Buddhist Suttas
Translated from Pāli by T. W. Rhys Davids
Oxford, the Clarendon Press
1881
Vol. XI of The Sacred Books of the East
translated by various Oriental scholars and edited by F. Max
Müller
Public Domain
This work has been reformatted for presentation on BuddhaDust
Thanks to J.B. Hare's Internet Sacred Text Archives for originally posting this material
Digitized and formatted for Internet Sacred Text Archives by Cristopher M. Weimer
II
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteousness
Introduction
This translation is made from a transcript of the text as found in the very beautiful Ceylon MS. on silver plates, now in the British Museum[1]. The letters, which are perfectly formed, are cut into the silver; and the MS. has this peculiarity, that every sentence is repeated with a slight change in the collocation of the words. Thus the first sentence is given as follows: —
Evaɱ me sutaɱ. Ekaɱ samayaɱ Bhagavā Bārāṇasiyaɱ viharati Isipatane Migadāye.
Me evaɱ sutaɱ. Ekaɱ samayaɱ Bhagavā Bārāṇasiyaɱ Isipatane Migadāye viharati.
As this repetition is merely carried out for the further security of the text it has not been followed in the translation.
This text belongs to the Aṅguttara Nikāya. M. Léon Feer has lithographed the Saɱyutta treatment in his 'Textes tirés du Kandjour[2],' together with the text of the corresponding passage in the Lalita Vistara, and the Tibetan translation from that poem. The Sanskrit text, so far as it runs parallel with our Sutta, will also be found in Rajendra Lal Mitra's edition of the Lalita Vistara (p. 540 and foll.) and the Tibetan text, with a French translation, in M. Foucaux's 'rGya Cher Rol Pa.' Dr. Oldenberg has just published the Vinaya treatment contained in the Mahā Vagga I, 6. It is the same word for word as our Sutta (except § 1, which is of course not found there). The Samyutta expands the idea of the portion numbered below §§ 9-20, having also similar paragraphs in reference to the bhikkhus themselves. The [140] Lalita Vistara differs a good deal in minor details, but is substantially the same as regards the Noble Truths, and the eight divisions of the Noble Path.
A translation of this Sutta, found among Mr. Gogerly's papers after his death, was published in the journal of the Ceylon Asiatic Society for 1865: and the journal Asiatique for 1870 contained a translation and full analysis by M. Léon Feer.
It would be difficult to estimate too highly the historical value of this Sutta. There can be no reasonable doubt that the very ancient tradition accepted by all Buddhists as to the substance of the discourse is correct, and that we really have in it a summary of the words in which the great Indian thinker and reformer for the first time successfully promulgated his new ideas. And it presents to us in a few short and pithy sentences the very essence of that remarkable system which has had so profound an influence on the religious history of so large a portion of the human race.
The name given to it by the early Buddhists — the setting in motion onwards of the royal chariot-wheel of the supreme dominion of the Dhamma — means, as I have shown elsewhere[3], not 'the turning of the wheel of the law,' as it has been usually rendered; but 'the inauguration, or foundation, of the Kingdom of Righteousness.'
Is it possible that the praying wheels of Thibet have led to the misapprehension and mistranslation now so common? But who would explain a passage in the New Testament by a superstition current, say, in Spain in the twelfth century? And so when Mr. Da Cuñha thinks that the Dhamma is symbolised by the wheel, because 'Gotama ignored the beginning, and was uncertain as to the end[4],' he seems to me to be following a vicious method of interpreting such figures of speech. It cannot be disputed that the term 'wheel' might have implied such an idea as he puts into it. But if we want to know what it did imply, we must be guided wholly by the previous use of the word at the [141] time when it was first used in a figurative sense: and that previous use allows only of the interpretation given above. Perhaps, however, Mr. Da Cuñha is only copying (not very exactly) Mr. Alabaster, who has said, 'Buddha, as I have tried to show in other parts of this book, did not attempt to teach the beginning of existence, but assumed it as a rolling circle of causes or effects. This was his circle or wheel of the law[5].'
