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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

    Miracles Forbidden

    Jotikkha, the son of Subhadda, was a householder living in Rajagaha.
    Having received a precious bowl of sandalwood decorated with jewels,
    he erected a long pole before his house
    and put the bowl on its top with this legend:
    "Should a samana take this bowl down without using a ladder
    or a stick with a hook, or without climbing the pole, but by magic power,
    he shall receive as reward whatever he desires."
    [1]

    And the people came to the Blessed One,
    full of wonder and their mouths overflowing with praise, saying:
    "Great is the Tathagata. His disciples perform miracles.
    Kassapa, the disciple of the Buddha, saw the bowl on Jotikkha's pole,
    and, stretching out his hand, he took it down,
    carrying it away in triumph to the vihara."
    [2]

    When the Blessed One heard what had happened, he went to Kassapa,
    and, breaking the bowl to pieces,
    forbade his disciples to perform miracles of any kind. [3]

    Soon after this it happened that in one of the rainy seasons
    many bhikkhus were staying in the Vajji territory during a famine.
    And one of the bhikkhus proposed to his brethren
    that they should praise one another to the householders of the village, saying:
    "This bhikkhu is a saint; he has seen celestial visions;
    and that bhikkhu possesses supernatural gifts; he can work miracles."

    And the villagers said:
    "It is lucky, very lucky for us,
    that such saints are spending the rainy season with us."
    And they gave willingly and abundantly,
    and the bhikkhus prospered and did not suffer from the famine. [4]

    When the Blessed One heard it,
    he told Ananda to call the bhikkhus together,
    and he asked them:
    "Tell me, O bhikkhus,
    when does a bhikkhu cease to be a bhikkhu?"
    [5]

    And Sariputta replied: [6]

    "An ordained disciple must not commit any unchaste act.
    The disciple who commits an unchaste act
    is no longer a disciple of the Sakyamuni.
    [7]

    "Again, an ordained disciple must not take
    except what has been given him.
    The disciple who takes,
    be it so little as a penny's worth,
    is no longer a disciple of the Sakyamuni.
    [8]

    "And lastly,
    an ordained disciple must not knowingly and malignantly
    deprive any harmless creature of life,
    not even an earthworm or an ant.
    The disciple who knowingly and malignantly
    deprives any harmless creature of its life
    is no longer a disciple of the Sakyamuni.
    [9]

    "These are the three great prohibitions." [10]

    And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus and said: [11]

    "There is another great prohibition which I declare to you: [12]

    "An ordained disciple must not boast of any superhuman perfection.
    The disciple who with evil intent
    and from covetousness boasts of a superhuman perfection,
    be it celestial visions or miracles,
    is no longer a disciple of the Sakyamuni.
    [13]

    "I forbid you, O bhikkhus,
    to employ any spells or supplications,
    for they are useless,
    since the law of karma governs all things.
    He who attempts to perform miracles
    has not understood the doctrine of the Tathagata."
    [14]

    End Chapter 42


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

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