INTRODUCTION 1. Of what religion (1) are you?
Of the Buddhist religion.
2. What is the Buddhist religion?
One who reveres the Buddha as the dispenser of spiritual light, the supreme guide and teacher of all living beings; who believes his doctrine, observes its precepts, and has given public and solemn testimony to this, by repeating what is called the "Refuge" formula.
3. What are the words of the formula or declaration so called?
They are as follows:
I take my refuge in the Buddha.
I take my refuge in the doctrine (Dhamma).
I take my refuge in the Brotherhood of the Elect (Sangha).
4. What is the solemn repetition of this formula meant to express?
He who utters the formula, publicly affirms by so doing that he henceforth considers the Buddha his master and guide, acknowledges the sacred doctrine to be the foundation and essence of all truth and righteousness, and declares the Brotherhood of the Elect to be the true and faithful followers, teachers, and interpreters of this doctrine.
5. Is this formula obligatory on all Buddhists?
On all without exception, whether they belong to the Buddhist laity or to the Brotherhood of the Elect, who have embraced the life of a Bhikshu. He alone who has repeated the formula of Refuge, before a congregation or its representatives, is really a member of the Buddhist community.
6. How should this Holy Triad (threefold Safeguard), which the Buddhist professes to be his refuge, be called?
The three guiding stars. For as the stars of heaven guide the lonely mariner across the dark and tempestuous sea, so they guide him, who trusts in them, across the desert ocean of ignorance, passion and worldly desire, into the haven of eternal peace (Nirvana). Therefore the Buddhist, full of trust, of gratitude and veneration, looks up to these three guiding stars, fervently repeating:
Reverence to the Blessed One, who has overcome the world, the self-enlightened supreme Buddha.
Reverence to the holy, pure, and saving doctrine.
Reverence to the Brotherhood of the Elect.
7. Who is the Buddha?
The Founder of the kingdom of righteousness and truth, the Self-enlightened Blessed One, perfect in holiness, wisdom, and mercy.
8. Is the Buddha a God, who has revealed himself to mankind?
No.
9. Or one sent by God to come into the world to bring salvation?
No.
10. Then he was a man?
Yes; but a man far superior to ordinary men, one of a series of self-enlightened sublime Buddhas, who appear at long intervals in the world, and are morally and spiritually so superior to erring, suffering mankind, that to the childlike conceptions of the multitude they appear as Gods or Messiahs.
11. Is Buddha a proper name?
No; Buddha means a mental state or condition.
12. What is the meaning of the word Buddha?
It means the Enlightened; it signifies a man who by his own exertions, has attained supreme knowledge and moral perfection.
13. What was the Buddha's real name?
At his birth the name of Siddhartha was given him. His family name was Gotama.
14. Who were his parents?
King Suddhodana and Queen Maya.
15. What people did King Suddhodana reign over?
He reigned over the Indian tribe of the Sakyas.(2)
16. When was Prince Siddhartha born?
He was born on a Friday, in the year 623 before the European era.
17. Was his lofty destiny in any way foretold?
Yes; it was foretold by the Brahmans, who were the priests and astrologers at King Suddhodana's court.
18. What were their predictions?
If Prince Siddhartha continues in the world he will become a mighty monarch, a king of kings; but if he renounces the world to lead a contemplative life, he will become a supreme Buddha.
19. Was this the only prediction concerning Prince Siddhartha' s future?
No; the holy recluse Kaladevala (3) came down from the wilds of the Himalaya, prostrated himself before the child, and said: ''Verily this child will become a supreme Buddha, and will show men the way to perfection and salvation." And he wept to think that he should not himself live to see the day.
20. Was King Suddhodana glad to hear this prediction?
No; on the contrary, he tried by all possible means to prevent its coming to pass; his utmost desire was that Prince Siddhartha should become a mighty monarch.
21. By what means did he try to gain his object?
He kept out of the prince's sight everything that might have given him an idea of human suffering and death. He surrounded him with every enjoyment and royal luxury. Meantime the best masters had to instruct him in all arts and sciences and princely accomplishments. When Prince Siddhartha was grown up his father gave him three palaces, one for each of the Indian seasons — the hot, the cold, and the rainy season. These palaces were fitted up with every imaginable luxury, and surrounded with beautiful gardens and groves, where grottoes, fountains, lakes, all lovely with the lotus, and beds of fragrant flowers lent enchantment to the scene. In this delightful abode the prince passed his young life, but he was not allowed to go beyond the boundaries, and all poor, sick and aged people were strictly forbidden entrance.
