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LIFE OF BUDDHA. visible is in flames; the contact with the visible is in flames, the feeling which arises from contact with the visible, be it pleasure, be it pain, be it neither pleasure nor pain, this also is in flames. By what fire is it kindled ? By the fire of desire, by the fire of hate, by the fire of fascination, it is kindled; by birth, old age, death, pain, lamentation, sorrow, grief, despair, it is kindled: thus I say. The ear is in Hamés,'" and so on through a similar repetition of every detail; and the same with the senses of smell, taste, touch, and with the mind, forming a long discourse, very monotonous to us, but probably delighting the hearers. It then goes on, "Considering this, o disciples, a wise hearer, walking in the noble path, becomes weary of the eye, weary of visible things," and so on through the whole detail once more. Then, “becoming weary of all that, he becomes free from desire; free from desire he becomes delivered ; in the delivered arises the knowledge, I am delivered ; rebirth is at an end, perfected is holiness, duty done; there is no more returning to this world; he knows this." When this discourse had been delivered, the minds of these thousand disciples became free from attachment to the world. (O.)
The mode of converting a noble youth who was already mentally prepared is thus represented (Mahavagga I. 7,
A noble S.E.). "At that time there was in Benares a
youth's noble youth, Yasa by name, the son of a treaconversion. surer, and delicately nurtured. He had three palaces, one for winter, one for summer, and one for the rainy season. In the palace for the rainy season he lived during the four months of that season, surrounded with female musicians among whom no man was, and he did not descend from that palace all that time. Now one day Yasa, the noble youth, who was endowed with and possessed of the five pleasures of sense, while he was attended by those female musicians, fell asleep sooner than usual: and after him his attendants also fell asleep. Now an oil lamp was burning through the whole night.
"And Yasa, the noble youth, awoke sooner than usual; and he saw his attendants sleeping; one had her lute
