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NOTE III.
born is exceedingly difficult; to believe in him and listen to his law is difficult; but how much more so to have the privilege of offering to him the last gift before he enters Nirvana. Glory to Kunda! Glory to Kunda! Like the autumn moon on the 15th day of the month, your merit is full, and as all men look up to the cloudless moon with admiration and reverence, so do we reverence thee. Glory to Kunda! Now then Buddha has received from you his very last offering! thus have you completed the Paramità of charity! Glory to Kunda !” &c. Then the assembly uttered these verses :
“Although bom in the role of men,
Already hast thou overleapt the six heavens, And therefore this united congregation With supreme reverence make this request of thee); The most adorable amongst men Is now about to enter Nirvana ! You then, we pray, to pity us, And respectfully entreat Buddha (on our behalf) For a longer period to remain in the world, To bring profit and advantage to countless assemblies; And to declare fully the treasures of wisdom, The sweet dew of the most exalted law. If you consent not to make this request, Our destiny will be yet incomplete; We therefore, on this account, and with this view, Respectfully entreat thee as our leader."
At this time Kunda, overjoyed as a man whose father or mother, after having been conveyed to the tomb, suddenly re-appears alive, again prostrated himself before Buddha and repeated the following verses : "Oh I fortunate one that I am-to have gained such distinction,
To have been born thus happily as a man! To have cast away covetousness and folly, To have got rid for ever of the three evil ways of life, Oh I fortunate one that I am, to have gained this ! To have found such a treasure of gold and gems, To have met with such a distinguished teacher, To have rescued myself from birth as a beast'. The appearance of Buddha in the world is like that of the Udumbara
flower; It is difficult to have faith in him when born,
That is, in any inferior position in the animal creation.
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| SR No. | 007676 |
| Book Title | Text of Confucianism Part 02 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | James Legge |
| Publisher | Oxford |
| Publication Year | 1882 |
| Total Pages | 2405 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 43 MB |