness arising from the
+cessation of natural inclinations.
+
+O Bhikshu, empty this boat! if emptied, it will go quickly; having cut
+off passion and hatred, thou wilt go to Nirvâna.
+
+Cut off the five fetters, leave the five, rise above the five. A
+Bhikshu, who has escaped from the five fetters, he is called
+Oghatinna--"saved from the flood."
+
+Meditate, O Bhikshu, and be not heedless! Do not direct thy thought to
+what gives pleasure, that thou mayest not for thy heedlessness have to
+swallow the iron ball in hell, and that thou mayest not cry out when
+burning, "This is pain."
+
+Without knowledge there is no meditation, without meditation there is no
+knowledge: he who has knowledge and meditation is near unto Nirvâna.
+
+A Bhikshu who has entered his empty house, and whose mind is tranquil,
+feels a more than human delight when he sees the law clearly.
+
+As soon as he has considered the origin and destruction of the elements
+of the body, he finds happiness and joy which belong to those who know
+the immortal (Nirvâna).
+
+And this is the beginning here for a wise Bhikshu: watchfulness over the
+senses, contentedness, restraint under the law; keep noble friends whose
+life is pure, and who are not slothful.
+
+Let him live in charity, let him be perfect in his duties; then in the
+fulness of delight he will make an end of suffering.
+
+As the Vassikâ plant sheds its withered flowers, men should shed passion
+and hatred, O ye Bhikshus!
+
+The Bhikshu whose body and tongue and mind are quieted, who is
+collected, and has rejected the baits of the world, he is called quiet.
+
+Rouse thyself by thyself, examine thyself by thyself, thus
+self-protected and attentive wilt thou live happily, O Bhikshu!
+
+For self is the lord of self, self is the refuge of self; therefore curb
+thyself as the merchant curbs a noble horse.
+
+The Bhikshu, full of delight, who is happy in the doctrine of Buddha
+will reach the quiet place (Nirvâna), happiness consisting in the
+cessation of natural inclinations.
+
+He who, even as a young Bhikshu, applies himself to the doctrine of
+Buddha, brightens up this world, like the moon when free from clouds.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+THE BRÂHMANA
+
+
+Stop the stream valiantly, drive away the desires, O Brâhmana! When you
+have understood the destruction of all that was made, you will
+understand that which was not made.
+
+If the Brâhmana has reached the other shore in both laws, in restraint
+and contemplation, all bonds vanish from him who has obtained knowledge.
+
+He for whom there is neither the hither nor the further shore, nor both,
+him, the fearless and unshackled, I call indeed a Brâhmana.
+
+He who is thoughtful, blameless, settled, dutiful, without passions, and
+who has attained the highest end, him I call indeed a Brâhmana.
+
+The sun is bright by day, the moon shines by night, the warrior is
+bright in his armor, the Brâhmana is bright in his meditation; but
+Buddha, the Awakened, is bright with splendor day and night.
+
+Because a man is rid of evil, therefore he is called Brâhmana; because
+he walks quietly, therefore he is called Samana; because he has sent
+away his own impurities, therefore he is called Pravragita (Pabbagita, a
+pilgrim).
+
+No one should attack a Brâhmana, but no Brâhmana, if attacked, should
+let himself fly at his aggressor! Woe to him who strikes a Brâhmana,
+more woe to him who flies at his aggressor!
+
+It advantages a Brâhmana not a little if he holds his mind back from the
+pleasures of life; the more all wish to injure has vanished, the more
+all pain will cease.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who does not offend by body, word, or
+thought, and is controlled on these three points.
+
+He from whom he may learn the law, as taught by the Well-awakened
+(Buddha), him let him worship assiduously, as the Brâhmana worships the
+sacrificial fire.
+
+A man does not become a Brâhmana by his plaited hair, by his family, or
+by birth; in whom there is truth and righteousness, he is blessed, he is
+a Brâhmana.
+
+What is the use of plaited hair, O fool! what of the raiment of
+goat-skins? Within thee there is ravening, but the outside thou makest
+clean.
+
+The man who wears dirty raiments, who is emaciated and covered with
+veins, who meditates alone in the forest, him I call indeed a Brâhmana.
+
+I do not call a man a Brâhmana because of his origin or of his mother.
+He is indeed arrogant, and he is wealthy: but the poor, who is free from
+all attachments, him I call indeed a Brâhmana.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who, after cutting all fetters, never
+trembles, is free from bonds and unshackled.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who, after cutting the strap and the thong,
+the rope with all that pertains to it, has destroyed all obstacles, and
+is awakened.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who, though he has committed no offence,
+endures reproach, stripes, and bonds: who has endurance for his force,
+and strength for his army.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who is free from anger, dutiful, virtuous,
+without appetites, who is subdued, and has received his last body.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who does not cling to sensual pleasures,
+like water on a lotus leaf, like a mustard seed on the point of a
+needle.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who, even here, knows the end of his own
+suffering, has put down his burden, and is unshackled.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana whose knowledge is deep, who possesses
+wisdom, who knows the right way and the wrong, and has attained the
+highest end.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who keeps aloof both from laymen and from
+mendicants, who frequents no houses, and has but few desires.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who without hurting any creatures, whether
+feeble or strong, does not kill nor cause slaughter.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who is tolerant with the intolerant, mild
+with the violent, and free from greed among the greedy.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana from whom anger and hatred, pride and
+hypocrisy have dropped like a mustard seed from the point of a needle.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who utters true speech, instructive and
+free from harshness, so that he offend no one.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who takes nothing in the world that is not
+given him, be it long or short, small or large, good or bad.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who fosters no desires for this world or
+for the next, has no inclinations, and is unshackled.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who has no interests, and when he has
+understood the truth, does not say How, how? and who has reached the
+depth of the Immortal.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who in this world has risen above both
+ties, good and evil, who is free from grief, from sin, and from
+impurity.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who is bright like the moon, pure, serene,
+undisturbed, and in whom all gayety is extinct.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who has traversed this miry road, the
+impassable world, difficult to pass, and its vanity, who has gone
+through, and reached the other shore, is thoughtful, steadfast, free
+from doubts, free from attachment, and content.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who in this world, having abandoned all
+desires, travels about without a home, and in whom all concupiscence is
+extinct.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who, having abandoned all longings, travels
+about without a home, and in whom all covetousness is extinct.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who, after leaving all bondage to men, has
+risen above all bondage to the gods, and is free from all and every
+bondage.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who has left what gives pleasure and what
+gives pain, who is cold, and free from all germs of renewed life: the
+hero who has conquered all the worlds.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who knows the destruction and the return of
+beings everywhere, who is free from bondage, welfaring (Sugata), and
+awakened (Buddha).
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana whose path the gods do not know, nor
+spirits (Gandharvas), nor men, whose passions are extinct, and who is an
+Arhat.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who calls nothing his own, whether it be
+before, behind, or between; who is poor, and free from the love of the
+world.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana, the manly, the noble, the hero, the great
+sage, the conqueror, the indifferent, the accomplished, the awakened.
+
+Him I call indeed a Brâhmana who knows his former abodes, who sees
+heaven and hell, has reached the end of births, is perfect in knowledge,
+a sage, and whose perfections are all perfect.
+
+
+
+
+THE UPANISHADS
+
+Translation by F. Max Müller
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+The "Upanishads" are reckoned to be from a hundred and fifty to a
+hundred and seventy in number. The date of the earliest of them is about
+B.C. 600; that is an age anterior to the rise of Buddha. They consist of
+various disquisitions on the nature of man, the Supreme Being, the human
+soul, and immortality. They are part of Sanscrit Brahmanic literature,
+and have the authority of revealed, in contradistinction to traditional
+truth. We see in these books the struggle of the human mind to attain to
+a knowledge of God and the destiny of man. The result is the formulation
+of a definite theosophy, in which we find the Brahman in his meditation
+trusting to the intuitions of his own spirit, the promptings of his own
+reason, or the combinations of his own fancy, for a revelation of the
+truth. The result is given us in these wonderful books. We call them
+wonderful, because the unaided mind of man never attained, in any other
+literature, to a profounder insight into spiritual things. The Western
+reader may find in an "Upanishad" many things that seem to him trifling
+and absurd, many things obscure and apparently meaningless. It is very
+easy to ridicule this kind of literature. But as a matter of fact these
+ancient writings well repay study, as the most astounding productions of
+the human intellect. In them we see the human mind wrestling with the
+greatest thoughts that had ever yet dawned upon it, and trying to grasp
+and to measure the mighty vision before which it was humbled to the
+dust. The seer, in order to communicate to the world the result of his
+meditations, seems to catch at every symbol and every word hallowed by
+familiar usage, in order to set out in concrete shape the color and
+dimensions of mystic verities; he is employing an old language for the
+expression of new truths; he is putting new wine into old wine-skins,
+which burst and the wine is spilt; words fail, and the meaning is lost.
+It is not lost, however, to those who will try to study the "Upanishads"
+from within, and not from without: who will try to put himself in the
+attitude of those earnest and patient explorers who brought so much
+light into the human life of the East, and so much joy and tranquillity
+to the perturbed spirit of their fellow-men. Those who thus study these
+ancient writings will find in them the fundamental principles of a
+definite theology, and, more wonderful still, the beginnings of that
+which became afterwards known to the Greeks, and has been known ever
+since, as metaphysics: that is, scientific transcendentalism. This much
+will be apparent to anyone who will read and study the "Kaushîtaki-
+Upanishad," which is one of the most wonderful of the religious books of
+the East. Laying aside the doctrine of metempsychosis and the idea of
+reincarnation, there is something sublime and inspiring in the imagery
+with which the destiny of the soul after death is described, while in
+the metaphysical subtlety of this book we find an argument against
+materialism which is just as fresh now as when it was first stated.
+
+E.W.
+
+
+
+
+THE UPANISHADS
+
+
+
+KAUSHÎTAKI-UPANISHAD
+
+THE COUCH OF BRAHMAN
+
+
+Kitra Gângyâyani, wishing to perform a sacrifice, chose Âruni Uddâlaka,
+to be his chief priest. But Âruni sent his son, Svetaketu, and said:
+"Perform the sacrifice for him." When Svetaketu had arrived, Kitra asked
+him: "Son of Gautama, is there a hidden place in the world where you are
+able to place me, or is it the other way, and are you going to place me
+in the world to which that other way leads?"[14]
+
+He answered and said: "I do not know this. But, let me ask the master."
+Having approached his father, he asked: "Thus has Kitra asked me; how
+shall I answer?"
+
+Âruni said: "I also do not know this. Only after having learnt the
+proper portion of the Veda in Kitra's own dwelling, shall we obtain what
+others give us, i.e., knowledge. Come, we will both go."
+
+Having said this he took fuel in his hand, like a pupil, and approached
+Kitra Gângyâyani, saying: "May I come near to you?" He replied: "You are
+worthy of Brahman, O Gautama, because you were not led away by pride.
+Come hither, I shall make you know clearly."
+
+And Kitra said: "All who depart from this world go to the moon. In the
+former, the bright half, the moon delights in their spirits; in the
+other, the dark half, the moon sends them on to be born again. Verily,
+the moon is the door of the Svarga, i.e., the heavenly world. Now, if a
+man objects to the moon and is not satisfied with life there, the moon
+sets him free. But if a man does not object, then the moon sends him
+down as rain upon this earth. And according to his deeds and according
+to his knowledge he is born again here as a worm, or as an insect, or as
+a fish, or as a bird, or as a lion, or as a boar, or as a serpent, or as
+a tiger, or as a man, or as something else in different places. When he
+has thus returned to the earth, someone, a sage, asks: 'Who art thou?'
+And he should answer: 'From the wise moon, who orders the seasons, when
+it is born consisting of fifteen parts, from the moon who is the home of
+our ancestors, the seed was brought. This seed, even me, they, the gods,
+mentioned in the Pañkâgnividyâ, gathered up in an active man, and
+through an active man they brought me to a mother. Then I, growing up to
+be born, a being living by months, whether twelve or thirteen, was
+together with my father, who also lived by years of twelve or thirteen
+months, that I might either know the true Brahman or not know it.
+Therefore, O ye seasons, grant that I may attain immortality, i.e.,
+knowledge of Brahman. By this my true saying, by this my toil, beginning
+with the dwelling in the moon and ending with my birth on earth, I am
+like a season, and the child of the seasons.' 'Who art thou?' the sage
+asks again. 'I am thou,' he replies. Then he sets him free to proceed
+onward.
+
+"He, at the time of death, having reached the path of the gods, comes to
+the world of Agni, or fire, to the world of Vâyu, or air, to the world
+of Varuna, to the world of Indra, to the world of Pragâpati, to the
+world of Brahman. In that world there is the lake Âra, the moments
+called Yeshtiha, the river Vigarâ, i.e., age-less, the tree Ilyâ, the
+city Sâlagya, the palace Aparâgita, i.e., unconquerable, the
+door-keepers Indra and Pragâpati, the hall of Brahman, called Vibhu
+(built by vibhu, egoism), the throne Vikakshanâ, i.e., perception, the
+couch Amitaugas or endless splendor, and the beloved Mânasî, i.e., mind,
+and her image Kâkshushî, the eye, who, as if taking flowers, are weaving
+the worlds, and the Apsaras, the Ambâs, or sacred scriptures, and
+Ambâyavîs, or understanding, and the rivers Ambayâs leading to the
+knowledge of Brahman. To this world he who knows the Paryanka-vidyâ
+approaches. Brahman says to him: 'Run towards him, servants, with such
+worship as is due to myself. He has reached the river Vigarâ, the
+age-less, he will never age.'
+
+"Then five hundred Apsaras go towards him, one hundred with garlands in
+their hands, one hundred with ointments in their hands, one hundred with
+perfumes in their hands, one hundred with garments in their hands, one
+hundred with fruit in their hands. They adorn him with an adornment
+worthy of Brahman, and when thus adorned with the adornment of Brahman,
+the knower of Brahman moves towards Brahman. He comes to the lake Âra,
+and he crosses it by the mind, while those who come to it without
+knowing the truth, are drowned. He comes to the moments called Yeshtiha,
+they flee from him. He comes to the river Vigarâ, and crosses it by the
+mind alone, and there shakes off his good and evil deeds. His beloved
+relatives obtain the good, his unbeloved relatives the evil he has done.
+And as a man, driving in a chariot, might look at the two wheels without
+being touched by them, thus he will look at day and night, thus at good
+and evil deeds, and at all pairs, all correlative things, such as light
+and darkness, heat and cold. Being freed from good and freed from evil,
+he, the knower of Brahman, moves towards Brahman.
+
+"He approaches the tree Ilya, and the odor of Brahman reaches him. He
+approaches the city Sâlagya, and the flavor of Brahman reaches him. He
+approaches the palace Aparâgita, and the splendor of Brahman reaches
+him. He approaches the door-keepers Indra and Pragâpati, and they run
+away from him. He approaches the hall Vibhu, and the glory of Brahman
+reaches him and he thinks, 'I am Brahman.' He approaches the throne
+Vikakshanâ. The Sâman verses, Brihad and Rathantara, are the eastern
+feet of that throne; the Sâman verses, Syaita and Naudhasa, its western
+feet; the Sâman verses, Vairûpa and Vairâga, its sides lengthways, south
+and north; the Sâman verses, Sâkvara and Raivata, its sides crossways,
+east and west. That throne is Pragñâ, knowledge, for by knowledge,
+self-knowledge, he sees clearly. He approaches the couch Amitaugas. That
+is Prâna, i.e., speech. The past and the future are its eastern feet;
+prosperity and earth its western feet; the Sâman verses, Brihad and
+Rathantara, are the two sides lengthways of the couch, south and north;
+the Sâman verses, Bhadra and Yagñâyagñiya, are its cross-sides at the
+head and feet, east and west; the Rik and Sâman are the long sheets,
+east and west; the Yagus the cross-sheets, south and north; the
+moon-beam the cushion; the Udgîtha the white coverlet; prosperity the
+pillow. On this couch sits Brahman, and he who knows himself one with
+Brahman, sitting on the couch, mounts it first with one foot only. Then
+Brahman says to him: 'Who art thou?' and he shall answer: 'I am like a
+season, and the child of the seasons, sprung from the womb of endless
+space, from the light, from the luminous Brahman. The light, the origin
+of the year, which is the past, which is the present, which is all
+living things, and all elements, is the Self. Thou art the Self. What
+thou art, that am I.' Brahman says to him: 'Who am I?' He shall answer:
+'That which is, the true.' Brahman asks: 'What is the true?' He says to
+him: 'What is different from the gods and from the senses that is Sat,
+but the gods and the senses are Tyam. Therefore, by that name Sattya, or
+true, is called all this whatever there is. All this thou art.' This is
+also declared by a verse: 'This great Rishi, whose belly is the Yagus,
+the head the Sâman, the form the Rik, is to be known as being
+imperishable, as being Brahman.'
+
+"Brahman says to him: 'How dost thou obtain my male names?' He should
+answer: 'By breath.' Brahman asks: 'How my female names?' He should
+answer: 'By speech.' Brahman asks: 'How my neuter names?' He should
+answer: 'By mind.' 'How smells?' 'By the nose.' 'How forms?' 'By the
+eye.' 'How sounds?' 'By the ear.' 'How flavors of food?' 'By the
+tongue.' 'How actions?' 'By the hands.' 'How pleasures and pain?' 'By
+the body.' 'How joy, delight, and offspring?' 'By the organ.' 'How
+journeyings?' 'By the feet.' 'How thoughts, and what is to be known and
+desired?' 'By knowledge alone.'
+
+"Brahman says to him: 'Water indeed is this my world, the whole Brahman
+world, and it is thine.'
+
+"Whatever victory, whatever might belongs to Brahman, that victory and
+that might he obtains who knows this, yea, who knows this."[15]
+
+
+
+KNOWLEDGE OF THE LIVING SPIRIT
+
+
+"Prâna, or breath,[16] is Brahman," thus says Kaushîtaki. "Of this
+prâna, which is Brahman, the mind is the messenger, speech the
+housekeeper, the eye the guard, the ear the informant. He who knows mind
+as the messenger of prâna, which is Brahman, becomes possessed of the
+messenger. He who knows speech as the housekeeper, becomes possessed of
+the housekeeper. He who knows the eye as the guard, becomes possessed of
+the guard. He who knows the ear as the informant, becomes possessed of
+the informant.
+
+"Now to that prâna, which is Brahman, all these deities, mind, speech,
+eye, ear, bring an offering, though he asks not for it, and thus to him
+who knows this all creatures bring an offering, though he asks not for
+it. For him who knows this, there is this Upanishad, or secret vow, 'Beg
+not!' As a man who has begged through a village and got nothing sits
+down and says, 'I shall never eat anything given by those people,' and
+as then those who formerly refused him press him to accept their alms,
+thus is the rule for him who begs not, but the charitable will press him
+and say, 'Let us give to thee.'"
+
+"Prâna, or breath, is Brahman," thus says Paingya. "And in that prâna,
+which is Brahman, the eye stands firm behind speech, the ear stands firm
+behind the eye, the mind stands firm behind the ear, and the spirit
+stands firm behind the mind.[17] To that prâna, which is Brahman, all
+these deities bring an offering, though he asks not for it, and thus to
+him who knows this, all creatures bring an offering, though he asks not
+for it. For him who knows this, there is this Upanishad, or secret vow,
+'Beg not!' As a man who has begged through a village and got nothing
+sits down and says, 'I shall never eat anything given by those people,'
+and as then those who formerly refused him press him to accept their
+alms, thus is the rule for him who begs not, but the charitable will
+press him and say, 'Let us give to thee.'
+
+"Now follows the attainment of the highest treasure, i.e., spirit.[18]
+If a man meditates on that highest treasure, let him on a full moon or a
+new moon, or in the bright fortnight, under an auspicious Nakshatra, at
+one of these proper times, bending his right knee, offer oblations of
+ghee with a ladle, after having placed the fire, swept the ground,
+strewn the sacred grass, and sprinkled water. Let him say: 'The deity
+called Speech is the attainer, may it attain this for me from him who
+possesses and can bestow what I wish for. Svâhâ to it!' 'The deity
+called prâna, or breath, is the attainer, may it attain this for me from
+him. Svâhâ to it!' 'The deity called the eye is the attainer, may it
+attain this for me from him. Svâhâ to it!' 'The deity called the ear is
+the attainer, may it attain this for me from him. Svâhâ to it!' 'The
+deity called mind is the attainer of it, may it attain this for me from
+him. Svâhâ to it!' 'The deity called knowledge is the attainer of it,
+may it attain this for me from him. Svâhâ to it!'
+
+"Then having inhaled the smell of the smoke, and having rubbed his limbs
+with the ointment of ghee, walking on in silence, let him declare his
+wish, or let him send a messenger. He will surely obtain his wish.
+
+"Now follows the Daiva Smara, the desire to be accomplished by the gods.
+If a man desires to become dear to any man or woman, or to any men or
+women, then at one of the fore-mentioned proper times he offers, in
+exactly the same manner as before, oblations of ghee, saying: 'I offer
+thy speech in myself, I this one here, Svâhâ.' 'I offer thy ear in
+myself, I this one here, Svâhâ.' 'I offer thy mind in myself, I this one
+here, Svâhâ.' 'I offer thy knowledge in myself, I this one here, Svâhâ.'
+Then having inhaled the smell of the smoke, and having rubbed his limbs
+with the ointment of ghee, walking on in silence, let him try to come in
+contact or let him stand speaking in the wind, so that the wind may
+carry his words to the person by whom he desires to be loved. Surely he
+becomes dear, and they think of him.
+
+"Now follows the restraint instituted by Pratardana, the son of
+Divodâsa: they call it the inner Agni-hotri. So long as a man speaks, he
+cannot breathe, he offers all the while his breath in his speech. And so
+long as a man breathes, he cannot speak, he offers all the while his
+speech in his breath. These two endless and immortal oblations he offers
+always, whether waking or sleeping. Whatever other oblations there are
+(those, e.g., of the ordinary Agni-hotri, consisting of milk and other
+things), they have an end, for they consist of works which, like all
+works, have an end. The ancients, knowing this the best Agni-hotri, did
+not offer the ordinary Agni-hotri.
+
+"Uktha is Brahman, thus said Sushkabhringâra. Let him meditate on the
+uktha as the same with the Rik, and all beings will praise him as the
+best. Let him meditate on it as the same with the Yagus, and all beings
+will join before him as the best. Let him meditate on it as the same
+with the Sâman, and all beings will bow before him as the best. Let him
+meditate on it as the same with might, let him meditate on it as the
+same with glory, let him meditate on it as the same with splendor. For
+as the bow is among weapons the mightiest, the most glorious, the most
+splendid, thus is he who knows this among all beings the mightiest, the
+most glorious, the most splendid. The Adhvaryu conceives the fire of the
+altar, which is used for the sacrifice, to be himself. In it he the
+Adhvaryu weaves the Yagus portion of the sacrifice. And in the Yagus
+portion the Hotri weaves the Rik portion of the sacrifice. And in the
+Rik portion the Udgâtri weaves the Sâman portion of the sacrifice. He,
+the Adhvaryu, or prâna, is the self of the threefold knowledge; he
+indeed is the self of prâna. He who knows this is the self of it, i.e.,
+becomes prâna.
+
+"Next follow the three kinds of meditation of the all-conquering
+Kaushîtaki. The all-conquering Kaushîtaki adores the sun when rising,
+having put on the sacrificial cord,[19] having brought water, and having
+thrice sprinkled the water-cup, saying: 'Thou art the deliverer, deliver
+me from sin.' In the same manner he adores the sun when in the zenith,
+saying: 'Thou art the highest deliverer, deliver me highly from sin.' In
+the same manner he adores the sun when setting, saying: 'Thou art the
+full deliverer, deliver me fully from sin.' Thus he fully removes
+whatever sin he committed by day and by night. And in the same manner he
+who knows this, likewise adores the sun, and fully removes whatever sin
+he committed by day and by night.
+
+"Then, secondly, let him worship every month in the year at the time of
+the new moon, the moon as it is seen in the west in the same manner as
+before described with regard to the sun, or let him send forth his
+speech towards the moon with two green blades of grass, saying: 'O thou
+who art mistress of immortal joy, through that gentle heart of mine
+which abides in the moon, may I never weep for misfortune concerning my
+children.'
+
+"The children of him who thus adores the moon do not indeed die before
+him. Thus it is with a man to whom a son is already born.
+
+"Now for one to whom no son is born as yet. He mutters the three Rik
+verses. 'Increase, O Soma! may vigor come to thee.' 'May milk, may food
+go to thee.' 'That ray which the Âdityas gladden.'
+
+"Having muttered these three Rik verses, he says: 'Do not increase by
+our breath, by our offspring, by our cattle; he who hates us and whom we
+hate, increase by his breath, by his offspring, by his cattle. Thus I
+turn the turn of the god, I return the turn of Âditya.' After these
+words, having raised the right arm towards Soma, he lets it go again.
+
+"Then, thirdly, let him worship on the day of the full moon the moon as
+it is seen in the east in the same manner, saying: 'Thou art Soma, the
+king, the wise, the five-mouthed, the lord of creatures. The Brahmana is
+one of thy mouths; with that mouth thou eatest the kings; make me an
+eater of food by that mouth! The king is one of thy mouths; with that
+mouth thou eatest the people; make me an eater of food by that mouth!
+The hawk is one of thy mouths; with that mouth thou eatest the birds;
+make me an eater of food by that mouth! Fire is one of thy mouths; with
+that mouth thou eatest this world; make me an eater of food by that
+mouth! In thee there is the fifth mouth; with that mouth thou eatest all
+beings; make me an eater of food by that mouth! Do not decrease by our
+life, by our offspring, by our cattle; he who hates us and whom we hate,
+decrease by his life, by his offspring, by his cattle. Thus I turn the
+turn of the god, I return the turn of Âditya.' After these words, having
+raised the right arm, he lets it go again.
+
+"Next, having addressed these prayers to Soma, when being with his wife,
+let him stroke her heart, saying: 'O fair one, who hast obtained
+immortal joy by that which has entered thy heart through Pragâpati,
+mayest thou never fall into sorrow about thy children.' Her children
+then do not die before her.
+
+"Next, if a man has been absent and returns home, let him kiss his son's
+head, saying: 'Thou springest from every limb, thou art born from the
+heart, thou, my son, art my self indeed: live thou a hundred harvests.'
+He gives him his name, saying: 'Be thou a stone, be thou an axe, be thou
+solid gold; thou, my son, art light indeed: live thou a hundred
+harvests.' He pronounces his name. Then he embraces him, saying: 'As
+Pragâpati the lord of creatures embraced his creatures for their
+welfare, thus I embrace thee,' (pronouncing his name). Then he mutters
+into his right ear, saying: 'O thou, quick Maghavan, give to him.' 'O
+Indra, bestow thy best wishes'--thus he whispers into his left ear. Let
+him then thrice kiss his head, saying: 'Do not cut off the line of our
+race, do not suffer. Live a hundred harvests of life; I kiss thy head, O
+son, with thy name.' He then thrice makes a lowing sound over his head,
+saying: 'I low over thee with the lowing sound of cows.'
+
+"Next follows the Daiva Parimara, the dying around of the gods, the
+absorption of the two classes of gods, mentioned before, into prâna or
+Brahman. This Brahman shines forth indeed when the fire burns, and it
+dies when it burns not. Its splendor goes to the sun alone, the life
+prâna, the moving principle, to the air.
+
+"This Brahman shines forth indeed when the sun is seen, and it dies when
+it is not seen. Its splendor goes to the moon alone, the life to the
+air.
+
+"This Brahman shines forth indeed when the moon is seen, and it dies
+when it is not seen. Its splendor goes to the lightning alone, its life
+to the air.
+
+"This Brahman shines forth indeed when the lightning flashes, and it
+dies when it flashes not. Its splendor goes to the air, and the life to
+the air.
+
+"Thus all these deities (fire, sun, moon, lightning), having entered the
+air, though dead, do not vanish; and out of the very air they rise
+again. So much with reference to the deities. Now then, with reference
+to the body.
+
+"This Brahman shines forth indeed when one speaks with speech, and it
+dies when one does not speak. His splendor goes to the eye alone, the
+life to breath.
+
+"This Brahman shines forth indeed when one sees with the eye, and it
+dies when one does not see. Its splendor goes to the ear alone, the life
+to breath.
+
+"This Brahman shines forth indeed when one hears with the ear, and it
+dies when one does not hear. Its splendor goes to the mind alone, the
+life to breath.
+
+"This Brahman shines forth indeed when one thinks with the mind, and it
+dies when one does not think. Its splendor goes to the breath alone, and
+the life to breath.
+
+"Thus all these deities (the senses, etc.), having entered breath or
+life alone, though dead, do not vanish; and out of very breath they rise
+again. And if two mountains, the southern and northern, were to move
+forward trying to crush him who knows this, they would not crush him.
+But those who hate him and those whom he hates, they die around him.
+
+"Next follows the Nihsreyasâdâna, i.e., the accepting of the preeminence
+of breath or life by the other gods. The deities, speech, eye, ear,
+mind, contending with each for who was the best, went out of this body,
+and the body lay without breathing, withered, like a log of wood. Then
+speech went into it, but speaking by speech, it lay still. Then the eye
+went into it, but speaking by speech, and seeing by the eye, it lay
+still. Then the ear went into it, but speaking by speech, seeing by the
+eye, hearing by the ear, it lay still. Then mind went into it, but
+speaking by speech, seeing by the eye, hearing by the ear, thinking by
+the mind, it lay still. Then breath went into it, and thence it rose at
+once. All these deities, having recognized the preeminence in life, and
+having comprehended life alone as the conscious self, went out of this
+body with all these five different kinds of life, and resting in the
+air, knowing that life had entered the air and merged in the ether, they
+went to heaven. And in the same manner he who knows this, having
+recognized the preëminence in prâna, and having comprehended life alone
+as the conscious self, goes out of this body with all these, does no
+longer believe in this body, and resting in the air, and merged in the
+ether, he goes to heaven: he goes to where those gods are. And having
+reached this heaven, he, who knows this, becomes immortal with that
+immortality which those gods enjoy.
+
+"Next follows the father's tradition to the son, and thus they explain
+it. The father, when going to depart, calls his son, after having strewn
+the house with fresh grass, and having laid the sacrificial fire, and
+having placed near it a pot of water with a jug, full of rice, himself
+covered with a new cloth, and dressed in white. He places himself above
+his son, touching his organs with his own organs, or he may deliver the
+tradition to him while he sits before him. Then he delivers it to him.
+The father says: 'Let me place my speech in thee.' The son says: 'I take
+thy speech in me.' The father says: 'Let me place my scent in thee.' The
+son says: 'I take thy scent in me.' The father says: 'Let me place my
+eye in thee.' The son says: 'I take thy eye in me.' The father says:
+'Let me place my ear in thee.' The son says: 'I take thy ear in me.' The
+father says: 'Let me place my tastes of food in thee.' The son says: 'I
+take thy tastes of food in me.' The father says: 'Let me place my
+actions in thee.' The son says: 'I take thy actions in me.' The father
+says: 'Let me place my pleasure and pain in thee.' The son says: 'I take
+thy pleasure and pain in me.' The father says: 'Let me place happiness,
+joy, and offspring in thee.' The son says: 'I take thy happiness, joy,
+and offspring in me.' The father says: 'Let me place my walking in
+thee.' The son says: 'I take thy walking in me.' The father says: 'Let
+me place my mind in thee.' The son says: 'I take thy mind in me.' The
+father says: 'Let me place my knowledge in thee.' The son says: 'I take
+thy knowledge in me.' But if the father is very ill, he may say shortly:
+Let me place my spirits in thee,' and the son: 'I take thy spirits in
+me.'
+
+"Then the son walks round his father, keeping his right side towards
+him, and goes away. The father calls after him: 'May fame, glory of
+countenance, and honor always follow thee.' Then the other looks back
+over his left shoulder, covering himself with his hand or the hem of his
+garment, saying: 'Obtain the heavenly worlds and all desires.'
+
+"If the father recovers, let him be under the authority of his son, or
+let him wander about as an ascetic. But if he departs, then let them
+despatch him, as he ought to be despatched, yea, as he ought to be
+despatched."
+
+
+
+LIFE AND CONSCIOUSNESS
+
+
+Pratardana, the son of Divodâsa, King of Kâsî, came by means of fighting
+and strength to the beloved abode of Indra. Indra said to him:
+"Pratardana, let me give you a boon to choose." And Pratardana answered:
+"Do you yourself choose that boon for me which you deem most beneficial
+for a man." Indra said to him: "No one who chooses, chooses for another;
+choose thyself." Then Pratardana replied: "Then that boon to choose is
+no boon for me."
+
+Then, however, Indra did not swerve from the truth, for Indra is truth.
+Indra said to him: "Know me only; that is what I deem most beneficial
+for man, that he should know me. I slew the three-headed son of
+Tvashtri; I delivered the Arunmukhas, the devotees, to the wolves;
+breaking many treaties, I killed the people of Prahlâda in heaven, the
+people of Puloma in the sky, the people of Kâlakañga on earth. And not
+one hair of me was harmed there. And he who knows me thus, by no deed of
+his is his life harmed: not by the murder of his mother, not by the
+murder of his father, not by theft, not by the killing of a Brahman. If
+he is going to commit a sin, the bloom does not depart from his face. I
+am prâna, meditate on me as the conscious self, as life, as immortality.
+Life is prâna, prâna is life. Immortality is prâna, prâna is
+immortality. As long as prâna dwells in this body, so long surely there
+is life. By prâna he obtains immortality in the other world, by
+knowledge true conception. He who meditates on me as life and
+immortality, gains his full life in this world, and obtains in the
+Svarga world immortality and indestructibility."
+
+Pratardana said: "Some maintain here, that the prânas become one, for
+otherwise no one could at the same time make known a name by speech, see
+a form with the eye, hear a sound with the ear, think a thought with the
+mind. After having become one, the prânas perceive all these together,
+one by one. While speech speaks, all prânas speak after it. While the
+eye sees, all prânas see after it. While the ear hears, all prânas hear
+after it. While the mind thinks, all prânas think after it. While the
+prâna breathes, all prânas breathe after it."
+
+"Thus it is indeed," said Indra, "but nevertheless there is a
+preëminence among the prânas. Man lives deprived of speech, for we see
+dumb people. Man lives deprived of sight, for we see blind people. Man
+lives deprived of hearing, for we see deaf people. Man lives deprived of
+mind, for we see infants. Man lives deprived of his arms, deprived of
+his legs, for we see it thus. But prâna alone is the conscious self, and
+having laid hold of this body, it makes it rise up. Therefore it is
+said, 'Let man worship it alone as uktha.' What is prâna, that is
+pragñâ, or self-consciousness; what is pragñâ (self-consciousness), that
+is prâna, for together they live in this body, and together they go out
+of it. Of that, this is the evidence, this is the understanding. When a
+man, being thus asleep, sees no dream whatever, he becomes one with that
+prâna alone. Then speech goes to him, when he is absorbed in prâna, with
+all names, the eye with all forms, the ear with all sounds, the mind
+with all thoughts. And when he awakes, then, as from a burning fire
+sparks proceed in all directions; thus from that self the prânas
+proceed, each towards its place: from the prânas the gods, from the gods
+the worlds.
+
+"Of this, this is the proof, this is the understanding. When a man is
+thus sick, going to die, falling into weakness and faintness, they say:
+'His thought has departed, he hears not, he sees not, he speaks not, he
+thinks not.' Then he becomes one with that prâna alone. Then speech goes
+to him who is absorbed in prâna, with all names, the eye with all forms,
+the ear with all sounds, the mind with all thoughts. And when he departs
+from this body, he departs together with all these.
+
+"Speech gives up to him who is absorbed in prâna all names, so that by
+speech he obtains all names. The nose gives up to him all odors, so that
+by scent he obtains all odors. The eye gives up to him all forms, so
+that by the eye he obtains all forms. The ear gives up to him all
+sounds, so that by the ear he obtains all sounds. The mind gives up to
+him all thoughts, so that by the mind he obtains all thoughts. This is
+the complete absorption in prâna. And what is prâna is pragñâ, or
+self-consciousness; what is pragñâ, is prâna. For together do these two
+live in the body, and together do they depart.
+
+"Now we shall explain how all things become one in that
+self-consciousness. Speech is one portion taken out of pragñâ, or
+self-conscious knowledge: the word is its object, placed outside. The
+nose is one portion taken out of it, the odor is its object, placed
+outside. The eye is one portion taken out of it, the form is its object,
+placed outside. The ear is one portion taken out of it, the sound is its
+object, placed outside. The tongue is one portion taken out of it, the
+taste of food is its object, placed outside. The two hands are one
+portion taken out of it, their action is their object, placed outside.
+The body is one portion taken out of it, its pleasure and pain are its
+object, placed outside. The organ is one portion taken out of it,
+happiness, joy, and offspring are its object, placed outside. The two
+feet are one portion taken out of it, movements are their object, placed
+outside. Mind is one portion taken out of it, thoughts and desires are
+its object, placed outside.
+
+"Having by self-conscious knowledge taken possession of speech, he
+obtains by speech all words. Having taken possession of the nose, he
+obtains all odors. Having taken possession of the eye, he obtains all
+forms. Having taken possession of the ear, he obtains all sounds. Having
+taken possession of the tongue, he obtains all tastes of food. Having
+taken possession of the two hands, he obtains all actions. Having taken
+possession of the body, he obtains pleasure and pain. Having taken
+possession of the organ, he obtains happiness, joy, and offspring.
+Having taken possession of the two feet, he obtains all movements.
+Having taken possession of mind, he obtains all thoughts.
+
+"For without self-consciousness speech does not make known to the self
+any word.[20] 'My mind was absent,' he says, 'I did not perceive that
+word.' Without self-consciousness the nose does not make known any odor.
+'My mind was absent,' he says, 'I did not perceive that odor.' Without
+self-consciousness the eye does not make known any form. 'My mind was
+absent,' he says, 'I did not perceive that form.' Without
+self-consciousness the ear does not make known any sound. 'My mind was
+absent,' he says, 'I did not perceive that sound.' Without
+self-consciousness the tongue does not make known any taste. 'My mind
+was absent,' he says, 'I did not perceive that taste.' Without
+self-consciousness the two hands do not make known any act. 'Our mind
+was absent,' they say, 'we did not perceive any act.' Without
+self-consciousness the body does not make known pleasure or pain. 'My
+mind was absent,' he says, 'I did not perceive that pleasure or pain.'
+Without self-consciousness the organ does not make known happiness, joy,
+or offspring. 'My mind was absent,' he says, 'I did not perceive that
+happiness, joy, or offspring.' Without self-consciousness the two feet
+do not make known any movement. 'Our mind was absent,' they say, 'we did
+not perceive that movement.' Without self-consciousness no thought
+succeeds, nothing can be known that is to be known.
+
+"Let no man try to find out what speech is, let him know the speaker.
+Let no man try to find out what odor is, let him know him who smells.
+Let no man try to find out what form is, let him know the seer. Let no
+man try to find out what sound is, let him know the hearer. Let no man
+try to find out the tastes of food, let him know the knower of tastes.
+Let no man try to find out what action is, let him know the agent. Let
+no man try to find out what pleasure and pain are, let him know the
+knower of pleasure and pain. Let no man try to find out what happiness,
+joy, and offspring are, let him knew the knower of happiness, joy, and
+offspring. Let no man try to find out what movement is, let him know the
+mover. Let no man try to find out what mind is, let him know the
+thinker. These ten objects (what is spoken, smelled, seen, felt) have
+reference to self-consciousness; the ten subjects (speech, the senses,
+mind) have reference to objects. If there were no objects, there would
+be no subjects; and if there were no subjects, there would be no
+objects. For on either side alone nothing could be achieved. But the
+self of pragñâ, consciousness, and prâna, life, is not many, but one.
+For as in a car the circumference of a wheel is placed on the spokes,
+and the spokes on the nave, thus are these objects, as a circumference,
+placed on the subjects as spokes, and the subjects on the prâna. And
+that prâna, the living and breathing power, indeed is the self of
+pragñâ, the self-conscious self: blessed, imperishable, immortal. He
+does not increase by a good action, nor decrease by a bad action. For
+the self of prâna and pragñâ makes him, whom he wishes to lead up from
+these worlds, do a good deed; and the same makes him, whom he wishes to
+lead down from these worlds, do a bad deed. And he is the guardian of
+the world, he is the king of the world, he is the lord of the
+universe--and he is my (Indra's) self; thus let it be known, yea, thus
+let it be known!"
+
+
+[Footnote 14: The question put by Kitra to Svetaketu is very obscure,
+and was probably from the first intended to be obscure in its very
+wording. Kitra wished to ask, doubtless, concerning the future life.
+That future life is reached by two roads; one leading to the world of
+Brahman (the conditioned), beyond which there lies one other stage only,
+represented by knowledge of, and identity with the unconditioned
+Brahman; the other leading to the world of the fathers, and from thence,
+after the reward of good works has been consumed, back to a new round of
+mundane existence. There is a third road for creatures which live and
+die, worms, insects, and creeping things, but they are of little
+consequence. Now it is quite clear that the knowledge which King Kitra
+possesses, and which Svetaketu does not possess, is that of the two
+roads after death, sometimes called the right and the left, or the
+southern and northern roads. The northern or left road, called also the
+path of the Devas, passes on from light and day to the bright half of
+the moon; the southern or right road, called also the path of the
+fathers, passes on from smoke and night to the dark half of the moon.
+Both roads therefore meet in the moon, but diverge afterwards. While the
+northern road passes by the six months when the sun moves towards the
+north, through the sun, moon, and the lightning to the world of Brahman,
+the southern passes by the six months when the sun moves towards the
+south, to the world of the fathers, the ether, and the moon. The great
+difference, however, between the two roads is, that while those who
+travel on the former do not return again to a new life on earth, but
+reach in the end a true knowledge of the unconditioned Brahman, those
+who pass on to the world of the fathers and the moon return to earth to
+be born again and again. The speculations on the fate of the soul after
+death seem to have been peculiar to the royal families of India, while
+the Brahmans dwelt more on what may be called the shorter cut, a
+knowledge of Brahman as the true Self. To know, with them, was to be,
+and, after the dissolution of the body, they looked forward to immediate
+emancipation, without any further wanderings.]
+
+[Footnote 15: Who knows the conditioned and mythological form of Brahman
+as here described, sitting on the couch.]
+
+[Footnote 16: In the first chapter it was said, "He approaches the couch
+Amitaugas, that is prâna" (breath, spirit, life). Therefore having
+explained in the first chapter the knowledge of the couch (of Brahman),
+the next subject to be explained is the knowledge of prâna, the living
+spirit, taken for a time as Brahman, or the last cause of everything.]
+
+[Footnote 17: Speech is uncertain, and has to be checked by the eye. The
+eye is uncertain, taking mother of pearl for silver, and must be checked
+by the ear. The ear is uncertain, and must be checked by the mind, for
+unless the mind is attentive, the ear hears not. The mind, lastly,
+depends on the spirit, for without spirit there is no mind.]
+
+[Footnote 18: The vital spirits are called the highest treasure, because
+a man surrenders everything to preserve his vital spirits or his life.]
+
+[Footnote 19: This is one of the earliest, if not the earliest mention
+of the yagñopavîta, the sacred cord as worn over the left shoulder for
+sacrificial purposes.]
+
+[Footnote 20: Professor Cowell has translated a passage from the
+commentary which is interesting as showing that its author and the
+author of the Upanishads too had a clear conception of the correlative
+nature of knowledge. "The organ of sense," he says, "cannot exist
+without pragñâ (self-consciousness), nor the objects of sense be
+obtained without the organ, therefore--on the principle, that when one
+thing cannot exist without another, that thing is said to be identical
+with the other--as the cloth, for instance, being never perceived
+without the threads, is identical with them, or the (false perception
+of) silver being never found without the mother of pearl is identical
+with it, so the objects of sense being never found without the organs
+are identical with them, and the organs being never found without pragñâ
+(self-consciousness) are identical with it."]
+
+
+
+
+SELECTIONS FROM THE KORAN
+
+Translation by George Sale
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+The importance of the "Koran" lies in the fact that it is a religious
+book of the East, read and stored in the memory of a hundred millions of
+people of different races and civilizations, inhabiting countries
+extending from the western borders of China to the pillars of Hercules.
+It is considered by the Mohammedan to contain all the knowledge and all
+the literature necessary for men. When it was demanded of Mohammed to
+confirm the authority of his mission by some work of wonder, he pointed
+to the "Koran," and exclaimed, "Behold the greatest miracle of all." The
+learned men of Alexandria asked the Caliph Omar to give to them the vast
+library at Alexandria. "If those books," he replied, "contain anything
+which is contrary to the 'Koran' they deserve to be destroyed. If they
+contain what is written in the 'Koran,' they are unnecessary." He
+ordered them to be distributed among the baths of the city, to serve as
+fuel for their furnaces.
+
+The composition of the "Koran" is all the work of Mohammed. He himself
+claimed that he spoke merely as the oracle of God. The commands and
+injunctions are in the first person, as if spoken by the Divine Being.
+The passionate enthusiasm and religious earnestness of the prophet are
+plainly seen in these strange writings. Sometimes, however, he sinks
+into the mere Arabian story-teller, whose object is the amusement of his
+people. He is not a poet, but when he deals with the unity of God, with
+the beneficence of the Divine Being, with the wonders of Nature, with
+the beauty of resignation, he exhibits a glowing rhetoric, a power of
+gorgeous imagery, of pathos, and religious devotion, that make the
+"Koran" the first written work in the Arabian tongue.
+
+If we take Mohammed's own account of the composition of the volume, we
+must believe that the completed "Koran" existed from all eternity, on a
+tablet preserved in the upper heavens. Once a year, during the period of
+the prophet's active work, fragments of this tablet were brought down by
+the angel Gabriel to the lower heavens of the moon, and imparted to the
+prophet, who was periodically transported to that celestial sphere. The
+words were recited by the angel, and dictated by the prophet to his
+scribe. These detached scraps were written on the ribs of palm leaves,
+or the shoulder-blades of sheep, or parchment, and were stored in a
+chest, in which they were kept until the caliphat of Abu Bekr, in the
+seventh century, when they were collected in one volume. Such marvels of
+revelation were made at different periods to the prophet, and were
+called Surahs, and formed separate chapters in the Koran as we have it
+to-day. Some of these Surahs contradict what had previously been uttered
+by the prophet, but this discrepancy is obviated by the expedient of
+what is called "abrogation," and the more recent utterances were held to
+supersede and rescind those which were contradictory to it in the
+earlier revelation.
+
+It may well be believed that these sibylline leaves of Mohammedanism
+make up a heterogeneous jumble of varied elements. Some of the chapters
+are long, others are short; now the prophet seems to be caught up by a
+whirlwind, and is brought face to face with ineffable mysteries, of
+which he speaks in the language of rhapsody. At other times he is dry
+and prosaic, indulging in wearisome iterations, and childish
+trivialities. Now he assumes the plain, clear voice of the law-giver, or
+raises his accents into the angry threatenings of the relentless and
+bloodthirsty fanatic. Yet throughout the whole volume there is a strain
+of religious resignation, of trust in God, of hopefulness under
+adversity, of kindliness towards men, which reveal a nobility of ideal,
+a simplicity and purity in the conception of the Divine Being, and the
+relations of human life, which make the work not without inspiration,
+even to the thoughtful man of the nineteenth century. The Koran must
+always be considered one of the most potent of religious books, one of
+the greatest documents which reveal the struggle of the human heart
+after a knowledge of God, and of faithful accomplishment of the Divine
+will. Perhaps the essence of the work as furnishing a philosophy of
+life, is contained in the axioms of Abu Bekr, one of the most exalted in
+character of Mohammed's successors. "Good actions," he says, "are a
+guard against the blows of adversity." And again, "Death is the easiest
+of all things after it, and the hardest of all things before it." To
+which we may add the sentence of Ali, "Riches without God are the
+greatest poverty and misery."
+
+There are twenty-nine chapters of the "Koran," which begin with certain
+letters of the alphabet: some with a single one, others with more. These
+letters the Mohammedans believe to be the peculiar marks of the "Koran,"
+and to conceal several profound mysteries, the certain understanding of
+which, the more intelligent confess, has not been communicated to any
+mortal, their prophet only excepted. Notwithstanding which, some will
+take the liberty of guessing at their meaning by that species of Cabbala
+called by the Jews, Notarikon, and suppose the letters to stand for as
+many words expressing the names and attributes of God, his works,
+ordinances, and decrees; and therefore these mysterious letters, as well
+as the verses themselves, seem in the "Koran" to be called signs. Others
+explain the intent of these letters from their nature or organ, or else
+from their value in numbers, according to another species of the Jewish
+Cabbala called Gematria; the uncertainty of these conjectures
+sufficiently appears from their disagreement. Thus, for example, five
+chapters, one of which is the second, begin with the letters A.L.M.,
+which some imagine to stand for _Allah latîf magîd_--"God is gracious
+and to be glorified"--or, _Ana li minni_--"to me and from me"--belongs
+all perfection, and proceeds all good; or else for _Ana Allah âlam_--"I
+am the most wise God"--taking the first letter to mark the beginning of
+the first word, the second the middle of the second word, and the third
+the last of the third word: or for "Allah, Gabriel, Mohammed," the
+author, revealer, and preacher of the "Koran." Others say that as the
+letter A belongs to the lower part of the throat, the first of the
+organs of speech; L to the palate, the middle organ: and M to the lips,
+which are the last organs; so these letters signify that God is the
+beginning, middle, and end, or ought to be praised in the beginning,
+middle, and end of all our words and actions; or, as the total value of
+those three letters in numbers is seventy-one, they signify that in the
+space of so many years, the religion preached in the "Koran" should be
+fully established. The conjecture of a learned Christian is, at least,
+as certain as any of the former, who supposes those letters were set
+there by the amanuensis, for _Amar li Mohammed_--"at the command of
+Mohammed"--as the five letters prefixed to the nineteenth chapter seem
+to be there written by a Jewish scribe, for _Cob yaas_--"thus he
+commanded."
+
+The general contents of the "Koran" may be divided under three heads:
+First, precepts and laws in matters of religion, such as prayer,
+fasting, pilgrimage; there are laws also given in the affairs of the
+civil life, such as marriage, the possession and bequeathing of
+property, and the administration of justice. The second division would
+include histories, which consist in a great part of incidents from the
+Bible, as Christians know it. Mohammed probably picked up a good deal of
+hearsay knowledge in this department from Jews and Christians. Some of
+his historical incidents are purely fabulous, others are perversions or
+falsifications of the Scriptural narrative. This portion of the "Koran,"
+interesting and anecdotic as it is, is the least satisfactory of the
+work, and shows the writer in his true ignorance, and disregard for
+historic verification. When, for instance, he confounds Miriam, the
+sister of Moses, with Mary the Mother of Christ, he shows himself lost
+in truly Oriental clouds of mystic error. The third element in the
+"Koran" is a large body of admonitions, many of them addressed to the
+outside world, and to unbelievers who are exhorted to accept the creed
+that there is one God and Mohammed is His prophet. War is put forth as a
+legitimate method of propagating the faith. The duties of life, such as
+justice, temperance, resignation and industry, are enforced. Hell is
+threatened to infidels and immoral people; and from whatever sources the
+writer derived his materials there can be no doubt that the moral scheme
+he promulgated was in every sense a revelation to the degraded idolaters
+and fire-worshippers, amongst whom he discharged the mission of his
+life. Mohammed preached what he called the truth, with the sword in one
+hand and the "Koran" in the other. But the empire established by the
+sword would long since have crumbled into dust like that of Alexander or
+Augustus, unless the "Koran" had fixed its teaching in the minds of the
+conquered, had regulated by its precepts their social and political
+life, had supported and exalted their faith with the doctrine of one
+Almighty and beneficent God; had cheered them with the hope of a
+Resurrection, and illuminated their minds with the vision of a Paradise,
+the grossest of whose delights were afterwards to be interpreted by
+Arabic commentators in accordance with the highest spiritual
+capabilities of the human race.
+
+E.W.
+
+
+
+MOHAMMED AND MOHAMMEDANISM
+
+By Thomas Carlyle
+
+
+From the first rude times of Paganism among the Scandinavians in the
+North, we advance to a very different epoch of religion, among a very
+different people: Mohammedanism among the Arabs. A great change; what a
+change and progress is indicated here, in the universal condition and
+thoughts of men!
+
+The Hero is not now regarded as a God among his fellow-men; but as one
+God-inspired, as a Prophet. It is the second phasis of Hero-worship: the
+first or oldest, we may say, has passed away without return; in the
+history of the world there will not again be any man, never so great,
+whom his fellow-men will take for a god. Nay we might rationally ask,
+Did any set of human beings ever really think the man they _saw_ there
+standing beside them a god, the maker of this world? Perhaps not: it was
+usually some man they remembered, or _had_ seen. But neither can this
+any more be. The Great Man is not recognized henceforth as a god any
+more.
+
+It was a rude gross error, that of counting the Great Man a god. Yet let
+us say that it is at all times difficult to know _what_ he is, or how to
+account of him and receive him! The most significant feature in the
+history of an epoch is the manner it has of welcoming a Great Man. Ever,
+to the true instincts of men, there is something godlike in him. Whether
+they shall take him to be a god, to be a prophet, or what they shall
+take him to be? that is ever a grand question; by their way of answering
+that, we shall see, as through a little window, into the very heart of
+these men's spiritual condition. For at bottom the Great Man, as he
+comes from the hand of Nature, is ever the same kind of thing: Odin,
+Luther, Johnson, Burns; I hope to make it appear that these are all
+originally of one stuff; that only by the world's reception of them, and
+the shapes they assume, are they so immeasurably diverse. The worship of
+Odin astonishes us,--to fall prostrate before the Great Man, into
+_deliquium_ of love and wonder over him, and feel in their hearts that
+he was a denizen of the skies, a god! This was imperfect enough: but to
+welcome, for example, a Burns as we did, was that what we can call
+perfect? The most precious gift that Heaven can give to the Earth; a man
+of "genius" as we call it; the Soul of a Man actually sent down from the
+skies with a God's-message to us,--this we waste away as an idle
+artificial firework, sent to amuse us a little, and sink it into ashes,
+wreck, and ineffectuality: _such_ reception of a Great Man I do not call
+very perfect either! Looking into the heart of the thing, one may
+perhaps call that of Burns a still uglier phenomenon, betokening still
+sadder imperfections in mankind's ways, than the Scandinavian method
+itself! To fall into mere unreasoning _deliquium_ of love and
+admiration, was not good; but such unreasoning, nay irrational
+supercilious no-love at all is perhaps still worse!--It is a thing
+forever changing, this of Hero-worship: different in each age, difficult
+to do well in any age. Indeed, the heart of the whole business of the
+age, one may say, is to do it well.
+
+We have chosen Mohammed not as the most eminent Prophet; but as the one
+we are freest to speak of. He is by no means the truest of Prophets; but
+I do esteem him a true one. Further, as there is no danger of our
+becoming, any of us, Mohammedans, I mean to say all the good of him I
+justly can. It is the way to get at his secret: let us try to understand
+what _he_ meant with the world; what the world meant and means with him,
+will then be a more answerable question. Our current hypothesis about
+Mohammed, that he was a scheming Impostor, a Falsehood incarnate, that
+his religion is a mere mass of quackery and fatuity, begins really to be
+now untenable to any one. The lies, which well-meaning zeal has heaped
+round this man, are disgraceful to ourselves only. When Pococke inquired
+of Grotius where the proof was of that story of the pigeon, trained to
+pick peas from Mohammed's ear, and pass for an angel dictating to him,
+Grotius answered that there was no proof! It is really time to dismiss
+all that. The word this man spoke has been the life-guidance now of a
+hundred-and-eighty millions of men these twelve-hundred years. These
+hundred-and-eighty millions were made by God as well as we. A greater
+number of God's creatures believe in Mohammed's word at this hour than
+in any other word whatever. Are we to suppose that it was a miserable
+piece of spiritual legerdemain, this which so many creatures of the
+Almighty have lived by and died by? I, for my part, cannot form any such
+supposition. I will believe most things sooner than that. One would be
+entirely at a loss what to think of this world at all, if quackery so
+grew and were sanctioned here.
+
+Alas, such theories are very lamentable. If we would attain to knowledge
+of anything in God's true Creation, let us disbelieve them wholly! They
+are the product of an Age of Scepticism; they indicate the saddest
+spiritual paralysis, and mere death-life of the souls of men: more
+godless theory, I think, was never promulgated in this Earth. A false
+man found a religion? Why, a false man cannot build a brick house! If he
+do not know and follow _truly_ the properties of mortar, burnt clay and
+what else he works in, it is no house that he makes, but a rubbish-heap.
+It will not stand for twelve centuries, to lodge a hundred-and-eighty
+millions; it will fall straightway. A man must conform himself to
+Nature's laws, _be_ verily in communion with Nature and the truth of
+things, or Nature will answer him, No, not at all! Speciosities are
+specious--ah me!--a Cagliostro, many Cagliostros, prominent
+world-leaders, do prosper by their quackery, for a day. It is like a
+forged bank-note; they get it passed out of _their_ worthless hands:
+others, not they, have to smart for it. Nature bursts-up in fire-flames,
+French Revolutions and suchlike, proclaiming with terrible veracity that
+forged notes are forged.
+
+But of a Great Man especially, of him I will venture to assert that it
+is incredible he should have been other than true. It seems to me the
+primary foundation of him, and of all that can lie in him, this. No
+Mirabeau, Napoleon, Burns, Cromwell, no man adequate to do anything, but
+is first of all in right earnest about it; what I call a sincere man. I
+should say _sincerity_, a deep, great, genuine sincerity, is the first
+characteristic of all men in any way heroic. Not the sincerity that
+calls itself sincere; ah no, that is a very poor matter indeed;--a
+shallow braggart conscious sincerity; oftenest self-conceit mainly. The
+Great Man's sincerity is of the kind he cannot speak of, is not
+conscious of; nay, I suppose, he is conscious rather of _in_sincerity;
+for what man can walk accurately by the law of truth for one day? No,
+the Great Man does not boast himself sincere, far from that; perhaps
+does not ask himself if he is so: I would say rather, his sincerity does
+not depend on himself; he cannot help being sincere! The great Fact of
+Existence is great to him. Fly as he will, he cannot get out of the
+awful presence of this Reality. His mind is so made; he is great by
+that, first of all. Fearful and wonderful, real as Life, real as Death,
+is this Universe to him. Though all men should forget its truth, and
+walk in a vain show, he cannot. At all moments the Flame-image glares-in
+upon him; undeniable, there, there!--I wish you to take this as my
+primary definition of a Great Man. A little man may have this, it is
+competent to all men that God has made: but a Great Man cannot be
+without it.
+
+Such a man is what we call an _original_ man; he comes to us at
+first-hand. A messenger he, sent from the Infinite Unknown with tidings
+to us. We may call him Poet, Prophet, God;--in one way or other, we all
+feel that the words he utters are as no other man's words. Direct from
+the Inner Fact of things:--he lives, and has to live, in daily communion
+with that. Hearsays cannot hide it from him; he is blind, homeless,
+miserable, following hearsays; _it_ glares-in upon him. Really his
+utterances, are they not a kind of "revelation";--what we must call such
+for want of other name? It is from the heart of the world that he comes;
+he is portion of the primal reality of things. God has made many
+revelations: but this man too, has not God made him, the latest and
+newest of all? The "inspiration of the Almighty giveth _him_
+understanding": we must listen before all to him.
+
+This Mohammed, then, we will in no wise consider as an Inanity and
+Theatricality, a poor conscious ambitious schemer; we cannot conceive
+him so. The rude message he delivered was a real one withal; an earnest
+confused voice from the unknown Deep. The man's words were not false,
+nor his workings here below; no Inanity and Simulacrum; a fiery mass of
+Life cast-up from the great bosom of Nature herself. To _kindle_ the
+world; the world's Maker had ordered it so. Neither can the faults,
+imperfections, insincerities even, of Mohammed, if such were never so
+well proved against him, shake this primary fact about him.
+
+On the whole, we make too much of faults; the details of the business
+hide the real centre of it. Faults? The greatest of faults, I should
+say, is to be conscious of none. Readers of the Bible above all, one
+would think, might know better. Who is called there "the man according
+to God's own heart"? David, the Hebrew King, had fallen into sins
+enough; blackest crimes; there was no want of sins. And thereupon the
+unbelievers sneer and ask, Is this your man according to God's heart?
+The sneer, I must say, seems to me but a shallow one. What are faults,
+what are the outward details of a life; if the inner secret of it, the
+remorse, temptations, true, often-baffled, never-ended struggle of it,
+be forgotten? "It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." Of
+all acts, is not, for a man, _repentance_ the most divine? The deadliest
+sin, I say, were that same supercilious consciousness of no sin;--that
+is death; the heart so conscious is divorced from sincerity, humility,
+and fact; is dead: it is "pure" as dead dry sand is pure. David's life
+and history, as written for us in those Psalms of his, I consider to be
+the truest emblem ever given of a man's moral progress and warfare here
+below. All earnest souls will ever discern in it the faithful struggle
+of an earnest human soul towards what is good and best. Struggle often
+baffled, sore baffled, down as into entire wreck; yet a struggle never
+ended; ever, with tears, repentance, true unconquerable purpose, begun
+anew. Poor human nature! Is not a man's walking, in truth, always that:
+"a succession of falls"? Man can do no other. In this wild element of a
+Life, he has to struggle onwards; now fallen, deep-abased; and ever,
+with tears, repentance, with bleeding heart, he has to rise again,
+struggle again still onwards. That his struggle _be_ a faithful
+unconquerable one: that is the question of questions. We will put-up
+with many sad details, if the soul of it were true. Details by
+themselves will never teach us what it is. I believe we misestimate
+Mohammed's faults even as faults: but the secret of him will never be
+got by dwelling there. We will leave all this behind us; and assuring
+ourselves that he did mean some true thing, ask candidly what it was or
+might be.
+
+These Arabs Mohammed was born among are certainly a notable people.
+Their country itself is notable; the fit habitation for such a race.
+Savage inaccessible rock-mountains, great grim deserts, alternating with
+beautiful strips of verdure: wherever water is, there is greenness,
+beauty; odoriferous balm-shrubs, date-trees, frankincense-trees.
+Consider that wide waste horizon of sand, empty, silent, like a
+sand-sea, dividing habitable place from habitable. You are all alone
+there, left alone with the Universe; by day a fierce sun blazing down on
+it with intolerable radiance; by night the great deep Heaven with its
+stars. Such a country is fit for a swift-handed, deep-hearted race of
+men. There is something most agile, active, and yet most meditative,
+enthusiastic in the Arab character. The Persians are called the French
+of the East; we will call the Arabs Oriental Italians. A gifted noble
+people; a people of wild strong feelings, and of iron restraint over
+these: the characteristic of noblemindedness, of genius. The wild
+Bedouin welcomes the stranger to his tent, as one having right to all
+that is there; were it his worst enemy, he will slay his foal to treat
+him, will serve him with sacred hospitality for three days, will set him
+fairly on his way;--and then, by another law as sacred, kill him if he
+can. In words too, as in action. They are not a loquacious people,
+taciturn rather; but eloquent, gifted when they do speak. An earnest,
+truthful kind of men. They are, as we know, of Jewish kindred: but with
+that deadly terrible earnestness of the Jews they seem to combine
+something graceful, brilliant, which is not Jewish. They had "poetic
+contests" among them before the time of Mohammed. Sale says, at Ocadh,
+in the South of Arabia, there were yearly fairs, and there, when the
+merchandising was done, Poets sang for prizes:--the wild people gathered
+to hear that.
+
+One Jewish quality these Arabs manifest; the outcome of many or of all
+high qualities: what we may call religiosity. From of old they had been
+zealous worshippers, according to their light. They worshipped the
+stars, as Sabeans; worshipped many natural objects--recognized them as
+symbols, immediate manifestations, of the Maker of Nature. It was wrong;
+and yet not wholly wrong. All God's works are still in a sense symbols
+of God. Do we not, as I urged, still account it a merit to recognize a
+certain inexhaustible significance, "poetic beauty" as we name it, in
+all natural objects whatsoever? A man is a poet, and honored, for doing
+that, and speaking or singing it--a kind of diluted worship. They had
+many Prophets, these Arabs; Teachers each to his tribe, each according
+to the light he had. But indeed, have we not from of old the noblest of
+proofs, still palpable to every one of us, of what devoutness and
+noblemindedness had dwelt in these rustic thoughtful peoples? Biblical
+critics seem agreed that our own _Book of Job_ was written in that
+region of the world. I call that, apart from all theories about it, one
+of the grandest things ever written with pen. One feels, indeed, as if
+it were not Hebrew; such a noble universality, different from noble
+patriotism or sectarianism, reigns in it. A noble Book; all men's Book!
+It is our first, oldest statement of the never-ending Problem,--man's
+destiny, and God's ways with him here in this earth. And all in such
+free flowing outlines; grand in its sincerity, in its simplicity; in its
+epic melody, and repose of reconcilement. There is the seeing eye, the
+mildly understanding heart. So _true_ everyway; true eyesight and vision
+for all things; material things no less than spiritual: the Horse--"hast
+thou clothed his neck with _thunder_?"--he "_laughs_ at the shaking of
+the spear!" Such living likenesses were never since drawn. Sublime
+sorrow, sublime reconciliation; oldest choral melody as of the heart of
+mankind;--so soft, and great; as the summer midnight, as the world with
+its seas and stars! There is nothing written, I think, in the Bible or
+out of it, of equal literary merit.--
+
+To the idolatrous Arabs one of the most ancient universal objects of
+worship was that Black Stone, still kept in the building called Caabah
+at Mecca. Diodorus Siculus mentions this Caabah in a way not to be
+mistaken, as the oldest, most honored temple in his time; that is, some
+half-century before our Era. Silvestre de Sacy says there is some
+likelihood that the Black Stone is an aerolite. In that case, some man
+might _see_ it fall out of Heaven! It stands now beside the Well Zemzem;
+the Caabah is built over both. A Well is in all places a beautiful
+affecting object, gushing out like life from the hard earth;--still more
+so in those hot dry countries, where it is the first condition of being.
+The Well Zemzem has its name from the bubbling sound of the waters,
+_zem-zem_; they think it is the Well which Hagar found with her little
+Ishmael in the wilderness: the aerolite and it have been sacred now, and
+had a Caabah over them, for thousands of years. A curious object, that
+Caabah! There it stands at this hour, in the black cloth-covering the
+Sultan sends it yearly; "twenty-seven cubits high;" with circuit, with
+double circuit of pillars, with festoon rows of lamps and quaint
+ornaments: the lamps will be lighted again _this_ night--to glitter
+again under the stars. An authentic fragment of the oldest Past. It is
+the _Keblah_ of all Moslem: from Delhi all onwards to Morocco, the eyes
+of innumerable praying men are turned towards _it_, five times, this day
+and all days: one of the notablest centres in the Habitation of Men.
+
+It had been from the sacredness attached to this Caabah Stone and
+Hagar's Well, from the pilgrimings of all tribes of Arabs thither, that
+Mecca took its rise as a Town. A great town once, though much decayed
+now. It has no natural advantage for a town; stands in a sandy hollow
+amid bare barren hills, at a distance from the sea; its provisions, its
+very bread, have to be imported. But so many pilgrims needed lodgings:
+and then all places of pilgrimage do, from the first, become places of
+trade. The first day pilgrims meet, merchants have also met: where men
+see themselves assembled for one object, they find that they can
+accomplish other objects which depend on meeting together. Mecca became
+the Fair of all Arabia. And thereby indeed the chief staple and
+warehouse of whatever Commerce there was between the Indian and the
+Western countries, Syria, Egypt, even Italy. It had at one time a
+population of 100,000; buyers, forwarders of those Eastern and Western
+products; importers for their own behoof of provisions and corn. The
+government was a kind of irregular aristocratic republic, not without a
+touch of theocracy. Ten Men of a chief tribe, chosen in some rough way,
+were Governors of Mecca, and Keepers of the Caabah. The Koreish were the
+chief tribe in Mohammed's time; his own family was of that tribe. The
+rest of the Nation, fractioned and cut-asunder by deserts, lived under
+similar rude patriarchal governments by one or several: herdsmen,
+carriers, traders, generally robbers too; being oftenest at war one with
+another, or with all: held together by no open bond, if it were not this
+meeting at the Caabah, where all forms of Arab Idolatry assembled in
+common adoration;--held mainly by the _inward_ indissoluble bond of a
+common blood and language. In this way had the Arabs lived for long
+ages, unnoticed by the world; a people of great qualities, unconsciously
+waiting for the day when they should become notable to all the world.
+Their Idolatries appear to have been in a tottering state; much was
+getting into confusion and fermentation among them. Obscure tidings of
+the most important Event ever transacted in this world, the Life and
+Death of the Divine Man in Judea, at once the symptom and cause of
+immeasurable change to all people in the world, had in the course of
+centuries reached into Arabia too; and could not but, of itself, have
+produced fermentation there.
+
+It was among this Arab people, so circumstanced, in the year 570 of our
+Era, that the man Mohammed was born. He was of the family of Hashem, of
+the Koreish tribe as we said; though poor, connected with the chief
+persons of his country. Almost at his birth he lost his Father; at the
+age of six years his Mother too, a woman noted for her beauty, her worth
+and sense: he fell to the charge of his Grandfather, an old man, a
+hundred years old. A good old man: Mohammed's Father, Abdallah, had been
+his youngest favorite son. He saw in Mohammed, with his old life-worn
+eyes, a century old, the lost Abdallah come back again, all that was
+left of Abdallah. He loved the little orphan Boy greatly; used to say
+they must take care of that beautiful little Boy, nothing in their
+kindred was more precious than he. At his death, while the boy was still
+but two years old, he left him in charge to Abu Thaleb the eldest of the
+Uncles, as to him that now was head of the house. By this Uncle, a just
+and rational man as everything betokens, Mohammed was brought-up in the
+best Arab way.
+
+Mohammed, as he grew up, accompanied his Uncle on trading journeys and
+suchlike; in his eighteenth year one finds him a fighter following his
+Uncle in war. But perhaps the most significant of all his journeys is
+one we find noted as of some years' earlier date: a journey to the Fairs
+of Syria. The young man here first came in contact with a quite foreign
+world,--with one foreign element of endless moment to him: the Christian
+Religion. I know not what to make of that "Sergius, the Nestorian Monk,"
+whom Abu Thaleb and he are said to have lodged with; or how much any
+monk could have taught one still so young. Probably enough it is greatly
+exaggerated, this of the Nestorian Monk. Mohammed was only fourteen; had
+no language but his own: much in Syria must have been a strange
+unintelligible whirlpool to him. But the eyes of the lad were open;
+glimpses of many things would doubtless be taken-in, and lie very
+enigmatic as yet, which were to ripen in a strange way into views, into
+beliefs and insights one day. These journeys to Syria were probably the
+beginning of much to Mohammed.
+
+One other circumstance we must not forget: that he had no
+school-learning; of the thing we call school-learning none at all. The
+art of writing was but just introduced into Arabia; it seems to be the
+true opinion that Mohammed never could write! Life in the Desert, with
+its experiences, was all his education. What of this infinite Universe
+he, from his dim place, with his own eyes and thoughts, could take in,
+so much and no more of it was he to know. Curious, if we will reflect on
+it, this of having no books. Except by what he could see for himself, or
+hear of by uncertain rumor of speech in the obscure Arabian Desert, he
+could know nothing. The wisdom that had been before him or at a distance
+from him in the world, was in a manner as good as not there for him. Of
+the great brother souls, flame-beacons through so many lands and times,
+no one directly communicates with this great soul. He is alone there,
+deep down in the bosom of the Wilderness; has to grow up so,--alone with
+Nature and his own Thoughts.
+
+But, from an early age, he had been remarked as a thoughtful man. His
+companions named him "_Al Amin_, the Faithful." A man of truth and
+fidelity; true in what he did, in what he spake and thought. They noted
+that _he_ always meant something. A man rather taciturn in speech;
+silent when there was nothing to be said; but pertinent, wise, sincere,
+when he did speak; always throwing light on the matter. This is the only
+sort of speech _worth_ speaking! Through life we find him to have been
+regarded as an altogether solid, brotherly, genuine man. A serious,
+sincere character; yet amiable, cordial, companionable, jocose even;--a
+good laugh in him withal: there are men whose laugh is as untrue as
+anything about them; who cannot laugh. One hears of Mohammed's beauty:
+his fine sagacious honest face, brown florid complexion, beaming black
+eyes;--I somehow like too that vein on the brow, which swelled-up black
+when he was in anger: like the "horse-shoe vein" in Scott's
+_Red-gauntlet_. It was a kind of feature in the Hashem family, this
+black swelling vein in the brow; Mahomet had it prominent, as would
+appear. A spontaneous, passionate, yet just, true-meaning man! Full of
+wild faculty, fire and light; of wild worth, all uncultured; working out
+his life-task in the depths of the Desert there.
+
+How he was placed with Kadijah, a rich Widow, as her Steward, and
+travelled in her business, again to the Fairs of Syria; how he managed
+all, as one can well understand, with fidelity, adroitness; how her
+gratitude, her regard for him grew: the story of their marriage is
+altogether a graceful intelligible one, as told us by the Arab authors.
+He was twenty-five; she forty, though still beautiful. He seems to have
+lived in a most affectionate, peaceable, wholesome way with this wedded
+benefactress; loving her truly, and her alone. It goes greatly against
+the impostor theory, the fact that he lived in this entirely
+unexceptionable, entirely quiet and commonplace way, till the heat of
+his years was done. He was forty before he talked of any mission from
+Heaven. All his irregularities, real and supposed, date from after his
+fiftieth year, when the good Kadijah died. All his "ambition,"
+seemingly, had been, hitherto, to live an honest life; his "fame," the
+mere good opinion of neighbors that knew him, had been sufficient
+hitherto. Not till he was already getting old, the prurient heat of his
+life all burnt out, and _peace_ growing to be the chief thing this world
+could give him, did he start on the "career of ambition"; and, belying
+all his past character and existence, set-up as a wretched empty
+charlatan to acquire what he could now no longer enjoy! For my share, I
+have no faith whatever in that.
+
+Ah no: this deep-hearted Son of the Wilderness, with his beaming black
+eyes and open social deep soul, had other thoughts in him than ambition.
+A silent great soul; he was one of those who cannot _but_ be in earnest;
+whom Nature herself has appointed to be sincere. While others walk in
+formulas and hearsays, contented enough to dwell there, this man could
+not screen himself in formulas; he was alone with his own soul and the
+reality of things. The great Mystery of Existence, as I said, glared-in
+upon him, with its terrors, with its splendors; no hearsays could hide
+that unspeakable fact, "Here am I!" Such _sincerity_, as we named it,
+has in very truth something of divine. The word of such a man is a Voice
+direct from Nature's own Heart. Men do and must listen to that as to
+nothing else;--all else is wind in comparison. From of old, a thousand
+thoughts, in his pilgrimings and wanderings, had been in this man: What
+am I? What _is_ this unfathomable Thing I live in, which men name
+Universe? What is Life; what is Death? What am I to believe? What am I
+to do? The grim rocks of Mount Hara, of Mount Sinai, the stern sandy
+solitudes answered not. The great Heaven rolling silent overhead, with
+its blue-glancing stars, answered not. There was no answer. The man's
+own soul, and what of God's inspiration dwelt there, had to answer!
+
+It is the thing which all men have to ask themselves; which we too have
+to ask, and answer. This wild man felt it to be of _infinite_ moment;
+all other things of no moment whatever in comparison. The jargon of
+argumentative Greek Sects, vague traditions of Jews, the stupid routine
+of Arab Idolatry: there was no answer in these. A Hero, as I repeat, has
+this first distinction, which indeed we may call first and last, the
+Alpha and Omega of his whole Heroism, that he looks through the shows of
+things into _things_. Use and wont, respectable hearsay, respectable
+formula: all these are good, or are not good. There is something behind
+and beyond all these, which all these must correspond with, be the image
+of, or they are--_Idolatries_; "bits of black wood pretending to be
+God"; to the earnest soul a mockery and abomination. Idolatries never so
+gilded waited on by heads of the Koreish, will do nothing for this man.
+Though all men walk by them, what good is it? The great Reality stands
+glaring there upon _him_. He there has to answer it, or perish
+miserably. Now, even now, or else through all Eternity never! Answer it;
+_thou_ must find an answer.--Ambition? What could all Arabia do for this
+man; with the crown of Greek Heraclius, of Persian Chosroes, and all
+crowns in the Earth;--what could they all do for him? It was not of the
+Earth he wanted to hear tell; it was of the Heaven above and of the Hell
+beneath. All crowns and sovereignties whatsoever, where would _they_ in
+a few brief years be? To be Sheik of Mecca or Arabia, and have a bit of
+gilt wood put into your hand,--will that be one's salvation? I decidedly
+think, not. We will leave it altogether, this impostor hypothesis, as
+not credible; not very tolerable even, worthy chiefly of dismissal by
+us.
+
+Mohammed had been wont to retire yearly, during the month Ramadhan, into
+solitude and silence; as indeed was the Arab custom; a praiseworthy
+custom, which such a man, above all, would find natural and useful.
+Communing with his own heart, in the silence of the mountains; himself
+silent; open to the "small still voices": it was a right natural custom!
+Mohammed was in his fortieth year, when having withdrawn to a cavern in
+Mount Hara, near Mecca, during this Ramadhan, to pass the month in
+prayer, and meditation on those great questions, he one day told his
+wife Kadijah, who with his household was with him or near him this year,
+that by the unspeakable special favor of Heaven he had now found it all
+out; was in doubt and darkness no longer, but saw it all. That all these
+Idols and Formulas were nothing, miserable bits of wood; that there was
+One God in and over all; and we must leave all idols, and look to Him.
+That God is great; and that there is nothing else great! He is the
+Reality. Wooden Idols are not real; He is real. He made us at first,
+sustains us yet; we and all things are but the shadow of Him; a
+transitory garment veiling the Eternal Splendor. "_Allah akbar_," God is
+great;--and then also "_Islam_," that we must _submit_ to God. That our
+whole strength lies in resigned submission to Him, whatsoever He do to
+us. For this world, and for the other! The thing He sends to us, were it
+death and worse than death, shall be good, shall be best; we resign
+ourselves to God.--"If this be _Islam_," says Goethe, "do we not all
+live in _Islam_?" Yes, all of us that have any moral life; we all live
+so. It has ever been held the highest wisdom for a man not merely to
+submit to Necessity,--Necessity will make him submit,--but to know and
+believe well that the stern thing which Necessity had ordered was the
+wisest, the best, the thing wanted there. To cease his frantic
+pretension of scanning this great God's-World in his small fraction of a
+brain; to know that it _had_ verily, though deep beyond his soundings, a
+Just Law, that the soul of it was Good;--that his part in it was to
+conform to the Law of the Whole, and in devout silence follow that; not
+questioning it, obeying it as unquestionable.
