Perhaps
the best way to understand what a person who has realized Nirvana is like to
study the life and personality of the Buddha. The life of the Buddha not only
shows us that Nirvana is possible, it also shows us what the realisation is
like.
In
the Tipitaka there is no actual biography of the Buddha as such, although there
is a large amount of autobiographical material and scraps of biographical
information scattered here and there.
While
the Buddha lived, and for perhaps a generation after his death, a biography was
simply not necessary, as people had the Buddha himself, or at least accounts of
people who had met and remembered him.
But
in time, as it normal with the life of great men or women, people wanted more
and more details about every aspect of the Buddha's life, and the Tipitaka had
only preserved the main outlines of the Buddha's life. Legends grew up to fill in
the gaps. And in time, a biography became necessary. One of the first attempts
to do this was the Mahavastu, an untidy jumble of fact and fiction, history and
legend. In this biography the Buddha appears as a man, but in many passages he
is portrayed more and more like a superhuman being.
Another
early biography, the Lalitavistara contains legends so exaggerated and verbose
that the historical Buddha almost disappears completely. Perhaps the best
ancient biography, the Buddhacarita, was written by the poet Asvaghosa in about
the first century CE. In it, Asvaghosa
bases himself very carefully on the information in the Tipitaka, and uses his very
considerable poetic skill to produce an accurate and pleasing biography.
All
accounts of the Buddha's life since then are based upon information from the
Tipitaka and legendary matter from these and other later works. We will look at
the information about the life of the Buddha contained in the Tipitaka, being
careful not to mix it with later legendary material.
The
Sakyans were a tribe of warrior people living in a small kingdom whose northern
border faced on the Himalayan foothills. Kapilavatthu, their capital city was
"rich, prosperous, popular, crowded with men, thickly populated with people".
181
It seems that the Sakyans were ruled by a king or raja, not a hereditary king,
but someone elected by and from among the elders of the tribe. One of their
kings, Suddhodana, had two queens, Maha Maya and Maha Pajapati Gotami, who were
sisters.
In
time, Queen Maha Maya became pregnant and as her time came near, she set off
from Kapilavatthu for the parental home, there to give birth to the child, as
was the custom of the time. As the queen
and her party approached Lumbini Park
Maha
Maya was placed in the shade of a sal tree and, surrounded by her servants,
there gave birth to a baby boy. It was
the full moon of the month of May (Vesaka) in the year 563 BC.
At
that time a sage call Asita suddenly became aware that all the heavenly beings
were shouting for joy, and when he asked them why they were so happy, they
replied:
In
a village called Lumbini in the Sakyan country, a Bodhisattva has been born, an
excellent jewel without comparison. This is why we are so glad, so excited, so
jubilant. He is the best of all beings,
the pinnacle, the bull among men, the supreme. The king of creatures,
strong and roaring like a lion, will turn the Wheel of the Ghamma in Isipatana.
There upon Asita decided to go and visit this
special child. Meanwhile, the queen and her party had set out from Lumbini Park
So
they showed the child to Asita. He was shining, radiant and beautiful. To see
that child was like seeing burning gold taken from the furnace by a master
smith.
And
having seen that child, blazing like a fire, bright like the stars crossing the
night sky, shining like the sun in the cloudless autumn sky, the sage was
filled with delight and joy.
182
Asita's years of meditation and great saintless allowed him to see that the
baby prince was no average child, and that
in later life he would become enlightened and proclaim a new teaching for the
benefit of all. But when he realized he would
die of old age before these events would take place and he would thus be unable
to hear the new teaching, he began to weep. Suddhodana became deeply worried,
thinking that perhaps
Asita
had forseen some misfortune in the baby's future, but Asita told the king why
he wept, and reassured him. Seeing the Sakyans unhappy, the sage said:
"I
see no misfortune for this prince. Nor will any obstacle hinder him. For he is
no ordinary child. So have no fear.
"This
prince will attain full Enlightenment and with this supreme vision he will turn
the wheel of the Dhamma out of compassion for all beings. He will teach the
holy life in full.
"But
little of my life remains. I will die before this comes to pass and shall not
hear his Dhamma. That is why I feel so sad and unhappy.
Shortly
after this, the naming ceremony was held, and the baby prince was named
Siddhattha, which means ‘he who accomplishes his aim’. As his family name was Gotama, his full name
became Siddhatta's Gotama. Seven days
after his birth, Prince Siddhattha's mother died, and so he was nursed and
brought up by his aunt, Pajapati Gotami.
