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THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE.
CH.
existence; let the Blessed One now die! The time has come for the Blessed One to pass away!'
9. And when he had thus spoken, the Blessed One addressed Mâra, the Evil One, and said: 'O Evil One! make thyself happy, the final extinction of the Tathagata shall take place before long. At the end of three months from this time the Tathagata will die!'
10. Thus the Blessed One while at the Kapala Ketiya deliberately and consciously rejected the rest of his allotted sum of life. And on his so rejecting it there arose a mighty earthquake, awful and terrible, and the thunders of heaven burst forth. And when the Blessed One beheld this, he broke out at that time into this hymn of exultation :
His sum of life the sage renounced, The cause of life immeasurable or small; With inward joy and calm, he broke, Like coat of mail, his life's own cause!'
11. Now the following thought occurred to the venerable Ânanda : “Wonderful indeed and marvellous is it that this mighty earthquake should arise, awful and terrible, and that the thunders of heaven should burst forth! What may be the proximate, what the remote cause of the appearance of this earthquake ?
12. Then the venerable Ânanda went up to the place where the Blessed One was, and did obeisance to the Blessed One, and seated himself respectfully at one side, and said : Wonderful indeed and marvellous is it that this mighty earthquake should arise, awful and terrible, and that the thunders of
Digitized by Google
| SR No. | 007674 |
| Book Title | Dhammapada |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Max Muller |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1881 |
| Total Pages | 2540 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 45 MB |