+
+I say, this is yet the only true morality known. A man is right and
+invincible, virtuous and on the road towards sure conquest, precisely
+while he joins himself to the great deep Law of the World, in spite of
+all superficial laws, temporary appearances, profit-and-loss
+calculations; he is victorious while he coöperates with that great
+central Law, not victorious otherwise:--and surely his first chance of
+coöperating with it, or getting into the course of it, is to know with
+his whole soul that it _is_; that it is good, and alone good! This is
+the soul of Islam; it is properly the soul of Christianity;--for Islam
+is definable as a confused form of Christianity; had Christianity not
+been, neither had it been. Christianity also commands us, before all, to
+be resigned to God. We are to take no counsel with flesh-and-blood; give
+ear to no vain cavils, vain sorrows and wishes: to know that we know
+nothing; that the worst and crudest to our eyes is not what it seems;
+that we have to receive whatsoever befalls us as sent from God above,
+and say, It is good and wise, God is great! "Though He slay me, yet will
+I trust in Him." Islam means in its way Denial of Self, Annihilation of
+Self. This is yet the highest Wisdom that Heaven has revealed to our
+Earth.
+
+Such light had come, as it could, to illuminate the darkness of this
+wild Arab soul. A confused dazzling splendor as of life and Heaven, in
+the great darkness which threatened to be death: he called it revelation
+and the angel Gabriel;--who of us yet can know what to call it? It is
+the "inspiration of the Almighty that giveth us understanding." To
+_know_; to get into the truth of anything, is ever a mystic act,--of
+which the best Logics can but babble on the surface. "Is not Belief the
+true god-announcing Miracle?" says Novalis.--That Mohammed's whole soul,
+set in flame with this grand Truth vouchsafed him, should feel as if it
+were important and the only important thing, was very natural. That
+Providence had unspeakably honored _him_ by revealing it, saving him
+from death and darkness; that he therefore was bound to make known the
+same to all creatures: this is what was meant by "Mohammed is the
+Prophet of God"; this too is not without its true meaning.--
+
+The good Kadijah, we can fancy, listened to him with wonder, with doubt:
+at length she answered: Yes, it was _true_ this that he said. One can
+fancy too the boundless gratitude of Mohammed; and how of all the
+kindnesses she had done him, this of believing the earnest struggling
+word he now spoke was the greatest. "It is certain," says Novalis, "my
+Conviction gains infinitely, the moment another soul will believe in
+it." It is a boundless favor.--He never forgot this good Kadijah. Long
+afterwards, Ayesha his young favorite wife, a woman who indeed
+distinguished herself among the Moslem, by all manner of qualities,
+through her whole long life; this young brilliant Ayesha was, one day,
+questioning him: "Now am not I better than Kadijah? She was a widow;
+old, and had lost her looks: you love me better than you did her?"--"No,
+by Allah!" answered Mohammed: "No, by Allah! She believed in me when
+none else would believe. In the whole world I had but one friend, and
+she was that!"--Seid, his Slave, also belie ed in him; these with his
+young Cousin Ali, Abu Thaleb's son, were his first converts.
+
+He spoke of his Doctrine to this man and that; but the most treated it
+with ridicule, with indifference; in three years, I think, he had gained
+but thirteen followers. His progress was slow enough. His encouragement
+to go on, was altogether the usual encouragement that such a man in such
+a case meets. After some three years of small success, he invited forty
+of his chief kindred to an entertainment; and there stood-up and told
+them what his pretension was: that he had this thing to promulgate
+abroad to all men; that it was the highest thing, the one thing: which
+of them would second him in that? Amid the doubt and silence of all,
+young Ali, as yet a lad of sixteen, impatient of the silence,
+started-up, and exclaimed in passionate fierce language that he would!
+The assembly, among whom was Abu Thaleb, Ali's Father, could not be
+unfriendly to Mohammed; yet the sight there, of one unlettered elderly
+man, with a lad of sixteen, deciding on such an enterprise against all
+mankind, appeared ridiculous to them; the assembly broke-up in laughter.
+Nevertheless it proved not a laughable thing; it was a very serious
+thing! As for this young Ali, one cannot but like him. A noble-minded
+creature, as he shows himself, now and always afterwards; full of
+affection, of fiery daring. Something chivalrous in him; brave as a
+lion; yet with a grace, a truth and affection worthy of Christian
+knighthood. He died by assassination in the Mosque at Bagdad; a death
+occasioned by his own generous fairness, confidence in the fairness of
+others: he said if the wound proved not unto death, they must pardon the
+Assassin; but if it did, then they must slay him straightway, that so
+they two in the same hour might appear before God, and see which side of
+that quarrel was the just one!
+
+Mohammed naturally gave offence to the Koreish, Keepers of the Caabah,
+superintendents of the Idols. One or two men of influence had joined
+him: the thing spread slowly, but it was spreading. Naturally he gave
+offence to everybody: Who is this that pretends to be wiser than we all;
+that rebukes us all, as mere fools and worshippers of wood! Abu Thaleb
+the good Uncle spoke with him: Could he not be silent about all that;
+believe it all for himself, and not trouble others, anger the chief men,
+endanger himself and them all, talking of it? Mohammed answered: If the
+Sun stood on his right hand and the Moon on his left, ordering him to
+hold his peace, he could not obey! No: there was something in this Truth
+he had got which was of Nature herself; equal in rank to Sun, or Moon,
+or whatsoever thing Nature had made. It would speak itself there, so
+long as the Almighty allowed it, in spite of Sun and Moon, and all
+Koreish and all men and things. It must do that, and could do no other.
+Mohammed answered so; and, they say, "burst into tears." Burst into
+tears: he felt that Abu Thaleb was good to him; that the task he had got
+was no soft, but a stern and great one.
+
+He went on speaking to who would listen to him; publishing his Doctrine
+among the pilgrims as they came to Mecca; gaining adherents in this
+place and that. Continual contradiction, hatred, open or secret danger
+attended him. His powerful relations protected Mohammed himself; but by
+and by, on his own advice, all his adherents had to quit Mecca, and seek
+refuge in Abyssinia over the sea. The Koreish grew ever angrier; laid
+plots, and swore oaths among them, to put Mohammed to death with their
+own hands. Abu Thaleb was dead, the good Kadijah was dead. Mohammed is
+not solicitous of sympathy from us; but his outlook at this time was one
+of the dismallest. He had to hide in caverns, escape in disguise; fly
+hither and thither; homeless, in continual peril of his life. More than
+once it seemed all-over with him; more than once it turned on a straw,
+some rider's horse taking fright or the like, whether Mohammed and his
+Doctrine had not ended there, and not been heard of at all. But it was
+not to end so.
+
+In the thirteenth year of his mission, finding his enemies all banded
+against him, forty sworn men, one out of every tribe, waiting to take
+his life, and no continuance possible at Mecca for him any longer,
+Mohammed fled to the place then called Yathreb, where he had gained some
+adherents; the place they now call Medina, or "_Medinat al Nabi_, the
+City of the Prophet," from that circumstance. It lay some 200 miles off,
+through rocks and deserts; not without great difficulty, in such mood as
+we may fancy, he escaped thither, and found welcome. The whole East
+dates its era from this Flight, _Hegira_ as they name it: the Year 1 of
+this Hegira is 622 of our Era, the fifty-third of Mohammed's life. He
+was now becoming an old man; his friends sinking round him one by one;
+his path desolate, encompassed with danger: unless he could find hope in
+his own heart, the outward face of things was but hopeless for him. It
+is so with all men in the like case. Hitherto Mohammed had professed to
+publish his Religion by the way of preaching and persuasion alone. But
+now, driven foully out of his native country, since unjust men had not
+only given no ear to his earnest Heaven's-message, the deep cry of his
+heart, but would not even let him live if he kept speaking it,--the wild
+Son of the Desert resolved to defend himself, like a man and Arab. If
+the Koreish will have it so, they shall have it. Tidings, felt to be of
+infinite moment to them and all men, they would not listen to these;
+would trample them down by sheer violence, steel and murder: well, let
+steel try it then! Ten years more this Mohammed had; all of fighting, of
+breathless impetuous toil and struggle; with what result we know.
+
+Much has been said of Mohammed's propagating his Religion by the sword.
+It is no doubt far nobler what we have to boast of the Christian
+Religion, that it propagated itself peaceably in the way of preaching
+and conviction. Yet withal, if we take this for an argument of the truth
+or falsehood of a religion, there is a radical mistake in it. The sword
+indeed: but where will you get your sword! Every new opinion, at its
+starting, is precisely in a _minority of one_. In one man's head alone,
+there it dwells as yet. One man alone of the whole world believes it;
+there is one man against all men. That _he_ take a sword, and try to
+propagate with that, will do little for him. You must first get your
+sword! On the whole, a thing will propagate itself as it can. We do not
+find, of the Christian Religion either, that it always disdained the
+sword, when once it had got one. Charlemagne's conversion of the Saxons
+was not by preaching. I care little about the sword: I will allow a
+thing to struggle for itself in this world, with any sword or tongue or
+implement it has, or can lay hold of. We will let it preach, and
+pamphleteer, and fight, and to the uttermost bestir itself, and do, beak
+and claws, whatsoever is in it; very sure that it will, in the long-run,
+conquer nothing which does not deserve to be conquered. What is better
+than itself, it cannot put away, but only what is worse. In this great
+Duel, Nature herself is umpire, and can do no wrong: the thing which is
+deepest-rooted in Nature, what we call _truest_, that thing and not the
+other will be found growing at last.
+
+Here however, in reference to much that there is in Mohammed and his
+success, we are to remember what an umpire Nature is; what a greatness,
+composure of depth and tolerance there is in her. You take wheat to cast
+into the Earth's bosom: your wheat may be mixed with chaff, chopped
+straw, barn-sweepings, dust and all imaginable rubbish; no matter: you
+cast it into the kind just Earth; she grows the wheat,--the whole
+rubbish she silently absorbs, shrouds _it_ in, says nothing of the
+rubbish. The yellow wheat is growing there; the good Earth is silent
+about all the rest,--has silently turned all the rest to some benefit
+too, and makes no complaint about it! So everywhere in Nature! She is
+true and not a lie; and yet so great, and just, and motherly in her
+truth. She requires of a thing only that it _be_ genuine of heart; she
+will protect it if so; will not, if not so. There is a soul of truth in
+all the things she ever gave harbor to. Alas, is not this the history of
+all highest Truth that comes or ever came into the world? The _body_ of
+them all is imperfection, an element of light _in_ darkness: to us they
+have to come embodied in mere Logic, in some merely _scientific_ Theorem
+of the Universe; which _cannot_ be complete; which cannot but be found,
+one day, incomplete, erroneous, and so die and disappear. The body of
+all Truth dies; and yet in all, I say, there is a soul which never dies;
+which in new and ever-nobler embodiment lives immortal as man himself!
+It is the way with Nature. The genuine essence of Truth never dies. That
+it be genuine, a voice from the great Deep of Nature, there is the point
+at Nature's judgment-seat. What _we_ call pure or impure, is not with
+her the final question. Not how much chaff is in you; but whether you
+have any wheat. Pure? I might say to many a man: Yes, you are pure; pure
+enough; but you are chaff,--insincere hypothesis, hearsay, formality;
+you never were in contact with the great heart of the Universe at all;
+you are properly neither pure nor impure; you _are_ nothing, Nature has
+no business with you.
+
+Mohammed's Creed we called a kind of Christianity; and really, if we
+look at the wild rapt earnestness with which it was believed and laid to
+heart, I should say a better kind than that of those miserable Syrian
+Sects, with their vain janglings about _Homoiousion_ and _Homoousion_,
+the head full of worthless noise, the heart empty and dead! The truth of
+it is imbedded in portentous error and falsehood; but the truth of it
+makes it be believed, not the falsehood: it succeeded by its truth. A
+bastard kind of Christianity, but a living kind; with a heartlife in it;
+not dead, chopping barren logic merely! Out of all that rubbish of Arab
+idolatries, argumentative theologies, traditions, subtleties, rumors and
+hypotheses of Greeks and Jews, with their idle wiredrawings, this wild
+man of the Desert, with his wild sincere heart, earnest as death and
+life, with his great flashing natural eyesight, had seen into the kernel
+of the matter. Idolatry is nothing: these Wooden Idols of yours, "ye rub
+them with oil and wax, and the flies stick on them,"--these are wood, I
+tell you! They can do nothing for you; they are an impotent blasphemous
+pretence; a horror and abomination, if ye knew them. God alone is; God
+alone has power; He made us, He can kill us and keep us alive: "_Allah
+akbar_, God is great." Understand that His will is the best for you;
+that howsoever sore to flesh-and-blood, you will find it the wisest,
+best: you are bound to take it so; in this world and in the next, you
+have no other thing that you can do!
+
+And now if the wild idolatrous men did believe this, and with their
+fiery hearts lay hold of it to do it, in what form soever it came to
+them, I say it was well worthy of being believed. In one form or the
+other, I say it is still the one thing worthy of being believed by all
+men. Man does hereby become the high-priest of this Temple of a World.
+He is in harmony with the Decrees of the Author of this World;
+cooperating with them, not vainly withstanding them: I know, to this
+day, no better definition of Duty than that same. All that is _right_
+includes itself in this of cooperating with the real Tendency of the
+World: you succeed by this (the World's Tendency will succeed), you are
+good, and in the right course there. _Homoiousion, Homoousion_, vain
+logical jangle, then or before or at any time, may jangle itself out,
+and go whither and how it likes: this is the _thing_ it all struggles to
+mean, if it would mean anything. If it do not succeed in meaning this,
+it means nothing. Not that Abstractions, logical Propositions, be
+correctly worded or incorrectly; but that living concrete Sons of Adam
+do lay this to heart: that is the important point. Islam devoured all
+these vain jangling Sects; and I think had right to do so. It was a
+Reality, direct from the great Heart of Nature once more. Arab
+idolatries, Syrian formulas, whatsoever was not equally real, had to go
+up in flame,--mere dead _fuel_, in various senses, for this which was
+_fire_.
+
+It was during these wild warfarings and strugglings, especially after
+the Flight to Mecca, that Mohammed dictated at intervals his Sacred
+Book, which they name _Koran_, or _Reading_, "Thing to be read." This is
+the Work he and his disciples made so much of, asking all the world, Is
+not that a miracle? The Mohammedans regard their Koran with a reverence
+which few Christians pay even to their Bible. It is admitted everywhere
+as the standard of all law and all practice; the thing to be gone-upon
+in speculation and life: the message sent direct out of Heaven, which
+this earth has to conform to, and walk by; the thing to be read. Their
+Judges decide by it; all Moslem are bound to study it, seek in it for
+the light of their life. They have mosques where it is all read daily;
+thirty relays of priests take it up in succession, get through the whole
+each day. There, for twelve-hundred years, has the voice of this Book,
+at all moments, kept sounding through the ears and the hearts of so many
+men. We hear of Mohammedan Doctors that had read it seventy-thousand
+times!
+
+Very curious: if one sought for "discrepancies of national taste," here
+surely were the most eminent instance of that! We also can read the
+Koran; our Translation of it, by Sale, is known to be a very fair one. I
+must say, it is as toilsome reading as I ever undertook. A wearisome
+confused jumble, crude, incondite; endless iterations, long-windedness,
+entanglement; most crude, incondite;--insupportable stupidity, in short!
+Nothing but a sense of duty could carry any European through the Koran.
+We read in it, as we might in the State-Paper Office, unreadable masses
+of lumber, that perhaps we may get some glimpses of a remarkable man. It
+is true we have it under disadvantages: the Arabs see more method in it
+than we. Mohammed's followers found the Koran lying all in fractions, as
+it had been written-down at first promulgation; much of it, they say, on
+shoulder-blades of mutton flung pell-mell into a chest; and they
+published it, without any discoverable order as to time or
+otherwise;--merely trying, as would seem, and this not very strictly, to
+put the longest chapters first. The real beginning of it, in that way,
+lies almost at the end: for the earliest portions were the shortest.
+Read in its historical sequence it perhaps would not be so bad. Much of
+it, too, they say, is rhythmic; a kind of wild chanting song, in the
+original. This may be a great point; much perhaps has been lost in the
+Translation here. Yet with every allowance, one feels it difficult to
+see how any mortal ever could consider this Koran as a Book written in
+Heaven, too good for the Earth; as a well-written book, or indeed as a
+_book_ at all; and not a bewildered rhapsody; _written_, so far as
+writing goes, as badly as almost any book ever was! So much for national
+discrepancies, and the standard of taste.
+
+Yet I should say, it was not unintelligible how the Arabs might so love
+it. When once you get this confused coil of a Koran fairly off your
+hands, and have it behind you at a distance, the essential type of it
+begins to disclose itself; and in this there is a merit quite other than
+the literary one. If a book come from the heart, it will contrive to
+reach other hearts; all art and authorcraft are of small amount to that.
+One would say the primary character of the Koran is this of its
+_genuineness_, of its being a _bona-fide_ book. Prideaux, I know, and
+others, have represented it as a mere bundle of juggleries; chapter
+after chapter got-up to excuse and varnish the author's successive sins,
+forward his ambitions and quackeries: but really it is time to dismiss
+all that. I do not assert Mohammed's continual sincerity: who is
+continually sincere? But I confess I can make nothing of the critic, in
+these times, who would accuse him of deceit _prepense_; of conscious
+deceit generally, or perhaps at all;--still more, of living in a mere
+element of conscious deceit, and writing this Koran as a forger and
+juggler would have done! Every candid eye, I think, will read the Koran
+far otherwise than so. It is the confused ferment of a great rude human
+soul; rude, untutored, that cannot even read; but fervent, earnest,
+struggling vehemently to utter itself in words. With a kind of
+breathless intensity he strives to utter himself; the thoughts crowd on
+him pell-mell: for very multitude of things to say, he can get nothing
+said. The meaning that is in him shapes itself into no form of
+composition, is stated in no sequence, method, or coherence;--they are
+not _shaped_ at all, these thoughts of his; flung-out unshaped, as they
+struggle and tumble there, in their chaotic inarticulate state. We said
+"stupid": yet natural stupidity is by no means the character of
+Mohammed's Book; it is natural un-cultivation rather. The man has not
+studied speaking; in the haste and pressure of continual fighting, has
+not time to mature himself into fit speech. The panting breathless haste
+and vehemence of a man struggling in the thick of battle for life and
+salvation; this is the mood he is in! A headlong haste; for very
+magnitude of meaning, he cannot get himself articulated into words. The
+successive utterances of a soul in that mood, colored by the various
+vicissitudes of three-and-twenty years; now well uttered, now worse:
+this is the Koran.
+
+For we are to consider Mohammed, through these three-and-twenty years,
+as the centre of a world wholly in conflict, Battles with the Koreish
+and Heathen, quarrels among his own people, backslidings of his own wild
+heart; all this kept him in a perpetual whirl, his soul knowing rest no
+more. In wakeful nights, as one may fancy, the wild soul of the man,
+tossing amid these vortices, would hail any light of a decision for them
+as a veritable light from Heaven; _any_ making-up of his mind, so
+blessed, indispensable for him there, would seem the inspiration of a
+Gabriel. Forger and juggler? No, no! This great fiery heart, seething,
+simmering like a great furnace of thoughts, was not a juggler's. His
+life was a Fact to him; this God's Universe an awful Fact and Reality.
+He has faults enough. The man was an uncultured semi-barbarous Son of
+Nature, much of the Bedouin still clinging to him: we must take him for
+that. But for a wretched Simulacrum, a hungry Impostor without eyes or
+heart, practising for a mess of pottage such blasphemous swindlery,
+forgery of celestial documents, continual high-treason against his Maker
+and Self, we will not and cannot take him.
+
+Sincerity, in all senses, seems to me the merit of the Koran; what had
+rendered it precious to the wild Arab men. It is, after all, the first
+and last merit in a book; gives rise to merits of all kinds,--nay, at
+bottom, it alone can give rise to merit of any kind. Curiously, through
+these incondite masses of tradition, vituperation, complaint,
+ejaculation in the Koran, a vein of true direct insight, of what we
+might almost call poetry, is found straggling. The body of the Book is
+made up of mere tradition, and as it were vehement enthusiastic
+extempore preaching. He returns forever to the old stories of the
+Prophets as they went current in the Arab memory: how Prophet after
+Prophet, the Prophet Abraham, the Prophet Hud, the Prophet Moses,
+Christian and other real and fabulous Prophets, had come to this Tribe
+and to that, warning men of their sin; and been received by them even as
+he Mohammed was,--which is a great solace to him. These things he
+repeats ten, perhaps twenty times; again and ever again, with wearisome
+iteration; has never done repeating them. A brave Samuel Johnson, in his
+forlorn garret, might con-over the Biographies of Authors in that way!
+This is the great staple of the Koran. But curiously, through all this,
+comes ever and anon some glance as of the real thinker and seer. He has
+actually an eye for the world, this Mohammed: with a certain directness
+and rugged vigour, he brings home still, to our heart, the thing his own
+heart has been opened to. I make but little of his praises of Allah,
+which many praise; they are borrowed I suppose mainly from the Hebrew,
+at least they are far surpassed there. But the eye that flashes direct
+into the heart of things, and _sees_ the truth of them; this is to me a
+highly interesting object. Great Nature's own gift; which she bestows on
+all; but which only one in the thousand does not cast sorrowfully away:
+it is what I call sincerity of vision; the test of a sincere heart.
+
+Mohammed can work no miracles; he often answers impatiently: I can work
+no miracles. I? "I am a Public Preacher"; appointed to preach this
+doctrine to all creatures. Yet the world, as we can see, had really from
+of old been all one great miracle to him. Look over the world, says he;
+is it not wonderful, the work of Allah; wholly "a sign to you," if your
+eyes were open! This Earth, God made it for you; "appointed paths in
+it"; you can live in it, go to and fro on it.--The clouds in the dry
+country of Arabia, to Mohammed they are very wonderful: Great clouds, he
+says, born in the deep bosom of the Upper Immensity, where do they come
+from! They hang there, the great black monsters; pour-down their
+rain-deluges "to revive a dead earth," and grass springs, and "tall
+leafy palm-trees with their date-clusters hanging round. Is not that a
+sign?" Your cattle too,--Allah made them; serviceable dumb creatures;
+they change the grass into milk; you have your clothing from them, very
+strange creatures; they come ranking home at evening-time, "and," adds
+he, "and are a credit to you"! Ships also,--he talks often about ships:
+Huge moving mountains, they spread-out their cloth wings, go bounding
+through the water there, Heaven's wind driving them; anon they lie
+motionless, God has withdrawn the wind, they lie dead, and cannot stir!
+Miracles? cries he; What miracle would you have? Are not you yourselves
+there? God made _you_, "shaped you out of a little clay." Ye were small
+once; a few years ago ye were not at all. Ye have beauty, strength,
+thoughts, "ye have compassion on one another." Old age comes-on you, and
+gray hairs; your strength fades into feebleness; ye sink down, and again
+are not. "Ye have compassion on one another": this struck me much: Allah
+might have made you having no compassion on one another,--how had it
+been then! This is a great direct thought, a glance at first-hand into
+the very fact of things. Rude vestiges of poetic genius, of whatsoever
+is best and truest, are visible in this man. A strong untutored
+intellect; eyesight, heart: a strong wild man,--might have shaped
+himself into Poet, King, Priest, any kind of Hero.
+
+To his eyes it is forever clear that this world wholly is miraculous. He
+sees what, as we said once before, all great thinkers, the rude
+Scandinavians themselves, in one way or other, have contrived to see:
+That this so solid-looking material world is, at bottom, in very deed,
+Nothing; is a visual and tactual Manifestation of God's-power and
+presence,--a shadow hung-out by Him on the bosom of the void Infinite;
+nothing more. The mountains, he says, these great rock-mountains, they
+shall dissipate themselves "like clouds"; melt into the Blue as clouds
+do, and not be! He figures the Earth, in the Arab fashion, Sale tells
+us, as an immense Plain or flat Plate of ground, the mountains are set
+on that to _steady_ it. At the Last Day they shall disappear "like
+clouds"; the whole Earth shall go spinning, whirl itself off into wreck,
+and as dust and vapor vanish in the Inane. Allah withdraws his hand from
+it, and it ceases to be. The universal empire of Allah, presence
+everywhere of an unspeakable Power, a Splendor, and a Terror not to be
+named, as the true force, essence and reality, in all things whatsoever,
+was continually clear to this man. What a modern talks-of by the name,
+Forces of Nature, Laws of Nature; and does not figure as a divine thing;
+not even as one thing at all, but as a set of things, undivine
+enough,--saleable, curious, good for propelling steamships! With our
+Sciences and Cyclopaedias, we are apt to forget the _divineness_, in
+those laboratories of ours. We ought not to forget it! That once well
+forgotten, I know not what else were worth remembering. Most sciences, I
+think, were then a very dead thing; withered, contentious, empty;--a
+thistle in late autumn. The best science, without this, is but as the
+dead _timber_; it is not the growing tree and forest,--which gives
+ever-new timber, among other things! Man cannot _know_ either, unless he
+can _worship_ in some way. His knowledge is a pedantry, and dead
+thistle, otherwise.
+
+Much has been said and written about the sensuality of Mohammed's
+Religion; more than was just. The indulgences, criminal to us, which he
+permitted, were not of his appointment; he found them practised,
+unquestioned from immemorial time in Arabia; what he did was to curtail
+them, restrict them, not on one but on many sides. His Religion is not
+an easy one: with rigorous fasts, lavations, strict complex formulas,
+prayers five times a day, and abstinence from wine, it did not "succeed
+by being an easy religion." As if indeed any religion, or cause holding
+of religion, could succeed by that! It is a calumny on men to say that
+they are roused to heroic action by ease, hope of pleasure,
+recompense,--sugar-plums of any kind, in this world or the next! In the
+meanest mortal there lies something nobler. The poor swearing soldier,
+hired to be shot, has his "honor of a soldier," different from
+drill-regulations and the shilling a day. It is not to taste sweet
+things, but to do noble and true things, and vindicate himself under
+God's Heaven as a god-made Man, that the poorest son of Adam dimly
+longs. Show him the way of doing that, the dullest daydrudge kindles
+into a hero. They wrong man greatly who say he is to be seduced by ease.
+Difficulty, abnegation, martyrdom, death are the _allurements_ that act
+on the heart of man. Kindle the inner genial life of him, you have a
+flame that burns-up all lower considerations. Not happiness, but
+something higher: one sees this even in the frivolous classes, with
+their "point of honor" and the like. Not by flattering our appetites;
+no, by awakening the Heroic that slumbers in every heart, can any
+Religion gain followers.
+
+Mohammed himself, after all that can be said about him, was not a
+sensual man. We shall err widely if we consider this man as a common
+voluptuary, intent mainly on base enjoyments,--nay on enjoyments of any
+kind. His household was of the frugalest; his common diet barley-bread
+and water: sometimes for months there was not a fire once lighted on his
+hearth. They record with just pride that he would mend his own shoes,
+patch his own cloak. A poor, hard-toiling, ill-provided man; careless of
+what vulgar men toil for. Not a bad man, I should say; something better
+in him than _hunger_ of any sort,--or these wild Arab men, fighting and
+jostling three-and-twenty years at his hand, in close contact with him
+always, would not have reverenced him so! They were wild men, bursting
+ever and anon into quarrel, into all kinds of fierce sincerity; without
+right worth and manhood, no man could have commanded them. They called
+him Prophet, you say? Why, he stood there face to face with them; bare,
+not enshrined in any mystery; visibly clouting his own cloak, cobbling
+his own shoes; fighting, counselling, ordering in the midst of them:
+they must have seen what kind of a man he _was_, let him be _called_
+what you like! No emperor with his tiara was obeyed as this man in a
+cloak of his own clouting during three-and-twenty years of rough actual
+trial. I find something of a veritable Hero necessary for that, of
+itself.
+
+His last words are a prayer; broken ejaculations of a heart struggling
+up, in trembling hope, towards its Maker. We cannot say that his
+religion made him _worse_; it made him better; good, not bad. Generous
+things are recorded of him: when he lost his Daughter, the thing he
+answers is, in his own dialect, everyway sincere, and yet equivalent to
+that of Christians, "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away; blessed
+be the name of the Lord." He answered in like manner of Seid, his
+emancipated well-beloved Slave, the second of the believers. Seid had
+fallen in the War of Tabûc, the first of Mohammed's fightings with the
+Greeks. Mohammed said, It was well; Seid had done his Master's work,
+Seid had now gone to his Master: it was all well with Seid. Yet Seid's
+daughter found him weeping over the body;--the old gray-haired man
+melting in tears! "What do I see?" said she.--"You see a friend weeping
+over his friend."--He went out for the last time into the mosque, two
+days before his death; asked, If he had injured any man? Let his own
+back bear the stripes. If he owed any man? A voice answered, "Yes, me
+three drachms," borrowed on such an occasion. Mohammed ordered them to
+be paid: "Better be in shame now," said he, "than at the Day of
+Judgment."--You remember Kadijah, and the "No, by Allah!" Traits of that
+kind show us the genuine man, the brother of us all, brought visible
+through twelve centuries,--the veritable Son of our common Mother.
+
+Withal I like Mohammed for his total freedom from cant. He is a rough
+self-helping son of the wilderness; does not pretend to be what he is
+not. There is no ostentatious pride in him; but neither does he go much
+upon humility: he is there as he can be, in cloak and shoes of his own
+clouting; speaks plainly to all manner of Persian Kings, Greek Emperors,
+what it is they are bound to do; knows well enough, about himself, "the
+respect due unto thee." In a life-and-death war with Bedouins, cruel
+things could not fail; but neither are acts of mercy, of noble natural
+pity and generosity, wanting. Mohammed makes no apology for the one, no
+boast of the other. They were each the free dictate of his heart; each
+called-for, there and then. Not a mealy-mouthed man! A candid ferocity,
+if the case call for it, is in him; he does not mince matters! The War
+of Tabûc is a thing he often speaks of: his men refused, many of them,
+to march on that occasion; pleaded the heat of the weather, the harvest,
+and so forth; he can never forget that. Your harvest? It lasts for a
+day. What will become of your harvest through all Eternity? Hot weather?
+Yes, it was hot; "but Hell will be hotter!" Sometimes a rough sarcasm
+turns-up: He says to the unbelievers, Ye shall have the just measure of
+your deeds at that Great Day. They will be weighed-out to you; ye shall
+not have short weight!--Everywhere he fixes the matter in his eye; he
+_sees_ it: his heart, now and then, is as if struck dumb by the
+greatness of it. "Assuredly," he says; that word, in the Koran, is
+written-down sometimes as a sentence by itself: "Assuredly."
+
+No _Dilettanteism_ in this Mohammed; it is a business of Reprobation and
+Salvation with him, of Time and Eternity: he is in deadly earnest about
+it! Dilettanteism, hypothesis, speculation, a kind of amateur-search for
+Truth, toying and coquetting with Truth: this is the sorest sin. The
+root of all other imaginable sins. It consists in the heart and soul of
+the man never having been _open_ to Truth;--"living in a vain show."
+Such a man not only utters and produces falsehoods, but _is_ himself a
+falsehood. The rational moral principle, spark of the Divinity, is sunk
+deep in him, in quiet paralysis of life-death. The very falsehoods of
+Mohammed are truer than the truths of such a man. He is the insincere
+man: smooth-polished, respectable in some times and places; inoffensive,
+says nothing harsh to anybody; most _cleanly_,--just as carbonic acid
+is, which is death and poison.
+
+We will not praise Mohammed's moral precepts as always of the
+superfinest sort; yet it can be said that there is always a tendency to
+good in them; that they are the true dictates of a heart aiming towards
+what is just and true. The sublime forgiveness of Christianity, turning
+of the other cheek when the one has been smitten, is not here: you _are_
+to revenge yourself, but it is to be in measure, not overmuch, or beyond
+justice. On the other hand, Islam, like any great Faith, and insight
+into the essence of man, is a perfect equalizer of men: the soul of one
+believer outweighs all earthly kingships; all men, according to Islam
+too, are equal. Mohammed insists not on the propriety of giving alms,
+but on the necessity of it: he marks-down by law how much you are to
+give, and it is at your peril if you neglect. The tenth part of a man's
+annual income, whatever that may be, is the _property_ of the poor, of
+those that are afflicted and need help. Good all this: the natural voice
+of humanity, of pity and equity dwelling in the heart of this wild Son
+of Nature speaks _so_.
+
+Mohammed's Paradise is sensual, his Hell sensual: true; in the one and
+the other there is enough that shocks all spiritual feeling in us. But
+we are to recollect that the Arabs already had it so; that Mohammed, in
+whatever he changed of it, softened and diminished all this. The worst
+sensualities, too, are the work of doctors, followers of his, not his
+work. In the Koran there is really very little said about the joys of
+Paradise; they are intimated rather than insisted on. Nor is it
+forgotten that the highest joys even there shall be spiritual; the pure
+Presence of the Highest, this shall infinitely transcend all other joys.
+He says, "Your salutation shall be, Peace." _Salam_, Have Peace!--the
+thing that all rational souls long for, and seek, vainly here below, as
+the one blessing. "Ye shall sit on seats, facing one another: all
+grudges shall be taken away out of your hearts." All grudges! Ye shall
+love one another freely; for each of you, in the eyes of his brothers,
+there will be Heaven enough!
+
+In reference to this of the sensual Paradise and Mohammed's sensuality,
+the sorest chapter of all for us, there were many things to be said;
+which it is not convenient to enter upon here. Two remarks only I shall
+make, and therewith leave it to your candor. The first is furnished me
+by Goethe; it is a casual hint of his which seems well worth taking note
+of. In one of his Delineations, in _Meister's Travels_ it is, the hero
+comes-upon a Society of men with very strange ways, one of which was
+this: "We require," says the Master, "that each of our people shall
+restrict himself in one direction," shall go right against his desire in
+one matter, and _make_ himself do the thing he does not wish, "should we
+allow him the greater latitude on all other sides." There seems to me a
+great justness in this. Enjoying things which are pleasant; that is not
+the evil: it is the reducing of our moral self to slavery by them that
+is. Let a man assert withal that he is king over his habitudes; that he
+could and would shake them off, on cause shown: this is an excellent
+law. The Month Ramadhan for the Moslem, much in Mohammed's Religion,
+much in his own Life, bears in that direction; if not by forethought, or
+clear purpose of moral improvement on his part, then by a certain
+healthy manful instinct, which is as good.
+
+But there is another thing to be said about the Mohammedan Heaven and
+Hell. This namely, that, however gross and material they may be, they
+are an emblem of an everlasting truth, not always so well remembered
+elsewhere. That gross sensual Paradise of his; that horrible flaming
+Hell; the great enormous Day of Judgment he perpetually insists on: what
+is all this but a rude shadow, in the rude Bedouin imagination, of that
+grand spiritual Fact, and Beginning of Facts, which it is ill for us too
+if we do not all know and feel: the Infinite Nature of Duty? That man's
+actions here are of _infinite_ moment to him, and never die or end at
+all; that man, with his little life, reaches upwards high as Heaven,
+downwards low as Hell, and in his threescore years of Time holds an
+Eternity fearfully and wonderfully hidden: all this had burnt itself, as
+in flame-characters, into the wild Arab soul. As in flame and lightning,
+it stands written there; awful, unspeakable, ever present to him. With
+bursting earnestness, with a fierce savage sincerity, halt,
+articulating, not able to articulate, he strives to speak it, bodies it
+forth in that Heaven and that Hell. Bodied forth in what way you will,
+it is the first of all truths. It is venerable under all embodiments.
+What is the chief end of man here below? Mohammed has answered this
+question, in a way that might put some of _us_ to shame! He does not,
+like a Bentham, a Paley, take Right and Wrong, and calculate the profit
+and loss, ultimate pleasure of the one and of the other; and summing all
+up by addition and subtraction into a net result, ask you, Whether on
+the whole the Right does not preponderate considerably? No; it is not
+_better_ to do the one than the other; the one is to the other as life
+is to death,--as Heaven is to Hell. The one must in nowise be done, the
+other in nowise left undone. You shall not measure them; they are
+incommensurable: the one is death eternal to a man, the other is life
+eternal. Benthamee Utility, virtue by Profit and Loss; reducing this
+God's-world to a dead brute Steam-engine, the infinite celestial Soul of
+Man to a kind of Hay-balance for weighing hay and thistles on, pleasures
+and pains on:--if you ask me which gives, Mohammed or they, the
+beggarlier and falser view of Man and his Destinies in this Universe, I
+will answer, It is not Mohammed!--
+
+On the whole, we will repeat that this Religion of Mohammed's is a kind
+of Christianity; has a genuine element of what is spiritually highest
+looking through it, not to be hidden by all its imperfections. The
+Scandinavian God _Wish_, the god of all rude men,--this has been
+enlarged into a Heaven by Mohammed; but a Heaven symbolical of sacred
+Duty, and to be earned by faith and well-doing, by valiant action, and a
+divine patience which is still more valiant. It is Scandinavian
+Paganism, and a truly celestial element super-added to that. Call it not
+false; look not at the falsehood of it, look at the truth of it. For
+these twelve centuries, it has been the religion and life-guidance of
+the fifth part of the whole kindred of Mankind. Above all things, it has
+been a religion heartily _believed_. These Arabs believe their religion,
+and try to live by it! No Christians, since the early ages, or only
+perhaps the English Puritans in modern times, have ever stood by their
+Faith as the Moslem do by theirs,--believing it wholly, fronting Time
+with it, and Eternity with it. This night the watchman on the streets of
+Cairo when he cries, "Who goes?" will hear from the passenger, along
+with his answer, "There is no God but God." _Allah akbar, Islam_, sounds
+through the souls, and whole daily existence, of these dusky millions.
+Zealous missionaries preach it abroad among Malays, black Papuans,
+brutal Idolaters;--displacing what is worse, nothing that is better or
+good.
+
+To the Arab Nation it was as a birth from darkness into light; Arabia
+first became alive by means of it. A poor shepherd people, roaming
+unnoticed in its deserts since the creation of the world: a Hero-Prophet
+was sent down to them with a word they could believe: see, the unnoticed
+becomes world-notable, the small has grown world-great; within one
+century afterwards, Arabia is at Grenada on this hand, at Delhi on
+that;--glancing in valor and splendor and the light of genius, Arabia
+shines through long ages over a great section of the world. Belief is
+great, life-giving. The history of a Nation becomes fruitful,
+soul-elevating, great, so soon as it believes. These Arabs, the man
+Mohammed, and that one century,--is it not as if a spark had fallen, one
+spark, on a world of what seemed black unnoticeable sand; but lo, the
+sand proves explosive powder, blazes heaven-high from Delhi to Grenada!
+I said, the Great Man was always as lightning out of Heaven; the rest of
+men waited for him like fuel, and then they too would flame.
+
+
+
+
+THE KORAN
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+Entitled, the Preface, or Introduction--Revealed at Mecca
+
+_In the Name of the Most Merciful God_.
+
+
+Praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures, the most merciful, the king
+of the day of judgment. Thee do we worship, and of thee do we beg
+assistance. Direct us in the right way, in the way of those to whom thou
+hast been gracious; not of those against whom thou art incensed, nor of
+those who go astray.[21]
+
+
+[Footnote 21: This chapter is a prayer, and held in great veneration by
+the Mohammedans, who give it several other honorable titles; as the
+chapter of prayer, of praise, of thanksgiving, of treasure. They esteem
+it as the quintessence of the whole Koran, and often repeat it in their
+devotions both public and private, as the Christians do the Lord's
+Prayer.]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+Entitled, the Cow[22]--Revealed Partly at Mecca, and Partly at Medina
+
+_In the Name of the Most Merciful God_,
+
+
+A.L.M. There is no doubt in this book; it is a direction to the pious,
+who believe in the mysteries of faith, who observe the appointed times
+of prayer, and distribute alms out of what we have bestowed on them; and
+who believe in that revelation, which hath been sent down unto thee, and
+that which hath been sent down unto the prophets before thee, and have
+firm assurance in the life to come: these are directed by their Lord,
+and they shall prosper. As for the unbelievers, it will be equal to them
+whether thou admonish them, or do not admonish them; they will not
+believe. God hath sealed up their hearts and their hearing; a dimness
+covereth their sight, and they shall suffer a grievous punishment. There
+are some who say, We believe in God and the last day, but are not really
+believers; they seek to deceive God, and those who do believe, but they
+deceive themselves only, and are not sensible thereof. There is an
+infirmity in their hearts, and God hath increased that infirmity; and
+they shall suffer a most painful punishment because they have
+disbelieved. When one saith unto them, Act not corruptly in the earth,
+they reply, Verily, we are men of integrity. Are not they themselves
+corrupt doers? but they are not sensible thereof. And when one saith
+unto them, Believe ye as others believe; they answer, Shall we believe
+as fools believe? Are not they themselves fools? but they know it not.
+When they meet those who believe, they say, We do believe: but when they
+retire privately to their devils, they say, We really hold with you, and
+only mock at those people: God shall mock at them, and continue them in
+their impiety; they shall wander in confusion. These are the men who
+have purchased error at the price of true direction: but their traffic
+hath not been gainful, neither have they been rightly directed. They are
+like unto one who kindleth a fire, and when it hath enlightened all
+around him, God taketh away their light and leaveth them in darkness,
+they shall not see; they are deaf, dumb, and blind, therefore will they
+not repent. Or like a stormy cloud from heaven, fraught with darkness,
+thunder, and lightning, they put their fingers in their ears, because of
+the noise of the thunder, for fear of death; God encompasseth the
+infidels: the lightning wanteth but little of taking away their sight;
+so often as it enlighteneth them, they walk therein, but when darkness
+cometh on them, they stand still; and if God so pleased, He would
+certainly deprive them of their hearing and their sight, for God is
+almighty. O men of Mecca! serve your Lord who hath created you, and
+those who have been before you: peradventure ye will fear him; who hath
+spread the earth as a bed for you, and the heaven as a covering, and
+hath caused water to descend from heaven, and thereby produced fruits
+for your sustenance. Set not up therefore any equals unto God, against
+your own knowledge. If ye be in doubt concerning that revelation which
+we have sent down unto our servant, produce a chapter like unto it, and
+call upon your witnesses, besides God, if ye say truth. But if ye do it
+not, nor shall ever be able to do it, justly fear the fire whose fuel is
+men and stones, prepared for the unbelievers. But bear good tidings unto
+those who believe, and do good works, that they shall have gardens
+watered by rivers; so often as they eat of the fruit thereof for
+sustenance, they shall say, This is what we have formerly eaten of; and
+they shall be supplied with several sorts of fruit having a mutual
+resemblance to one another. There shall they enjoy wives subject to no
+impurity, and there shall they continue forever. Moreover God will not
+be ashamed to propound in a parable a gnat, or even a more despicable
+thing: for they who believe will know it to be the truth from their
+Lord; but the unbelievers will say, What meaneth God by this parable? he
+will thereby mislead many, and will direct many thereby: but he will not
+mislead any thereby, except the transgressors, who make void the
+covenant of God after the establishing thereof, and cut in sunder that
+which God hath commanded to be joined, and act corruptly in the earth;
+they shall perish. How is it that ye believe not in God? Since ye were
+dead, and he gave you life; he will hereafter cause you to die, and will
+again restore you to life; then shall ye return unto him. It is he who
+hath created for you whatsoever is on earth, and then set his mind to
+the creation of heaven, and formed it into seven heavens; he knoweth all
+things. When thy Lord said unto the angels, I am going to place a
+substitute on earth,[23] they said, Wilt thou place there one who will
+do evil therein, and shed blood? but we celebrate thy praise, and
+sanctify thee. God answered, Verily I know that which ye know not; and
+he taught Adam the names of all things, and then proposed them to the
+angels, and said, Declare unto me the names of these things if ye say
+truth. They answered, Praise be unto thee, we have no knowledge but what
+thou teachest us, for thou art knowing and wise. God said, O Adam, tell
+them their names. And when he had told them their names, God said, Did I
+not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and know that
+which ye discover, and that which ye conceal? And when we said unto the
+angels, Worship Adam, they all worshipped him, except Eblis, who
+refused, and was puffed up with pride, and became of the number of
+unbelievers.[24] And we said, O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in the
+garden, and eat of the fruit thereof plentifully wherever ye will; but
+approach not this tree, lest ye become of the number of the
+transgressors. But Satan caused them to forfeit paradise, and turned
+them out of the state of happiness wherein they had been; whereupon we
+said, Get ye down, the one of you an enemy unto the other; and there
+shall be a dwelling-place for you on earth, and a provision for a
+season. And Adam learned words of prayer from his Lord, and God turned
+unto him, for he is easy to be reconciled and merciful. We said, Get ye
+all down from hence; hereafter shall there come unto you a direction
+from me, and whoever shall follow my direction, on them shall no fear
+come, neither shall they be grieved; but they who shall be unbelievers,
+and accuse our signs of falsehood, they shall be the companions of hell
+fire, therein shall they remain forever. O children of Israel,[25]
+remember my favor wherewith I have favored you; and perform your
+covenant with me and I will perform my covenant with you; and revere me;
+and believe in the revelation which I have sent down, confirming that
+which is with you, and be not the first who believe not therein, neither
+exchange my signs for a small price; and fear me. Clothe not the truth
+with vanity, neither conceal the truth against your own knowledge;
+observe the stated times of prayer, and pay your legal alms, and bow
+down yourselves with those who bow down. Will ye command men to do
+justice, and forget your own souls? yet ye read the book of the law: do
+ye not therefore understand? Ask help with perseverance and prayer; this
+indeed is grievous, unless to the humble, who seriously think they shall
+meet their Lord, and that to him they shall return. O children of
+Israel, remember my favor wherewith I have favored you, and that I have
+preferred you above all nations: dread the day wherein one soul shall
+not make satisfaction for another soul, neither shall any intercession
+be accepted from them, nor shall any compensation be received, neither
+shall they be helped. Remember when we delivered you from the people of
+Pharaoh, who grievously oppressed you, they slew your male children, and
+let your females live: therein was a great trial from your Lord. And
+when we divided the sea for you and delivered you, and drowned Pharaoh's
+people while ye looked on. And when we treated with Moses forty nights;
+then ye took the calf[26] for your God, and did evil; yet afterwards we
+forgave you, that peradventure ye might give thanks. And when we gave
+Moses the book of the law, and the distinction between good and evil,
+that peradventure ye might be directed. And when Moses said unto his
+people, O my people, verily ye have injured your own souls, by your
+taking the calf for your God; therefore be turned unto your Creator, and
+slay those among you who have been guilty of that crime; this will be
+better for you in the sight of your Creator; and thereupon he turned
+unto you, for he is easy to be reconciled, and merciful. And when ye
+said, O Moses, we will not believe thee, until we see God manifestly;
+therefore a punishment came upon you, while ye looked on; then we raised
+you to life after ye had been dead, that peradventure ye might give
+thanks. And we caused clouds to overshadow you, and manna and quails[27]
+to descend upon you, saying, Eat of the good things which we have given
+you for food: and they injured not us, but injured their own souls. And
+when we said, Enter into this city, and eat of the provisions thereof
+plentifully as ye will; and enter the gate worshipping, and say,
+Forgiveness! we will pardon you your sins, and give increase unto the
+well-doers. But the ungodly changed the expression into another,
+different from what had been spoken unto them; and we sent down upon the
+ungodly indignation from heaven, because they had transgressed. And when
+Moses asked drink for his people, we said, Strike the rock with thy rod;
+and there gushed thereout twelve fountains according to the number of
+the tribes, and all men knew their respective drinking-place. Eat and
+drink of the bounty of God, and commit not evil in the earth, acting
+unjustly. And when ye said, O Moses, we will by no means be satisfied
+with one kind of food; pray unto thy Lord therefore for us, that he
+would produce for us of that which the earth bringeth forth, herbs, and
+cucumbers, and garlic, and lentils, and onions; Moses answered, Will ye
+exchange that which is better, for that which is worse? Get ye down into
+Egypt, for there shall ye find what ye desire; and they were smitten
+with vileness and misery, and drew on themselves indignation from God.
+This they suffered, because they believed not in the signs of God, and
+killed the prophets unjustly; this, because they rebelled and
+transgressed. Surely those who believe, and those who Judaize, and
+Christians, and Sabeans, whoever believeth in God, and the last day, and
+doth that which is right, they shall have their reward with their Lord;
+there shall come no fear on them, neither shall they be grieved. Call to
+mind also when we accepted your covenant, and lifted up the mountain of
+Sinai over you, saying, Receive the law which we have given you, with a
+resolution to keep it, and remember that which is contained therein,
+that ye may beware. After this ye again turned back, so that if it had
+not been for God's indulgence and mercy towards you, ye had certainly
+been destroyed. Moreover, ye know what befell those of your nation who
+transgressed on the Sabbath day: We said unto them, Be ye changed into
+apes, driven away from the society of men. And we made them an example
+unto those who were contemporary with them, and unto those who came
+after them, and a warning to the pious. And when Moses said unto his
+people, Verily God commandeth you to sacrifice a cow;[28] they answered,
+Dost thou make a jest of us? Moses said, God forbid that I should be one
+of the foolish. They said, Pray for us unto thy Lord, that he would show
+us what cow it is. Moses answered, He saith, She is neither an old cow,
+nor a young heifer, but of a middle-age between both: do ye therefore
+that which ye are commanded. They said, Pray for us unto the Lord, that
+he would show us what color she is of. Moses answered, He saith, She is
+a red cow, intensely red, her color rejoiceth the beholders. They said,
+Pray for us unto thy Lord, that he would further show us what cow it is,
+for several cows with us are like one another, and we, if God please,
+will be directed. Moses answered, He saith, She is a cow not broken to
+plough the earth, or water the field: a sound one, there is no blemish
+in her. They said, Now hast thou brought the truth. Then they sacrificed
+her; yet they wanted little of leaving it undone. And when ye slew a
+man, and contended among yourselves concerning him, God brought forth to
+light that which ye concealed. For we said, Strike the dead body with
+part of the sacrificed cow; so God raiseth the dead to life, and showeth
+you his signs, that peradventure ye may understand. Then were your
+hearts hardened after this, even as stones, or exceeding them in
+hardness: for from some stones have rivers burst forth, others have been
+rent in sunder, and water hath issued from them, and others have fallen
+down for fear of God. But God is not regardless of that which ye do. Do
+ye therefore desire that the Jews should believe you? yet a part of them
+heard the word of God, and then perverted it, after they had understood
+it, against their own conscience. And when they meet the true believers,
+they say, We believe: but when they are privately assembled together,
+they say, Will ye acquaint them with what God hath revealed unto you,
+that they may dispute with you concerning it in the presence of your
+Lord? Do ye not therefore understand? Do not they know that God knoweth
+that which they conceal as well as that which they publish? But there
+are illiterate men among them, who know not the book of the law, but
+only lying stories, although they think otherwise. And woe unto them who
+transcribe corruptly the book of the law with their hands, and then say,
+This is from God: that they may sell it for a small price. Therefore woe
+unto them because of that which their hands have written; and woe unto
+them for that which they have gained. They say, The fire of hell shall
+not touch us but for a certain number of days. Answer, Have ye received
+any promise from God to that purpose? for God will not act contrary to
+his promise: or do ye speak concerning God that which ye know not?
+Verily whoso doth evil, and is encompassed by his iniquity, they shall
+be the companions of hell fire, they shall remain therein forever: but
+they who believe and do good works, they shall be the companions of
+paradise, they shall continue therein forever. Remember also, when we
+accepted the covenant of the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall not
+worship any other except God, and ye shall show kindness to your parents
+and kindred, and to orphans, and to the poor, and speak that which is
+good unto men, and be constant at prayer, and give alms. Afterwards ye
+turned back, except a few of you, and retired afar-off. And when we
+accepted your covenant, saying, Ye shall not shed your brother's blood,
+nor dispossess one another of your habitations, then ye confirmed it,
+and were witnesses thereto. Afterwards ye were they who slew one
+another, and turned several of your brethren out of their houses,
+mutually assisting each other against them with injustice and enmity;
+but if they come captives unto you, ye redeem them: yet it is equally
+unlawful for you to dispossess them. Do ye therefore believe in part of
+the book of the law, and reject other parts thereof? But whoso among you
+doth this, shall have no other reward than shame in this life, and on
+the day of resurrection they shall be sent to a most grievous
+punishment; for God is not regardless of that which ye do. These are
+they who have purchased this present life, at the price of that which is
+to come; wherefore their punishment shall not be mitigated, neither
+shall they be helped. We formerly delivered the book of the law unto
+Moses, and caused apostles to succeed him, and gave evident miracles to
+Jesus the son of Mary, and strengthened him with the holy spirit. Do ye
+therefore, whenever an apostle cometh unto you with that which your
+souls desire not, proudly reject him, and accuse some of imposture, and
+slay others? The Jews say, Our hearts are uncircumcised: but God hath
+cursed them with their infidelity, therefore few shall believe. And when
+a book came unto them from God, confirming the scriptures which were
+with them, although they had before prayed for assistance against those
+who believed not, yet when that came unto them which they knew to be
+from God, they would not believe therein: therefore the curse of God
+shall be on the infidels. For a vile price have they sold their souls,
+that they should not believe in that which God hath sent down; out of
+envy, because God sendeth down his favors to such of his servants as he
+pleaseth: therefore they brought on themselves indignation on
+indignation; and the unbelievers shall suffer an ignominious punishment.
+When one saith unto them, Believe in that which God hath sent down; they
+answer, We believe in that which hath been sent down unto us: and they
+reject what hath been revealed since, although it be the truth,
+confirming that which is with them. Say, Why therefore have ye slain the
+prophets of God in times past, if ye be true believers? Moses formerly
+came unto you with evident signs, but ye afterwards took the calf for
+your god and did wickedly. And when we accepted your covenant, and
+lifted the mountain of Sinai over you, saying, Receive the law which we
+have given you, with a resolution to perform it, and hear; they said, We
+have heard, and have rebelled: and they were made to drink down the calf
+into their hearts for their unbelief. Say, A grievous thing hath your
+faith commanded you, if ye be true believers. Say, If the future mansion
+with God be prepared peculiarly for you, exclusive of the rest of
+mankind, wish for death, if ye say truth: but they will never wish for
+it, because of that which their hands have sent before them; God knoweth
+the wicked doers; and thou shalt surely find them of all men the most
+covetous of life, even more than the idolaters: one of them would desire
+his life to be prolonged a thousand years, but none shall reprieve
+himself from punishment, that his life may be prolonged: God seeth that
+which they do. Say, Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel (for he hath caused
+the Koran to descend on thy heart, by the permission of God, confirming
+that which was before revealed, a direction, and good tidings to the
+faithful); whosoever is an enemy to God, or his angels, or his apostles,
+or to Gabriel, or Michael, verily God is an enemy to the unbelievers.
+And now we have sent down unto thee evident signs, and none will
+disbelieve them but the evil-doers. Whenever they make a covenant, will
+some of them reject it? yea, the greater part of them do not believe.
+And when there came unto them an apostle from God, confirming that
+scripture which was with them, some of those to whom the scriptures were
+given, cast the book of God behind their backs, as if they knew it not:
+and they followed the device which the devils devised against the
+kingdom of Solomon; and Solomon was not an unbeliever; but the devils
+believed not, they taught men sorcery, and that which was sent down to
+the two angels at Babel, Harût, and Marût: yet those who taught no man
+until they had said, Verily we are a temptation, therefore be not an
+unbeliever. So men learned from those two a charm by which they might
+cause division between a man and his wife; but they hurt none thereby,
+unless by God's permission; and they learned that which would hurt them,
+and not profit them; and yet they knew that he who bought that art
+should have no part in the life to come, and woful is the price for
+which they have sold their souls, if they knew it. But if they had
+believed and feared God, verily the reward they would have had from God
+would have been better, if they had known it. O true believers, say not
+to our apostle, Raina; but say, Ondhorna;[29] and hearken: the infidels
+shall suffer a grievous punishment. It is not the desire of the
+unbelievers, either among those unto whom the scriptures have been
+given, or among the idolaters, that any good should be sent down unto
+you from your Lord: but God will appropriate his mercy unto whom he
+pleaseth; for God is exceeding beneficent. Whatever verse we shall
+abrogate, or cause thee to forget, we will bring a better than it, or
+one like unto it. Dost thou not know that God is almighty? Dost thou not
+know that unto God belongeth the kingdom of heaven and earth? neither
+have ye any protector or helper except God. Will ye require of your
+apostle according to that which was formerly required of Moses? but he
+that hath exchanged faith for infidelity, hath already erred from the
+straight way. Many of those unto whom the scriptures have been given,
+desire to render you again unbelievers, after ye have believed; out of
+envy from their souls, even after the truth is become manifest unto
+them; but forgive them, and avoid them, till God shall send his command;
+for God is omnipotent. Be constant in prayer, and give alms; and what
+good ye have sent before for your souls, ye shall find it with God;
+surely God seeth that which ye do. They say, Verily none shall enter
+paradise, except they who are Jews or Christians: this is their wish.
+Say, Produce your proof of this, if ye speak truth. Nay, but he who
+resigneth himself to God, and doth that which is right, he shall have
+his reward with his Lord; there shall come no fear on them, neither
+shall they be grieved. The Jews say, The Christians are grounded on
+nothing; and the Christians say, The Jews are grounded on nothing; yet
+they both read the scriptures. So likewise say they who know not the
+scripture, according to their saying. But God shall judge between them
+on the day of the resurrection, concerning that about which they now
+disagree. Who is more unjust than he who prohibiteth the temples of God,
+that his name should be remembered therein, and who hasteth to destroy
+them? Those men cannot enter therein, but with fear: they shall have
+shame in this world, and in the next a grievous punishment. To God
+belongeth the east and the west; therefore, whithersoever ye turn
+yourselves to pray, there is the face of God; for God is omnipresent and
+omniscient. They say God hath begotten children. God forbid! To him
+belongeth whatever is in heaven, and on earth; all is possessed by him,
+the Creator of heaven and earth; and when he decreeth a thing, he only
+saith unto it, Be, and it is. And they who know not the scriptures say,
+Unless God speak unto us, or thou show us a sign, we will not believe.
+So said those before them, according to their saying: their hearts
+resemble each other. We have already shown manifest signs unto people
+who firmly believe; we have sent thee in truth, a bearer of good
+tidings, and a preacher; and thou shalt not be questioned concerning the
+companions of hell. But the Jews will not be pleased with thee, neither
+the Christians, until thou follow their religion; say, The direction of
+God is the true direction. And verily if thou follow their desires,
+after the knowledge which hath been given thee, thou shalt find no
+patron or protector against God. They to whom we have given the book of
+the Koran, and who read it with its true reading, they believe therein;
+and whoever believeth not therein, they shall perish. O children of
+Israel, remember my favor wherewith I have favored you, and that I have
+preferred you before all nations; and dread the day wherein one soul
+shall not make satisfaction for another soul, neither shall any
+compensation be accepted from them, nor shall any intercession avail,
+neither shall they be helped. Remember when the Lord tried Abraham by
+certain words, which he fulfilled: God said, Verily I will constitute
+thee a model of religion unto mankind; he answered, And also of my
+posterity; God said, My covenant doth not comprehend the ungodly. And
+when we appointed the holy house of Mecca to be the place of resort for
+mankind, and a place of security; and said, Take the station of Abraham
+for a place of prayer; and we covenanted with Abraham and Ismael, that
+they should cleanse my house for those who should compass it, and those
+who should be devoutly assiduous there, and those who should bow down
+and worship. And when Abraham said, Lord, make this a territory of
+security, and bounteously bestow fruits on its inhabitants, such of them
+as believe in God and the last day; God answered, And whoever believeth
+not, I will bestow on him little: afterwards I will drive him to the
+punishment of hell fire; an ill journey shall it be! And when Abraham
+and Ismael raised the foundations of the house, saying, Lord, accept it
+from us, for thou art he who heareth and knoweth: Lord, make us also
+resigned unto thee, and of our posterity a people resigned unto thee,
+and show us our holy ceremonies, and be turned unto us, for thou art
+easy to be reconciled, and merciful; Lord, send them likewise an apostle
+from among them, who may declare thy signs unto them, and teach them the
+book of the Koran and wisdom, and may purify them; for thou art mighty
+and wise. Who will be averse to the religion of Abraham, but he whose
+mind is infatuated? Surely we have chosen him in this world, and in that
+which is to come he shall be one of the righteous. When his Lord said
+unto him, Resign thyself unto me, he answered, I have resigned myself
+unto the Lord of all creatures. And Abraham bequeathed this religion to
+his children, and Jacob did the same, saying, My children, verily, God
+hath chosen this religion for you, therefore die not, unless ye also be
+resigned. Were ye present when Jacob was at the point of death? when he
+said to his sons, Whom will ye worship after me? They answered, We will
+worship thy God, and the God of thy fathers, Abraham and Ismael, and
+Isaac, one God, and to him will we be resigned. That people are now
+passed away, they have what they have gained, and ye shall have what ye
+gain; and ye shall not be questioned concerning that which they have
+done. They say, Become Jews or Christians that ye may be directed. Say,
+Nay, we follow the religion of Abraham the orthodox, who was no
+idolater. Say, We believe in God, and that which hath been sent down
+unto us, and that which hath been sent down unto Abraham, and Ismael,
+and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which was delivered unto
+Moses, and Jesus, and that which was delivered unto the prophets from
+their Lord: We make no distinction between any of them, and to God are
+we resigned. Now if they believe according to what ye believe, they are
+surely directed, but if they turn back, they are in schism. God shall
+support thee against them, for he is the hearer, the wise. The baptism
+of God[30] have we received, and who is better than God to baptize? him
+do we worship. Say, Will ye dispute with us concerning God, who is our
+Lord, and your Lord? we have our works, and ye have your works, and unto
+him are we sincerely devoted. Will ye say, Truly Abraham, and Ismael,
+and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes were Jews or Christians? Say, Are
+ye wiser, or God? And who is more unjust than he who hideth the
+testimony which he hath received from God? But God is not regardless of
+that which ye do. That people are passed away, they have what they have
+gained, and ye shall have what ye gain, nor shall ye be questioned
+concerning that which they have done. The foolish men will say, What
+hath turned them from their Keblah, towards which they formerly
+prayed?[31] Say, Unto God belongeth the east and the west: he directeth
+whom he pleaseth into the right way. Thus have we placed you, O
+Arabians, an intermediate nation, that ye may be witnesses against the
+rest of mankind, and that the apostle may be a witness against you. We
+appointed the Keblah towards which thou didst formerly pray, only that
+we might know him who followeth the apostle, from him who turneth back
+on his heels; though this change seem a great matter, unless unto those
+whom God hath directed. But God will not render your faith of no effect;
+for God is gracious and merciful unto man. We have seen thee turn about
+thy face towards heaven with uncertainty, but we will cause thee to turn
+thyself towards a Keblah that will please thee. Turn, therefore, thy
+face towards the holy temple of Mecca; and wherever ye be, turn your
+faces towards that place. They to whom the scripture hath been given,
+know this to be truth from their Lord. God is not regardless of that
+which ye do. Verily although thou shouldst show unto those to whom the
+scripture hath been given all kinds of signs, yet they will not follow
+thy Keblah, neither shalt thou follow their Keblah; nor will one part of
+them follow the Keblah of the other. And if thou follow their desires,
+after the knowledge which hath been given thee, verily thou wilt become
+one of the ungodly. They to whom we have given the scripture know our
+apostle, even as they know their own children; but some of them hide the
+truth, against their own knowledge. Truth is from thy Lord, therefore
+thou shalt not doubt. Every sect hath a certain tract of heaven to which
+they turn themselves in prayer; but do ye strive to run after good
+things: wherever ye be, God will bring you all back at the resurrection,
+for God is almighty. And from what place soever thou comest forth, turn
+thy face towards the holy temple; for this is truth from thy Lord;
+neither is God regardless of that which ye do. From what place soever
+thou comest forth, turn thy face towards the holy temple; and wherever
+ye be, thitherward turn your faces, lest men have matter of dispute
+against you; but as for those among them who are unjust doers, fear them
+not, but fear me, that I may accomplish my grace upon you, and that ye
+may be directed. As we have sent unto you an apostle from among you, to
+rehearse our signs unto you, and to purify you, and to teach you the
+book of the Koran and wisdom, and to teach you that which ye knew not:
+therefore remember me, and I will remember you, and give thanks unto me,
+and be not unbelievers. O true believers, beg assistance with patience
+and prayer, for God is with the patient. And say not of those who are
+slain in fight for the religion of God, that they are dead; yea, they
+are living: but ye do not understand. We will surely prove you by
+afflicting you in some measure with fear, and hunger, and decrease of
+wealth, and loss of lives, and scarcity of fruits; but bear good tidings
+unto the patient, who when a misfortune befalleth them, say, We are
+God's, and unto him shall we surely return. Upon them shall be blessings
+from their Lord and mercy, and they are the rightly directed. Moreover
+Safa and Merwah are two of the monuments of God: whoever therefore goeth
+on pilgrimage to the temple of Mecca or visiteth it, it shall be no
+crime in him if he compass them both. And as for him who voluntarily
+performeth a good work; verily God is grateful and knowing. They who
+conceal any of the evident signs, or the direction which we have sent
+down, after what we have manifested unto men in the scripture, God shall
+curse them; and they who curse shall curse them. But as for those who
+repent and amend, and make known what they concealed, I will be turned
+unto them, for I am easy to be reconciled and merciful. Surely they who
+believe not, and die in their unbelief, upon them shall be the curse of
+God, and of the angels, and of all men; they shall remain under it
+forever, their punishment shall not be alleviated, neither shall they be
+regarded. Your God is one God, there is no God but He, the most
+merciful. Now in the creation of heaven and earth, and the vicissitude
+of night and day, and in the ship which saileth in the sea, laden with
+what is profitable for mankind, and in the rain-water which God sendeth
+from heaven, quickening thereby the dead earth, and replenishing the
+same with all sorts of cattle, and in the change of winds, and the
+clouds that are compelled to do service between heaven and earth, are
+signs to people of understanding: yet some men take idols beside God,
+and love them as with the love due to God; but the true believers are
+more fervent in love towards God. Oh that they who act unjustly did
+perceive, when they behold their punishment, that all power belongeth
+unto God, and that he is severe in punishing! When those who have been
+followed, shall separate themselves from their followers, and shall see
+the punishment, and the cords of relation between them shall be cut
+asunder; the followers shall say, If we could return to life, we would
+separate ourselves from them, as they have now separated themselves from
+us. So God will show them their works; they shall sigh grievously, and
+shall not come forth from the fire of hell. O men, eat of that which is
+lawful and good on the earth; and tread not in the steps of the devil,
+for he is your open enemy. Verily he commandeth you evil and wickedness,
+and that ye should say that of God which ye know not. And when it is
+said unto them who believe not, Follow that which God hath sent down;
+they answer, Nay, but we will follow that which we found our fathers
+practised. What? though their fathers knew nothing, and were not rightly
+directed? The unbelievers are like unto one who crieth aloud to that
+which heareth not so much as his calling, or the sound of his voice.
+They are deaf, dumb, and blind, therefore they do not understand. O true
+believers, eat of the good things which we have bestowed on you for
+food, and return thanks unto God, if ye serve him. Verily he hath
+forbidden you to eat that which dieth of itself, and blood, and swine's
+flesh, and that on which any other name but God's hath been
+invocated.[32] But he who is forced by necessity, not lusting, nor
+returning to transgress, it shall be no crime in him if he eat of those
+things, for God is gracious and merciful. Moreover they who conceal any
+part of the scripture which God hath sent down unto them, and sell it
+for a small price, they shall swallow into their bellies nothing but
+fire; God shall not speak unto them on the day of resurrection, neither
+shall he purify them, and they shall suffer a grievous punishment. These
+are they who have sold direction for error, and pardon for punishment:
+but how great will their suffering be in the fire! This they shall
+endure, because God sent down the book of the Koran with truth, and they
+who disagree concerning that book, are certainly in a wide mistake. It
+is not righteousness that ye turn your faces in prayer towards the east
+and the west, but righteousness is of him who believeth in God and the
+last day, and the angels, and the scriptures, and the prophets; who
+giveth money for God's sake unto his kindred, and unto orphans, and the
+needy, and the stranger, and those who ask, and for redemption of
+captives; who is constant at prayer, and giveth alms; and of those who
+perform their covenant, when they have covenanted, and who behave
+themselves patiently in adversity, and hardships, and in time of
+violence: these are they who are true, and these are they who fear God.
+O true believers, the law of retaliation is ordained you for the slain:
+the free shall die for the free, and the servant for the servant, and a
+woman for a woman; but he whom his brother shall forgive, may be
+prosecuted, and obliged to make satisfaction according to what is just,
+and a fine shall be set on him[33] with humanity. This is indulgence
+from your Lord, and mercy. And he who shall transgress after this, by
+killing the murderer, shall suffer a grievous punishment. And in this
+law of retaliation ye have life, O ye of understanding, that
+peradventure ye may fear. It is ordained you, when any of you is at the
+point of death, if he leave any goods, that he bequeath a legacy to his
+parents and kindred, according to what shall be reasonable.[34] This is
+a duty incumbent on those who fear God. But he who shall change the
+legacy, after he hath heard it bequeathed by the dying person, surely
+the sin thereof shall be on those who change it, for God is he who
+heareth and knoweth. Howbeit he who apprehendeth from the testator any
+mistake or injustice, and shall compose the matter between them, that
+shall be no crime in him, for God is gracious and merciful. O true
+believers, a fast is ordained you, as it was ordained unto those before
+you, that ye may fear God. A certain number of days shall ye fast: but
+he among you who shall be sick, or on a journey, shall fast an equal
+number of other days. And those who can keep it, and do not, must redeem
+their neglect by maintaining of a poor man. And he who voluntarily
+dealeth better with the poor man than he is obliged, this shall be
+better for him. But if ye fast it will be better for you, if ye knew it.
+The month of Ramadhan shall ye fast, in which the Koran was sent down
+from heaven, a direction unto men, and declarations of direction, and
+the distinction between good and evil. Therefore let him among you who
+shall be present in this month, fast the same month; but he who shall be
+sick, or on a journey, shall fast the like number of other days. God
+would make this an ease unto you, and would not make it a difficulty
+unto you; that ye may fulfil the number of days, and glorify God, for
+that he hath directed you, and that ye may give thanks. When my servants
+ask thee concerning me, Verily I am near; I will hear the prayer of him
+that prayeth, when he prayeth unto me: but let them hearken unto me, and
+believe in me, that they may be rightly directed. It is lawful for you
+on the night of the fast to go in unto your wives: they are a garment
+unto you, and ye are a garment unto them. God knoweth that ye defraud
+yourselves therein, wherefore he turneth unto you and forgiveth you. Now
+therefore go in unto them; and earnestly desire that which God ordaineth
+you, and eat and drink, until ye can plainly distinguish a white thread
+from a black thread by the daybreak: then keep the fast until night, and
+go not in unto them, but be constantly present in the places of worship.
+These are the prescribed bounds of God, therefore draw not near them to
+transgress them. Thus God declareth his signs unto men, that ye may fear
+him. Consume not your wealth among yourselves in vain; nor present it
+unto judges, that ye may devour part of men's substance unjustly,
+against your own consciences. They will ask thee concerning the phases
+of the moon. Answer, They are times appointed unto men, and to show the
+season of the pilgrimage to Mecca. It is not righteousness that ye enter
+your houses by the back part thereof, but righteousness is of him who
+feareth God. Therefore enter your houses by their doors; and fear God,
+that ye may be happy. And fight for the religion of God against those
+who fight against you, but transgress not by attacking them first, for
+God loveth not the transgressors. And kill them wherever ye find them,
+and turn them out of that whereof they have dispossessed you; for
+temptation to idolatry is more grievous than slaughter: yet fight not
+against them in the holy temple, until they attack you therein; but if
+they attack you, slay them there. This shall be the reward of the
+infidels. But if they desist, God is gracious and merciful. Fight
+therefore against them, until there be no temptation to idolatry, and
+the religion be God's: but if they desist, then let there be no
+hostility, except against the ungodly. A sacred month for a sacred
+month, and the holy limits of Mecca, if they attack you therein, do ye
+also attack them therein in retaliation; and whoever transgresseth
+against you by so doing, do ye transgress against him in like manner as
+he hath transgressed against you, and fear God, and know that God is
+with those who fear him. Contribute out of your substance towards the
+defence of the religion of God, and throw not yourselves with your own
+hands into perdition; and do good, for God loveth those who do good.
+Perform the pilgrimage of Mecca, and the visitation of God; if ye be
+besieged, send that offering which shall be the easiest; and shave not
+your heads, until your offering reacheth the place of sacrifice. But
+whoever among you is sick, or is troubled with any distemper of the
+head, must redeem the shaving his head by fasting, or alms, or some
+offering. When ye are secure from enemies, he who tarrieth in the
+visitation of the temple of Mecca until the pilgrimage, shall bring that
+offering which shall be the easiest. But he who findeth not anything to
+offer, shall fast three days in the pilgrimage, and seven when ye are
+returned: they shall be ten days complete. This is incumbent on him
+whose family shall not be present at the holy temple. And fear God, and
+know that God is severe in punishing. The pilgrimage must be performed
+in the known months; whosoever therefore purposeth to go on pilgrimage
+therein, let him not know a woman, nor transgress, nor quarrel in the
+pilgrimage. The good which ye do, God knoweth it. Make provision for
+your journey; but the best provision is piety: and fear me, O ye of
+understanding. It shall be no crime in you, if ye seek an increase from
+your Lord, by trading during the pilgrimage. And when ye go in
+procession from Arafat, remember God near the holy monument; and
+remember him for that he hath directed you, although ye were before this
+of the number of those who go astray. Therefore go in procession from
+whence the people go in procession, and ask pardon of God, for God is
+gracious and merciful. And when ye have finished your holy ceremonies,
+remember God, according as ye remember your fathers, or with a more
+reverent commemoration. There are some men who say, O Lord, give us our
+portion in this world; but such shall have no portion in the next life:
+and there are others who say, O Lord, give us good in this world, and
+also good in the next world, and deliver us from the torment of hell
+fire. They shall have a portion of that which they have gained: God is
+swift in taking an account. Remember God the appointed number of days;
+but if any haste to depart from the valley of Mina in two days, it shall
+be no crime in him. And if any tarry longer, it shall be no crime in
+him, in him who feareth God. Therefore fear God, and know that unto him
+ye shall be gathered. There is a man who causeth thee to marvel[35] by
+his speech concerning this present life, and calleth God to witness that
+which is in his heart, yet he is most intent in opposing thee; and when
+he turneth away from thee, he hasteth to act corruptly in the earth, and
+to destroy that which is sown, and springeth up;[36] but God loveth not
+corrupt doing. And if one say unto him, Fear God; pride seizeth him,
+together with wickedness; but hell shall be his reward, and an unhappy
+couch shall it be. There is also a man who selleth his soul for the sake
+of those things which are pleasing unto God;[37] and God is gracious
+unto his servants. O true believers, enter into the true religion
+wholly, and follow not the steps of Satan, for he is your open enemy. If
+ye have slipped after the declarations of our will have come unto you,
+know that God is mighty and wise. Do the infidels expect less than that
+God should come down to them overshadowed with clouds, and the angels
+also? but the thing is decreed, and to God shall all things return. Ask
+the children of Israel how many evident signs we have showed them; and
+whoever shall change the grace of God, after it shall have come unto
+him, verily God will be severe in punishing him. The present life was
+ordained for those who believe not, and they laugh the faithful to
+scorn; but they who fear God shall be above them, on the day of the
+resurrection: for God is bountiful unto whom he pleaseth without
+measure. Mankind was of one faith, and God sent prophets bearing good
+tidings, and denouncing threats; and sent down with them the scripture
+in truth, that it might judge between men of that concerning which they
+disagreed: and none disagreed concerning it, except those to whom the
+same scriptures were delivered, after the declarations of God's will had
+come unto them, out of envy among themselves. And God directed those who
+believed, to that truth concerning which they disagreed, by his will:
+for God directeth whom he pleaseth into the right way. Did ye think ye
+should enter paradise, when as yet no such thing had happened unto you,
+as hath happened unto those who have been before you? They suffered
+calamity and tribulation, and were afflicted; so that the apostle, and
+they who believed with him, said, When will the help of God come? Is not
+the help of God nigh? They will ask thee what they shall bestow in alms:
+Answer, The good which ye bestow, let it be given to parents, and
+kindred, and orphans, and the poor, and the stranger. Whatsoever good ye
+do, God knoweth it. War is enjoined you against the Infidels; but this
+is hateful unto you: yet perchance ye hate a thing which is better for
+you, and perchance ye love a thing which is worse for you: but God
+knoweth and ye know not. They will ask thee concerning the sacred month,
+whether they may war therein: Answer, To war therein is grievous; but to
+obstruct the way of God, and infidelity towards him, and to keep men
+from the holy temple, and to drive out his people from thence, is more
+grievous in the sight of God, and the temptation to idolatry is more
+grievous than to kill in the sacred months. They will not cease to war
+against you, until they turn you from your religion, if they be able:
+but whoever among you shall turn back from his religion, and die an
+infidel, their works shall be vain in this world and the next; they
+shall be the companions of hell fire, they shall remain therein forever.