Mr. Alabaster therefore calls his very useful book on Siamese Buddhism, 'The Wheel of the Law;' — an expression which he on the first page of his preface takes to be about equivalent to Buddhism. But his theory of the meaning of the term seems to be based upon a misunderstanding of a passage in the Siamese 'Life of Buddha,' which he there translates. At page 78 he renders his text, 'The Holy Wheel which the Law taught is plenteous in twelve ways,' and he explains this on p. 169 as referring to the twelve Nidānas, the chain of causes and effects. But the passage in the Siamese text is evidently a reminiscence of the 'twelvefold manner' spoken of in the same connection in our Sutta (§ 21), and does not refer to the Nidānas at all.
A better comment on the word is the legend of the Treasure of the Wheel, which will be found below in the 'Book of the Great King of Glory[6],' a passage which shows that this figure belonged to that circle of poetical imagery which the early Buddhists so often borrowed from the previous poets of Vedic literature to aid them in their attempts to describe the most important events in the life of their revered Teacher. And, like the day of Pentecost by the early Christians, this Inauguration of the Kingdom of Righteousness was rightly regarded by them as a turning-point in the history of their faith. We find this even in the closing sections of our Sutta; and in later times the poets of every Buddhist clime have vied one with another in endeavouring to express their sense of the importance of the occasion.
'The evening was like a lovely maiden; the stars [142] were the pearls upon her neck; the dark clouds her braided hair; the deepening space her flowing robe. As a crown she had the heavens where the angels dwell; these three worlds were as her body; her eyes were the white lotus flowers which open to the rising moon; and her voice was as it were the humming of the bees. To do homage to the Buddha, and to hear the first preaching of his word, this lovely maiden came.' The angels (devas) throng to hear the discourse until the heavens are empty; and the sound of their approach is like the rain of a storm; all the worlds in which there are sentient beings are made void of life, so that the congregation assembled was in number infinite, but at the sound of the blast of the glorious trumpet of Sakka, the king of the gods, they became still as a waveless sea. And then each of the countless listeners thought that the sage was looking towards himself, and was speaking to him in his own tongue, though the language used was Māgadhi!
It is most curious that this last figure should be so closely analogous to the language used with respect to the corresponding event in the history of the Christian church: and I do not know the exact source from which Hardy (Manual of Buddhism, p. 186) derives it. But I think it is highly improbable that there is any borrowing on the one side or on the other.
It cannot be denied that there is a real beauty of an Oriental kind in the various expressions which the Buddhists use; and that there was real ground for the enthusiasm which gave them birth. Never in the history of the world had a scheme of salvation been put forth so simple in its nature, so free from any superhuman agency, so independent of, so even antagonistic to the belief in a soul, the belief in God, and the hope for a future life. And we must not allow our estimate of the importance of the event to be influenced by our disagreement from the opinions put forth. Whether these be right or wrong, it was a turning-point in the religious history of man when a reformer, full of the most earnest moral purpose, and trained in all the intellectual culture [143] of his time, put forth deliberately, and with a knowledge of the opposing views, the doctrine of a salvation to be found here, in this life, in an inward change of heart, to be brought about by perseverance in a mere system of self-culture and of self-control.
That system, it will be seen, is called the Noble Path, and is divided into eight sections or divisions, each of which commences with the word sammā — a word for which we have no real equivalent in English, though it has been rendered by such terms as 'right,' 'perfect,' and 'correct.' Our word 'right,' in some of its uses, would be a sufficiently adequate translation, but it is based on a different derivation, and connotes a set of ideas not alluded to by sammā. If used as an adjective this word — signifying literally 'going with' — means either 'general, common,' or 'corresponding, mutual,' and as an adverb, 'commonly, usually, normally,' or 'fittingly, properly, correctly;' and hence, in a secondary sense, and with allusion to both these ideas, 'round, fit, and perfect, normal and complete.' When used to characterise such widely different things as language, livelihood, and belief, the meaning of the term is by no means difficult to grasp; but it is difficult, if not impossible, to find any single English word which in each case would convey its full force without importing also some extraneous idea. From a desire to follow closely the Pāli form of expression I had first in my manual of 'Buddhism' adopted the one word 'right' throughout the translation of the text; and I have kept to this below, though I feel that that word quite fails to give the force of the preposition sam ({Greek sun-}, con-), which is the essential part of the Pāli sammā. But I think the meaning of the Buddhist ideal, of the summary which is the most essential doctrine, the very pith of Buddhism, would be better brought out by a diversified rendering in the way I afterwards attempted in an article in the Fortnightly Review (No. CLVI); or, as above (p. 107), with the authorised interpretation appended. It would then run [144]