22. Did Prince Siddhartha live quite by himself in these palaces and gardens?
No. A great number of young nobles were in attendance on him, and when he was sixteen his father gave him to wife Princess Yasodhara, the daughter of King Suprabuddha. Many beautiful maidens, too, trained in the arts of music and dancing, were always in waiting for his amusement.
23. How could the idea of leaving the world occur to the prince amidst all these delights?
During his drives he saw four most impressive sights which enlightened him as to the real nature of human life.
24. What were these sights?
A decrepit old man, broken down by infirmity; a sick man, covered with sores; a decaying body and a venerable hermit.
25. What impressions did these visions make on Prince Siddhartha?
They moved him to the heart's core, and showed him the utter vanity and nothingness of life. Its deceptive, transitory pleasures, to be followed by old age, sickness and death, had no longer any attraction for him. Henceforth he discarded all amusements, and he came to the conviction that life is not a gift to be desired, but rather an evil to be avoided, and that it is unworthy of our higher nature to seek for sensual enjoyment. All his efforts were now directed towards the attainment of a higher aim.(4)
26. What was the aim?
To find out the cause of suffering, of death, and of birth-renewal, (5) and to discover the means of overcoming it. In imitation of the venerable recluse he had met, he resolved to retire from the world into the wilderness.
27. Was it a great trial for him to carry out his resolution?
Yes; for he had to give up all that is generally the most prized by men: royalty, riches, power, honour, delights, and even the companionship of his beloved wife and his infant son Rahula.
28. Did his father and his wife try to dissuade him from this purpose?
He kept them in ignorance of his designs and went away secretly for fear the entreaties of his aged father and the tears of his wife might make him swerve from his resolve. (6)
29. How did he effect his escape?
One night, when everybody was asleep, he softly got up, took a last parting look at his wife and child, woke up his attendant Channa, ordered him to saddle his favourite horse Kanthaka, and rode away. The sentry at the gate did not notice him, and he hastened off in the darkness as fast as his horse could carry him.
30. How old was Prince Siddhartha when he retired into the jungle?
He was in his twenty-ninth year.
31. Where did he first go to?
To the river Anoma. There he cut off his beautiful long hair with his sword, and gave in charge to the faithful Channa his arms, his jewels, and his horse, to take them back to Kapilvasthu, and to tell the king and the princess what had become of him. After Channa's departure, Siddhartha passed seven days near the banks of the river Anoma, lost in deep meditation, and rejoicing to have taken the first and all-important step in the attainment of knowledge, and to have cast off the shackles of a worldly life. He then exchanged clothes with a passing beggar, and proceeded to Rajagriha, the capital of the kingdom of Magadha.
32. Why did he go there?
There were two Brahmans living there, Alara and Uddaka, both reputed to be very wise and holy men. He became their disciple, under the name of Gotama.
33. What did they teach?
They taught that the soul may be purified by prayer, sacrifices, and various other religious observances; and may thus, by divine mercy, attain redemption.
34. Did Gotama find what he sought?
No; he learnt all these Brahmans could teach him, and joined in all their religious exercises without gaining the knowledge he sought; and he became convinced that their teaching could not ensure him deliverance from suffering, death, and birth-renewal.
35. What did he do after this failure?
There were other Brahmans, who taught that deliverance could be attained by a mere process of self-mortification. Gotama made up his mind to practise asceticism in its severest form, and for that purpose he retired into a jungle not far from Uruvela, where, in utter solitude, he gave himself up to all kinds of penances and tortures. (7) The fame of his sanctity soon began to spread, and he was joined by five other ascetics, who, full of admiration for his fortitude and perseverance, remained with him, in the sure conviction that such a life of self-mortification would lead him speedily to the attainment of supreme knowledge and perfection. Then they would become his disciples.
36. What are the names of these five ascetics?
Kondanya, Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahanama, and Assaji.
37. How long did Gotama remain in the wilderness near Uruvela?
Upwards of six years. His bodily strength at last gave way under these continued self-inflictions, vigils, and fastings, but he did not relax. One night, when, lost in deep meditation, he was pacing up and down, he suddenly fell down, utterly exhausted, in a fainting fit. His companions thought he was dying, but he soon revived again.