+But they who believe, and who fly for the sake of religion, and fight in
+God's cause, they shall hope for the mercy of God; for God is gracious
+and merciful. They will ask thee concerning wine[38] and lots:[39]
+Answer, In both there is great sin, and also some things of use unto
+men, but their sinfulness is greater than their use. They will ask thee
+also what they shall bestow in alms: Answer, What ye have to spare. Thus
+God showeth his signs unto you, that peradventure ye might seriously
+think of this present world, and of the next. They will also ask thee
+concerning orphans: Answer, To deal righteously with them is best; and
+if ye intermeddle with the management of what belongs to them, do them
+no wrong; they are your brethren: God knoweth the corrupt dealer from
+the righteous; and if God please, he will surely distress you, for God
+is mighty and wise. Marry not women who are idolaters, until they
+believe: verily a maid-servant who believeth is better than an
+idolatress, although she please you more. And give not women who believe
+in marriage to the idolaters, until they believe; for verily a servant
+who is a true believer, is better than an idolater, though he please you
+more. They invite into hell fire, but God inviteth unto paradise and
+pardon through his will, and declareth his signs unto men, that they may
+remember. They will ask thee also concerning the courses of women:
+Answer, They are a pollution: therefore separate yourselves from women
+in their courses, and go not near them until they be cleansed. But when
+they are cleansed, go in unto them as God hath commanded you, for God
+loveth those who repent, and loveth those who are clean. Your wives are
+your tillage; go in therefore unto your tillage in what manner soever ye
+will: and do first some act that may be profitable unto your souls; and
+fear God, and know that ye must meet him; and bear good tidings unto the
+faithful. Make not God the object of your oaths, that ye may deal
+justly, and be devout, and make peace among men;[40] for God is he who
+heareth and knoweth. God will not punish you for an inconsiderate word
+in your oaths; but he will punish you for that which your hearts have
+assented unto: God is merciful and gracious. They who vow to abstain
+from their wives, are allowed to wait four months: but if they go back
+from their vow, verily God is gracious and merciful; and if they resolve
+on a divorce, God is he who heareth and knoweth. The women who are
+divorced shall wait concerning themselves until they have their courses
+thrice, and it shall not be lawful for them to conceal that which God
+hath created in their wombs, if they believe in God and the last day;
+and their husbands will act more justly to bring them back at this time,
+if they desire a reconciliation. The women ought also to behave towards
+their husbands in like manner as their husbands should behave towards
+them, according to what is just: but the men ought to have a superiority
+over them. God is mighty and wise. Ye may divorce your wives twice; and
+then either retain them with humanity, or dismiss them with kindness.
+But it is not lawful for you to take away anything of what ye have given
+them, unless both fear that they cannot observe the ordinances of God.
+And if ye fear that they cannot observe the ordinances of God, it shall
+be no crime in either of them on account of that for which the wife
+shall redeem herself. These are the ordinances of God; therefore
+transgress them not; for whoever transgresseth the ordinances of God,
+they are unjust doers. But if the husband divorce her a third time, she
+shall not be lawful for him again, until she marry another husband. But
+if he also divorce her, it shall be no crime in them, if they return to
+each other, if they think they can observe the ordinances of God; and
+these are the ordinances of God: he declareth them to people of
+understanding. But when ye divorce women, and they have fulfilled their
+prescribed time, either retain them with humanity, or dismiss them with
+kindness; and retain them not by violence, so that ye transgress; for he
+who doth this, surely injureth his own soul. And make not the signs of
+God a jest: but remember God's favor towards you, and that he hath sent
+down unto you the book of the Koran, and wisdom, admonishing you
+thereby; and fear God, and know that God is omniscient. But when ye have
+divorced your wives, and they have fulfilled their prescribed time,
+hinder them not from marrying their husbands, when they have agreed
+among themselves according to what is honorable. This is given in
+admonition unto him among you who believeth in God, and the last day.
+This is most righteous for you, and most pure. God knoweth, but ye know
+not. Mothers, after they are divorced, shall give suck unto their
+children two full years, to him who desireth the time of giving suck to
+be completed; and the father shall be obliged to maintain them and
+clothe them in the meantime, according to that which shall be
+reasonable. No person shall be obliged beyond his ability. A mother
+shall not be compelled to what is unreasonable on account of her child,
+nor a father on account of his child. And the heir of the father shall
+be obliged to do in like manner. But if they choose to wean the child
+before the end of two years, by common consent and on mutual
+consideration, it shall be no crime in them. And if ye have a mind to
+provide a nurse for your children, it shall be no crime in you, in case
+ye fully pay what ye offer her, according to that which is just. And
+fear God, and know that God seeth whatever ye do. Such of you as die,
+and leave wives, their wives must wait concerning themselves four months
+and ten days, and when they shall have fulfilled their term, it shall be
+no crime in you, for that which they shall do with themselves, according
+to what is reasonable. God well knoweth that which ye do. And it shall
+be no crime in you, whether ye make public overtures of marriage unto
+such women, within the said four months and ten days, or whether ye
+conceal such your designs in your minds: God knoweth that ye will
+remember them. But make no promise unto them privately, unless ye speak
+honorable words; and resolve not on the knot of marriage, until the
+prescribed time be accomplished; and know that God knoweth that which is
+in your minds, therefore beware of him, and know that God is gracious
+and merciful. It shall be no crime in you, if ye divorce your wives, so
+long as ye have not touched them, nor settled any dowry on them. And
+provide for them (he who is at his ease must provide according to his
+circumstances, and he who is straitened according to his circumstances)
+necessaries, according to what shall be reasonable. This is a duty
+incumbent on the righteous. But if ye divorce them before ye have
+touched them, and have already settled a dowry on them, ye shall give
+them half of what ye have settled, unless they release any part, or he
+release part in whose hand the knot of marriage is; and if ye release
+the whole, it will approach nearer unto piety. And forget not liberality
+among you, for God seeth that which ye do. Carefully observe the
+appointed prayers, and the middle prayer,[41] and be assiduous therein,
+with devotion towards God. But if ye fear any danger, pray on foot or on
+horseback; and when ye are safe, remember God, how he hath taught you
+what as yet ye knew not. And such of you as shall die and leave wives,
+ought to bequeath their wives a year's maintenance, without putting them
+out of their houses: but if they go out voluntarily, it shall be no
+crime in you, for that which they shall do with themselves, according to
+what shall be reasonable; God is mighty and wise. And unto those who are
+divorced, a reasonable provision is also due; this is a duty incumbent
+on those who fear God. Thus God declareth his signs unto you, that ye
+may understand. Hast thou not considered those who left their
+habitations (and they were thousands) for fear of death? And God said
+unto them, Die; then he restored them to life, for God is gracious
+towards mankind; but the greater part of men do not give thanks. Fight
+for the religion of God, and know that God is he who heareth and
+knoweth. Who is he that will lend unto God on good usury? verily he will
+double it unto him manifold; for God contracteth and extendeth his hand
+as he pleaseth, and to him shall ye return. Hast thou not considered the
+assembly of the children of Israel, after the time of Moses; when they
+said unto their prophet Samuel, Set a king over us, that we may fight
+for the religion of God? The prophet answered, If ye are enjoined to go
+to war, will ye be near refusing to fight? They answered, And what
+should ail us that we should not fight for the religion of God, seeing
+we are dispossessed of our habitations, and deprived of our children?
+But when they were enjoined to go to war, they turned back, except a few
+of them: and God knew the ungodly. And their prophet said unto them,
+Verily God hath set Talût king over you: they answered, How shall he
+reign over us, seeing we are more worthy of the kingdom than he, neither
+is he possessed of great riches? Samuel said, Verily God hath chosen him
+before you, and hath caused him to increase in knowledge and stature,
+for God giveth his kingdom unto whom he pleaseth; God is bounteous and
+wise. And their prophet said unto them, Verily the sign of his kingdom
+shall be, that the ark shall come unto you: therein shall be
+tranquillity from your Lord, and the relics which have been left by the
+family of Moses, and the family of Aaron; the angels shall bring it.
+Verily this shall be a sign unto you, if ye believe. And when Talût
+departed with his soldiers, he said, Verily God will prove you by the
+river: for he who drinketh thereof, shall not be on my side (but he who
+shall not taste thereof he shall be on my side) except he who drinketh a
+draught out of his hand. And they drank thereof, except a few of them.
+And when they had passed the river, he and those who believed with him,
+they said, We have no strength to-day against Jalut and his forces. But
+they who considered that they should meet God at the resurrection, said,
+How often hath a small army discomfited a great army, by the will of
+God? and God is with those who patiently persevere. And when they went
+forth to battle against Jalut and his forces, they said, O Lord, pour on
+us patience, and confirm our feet, and help us against the unbelieving
+people. Therefore they discomfited them, by the will of God, and David
+slew Jalut. And God gave him the kingdom and wisdom, and taught him his
+will; and if God had not prevented men, the one by the other, verily the
+earth had been corrupted: but God is beneficent towards his creatures.
+These are the signs of God: we rehearse them unto thee with truth, and
+thou art surely one of those who have been sent by God. These are the
+apostles; we have preferred some of them before others: some of them
+hath God spoken unto, and hath exalted the degree of others of them. And
+we gave unto Jesus the son of Mary manifest signs, and strengthened him
+with the holy spirit. And if God had pleased, they who came after those
+apostles would not have contended among themselves, after manifest signs
+had been shown unto them. But they fell to variance; therefore some of
+them believed, and some of them believed not; and if God had so pleased,
+they would not have contended among themselves, but God doeth what he
+will. O true believers, give alms of that which we have bestowed on you,
+before the day cometh wherein there shall be no merchandising, nor
+friendship, nor intercession. The infidels are unjust doers. God! there
+is no God but he;[42] the living, the self-subsisting: neither slumber
+nor sleep seizeth him; to him belongeth whatsoever is in heaven, and on
+earth. Who is he that can intercede with him, but through his good
+pleasure! He knoweth that which is past, and that which is to come unto
+them, and they shall not comprehend anything of his knowledge, but so
+far as he pleaseth. His throne is extended over heaven and earth,[43]
+and the preservation of both is no burden unto him. He is the high, the
+mighty. Let there be no violence in religion. Now is right direction
+manifestly distinguished from deceit: whoever therefore shall deny
+Tagut, and believe in God, he shall surely take hold on a strong handle,
+which shall not be broken; God is he who heareth and seeth. God is the
+patron of those who believe; he shall lead them out of darkness into
+light: but as to those who believe not, their patrons are Tagut; they
+shall lead them from the light into darkness; they shall be the
+companions of hell fire, they shall remain therein forever. Hast thou
+not considered him who disputed with Abraham concerning his Lord,
+because God had given him the kingdom? When Abraham said, My Lord is he
+who giveth life, and killeth: he answered, I give life, and I kill.
+Abraham said, Verily God bringeth the sun from the east, now do thou
+bring it from the west. Whereupon the infidel was confounded; for God
+directeth not the ungodly people. Or hast thou not considered how he
+behaved who passed by a city which had been destroyed, even to her
+foundations? He said, How shall God quicken this city, after she hath
+been dead? And God caused him to die for a hundred years, and afterwards
+raised him to life. And God said, How long hast thou tarried here? He
+answered, A day, or part of a day. God said, Nay, thou hast tarried here
+a hundred years. Now look on thy food and the drink, they are not yet
+corrupted; and look on thine ass: and this have we done that we might
+make thee a sign unto men. And look on the bones of thine ass, how we
+raise them, and afterwards clothe them with flesh. And when this was
+shown unto him, he said, I know that God is able to do all things. And
+when Abraham said, O Lord, show me how thou wilt raise the dead; God
+said, Dost thou not yet believe? He answered, Yea; but I ask this that
+my heart may rest at ease. God said, take therefore four birds, and
+divide them; then lay a part of them on every mountain; then call them,
+and they shall come swiftly unto thee: and know that God is mighty and
+wise. The similitude of those who lay out their substance for advancing
+the religion of God, is as a grain of corn which produceth seven ears,
+and in every ear a hundred grains; for God giveth twofold unto whom he
+pleaseth: God is bounteous and wise. They who lay out their substance
+for the religion of God, and afterwards follow not what they have so
+laid out by reproaches or mischief, they shall have their reward with
+their Lord; upon them shall no fear come, neither shall they be grieved.
+A fair speech, and to forgive, is better than alms followed by mischief.
+God is rich and merciful. O true believers, make not your alms of no
+effect by reproaching, or mischief, as he who layeth out what he hath to
+appear unto men to give alms, and believeth not in God and the last day.
+The likeness of such a one is as a flint covered with earth, on which a
+violent rain falleth, and leaveth it hard. They cannot prosper in
+anything which they have gained, for God directeth not the unbelieving
+people. And the likeness of those who lay out their substance from a
+desire to please God, and for an establishment for their souls, is as a
+garden on a hill, on which a violent rain falleth, and it bringeth forth
+its fruits twofold; and if a violent rain falleth not on it, yet the dew
+falleth thereon: and God seeth that which ye do. Doth any of you desire
+to have a garden of palm-trees and vines, through which rivers flow,
+wherein he may have all kinds of fruits, and that he may attain to old
+age, and have a weak offspring? then a violent fiery wind shall strike
+it, so that it shall be burned. Thus God declareth his signs unto you,
+that ye may consider. O true believers, bestow alms of the good things
+which ye have gained, and of that which we have produced for you out of
+the earth, and choose not the bad thereof, to give it in alms, such as
+ye would not accept yourselves, otherwise than by connivance: and know
+that God is rich and worthy to be praised. The devil threateneth you
+with poverty, and commandeth you filthy covetousness; but God promiseth
+you pardon from himself and abundance: God is bounteous and wise. He
+giveth wisdom unto whom he pleaseth; and he unto whom wisdom is given,
+hath received much good: but none will consider, except the wise of
+heart. And whatever alms ye shall give, or whatever vow ye shall vow,
+verily God knoweth it; but the ungodly shall have none to help them. If
+ye make your alms to appear, it is well; but if ye conceal them, and
+give them unto the poor, this will be better for you, and will atone for
+your sins: and God is well informed of that which ye do. The direction
+of them belongeth not unto thee; but God directeth whom he pleaseth. The
+good that ye shall give in alms shall redound unto yourselves; and ye
+shall not give unless out of desire of seeing the face of God. And what
+good thing ye shall give in alms, it shall be repaid you, and ye shall
+not be treated unjustly; unto the poor who are wholly employed in
+fighting for the religion of God, and cannot go to and fro in the earth;
+whom the ignorant man thinketh rich, because of their modesty: thou
+shalt know them by this mark, they ask not men with importunity; and
+what good ye shall give in alms, verily God knoweth it. They who
+distribute alms of their substance night and day, in private and in
+public, shall have their reward with the Lord; on them shall no fear
+come, neither shall they be grieved. They who devour usury shall not
+arise from the dead, but as he ariseth whom Satan hath infected by a
+touch: this shall happen to them because they say, Truly selling is but
+as usury: and yet God hath permitted selling and forbidden usury. He
+therefore who, when there cometh unto him an admonition from his Lord,
+abstaineth from usury for the future, shall have what is past forgiven
+him, and his affair belongeth unto God. But whoever returneth to usury,
+they shall be the companions of hell fire, they shall continue therein
+forever. God shall take his blessing from usury, and shall increase
+alms: for God loveth no infidel, or ungodly person. But they who believe
+and do that which is right, and observe the stated times of prayer, and
+pay their legal alms, they shall have their reward with their Lord:
+there shall come no fear on them, neither shall they be grieved. O true
+believers, fear God, and remit that which remaineth of usury, if ye
+really believe; but if ye do it not, hearken unto war, which is declared
+against you from God and his apostle: yet if ye repent, ye shall have
+the capital of your money. Deal not unjustly with others, and ye shall
+not be dealt with unjustly. If there be any debtor under a difficulty of
+paying his debt, let his creditor wait till it be easy for him to do it;
+but if ye remit it as alms, it will be better for you, if ye knew it.
+And fear the day wherein ye shall return unto God; then shall every soul
+be paid what it hath gained, and they shall not be treated unjustly. O
+true believers, when ye bind yourselves one to the other in a debt for a
+certain time, write it down; and let a writer write between you
+according to justice, and let not the writer refuse writing according to
+what God hath taught him; but let him write, and let him who oweth the
+debt dictate, and let him fear God his Lord, and not diminish aught
+thereof. But if he who oweth the debt be foolish, or weak, or be not
+able to dictate himself, let his agent dictate according to equity; and
+call to witness two witnesses of your neighboring men; but if there be
+not two men, let there be a man and two women of those whom ye shall
+choose for witnesses: if one of those women should mistake, the other of
+them will cause her to recollect. And the witnesses shall not refuse,
+whensoever they shall be called. And disdain not to write it down, be it
+a large debt, or be it a small one, until its time of payment: this will
+be more just in the sight of God, and more right for bearing witness,
+and more easy, that ye may not doubt. But if it be a present bargain
+which ye transact between yourselves, it shall be no crime in you, if ye
+write it not down. And take witnesses when ye sell one to the other, and
+let no harm be done to the writer, nor to the witness; which if ye do,
+it will surely be injustice in you: and fear God, and God will instruct
+you, for God knoweth all things. And if ye be on a journey, and find no
+writer, let pledges be taken: but if one of you trust the other, let him
+who is trusted return what he is trusted with, and fear God his Lord.
+And conceal not the testimony, for he who concealeth it hath surely a
+wicked heart: God knoweth that which ye do. Whatever is in heaven and on
+earth is God's; and whether ye manifest that which is in your minds, or
+conceal it, God will call you to account for it, and will forgive whom
+he pleaseth, and will punish whom he pleaseth; for God is almighty. The
+apostle believeth in that which hath been sent down unto him from his
+Lord, and the faithful also. Every one of them believeth in God, and his
+angels, and his scriptures, and his apostles: we make no distinction at
+all between his apostles.[44] And they say, We have heard, and do obey:
+we implore thy mercy, O Lord, for unto thee must we return. God will not
+force any soul beyond its capacity: it shall have the good which it
+gaineth, and it shall suffer the evil which it gaineth. O Lord, punish
+us not, if we forget, or act sinfully: O Lord, lay not on us a burden
+like that which thou hast laid on those who have been before us;[45]
+neither make us, O Lord, to bear what we have not strength to bear, but
+be favorable unto us, and spare us, and be merciful unto us. Thou art
+our patron, help us therefore against the unbelieving nations.
+
+
+[Footnote 22: This title was occasioned by the story of the red heifer,
+mentioned p. 217.]
+
+[Footnote 23: Concerning the creation of Adam, here intimated, the
+Mohammedans have several peculiar traditions. They say the angels,
+Gabriel, Michael, and Israfil, were sent by God, one after another, to
+fetch for that purpose seven handfuls of earth from different depths,
+and of different colors (whence some account for the various complexion
+of mankind); but the earth being apprehensive of the consequence, and
+desiring them to represent her fear to God that the creature he designed
+to form would rebel against him, and draw down his curse upon her, they
+returned without performing God's command; whereupon he sent Azraïl on
+the same errand, who executed his commission without remorse, for which
+reason God appointed that angel to separate the souls from the bodies,
+being therefore called the angel of death. The earth he had taken was
+carried into Arabia, to a place between Mecca and Tayef, where, being
+first kneaded by the angels, it was afterwards fashioned by God himself
+into a human form, and left to dry for the space of forty days, or, as
+others say, as many years, the angels in the meantime often visiting it,
+and Eblis (then one of the angels who are nearest to God's presence,
+afterwards the devil) among the rest; but he, not contented with looking
+on it, kicked it with his foot, and knowing God designed that creature
+to be his superior, took a secret resolution never to acknowledge him as
+such. After this, God animated the figure of clay and endued it with an
+intelligent soul, and when he had placed him in paradise, formed Eve out
+of his left side.]
+
+[Footnote 24: This occasion of the devil's fall has some affinity with
+an opinion which has been pretty much entertained among Christians,
+viz., that the angels being informed of God's intention to create man
+after his own image, and to dignify human nature by Christ's assuming
+it, some of them, thinking their glory to be eclipsed thereby, envied
+man's happiness, and so revolted.]
+
+[Footnote 25: The Jews are here called upon to receive the Koran, as
+verifying and confirming the Pentateuch, particularly with respect to
+the unity of God, and the mission of Mohammed. And they are exhorted not
+to conceal the passages of their law which bear witness to those truths,
+nor to corrupt them by publishing false copies of the Pentateuch, for
+which the writers were but poorly paid.]
+
+[Footnote 26: The person who cast this calf, the Mohammedans say, was
+(not Aaron but) al Sâmeri, one of the principal men among the children
+of Israel, some of whose descendants it is pretended still inhabit an
+island of that name in the Arabian Gulf. It was made of the rings and
+bracelets of gold, silver, and other materials, which the Israelites had
+borrowed of the Egyptians; for Aaron, who commanded in his brother's
+absence, having ordered al Sâmeri to collect those ornaments from the
+people, who carried on a wicked commerce with them, and to keep them
+together till the return of Moses; al Sâmeri, understanding the
+founder's art, put them into a furnace to melt them down into one mass,
+which came out in the form of a calf.]
+
+[Footnote 27: The eastern writers say these quails were of a peculiar
+kind, to be found nowhere but in Yaman, from whence they were brought by
+a south wind in great numbers to the Israelites' camp in the desert. The
+Arabs call these birds Salwä, which is plainly the same with the Hebrew
+Salwim, and say they have no bones, but are eaten whole.]
+
+[Footnote 28: The occasion of this sacrifice is thus related: A certain
+man at his death left his son, then a child, a cow-calf, which wandered
+in the desert till he came to age; at which time his mother told him the
+heifer was his, and bid him fetch her, and sell her for three pieces of
+gold. When the young man came to the market with his heifer, an angel in
+the shape of a man accosted him, and bid him six pieces of gold for her;
+but he would not take the money till he had asked his mother's consent;
+which when he had obtained, he returned to the market-place, and met the
+angel, who now offered him twice as much for the heifer, provided he
+would say nothing of it to his mother; but the young man refusing, went
+and acquainted her with the additional offer. The woman perceiving it
+was an angel, bid her son go back and ask him what must be done with the
+heifer; whereupon the angel told the young man that in a little time the
+children of Israel would buy that heifer of him at any price. And soon
+after it happened that an Israelite, named Hammiel, was killed by a
+relation of his, who, to prevent discovery, conveyed the body to a place
+considerably distant from that where the act was committed. The friends
+of the slain man accused some other persons of the murder before Moses;
+but they denying the fact, and there being no evidence to convict them,
+God commanded a cow, of such and such particular marks, to be killed;
+but there being no other which answered the description except the
+orphan's heifer, they were obliged to buy her for as much gold as her
+hide would hold; according to some, for her full weight in gold, and as
+others say, for ten times as much. This heifer they sacrificed, and the
+dead body being, by divine direction, struck with a part of it, revived,
+and standing up, named the person who had killed Him; after which it
+immediately fell down dead again. The whole story seems to be borrowed
+from the red heifer which was ordered by the Jewish law to be burnt, and
+the ashes kept for purifying those who happened to touch a dead corpse;
+and from the heifer directed to be slain for the expiation of an
+uncertain murder. See Deut. xxi. 1-9.]
+
+[Footnote 29: Those two Arabic words have both the same signification,
+viz., Look on us; and are a kind of salutation. Mohammed had a great
+aversion to the first, because the Jews frequently used it in derision,
+it being a word of reproach in their tongue. They alluded, it seems, to
+the Hebrew verb _ruá_, which signifies to be bad or mischievous.]
+
+[Footnote 30: By baptism is to be understood the religion which God
+instituted in the beginning; because the signs of it appear in the
+person who professes it, as the signs of water appear in the clothes of
+him that is baptized.]
+
+[Footnote 31: At first, Mohammed and his followers observed no
+particular rite in turning their faces towards any certain place, or
+quarter, of the world, when they prayed; it being declared to be
+perfectly indifferent.]
+
+[Footnote 32: For this reason, whenever the Mohammedans kill any animal
+for food, they always say, _Bismi allah_, or "In the name of God";
+which, if it be neglected, they think it not lawful to eat of it.]
+
+[Footnote 33: This is the common practice in Mohammedan countries,
+particularly in Persia, where the relations of the deceased may take
+their choice, either to have the murderer put into their hands to be put
+to death, or else to accept of a pecuniary satisfaction.]
+
+[Footnote 34: That is, the legacy was not to exceed a third part of the
+testator's substance, nor to be given where there was no necessity. But
+this injunction is abrogated by the law concerning inheritances.]
+
+[Footnote 35: This person was al Akhnas Ebn Shoraik, a fair-spoken
+dissembler, who swore that he believed in Mohammed, and pretended to be
+one of his friends, and to contemn this world. But God here reveals to
+the prophet his hypocrisy and wickedness.]
+
+[Footnote 36: Setting fire to his neighbor's corn, and killing his asses
+by night.]
+
+[Footnote 37: The person here meant was one Soheib, who being persecuted
+by the idolaters of Mecca forsook all he had and fled to Medina.]
+
+[Footnote 38: Under the name of wine all sorts of strong and inebriating
+liquors are comprehended.]
+
+[Footnote 39: The original word, _al Meiser_, properly signifies a
+particular game performed with arrows, and much in use with the pagan
+Arabs. But by lots we are here to understand all games whatsoever, which
+are subject to chance or hazard, as dice and cards.]
+
+[Footnote 40: Some commentators expound this negatively, "That ye will
+not deal justly, nor be devout ..." For such wicked oaths, they say,
+were customary among the idolatrous inhabitants of Mecca; which gave
+occasion to the following saying of Mohammed: "When you swear to do a
+thing, and afterwards find it better to do otherwise, do that which is
+better, and make void your oath."]
+
+[Footnote 41: Yahya interprets this from a tradition of Mohammed, who,
+being asked which was the middle prayer, answered, The evening prayer,
+which was instituted by the prophet Solomon.]
+
+[Footnote 42: The following seven lines contain a magnificent
+description of the divine majesty and providence; but it must not be
+supposed the translation comes up to the dignity of the original. This
+passage is justly admired by the Mohammedans, who recite it in their
+prayers; and some of them wear it about them, engraved on an agate or
+other precious stone.]
+
+[Footnote 43: This throne, in Arabic called Corsi, is by the Mohammedans
+supposed to be God's tribunal, or seat of justice.]
+
+[Footnote 44: But this, say the Mohammedans, the Jews do, who receive
+Moses but reject Jesus; and the Christians, who receive both those
+prophets, but reject Mohammed.]
+
+[Footnote 45: That is, on the Jews, who, as the commentators tell us,
+were ordered to kill a man by way of atonement, to give one-fourth of
+their substance in alms, and to cut off an unclean ulcerous part, and
+were forbidden to eat fat, or animals that divided the hoof, and were
+obliged to observe the Sabbath, and other particulars wherein the
+Mohammedans are at liberty.]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+Entitled, the Family of Imran[46]--Revealed at Medina
+
+_In the Name of the Most Merciful God_.
+
+
+A.L.M.[47] There is no God but God, the living, self-subsisting: He hath
+sent down unto thee the book of the Koran with truth, confirming that
+which was revealed before it; for he had formerly sent down the law and
+the gospel, a direction unto men; and he had also sent down the
+distinction between good and evil. Verily those who believe not the
+signs of God, shall suffer a grievous punishment; for God is mighty,
+able to revenge. Surely nothing is hidden from God, of that which is on
+earth, or in heaven: it is he who formeth you in the wombs, as he
+pleaseth; there is no God but he, the mighty, the wise. It is he who
+hath sent down unto thee the book, wherein are some verses clear to be
+understood, they are the foundation of the book; and others are
+parabolical. But they whose hearts are perverse will follow that which
+is parabolical therein, out of love of schism, and a desire of the
+interpretation thereof; yet none knoweth the interpretation thereof,
+except God. But they who are well grounded in knowledge say, We believe
+therein, the whole is from our Lord; and none will consider except the
+prudent. O Lord, cause not our hearts to swerve from truth, after thou
+hast directed us: and give us from thee mercy, for thou art he who
+giveth. O Lord, thou shalt surely gather mankind together, unto a day of
+resurrection: there is no doubt of it, for God will not be contrary to
+the promise. As for the infidels, their wealth shall not profit them
+anything, nor their children, against God: they shall be the fuel of
+hell fire. According to the wont of the people of Pharaoh, and of those
+who went before them, they charged our signs with a lie; but God caught
+them in their wickedness, and God is severe in punishing. Say unto those
+who believe not, Ye shall be overcome, and thrown together into hell; an
+unhappy couch shall it be. Ye have already had a miracle shown you in
+two armies, which attacked each other:[48] one army fought for God's
+true religion, but the other were infidels; they saw the faithful twice
+as many as themselves in their eyesight; for God strengthened with his
+help whom he pleaseth. Surely herein was an example unto men of
+understanding. The love and eager desire of wives, and children, and
+sums heaped up of gold and silver, and excellent horses, and cattle, and
+land, is prepared for men: this is the provision of the present life;
+but unto God shall be the most excellent return. Say, Shall I declare
+unto you better things than this? For those who are devout are prepared
+with their Lord, gardens through which rivers flow; therein shall they
+continue forever: and they shall enjoy wives free from impurity, and the
+favor of God; for God regardeth his servants; who say, O Lord, we do
+sincerely believe; forgive us therefore our sins, and deliver us from
+the pain of hell fire: the patient, and the lovers of truth, and the
+devout, and the alms-givers, and those who ask pardon early in the
+morning. God hath borne witness that there is no God but he; and the
+angels, and those who are endowed with wisdom, profess the same; who
+executed righteousness; there is no God but he; the mighty, the wise.
+Verily the true religion in the sight of God, is Islam;[49] and they who
+had received the scriptures dissented not therefrom, until after the
+knowledge of God's unity had come unto them, out of envy among
+themselves; but whosoever believeth not in the signs of God, verily God
+will be swift in bringing him to account. If they dispute with thee,
+say, I have resigned myself unto God, and he who followeth me doth the
+same: and say unto them who have received the scriptures, and to the
+ignorant, Do ye profess the religion of Islam? Now if they embrace
+Islam, they are surely directed; but if they turn their backs, verily
+unto thee belongeth preaching only; for God regardeth his servants. And
+unto those who believe not in the signs of God, and slay the prophets
+without a cause, and put those men to death who teach justice; denounce
+unto them a painful punishment. These are they whose works perish in
+this world, and in that which is to come; and they shall have none to
+help them. Hast thou not observed those unto whom part of the scripture
+was given? They were called unto the book of God, that it might judge
+between them; then some of them turned their backs, and retired
+afar-off. This they did because they said, The fire of hell shall by no
+means touch us, but for a certain number of days: and that which they
+had falsely devised, hath deceived them in their religion. How then will
+it be with them, when we shall gather them together at the day of
+judgment,[50] of which there is no doubt; and every soul shall be paid
+that which it hath gained, neither shall they be treated unjustly? Say,
+O God, who possessest the kingdom; thou givest the kingdom unto whom
+thou wilt, and thou takest away the kingdom from whom thou wilt: thou
+exaltest whom thou wilt, and thou humblest whom thou wilt: in thy hand
+is good, for thou art almighty. Thou makest the night to succeed the
+day: thou bringest forth the living out of the dead, and thou bringest
+forth the dead out of the living; and providest food for whom thou wilt
+without measure. Let not the faithful take the infidels for their
+protectors, rather than the faithful: he who doth this shall not be
+protected of God at all; unless ye fear any danger from them: but God
+warneth you to beware of himself; for unto God must ye return. Say,
+Whether ye conceal that which is in your breasts, or whether ye declare
+it, God knoweth it: for he knoweth whatever is in heaven, and whatever
+is on earth: God is almighty. On the last day every soul shall find the
+good which it hath wrought, present; and the evil which it hath wrought,
+it shall wish that between itself and that were a wide distance: but God
+warneth you to beware of himself; for God is gracious unto his servants.
+Say, If ye love God, follow me: then God shall love you, and forgive you
+your sins; for God is gracious and merciful. Say, Obey God, and his
+apostle: but if ye go back, verily God loveth not the unbelievers. God
+hath surely chosen Adam, and Noah, and the family of Abraham, and the
+family of Imran above the rest of the world; a race descending the one
+from the other: God is he who heareth and knoweth. Remember when the
+wife of Imran said, Lord, verily I have vowed unto thee that which is in
+my womb, to be dedicated to thy service: accept it therefore of me; for
+thou art he who heareth and knoweth. And when she was delivered of it,
+she said, Lord, verily I have brought forth a female (and God well knew
+what she had brought forth), and a male is not as a female: I have
+called her Mary; and I commend her to thy protection, and also her
+issue, against Satan driven away with stones. Therefore the Lord
+accepted her with a gracious acceptance, and caused her to bear an
+excellent offspring. And Zacharias took care of the child; whenever
+Zacharias went into the chamber to her, he found provisions with her;
+and he said, O Mary, whence hadst thou this? she answered, This is from
+God: for God provideth for whom he pleaseth without measure. There
+Zacharias called on his Lord, and said, Lord, give me from thee a good
+offspring, for thou art the hearer of prayer. And the angels called to
+him, while he stood praying in the chamber, saying, Verily God promiseth
+thee a son named John, who shall bear witness to the Word which cometh
+from God; an honorable person, chaste, and one of the righteous
+prophets. He answered, Lord, how shall I have a son, when old age hath
+overtaken me, and my wife is barren? The angel said, So God doth that
+which he pleaseth. Zacharias answered, Lord, give me a sign. The angel
+said, Thy sign shall be, that thou shalt speak unto no man for three
+days, otherwise than by gesture: remember thy Lord often, and praise him
+evening and morning. And when the angels said, O Mary, verily God hath
+chosen thee, and hath purified thee, and hath chosen thee above all the
+women of the world: O Mary, be devout towards thy Lord, and worship, and
+bow down with those who bow down. This is a secret history: we reveal it
+unto thee, although thou wast not present with them when they threw in
+their rods to cast lots which of them should have the education of Mary:
+neither wast thou with them, when they strove among themselves. When the
+angels said, O Mary, verily God sendeth thee good tidings, that thou
+shalt bear the Word, proceeding from himself; his name shall be Christ
+Jesus the son of Mary, honorable in this world and in the world to come,
+and one of those who approach near to the presence of God; and he shall
+speak unto men in the cradle, and when he is grown up;[51] and he shall
+be one of the righteous: she answered, Lord, how shall I have a son,
+since a man hath not touched me? the angel said, So God createth that
+which he pleaseth: when he decreeth a thing, he only saith unto it, Be,
+and it is: God shall teach him the scripture, and wisdom, and the law,
+and the gospel; and shall appoint him his apostle to the children of
+Israel; and he shall say, Verily I come unto you with a sign from your
+Lord; for I will make before you, of clay, as it were the figure of a
+bird; then I will breathe thereon, and it shall become a bird, by the
+permission of God: and I will heal him that hath been blind from his
+birth, and the leper: and I will raise the dead by the permission of
+God: and I will prophesy unto you what ye eat, and what ye lay up for
+store in your houses. Verily herein will be a sign unto you, if ye
+believe. And I come to confirm the Law which was revealed before me, and
+to allow unto you as lawful, part of that which hath been forbidden
+you:[52] and I come unto you with a sign from your Lord; therefore fear
+God, and obey me. Verily God is my Lord, and your Lord: therefore serve
+him. This is the right way. But when Jesus perceived their unbelief, he
+said, Who will be my helpers towards God? The apostles[53] answered, We
+will be the helpers of God; we believe in God, and do thou bear witness
+that we are true believers. O Lord, we believe in that which thou has
+sent down, and we have followed thy apostle; write us down therefore
+with those who bear witness of him. And the Jews devised a stratagem
+against him; but God devised a stratagem against them; and God is the
+best deviser of stratagems. When God said, O Jesus, verily I will cause
+thee to die, and I will take thee up unto me,[54] and I will deliver
+thee from the unbelievers; and I will place those who follow thee above
+the unbelievers, until the day of resurrection: then unto me shall ye
+return, and I will judge between you of that concerning which ye
+disagree. Moreover, as for the infidels, I will punish them with a
+grievous punishment in this world, and in that which is to come; and
+there shall be none to help them. But they who believe, and do that
+which is right, he shall give them their reward; for God loveth not the
+wicked doers. These signs and this prudent admonition do we rehearse
+unto thee. Verily the likeness of Jesus in the sight of God is as the
+likeness of Adam: he created him out of the dust, and then said unto
+him, Be; and he was. This is the truth from thy Lord; be not therefore
+one of those who doubt: and whoever shall dispute with thee concerning
+him, after the knowledge which hath been given thee, say unto them,
+Come, let us call together our sons, and your sons, and our wives, and
+your wives, and ourselves, and yourselves; then let us make
+imprecations, and lay the curse of God on those who lie. Verily this is
+a true history: and there is no God but God; and God is most mighty, and
+wise. If they turn back, God well knoweth the evil-doers. Say, O ye who
+have received the scripture, come to a just determination between us and
+you; that we worship not any except God, and associate no creature with
+him; and that the one of us take not the other for lords, beside God.
+But if they turn back, say, Bear witness that we are true believers. O
+ye to whom the scriptures have been given, why do ye dispute concerning
+Abraham, since the Law and the Gospel were not sent down until after
+him? Do ye not therefore understand? Behold ye are they who dispute
+concerning that which ye have some knowledge in; why therefore do ye
+dispute concerning that which ye have no knowledge of? God knoweth, but
+ye know not. Abraham was neither a Jew, nor a Christian; but he was of
+the true religion, one resigned unto God, and was not of the number of
+the idolaters. Verily the men who are the nearest of kin unto Abraham,
+are they who follow him; and this prophet, and they who believe on him:
+God is the patron of the faithful. Some of those who have received the
+scriptures desire to seduce you; but they seduce themselves only, and
+they perceive it not. O ye who have received the scriptures, why do ye
+not believe in the signs of God, since ye are witnesses of them? O ye
+who have received the scriptures, why do ye clothe truth with vanity,
+and knowingly hide the truth? And some of those to whom the scriptures
+were given, say, Believe in that which hath been sent down unto those
+who believe, in the beginning of the day, and deny it in the end
+thereof; that they may go back from their faith: and believe him only
+who followeth your religion. Say, Verily the true direction is the
+direction of God, that there may be given unto some other a revelation
+like unto what hath been given unto you. Will they dispute with you
+before your Lord? Say, Surely excellence is in the hand of God, he
+giveth it unto whom he pleaseth; God is bounteous and wise: he will
+confer peculiar mercy on whom he pleaseth; for God is endued with great
+beneficence. There is of those who have received the scriptures, unto
+whom if thou trust a talent, he will restore it unto thee; and there is
+also of them, unto whom if thou trust a dinar,[55] he will not restore
+it unto thee, unless thou stand over him continually with great urgency.
+This they do because they say, We are not obliged to observe justice
+with the heathen: but they utter a lie against God, knowingly. Yea;
+whoso keepeth his covenant, and feareth God, God surely loveth those who
+fear him. But they who make merchandise of God's covenant, and of their
+oaths, for a small price, shall have no portion in the next life,
+neither shall God speak to them or regard them on the day of
+resurrection, nor shall he cleanse them; but they shall suffer a
+grievous punishment. And there are certainly some of them, who read the
+scriptures perversely, that ye may think what they read to be really in
+the scriptures, yet it is not in the scripture; and they say, This is
+from God; but it is not from God: and they speak that which is false
+concerning God, against their own knowledge. It is not fit for a man,
+that God should give him a book of revelations, and wisdom, and
+prophecy; and then he should say unto men, Be ye worshippers of me,
+besides God; but he ought to say, Be ye perfect in knowledge and in
+works, since ye know the scriptures, and exercise yourselves therein.
+God hath not commanded you to take the angels and the prophets for your
+Lords: Will he command you to become infidels, after ye have been true
+believers? And remember when God accepted the covenant of the prophets,
+saying, This verily is the scripture and the wisdom which I have given
+you: hereafter shall an apostle come unto you, confirming the truth of
+that scripture which is with you; ye shall surely believe on him, and ye
+shall assist him. God said, Are ye firmly resolved, and do ye accept my
+covenant on this condition? They answered, We are firmly resolved: God
+said, Be ye therefore witnesses; and I also bear witness with you: and
+whosoever turneth back after this, they are surely the transgressors. Do
+they therefore seek any other religion but God's? since to him is
+resigned whosoever is in heaven or on earth, voluntarily, or of force:
+and to him shall they return. Say, We believe in God, and that which
+hath been sent down unto us, and that which was sent down unto Abraham,
+and Ismael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which was
+delivered to Moses, and Jesus, and the prophets from their Lord; we make
+no distinction between any of them; and to him are we resigned. Whoever
+followeth any other religion than Islam, it shall not be accepted of
+him: and in the next life he shall be of those who perish. How shall God
+direct men who have become infidels after they had believed, and borne
+witness that the apostle was true, and manifest declarations of the
+divine will had come unto them? for God directeth not the ungodly
+people. Their reward shall be, that on them shall fall the curse of God,
+and of angels, and of all mankind: they shall remain under the same
+forever; their torment shall not be mitigated, neither shall they be
+regarded; except those who repent after this, and amend; for God is
+gracious and merciful. Moreover they who become infidels after they have
+believed, and yet increase in infidelity, their repentance shall in no
+wise be accepted, and they are those who go astray. Verily they who
+believe not, and die in their unbelief, the world full of gold shall in
+no wise be accepted from any of them, even though he should give it for
+his ransom; they shall suffer a grievous punishment, and they shall have
+none to help them. Ye will never attain unto righteousness, until ye
+give in alms of that which ye love: and whatever ye give, God knoweth
+it. All food was permitted unto the children of Israel, except what
+Israel forbade unto himself before the Pentateuch was sent down. Say
+unto the Jews, Bring hither the Pentateuch and read it, if ye speak
+truth. Whoever therefore contriveth a lie against God after this, they
+will be evil-doers. Say, God is true: follow ye therefore the religion
+of Abraham the orthodox; for he was no idolater. Verily the first house
+appointed unto men to worship in was that which is in Becca;[56]
+blessed, and a direction to all creatures. Therein are manifest signs:
+the place where Abraham stood; and whoever entereth therein, shall be
+safe. And it is a duty towards God, incumbent on those who are able to
+go thither, to visit this house; but whosoever disbelieveth, verily God
+needeth not the service of any creature. Say, O ye who have received the
+scriptures, why do ye not believe in the signs of God? Say, O ye who
+have received the scriptures, why do ye keep back from the way of God
+him who believeth? Ye seek to make it crooked, and yet are witnesses
+that it is the right: but God will not be unmindful of what ye do. O
+true believers, if ye obey some of those who have received the
+scripture, they will render you infidels, after ye have believed: and
+how can ye be infidels, when the signs of God are read unto you, and his
+apostle is among you? But he who cleaveth firmly unto God, is already
+directed into the right way. O believers, fear God with his true fear;
+and die not unless ye also be true believers. And cleave all of you unto
+the covenant of God, and depart not from it, and remember the favor of
+God towards you: since ye were enemies, and he reconciled your hearts,
+and ye became companions and brethren by his favor: and ye were on the
+brink of a pit of fire, and he delivered you thence. Thus God declareth
+unto you his signs, that ye may be directed. Let there be people among
+you, who invite to the best religion; and command that which is just,
+and forbid that which is evil; and they shall be happy. And be not as
+they who are divided, and disagree in matters of religion, after
+manifest proofs have been brought unto them: they shall suffer a great
+torment. On the day of resurrection some faces shall become white, and
+other faces shall become black. And unto them whose faces shall become
+black, God will say, Have ye returned unto your unbelief, after ye had
+believed? therefore taste the punishment, for that ye have been
+unbelievers: but they whose faces shall become white shall be in the
+mercy of God, therein shall they remain forever. These are the signs of
+God: we recite them unto thee with truth. God will not deal unjustly
+with his creatures. And to God belongeth whatever is in heaven and on
+earth; and to God shall all things return. Ye are the best nation that
+hath been raised up unto mankind: ye command that which is just, and ye
+forbid that which is unjust, and ye believe in God. And if they who have
+received the scriptures had believed, it had surely been the better for
+them: there are believers among them, but the greater part of them are
+transgressors. They shall not hurt you, unless with a slight hurt; and
+if they fight against you, they shall turn their backs to you, and they
+shall not be helped. They are smitten with vileness wheresoever they are
+found; unless they obtain security by entering into a treaty with God,
+and a treaty with men: and they draw on themselves indignation from God,
+and they are afflicted with poverty. This they suffer, because they
+disbelieved the signs of God, and slew the prophets unjustly; this,
+because they were rebellious, and transgressed. Yet they are not all
+alike: there are of those who have received the scriptures, upright
+people; they meditate on the signs of God in the night season, and
+worship; they believe in God and the last day; and command that which is
+just, and forbid that which is unjust, and zealously strive to excel in
+good works: these are of the righteous. And ye shall not be denied the
+reward of the good which ye do; for God knoweth the pious. As for the
+unbelievers, their wealth shall not profit them at all, neither their
+children, against God: they shall be the companions of hell fire; they
+shall continue therein forever. The likeness of that which they lay out
+in this present life, is as a wind wherein there is a scorching cold: it
+falleth on the standing corn of those men who have injured their own
+souls, and destroyeth it. And God dealeth not unjustly with them; but
+they injure their own souls. O true believers, contract not an intimate
+friendship with any besides yourselves: they will not fail to corrupt
+you. They wish for that which may cause you to perish: their hatred hath
+already appeared from out of their mouths; but what their breasts
+conceal is yet more inveterate. We have already shown you signs of their
+ill-will towards you, if ye understand. Behold, ye love them, and they
+do not love you: ye believe in all the scriptures, and when they meet
+you, they say, We believe; but when they assemble privately together,
+they bite their fingers' ends out of wrath against you. Say unto them,
+Die in your wrath: verily God knoweth the innermost part of your
+breasts. If good happen unto you, it grieveth them; and if evil befall
+you, they rejoice at it. But if ye be patient, and fear God, their
+subtlety shall not hurt you at all; for God comprehendeth whatever they
+do. Call to mind when thou wentest forth early from thy family, that
+thou mightest prepare the faithful a camp for war; and God heard and
+knew it; when two companies of you were anxiously thoughtful, so that ye
+became faint-hearted; but God was the supporter of them both; and in God
+let the faithful trust. And God had already given you the victory at
+Bedr, when ye were inferior in number; therefore fear God, that ye may
+be thankful. When thou saidst unto the faithful, Is it not enough for
+you, that your Lord should assist you with three thousand angels, sent
+down from heaven? Verily if ye persevere, and fear God, and your enemies
+come upon you suddenly, your Lord will assist you with five thousand
+angels, distinguished by their horses and attire. And this God designed
+only as good tidings for you that your hearts might rest secure: for
+victory is from God alone, the mighty, the wise. That he should cut off
+the uttermost part of the unbelievers, or cast them down, or that they
+should be overthrown and unsuccessful, is nothing to thee. It is no
+business of thine; whether God be turned unto them, or whether he punish
+them; they are surely unjust doers. To God belongeth whatsoever is in
+heaven and on earth: he spareth whom he pleaseth, and he punisheth whom
+he pleaseth; for God is merciful. O true believers, devour not usury,
+doubling it twofold; but fear God, that ye may prosper: and fear the
+fire which is prepared for the unbelievers; and obey God, and his
+apostle, that ye may obtain mercy. And run with emulation to obtain
+remission from your Lord, and paradise, whose breath equalleth the
+heavens and the earth, which is prepared for the godly; who give alms in
+prosperity and adversity; who bridle their anger and forgive men: for
+God loveth the beneficent.[57] And who, after they have committed a
+crime, or dealt unjustly with their own souls, remember God, and ask
+pardon for their sins (for who forgiveth sins except God?) and persevere
+not in what they have done knowingly: their reward shall be pardon from
+their Lord, and gardens wherein rivers flow, they shall remain therein
+forever: and how excellent is the reward of those who labor! There have
+already been before you examples of punishment of infidels, therefore go
+through the earth, and behold what hath been the end of those who accuse
+God's apostles of imposture. This book is a declaration unto men, and a
+direction and an admonition to the pious. And be not dismayed, neither
+be ye grieved; for ye shall be superior to the unbelievers if ye
+believe. If a wound hath happened unto you in war, a like wound hath
+already happened unto the unbelieving people: and we cause these days of
+different success interchangeably to succeed each other among men; that
+God may know those who believe, and may have martyrs from among you (God
+loveth not the workers of iniquity); and that God might prove those who
+believe, and destroy the infidels. Did ye imagine that ye should enter
+paradise, when as yet God knew not those among you who fought
+strenuously in his cause; nor knew those who persevered with patience?
+Moreover ye did some time wish for death before that ye met it; but ye
+have now seen it, and ye looked on, but retreated from it. Mohammed is
+no more than an apostle; the other apostles have already deceased before
+him: if he die therefore, or be slain, will ye turn back on your heels?
+but he who turneth back on his heels, will not hurt God at all; and God
+will surely reward the thankful. No soul can die unless by the
+permission of God, according to what is written in the book containing
+the determinations of things. And whoso chooseth the reward of this
+world, we will give him thereof: but whoso chooseth the reward of the
+world to come, we will give him thereof; and we will surely reward the
+thankful. How many prophets have encountered those who had many myriads
+of troops: and yet they desponded not in their mind for what had
+befallen them in fighting for the religion of God, and were not
+weakened, neither behaved themselves in an abject manner? God loveth
+those who persevere patiently. And their speech was no other than that
+they said, Our Lord forgive us our offences, and our transgressions in
+our business; and confirm our feet, and help us against the unbelieving
+people. And God gave them the reward of this world, and a glorious
+reward in the life to come; for God loveth the well-doers. O ye who
+believe, if ye obey the infidels, they will cause you to turn back on
+your heels, and ye will be turned back and perish: but God is your Lord;
+and he is the best helper. We will surely cast a dread into the hearts
+of the unbelievers, because they have associated with God that
+concerning which he sent them down no power: their dwelling shall be the
+fire of hell; and the receptacle of the wicked shall be miserable. God
+had already made good unto you his promise, when ye destroyed them by
+his permission, until ye became faint-hearted, and disputed concerning
+the command of the apostle, and were rebellious; after God had shown you
+what ye desired. Some of you chose this present world, and others of you
+chose the world to come. Then he turned you to flight from before them,
+that he might make trial of you (but he hath now pardoned you; for God
+is endued with beneficence towards the faithful); when ye went up as ye
+fled, and looked not back on any; while the apostle called you, in the
+uttermost part of you. Therefore God rewarded you with affliction on
+affliction, that ye be not grieved hereafter for the spoils which ye
+fail of, nor for that which befalleth you; for God is well acquainted
+with whatever ye do. Then he sent down upon you after affliction
+security; soft sleep which fell on some part of you; but other parts
+were troubled by their own souls; falsely thinking of God a foolish
+imagination, saying, Will anything of the matter happen unto us? Say,
+Verily the matter belongeth wholly unto God. They concealed in their
+minds what they declared not unto thee; saying, If anything of the
+matter had happened unto us, we had not been slain here. Answer, If ye
+had been in your houses, verily they would have gone forth to fight,
+whose slaughter was decreed, to the places where they died, and this
+came to pass that God might try what was in your breasts, and might
+discern what was in your hearts; for God knoweth the innermost parts of
+the breasts of men. Verily they among you who turned their backs on the
+day whereon the two armies met each other at Ohod, Satan caused them to
+slip, for some crime which they had committed: but now hath God forgiven
+them; for God is gracious and merciful. O true believers, be not as they
+who believe not, and said of their brethren, when they had journeyed in
+the land or had been at war, If they had been with us, those had not
+died, nor had these been slain: whereas what befell them was so ordained
+that God might make it matter of sighing in their hearts. God giveth
+life, and causeth to die: and God seeth that which ye do. Moreover, if
+ye be slain, or die in defence of the religion of God; verily pardon
+from God, and mercy, is better than what they heap together of worldly
+riches. And if ye die, or be slain, verily unto God shall ye be
+gathered. And as to the mercy granted unto the disobedient from God,
+thou, O Mohammed, hast been mild towards them; but if thou hadst been
+severe and hard-hearted, they had surely separated themselves from about
+thee. Therefore forgive them, and ask pardon for them: and consult them
+in the affair of war; and after thou hast deliberated, trust in God; for
+God loveth those who trust in him. If God help you, none shall conquer
+you; but if he desert you, who is it that will help you after him?
+Therefore in God let the faithful trust. It is not the part of a prophet
+to defraud, for he who defraudeth, shall bring with him what he hath
+defrauded anyone of, on the day of the resurrection.[58] Then shall
+every soul be paid what he hath gained; and they shall not be treated
+unjustly. Shall he therefore who followeth that which is well pleasing
+unto God, be as he who bringeth on himself wrath from God, and whose
+receptacle is hell? an evil journey shall it be thither. There shall be
+degrees of rewards and punishments with God, for God seeth what they do.
+Now hath God been gracious unto the believers when he raised up among
+them an apostle of their own nation,[59] who should recite his signs
+unto them, and purify them, and teach them the book of the Koran and
+wisdom; whereas they were before in manifest error. After a misfortune
+hath befallen you at Ohod (ye had already obtained two equal
+advantages), do ye say, Whence cometh this? Answer, This is from
+yourselves: for God is almighty. And what happened unto you, on the day
+whereon the two armies met, was certainly by the permission of God; and
+that he might know the faithful, and that he might know the ungodly. It
+was said unto them, Come, fight for the religion of God, or drive back
+the enemy: they answered, If we had known ye went out to fight, we had
+certainly followed you. They were on that day nearer unto unbelief than
+they were to faith; they spake with their mouths what was not in their
+hearts; but God perfectly knew what they concealed; who said of their
+brethren, while themselves stayed at home, if they had obeyed us, they
+had not been slain. Say, Then keep back death from yourselves, if ye say
+truth. Thou shalt in no wise reckon those who have been slain at Ohod in
+the cause of God, dead; nay, they are sustained alive with their Lord,
+rejoicing for what God of his favor hath granted them; and being glad
+for those who, coming after them, have not as yet overtaken them,
+because there shall no fear come on them, neither shall they be grieved.
+They are filled with joy for the favor which they have received from
+God, and his bounty; and for that God suffereth not the reward of the
+faithful to perish. They who hearkened unto God and his apostle, after a
+wound had befallen them at Ohod, such of them as do good works, and fear
+God, shall have a great reward; unto whom certain men said, Verily the
+men of Mecca have already gathered forces against you, be ye therefore
+afraid of them: but this increaseth their faith, and they said, God is
+our support, and the most excellent patron. Wherefore they returned with
+favor from God, and advantage; no evil befell them: and they followed
+what was well pleasing unto God; for God is endowed with great
+liberality. Verily that devil would cause you to fear his friends: but
+be ye not afraid of them; but fear me, if ye be true believers. They
+shall not grieve thee, who emulously hasten unto infidelity; for they
+shall never hurt God at all. God will not give them a part in the next
+life, and they shall suffer a great punishment. Surely those who
+purchase infidelity with faith, shall by no means hurt God at all, but
+they shall suffer a grievous punishment. And let not the unbelievers
+think, because we grant them lives long and prosperous, that it is
+better for their souls: we grant them long and prosperous lives only
+that their iniquity may be increased; and they shall suffer an
+ignominious punishment. God is not disposed to leave the faithful in the
+condition which ye are now in, until he sever the wicked from the good;
+nor is God disposed to make you acquainted with what is a hidden secret,
+but God chooseth such of his apostles as he pleaseth, to reveal his mind
+unto: believe, therefore, in God, and his apostles; and if ye believe,
+and fear God, ye shall receive a great reward. And let not those who are
+covetous of what God of his bounty hath granted them, imagine that their
+avarice is better for them: nay, rather it is worse for them. That which
+they have covetously reserved shall be bound as a collar about their
+neck,[60] on the day of the resurrection; unto God belongeth the
+inheritance of heaven and earth; and God is well acquainted with what ye
+do. God hath already heard the saying of those who said, Verily God is
+poor, and we are rich: we will surely write down what they have said,
+and the slaughter which they have made of the prophets without a cause;
+and we will say unto them, Taste ye the pain of burning. This shall they
+suffer for the evil which their hands have sent before them, and because
+God is not unjust towards mankind; who also say, Surely God hath
+commanded us, that we should not give credit to any apostle, until one
+should come unto us with a sacrifice, which should be consumed by fire.
+Say, Apostles have already come unto you before me, with plain proofs,
+and with the miracle which ye mention: why therefore have ye slain them,
+if ye speak truth? If they accuse thee of imposture, the apostles before
+thee have also been accounted impostors, who brought evident
+demonstrations, and the scriptures, and the book which enlightened the
+understanding. Every soul shall taste of death, and ye shall have your
+rewards on the day of resurrection; and he who shall be far removed from
+hell fire, and shall be admitted into paradise, shall be happy: but the
+present life is only a deceitful provision. Ye shall surely be proved in
+your possessions, and in your persons; and ye shall bear from those unto
+whom the scripture was delivered before you, and from the idolaters,
+much hurt: but if ye be patient, and fear God, this is a matter that is
+absolutely determined. And when God accepted the covenant of those to
+whom the book of the law was given, saying, Ye shall surely publish it
+unto mankind, ye shall not hide it; yet they threw it behind their
+backs, and sold it for a small price; but woful is the price for which
+they have sold it.[61] Think not that they who rejoice at what they have
+done, and expect to be praised for what they have not done; think not, O
+prophet, that they shall escape from punishment, for they shall suffer a
+painful punishment; and unto God belongeth the kingdom of heaven and
+earth; God is almighty. Now in the creation of heaven and earth, and the
+vicissitude of night and day, are signs unto those who are endued with
+understanding; who remember God standing, and sitting, and lying on
+their sides; and meditate on the creation of heaven and earth, saying, O
+Lord, thou hast not created this in vain; far be it from thee: therefore
+deliver us from the torment of hell fire. O Lord, surely whom thou shalt
+throw into the fire, thou wilt also cover with shame; nor shall the
+ungodly have any to help them. O Lord, we have heard of a preacher[62]
+inviting us to the faith, and saying, Believe in your Lord: and we
+believed. O Lord, forgive us therefore our sins, and expiate our evil
+deeds from us, and make us to die with the righteous. O Lord, give us
+also the reward which thou hast promised by thy apostles; and cover us
+not with shame on the day of resurrection; for thou art not contrary to
+the promise. Their Lord therefore answereth them, saying, I will not
+suffer the work of him among you who worketh to be lost, whether he be
+male or female: the one of you is from the other. They therefore who
+have left their country, and have been turned out of their houses, and
+have suffered for my sake, and have been slain in battle; verily I will
+expiate their evil deeds from them, and I will surely bring them into
+gardens watered by rivers; a reward from God: and with God is the most
+excellent reward. Let not the prosperous dealing of the unbelievers in
+the land deceive thee: it is but a slender provision; and then their
+receptacle shall be hell; an unhappy couch shall it be. But they who
+fear their Lord shall have gardens through which rivers flow, they shall
+continue therein forever: this is the gift of God; for what is with God
+shall be better for the righteous than short-lived worldly prosperity.
+There are some of those who have received the scriptures, who believe in
+God, and that which hath been sent down unto you, and that which hath
+been sent down to them, submitting themselves unto God; they tell not
+the signs of God for a small price: these shall have their reward with
+their Lord; for God is swift in taking an account. O true believers, be
+patient, and strive to excel in patience, and be constant-minded, and
+fear God, that ye may be happy.
+
+
+[Footnote 46: This name is given in the Koran to the father of the
+Virgin Mary.]
+
+[Footnote 47: The word Koran, derived from the verb _Karaa_, i.e., to
+read, signifies in Arabic "the reading," or rather "that which is to be
+read." The syllable _Al_, in the words Al Koran, is only the Arabic
+article signifying "the," and ought to be omitted when the English
+article is prefixed.]
+
+[Footnote 48: The miracle, it is said, consisted in three things: (1.)
+Mohammed, by the direction of the angel Gabriel, took a handful of
+gravel and threw it towards the enemy in the attack, saying, "May their
+faces be confounded"; whereupon they immediately turned their backs and
+fled. But, though the prophet seemingly threw the gravel himself, yet it
+is told in the Koran that it was not he, but God, who threw it, that is
+to say, by the ministry of his angel. (2.) The Mohammedan troops seemed
+to the infidels to be twice as many in number as themselves, which
+greatly discouraged them. (3.) God sent down to their assistance first a
+thousand, and afterwards three thousand angels, led by Gabriel, mounted
+on his horse Haizum; and, according to the Koran, these celestial
+auxiliaries really did all the execution, though Mohammed's men imagined
+themselves did it, and fought stoutly at the same time.]
+
+[Footnote 49: The proper name of the Mohammedan religion, which
+signifies the resigning or devoting one's self entirely to God and his
+service. This they say is the religion which all the prophets were sent
+to teach, being founded on the unity of God.]
+
+[Footnote 50: The Mohammedans have a tradition that the first banner of
+the infidels that shall be set up, on the day of judgment, will be that
+of the Jews; and that God will first reproach them with their
+wickedness, over the heads of those who are present, and then order them
+to hell.]
+
+[Footnote 51: This phrase signifies a man in full age, that is, between
+thirty and thirty-four.]
+
+[Footnote 52: Such as the eating of fish that have neither fins nor
+scales, the caul and fat of animals, and camel's flesh, and to work on
+the Sabbath.]
+
+[Footnote 53: In Arabic, _al Hawâriyûn_: which word they derive from
+_Hâra_, "to be white," and suppose the apostles were so-called either
+from the candor and sincerity of their minds, or because they were
+princes and wore white garments, or else because they were by trade
+fullers.]
+
+[Footnote 54: Some Mohammedans say this was done by the ministry of
+Gabriel; but others that a strong whirlwind took him up from Mount
+Olivet.]
+
+[Footnote 55: A gold coin worth about $2.50.]
+
+[Footnote 56: Becca is another name of Mecca. Al Beidâwi observes that
+the Arabs used the "M" and "B" promiscuously in several words.]
+
+[Footnote 57: It is related of Hasan the son of Ali that a slave having
+once thrown a dish on him boiling hot, as he sat at table, and fearing
+his master's resentment, fell immediately on his knees, and repeated
+these words, "Paradise is for those who bridle their anger." Hasan
+answered, "I am not angry." The slave proceeded, "and for those who
+forgive men." "I forgive you," said Hasan. The slave, however, finished
+the verse, adding, "for God loveth the beneficent." "Since it is so,"
+replied Hasan, "I give you your liberty, and four hundred pieces of
+silver." A noble instance of moderation and generosity.]
+
+[Footnote 58: According to a tradition of Mohammed, whoever cheateth
+another will on the day of judgment carry his fraudulent purchase
+publicly on his neck.]
+
+[Footnote 59: Some copies, instead of _min anfosihim_, i.e., of
+themselves, read _min anfasihim_, i.e., of the noblest among them; for
+such was the tribe of Koreish, of which Mohammed was descended.]
+
+[Footnote 60: Mohammed is said to have declared, that whoever pays not
+his legal contribution of alms duly shall have a serpent twisted about
+his neck at the resurrection.]
+
+[Footnote 61: That is, dearly shall they pay hereafter for taking bribes
+to stifle the truth. "Whoever concealeth the knowledge which God has
+given him," says Mohammed, "God shall put on him a bridle of fire on the
+day of resurrection."]
+
+[Footnote 62: Namely, Mohammed, with the Koran.]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+Entitled, Women[63]--Revealed at Medina
+
+_In the Name of the Most Merciful God._
+
+
+O men, fear your Lord, who hath created you out of one man, and out of
+him created his wife, and from them two hath multiplied many men and
+women: and fear God by whom ye beseech one another; and respect women
+who have borne you, for God is watching over you. And give the orphans
+when they come to age their substance; and render them not in exchange
+bad for good: and devour not their substance, by adding it to your
+substance; for this is a great sin. And if ye fear that ye shall not act
+with equity towards orphans of the female sex, take in marriage of such
+other women as please you, two, or three, or four, and not more. But if
+ye fear that ye cannot act equitably towards so many, marry one only, or
+the slaves which ye shall have acquired. This will be easier, that ye
+swerve not from righteousness. And give women their dowry freely; but if
+they voluntarily remit unto you any part of it, enjoy it with
+satisfaction and advantage. And give not unto those who are weak of
+understanding, the substance which God hath appointed you to preserve
+for them; but maintain them thereout, and clothe them, and speak kindly
+unto them. And examine the orphans until they attain the age of
+marriage: but if ye perceive they are able to manage their affairs well,
+deliver their substance unto them; and waste it not extravagantly, or
+hastily, because they grow up. Let him who is rich abstain entirely from
+the orphan's estates; and let him who is poor take thereof according to
+what shall be reasonable. And when ye deliver their substance unto them,
+call witnesses thereof in their presence: God taketh sufficient account
+of your actions. Men ought to have a part of what their parents and
+kindred leave behind them when they die: and women also ought to have a
+part of what their parents and kindred leave, whether it be little, or
+whether it be much; a determinate part is due to them. And when they who
+are of kin are present at the dividing of what is left, and also the
+orphans, and the poor; distribute unto them some part thereof; and if
+the estate be too small, at least speak comfortably unto them. And let
+those fear to abuse orphans, who if they leave behind them a weak
+offspring, are solicitous for them: let them therefore fear God, and
+speak that which is convenient. Surely they who devour the possessions
+of orphans unjustly, shall swallow down nothing but fire into their
+bellies, and shall broil in raging flames. God hath thus commanded you
+concerning your children. A male shall have as much as the share of two
+females: but if they be females only, and above two in number, they
+shall have two third-parts of what the deceased shall leave; and if
+there be but one, she shall have the half. And the parents of the
+deceased shall have each of them a sixth part of what he shall leave, if
+he have a child: but if he have no child, and his parents be his heirs,
+then his mother shall have the third part. And if he have brethren, his
+mother shall have a sixth part, after the legacies[64] which he shall
+bequeath, and his debts be paid. Ye know not whether your parents or
+your children be of greater use unto you. This is an ordinance from God,
+and God is knowing and wise. Moreover, ye may claim half of what your
+wives shall leave, if they have no issue; but if they have issue, then
+ye shall have the fourth part of what they shall leave, after the
+legacies which they shall bequeath, and the debts be paid. They also
+shall have the fourth part of what ye shall leave, in case ye have no
+issue; but if ye have issue, then they shall have the eighth part of
+what ye shall leave, after the legacies which ye shall bequeath and your
+debts be paid. And if a man or woman's substance be inherited by a
+distant relation, and he or she have a brother or sister; each of them
+two shall have a sixth part of the estate. But if there be more than
+this number, they shall be equal sharers in a third part, after payment
+of the legacies which shall be bequeathed, and the debts, without
+prejudice to the heirs. This is an ordinance from God: and God is
+knowing and gracious. These are the statutes of God. And whoso obeyeth
+God and his apostle, God shall lead him into gardens wherein rivers
+flow, they shall continue therein forever; and this shall be great
+happiness. But whoso disobeyeth God, and his apostle, and transgresseth
+his statutes, God shall cast him into hell fire; he shall remain therein
+forever, and he shall suffer a shameful punishment. If any of your women
+be guilty of whoredom, produce four witnesses from among you against
+them, and if they bear witness against them, imprison them in separate
+apartments until death release them, or God affordeth them a way to
+escape.[65] And if two of you commit the like wickedness, punish them
+both: but if they repent and amend, let them both alone; for God is easy
+to be reconciled and merciful. Verily repentance will be accepted with
+God, from those who do evil ignorantly, and then repent speedily; unto
+them will God be turned: for God is knowing and wise. But no repentance
+shall be accepted from those who do evil until the time when death
+presenteth itself unto one of them, and he saith, Verily, I repent now;
+nor unto those who die unbelievers: for them have we prepared a grievous
+punishment. O true believers, it is not lawful for you to be heirs of
+women against their will, nor to hinder them from marrying others, that
+ye may take away part of what ye have given them in dowry; unless they
+have been guilty of a manifest crime: but converse kindly with them. And
+if ye hate them, it may happen that ye may hate a thing wherein God hath
+placed much good. If ye be desirous to exchange a wife for another wife,
+and ye have already given one of them a talent; take not away anything
+therefrom: will ye take it by slandering her, and doing her manifest
+injustice? And how can ye take it, since the one of you hath gone in
+unto the other, and they have received from you a firm covenant? Marry
+not women whom your fathers have had to wife (except what is already
+past): for this is uncleanness, and an abomination, and an evil way. Ye
+are forbidden to marry your mothers, and your daughters, and your
+sisters, and your aunts both on the father's and on the mother's side,
+and your brother's daughters, and your sister's daughters, and your
+mothers who have given you suck, and your foster-sisters, and your
+wives' mothers, and your daughters-in-law which are under your tuition,
+born of your wives unto whom ye have gone in (but if ye have not gone in
+unto them, it shall be no sin in you to marry them), and the wives of
+your sons who proceed out of your loins; and ye are also forbidden to
+take to wife two sisters; except what is already past: for God is
+gracious and merciful. Ye are also forbidden to take to wife free women
+who are married, except those women whom your right hands shall possess
+as slaves.[66] This is ordained you from God. Whatever is beside this,
+is allowed you; that ye may with your substance provide wives for
+yourselves, acting that which is right, and avoiding whoredom. And for
+the advantage which ye receive from them, give them their reward,
+according to what is ordained: but it shall be no crime in you to make
+any other agreement among yourselves, after the ordinance shall be
+complied with; for God is knowing and wise. Whoso among you hath not
+means sufficient that he may marry free women, who are believers, let
+him marry with such of your maid-servants whom your right hands possess,
+as are true believers; for God well knoweth your faith. Ye are the one
+from the other; therefore marry them with the consent of their masters;
+and give them their dower according to justice; such as are modest, not
+guilty of whoredom, nor entertaining lovers. And when they are married,
+if they be guilty of adultery, they shall suffer half the punishment
+which is appointed for the free women.[67] This is allowed unto him
+among you, who feareth to sin by marrying free women; but if ye abstain
+from marrying slaves, it will be better for you; God is gracious and
+merciful. God is willing to declare these things unto you, and to direct
+you according to the ordinances of those who have gone before you, and
+to be merciful unto you. God is knowing and wise. God desireth to be
+gracious unto you; but they who follow their lusts, desire that ye
+should turn aside from the truth with great deviation. God is minded to
+make his religion light unto you: for man was created weak. O true
+believers, consume not your wealth among yourselves in vanity; unless
+there be merchandising among you by mutual consent: neither slay
+yourselves; for God is merciful towards you: and whoever doth this
+maliciously and wickedly, he will surely cast him to be broiled in hell
+fire; and this is easy with God. If ye turn aside from the grievous
+sins,[68] of those which ye are forbidden to commit, we will cleanse you
+from your smaller faults; and will introduce you into paradise with an
+honorable entry. Covet not that which God hath bestowed on some of you
+preferably to others.[69] Unto the men shall be given a portion of what
+they shall have gained, and unto the women shall be given a portion of
+what they shall have gained: therefore ask God of his bounty; for God is
+omniscient. We have appointed unto everyone kindred, to inherit part of
+what their parents and relations shall leave at their deaths. And unto
+those with whom your right hands have made an alliance, give their part
+of the inheritance; for God is witness of all things. Men shall have the
+preeminence above women, because of those advantages wherein God hath
+caused the one of them to excel the other, and for that which they
+expend of their substance in maintaining their wives. The honest women
+are obedient, careful in the absence of their husbands, for that God
+preserveth them, by committing them to the care and protection of the
+men. But those, whose perverseness ye shall be apprehensive of, rebuke;
+and remove them into separate apartments, and chastise them.[70] But if
+they shall be obedient unto you, seek not an occasion of quarrel against
+them; for God is high and great. And if ye fear a breach between the
+husband and wife, send a judge out of his family, and a judge out of her
+family: if they shall desire a reconciliation, God will cause them to
+agree; for God is knowing and wise. Serve God, and associate no creature
+with him; and show kindness unto parents, and relations, and orphans,
+and the poor, and your neighbor who is of kin to you, and also your
+neighbor who is a stranger, and to your familiar companion, and the
+traveller, and the captives whom your right hands shall possess; for God
+loveth not the proud or vain-glorious, who are covetous, and recommend
+covetousness unto men, and conceal that which God of his bounty hath
+given them (we have prepared a shameful punishment for the unbelievers);
+and who bestow their wealth in charity to be observed of men, and
+believe not in God, nor in the last day; and whoever hath Satan for a
+companion, an evil companion hath he! And what harm would befall them if
+they should believe in God and the last day, and give alms out of that
+which God hath bestowed on them? since God knoweth them who do this.
+Verily God will not wrong anyone even the weight of an ant: and if it be
+a good action, he will double it, and will recompense it in his sight
+with a great reward. How will it be with the unbelievers when we shall
+bring a witness out of each nation against itself, and shall bring thee,
+O Mohammed, a witness against these people? In that day they who have
+not believed, and have rebelled against the apostle of God, shall wish
+the earth was levelled with them; and they shall not be able to hide any
+matter from God. O true believers, come not to prayers when ye are
+drunk, until ye understand what ye say; nor when ye are polluted by
+emission of seed, unless ye be travelling on the road, until ye wash
+yourselves. But if ye be sick, or on a journey, or any of you come from
+easing nature, or have touched women, and find no water; take fine clean
+sand and rub your faces and your hands therewith; for God is merciful
+and inclined to forgive. Hast thou not observed those unto whom part of
+the scriptures was delivered? they sell error, and desire that ye may
+wander from the right way; but God well knoweth your enemies. God is a
+sufficient patron, and God is a sufficient helper. Of the Jews there are
+some who pervert words from their places; and say, We have heard, and
+have disobeyed; and do thou hear without understanding our meaning, and
+look upon us: perplexing with their tongues, and reviling the true
+religion. But if they had said, We have heard, and do obey; and do thou
+hear, and regard us: certainly it were better for them, and more right.
+But God hath cursed them by reason of their infidelity; therefore a few
+of them only shall believe. O ye to whom the scriptures have been given,
+believe in the revelation which we have sent down, confirming that which
+is with you; before we deface your countenances, and render them as the
+back parts thereof; or curse them, as we cursed those who transgressed
+on the Sabbath day; and the command of God was fulfilled. Surely God
+will not pardon the giving him an equal; but will pardon any other sin,
+except that, to whom he pleaseth; and whoso giveth a companion unto God,
+hath devised a great wickedness. Hast thou not observed those who
+justify themselves? But God justifieth whomsoever he pleaseth, nor shall
+they be wronged a hair. Behold, how they imagine a lie against God; and
+therein is iniquity sufficiently manifest. Hast thou not considered
+those to whom part of the scripture hath been given? They believe in
+false gods and idols,[71] and say of those who believe not, These are
+more rightly directed in the way of truth than they who believe on
+Mohammed. Those are the men whom God hath cursed; and unto him whom God
+shall curse, thou shalt surely find no helper. Shall they have a part of
+the kingdom, since even then they would not bestow the smallest matter
+on men? Do they envy other men that which God of his bounty hath given
+them? We formerly gave unto the family of Abraham a book of revelations
+and wisdom; and we gave them a great kingdom. There is of them who
+believeth on him; and there is of them who turneth aside from him: but
+the raging fire of hell is a sufficient punishment. Verily, those who
+disbelieve our signs, we will surely cast to be broiled in hell fire; so
+often as their skins shall be well burned, we will give them other skins
+in exchange, that they may taste the sharper torment; for God is mighty
+and wise. But those who believe and do that which is right, we will
+bring into gardens watered by rivers: therein shall they remain forever,
+and there shall they enjoy wives free from all impurity; and we will
+lead them into perpetual shades. Moreover, God commandeth you to restore
+what ye are trusted with, to the owners; and when ye judge between men,
+that ye judge according to equity: and surely an excellent virtue it is
+to which God exhorteth you; for God both heareth and seeth. O true
+believers, obey God, and obey the apostle, and those who are in
+authority among you: and if ye differ in anything, refer it unto God[72]
+and the apostle, if ye believe in God and the last day: this is better,
+and a fairer method of determination. Hast thou not observed those who
+pretend they believe in what hath been revealed unto thee, and what hath
+been revealed before thee? They desire to go to judgment before Taghût,
+although they have been commanded not to believe in him; and Satan
+desireth to seduce them into a wide error. And when it is said unto
+them, Come unto the book which God hath sent down, and to the apostle;
+thou seest the ungodly turn aside from thee, with great aversion. But
+how will they behave when a misfortune shall befall them, for that which
+their hands have sent before them? Then will they come unto thee, and
+swear by God, saying, We intended no other than to do good, and to
+reconcile the parties. God knoweth what is in the hearts of these men;
+therefore let them alone, and admonish them, and speak unto them a word
+which may affect their souls. We have not sent any apostle, but that he
+might be obeyed by the permission of God: but if they, after they have
+injured their own souls, come unto thee, and ask pardon of God, and the
+apostle ask pardon for them, they shall surely find God easy to be
+reconciled and merciful. And by thy Lord they will not perfectly
+believe, until they make thee judge of their controversies; and shall
+not afterwards find in their own minds any hardship in what thou shalt
+determine, but shall acquiesce therein with entire submission. And if we
+had commanded them, saying, Slay yourselves, or depart from your houses,
+they would not have done it, except a few of them. And if they had done
+what they were admonished, it would certainly have been better for them,
+and more efficacious for confirming their faith; and we should then have
+surely given them in our sight an exceeding great reward, and we should
+have directed them in the right way. Whoever obeyeth God and the
+apostle, they shall be with those unto whom God hath been gracious, of
+the prophets, and the sincere, and the martyrs, and the righteous; and
+these are the most excellent company. This is bounty from God; and God
+is sufficiently knowing. O true believers, take your necessary
+precaution against your enemies, and either go forth to war in separate
+parties, or go forth all together in a body. There is of you who
+tarrieth behind; and if a misfortune befall you, he saith, Verily God
+hath been gracious unto me, that I was not present with them: but if
+success attend you from God, he will say (as if there was no friendship
+between you and him), Would to God I had been with them, for I should
+have acquired great merit. Let them therefore fight for the religion of
+God, who part with the present life in exchange for that which is to
+come; for whosoever fighteth for the religion of God, whether he be
+slain, or be victorious, we will surely give him a great reward. And
+what ails you, that ye fight not for God's true religion, and in defence
+of the weak among men, women, and children, who say, O Lord, bring us
+forth from this city, whose inhabitants are wicked; grant us from before
+thee a protector, and grant us from thee a defender. They who believe
+fight for the religion of God; but they who believe not fight for the
+religion of Taghût. Fight therefore against the friends of Satan, for
+the stratagem of Satan is weak. Hast thou not observed those unto whom
+it was said, Withhold your hands from war, and be constant at prayers,
+and pay the legal alms? But when war is commanded them, behold, a part
+of them fear men as they should fear God, or with a greater fear, and
+say, O Lord, wherefore hast thou commanded us to go to war, and hast not
+suffered us to wait our approaching end? Say unto them, The provision of
+this life is but small; but the future shall be better for him who
+feareth God; and ye shall not be in the least injured at the day of
+judgment. Wheresoever ye be, death will overtake you, although ye be in
+lofty towers. If good befall them, they say, This is from God; but if
+evil befall them, they say, This is from thee, O Mohammed: say, All is
+from God; and what aileth these people, that they are so far from
+understanding what is said unto them? Whatever good befalleth thee, O
+man, it is from God; and whatever evil befalleth thee, it is from
+thyself.[73] We have sent thee an apostle unto men, and God is a
+sufficient witness thereof. Whoever obeyeth the apostle, obeyeth God;
+and whoever turneth back, we have not sent thee to be a keeper over
+them. They say, Obedience: yet when they go forth from thee, part of
+them meditate by night a matter different from what thou speakest; but
+God shall write down what they meditate by night: therefore let them
+alone, and trust in God, for God is a sufficient protector. Do they not
+attentively consider the Koran? If it had been from any besides God,
+they would certainly have found therein many contradictions. When any
+news cometh unto them, either of security or fear, they immediately
+divulge it; but if they told it to the apostle and to those who are in
+authority among them, such of them would understand the truth of the
+matter, as inform themselves thereof from the apostle and his chiefs.