Being
the son of a king, Prince Siddhattha was trained in the manly arts, and
probably in the traditions and legends of the tribe also. He was married at an early age to a girl of
royal blood named Yasodhara, and lived for a life of luxury and privilege. I
was delicately brought up, very
delicately brought up, extremely delicately brought up. Ponds of blue,
white and red lotus were made at my father's house for my sole use. I used no
sandalwood that did not come from Benares , and my turban,
tunic, lower garments and coat were all made of Bernares cloth. A white
umbrella was held over me day and night so that no cold or heat, dust, dirt or
dew would defile me. I have three palaces - one for the winter, one for the
summer and one for the rainy season.
183
In the palace built for the rainy
season I was entertained by female
musicians only, and during the four
months of the rainy season I never left
that palace. In other men's houses only broken rice and lentil soup is given to
the servants, but in my father's house they ate fine white rice and wheat.
But
despite having everything that wealth and power could buy, Prince Siddhattha
was not happy. He gradually came to feel that happiness came as a result of an
inner contentment, not possessions and privilege, and increasingly he lost interest
in the worldly affairs he was expected to participate in.
One
day, during the annual ploughing festival, as his father ceremoniously planted
the first seeds of the year, Prince Siddhattha spontaneously fell into a deep
and peaceful meditative state. From then on, he became more and more interested
in the inner life rather than the outer life.
According
to legend, one day as he drove through Kapilavatthu in his chariot he saw what
has come to be called the Four Sights: an old man hobbling on a stick, a
diseased beggar, a corpse being taken for cremation and a wandering monk. For Prince Siddhattha, the first three of
these Four Sights epitomized the human predicament, while the last represented the
quest to overcome the predicament. He described his experience thus:
Now,
before my Enlightenment when I was still a bodhisattva, not yet fully enlightened,
while still liable to birth, ageing, disease, dying, sorrow and impurity, I
sought after things that were liable to birth, ageing, disease, dying, sorrow
and impurity. Then I thought:
"Why
do I do this ?
Being
myself liable to birth, ageing, disease, dying, sorrow and impurity and seeing
the peril in it, why don't I search instead for that which is not born, the
unsurpassed perfect security - Nirvana?
"
By
his twenty-ninth year Prince Siddhattha had decided to renounce the world and
become a monk. His wife Yasodhara had just given birth to a son, Rahula, and
that together with opposition from his father made his decision a difficult and
painful one. But he was firm in his resolve.
184
Then, after a time being young, with coal-black hair, possessed of radiant
youth, in the prime of life, and although my unwilling parents wept and wailed,
I cut off my hair and beard, put on a yellow robe and went forth from home into
homelessness.
He
wandered from the Sakyan country into the kingdom of Magadha India
Prince
Siddhattha decided he would study under Alara Kalama, one of the most
well-known teachers of the time. He says:
Having
gone forth, being a quester for the good, searching for the incomparable,
matchless path of peace, I approached Alara Kalama and said:
"I
want to live the holy life in your Dhamma and discipline."
Alara
Kalama said to me: "Then come, venerable sir, this Dhamma is such that an
intelligent man will soon, with help
from the teacher, realize it and abide in it."
And
before long I had mastered it. I claimed that as far as mere repetition and
recitation were concerned, I could speak with knowledge and certainty. I knew
and understood, and not just I.
Then
I though: "It is not through mere faith alone that Alara Kalama teaches
his Dhamma, surely it is because he has realized through direct knowledge,
surely he knows and understands. "
So,
I went to Alara Kalama and said to him: " How did you enter this Dhamma and
realize it through your own direct knowledge? "
And
then he taught me about the plane of nothingness. Then I thought:
"
It is not just Alara Kalama who has faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration
and understanding; I have them also. What if I exercise control and realize the
Dhamma that he has realized through direct knowledge? "
185
And before long I had done this, and when I had, I told Alara Kalama, and he
said :
"It
is a gain, your reverence, it is a real gain that we now have such a companion
in the holy life.
The
Dhamma that I have realized through direct knowledge, you have too. What I
know, you know; as I am, so are you. Come,
reverend sir, let us now lead this community together."
Thus
Alara Kalama my teacher placed me, his pupil, on an equal footing with himself
and awarded me with the highest honour.
