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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 Purpose of Being

    Eternal verities dominate the formation of worlds
    and constitute the cosmic order of natural laws.
    But when, through the conflicting motion of masses,
    the universe was illuminated with blazing fire,
    there was no eye to see the light,
    no ear to listen to reason's teachings,
    no mind to perceive the significance of being;
    and in the immearsurable spaces of existence no place was found
    where the truth could abide in all its glory. [1]

    In the due course of evolution sentiency appeared and sense-perception arose.
    There was a new realm of being, the realm of soul-life, full of yearning,
    with powerful passions and of unconquerable energy.
    And the world split in twain:
    there were pleasures and pains,self and notself,
    friends and foes,
    hatred and love.
    The truth vibrated through the world of sentiency,
    but in all its infinite potentialities no place could be found
    where the truth could abide in all its glory. [2]

    And reason came forth in the struggle for life.
    Reason began to guide the instinct of self,
    and reason took the sceptre of the creation
    and overcame the strength of the brutes and the power of the elements.
    Yet reason seemed to add new fuel to the flame,
    increasing the turmoil of conflicting passions;
    and brothers slew their brothers
    for the sake of satisfying the lust of a fleeting moment.
    And the truth repaired to the domains of reason,
    but in all its recesses no place was found
    where the truth could abide in all its glory. [3]

    Now reason, as the helpmate of self,
    implicated all living beings more and more
    in the meshes of lust, hatred, and envy,
    and from lust, hatred, and envy
    the evils of wrong-doing originated.
    Men broke down under the burdens of life,
    until the saviour appeared, the great Buddha,
    the Holy Teacher of men and gods. [4]

    And the Buddha taught men the right use of sentiency,
    and the right application of reason;
    and he taught men to see things as they are, without illusions,
    and they learned to act according to the truth.
    He taught righteousness
    and thus changed rational creatures into humane beings,
    just, kind-hearted, and faithful.
    And now at last a place was found
    where the truth might abide in all its glory,
    and this place is the heart of mankind. [5]

    Buddha, O Blessed One,
    O Holy One, O Perfect One,
    thou hast revealed the truth,
    and the truth has appeared upon earth
    and the kingdom of truth has been founded. [6]

    There is not room for truth in space,
    infinite though it be. [7]

    There is not room for truth in sentiency,
    neither in its pleasures nor in its pains;
    sentiency is the first footstep of truth,
    but there is not room in it for truth,
    though sentiency may beam
    with the blazing glow of beauty and life. [8]

    Neither is there any room for truth in rationality.
    Rationality is a two-edged sword
    and serves the purpose of love
    equally as well as the purpose of hatred.
    Rationality is the platform on which the truth standeth.
    No truth is attainable without reason.
    Nevertheless, in mere rationality there is no room for truth,
    though it be the instrument that masters the things of the world. [9]

    The throne of truth is righteousness;
    and love and justice and good-will are its ornaments. [10]

    Righteousness is the place in which truth dwells,
    and here in the hearts of mankind
    aspiring after the realization of righteousness,
    there is ample space for a rich
    and ever richer revelation of the truth. [11]

    This is the Gospel of the Blessed One.
    This is the revelation of the Enlightened One.
    This is the bequest of the Holy One. [12]

    Those who accept the truth and have faith in the truth,
    take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. [13]

    Receive us, O Buddha, as thy disciples
    from this day hence, so long as our life lasts. [14]

    Comfort, O holy Teacher, compassionate and all-loving,
    the afflicted and the sorrow-laden, illumine those who go astray,
    and let us all gain more and more in comprehension and in holiness. [15]

    The truth is the end and aim of all existence,
    and the worlds originate so that the truth may come and dwell therein. [16]

    Those who fail to aspire for the truth
    have missed the purpose of life. [17]

    Blessed is he who rests in the truth,
    for all things will pass away,
    but the truth abideth forever. [18]

    The world is built for the truth,
    but false combinations of thought
    misrepresent the true state of things
    and bring forth errors. [19]

    Errors can be fashioned
    as it pleases those who cherish them;
    therefore they are pleasant to look upon,
    but they are unstable and contain the seeds of dissolution. [20]

    Truth cannot be fashioned.
    Truth is one and the same;
    it is immutable. [21]

    Truth is above the power of death,
    it is omnipresent, eternal, and most glorious. [22]

    Illusions, errors, and lies are the daughters of Mara,
    and great power is given unto them to seduce the minds of men
    and lead them astray upon the path of evil. [23]

    The nature of delusions, errors, and lies is death,
    and wrong-doing is the way to perdition. [24]

    Delusions, errors, and lies
    are like huge, gaudy vessels,
    the rafters of which are rotten and wormeaten,
    and those who embark in them
    are fated to be shipwrecked. [25]

    There are many who say:
    "Come error, be thou my guide,"
    and when they are caught
    in the meshes of selfishness, lust, and evil desires,
    misery is begot. [26]

    Yet does all life yearn for the truth
    and the truth only can cure our diseases
    and peace to our unrest. [27]

    Truth is the essence of life,
    for truth endureth beyond the death of the body.
    Truth is eternal and will still remain
    even though heaven and earth shall pass away. [28]

    There are not different truths in the world,
    for truth is one and the same
    at all times and in every place. [29]

    Truth teaches us the noble eightfold path of righteousness,
    and it is a straight path easily found by the truth-loving.
    Happy are those who walk in it. [30]

    End Chapter 99


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

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