38. Did he nevertheless persevere in his ascetic life?
No. He was now convinced that asceticism, instead of giving him the peace of mind and the knowledge he desired, was only a stumbling-block in the way of truth and moral perfection. (8) He discontinued his fastings and penances, and was in consequence deserted by his companions as an apostate.
39. Did Gotama despair of reaching his end?
No, not for a moment. Left entirely to himself and his own devices, he determined to follow henceforward exclusively his own inner light. He abandoned all his ascetic practices, and, whilst restraining worldly thought and desire, was intent alone on the highest development of his moral and mental faculties. One night he was apprised, in prophetic dreams, that he was approaching the goal. He awoke, bathed in the river Niranjara, and took some boiled rice, presented to him by a young maiden named Sujata. He spent the whole day in deep meditation near the bank of the river. Towards evening he sat down beneath a mighty Nigrodha-tree,(9) that stood not far off, and there remained sitting with his face to the East, firmly resolved not to leave the spot until he had attained supreme knowledge and understanding. Here it was that he won the victory after a final struggle, the fiercest of all.
40. What struggle?
The struggle against human wishes and desires, which came back upon him with renewed force, though he had supposed himself to have gained already a complete mastery over them: the struggle against delusions and love of existence, against that craving, that will to live, which is the motive power of our being and the chief source of all our sufferings. The charms of wealth and power, and honour and glory, the sweet delights of home and love, and all the enjoyments which the world has in store for its favorites, began to glow again in their most brilliant light. An agonizing doubt seized upon him. But Gotama never wavered in his resolve, rather to die than to give up his high purpose. He wrestled with those terrible emotions, and was victorious. The last remnants of human frailty and of worldly desire were consumed in him. Then the deep peace of Nirvana entered his heart, and the full light of truth rose within him. The goal was reached, the veil rent, all knowledge attained. He had become a self-enlightened supreme Buddha.
41. Had he now discovered the cause of sorrow, of old age, of death, and of birth-renewal?
Yes; in the words of the holy books, there opened within him the bright clear eye of ''truth," and he found what was the cause of birth and decay, of sorrow and death and birth-renewal, but he also found its remedy and the true way to deliverance, to Nirvana.
42. How long did the Buddha remain under the Bodhi-tree?
He remained there seven days absorbed in deep meditation. Then he rose and went to the fig-tree Ajapala. Then Mara the tempter (10) came to him and said: "Pass away now, my Lord, from existence, satisfied with the blessed truth, which you have realized and which but very few can attain. Men are governed by selfish motives only. Earth is their dwelling-place, and there only do they find satisfaction. They are unable to grasp the eternal law of the Universe and of causation, and they refuse to listen to the great doctrine of absolute renunciation of the will to live, of the conquest of earthly wishes and desires, and of the way to final deliverance. Desist, then, from the resolve to preach this doctrine and pass to eternal peace."
43. Did the Buddha listen to the adversary's words?
No; he spurned him with contempt. ''Get thee hence, Evil One," he said. "I shall not pass out of existence until this pure doctrine of mine is firmly implanted in the hearts of my followers, until I have succeeded in winning a number of true disciples, who, when I am gone, will, in my stead, spread abroad the saving truth out of pity for the multitudes, for the good, for the salvation, the deliverance of both gods(11) and men."
Then the tempter left him. The Buddha remained three weeks longer near the fig-tree Ajapala, enjoying the perfect bliss of his deliverance and absorbed in the definite preparation of his doctrine. At the end of that time he rose and said: ''Welcome to all who enter the gates of salvation. He who has ears to hear, let him hear and believe."
44. Who were the first people that heard him preach?
The five ascetics who had stayed with him, and deserted him when he no longer practised ascetism.
45. Where did he find them again?
In a grove near Benares, at the hermitage of Migadya.
46. Did the ascetics lend a willing ear to his discourse?
They intended not to do so, as they considered him to be an apostate; but the majesty of his appearance and the sublime expression of his countenance made such a deep impression on their minds, that against their own will they bowed down before him and listened reverentially to his words.
47. What is this first preaching of the Buddha called?
The Establishment of the Moral Order of the Universe, or the Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteousness. This sermon contains the fundamental truths of the whole doctrine — the four grand truths.
48. What effect had this sermon on the five ascetics?
They acknowledged the Buddha to be the perfectly Enlightened One, the giver of truth, the guide to Nirvana, and they desired to become his disciples.