But
Prince Siddhattha did not wish to become a teacher leading a group of disciples; he wanted to attain complete freedom of mind.
Grateful to Alara Kalama but convinced that he could teach him no more. Prince
Siddhattha left and went in search of another teacher. He approached Uddaka
Ramaputta, another of the famous teachers of the time, and began to study under
him. Uddaka Ramaputta taught him how to attain a meditative state called the
Plane of Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception, but once again he could teach
him nothing higher, so he left.
After
Prince Siddhattha left Uddaka Ramaputta, he decided to try extreme
self-mortification in order to kill passions and purify the mind. First he
tried to use sheer force to stop the mind.
Then
I thought: "With my teeth clenched and my tongue pressed against the
palate, why don't I subdue, restrain and dominate my mind? "
So
did this, and as I did, sweat poured from my armpits. It was just as if a
strong man might seize a weaker one by the head or shoulders and subdue,
restrain and dominate. Then he tried to stop breathing altogether. Then I
thought:
"Why
don't I try the non-breathing meditation? "
So
I stopped breathing through the mouth and nose, and as I did, a very loud noise
arose like the hissing of a smith's bellows as the air escaped from my ears.
Next he tried to subdue the body by cutting his food down to a minimum.
186
Then I thought: "Why don't I take my food, beans, vetch, chickpea or pea
soup little by little, morsel by morsel?"
So
I did this, and as I did, my body became extremely emaciated. Because I ate so little, my limbs become like
the joints of withered creepers; because I ate so little, my buttocks became
like a bullock's hooves; because I ate
so little, my protruding backbone became like a string of balls; because I ate
so little, my gaunt ribs became like the rafters in a tumbledown hut; because I ate so little, my eyes sank deep
in their sockets; because I ate so
little, my scalp became shrivelled and shrunken, as a bitter gourd cut before
it is not ripe becomes shrivelled and shrunken by the hot wind.
If
I thought:" I will touch my abdomen," I seized my backbone, and if I
thought: "I will touch my backbone,"I seized my abdomen.
For
because I ate so little, my abdomen came to touch my backbone. If I thought : " I will go to the
toilet," I fell down on my face
because I ate so little. If I rubbed my limbs in order to soothe them, the
hairs, rotted at the roots, fell out because I ate so little.
During
all this period, Prince Siddhattha was waited upon by five other monks
impressed by his rigor and sure that he would sooner or later attain some
exalted spiritual state. But it had been six years since he had become a monk,
several of those years practising the most extreme self-mortification, and he
had still not attained Enlightenment.
As
he began to doubt that the practices he was doing would ever lead to
Enlightenment, he remembered the peace of mind had experienced as a youth, and
decided to try to reduplicate it. Then I though: "Some recluses and
Brahmins in the past have experienced, some in the future may experience, or
some in the present are experiencing acute, painful, sharp, severe feelings,
but not equal to or more than this. And yet I still do not attain states of
higher men, the excellent knowledge and vision befitting the Noble Ones as a
result of this severe austerity. Could
there be another way to Enlightnment?"
187
Then I thought: "I know that while my Sakyan father was ploughing and I
was sitting in the cool shade of a roseapple tree detached from sense pleasures
and unskilled states of mind, I entered and abided in the first jhana, which
has logical and wandering thought present, and is filled with a joy and
happiness that is born of detachment," and I thought:
"Could
this be the way to awakening ? " Then as a result of remembering, I
realized that this was the way to awakening.
However,
he also realized that he would have to rest and strengthen his body before he
tried this meditation. But when he began to take proper nourishment, his five disciples
accused him of weakening in his resolve, and they walked out and left him. Then
I thought:
"It
is not easy to attain that happiness while the body is so extremely
emaciated. What if I take food-boiled
rice and sour milk? "
So
I took food. Now at that time, five monks were attending me, thinking:
"When
the recluse Gotama realizes something, he will teach it to us." But when I
took food, those monks turned on me with disgust, saying: "The recluse
Gotama lives in luxury, he is wavering in his effort, he has returned to the
life of luxury."
Now
alone, Prince Siddhattha spent some time eating properly and recovering from
his self-mortification, and then he set out to find a suitable place where he
could practice meditation. Eventually he arrived at the small village of Uruvela
Then,
being a quester for the good, searching for the incomparable, matchless path of
peace, while walking on tour through Magadha
"Indeed,
this is a delightful spot. Indeed, this is a good place for a young manset on
striving." So I sat down there,
thinking:
"Indeed,
this is a good place for striving."
