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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

    The Preacher's Mission

    And the Blessed One said to his disciples: [1]

    "When I have passed away and can no longer address you
    and edify your minds with religious discourse,
    select from among you men of good family and education
    to preach the truth in my stead.
    And let those men be invested with the robes of the Tathagata,
    let them enter into the abode of the Tathagata,
    and occupy the pulpit of the Tathagata.
    [2]

    "The robe of the Tathagata is sublime forbearance and patience.
    The abode of the Tathagata is charity and love of all beings.
    The pulpit of the Tathagata is the comprehension of the good law
    in its abstract meaning as well as in its particular application.
    [3]

    "The preacher must propound the truth with unshrinking mind.
    He must have the power of persuasion rooted in virtue
    and in strict fidelity to his vows.
    [4]

    "The preacher must keep in his proper sphere and be steady in his course.
    He must not flatter his vanity by seeking the company of the great,
    nor must he keep company with persons who are frivolous and immoral.
    When in temptation, he should constantly think of the Buddha and he will conquer. [5]

    "All who come to hear the doctrine,
    the preacher must receive with benevolence,
    and his sermon must be without invidiousness.
    [6]

    "The preacher must not be prone to carp at others,
    or to blame other preachers; nor speak scandal, nor propagate bitter words.
    He must not mention by name other disciples
    to vituperate them and reproach their demeanour.
    [7]

    "Clad in a clean robe, dyed with good colour with appropriate undergarments,
    he must ascend the pulpit with a mind free from blame and at peace with the whole world.
    [8]

    "He must not take delight in querulous desputations
    or engage in controversies so as to show the superiority of his talents,
    but be calm and composed.
    [9]

    "No hostile feelings shall reside in his heart,
    and he must never abandon the disposition of charity toward all beings.
    His sole aim must be that all beings become Buddhas.
    [10]

    "Let the preacher apply himself with zeal to his work,
    and the Tathagata will show to him
    the body of the holy law in its transcendent glory.
    He shall be honoured as one whom the Tathagata has blessed.
    The Tathagata blesses the preacher
    and also those who reverently listen to him
    and joyfully accept the doctrine.
    [11]

    "All those who receive the truth will find perfect enlightenment.
    And, verily, such is the power of the doctrine
    that even by the reading of a single stanza,
    or by reciting, copying, and keeping in mind
    a single sentence of the good law,
    persons may be converted to the truth
    and enter the path of righteousness
    which leads to deliverance from evil.
    [12]

    "Creatures that are swayed by impure passions,
    when they listen to the voice, will be purified.
    The ignorant who are infatuated with the follies of the world will,
    when pondering on the profundity of the doctrine, acquire wisdom.
    Those who act under the impulse of hatred will,
    when taking refuge in the Buddha, be filled with good-will and love.
    [13]

    "A preacher must be full of energy and cheerful hope,
    never tiring and never despairing of final success.
    [14]

    "A preacher must be like a man in quest of water
    who digs a well in an arid tract of land.
    So long as he sees that the sand is dry and white,
    he knows that the water is still far off.
    But let him not be troubled or give up the task as hopeless.
    The work of removing the dry sand must be done
    so that he can dig down deeper into the ground.
    And often the deeper he has to dig,
    the cooler and purer and more refreshing will the water be.
    [15]

    "When after some time of digging
    he sees that the sand becomes moist,
    he accepts it as a token that the water is near.
    [16]

    "So long as the people do not listen to the words of truth,
    the preacher knows that he has to dig deeper into their hearts;
    but when they begin to heed his words
    he apprehends that they will soon attain enlightenment. [17]

    "Into your hands, O ye men of good family and education
    who take the vow of preaching the words of the Tathagata,
    the Blessed One transfers, intrusts, and commends the good law of truth.
    [18]

    "Receive the good law of truth, keep it, read and re-read it,
    fathom it, promulgate it, and preach it to all beings
    in all the quarters of the universe.
    [19]

    "The Tathagata is not avaricious, nor narrow-minded,
    and he is willing to impart the perfect Buddha-knowledge
    unto all who are ready and willing to receive it.
    Be ye like unto him.
    Imitate him and follow his example
    in bounteously giving, showing,
    and bestowing the truth.
    [20]

    "Gather round you hearers who love to listen
    to the benign and comforting words of the law;
    rouse the unbelievers to accept the truth
    and fill them with delight and joy.
    Quicken them, edify them,
    and lift them higher and higher
    until they see the truth face to face
    in all its splendour and infinite glory."
    [21]

    When the Blessed One had thus spoken, the disciples said: [22]

    "O thou who rejoicest in kindness having its source in compassion,
    thou great cloud of good qualities and of benevolent mind,
    thou quenchest the fire that vexeth living beings,
    thou pourest out nectar, the rain of the law!
    [23]

    "We shall do, O Lord,
    what the Tathagata commands.
    We shall fulfill his behest;
    the Lord shall find us obedient to his words."
    [24]

    And this vow of the disciples resounded through the universe,
    and like an echo it came back from all the Bodhisattas who are to be
    and will come to preach the good law of Truth to future generations. [25]

    And the Blessed One said:
    "The Tathagata is like unto a powerful king
    who rules his kingdom with righteousness,
    but being attacked by envious enemies
    goes out to wage war against his foes.
    When the king sees his soldiers fight
    he is delighted with their gallantry
    and will bestow upon them donations of all kinds.
    Ye are the soldiers of the Tathagata,
    while Mara, the Evil One, is the enemy who must be conquered.
    And the Tathagata will give to his soldiers the city of Nirvana,
    the great capital of the good law.
    And when the enemy is overcome, the Dharma-raja,
    the great king of truth, will bestow upon all his disciples
    the most precious crown which jewel brings perfect enlightenment,
    supreme wisdom, and undisturbed peace."
    [26]

    End Chapter 47


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

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