+And if the favor of God and his mercy had not been upon you, ye had
+followed the devil, except a few of you. Fight therefore for the
+religion of God, and oblige not any to what is difficult, except
+thyself; however, excite the faithful to war, perhaps God will restrain
+the courage of the unbelievers; for God is stronger than they, and more
+able to punish. He who intercedeth between men with a good intercession
+shall have a portion thereof; and he who intercedeth with an evil
+intercession shall have a portion thereof; for God overlooketh all
+things. When ye are saluted with a salutation, salute the person with a
+better salutation, or at least return the same; for God taketh an
+account of all things. God! there is no God but he; he will surely
+gather you together on the day of resurrection; there is no doubt of it:
+and who is more true than God in what he saith? Why are ye divided
+concerning the ungodly into two parties; since God hath overturned them
+for what they have committed? Will ye direct him whom God hath led
+astray; since for him whom God shall lead astray, thou shalt find no
+true path? They desire that ye should become infidels, as they are
+infidels, and that ye should be equally wicked with themselves.
+Therefore take not friends from among them, until they fly their country
+for the religion of God; and if they turn back from the faith, take
+them, and kill them wherever ye find them; and take no friend from among
+them, nor any helper, except those who go unto a people who are in
+alliance with you, for those who come unto you, their hearts forbidding
+them either to fight against you, or to fight against their own people.
+And if God pleased he would have permitted them to have prevailed
+against you, and they would have fought against you. But if they depart
+from you, and fight not against you and offer you peace, God doth not
+allow you to take or kill them. Ye shall find others who are desirous to
+enter into a confidence with you, and at the same time to preserve a
+confidence with their own people: so often as they return to sedition,
+they shall be subverted therein; and if they depart not from you, and
+offer you peace, and restrain their hands from warring against you, take
+them and kill them wheresoever ye find them; over these have we granted
+you a manifest power. It is not lawful for a believer to kill a
+believer, unless it happen by mistake; and whoso killeth a believer by
+mistake, the penalty shall be the freeing of a believer from slavery,
+and a fine to be paid to the family of the deceased,[74] unless they
+remit it as alms: and if the slain person be of a people at enmity with
+you, and be a true believer, the penalty shall be the freeing of a
+believer; but if he be of a people in confederacy with you, a fine to be
+paid to his family, and the freeing of a believer. And he who findeth
+not wherewith to do this, shall fast two months consecutively, as a
+penance enjoined from God; and God is knowing and wise. But whoso
+killeth a believer designedly, his reward shall be hell; he shall remain
+therein forever; and God shall be angry with him, and shall curse him,
+and shall prepare for him a great punishment. O true believers, when ye
+are on a march in defence of the true religion, justly discern such as
+ye shall happen to meet, and say not unto him who saluteth you, Thou art
+not a true believer; seeking the accidental goods of the present life;
+for with God is much spoil. Such have ye formerly been, but God hath
+been gracious unto you; therefore make a just discernment, for God is
+well acquainted with that which ye do. Those believers who sit still at
+home, not having any hurt, and those who employ their fortunes and their
+persons for the religion of God, shall not be held equal. God hath
+preferred those who employ their fortunes and their persons in that
+cause, to a degree of honor above those who sit at home: God hath indeed
+promised everyone paradise, but God hath preferred those who fight for
+the faith before those who sit still, by adding unto them a great
+reward, by degrees of honor conferred on them from him, and by granting
+them forgiveness and mercy; for God is indulgent and merciful. Moreover,
+unto those whom the angels put to death, having injured their own
+souls,[75] the angels said, Of what religion were ye? they answered, We
+were weak in the earth. The angels replied, Was not God's earth wide
+enough, that ye might fly therein to a place of refuge? Therefore their
+habitation shall be hell; and an evil journey shall it be thither:
+except the weak among men, and women, and children, who were not able to
+find means, and were not directed in the way; these peradventure God
+will pardon, for God is ready to forgive and gracious. Whosoever flieth
+from his country for the sake of God's true religion, shall find in the
+earth many forced to do the same, and plenty of provisions. And whoever
+departeth from his house, and flieth unto God and his apostle, if death
+overtake him in the way, God will be obliged to reward him, for God is
+gracious and merciful. When ye march to war in the earth, it shall be no
+crime in you if ye shorten your prayers, in case ye fear the infidels
+may attack you; for the infidels are your open enemy. But when thou, O
+prophet, shalt be among them, and shalt pray with them, let a party of
+them arise to prayer with thee, and let them take their arms; and when
+they shall have worshipped, let them stand behind you, and let another
+party come that hath not prayed, and let them pray with thee, and let
+them be cautious and take their arms. The unbelievers would that ye
+should neglect your arms and your baggage while ye pray, that they might
+turn upon you at once. It shall be no crime in you, if ye be incommoded
+by rain, or be sick, that ye lay down your arms; but take your necessary
+precaution. God hath prepared for the unbelievers an ignominious
+punishment. And when ye shall have ended your prayer, remember God,
+standing, and sitting, and lying on your sides. But when ye are secure
+from danger, complete your prayers; for prayer is commanded the
+faithful, and appointed to be said at the stated times. Be not negligent
+in seeking out the unbelieving people, though ye suffer some
+inconvenience; for they also shall suffer, as ye suffer, and ye hope for
+a reward from God which they cannot hope for; and God is knowing and
+wise. We have sent down unto thee the book of the Koran with truth, that
+thou mayest judge between men through that wisdom which God showeth thee
+therein; and be not an advocate for the fraudulent; but ask pardon of
+God for thy wrong intention, since God is indulgent and merciful.
+Dispute not for those who deceive one another, for God loveth not him
+who is a deceiver or unjust. Such conceal themselves from men, but they
+conceal not themselves from God; for he is with them when they imagine
+by night a saying which pleaseth him not, and God comprehendeth what
+they do. Behold, ye are they who have disputed for them in this present
+life; but who shall dispute with God for them on the day of
+resurrection, or who will become their patron? yet he who doth evil, or
+injureth his own soul, and afterwards asketh pardon of God, shall find
+God gracious and merciful. Whoso committeth wickedness, committeth it
+against his own soul: God is knowing and wise. And whoso committeth a
+sin or iniquity, and afterwards layeth it on the innocent, he shall
+surely bear the guilt of calumny and manifest injustice. If the
+indulgence and mercy of God had not been upon thee, surely a part of
+them had studied to seduce thee; but they shall seduce themselves only,
+and shall not hurt thee at all. God hath sent down unto thee the book of
+the Koran and wisdom, and hath taught thee that which thou knewest not;
+for the favor of God hath been great towards thee. There is no good in
+the multitude of their private discourses, unless in the discourse of
+him who recommendeth alms, or that which is right, or agreement amongst
+men; whoever doth this out of a desire to please God we will surely give
+him a great reward. But whoso separateth himself from the apostle, after
+true direction hath been manifested unto him, and followeth any other
+way than that of the true believers, we will cause him to obtain that to
+which he is inclined, and will cast him to be burned in hell; and an
+unhappy journey shall it be thither. Verily God will not pardon the
+giving him a companion, but he will pardon any crime besides that, unto
+whom he pleaseth: and he who giveth a companion unto God, is surely led
+aside into a wide mistake: the infidels invoke beside him only female
+deities, and only invoke rebellious Satan. God cursed him; and he said,
+Verily I will take of thy servants a part cut off from the rest, and I
+will seduce them, and will insinuate vain desires into them, and I will
+command them, and they shall cut off the ears of cattle; and I will
+command them, and they shall change God's creature. But whoever taketh
+Satan for his patron, besides God, shall surely perish with a manifest
+destruction. He maketh them promises, and insinuateth into them vain
+desires; yet Satan maketh them only deceitful promises. The receptacle
+of these shall be hell, they shall find no refuge from it. But they who
+believe, and do good works, we will surely lead them into gardens,
+through which rivers flow; they shall continue therein forever,
+according to the true promise of God; and who is more true than God in
+what he saith? It shall not be according to your desires, nor according
+to the desires of those who have received the scriptures. Whoso doeth
+evil, shall be rewarded for it; and shall not find any patron or helper,
+beside God; but whoso doeth good works, whether he be male or female,
+and is a true believer, they shall be admitted into paradise, and shall
+not in the least be unjustly dealt with. Who is better in point of
+religion than he who resigneth himself unto God, and is a worker of
+righteousness, and followeth the law of Abraham the orthodox? since God
+took Abraham for his friend: and to God belongeth whatsoever is in
+heaven and on earth; God comprehendeth all things. They will consult
+thee concerning women; Answer, God instructeth you concerning them, and
+that which is read unto you in the book of the Koran concerning female
+orphans, to whom ye give not that which is ordained them, neither will
+ye marry them, and concerning weak infants, and that ye observe justice
+towards orphans: whatever good ye do, God knoweth it. If a woman fear
+ill usage, or aversion, from her husband, it shall be no crime in them
+if they agree the matter amicably between themselves; for a
+reconciliation is better than a separation. Men's souls are naturally
+inclined to covetousness: but if ye be kind towards women, and fear to
+wrong them, God is well acquainted with what ye do. Ye can by no means
+carry yourselves equally between women in all respects, although ye
+study to do it; therefore turn not from a wife with all manner of
+aversion, nor leave her like one in suspense: if ye agree, and fear to
+abuse your wives, God is gracious and merciful; but if they separate,
+God will satisfy them both of his abundance; for God is extensive and
+wise, and unto God belongeth whatsoever is in heaven and on earth. We
+have already commanded those unto whom the scriptures were given before
+you, and we command you also, saying, Fear God; but if ye disbelieve,
+unto God belongeth whatsoever is in heaven and on earth; and God is
+self-sufficient, and to be praised; for unto God belongeth whatsoever is
+in heaven and on earth, and God is a sufficient protector. If he
+pleaseth he will take you away, O men, and will produce others in your
+stead; for God is able to do this. Whoso desireth the reward of this
+world, verily with God is the reward of this world, and also of that
+which is to come; God both heareth and seeth. O true believers, observe
+justice when ye bear witness before God, although it be against
+yourselves, or your parents, or relations; whether the party be rich, or
+whether he be poor; for God is more worthy than them both: therefore
+follow not your own lust in bearing testimony, so that ye swerve from
+justice. And whether ye wrest your evidence, or decline giving it, God
+is well acquainted with that which ye do. O true believers, believe in
+God and his apostle, and the book which he hath caused to descend unto
+his apostle, and the book which he hath formerly sent down. And
+whosoever believeth not in God, and his angels, and his scriptures, and
+his apostles, and the last day, he surely erreth in a wide mistake.
+Moreover, they who believed, and afterwards became infidels, and then
+believed again, and after that disbelieved, and increased in infidelity,
+God will by no means forgive them, nor direct them into the right way.
+Declare unto the ungodly that they shall suffer a painful punishment.
+They who take the unbelievers for their protectors, besides the
+faithful, do they seek for power with them? since all power belongeth
+unto God. And he hath already revealed unto you, in the book of the
+Koran, the following passage: When ye shall hear the signs of God, they
+shall not be believed, but they shall be laughed to scorn. Therefore sit
+not with them who believe not, until they engage in different discourse;
+for if ye do, ye will certainly become like unto them. God will surely
+gather the ungodly and the unbelievers together in hell. They who wait
+to observe what befalleth you, if victory be granted you from God, say,
+Were we not with you? But if any advantage happen to the infidels, they
+say unto them, Were we not superior to you, and have we not defended you
+against the believers? God shall judge between you on the day of
+resurrection; and God will not grant the unbelievers means to prevail
+over the faithful. The hypocrites act deceitfully with God, but he will
+deceive them; and when they stand up to pray, they stand carelessly,
+affecting to be seen of men, and remember not God, unless a little,
+wavering between faith and infidelity, and adhering neither unto these
+nor unto those: and for him whom God shall lead astray, thou shalt find
+no true path. O true believers, take not the unbelievers for your
+protectors, besides the faithful. Will ye furnish God with an evident
+argument of impiety against you? Moreover, the hypocrites shall be in
+the lowest bottom of hell fire, and thou shalt not find any to help them
+thence. But they who repent and amend, and adhere firmly unto God, and
+approve the sincerity of their religion to God, they shall be numbered
+with the faithful; and God will surely give the faithful a great reward.
+And how should God go about to punish you, if ye be thankful and
+believe? for God is grateful and wise. God loveth not the speaking ill
+of anyone in public, unless he who is injured call for assistance; and
+God heareth and knoweth: whether ye publish a good action, or conceal
+it, or forgive evil, verily God is gracious and powerful. They who
+believe not in God and his apostles, and would make a distinction
+between God and his apostles, and say, We believe in some of the
+prophets, and reject others of them, and seek to take a middle way in
+this matter; these are really unbelievers, and we have prepared for the
+unbelievers an ignominious punishment. But they who believe in God and
+his apostles, and make no distinction between any of them, unto those
+will we surely give their reward; and God is gracious and merciful. They
+who have received the scriptures will demand of thee, that thou cause a
+book to descend unto them from heaven: they formerly asked of Moses a
+greater thing than this; for they said, Show us God visibly. Wherefore a
+storm of fire from heaven destroyed them, because of their iniquity.
+Then they took the calf for their God: after that evident proofs of the
+divine unity had come unto them; but we forgave them that, and gave
+Moses a manifest power to punish them. And we lifted the mountain of
+Sinai over them, when we exacted from them their covenant; and said unto
+them, Enter the gate of the city worshipping. We also said unto them,
+Transgress not on the Sabbath day. And we received from them a firm
+covenant, that they would observe these things. Therefore for that[76]
+they have made void their covenant, and have not believed in the signs
+of God, and have slain the prophets unjustly, and have said, Our hearts
+are uncircumcised (but God hath sealed them up, because of their
+unbelief; therefore they shall not believe, except a few of them): and
+for that they have not believed on Jesus, and have spoken against Mary a
+grievous calumny; and have said, Verily we have slain Christ Jesus the
+son of Mary, the apostle of God; yet they slew him not, neither
+crucified him, but he was represented by one in his likeness; and verily
+they who disagreed concerning him,[77] were in a doubt as to this
+matter, and had no sure knowledge thereof, but followed only an
+uncertain opinion. They did not really kill him; but God took him up
+unto himself: and God is mighty and wise. And there shall not be one of
+those who have received the scriptures, who shall not believe in him,
+before his death;[78] and on the day of resurrection he shall be a
+witness against them. Because of the iniquity of those who Judaize, we
+have forbidden them good things, which had been formerly allowed them;
+and because they shut out many from the way of God, and have taken
+usury, which was forbidden them by the law, and devoured men's substance
+vainly: we have prepared for such of them as are unbelievers a painful
+punishment. But those among them who are well grounded in knowledge, and
+the faithful, who believe in that which hath been sent down unto thee,
+and that which hath been sent down unto the prophets before thee, and
+who observe the stated times of prayer, and give alms, and believe in
+God and the last day; unto these will we give a great reward. Verily we
+have revealed our will unto thee, as we have revealed it unto Noah and
+the prophets who succeeded him; and as we revealed it unto Abraham, and
+Ismael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and unto Jesus, and Job,
+and Jonas, and Aaron, and Solomon; and we have given thee the Koran, as
+we gave the Psalms unto David: some apostles have we sent, whom we have
+formerly mentioned unto thee; and other apostles have we sent, whom we
+have not mentioned unto thee; and God spake unto Moses, discoursing with
+him; apostles declaring good tidings, and denouncing threats, lest men
+should have an argument of excuse against God, after the apostles had
+been sent unto them; God is mighty and wise. God is witness of that
+revelation which he hath sent down unto thee; he sent it down with his
+special knowledge: the angels also are witnesses thereof; but God is a
+sufficient witness. They who believe not, and turn aside others from the
+way of God, have erred in a wide mistake. Verily those who believe not,
+and act unjustly, God will by no means forgive, neither will he direct
+them into any other way than the way of hell; they shall remain therein
+forever: and this is easy with God. O men, now is the apostle come unto
+you, with truth from your Lord; believe therefore, it will be better for
+you. But if ye disbelieve, verily unto God belongeth whatsoever is in
+heaven and on earth; and God is knowing and wise. O ye who have received
+the scriptures, exceed not the just bounds in your religion, neither say
+of God any other than the truth. Verily Christ Jesus the son of Mary is
+the apostle of God, and his Word, which he conveyed into Mary, and a
+spirit proceeding from him. Believe, therefore, in God, and his
+apostles, and say not, There are three Gods;[79] forbear this; it will
+be better for you. God is but one God. Far be it from him that he should
+have a son! unto him belongeth whatsoever is in heaven and on earth; and
+God is a sufficient protector. Christ doth not proudly disdain to be a
+servant unto God; neither the angels who approach near to his presence:
+and whoso disdaineth his service, and is puffed up with pride, God will
+gather them all to himself, on the last day. Unto those who believe, and
+do that which is right, he shall give their rewards, and shall
+superabundantly add unto them of his liberality: but those who are
+disdainful and proud, he will punish with a grievous punishment; and
+they shall not find any to protect or to help them, besides God. O men,
+now is an evident proof come unto you from your Lord, and we have sent
+down unto you manifest light. They who believe in God and firmly adhere
+to him, he will lead them into mercy from him, and abundance; and he
+will direct them in the right way to himself. They will consult thee for
+thy decision in certain cases; say unto them, God giveth you these
+determinations, concerning the more remote degrees of kindred. If a man
+die without issue, and have a sister, she shall have the half of what he
+shall leave:[80] and he shall be heir to her,[81] in case she have no
+issue. But if there be two sisters, they shall have between them two
+third-parts of what he shall leave; and if there be several, both
+brothers and sisters, a male shall have as much as the portion of two
+females. God declareth unto you these precepts, lest ye err: and God
+knoweth all things.
+
+
+[Footnote 63: This title was given to this chapter because it chiefly
+treats of matters relating to women: as marriages, divorces, dower,
+prohibited degrees.]
+
+[Footnote 64: By legacies in this and the following passages, are
+chiefly meant those bequeathed to pious uses; for the Mohammedans
+approve not of a person's giving away his substance from his family and
+near relations on any other account.]
+
+[Footnote 65: Their punishment, in the beginning of Mohammedanism, was
+to be immured till they died, but afterwards this cruel doom was
+mitigated, and they might avoid it by undergoing the punishment ordained
+in its stead by the Sonna, according to which the maidens are to be
+scourged with a hundred stripes, and to be banished for a full year; and
+the married women to be stoned.]
+
+[Footnote 66: According to this passage it is not lawful to marry a free
+woman that is already married, be she a Mohammedan or not, unless she be
+legally parted from her husband by divorce; but it is lawful to marry
+those who are slaves, or taken in war, after they shall have gone
+through the proper purifications, though their husbands be living. Yet,
+according to the decision of Abu Hanifah, it is not lawful to marry such
+whose husbands shall be taken, or in actual slavery with them.]
+
+[Footnote 67: The reason of this is because they are not presumed to
+have had so good education. A slave, therefore, in such a case, is to
+have fifty stripes, and to be banished for half a year; but she shall
+not be stoned, because it is a punishment which cannot be inflicted by
+halves.]
+
+[Footnote 68: These sins al Beidâwi, from a tradition of Mohammed,
+reckons to be seven (equalling in number the sins called deadly by
+Christians), that is to say, idolatry, murder, falsely accusing modest
+women of adultery, wasting the substance of orphans, taking of usury,
+desertion in a religious expedition, and disobedience to parents.]
+
+[Footnote 69: Such as honor, power, riches, and other worldly
+advantages.]
+
+[Footnote 70: By this passage the Mohammedans are in plain terms allowed
+to beat their wives, in case of stubborn disobedience; but not in a
+violent or dangerous manner.]
+
+[Footnote 71: The Arabic is, in Tibt and Taghût. The former is supposed
+to have been the proper name of some idol; but it seems rather to
+signify any false deity in general. The latter we have explained
+already.]
+
+[Footnote 72: That is, to the decision of the Koran.]
+
+[Footnote 73: These words are not to be understood as contradictory to
+the preceding, "That all proceeds from God," since the evil which
+befalls mankind, though ordered by God, is yet the consequence of their
+own wicked actions.]
+
+[Footnote 74: Which fine is to be distributed according to the laws of
+inheritance given in the beginning of this chapter.]
+
+[Footnote 75: These were certain inhabitants of Mecca, who held with the
+hare and ran with the hounds, for though they embraced Mohammedanism,
+yet they would not leave that city to join the prophet, as the rest of
+the Moslems did, but on the contrary went out with the idolaters, and
+were therefore slain with them at the battle of Bedr.]
+
+[Footnote 76: There being nothing in the following words of this
+sentence, to answer to the causal "for that," Jallalo'ddin supposes
+something to be understood to complete the sense, as "therefore we have
+cursed them," or the like.]
+
+[Footnote 77: For some maintained that he was justly and really
+crucified; some insisted that it was not Jesus who suffered, but another
+who resembled him in the face, pretending the other parts of his body,
+and by their unlikeness plainly discovered the imposition; some said he
+was taken up into heaven; and others, that his manhood only suffered,
+and that his godhead ascended into heaven.]
+
+[Footnote 78: This passage is expounded two ways. Some, referring the
+relative his to the first antecedent, take the meaning to be that no Jew
+or Christian shall die before he believes in Jesus: for they say, that
+when one of either of those religions is ready to breathe his last, and
+sees the angel of death before him, he shall then believe in that
+prophet as he ought, though his faith will not then be of any avail.
+According to a tradition of Hejâj, when a Jew is expiring, the angels
+will strike him on the back and face, and say to him, "O thou enemy of
+God, Jesus was sent as a prophet unto thee, and thou didst not believe
+on him;" to which he will answer, "I now believe him to be the servant
+of God"; and to a dying Christian they will say, "Jesus was sent as a
+prophet unto thee, and thou hast imagined him to be God, or the son of
+God," whereupon he will believe him to be the servant of God only, and
+his apostle. Others, taking the above-mentioned relative to refer to
+Jesus, suppose the intent of the passage to be, that all Jews and
+Christians in general shall have a right faith in that prophet before
+his death, that is, when he descends from heaven and returns into the
+world, where he is to kill Antichrist, and to establish the Mohammedan
+religion, and a most perfect tranquillity and security on earth.]
+
+[Footnote 79: Namely, God, Jesus, and Mary--as the eastern writers
+mention a sect of Christians which held the Trinity to be composed of
+those three; but it is allowed that this heresy has been long since
+extinct. The passage, however, is equally levelled against the Holy
+Trinity, according to the doctrine of the orthodox Christians, who, as
+al Beid[=a]wi acknowledges, believe the divine nature to consist of
+three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; by the Father
+understanding God's essence, by the Son his knowledge, and by the Holy
+Ghost his life.]
+
+[Footnote 80: And the other half will go to the public treasury.]
+
+[Footnote 81: That is, he shall inherit her whole substance.]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+Entitled, the Table[82]--Revealed at Medina
+
+_In the Name of the Most Merciful God._
+
+
+O True believers, perform your contracts. Ye are allowed to eat the
+brute cattle,[83] other than what ye are commanded to abstain from;
+except the game which ye are allowed at other times, but not while ye
+are on pilgrimage to Mecca; God ordaineth that which he pleaseth. O true
+believers, violate not the holy rites of God, nor the sacred month,[84]
+nor the offering, nor the ornaments hung thereon, nor those who are
+travelling to the holy house, seeking favor from their Lord, and to
+please him. But when ye shall have finished your pilgrimage, then hunt.
+And let not the malice of some, in that they hindered you from entering
+the sacred temple, provoke you to transgress, by taking revenge on them
+in the sacred months. Assist one another according to justice and piety,
+but assist not one another in injustice and malice: therefore fear God;
+for God is severe in punishing. Ye are forbidden to eat that which dieth
+of itself, and blood, and swine's flesh, and that on which the name of
+any besides God hath been invocated, and that which hath been strangled,
+or killed by a blow, or by a fall, or by the horns of another beast, and
+that which hath been eaten by a wild beast, except what ye shall kill
+yourselves; and that which hath been sacrificed unto idols. It is
+likewise unlawful for you to make division by casting lots with
+arrows.[85] This is an impiety. On this day, woe be unto those who have
+apostatized from their religion; therefore fear not them, but fear me.
+This day have I perfected your religion for you, and have completed my
+mercy upon you; and I have chosen for you Islam, to be your religion.
+But whosoever shall be driven by necessity through hunger to eat of what
+we have forbidden, not designing to sin, surely God will be indulgent
+and merciful unto him. They will ask thee what is allowed them as lawful
+to eat? Answer, Such things as are good are allowed you; and what ye
+shall teach animals of prey to catch, training them up for hunting after
+the manner of dogs, and teaching them according to the skill which God
+hath taught you. Eat therefore of that which they shall catch for you;
+and commemorate the name of God thereon; and fear God, for God is swift
+in taking an account. This day are ye allowed to eat such things as are
+good, and the food of those to whom the scriptures were given is also
+allowed as lawful unto you; and your food is allowed as lawful unto
+them. And ye are also allowed to marry free women that are believers,
+and also free women of those who have received the scriptures before
+you, when ye shall have assigned them their dower; living chastely with
+them, neither committing fornication, nor taking them for concubines.
+Whoever shall renounce the faith, his work shall be vain, and in the
+next life he shall be of those who perish. O true believers, when ye
+prepare yourselves to pray, wash your faces, and your hands unto the
+elbows; and rub your heads, and your feet unto the ankles; and if ye be
+polluted and ye find no water, take fine clean sand, and rub your faces
+and your hands therewith; God will not put a difficulty upon you; but he
+desireth to purify you, and to complete his favor upon you, that ye may
+give thanks. Remember the favor of God towards you, and his covenant
+which he hath made with you, when ye said, We have heard, and will obey.
+Therefore fear God, for God knoweth the innermost parts of the breasts
+of men, O true believers, observe justice when ye appear as witnesses
+before God, and let not hatred towards any induce you to do wrong: but
+act justly; this will approach nearer unto piety; and fear God, for God
+is fully acquainted with what ye do. God hath promised unto those who
+believe, and do that which is right, that they shall receive pardon and
+a great reward. But they who believe not, and accuse our signs of
+falsehood, they shall be the companions of hell. O true believers,
+remember God's favor towards you, when certain men designed to stretch
+forth their hands against you, but he restrained their hands from
+hurting you; therefore fear God, and in God let the faithful trust. God
+formerly accepted the covenant of the children of Israel, and we
+appointed out of them twelve leaders: and God said, Verily, I am with
+you: if ye observe prayer, and give alms, and believe in my apostles,
+and assist them, and lend unto God on good usury, I will surely expiate
+your evil deeds from you, and I will lead you into gardens, wherein
+rivers flow: but he among you who disbelieveth after this, erreth from
+the straight path. Wherefore because they have broken their covenant, we
+have cursed them, and hardened their hearts; they dislocate the words of
+the Pentateuch from their places, and have forgotten part of what they
+were admonished; and thou wilt not cease to discover deceitful practices
+among them, except a few of them. But forgive them and pardon them, for
+God loveth the beneficent. And from those who say, We are Christians, we
+have received their covenant; but they have forgotten part of what they
+were admonished; wherefore we have raised up enmity and hatred among
+them, till the day of resurrection; and God will then surely declare
+unto them what they have been doing. O ye who have received the
+scriptures, now is our apostle come unto you, to make manifest unto you
+many things which ye concealed in the scriptures; and to pass over many
+things. Now is light and a perspicuous book of revelations come unto you
+from God. Thereby will God direct him who shall follow his good
+pleasure, into the paths of peace; and shall lead them out of darkness
+into light, by his will, and shall direct them in the right way. They
+are infidels, who say, Verily God is Christ the son of Mary. Say unto
+them, And who could obtain anything from God to the contrary, if he
+pleased to destroy Christ the son of Mary, and his mother, and all those
+who are on the earth? For unto God belongeth the kingdom of heaven and
+earth, and whatsoever is contained between them; he createth what he
+pleaseth, and God is almighty. The Jews and the Christians say, We are
+the children of God, and his beloved. Answer, Why therefore doth he
+punish you for your sins? Nay, but ye are men, of those whom he hath
+created. He forgiveth whom he pleaseth, and punisheth whom he pleaseth;
+and unto God belongeth the kingdom of heaven and earth, and of what is
+contained between them both; and unto him shall all things return. O ye
+who have received the scriptures, now is our apostle come unto you,
+declaring unto you the true religion, during the cessation of
+apostles[86], lest ye should say, There came unto us no bearer of good
+tidings, nor any warner: but now is a bearer of good tidings and a
+warner come unto you; and God is almighty. Call to mind when Moses said
+unto his people, O my people, remember the favor of God towards you,
+since he hath appointed prophets among you, and constituted you kings,
+and bestowed on you what he hath given to no other nation in the world.
+O my people, enter the holy land, which God hath decreed you, and turn
+not your backs, lest ye be subverted and perish. They answered, O Moses,
+verily there are a gigantic people in the land; and we will by no means
+enter it, until they depart thence; but if they depart thence, then will
+we enter therein. And two men of those who feared God, unto whom God had
+been gracious, said, Enter ye upon them suddenly by the gate of the
+city; and when ye shall have entered the same, ye shall surely be
+victorious: therefore trust in God, if ye are true believers. They
+replied, O Moses, we will never enter the land, while they remain
+therein: go therefore thou, and thy Lord, and fight; for we will sit
+here. Moses said, O Lord, surely I am not master of any except myself,
+and my brother; therefore make a distinction between us and the ungodly
+people. God answered, Verily the land shall be forbidden them forty
+years; during which time they shall wander like men astonished in the
+earth; therefore be not thou solicitous for the ungodly people. Relate
+also unto them the history of the two sons of Adam, with truth. When
+they offered their offering, and it was accepted from one of them, and
+was not accepted from the other, Cain said to his brother, I will
+certainly kill thee. Abel answered, God only accepteth the offering of
+the pious; if thou stretchest forth thy hand against me, to slay me, I
+will not stretch forth my hand against thee, to slay thee; for I fear
+God the Lord of all creatures. I choose that thou shouldst bear my
+iniquity and thine own iniquity; and that thou become a companion of
+hell fire; for that is the reward of the unjust. But his soul suffered
+him to slay his brother, and he slew him; wherefore he became of the
+number of those who perish. And God sent a raven, which scratched the
+earth, to show him how he should hide the shame of his brother, and he
+said, Woe is me! am I unable to be like this raven, that I may hide my
+brother's shame? and he became one of those who repent. Wherefore we
+commanded the children of Israel, that he who slayeth a soul, without
+having slain a body, or committed wickedness in the earth, shall be as
+if he had slain all mankind: but he who saveth a soul alive, shall be as
+if he had saved the lives of all mankind. Our apostles formerly came
+unto them, with evident miracles; then were many of them, after this,
+transgressors on the earth. But the recompense of those who fight
+against God and his apostles, and study to act corruptly in the earth,
+shall be, that they shall be slain, or crucified, or have their hands
+and their feet cut off on the opposite sides, or be banished the land.
+This shall be their disgrace in this world, and in the next world they
+shall suffer a grievous punishment; except those who shall repent,
+before ye prevail against them; for know that God is inclined to
+forgive, and be merciful. O true believers, fear God, and earnestly
+desire a near conjunction with him, and fight for his religion, that ye
+may be happy. Moreover, they who believe not, although they had whatever
+is in the earth, and as much more withal, that they might therewith
+redeem themselves from punishment on the day of resurrection: it shall
+not be accepted from them, but they shall suffer a painful punishment.
+They shall desire to go forth from the fire, but they shall not go forth
+from it, and their punishment shall be permanent. If a man or a woman
+steal, cut off their hands,[87] in retribution for that which they have
+committed; this is an exemplary punishment appointed by God; and God is
+mighty and wise. But whoever shall repent after his iniquity, and amend,
+verily God will be turned unto him, for God is inclined to forgive and
+be merciful. Dost thou not know that the kingdom of heaven and earth is
+God's? He punisheth whom he pleaseth, and he pardoneth whom he pleaseth;
+for God is almighty. O apostle, let them not grieve thee, who hasten to
+infidelity, either of those who say, We believe, with their mouths, but
+whose hearts believe not; or of the Jews, who hearken to a lie, and
+hearken to other people; who come not unto thee: they pervert the words
+of the law from their true places, and say, If this be brought unto you,
+receive it; but if it be not brought unto you, beware of receiving aught
+else; and in behalf of him whom God shall resolve to reduce, thou shalt
+not prevail with God at all. They whose hearts God shall not please to
+cleanse, shall suffer shame in this world, and a grievous punishment in
+the next: who hearken to a lie, and eat that which is forbidden. But if
+they come unto thee for judgment, either judge between them, or leave
+them; and if thou leave them, they shall not hurt thee at all. But if
+thou undertake to judge, judge between them with equity; for God loveth
+those who observe justice. And how will they submit to thy decision,
+since they have the law, containing the judgment of God? Then will they
+turn their backs, after this; but those are not true believers. We have
+surely sent down the law, containing direction, and light: thereby did
+the prophets, who professed the true religion, judge those who Judaized;
+and the doctors and priests also judged by the book of God, which had
+been committed to their custody; and they were witnesses thereof.
+Therefore fear not men, but fear me; neither sell my signs for a small
+price. And whoso judgeth not according to what God hath revealed, they
+are infidels. We have therein commanded them, that they should give life
+for life, and eye for eye, and nose for nose, and ear for ear, and tooth
+for tooth; and that wounds should also be punished by retaliation: but
+whoever should remit it as alms, it should be accepted as an atonement
+for him. And whoso judgeth not according to what God hath revealed, they
+are unjust. We also caused Jesus, the son of Mary, to follow the
+footsteps of the prophets, confirming the law which was sent down before
+him; and we gave him the gospel, containing direction and light;
+confirming also the law which was given before it, and a direction and
+admonition unto those who fear God: that they who have received the
+gospel might judge according to what God hath revealed therein: and
+whoso judgeth not according to what God hath revealed, they are
+transgressors. We have also sent down unto thee the book of the Koran
+with truth, confirming that scripture which was revealed before it; and
+preserving the same safe from corruption. Judge, therefore, between them
+according to that which God hath revealed; and follow not their desires,
+by swerving from the truth which hath come unto thee. Unto every one of
+you have we given a law, and an open path; and if God had pleased, he
+had surely made you one people; but he hath thought fit to give you
+different laws, that he might try you in that which he hath given you
+respectively. Therefore strive to excel each other in good works: unto
+God shall ye all return, and then will he declare unto you that
+concerning which ye have disagreed. Wherefore do thou, O prophet, judge
+between them according to that which God hath revealed, and follow not
+their desires; but beware of them, lest they cause thee to err from part
+of those precepts which God hath sent down unto thee; and if they turn
+back, know that God is pleased to punish them for some of their crimes;
+for a great number of men are transgressors. Do they therefore desire
+the judgment of the time of ignorance? but who is better than God, to
+judge between people who reason aright? O true believers, take not the
+Jews or Christians for your friends; they are friends the one to the
+other; but whoso among you taketh them for his friends, he is surely one
+of them: verily God directeth not unjust people. Thou shalt see those in
+whose hearts there is an infirmity, to hasten unto them, saying, We fear
+lest some adversity befall us; but it is easy for God to give victory,
+or a command from him, that they may repent of that which they concealed
+in their minds. And they who believe will say, Are these the men who
+have sworn by God, with a most firm oath, that they surely held with
+you? their works are become vain, and they are of those who perish. O
+true believers, whoever of you apostatizeth from his religion, God will
+certainly bring other people to supply his place, whom he will love, and
+who will love him; who shall be humble towards the believers, but severe
+to the unbelievers; they shall fight for the religion of God, and shall
+not fear the obloquy of the detractor. This is the bounty of God, he
+bestoweth it on whom he pleaseth: God is extensive and wise. Verily your
+protector is God, and his apostle, and those who believe, who observe
+the stated times of prayer, and give alms, and who bow down to worship.
+And whoso taketh God, and his apostle, and the believers for his
+friends, they are the party of God, and they shall be victorious. O true
+believers, take not such of those to whom the scriptures were delivered
+before you, or of the infidels, for your friends, who make a
+laughing-stock and a jest of your religion; but fear God, if ye be true
+believers; nor those who, when ye call to prayer, make a laughing-stock
+and a jest of it; this they do because they are people who do not
+understand. Say, O ye who have received the scriptures, do ye reject us
+for any other reason than because we believe in God, and that revelation
+which hath been sent down unto us, and that which was formerly sent
+down, and for that the greater part of you are transgressors? Say, Shall
+I denounce unto you a worse thing than this, as to the reward which ye
+are to expect with God? He whom God hath cursed, and with whom he hath
+been angry, having changed some of them into apes and swine, and who
+worship Taghût, they are in the worse condition, and err more widely
+from the straightness of the path. When they came unto you, they said,
+We believe: yet they entered into your company with infidelity, and went
+forth from you with the same; but God well knew what they concealed.
+Thou shalt see many of them hastening unto iniquity and malice, and to
+eat things forbidden; and woe unto them for what they have done. Unless
+their doctors and priests forbid them uttering wickedness, and eating
+things forbidden; woe unto them for what they shall have committed. The
+Jews say, the hand of God is tied up. Their hands shall be tied up, and
+they shall be cursed for that which they have said. Nay, his hands are
+both stretched forth; he bestoweth as he pleaseth: that which had been
+sent down unto thee from thy Lord, shall increase the transgression and
+infidelity of many of them; and we have put enmity and hatred between
+them, until the day of resurrection. So often as they shall kindle a
+fire for war, God shall extinguish it; and they shall set their minds to
+act corruptly in the earth, but God loveth not the corrupt doers.
+Moreover, if they who have received the scriptures believe, and fear
+God, we will surely expiate their sins from them, and we will lead them
+into gardens of pleasure; and if they observe the law, and the gospel,
+and the other scriptures which have been sent down unto them from their
+Lord, they shall surely eat of good things both from above them and from
+under their feet. Among them there are people who act uprightly; but how
+evil is that which many of them do work! O apostle, publish the whole of
+that which hath been sent down unto thee from thy Lord: for if thou do
+not, thou dost not in effect publish any part thereof; and God will
+defend thee against wicked men; for God directeth not the unbelieving
+people. Say, O ye who have received the scriptures, ye are not grounded
+on anything, until ye observe the law and the gospel, and that which
+hath been sent down unto you from your Lord. That which hath been sent
+down unto thee from thy Lord shall surely increase the transgression and
+infidelity of many of them: but be not thou solicitous for the
+unbelieving people. Verily they who believe, and those who Judaize,--and
+the Sabeans, and the Christians, whoever of them believeth in God and
+the last day, and doth that which is right, there shall come no fear on
+them, neither shall they be grieved. We formerly accepted the covenant
+of the children of Israel, and sent apostles unto them. So often as an
+apostle came unto them with that which their souls desired not, they
+accused some of them of imposture, and some of them they killed: and
+they imagined that there should be no punishment for those crimes, and
+they became blind and deaf. Then was God turned unto them; afterwards
+many of them again became blind and deaf; but God saw what they did.
+They are surely infidels, who say, Verily God is Christ the son of Mary;
+since Christ said, O children of Israel, serve God, my Lord and your
+Lord; whoever shall give a companion unto God, God shall exclude him
+from paradise, and his habitation shall be hell fire; and the ungodly
+shall have none to help them. They are certainly infidels, who say, God
+is the third of three: for there is no God besides one God; and if they
+refrain not from what they say, a painful torment shall surely be
+inflicted on such of them as are unbelievers. Will they not therefore be
+turned unto God, and ask pardon of him? since God is gracious and
+merciful. Christ, the son of Mary, is no more than an apostle; other
+apostles have preceded him; and his mother was a woman of veracity: they
+both ate food. Behold, how we declare unto them the signs of God's
+unity; and then behold, how they turn aside from the truth. Say unto
+them, Will ye worship, besides God, that which can cause you neither
+harm nor profit? God is he who heareth and seeth. Say, O ye who have
+received the scriptures, exceed not the just bounds in your religion, by
+speaking beside the truth; neither follow the desires of people who have
+heretofore erred, and who have seduced many, and have gone astray from
+the straight path. Those among the children of Israel who believed not,
+were cursed by the tongue of David, and of Jesus the son of Mary. This
+befell them because they were rebellious and transgressed: they forbade
+not one another the wickedness which they committed; and woe unto them
+for what they committed. Thou shalt see many of them take for their
+friends those who believe not. Woe unto them for what their souls have
+sent before them, for that God is incensed against them, and they shall
+remain in torment forever. But, if they had believed in God, and the
+prophet, and that which hath been revealed unto him, they had not taken
+them for their friends; but many of them are evil-doers. Thou shalt
+surely find the most violent of all men in enmity against the true
+believers, to be the Jews and the idolaters: and thou shalt surely find
+those among them to be the most inclinable to entertain friendship for
+the true believers, who say, We are Christians. This cometh to pass,
+because there are priests and monks among them; and because they are not
+elated with pride. And when they hear that which hath been sent down to
+the apostle read unto them, thou shalt see their eyes overflow with
+tears, because of the truth which they perceive therein, saying, O Lord,
+we believe; write us down, therefore, with those who bear witness to the
+truth: and what should hinder us from believing in God, and the truth
+which hath come unto us, and from earnestly desiring that our Lord would
+introduce us into paradise with the righteous people. Therefore hath God
+rewarded them, for what they have said, with gardens through which
+rivers flow; they shall continue therein forever; and this is the reward
+of the righteous. But they who believe not, and accuse our signs of
+falsehood, they shall be the companions of hell. O true believers,
+forbid not the good things which God hath allowed you; but transgress
+not, for God loveth not the transgressors. And eat of what God hath
+given you for food that which is lawful and good: and fear God, in whom
+ye believe. God will not punish you for an inconsiderate word in your
+oaths; but he will punish you for what ye solemnly swear with
+deliberation. And the expiation of such an oath shall be the feeding of
+ten poor men with such moderate food as ye feed your own families
+withal; or to clothe them; or to free the neck of a true believer from
+captivity: but he who shall not find wherewith to perform one of these
+three things, shall fast three days. This is the expiation of your
+oaths, when ye swear inadvertently. Therefore keep your oaths. Thus God
+declareth unto you his signs, that ye may give thanks. O true believers,
+surely wine, and lots, and images, and divining arrows, are an
+abomination of the work of Satan; therefore avoid them, that ye may
+prosper. Satan seeketh to sow dissension and hatred among you, by means
+of wine and lots, and to divert you from remembering God, and from
+prayer; will ye not therefore abstain from them? Obey God, and obey the
+apostle, and take heed to yourselves: but if ye turn back, know that the
+duty of our apostle is only to preach publicly. In those who believe and
+do good works, it is no sin that they have tasted wine or gaming before
+they were forbidden; if they fear God, and believe, and do good works,
+and shall for the future fear God, and believe, and shall persevere to
+fear him, and to do good; for God loveth those who do good. O true
+believers, God will surely prove you in offering you plenty of game,
+which ye may take with your hands or your lances, that God may know who
+feareth him in secret; but whoever transgresseth after this, shall
+suffer a grievous punishment. O true believers, kill no game while ye
+are on pilgrimages; whosoever among you shall kill any designedly, shall
+restore the like of what ye shall have killed, in domestic animals,
+according to the determination of two just persons among you, to be
+brought as an offering to the Caabah; or in atonement thereof shall feed
+the poor; or instead thereof shall fast, that he may taste the
+heinousness of his deed. God hath forgiven what is past, but whoever
+returneth to transgress, God will take vengeance on him; for God is
+mighty and able to avenge. It is lawful for you to fish in the sea,[88]
+and to eat what ye shall catch, as a provision for you and for those who
+travel; but it is unlawful for you to hunt by land, while ye are
+performing the rites of pilgrimage; therefore fear God, before whom ye
+shall be assembled at the last day. God hath appointed the Caabah, the
+holy house, an establishment for mankind; and hath ordained the sacred
+month, and the offering, and the ornaments hung thereon. This hath he
+done that ye might know that God knoweth whatsoever is in heaven and on
+earth, and that God is omniscient. Know that God is severe in punishing,
+and that God is ready to forgive and be merciful. The duty of our
+apostle is to preach only; and God knoweth that which ye discover, and
+that which ye conceal. Say, Evil and Good shall not be equally esteemed
+of, though the abundance of evil pleaseth thee; therefore fear God, O ye
+of understanding, that ye may be happy. O true believers, inquire not
+concerning things which, if they be declared unto you, may give you
+pain; but if ye ask concerning them when the Koran is sent down, they
+will be declared unto you: God pardoneth you as to these matters; for
+God is ready to forgive and gracious. People who have been before you
+formerly inquired concerning them; and afterwards disbelieved therein.
+God hath not ordained anything concerning Bahîra, nor Sâïba, nor Wasîla,
+nor Hâmi;[89] but the unbelievers have invented a lie against God: and
+the greater part of them do not understand. And when it was said unto
+them, Come unto that which God hath revealed, and to the apostles; they
+answered, That religion which we found our fathers to follow is
+sufficient for us. What though their fathers knew nothing, and were not
+rightly directed? O true believers, take care of your souls. He who
+erreth shall not hurt you, while ye are rightly directed: unto God shall
+ye all return, and he will tell you that which ye have done. O true
+believers, let witnesses be taken between you, when death approaches any
+of you, at the time of making the testament; let there be two witnesses,
+just men, from among you; or two others of a different tribe or faith
+from yourselves, if ye be journeying in the earth, and the accident of
+death befall you. Ye shall shut them both up, after the afternoon
+prayer, and they shall swear by God, if ye doubt them, and they shall
+say, We will not sell our evidence for a bribe, although the person
+concerned be one who is related to us, neither will we conceal the
+testimony of God, for then should we certainly be of the number of the
+wicked. But if it appear that both have been guilty of iniquity, two
+others shall stand up in their place, of those who have convicted them
+of falsehood, the two nearest in blood, and they shall swear by God,
+saying, Verily our testimony is more true than the testimony of these
+two, neither have we prevaricated; for then should we become of the
+number of the unjust. This will be easier, that men may give testimony
+according to the plain intention thereof, or fear lest a different oath
+be given, after their oath. Therefore fear God, and hearken; for God
+directeth not the unjust people. On a certain day shall God assemble the
+apostles, and shall say unto them, What answer was returned you, when ye
+preached unto the people to whom ye were sent? They shall answer, We
+have no knowledge but thou art the knower of secrets. When God shall
+say, O Jesus, son of Mary, remember my favor towards thee, and towards
+thy mother; when I strengthened thee with the holy spirit, that thou
+shouldst speak unto men in the cradle, and when thou wast grown up; and
+when I taught thee the scripture, and wisdom, and the law and the
+gospel; and when thou didst create of clay as it were the figure of a
+bird, by my permission, and didst breathe thereon, and it became a bird
+by my permission; and thou didst heal one blind from his birth and the
+leper, by my permission; and when thou didst bring forth the dead from
+their graves, by my permission; and when I withheld the children of
+Israel from killing thee, when thou hadst come unto them with evident
+miracles, and such of them as believed not, said, This is nothing but
+manifest sorcery. And when I commanded the apostles of Jesus, saying,
+Believe in me and in my messenger; they answered, We do believe; and do
+thou bear witness that we are resigned unto thee. Remember when the
+apostles said, O Jesus, son of Mary, is thy Lord able to cause a table
+to descend unto us from heaven?[90] He answered, hear God, if ye be true
+believers. They said, We desire to eat thereof, and that our hearts may
+rest at ease, and that we may know that thou hast told us the truth, and
+that we may be witnesses thereof. Jesus, the son of Mary, said, O God
+our Lord, cause a table to descend unto us from heaven, that the day of
+its descent may become a festival day unto us, unto the first of us, and
+unto the last of us, and a sign from thee; and do thou provide food for
+us, for thou art the best provider. God said, Verily I will cause it to
+descend unto you; but whoever among you shall disbelieve hereafter, I
+will surely punish him with a punishment wherewith I will not punish any
+other creature. And when God shall say unto Jesus, at the last day, O
+Jesus, son of Mary, hast thou said unto men, Take me and my mother for
+two gods, beside God? He shall answer, Praise be unto thee! it is not
+for me to say that which I ought not; if I had said so, thou wouldst
+surely have known it: thou knowest what is in me, but I know not what is
+in thee; for thou art the knower of secrets. I have not spoken to them
+any other than what thou didst command me; namely, Worship God, my Lord
+and your Lord: and I was a witness of their actions while I stayed among
+them; but since thou hast taken me to thyself, thou hast been the
+watcher over them; for thou art witness of all things. If thou punish
+them, they are surely thy servants; and if thou forgive them, thou art
+mighty and wise. God will say, This day shall their veracity be of
+advantage unto those who speak truth; they shall have gardens wherein
+rivers flow, they shall remain therein forever: God hath been well
+pleased in them, and they have been well pleased in him. This shall be
+great felicity. Unto God belongeth the kingdom of heaven and of earth,
+and of whatever therein is; and he is almighty.
+
+
+[Footnote 82: This title is taken from the Table, which, towards the end
+of the chapter, is fabled to have been let down from heaven to Jesus. It
+is sometimes also called the chapter of Contracts, which word occurs in
+the first verse.]
+
+[Footnote 83: As camels, oxen, and sheep; and also wild cows, antelopes,
+but not swine, nor what is taken in hunting during the pilgrimage.]
+
+[Footnote 84: The sacred months in the Mohammedan calendar were the
+first, the seventh, the eleventh, and the twelfth.]
+
+[Footnote 85: A game similar to raffling, arrowheads being used as
+counters.]
+
+[Footnote 86: The Arabic word _al Fatra_ signifies the intermediate
+space of time between two prophets, during which no new revelation or
+dispensation was given; as the interval between Moses and Jesus, and
+between Jesus and Mohammed, at the expiration of which last, Mohammed
+pretended to be sent.]
+
+[Footnote 87: But this punishment, according to the Sonna, is not to be
+inflicted, unless the value of the thing stolen amount to four dinars,
+or about $10. For the first offence, the criminal is to lose his right
+hand, which is to be cut off at the wrist; the second offence, his left
+foot, at the ankle; for the third, his left hand; for the fourth, his
+right foot; and if he continue to offend, he shall be scourged at the
+discretion of the judge.]
+
+[Footnote 88: This is to be understood of fish that live altogether in
+the sea, and not of those that live in the sea and on land both, as
+crabs. The Turks, who are Hanifites, never eat this sort of fish; but
+the sect of Malec Ebn Ans, and perhaps some others, make no scruple of
+it.]
+
+[Footnote 89: These were the names given by the pagan Arabs to certain
+camels or sheep which were turned loose to feed, and exempted from
+common services, in some particular cases; having their ears slit, or
+some other mark, that they might be known; and this they did in honor of
+their gods. Which superstitions are here declared to be no ordinances of
+God, but the inventions of foolish men.]
+
+[Footnote 90: This miracle is thus related by the commentators: Jesus
+having, at the request of his followers, asked it of God, a red table
+immediately descended, in their sight, between two clouds, and was set
+before them; whereupon he rose up, and having made the ablution, prayed,
+and then took off the cloth which covered the table, saying, "In the
+name of God, the best provider of food."]
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF BUDDHA
+
+BY ASVAGHOSHA BODHISATTVA
+
+Translated from Sanscrit into Chinese by Dharmaraksha,
+A.D. 420; from Chinese into English by Samuel Beal
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION
+
+
+Buddha is undoubtedly the most potent name as a religious teacher, in
+the whole of Asia. The propaganda of the Buddhistic faith passed from
+the valley of the Indus to the valley of the Ganges, and from Ceylon to
+the Himalayas; thence it traversed China, and its conquests seem to have
+been permanent. The religion of Buddha is so far different from that of
+Confucius, and so far resembles Christianity, that it combines mysticism
+with asceticism--a practical rule of personal conduct with a consistent
+transcendentalism. It has, moreover, the great advantage of possessing a
+highly fascinating and romantic gospel, or biography, of its founder.
+Gautama, as the hero of Arnold's "Light of Asia," is very well known to
+English readers, and, although Sir Edwin Arnold is not by any means a
+poet of the first order, he has done a great deal to familiarize the
+Anglo-Saxon mind with Oriental life and thought. A far more faithful
+life of Buddha is that written some time in the first century of our era
+by the twelfth Buddhist patriarch Asvaghosha. This learned ecclesiastic
+appears to have travelled about through different districts of India,
+patiently collecting the stories and traditions which related to the
+life of his master. These he wove into a Sanscrit poem, which three
+hundred years later was translated into Chinese, from which version our
+present translation is made. There can be no doubt that the author of
+the Sanscrit poem was a famous preacher and musician. Originally living
+in central India, he seems to have wandered far and wide exercising his
+office, and reciting or singing his poem--a sacred epic, more thrilling
+to the ears of India than the wrath of Achilles, or the voyages of
+Ulysses. We are told that Asvaghosha took a choir of musicians with him,
+and many were converted to Buddhism through the combined persuasiveness
+of poetry and preaching. The present life of Buddha, although it labors
+under the disadvantage of transfusion from Sanscrit into Chinese, and
+from Chinese into English, is by no means destitute of poetic color and
+aroma. When, for instance, we read of the grief-stricken Yasodhara that
+"her breath failed her, and sinking thus she fell upon the dusty
+ground," we come upon a stately pathos, worthy of Homer or Lucretius.
+And what can be more beautiful than the account of Buddha's conversion
+and sudden conviction, that all earthly things were vanity. The verses
+once heard linger in the memory so as almost to ring in the ears: "Thus
+did he complete the end of self, as fire goes out for want of grass.
+Thus he had done what he would have men do: he first had found the way
+of perfect knowledge. He finished thus the first great lesson; entering
+the great Rishi's house, the darkness disappeared, light burst upon him;
+perfectly silent and at rest, he reached the last exhaustless source of
+truth; lustrous with all wisdom the great Rishi sat, perfect in gifts,
+whilst one convulsive throe shook the wide earth."
+
+E.W.
+
+
+
+
+LIFE OF BUDDHA
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+The Birth
+
+
+There was a descendant of the Ikshvâku family, an invincible Sâkya
+monarch, pure in mind and of unspotted virtue, called therefore
+Pure-rice, or Suddhodana. Joyously reverenced by all men, as the new
+moon is welcomed by the world, the king indeed was like the heaven-ruler
+Sakra, his queen like the divine Saki. Strong and calm of purpose as the
+earth, pure in mind as the water-lily, her name, figuratively assumed,
+Mâyâ, she was in truth incapable of class-comparison. On her in likeness
+as the heavenly queen descended the spirit and entered her womb. A
+mother, but free from grief or pain, she was without any false or
+illusory mind. Disliking the clamorous ways of the world, she remembered
+the excellent garden of Lumbini, a pleasant spot, a quiet forest
+retreat, with its trickling fountains, and blooming flowers and fruits.
+Quiet and peaceful, delighting in meditation, respectfully she asked the
+king for liberty to roam therein; the king, understanding her earnest
+desire, was seized with a seldom-felt anxiety to grant her request. He
+commanded his kinsfolk, within and without the palace, to repair with
+her to that garden shade; and now the queen Mâyâ knew that her time for
+child-bearing was come. She rested calmly on a beautiful couch,
+surrounded by a hundred thousand female attendants; it was the eighth
+day of the fourth moon, a season of serene and agreeable character.
+
+Whilst she thus religiously observed the rules of a pure discipline,
+Bodhisattva was born from her right side, come to deliver the world,
+constrained by great pity, without causing his mother pain or anguish.
+As king Yu-liu was born from the thigh, as King Pi-t'au was born from
+the hand, as King Man-to was born from the top of the head, as King
+Kia-k'ha was born from the arm-pit, so also was Bodhisattva on the day
+of his birth produced from the right side; gradually emerging from the
+womb, he shed in every direction the rays of his glory. As one born from
+recumbent space, and not through the gates of life, through countless
+kalpas, practising virtue, self-conscious he came forth to life, without
+confusion. Calm and collected, not falling headlong was he born,
+gloriously manifested, perfectly adorned, sparkling with light he came
+from the womb, as when the sun first rises from the East.
+
+Men indeed regarded his exceeding great glory, yet their sight remained
+uninjured: he allowed them to gaze, the brightness of his person
+concealed for the time, as when we look upon the moon in the heavens.
+His body, nevertheless, was effulgent with light, and like the sun which
+eclipses the shining of the lamp, so the true gold-like beauty of
+Bodhisattva shone forth, and was diffused everywhere. Upright and firm
+and unconfused in mind, he deliberately took seven steps, the soles of
+his feet resting evenly upon the ground as he went, his footmarks
+remained bright as seven stars.
+
+Moving like the lion, king of beasts, and looking earnestly towards the
+four quarters, penetrating to the centre the principles of truth, he
+spake thus with the fullest assurance: This birth is in the condition of
+a Buddha; after this I have done with renewed birth; now only am I born
+this once, for the purpose of saving all the world.
+
+And now from the midst of heaven there descended two streams of pure
+water, one warm, the other cold, and baptized his head, causing
+refreshment to his body. And now he is placed in the precious palace
+hall, a jewelled couch for him to sleep upon, and the heavenly kings
+with their golden flowery hands hold fast the four feet of the bed.
+Meanwhile the Devas in space, seizing their jewelled canopies,
+attending, raise in responsive harmony their heavenly songs, to
+encourage him to accomplish his perfect purpose.
+
+Then the Nâga-râgas filled with joy, earnestly desiring to show their
+reverence for the most excellent law, as they had paid honor to the
+former Buddhas, now went to meet Bodhisattva; they scattered before him
+Mandâra flowers, rejoicing with heartfelt joy to pay such religious
+homage; and so, again, Tathâgata having appeared in the world, the
+Suddha angels rejoiced with gladness; with no selfish or partial joy,
+but for the sake of religion they rejoiced, because creation, engulfed
+in the ocean of pain, was now to obtain perfect release.
+
+Then the precious Mountain-râga, Sumeru, firmly holding this great earth
+when Bodhisattva appeared in the world, was swayed by the wind of his
+perfected merit. On every hand the world was greatly shaken, as the wind
+drives the tossing boat; so also the minutest atoms of sandal perfume,
+and the hidden sweetness of precious lilies floated on the air, and rose
+through space, and then commingling, came back to earth; so again the
+garments of Devas descending from heaven touching the body, caused
+delightful thrills of joy; the sun and moon with constant course
+redoubled the brilliancy of their light, whilst in the world the fire's
+gleam of itself prevailed without the use of fuel. Pure water, cool and
+refreshing from the springs, flowed here and there, self-caused; in the
+palace all the waiting women were filled with joy at such an
+unprecedented event. Proceeding all in company, they drink and bathe
+themselves; in all arose calm and delightful thoughts; countless
+inferior Devas, delighting in religion, like clouds assembled.
+
+In the garden of Lumbinî, filling the spaces between the trees, rare and
+special flowers, in great abundance, bloomed out of season. All cruel
+and malevolent kinds of beings, together conceived a loving heart; all
+diseases and afflictions among men without a cure applied, of themselves
+were healed. The various cries and confused sounds of beasts were hushed
+and silence reigned; the stagnant water of the river-courses flowed
+apace, whilst the polluted streams became clear and pure. No clouds
+gathered throughout the heavens, whilst angelic music, self caused, was
+heard around; the whole world of sentient creatures enjoyed peace and
+universal tranquillity.
+
+Just as when a country visited by desolation, suddenly obtains an
+enlightened ruler, so when Bodhisattva was born, he came to remove the
+sorrows of all living things.
+
+Mâra,[91] the heavenly monarch, alone was grieved and rejoiced not. The
+Royal Father (Suddhodana), beholding his son, strange and miraculous, as
+to his birth, though self-possessed and assured in his soul, was yet
+moved with astonishment and his countenance changed, whilst he
+alternately weighed with himself the meaning of such an event, now
+rejoiced and now distressed.
+
+The queen-mother beholding her child, born thus contrary to laws of
+nature, her timorous woman's heart was doubtful; her mind, through fear,
+swayed between extremes: Not distinguishing the happy from the sad
+portents, again and again she gave way to grief; and now the aged women
+of the world, in a confused way supplicating heavenly guidance, implored
+the gods to whom their rites were paid, to bless the child; to cause
+peace to rest upon the royal child. Now there was at this time in the
+grove, a certain soothsayer, a Brahman, of dignified mien and
+wide-spread renown, famed for his skill and scholarship: beholding the
+signs, his heart rejoiced, and he exulted at the miraculous event.
+Knowing the king's mind to be somewhat perplexed, he addressed him with
+truth and earnestness: "Men born in the world, chiefly desire to have a
+son the most renowned; but now the king, like the moon when full, should
+feel in himself a perfect joy, having begotten an unequalled son, (for
+by this the king) will become illustrious among his race; let then his
+heart be joyful and glad, banish all anxiety and doubt, the spiritual
+omens that are everywhere manifested indicate for your house and
+dominion a course of continued prosperity. The most excellently endowed
+child now born will bring deliverance to the entire world: none but a
+heavenly teacher has a body such as this, golden-colored, gloriously
+resplendent. One endowed with such transcendent marks must reach the
+state of Samyak-Sambodhi, or, if he be induced to engage in worldly
+delights, then he must become a universal monarch; everywhere recognized
+as the ruler of the great earth, mighty in his righteous government, as
+a monarch ruling the four empires, uniting under his sway all other
+rulers; as among all lesser lights, the sun's brightness is by far the
+most excellent. But if he seek a dwelling among the mountain forests,
+with single heart searching for deliverance, having arrived at the
+perfection of true wisdom, he will become illustrious throughout the
+world; for as Mount Sumeru is monarch among all mountains, or, as gold
+is chief among all precious things; or, as the ocean is supreme among
+all streams; or, as the moon is first among the stars; or, as the sun is
+brightest of all luminaries, so Tathâgata, born in the world, is the
+most eminent of men; his eyes clear and expanding, the lashes both above
+and below moving with the lid, the iris of the eye of a clear blue
+color, in shape like the moon when half full, such characteristics as
+these, without contradiction, foreshadow the most excellent condition of
+perfect wisdom."
+
+At this time the king addressed the twice-born,[92] "If it be as you
+say, with respect to these miraculous signs, that they indicate such
+consequences, then no such case has happened with former kings, nor down
+to our time has such a thing occurred." The Brahman addressed the king
+thus, "Say not so; for it is not right; for with regard to renown and
+wisdom, personal celebrity, and worldly substance, these four things
+indeed are not to be considered according to precedent or subsequence;
+but whatever is produced according to nature, such things are liable to
+the law of cause and effect: but now whilst I recount some parallels let
+the king attentively listen:--Bhrigu, Angira, these two of Rishi family,
+having passed many years apart from men, each begat an excellently
+endowed son; Brihaspati with Sukra, skilful in making royal treatises,
+not derived from former families (or tribes); Sârasvata, the Rishi,
+whose works have long disappeared, begat a son, Po-lo-sa, who compiled
+illustrious Sûtras and Shâstras; that which now we know and see, is not
+therefore dependent on previous connection; Vyâsa, the Rishi, the author
+of numerous treatises, after his death had among his descendants Poh-mi
+(Vâlmîki), who extensively collected Gâthâ sections; Atri, the Rishi,
+not understanding the sectional treatise on medicine, afterwards begat
+Âtreya, who was able to control diseases; the twice-born Rishi Kusi
+(Kusika), not occupied with heretical treatises, afterwards begat
+Kia-ti-na-râga, who thoroughly understood heretical systems; the
+sugar-cane monarch, who began his line, could not restrain the tide of
+the sea, but Sagara-râga, his descendant, who begat a thousand royal
+sons, he could control the tide of the great sea so that it should come
+no further. Ganaka, the Rishi, without a teacher acquired power of
+abstraction. All these, who obtained such renown, acquired powers of
+themselves; those distinguished before, were afterwards forgotten; those
+before forgotten, became afterwards distinguished; kings like these and
+god-like Rishis have no need of family inheritance, and therefore the
+world need not regard those going before or following. So, mighty king!
+is it with you: you should experience true joy of heart, and because of
+this joy should banish forever doubt or anxiety." The king, hearing the
+words of the seer, was glad, and offered him increased gifts.
+
+"Now have I begotten a valiant son," he said, "who will establish a
+wheel authority, whilst I, when old and gray-headed, will go forth to
+lead a hermit's life, so that my holy, king-like son may not give up the
+world and wander through mountain forests."
+
+And now near the spot within the garden, there was a Rishi, leading the
+life of an ascetic; his name was Asita, wonderfully skilful in the
+interpretation of signs; he approached the gate of the palace; the king
+beholding him exclaimed, "This is none other but Brahmadeva, himself
+enduring penance from love of true religion, these two characteristics
+so plainly visible as marks of his austerities." Then the king was much
+rejoiced; and forthwith he invited him within the palace, and with
+reverence set before him entertainment, whilst he, entering the inner
+palace, rejoiced only in prospect of seeing the royal child.
+
+Although surrounded by the crowd of court ladies, yet still he was as if
+in desert solitude; and now they place a preaching throne and pay him
+increased honor and religious reverence, as Antideva râga reverenced the
+priest Vasishtha. Then the king, addressing the Rishi, said: "Most
+fortunate am I, great Rishi! that you have condescended to come here to
+receive from me becoming gifts and reverence; I pray you therefore enter
+on your exhortation."
+
+Thus requested and invited, the Rishi felt unutterable joy, and said,
+"All hail, ever victorious monarch! possessed of all noble, virtuous
+qualities, loving to meet the desires of those who seek, nobly generous
+in honoring the true law, conspicuous as a race for wisdom and humanity,
+with humble mind you pay me homage, as you are bound. Because of your
+righteous deeds in former lives, now are manifested these excellent
+fruits; listen to me, then, whilst I declare the reason of the present
+meeting. As I was coming on the sun's way, I heard the Devas in space
+declare that the king had born to him a royal son, who would arrive at
+perfect intelligence; moreover I beheld such other portents, as have
+constrained me now to seek your presence; desiring to see the Sâkya
+monarch who will erect the standard of the true law."
+
+The king, hearing the Rishi's words, was fully assured; escaping from
+the net of doubt, he ordered an attendant to bring the prince, to
+exhibit him to the Rishi. The Rishi, beholding the prince, the
+thousand-rayed wheel on the soles of his feet, the web-like filament
+between his fingers, between his eyebrows the white wool-like
+prominence, his complexion bright and lustrous; seeing these wonderful
+birth-portents, the seer wept and sighed deeply.
+
+The king beholding the tears of the Rishi, thinking of his son, his soul
+was overcome, and his breath fast held his swelling heart. Thus alarmed
+and ill at ease, unconsciously he arose from his seat, and bowing his
+head at the Rishi's feet, he addressed him in these words: "This son of
+mine, born thus wonderfully, beautiful in face, and surpassingly
+graceful, little different from the gods in form, giving promise of
+superiority in the world, ah! why has he caused thee grief and pain?
+Forbid it, that my son should die! or should be short-lived!--the
+thought creates in me grief and anxiety; that one athirst, within reach
+of the eternal draught,[93] should after all reject and lose it! sad
+indeed! Forbid it, he should lose his wealth and treasure! dead to his
+house! lost to his country! for he who has a prosperous son in life,
+gives pledge that his country's weal is well secured; and then, coming
+to die, my heart will rest content, rejoicing in the thought of
+offspring surviving me; even as a man possessed of two eyes, one of
+which keeps watch, while the other sleeps; not like the frost-flower of
+autumn, which, though it seems to bloom, is not a reality. A man who,
+midst his tribe and kindred, deeply loves a spotless son, at every
+proper time in recollection of it has joy; O! that you would cause me to
+revive!"
+
+The Rishi, knowing the king-sire to be thus greatly afflicted at heart,
+immediately addressed the Mahârâga: "Let not the king be for a moment
+anxious! the words I have spoken to the king, let him ponder these, and
+not permit himself to doubt; the portents now are as they were before,
+cherish then no other thoughts! But recollecting I myself am old, on
+that account I could not hold my tears; for now my end is coming on. But
+this son of thine will rule the world, born for the sake of all that
+lives! this is indeed one difficult to meet with; he shall give up his
+royal estate, escape from the domain of the five desires, with
+resolution and with diligence practise austerities, and then awakening,
+grasp the truth. Then constantly, for the world's sake (all living
+things), destroying the impediments of ignorance and darkness, he shall
+give to all enduring light, the brightness of the sun of perfect wisdom.
+All flesh submerged in the sea of sorrow; all diseases collected as the
+bubbling froth; decay and age like the wild billows; death like the
+engulfing ocean; embarking lightly in the boat of wisdom he will save
+the world from all these perils, by wisdom stemming back the flood. His
+pure teaching like to the neighboring shore, the power of meditation,
+like a cool lake, will be enough for all the unexpected birds; thus deep
+and full and wide is the great river of the true law; all creatures
+parched by the drought of lust may freely drink thereof, without stint;
+those enchained in the domain of the five desires, those driven along by
+many sorrows, and deceived amid the wilderness of birth and death, in
+ignorance of the way of escape, for these Bodhisattva has been born in
+the world, to open out a way of salvation. The fire of lust and
+covetousness, burning with the fuel of the objects of sense, he has
+caused the cloud of his mercy to rise, so that the rain of the law may
+extinguish them. The heavy gates of gloomy unbelief, fast kept by
+covetousness and lust, within which are confined all living things, he
+opens and gives free deliverance. With the tweezers of his diamond
+wisdom he plucks out the opposing principles of lustful desire. In the
+self-twined meshes of folly and ignorance all flesh poor and in misery,
+helplessly lying, the king of the law has come forth, to rescue these
+from bondage. Let not the king in respect of this his son encourage in
+himself one thought of doubt or pain; but rather let him grieve on
+account of the world, led captive by desire, opposed to truth; but I,
+indeed, amid the ruins of old age and death, am far removed from the
+meritorious condition of the holy one, possessed indeed of powers of
+abstraction, yet not within reach of the gain he will give, to be
+derived from his teaching as the Bodhisattva; not permitted to hear his
+righteous law, my body worn out, after death, alas! destined to be born
+as a Deva[94] still liable to the three calamities, old age, decay, and
+death, therefore I weep."
+
+The king and all his household attendants, hearing the words of the
+Rishi, knowing the cause of his regretful sorrow, banished from their
+minds all further anxiety: "And now," the king said, "to have begotten
+this excellent son, gives me rest at heart; but that he should leave his
+kingdom and home, and practise the life of an ascetic, not anxious to
+ensure the stability of the kingdom, the thought of this still brings
+with it pain."
+
+At this time the Rishi, turning to the king with true words, said, "It
+must be even as the king anticipates, he will surely arrive at perfect
+enlightenment." Thus having appeased every anxious heart among the
+king's household, the Rishi by his own inherent spiritual power ascended
+into space and disappeared.
+
+At this time Suddhodana râga, seeing the excellent marks (predictive
+signs) of his son, and, moreover, hearing the words of Asita, certifying
+that which would surely happen, was greatly affected with reverence to
+the child: he redoubled measures for its protection, and was filled with
+constant thought; moreover, he issued decrees through the empire, to
+liberate all captives in prison, according to the custom when a royal
+son was born, giving the usual largess, in agreement with the directions
+of the Sacred Books, and extending his gifts to all; or, all these
+things he did completely. When the child was ten days old, his father's
+mind being now quite tranquil, he announced a sacrifice to all the gods,
+and prepared to give liberal offerings to all the religious bodies;
+Srâmanas and Brahmanas invoked by their prayers a blessing from the
+gods, whilst he bestowed gifts on the royal kinspeople and the ministers
+and the poor within the country; the women who dwelt in the city or the
+villages, all those who needed cattle or horses or elephants or money,
+each, according to his necessities, was liberally supplied. Then,
+selecting by divination a lucky time, they took the child back to his
+own palace, with a double-feeding white-pure-tooth, carried in a
+richly-adorned chariot (cradle), with ornaments of every kind and color
+round his neck; shining with beauty, exceedingly resplendent with
+unguents. The queen embracing him in her arms, going around, worshipped
+the heavenly spirits. Afterwards she remounted her precious chariot,
+surrounded by her waiting women; the king, with his ministers and
+people, and all the crowd of attendants, leading the way and following,
+even as the ruler of heaven, Sakra, is surrounded by crowds of Devas; as
+Mahesvara, when suddenly his six-faced child was born; arranging every
+kind of present, gave gifts, and asked for blessings; so now the king,
+when his royal son was born, made all his arrangements in like manner.
+So Vaisravana, the heavenly king, when Nalakûvara was born, surrounded
+by a concourse of Devas, was filled with joy and much gladness; so the
+king, now the royal prince was born, in the kingdom of Kapila, his
+people and all his subjects were likewise filled with joy.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Living in the Palace
+
+And now in the household of Suddhodana râga, because of the birth of the
+royal prince, his clansmen and younger brethren, with his ministers,
+were all generously disposed, whilst elephants, horses and chariots, and
+the wealth of the country, and precious vessels, daily increased and
+abounded, being produced wherever requisite; so, too, countless hidden
+treasures came of themselves from the earth. From the midst of the pure
+snowy mountains, a wild herd of white elephants, without noise, of
+themselves, came; not curbed by any, self-subdued, every kind of colored
+horse, in shape and quality surpassingly excellent, with sparkling
+jewelled manes and flowing tails, came prancing round, as if with wings;
+these too, born in the desert, came at the right time, of themselves. A
+herd of pure-colored, well-proportioned cows, fat and fleshy, and
+remarkable for beauty, giving fragrant and pure milk with equal flow,
+came together in great number at this propitious time. Enmity and envy
+gave way to peace; content and rest prevailed on every side; whilst
+there was closer union amongst the true of heart, discord and variance
+were entirely appeased; the gentle air distilled a seasonable rain, no
+crash of storm or tempest was heard, the springing seeds, not waiting
+for their time, grew up apace and yielded abundant increase; the five
+cereals grew ripe with scented grain, soft and glutinous, easy of
+digestion; all creatures big with young, possessed their bodies in ease
+and their frames well gathered. All men, even those who had not received
+the seeds of instruction derived from the four holy ones;[95] all these,
+throughout the world, born under the control of selfish appetite,
+without any thought for others' goods, had no proud, envious longings;
+no angry, hateful thoughts. All the temples of the gods and sacred
+shrines, the gardens, wells, and fountains, all these like things in
+heaven, produced of themselves, at the proper time, their several
+adornments. There was no famishing hunger, the soldiers' weapons were at
+rest, all diseases disappeared; throughout the kingdom all the people
+were bound close in family love and friendship; piously affectioned they
+indulged in mutual pleasures, there were no impure or polluting desires;
+they sought their daily gain righteously, no covetous money-loving
+spirit prevailed, but with religious purpose they gave liberally; there
+was no thought of any reward or return, but all practised the four rules
+of purity; and every hateful thought was suppressed and destroyed. Even
+as in days gone by, Manu râga begat a child called "Brilliancy of the
+Sun," on which there prevailed through the country great prosperity, and
+all wickedness came to an end; so now the king having begotten a royal
+prince, these marks of prosperity were seen; and because of such a
+concourse of propitious signs, the child was named Siddhârtha.[96] And
+now his royal mother, the queen Mâyâ, beholding her son born under such
+circumstances, beautiful as a child of heaven, adorned with every
+excellent distinction, from excessive joy which could not be controlled
+died, and was born in heaven. Then Pragâ-pati Gautami, beholding the
+prince, like an angel, with beauty seldom seen on earth, seeing him thus
+born and now his mother dead, loved and nourished him as her own child;
+and the child regarded her as his mother.
+
+So as the light of the sun or the moon, little by little increases, the
+royal child also increased each day in every mental excellency and
+beauty of person; his body exhaled the perfume of priceless sandal-wood,
+decorated with the famed Gambunada gold gems; divine medicines there
+were to preserve him in health, glittering necklaces upon his person;
+the members of tributary states, hearing that the king had an heir born
+to him, sent their presents and gifts of various kinds: oxen, sheep,
+deer, horses, and chariots, precious vessels and elegant ornaments, fit
+to delight the heart of the prince; but though presented with such
+pleasing trifles, the necklaces and other pretty ornaments, the mind of
+the prince was unmoved, his bodily frame small indeed, but his heart
+established; his mind at rest within its own high purposes, was not to
+be disturbed by glittering baubles.
