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The Gospel of Buddha

Preface

  • Preface:
    by Paul Carus


    Introduction
  • Chapter 01:
    Rejoice
  • Chapter 02:
    Samsara and Nirvana
  • Chapter 03:
    Truth the Saviour


    Prince Siddhattha becomes Buddha
  • Chapter 04:
    The Bodhisatta's Birth
  • Chapter 05:
    The Ties of Life
  • Chapter 06:
    The Three Woes
  • Chapter 07:
    The Bodhisatta's Renunciation
  • Chapter 08:
    King Bimbisara
  • Chapter 09:
    The Bodhisatta's Search
  • Chapter 10:
    Uruvela, the Place of Mortification
  • Chapter 11:
    Mara, the Evil One
  • Chapter 12:
    Enlightenment
  • Chapter 13:
    The First Converts
  • Chapter 14:
    Brahma's Request


    The Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteousness
  • Chapter 15:
    Upaka
  • Chapter 16:
    The Sermon at Benares
  • Chapter 17:
    The Sangha
  • Chapter 18:
    Yasa, the Youth of Benares
  • Chapter 19:
    Kassapa
  • Chapter 20:
    The Sermon at Rajagaha
  • Chapter 21:
    The King's Gift
  • Chapter 22:
    Sariputta and Moggallana
  • Chapter 23:
    Anathapindika
  • Chapter 24:
    The Sermon on Charity
  • Chapter 25:
    Jetavana
  • Chapter 26:
    The Three Characteristics and the Uncreate
  • Chapter 27:
    The Buddha's Father
  • Chapter 28:
    Yasodhara
  • Chapter 29:
    Rahula


    Consolidation of the Buddha's religion
  • Chapter 30:
    Jivaka, the Physician
  • Chapter 31:
    The Buddha's Parents Attain Nirvana
  • Chapter 32:
    Women Admitted to the Sangha
  • Chapter 33:
    The Bhikkhus' Conduct Toward Women
  • Chapter 34:
    Visakha
  • Chapter 35:
    The Uposatha and Patimokkha
  • Chapter 36:
    The Schism
  • Chapter 37:
    The Re-establishment of Concord
  • Chapter 38:
    The Bhikkhus Rebuked
  • Chapter 39:
    Devadatta
  • Chapter 40:
    Name and Form
  • Chapter 41:
    The Goal
  • Chapter 42:
    Miracles Forbidden
  • Chapter 43:
    The Vanity of Worldliness
  • Chapter 44:
    Secrecy and Publicity
  • Chapter 45:
    The Annihilation of Suffering
  • Chapter 46:
    Avoiding the Ten Evils
  • Chapter 47:
    The Preacher's Mission


    The Teacher
  • Chapter 48:
    The Dhammapada
  • Chapter 49:
    The Two Brahmans
  • Chapter 50:
    Guard the Six Quarters
  • Chapter 51:
    Simha's Question Concerning Annihilation
  • Chapter 52:
    All Existence is Spiritual
  • Chapter 53:
    Identity and Non-Identity
  • Chapter 54:
    The Buddha Omnipresent
  • Chapter 55:
    One Essence, One Law, One Aim
  • Chapter 56:
    The Lesson Given to Rahula
  • Chapter 57:
    The Sermon on Abuse
  • Chapter 58:
    The Buddha Replies to the Deva
  • Chapter 59:
    Words of Instruction
  • Chapter 60:
    Amitabha
  • Chapter 61:
    The Teacher Unknown


    Parables and Stories
  • Chapter 62:
    Parables
  • Chapter 63:
    The Widow's Two Mites and the Parable of the Three Merchants
  • Chapter 64:
    The Man Born Blind
  • Chapter 65:
    The Lost Son
  • Chapter 66:
    The Giddy Fish
  • Chapter 67:
    The Cruel Crane Outwitted
  • Chapter 68:
    Four Kinds of Merit
  • Chapter 69:
    The Light of the World
  • Chapter 70:
    Luxurious Living
  • Chapter 71:
    The Communication of Bliss
  • Chapter 72:
    The Listless Fool
  • Chapter 73:
    Rescue in the Desert
  • Chapter 74:
    The Sower
  • Chapter 75:
    The Outcast
  • Chapter 76:
    The Woman at the Well
  • Chapter 77:
    The Peacemaker
  • Chapter 78:
    The Hungry Dog
  • Chapter 79:
    The Despot
  • Chapter 80:
    Vasavadatta
  • Chapter 81:
    The Marriage-Feast in Jambunada
  • Chapter 82:
    A Party in Search of a Thief
  • Chapter 83:
    In the Realm of Yamaraja
  • Chapter 84:
    The Mustard Seed
  • Chapter 85:
    Following the Master Over the Stream
  • Chapter 86:
    The Sick Bhikkhu
  • Chapter 87:
    The Patient Elephant


    The Last Days
  • Chapter 88:
    The Conditions of Welfare
  • Chapter 89:
    Sariputta's Faith
  • Chapter 90:
    Pataliputta
  • Chapter 91:
    The Mirror of Truth
  • Chapter 92:
    Ambapali
  • Chapter 93:
    The Buddha's Farewell Address
  • Chapter 94:
    The Buddha Announces His Death
  • Chapter 95:
    Chunda, the Smith
  • Chapter 96:
    Metteyya
  • Chapter 97:
    The Buddha's Final Entering into Nirvana


    Conclusion
  • Chapter 98:
    The Three Personalities of the Buddha
  • Chapter 99:
    The Purpose of Being
  • Chapter 100:
    The Praise of All the Buddhas


