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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

    Anathapindika

    At this time there was Anathapindika,
    a man of unmeasured wealth, visiting Rajagaha.
    Being of a charitable disposition,
    he was called "the supporter of orphans and the friend of the poor." [1]

    Hearing that the Buddha had come into the world
    and was stopping in the bamboo grove near the city,
    he set out in the very night to meet the Blessed One. [2]

    And the Blessed One saw at once the sterling quality of Anathapindika's heart
    and greeted him with words of religious comfort.
    And they sat down together,
    and Anathapindika listened to the sweetness of the truth preached by the Blessed One.
    And the Buddha said: [3]

    "The restless, busy nature of the world,
    this, I declare, is at the root of pain.
    Attain that composure of mind
    which is resting in the peace of immortality.
    Self is but a heap of composite qualities,
    and its world is empty like a fantasy.
    [4]

    "Who is it that shapes our lives?
    Is it Isvara, a personal creator?
    If Isvara be the maker,
    all living things should have silently to submit to their maker's power.
    They would be like vessels formed by the potter's hand;
    and if it were so, how would it be possible to practise virtue?
    If the world had been made by Isvara
    there should be no such thing as sorrow, or calamity, or evil;
    for both pure and impure deeds must come from him.
    If not, there would be another cause beside him,
    and he would not be self-existent.
    Thus, thou seest, the thought of Isvara is overthrown.
    [5]

    "Again, it is said that the Absolute has created us.
    But that which is absolute cannot be a cause.
    All things around us come from a cause
    as the plant comes from the seed;
    but how can the Absolute be the cause of all things alike?
    If it pervades them, then, certainly, it does not make them.
    [6]

    "Again, it is said that Self is the maker.
    But if self is the maker, why did it not make things pleasing?
    The causes of sorrow and joy are real and objective.
    How can they have been made by self?
    [7]

    "Again, if we adopt the argument that there is no maker,
    our fate is such as it is, and there is no causation,
    what use would there be in shaping our lives
    and adjusting means to an end?
    [8]

    "Therefore, we argue that all things that exist are not without cause.
    However, neither Isvara, nor the absolute, nor the self,
    nor causeless chance, is the maker,
    but our deeds produce results both good and evil
    according to the law of causation.
    [9]

    "Let us, then, abandon the heresy of worshipping Isvara and of praying to him;
    let us no longer lose ourselves in vain speculations of profitless subtleties;
    let us surrender self and all selfishness,
    and as all things are fixed by causation,
    let us practise good so that good may result from our actions."
    [10]

    And Anathapindika said:
    "I see that thou art the Buddha, the Blessed One, the Tathagata,
    and I wish to open to thee my whole mind.
    Having listened to my words advise me what I shall do.
    [11]

    "My life is full of work, and having acquired great wealth, I am surrounded with cares.
    Yet I enjoy my work, and apply myself to it with all diligence.
    Many people are in my employ and depend upon the success of my enterprises.
    [12]

    "Now, I have heard thy disciples praise the bless of the hermit
    and denounce the unrest of the world.
    'The Holy One,' they say,
    'has given up his kingdom and his inheritance,
    and has found the path of righteousness,
    thus setting an example to all the world how to attain Nirvana.'
    [13]

    "My heart yearns to do what is right
    and to be a blessing unto my fellows.
    Let me then ask thee, Must I give up my wealth,
    my home, and my business enterprises, and, like thyself,
    go into homelessness in order to attain the bliss of a religious life?"
    [14]

    And the Buddha replied:
    "The bliss of a religious life is attainable by everyone
    who walks in the noble eightfold path.
    He that cleaves to wealth had better cast it away
    than allow his heart to be poisoned by it;
    but he who does not cleave to wealth,
    and possessing riches, uses them rightly,
    will be a blessing unto his fellows.
    [15]

    "It is not life and wealth and power that enslaves men,
    but the cleaving to life and wealth and power.
    [16]

    "The bhikkhu who retires from the world
    in order to lead a life of leisure will have no gain,
    for a life of indolence is an abomination,
    and lack of energy is to be despised.
    [17]

    "The Dharma of the Tathagata
    does not require a man to go into homelessness or to resign the world,
    unless he feels called upon to do so;
    but the Dharma of the Tathagata
    requires every man to free himself from the illusion of self,
    to cleanse his heart,
    to give up his thirst for pleasure
    and lead a life of righteousness.
    [18]

    "And whatever men do,
    whether they remain in the world as artisans, merchants, and officers of the king,
    or retire from the world and devote themselves to a life of religious meditation,
    let them put their whole heart into their task;
    let them be diligent and energetic, and, if they are like the lotus,
    which, although it grows in the water, yet remains untouched by the water,
    if they struggle in life without cherishing envy or hatred,
    if they live in the world not a life of self but a life of truth,
    then surely joy, peace, and bliss will dwell in their minds."
    [19]

    End Chapter 23


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

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