Then the Blessed One admitted them as the first members into the Brotherhood of the Elect (Sangha), with the following words: "Welcome, brethren, the truth is clear. Live henceforth in holiness, and thus put an end to all suffering."
49. Which of the five disciples first realized the supreme truth?
The aged Kondanya. There opened within him the clear eye of truth, and he attained the state of an Arahat.(12) The other four disciples soon followed him.
50. Did the Buddha gain any more disciples at Benares?
Yes. The next convert was Yasa, a young nobleman. But the common people, as well as the higher classes, listened to the words of the sublime teacher; for he made no distinction of caste or rank or position as the Brahmans do, but preached the doctrine of salvation to all those disposed to hear him, and his words were all-powerful, searching the innermost heart. At the end of five months the number of his disciples amounted to sixty, not including any lay adherents. The Buddha then began to send forth the brethren in various directions.
51. What is meant by the sending forth of the brethren?
The Buddha called them all together and bade them go out into the world, each separately by himself, and preach the doctrine of salvation. (13)
52. What was the formula he made use of?
The Buddha, addressing the brethren, said: "You are free from all fetters, either human or divine. Depart, then, and preach the saving truth to all living beings, out of compassion for suffering humanity, and for the benefit and welfare of both gods and men. There are many persons of pure heart and willing mind, who must perish if they do not hear the doctrine of redemption. These will become your supporters and confessors of the truth."
53. Did the Buddha remain alone at Benares?
No; he returned to Uruvela, where a great number of Brahmans lived in huts in the wilderness, kept up the sacred fire, and performed the religious rites and ceremonies prescribed in the Vedas. The Buddha preached to them of the consuming fire of sensual desires, of passions and lusts. He converted many and they became his disciples. He then proceeded to Rajagriha, where King Bimbisara and a great number of his nobles professed themselves his adherents. Thus the doctrine of salvation continued to gain ground.
54. Did not the Buddha return to his former home at Kapilavasthu?
From Rajagriha he went on to Kapilavasthu, and the fame of his doings went before him. In obedience to the rules of the Brotherhood he stopped in a grove outside the town, instead of returning to the royal palace. King Suddhodana and all his male relations came to welcome him, but when they saw him in the poor dress of a mendicant (Bhikshu), with shaven hair and beard, they were scandalized.
Early next morning the Buddha set out, accompanied by his disciples, carrying his alms bowl, (14) to beg his daily bread from door to door, as is the custom of the Brotherhood. When his father heard this, he came in great haste and said reproachfully: "My son, why do you bring such disgrace upon me, asking alms like a common beggar?"
The Buddha replied: "Great king, this has been the custom of all my race."
But King Suddhodana did not understand the meaning of these words, and exclaimed: "We are descended from a line of kings and nobles, and none of us has ever fallen so low as to beg for bread from door to door."
The Buddha said with a smile: "You and yours are right to claim descent from kings, but my descent is from the Buddhas of long past centuries, (15) and they were wont to do as I do." Then King Suddhodana was silent, took him by the hand and led him to the palace.
55. Did not the Buddha meet his wife and child once more?
That same day he went to see the Princess Yasodhara, accompanied by two of his disciples. (16) And when Yasodhara saw him in the garb of a mendicant, she burst into tears, and falling down before him clasped his knees. The Buddha raised her up, trying to comfort her with gentle words, and explained the doctrine to her. His words fell on good ground and took root in her heart.
After the Buddha had left her, Yasodhara dressed her son Rahula in his best attire and sent him to his father to ask for his inheritance. And when the boy had come into the presence of the Buddha, he said: "Father, one day I shall be king, and rule over the Sakyas. I pray thee, give me my inheritance."
Then the Blessed One took him by the hand and led him outside the town to the Nigrodha grove, where he had taken up his abode with the disciples, and said: ''My son, thou askest me for an earthly inheritance, which is perishable and fraught with sorrow. I have none such to give thee. The inheritance I leave thee, is the treasures I have gathered beneath the tree of knowledge; these can never be snatched from thee."
He then gave orders to Sariputta to admit Rahula into the Brotherhood of the Elect, and with him many of the Buddha's relatives, among them Ananda, Devadatta, Upali, and Anuruddha.
56. Who were the most distinguished disciples of the Buddha besides those named already?
Sariputta Mogallana, and Kasyapa.
57. How long did the Buddha remain at Kapilavasthu?
He spent the four months of the rainy season there, in the second year of his public teaching. Then he set out to pursue his great work elsewhere.
