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108
THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE.
CH,
But twenty-nine was I when I renounced The world, Subhadda, seeking after good. For fifty years and one year more, Subhadda, Since I went out, a pilgrim have I been Through the wide realms of virtue and of truth, And outside these no really “saint" can be 1! Yea, not of the first, nor of the second, nor of the third, nor of the fourth degree. Void are the systems of other teachers—void of true saints. But in this one, Subhadda, may the brethren live the perfect life, that the world be not bereft of those who have reached the highest fruit.'
63. And when he had thus spoken, Subhadda, the mendicant, said to the Blessed One: 'Most excellent, Lord, are the words of thy mouth, most excellent! Just as if a man were to set up that which is thrown down, or were to reveal that which is hidden away, or were to point out the right road to him who has gone astray, or were to bring a lamp into the darkness, so that those who have eyes can see external forms ;-just even so, Lord, has the truth been made known to me, in many a figure, by the Blessed One. And I, even I, betake myself, Lord, to the Blessed One as my refuge, to the truth, and to the order. May the Blessed One accept me as a disciple, as a true believer, from this day forth, as long as life endures !
Ime ka sammâ vihareyyu bhikkha,
Asunno loko 'rahatehi assa. I I have followed, though with some doubt, Childers's punctuation. Buddhaghosa refers padesa-vattî to samano; and ito, not to padesa, but to magga, understood; and it is quite possible that this is the correct explanation. On samadhikâni see the comment at Gataka II, 383.
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