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    The Gospel of Buddha

    Yasa, the Youth of Benares

    At that time there was in Benares a noble youth,
    Yasa by name, the son of a wealthy merchant.
    Troubled in his mind about the sorrows of the world,
    he secretly rose up in the night and stole away to the Blessed One. [1]

    The Blessed One saw Yasa, the noble youth, coming from afar.
    And Yasa approached and exclaimed:
    "Alas, what distress! What tribulations!" [2]

    The Blessed One said to Yasa:
    "Here is no distress; here are no tribulations.
    Come to me and I will teach you the truth,
    and the truth will dispel your sorrows."
    [3]

    And when Yasa, the noble youth,
    heard that there were neither distress,
    nor tribulations, nor sorrows, his heart was comforted.
    He went into the place where the Blessed One was, and sat down near him. [4]

    Then the Blessed One preached about charity and morality.
    He explained the vanity of the thought "I am";
    the dangers of desire, and the necessity of avoiding the evils of life
    in order to walk on the path of deliverance. [5]

    Instead of disgust with the world,
    Yasa felt the cooling stream of holy wisdom,
    and, having obtained the pure and spotless eye of truth,
    he looked at his person,
    richly adorned with pearls and precious stones,
    and his heart was filled with shame. [6]

    The Tathagata, knowing his inward thoughts, said: [7]

    "Though a person be ornamented with jewels,
    the heart may have conquered the senses.
    The outward form does not constitute religion or affect the mind.
    Thus the body of a samana may wear an ascetic's garb
    while his mind is immersed in worldliness.
    [8]

    "A man that dwells in lonely woods
    and yet covets worldly vanities, is a worldling,
    while the man in worldly garments
    may let his heart soar high to heavenly thoughts. [9]

    "There is no distinction between the layman and the hermit,
    if but both have banished the thought of self."
    [10]

    Seeing that Yasa was ready to enter upon the path,
    the Blessed One said to him: "Follow me!"
    And Yasa joined the brotherhood,
    and having put on a bhikkhu's robe, received the ordination. [11]

    While the Blessed One and Yasa were discussing the doctrine,
    Yasa's father passed by in search of his son;
    and in passing he asked the Blessed One:
    "Pray, Lord, hast thou seen Yasa, my son?" [12]

    And the Blessed One said to Yasa's father:
    "Come in, sir, thou wilt find thy son";
    and Yasa's father became full of joy and he entered.
    He sat down near his son,
    but his eyes were holden and he knew him not;
    and the Lord began to preach.
    And Yasa's father understanding the doctrine of the Blessed One, said: [13]

    "Glorious is the truth, O Lord!
    The Buddha, the Holy One, our Master,
    sets up what has been overturned;
    he reveals what has been hidden;
    he points out the way to the wanderer who has gone astray;
    he lights a lamp in the darkness
    so that all who have eyes to see
    can discern the things that surround them.
    I take refuge in the Buddha, our Lord:
    I take refuge in the doctrine revealed by him:
    I take refuge in the brotherhood which he has founded.
    May the Blessed One receive me from this day forth while my life lasts
    as a lay disciple who has taken refuge in him."
    [14]

    Yasa's father was the first lay-member
    who became the first lay disciple to the Buddha
    by pronouncing the threefold formula of refuge. [15]

    When the wealthy merchant had taken refuge in the Buddha,
    his eyes were opened and he saw his son sitting at his side in a bhikkhu's robe.
    "My son, Yasa," he said,
    "thy mother is absorbed in lamentation and grief.
    Return home and restore thy mother to life."
    [16]

    Then Yasa looked at the Blessed One, and the Blessed One said:
    "Should Yasa return to the world
    and enjoy the pleasures of a worldly life as he did before?"
    [17]

    And Yasa's father replied:
    "If Yasa, my son, finds it a gain to stay with thee, let him stay.
    He has become delivered from the bondage of worldliness."
    [18]

    When the Blessed One had cheered their hearts with the words of truth and righteousness,
    Yasa's father said: "May the Blessed One, O Lord,
    consent to take his meal with me together with Yasa as his attendant?"
    [19]

    The Blessed One, having donned his robes,
    took his alms-bowl and went with Yasa to the house of the rich merchant.
    When they had arrived there, the mother and also the former wife of Yasa
    saluted the Blessed One and sat down near him. [20]

    Then the Blessed One preached,
    and the women having understood his doctrine, exclaimed:
    "Glorious is the truth, O Lord!
    We take refuge in the Buddha, our Lord.
    We take refuge in the the doctrine revealed by him.
    We take refuge in the brotherhood which has been founded by him.
    May the Blessed One receive us from this day forth while our life lasts
    as lay disciples who have taken refuge in him."
    [21]

    The mother and wife of Yasa, the noble youth of Benares,
    were the first women who became lay disciples
    and took their refuge in the Buddha. [22]

    Now there were four friends of Yasa belonging to the wealthy families of Benares.
    Their names were Vimala, Subahu, Punnyaji, and Gavampati. [23]

    When Yasa's friends heard that Yasa had cut off his hair and put on bhikkhu robes
    to give up the world and go forth into homelessness, they thought:
    "Surely that cannot be a common doctrine,
    that must be a noble renunciation of the world,
    if Yasa, whom we know to be good and wise,
    has shaved his hair and put on bhikkhu robes
    to give up the world and go forth into homelessness."
    [24]

    And they went to Yasa, and Yasa addressed the Blessed One, saying:
    "May the Blessed One administer exhortation and instruction
    to these four friends of mine."

    And the Blessed One preached to them,
    and Yasa's friends accepted the doctrine
    and took refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. [25]

    End Chapter 18


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    The Gospel of Buddha
    The Gospel of Buddha
    Compiled from ancient records by Paul Carus, 1894

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