Page Text
________________
III.
MAHA-PARINIBBÂNA-SUTTA.
55
a means of (mental) advancement, and as a basis for edification—he, should he desire it, could remain in the same birth for a kalpa, or for that portion of a kalpa which has yet to run.” Now the Tathâgata has thought out and thoroughly practised them in all respects as just now fully described], and might, should he desire it, remain alive for a kalpa, or for that portion of a kalpa which has yet to run.'
55. Hast thou faith, Ânanda ?' 'Even so, Lord!'
“Then, O Ânanda, thine is the fault, thine is the offence—in that when a suggestion so evident and a hint so clear were thus given thee by the Tathâgata, thou wast yet incapable of comprehending them, and thou besoughtest not the Tathâgata, saying, “ Vouchsafe, Lord, to remain during the kalpa. Live on, O Blessed One! through the kalpa for the good and the happiness of the great multitudes, out of pity for the world, for the good and the gain and the weal of gods and men.” If thou shouldst then have so besought the Tathậgata, the Tathậgata might have rejected the appeal even to the second time, but the third time he would have granted it. Thine, therefore, O Ânanda, is the fault, thine is the offence!
56. On one occasion, Ânanda, I was dwelling at Râgagaha, on the hill called the Vulture's Peak. Now there, Ânanda, I spoke to thee, and said : “How pleasant a spot, Ânanda, is Râgagaha ; how pleasant is this Vulture's Peak. Whosoever has thought out, Ananda, and developed, practised, accumulated, and ascended to the very heights of the four paths to saintship, and so mastered them as to be able to use them as a means of (mental) advancement, and as a basis for edification-he, should he
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 |