+
+And now he was brought to learn the useful arts, when lo! once
+instructed he surpassed his teachers. His father, the king, seeing his
+exceeding talent, and his deep purpose to have done with the world and
+its allurements, began to inquire as to the names of those in his tribe
+who were renowned for elegance and refinement. Elegant and graceful, and
+a lovely maiden, was she whom they called Yasodharâ; in every way
+fitting to become a consort for the prince, and to allure by pleasant
+wiles his heart. The prince with a mind so far removed from the world,
+with qualities so distinguished, and with so charming an appearance,
+like the elder son of Brahmadeva, Sanatkumâra (She-na Kiu-ma-lo); the
+virtuous damsel, lovely and refined, gentle and subdued in manner;
+majestic like the queen of heaven, constant ever, cheerful night and
+day, establishing the palace in purity and quiet, full of dignity and
+exceeding grace, like a lofty hill rising up in space; or as a white
+autumn cloud; warm or cool according to the season; choosing a proper
+dwelling according to the year, surrounded by a return of singing women,
+who join their voices in harmonious heavenly concord, without any
+jarring or unpleasant sound, exciting in the hearers forgetfulness of
+worldly cares. As the heavenly Gandharvas of themselves, in their
+beauteous palaces, cause the singing women to raise heavenly strains,
+the sounds of which and their beauty ravish both eyes and heart--so
+Bodhisattva dwelt in his lofty palace, with music such as this. The
+king, his father, for the prince's sake, dwelt purely in his palace,
+practising every virtue; delighting in the teaching of the true law, he
+put away from him every evil companion, that his heart might not be
+polluted by lust; regarding inordinate desire as poison, keeping his
+passion and his body in due control, destroying and repressing all
+trivial thoughts; desiring to enjoy virtuous conversation, loving
+instruction fit to subdue the hearts of men, aiming to accomplish the
+conversion of unbelievers; removing all schemes of opposition from
+whatever source they came by the enlightening power of his doctrine,
+aiming to save the entire world; thus he desired that the body of people
+should obtain rest; even as we desire to give peace to our children, so
+did he long to give rest to the world. He also attended to his religious
+duties, sacrificing by fire to all the spirits, with clasped hands
+adoring the moon, bathing his body in the waters of the Ganges;
+cleansing his heart in the waters of religion, performing his duties
+with no private aim, but regarding his child and the people at large;
+loving righteous conversation, righteous words with loving aim; loving
+words with no mixture of falsehood, true words imbued by love, and yet
+withal so modest and self-distrustful, unable on that account to speak
+as confident of truth; loving to all, and yet not loving the world; with
+no thought of selfishness or covetous desire: aiming to restrain the
+tongue and in quietness to find rest from wordy contentions, not seeking
+in the multitude of religious duties to condone for a worldly principle
+in action, but aiming to benefit the world by a liberal and
+unostentatious charity; the heart without any contentious thought, but
+resolved by goodness to subdue the contentious; desiring to mortify the
+passions, and to destroy every enemy of virtue; not multiplying coarse
+or unseemly words, but exhorting to virtue in the use of courteous
+language; full of sympathy and ready charity, pointing out and
+practising the way of mutual dependence; receiving and understanding the
+wisdom of spirits and Rishis; crushing and destroying every cruel and
+hateful thought. Thus his fame and virtue were widely renowned, and yet
+himself finally (or, forever) separate from the ties of the world,
+showing the ability of a master builder, laying a good foundation of
+virtue, an example for all the earth; so a man's heart composed and at
+rest, his limbs and all his members will also be at ease. And now the
+son of Suddhodana, and his virtuous wife Yasodharâ, as time went on,
+growing to full estate, their child Râhula was born; and then Suddhodana
+râga considered thus: "My son, the prince, having a son born to him, the
+affairs of the empire will be handed down in succession, and there will
+be no end to its righteous government; the prince having begotten a son,
+will love his son as I love him, and no longer think about leaving his
+home as an ascetic, but devote himself to the practice of virtue; I now
+have found complete rest of heart, like one just born to heavenly joys."
+
+Like as in the first days of the kalpa, Rishi-kings by the way in which
+they walked, practising pure and spotless deeds, offered up religious
+offerings, without harm to living thing, and illustriously prepared an
+excellent karma, so the king excelling in the excellence of purity in
+family and excellence of wealth, excelling in strength and every
+exhibition of prowess, reflected the glory of his name through the
+world, as the sun sheds abroad his thousand rays. But now, being the
+king of men, or a king among men, he deemed it right to exhibit his
+son's prowess, for the sake of his family and kin, to exhibit him; to
+increase his family's renown, his glory spread so high as even to obtain
+the name of "God begotten;" and having partaken of these heavenly joys,
+enjoying the happiness of increased wisdom; understanding the truth by
+his own righteousness, derived from previous hearing of the truth. Would
+that this might lead my son, he prayed, to love his child and not
+forsake his home; the kings of all countries, whose sons have not yet
+grown up, have prevented them exercising authority in the empire, in
+order to give their minds relaxation, and for this purpose have provided
+them with worldly indulgences, so that they may perpetuate the royal
+seed; so now the king, having begotten a royal son, indulged him in
+every sort of pleasure; desiring that he might enjoy these worldly
+delights, and not wish to wander from his home in search of wisdom. In
+former times the Bodhisattva kings, although their way (life) has been
+restrained, have yet enjoyed the pleasures of the world, and when they
+have begotten a son, then separating themselves from family ties, have
+afterwards entered the solitude of the mountains, to prepare themselves
+in the way of a silent recluse.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Disgust at Sorrow
+
+Without are pleasant garden glades, flowing fountains, pure refreshing
+lakes, with every kind of flower, and trees with fruit, arranged in
+rows, deep shade beneath. There, too, are various kinds of wondrous
+birds, flying and sporting in the midst, and on the surface of the water
+the four kinds of flowers, bright colored, giving out their floating
+scent; minstrel maidens cause their songs and chorded music, to invite
+the prince. He, hearing the sounds of singing, sighs for the pleasures
+of the garden shades, and cherishing within these happy thoughts, he
+dwelt upon the joys of an outside excursion; even as the chained
+elephant ever longs for the free desert wilds.
+
+The royal father, hearing that the prince would enjoy to wander through
+the gardens, first ordered all his attendant officers to adorn and
+arrange them, after their several offices:--To make level and smooth the
+king's highway, to remove from the path all offensive matter, all old
+persons, diseased or deformed, all those suffering through poverty or
+great grief, so that his son in his present humor might see nothing
+likely to afflict his heart. The adornments being duly made, the prince
+was invited to an audience; the king seeing his son approach, patted his
+head, and looking at the color of his face, feelings of sorrow and joy
+intermingled, bound him. His mouth willing to speak, his heart
+restrained.
+
+Now see the jewel-fronted gaudy chariot; the four equally pacing,
+stately horses; good-tempered and well trained; young and of graceful
+appearance; perfectly pure and white, and draped with flowery coverings.
+In the same chariot stands the stately driver; the streets were
+scattered over with flowers; precious drapery fixed on either side of
+the way, with dwarfed trees lining the road, costly vessels employed for
+decoration, hanging canopies and variegated banners, silken curtains,
+moved by the rustling breeze; spectators arranged on either side of the
+path. With bodies bent and glistening eyes, eagerly gazing, but not
+rudely staring, as the blue lotus flower they bent drooping in the air,
+ministers and attendants flocking round him, as stars following the
+chief of the constellation; all uttering the same suppressed whisper of
+admiration, at a sight so seldom seen in the world; rich and poor,
+humble and exalted, old and young and middle-aged, all paid the greatest
+respect, and invoked blessings on the occasion.
+
+So the country-folk and the town-folk, hearing that the prince was
+coming forth, the well-to-do not waiting for their servants, those
+asleep and awake not mutually calling to one another, the six kinds of
+creatures not gathered together and penned, the money not collected and
+locked up, the doors and gates not fastened, all went pouring along the
+way on foot; the towers were filled, the mounds by the trees, the
+windows and the terraces along the streets; with bent body fearing to
+lift their eyes, carefully seeing that there was nothing about them to
+offend, those seated on high addressing those seated on the ground,
+those going on the road addressing those passing on high, the mind
+intent on one object alone; so that if a heavenly form had flown past,
+or a form entitled to highest respect, there would have been no
+distraction visible, so intent was the body and so immovable the limbs.
+And now beautiful as the opening lily, he advances towards the garden
+glades, wishing to accomplish the words of the holy prophet (Rishi). The
+prince, seeing the ways prepared and watered and the joyous holiday
+appearance of the people; seeing too the drapery and chariot, pure,
+bright, shining, his heart exulted greatly and rejoiced. The people (on
+their part) gazed at the prince, so beautifully adorned, with all his
+retinue, like an assembled company of kings gathered to see a
+heaven-born prince. And now a Deva-râga of the Pure abode, suddenly
+appears by the side of the road; his form changed into that of an old
+man, struggling for life, his heart weak and oppressed. The prince
+seeing the old man, filled with apprehension, asked his charioteer,
+"What kind of man is this? his head white and his shoulders bent, his
+eyes bleared and his body withered, holding a stick to support him along
+the way. Is his body suddenly dried up by the heat, or has he been born
+in this way?" The charioteer, his heart much embarrassed, scarcely dared
+to answer truly, till the pure-born (Deva) added his spiritual power,
+and caused him to frame a reply in true words: "His appearance changed,
+his vital powers decayed, filled with sorrow, with little pleasure, his
+spirits gone, his members nerveless, these are the indications of what
+is called 'old age.' This man was once a sucking child, brought up and
+nourished at his mother's breast, and as a youth full of sportive life,
+handsome, and in enjoyment of the five pleasures; as years passed on,
+his frame decaying, he is brought now to the waste of age."
+
+The prince, greatly agitated and moved, asked his charioteer another
+question and said, "Is yonder man the only one afflicted with age, or
+shall I, and others also, be such as he?" The charioteer again replied
+and said, "Your highness also inherits this lot: as time goes on, the
+form itself is changed, and this must doubtless come, beyond all
+hindrance. The youthful form must wear the garb of age, throughout the
+world, this is the common lot."
+
+Bodhisattva, who had long prepared the foundation of pure and spotless
+wisdom, broadly setting the root of every high quality, with a view to
+gather large fruit in his present life, hearing these words respecting
+the sorrow of age, was afflicted in mind, and his hair stood upright.
+Just as the roll of the thunder and the storm alarm and put to flight
+the cattle, so was Bodhisattva affected by the words; shaking with
+apprehension, he deeply sighed; constrained at heart because of the pain
+of age; with shaking head and constant gaze, he thought upon this misery
+of decay; what joy or pleasure can men take, he thought, in that which
+soon must wither, stricken by the marks of age; affecting all without
+exception; though gifted now with youth and strength, yet not one but
+soon must change and pine away. The eye beholding such signs as these
+before it, how can it not be oppressed by a desire to escape?
+Bodhisattva then addressed his charioteer: "Quickly turn your chariot
+and go back. Ever thinking on this subject of old age approaching, what
+pleasures now can these gardens afford, the years of my life like the
+fast-flying wind; turn your chariot, and with speedy wheels take me to
+my palace." And so his heart keeping in the same sad tone, he was as one
+who returns to a place of entombment; unaffected by any engagement or
+employment, so he found no rest in anything within his home.
+
+The king hearing of his son's sadness urged his companions to induce him
+again to go abroad, and forthwith incited his ministers and attendants
+to decorate the gardens even more than before. The Deva then caused
+himself to appear as a sick man; struggling for life, he stood by the
+wayside, his body swollen and disfigured, sighing with deep-drawn
+groans; his hands and knees contracted and sore with disease, his tears
+flowing as he piteously muttered his petition. The prince asked his
+charioteer, "What sort of man, again, is this?"
+
+Replying, he said, "This is a sick man. The four elements all confused
+and disordered, worn and feeble, with no remaining strength, bent down
+with weakness, looking to his fellow-men for help." The prince hearing
+the words thus spoken, immediately became sad and depressed in heart,
+and asked, "Is this the only man afflicted thus, or are others liable to
+the same calamity?" In reply he said, "Through all the world, men are
+subject to the same condition; those who have bodies must endure
+affliction, the poor and ignorant, as well as the rich and great." The
+prince, when these words met his ears, was oppressed with anxious
+thought and grief; his body and his mind were moved throughout, just as
+the moon upon the ruffled tide. "Placed thus in the great furnace of
+affliction, say! what rest or quiet can there be! Alas! that worldly
+men, blinded by ignorance and oppressed with dark delusion, though the
+robber sickness may appear at any time, yet live with blithe and joyous
+hearts!" On this, turning his chariot back again, he grieved to think
+upon the pain of sickness. As a man beaten and wounded sore, with body
+weakened, leans upon his staff, so dwelt he in the seclusion of his
+palace, lone-seeking, hating worldly pleasures.
+
+The king, hearing once more of his son's return, asked anxiously the
+reason why, and in reply was told--"he saw the pain of sickness." The
+king, in fear, like one beside himself, roundly blamed the keepers of
+the way; his heart constrained, his lips spoke not; again he increased
+the crowd of music-women, the sounds of merriment twice louder than
+aforetime, if by these sounds and sights the prince might be gratified;
+and indulging worldly feelings, might not hate his home. Night and day
+the charm of melody increased, but his heart was still unmoved by it.
+The king himself then went forth to observe everything successively, and
+to make the gardens even yet more attractive, selecting with care the
+attendant women, that they might excel in every point of personal
+beauty; quick in wit and able to arrange matters well, fit to ensnare
+men by their winning looks; he placed additional keepers along the
+king's way, he strictly ordered every offensive sight to be removed, and
+earnestly exhorted the illustrious coachman, to look well and pick out
+the road as he went. And now that Deva of the Pure abode, again caused
+the appearance of a dead man; four persons carrying the corpse lifted it
+on high, and appeared (to be going on) in front of Bodhisattva; the
+surrounding people saw it not, but only Bodhisattva and the charioteer.
+Once more he asked, "What is this they carry? with streamers and flowers
+of every choice description, whilst the followers are overwhelmed with
+grief, tearing their hair and wailing piteously." And now the gods
+instructing the coachman, he replied and said, "This is a dead man: all
+his powers of body destroyed, life departed; his heart without thought,
+his intellect dispersed; his spirit gone, his form withered and decayed;
+stretched out as a dead log; family ties broken--all his friends who
+once loved him, clad in white cerements, now no longer delighting to
+behold him, remove him to lie in some hollow ditch tomb." The prince
+hearing the name of Death, his heart constrained by painful thoughts, he
+asked, "Is this the only dead man, or does the world contain like
+instances?" Replying thus he said, "All, everywhere, the same; he who
+begins his life must end it likewise; the strong and lusty and the
+middle-aged, having a body, cannot but decay and die." The prince was
+now harassed and perplexed in mind; his body bent upon the chariot
+leaning-board, with bated breath and struggling accents, stammered thus,
+"Oh worldly men! how fatally deluded! beholding everywhere the body
+brought to dust, yet everywhere the more carelessly living; the heart is
+neither lifeless wood nor stone, and yet it thinks not 'all is
+vanishing!'" Then turning, he directed his chariot to go back, and no
+longer waste his time in wandering. How could he, whilst in fear of
+instant death, go wandering here and there with lightened heart! The
+charioteer remembering the king's exhortation feared much nor dared go
+back; straightforward then he pressed his panting steeds, passed onward
+to the gardens, came to the groves and babbling streams of crystal
+water, the pleasant trees, spread out with gaudy verdure, the noble
+living things and varied beasts so wonderful, the flying creatures and
+their notes melodious; all charming and delightful to the eye and ear,
+even as the heavenly Nandavana.
+
+Putting Away Desire
+
+On the prince entering the garden the women came around to pay him
+court; and to arouse in him thoughts frivolous; with ogling ways and
+deep design, each one setting herself off to best advantage; or joining
+together in harmonious concert, clapping their hands, or moving their
+feet in unison, or joining close, body to body, limb to limb; or
+indulging in smart repartees, and mutual smiles; or assuming a
+thoughtful saddened countenance, and so by sympathy to please the
+prince, and provoke in him a heart affected by love. But all the women
+beheld the prince, clouded in brow, and his god-like body not exhibiting
+its wonted signs of beauty; fair in bodily appearance, surpassingly
+lovely, all looked upwards as they gazed, as when we call upon the moon
+Deva to come; but all their subtle devices were ineffectual to move
+Bodhisattva's heart.
+
+At last commingling together they join and look astonished and in fear,
+silent without a word. Then there was a Brahmaputra, whose name was
+called Udâyi (Yau-to-i). He, addressing the women, said, "Now all of
+you, so graceful and fair, see if you cannot by your combined power hit
+on some device; for beauty's power is not forever. Still it holds the
+world in bondage, by secret ways and lustful arts; but no such
+loveliness in all the world as yours, equal to that of heavenly nymphs;
+the gods beholding it would leave their queens, spirits and Rishis would
+be misled by it; why not then the prince, the son of an earthly king?
+why should not his feelings be aroused? This prince indeed, though he
+restrains his heart and holds it fixed, pure-minded, with virtue
+uncontaminated, not to be overcome by power of women; yet of old there
+was Sundarî (Su-to-li) able to destroy the great Rishi, and to lead him
+to indulge in love, and so degrade his boasted eminence; undergoing long
+penance, Gautama fell likewise by the arts of a heavenly queen;
+Shing-kü, a Rishi putra, practising lustful indulgences according to
+fancy, was lost. The Brahman Rishi Visvâmitra (Pi-she-po), living
+religiously for ten thousand years, deeply ensnared by a heavenly queen,
+in one day was completely shipwrecked in faith; thus those enticing
+women, by their power, overcame the Brahman ascetics; how much more may
+ye, by your arts, overpower the resolves of the king's son; strive
+therefore after new devices, let not the king fail in a successor to the
+throne; women, though naturally weak, are high and potent in the way of
+ruling men. What may not their arts accomplish in promoting in men a
+lustful desire?" At this time all the attendant women, hearing
+throughout the words of Udâyi, increasing their powers of pleasing, as
+the quiet horse when touched by the whip, went into the presence of the
+royal prince, and each one strove in the practice of every kind of art.
+They joined in music and in smiling conversation, raising their
+eyebrows, showing their white teeth, with ogling looks, glancing one at
+the other, their light drapery exhibiting their white bodies, daintily
+moving with mincing gait, acting the part of a bride as if coming
+gradually nearer, desiring to promote in him a feeling of love,
+remembering the words of the great king, "With dissolute form and
+slightly clad, forgetful of modesty and womanly reserve." The prince
+with resolute heart was silent and still, with unmoved face he sat; even
+as the great elephant-dragon, whilst the entire herd moves round him; so
+nothing could disturb or move his heart, dwelling in their midst as in a
+confined room. Like the divine Sakra, around whom all the Devîs
+assemble, so was the prince as he dwelt in the gardens; the maidens
+encircling him thus; some arranging their dress, others washing their
+hands or feet, others perfuming their bodies with scent, others twining
+flowers for decoration, others making strings for jewelled necklets,
+others rubbing or striking their bodies, others resting, or lying, one
+beside the other; others, with head inclined, whispering secret words,
+others engaged in common sports, others talking of amorous things,
+others assuming lustful attitudes, striving thus to move his heart. But
+Bodhisattva, peaceful and collected, firm as a rock, difficult to move,
+hearing all these women's talk, unaffected either to joy or sorrow, was
+driven still more to serious thought, sighing to witness such strange
+conduct, and beginning to understand the women's design, by these means
+to disconcert his mind, not knowing that youthful beauty soon falls,
+destroyed by old age and death, fading and perishing! This is the great
+distress! What ignorance and delusion (he reflected) overshadow their
+minds: "Surely they ought to consider old age, disease, and death, and
+day and night stir themselves up to exertion, whilst this sharp
+double-edged sword hangs over the neck. What room for sport or laughter,
+beholding those monsters, old age, disease, and death? A man who is
+unable to resort to this inward knowledge, what is he but a wooden or a
+plaster man, what heart-consideration in such a case! Like the double
+tree that appears in the desert, with leaves and fruit all perfect and
+ripe, the first cut down and destroyed, the other unmoved by
+apprehension, so it is in the case of the mass of men: they have no
+understanding either!"
+
+At this time Udâyi came to the place where the prince was, and observing
+his silent and thoughtful mien, unmoved by any desire for indulgence, he
+forthwith addressed the prince, and said, "The Mahâraga, by his former
+appointment, has selected me to act as friend to his son; may I
+therefore speak some friendly words? an enlightened friendship is of
+three sorts: that which removes things unprofitable, promotes that which
+is real gain, and stands by a friend in adversity. I claim the name of
+'enlightened friend,' and would renounce all that is magisterial, but
+yet not speak lightly or with indifference. What then are the three
+sources of advantage? listen, and I will now utter true words, and prove
+myself a true and sincere adviser. When the years are fresh and
+ripening, beauty and pleasing qualities in bloom, not to give proper
+weight to woman's influence, this is a weak man's policy. It is right
+sometimes to be of a crafty mind, submitting to those little subterfuges
+which find a place in the heart's undercurrents, and obeying what those
+thoughts suggest in way of pleasures to be got from dalliance: this is
+no wrong in woman's eye! even if now the heart has no desire, yet it is
+fair to follow such devices; agreement is the joy of woman's heart,
+acquiescence is the substance (the full) of true adornment; but if a man
+reject these overtures, he's like a tree deprived of leaves and fruits;
+why then ought you to yield and acquiesce? that you may share in all
+these things. Because in taking, there's an end of trouble--no light and
+changeful thoughts then worry us--for pleasure is the first and foremost
+thought of all, the gods themselves cannot dispense with it. Lord Sakra
+was drawn by it to love the wife of Gautama the Rishi; so likewise the
+Rishi Agastya, through a long period of discipline, practising
+austerities, from hankering after a heavenly queen (Devî), lost all
+reward of his religious endeavors, the Rishi Brihaspati, and Kandradeva
+putra; the Rishi Parâsara, and Kavañgara (Kia-pin-ke-lo). All these, out
+of many others, were overcome by woman's love. How much more then, in
+your case, should you partake in such pleasant joys; nor refuse, with
+wilful heart, to participate in the worldly delights, which your present
+station, possessed of such advantages, offers you, in the presence of
+these attendants."
+
+At this time the royal prince, hearing the words of his friend Udâyi, so
+skilfully put, with such fine distinction, cleverly citing worldly
+instances, answered thus to Udâyi: "Thank you for having spoken
+sincerely to me; let me likewise answer you in the same way, and let
+your heart suspend its judgment whilst you listen:--It is not that I am
+careless about beauty, or am ignorant of the power of human joys, but
+only that I see on all the impress of change; therefore my heart is sad
+and heavy; if these things were sure of lasting, without the ills of
+age, disease, and death, then would I too take my fill of love; and to
+the end find no disgust or sadness. If you will undertake to cause these
+women's beauty not to change or wither in the future, then, though the
+joy of love may have its evil, still it might hold the mind in thraldom.
+To know that other men grow old, sicken, and die, would be enough to rob
+such joys of satisfaction; yet how much more in their own case (knowing
+this) would discontentment fill the mind; to know such pleasures hasten
+to decay, and their bodies likewise; if, notwithstanding this, men yield
+to the power of love, their case indeed is like the very beasts. And now
+you cite the names of many Rishis, who practised lustful ways in life;
+their cases likewise cause me sorrow, for in that they did these things,
+they perished. Again, you cite the name of that illustrious king, who
+freely gratified his passions, but he, in like way, perished in the act;
+know, then, that he was not a conqueror; with smooth words to conceal an
+intrigue, and to persuade one's neighbor to consent, and by consenting
+to defile his mind; how can this be called a just device? It is but to
+seduce one with a hollow lie--such ways are not for me to practise; or,
+for those who love the truth and honesty; for they are, forsooth,
+unrighteous ways, and such a disposition is hard to reverence; shaping
+one's conduct after one's likings, liking this or that, and seeing no
+harm in it, what method of experience is this! A hollow compliance, and
+a protesting heart, such method is not for me to follow; but this I
+know, old age, disease, and death, these are the great afflictions which
+accumulate, and overwhelm me with their presence; on these I find no
+friend to speak, alas! alas! Udâyi! these, after all, are the great
+concerns; the pain of birth, old age, disease, and death; this grief is
+that we have to fear; the eyes see all things falling to decay, and yet
+the heart finds joy in following them; but I have little strength of
+purpose, or command; this heart of mine is feeble and distraught,
+reflecting thus on age, disease, and death. Distracted, as I never was
+before; sleepless by night and day, how can I then indulge in pleasure?
+Old age, disease, and death consuming me, their certainty beyond a
+doubt, and still to have no heavy thoughts, in truth my heart would be a
+log or stone." Thus the prince, for Uda's sake, used every kind of
+skilful argument, describing all the pains of pleasure; and not
+perceiving that the day declined. And now the waiting women all, with
+music and their various attractions, seeing that all were useless for
+the end, with shame began to flock back to the city; the prince
+beholding all the gardens, bereft of their gaudy ornaments, the women
+all returning home, the place becoming silent and deserted, felt with
+twofold strength the thought of impermanence. With saddened mien going
+back, he entered his palace.
+
+The king, his father, hearing of the prince, his heart estranged from
+thoughts of pleasure, was greatly overcome with sorrow, and like a sword
+it pierced his heart. Forthwith assembling all his council, he sought of
+them some means to gain his end; they all replied, "These sources of
+desire are not enough to hold and captivate his heart."
+
+Leaving the City
+
+And so the king increased the means for gratifying the appetite for
+pleasure; both night and day the joys of music wore out the prince,
+opposed to pleasure; disgusted with them, he desired their absence, his
+mind was weaned from all such thoughts, he only thought of age, disease,
+and death; as the lion wounded by an arrow.
+
+The king then sent his chief ministers, and the most distinguished of
+his family, young in years and eminent for beauty, as well as for wisdom
+and dignity of manners, to accompany and rest with him, both night and
+day, in order to influence the prince's mind. And now within a little
+interval, the prince again requested the king that he might go abroad.
+
+Once more the chariot and the well-paced horses were prepared, adorned
+with precious substances and every gem; and then with all the nobles,
+his associates, surrounding him, he left the city gates. Just as the
+four kinds of flower, when the sun shines, open out their leaves, so was
+the prince in all his spiritual splendor; effulgent in the beauty of his
+youth-time. As he proceeded to the gardens from the city, the road was
+well prepared, smooth, and wide, the trees were bright with flowers and
+fruit, his heart was joyous, and forgetful of its care.
+
+Now by the roadside, as he beheld the ploughmen, plodding along the
+furrows, and the writhing worms, his heart again was moved with piteous
+feeling, and anguish pierced his soul afresh; to see those laborers at
+their toil, struggling with painful work, their bodies bent, their hair
+dishevelled, the dripping sweat upon their faces, their persons fouled
+with mud and dust; the ploughing oxen, too, bent by the yokes, their
+lolling tongues and gaping mouths. The nature of the prince, loving,
+compassionate, his mind conceived most poignant sorrow, and nobly moved
+to sympathy, he groaned with pain; then stooping down he sat upon the
+ground, and watched this painful scene of suffering; reflecting on the
+ways of birth and death! "Alas! he cried, for all the world! how dark
+and ignorant, void of understanding!" And then to give his followers
+chance of rest, he bade them each repose where'er they list, whilst he
+beneath the shadow of a Gambu tree, gracefully seated, gave himself to
+thought. He pondered on the fact of life and death, inconstancy, and
+endless progress to decay. His heart thus fixed without confusion, the
+five senses covered and clouded over, lost in possession of
+enlightenment and insight, he entered on the first pure state of
+ecstasy. All low desire removed, most perfect peace ensued; and fully
+now in Samâdhi he saw the misery and utter sorrow of the world; the ruin
+wrought by age, disease, and death; the great misery following on the
+body's death; and yet men not awakened to the truth! oppressed with
+others' suffering (age, disease, and death), this load of sorrow weighed
+his mind. "I now will seek," he said, "a noble law, unlike the worldly
+methods known to men. I will oppose disease and age and death, and
+strive against the mischief wrought by these on men."
+
+Thus lost in tranquil contemplation, he considered that youth, vigor,
+and strength of life, constantly renewing themselves, without long stay,
+in the end fulfil the rule of ultimate destruction. Thus he pondered,
+without excessive joy or grief, without hesitation or confusion of
+thought, without dreaminess or extreme longing, without aversion or
+discontent, but perfectly at peace, with no hindrance, radiant with the
+beams of increased illumination. At this time a Deva of the Pure abode,
+transforming himself into the shape of a Bhikshu, came to the place
+where the prince was seated; the prince with due consideration rose to
+meet him, and asked him who he was. In reply he said, "I am a Shâman,
+depressed and sad at thought of age, disease, and death; I have left my
+home to seek some way of rescue, but everywhere I find old age, disease,
+and death; all things hasten to decay and there is no permanency.
+Therefore I search for the happiness of something that decays not, that
+never perishes, that never knows beginning, that looks with equal mind
+on enemy and friend, that heeds not wealth nor beauty; the happiness of
+one who finds repose alone in solitude, in some unfrequented dell, free
+from molestation, all thoughts about the world destroyed; dwelling in
+some lonely hermitage, untouched by any worldly source of pollution,
+begging for food sufficient for the body." And forthwith as he stood
+before the prince, gradually rising up he disappeared in space.
+
+The prince, with joyful mind, considering, recollected former Buddhas,
+established thus in perfect dignity of manner; with noble mien and
+presence, as this visitor. Thus calling things to mind with perfect
+self-possession, he reached the thought of righteousness, and by what
+means it can be gained. Indulging thus for some time in thoughts of
+religious solitude, he now suppressed his feelings and controlled his
+members, and rising turned again towards the city. His followers all
+flocked after him, calling him to stop and not go far from them, but in
+his mind these secret thoughts so held him, devising means by which to
+escape from the world, that though his body moved along the road, his
+heart was far away among the mountains; even as the bound and captive
+elephant ever thinks about his desert wilds. The prince now entering the
+city, there met him men and women, earnest for their several ends; the
+old besought him for their children, the young sought something for the
+wife, others sought something for their brethren; all those allied by
+kinship or by family, aimed to obtain their several suits, all of them
+joined in relationship dreading the pain of separation. And now the
+prince's heart was filled with joy, as he suddenly heard those words
+"separation and association." "These are joyful sounds to me," he said,
+"they assure me that my vow shall be accomplished." Then deeply
+pondering the joy of "snapped relationship," the idea of Nirvâna,
+deepened and widened in him, his body as a peak of the Golden Mount, his
+shoulder like the elephant's, his voice like the spring-thunder, his
+deep-blue eye like that of the king of oxen; his mind full of religious
+thoughts, his face bright as the full moon, his step like that of the
+lion king, thus he entered his palace; even as the son of Lord Sakra, or
+Sakra-putra, his mind reverential, his person dignified, he went
+straight to his father's presence, and with head inclined, inquired, "Is
+the king well?" Then he explained his dread of age, disease, and death,
+and sought respectfully permission to become a hermit. "For all things
+in the world," he said, "though now united, tend to separation."
+Therefore he prayed to leave the world; desiring to find "true
+deliverance."
+
+His royal father hearing the words "leave the world," was forthwith
+seized with great heart-trembling, even as the strong wild elephant
+shakes with his weight the boughs of some young sapling; going forward,
+seizing the prince's hands, with falling tears, he spake as follows:
+"Stop! nor speak such words, the time is not yet come for 'a religious
+life;' you are young and strong, your heart beats full, to lead a
+religious life frequently involves trouble; it is rarely possible to
+hold the desires in check, the heart not yet estranged from their
+enjoyment; to leave your home and lead a painful ascetic life, your
+heart can hardly yet resolve on such a course. To dwell amidst the
+desert wilds or lonely dells, this heart of yours would not be perfectly
+at rest, for though you love religious matters, you are not yet like me
+in years; you should undertake the kingdom's government, and let me
+first adopt ascetic life; but to give up your father and your sacred
+duties, this is not to act religiously; you should suppress this thought
+of 'leaving home,' and undertake your worldly duties, find your delight
+in getting an illustrious name, and after this give up your home and
+family."
+
+The prince, with proper reverence and respectful feelings, again
+besought his royal father; but promised if he could be saved from four
+calamities, that he would give up the thought of "leaving home." If he
+would grant him life without end, no disease, nor undesirable old age,
+and no decay of earthly possessions, then he would obey and give up the
+thought of "leaving home."
+
+The royal father then addressed the prince, "Speak not such words as
+these, for with respect to these four things, who is there able to
+prevent them, or say nay to their approach; asking such things as these,
+you would provoke men's laughter! But put away this thought of 'leaving
+home,' and once more take yourself to pleasure."
+
+The prince again besought his father, "If you may not grant me these
+four prayers, then let me go I pray, and leave my home. O! place no
+difficulties in my path; your son is dwelling in a burning house, would
+you indeed prevent his leaving it! To solve a doubt is only reasonable,
+who could forbid a man to seek its explanation? Or if he were forbidden,
+then by self-destruction he might solve the difficulty, in an
+unrighteous way: and if he were to do so, who could restrain him after
+death?"
+
+The royal father, seeing his son's mind so firmly fixed that it could
+not be turned, and that it would be waste of strength to bandy further
+words or arguments, forthwith commanded more attendant women, to provoke
+still more his mind to pleasure; day and night he ordered them to keep
+the roads and ways, to the end that he might not leave his palace. He
+moreover ordered all the ministers of the country to come to the place
+where dwelt the prince, to quote and illustrate the rules of filial
+piety, hoping to cause him to obey the wishes of the king.
+
+The prince, beholding his royal father bathed with tears and o'erwhelmed
+with grief, forthwith returned to his abode, and sat himself in silence
+to consider; all the women of the palace, coming towards him, waited as
+they circled him, and gazed in silence on his beauteous form. They gazed
+upon him not with furtive glance, but like the deer in autumn brake
+looks wistfully at the hunter; around the prince's straight and handsome
+form, bright as the mountain of true gold (Sumeru). The dancing women
+gathered doubtingly, waiting to hear him bid them sound their music;
+repressing every feeling of the heart through fear, even as the deer
+within the brake; now gradually the day began to wane, the prince still
+sitting in the evening light, his glory streaming forth in splendor, as
+the sun lights up Mount Sumeru; thus seated on his jewelled couch,
+surrounded by the fumes of sandal-wood, the dancing women took their
+places round; then sounded forth their heavenly music, even as Vaisaman
+produces every kind of rare and heavenly sounds. The thoughts which
+dwelt within the prince's mind entirely drove from him desire for music,
+and though the sounds filled all the place, they fell upon his ear
+unnoticed. At this time the Deva of the Pure abode, knowing the prince's
+time was come, the destined time for quitting home, suddenly assumed a
+form and came to earth, to make the shapes of all the women
+unattractive, so that they might create disgust, and no desire arise
+from thought of beauty. Their half-clad forms bent in ungainly
+attitudes, forgetful in their sleep, their bodies crooked or supine, the
+instruments of music lying scattered in disorder; leaning and facing one
+another, or with back to back, or like those beings thrown into the
+abyss, their jewelled necklets bound about like chains, their clothes
+and undergarments swathed around their persons; grasping their
+instruments, stretched along the earth, even as those undergoing
+punishment at the hands of keepers, their garments in confusion, or like
+the broken kani flower; or some with bodies leaning in sleep against the
+wall, in fashion like a hanging bow or horn, or with their hands holding
+to the window-frames, and looking like an outstretched corpse. Their
+mouths half opened or else gaping wide, the loathsome dribble trickling
+forth, their heads uncovered and in wild disorder, like some unreasoning
+madman's; the flower wreaths torn and hanging across their face, or
+slipping off the face upon the ground; others with body raised as if in
+fearful dread, just like the lonely desert bird; or others pillowed on
+their neighbor's lap, their hands and feet entwined together, whilst
+others smiled or knit their brows in turn; some with eyes closed and
+open mouth, their bodies lying in wild disorder, stretched here and
+there, like corpses thrown together. And now the prince seated, in his
+beauty, looked with thought on all the waiting women; before, they had
+appeared exceeding lovely, their laughing words, their hearts so light
+and gay, their forms so plump and young, their looks so bright; but now,
+how changed! so uninviting and repulsive. And such is woman's
+disposition! how can they, then, be ever dear, or closely trusted; such
+false appearances! and unreal pretences; they only madden and delude the
+minds of men.
+
+"And now," he said, "I have awakened to the truth! Resolved am I to
+leave such false society." At this time the Deva of the Pure abode
+descended and approached, unfastening the doors. The prince, too, at
+this time rose and walked along, amid the prostrate forms of all the
+women; with difficulty reaching the inner hall, he called to Kandaka, in
+these words, "My mind is now athirst and longing for the draught of the
+fountain of sweet dew; saddle then my horse, and quickly bring it here.
+I wish to reach the deathless city; my heart is fixed beyond all change,
+resolved I am and bound by sacred oath; these women, once so charming
+and enticing, now behold I altogether loathsome; the gates, which were
+before fast-barred and locked, now stand free and open! these evidences
+of something supernatural, point to a climax of my life."
+
+Then Kandaka stood reflecting inwardly, whether to obey or not the
+prince's order, without informing his royal father of it, and so incur
+the heaviest punishment.
+
+The Devas then gave spiritual strength; and unperceived the horse
+equipped came round, with even pace; a gallant steed, with all his
+jewelled trappings for a rider; high-maned, with flowing tail,
+broad-backed, short-haired and eared, with belly like the deer's, head
+like the king of parrots, wide forehead, round and claw-shaped nostrils,
+breath like the dragon's, with breast and shoulders square, true and
+sufficient marks of his high breed. The royal prince, stroking the
+horse's neck, and rubbing down his body, said, "My royal father ever
+rode on thee, and found thee brave in fight and fearless of the foe; now
+I desire to rely on thee alike! to carry me far off to the stream (ford)
+of endless life, to fight against and overcome the opposing force of
+men, the men who associate in search of pleasure, the men who engage in
+the search after wealth, the crowds who follow and flatter such persons;
+in opposing sorrow, friendly help is difficult to find, in seeking
+religious truth there must be rare enlightenment, let us then be knit
+together thus as friends; then, at last, there will be rest from sorrow.
+But now I wish to go abroad, to give deliverance from pain; now then,
+for your own sake it is, and for the sake of all your kind, that you
+should exert your strength, with noble pace, without lagging or
+weariness." Having thus exhorted him, he bestrode his horse, and
+grasping the reins proceeded forth; the man like the sun shining forth
+from his tabernacle, the horse like the white floating cloud, exerting
+himself but without exciting haste, his breath concealed and without
+snorting; four spirits (Devas) accompanying him, held up his feet,
+heedfully concealing his advance, silently and without noise; the heavy
+gates fastened and barred, the heavenly spirits of themselves caused to
+open. Reverencing deeply the virtuous father, loving deeply the
+unequalled son, equally affected with love towards all the members of
+his family these Devas took their place.
+
+Suppressing his feelings, but not extinguishing his memory, lightly he
+advanced and proceeded beyond the city, pure and spotless as the lily
+flowers which spring from the mud; looking up with earnestness at his
+father's palace, he announced his purpose--unwitnessed and
+unwritten--"If I escape not birth, old age, and death, for evermore I
+pass not thus along." All the concourse of Devas, the space-filling
+Nâgas and spirits followed joyfully and exclaimed, "Well! well!" in
+confirmation of the true words he spoke. The Nâgas and the company of
+Devas acquired a condition of heart difficult to obtain, and each with
+his own inherent light led on the way shedding forth their brightness.
+Thus man and horse, both strong of heart, went onwards, lost to sight
+like streaming stars, but ere the eastern quarter flashed with light,
+they had advanced three yoganas.
+
+
+[Footnote 91: Mâra, the king of the world of desire. According to the
+Buddhist theogony he is the god of sensual love. He holds the world in
+sin. He was the enemy of Buddha, and endeavored in every way to defeat
+him. He is also described as the king of death.]
+
+[Footnote 92: That is, the Brahman wearing the twice-born thread.]
+
+[Footnote 93: The "eternal draught" or "sweet dew" of Ambrosia. This
+expression is constantly used in Buddhist writings. It corresponds with
+the Pali amatam, which Childers explains as the "drink of the gods."]
+
+[Footnote 94: The condition of the highest Deva, according to Buddhism,
+does not exempt him from re-birth; subject to the calamities incident on
+such a renewal of life.]
+
+[Footnote 95: This seems to mean that those who had not received benefit
+from the teaching of the four previous Buddhas, that even these were
+placable and well-disposed.]
+
+[Footnote 96: The description here given of the peace and content
+prevailing in the world on the birth of Bodhisattva (and his name given
+to him in consequence) resembles the account of the golden age in
+classic authors.]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+The Return of Kandaka
+
+
+And now the night was in a moment gone, and sight restored to all
+created things, when the royal prince looked through the wood, and saw
+the abode of Po-ka, the Rishi. The purling streams so exquisitely pure
+and sparkling, and the wild beasts all unalarmed at man, caused the
+royal prince's heart to exult. Tired, the horse stopped of his own will,
+to breathe. "This, then," he thought, "is a good sign and fortunate, and
+doubtless indicates divine approval." And now he saw belonging to the
+Rishi, the various vessels used for asking charity, and other things
+arranged by him in order, without the slightest trace of negligence.
+Dismounting then he stroked his horse's head, and cried, "You now have
+borne me well!"
+
+With loving eyes he looked at Kandaka: eyes like the pure cool surface
+of a placid lake and said, "Swift-footed! like a horse in pace, yea!
+swift as any light-winged bird, ever have you followed after me when
+riding, and deeply have I felt my debt of thanks, but not yet had you
+been tried in other ways; I only knew you as a man true-hearted, my mind
+now wonders at your active powers of body; these two I now begin to see
+are yours; a man may have a heart most true and faithful, but strength
+of body may not too be his; bodily strength and perfect honesty of
+heart, I now have proof enough are yours. To be content to leave the
+tinselled world, and with swift foot to follow me, who would do this but
+for some profit; if without profit to his kin, who would not shun it?
+But you, with no private aim, have followed me, not seeking any present
+recompense; as we nourish and bring up a child, to bind together and
+bring honor to a family, so we also reverence and obey a father, to gain
+obedience and attention from a begotten son; in this way all think of
+their own advantage; but you have come with me disdaining profit; with
+many words I cannot hold you here, so let me say in brief to you, we
+have now ended our relationship; take, then, my horse and ride back
+again; for me, during the long night past, that place I sought to reach
+now I have obtained."
+
+Then taking off his precious neck-chain, he handed it to Kandaka. "Take
+this," he said, "I give it you, let it console you in your sorrow." The
+precious jewel in the tire that bound his head, bright-shining, lighting
+up his person, taking off and placing in his extended palm, like the sun
+which lights up Sumeru, he said, "O Kandaka! take this gem, and going
+back to where my father is, take the jewel and lay it reverently before
+him, to signify my heart's relation to him; and then, for me, request
+the king to stifle every fickle feeling of affection, and say that I, to
+escape from birth and age and death, have entered on the wild forest of
+painful discipline; not that I may get a heavenly birth, much less
+because I have no tenderness of heart, or that I cherish any cause of
+bitterness, but only that I may escape this weight of sorrow. The
+accumulated long-night weight of covetous desire (love), I now desire to
+ease the load so that it may be overthrown forever; therefore I seek the
+way of ultimate escape; if I should obtain emancipation, then shall I
+never need to put away my kindred, to leave my home, to sever ties of
+love. O! grieve not for your son! The five desires of sense beget the
+sorrow; those held by lust themselves induce the sorrow. My very
+ancestors, victorious kings, thinking their throne established and
+immovable, have handed down to me their kingly wealth; I, thinking only
+on religion, put it all away; the royal mothers at the end of life their
+cherished treasures leave for their sons, those sons who covet much such
+worldly profit; but I rejoice to have acquired religious wealth; if you
+say that I am young and tender, and that the time for seeking wisdom is
+not come, you ought to know that to seek true religion, there never is a
+time not fit; impermanence and fickleness, the hate of death, these ever
+follow us, and therefore I embrace the present day, convinced that now
+is time to seek religion. With such entreaties as the above, you must
+make matters plain on my behalf; but, pray you, cause my father not to
+think longingly after me; let him destroy all recollection of me, and
+cut out from his soul the ties of love; and you, grieve not because of
+what I say, but recollect to give the king my message."
+
+Kandaka hearing respectfully the words of exhortation, blinded and
+confused through choking sorrow, with hands outstretched did worship;
+and answering the prince, he spoke, "The orders that you give me will, I
+fear, add grief to grief, and sorrow thus increased will deepen, as the
+elephant who struggles into deeper mire. When the ties of love are
+rudely snapped, who, that has any heart, would not grieve! The golden
+ore may still by stamping be broken up, how much more the feelings
+choked with sorrow! the prince has grown up in a palace, with every care
+bestowed upon his tender person, and now he gives his body to the rough
+and thorny forest; how will he be able to bear a life of privation? When
+first you ordered me to equip your steed, my mind was indeed sorely
+troubled, but the heavenly powers urged me on, causing me to hasten the
+preparation of the horse, but what is the intention that urges the
+prince, to resolve thus to leave his secure palace? The people of
+Kapilavastu, and all the country afflicted with grief; your father, now
+an old man, mindful of his son, loving him moreover tenderly; surely
+this determination to leave your home, this is not according to duty; it
+is wrong, surely, to disregard father and mother--we cannot speak of
+such a thing with propriety! Gotami, too, who has nourished you so long,
+fed you with milk when a helpless child, such love as hers cannot easily
+be forgotten; it is impossible surely to turn the back on a benefactor;
+the highly gifted virtuous mother of a child, is ever respected by the
+most distinguished families; to inherit distinction and then to turn
+round, is not the mark of a distinguished man. The illustrious child of
+Yasodharâ, who has inherited a kingdom, rightly governed, his years now
+gradually ripening, should not thus go away from and forsake his home;
+but though he has gone away from his royal father, and forsaken his
+family and his kin, forbid it he should still drive me away, let me not
+depart from the feet of my master; my heart is bound to thee, as the
+heat is bound up in the boiling water. I cannot return without thee to
+my country; to return and leave the prince thus, in the midst of the
+solitude of the desert, then should I be like Sumanta, who left and
+forsook Râma; and now if I return alone to the palace, what words can I
+address to the king? How can I reply to the reproaches of all the
+dwellers in the palace with suitable words? Therefore let the prince
+rather tell me, how I may truly describe, and with what device, the
+disfigured body, and the merit-seeking condition of the hermit! I am
+full of fear and alarm, my tongue can utter no words; tell me then what
+words to speak; but who is there in the empire will believe me? If I say
+that the moon's rays are scorching, there are men, perhaps, who may
+believe me; but they will not believe that the prince, in his conduct,
+will act without piety; for the prince's heart is sincere and refined,
+always actuated with pity and love to men. To be deeply affected with
+love, and yet to forsake the object of love, this surely is opposed to a
+constant mind. O then, for pity's sake! return to your home, and thus
+appease my foolish longings."
+
+The prince having listened to Kandaka, pitying his grief expressed in so
+many words, with heart resolved and strong in its determination, spoke
+thus to him once more, and said: "Why thus on my account do you feel the
+pain of separation? you should overcome this sorrowful mood, it is for
+you to comfort yourself; all creatures, each in its way, foolishly
+arguing that all things are constant, would influence me to-day not to
+forsake my kin and relatives; but when dead and come to be a ghost, how
+then, let them say, can I be kept? My loving mother when she bore me,
+with deep affection painfully carried me, and then when born she died,
+not permitted to nourish me. One alive, the other dead, gone by
+different roads, where now shall she be found? Like as in a wilderness,
+on some high tree, all the birds living with their mates assemble in the
+evening and at dawn disperse, so are the separations of the world; the
+floating clouds rise like a high mountain, from the four quarters they
+fill the void, in a moment again they are separated and disappear; so is
+it with the habitations of men; people from the beginning have erred
+thus, binding themselves in society and by the ties of love, and then,
+as after a dream, all is dispersed; do not then recount the names of my
+relatives; for like the wood which is produced in spring, gradually
+grows and brings forth its leaves, which again fall in the
+autumn-chilly-dews--if the different parts of the same body are thus
+divided--how much more men who are united in society! and how shall the
+ties of relationship escape rending? Cease therefore your grief and
+expostulation, obey my commands and return home; the thought of your
+return alone will save me, and perhaps after your return I also may come
+back. The men of Kapilavastu, hearing that my heart is fixed, will
+dismiss from their minds all thought of me, but you may make known my
+words, 'when I have escaped from the sad ocean of birth and death, then
+afterwards I will come back again; but I am resolved, if I obtain not my
+quest, my body shall perish in the mountain wilds.'" The white horse
+hearing the prince, as he uttered these true and earnest words, bent his
+knee and licked his foot, whilst he sighed deeply and wept. Then the
+prince with his soft and glossy palm, fondly stroking the head of the
+white horse, said, "Do not let sorrow rise within, I grieve indeed at
+losing you, my gallant steed--so strong and active, your merit now has
+gained its end; you shall enjoy for long a respite from an evil birth,
+but for the present take as your reward these precious jewels and this
+glittering sword, and with them follow closely after Kandaka." The
+prince then drawing forth his sword, glancing in the light as the
+dragon's eye, cut off the knot of hair with its jewelled stud, and
+forthwith cast it into space; ascending upwards to the firmament, it
+floated there as the wings of the phoenix; then all the Devas of the
+Trayastrimsa heavens seizing the hair, returned with it to their
+heavenly abodes; desiring always to adore the feet (offer religious
+service), how much rather now possessed of the crowning locks, with
+unfeigned piety do they increase their adoration, and shall do till the
+true law has died away.
+
+Then the royal prince thought thus, "My adornments now are gone forever,
+there only now remain these silken garments, which are not in keeping
+with a hermit's life."
+
+Then the Deva of the Pure abode, knowing the heart-ponderings of the
+prince, transformed himself into a hunter's likeness, holding his bow,
+his arrows in his girdle, his body girded with a Kashâya-colored robe,
+thus he advanced in front of the prince. The prince considering this
+garment of his, the color of the ground, a fitting pure attire, becoming
+to the utmost the person of a Rishi, not fit for a hunter's dress,
+forthwith called to the hunter, as he stood before him, in accents soft,
+and thus addressed him: "That dress of thine belikes me much, as if it
+were not foul, and this my dress I'll give thee in exchange, so please
+thee."
+
+The hunter then addressed the prince, "Although I ill can spare this
+garment, which I use as a disguise among the deer, that alluring them
+within reach I may kill them, notwithstanding, as it so pleases you, I
+am now willing to bestow it in exchange for yours." The hunter having
+received the sumptuous dress, took again his heavenly body.
+
+The prince and Kandaka, the coachman, seeing this, thought deeply thus:
+"This garment is of no common character, it is not what a worldly man
+has worn"--and in the prince's heart great joy arose, as he regarded the
+coat with double reverence, and forthwith giving all the other things to
+Kandaka, he himself was clad in it, of Kashâya color; then like the dark
+and lowering cloud, that surrounds the disc of the sun or moon, he for a
+moment gazed, scanning his steps, then entered on the hermit's grot;
+Kandaka following him with wistful eyes, his body disappeared, nor was
+it seen again. "My lord and master now has left his father's house, his
+kinsfolk and myself," he cried; "he now has clothed himself in hermit's
+garb, and entered the painful forest." Raising his hands he called on
+Heaven, o'erpowered with grief he could not move; till holding by the
+white steed's neck, he tottered forward on the homeward road, turning
+again and often looking back, his body going on, his heart
+back-hastening; now lost in thought and self-forgetful, now looking down
+to earth, then raising up his drooping eye to heaven, falling at times
+and then rising again, thus weeping as he went, he pursued his way
+homewards.
+
+Entering the Place of Austerities
+
+The prince having dismissed Kandaka, as he entered the Rishis' abode,
+his graceful body brightly shining, lit up on every side the forest
+"place of suffering"; himself gifted with every excellence, according to
+his gifts, so were they reflected. As the lion, the king of beasts, when
+he enters among the herd of beasts, drives from their minds all thoughts
+of common things, as now they watch the true form of their kind, so
+those Rishi masters assembled there, suddenly perceiving the miraculous
+portent, were struck with awe and fearful gladness, as they gazed with
+earnest eyes and hands conjoined. The men and women, engaged in various
+occupations, beholding him, with unchanged attitudes, gazed as the gods
+look on King Sakra, with constant look and eyes unmoved; so the Rishis,
+with their feet fixed fast, looked at him even thus; whatever in their
+hands they held, without releasing it, they stopped and looked; even as
+the ox when yoked to the wain, his body bound, his mind also restrained;
+so also the followers of the holy Rishis, each called the other to
+behold the miracle. The peacocks and the other birds with cries
+commingled flapped their wings; the Brahmakârins holding the rules of
+deer, following the deer wandering through mountain glades, as the deer
+coarse of nature, with flashing eyes, regard the prince with fixed gaze;
+so following the deer, those Brahmakârins intently gaze likewise,
+looking at the exceeding glory of the Ikshvâku. As the glory of the
+rising sun is able to affect the herds of milch kine, so as to increase
+the quantity of their sweet-scented milk, so those Brahmakârins, with
+wondrous joy, thus spoke one to the other: "Surely this is one of the
+eight Vasu Devas"; others, "this is one of the two Asvins"; others,
+"this is Mâra"; others, "this is one of the Brahmakâyikas"; others,
+"this is Sûryadeva or Kandradeva, coming down; are they not seeking here
+a sacrifice which is their due? Come let us haste to offer our religious
+services!"
+
+The prince, on his part, with respectful mien addressed to them polite
+salutation. Then Bodhisattva, looking with care in every direction on
+the Brahmakârins occupying the wood, each engaged in his religious
+duties, all desirous of the delights of heaven, addressed the senior
+Brahmakârin, and asked him as to the path of true religion. "Now having
+just come here, I do not yet know the rules of your religious life. I
+ask you therefore for information, and I pray explain to me what I ask."
+
+On this that twice-born (Brahman) in reply explained in succession all
+the modes of painful discipline, and the fruits expected as their
+result. How some ate nothing brought from inhabited places but that
+produced from pure water, others edible roots and tender twigs, others
+fruits and flowers fit for food, each according to the rules of his
+sect, clothing and food in each case different; some living amongst
+bird-kind, and like them capturing and eating food; others eating as the
+deer the grass and herbs; others living like serpents, inhaling air;
+others eating nothing pounded in wood or stone; some eating with two
+teeth, till a wound be formed; others, again, begging their food and
+giving it in charity, taking only the remnants for themselves; others,
+again, who let water continually drip on their heads and those who offer
+up with fire; others who practise water-dwelling like fish; thus there
+are Brahmakârins of every sort, who practise austerities, that they may
+at the end of life obtain a birth in heaven, and by their present
+sufferings afterwards obtain peaceable fruit.
+
+The lord of men, the excellent master, hearing all their modes of
+sorrow-producing penance, not perceiving any element of truth in them,
+experienced no joyful emotion in his heart; lost in thought, he regarded
+the men with pity, and with his heart in agreement his mouth thus spake:
+"Pitiful indeed are such sufferings! and merely in quest of a human or
+heavenly reward, ever revolving in the cycle of birth or death, how
+great your sufferings, how small the recompense! Leaving your friends,
+giving up honorable position; with a firm purpose to obtain the joys of
+heaven, although you may escape little sorrows, yet in the end involved
+in great sorrow; promoting the destruction of your outward form, and
+undergoing every kind of painful penance, and yet seeking to obtain
+another birth; increasing and prolonging the causes of the five desires,
+not considering that herefrom birth and death, undergoing suffering and,
+by that, seeking further suffering; thus it is that the world of men,
+though dreading the approach of death, yet strive after renewed birth;
+and being thus born, they must die again. Although still dreading the
+power of suffering, yet prolonging their stay in the sea of pain.
+Disliking from their heart their present kind of life, yet still
+striving incessantly after other life; enduring affliction that they may
+partake of joy; seeking a birth in heaven, to suffer further trouble;
+seeking joys, whilst the heart sinks with feebleness. For this is so
+with those who oppose right reason; they cannot but be cramped and poor
+at heart. But by earnestness and diligence, then we conquer. Walking in
+the path of true wisdom, letting go both extremes, we then reach
+ultimate perfection; to mortify the body, if this is religion, then to
+enjoy rest, is something not resulting from religion. To walk
+religiously and afterwards to receive happiness, this is to make the
+fruit of religion something different from religion; but bodily exercise
+is but the cause of death, strength results alone from the mind's
+intention; if you remove from conduct the purpose of the mind, the
+bodily act is but as rotten wood; wherefore, regulate the mind, and then
+the body will spontaneously go right. You say that to eat pure things is
+a cause of religious merit, but the wild beasts and the children of
+poverty ever feed on these fruits and medicinal herbs; these then ought
+to gain much religious merit. But if you say that the heart being good
+then bodily suffering is the cause of further merit, then I ask why may
+not those who live in ease, also possess a virtuous heart? If joys are
+opposed to a virtuous heart, a virtuous heart may also be opposed to
+bodily suffering; if, for instance, all those heretics profess purity
+because they use water in various ways, then those who thus use water
+among men, even with a wicked mind, yet ought ever to be pure. But if
+righteousness is the groundwork of a Rishi's purity, then the idea of a
+sacred spot as his dwelling, being the cause of his righteousness is
+wrong. What is reverenced, should be known and seen. Reverence indeed is
+due to righteous conduct, but let it not redound to the place or mode of
+life."
+
+Thus speaking at large on religious questions, they went on till the
+setting sun. He then beheld their rites in connection with sacrifice to
+fire, the drilling for sparks and the fanning into flame, also the
+sprinkling of the butter libations, also the chanting of the mystic
+prayers, till the sun went down. The prince considering these acts,
+could not perceive the right reason of them, and was now desirous to
+turn and go. Then all those Brahmakârins came together to him to request
+him to stay; regarding with reverence the dignity of Bodhisattva, very
+desirous, they earnestly besought him: "You have come from an
+irreligious place, to this wood where true religion flourishes, and yet,
+now, you wish to go away; we beg you, then, on this account, to stay."
+All the old Brahmakârins, with their twisted hair and bark clothes, came
+following after Bodhisattva, asking him as a god to stay a little while.
+Bodhisattva seeing these aged ones following him, their bodies worn with
+macerations, stood still and rested beneath a tree; and soothing them,
+urged them to return. Then all the Brahmakârins, young and old,
+surrounding him, made their request with joined hands: "You who have so
+unexpectedly arrived here, amid these garden glades so full of
+attraction, why now are you leaving them and going away, to seek
+perfection in the wilderness? As a man loving long life, is unwilling to
+let go his body, so we are even thus; would that you would stop awhile.
+This is a spot where Brahmans and Rishis have ever dwelt, royal Rishis
+and heavenly Rishis, these all have dwelt within these woods. The places
+on the borders of the snowy mountains, where men of high birth undergo
+their penance, those places are not to be compared to this. All the body
+of learned masters from this place have reached heaven; all the learned
+Rishis who have sought religious merit, have from this place and
+northwards found it; those who have attained a knowledge of the true
+law, and gained divine wisdom come not from southwards; if you indeed
+see us remiss and not earnest enough, practising rules not pure, and on
+that account are not pleased to stay, then we are the ones that ought to
+go; you can still remain and dwell here; all these different
+Brahmakârins ever desire to find companions in their penances. And you,
+because you are conspicuous for your religious earnestness, should not
+so quickly cast away their society: if you can remain here, they will
+honor you as god Sakra, yea! as the Devas pay worship to Brihaspati."
+
+Then Bodhisattva answered the Brahmakârins and told them what his
+desires were: "I am seeking for a true method of escape, I desire solely
+to destroy all mundane influences; but you, with strong hearts, practise
+your rules as ascetics, and pay respectful attention to such visitors as
+may come. My heart indeed is moved with affection towards you, for
+pleasant conversation is agreeable to all, those who listen are affected
+thereby; and so hearing your words, my mind is strengthened in religious
+feeling; you indeed have all paid me much respect, in agreement with the
+courtesy of your religious profession; but now I am constrained to
+depart, my heart grieves thereat exceedingly: first of all, having left
+my own kindred, and now about to be separated from you. The pain of
+separation from associates, this pain is as great as the other; it is
+impossible for my mind not to grieve, as it is not to see others'
+faults. But you, by suffering pain, desire earnestly to obtain the joys
+of birth in heaven; whilst I desire to escape from the three worlds, and
+therefore I give up what my reason tells me must be rejected. The law
+which you practise, you inherit from the deeds of former teachers, but
+I, desiring to destroy all combination, seek a law which admits of no
+such accident. And, therefore, I cannot in this grove delay for a longer
+while in fruitless discussions."
+
+At this time all the Brahmakârins, hearing the words spoken by
+Bodhisattva, words full of right reason and truth, very excellent in the
+distinction of principles, their hearts rejoiced and exulted greatly,
+and deep feelings of reverence were excited within them.
+
+At this time there was one Brahmakârin, who always slept in the dust,
+with tangled hair and raiment of the bark of trees, his eyes bleared,
+preparing himself in an ascetic practice called "high-nose."[97] This
+one addressed Bodhisattva in the following words: "Strong in will!
+bright in wisdom! firmly fixed in resolve to escape the limits of birth,
+knowing that in escape from birth there alone is rest, not affected by
+any desire after heavenly blessedness, the mind set upon the eternal
+destruction of the bodily form, you are indeed miraculous in appearance,
+as you are alone in the possession of such a mind. To sacrifice to the
+gods, and to practise every kind of austerity, all this is designed to
+secure a birth in heaven, but here there is no mortification of selfish
+desire, there is still a selfish personal aim; but to bend the will to
+seek final escape, this is indeed the work of a true teacher, this is
+the aim of an enlightened master; this place is no right halting-place
+for you; you ought to proceed to Mount Pinda: there dwells a great Muni,
+whose name is A-lo-lam. He only has reached the end of religious aims,
+the most excellent eye of the law. Go, therefore, to the place where he
+dwells, and listen there to the true exposition of the law. This will
+make your heart rejoice, as you learn to follow the precepts of his
+system. As for me, beholding the joy of your resolve, and fearing that I
+shall not obtain rest, I must once more let go those following me, and
+seek other disciples; straighten my head and gaze with my full eyes;
+anoint my lips and cleanse my teeth; cover my shoulders and make bright
+my face, smooth my tongue and make it pliable. Thus, O excellently
+marked sir! fully drinking at the fountain of the water you give, I
+shall escape from the unfathomable depths. In the world nought is
+comparable to this, that which old men and Rishis have not known, that
+shall I know and obtain."
+
+Bodhisattva having listened to these words, left the company of the
+Rishis, whilst they all, turning round him to the right, returned to
+their place.
+
+The General Grief of the Palace
+
+Kandaka leading back the horse, opening the way for his heart's sorrow,
+as he went on, lamented and wept: unable to disburden his soul. First of
+all with the royal prince, passing along the road for one night, but now
+dismissed and ordered to return. As the darkness of night closed on him,
+irresolute he wavered in mind. On the eighth day approaching the city,
+the noble horse pressed onwards, exhibiting all his qualities of speed;
+but yet hesitating as he looked around and beheld not the form of the
+royal prince; his four members bent down with toil, his head and neck
+deprived of their glossy look, whinnying as he went on with grief, he
+refused night and day his grass and water, because he had lost his lord,
+the deliverer of men. Returning thus to Kapilavastu, the whole country
+appeared withered and bare, as when one comes back to a deserted
+village; or as when the sun hidden behind Sumeru causes darkness to
+spread over the world. The fountains of water sparkled no more, the
+flowers and fruits were withered and dead, the men and women in the
+streets seemed lost in grief and dismay. Thus Kandaka with the white
+horse went on sadly and with slow advance, silent to those inquiring,
+wearily progressing as when accompanying a funeral; so they went on,
+whilst all the spectators seeing Kandaka, but not observing the royal
+Sâkya prince, raised piteous cries of lamentation and wept; as when the
+charioteer returned without Râma.
+
+Then one by the side of the road, with his body bent, called out to
+Kandaka: "The prince, beloved of the world, the defender of his people,
+the one you have taken away by stealth, where dwells he now?" Kandaka,
+then, with sorrowful heart, replied to the people and said: "I with
+loving purpose followed after him whom I loved; 'tis not I who have
+deserted the prince, but by him have I been sent away; by him who now
+has given up his ordinary adornments, and with shaven head and religious
+garb, has entered the sorrow-giving grove."
+
+Then the men hearing that he had become an ascetic, were oppressed with
+thoughts of wondrous boding; they sighed with heaviness and wept, and as
+their tears coursed down their cheeks, they spake thus one to the other:
+"What then shall we do?" Then they all exclaimed at once, "Let us haste
+after him in pursuit; for as when a man's bodily functions fail, his
+frame dies and his spirit flees, so is the prince our life, and he our
+life gone, how shall we survive? This city, perfected with slopes and
+woods; those woods, that cover the slopes of the city, all deprived of
+grace, ye lie as Bharata when killed!"
+
+Then the men and women within the town, vainly supposing the prince had
+come back, in haste rushed out to the heads of the way, and seeing the
+horse returning alone, not knowing whether the prince was safe or lost,
+began to weep and to raise every piteous sound; and said, "Behold!
+Kandaka advancing slowly with the horse, comes back with sighs and
+tears; surely he grieves because the prince is lost." And thus sorrow is
+added to sorrow!
+
+Then like a captive warrior is drawn before the king his master, so did
+he enter the gates with tears, his eyes filled so that he said nought.
+Then looking up to heaven he loudly groaned; and the white horse too
+whined piteously; then all the varied birds and beasts in the palace
+court, and all the horses within the stables, hearing the sad whinnying
+of the royal steed, replied in answer to him, thinking "now the prince
+has come back." But seeing him not, they ceased their cries!
+
+And now the women of the after-palace, hearing the cries of the horses,
+birds, and beasts, their hair dishevelled, their faces wan and yellow,
+their forms sickly to look at, their mouths and lips parched, their
+garments torn and unwashed, the soil and heat not cleansed from their
+bodies, their ornaments all thrown aside, disconsolate and sad,
+cheerless in face, raised their bodies, without any grace, even as the
+feeble little morning star; their garments torn and knotted, soiled like
+the appearance of a robber, seeing Kandaka and the royal horse shedding
+tears instead of the hoped-for return, they all, assembled thus, uttered
+their cry, even as those who weep for one beloved just dead. Confused
+and wildly they rushed about, as a herd of oxen that have lost their
+way.
+
+Mahâpragâpati Gotamî, hearing that the prince had not returned, fell
+fainting on the ground, her limbs entirely deprived of strength, even as
+some mad tornado wind crushes the golden-colored plantain tree; and
+again, hearing that her son had become a recluse, deeply sighing and
+with increased sadness she thought, "Alas! those glossy locks turning to
+the right, each hair produced from each orifice, dark and pure,
+gracefully shining, sweeping the earth when loose,[98] or when so
+determined, bound together in a heavenly crown, and now shorn and lying
+in the grass! Those rounded shoulders and that lion step! Those eyes
+broad as the ox-king's, that body shining bright as yellow gold; that
+square breast and Brahma voice; that you! possessing all these excellent
+qualities, should have entered on the sorrow-giving forest; what fortune
+now remains for the world, losing thus the holy king of earth? That
+those delicate and pliant feet, pure as the lily and of the same color,
+should now be torn by stones and thorns; O how can such feet tread on
+such ground! Born and nourished in the guarded palace, clad with
+garments of the finest texture, washed in richly scented water, anointed
+with the choicest perfumes, and now exposed to chilling blasts and dews
+of night, O! where during the heat or the chilly morn can rest be found!
+Thou flower of all thy race! Confessed by all the most renowned! Thy
+virtuous qualities everywhere talked of and exalted, ever reverenced,
+without self-seeking! why hast thou unexpectedly brought thyself upon
+some morn to beg thy food for life! Thou who wert wont to repose upon a
+soft and kingly couch, and indulge in every pleasure during thy waking
+hours: how canst thou endure the mountain and the forest wilds, on the
+bare grass to make thyself a resting-place!"
+
+Thus thinking of her son--her heart was full of sorrow, disconsolate she
+lay upon the earth. The waiting women raised her up, and dried the tears
+from off her face, whilst all the other courtly ladies, overpowered with
+grief, their limbs relaxed, their minds bound fast with woe, unmoved
+they sat like pictured-folk.
+
+And now Yasodharâ, deeply chiding, spoke thus to Kandaka: "Where now
+dwells he, who ever dwells within my mind? You two went forth, the horse
+a third, but now two only have returned! My heart is utterly o'erborne
+with grief, filled with anxious thoughts, it cannot rest. And you,
+deceitful man! Untrustworthy and false associate! evil contriver!
+plainly revealed a traitor, a smile lurks underneath thy tears!
+Escorting him in going; returning now with wails! Not one at heart--but
+in league against him--openly constituted a friend and well-wisher,
+concealing underneath a treacherous purpose; so thou hast caused the
+sacred prince to go forth once and not return again! No questioning the
+joy you feel! Having done ill you now enjoy the fruit; better far to
+dwell with an enemy of wisdom, than work with one who, while a fool,
+professes friendship. Openly professing sweetness and light, inwardly a
+scheming and destructive enemy. And now this royal and kingly house, in
+one short morn is crushed and ruined! All these fair and queen-like
+women, with grief o'erwhelmed, their beauty marred, their breathing
+choked with tears and sobs, their faces soiled with crossing tracks of
+grief! Even the queen (Mâyâ) when in life, resting herself on him, as
+the great snowy mountains repose upon the widening earth, through grief
+in thought of what would happen, died. How sad the lot of these--within
+these open lattices--these weeping ones, these deeply wailing! Born in
+another state than hers in heaven, how can their grief be borne!" Then
+speaking to the horse she said, "Thou unjust! what dulness this--to
+carry off a man, as in the darkness some wicked thief bears off a
+precious gem. When riding thee in time of battle, swords, and javelins
+and arrows, none of these alarmed or frighted thee! But now what
+fitfulness of temper this, to carry off by violence, to rob my soul of
+one, the choicest jewel of his tribe. O! thou art but a vicious reptile,
+to do such wickedness as this! to-day thy woeful lamentation sounds
+everywhere within these palace walls, but when you stole away my
+cherished one, why wert thou dumb and silent then! if then thy voice had
+sounded loud, and roused the palace inmates from their sleep, if then
+they had awoke and slumbered not, there would not have ensued the
+present sorrow."
+
+Kandaka, hearing these sorrowful words, drawing in his breath and
+composing himself, wiping away his tears, with hands clasped together,
+answered: "Listen to me, I pray, in self-justification--be not
+suspicious of, nor blame the royal horse, nor be thou angry with me,
+either. For in truth no fault has been committed by us. It is the gods
+who have effected this. For I, indeed, extremely reverenced the king's
+command, it was the gods who drove him to the solitudes, urgently
+leading on the horse with him: thus they went together fleet as with
+wings, his breathing hushed! suppressed was every sound, his feet scarce
+touched the earth! The city gates wide opening of themselves! all space
+self-lighted! this was the work indeed of the gods; and what was I, or
+what my strength, compared with theirs?"
+
+Yasodharâ hearing these words, her heart was lost in deep consideration!
+the deeds accomplished by the gods could not be laid to others' charge,
+as faults; and so she ceased her angry chiding, and allowed her great
+consuming grief to smoulder. Thus prostrate on the ground she muttered
+out her sad complaints, "That the two doves should be divided! Now," she
+cried, "my stay and my support is lost, between those once agreed in
+life, separation has sprung up! those who were at one as to religion are
+now divided! where shall I seek another mode of life? In olden days the
+former conquerors greatly rejoiced to see their kingly retinue; these
+with their wives in company, in search of highest wisdom, roamed through
+groves and plains. And now, that he should have deserted me! and what is
+the religious state he seeks! the Brahman ritual respecting sacrifice,
+requires the wife to take part in the offering, and because they both
+share in the service they shall both receive a common reward hereafter!
+but you O prince! art niggard in your religious rites, driving me away,
+and wandering forth alone! Is it that you saw me jealous, and so turned
+against me! that you now seek someone free from jealousy! or did you see
+some other cause to hate me, that you now seek to find a heaven-born
+nymph! But why should one excelling in every personal grace seek to
+practise self-denying austerities! is it that you despise a common lot
+with me, that variance rises in your breast against your wife! Why does
+not Râhula fondly repose upon your knee. Alas! alas! unlucky master!
+full of grace without, but hard at heart! The glory and the pride of all
+your tribe, yet hating those who reverence you! O! can it be, you have
+turned your back for good upon your little child, scarce able yet to
+smile! My heart is gone! and all my strength! my lord has fled, to
+wander in the mountains! he cannot surely thus forget me! he is then but
+a man of wood or stone." Thus having spoken, her mind was dulled and
+darkened, she muttered on, or spoke in wild mad words, or fancied that
+she saw strange sights, and sobbing past the power of self-restraint,
+her breath grew less, and sinking thus, she fell asleep upon the dusty
+ground! The palace ladies seeing this, were wrung with heartfelt sorrow,
+just as the full-blown lily, struck by the wind and hail, is broken down
+and withered.
+
+And now the king, his father, having lost the prince, was filled, both
+night and day, with grief; and fasting, sought the gods for help. He
+prayed that they would soon restore him, and having prayed and finished
+sacrifice, he went from out the sacred gates; then hearing all the cries
+and sounds of mourning, his mind distressed became confused, as when
+heaven's thundering and lightning put to bewildering flight a herd of
+elephants. Then seeing Kandaka with the royal steed, after long
+questioning, finding his son a hermit, fainting he fell upon the earth,
+as when the flag of Indra falls and breaks. Then all the ministers of
+state, upraising him, exhort him, as was right, to calm himself. After
+awhile, his mind somewhat recovered, speaking to the royal steed, he
+said: "How often have I ridden thee to battle, and every time have
+thought upon your excellence! but now I hate and loathe thee, more than
+ever I have loved or praised thee! My son, renowned for noble qualities,
+thou hast carried off and taken from me; and left him 'mid the mountain
+forests; and now you have come back alone; take me, then, quickly hence
+and go! And going, never more come back with me! For since you have not
+brought him back, my life is worth no more preserving; no longer care I
+about governing! My son about me was my only joy; as the Brahman Gayanta
+met death for his son's sake, so I, deprived of my religious son, will
+of myself deprive myself of life. So Manu, lord of all that lives, ever
+lamented for his son; how much more I, a mortal man deprived of mine,
+must lose all rest! In old time the king Aga, loving his son, wandering
+through the mountains, lost in thought, ended life, and forthwith was
+born in heaven. And now I cannot die! Through the long night fixed in
+this sad state, with this great palace round me, thinking of my son,
+solitary and athirst as any hungry spirit; as one who, thirsty, holding
+water in his hand, but when he tries to drink lets all escape, and so
+remains athirst till death ensues, and after death becomes a wandering
+ghost; so I, in the extremity of thirst, through loss, possessed once of
+a son, but now without a son, still live and cannot end my days! But
+come! tell me at once where is my son! let me not die athirst for want
+of knowing this and fall among the Pretas. In former days, at least, my
+will was strong and firm, difficult to move as the great earth; but now
+I've lost my son, my mind is dazed, as was in old time the king
+Dasaratha's."
+
+And now the royal teacher (Purohita), an illustrious sage, with the
+chief minister, famed for wisdom, with earnest and considerate minds,
+both exhorted with remonstrances, the king. "Pray you (they said) arouse
+yourself to thought, and let not grief cramp and hold your mind! in
+olden days there were mighty kings, who left their country, as flowers
+are scattered; your son now practises the way of wisdom; why then nurse
+your grief and misery; you should recall the prophecy of Asita, and
+reasonably count on what was probable! Think of the heavenly joys which
+you, a universal king, have inherited! But now, so troubled and
+constrained in mind, how will it not be said, 'The Lord of earth can
+change his golden-jewel-heart!' Now, therefore, send us forth, and bid
+us seek the place he occupies, then by some stratagem and strong
+remonstrances, and showing him our earnestness of purpose, we will break
+down his resolution, and thus assuage your kingly sorrow."
+
+The king, with joy, replied and said: "Would that you both would go in
+haste, as swiftly as the Saketa bird flies through the void for her
+young's sake; thinking of nought but the royal prince, and sad at
+heart--I shall await your search!"
+
+The two men having received their orders, the king retired among his
+kinsfolk, his heart somewhat more tranquillized, and breathing freely
+through his throat.
+
+The Mission to Seek the Prince
+
+The king now suppressing his grief, urged on his great teacher and chief
+minister, as one urges on with whip a ready horse, to hasten onwards as
+the rapid stream; whilst they fatigued, yet with unflagging effort, come
+to the place of the sorrow-giving grove; then laying on one side the
+five outward marks of dignity and regulating well their outward
+gestures, they entered the Brahmans' quiet hermitage, and paid reverence
+to the Rishis. They, on their part, begged them to be seated, and
+repeated the law for their peace and comfort.
+
+Then forthwith they addressed the Rishis and said: "We have on our minds
+a subject on which we would ask for advice. There is one who is called
+Suddhodana râga, a descendant of the famous Ikshvâku family, we are his
+teacher and his minister, who instruct him in the sacred books as
+required. The king indeed is like Indra for dignity; his son, like
+Ke-yan-to, in order to escape old age, disease, and death, has become a
+hermit, and depends on this; on his account have we come hither, with a
+view to let your worships know of this."
+
+Replying, they said: "With respect to this youth, has he long arms and
+the signs of a great man? Surely he is the one who, inquiring into our
+practice, discoursed so freely on the matter of life and death. He has
+gone to the abode of Arâda, to seek for a complete mode of escape."
+
+Having received this certain information, respectfully considering the
+urgent commands of the anxious king, they dared not hesitate in their
+undertaking, but straightway took the road and hastened on. Then seeing
+the wood in which the royal prince dwelt, and him, deprived of all
+outward marks of dignity, his body still glorious with lustrous shining,
+as when the sun comes forth from the black cloud; then the religious
+teacher of the country and the great minister holding to the true law,
+put off from them their courtly dress, and descending from the chariot
+gradually advanced, like the royal Po-ma-ti and the Rishi Vasishtha,
+went through the woods and forests, and seeing the royal prince Râma,
+each according to his own prescribed manner, paid him reverence, as he
+advanced to salute him; or as Sukra, in company with Angiras, with
+earnest heart paid reverence, and sacrificed to Indra râga.
+
+Then the royal prince in return paid reverence to the royal teacher and
+the great minister, as the divine Indra placed at their ease Sukra and
+Angiras; then, at his command, the two men seated themselves before the
+prince, as Pou-na and Pushya, the twin stars attend beside the moon;
+then the Purohita and the great minister respectfully explained to the
+royal prince, even as Pi-li-po-ti spoke to that Gayanta: "Your royal
+father, thinking of the prince, is pierced in heart, as with an iron
+point; his mind distracted, raves in solitude; he sleeps upon the dusty
+ground; by night and day he adds to his sorrowful reflections; his tears
+flow down like the incessant rain; and now to seek you out, he has sent
+us hither. Would that you would listen with attentive mind; we know that
+you delight to act religiously; it is certain, then, without a doubt,
+this is not the time for you to enter the forest wilds; a feeling of
+deep pity consumes our heart! You, if you be indeed moved by religion,
+ought to feel some pity for our case; let your kindly feelings flow
+abroad, to comfort us who are worn at heart; let not the tide of sorrow
+and of sadness completely overwhelm the outlets of our heart; as the
+torrents which roll down the grassy mountains; or the calamities of
+tempest, fiery heat, and lightning; for so the grieving heart has these
+four sorrows, turmoil and drought, passion and overthrow. But come!
+return to your native place, the time will arrive when you can go forth
+again as a recluse. But now to disregard your family duties, to turn
+against father and mother, how can this be called love and affection?