188 Settling down in the shade of a tree,
Prince Siddhattha began his meditation, trying to re-experience the state of jhana
he had expressed in his youth. Years of meditation and self-discipline allowed
him to have a high degree of mental control. He attained the first, second,
third, then fourth jhana, his mind becoming purer and more radiant with each
stage. Then with his mind " purified, clear, unblemished, immaculate, malleable,
workable, stable and imperturbable," three profound realizations or
understandings suddenly dawned upon him.
These
Three Knowledges (tevijja) were: the knowledge of former lives where he vividly
recalled all his former lives (pubbe nvasanussati nana) and verified the truth
of rebirth, the knowledge of the arising and passing away of beings (yathakammupaga
nana) where he realised the workings of kamma, and most importantly, the
knowledge of the destruction of the defilements (asava-kkhayanana).
When
I knew this, when I saw this, my mind was freed of the defilements of sense
pleasure, of becoming and of ignorance. I was free and I knew I was free. And I knew that rebirth had ended, the holy
life had been lived, I had achieved what had to be achieved, and that for me
there was no more becoming.
Thus
did Prince Siddhattha become the Buddha, the fully awakened One.
After
overcoming initial hesitations about whether or not he should teach the Dhamma
he had realized, the Buddha decided that he should teach. He thought of his two
former teachers, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, but when he found out that
they both had died, he decided that he should instead teach his five former
followers who had abandoned him.
Knowing
that they were staying in a park called Isipatana
near the great city of Benares Gaya
" Your reverence, your
senses are pure and your complexion is shining
and radiant.
Under who have you become a
monk?
"Who is your
teacher?"
Whose Dhamma do you
follow?" And I replied:
189 Victorious over all, Knower of all, Unstained
by all, renouncing all
And
with the ceasing of craving, I am free.
Having
done this by myself, who could guide me?"
I
have no teacher,
For
there is none in this world
Including
its gods who equals me
I
am perfect, the supreme teacher to the world.
I
alone am fully enlightened.
My
passions are cooled, I have attained Nirvana.
Now
I go to Benares to set in motion
The
Wheel of the Dhamma,
To
beat the drum of the Immortal.
In
a world that has become blind.
And
Upaka replied: "According to what you say, you should be the Universal
Victor.
The
true Victors are those Who have destroyed the defilements.
I
have destroyed the defilements,
So
I am a Victor.
When
I had said this, Upaka said: "It may be so," and shaking his head, he
walked off another road. This incident is very important because it epitomizes the
Buddha's attitude towards those he taught throughout the next forty years of
his life.
The
Buddha did not chase after Upaka trying to convince him of the truth of his
Enlightenment, nor did he curse or condemn him for rejecting him. Here as elsewhere,
the Buddha spoke his truth plainly and quietly and then left it to Upaka to
make up his mind.
After
his meeting with Upaka, the Buddha continued on his journey to Benares . Eventually he
found his five former followers at Isipatana about eight miles from Benares . Isipatna was
also called the Deer Park
"The
recluse Gotama is coming. He lives in luxury, he is wavering in his effort, he
has returned to the life of luxury. He should not be greeted, stood up for, nor
should his bowl or robe be taken.
190
However, we will put out a seat, and if he wants to sit down, he
can." But as I approached, they did not keep to their agreement. Some
took my bowl and robe, some made a seat ready, some brought water for washing my feet, and they
all addressed me as "your reverence". Then I spoke to those five monks
and said:
"
Do not address the Tathagata as" your reverence", for the Tathagata
is a Noble One, a fully enlightened One. Therefore give ear, the Immortal has
been found, and I instruct, I teach Dhamma."
But
these five monks refused to believe that their old companion had really
attained enlightenment. They said to him:
But good Gotama, you did not attain the state of a Noble One or knowledge and
vision higher than the human type through the practice and discipline of
austerities. So how could you attain it now that you live in luxury, waver in
striving and revert to the life of luxury?
Three
times the Buddha told them that he was really enlightened and that he did not
live in indulgence and luxury, and eventually he said to them:
"Do
you admit that I have never spoken to you in this way before?"
They
admitted that he had not, not realizing that he was telling the truth, they sat
down and listened to him.
