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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 Buddha Announces his Death

    Said the Tathagata to Ananda:
    "In former years, Ananda, Mara, the Evil One,
    approached the holy Buddha three times to tempt him.
    [1]

    "And now, Ananda, Mara, the Evil One,
    came again to-day to the place where I was, and, standing beside me,
    addressed me in the same words as he did
    when I was resting under the shepherd's Nigrodha tree
    on the bank of the Neranyjara river:
    'Be greeted, thou Holy One.
    Thou hast attained the highest bliss
    and it is time for thee to enter into the final Nirvana.'
    [2]

    "And when Mara had thus spoken, Ananda,
    I answered him and said:
    'Make thyself happy, O wicked one;
    the extinction of the Tathagata
    shall take place before long.'"
    [3]

    And the venerable Ananda addressed the Blessed One and said:
    "Vouchsafe, Lord, to remain with us, O Blessed One!
    for the good and the happiness of the great multitudes,
    out of pity for the world, for the good and the gain of mankind!"
    [4]

    Said the Blessed One:
    "Enough now, Ananda,
    beseech not the Tathagata!"
    [5]

    And again, a second time,
    the venerable Ananda besought the Blessed One in the same words.
    And he received from the Blessed One the same reply. [6]

    And again, the third time,
    the venerable Ananda besought
    the Blessed One to live longer;
    and the Blessed One said:
    "Hast thou faith, Ananda?" [7]

    Said Ananda: "I have, my Lord!" [8]

    And the Blessed One, seeing the quivering eyelids of Ananda,
    read the deep grief in the heart of his beloved disciple,
    and he asked again: "Hast thou, indeed, faith, Ananda?" [9]

    And Ananda said: "I have faith, my Lord." [10]

    Then the Blessed One continued:
    "If thou hast faith, Ananda, in the wisdom of the Tathagata,
    why, then, Ananda, dost thou trouble the Tathagata even until the third time?
    Have I not formerly declared to you
    that it is in the very nature of all compound things
    that they must be dissolved again.
    We must separate ourselves from all
    things near and dear to us, and must leave them.
    How then, Ananda, can it be possible for me to remain,
    since everything that is born, or brought into being, and organized,
    contains within itself the inherent necessity of dissolution?
    How, then, can it be possible
    that this body of mine should not be dissolved?
    No such condition can exist!
    And this mortal existence, O Ananda,
    has been relinquished, cast away, renounced, rejected,
    and abandoned by the Tathagata."
    [11]

    And the Blessed One said to Ananda:
    "Go now, Ananda, and assemble in the Service Hall
    such of the brethren as reside in the neighbourhood of Vesali."
    [12]

    Then the Blessed One proceeded to the Service Hall,
    and sat down there on the mat spread out for him.
    And when he was seated,
    the Blessed One addressed the brethren, and said: [13]

    "O brethren, ye to whom the truth has been made known,
    having thoroughly made yourselves masters of it,
    practise it, meditate upon it, and spread it abroad,
    in order that pure religion may last long and be perpetuated,
    in order that it may continue for the good
    and happiness of the great multitudes,
    out of pity for the world,
    and to the good and gain of all living beings!
    [14]

    "Star-gazing and astrology, forecasting lucky or unfortunate events by signs,
    prognosticating good or evil, all these are things forbidden.
    [15]

    "He who lets his heart go loose without restraint
    shall not attain Nirvana;
    therefore, must we hold the heart in check,
    and retire from worldly excitements
    and seek tranquillity of mind.
    [16]

    "Eat your food to satisfy your hunger,
    and drink to satisfy your thirst.
    Satisfy the necessities of life like the butterfly that sips the flower,
    without destroying its fragrance or its texture.
    [17]

    "It is through not understanding and grasping the four truths,
    O brethren, that we have gone astray so long,
    and wandered in this weary path of transmigrations,
    both you and I,
    until we have found the truth.
    [18]

    "Practise the earnest meditations I have taught you.
    Continue in the great struggle against sin.
    Walk steadily in the roads of saintship.
    Be strong in moral powers.
    Let the organs of your spiritual sense be quick.
    When the seven kinds of wisdom enlighten your mind,
    you will find the noble, eightfold path that leads to Nirvana.
    [19]

    "Behold, O brethren,
    the final extinction of the Tathagata
    will take place before long.
    I now exhort you, saying:
    'All component things must grow old and be dissolved again.
    Seek ye for that which is permanent,
    and work out your salvation with diligence.'"
    [20]

    End Chapter 94


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

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