+that love which overshadows and embraces all. Religion requires not the
+wild solitudes; you can practise a hermit's duties in your home;
+studiously thoughtful, diligent in expedients, this is to lead a
+hermit's life in truth. A shaven head, and garments soiled with dirt--to
+wander by yourself through desert wilds--this is but to encourage
+constant fears, and cannot be rightly called 'an awakened hermit's
+life.' Would rather we might take you by the hand, and sprinkle water on
+your head, and crown you with a heavenly diadem, and place you
+underneath a flowery canopy, that all eyes might gaze with eagerness
+upon you; after this, in truth, we would leave our home with joy. The
+former kings, Teou-lau-ma, A-neou-ke-o-sa, Po-ke-lo-po-yau,
+Pi-po-lo-'anti, Pi-ti-o-ke-na, Na-lo-sha-po-lo, all these several kings
+refused not the royal crown, the jewels, and the ornaments of person;
+their hands and feet were adorned with gems, around them were women to
+delight and please, these things they cast not from them, for the sake
+of escape; you then may also come back home, and undertake both
+necessary duties; your mind prepare itself in higher law, whilst for the
+sake of earth you wield the sceptre; let there be no more weeping, but
+comply with what we say, and let us publish it; and having published it
+with your authority, then you may return and receive respectful welcome.
+Your father and your mother, for your sake, in grief shed tears like the
+great ocean; having no stay and no dependence now--no source from which
+the Sâkya stem may grow--you ought, like the captain of the ship, to
+bring it safely across to a place of safety. The royal prince Pi-san-ma,
+as also Lo-me-po-ti, they respectfully attended to the command of their
+father: you also should do the same! Your loving mother who cherished
+you so kindly, with no regard for self, through years of care, as the
+cow deprived of her calf, weeps and laments, forgetting to eat or sleep;
+you surely ought to return to her at once, to protect her life from
+evil; as a solitary bird, away from its fellows, or as the lonely
+elephant, wandering through the jungle, losing the care of their young,
+ever think of protecting and defending them, so you the only child,
+young and defenceless, not knowing what you do, bring trouble and
+solicitude; cause, then, this sorrow to dissipate itself; as one who
+rescues the moon from being devoured, so do you reassure the men and
+women of the land, and remove from them the consuming grief, and
+suppress the sighs that rise like breath to heaven, which cause the
+darkness that obscures their sight; seeking you, as water, to quench the
+fire; the fire quenched, their eyes shall open."
+
+Bodhisattva, hearing of his father the king, experienced the greatest
+distress of mind, and sitting still, gave himself to reflection; and
+then, in due course, replied respectfully: "I know indeed that my royal
+father is possessed of a loving and deeply considerate mind, but my fear
+of birth, old age, disease, and death, has led me to disobey, and
+disregard his extreme kindness. Whoever neglects right consideration
+about his present life, and because he hopes to escape in the end,
+therefore disregards all precautions in the present: on this man comes
+the inevitable doom of death. It is the knowledge of this, therefore,
+that weighs with me, and after long delay has constrained me to a
+hermit's life; hearing of my father, the king, and his grief, my heart
+is affected with increased love; but yet, all is like the fancy of a
+dream, quickly reverting to nothingness. Know then, without fear of
+contradiction, that the nature of existing things is not uniform; the
+cause of sorrow is not necessarily the relationship of child with
+parent, but that which produces the pain of separation, results from the
+influence of delusion; as men going along a road suddenly meet midway
+with others, and then a moment more are separated, each one going his
+own way, so by the force of concomitance, relationships are framed, and
+then, according to each one's destiny, there is separation; he who
+thoroughly investigates this false connection of relationship ought not
+to cherish in himself grief; in this world there is rupture of family
+love, in another life it is sought for again; brought together for a
+moment, again rudely divided, everywhere the fetters of kindred are
+formed! Ever being bound, and ever being loosened! who can sufficiently
+lament such constant separations; born into the world, and then
+gradually changing, constantly separated by death and then born again.
+All things which exist in time must perish; the forests and mountains,
+all things that exist; in time are born all sensuous things, so is it
+both with worldly substance and with time. Because, then, death pervades
+all time, get rid of death, and time will disappear. You desire to make
+me king, and it is difficult to resist the offices of love; but as a
+disease is difficult to bear without medicine, so neither can I bear
+this weight of dignity; in every condition, high or low, we find folly
+and ignorance, and men carelessly following the dictates of lustful
+passion; at last, we come to live in constant fear; thinking anxiously
+of the outward form, the spirit droops; following the ways of men, the
+mind resists the right; but, the conduct of the wise is not so. The
+sumptuously ornamented and splendid palace I look upon as filled with
+fire; the hundred dainty dishes of the divine kitchen, as mingled with
+destructive poisons; the lily growing on the tranquil lake, in its midst
+harbors countless noisome insects; and so the towering abode of the rich
+is the house of calamity; the wise will not dwell therein. In former
+times illustrious kings, seeing the many crimes of their home and
+country, affecting as with poison the dwellers therein, in sorrowful
+disgust sought comfort in seclusion; we know, therefore, that the
+troubles of a royal estate are not to be compared with the repose of a
+religious life; far better dwell in the wild mountains, and eat the
+herbs like the beasts of the field; therefore I dare not dwell in the
+wide palace, for the black snake has its dwelling there. I reject the
+kingly estate and the five desires; to escape such sorrows I wander
+through the mountain wilds. This, then, would be the consequence of
+compliance: that I, who, delighting in religion, am gradually getting
+wisdom, should now quit these quiet woods, and returning home, partake
+of sensual pleasures, and thus by night and day increase my store of
+misery. Surely this is not what should be done! that the great leader of
+an illustrious tribe, having left his home from love of religion, and
+forever turned his back upon tribal honor, desiring to confirm his
+purpose as a leader--that he--discarding outward form, clad in religious
+garb, loving religious meditation, wandering through the wilds--should
+now reject his hermit vestment, tread down his sense of proper shame and
+give up his aim. This, though I gained heaven's kingly state, cannot be
+done! how much less to gain an earthly, though distinguished, home!
+
+"For having spewed forth lust, passion, and ignorance, shall I return to
+feed upon it? as a man might go back to his vomit! such misery, how
+could I bear? Like a man whose house has caught fire, by some expedient
+finds a way to escape, will such a man forthwith go back and enter it
+again? such conduct would disgrace a man! So I, beholding the evils,
+birth, old age, and death, to escape the misery, have become a hermit;
+shall I then go back and enter in, and like a fool dwell in their
+company? He who enjoys a royal estate and yet seeks rescue, cannot dwell
+thus, this is no place for him; escape is born from quietness and rest;
+to be a king is to add distress and poison; to seek for rest and yet
+aspire to royal condition are but contradictions; royalty and rescue,
+motion and rest, like fire and water, having two principles, cannot be
+united. So one resolved to seek escape cannot abide possessed of kingly
+dignity! And if you say a man may be a king, and at the same time
+prepare deliverance for himself, there is no certainty in this! to seek
+certain escape is not to risk it thus; it is through this uncertain
+frame of mind that once a man gone forth is led to go back home again;
+but I, my mind is not uncertain; severing the baited hook of
+relationship, with straightforward purpose, I have left my home. Then
+tell me, why should I return again?"
+
+The great minister, inwardly reflecting, thought, "The mind of the royal
+prince, my master, is full of wisdom, and agreeable to virtue, what he
+says is reasonable and fitly framed." Then he addressed the prince and
+said: "According to what your highness states, he who seeks religion
+must seek it rightly; but this is not the fitting time for you; your
+royal father, old and of declining years, thinking of you his son, adds
+grief to grief; you say indeed, 'I find my joy in rescue. To go back
+would be apostasy.' But yet your joy denotes unwisdom, and argues want
+of deep reflection; you do not see, because you seek the fruit, how vain
+to give up present duty. There are some who say, There is 'hereafter';
+others there are who say, 'Nothing hereafter.' So whilst this question
+hangs in suspense, why should a man give up his present pleasure? If
+perchance there is 'hereafter,' we ought to bear patiently what it
+brings; if you say, 'Hereafter is not,' then there is not either
+salvation! If you say, 'Hereafter is,' you would not say, 'Salvation
+causes it.' As earth is hard, or fire is hot, or water moist, or wind is
+mobile, 'Hereafter' is just so. It has its own distinct nature. So when
+we speak of pure and impure, each comes from its own distinctive nature.
+If you should say, 'By some contrivance this can be removed,' such an
+opinion argues folly. Every root within the moral world has its own
+nature predetermined; loving remembrance and forgetfulness, these have
+their nature fixed and positive; so likewise age, disease, and death,
+these sorrows, who can escape by strategy? If you say, 'Water can put
+out fire,' or 'Fire can cause water to boil and pass away,' then this
+proves only that distinctive natures may be mutually destructive; but
+nature in harmony produces living things; so man when first conceived
+within the womb, his hands, his feet, and all his separate members, his
+spirit and his understanding, of themselves are perfected; but who is he
+who does it? Who is he that points the prickly thorn? This too is
+nature, self-controlling. And take again the different kinds of beasts,
+these are what they are, without desire on their part; and so, again,
+the heaven-born beings, whom the self-existent (Isvara) rules, and all
+the world of his creation; these have no self-possessed power of
+expedients; for if they had a means of causing birth, there would be
+also means for controlling death, and then what need of
+self-contrivance, or seeking for deliverance? There are those who say,
+'I' (the soul) is the cause of birth, and others who affirm, 'I' (the
+soul) is the cause of death. There are some who say, 'Birth comes from
+nothingness, and without any plan of ours we perish.' Thus one is born a
+fortunate child, removed from poverty, of noble family, or learned in
+testamentary lore of Rishis, or called to offer mighty sacrifices to the
+gods, born in either state, untouched by poverty, then their famous name
+becomes to them 'escape,' their virtues handed down by name to us; yet
+if these attained their happiness, without contrivance of their own, how
+vain and fruitless is the toil of those who seek 'escape.' And you,
+desirous of deliverance, purpose to practise some high expedient, whilst
+your royal father frets and sighs; for a short while you have essayed
+the road, and leaving home have wandered through the wilds, to return
+then would not now be wrong; of old, King Ambarisha for a long while
+dwelt in the grievous forest, leaving his retinue and all his kinsfolk,
+but afterwards returned and took the royal office; and so Râma, son of
+the king of the country, leaving his country occupied the mountains, but
+hearing he was acting contrary to usage, returned and governed
+righteously. And so the king of Sha-lo-po, called To-lo-ma, father and
+son, both wandered forth as hermits, but in the end came back again
+together; so Po-'sz-tsau Muni, with On-tai-tieh, in the wild mountains
+practising as Brahmakârins, these too returned to their own country.
+Thus all these worthies of a by-gone age, famous for their advance in
+true religion, came back home and royally governed, as lamps
+enlightening the world. Wherefore for you to leave the mountain wilds,
+religiously to rule, is not a crime."
+
+The royal prince, listening to the great minister's loving words without
+excess of speaking, full of sound argument, clear and unconfused, with
+no desire to wrangle after the way of the schools, with fixed purpose,
+deliberately speaking, thus answered the great minister: "The question
+of being and not being is an idle one, only adding to the uncertainty of
+an unstable mind, and to talk of such matters I have no strong
+inclination; purity of life, wisdom, the practice of asceticism, these
+are matters to which I earnestly apply myself, the world is full of
+empty studies which our teachers in their office skilfully involve; but
+they are without any true principle, and I will none of them! The
+enlightened man distinguishes truth from falsehood; but how can truth be
+born from such as those? For they are like the man born blind, leading
+the blind man as a guide; as in the night, as in thick darkness both
+wander on, what recovery is there for them? Regarding the question of
+the pure and impure, the world involved in self-engendered doubt cannot
+perceive the truth; better to walk along the way of purity, or rather
+follow the pure law of self-denial, hate the practice of impurity,
+reflect on what was said of old, not obstinate in one belief or one
+tradition, with sincere mind accepting all true words, and ever
+banishing sinful sorrow (i.e. sin, the cause of grief). Words which
+exceed sincerity are vainly spoken; the wise man uses not such words. As
+to what you say of Râma and the rest, leaving their home, practising a
+pure life, and then returning to their country, and once more mixing
+themselves in sensual pleasures, such men as these walk vainly; those
+who are wise place no dependence on them. Now, for your sakes, permit
+me, briefly, to recount this one true principle of action: The sun, the
+moon may fall to earth, Sumeru and all the snowy mountains overturn, but
+I will never change my purpose; rather than enter a forbidden place, let
+me be cast into the fierce fire; not to accomplish rightly what I have
+entered on, and to return once more to my own land, there to enter the
+fire of the five desires, let it befall me as my own oath records." So
+spake the prince, his arguments as pointed as the brightness of the
+perfect sun; then rising up he passed some distance off.
+
+The Purohita and the minister, their words and discourse prevailing
+nothing, conversed together, after which, resolving to depart on their
+return, with great respect they quietly inform the prince, not daring to
+intrude their presence on him further; and yet regarding the king's
+commands, not willing to return with unbecoming haste. They loitered
+quietly along the way, and whomsoever they encountered, selecting those
+who seemed like wise men, they interchanged such thoughts as move the
+learned, hiding their true position, as men of title; then passing on,
+they speeded on their way.
+
+
+[Footnote 97: That is, raising his nose to look up at the sun.]
+
+[Footnote 98: This description of the prince's hair seems to contradict
+the head arrangement of the figures of Buddha, unless the curls denote
+the shaven head of the recluse.]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+Bimbisâra Raga Invites the Prince
+
+
+The royal prince, departing from the court-master (i.e. the Purohita)
+and the great minister, Saddharma, keeping along the stream, then
+crossing the Ganges, he took the road towards the Vulture Peak,[99]
+hidden among the five mountains, standing alone a lovely peak as a roof
+amid the others. The trees and shrubs and flowers in bloom, the flowing
+fountains, and the cooling rills; all these he gazed upon--then passing
+on, he entered the city of the five peaks, calm and peaceful, as one
+come down from heaven. The country folk, seeing the royal prince, his
+comeliness and his excessive grace, though young in years, yet glorious
+in his person, incomparable as the appearance of a great master, seeing
+him thus, strange thoughts affected them, as if they gazed upon the
+banner of Isvara. They stayed the foot, who passed athwart the path;
+those hastened on, who were behind; those going before, turned back
+their heads and gazed with earnest, wistful look. The marks and
+distinguishing points of his person, on these they fixed their eyes
+without fatigue, and then approached with reverent homage, joining both
+their hands in salutation. With all there was a sense of wondrous joy,
+as in their several ways they offered what they had, looking at his
+noble and illustrious features; bending down their bodies modestly,
+correcting every careless or unseemly gesture, thus they showed their
+reverence to him silently; those who with anxious heart, seeking
+release, were moved by love, with feelings composed, bowed down the
+more. Great men and women, in their several engagements, at the same
+time arrested on their way, paid to his person and his presence homage:
+and following him as they gazed, they went not back. For the white
+circle between his eyebrows adorning his wide and violet-colored eyes,
+his noble body bright as gold, his pure and web-joined fingers, all
+these, though he were but a hermit, were marks of one who was a holy
+king; and now the men and women of Râgagriha, the old and young alike,
+were moved, and cried, "This man so noble as a recluse, what common joy
+is this for us!" At this time Bimbisâra Râga, placed upon a high tower
+of observation, seeing all those men and women, in different ways
+exhibiting one mark of surprise, calling before him some man outside,
+inquired at once the cause of it; this one bending his knee below the
+tower, told fully what he had seen and heard, "That one of the Sâkya
+race, renowned of old, a prince most excellent and wonderful, divinely
+wise, beyond the way of this world, a fitting king to rule the eight
+regions, now without home, is here, and all men are paying homage to
+him."
+
+The king on hearing this was deeply moved at heart, and though his body
+was restrained, his soul had gone. Calling his ministers speedily before
+him, and all his nobles and attendants, he bade them follow secretly the
+prince's steps, to observe what charity was given. So, in obedience to
+the command, they followed and watched him steadfastly, as with even
+gait and unmoved presence he entered on the town and begged his food,
+according to the rule of all great hermits, with joyful mien and
+undisturbed mind, not anxious whether much or little alms were given;
+whatever he received, costly or poor, he placed within his bowl, then
+turned back to the wood, and having eaten it and drunk of the flowing
+stream, he joyous sat upon the immaculate mountain. There he beheld the
+green trees fringing with their shade the crags, the scented flowers
+growing between the intervals, whilst the peacocks and the other birds,
+joyously flying, mingled their notes; his sacred garments bright and
+lustrous, shone as the sun-lit mulberry leaves; the messengers beholding
+his fixed composure, one by one returning, reported what they had seen;
+the king hearing it, was moved at heart, and forthwith ordered his royal
+equipment to be brought, his god-like crown and his flower-bespangled
+robes; then, as the lion-king, he strode forth, and choosing certain
+aged persons of consideration, learned men, able calmly and wisely to
+discriminate, he, with them, led the way, followed by a hundred thousand
+people, who like a cloud ascended with the king the royal mountain.
+
+And now beholding the dignity of Bodhisattva, every outward gesture
+under government, sitting with ease upon the mountain crag, as the moon
+shining limpid in the pure heavens, so was his matchless beauty and
+purity of grace; then as the converting presence of religion dwelling
+within the heart makes it reverential, so, beholding him, he reverently
+approached, even as divine Sâkara comes to the presence of Mo-hi-su-ma,
+so with every outward form of courtesy and reverence the king approached
+and asked him respectfully of his welfare.
+
+Bodhisattva, answering as he was moved, in his turn made similar
+inquiries. Then the king, the questioning over, sat down with dignity
+upon a clean-faced rock. And so he steadfastly beheld the divine
+appearance of the prince, the sweetness and complacency of his features
+revealing what his station was and high estate, his family renown,
+received by inheritance; the king, who for a time restrained his
+feelings, now wishful to get rid of doubts, inquired why one descended
+from the royal family of the sun-brightness having attended to religious
+sacrifices through ten thousand generations, whereof the virtue had
+descended as his full inheritance, increasing and accumulating until
+now, why he so excellent in wisdom, so young in years, had now become a
+recluse, rejecting the position of a Kakravartin's son, begging his
+food, despising family fame, his beauteous form, fit for perfumes and
+anointings, why clothed with coarse Kasâya garments; the hand which
+ought to grasp the reins of empire, instead thereof, taking its little
+stint of food; if indeed (the king continued) you were not of royal
+descent, and would receive as an offering the transfer of this land,
+then would I divide with you my empire; saying this, he scarcely hoped
+to excite his feelings, who had left his home and family, to be a
+hermit. Then forthwith the king proceeded thus: "Give just weight I pray
+you to my truthful words: desire for power is kin to nobleness, and so
+is just pride of fame or family or wealth or personal appearance; no
+longer having any wish to subdue the proud, or to bend others down and
+so get thanks from men, it were better, then, to give to the strong and
+warlike martial arms to wear, for them to follow war and by their power
+to get supremacy; but when by one's own power a kingdom falls to hand,
+who would not then accept the reins of empire? The wise man knows the
+time to take religion, wealth, and worldly pleasure. But if he obtains
+not the threefold profit, then in the end he abates his earnest efforts,
+and reverencing religion, he lets go material wealth. Wealth is the one
+desire of worldly men; to be rich and lose all desire for religion, this
+is to gain but outside wealth. But to be poor and even thus despise
+religion, what pleasure can indulgence give in such a case! But when
+possessed of all the three, and when enjoyed with reason and propriety,
+then religion, wealth, and pleasure make what is rightly called a great
+master; permit not, then, your perfectly endowed body to lay aside its
+glory, without reward; the Kakravartin, as a monarch, ruled the four
+empires of the world, and shared with Sakra his royal throne, but was
+unequal to the task of ruling heaven. But you, with your redoubtable
+strength, may well grasp both heavenly and human power; I do not rely
+upon my kingly power, in my desire to keep you here by force, but seeing
+you change your comeliness of person, and wearing the hermit's garb,
+whilst it makes me reverence you for your virtue, moves me with pity and
+regret for you as a man; you now go begging your food, and I offer you
+the whole land as yours; whilst you are young and lusty enjoy yourself.
+During middle life acquire wealth, and when old and all your abilities
+ripened, then is the time for following the rules of religion; when
+young to encourage religious fervor, is to destroy the sources of
+desire; but when old and the breath is less eager, then is the time to
+seek religious solitude; when old we should avoid, as a shame, desire of
+wealth, but get honor in the world by a religious life; but when young,
+and the heart light and elastic, then is the time to partake of
+pleasure, in boon companionship to indulge in gayety, and partake to the
+full of mutual intercourse; but as years creep on, giving up indulgence,
+to observe the ordinances of religion, to mortify the five desires, and
+go on increasing a joyful and religious heart, is not this the law of
+the eminent kings of old, who as a great company paid worship to heaven,
+and borne on the dragon's back received the joys of celestial abodes?
+All these divine and victorious monarchs, glorious in person, richly
+adorned, thus having as a company performed their religious offering, in
+the end received the reward of their conduct in heaven." Thus Bimbasâra
+Râga used every kind of winning expedient in argument The royal prince,
+unmoved and fixed, remained firm as Mount Sumeru.
+
+The Reply to Bimbasâra Râga
+
+Bimbasâra Râga, having, in a decorous manner, and with soothing speech,
+made his request, the prince on his part respectfully replied, in the
+following words, deep and heart-stirring: "Illustrious and
+world-renowned! Your words are not opposed to reason, descendant of a
+distinguished family--an Aryan--amongst men a true friend indeed,
+righteous and sincere to the bottom of your heart, it is proper for
+religion's sake to speak thus. In all the world, in its different
+sections, there is no chartered place for solid virtue, for if virtue
+flags and folly rules, what reverence can there be, or honor paid, to a
+high name or boast of prowess, inherited from former generations! And so
+there may be in the midst of great distress, large goodness, these are
+not mutually opposed. This then is so with the world in the connection
+of true worth and friendship. A true friend who makes good use of
+wealth--is rightly called a fast and firm treasure, but he who guards
+and stints the profit he has made, his wealth will soon be spent and
+lost; the wealth of a country is no constant treasure, but that which is
+given in charity is rich in returns, therefore charity is a true friend:
+although it scatters, yet it brings no repentance; you indeed are known
+as liberal and kind, I make no reply in opposition to you, but simply as
+we meet, so with agreeable purpose we talk. I fear birth, old age,
+disease, and death, and so I seek to find a sure mode of deliverance; I
+have put away thought of relatives and family affection, how is it
+possible then for me to return to the world and not to fear to revive
+the poisonous snake, and after the hail to be burned in the fierce fire;
+indeed, I fear the objects of these several desires, this whirling in
+the stream of life troubles my heart, these five desires, the inconstant
+thieves--stealing from men their choicest treasures, making them unreal,
+false, and fickle--are like the man called up as an apparition; for a
+time the beholders are affected by it, but it has no lasting hold upon
+the mind; so these five desires are the great obstacles, forever
+disarranging the way of peace; if the joys of heaven are not worth
+having, how much less the desires common to men, begetting the thirst of
+wild love, and then lost in the enjoyment, as the fierce wind fans the
+fire, till the fuel be spent and the fire expires; of all unrighteous
+things in the world, there is nothing worse than the domain of the five
+desires; for all men maddened by the power of lust, giving themselves to
+pleasure, are dead to reason. The wise man fears these desires, he fears
+to fall into the way of unrighteousness; for like a king who rules all
+within the four seas, yet still seeks beyond for something more, so is
+lust; like the unbounded ocean, it knows not when and where to stop.
+Mandha, the Kakravartin, when the heavens rained yellow gold, and he
+ruled all within the seas, yet sighed after the domain of the
+thirty-three heavens; dividing with Sakra his seat, and so through the
+power of this lust he died; Nung-Sha, whilst practising austerities, got
+power to rule the thirty-three heavenly abodes, but from lust he became
+proud and supercilious; the Rishi whilst stepping into his chariot,
+through carelessness in his gait, fell down into the midst of the
+serpent pit. Yen-lo, the universal monarch (Kakravartin), wandering
+abroad through the Trayastrimsas heaven, took a heavenly woman (Apsara)
+for a queen, and unjustly extorted the gold of a Rishi; the Rishi, in
+anger, added a charm, by which the country was ruined, and his life
+ended. Po-lo, and Sakra king of Devas, and Nung-Sha returning to Sakra;
+what certainty is there, even for the lord of heaven? Neither is any
+country safe, though kept by the mighty strength of those dwelling in
+it. But when one's clothing consists of grass, the berries one's food,
+the rivulets one's drink, with long hair flowing to the ground, silent
+as a Muni, seeking nothing, in this way practising austerities, in the
+end lust shall be destroyed. Know then, that the province of the five
+desires is avowedly an enemy of the religious man. Even the
+one-thousand-armed invincible king, strong in his might, finds it hard
+to conquer this. The Rishi Râma perished because of lust; how much more
+ought I, the son of a Kshatriya, to restrain lustful desire; but indulge
+in lust a little, and like the child it grows apace, the wise man hates
+it therefore; who would take poison for food? every sorrow is increased
+and cherished by the offices of lust. If there is no lustful desire, the
+risings of sorrow are not produced, the wise man seeing the bitterness
+of sorrow, stamps out and destroys the risings of desire; that which the
+world calls virtue, is but another form of this baneful law; worldly men
+enjoying the pleasure of covetous desire then every form of careless
+conduct results; these careless ways producing hurt, at death, the
+subject of them reaps perdition. But by the diligent use of means, and
+careful continuance therein, the consequences of negligence are avoided,
+we should therefore dread the non-use of means; recollecting that all
+things are illusory, the wise man covets them not; he who desires such
+things, desires sorrow, and then goes on again ensnared in love, with no
+certainty of ultimate freedom; he advances still and ever adds grief to
+grief, like one holding a lighted torch burns his hand, and therefore
+the wise man enters on no such things. The foolish man and the one who
+doubts, still encouraging the covetous and burning heart, in the end
+receives accumulated sorrow, not to be remedied by any prospect of rest;
+covetousness and anger are as the serpent's poison; the wise man casts
+away the approach of sorrow as a rotten bone; he tastes it not nor
+touches it, lest it should corrupt his teeth, that which the wise man
+will not take, the king will go through fire and water to obtain, the
+wicked sons labor for wealth as for a piece of putrid flesh, o'er which
+the hungry flocks of birds contend. So should we regard riches; the wise
+man is ill pleased at having wealth stored up, the mind wild with
+anxious thoughts, guarding himself by night and day, as a man who fears
+some powerful enemy, like as a man's feelings revolt with disgust at the
+sights seen beneath the slaughter post of the East Market; so the high
+post which marks the presence of lust, and anger, and ignorance, the
+wise man always avoids; as those who enter the mountains or the seas
+have much to contend with and little rest, as the fruit which grows on a
+high tree, and is grasped at by the covetous at the risk of life, so is
+the region of covetous desire, though they see the difficulty of getting
+it, yet how painfully do men scheme after wealth, difficult to acquire,
+easy to dissipate, as that which is got in a dream: how can the wise man
+hoard up such trash! Like covering over with a false surface a hole full
+of fire, slipping through which the body is burnt, so is the fire of
+covetous desire. The wise man meddles not with it. Like that Kaurava, or
+Pih-se-ni Nanda, or Ni-k'he-lai Danta, as some butcher's appearance,
+such also is the appearance of lustful desire; the wise man will have
+nothing to do with it; he would rather throw his body into the water or
+fire, or cast himself down over a steep precipice. Seeking to obtain
+heavenly pleasures, what is this but to remove the place of sorrow,
+without profit. Sün-tau, Po-sun-tau, brothers of Asura, lived together
+in great affection, but on account of lustful desire slew one another,
+and their name perished; all this then comes from lust; it is this which
+makes a man vile, and lashes and goads him with piercing sorrow; lust
+debases a man, robs him of all hope, whilst through the long night his
+body and soul are worn out; like the stag that covets the power of
+speech and dies, or the winged bird that covets sensual pleasure, or the
+fish that covets the baited hook, such are the calamities that lust
+brings; considering what are the requirements of life, none of these
+possess permanency; we eat to appease the pain of hunger, to do away
+with thirst we drink, we clothe ourselves to keep out the cold and wind,
+we lie down to rest to get sleep, to procure locomotion we seek a
+carriage, when we would halt we seek a seat, we wash to cleanse
+ourselves from dirt; all these things are done to avoid inconvenience;
+we may gather therefore that these five desires have no permanent
+character; for as a man suffering from fever seeks and asks for some
+cooling medicine, so covetousness seeks for something to satisfy its
+longings; foolish men regard these things as permanent, and as the
+necessary requirements of life, but, in sooth, there is no permanent
+cessation of sorrow; for by coveting to appease these desires we really
+increase them; there is no character of permanency therefore about them.
+To be filled and clothed are no lasting pleasures, time passes, and the
+sorrow recurs; summer is cool during the moon-tide shining; winter comes
+and cold increases; and so through all the eightfold laws of the world
+they possess no marks of permanence, sorrow and joy cannot agree
+together, as a person slave-governed loses his renown. But religion
+causes all things to be of service, as a king reigning in his
+sovereignty; so religion controls sorrow, as one fits on a burden
+according to power of endurance. Whatever our condition in the world,
+still sorrows accumulate around us. Even in the condition of a king, how
+does pain multiply, though bound to others by love, yet this is a cause
+of grief; without friends and living alone, what joy can there be in
+this? Though a man rules over the four kingdoms, yet only one part can
+be enjoyed; to be concerned in ten thousand matters, what profit is
+there in this, for we only accumulate anxieties. Put an end to sorrow,
+then, by appeasing desire, refrain from busy work, this is rest. A king
+enjoys his sensual pleasures; deprived of kingship there is the joy of
+rest; in both cases there are pleasures but of different kinds; why then
+be a king! Make then no plan or crafty expedient, to lead me back to the
+five desires; what my heart prays for, is some quiet place and freedom;
+but you desire to entangle me in relationships and duties, and destroy
+the completion of what I seek; I am in no fear of family hatred, nor do
+I seek the joys of heaven; my heart hankers after no vulgar profit, so I
+have put away my royal diadem; and contrary to your way of thinking, I
+prefer, henceforth, no more to rule. A hare rescued from the serpent's
+mouth, would it go back again to be devoured? holding a torch and
+burning himself, would not a man let it go? A man blind and recovering
+his sight, would he again seek to be in darkness? the rich, does he sigh
+for poverty? the wise, does he long to be ignorant? Has the world such
+men as these? then will I again enjoy my country. But I desire to get
+rid of birth, old age, and death, with body restrained, to beg my food;
+with appetites moderated, to keep in my retreat; and then to avoid the
+evil modes of a future life, this is to find peace in two worlds: now
+then I pray you pity me not. Pity, rather, those who rule as kings!
+their souls ever vacant and athirst, in the present world no repose,
+hereafter receiving pain as their meed. You, who possess a distinguished
+family name, and the reverence due to a great master, would generously
+share your dignity with me, your worldly pleasures and amusements; I,
+too, in return, for your sake, beseech you to share my reward with me;
+he who indulges in the threefold kinds of pleasure, this man the world
+calls 'Lord,' but this is not according to reason either, because these
+things cannot be retained, but where there is no birth, or life, or
+death, he who exercises himself in this way, is Lord indeed! You say
+that while young a man should be gay, and when old then religious, but I
+regard the feebleness of age as bringing with it loss of power to be
+religious, unlike the firmness and power of youth, the will determined
+and the heart established; but death as a robber with a drawn sword
+follows us all, desiring to catch his prey; how then should we wait for
+old age, ere we bring our mind to a religious life? Inconstancy is the
+great hunter, age his bow, disease his arrows, in the fields of life and
+death he hunts for living things as for the deer; when he can get his
+opportunity, he takes our life; who then would wait for age? And what
+the teachers say and do, with reference to matters connected with life
+and death, exhorting the young, mature, or middle-aged, all to contrive
+by any means, to prepare vast meetings for sacrifices, this they do
+indeed of their own ignorance; better far to reverence the true law, and
+put an end to sacrifice to appease the gods! Destroying life to gain
+religious merit, what love can such a man possess? even if the reward of
+such sacrifices were lasting, even for this, slaughter would be
+unseemly; how much more, when the reward is transient! Shall we, in
+search of this, slay that which lives, in worship? this is like those
+who practise wisdom, and the way of religious abstraction, but neglect
+the rules of moral conduct. It ill behooves us then to follow with the
+world, and attend these sacrificial assemblies, and seek some present
+good in killing that which lives; the wise avoid destroying life! Much
+less do they engage in general sacrifices, for the purpose of gaining
+future reward! the fruit promised in the three worlds is none of mine to
+choose for happiness! All these are governed by transient, fickle laws,
+like the wind, or the drop that is blown from the grass; such things
+therefore I put away from me, and I seek for true escape. I hear there
+is one O-lo-lam who eloquently discourses on the way of escape; I must
+go to the place where he dwells, that great Rishi and hermit. But in
+truth, sorrow must be banished; I regret indeed leaving you; may your
+country have repose and quiet! safely defended by you as by the divine
+Sakra râga! May wisdom be shed abroad as light upon your empire, like
+the brightness of the meridian sun! may you be exceedingly victorious as
+lord of the great earth, with a perfect heart ruling over its destiny!
+May you direct and defend its sons! ruling your empire in righteousness!
+Water and snow and fire are opposed to one another, but the fire by its
+influence causes vapor, the vapor causes the floating clouds, the
+floating clouds drop down rain; there are birds in space, who drink the
+rain, with rainless bodies.[100] Slaughter and peaceful homes are
+enemies! those who would have peace hate slaughter, and if those who
+slaughter are so hateful, then put an end, O king, to those who practise
+it! And bid these find release, as those who drink and yet are parched
+with thirst."
+
+Then the king, clasping together his hands, with greatest reverence and
+joyful heart, said, "That which you now seek, may you obtain quickly the
+fruit thereof; having obtained the perfect fruit, return I pray and
+graciously receive me!"
+
+Bodhisattva, his heart inwardly acquiescing, purposing to accomplish his
+prayer, departing, pursued his road, going to the place where Ârâda
+Kâlâma dwelt; whilst the king with all his retinue, their hands clasped,
+themselves followed a little space, then with thoughtful and mindful
+heart, returned once more to Râgagriha!
+
+Visit to Ârâda Udrarâma
+
+The child of the glorious sun of the Ikshvâku race, going to that quiet
+peaceful grove, reverently stood before the Muni, the great Rishi Ârâda
+Râma; the dark-clad followers of the Kalam (Sanghârâma) seeing afar-off
+Bodhisattva approaching, with loud voice raised a joyful chant, and with
+suppressed breath muttered "Welcome," as with clasped hands they
+reverenced him. Approaching one another, they made mutual inquiries; and
+this being done, with the usual apologies, according to their precedence
+in age they sat down; the Brahmakârins observing the prince, beheld his
+personal beauty and carefully considered his appearance; respectfully
+they satisfied themselves of his high qualities, like those who,
+thirsty, drink the "pure dew." Then with raised hands they addressed the
+prince: "Have you been long an ascetic, divided from your family and
+broken from the bonds of love, like the elephant who has cast off
+restraint? Full of wisdom, completely enlightened, you seem well able to
+escape the poisonous fruit of this world. In old time the monarch Ming
+Shing gave up his kingly estate to his son, as a man who has carried a
+flowery wreath, when withered casts it away: but such is not your case,
+full of youthful vigor, and yet not enamoured with the condition of a
+holy king; we see that your will is strong and fixed, capable of
+becoming a vessel of the true law, able to embark in the boat of wisdom,
+and to cross over the sea of life and death. The common class, enticed
+to come to learn, their talents first are tested, then they are taught;
+but as I understand your case, your mind is already fixed and your will
+firm; and now you have undertaken the purpose of learning, I am
+persuaded you will not in the end shrink from it."
+
+The prince hearing this exhortation, with gladness made reply: "You have
+with equal intention, illustrious! cautioned me with impartial mind;
+with humble heart I accept the advice, and pray that it may be so with
+me as you anticipate; that I may in my night-journey obtain a torch, to
+guide me safely through treacherous places; a handy boat to cross over
+the sea;--may it be so even now with me! But as I am somewhat in doubt
+and anxious to learn, I will venture to make known my doubts, and ask,
+with respect to old age, disease, and death, how are these things to be
+escaped?"
+
+At this time O-lo-lam hearing the question asked by the prince, briefly
+from the various Sutras and Sâstras quoted passages in explanation of a
+way of deliverance. "But thou," he said, "illustrious youth! so highly
+gifted, and eminent among the wise! hear what I have to say, as I
+discourse upon the mode of ending birth and death; nature, and change,
+birth, old age, and death, these five attributes belong to all; nature
+is (in itself) pure and without fault; the involution of this with the
+five elements, causes an awakening and power of perception, which,
+according to its exercise, is the cause of change; form, sound, order,
+taste, touch, these are called the five objects of sense; as the hand
+and foot are called the two ways, so these are called the roots of
+action (the five skandhas); the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue, the
+body, these are named the roots (instruments) of understanding. The root
+of mind (manas) is twofold, being both material, and also intelligent;
+nature by its involutions is the cause, the knower of the cause is I
+(the soul); Kapila the Rishi and his numerous followers, on this deep
+principle of soul, practising wisdom (Buddhi), found deliverance. Kapila
+and now Vâkaspati, by the power of Buddhi perceiving the character of
+birth, old age, and death, declare that on this is founded true
+philosophy; whilst all opposed to this, they say, is false. Ignorance
+and passion, causing constant transmigration, abiding in the midst of
+these (they say) is the lot of all that lives. Doubting the truth of
+soul is called excessive doubt, and without distinguishing aright, there
+can be no method of escape. Deep speculation as to the limits of
+perception is but to involve the soul; thus unbelief leads to confusion,
+and ends in differences of thought and conduct. Again, the various
+speculations on soul, such as 'I say,' 'I know and perceive,' 'I come'
+and 'I go,' or 'I remain fixed,' these are called the intricacies of
+soul. And then the fancies raised in different natures, some saying
+'this is so,' others denying it, and this condition of uncertainty is
+called the state of darkness. Then there are those who say that outward
+things are one with soul, who say that the objective is the same as
+mind, who confuse intelligence with instruments, who say that number is
+the soul. Thus not distinguishing aright, these are called excessive
+quibbles, marks of folly, nature changes, and so on. To worship and
+recite religious books, to slaughter living things in sacrifice, to
+render pure by fire and water, and thus awake the thought of final
+rescue, all these ways of thinking are called without right expedient,
+the result of ignorance and doubt, by means of word or thought or deed;
+involving outward relationships, this is called depending on means;
+making the material world the ground of soul, this is called depending
+on the senses. By these eight sorts of speculation are we involved in
+birth and death. The foolish masters of the world make their
+classifications in these five ways: Darkness, folly, and great folly,
+angry passion, with timid fear. Indolent coldness is called darkness;
+birth and death are called folly; lustful desire is great folly; because
+of great men subjected to error, cherishing angry feelings, passion
+results; trepidation of the heart is called fear. Thus these foolish men
+dilate upon the five desires; but the root of the great sorrow of birth
+and death, the life destined to be spent in the five ways, the cause of
+the whirl of life, I clearly perceive, is to be placed in the existence
+of 'I'; because of the influence of this cause, result the consequences
+of repeated birth and death; this cause is without any nature of its
+own, and its fruits have no nature; rightly considering what has been
+said, there are four matters which have to do with escape, kindling
+wisdom--opposed to dark ignorance--making manifest--opposed to
+concealment and obscurity--if these four matters be understood, then we
+may escape birth, old age, and death. Birth, old age, and death being
+over, then we attain a final place; the Brahmans all depending on this
+principle, practising themselves in a pure life, have also largely
+dilated on it, for the good of the world."
+
+The prince hearing these words again inquired of Ârâda: "Tell me what
+are the expedients you name, and what is the final place to which they
+lead, and what is the character of that pure Brahman life; and again
+what are the stated periods during which such life must be practised,
+and during which such life is lawful; all these are principles to be
+inquired into; and on them I pray you discourse for my sake."
+
+Then that Ârâda, according to the Sutras and Sâstras, spoke: "Yourself
+using wisdom is the expedient; but I will further dilate on this a
+little; first by removing from the crowd and leading a hermit's life,
+depending entirely on alms for food, extensively practising rules of
+decorum, religiously adhering to right rules of conduct; desiring little
+and knowing when to abstain, receiving whatever is given in food,
+whether pleasant or otherwise, delighting to practise a quiet life,
+diligently studying all the Sûtras and Sâstras; observing the character
+of covetous longing and fear, without remnant of desire to live in
+purity, to govern well the organs of life, the mind quieted and silently
+at rest; removing desire, and hating vice, all the sorrows of life put
+away, then there is happiness; and we obtain the enjoyment of the first
+dhyâna.[101] Having obtained this first dhyâna, then with the
+illumination thus obtained, by inward meditation is born reliance on
+thought alone, and the entanglements of folly are put away; the mind
+depending on this, then after death, born in the Brahma heavens, the
+enlightened are able to know themselves; by the use of means is produced
+further inward illumination; diligently persevering, seeking higher
+advance, accomplishing the second dhyâna, tasting of that great joy, we
+are born in the Kwong-yin heaven; then by the use of means putting away
+this delight, practising the third dhyâna, resting in such delight and
+wishing no further excellence, there is a birth in the Subhakritsna
+heaven; leaving the thought of such delight, straightway we reach the
+fourth dhyâna, all joys and sorrows done away, the thought of escape
+produced; we dwell in this fourth dhyâna, and are born in the
+Vrihat-phala heaven; because of its long enduring years, it is thus
+called Vrihat-phala (extensive-fruit); whilst in that state of
+abstraction rising higher, perceiving there is a place beyond any bodily
+condition, adding still and persevering further in practising wisdom,
+rejecting this fourth dhyâna, firmly resolved to persevere in the
+search, still contriving to put away every desire after form, gradually
+from every pore of the body there is perceived a feeling of empty
+release, and in the end this extends to every solid part, so that the
+whole is perfected in an apprehension of emptiness. In brief, perceiving
+no limits to this emptiness, there is opened to the view boundless
+knowledge. Endowed with inward rest and peace, the idea of 'I' departs,
+and the object of 'I'--clearly discriminating the non-existence of
+matter, this is the condition of immaterial life. As the Muñga (grass)
+when freed from its horny case, or as the wild bird which escapes from
+its prison trap, so, getting away from all material limitations, we thus
+find perfect release. Thus ascending above the Brahmans, deprived of
+every vestige of bodily existence, we still endure. Endued with wisdom!
+let it be known this is real and true deliverance. You ask what are the
+expedients for obtaining this escape; even as I have before detailed,
+those who have deep faith will learn. The Rishis Gaigîshavya, Ganaka,
+Vriddha Parâsara, and other searchers after truth, all by the way I have
+explained, have reached true deliverance."
+
+The prince hearing these words, deeply pondering on the outline of these
+principles, and reaching back to the influences produced by our former
+lives, again asked with further words: "I have heard your very excellent
+system of wisdom, the principles very subtle and deep-reaching, from
+which I learn that because of not 'letting go' (by knowledge as a
+cause), we do not reach the end of the religious life; but by
+understanding nature in its involutions, then, you say, we obtain
+deliverance; I perceive this law of birth has also concealed in it
+another law as a germ; you say that the 'I' (i.e. the soul of Kapila)
+being rendered pure, forthwith there is true deliverance; but if we
+encounter a union of cause and effect, then there is a return to the
+trammels of birth; just as the germ in the seed, when earth, fire,
+water, and wind seem to have destroyed in it the principle of life,
+meeting with favorable concomitant circumstances will yet revive,
+without any evident cause, but because of desire; so those who have
+gained this supposed release, likewise keeping the idea of 'I' and
+living things, have in fact gained no final deliverance; in every
+condition, letting go the three classes and again reaching the three
+excellent qualities, because of the eternal existence of soul, by the
+subtle influences of that (influences resulting from the past), the
+heart lets go the idea of expedients, and obtains an almost endless
+duration of years. This, you say, is true release; you say 'letting go
+the ground on which the idea of soul rests,' that this frees us from
+'limited existence,' and that the mass of people have not yet removed
+the idea of soul, and are therefore still in bondage. But what is this
+letting go gunas (cords fettering the soul); if one is fettered by these
+gunas, how can there be release? For gunî (the object) and guna (the
+quality) in idea are different, but in substance one; if you say that
+you can remove the properties of a thing and leave the thing by arguing
+it to the end, this is not so. If you remove heat from fire, then there
+is no such thing as fire, or if you remove surface from body, what body
+can remain? Thus guna is as it were surface, remove this and there can
+be no gunî. So that this deliverance, spoken of before, must leave a
+body yet in bonds. Again, you say that by clear knowledge you get rid of
+body; there is then such a thing as knowledge or the contrary; if you
+affirm the existence of clear knowledge, then there should be someone
+who possesses it (i.e. possesses this knowledge); if there be a
+possesor, how can there be deliverance from this personal 'I'? If you
+say there is no 'knower,' then who is it that is spoken of as 'knowing'?
+If there is knowledge and no person, then the subject of knowledge may
+be a stone or a log; moreover, to have clear knowledge of these minute
+causes of contamination and reject them thoroughly, these being so
+rejected, there must be an end, then, of the 'doer.' What Ârâda has
+declared cannot satisfy my heart. This clear knowledge is not universal
+wisdom, I must go on and seek a better explanation."
+
+Going on then to the place of Udra Rishi, he also expatiated on this
+question of "I." But although he refined the matter to the utmost,
+laying down a term of "thought" and "no thought" taking the position of
+removing "thought" and "no thought," yet even so he came not out of the
+mire; for supposing creatures attained that state, still (he said) there
+is a possibility of returning to the coil, whilst Bodhisattva sought a
+method of getting out of it. So once more leaving Udra Rishi, he went on
+in search of a better system, and came at last to Mount Kia-ke (the
+forest of mortification), where was a town called Pain-suffering forest.
+Here the five Bhikshus had gone before. When then he beheld these five,
+virtuously keeping in check their senses, holding to the rules of moral
+conduct, practising mortification, dwelling in that grove of
+mortification; occupying a spot beside the Nairañgana river, perfectly
+composed and filled with contentment, Bodhisattva forthwith by them
+selecting one spot, quietly gave himself to thought. The five Bhikshus
+knowing him with earnest heart to be seeking escape, offered him their
+services with devotion, as if reverencing Isvara Deva.
+
+Having finished their attentions and dutiful services, then going on he
+took his seat not far off, as one about to enter on a course of
+religious practice, composing all his members as he desired. Bodhisattva
+diligently applied himself to "means," as one about to cross over old
+age, disease, and death. With full purpose of heart he set himself to
+endure mortification, to restrain every bodily passion, and give up
+thought about sustenance, with purity of heart to observe the
+fast-rules, which no worldly man can bear; silent and still, lost in
+thoughtful meditation; and so for six years he continued, each day
+eating one hemp grain, his bodily form shrunken and attenuated, seeking
+how to cross the sea of birth and death, exercising himself still deeper
+and advancing further; making his way perfect by the disentanglements of
+true wisdom, not eating, and yet not looking to that as a cause of
+emancipation, his four members although exceedingly weak, his heart of
+wisdom increasing yet more and more in light; his spirit free, his body
+light and refined, his name spreading far and wide, as "highly gifted,"
+even as the moon when first produced, or as the Kumuda flower spreading
+out its sweetness. Everywhere through the country his excellent fame
+extended; the daughters of the lord of the place both coming to see him,
+his mortified body like a withered branch, just completing the period of
+six years, fearing the sorrow of birth and death, seeking earnestly the
+method of true wisdom, he came to the conviction that these were not the
+means to extinguish desire and produce ecstatic contemplation; nor yet
+the means by which in former time, seated underneath the Gambu tree, he
+arrived at that miraculous condition, that surely was the proper way, he
+thought, the way opposed to this of "withered body."
+
+"I should therefore rather seek strength of body, by drink and food
+refresh my members, and with contentment cause my mind to rest. My mind
+at rest, I shall enjoy silent composure; composure is the trap for
+getting ecstasy (dhyâna); while in ecstasy perceiving the true law, then
+the force of truth obtained, disentanglement will follow. And thus
+composed, enjoying perfect quiet, old age and death are put away; and
+then defilement is escaped by this first means; thus then by equal steps
+the excellent law results from life restored by food and drink."
+
+Having carefully considered this principle, bathing in the Nairañgana
+river, he desired afterwards to leave the water, but owing to extreme
+exhaustion was unable to rise; then a heavenly spirit holding out a
+branch, taking this in his hand he raised himself and came forth. At
+this time on the opposite side of the grove there was a certain chief
+herdsman, whose eldest daughter was called Nandâ. One of the Suddhavâsa
+Devas addressing her said, "Bodhisattva dwells in the grove, go you
+then, and present to him a religious offering."
+
+Nandâ Balada (or Balaga or Baladhya) with joy came to the spot, above
+her hands (i.e. on her wrists) white chalcedony bracelets, her clothing
+of a gray color; the gray and the white together contrasted in the
+light, as the colors of the rounded river bubble; with simple heart and
+quickened step she came, and, bowing down at Bodhisattva's feet, she
+reverently offered him perfumed rice milk, begging him of his
+condescension to accept it. Bodhisattva taking it, partook of it at
+once, whilst she received, even then, the fruits of her religious act.
+Having eaten it, all his members refreshed, he became capable of
+receiving Bodhi; his body and limbs glistening with renewed strength,
+and his energies swelling higher still, as the hundred streams swell the
+sea, or the first quartered moon daily increases in brightness. The five
+Bhikshus having witnessed this, perturbed, were filled with suspicious
+reflection; they supposed that his religious zeal was flagging, and that
+he was leaving and looking for a better abode, as though he had obtained
+deliverance, the five elements entirely removed.
+
+Bodhisattva wandered on alone, directing his course to that "fortunate"
+tree,[102] beneath whose shade he might accomplish his search after
+complete enlightenment. Over the ground wide and level, producing soft
+and pliant grass, easily he advanced with lion step, pace by pace,
+whilst the earth shook withal; and as it shook, Kâla nâga aroused, was
+filled with joy, as his eyes were opened to the light. Forthwith he
+exclaimed: "When formerly I saw the Buddhas of old, there was the sign
+of an earthquake as now; the virtues of a Muni are so great in majesty,
+that the great earth cannot endure them; as step by step his foot treads
+upon the ground, so is there heard the sound of the rumbling
+earth-shaking; a brilliant light now illumes the world, as the shining
+of the rising sun; five hundred bluish-tinted birds I see, wheeling
+round to the right, flying through space; a gentle, soft, and cooling
+breeze blows around in an agreeable way; all these auspicious signs are
+the same as those of former Buddhas; wherefore I know that this
+Bodhisattva will certainly arrive at perfect wisdom. And now, behold!
+from yonder man, a grass cutter, he obtains some pure and pliant grass,
+which spreading out beneath the tree, with upright body, there he takes
+his seat; his feet placed under him, not carelessly arranged, moving to
+and fro, but like the firmly fixed and compact body of a Nâga; nor shall
+he rise again from off his seat till he has completed his undertaking."
+And so he (the Nâga) uttered these words by way of confirmation. The
+heavenly Nâgas, filled with joy, caused a cool refreshing breeze to
+rise; the trees and grass were yet unmoved by it, and all the beasts,
+quiet and silent, looked on in wonderment.
+
+These are the signs that Bodhisattva will certainly attain
+enlightenment.
+
+Defeats Mara
+
+The great Rishi, of the royal tribe of Rishis, beneath the Bodhi tree
+firmly established, resolved by oath to perfect the way of complete
+deliverance.
+
+The spirits, Nâgas, and the heavenly multitude, all were filled with
+joy; but Mâra Devarâga, enemy of religion, alone was grieved, and
+rejoiced not; lord of the five desires, skilled in all the arts of
+warfare, the foe of those who seek deliverance, therefore his name is
+rightly given Pisuna. Now this Mâra râga had three daughters, mincingly
+beautiful and of a pleasant countenance, in every way fit by artful ways
+to inflame a man with love, highest in this respect among the Devis. The
+first was named Yuh-yen, the second Neng-yueh-gin, the third Ngai-loh.
+These three, at this time, advanced together, and addressed their father
+Pisuna and said: "May we not know the trouble that afflicts you?"
+
+The father, calming his feelings, addressed his daughters thus: "The
+world has now a great Muni, he has taken a strong oath as a helmet, he
+holds a mighty bow in his hand, wisdom is the diamond shaft he uses. His
+object is to get the mastery in the world, to ruin and destroy my
+territory; I am myself unequal to him, for all men will believe in him,
+and all find refuge in the way of his salvation; then will my land be
+desert and unoccupied. But as when a man transgresses the laws of
+morality, his body is then empty. So now, the eye of wisdom, not yet
+opened in this man, whilst my empire still has peace, I will go and
+overturn his purpose, and break down and divide the ridge-pole of his
+house."
+
+Seizing then his bow and his five arrows, with all his retinue of male
+and female attendants, he went to that grove of "fortunate rest" with
+the vow that the world should not find peace. Then seeing the Muni,
+quiet and still, preparing to cross the sea of the three worlds, in his
+left hand grasping his bow, with his right hand pointing his arrow, he
+addressed Bodhisattva and said: "Kshatriya! rise up quickly! for you may
+well fear! your death is at hand; you may practise your own religious
+system, but let go this effort after the law of deliverance for others;
+wage warfare in the field of charity as a cause of merit, appease the
+tumultuous world, and so in the end reach your reward in heaven. This is
+a way renowned and well established, in which former saints have walked,
+Rishis and kings and men of eminence; but this system of penury and
+alms-begging is unworthy of you. Now then if you rise not, you had best
+consider with yourself, that if you give not up your vow, and tempt me
+to let fly an arrow, how that Aila, grandchild of Soma, by one of these
+arrows just touched, as by a fanning of the wind, lost his reason and
+became a madman. And how the Rishi Vimala, practising austerities,
+hearing the sound of one of these darts, his heart possessed by great
+fear, bewildered and darkened he lost his true nature; how much less can
+you--a late-born one--hope to escape this dart of mine. Quickly arise
+then! if hardly you may get away! This arrow full of rankling poison,
+fearfully insidious where it strikes a foe! See now! with all my force,
+I point it! and are you resting in the face of such calamity? How is it
+that you fear not this dread arrow? say! why do you not tremble?" Mâra
+uttered such fear-inspiring threats, bent on overawing Bodhisattva. But
+Bodhisattva's heart remained unmoved; no doubt, no fear was present.
+Then Mâra instantly discharged his arrow, whilst the three women came in
+front. Bodhisattva regarded not the arrow, nor considered aught the
+women three. Mâra râga now was troubled much with doubt, and muttered
+thus 'twixt heart and mouth: "Long since the maiden of the snowy
+mountains, shooting at Mahesvara, constrained him to change his mind;
+and yet Bodhisattva is unmoved, and heeds not even this dart of mine,
+nor the three heavenly women! nought prevails to move his heart or raise
+one spark of love within him. Now must I assemble my army-host, and
+press him sore by force;" having thought thus awhile, Mâra's army
+suddenly assembled round. Each assumed his own peculiar form; some were
+holding spears, others grasping swords, others snatching up trees,
+others wielding diamond maces; armed with every sort of weapon. Some had
+heads like hogs, others like fishes, others like asses, others like
+horses; some with forms like snakes or like the ox or savage tiger;
+lion-headed, dragon-headed, and like every other kind of beast. Some had
+many heads on one body-trunk, with faces having but a single eye, and
+then again with many eyes; some with great-bellied mighty bodies. And
+others thin and skinny, belly-less; others long-legged, mighty-kneed;
+others big-shanked and fat-calved; some with long and claw-like nails.
+Some were headless, breastless, faceless; some with two feet and many
+bodies; some with big faces looking every way; some pale and
+ashy-colored; others colored like the bright star rising, others
+steaming fiery vapor, some with ears like elephants, with humps like
+mountains, some with naked forms covered with hair. Some with leather
+skins for clothing, their faces parti-colored, crimson, and white; some
+with tiger skins as robes, some with snake skins over them, some with
+tinkling bells around their waists, others with twisted screw-like hair,
+others with hair dishevelled covering the body, some breath-suckers,
+others body-snatchers, some dancing and shrieking awhile, some jumping
+onwards with their feet together, some striking one another as they
+went. Others waving in the air, others flying and leaping between the
+trees, others howling, or hooting, or screaming, or whining, with their
+evil noises shaking the great earth; thus this wicked goblin troop
+encircled on its four sides the Bodhi tree; some bent on tearing his
+body to pieces, others on devouring it whole; from the four sides flames
+belched forth, and fiery steam ascended up to heaven; tempestuous winds
+arose on every side; the mountain forests shook and quaked. Wind, fire,
+and steam, with dust combined, produced a pitchy darkness, rendering all
+invisible. And now the Devas well affected to the law, and all the Nâgas
+and the spirits, all incensed at this host of Mâra, with anger fired,
+wept tears of blood; the great company of Suddhavâsa gods, beholding
+Mâra tempting Bodhisattva, free from low-feeling, with hearts
+undisturbed by passion, moved by pity towards him and commiseration,
+came in a body to behold the Bodhisattva, so calmly seated and so
+undisturbed, surrounded with an uncounted host of devils, shaking the
+heaven and earth with sounds ill-omened. Bodhisattva silent and quiet in
+the midst remained, his countenance as bright as heretofore, unchanged;
+like the great lion-king placed amongst all the beasts howling and
+growling round him so he sat, a sight unseen before, so strange and
+wonderful! The host of Mâra hastening, as arranged, each one exerting
+his utmost force, taking each other's place in turns, threatening every
+moment to destroy him. Fiercely staring, grinning with their teeth,
+flying tumultuously, bounding here and there; but Bodhisattva, silently
+beholding them, watched them as one would watch the games of children.
+And now the demon host waxed fiercer and more angry, and added force to
+force, in further conflict; grasping at stones they could not lift, or
+lifting them, they could not let them go. Their flying spears, lances,
+and javelins, stuck fast in space, refusing to descend; the angry
+thunderdrops and mighty hail, with these, were changed into five-colored
+lotus flowers, whilst the foul poison of the dragon snakes was turned to
+spicy-breathing air. Thus all these countless sorts of creatures,
+wishing to destroy the Bodhisattva, unable to remove him from the spot,
+were with their own weapons wounded. Now Mâra had an aunt-attendant
+whose name was Ma-kia-ka-li, who held a skull-dish in her hands, and
+stood in front of Bodhisattva, and with every kind of winsome gesture,
+tempted to lust the Bodhisattva. So all these followers of Mâra,
+possessed of every demon-body form, united in discordant uproar, hoping
+to terrify Bodhisattva; but not a hair of his was moved, and Mâra's host
+was filled with sorrow. Then in the air the crowd of angels, their forms
+invisible, raised their voices, saying: "Behold the great Muni; his mind
+unmoved by any feeling of resentment, whilst all that wicked Mâra race,
+besotted, are vainly bent on his destruction; let go your foul and
+murderous thoughts against that silent Muni, calmly seated! You cannot
+with a breath move the Sumeru mountain. Fire may freeze, water may burn,
+the roughened earth may grow soft and pliant, but ye cannot hurt the
+Bodhisattva! Through ages past disciplined by suffering. Bodhisattva
+rightly trained in thought, ever advancing in the use of 'means,' pure
+and illustrious for wisdom, loving and merciful to all. These four
+conspicuous virtues cannot with him be rent asunder, so as to make it
+hard or doubtful whether he gain the highest wisdom. For as the thousand
+rays of yonder sun must drown the darkness of the world, or as the
+boring wood must kindle fire, or as the earth deep-dug gives water, so
+he who perseveres in the 'right means,' by seeking thus, will find. The
+world without instruction, poisoned by lust and hate and ignorance;
+because he pitied 'flesh,' so circumstanced, he sought on their account
+the joy of wisdom. Why then would you molest and hinder one who seeks to
+banish sorrow from the world? The ignorance that everywhere prevails is
+due to false pernicious books, and therefore Bodhisattva, walking
+uprightly, would lead and draw men after him. To obscure and blind the
+great world-leader, this undertaking is impossible, for 'tis as though
+in the Great Desert a man would purposely mislead the merchant-guide. So
+'all flesh' having fallen into darkness, ignorant of where they are
+going, for their sakes he would light the lamp of wisdom; say then! why
+would you extinguish it? All flesh engulfed and overwhelmed in the great
+sea of birth and death, this one prepares the boat of wisdom; say then!
+why destroy and sink it? Patience is the sprouting of religion, firmness
+its root, good conduct is the flower, the enlightened heart the boughs
+and branches. Wisdom supreme the entire tree, the 'transcendent law' the
+fruit, its shade protects all living things; say then! why would you cut
+it down? Lust, hate, and ignorance, are the rack and bolt, the yoke
+placed on the shoulder of the world; through ages long he has practised
+austerities to rescue men from these their fetters. He now shall
+certainly attain his end, sitting on this right-established throne; as
+all the previous Buddhas, firm and compact like a diamond. Though all
+the earth were moved and shaken, yet would this place be fixed and
+stable; him, thus fixed and well assured, think not that you can
+overturn. Bring down and moderate your mind's desire, banish these high
+and envious thoughts, prepare yourselves for right reflection, be
+patient in your services."
+
+Mâra hearing these sounds in space, and seeing Bodhisattva still
+unmoved, filled with fear and banishing his high and supercilious
+thoughts, again took up his way to heaven above. Whilst all his host
+were scattered, o'erwhelmed with grief and disappointment, fallen from
+their high estate, bereft of their warrior pride, their warlike weapons
+and accoutrements thrown heedlessly and cast away 'mid woods and
+deserts. Like as when some cruel chieftain slain, the hateful band is
+all dispersed and scattered, so the host of Mara disconcerted, fled
+away. The mind of Bodhisattva now reposed peaceful and quiet. The
+morning sunbeams brighten with the dawn, the dust-like mist dispersing,
+disappears; the moon and stars pale their faint light, the barriers of
+the night are all removed, whilst from above a fall of heavenly flowers
+pay their sweet tribute to the Bodhisattva.
+
+O-wei-san-pou-ti (Abhisambodhi)
+
+Bodhisattva having subdued Mâra, his firmly fixed mind at rest,
+thoroughly exhausting the first principle of truth, he entered into deep
+and subtle contemplation. Every kind of Sâmadhi in order passed before
+his eyes. During the first watch he entered on "right perception" and in
+recollection all former births passed before his eyes. Born in such a
+place, of such a name, and downwards to his present birth, so through
+hundreds, thousands, myriads, all his births and deaths he knew.
+Countless in number were they, of every kind and sort; then knowing,
+too, his family relationships, great pity rose within his heart.
+
+This sense of deep compassion passed, he once again considered "all that
+lives," and how they moved within the six portions of life's revolution,
+no final term to birth and death; hollow all, and false and transient as
+the plantain tree, or as a dream, or phantasy. Then in the middle watch
+of night, he reached to knowledge of the pure Devas, and beheld before
+him every creature, as one sees images upon a mirror; all creatures born
+and born again to die, noble and mean, the poor and rich, reaping the
+fruit of right or evil doing, and sharing happiness or misery in
+consequence. First he considered and distinguished evil-doers' works,
+that such must ever reap an evil birth. Then he considered those who
+practise righteous deeds, that these must gain a place with men or gods;
+but those again born in the nether hells, he saw participating in every
+kind of misery; swallowing molten brass, the iron skewers piercing their
+bodies, confined within the boiling caldron, driven and made to enter
+the fiery oven dwelling, food for hungry, long-toothed dogs, or preyed
+upon by brain-devouring birds; dismayed by fire, then they wander
+through thick woods, with leaves like razors gashing their limbs, while
+knives divide their writhing bodies, or hatchets lop their members, bit
+by bit; drinking the bitterest poisons, their fate yet holds them back
+from death. Thus those who found their joy in evil deeds, he saw
+receiving now their direst sorrow; a momentary taste of pleasure here, a
+dreary length of suffering there. A laugh or joke because of others'
+pain, a crying out and weeping now at punishment received. Surely if
+living creatures saw the consequence of all their evil deeds,
+self-visited, with hatred would they turn and leave them, fearing the
+ruin following--the blood and death. He saw, moreover, all the fruits of
+birth as beasts, each deed entailing its own return; and when death
+ensues born in some other form (beast shape), different in kind
+according to the deeds. Some doomed to die for the sake of skin or
+flesh, some for their horns or hair or bones or wings; others torn or
+killed in mutual conflict, friend or relative before, contending thus;
+some burdened with loads or dragging heavy weights, others pierced and
+urged on by pricking goads. Blood flowing down their tortured forms,
+parched and hungry--no relief afforded; then, turning round, he saw one
+with the other struggling, possessed of no independent strength. Flying
+through air or sunk in deep water, yet no place as a refuge left from
+death. He saw, moreover, those, misers and covetous, born now as hungry
+ghosts; vast bodies like the towering mountain, with mouths as small as
+any needle-tube, hungry and thirsty, nought but fire and poisoned flame
+to enwrap their burning forms within. Covetous, they would not give to
+those who sought, or duped the man who gave in charity, now born among
+the famished ghosts, they seek for food, but cannot find withal. The
+refuse of the unclean man they fain would eat, but this is changed and
+lost before it can be eaten. Oh! if a man believes that covetousness is
+thus repaid, as in their case, would he not give his very flesh in
+charity even as Sivi râga did! Then, once more he saw, those reborn as
+men, with bodies like some foul sewer, ever moving 'midst the direst
+sufferings, born from the womb to fear and trembling, with body tender,
+touching anything its feelings painful, as if cut with knives. Whilst
+born in this condition, no moment free from chance of death, labor, and
+sorrow, yet seeking birth again, and being born again, enduring pain.
+Then he saw those who by a higher merit were enjoying heaven; a thirst
+for love ever consuming them, their merit ended with the end of life,
+the five signs warning them of death. Just as the blossom that decays,
+withering away, is robbed of all its shining tints; not all their
+associates, living still, though grieving, can avail to save the rest.
+The palaces and joyous precincts empty now, the Devis all alone and
+desolate, sitting or asleep upon the dusty earth, weep bitterly in
+recollection of their loves. Those who are born, sad in decay; those who
+are dead, belovéd, cause of grief; thus ever struggling on, preparing
+future pain, covetous they seek the joys of heaven, obtaining which,
+these sorrows come apace; despicable joys! oh, who would covet them!
+using such mighty efforts to obtain, and yet unable thence to banish
+pain. Alas, alas! these Devas, too, alike deceived--no difference is
+there! through lapse of ages bearing suffering, striving to crush desire
+and lust, now certainly expecting long reprieve, and yet once more
+destined to fall! in hell enduring every kind of pain, as beasts tearing
+and killing one the other, as Pretas parched with direst thirst, as men
+worn out, seeking enjoyment; although, they say, when born in heaven,
+"then we shall escape these greater ills." Deceived, alas! no single
+place exempt, in every birth incessant pain! Alas! the sea of birth and
+death revolving thus--an ever-whirling wheel--all flesh immersed within
+its waves cast here and there without reliance! thus with his pure Deva
+eyes he thoughtfully considered the five domains of life. He saw that
+all was empty and vain alike! with no dependence! like the plantain or
+the bubble. Then, on the third eventful watch, he entered on the deep,
+true apprehension; he meditated on the entire world of creatures,
+whirling in life's tangle, born to sorrow; the crowds who live, grow
+old, and die, innumerable for multitude. Covetous, lustful, ignorant,
+darkly-fettered, with no way known for final rescue. Rightly
+considering, inwardly he reflected from what source birth and death
+proceed. He was assured that age and death must come from birth as from
+a source. For since a man has born with him a body, that body must
+inherit pain. Then looking further whence comes birth, he saw it came
+from life-deeds done elsewhere; then with his Deva-eyes scanning these
+deeds, he saw they were not framed by Isvara. They were not self-caused,
+they were not personal existences, nor were they either uncaused; then,
+as one who breaks the first bamboo joint finds all the rest easy to
+separate, having discerned the cause of birth and death, he gradually
+came to see the truth; deeds come from upâdâna, like as fire which
+catches hold of grass; upâdâna comes from trishnâ, just as a little fire
+inflames the mountains; trishnâ comes from vedanâ, the perception of
+pain and pleasure, the desire for rest; as the starving or the thirsty
+man seeks food and drink, so "sensation" brings "desire" for life; then
+contact is the cause of all sensation, producing the three kinds of pain
+or pleasure, even as by art of man the rubbing wood produces fire for
+any use or purpose; contact is born from the six entrances.[103] The six
+entrances are caused by name and thing, just as the germ grows to the
+stem and leaf; name and thing are born from knowledge, as the seed which
+germinates and brings forth leaves. Knowledge, in turn, proceeds from
+name and thing, the two are intervolved leaving no remnant; by some
+concurrent cause knowledge engenders name and thing, whilst by some
+other cause concurrent, name and thing engender knowledge. Just as a man
+and ship advance together, the water and the land mutually involved;
+thus knowledge brings forth name and thing; name and thing produce the
+roots. The roots engender contact; contact again brings forth sensation;
+sensation brings forth longing desire; longing desire produces upâdâna.
+Upâdâna is the cause of deeds; and these again engender birth; birth
+again produces age and death; so does this one incessant round cause the
+existence of all living things. Rightly illumined, thoroughly perceiving
+this, firmly established, thus was he enlightened; destroy birth, old
+age and death will cease; destroy bhava then will birth cease; destroy
+"cleaving" then will bhava end; destroy desire then will cleaving end;
+destroy sensation then will trishnâ end. Destroy contact then will end
+sensation; destroy the six entrances, then will contact cease; the six
+entrances all destroyed, from this, moreover, names and things will
+cease. Knowledge destroyed, names and things will cease; names and
+things destroyed, then knowledge perishes; ignorance destroyed, then the
+constituents of individual life will die; the great Rishi was thus
+perfected in wisdom. Thus perfected, Buddha then devised for the world's
+benefit the eightfold path, right sight, and so on, the only true path
+for the world to tread. Thus did he complete the end of "self," as fire
+goes out for want of grass; thus he had done what he would have men do;
+he first had found the way of perfect knowledge. He finished thus the
+first great lesson; entering the great Rishi's house (dreamless sleep),
+the darkness disappeared; light coming on, perfectly silent, all at
+rest, he reached at last the exhaustless source of truth; lustrous with
+all wisdom the great Rishi sat, perfect in gifts, whilst one convulsive
+throe shook the wide earth. And now the world was calm again and bright,
+when Devas, Nâgas, spirits, all assembled, amidst the void raise
+heavenly music, and make their offerings as the law directs. A gentle
+cooling breeze sprang up around, and from the sky a fragrant rain
+distilled; exquisite flowers, not seasonable, bloomed; sweet fruits
+before their time were ripened. Great Mandâras, and every sort of
+heavenly precious flower, from space in rich confusion fell, as tribute
+to the illustrious monk. Creatures of every different kind were moved
+one towards the other lovingly; fear and terror altogether put away,
+none entertained a hateful thought, and all things living in the world
+with faultless men consorted freely; the Devas giving up their heavenly
+joys, sought rather to alleviate the sinner's sufferings. Pain and
+distress grew less and less, the moon of wisdom waxed apace; whilst all
+the Rishis of the Ikshvâku clan who had received a heavenly birth,
+beholding Buddha thus benefitting men, were filled with joy and
+satisfaction; and whilst throughout the heavenly mansions religious
+offerings fell as raining flowers, the Devas and the Nâga spirits, with
+one voice, praised the Buddha's virtues; men seeing the religious
+offerings, hearing, too, the joyous hymn of praise, were all rejoiced in
+turn; they leapt for unrestrained joy; Mâra, the Devarâga, only, felt in
+his heart great anguish. Buddha for those seven days, in contemplation
+lost, his heart at peace, beheld and pondered on the Bodhi tree, with
+gaze unmoved and never wearying:--"Now resting here, in this condition,
+I have obtained," he said, "my ever-shifting heart's desire, and now at
+rest I stand, escaped from self." The eyes of Buddha then considered
+"all that lives," and forthwith rose there in him deep compassion; much
+he desired to bring about their welfare, but how to gain for them that
+most excellent deliverance, from covetous desire, hatred, ignorance, and
+false teaching, this was the question; how to suppress this sinful heart
+by right direction; not by anxious use of outward means, but by resting
+quietly in thoughtful silence. Now looking back and thinking of his
+mighty vow, there rose once more within his mind a wish to preach the
+law; and looking carefully throughout the world, he saw how pain and
+sorrow ripened and increased everywhere. Then Brahma-deva knowing his
+thoughts, and considering it right to request him to advance religion
+for the wider spread of the Brahma-glory, in the deliverance of all
+flesh from sorrow, coming, beheld upon the person of the reverend monk
+all the distinguishing marks of a great preacher, visible in an
+excellent degree; fixed and unmoved he sat in the possession of truth
+and wisdom, free from all evil impediments, with a heart cleansed from
+all insincerity or falsehood. Then with reverent and a joyful heart,
+great Brahma stood and with hands joined, thus made known his
+request:--"What happiness in all the world so great as when a loving
+master meets the unwise; the world with all its occupants, filled with
+impurity and dire confusion, with heavy grief oppressed, or, in some
+cases, lighter sorrows, waits deliverance; the lord of men, having
+escaped by crossing the wide and mournful sea of birth and death, we now
+entreat to rescue others--those struggling creatures all engulfed
+therein; as the just worldly man, when he gets profit, gives some rebate
+withal. So the lord of men enjoying such religious gain, should also
+give somewhat to living things. The world indeed is bent on large
+personal gain, and hard it is to share one's own with others. O! let
+your loving heart be moved with pity towards the world burdened with
+vexing cares." Thus having spoken by way of exhortation, with reverent
+mien he turned back to the Brahma heaven. Buddha, regarding the
+invitation of Brahma-deva, rejoiced at heart, and his design was
+strengthened; greatly was his heart of pity nourished, and purposed was
+his mind to preach. Thinking he ought to beg some food, each of the four
+kings offered him a Pâtra; Tathâgata, in fealty to religion, received
+the four and joined them all in one. And now some merchant men were
+passing by, to whom "a virtuous friend," a heavenly spirit, said: "The
+great Rishi, the venerable monk, is dwelling in this mountain-grove,
+affording in the world a noble field for merit; go then and offer him a
+sacrifice!" Hearing the summons, joyfully they went, and offered the
+first meal religiously. Having partaken of it, then he deeply pondered,
+who first should hear the law; he thought at once of Ârâda Kâlâma and
+Udraka Râmaputra, as being fit to accept the righteous law; but now they
+both were dead. Then next he thought of the five men, that they were fit
+to hear the first sermon. Bent then on this design to preach Nirvâna, as
+the sun's glory bursts through the darkness, so went he on towards
+Benares, the place where dwelt the ancient Rishis. With eyes as gentle
+as the ox king's, his pace as firm and even as the lion's, because he
+would convert the world he went on towards the Kâsi city. Step by step,
+like the king of beasts, did he advance watchfully through the grove of
+wisdom.
+
+Turning the Law-wheel
+
+Tathâgata piously composed and silent, radiant with glory, shedding
+light around, with unmatched dignity advanced alone, as if surrounded by
+a crowd of followers. Beside the way he encountered a young Brahman
+whose name was Upâka; struck with the deportment of the Bhikshu, he
+stood with reverent mien on the roadside. Joyously he gazed at such an
+unprecedented sight, and then, with closed hands, he spake as
+follows:--"The crowds who live around are stained with sin, without a
+pleasing feature, void of grace, and the great world's heart is
+everywhere disturbed; but you alone, your senses all composed, with
+visage shining as the moon when full, seem to have quaffed the water of
+the immortals' stream. The marks of beauty yours, as the great man's,
+the strength of wisdom, as an all-sufficient, independent king's; what
+you have done must have been wisely done: what then your noble tribe and
+who your master?" Answering he said, "I have no master; no honorable
+tribe; no point of excellence; self-taught in this profoundest doctrine,
+I have arrived at superhuman wisdom. That which behooves the world to
+learn, but through the world no learner found, I now myself and by
+myself have learned throughout; 'tis rightly called Sambodhi. That
+hateful family of griefs the sword of wisdom has destroyed; this then is
+what the world has named, and rightly named, the 'chiefest victory.'
+Through all Benares soon will sound the drum of life, no stay is
+possible--I have no name--nor do I seek profit or pleasure. But simply
+to declare the truth; to save men from pain, and to fulfil my ancient
+oath, to rescue all not yet delivered. The fruit of this my oath is
+ripened now, and I will follow out my ancient vow. Wealth, riches, self
+all given up, unnamed, I still am named 'Righteous Master.' And bringing
+profit to the world, I also have the name 'Great Teacher'; facing
+sorrows, not swallowed up by them, am I not rightly called 'Courageous
+Warrior?' If not a healer of diseases, what means the name of 'Good
+Physician?' Seeing the wanderer, not showing him the way, why then
+should I be called 'Good Master-guide?' Like as the lamp shines in the
+dark, without a purpose of its own, self-radiant, so burns the lamp of
+the Tathâgata, without the shadow of a personal feeling. Bore wood in
+wood, there must be fire; the wind blows of its own free self in space;
+dig deep and you will come to water; this is the rule of self-causation.
+All the Munis who perfect wisdom, must do so at Gayâ; and in the Kâsi
+country they must first turn the Wheel of Righteousness." The young
+Brahman Upâka, astonished, breathed the praise of such strange doctrine,
+and called to mind like thoughts he had before experienced; lost in
+thought at the wonderful occurrence, at every turning of the road he
+stopped to think; embarrassed in every step he took, Tathâgata
+proceeding slowly onwards, came to the city of Kâsi. The land so
+excellently adorned as the palace of Sakradevendra; the Ganges and
+Baranâ, two twin rivers flowed amidst; the woods and flowers and fruits
+so verdant, the peaceful cattle wandering together, the calm retreats
+free from vulgar noise, such was the place where the old Rishis dwelt.
+Tathâgata, glorious and radiant, redoubled the brightness of the place;
+the son of the Kaundinya tribe, and next Dasabalakâsyapa, and the third
+Vâshpa, the fourth Asvagit, the fifth called Bhadra, practising
+austerities as hermits, seeing from far Tathâgata approaching, sitting
+together all engaged in conversation, said: "This Gautama, defiled by
+worldly indulgence, leaving the practice of austerities, now comes again
+to find us here, let us be careful not to rise in salutation, nor let us
+greet him when he comes, nor offer him the customary refreshments.
+Because he has broken his first vow, he has no claim to
+hospitality"--for men on seeing an approaching guest by rights prepare
+things for his present and his after wants. They arrange a proper
+resting-couch, and take on themselves care for his comfort. Having
+spoken thus and so agreed, each kept his seat, resolved and fixed. And
+now Tathâgata slowly approached, when, lo! these men unconsciously,
+against their vow, rose and invited him to take a seat; offering to take
+his robe and Pâtra. They begged to wash and rub his feet, and asked him
+what he required more; thus in everything attentive, they honored him
+and offered all to him as teacher. They did not cease however to address
+him still as Gautama, after his family. Then spake the Lord to them and
+said: "Call me not after my private name, for it is a rude and careless
+way of speaking to one who has obtained Arhat-ship; but whether men
+respect or disrespect me, my mind is undisturbed and wholly quiet. But
+you--your way is not so courteous: let go, I pray, and cast away your
+fault. Buddha can save the world; they call him, therefore, Buddha.