Then
the Buddha proclaimed his Dhamma to the world
for thefirst time. His first
discourse, in which he outlines the Four noble Truths and the concept of the Middle Way
Later
the Buddha delivered a second discourse called The Discourse on Non-Self (Anati
alakkhama sutta), and all the five monks - Kondanna, Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahanama
and Assaji became enlightened. Then the Buddha gave them instructions to go out
into the world and teach the Dhamma so that all would have the opportunity to
experience the freedom and happiness of Nirvana.
191
Go forth for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of
compassion for the world, for the welfare, the good and the happiness of gods
and men. Let no two of you go in the same direction. Teach the Dhamma which is
beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle and beautiful at the end.
Proclaim both the letter and the spirit of the holy life completely fulfilled
and perfectly pure.
For
the next forty years, the Buddha became a familiar sight as he wandered
throughout northern India
From
the time he started teaching, people flocked to hear him, so that by the end of
his life he had hundreds of thousands of disciples, both monastic and lay.
Everything he taught and did within his forty years' career could not possibly
be fitted into one chapter, one book or even one library, so eventful and full
was it. So we will move ahead and deal with the last few months of his long and
fruitful life.
In
his eightieth year, the Buddha set out from Rajagaha on what was to become his
last journey. He passed through villages
and towns which are still known today - Nalanda, Pataligama, (now called Patna India
Just
as an old cart can only be kept going by tying it up with straps, so too the
Tathagata's body can only be kept going by being bandaged up. He arrived in
Vesali as the rainy season began, and decided to spend the three months of the
rainy season in the nearby village of Beluva
192
After the rains, the Buddha, together with a large party of his monks,
continued in a north-easterly direction, probably intending to reach
Kapilavatthu. But the Buddha was now old and sick, and the party had to stop
and rest often. When the party arrived in Pava they stayed in a mango grove belonging to Cunda the smith.
While
staying there, the Buddha was invited for a meal by Cunda and was served
(sukaramaddava), after which "he was attacked by a severe sickness with
bloody diarrhoea and sharp and deadly pain. But he endured it mindfully, fully
conscious and without complaint."
All
this happened the day before he died, and as a result of eating bad or
poisonous food. This is not correct. As we have already seen, the Buddha was
eighty years old and had been sick for some time. He died of old age, having reached
the natural term of his life.
Another
misunderstanding concerns the Buddha's last meal. Sukaramaddava comes from
two words, pig (sukara) and soft, mild,
limp (maddava) and may mean either some dish containing pig's flesh or some
food liked pigs - truffles, perhaps.
Those
who advocate vegetarianism insist that it means some vegetarian dish. Those who
mistakenly think that the Buddha was a vegetarian and who are anxious to expose
what they believe to be hypocrisy think that the Buddha's last meal is an
embarrassment to Buddhists and that to interpret the word sukkaramaddaya as
anything other than pork is an attempt to disguise an obvious truth.
Both
these parties fail to understand that there are incidents recorded in the Tripitaka
where the Buddha eats meat, and even one where he rejects a request to make
vegetarian compulsory (see 92). The simple truth is that no one really knows
what sukaramaddava means.
However,
the Buddha realized that Cunda might think that he was in some way responsible
for his death. So out of compassion, he instructed his disciples to reassure
Cunda. Ananda, it might happen that Cunda the smith feels remorse thinking:
"It
is your fault, Cunda, it is your wrong deed, that the Tathagata attained final
Nirvana after having taken his last meal
from you."
193
But you should dissolve his remorse by saying: "It is merit Cunda, it is
your good deed that the Tathagata attained Nirvana after having taken his last
meal from you. For I have heard and
understood from the Lord's own lips that two alms-givings are of great
fruit, of very great fruit, and that there are none more fruitful than these.
What
two ? The alms-giving just before the
Tathagata attains full Enlightenment, and the alms-giving after which he
attains final Nirvana.
These
two alms-givings are more fruitful or better than any other. Cunda's act is
conducive to long life, beauty, happiness, fame, heaven and power." In
this way, Cunda's remorse should be dispelled.
Another
interesting even took place just before his final Nirvana is the Buddha's
transfiguration. He had been preaching to a man called Pukkusa, who then
decided to take the Three Refuges. As an expression of gratitude, Pukkusa decided to give the Buddha a gift.
