Return to Index

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


  • Click for The Reluctant Messenger (Host Site)
    Click here to go The Reluctant Messenger (Host Site)

    The Gospel of Buddha

    The Two Brahmans

    At one time when the Blessed One was journeying through Kosala
    he came to the Brahman village which is called Manasakata.
    There he stayed in a mango grove. [1]

    And two young Brahmans came to him who were of different schools.
    One was named Vasettha and the other Bharadvaja.
    And Vasettha said to the Blessed One: [2]

    "We have a dispute as to the true path.
    I say the straight path which leads into a union with Brahma
    is that which has been announced by the Brahman Pokkharasati,
    while my friend says the straight path which leads unto a union with Brahma
    is that which has been announced by the Brahman Tarukkha.
    [3]

    "Now, regarding thy high reputation, O samana,
    and knowing that thou art called the Enlightened One,
    the teacher of men and gods, the Blessed Buddha,
    we have come to ask thee,
    are all these paths paths of salvation?
    There are many roads all around our village, and all lead to Manasakata.
    Is it just so with the paths of the sages?
    Are all paths paths to salvation,
    and do they all lead to a union with Brahma?"
    [4]

    And the Blessed One proposed these questions to the two Brahmans:
    "Do you think that all paths are right?" [5]

    Both answered and said:
    "Yes, Gotama, we think so." [6]

    "But tell me," continued the Buddha,
    "has any one of the Brahmans, versed in the Vedas,
    seen Brahma face to face?"
    [7]

    "No, sir!" was the reply. [8]

    "But, then," said the Blessed One,
    "has any teacher of the Brahmans, versed in the Vedas,
    seen Brahma face to face?"
    [9]

    The two Brahmans said: "No, sir." [10]

    "But, then," said the Blessed One,
    "has any one of the authors of the Vedas
    seen Brahma face to face?"
    [11]

    Again the two Brahmans answered in the negative and exclaimed:
    "How can any one see Brahma or understand him,
    for the mortal cannot understand the immortal."

    And the Blessed One proposed an illustration, saying: [12]

    "It is as if a man should make a staircase
    in the place where four roads cross,
    to mount up into a mansion.
    And people should ask him,
    'Where, good friend, is this mansion,
    to mount up into which you are making this staircase?
    Knowest thou whether it is in the east,
    or in the south, or in the west, or in the north?
    Whether it is high, or low, or of medium size?'
    And when so asked he should answer, 'I know not.'
    And people should say to him,
    'But, then, good friend, thou art making a staircase
    to mount up into something - taking it for a mansion -
    which all the while thou knowest not,
    neither hast thou seen it.'
    And when so asked he should answer,
    'That is exactly what I do;
    yea I know that I cannot know it.'
    What would you think of him?
    Would you not say that the talk of that man was foolish talk?"
    [13]

    "In sooth, Gotama," said the two Brahmans,
    "it would be foolish talk!" [14]

    The Blessed One continued:
    "Then the Brahmans should say,
    'We show you the way unto a union
    of what we know not and what we have not seen'.
    This being the subtance of Brahman lore,
    does it not follow that their task is vain?"
    [15]

    "It does follow," replied Bharadvaja. [16]

    Said the Blessed One:
    "Thus it is impossible that Brahmans versed in the three Vedas
    should be able to show the way to a state of union
    with that which they neither know nor have seen.
    Just as when a string of blind men are clinging one to the other.
    Neither can the foremost see, nor can those in the middle see, nor can the hindmost see.
    Even so, methinks, the talk of the Bhramans versed in the three Vedas is but blind talk;
    it is ridiculous, consists or mere words, and is a vain and empty thing."
    [17]

    "Now suppose," added the Blessed One,
    "that a man should come hither to the bank of the river,
    and, having some business on the other side, should want to cross.
    Do you suppose that if he were to invoke the other bank of the river
    to come over to him on this side, the bank would come on account of his praying?"
    [18]

    "Certainly not, Gotama." [19]