+Towards all living things, with equal heart he looks as children, to
+call him then by his familiar name is to despise a father; this is sin."
+Thus Buddha, by exercise of mighty love, in deep compassion spoke to
+them; but they, from ignorance and pride, despised the only wise and
+true one's words. They said that first he practised self-denial, but
+having reached thereby no profit, now giving rein to body, word, and
+thought, how by these means, they asked, has he become a Buddha? Thus
+equally entangled by doubts, they would not credit that he had attained
+the way. Thoroughly versed in highest truth, full of all-embracing
+wisdom, Tagâgata on their account briefly declared to them the one true
+way; the foolish masters practising austerities, and those who love to
+gratify their senses, he pointed out to them these two distinctive
+classes, and how both greatly erred. "Neither of these," he said, "has
+found the way of highest wisdom, nor are their ways of life productive
+of true rescue. The emaciated devotee by suffering produces in himself
+confused and sickly thoughts, not conducive even to worldly knowledge,
+how much less to triumph over sense! For he who tries to light a lamp
+with water, will not succeed in scattering the darkness, and so the man
+who tries with worn-out body to trim the lamp of wisdom shall not
+succeed, nor yet destroy his ignorance or folly. Who seeks with rotten
+wood to evoke the fire will waste his labor and get nothing for it; but
+boring hard wood into hard, the man of skill forthwith gets fire for his
+use. In seeking wisdom then it is not by these austerities a man may
+reach the law of life. But to indulge in pleasure is opposed to right:
+this is the fool's barrier against wisdom's light. The sensualist cannot
+comprehend the Sûtras or the Sâstras, how much less the way of
+overcoming all desire! As some man grievously afflicted eats food not
+fit to eat, and so in ignorance aggravates his sickness, so can he get
+rid of lust who pampers lust? Scatter the fire amid the desert grass,
+dried by the sun, fanned by the wind--the raging flames who shall
+extinguish? Such is the fire of covetousness and lust. I, then, reject
+both these extremes: my heart keeps in the middle way. All sorrow at an
+end and finished, I rest at peace, all error put away; my true sight
+greater than the glory of the sun, my equal and unvarying wisdom,
+vehicle of insight--right words as it were a dwelling-place--wandering
+through the pleasant groves of right conduct, making a right life my
+recreation, walking along the right road of proper means, my city of
+refuge in right recollection, and my sleeping couch right meditation;
+these are the eight even and level roads by which to avoid the sorrows
+of birth and death. Those who come forth by these means from the slough,
+doing thus, have attained the end; such shall fall neither on this side
+or the other, amidst the sorrow-crowd of the two periods. The tangled
+sorrow-web of the three worlds by this road alone can be destroyed; this
+is my own way, unheard of before; by the pure eyes of the true law,
+impartially seeing the way of escape, I, only I, now first make known
+this way; thus I destroy the hateful company of Trishnâ's host, the
+sorrows of birth and death, old age, disease, and all the unfruitful
+aims of men, and other springs of suffering. There are those who warring
+against desire are still influenced by desire; who whilst possessed of
+body, act as though they had none; who put away from themselves all
+sources of true merit--briefly will I recount their sorrowful lot. Like
+smothering a raging fire, though carefully put out, yet a spark left, so
+in their abstraction, still the germ of 'I,' the source of great sorrow
+still surviving, perpetuates the suffering caused by lust, and the evil
+consequences of every kind of deed survive. These are the sources of
+further pain, but let these go and sorrow dies, even as the seed of corn
+taken from the earth and deprived of water dies; the concurrent causes
+not uniting, then the bud and leaf cannot be born; the intricate bonds
+of every kind of existence, from the Deva down to the evil ways of
+birth, ever revolve and never cease; all this is produced from covetous
+desire; falling from a high estate to lower ones, all is the fault of
+previous deeds. But destroy the seed of covetousness and the rest, then
+there will be no intricate binding, but all effect of deeds destroyed,
+the various degrees of sorrow then will end for good. Having this, then,
+we must inherit that; destroying this, then that is ended too; no birth,
+old age, disease, or death; no earth, or water, fire, or wind. No
+beginning, end, or middle; and no deceptive systems of philosophy; this
+is the standpoint of wise men and sages; the certain and exhausted
+termination, complete Nirvâna. Such do the eight right ways declare;
+this one expedient has no remains; that which the world sees not,
+engrossed by error I declare, I know the way to sever all these
+sorrow-sources; the way to end them is by right reason, meditating on
+these four highest truths, following and perfecting this highest wisdom.
+This is what means the 'knowing' sorrow; this is to cut off the cause of
+all remains of being; these destroyed, then all striving, too, has
+ended, the eight right ways have been assayed.
+
+"Thus, too, the four great truths have been acquired, the eyes of the
+pure law completed. In these four truths, the equal, true or right, eyes
+not yet born, there is not mention made of gaining true deliverance; it
+is not said what must be done is done, nor that all is finished, nor
+that the perfect truth has been acquired. But now because the truth is
+known, then by myself is known 'deliverance gained,' by myself is known
+that 'all is done,' by myself is known 'the highest wisdom.'" And having
+spoken thus respecting truth, the member of the Kaundinya family, and
+eighty thousand of the Deva host, were thoroughly imbued with saving
+knowledge. They put away defilement from themselves, they got the eyes
+of the pure law; Devas and earthly masters thus were sure, that what was
+to be done was done. And now with lion-voice he joyfully inquired, and
+asked Kaundinya, "Knowest thou yet?" Kaundinya forthwith answered
+Buddha, "I know the mighty master's law." And for this reason, knowing
+it, his name was Âgnâta Kaundinya. Amongst all the disciples of Buddha,
+he was the very first in understanding. Then as he understood the sounds
+of the true law, hearing the words of the disciple--all the earth
+spirits together raised a shout triumphant, "Well done! deeply seeing
+the principles of the law, Tathâgata, on this auspicious day, has set
+revolving that which never yet revolved, and far and wide, for gods and
+men, has opened the gates of immortality. Of this wheel the spokes are
+the rules of pure conduct; equal contemplation, their uniformity of
+length; firm wisdom is the tire; modesty and thoughtfulness, the rubbers
+(sockets in the nave in which the axle is fixed); right reflection is
+the nave; the wheel itself the law of perfect truth; the right truth now
+has gone forth in the world, not to retire before another teacher."
+
+Thus the earth spirits shouted, the spirits of the air took up the
+strain, the Devas all joined in the hymn of praise, up to the highest
+Brahma heaven. The Devas of the triple world, now hearing what the great
+Rishi taught, in intercourse together spoke, "The widely honored Buddha
+moves the world! Widespread, for the sake of all that lives, he turns
+the wheel of the law of complete purity!" The stormy winds, the clouds,
+the mists, all disappeared; down from space the heavenly flowers
+descended. The Devas revelled in their joys celestial, filled with
+unutterable gladness.
+
+
+[Footnote 99: The distance from the place of the interview with the
+ministers to the Vulture Peak would be, in a straight line, about 150
+miles.]
+
+[Footnote 100: The sense of the text and context appears to be this,
+that as there are those who drink the rain-clouds and yet are parched
+with thirst, so there are those who constantly practise religious duties
+and yet are still unblest.]
+
+[Footnote 101: The dhyânas are the conditions of ecstasy, enjoyed by the
+inhabitants of the Brahmaloka heavens.]
+
+[Footnote 102: The "fortunate tree," the tree "of good omen," the Bodhi
+tree.]
+
+[Footnote 103: The six organs of sense.]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+Bimbisâra Râga Becomes a Disciple
+
+And now those five men, Asvagit Vâshpa, and the others, having heard
+that he (Kaundinya) "knew" the law, with humble mien and self-subdued,
+their hands joined, offered their homage, and looked with reverence in
+the teacher's face. Tathâgata, by wise expedient, caused them one by one
+to embrace the law. And so from first to last the five Bhikshus obtained
+reason and subdued their senses, like the five stars which shine in
+heaven, waiting upon the brightening moon. At this time in the town of
+Ku-i there was a noble's son called Yasas; lost in night-sleep suddenly
+he woke, and when he saw his attendants all, men and women, with
+ill-clad bodies, sleeping, his heart was filled with loathing;
+reflecting on the root of sorrow, he thought how madly foolish men were
+immersed in it. Clothing himself, and putting on his jewels, he left his
+home and wandered forth; then on the way he stood and cried aloud,
+"Alas! alas! what endless chain of sorrows." Tathâgata, by night, was
+walking forth, and hearing sounds like these, "Alas! what sorrow,"
+forthwith replied, "You are welcome! here, on the other hand, there is a
+place of rest--the most excellent, refreshing, Nirvâna, quiet and
+unmoved, free from sorrow." Yasas hearing Buddha's exhortation, there
+rose much joy within his heart. And in the place of the disgust he felt,
+the cooling streams of holy wisdom found their way, as when one enters
+first a cold pellucid lake. Advancing then, he came where Buddha
+was--his person decked with common ornaments, his mind already freed
+from all defects; by power of the good root obtained in other births, he
+quickly reached the fruit of an Arhat. The secret light of pure wisdom's
+virtue enabled him to understand, on listening to the law; just as a
+pure silken fabric with ease is dyed a different color. Thus having
+attained to self-illumination, and done that which was to be done, he
+was converted; then looking at his person richly ornamented, his heart
+was filled with shame. Tathâgata knowing his inward thoughts, in gâthas
+spoke the following words: "Though ornamented with jewels, the heart may
+yet have conquered sense; looking with equal mind on all that lives, in
+such a case the outward form does not affect religion; the body, too,
+may wear the ascetic's garb, the heart, meanwhile, be immersed in
+worldly thoughts; dwelling in lonely woods, yet covetous of worldly
+show, such men are after all mere worldlings; the body may have a
+worldly guise, the heart mount high to things celestial. The layman and
+the hermit are the same, when only both have banished thought of 'self,'
+but if the heart be twined with carnal bonds, what use the marks of
+bodily attention? He who wears martial decorations, does so because by
+valor he has triumphed o'er an enemy--so he who wears the hermit's
+colored robe, does so for having vanquished sorrow as his foe." Then he
+bade him come, and be a member of his church; and at the bidding, lo!
+his garments changed! and he stood wholly attired in hermit's dress,
+complete; in heart and outward look, a Sramana. Now Yasas had in former
+days some light companions, in number fifty and four; when these beheld
+their friend a hermit, they, too, one by one, attained true wisdom. By
+virtue of deeds done in former births, these deeds now bore their
+perfect fruit. Just as when burning ashes are sprinkled by water, the
+water being dried, the flame bursts forth. So now, with those above, the
+disciples were altogether sixty, all Arhats; entirely obedient and
+instructed in the law of perfect discipleship. So perfected he taught
+them further:--"Now ye have passed the stream and reached 'the other
+shore,' across the sea of birth and death; what should be done, ye now
+have done! and ye may now receive the charity of others. Go then through
+every country, convert those not yet converted; throughout the world
+that lies burnt up with sorrow, teach everywhere; instruct those lacking
+right instruction. Go, therefore! each one travelling by himself; filled
+with compassion, go! rescue and receive. I too will go alone, back to
+yonder Kia-ke mountain; where there are great Rishis, royal Rishis,
+Brahman Rishis too, these all dwell there, influencing men according to
+their schools. The Rishi Kâsyapa, enduring pain, reverenced by all the
+country, making converts too of many, him will I visit and convert."
+Then the sixty Bhikshus respectfully receiving orders to preach, each
+according to his fore-determined purpose, following his inclination,
+went through every land. The honored of the world went on alone, till he
+arrived at the Kia-ke mountain, then entering a retired religious dell,
+he came to where the Rishi Kâsyapa was. Now this one had a "fire grot"
+where he offered sacrifice, where an evil Nâga dwelt, who wandered here
+and there in search of rest, through mountains and wild places of the
+earth. The honored of the world, wishing to instruct this hermit and
+convert him, asked him, on coming, for a place to lodge that night.
+Kâsyapa, replying, spake to Buddha thus:--"I have no resting-place to
+offer for the night, only this fire grot where I sacrifice; this is a
+cool and fit place for the purpose, but an evil dragon dwells there, who
+is accustomed, as he can, to poison men." Buddha replied, "Permit me
+only, and for the night I'll take my dwelling there." Kâsyapa made many
+difficulties, but the world-honored one still asked the favor. Then
+Kâsyapa addressed Buddha, "My mind desires no controversy, only I have
+my fears and apprehensions, but follow you your own good pleasure."
+Buddha forthwith stepped within the fiery grot, and took his seat with
+dignity and deep reflection; and now the evil Nâga seeing Buddha,
+belched forth in rage his fiery poison, and filled the place with
+burning vapor. But this could not affect the form of Buddha. Throughout
+the abode the fire consumed itself, the honored of the world still sat
+composed: Even as Brahma, in the midst of the kalpa-fire that burns and
+reaches to the Brahma heavens, still sits unmoved, without a thought of
+fear or apprehension, so Buddha sat; the evil Nâga seeing him, his face
+glowing with peace, and still unchanged, ceased his poisonous blast, his
+heart appeased; he bent his head and worshipped. Kâsyapa in the night
+seeing the fire-glow, sighed:--"Ah! alas! what misery! this most
+distinguished man is also burnt up by the fiery Nâga." Then Kâsyapa and
+his followers at morning light came one and all to look. Now Buddha
+having subdued the evil Nâga, had straightway placed him in his pâtra,
+beholding which, and seeing the power of Buddha, Kâsyapa conceived
+within him deep and secret thoughts:--"This Gotama," he thought, "is
+deeply versed in religion, but still he said, 'I am a master of
+religion.'" Then Buddha, as occasion offered, displayed all kinds of
+spiritual changes, influencing Kâsyapa's heart-thoughts, changing and
+subduing them, making his mind pliant and yielding, until at length
+prepared to be a vessel of the true law, he confessed that his poor
+wisdom could not compare with the complete wisdom of the world-honored
+one. And so, convinced at last, humbly submitting, he accepted right
+instruction. Thus U-pi-lo Uravilva Kâsyapa, and five hundred of his
+followers following their master, virtuously submissive, in turn
+received the teaching of the law. Kâsyapa and all his followers were
+thus entirely converted. The Rishi then, taking his goods and all his
+sacrificial vessels, threw them together in the river, which floated
+down upon the surface of the current. Nadi and Gada, brothers, who dwelt
+down the stream, seeing these articles of clothing and the rest floating
+along the stream disorderly, said, "Some great change has happened," and
+deeply pained, were restlessly concerned. The two, each with five
+hundred followers, going up the stream to seek their brother. Seeing him
+now dressed as a hermit, and all his followers with him, having got
+knowledge of the miraculous law--strange thoughts engaged their
+minds--"our brother having submitted thus, we too should also follow
+him." Thus the three brothers, with all their band of followers, were
+brought to hear the lord's discourse on the comparison of a fire
+sacrifice: and in the discourse he taught, "How the dark smoke of
+ignorance arises, whilst confused thoughts, like wood drilled into wood,
+create the fire. Lust, anger, delusion, these are as fire produced, and
+these inflame and burn all living things. Thus the fire of grief and
+sorrow, once enkindled, ceases not to burn, ever giving rise to birth
+and death; but whilst this fire of sorrow ceases not, yet are there two
+kinds of fire, one that burns but has no fuel left. So when the heart of
+man has once conceived distaste for sin, this distaste removing covetous
+desire, covetous desire extinguished, there is rescue; if once this
+rescue has been found, then with it is born sight and knowledge, by
+which distinguishing the streams of birth and death, and practising pure
+conduct, all is done that should be done, and hereafter shall be no more
+life." Thus the thousand Bhikshus hearing the world-honored preach, all
+defects forever done away, their minds found perfect and complete
+deliverance. Then Buddha for the Kâsyapas' sakes, and for the benefit of
+the thousand Bhikshus, having preached, and done all that should be
+done, himself with purity and wisdom and all the concourse of high
+qualities excellently adorned, he gave them, as in charity, rules for
+cleansing sense. The great Rishi, listening to reason, lost all regard
+for bodily austerities, and, as a man without a guide, was emptied of
+himself, and learned discipleship. And now the honored one and all his
+followers go forward to the royal city (Râgagriha), remembering, as he
+did, the Magadha king, and what he heretofore had promised. The honored
+one when he arrived, remained within the "staff grove"; Bimbisâra Râga
+hearing thereof, with all his company of courtiers, lords and ladies all
+surrounding him, came to where the master was. Then at a distance seeing
+Buddha seated, with humbled heart and subdued presence, putting off his
+common ornaments, descending from his chariot, forward he stepped; even
+as Sakra, king of gods, going to where Brahmadeva-râga dwells. Bowing
+down at Buddha's feet, he asked him, with respect, about his health of
+body; Buddha in his turn, having made inquiries, begged him to be seated
+on one side. Then the king's mind reflected silently:--"This Sâkya must
+have great controlling power, to subject to his will these Kâsyapas who
+now are round him as disciples." Buddha, knowing all thoughts, spoke
+thus to Kâsyapa, questioning him:--"What profit have you found in giving
+up your fire-adoring law?" Kâsyapa hearing Buddha's words, rising with
+dignity before the great assembly, bowed lowly down, and then with
+clasped hands and a loud voice addressing Buddha, said:--"The profit I
+received, adoring the fire spirit, was this--continuance in the wheel of
+life, birth and death, with all their sorrows growing--this service I
+have therefore cast away. Diligently I persevered in fire-worship,
+seeking to put an end to the five desires, in return I found desires
+endlessly increasing: therefore have I cast off this service.
+Sacrificing thus to fire with many Mantras, I did but miss escape from
+birth; receiving birth, with it came all its sorrows, therefore I cast
+it off and sought for rest. I was versed, indeed, in self-affliction, my
+mode of worship largely adopted, and counted of all most excellent, and
+yet I was opposed to highest wisdom. Therefore have I discarded it, and
+gone in quest of the supreme Nirvâna. Removing from me birth, old age,
+disease, and death, I sought a place of undying rest and calm. And as I
+gained the knowledge of this truth, then I cast off the law of
+worshipping the fire."
+
+The honored-of-the-world, hearing Kâsyapa declaring his experience of
+truth, wishing to move the world throughout to conceive a heart of
+purity and faith, addressing Kâsyapa further, said: "Welcome! great
+master, welcome! Rightly have you distinguished law from law, and well
+obtained the highest wisdom; now before this great assembly, pray you!
+exhibit your excellent endowments; as any rich and wealthy noble opens
+for view his costly treasures, causing the poor and sorrow-laden
+multitude to increase their forgetfulness awhile; and honor well your
+lord's instruction." Forthwith in presence of the assembly, gathering up
+his body and entering Samâdhi, calmly he ascended into space, and there
+displayed himself, walking, standing, sitting, sleeping, emitting fiery
+vapor from his body, on his right and left side water and fire, not
+burning and not moistening him. Then clouds and rain proceeded from him,
+thunder with lightning shook the heaven and earth; thus he drew the
+world to look in adoration, with eyes undazzled as they gazed; with
+different mouths, but all in language one, they magnified and praised
+this wondrous spectacle, then afterwards drawn by spiritual force, they
+came and worshipped at the master's feet, exclaiming:--"Buddha is our
+great teacher! we are the honored one's disciples." Thus having
+magnified his work and finished all he purposed doing, drawing the world
+as universal witness, the assembly was convinced that he, the
+world-honored, was truly the "Omniscient!" Buddha, perceiving that the
+whole assembly was ready as a vessel to receive the law, spoke thus to
+Bimbisâra Râga: "Listen now and understand: The mind, the thoughts, and
+all the senses are subject to the law of life and death. This fault of
+birth and death, once understood, then there is clear and plain
+perception. Obtaining this clear perception, then there is born
+knowledge of self; knowing oneself and with this knowledge laws of birth
+and death, then there is no grasping and no sense-perception. Knowing
+oneself, and understanding how the senses act, then there is no room for
+'I' (soul) or ground for framing it; then all the accumulated mass of
+sorrow, sorrows born from life and death, being recognized as attributes
+of body, and as this body is not 'I,' nor offers ground for 'I,' then
+comes the great superlative, the source of peace unending. This thought
+of 'self' gives rise to all these sorrows, binding as with cords the
+world, but having found there is no 'I' that can be bound, then all
+these bonds are severed. There are no bonds indeed--they disappear--and
+seeing this there is deliverance. The world holds to this thought of
+'I,' and so, from this, comes false apprehension. Of those who maintain
+the truth of it, some say the 'I' endures, some say it perishes; taking
+the two extremes of birth and death, their error is most grievous! For
+if they say the 'I' is perishable, the fruit they strive for, too, will
+perish; and at some time there will be no hereafter: this is indeed a
+meritless deliverance. But if they say the 'I' is not to perish, then in
+the midst of all this life and death there is but one identity as space,
+which is not born and does not die. If this is what they call the 'I,'
+then are all things living, one--for all have this unchanging self--not
+perfected by any deeds, but self-perfect. If so, if such a self it is
+that acts, let there be no self-mortifying conduct, the self is lord and
+master; what need to do that which is done? For if this 'I' is lasting
+and imperishable, then reason would teach it never can be changed. But
+now we see the marks of joy and sorrow, what room for constancy then is
+here? Knowing that birth brings this deliverance then I put away all
+thought of sin's defilement; the whole world, everything, endures! what
+then becomes of this idea of rescue? We cannot even talk of putting self
+away, truth is the same as falsehood; it is not 'I' that do a thing, and
+who, forsooth, is he that talks of 'I'? But if it is not 'I' that do the
+thing, then there is no 'I' that does it, and in the absence of these
+both, there is no 'I' at all, in very truth. No doer and no knower, no
+lord, yet notwithstanding this, there ever lasts this birth and death,
+like morn and night ever recurring. But now attend to me and listen: The
+senses six and their six objects united cause the six kinds of
+knowledge, these three united bring forth contact, then the intervolved
+effects of recollection follow. Then like the burning glass and tinder
+through the sun's power cause fire to appear, so through the knowledge
+born of sense and object, the lord of knowledge (self) is born. The
+shoot springs from the seed, the seed is not the shoot, not one and yet
+not different: such is the birth of all that lives." The honored of the
+world preaching the truth, the equal and impartial paramârtha, thus
+addressed the king with all his followers. Then King Bimbisâra filled
+with joy, removing from himself defilement, gained religious sight, a
+hundred thousand spirits also, hearing the words of the immortal law,
+shook off and lost the stain of sin.
+
+The Great Disciple Becomes a Hermit
+
+At this time Bimbisâra Râga, bowing his head, requested the honored of
+the world to change his place of abode for the bamboo grove; graciously
+accepting it, Buddha remained silent. Then the king, having perceived
+the truth, offered his adoration and returned to his palace. The
+world-honored, with the great congregation, proceeded on foot, to rest
+for awhile in the bamboo garden. There he dwelt to convert all that
+breathed, to kindle once for all the lamp of wisdom, to establish Brahma
+and the Devas, and to confirm the lives of saints and sages. At this
+time Asvagit and Vâshpa, with heart composed and every sense subdued,
+the time having come for begging food, entered into the town of
+Râgagriha. Unrivalled in the world were they for grace of person, and in
+dignity of carriage excelling all. The lords and ladies of the city
+seeing them, were filled with joy; those who were walking stood still,
+those before waited, those behind hastened on. Now the Rishi Kapila
+amongst all his numerous disciples had one of wide-spread fame, whose
+name was Sâriputra; he, beholding the wonderful grace of the Bhikshus,
+their composed mien and subdued senses, their dignified walk and
+carriage, raising his hands, inquiring, said: "Young in years, but pure
+and graceful in appearance, such as I before have never seen. What law
+most excellent have you obeyed? and who your master that has taught you?
+and what the doctrine you have learned? Tell me, I pray you, and relieve
+my doubts." Then of the Bhikshus, one, rejoicing at his question, with
+pleasing air and gracious words, replied: "The omniscient, born of the
+Ikshvâku family, the very first 'midst gods and men, this one is my
+great master. I am indeed but young, the sun of wisdom has but just
+arisen, how can I then explain the master's doctrine? Its meaning is
+deep and very hard to understand, but now, according to my poor wisdom,
+I will recount in brief the master's doctrine:--'Whatever things exist
+all spring from cause, the principles of birth and death may be
+destroyed, the way is by the means he has declared.'" Then the
+twice-born Upata, embracing heartily what he had heard, put from him all
+sense-pollution, and obtained the pure eyes of the law. The former
+explanations he had trusted, respecting cause and what was not the cause
+that there was nothing that was made, but was made by Isvara; all this,
+now that he had heard the rule of true causation, understanding the
+wisdom of the no-self, adding thereto the knowledge of the minute dust
+troubles, which can never be overcome in their completeness but by the
+teaching of Tathâgata, all this he now forever put away; leaving no room
+for thought of self, the thought of self will disappear. Who, when the
+brightness of the sun gives light, would call for the dimness of the
+lamp? for, like the severing the lotus, the stem once cut, the pods will
+also die. "So Buddha's teaching cutting off the stem of sorrow, no seeds
+are left to grow or lead to further increase." Then bowing at the
+Bhikshu's feet, with grateful mien, he wended homewards. The Bhikshus
+after having begged their food, likewise went back to the bamboo grove.
+Sâriputra on his arrival home rested with joyful face and full of peace.
+His friend, the honored Mugalin, equally renowned for learning, seeing
+Sâriputra in the distance, his pleasing air and lightsome step, spoke
+thus:--"As I now see thee, there is an unusual look I notice; your
+former nature seems quite changed, the signs of happiness I now observe,
+all indicate the possession of eternal truth: these marks are not
+uncaused." Answering he said: "The words of the Tathâgata are such as
+never yet were spoken," and then, requested, he declared what he had
+heard. Hearing the words and understanding them, he too put off the
+world's defilement, and gained the eyes of true religion, the reward of
+a long-planted virtuous cause; and, as one sees by a lamp that comes to
+hand, so he obtained an unmoved faith in Buddha; and now they both set
+out for Buddha's presence, with a large crowd of followers. Buddha
+seeing the two worthies coming, thus spoke to his disciples:--"These two
+men who come shall be my two most eminent followers, one unsurpassed for
+wisdom, the other for powers miraculous." And then with Brahma's voice,
+profound and sweet, he forthwith bade them "Welcome!" Here is the pure
+and peaceful law, he said; here the end of all discipleship! Their hands
+grasping the triple-staff, their twisted hair holding the water-vessel,
+hearing the words of Buddha's welcome, they forthwith changed into
+complete Sramanas; the leaders two and all their followers, assuming the
+complete appearance of Bhikshus, with prostrate forms fell down at
+Buddha's feet, then rising, sat beside him, and with obedient heart
+listening to the word, they all became Arhats. At this time there was a
+twice-born sage, Kâsyapa Shi-ming-teng, celebrated and perfect in
+person, rich in possessions, and his wife most virtuous. But all this he
+had left and become a hermit, seeking the way of salvation. And now in
+the way by the To-tseu tower he suddenly encountered Sâkya Muni,
+remarkable for his dignified and illustrious appearance, as the
+embroidered flag of a temple. Respectfully and reverently approaching,
+with head bowed down, he worshipped his feet, whilst he said: "Truly,
+honored one, you are my teacher, and I am your follower: much and long
+time have I been harassed with doubts, oh! would that you would light
+the lamp of knowledge." Buddha knowing that this twice-born sage was
+heartily desirous of finding the best mode of escape, with soft and
+pliant voice, he bade him come and welcome. Hearing his bidding and his
+heart complying, losing all listlessness of body or spirit, his soul
+embraced the terms of this most excellent salvation. Quiet and calm,
+putting away defilement, the great merciful, as he alone knew how,
+briefly explained the mode of this deliverance, exhibiting the secrets
+of his law, ending with the four indestructible acquirements. The great
+sage, everywhere celebrated, was called Mahâ Kâsyapa. His original faith
+was that "body and soul are different," but he had also held that they
+are the same; that there was both "I" and a place for "I"; but now he
+forever cast away his former faith, and considered only that "sorrow" is
+ever accumulating; so by removing sorrow there will be "no remains";
+obedience to the precepts and the practice of discipline, though not
+themselves the cause, yet he considered these the necessary mode by
+which to find deliverance. With equal and impartial mind, he considered
+the nature of sorrow, for evermore freed from a cleaving heart. Whether
+we think "this is" or "this is not" he thought, both tend to produce a
+listless, idle mode of life. But when with equal mind we see the truth,
+then certainty is produced and no more doubt. If we rely for support on
+wealth or form, then wild confusion and concupiscence result: inconstant
+and impure. But lust and covetous desire removed, the heart of love and
+equal thoughts produced, there can be then no enemies or friends, but
+the heart is pitiful and kindly disposed to all, and thus is destroyed
+the power of anger and of hate. Trusting to outward things and their
+relationships, then crowding thoughts of every kind are gendered.
+Reflecting well, and crushing out confusing thought, then lust for
+pleasure is destroyed. Though born in the Arûpa world he saw that there
+would be a remnant of life still left; unacquainted with the four right
+truths, he had felt an eager longing for this deliverance, for the quiet
+resulting from the absence of all thought. And now putting away forever
+covetous desire for such a formless state of being, his restless heart
+was agitated still, as the stream is excited by the rude wind. Then
+entering on deep reflection in quiet he subdued his troubled mind, and
+realized the truth of there being no "self," and that therefore birth
+and death are no realities; but beyond this point he rose not: his
+thought of "self" destroyed, all else was lost. But now the lamp of
+wisdom lit, the gloom of every doubt dispersed, he saw an end to that
+which seemed without an end; ignorance finally dispelled, he considered
+the ten points of excellence; the ten seeds of sorrow destroyed, he came
+once more to life, and what he ought to do, he did. And now regarding
+with reverence the face of his lord, he put away the three and gained
+the three; so were there three disciples in addition to the three; and
+as the three stars range around the Trayastrimsas heaven, waiting upon
+the three and five, so the three wait on Buddha.
+
+Conversion of the "Supporter of the Orphans and Destitute"
+
+At this time there was a great householder whose name was "Friend of the
+Orphaned and Destitute"; he was very rich and widely charitable in
+helping the poor and needy. Now this man, coming far away from the
+north, even from the country of Kosala, stopped at the house of a friend
+whose name was Sheu-lo. Hearing that Buddha was in the world and
+dwelling in the bamboo grove near at hand, understanding moreover his
+renown and illustrious qualities, he set out that very night for the
+grove. Tathâgata, well aware of his character, and that he was prepared
+to bring forth purity and faith, according to the case, called him by
+his true name, and for his sake addressed him in words of
+religion:--"Having rejoiced in the true law, and being humbly desirous
+for a pure and believing heart, thou hast overcome desire for sleep, and
+art here to pay me reverence. Now then will I for your sake discharge
+fully the duties of a first meeting. In your former births the root of
+virtue planted firm in pure and rare expectancy, hearing now the name of
+Buddha, you rejoiced because you are a vessel fit for righteousness,
+humble in mind, but large in gracious deeds, abundant in your charity to
+the poor and helpless. The name you possess widespread and famous, the
+just reward of former merit, the deeds you now perform are done of
+charity: done with the fullest purpose and of single heart. Now,
+therefore, take from me the charity of perfect rest, and for this end
+accept my rules of purity. My rules are full of grace, able to rescue
+from destruction, and cause a man to ascend to heaven and share in all
+its pleasures. But yet to seek for these is a great evil, for lustful
+longing in its increase brings much sorrow. Practise then the art of
+'giving up' all search, for 'giving up' desire is the joy of perfect
+rest. Know then! that age, disease, and death, these are the great
+sorrows of the world. Rightly considering the world, we put away birth
+and old age, disease and death; but now because we see that men at large
+inherit sorrow caused by age, disease, and death, we gather that when
+born in heaven, the case is also thus; for there is no continuance there
+for any, and where there is no continuance there is sorrow, and having
+sorrow there is no 'true self.' And if the state of 'no continuance' and
+of sorrow is opposed to 'self,' what room is there for such idea or
+ground for self? Know then! that 'sorrow' is this very sorrow and its
+repetition is 'accumulation'; destroy this sorrow and there is joy, the
+way is in the calm and quiet place. The restless busy nature of the
+world, this I declare is at the root of pain. Stop then the end by
+choking up the source. Desire not either life or its opposite; the
+raging fire of birth, old age, and death burns up the world on every
+side. Seeing the constant toil of birth and death we ought to strive to
+attain a passive state: the final goal of Sammata, the place of
+immortality and rest. All is empty! neither 'self,' nor place for
+'self,' but all the world is like a phantasy; this is the way to regard
+ourselves, as but a heap of composite qualities."
+
+The nobleman, hearing the spoken law, forthwith attained the first
+degree of holiness: he emptied as it were, the sea of birth and death,
+one drop alone remaining. By practising, apart from men, the banishment
+of all desire, he soon attained the one impersonal condition, not as
+common folk do now-a-day who speculate upon the mode of true
+deliverance; for he who does not banish sorrow-causing samskâras does
+but involve himself in every kind of question; and though he reaches to
+the highest form of being, yet grasps not the one and only truth.
+Erroneous thoughts as to the joy of heaven are still entwined by the
+fast cords of lust. The nobleman attending to the spoken law the cloud
+of darkness opened before the shining splendor. Thus he attained true
+sight, erroneous views forever dissipated; even as the furious winds of
+autumn sway to and fro and scatter all the heaped-up clouds. He argued
+not that Isvara was cause, nor did he advocate some cause heretical, nor
+yet again did he affirm there was no cause for the beginning of the
+world. "If the world was made by Isvara deva, there should be neither
+young nor old, first nor after, nor the five ways of birth; and when
+once born there should be no destruction. Nor should there be such thing
+as sorrow or calamity, nor doing wrong nor doing right; for all, both
+pure and impure deeds, these must come from Isvara deva. Again, if
+Isvara deva made the world there should be never doubt about the fact,
+even as a son born of his father ever confesses him and pays him
+reverence. Men when pressed by sore calamity ought not to rebel against
+him, but rather reverence him completely, as the self-existent. Nor
+ought they to adore more gods than one. Again, if Isvara be the maker he
+should not be called the self-existent, because in that he is the maker
+now he always should have been the maker; but if ever making, then ever
+self-remembering, and therefore not the self-existent one--and if he
+made without a purpose then is he like the sucking child; but if he made
+having an ever prompting purpose, then is he not, with such a purpose,
+self-existent? Sorrow and joy spring up in all that lives, these at
+least are not the works of Isvara; for if he causes grief and joy, he
+must himself have love and hate; but if he loves unduly, or has hatred,
+he cannot properly be named the self-existent. Again, if Isvara be the
+maker, all living things should silently submit, patient beneath the
+maker's power, and then what use to practise virtue? Twere equal, then,
+the doing right or wrong: there should be no reward of works; the works
+themselves being his making, then all things are the same with him, the
+maker, but if all things are one with him, then our deeds, and we who do
+them, are also self-existent. But if Isvara be uncreated, then all
+things, being one with him, are uncreated. But if you say there is
+another cause beside him as creator, then Isvara is not the 'end of
+all'; Isvara, who ought to be inexhaustible, is not so, and therefore
+all that lives may after all be uncreated--without a maker. Thus, you
+see, the thought of Isvara is overthrown in this discussion; and all
+such contradictory assertions should be exposed; if not, the blame is
+ours. Again, if it be said self-nature is the maker, this is as faulty
+as the first assertion; nor has either of the Hetuvidyâ sâstras asserted
+such a thing as this, till now. That which depends on nothing cannot as
+a cause make that which is; but all things round us come from a cause,
+as the plant comes from the seed; we cannot therefore say that all
+things are produced by self-nature. Again, all things which exist spring
+not from one nature as a cause; and yet you say self-nature is but one:
+it cannot then be cause of all. If you say that that self-nature
+pervades and fills all places, if it pervades and fills all things, then
+certainly it cannot make them too; for there would be nothing, then, to
+make, and therefore this cannot be the cause. If, again, it fills all
+places and yet makes all things that exist, then it should throughout
+'all time' have made forever that which is. But if you say it made
+things thus, then there is nothing to be made 'in time'; know then, for
+certain, self-nature cannot be the cause of all. Again, they say that
+that self-nature excludes all modifications, therefore all things made
+by it ought likewise to be free from modifications. But we see, in fact,
+that all things in the world are fettered throughout by modifications;
+therefore, again, we say that self-nature cannot be the cause of all.
+If, again, you say that that self-nature is different from such
+qualities, we answer, since self-nature must have ever caused, it cannot
+differ in its nature from itself; but if the world be different from
+these qualities, then self-nature cannot be the cause. Again, if
+self-nature be unchangeable, so things should also be without decay; if
+we regard self-nature as the cause, then cause and consequence of reason
+should be one; but because we see decay in all things, we know that they
+at least are caused. Again, if self-nature be the cause, why should we
+seek to find 'escape'? for we ourselves possess this nature; patient
+then should we endure both birth and death. For let us take the case
+that one may find 'escape,' self-nature still will reconstruct the evil
+of birth. If self-nature in itself be blind, yet 'tis the maker of the
+world that sees. On this account, again, it cannot be the maker,
+because, in this case, cause and effect would differ in their character,
+but in all the world around us, cause and effect go hand in hand. Again,
+if self-nature have no aim, it cannot cause that which has such purpose.
+We know on seeing smoke there must be fire, and cause and result are
+ever classed together thus. We are forbidden, then, to say an unthinking
+cause can make a thing that has intelligence. The gold of which the cup
+is made is gold throughout from first to last, self-nature, then, that
+makes these things, from first to last must permeate all it makes. Once
+more, if 'time' is maker of the world, 'twere needless then to seek
+'escape,' for 'time' is constant and unchangeable: let us in patience
+bear the 'intervals' of time. The world in its successions has no
+limits, the 'intervals' of time are boundless also. Those then who
+practise a religious life need not rely on 'methods' or 'expedients.'
+The To-lo-piu Kiu-na, the one strange Sâstra in the world, although it
+has so many theories, yet still, be it known, it is opposed to any
+single cause. But if, again, you say that 'self' is maker, then surely
+self should make things pleasingly; but now things are not pleasing for
+oneself, how then is it said that self is maker? But if he did not wish
+to make things so, then he who wishes for things pleasing, is opposed to
+self, the maker. Sorrow and joy are not self-existing, how can these be
+made by self? But if we allow that self was maker, there should not be,
+at least, an evil karman; but yet our deeds produce results both good
+and evil; know then that 'self' cannot be maker. But perhaps you say
+'self' is the maker according to occasion, and then the occasion ought
+to be for good alone. But as good and evil both result from 'cause,' it
+cannot be that 'self' has made it so. But if you adopt the
+argument--there is no maker--then it is useless practising expedients;
+all things are fixed and certain of themselves: what good to try to make
+them otherwise? Deeds of every kind, done in the world, do,
+notwithstanding, bring forth every kind of fruit; therefore we argue all
+things that exist are not without some cause or other. There is both
+'mind' and 'want of mind'--all things come from fixed causation; the
+world and all therein is not the result of 'nothing' as a cause." The
+nobleman, his heart receiving light, perceived throughout the most
+excellent system of truth. Simple, and of wisdom born; thus firmly
+settled in the true doctrine he lowly bent in worship at the feet of
+Buddha and with closed hands made his request:--
+
+"I dwell indeed at Srâvasti, a land rich in produce, and enjoying peace;
+Prasenagit is the great king thereof, the offspring of the 'lion'
+family; his high renown and fame spread everywhere, reverenced by all
+both far and near. Now am I wishful there to found a Vihâra, I pray you
+of your tenderness accept it from me. I know the heart of Buddha has no
+preferences, nor does he seek a resting-place from labor, but on behalf
+of all that lives refuse not my request."
+
+Buddha, knowing the householder's heart, that his great charity was now
+the moving cause--untainted and unselfish charity, nobly considerate of
+the heart of all that lives--he said:
+
+"Now you have seen the true doctrine, your guileless heart loves to
+exercise its charity: for wealth and money are inconstant treasures,
+'twere better quickly to bestow such things on others. For when a
+treasury has been burnt, whatever precious things may have escaped the
+fire, the wise man, knowing their inconstancy, gives freely, doing acts
+of kindness with his saved possessions. But the niggard guards them
+carefully, fearing to lose them, worn by anxiety, but never fearing
+'inconstancy,' and that accumulated sorrow, when he loses all! There is
+a proper time and a proper mode in charity; just as the vigorous warrior
+goes to battle, so is the man 'able to give'--he also is an able
+warrior; a champion strong and wise in action. The charitable man is
+loved by all, well-known and far-renowned! his friendship prized by the
+gentle and the good, in death his heart at rest and full of joy! He
+suffers no repentance, no tormenting fear, nor is he born a wretched
+ghost or demon! this is the opening flower of his reward, the fruit that
+follows--hard to conjecture! In all the six conditions born there is no
+sweet companion like pure charity; if born a Deva or a man, then charity
+brings worship and renown on every hand; if born among the lower
+creatures, the result of charity will follow in contentment got; wisdom
+leads the way to fixed composure without dependence and without number,
+and if we even reach the immortal path, still by continuous acts of
+charity we fulfil ourselves in consequence of kindly charity done
+elsewhere. Training ourselves in the eightfold path of recollection, in
+every thought the heart is filled with joy; firm fixed in holy
+contemplation, by meditation still we add to wisdom, able to see aright
+the cause of birth and death; having beheld aright the cause of these,
+then follows in due order perfect deliverance. The charitable man
+discarding earthly wealth, nobly excludes the power of covetous desire;
+loving and compassionate now, he gives with reverence and banishes all
+hatred, envy, anger. So plainly may we see the fruit of charity, putting
+away all covetous and unbelieving ways, the bands of sorrow all
+destroyed: this is the fruit of kindly charity. Know then! the
+charitable man has found the cause of final rescue; even as the man who
+plants the sapling thereby secures the shade, the flowers, the fruit of
+the tree full grown; the result of charity is even so, its reward is joy
+and the great Nirvâna. The charity which un-stores wealth leads to
+returns of well-stored fruit. Giving away our food we get more strength,
+giving away our clothes we get more beauty, founding religious
+rest-places we reap the perfect fruit of the best charity. There is a
+way of giving, seeking pleasure by it; there is a way of giving,
+coveting to get more; some also give away to get a name for charity,
+others to get the happiness of heaven, others to avoid the pain of being
+poor hereafter, but yours, O friend! is a charity without such thoughts:
+the highest and the best degree of charity, without self-interest or
+thought of getting more. What your heart inclines you now to do, let it
+be quickly done and well completed! The uncertain and the lustful heart
+goes wandering here and there, but the pure eyes of virtue opening, the
+heart comes back and rests!" The nobleman accepting Buddha's teaching,
+his kindly heart receiving yet more light.
+
+He invited Upatishya, his excellent friend, to accompany him on his
+return to Kosala; and then going round to select a pleasant site, he saw
+the garden of the heir-apparent, Geta, the groves and limpid streams
+most pure. Proceeding where the prince was dwelling, he asked for leave
+to buy the ground; the prince, because he valued it so much, at first
+was not inclined to sell, but said at last:--"If you can cover it with
+gold then, but not else, you may possess it."
+
+The nobleman, his heart rejoicing, forthwith began to spread his gold.
+Then Geta said: "I will not give, why then spread you your gold?" The
+nobleman replied, "Not give; why then said you, 'Fill it with yellow
+gold'?" And thus they differed and contended both, till they resorted to
+the magistrate.
+
+Meanwhile the people whispered much about his unwonted charity, and Geta
+too, knowing the man's sincerity, asked more about the matter: what his
+reasons were. On his reply, "I wish to found a Vihâra, and offer it to
+the Tathâgata and all his Bhikshu followers," the prince, hearing the
+name of Buddha, received at once illumination, and only took one-half
+the gold, desiring to share in the foundation: "Yours is the land," he
+said, "but mine the trees; these will I give to Buddha as my share in
+the offering." Then the noble took the land, Geta the trees, and settled
+both in trust on Sâriputra. Then they began to build the hall, laboring
+night and day to finish it. Lofty it rose and choicely decorated, as one
+of the four kings' palaces, in just proportions, following the
+directions which Buddha had declared the right ones. Never yet so great
+a miracle as this! the priests shone in the streets of Srâvasti!
+Tathâgata, seeing the divine shelter, with all his holy ones resorted to
+the place to rest. No followers there to bow in prostrate service, his
+followers rich in wisdom only. The nobleman reaping his reward, at the
+end of life ascended up to heaven, leaving to sons and grandsons a good
+foundation, through successive generations, to plough the field of
+merit.
+
+Interview between Father and Son
+
+Buddha in the Magadha country employing himself in converting all kinds
+of unbelievers, entirely changed them by the one and self-same law he
+preached, even as the sun drowns with its brightness all the stars. Then
+leaving the city of the five mountains with the company of his thousand
+disciples, and with a great multitude who went before and came after
+him, he advanced towards the Ni-kin mountain, near Kapilavastu; and
+there he conceived in himself a generous purpose to prepare an offering
+according to his religious doctrine to present to his father, the king.
+And now, in anticipation of his coming, the royal teacher and the chief
+minister had sent forth certain officers and their attendants to observe
+on the right hand and the left what was taking place; and they soon
+espied him (Buddha) as he advanced or halted on the way. Knowing that
+Buddha was now returning to his country they hastened back and quickly
+announced the tidings, "The prince who wandered forth afar to obtain
+enlightenment, having fulfilled his aim, is now coming back." The king
+hearing the news was greatly rejoiced, and forthwith went out with his
+gaudy equipage to meet his son; and the whole body of gentry belonging
+to the country, went forth with him in his company. Gradually advancing
+he beheld Buddha from afar, his marks of beauty sparkling with splendor
+twofold greater than of yore; placed in the middle of the great
+congregation he seemed to be even as Brahma râga. Descending from his
+chariot and advancing with dignity, the king was anxious lest there
+should be any religious difficulty in the way of instant recognition;
+and now beholding his beauty he inwardly rejoiced, but his mouth found
+no words to utter. He reflected, too, how that he was still dwelling
+among the unconverted throng, whilst his son had advanced and become a
+saint; and although he was his son, yet as he now occupied the position
+of a religious lord, he knew not by what name to address him.
+Furthermore he thought with himself how he had long ago desired
+earnestly this interview, which now had happened unawares. Meantime his
+son in silence took a seat, perfectly composed and with unchanged
+countenance. Thus for some time sitting opposite each other, with no
+expression of feeling the king reflected thus, "How desolate and sad
+does he now make my heart, as that of a man, who, fainting, longs for
+water, upon the road espies a fountain pure and cold; with haste he
+speeds towards it and longs to drink, when suddenly the spring dries up
+and disappears. Thus, now I see my son, his well-known features as of
+old; but how estranged his heart! and how his manner high and lifted up!
+There are no grateful outflowings of soul, his feelings seem unwilling
+to express themselves; cold and vacant there he sits; and like a thirsty
+man before a dried-up fountain so am I."
+
+Still distant thus they sat, with crowding thoughts rushing through the
+mind, their eyes full met, but no responding joy; each looking at the
+other, seemed as one thinking of a distant friend who gazes by accident
+upon his pictured form. "That you," the king reflected, "who of right
+might rule the world, even as that Mândhâtri râga, should now go begging
+here and there your food! what joy or charm has such a life as this?
+Composed and firm as Sumeru, with marks of beauty bright as the
+sunlight, with dignity of step like the ox king, fearless as any lion,
+and yet receiving not the tribute of the world, but begging food
+sufficient for your body's nourishment!"
+
+Buddha, knowing his father's mind, still kept to his own filial purpose.
+And then to open out his mind, and moved with pity for the multitude of
+people, by his miraculous power he rose in mid-air and with his hands
+appeared to grasp the sun and moon. Then he walked to and fro in space,
+and underwent all kinds of transformation, dividing his body into many
+parts, then joining all in one again. Treading firm on water as on dry
+land, entering the earth as in the water, passing through walls of stone
+without impediment, from the right side and the left water and fire
+produced! The king, his father, filled with joy, now dismissed all
+thought of son and father; then upon a lotus throne, seated in space, he
+(Buddha) for his father's sake declared the law:--
+
+"I know that the king's heart is full of love and recollection, and that
+for his son's sake he adds grief to grief; but now let the bands of love
+that bind him, thinking of his son, be instantly unloosed and utterly
+destroyed. Ceasing from thoughts of love, let your calmed mind receive
+from me, your son, religious nourishment such as no son has offered yet
+to father: such do I present to you the king, my father. And what no
+father yet has from a son received, now from your son you may accept, a
+gift miraculous for any mortal king to enjoy, and seldom had by any
+heavenly king! The way superlative of life immortal I offer now the
+Mahârâga; from accumulated deeds comes birth, and as the result of deeds
+comes recompense. Knowing then that deeds bring fruit, how diligent
+should you be to rid yourself of worldly deeds! how careful that in the
+world your deeds should be only good and gentle! Fondly affected by
+relationship or firmly bound by mutual ties of love, at end of life the
+soul goes forth alone--then, only our good deeds befriend us. Whirled in
+the five ways of the wheel of life, three kinds of deeds produce three
+kinds of birth, and these are caused by lustful hankering, each kind
+different in its character. Deprive these of their power by the practice
+now of proper deeds of body and of word; by such right preparation, day
+and night strive to get rid of all confusion of the mind and practise
+silent contemplation; only this brings profit in the end, besides this
+there is no reality; for be sure! the three worlds are but as the froth
+and bubble of the sea. Would you have pleasure, or would you practise
+that which brings it near? then prepare yourself by deeds that bring the
+fourth birth: but still the five ways in the wheel of birth and death
+are like the uncertain wandering of the stars; for heavenly beings too
+must suffer change: how shall we find with men a hope of constancy;
+Nirvâna! that is the chief rest; composure! that the best of all
+enjoyments! The five indulgences enjoyed by mortal kings are fraught
+with danger and distress, like dwelling with a poisonous snake; what
+pleasure, for a moment, can there be in such a case? The wise man sees
+the world as compassed round with burning flames; he fears always, nor
+can he rest till he has banished, once for all, birth, age, and death.
+Infinitely quiet is the place where the wise man finds his abode; no
+need of arms or weapons there! no elephants or horses, chariots or
+soldiers there! Subdued the power of covetous desire and angry thoughts
+and ignorance, there's nothing left in the wide world to conquer!
+Knowing what sorrow is, he cuts away the cause of sorrow. This
+destroyed, by practising right means, rightly enlightened in the four
+true principles, he casts off fear and escapes the evil ways of birth."
+
+The king when first he saw his wondrous spiritual power of miracle
+rejoiced in heart; but now his feelings deeply affected by the joy of
+hearing truth, he became a perfect vessel for receiving true religion,
+and with clasped hands he breathed forth his praise: "Wonderful indeed!
+the fruit of your resolve completed thus! Wonderful indeed! the
+overwhelming sorrow passed away! Wonderful indeed, this gain to me! At
+first my sorrowing heart was heavy, but now my sorrow has brought forth
+only profit! Wonderful indeed! for now, to-day, I reap the full fruit of
+a begotten son. It was right he should reject the choice pleasures of a
+monarch, it was right he should so earnestly and with diligence practise
+penance; it was right he should cast off his family and kin; it was
+right he should cut off every feeling of love and affection. The old
+Rishi kings boasting of their penance gained no merit; but you, living
+in a peaceful, quiet place, have done all and completed all; yourself at
+rest now you give rest to others, moved by your mighty sympathy for all
+that lives! If you had kept your first estate with men, and as a
+Kakravartin monarch ruled the world, possessing then no self-depending
+power of miracle, how could my soul have then received deliverance? Then
+there would have been no excellent law declared, causing me such joy
+to-day; no! had you been a universal sovereign, the bonds of birth and
+death would still have been unsevered, but now you have escaped from
+birth and death; the great pain of transmigration overcome, you are
+able, for the sake of every creature, widely to preach the law of life
+immortal, and to exhibit thus your power miraculous, and show the deep
+and wide power of wisdom; the grief of birth and death eternally
+destroyed, you now have risen far above both gods and men. You might
+have kept the holy state of a Kakravartin monarch; but no such good as
+this would have resulted." Thus his words of praise concluded, filled
+with increased reverence and religious love, he who occupied the honored
+place of a royal father, bowed down respectfully and did obeisance. Then
+all the people of the kingdom, beholding Buddha's miraculous power, and
+having heard the deep and excellent law, seeing, moreover, the king's
+grave reverence, with clasped hands bowed down and worshipped. Possessed
+with deep portentous thoughts, satiated with sorrows attached to
+lay-life, they all conceived a wish to leave their homes. The princes,
+too, of the Sâkya tribe, their minds enlightened to perceive the perfect
+fruit of righteousness, entirely satiated with the glittering joys of
+the world, forsaking home, rejoiced to join his company. Ânanda, Nanda,
+Kin-pi, Anuruddha, Nandupananda, with Kundadana, all these principal
+nobles and others of the Sâkya family, from the teaching of Buddha
+became disciples and accepted the law. The sons of the great minister of
+state, Udâyin being the chief, with all the royal princes following in
+order became recluses. Moreover, the son of Atalî, whose name was Upâli,
+seeing all these princes and the sons of the chief minister becoming
+hermits, his mind opening for conversion, he, too, received the law of
+renunciation. The royal father seeing his son possessing the great
+qualities of Riddhi, himself entered on the calm flowings of thought,
+the gate of the true law of eternal life. Leaving his kingly estate and
+country, lost in meditation, he drank sweet dew. Practising his
+religious duties in solitude, silent and contemplative he dwelt in his
+palace, a royal Rishi. Tathâgata following a peaceable life, recognized
+fully by his tribe, repeating the joyful news of religion, gladdened the
+hearts of all his kinsmen hearing him. And now, it being the right time
+for begging food, he entered the Kapila country; in the city all the
+lords and ladies, in admiration, raised this chant of praise:
+"Siddhârtha! fully enlightened! has come back again!" The news flying
+quickly in and out of doors, the great and small came forth to see him;
+every door and every window crowded, climbing on shoulders, bending down
+the eyes, they gazed upon the marks of beauty on his person, shining and
+glorious! Wearing his Kashâya garment outside, the glory of his person
+from within shone forth, like the sun's perfect wheel; within, without,
+he seemed one mass of splendor. Those who beheld were filled with
+sympathizing joy; their hands conjoined, they wept for gladness; and so
+they watched him as he paced with dignity the road, his form collected,
+all his organs well-controlled! His lovely body exhibiting the
+perfection of religious beauty, his dignified compassion adding to their
+regretful joy; his shaven head, his personal beauty sacrificed! his body
+clad in dark and sombre vestment, his manner natural and plain, his
+unadorned appearance; his circumspection as he looked upon the earth in
+walking! "He who ought to have had held over him the feather-shade,"
+they said, "whose hands should grasp 'the reins of the flying dragon,'
+see how he walks in daylight on the dusty road! holding his alms-dish,
+going to beg! Gifted enough to tread down every enemy, lovely enough to
+gladden woman's heart, with glittering vesture and with godlike crown
+reverenced he might have been by servile crowds! But now, his manly
+beauty hidden, with heart restrained, and outward form subdued,
+rejecting the much-coveted and glorious apparel, his shining body clad
+with garments gray, what aim, what object, now! Hating the five delights
+that move the world, forsaking virtuous wife and tender child, loving
+the solitude, he wanders friendless; hard, indeed, for virtuous wife
+through the long night, cherishing her grief; and now to hear he is a
+hermit! She inquires not now of the royal Suddhodana if he has seen his
+son or not! But as she views his beauteous person, to think his altered
+form is now a hermit's! hating his home, still full of love; his father,
+too, what rest for him! And then his loving child Râhula, weeping with
+constant sorrowful desire! And now to see no change, or heart-relenting;
+and this the end of such enlightenment! All these attractive marks, the
+proofs of a religious calling, whereas, when born, all said, these are
+marks of a 'great man,' who ought to receive tribute from the four seas!
+And now to see what he has come to! all these predictive words vain and
+illusive."
+
+Thus they talked together, the gossiping multitude, with confused
+accents. Tathâgata, his heart unaffected, felt no joy and no regret. But
+he was moved by equal love to all the world, his one desire that men
+should escape the grief of lust; to cause the root of virtue to
+increase, and for the sake of coming ages, to leave the marks of
+self-denial behind him, to dissipate the clouds and mists of sensual
+desire.
+
+He entered, thus intentioned, on the town to beg. He accepted food both
+good or bad, whatever came, from rich or poor, without distinction;
+having filled his alms-dish, he then returned back to the solitude.
+
+Receiving the Getavana Vihâra
+
+The lord of the world, having converted the people of Kapilavastu
+according to their several circumstances, his work being done, he went
+with the great body of his followers, and directed his way to the
+country of Kosala, where dwelt King Prasenagit. The Getavana was now
+fully adorned, and its halls and courts carefully prepared. The
+fountains and streams flowed through the garden which glittered with
+flowers and fruit; rare birds sat by the pools, and on the land they
+sang in sweet concord, according to their kind.
+
+Beautiful in every way as the palace of Mount Kilas, such was the
+Getavana. Then the noble friend of the orphans, surrounded by his
+attendants, who met him on the way, scattering flowers and burning
+incense, invited the lord to enter the Getavana. In his hand he carried
+a golden dragon-pitcher, and bending low upon his knees he poured the
+flowing water as a sign of the gift of the Getavana Vihâra for the use
+of the priesthood throughout the world. The lord then received it, with
+the prayer that "overruling all evil influences it might give the
+kingdom permanent rest, and that the happiness of Anâthapindada might
+flow out in countless streams." Then the king Prasenagit, hearing that
+the lord had come, with his royal equipage went to the Getavana to
+worship at the lord's feet. Having arrived and taken a seat on one side,
+with clasped hands he spake to Buddha thus:--
+
+"O that my unworthy and obscure kingdom should thus suddenly have met
+such fortune! For how can misfortunes or frequent calamities possibly
+affect it, in the presence of so great a man? And now that I have seen
+your sacred features, I may perhaps partake of the converting streams of
+your teaching. A town although it is composed of many sections, yet both
+ignoble and holy persons may enter the surpassing stream; and so the
+wind which fans the perfumed grove causes the scents to unite and form
+one pleasant breeze; and as the birds which collect on Mount Sumeru are
+many, and the various shades that blend in shining gold, so an assembly
+may consist of persons of different capacities: individually
+insignificant, but a glorious body. The desert master by nourishing the
+Rishi, procured a birth as the three leg, or foot star; worldly profit
+is fleeting and perishable, religious profit is eternal and
+inexhaustible; a man though a king is full of trouble, a common man, who
+is holy, has everlasting rest."
+
+Buddha knowing the state of the king's heart--that he rejoiced in
+religion as Sakrarâga--considered the two obstacles that weighted
+him--viz., too great love of money and of external pleasures, then
+seizing the opportunity, and knowing the tendencies of his heart, he
+began, for the king's sake, to preach: "Even those who, by evil karma,
+have been born in low degree, when they see a person of virtuous
+character, feel reverence for him; how much rather ought an independent
+king, who by his previous conditions of life has acquired much merit,
+when he encounters Buddha, to conceive even more reverence. Nor is it
+difficult to understand, that a country should enjoy more rest and
+peace, by the presence of Buddha, than if he were not to dwell therein.
+And now, as I briefly declare my law, let the Mahârâga listen and weigh
+my words, and hold fast that which I deliver! See now the end of my
+perfected merit, my life is done, there is for me no further body or
+spirit, but freedom from all ties of kith or kin! The good or evil deeds
+we do from first to last follow us as shadows; most exalted then the
+deeds of the king of the law. The prince who cherishes his people, in
+the present life gains renown, and hereafter ascends to heaven; but by
+disobedience and neglect of duty, present distress is felt and future
+misery! As in old times Lui-'ma râga, by obeying the precepts, was born
+in heaven, whilst Kin-pu râga, doing wickedly, at the end of life was
+born in misery. Now then, for the sake of the great king, I will briefly
+relate the good and evil law. The great requirement is a loving heart!
+to regard the people as we do an only son, not to oppress, not to
+destroy; to keep in due check every member of the body, to forsake
+unrighteous doctrine and walk in the straight path; not to exalt one's
+self by treading down others, but to comfort and befriend those in
+suffering; not to exercise one's self in false theories, nor to ponder
+much on kingly dignity, nor to listen to the smooth words of false
+teachers. Not to vex one's self by austerities, not to exceed or
+transgress the right rules of kingly conduct, but to meditate on Buddha
+and weigh his righteous law, and to put down and adjust all that is
+contrary to religion; to exhibit true superiority by virtuous conduct
+and the highest exercise of reason, to meditate deeply on the vanity of
+earthly things, to realize the fickleness of life by constant
+recollection; to exalt the mind to the highest point of reflection, to
+seek sincere faith (truth) with firm purpose; to retain an inward sense
+of happiness resulting from one's self, and to look forward to increased
+happiness hereafter; to lay up a good name for distant ages, this will
+secure the favor of Tathâgata, as men now loving sweet fruit will
+hereafter be praised by their descendants. There is a way of darkness
+out of light, there is a way of light out of darkness; there is darkness
+which follows after the gloom, there is a light which causes the
+brightening of light. The wise man, leaving first principles, should go
+on to get more light; evil words will be repeated far and wide by the
+multitude, but there are few to follow good direction: It is impossible,
+however, to avoid result of works, the doer cannot escape; if there had
+been no first works, there had been in the end no result of doing--no
+reward for good, no hereafter joy; but because works are done, there is
+no escape. Let us then practise good works; let us inspect our thoughts
+that we do no evil, because as we sow so we reap. As when enclosed in a
+four-stone mountain, there is no escape or place of refuge for anyone,
+so within this mountain-wall of old age, birth, disease, and death,
+there is no escape for the world. Only by considering and practising the
+true law can we escape from this sorrow-piled mountain. There is,
+indeed, no constancy in the world, the end of the pleasures of sense is
+as the lightning flash, whilst old age and death are as the piercing
+bolts; what profit, then, in doing iniquity! All the ancient conquering
+kings, who were as gods on earth, thought by their strength to overcome
+decay; but after a brief life they too disappeared. The Kalpa-fire will
+melt Mount Sumeru, the water of the ocean will be dried up, how much
+less can our human frame, which is as a bubble, expect to endure for
+long upon the earth! The fierce wind scatters the thick mists, the sun's
+rays encircle Mount Sumeru, the fierce fire licks up the place of
+moisture, so things are ever born once more to be destroyed! The body is
+a thing of unreality, kept through the suffering of the long night
+pampered by wealth, living idly and in carelessness, death suddenly
+comes and it is carried away as rotten wood in the stream! The wise man,
+expecting these changes, with diligence strives against sloth; the dread
+of birth and death acts as a spur to keep him from lagging on the road;
+he frees himself from engagements, he is not occupied with
+self-pleasing, he is not entangled by any of the cares of life, he holds
+to no business, seeks no friendships, engages in no learned career, nor
+yet wholly separates himself from it; for his learning is the wisdom of
+not-perceiving wisdom, but yet perceiving that which tells him of his
+own impermanence; having a body, yet keeping aloof from defilement, he
+learns to regard defilement as the greatest evil. He knows that, though
+born in the Arûpa world, there is yet no escape from the changes of
+time; his learning, then, is to acquire the changeless body; for where
+no change is, there is peace. Thus the possession of this changeful body
+is the foundation of all sorrow. Therefore, again, all who are wise make
+this their aim--to seek a bodiless condition; all the various orders of
+sentient creatures, from the indulgence of lust, derive pain; therefore
+all those in this condition ought to conceive a heart, loathing lust;
+putting away and loathing this condition, then they shall receive no
+more pain; though born in a state with or without an external form, the
+certainty of future change is the root of sorrow; for so long as there
+is no perfect cessation of personal being, there can be, certainly, no
+absence of personal desire; beholding, in this way, the character of the
+three worlds, their inconstancy and unreality, the presence of
+ever-consuming pain, how can the wise man seek enjoyment therein? When a
+tree is burning with fierce flames how can the birds congregate therein?
+The wise man, who is regarded as an enlightened sage, without this
+knowledge is ignorant; having this knowledge, then true wisdom dawns;
+without it, there is no enlightenment. To get this wisdom is the one
+aim, to neglect it is the mistake of life. All the teaching of the
+schools should be centred here; without it is no true reason. To recount
+this excellent system is not for those who dwell in family connection;
+nor is it, on that account, not to be said, for religion concerns a man
+individually. Burned up with sorrow, by entering the cool stream, all
+may obtain relief and ease; the light of a lamp in a dark coom lights up
+equally objects of all colors, so is it with those who devote themselves
+to religion--there is no distinction between the professed disciple and
+the unlearned. Sometimes the mountain-dweller falls into ruin, sometimes
+the humble householder mounts up to be a Rishi; the want of faith is the
+engulfing sea, the presence of disorderly belief is the rolling flood.
+The tide of lust carries away the world; involved in its eddies there is
+no escape; wisdom is the handy boat, reflection is the hold-fast. The
+drum-call of religion, the barrier of thought, these alone can rescue
+from the sea of ignorance."
+
+At this time the king, sincerely attentive to the words of the All-wise,
+conceived a distaste for the world's glitter and was dissatisfied with
+the pleasures of royalty, even as one avoids a drunken elephant, or
+returns to right reason after a debauch. Then all the heretical
+teachers, seeing that the king was well affected to Buddha, besought the
+king, with one voice, to call on Buddha to exhibit his miraculous gifts.
+Then the king addressed the lord of the world: "I pray you, grant their
+request!" Then Buddha silently acquiesced. And now all the different
+professors of religion, the doctors who boasted of their spiritual
+power, came together in a body to where Buddha was; then he manifested
+before them his power of miracle: ascending up into the air, he remained
+seated, diffusing his glory as the light of the sun he shed abroad the
+brightness of his presence. The heretical teachers were all abashed, the
+people all were filled with faith. Then for the sake of preaching to his
+mother, he forthwith ascended to the heaven of the thirty-three gods,
+and for three months dwelt in heavenly mansions. There he converted the
+occupants of that abode, and having concluded his pious mission to his
+mother, the time of his sojourn in heaven finished, he forthwith
+returned, the angels accompanying him on wing; he travelled down a
+seven-gemmed ladder, and again arrived at Gambudvîpa. Stepping down he
+alighted on the spot where all the Buddhas return, countless hosts of
+angels accompanied him, conveying with them their palace abodes as a
+gift.
+
+The people of Gambudvipa, with closed hands, looking up with reverence,
+beheld him.
+
+Escaping the Drunken Elephant and Devadatta
+
+Having instructed his mother in heaven with all the angel host, and once
+more returned to men, he went about converting those capable of it.
+Gutika, Gîvaka, Sula, and Kûrna, the noble's son Anga and the son of the
+fearless king Abhaya Nyagrodha and the rest; Srîkutaka, Upâli the
+Nirgrantha; all these were thoroughly converted. So also the king of
+Gandhâra, whose name was Fo-kia-lo; he, having heard the profound and
+excellent law, left his country and became a recluse. So also the demons
+Himapati and Vâtagiri, on the mountain Vibhâra, were subdued and
+converted. The Brahmakârin Prayantika, on the mountain Vagana, by the
+subtle meaning of half a gâtha, he convinced and caused to rejoice in
+faith; the village of Dânamati had one Kûtadanta, the head of the
+twice-born Brahmans; at this time he was sacrificing countless victims;
+Tathâgata by means converted him, and caused him to enter the true path.
+On Mount Bhatika a heavenly being of eminent distinction, whose name was
+Pañkasikha, receiving the law, attained Dhyâna; in the village of
+Vainushta, he converted the mother of the celebrated Nanda. In the town
+of Añkavari, he subdued the powerful mahâbâla spirit; Bhanabhadra,
+Sronadanta, the malevolent and powerful Nâgas, the king of the country
+and his harem, received together the true law, as he opened to them the
+gate of immortality. In the celebrated Viggi village, Kina and Sila,
+earnestly seeking to be born in heaven, he converted and made to enter
+the right path. The Angulimâla, in that village of Sumu, through the
+exhibition of his divine power, he converted and subdued; there was that
+noble's son, Purigîvana, rich in wealth and stores as Punavatî, directly
+he was brought to Buddha, accepting the doctrine, he became vastly
+liberal. So in that village of Padatti he converted the celebrated
+Patali, and also Patala, brothers, and both demons. In Bhidhavali there
+were two Brahmans, one called Great-age, the other Brahma-age. These by
+the power of a discourse he subdued, and caused them to attain knowledge
+of the true law; when he came to Vaisâlî, he converted all the Raksha
+demons, and the lion of the Likkhavis, and all the Likkhavis, Saka the
+Nirgrantha, all these he caused to attain the true law. Hama kinkhava
+had a demon Potala, and another Potalaka, these he converted. Again he
+came to Mount Ala, to convert the demon Alava, and a second called
+Kumâra, and a third Asidaka; then going back to Mount Gaga he converted
+the demon Kañgana, and Kamo the Yaksha, with the sister and son. Then
+coming to Benares, he converted the celebrated Katyâyana; then
+afterwards going, by his miraculous power, to Sruvala, he converted the
+merchants Davakin and Nikin, and received their sandalwood hall,
+exhaling its fragrant odors till now. Going then to Mahîvatî, he
+converted the Rishi Kapila, and the Muni remained with him; his foot
+stepping on the stone, the thousand-spoked twin-wheels appeared, which
+never could be erased.
+
+Then he came to the place Po-lo-na, where he converted the demon
+Po-lo-na; coming to the country of Mathurâ, he converted the demon
+Godama. In the Thurakusati he also converted Pindapâla; coming to the
+village of Vairañga, he converted the Brahman; in the village of
+Kalamasa, he converted Savasasin, and also that celebrated Agirivasa.
+Once more returning to the Srâvastî country, he converted the Gautamas
+Gâtisruna and Dakâtili; returning to the Kosala country, he converted
+the leaders of the heretics Vakrapali and all the Brahmakârins. Coming
+to Satavaka, in the forest retreat, he converted the heretical Rishis,
+and constrained them to enter the path of the Buddha Rishi. Coming to
+the country of Ayodhyâ, he converted the demon Nâgas; coming to the
+country of Kimbila, he converted the two Nâgarâgas; one called Kimbila,
+the other called Kâlaka. Again coming to the Vaggi country, he converted
+the Yaksha demon, whose name was Pisha, the father and mother of Nâgara,
+and the great noble also, he caused to believe gladly in the true law.
+Coming to the Kausârubî country, he converted Goshira, and the two
+Upasikâs, Vaguttarâ and her companion Uvari; and besides these, many
+others, one after the other. Coming to the country of Gandhâra he
+converted the Nâga Apalâla; thus in due order all these air-going,
+water-loving natures he completely converted and saved, as the sun when
+he shines upon some dark and sombre cave. At this time Devadatta, seeing
+the remarkable excellences of Buddha, conceived in his heart a jealous
+hatred; losing all power of thoughtful abstraction he ever plotted
+wicked schemes, to put a stop to the spread of the true law; ascending
+the Gridhrakûta mount he rolled down a stone to hit Buddha; the stone
+divided into two parts, each part passing on either side of him. Again,
+on the royal highway he loosed a drunken, vicious elephant. With his
+raised trunk trumpeting as thunder he ran, his maddened breath raising a
+cloud around him, his wild pace like the rushing wind, to be avoided
+more than the fierce tempest; his trunk and tusks and tail and feet,
+when touched only, brought instant death. Thus he ran through the
+streets and ways of Râgagriha, madly wounding and killing men; their
+corpses lay across the road, their brains and blood scattered afar. Then
+all the men and women filled with fear, remained indoors; throughout the
+city there was universal terror, only piteous shrieks and cries were
+heard; beyond the city men were running fast, hiding themselves in holes
+and dens. Tathâgata, with five hundred followers, at this time came
+towards the city; from tops of gates and every window, men, fearing for
+Buddha, begged him not to advance; Tathâgata, his heart composed and
+quiet, with perfect self-possession, thinking only on the sorrow caused
+by hate, his loving heart desiring to appease it, followed by guardian
+angel-nâgas, slowly approached the maddened elephant. The Bhikshus all
+deserted him, Ânanda only remained by his side; joined by every tie of
+duty, his steadfast nature did not shake or quail. The drunken elephant,
+savage and spiteful, beholding Buddha, came to himself at once, and
+bending, worshipped at his feet just as a mighty mountain falls to
+earth. With lotus hand the master pats his head, even as the moon lights
+up a flying cloud. And now, as he lay crouched before the master's feet,
+on his account he speaks some sacred words: "The elephant cannot hurt
+the mighty dragon, hard it is to fight with such a one; the elephant
+desiring so to do will in the end obtain no happy state of birth;
+deceived by lust, anger, and delusion, which are hard to conquer, but
+which Buddha has conquered. Now, then, this very day, give up this lust,
+this anger and delusion! You! swallowed up in sorrow's mud! if not now
+given up, they will increase yet more and grow."
+
+The elephant, hearing Buddha's words, escaped from drunkenness, rejoiced
+in heart; his mind and body both found rest, as one athirst finds joy
+who drinks of heavenly dew. The elephant being thus converted, the
+people around were filled with joy; they all raised a cry of wonder at
+the miracle, and brought their offerings of every kind. The
+scarcely-good arrived at middle-virtue, the middling-good passed to a
+higher grade, the unbelieving now became believers, those who believed
+were strengthened in their faith. Agâtasatru, mighty king, seeing how
+Buddha conquered the drunken elephant, was moved at heart by thoughts
+profound; then, filled with joy, he found a twofold growth of piety.
+Tathâgata, by exercise of virtue, exhibited all kinds of spiritual
+powers; thus he subdued and harmonized the minds of all, and caused them
+in due order to attain religious truth, and through the kingdom virtuous
+seeds were sown, as at the first when men began to live. But Devadatta,
+mad with rage, because he was ensnared by his own wickedness, at first
+by power miraculous able to fly, now fallen, dwells in lowest hell.
+
+The Lady Âmra Sees Buddha
+
+The lord of the world having finished his wide work of conversion
+conceived in himself a desire for Nirvana. Accordingly proceeding from
+the city of Râgagriha, he went on towards the town of Pâtaliputra.
+
+Having arrived there, he dwelt in the famous Pâtali ketiya. Now this
+town of Pâtaliputra is the frontier town of Magadha, defending the
+outskirts of the country. Ruling the country was a Brahman of wide
+renown and great learning in the scriptures; and there was also an
+overseer of the country, to take the omens of the land with respect to
+rest or calamity. At this time the king of Magadha sent to that officer
+of inspection a messenger, to warn and command him to raise
+fortifications in the neighborhood of the town for its security and
+protection. And now the lord of the world, as they were raising the
+fortifications, predicted that in consequence of the Devas and spirits
+who protected and kept the land, the place should continue strong and
+free from calamity or destruction. On this the heart of the overseer
+greatly rejoiced, and he made religious offerings to Buddha, the law,
+and the church. Buddha now leaving the city gate went on towards the
+river Ganges. The overseer, from his deep reverence for Buddha, named
+the gate through which the lord had passed the "Gautama gate." Meanwhile
+the people all by the side of the river Ganges went forth to pay
+reverence to the lord of the world. They prepared for him every kind of
+religious offering, and each one with his gaudy boat invited him to
+cross over. The lord of the world, considering the number of the boats,
+feared lest by an appearance of partiality in accepting one, he might
+hurt the minds of all the rest. Therefore in a moment, by his spiritual
+power, he transported himself and the great congregation across the
+river, leaving this shore he passed at once to that, signifying thereby
+the passage in the boat of wisdom from this world to Nirvâna: a boat
+large enough to transport all that lives to save the world, even as
+without a boat he crossed without hindrance the river Ganges. Then all
+the people on the bank of the river, with one voice, raised a rapturous
+shout, and all declared this ford should be called the Gautama ford. As
+the city gate is called the Gautama gate, so this Gautama ford is so
+known through ages; and shall be so called through generations to come.
+Then Tathâgata, going forward still, came to that celebrated Kuli
+village, where he preached and converted many; again he went on to the
+Nâdi village, where many deaths had occurred among the people. The
+friends of the dead then came to the lord and asked, "Where have our
+friends and relatives deceased, now gone to be born, after this life
+ended?" Buddha, knowing well the sequence of deeds, answered each
+according to his several needs. Then going forward to Vaisâlî, he
+located himself in the Âmrâ grove. The celebrated Lady Âmrâ, well
+affected to Buddha, went to that garden followed by her waiting women,
+whilst the children from the schools paid her respect. Thus with
+circumspection and self-restraint, her person lightly and plainly
+clothed, putting away all her ornamented robes and all adornments of
+scent and flowers, as a prudent and virtuous woman goes forth to perform
+her religious duties, so she went on, beautiful to look upon, like any
+Devî in appearance. Buddha seeing the lady in the distance approaching,
+spake thus to all the Bhikshus:--
+
+"This woman is indeed exceedingly beautiful, able to fascinate the minds
+of the religious; now then, keep your recollection straight! let wisdom
+keep your mind in subjection! Better fall into the fierce tiger's mouth,
+or under the sharp knife of the executioner, than to dwell with a woman
+and excite in yourselves lustful thoughts. A woman is anxious to exhibit
+her form and shape, whether walking, standing, sitting, or sleeping.
+Even when represented as a picture, she desires most of all to set off
+the blandishments of her beauty, and thus to rob men of their steadfast
+heart! How then ought you to guard yourselves? By regarding her tears
+and her smiles as enemies, her stooping form, her hanging arms, and all
+her disentangled hair as toils designed to entrap man's heart. Then how
+much more should you suspect her studied, amorous beauty; when she
+displays her dainty outline, her richly ornamented form, and chatters
+gayly with the foolish man! Ah, then! what perturbation and what evil
+thoughts, not seeing underneath the horrid, tainted shape, the sorrows
+of impermanence, the impurity, the unreality! Considering these as the
+reality, all lustful thoughts die out; rightly considering these, within
+their several limits, not even an Apsaras would give you joy. But yet
+the power of lust is great with men, and is to be feared withal; take
+then the bow of earnest perseverance, and the sharp arrow points of
+wisdom, cover your head with the helmet of right-thought, and fight with
+fixed resolve against the five desires. Better far with red-hot iron
+pins bore out both your eyes, than encourage in yourselves lustful
+thoughts, or look upon a woman's form with such desires. Lust beclouding
+a man's heart, confused with woman's beauty, the mind is dazed, and at
+the end of life that man must fall into an 'evil way.' Fear then the
+sorrow of that 'evil way!' and harbor not the deceits of women. The
+senses not confined within due limits, and the objects of sense not
+limited as they ought to be, lustful and covetous thoughts grow up
+between the two, because the senses and their objects are unequally
+yoked. Just as when two ploughing oxen are yoked together to one halter
+and cross-bar, but not together pulling as they go, so is it when the
+senses and their objects are unequally matched. Therefore, I say,
+restrain the heart, give it no unbridled license."