58. How long did he go on preaching and teaching?
Up to the hour of his death, forty-five years altogether. During the eight months of the dry season he used to go from place to place, accompanied by a number of his disciples, exhorting the people, and teaching them by parables and sermons. But the time of the rainy season he always spent at one place, either at the house of one of his disciples or in the gardens and groves bestowed upon the Order by some of the rich lay believers.
59. Where was the favourite resort of the Buddha?
The bamboo grove (Veluvana) near Rajagriha, which had once been a park of King Bimbisaras, and had been presented by him to the Buddha; and the Jeta grove (Jetavana) near Sravasti, a gift of the rich merchant Anathapindika. In both these places there were hermitages for the use of the Bhikshus. They have become famous in the history of Buddhism as being the spots where the Blessed One(17) expounded most of the truths contained in the holy books.
60. Did the Buddhist religion become firmly established within these forty-five years?
Yes; the fame of the Buddha and his holy doctrine spread rapidly. Thousands of people of all ranks and conditions, men and women, took the higher vows and were received into the Brotherhood (Sangha) as mendicants (Bhikshus, Samanas), or nuns (Bhikshunis), and countless numbers professed as laymen belief in the Enlightened One.(18)
61. Had not the Buddha to suffer any persecution or hostility on the part of the follower of the dominant Brahman religion?
No; all intolerance of nonconformists, all religious fanaticism is equally averse to both Buddhism and true Brahmanism. It was one of the Buddha's own disciples who rose up against him.
62. Who was it?
Devadatta. Carried away by ambition, he aimed at the leadership of the Brotherhood; and when he failed, sought even to take the aged Master's life. All his plots, however, were of no avail.
63. How did the Buddha frustrate these evil designs?
By his inexhaustible benevolence and kindness; for these qualities exert a miraculous, irresistible power, which subdues the fiercest enemies and puts to nought all the designs of wickedness, hatred, and treachery.
64. Have we any account of the Buddha's dying days?
Yes; the Maha-Parinibbana-Sutta, or the Book of the Buddha's final passing away, gives a full account thereof.
65. What is the account?
When the Blessed One was in his eightieth year, he felt his strength ebbing away. And he said to his constant companion, Ananda(19): "I am a man bowed down by age, Ananda. The measure of my days is full and my life is drawing to a close.'' Then Ananda was sorely troubled, and he entreated the Master not yet to depart. But the Buddha rebuked him, saying: "Have I not on many former occasions taught you, that it is in the very nature of all things, however near and dear to us, that we must lose them, leave them, separate from them? There is no such thing as eternal duration. Everything born, brought into existence and organized, of necessity inherits dissolution. How, then, could it be possible that any human being, yea, even a supreme Buddha, should not be dissolved? Behold! I tell you true, this day three months the Tathagata(20) will pass away out of existence. Therefore, brethren, ye to whom I have made known the truth, be always the true doers of it; practise it; be earnest in effort to work out your own perfection, and proclaim the doctrine to all when I am gone, that it may be instilled into the hearts of the hearers and be preserved in its purity. He who keeps in the path of true holiness, will safely cross this dreary ocean of life, and reach the heaven of eternal peace, where all suffering and all birth-renewal is at an end."
And though the Blessed One was very weak and suffering, he still went on from place to place, gathering round him his disciples and followers, exhorting them to persevere and to keep in the right way that leads to salvation.
On his arrival at Bhoya-nagara he stopped at the Ananda-Vihara, and there he addressed his disciples: "When I have departed, brethren, there will be some amongst you, elders or brethren or hermits, who may say: From the mouth of the Tathagata I have heard it, from his own mouth have I received it. This is the truth, the doctrine, the teaching of the Master. Such words you are neither to receive indiscriminately nor treat them scornfully, but without prejudice you are to listen to each word and syllable, and compare them with the fundamental doctrines and rules laid down for the Brotherhood. If after careful examination they do not agree with the doctrine and the rules of the Brotherhood, reject them; otherwise receive them as my own words. This is my instruction to you.''
The Buddha next went to Bhoya-gama, and from there to Pava, where he stayed at the mango grove of Chunda, the worker in metals. When Chunda heard it he was glad, and he came to salute the Enlightened One, and to ask him to take his meal with him at his house, together with the brethren. And the Buddha gave a silent assent.