    "Yet this is the way of the Brahmans.
    They omit the practice of those qualities
    which really make a man a Brahman, and say,
    'Indra, we call upon thee; Soma, we call upon thee;
    Varuna, we call upon thee; Brahma, we call upon thee.'
    Verily, it is not possible that these Brahmans,
    on account of their invocation, prayers, and praises,
    should after death be united with Brahma."
    [20]

    "Now tell me," continued the Buddha,
    "what do the Brahmans say of Brahma?
    Is his mind full of lust?"
    [21]

    And when the Brahmans denied this, the Buddha asked:
    "Is Brahma's mind full of malice, sloth, or pride?" [22]

    "No sir!" was the reply.
    "He is the opposite of all this." [23]

    And the Buddha went on:
    "But are the Brahmans free from these vices?" [24]

    "No sir!" said Vasettha. [25]

    The Holy One said:
    "The Brahmans cling to the five things leading to worldliness
    and yield to the temptations of the senses;
    they are entangled in the five hinderances,
    lust, malice, sloth, pride, and doubt.
    How can they be united to that which is most unlike their nature?
    Therefore the threefold wisdom of the Brahmans is a waterless desert,
    a pathless jungle, and a hopeless desolation."
    [26]

    When the Buddha had thus spoken, one of the Brahmans said:
    "We are told, Gotama, that the Sakyamuni
    knows the path to a union with Brahma."
    [27]

    And the Blessed One said:
    "What do you think, O Brahmans, of a man born and brought up in Manasakata?
    Would he be in doubt about the most direct way from this spot to Manasakata?"
    [28]

    "Certainly not, Gotama." [29]

    "Thus," replied the Buddha,
    "the Tathagata knows the straight path
    that leads to a union with Brahma.
    He knows it as one who has entered the world of Brahma and has been born in it.
    There can be no doubt in the Tathagata."
    [30]

    And the two young Brahmans said:
    "If thou knowest the way show it to us." [31]

    And the Buddha said: [32]

    "The Tathagata sees the universe face to face and understands its nature.
    He proclaims the truth both in its letter and in its spirit,
    and his doctrine is glorious in its origin,
    glorious in its progress, glorious in its consummation.
    The Tathagata reveals the higher life in its purity and perfection.
    He can show you the way to that which is contrary to the five great hindrances.
    [33]

    "The Tathagata lets his mind pervade the four quarters of the world with thoughts of love.
    And thus the whole wide world, above, below, around, and everywhere
    will continue to be filled with love, far-reaching, grown great, and beyond measure.
    [34]

    "Just as a mighty trumpeter makes himself heard -
    and that without difficulty - in all the four quarters of the earth;
    even so is the coming of the Tathagata:
    there is not one living creature
    that the Tathagata passes by or leaves aside,
    but regards them all with mind set free, and deep-felt love.
    [35]

    "And this is the sign that a man follows the right path:
    Uprightness is his delight,
    and he sees danger in the least of those things which he should avoid.
    He trains himself in the commands of morality,
    he encompasseth himself with holiness in word and deed;
    he sustains his life by means that are quite pure;
    good is his conduct, guarded is the door of his senses;
    mindful and self-possessed, he is altogether happy.
    [36]

    "He who walks in the eightfold noble path
    with unswerving determination is sure to reach Nirvana.
    The Tathagata anxiously watches over his children
    and with loving care helps them to see the light.
    [37]

    "When a hen has eight or ten or twelve eggs,
    over which she has properly brooded,
    the wish arises in her heart,
    'O would that my little chickens would break open the egg-shell with their claws,
    or with their beaks, and come forth into the light in safety!'
    yet all the while those little chickens are sure to break the egg-shell
    and will come forth into the light in safety.
    Even so, a brother who with firm determination walks in the noble path
    is sure to come forth into the light,
    sure to reach up to the higher wisdom,
    sure to attain to the highest bliss of enlightenment."
    [38]

    End Chapter 49


    [Previous] [Next]


    01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100 | Preface



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

    $3.99 Kindle eBook
    The Reluctant 
Messenger of Science and Religion Book Cover
    Buy from Amazon.com




    The Reluctant Messenger's Recommended Books and CDs

    Book of Chester (sacred scripture)