+
+Thus Buddha, for the Bhikshus' sake, explained the law in various ways.
+And now that Âmrâ lady gradually approached the presence of the lord;
+seeing Buddha seated beneath a tree, lost in thought and wholly absorbed
+by it, she recollected that he had a great compassionate heart, and
+therefore she believed he would in pity receive her garden grove. With
+steadfast heart and joyful mien and rightly governed feelings, her
+outward form restrained, her heart composed, bowing her head at Buddha's
+feet, she took her place as the lord bade her, whilst he in sequence
+right declared the law:--
+
+"Your heart, O lady! seems composed and quieted, your form without
+external ornaments; young in years and rich, you seem well-talented as
+you are beautiful. That one, so gifted, should by faith be able to
+receive the law of righteousness is, indeed, a rare thing in the world!
+The wisdom of a master derived from former births, enables him to accept
+the law with joy: this is not rare; but that a woman, weak of will,
+scant in wisdom, deeply immersed in love, should yet be able to delight
+in piety, this, indeed, is very rare. A man born in the world, by proper
+thought comes to delight in goodness, he recognizes the impermanence of
+wealth and beauty, and looks upon religion as his best ornament. He
+feels that this alone can remedy the ills of life and change the fate of
+young and old; the evil destiny that cramps another's life cannot affect
+him, living righteously; always removing that which excites desire, he
+is strong in the absence of desire; seeking to find, not what vain
+thoughts suggest, but that to which religion points him. Relying on
+external help, he has sorrow; self-reliant, there is strength and joy.
+But in the case of woman, from another comes the labor, and the nurture
+of another's child. Thus then should everyone consider well, and loathe
+and put away the form of woman."
+
+Âmrâ, the lady, hearing the law, rejoiced. Her wisdom strengthened, and
+still more enlightened, she was enabled to cast off desire, and of
+herself dissatisfied with woman's form, was freed from all polluting
+thoughts. Though still constrained to woman's form, filled with
+religious joy, she bowed at Buddha's feet and spoke: "Oh! may the lord,
+in deep compassion, receive from me, though ignorant, this offering, and
+so fulfil my earnest vow." Then Buddha knowing her sincerity, and for
+the good of all that lives, silently accepted her request, and caused in
+her full joy, in consequence; whilst all her friends attentive, grew in
+knowledge, and, after adoration, went back home.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+By Spiritual Power Fixing His Term of Years
+
+
+At this time the great men among the Likkhavis, hearing that the lord of
+the world had entered their country and was located in the Âmrâ garden,
+went thither riding in their gaudy chariots with silken canopies, and
+clothed in gorgeous robes, both blue and red and yellow and white, each
+one with his own cognizance. Accompanied by their body guard surrounding
+them, they went; others prepared the road in front; and with their
+heavenly crowns and flower-bespangled robes they rode, richly dight with
+every kind of costly ornament. Their noble forms resplendent increased
+the glory of that garden grove; now taking off the five distinctive
+ornaments, alighting from their chariots, they advanced afoot. Slowly
+thus, with bated breath, their bodies reverent they advanced. Then they
+bowed down and worshipped Buddha's foot, and, a great multitude, they
+gathered round the lord, shining as the sun's disc, full of radiance.
+
+There was the lion Likkhavi, among the Likkhavis the senior, his noble
+form bold as the lion's, standing there with lion eyes, but without the
+lion's pride, taught by the Sâkya lion, who thus began: "Great and
+illustrious personages, famed as a tribe for grace and comeliness! put
+aside, I pray, the world's high thoughts, and now accept the abounding
+lustre of religious teaching. Wealth and beauty, scented flowers and
+ornaments like these, are not to be compared for grace with moral
+rectitude! Your land productive and in peaceful quiet--this is your
+great renown; but true gracefulness of body and a happy people depend
+upon the heart well-governed. Add but to this a reverent feeling for
+religion, then a people's fame is at its height! a fertile land and all
+the dwellers in it, as a united body, virtuous! To-day then learn this
+virtue, cherish with carefulness the people, lead them as a body in the
+right way of rectitude, even as the ox-king leads the way across the
+river-ford. If a man with earnest recollection ponder on things of this
+world and the next, he will consider how by right behavior right morals
+he prepares, as the result of merit, rest in either world. For all in
+this world will exceedingly revere him, his fame will spread abroad
+through every part, the virtuous will rejoice to call him friend, and
+the outflowings of his goodness will know no bounds forever. The
+precious gems found in the desert wilds are all from earth engendered;
+moral conduct, likewise, as the earth, is the great source of all that
+is good. By this, without the use of wings, we fly through space, we
+cross the river needing not a handy boat; but without this a man will
+find it hard indeed to cross the stream of sorrow or stay the rush of
+sorrow. As when a tree with lovely flowers and fruit, pierced by some
+sharp instrument, is hard to climb, so is it with the much-renowned for
+strength and beauty, who break through the laws of moral rectitude!
+Sitting upright in the royal palace, the heart of the king was grave and
+majestic; with a view to gain the merit of a pure and moral life, he
+became a convert of a great Rishi. With garments dyed and clad with
+hair, shaved, save one spiral knot, he led a hermit's life, but, as he
+did not rule himself with strict morality, he was immersed in suffering
+and sorrow. Each morn and eve he used the three ablutions, sacrificed to
+fire and practised strict austerity, let his body be in filth as the
+brute beast, passed through fire and water, dwelt amidst the craggy
+rocks, inhaled the wind, drank from the Ganges' stream, controlled
+himself with bitter fasts--but all! far short of moral rectitude. For
+though a man inure himself to live as any brute, he is not on that
+account a vessel of the righteous law; whilst he who breaks the laws of
+right behavior invites detraction, and is one no virtuous man can love;
+his heart is ever filled with boding fear, his evil name pursues him as
+a shadow. Having neither profit nor advantage in this world, how can he
+in the next world reap content? Therefore the wise man ought to practise
+pure behavior; passing through the wilderness of birth and death, pure
+conduct is to him a virtuous guide. From pure behavior comes self-power,
+which frees a man from many dangers; pure conduct, like a ladder,
+enables us to climb to heaven. Those who found themselves on right
+behavior, cut off the source of pain and grief; but they who by
+transgression destroy this mind, may mourn the loss of every virtuous
+principle. To gain this end first banish every ground of 'self'; this
+thought of 'self' shades every lofty aim, even as the ashes that conceal
+the fire, treading on which the foot is burned. Pride and indifference
+shroud this heart, too, as the sun is obscured by the piled-up clouds;
+supercilious thoughts root out all modesty of mind, and sorrow saps the
+strongest will. As age and disease waste youthful beauty, so pride of
+self destroys all virtue; the Devas and Asuras, thus from jealousy and
+envy, raised mutual strife. The loss of virtue and of merit which we
+mourn, proceeds from 'pride of self' throughout; and as I am a conqueror
+amid conquerors, so he who conquers self is one with me. He who little
+cares to conquer self, is but a foolish master; beauty, or earthly
+things, family renown and such things, all are utterly inconstant, and
+what is changeable can give no rest of interval. If in the end the law
+of entire destruction is exacted, what use is there in indolence and
+pride? Covetous desire is the greatest source of sorrow, appearing as a
+friend in secret 'tis our enemy. As a fierce fire excited from within a
+house, so is the fire of covetous desire: the burning flame of covetous
+desire is fiercer far than fire which burns the world. For fire may be
+put out by water in excess, but what can overpower the fire of lust? The
+fire which fiercely burns the desert grass dies out, and then the grass
+will grow again; but when the fire of lust burns up the heart, then how
+hard for true religion there to dwell! for lust seeks worldly pleasures,
+these pleasures add to an impure karman; by this evil karman a man falls
+into perdition, and so there is no greater enemy to man than lust.
+Lusting, man gives way to amorous indulgence, by this he is led to
+practise every kind of lustful longing; indulging thus, he gathers
+frequent sorrow. No greater evil is there than lust. Lust is a dire
+disease, and the foolish master stops the medicine of wisdom. The study
+of heretical books not leading to right thought, causes the lustful
+heart to increase and grow, for these books are not correct on the
+points of impermanency, the non-existence of self, and any object ground
+for 'self.' But a true and right apprehension through the power of
+wisdom, is effectual to destroy that false desire, and therefore our
+object should be to practise this true apprehension. Right apprehension
+once produced then there is deliverance from covetous desire, for a
+false estimate of excellency produces a covetous desire to excel, whilst
+a false view of demerit produces anger and regret; but the idea of
+excelling and also of inferiority (in the sense of demerit) both
+destroyed, the desire to excel and also anger (on account of
+inferiority) are destroyed. Anger! how it changes the comely face, how
+it destroys the loveliness of beauty! Anger dulls the brightness of the
+eye, chokes all desire to hear the principles of truth, cuts and divides
+the principle of family affection, impoverishes and weakens every
+worldly aim. Therefore let anger be subdued, yield not to the angry
+impulse; he who can hold his wild and angry heart is well entitled
+'illustrious charioteer.' For men call such a one 'illustrious
+team-breaker' who can with bands restrain the unbroken steed; so anger
+not subdued, its fire unquenched, the sorrow of repentance burns like
+fire. A man who allows wild passion to arise within, himself first burns
+his heart, then after burning adds the wind thereto which ignites the
+fire again, or not, as the case may be. The pain of birth, old age,
+disease, and death, press heavily upon the world, but adding 'passion'
+to the score, what is this but to increase our foes when pressed by
+foes? But rather, seeing how the world is pressed by throngs of grief,
+we ought to encourage in us love, and as the world produces grief on
+grief, so should we add as antidotes unnumbered remedies." Tathâgata,
+illustrious in expedients, according to the disease, thus briefly spoke;
+even as a good physician in the world, according to the disease,
+prescribes his medicine. And now the Likkhavis, hearing the sermon
+preached by Buddha, arose forthwith and bowed at Buddha's feet, and
+joyfully they placed them on their heads. Then they asked both Buddha
+and the congregation on the morrow to accept their poor religious
+offerings. But Buddha told them that already Âmrâ had invited him. On
+this the Likkhavis, harboring thoughts of pride and disappointment,
+said: "Why should that one take away our profit?" But, knowing Buddha's
+heart to be impartial and fair, they once again regained their
+cheerfulness. Tathâgata, moreover, nobly seizing the occasion, appeasing
+them, produced within a joyful heart; and so subdued, their grandeur of
+appearance came again, as when a snake subdued by charms glistens with
+shining skin. And now, the night being passed, the signs of dawn
+appearing, Buddha and the great assembly go to the abode of Âmrâ, and
+having received her entertainment, they went on to the village of
+Pi-nau, and there he rested during the rainy season; the three months'
+rest being ended, again he returned to Vaisâli, and dwelt beside the
+Monkey Tank; sitting there in a shady grove, he shed a flood of glory
+from his person; aroused thereby, Mâra Pisuna came to the place where
+Buddha was, and with closed palms exhorted him thus: "Formerly, beside
+the Nairañganâ river, when you had accomplished your true and steadfast
+aim, you said, 'When I have done all I have to do, then will I pass at
+once to Nirvâna'; and now you have done all you have to do, you should,
+as then you said, pass to Nirvâna."
+
+Then Buddha spake to Pisuna: "The time of my complete deliverance is at
+hand, but let three months elapse, and I shall reach Nirvâna." Then
+Mâra, knowing that Tathâgata had fixed the time for his emancipation,
+his earnest wish being thus fulfilled, joyous returned to his abode in
+heaven. Tathâgata, seated beneath a tree, straightway was lost in
+ecstasy, and willingly rejected his allotted years, and by his spiritual
+power fixed the remnant of his life. On this, Tathâgata thus giving up
+his years, the great earth shook and quaked through all the limits of
+the universe; great flames of fire were seen around, the tops of Sumeru
+were shaken, from heaven there rained showers of flying stones, a
+whirling tempest rose on every side, the trees were rooted up and fell,
+heavenly music rose with plaintive notes, whilst angels for a time were
+joyless. Buddha rising from out his ecstasy, announced to all the world:
+"Now have I given up my term of years; I live henceforth by power of
+faith; my body like a broken chariot stands, no further cause of
+'coming' or of 'going'; completely freed from the three worlds, I go
+enfranchised, as a chicken from its egg."
+
+The Differences of the Likkhavis
+
+The venerable Ânanda, seeing the earth shaking on every side, his heart
+was tearful and his hair erect; he asked the cause thereof of Buddha.
+
+Buddha replied: "Ânanda! I have fixed three months to end my life, the
+rest of life I utterly give up; this is the reason why the earth is
+greatly shaken."
+
+Ânanda, hearing the instruction of Buddha, was moved with pity and the
+tears flowed down his face, even as when an elephant of mighty strength
+shakes the sandal-wood tree. Thus was Ânanda shaken and his mind
+perturbed, whilst down his cheeks the tears, like drops of perfume,
+flowed; so much he loved the lord his master, so full of kindness was
+he, and, as yet, not freed from earthly thoughts. Thinking then on these
+four things alone, he gave his grief full liberty, nor could he master
+it, but said, "Now I hear the lord declare that he has fixed for good
+his time to die, my body fails, my strength is gone, my mind is dazed,
+my soul is all discordant, and all the words of truth forgotten; a wild
+deserted waste seems heaven and earth. Have pity! save me, master!
+perish not so soon! Perished with bitter cold, I chanced upon a
+fire--forthwith it disappeared. Wandering amid the wilds of grief and
+pain, deceived, confused, I lost my way--suddenly a wise and prudent
+guide encountered me, but hardly saved from my bewilderment, he once
+more vanished. Like some poor man treading through endless mud, weary
+and parched with thirst, longs for the water, suddenly he lights upon a
+cool refreshing lake, he hastens to it--lo! it dries before him. The
+deep blue, bright, refulgent eye, piercing through all the worlds, with
+wisdom brightens the dark gloom, the darkness for a moment is dispelled.
+As when the blade shoots through the yielding earth, the clouds collect
+and we await the welcome shower, then a fierce wind drives the big
+clouds away, and so with disappointed hope we watch the dried-up field!
+Deep darkness reigned for want of wisdom, the world of sentient
+creatures groped for light, Tathâgata lit up the lamp of wisdom, then
+suddenly extinguished it--ere he had brought it out."
+
+Buddha, hearing Ânanda speaking thus, grieved at his words, and pitying
+his distress, with soothing accents and with gentle presence spake with
+purpose to declare the one true law:--
+
+"If men but knew their own nature, they would not dwell in sorrow;
+everything that lives, whate'er it be, all this is subject to
+destruction's law; I have already told you plainly, the law of things
+'joined' is to 'separate'; the principle of kindness and of love is not
+abiding, 'tis better then to reject this pitiful and doting heart. All
+things around us bear the stamp of instant change; born, they perish; no
+self-sufficiency; those who would wish to keep them long, find in the
+end no room for doing so. If things around us could be kept for aye, and
+were not liable to change or separation, then this would be salvation!
+where then can this be sought? You, and all that lives, can seek in me
+this great deliverance! That which you may all attain I have already
+told you, and tell you, to the end. Why then should I preserve this
+body? The body of the excellent law shall long endure! I am resolved; I
+look for rest! This is the one thing needful. So do I now instruct all
+creatures, and as a guide, not seen before, I lead them; prepare
+yourselves to cast off consciousness, fix yourselves well in your own
+island. Those who are thus fixed mid-stream, with single aim and
+earnestness striving in the use of means, preparing quietly a quiet
+place, not moved by others' way of thinking, know well, such men are
+safe on the law's island. Fixed in contemplation, lighted by the lamp of
+wisdom, they have thus finally destroyed ignorance and gloom. Consider
+well the world's four bounds, and dare to seek for true religion only;
+forget 'yourself,' and every 'ground of self,' the bones, the nerves,
+the skin, the flesh, the mucus, the blood that flows through every vein;
+behold these things as constantly impure, what joy then can there be in
+such a body? every sensation born from cause, like the bubble floating
+on the water. The sorrow coming from the consciousness of birth and
+death and inconstancy, removes all thought of joy--the mind acquainted
+with the law of production, stability, and destruction, recognizes how
+again and once again things follow or succeed one another with no
+endurance. But thinking well about Nirvâna, the thought of endurance is
+forever dismissed; we see how the samskâras from causes have arisen, and
+how these aggregates will again dissolve, all of them impermanent. The
+foolish man conceives the idea of 'self,' the wise man sees there is no
+ground on which to build the idea of 'self,' thus through the world he
+rightly looks and well concludes, all, therefore, is but evil; the
+aggregate amassed by sorrow must perish in the end! if once confirmed in
+this conviction, that man perceives the truth. This body, too, of Buddha
+now existing soon will perish: the law is one and constant, and without
+exception." Buddha having delivered this excellent sermon, appeased the
+heart of Ânanda.
+
+Then all the Likkhavis, hearing the report, with fear and apprehension
+assembled in a body; devoid of their usual ornaments, they hastened to
+the place where Buddha was. Having saluted him according to custom, they
+stood on one side, wishing to ask him a question, but not being able to
+find words. Buddha, knowing well their heart, by way of remedy, in the
+right use of means, spake thus:--
+
+"Now I perfectly understand that you have in your minds unusual
+thoughts, not referring to worldly matters, but wholly connected with
+subjects of religion; and now you wish to hear from me, what may be
+known respecting the report about my resolve to terminate my life, and
+my purpose to put an end to the repetition of birth. Impermanence is the
+nature of all that exists, constant change and restlessness its
+conditions; unfixed, unprofitable, without the marks of long endurance.
+In ancient days the Rishi kings, Vasishtha Rishi, Mândhâtri, the
+Kakravartin monarchs, and the rest, these and all others like them, the
+former conquerors, who lived with strength like Îsvara, these all have
+long ago perished, not one remains till now; the sun and moon, Sakra
+himself, and the great multitude of his attendants, will all, without
+exception, perish; there is not one that can for long endure; all the
+Buddhas of the past ages, numerous as the sands of the Ganges, by their
+wisdom enlightening the world, have all gone out as a lamp; all the
+Buddhas yet to come will also perish in the same way; why then should I
+alone be different? I too will pass into Nirvana; but as they prepared
+others for salvation, so now should you press forward in the path;
+Vaisâli may be glad indeed, if you should find the way of rest! The
+world, in truth, is void of help, the 'three worlds' not enough for
+joy--stay then the course of sorrow, by engendering a heart without
+desire. Give up for good the long and straggling way of life, press
+onward on the northern track, step by step advance along the upward
+road, as the sun skirts along the western mountains."
+
+At this time the Likkhavis, with saddened hearts, went back along the
+way; lifting their hands to heaven and sighing bitterly: "Alas! what
+sorrow this! His body like the pure gold mountain, the marks upon his
+person so majestic, ere long and like a towering crag he falls; not to
+live, then why not, 'not to love'? The powers of birth and death,
+weakened awhile, the lord Tathâgata, himself the fount of wisdom
+appeared, and now to give it up and disappear! without a saviour now,
+what check to sorrow? The world long time endured in darkness, and men
+were led by a false light along the way--when lo! the sun of wisdom
+rose; and now, again, it fades and dies--no warning given. Behold the
+whirling waves of ignorance engulfing all the world! Why is the bridge
+or raft of wisdom in a moment cut away? The loving and the great
+physician king came with remedies of wisdom, beyond all price, to heal
+the hurts and pains of men--why suddenly goes he away? The excellent and
+heavenly flag of love adorned with wisdom's blazonry, embroidered with
+the diamond heart, the world not satisfied with gazing on it, the
+glorious flag of heavenly worship! Why in a moment is it snapped? Why
+such misfortune for the world, when from the tide of constant
+revolutions a way of escape was opened--but now shut again! and there is
+no escape from weary sorrow! Tathâgata, possessed of fond and loving
+heart, now steels himself and goes away; he holds his heart so patient
+and so loving, and, like the Wai-ka-ni flower, with thoughts cast down,
+irresolute and tardy, he goes depressed along the road. Or like a man
+fresh from a loved one's grave, the funeral past and the last farewell
+taken, comes back with anxious look."
+
+Parinirvâna
+
+When Buddha went towards the place of his Nirvâna, the city of Vaisâli
+was as if deserted, as when upon a dark and cloudy night the moon and
+stars withdraw their shining. The land that heretofore had peace, was
+now afflicted and distressed; as when a loving father dies, the orphan
+daughter yields to constant grief. Her personal grace unheeded, her
+clever skill but lightly thought of, with stammering lips she finds
+expression for her thoughts; how poor her brilliant wit and wisdom now!
+Her spiritual powers ill regulated without attractiveness, her loving
+heart faint and fickle, exalted high but without strength, and all her
+native grace neglected; such was the case at Vaisâli; all outward show
+now fallen, like autumn verdure in the fields bereft of water, withered
+up and dry; or like the smoke of a half-smouldering fire, or like those
+who having food before them yet forget to eat, so these forgot their
+common household duties, and nought prepared they for the day's
+emergencies. Thinking thus on Buddha, lost in deep reflection, silent
+they sat nor spoke a word. And now the lion Likkhavis manfully enduring
+their great sorrow, with flowing tears and doleful sighs, signifying
+thereby their love of kindred, destroyed forever all their books of
+heresy, to show their firm adherence to the true law. Having put down
+all heresy, they left it once for all; severed from the world and the
+world's doctrines, convinced that non-continuance was the great disease.
+Moreover thus they thought: "The lord of men now enters the great quiet
+place (Nirvâna), and we are left without support, and with no saviour;
+the highest lord of 'means' is now about to extinguish all his glory in
+the final place of death. Now we indeed have lost our steadfast will, as
+fire deprived of fuel; greatly to be pitied is the world, now that the
+lord gives up his world-protecting office, even as a man bereft of
+spiritual power throughout the world is greatly pitied. Oppressed by
+heat we seek the cooling lake, nipped by the cold we use the fire; but
+in a moment all is lost, the world is left without resource; the
+excellent law, indeed, is left, to frame the world anew, as a
+metal-caster frames anew his work. The world has lost its master-guide,
+and, men bereaved of him, the way is lost; old age, disease, and death,
+self-sufficient, now that the road is missed, pervade the world without
+a way. What is there now throughout the world equal to overcome the
+springs of these great sorrows? The great cloud's rain alone can make
+the raging and excessive fire, that burns the world, go out. So only he
+can make the raging fire of covetous desire go out; and now he, the
+skilful maker of comparisons, has firmly fixed his mind to leave the
+world! And why, again, is the sword of wisdom, ever ready to be used for
+an uninvited friend, only like the draught of wine given to him about to
+undergo the torture and to die? Deluded by false knowledge the mass of
+living things are only born to die again; as the sharp knife divides the
+wood, so constant change divides the world. The gloom of ignorance like
+the deep water, lust like the rolling billow, sorrow like the floating
+bubbles, false views like the Makara fish, amidst all these the ship of
+wisdom only can carry us across the mighty sea. The mass of ills are
+like the flowers of the sorrow-tree, old age and all its griefs, the
+tangled boughs; death the tree's tap-root, deeds done in life the buds,
+the diamond sword of wisdom only strong enough to cut down the mundane
+tree! Ignorance the burning-glass, covetous desire the scorching rays,
+the objects of the five desires the dry grass, wisdom alone the water to
+put out the fire. The perfect law, surpassing every law, having
+destroyed the gloom of ignorance, we see the straight road leading to
+quietness and rest, the end of every grief and sorrow. And now the
+loving one, converting men, impartial in his thoughts to friend or foe,
+the all-knowing, perfectly instructed, even he is going to leave the
+world! He with his soft and finely modulated voice, his compact body and
+broad shoulders, he, the great Rishi, ends his life! Who then can claim
+exemption? Enlightened, now he quickly passes hence! let us therefore
+seek with earnestness the truth, even as a man meets with the stream
+beside the road, then drinks and passes on. Inconstancy, this is the
+dreaded enemy--the universal destroyer--sparing neither rich nor poor;
+rightly perceiving this and keeping it in mind, this man, though
+sleeping, yet is the only ever-wakeful."
+
+Thus the Likkhavi lions, ever mindful of the Buddha's wisdom, disquieted
+with the pain of birth and death, sighed forth their fond remembrance of
+the man-lion. Retaining in their minds no love of worldly things, aiming
+to rise above the power of every lustful quality, subduing in their
+hearts the thought of light or trivial matters, training their thoughts
+to seek the quiet, peaceful place; diligently practising the rules of
+unselfish, charitable conduct; putting away all listlessness, they found
+their joy in quietness and seclusion, meditating only on religious
+truth. And now the all-wise, turning his body round with a lion-turn,
+once more gazed upon Vaisâli, and uttered this farewell verse:--
+
+"Now this, the last time this, I leave Vaisâli--the land where heroes
+live and flourish! Now am I going to die." Then gradually advancing,
+stage by stage he came to Bhoga-nagara, and there he rested in the Sâla
+grove, where he instructed all his followers in the precepts:--
+
+"Now having gone on high I shall enter on Nirvana: ye must rely upon the
+law--this is your highest, strongest, vantage ground. What is not found
+in Sûtra, or what disagrees with rules of Vinaya, opposing the one true
+system of my doctrine, this must not be held by you. What opposes
+Dharma, what opposes Vinaya, or what is contrary to my words, this is
+the result of ignorance: ye must not hold such doctrine, but with haste
+reject it. Receiving that which has been said aright, this is not
+subversive of true doctrine, this is what I have said, as the Dharma and
+Vinaya say. Accepting that which I, the law, and the Vinaya declare,
+this is to be believed. But words which neither I, the law, nor the
+Vinaya declare, these are not to be believed. Not gathering the true and
+hidden meaning, but closely holding to the letter, this is the way of
+foolish teachers, but contrary to my doctrine and a false way of
+teaching. Not separating the true from false, accepting in the dark
+without discrimination, is like a shop where gold and its alloys are
+sold together, justly condemned by all the world. The foolish masters,
+practising the ways of superficial wisdom, grasp not the meaning of the
+truth; but to receive the law as it explains itself, this is to accept
+the highest mode of exposition. Ye ought, therefore, thus to investigate
+true principles, to consider well the true law and the Vinaya, even as
+the goldsmith does who melts and strikes and then selects the true. Not
+to know the Sûtras and the Sâstras, this is to be devoid of wisdom; not
+saying properly that which is proper, is like doing that which is not
+fit to see. Let all be done in right and proper order, according as the
+meaning of the sentence guides, for he who grasps a sword unskilfully,
+does but inflict a wound upon his hand. Not skilfully to handle words
+and sentences, the meaning then is hard to know; as in the night-time
+travelling and seeking for a house, if all be dark within, how difficult
+to find. Losing the meaning, then the law is disregarded, disregarding
+the law the mind becomes confused; therefore every wise and prudent
+master neglects not to discover the true and faithful meaning."
+
+Having spoken these words respecting the precepts of religion, he
+advanced to the town of Pâvâ, where all the Mallas prepared for him
+religious offerings of every kind. At this time a certain householder's
+son whose name was Kunda, invited Buddha to his house, and there he gave
+him, as an offering, his very last repast. Having partaken of it and
+declared the law, he onward went to the town of Kusi, crossing the river
+Tsae-kieuh and the Hiranyavati. Then in that Sâla grove, a place of
+quiet and seclusion, he took his seat: entering the golden river he
+bathed his body, in appearance like a golden mountain. Then he spake his
+bidding thus to Ânanda: "Between those twin Sâla trees, sweeping and
+watering, make a clean space, and then arrange my sitting-mat. At
+midnight coming, I shall die."
+
+Ânanda hearing the bidding of his master, his breath was choked with
+heart-sadness; but going and weeping he obeyed the instruction, and
+spreading out the mat he came forthwith back to his master and
+acquainted him. Tathâgata having lain down with his head towards the
+north and on his right side, slept thus. Resting upon his hand as on a
+pillow with his feet crossed, even as a lion-king; all grief is passed,
+his last-born body from this one sleep shall never rise. His followers
+round him, in a circle gathered, sigh dolefully: "The eye of the world
+is now put out!" The wind is hushed, the forest streams are silent, no
+voice is heard of bird or beast. The trees sweat out large flowing
+drops, flowers and leaves out of season singly fall, whilst men and
+Devas, not yet free from desire, are filled with overwhelming fear. Thus
+were they like men wandering through the arid desert, the road full
+dangerous, who fail to reach the longed-for hamlet; full of fear they go
+on still, dreading they might not find it, their heart borne down with
+fear they faint and droop. And now Tathâgata, aroused from sleep,
+addressed Ânanda thus: "Go! tell the Mallas, the time of my decease is
+come; they, if they see me not, will ever grieve and suffer deep
+regret." Ânanda listening to the bidding of his master, weeping went
+along the road. And then he told those Mallas all--"The lord is near to
+death." The Mallas hearing it, were filled with great, excessive grief.
+The men and women hurrying forth, bewailing as they went, came to the
+spot where Buddha was; with garments torn and hair dishevelled, covered
+with dust and sweat they came. With piteous cries they reached the
+grove, as when a Deva's day of merit comes to an end, so did they bow
+weeping and adoring at the feet of Buddha, grieving to behold his
+failing strength. Tathâgata, composed and quiet, spake: "Grieve not! the
+time is one for joy; no call for sorrow or for anguish here; that which
+for ages I have aimed at, now am I just about to obtain; delivered now
+from the narrow bounds of sense, I go to the place of never-ending rest
+and peace. I leave these things, earth, water, fire, and air, to rest
+secure where neither birth nor death can come. Eternally delivered there
+from grief, oh! tell me! why should I be sorrowful? Of yore on Sirsha's
+mount, I longed to rid me of this body, but to fulfil my destiny I have
+remained till now with men in the world; I have kept this sickly,
+crumbling body, as dwelling with a poisonous snake; but now I am come to
+the great resting-place, all springs of sorrow now forever stopped. No
+more shall I receive a body, all future sorrow now forever done away; it
+is not meet for you, on my account, for evermore, to encourage any
+anxious fear."
+
+The Mallas hearing Buddha's words, that he was now about to die, their
+minds confused, their eyes bedimmed, as if they saw before them nought
+but blackness, with hands conjoined, spake thus to Buddha: "Buddha is
+leaving now the pain of birth and death, and entering on the eternal joy
+of rest; doubtless we ought to rejoice thereat. Even as when a house is
+burnt a man rejoices if his friends are saved from out the flames; the
+gods! perhaps they rejoice--then how much more should men! But--when
+Tathâgata has gone and living things no more may see him, eternally cut
+off from safety and deliverance--in thought of this we grieve and
+sorrow. Like as a band of merchants crossing with careful steps a
+desert, with only a single guide, suddenly he dies! Those merchants now
+without a protector, how can they but lament! The present age, coming to
+know their true case, has found the omniscient, and looked to him, but
+yet has not obtained the final conquest; how will the world deride! Even
+as it would laugh at one who, walking o'er a mountain full of treasure,
+yet ignorant thereof, hugs still the pain of poverty."
+
+So spake the Mallas, and with tearful words excuse themselves to Buddha,
+even as an only child pleads piteously before a loving father. Buddha
+then, with speech most excellent, exhibited and declared the highest
+principle of truth, and thus addressed the Mallas:--
+
+"In truth, 'tis as you say; seeking the way, you must exert yourselves
+and strive with diligence--it is not enough to have seen me! Walk, as I
+have commanded you; get rid of all the tangled net of sorrow; walk in
+the way with steadfast aim; 'tis not from seeing me this comes--even as
+a sick man depending on the healing power of medicine, gets rid of all
+his ailments easily without beholding the physician. He who does not do
+what I command sees me in vain, this brings no profit; whilst he who
+lives far off from where I am, and yet walks righteously, is ever near
+me! A man may dwell beside me, and yet, being disobedient, be far away
+from me. Keep your heart carefully--give not place to listlessness!
+earnestly practise every good work. Man born in this world is pressed by
+all the sorrows of the long career, ceaselessly troubled--without a
+moment's rest, as any lamp blown by the wind!" The Mallas all, hearing
+Buddha's loving instruction, inwardly composed, restrained their tears,
+and, firmly self-possessed, returned.
+
+Mahâparinirvâna
+
+At this time there was a Brahmakârin whose name was Su-po-to-lo; he was
+well-known for his virtuous qualities, leading a pure life according to
+the rules of morality, and protecting all living things. When young he
+had adopted heretical views, and become a recluse among
+unbelievers--this one, wishing to see the lord, spake to Ânanda thus:--
+
+"I hear that the system of Tathâgata is of a singular character and very
+profound, and that he has reached the highest wisdom in the world, the
+first of all horse-tamers. I hear moreover that he is now about to die,
+it will be difficult indeed to meet with him again, and difficult to see
+those who have seen him with difficulty, even as it is to catch in a
+mirror the reflection of the moon. I now desire respectfully to see him
+the greatest and most virtuous guide of men, because I seek to escape
+this mass of sorrow and reach the other shore of birth and death. The
+sun of Buddha now about to quench its rays, O! let me for a moment gaze
+upon him." The feelings of Ânanda now were much affected, thinking that
+this request was made with a view to controversy, or that he felt an
+inward joy because the lord was on the eve of death. He was not willing
+therefore to permit the interview with Buddha. Buddha, knowing the man's
+earnest desire and that he was a vessel fit for true religion, therefore
+addressed Ânanda thus: "Permit that heretic to advance; I was born to
+save mankind, make no hindrance therefore, or excuse!"
+
+Subhadra, hearing this, was overjoyed at heart, and his religious
+feelings were much enlarged, as with increased reverence he advanced to
+Buddha's presence. Then, as the occasion required, he spoke becoming
+words and with politeness made his salutation, his features pleasing and
+with hands conjoined he said:--
+
+"Now I desire to ask somewhat from thee; the world has many teachers of
+religion, those who know the law as I am myself; but I hear that Buddha
+has attained a way which is the end of all complete emancipation. O that
+you would, on my account, briefly explain your method, moisten my empty,
+thirsty soul! not with a view to controversy or from a desire to gain
+the mastery, but with sincerity I ask you so to do."
+
+Then Buddha, for the Brahmakârin's sake, in brief recounted the eight
+"right ways"--on hearing which, his empty soul accepted it, as one
+deceived accepts direction in the right road. Perceiving now, he knew
+that what he had before perceived was not the final way of salvation,
+but now he felt he had attained what he had not before attained, and so
+he gave up and forsook his books of heresy. Moreover, now he rejected
+the gloomy hindrances of doubt, reflecting how by his former practices,
+mixed up with anger, hate, and ignorance, he had long cherished no real
+joy. For if, he argued, the ways of lust and hate and ignorance are able
+to produce a virtuous karman, then "hearing much" and "persevering
+wisdom," these, too, are born from lust, which cannot be. But if a man
+is able to cut down hate and ignorance, then also he puts off all
+consequences of works, and these being finally destroyed, this is
+complete emancipation. Those thus freed from works are likewise freed
+from subtle questionings, such as what the world says "that all things,
+everywhere, possess a self-nature." But if this be the case and
+therefore lust, hate, and ignorance, possess a self-implanted nature,
+then this nature must inhere in them; what then means the word
+"deliverance"? For even if we rightly cause the overthrow of hate and
+ignorance, yet if lust remains, then there is a return of birth; even as
+water, cold in its nature, may by fire be heated, but when the fire goes
+out then it becomes cold again, because this is its constant nature; so
+we may ever know that the nature which lust has is permanent, and
+neither hearing wisdom nor perseverance can alter it. Neither capable of
+increase or diminution, how can there be deliverance? I held aforetime
+that birth and death resulted thus, from their own innate nature; but
+now I see that such a belief excludes deliverance; for what is born by
+nature must endure so, what end can such things have? Just as a burning
+lamp cannot but give its light; the way of Buddha is the only true one,
+that lust, as the root-cause, brings forth the things that live; destroy
+this lust then there is Nirvana; the cause destroyed then the fruit is
+not produced. I formerly maintained that "I" was a distinct entity, not
+seeing that it has no maker. But now I hear the right doctrine preached
+by Buddha, there is no "self" in all the world, for all things are
+produced by cause, and therefore there is no creator. If then sorrow is
+produced by cause, the cause may likewise be destroyed; for if the world
+is cause-produced, then is the view correct, that by destruction of the
+cause, there is an end. The cause destroyed, the world brought to an
+end, there is no room for such a thought as permanence, and therefore
+all my former views are "done away," and so he deeply "saw" the true
+doctrine taught by Buddha.
+
+Because of seeds well sown in former times, he was enabled thus to
+understand the law on hearing it; thus he reached the good and perfect
+state of quietness, the peaceful, never-ending place of rest. His heart
+expanding to receive the truth, he gazed with earnest look on Buddha as
+he slept, nor could he bear to see Tathâgata depart and die; "ere yet,"
+he said, "Buddha shall reach the term I will myself first leave the
+world;" and then with hands close joined, retiring from the holy form,
+he took his seat apart, and sat composed and firm. Then giving up his
+life, he reached Nirvâna, as when the rain puts out a little fire. Then
+Buddha spake to all his followers: "This my very last disciple has now
+attained Nirvâna, cherish him properly."
+
+Then Buddha, the first night watch passed, the moon bright shining and
+all the stars clear in their lustre, the quiet grove without a sound,
+moved by his great compassionate heart, declared to his disciples this
+his bequeathed precepts: "After my Nirvâna, ye ought to reverence and
+obey the Pratimoksha, as your master, a shining lamp in the dark night,
+or as a great jewel treasured by a poor man. These injunctions I have
+ever given, these you ought to obey and follow carefully, and treat in
+no way different from myself. Keep pure your body, words, and conduct,
+put from you all concerns of daily life, lands, houses, cattle, storing
+wealth or hoarding grain. All these should be avoided as we avoid a
+fiery pit; sowing the land, cutting down shrubs, healing of wounds or
+the practice of medicine, star-gazing and astrology, forecasting lucky
+or unfortunate events by signs, prognosticating good or evil, all these
+are things forbidden. Keeping the body temperate, eat at proper times;
+receive no mission as a go-between; compound no philteries; abhor
+dissimulation; follow right doctrine, and be kind to all that lives;
+receive in moderation what is given; receive but hoard not up; these
+are, in brief, my spoken precepts. These form the groundwork of my
+rules, these also are the ground of full emancipation. Enabled thus to
+live this is rightly to receive all other things. This is true wisdom
+which embraces all, this is the way to attain the end; this code of
+rules, therefore, ye should hold and keep, and never let it slip or be
+destroyed. For when pure rules of conduct are observed then there is
+true religion; without these, virtue languishes; found yourselves
+therefore well on these my precepts; grounded thus in rules of purity,
+the springs of feeling will be well controlled, even as the
+well-instructed cow-herd guides well his cattle. Ill-governed feelings,
+like the horse, run wild through all the six domains of sense, bringing
+upon us in the present world unhappiness, and in the next, birth in an
+evil way. So, like the horse ill-broken, these land us in the ditch;
+therefore the wise and prudent man will not allow his senses license.
+For these senses are, indeed, our greatest foes, causes of misery; for
+men enamoured thus by sensuous things cause all their miseries to recur.
+Destructive as a poisonous snake, or like a savage tiger, or like a
+raging fire, the greatest evil in the world, he who is wise, is freed
+from fear of these. But what he fears is only this--a light and trivial
+heart, which drags a man to future misery--just for a little sip of
+pleasure, not looking at the yawning gulf before us; like the wild
+elephant freed from the iron curb, or like the ape that has regained the
+forest trees, such is the light and trivial heart; the wise man should
+restrain and hold it therefore. Letting the heart go loose without
+restraint, that man shall not attain Nirvâna; therefore we ought to hold
+the heart in check, and go apart from men and seek a quiet
+resting-place. Know when to eat and the right measure; and so with
+reference to the rules of clothing and of medicine; take care you do not
+by the food you take, encourage in yourselves a covetous or an angry
+mind. Eat your food to satisfy your hunger and drink to satisfy your
+thirst, as we repair an old or broken chariot, or like the butterfly
+that sips the flower destroying not its fragrance or its texture. The
+Bhikshu, in begging food, should beware of injuring the faithful mind of
+another; if a man opens his heart in charity, think not about his
+capabilities, for 'tis not well to calculate too closely the strength of
+the ox, lest by loading him beyond his strength you cause him injury. At
+morning, noon, and night, successively, store up good works. During the
+first and after-watch at night be not overpowered by sleep, but in the
+middle watch, with heart composed, take sleep and rest--be thoughtful
+towards the dawn of day. Sleep not the whole night through, making the
+body and the life relaxed and feeble; think! when the fire shall burn
+the body always, what length of sleep will then be possible? For when
+the hateful brood of sorrow rising through space, with all its attendant
+horrors, meeting the mind o'erwhelmed by sleep and death, shall seize
+its prey, who then shall waken it?
+
+"The poisonous snake dwelling within a house can be enticed away by
+proper charms, so the black toad that dwells within his heart, the early
+waker disenchants and banishes. He who sleeps on heedlessly without
+plan, this man has no modesty; but modesty is like a beauteous robe, or
+like the curb that guides the elephant. Modest behavior keeps the heart
+composed, without it every virtuous root will die. Who has this modesty,
+the world applauds; without it, he is but as any beast. If a man with a
+sharp sword should cut the body bit by bit, let not an angry thought, or
+of resentment, rise, and let the mouth speak no ill word. Your evil
+thoughts and evil words but hurt yourself and not another; nothing so
+full of victory as patience, though your body suffer the pain of
+mutilation. For recollect that he who has this patience cannot be
+overcome, his strength being so firm; therefore give not way to anger or
+evil words towards men in power. Anger and hate destroy the true law;
+and they destroy dignity and beauty of body; as when one dies we lose
+our name for beauty, so the fire of anger itself burns up the heart.
+Anger is foe to all religious merit, he who loves virtue let him not be
+passionate; the layman who is angry when oppressed by many sorrows is
+not wondered at. But he who has 'left his home' indulging anger, this is
+indeed opposed to principle, as if in frozen water there were found the
+heat of fire. If indolence arises in your heart, then with your own hand
+smooth down your head, shave off your hair, and clad in sombre garments,
+in your hand holding the begging-pot, go ask for food; on every side the
+living perish, what room for indolence? the worldly man, relying on his
+substance or his family, indulging in indolence, is wrong; how much more
+the religious man, whose purpose is to seek the way of rescue, who
+encourages within an indolent mind; this surely is impossible!
+
+"Crookedness and straightness are in their nature opposite and cannot
+dwell together more than frost and fire; for one who has become
+religious, and practises the way of straight behavior, a false and
+crooked way of speech is not becoming. False and flattering speech is
+like the magician's art; but he who ponders on religion cannot speak
+falsely. To 'covet much,' brings sorrow; desiring little, there is rest
+and peace. To procure rest, there must be small desire--much more in
+case of those who seek salvation. The niggard dreads the much-seeking
+man lest he should filch away his property, but he who loves to give has
+also fear, lest he should not possess enough to give; therefore we ought
+to encourage small desire, that we may have to give to him who wants,
+without such fear. From this desiring-little-mind we find the way of
+true deliverance; desiring true deliverance we ought to practise
+knowing-enough contentment.
+
+"A contented mind is always joyful, but joy like this is but religion;
+the rich and poor alike, having contentment, enjoy perpetual rest. The
+ill-contented man, though he be born to heavenly joys, because he is not
+contented would ever have a mind burned up by the fire of sorrow. The
+rich, without contentment, endures the pain of poverty; though poor, if
+yet he be contented, then he is rich indeed! That ill-contented man, the
+bounds of the five desires extending further still, becomes insatiable
+in his requirements, and so through the long night of life gathers
+increasing sorrow. Without cessation thus he cherishes his careful
+plans, whilst he who lives contented, freed from anxious thoughts about
+relationships, his heart is ever peaceful and at rest. And so because he
+rests and is at peace within, the gods and men revere and do him
+service. Therefore we ought to put away all cares about relationship.
+
+"For like a solitary desert tree in which the birds and monkeys gather,
+so is it when we are cumbered much with family associations; through the
+long night we gather many sorrows. Many dependents are like the many
+bands that bind us, or like the old elephant that struggles in the mud.
+By diligent perseverance a man may get much profit; therefore night and
+day men ought with ceaseless effort to exert themselves; the tiny
+streams that trickle down the mountain slopes by always flowing eat away
+the rock. If we use not earnest diligence in drilling wood in wood for
+fire, we shall not obtain the spark, so ought we to be diligent and
+persevere, as the skilful master drills the wood for fire. A 'virtuous
+friend' though he be gentle is not to be compared with right
+reflection--right thought kept well in the mind, no evil thing can ever
+enter there.
+
+"Wherefore those who practise a religious life should always think about
+'the body'; if thought upon one's self be absent, then all virtue dies.
+For as the champion warrior relies for victory upon his armor's
+strength, so 'right thought' is like a strong cuirass, able to withstand
+the six sense-robbers. Right faith enwraps the enlightened heart, so
+that a man perceives the world throughout is liable to birth and death;
+therefore the religious man should practise faith.
+
+"Having found peace in faith, we put an end to all the mass of sorrows,
+wisdom then can enlighten us, and so we put away the rules by which we
+acquire knowledge by the senses. By inward thought and right
+consideration following with gladness the directions of the 'true law,'
+this is the way in which both laymen of the world and men who have left
+their homes should walk.
+
+"Across the sea of birth and death, 'wisdom' is the handy bark; 'wisdom'
+is the shining lamp that lightens up the dark and gloomy world. 'Wisdom'
+is the grateful medicine for all the defiling ills of life; 'wisdom' is
+the axe wherewith to level all the tangled forest trees of sorrow.
+'Wisdom' is the bridge that spans the rushing stream of ignorance and
+lust--therefore, in every way, by thought and right attention, a man
+should diligently inure himself to engender wisdom. Having acquired the
+threefold wisdom, then, though blind, the eye of wisdom sees throughout;
+but without wisdom the mind is poor and insincere; such things cannot
+suit the man who has left his home.
+
+"Wherefore let the enlightened man lay well to heart that false and
+fruitless things become him not, and let him strive with single mind for
+that pure joy which can be found alone in perfect rest and quietude.
+
+"Above all things be not careless, for carelessness is the chief foe of
+virtue; if a man avoid this fault he may be born where Sakra-râga
+dwells. He who gives way to carelessness of mind must have his lot where
+the Asuras dwell. Thus have I done my task, my fitting task, in setting
+forth the way of quietude, the proof of love. On your parts be diligent!
+with virtuous purpose practise well these rules, in quiet solitude of
+desert hermitage nourish and cherish a still and peaceful heart. Exert
+yourselves to the utmost, give no place to remissness, for as in worldly
+matters when the considerate physician prescribes fit medicine for the
+disease he has detected, should the sick man neglect to use it, this
+cannot be the physician's fault, so I have told you the truth, and set
+before you this the one and level road. Hearing my words and not with
+care obeying them, this is not the fault of him who speaks; if there be
+anything not clearly understood in the principles of the 'four truths,'
+you now may ask me, freely; let not your inward thoughts be longer hid."
+The lord in mercy thus instructing them, the whole assembly remained
+silent.
+
+Then Anuruddha, observing that the great congregation continued silent
+and expressed no doubt, with closed hands thus spake to Buddha:--
+
+"The moon may be warm, the sun's rays be cool, the air be still, the
+earth's nature mobile; these four things, though yet unheard of in the
+world, may happen; but this assembly never can have doubt about the
+principles of sorrow, accumulation, destruction, and the
+incontrovertible truths, as declared by the lord. But because the lord
+is going to die, we all have sorrow; and we cannot raise our thoughts to
+the high theme of the lord's preaching. Perhaps some fresh disciple,
+whose feelings are yet not entirely freed from other influences might
+doubt; but we, who now have heard this tender, sorrowful discourse, have
+altogether freed ourselves from doubt. Passed the sea of birth and
+death, without desire, with nought to seek, we only know how much we
+love, and, grieving, ask why Buddha dies so quickly?"
+
+Buddha regarding Anuruddha, perceiving how his words were full of
+bitterness, again with loving heart, appeasing him, replied:--
+
+"In the beginning things were fixed, in the end again they separate;
+different combinations cause other substances, for there is no uniform
+and constant principle in nature. But when all mutual purposes be
+answered, what then shall chaos and creation do! the gods and men alike
+that should be saved, shall all have been completely saved! Ye then! my
+followers, who know so well the perfect law, remember! the end must
+come; give not way again to sorrow!
+
+"Use diligently the appointed means; aim to reach the home where
+separation cannot come; I have lit the lamp of wisdom, its rays alone
+can drive away the gloom that shrouds the world. The world is not
+forever fixed! Ye should rejoice therefore! as when a friend, afflicted
+grievously, his sickness healed, escapes from pain. For I have put away
+this painful vessel, I have stemmed the flowing sea of birth and death,
+free forever now, from pain! for this you should exult with joy! Now
+guard yourselves aright, let there be no remissness! that which exists
+will all return to nothingness! and now I die. From this time forth my
+words are done, this is my very last instruction."
+
+Then entering the Samâdhi of the first Dhyâna, he went successively
+through all the nine in a direct order; then inversely he returned
+throughout and entered on the first, and then from the first he raised
+himself and entered on the fourth. Leaving the state of Samâdhi, his
+soul without a resting-place, forthwith he reached Nirvâna. And then, as
+Buddha died, the great earth quaked throughout. In space, on every hand,
+was fire like rain, no fuel, self-consuming. And so from out the earth
+great flames arose on every side.
+
+Thus up to the heavenly mansions flames burst forth; the crash of
+thunder shook the heavens and earth, rolling along the mountains and the
+valleys, even as when the Devas and Asuras fight with sound of drums and
+mutual conflict. A wind tempestuous from the four bounds of earth
+arose--whilst from the crags and hills, dust and ashes fell like rain.
+The sun and moon withdrew their shining; the peaceful streams on every
+side were torrent-swollen; the sturdy forests shook like aspen leaves,
+whilst flowers and leaves untimely fell around, like scattered rain. The
+flying dragons, carried on pitchy clouds, wept down their tears; the
+four kings and their associates, moved by pity, forgot their works of
+charity. The pure Devas came to earth from heaven, halting mid-air they
+looked upon the changeful scene, not sorrowing, not rejoicing. But yet
+they sighed to think of the world, heedless of its sacred teacher,
+hastening to destruction. The eightfold heavenly spirits, on every side
+filled space: cast down at heart and grieving, they scattered flowers as
+offerings. Only Mâra-râga rejoiced, and struck up sounds of music in his
+exultation. Whilst Gambudvipa shorn of its glory, seemed to grieve as
+when the mountain tops fall down to earth, or like the great elephant
+robbed of its tusks, or like the ox-king spoiled of his horns; or heaven
+without the sun and moon, or as the lily beaten by the hail; thus was
+the world bereaved when Buddha died!
+
+Praising Nirvâna
+
+At this time there was a Devaputra, riding on his thousand white-swan
+palace in the midst of space, who beheld the Parinirvâna of Buddha. This
+one, for the universal benefit of the Deva assembly, sounded forth at
+large these verses on impermanence:--
+
+"Impermanency is the nature of all things, quickly born, they quickly
+die. With birth there comes the rush of sorrows, only in Nirvâna is
+there joy. The accumulated fuel heaped up by the power of karman, this
+the fire of wisdom alone can consume. Though the fame of our deeds reach
+up to heaven as smoke, yet in time the rains which descend will
+extinguish all, as the fire that rages at the kalpa's end is put out by
+the judgment of water."
+
+Again there was a Brahma-Rishi-deva, like a most exalted Rishi, dwelling
+in heaven, possessed of superior happiness, with no taint in his bliss,
+who thus sighed forth his praises of Tathâgata's Nirvâna, with his mind
+fixed in abstraction as he spoke:
+
+"Looking through all the conditions of life, from first to last nought
+is free from destruction. But the incomparable seer dwelling in the
+world, thoroughly acquainted with the highest truth, whose wisdom grasps
+that which is beyond the world's ken, he it is who can save the
+worldly-dwellers. He it is who can provide lasting escape from the
+destructive power of impermanence. But, alas! through the wide world,
+all that lives is sunk in unbelief."
+
+At this time Anuruddha, "not stopped" by the world, "not stopped" from
+being delivered, the stream of birth and death forever "stopped," sighed
+forth the praises of Tathâgata's Nirvâna:--
+
+"All living things completely blind and dark! the mass of deeds all
+perishing, even as the fleeting cloud-pile! Quickly arising and as
+quickly perishing! the wise man holds not to such a refuge, for the
+diamond mace of inconstancy can overturn the mountain of the Rishi
+hermit. How despicable and how weak the world! doomed to destruction,
+without strength! Impermanence, like the fierce lion, can even spoil the
+Nâga-elephant-great-Rishi. Only the diamond curtain of Tathâgata can
+overwhelm inconstancy! How much more should those not yet delivered from
+desire, fear and dread its power? From the six seeds there grows one
+sprout, one kind of water from the rain, the origin of the four points
+is far removed: five kinds of fruit from the two 'Koo'--the three
+periods, past, present, future, are but one in substance; the
+Muni-great-elephant plucks up the great tree of sorrow, and yet he
+cannot avoid the power of impermanence. For like the crested bird
+delights within the pool to seize the poisonous snake, but when from
+sudden drought he is left in the dry pool, he dies; or as the prancing
+steed advances fearlessly to battle, but when the fight has passed goes
+back subdued and quiet; or as the raging fire burns with the fuel, but
+when the fuel is done, expires; so is it with Tathâgata, his task
+accomplished he returns to find his refuge in Nirvâna: just as the
+shining of the radiant moon sheds everywhere its light and drives away
+the gloom, all creatures grateful for its light, it disappears concealed
+by Sumeru; such is the case with Tathâgata, the brightness of his wisdom
+lit up the gloomy darkness, and for the good of all that lives drove it
+away, when suddenly it disappears behind the mountain of Nirvâna. The
+splendor of his fame throughout the world diffused, had banished all
+obscurity, but like the stream that ever flows, it rests not with us;
+the illustrious charioteer with his seven prancing steeds flies through
+the host and disappears.
+
+"The bright-rayed Sûrya-deva, entering the Yen-tsz' cave, was, with the
+moon, surrounded with fivefold barriers; 'all things that live,'
+deprived of light, present their offerings to heaven; but from their
+sacrifice nought but the blackened smoke ascends; thus it is with
+Tathâgata, his glory hidden, the world has lost its light. Rare was the
+expectancy of grateful love that filled the heart of all that lives;
+that love, reached its full limit, then was left to perish! The cords of
+sorrow all removed, we found the true and only way; but now he leaves
+the tangled mesh of life, and enters on the quiet place! His spirit
+mounting through space, he leaves the sorrow-bearing vessel of his body!
+the gloom of doubt and the great darkness all dispelled, by the bright
+rays of wisdom! The earthy soil of sorrow's dust his wisdom's water
+purifies! no more, no more, returns he here! forever gone to the place
+of rest!
+
+"The power of birth and death destroyed, the world instructed in the
+highest doctrine! he bids the world rejoice in knowledge of his law, and
+gives to all the benefit of wisdom! Giving complete rest to the world,
+the virtuous streams flow forth! his fame known throughout the world,
+shines still with increased splendor! How great his pity and his love to
+those who opposed his claims, neither rejoicing in their defeat nor
+exulting in his own success. Illustriously controlling his feelings, all
+his senses completely enlightened, his heart impartially observing
+events, unpolluted by the six objects of sense! Reaching to that
+unreached before! obtaining that which man had not obtained! with the
+water which he provided filling every thirsty soul! Bestowing that which
+never yet was given, and providing a reward not hoped for! his peaceful,
+well-marked person, perfectly knowing the thoughts of all.
+
+"Not greatly moved either by loving or disliking! overcoming all enemies
+by the force of his love! the welcome physician for all diseases, the
+one destroyer of impermanency! All living things rejoicing in religion,
+fully satisfied! obtaining all they need, their every wish fulfilled!
+The great master of holy wisdom once gone returns no more! even as the
+fire gone out for want of fuel! Declaring the eight rules without taint;
+overcoming the five senses, difficult to compose! with the three powers
+of sight seeing the three precious ones; removing the three robbers
+(i.e. lust, anger, ignorance); perfecting the three grades of a holy
+life, concealing the one (himself) and obtaining the one
+saintship--leaping over the seven 'bodhyangas' and obtaining the long
+sleep; the end of all, the quiet, peaceful way; the highest prize of
+sages and of saints!
+
+"Having himself severed the barriers of sorrow, now he is able to save
+his followers, and to provide the draught of immortality for all who are
+parched with thirst! Armed with the heavy cuirass of patience, he has
+overcome all enemies! by the subtle principles of his excellent law to
+satisfy every heart. Planting a sacred seed in the hearts of those
+practising virtue; impartially directing and not casting off those who
+are right or not right in their views! Turning the wheel of the
+superlative law! received with gladness through the world by those who
+have in former conditions implanted in themselves a love for religion,
+these all saved by his preaching! Going forth among men converting those
+not yet converted; those who had not seen the truth, causing them to see
+the truth! All those practising a false method of religion, delivering
+to them deep principles of his religion! preaching the doctrines of
+birth and death and impermanency; declaring that without a master
+teacher there can be no happiness! Erecting the standard of his great
+renown, overcoming and destroying the armies of Mâra! advancing to the
+point of indifference to pleasure or pain, caring not for life, desiring
+only rest! Causing those not yet converted to obtain conversion! those
+not yet saved to be saved! those not yet at rest to find rest! those not
+yet enlightened to be enlightened!
+
+"Thus the Muni taught the way of rest for the direction of all living
+things! alas! that any transgressing the way of holiness should practise
+impure works. Even as at the end of the great kalpa, those holding the
+law who die, when the rolling sound of the mysterious thunder-cloud
+severs the forests, upon these there shall fall the rain of immortality.
+The little elephant breaks down the prickly forest, and by cherishing it
+we know that it can profit men; but the cloud that removes the sorrow of
+the elephant old-age, this none can bear. He by destroying systems of
+religion has perfected his system, in saving the world and yet saving!
+he has destroyed the teaching of heresy, in order to reach his
+independent mode of doctrine.
+
+"And now he enters the great quiet place! no longer has the world a
+protector or saviour! the great army host of Mâra-râga, rousing their
+warrior, shaking the great earth, desired to injure the honored Muni:
+but they could not move him, whom in a moment now the Mâra 'inconstancy'
+destroys. The heavenly occupants everywhere assemble as a cloud! they
+fill the space of heaven, fearing the endless birth and death! their
+hearts are full of grief and dread! His Deva eyes clearly behold,
+without the limitations of near or distant, the fruits of works
+discerned throughout, as an image perceived in a mirror! His Deva ears
+perfect and discriminating throughout, hear all, though far away,
+mounting through space he teaches all the Devas, surpassing his method
+of converting men! He divides his body still one in substance, crosses
+the water as if it were not weak (to bear)! remembers all his former
+births, through countless kalpas none forgotten! His senses wandering
+through the fields of sense, all these distinctly remembered; knowing
+the wisdom learned in every state of mind, all this perfectly
+understood! By spiritual discernment and pure mysterious wisdom equally
+surveying all things! every vestige of imperfection removed! thus he has
+accomplished all he had to do. By wisdom rejecting other spheres of
+life, his wisdom now completely perfected, lo! he dies! let the world,
+hard and unyielding, still, beholding it, relent!
+
+"All living things though blunt in sense, beholding him, receive the
+enlightenment of wisdom! their endless evil deeds long past, as they
+behold, are cancelled and completely cleansed! In a moment gone! who
+shall again exhibit qualities like his? no saviour now in all the
+world--our hope cut off, our very breath is stopped and gone! Who now
+shall give us life again with the cool water of his doctrine? his own
+great work accomplished, his great compassion now has ceased to work for
+long: has long ceased or stopped! The world ensnared in the toils of
+folly, who shall destroy the net? who shall, by his teaching, cause the
+stream of birth and death to turn again? Who shall declare the way of
+rest to instruct the heart of all that lives, deceived by ignorance? Who
+will point out the quiet place, or who make known the one true doctrine?
+
+"All flesh suffering great sorrow, who shall deliver, like a loving
+father? Like the horse changing his master loses all gracefulness, as he
+forgets his many words of guidance! as a king without a kingdom, such is
+the world without a Buddha! as a disciple with no power of dialectic
+left, or like a physician without wisdom, as men whose king has lost the
+marks of royalty, so, Buddha dead, the world has lost its glory! the
+gentle horses left without a charioteer, the boat without a pilot left!
+The three divisions of an army left without a general! the merchantman
+without a guide! the suffering and diseased without a physician! a holy
+king without his seven insignia. The stars without the moon! the loving
+years without the power of life! such is the world now that Buddha, the
+great teacher, dies!"
+
+Thus spake the Arhat, all done that should be done, all imperfections
+quite removed, knowing the meed of gratitude, he was grateful therefore.
+Thus thinking of his master's love he spake! setting forth the world's
+great sorrow; whilst those, not yet freed from the power of passion,
+wept with many tears, unable to control themselves. Yet even those who
+had put away all faults, sighed as they thought of the pain of birth and
+death. And now the Malla host hearing that Buddha had attained Nirvâna,
+with cries confused, wept piteously, greatly moved, as when a flight of
+herons meet a hawk. In a body now they reach the twin trees, and as they
+gaze upon Tathâgata dead, entered on his long sleep, those features
+never again to awake to consciousness, they smote their breasts and
+sighed to heaven; as when a lion seizing on a calf, the whole herd
+rushes on with mingled sounds.
+
+In the midst there was one Malla, his mind enamoured of the righteous
+law, who gazed with steadfastness upon the holy law-king, now entered on
+the mighty calm, and said: "The world was everywhere asleep, when Buddha
+setting forth his law caused it to awake; but now he has entered on the
+mighty calm, and all is finished in an unending sleep. For man's sake he
+had raised the standard of his law, and now, in a moment, it has fallen;
+the sun of Tathâgata's wisdom spreading abroad the lustre of its 'great
+awakening,' increasing ever more and more in glory, spreading abroad the
+thousand rays of highest knowledge, scattering and destroying all the
+gloom of earth, why has the darkness great come back again? His
+unequalled wisdom lightening the three worlds, giving eyes that all the
+world might see, now suddenly the world is blind again, bewildered,
+ignorant of the way; in a moment fallen the bridge of truth that spanned
+the rolling stream of birth and death, the swelling flood of lust and
+rage and doubt, and all flesh overwhelmed therein, forever lost."
+
+Thus all that Malla host wept piteously and lamented; whilst some
+concealed their grief nor spoke a word; others sank prostrate on the
+earth; others stood silent, lost in meditation; others, with sorrowful
+heart, groaned deeply. Then on a gold and silver gem-decked couch richly
+adorned with flowers and scents, they placed the body of Tathâgata; a
+jewelled canopy they raised above, and round it flags and streamers and
+embroidered banners; then using every kind of dance and music, the lords
+and ladies of the Mallas followed along the road presenting offerings,
+whilst all the Devas scattered scents and flowers, and raised the sound
+of drums and music in the heavens. Thus men and Devas shared one common
+sorrow, their cries united as they grieved together. Entering the city,
+there the men and women, old and young, completed their religious
+offerings. Leaving the city, then, and passing through the Lung-tsiang
+gate, and crossing over the Hiranyavati river, they repaired to where
+the former Buddhas, having died, had Kaityas raised to them. There
+collecting ox-head sandal-wood and every famous scented wood, they
+placed the whole above the Buddha's body, pouring various scented oils
+upon the pyre; then placing fire beneath to kindle it, three times they
+walked around; but yet it burned not. At this time the great Kâsyapa had
+taken his abode at Râgagriha, and knowing Buddha was about to die was
+coming thence with all his followers; his pure mind, deeply moved,
+desired to see the body of the lord; and so, because of that his sincere
+wish, the fire went out and would not kindle. Then Kâsyapa and his
+followers coming, with piteous sighs looked on the sight and reverenced
+at the master's feet; and then, forthwith, the fire burst out. Quenched
+the fire of grief within; without, the fire has little power to burn. Or
+though it burn the outside skin and flesh, the diamond true-bone still
+remains. The scented oil consumed, the fire declines, the bones they
+place within a golden pitcher; for as the mystic world is not destroyed,
+neither can these, the bones of Buddha, perish; the consequence of
+diamond wisdom, difficult to move as Sumeru. The relics which the mighty
+golden-pinioned bird cannot remove or change, they place within the
+precious vase, to remain until the world shall pass away; and wonderful!
+the power of men can thus fulfil Nirvâna's laws, the illustrious name of
+one far spread, is sounded thus throughout the universe; and as the ages
+roll, the long Nirvâna, by these, the sacred relics, sheds through the
+world its glorious light, and brightens up the abodes of life. He
+perished in a moment! but these relics, placed within the vase, the
+imperishable signs of wisdom, can overturn the mount of sorrow; the body
+of accumulated griefs this imperishable mind can cause to rest, and
+banish once forever all the miseries of life. Thus the diamond substance
+was dealt with at the place of burning. And now those valiant Mallas,
+unrivalled in the world for strength, subduing all private animosities,
+sought escape from sorrow in the true refuge. Finding sweet comfort in
+united love, they resolved to banish every complaining thought.
+Beholding thus the death of Tathâgata, they controlled their grieving
+hearts, and with full strength of manly virtue dismissing every listless
+thought, they submitted to the course of nature. Oppressed by thoughts
+of grievous sorrow, they entered the city as a deserted wild: holding
+the relics thus they entered, whilst from every street were offered
+gifts. They placed the relics then upon a tower for men and Devas to
+adore.
+
+Division of the Sariras
+
+Thus those Mallas offered religious reverence to the relics, and used
+the most costly flowers and scents for their supreme act of worship.
+Then the kings of the seven countries, having heard that Buddha was
+dead, sent messengers to the Mallas asking to share the sacred relics of
+Buddha. Then the Mallas reverencing the body of Tathâgata, trusting to
+their martial renown, conceived a haughty mind: "They would rather part
+with life itself," they said, "than with the relics of the Buddha"--so
+those messengers returned from the futile embassage. Then the seven
+kings, highly indignant, with an army numerous as the rain-clouds,
+advanced on Kusinagara; the people who went from the city filled with
+terror soon returned and told the Mallas all: that the soldiers and the
+cavalry of the neighboring countries were coming, with elephants and
+chariots, to surround the Kusinagara city. The gardens, lying without
+the town, the fountains, lakes, flower and fruit-trees were now
+destroyed by the advancing host, and all the pleasant resting-places lay
+in ruins.
+
+The Mallas, mounting on the city towers, beheld the great supports of
+life destroyed; they then prepared their warlike engines to crush the
+foe without: balistas and catapults and "flying torches," to hurl
+against the advancing host. Then the seven kings entrenched themselves
+around the city, each army host filled with increasing courage; their
+wings of battle shining in array as the sun's seven beams of glory
+shine; the heavy drums rolling as the thunder, the warlike breath rising
+as the full cloud mist. The Mallas, greatly incensed, opening the gates
+command the fray to begin; the aged men and women whose hearts had trust
+in Buddha's law, with deep concern breathed forth their vow, "Oh! may
+the victory be a bloodless one!" Those who had friends used mutual
+exhortations not to encourage in themselves a desire for strife.
+
+And now the warriors, clad in armor, grasping their spears and
+brandishing their swords 'midst the confused noise and heavy drums
+advanced. But ere the contest had begun, there was a certain Brahman
+whose name was Drona, celebrated for penetration, honored for modesty
+and lowliness, whose loving heart took pleasure in religion. This one
+addressed those kings and said: "Regarding the unequalled strength of
+yonder city, one man alone would be enough for its defence; how much
+less when with determined heart they are united, can you subdue it! In
+the beginning mutual strife produced destruction, how now can it result
+in glory or renown? The clash of swords and bloody onset done, 'tis
+certain one must perish! and therefore whilst you aim to vanquish those,
+both sides will suffer in the fray. Then there are many chances, too, of
+battle: 'tis hard to measure strength by appearances; the strong,
+indeed, may overcome the weak, the weak may also overcome the strong;
+the powerful champion may despise the snake, but how will he escape a
+wounded body? there are men whose natures bland and soft, seem suited
+for the company of women or of children, but when enlisted in the ranks,
+make perfect soldiers. As fire when it is fed with oil, though reckoned
+weak, is not extinguished easily, so when you say that they are weak,
+beware of leaning overmuch on strength of body; nought can compare with
+strength of right religion. There was in ancient times a Gina king,
+whose name was Kârandhama, his graceful upright presence caused such
+love in others that he could overcome all animosity; but though he ruled
+the world and was high renowned, and rich and prosperous, yet in the end
+he went back and all was lost! So when the ox has drunk enough, he too
+returns. Use then the principles of righteousness, use the expedients of
+good will and love. Conquer your foe by force, you increase his enmity;
+conquer by love, and you will reap no after-sorrow. The present strife
+is but a thirst for blood, this thing cannot be endured! If you desire
+to honor Buddha, follow the example of his patience and long-suffering!"
+Thus this Brahman with confidence declared the truth; imbued with
+highest principles of peace, he spake with boldness and unflinchingly.
+
+And now the kings addressed the Brahman thus: "You have chosen a fitting
+time for giving increase to the seed of wisdom: the essence of true
+friendship is the utterance of truth. The greatest force of reason lies
+in righteous judgment. But now in turn hear what we say: The rules of
+kings are framed to avoid the use of force when hatred has arisen from
+low desires, or else to avoid the sudden use of violence in trifling
+questions where some trifling matter is at stake. But we for the sake of
+law are about to fight. What wonder is it! Swollen pride is a principle
+to be opposed, for it leads to the overthrow of society; no wonder then
+that Buddha preached against it, teaching men to practise lowliness and
+humility. Then why should we be forbidden to pay our reverence to his
+body-relics? In ancient days a lord of the great earth, Pih-shih-tsung
+and Nanda, for the sake of a beautiful woman fought and destroyed each
+other; how much more now, for the sake of religious reverence to our
+master, freed from passion, gone to Nirvâna, without regard to self, or
+careful of our lives, should we contend and assert our rights! A former
+king, Kaurava, fought with a Pândava king, and the more they increased
+in strength the more they struggled, all for some temporary gain; how
+much more for our not-coveting master should we contend, coveting to get
+his living relics? The son of Râma, too, the Rishi, angry with King
+Dasa-ratha, destroyed his country, slew the people, because of the rage
+he felt; how much less for our master, freed from anger, should we be
+niggard of our lives! Râma, for Sita's sake, killed all the
+demon-spirits; how much more for our lord, heaven-received, should we
+not sacrifice our lives! The two demons A-lai and Po-ku were ever drawn
+into contention; in the first place, because of their folly and
+ignorance, causing wide ruin among men; how much less for our all-wise
+master should we begrudge our lives! Wherefore if from these examples we
+find others ready to die for no real principle, how shall we for our
+teacher of gods (Devas) and men, reverenced by the universe, spare our
+bodies or begrudge our lives, and not be earnest in desire to make our
+offerings! Now then, if you desire to stay the strife, go and for us
+demand within the city that they open wide the relics, and so cause our
+prayer to be fulfilled. But because your words are right ones, we hold
+our anger for a while; even as the great, angry snake, by the power of
+charms is quieted."
+
+And now the Brahman, having received the kings' instruction, entering
+the city, went to the Mallas, and saluting them, spoke these true words:
+"Without the city those who are kings among men grasp with their hands
+their martial weapons, and with their bodies clad in weighty armor wait
+eagerly to fight; glorious as the sun's rays, bristling with rage as the
+roused lion. These united are, to overthrow this city. But whilst they
+wage this religious war, they fear lest they may act irreligiously, and
+so they have sent me here to say what they require: 'We have come, not
+for the sake of territory, much less for money's sake, nor on account of
+any insolent feeling, nor yet from any thought of hatred; but because we
+venerate the great Rishi, we have come on this account. You, noble sirs!
+know well our mind! Why should there be such sorrowful contention! You
+honor what we honor, both alike, then we are brothers as concerns
+religion. We both with equal heart revere the bequeathed spiritual
+relics of the lord. To be miserly in hoarding wealth, this is an
+unreasonable fault; how much more to grudge religion, of which there is
+so little knowledge in the world! The exclusive and the selfishly
+inclined, should practise laws of hospitality; but if ye have not rules
+of honor such as these, then shut your gates and guard yourselves.' This
+is the tenor of the words, be they good or bad, spoken by them. But now
+for myself and my own feelings, let me add these true and sincere
+words:--Let there be no contention either way; reason ought to minister
+for peace, the lord when dwelling in the world ever employed the force
+of patience. Not to obey his holy teaching, and yet to offer gifts to
+him, is contradiction. Men of the world, for some indulgence, some
+wealth or land, contend and fight, but those who believe the righteous
+law should obediently conform their lives to it; to believe and yet to
+harbor enmity, this is to oppose 'religious principle' to 'conduct.'
+Buddha himself at rest, and full of love, desired to bestow the rest he
+enjoyed on all. To adore with worship the great merciful, and yet to
+gender wide destruction, how is this possible? Divide the relics, then,
+that all may worship them alike; obeying thus the law, the fame thereof
+widespread, then righteous principles will be diffused; but if others
+walk not righteously, we ought by righteous dealing to appease them, in
+this way showing the advantage of religion, we cause religion everywhere
+to take deep hold and abide. Buddha has told us that of all charity
+'religious charity' is the highest; men easily bestow their wealth in
+charity, but hard is the charity that works for righteousness."
+
+The Mallas hearing the Brahman's words with inward shame gazed at one
+another; and answered the Brahmakârin thus: "We thank you much for
+purposing to come to us, and for your friendly and religious
+counsel--speaking so well, and reasonably. Yours are words which a
+Brahman ought to use, in keeping with his holy character; words full of
+reconciliation, pointing out the proper road; like one recovering a
+wandering horse brings him back by the path which he had lost. We then
+ought to adopt the plan of reconciliation such as you have shown us; to
+hear the truth and not obey it brings afterwards regretful sorrow."
+
+Then they opened out the master's relics and in eight parts equally
+divided them. Themselves paid reverence to one part, the other seven
+they handed to the Brahman; the seven kings having accepted these,
+rejoiced and placed them on their heads; and thus with them returned to
+their own country, and erected Dâgobas for worship over them. The
+Brahmakârin then besought the Mallas to bestow on him the relic-pitcher
+as his portion, and from the seven kings he requested a fragment of
+their relics, as an eighth share. Taking this, he returned and raised a
+Kaitya, which still is named "the Golden Pitcher Dâgoba." Then the men
+of Kusinagara collecting all the ashes of the burning, raised over them
+a Kaitya, and called it "the Ashes Dâgoba." The eight Stûpas of the
+eight kings, "the Golden Pitcher" and "the Ashes Stûpa."
+
+Thus throughout Gambudvipa there first were raised ten Dâgobas. Then all
+the lords and ladies of the country holding gem-embroidered canopies,
+paid their offerings at the various shrines, adorning them as any golden
+mountain. And so with music and with dancing through the day and night
+they made merry, and sang. And now the Arhats numbering five hundred,
+having forever lost their master's presence, reflecting there was now no
+ground of certainty, returned to Gridhrakûta mount; assembling in King
+Sakra's cavern, they collected there the Sûtra Pitaka; all the assembly
+agreeing that the venerable Ânanda should say, for the sake of the
+congregation, the sermons of Tathâgata from first to last: "Great and
+small, whatever you have heard from the mouth of the deceased Muni."
+
+Then Ânanda in the great assembly ascending the lion throne, declared in
+order what the lord had preached, uttering the words "Thus have I
+heard."
+
+The whole assembly, bathed in tears, were deeply moved as he pronounced
+the words "I heard"; and so he announced the law as to the time, as to
+the place, as to the person; as he spoke, so was it written down from
+first to last, the complete Sûtra Pitaka. By diligent attention in the
+use of means, practising wisdom, all these Arhats obtained Nirvâna;
+those now able so to do, or hereafter able, shall attain Nirvâna in the
+same way. King Asoka born in the world when strong, caused much sorrow;
+when feeble, then he banished sorrow; as the Asoka-flower tree, ruling
+over Gambudvipa, his heart forever put an end to sorrow, when brought to
+entire faith in the true law; therefore he was called "the King who
+frees from sorrow." A descendant of the Mayûra family, receiving from
+heaven a righteous disposition, he ruled equally over the world; he
+raised everywhere towers and shrines, his private name the "violent
+Asoka," now called the "righteous Asoka."
+
+Opening the Dâgobas raised by those seven kings to take the Sarîras
+thence, he spread them everywhere, and raised in one day eighty-four
+thousand towers; only with regard to the eighth pagoda in Râmagrama,
+which the Nâga spirit protected, the king was unable to obtain those
+relics; but though he obtained them not, knowing they were spiritually
+bequeathed relics of Buddha which the Nâga worshipped and adored, his
+faith was increased and his reverent disposition. Although the king was
+ruler of the world, yet was he able to obtain the first holy fruit; and
+thus induced the entire empire to honor and revere the shrines of
+Tathâgata.
+
+In the past and present, thus there has been deliverance for all.
+Tathâgata, when in the world; and now his relics--after his Nirvana;
+those who worship and revere these, gain equal merit; so also those who
+raise themselves by wisdom, and reverence the virtues of the Tathâgata,
+cherishing religion, fostering a spirit of almsgiving, they gain great
+merit also. The noble and superlative law of Buddha ought to receive the
+adoration of the world. Gone to that undying place, those who believe
+his law shall follow him there; therefore let all the Devas and men,
+without exception, worship and adore the one great loving and
+compassionate, who mastered thoroughly the highest truth, in order to
+deliver all that lives. Who that hears of him, but yearns with love! The
+pains of birth, old age, disease and death, the endless sorrows of the
+world, the countless miseries of "hereafter," dreaded by all the Devas,
+he has removed all these accumulated sorrows; say, who would not revere
+him? to escape the joys of after life, this is the world's chief joy! To
+add the pain of other births, this is the world's worst sorrow! Buddha,
+escaped from pain of birth, shall have no joy of the "hereafter"!
+
+And having shown the way to all the world, who would not reverence and
+adore him? To sing the praises of the lordly monk, and declare his acts
+from first to last, without self-seeking or self-honor, without desire
+for personal renown, but following what the scriptures say, to benefit
+the world, has been my aim.
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12894 ***