Then Pukkusa said to a man:
"
Go and fetch me two robes made from fine gold cloth, burnished and ready to wear."
"Yes sir," said the man, and he did so. Then
Pukkusa offered the robes to the Lord, saying :
"
Here, Lord, are two robes made from fine gold cloth. May the Lord be pleased to
accept them."
"Very
well Pukkusa, clothe me in one and give one to Ananda."
"Very
well, Lord," said Pukkusa, and he
did so. Then the Lord inspired, roused and delighted Pukussa with talk on
Dhamma, after which Pukkusa rose from his seat, saluted the Lord, and keeping
to the right, departed.
Soon
after, when Ananda arranged one set of golden robes on the Lord, it appeared
dull against the Lord's body. And Ananda said:
"It
is wonderful, truly marvellous, how
clear and bright the Lord's skin is. It looks even brighter than the golden
robes in which it is robed."
194
"Just so, Ananda. There are two times when the Tathagata's skin appears
especially clear and bright. Which two ?
On the night he attains complete Enlightenment and on the night he
attains final Nirvana."
Soon
after this, the Buddha and his party arrived in Kusinara, where they stopped in
a grove of sal trees nearby. There the Lord said to Ananda:
"Prepare
a bed for me between these twin sal trees, with my head to the north. I am
tired and wish to lie down." It is
now became clear that the Buddha could go no further, and that he was near
death.
When
the Mallas of Kusinara heard this, they flocked to the sal grove to pay their
respects. Now, it so happened that a
wandering ascetic called Subhadda, who was staying in Kusinara, heard that the
Buddha would soon pass away, and he resolved to visit him and ask him some questions.
But
when Subhadda went to the sal grove, he found it difficult to get near the
Buddha because of the crowd. When he did get near, Ananda said to him:
"Enough,
friend Subhadda, do not disturb the Tathagata, for he is weary." But when the Buddha heard this, he said:
Enough
even on his death bed, the Buddha taught Subhadda the Dhamma, and soon after he
attained Enlightment. He was the Buddha's last disciple.
Shortly
after this, the Buddha uttered his last wordsto his disciples. Now monks I say
to you: all conditioned things are impermanent - strive on with heedfulness
(Vayadhamm Sankhava. Appamadena Sampadekha). And those monks who had not yet
overcome their passions wept and tore
their hair, throwing up their arms, falling down and twisting and turning their
bodies, crying:" Too soon has the Eye of the World disappeared."
195
But those monks who were free from craving remained mindful and clearly
conscious, saying:
"
All compounded things are impermanent, so what is the use of all this? " Then
Venerable Anuruddha said:
"Friends,
enough of this weeping and wailing. Has not the Lord already taught that all
things that are pleasant and delightful to us are also changeable, subject to
separation and to becoming something else? So why all this, friends? Whatever is born, become, and compounded is
subjected to decay; it cannot be
otherwise."
Then
the monks spent the rest of the night
discussing Dhamma, and in the morning Ananda went to announce to the Mallas of
Kusinara that the Lord had passed into final Nirvana. When they heard this,
they were overcome with grief and began to sob and cry. The Mallas brought
incense and flowers and played music to honour the Buddha's body, and on the
sixth day it was taken out for cremation.
After
the cremation, delegations from King Ajatasattu, the Licchavis of Vesali, the
Buddha's own family the Sakyans, the Bulayas, the Koliyas, the distinguished
Brahmin Vethadipa and the Mallas of Pava all arrived to ask for the ashes of
the Buddha so that they could build a stupa over them and give them honour. But
the Mallas of Kusinara refused, and the disagreement arose. Eventually Dona the
Brahmin spoke saying:
Listen,
lords to my proposal.
Patience
is the Buddha's teaching;
It
is unseemly that strife should come
From
sharing out the ashes of the best of men,
So
let there be peace and harmony.
In
friendship let us share out eight portions,
And
let stupas be put up far and wide,
That
all may see and grow in faith.
After
this, it was agreed to let Dona divide the ashes into eight parts.
For
his service, he was given the urn in which the ashes had been kept.
But
when all this was finished, the Moriyas of Pipphalavana arrived, having only lately
heard of the Buddha's passing, and they demanded some ashes. As there were none
left, they were given the embers from the funeral pyre. The ten stupas that
were built over these relics were the first of many that in the following centuries
came to be built all over the world as memorials to the Buddha's greatness.
沒有留言:
張貼留言