Then Chunda made ready the best he possessed, rice and sweet cakes and some dried boar's flesh. When the Buddha saw it he addressed Chunda and said: ''As to the dried boar's flesh you have made ready, Chunda, serve it to me alone, and the rice and the sweet cakes give to the brethren." And Chunda did as he desired. And when the Buddha had finished his meal, he turned again to Chunda, and said: "Whatever is left over of the meat, that bury in a hole, for there is none in heaven and earth, among the Samanas or Brahmanas, among gods or men, by whom such food can be eaten without hurt to himself, save alone the Tathagata."
66. What did the Buddha mean by saying so?
He wished to intimate to his adherents that the flesh of animals is no proper food for men and beings of a higher order, and that every one who partakes thereof does it to the injury of his own body and mind. For this reason he forbade Chunda to give any to his disciples.
67. But why did the Buddha take some of the wild boar's flesh himself?
Because he was anxious not to infringe his own precepts, according to which the brethren are not allowed to refuse anything that is kindly offered them.
68. Give some further account of the Buddha's last hours.
After the Buddha had gladdened and edified Chunda by his religious discourse, he went on to Kusinara. On the way a dire sickness and sharp pain came upon him, but he bore it all with fortitude and without complaint. Soon his weakness became so great that he had to sit down under a tree by the wayside. And he addressed Ananda, and said: ''Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water, for I am thirsty."
And Ananda answered: "Master, a caravan of carts has just gone over the brook. The water has become stirred up by the wheels, and has become turbid and muddy." But the Blessed One repeated his request.
Then Ananda took his bowl and went down to the brook. And behold ! the water which but now had been turbid and muddy, flowed clear and limpid, free from all turbidity. Ananda wondered but he filled his bowl and brought it to the Buddha, who drank it and felt refreshed.
Now, a young Mallian, by name Pukkusa, the owner of the caravan, was passing along the road. When he saw the Blessed One sitting under the tree, he went up to him and saluted him full of reverence. Then he gave orders to one of his attendants to fetch him two suits of cloth of gold, burnished and ready to wear. And addressing the Buddha, he said: "My Lord, do me the favour to accept these suits at my hands." The Buddha answered: "Then give me one of them, and Ananda one." And Ananda put one of the robes of cloth of gold upon the Buddha, and when he had done so it seemed to have lost all its glitter.
Ananda was astonished, and said: "Master, what a wonderful thing is this! Your countenance is of such marvellous beauty and brightness that the robe of cloth of gold seems to have lost all its glitter."
The Blessed One answered: ''Even so, Ananda. There are two occasions on which the face of a Tathagata becomes exceeding bright: on the night in which he attains supreme and perfect insight, and again on the night when he passes finally away out of existence. (21) And now this night, in the third watch, the final passing away of the Tathagata will take place."
Then the Enlightened One rose, greatly refreshed, and with his disciples went to the Sala grove of the Mallas near Kusinara, on the banks of the river Hiranyavati. And, addressing Ananda, said:
"Put for me, I pray thee, the couch between the two sala-trees, for I am tired and would lie down."
"I do so. Master," replied Ananda. Then he made the couch ready between the twin sala-trees. And the Blessed One lay down, with his head to the north. And behold! the sala-trees were one mass of blossoms, though it was not the season for flowers. They fell like rain on the body of the Blessed One, and sweet music came wafted from the skies.
And the Buddha said:
"Behold, brethren! Heaven and earth vie with each other to do reverence to the Tathagata. But it is not thus that the Tathagata is duly honoured and reverenced. Those of my disciples who continually live in spirit and in truth, and who walk always in the light of my precepts, those alone do rightly honour and reverence the Tathagata."
And after awhile he turned again to his disciples, and said: 'There may be some among you, who will think after I am gone: Our teacher is dead; we have no longer any guide. But it is not thus you should think. The doctrine I have taught you and the rules of the Brotherhood I have laid down for you, these are to be, after I am gone, your teacher and guide."
And the Buddha lifted up his voice once more and said: "Brethren, keep in mind those words of mine: Whatever is born perishes. Strive unceasingly for your deliverance.''
These were the Buddha's last words. Then his spirit sank into a deep meditative repose, till all idea and thinking and consciousness of self ceased, and so he passed into the supreme Nirvana.
Outside the eastern gates of Kusinara the Mallas set fire to the Blessed One's funeral pile, and paid him all the honour due to a king.
"They pass each being's parts and powers:
They grow, and therefore must decay:
The issue of the transient hours
Should, like the hours, pass away!"