1. Right Views; free from superstition or delusion.
2. Right Aims; high, and worthy of the intelligent, earnest man.
3. Right Speech; kindly, open, truthful.
4. Right Conduct; peaceful, honest, pure.
5. Right Livelihood; bringing hurt or danger to no living thing.
6. Right Effort; in self-training, and in self-control.
7. Right Mindfulness; the active, watchful mind.
8. Right Contemplation; earnest thought on the deep mysteries of life.
It is interesting to notice that Gogerly, who first rendered sammā throughout by correct[7], afterwards adopted the other method[8]; and as these eight divisions of the perfect life are of such vital importance for a correct understanding of what Buddhism really was, I here add in parallel columns his two versions of the terms used: —
|
1 |
Correct views (of truth). |
Correct doctrines. |
|
2 |
Correct thoughts. |
A clear perception (of their nature). |
|
3 |
Correct words. |
Inflexible veracity. |
|
4 |
Correct conduct. |
Purity of conduct. |
|
5 |
Correct (mode of obtaining a) livelihood. |
A sinless occupation. |
|
6 |
Correct efforts. |
Perseverance in duty. |
|
7 |
Correct meditation. |
Holy meditation. |
|
8 |
Correct tranquillity. |
Mental tranquillity. |
The varying expressions in these two lists are intended in all cases, (except perhaps the second,) to convey the same idea. The second division (sammā-saṅkappo) is not really open to any doubt. Saṅkappo is will, volition, determination, desire; that exertion of the will in the various affairs of life which results from the feeling that a certain result will be desirable. The only variation in the meaning is that sometimes more stress is laid upon the implied exertion of the will, sometimes more stress upon the implied desire [145] which calls it into action. 'Motive' would be somewhat too impersonal, 'volition' too metaphysical a rendering; 'aims' or 'aspirations' seems to me to best express the sense intended in this passage.
In No. 7 (sammā-sati) sati is literally 'memory,' but is used with reference to the constantly repeated phrase 'mindful and thoughtful' (sato sampajāno); and means that activity of mind and constant presence of mind which is one of the duties most frequently inculcated on the good Buddhist. Gogerly's rendering of the term should have been reserved for the last division (sammā-samādhi), that prolonged meditation on the deep mysteries of life, which is stated in the Great Decease[9] to be the necessary complement and accessory to intelligence and goodness. Reason and works are good in themselves, but they require to be made perfect by that samādhi which in Buddhism corresponds to faith in Christianity.
This Buddhist ideal of the perfect life has an analogy most instructive from a historical point of view with the ideals of the last pagan thinkers in Europe before the rise of Christianity, and of the modern exponents of what has been called fervent atheism. When after many centuries of thought a pantheistic or monotheistic unity has been evolved out of the chaos of polytheism, — which is itself a modified animism or animistic polydæmonism, — there has always arisen at last a school to whom theological discussions have lost their interest, and who have sought for a new solution of the questions to which the theologies have given inconsistent answers, in a new system in which man was to work out here, on earth, his own salvation. It is their place in the progress of thought that helps us to understand how it is that there is so much in common between the Agnostic philosopher of India, the Stoics of Greece and Rome, and some of the newest schools in France, in Germany, and among ourselves.
The Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteousness
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta.
Reverence to the Blessed One, the Holy One, the Fully-Enlightened One
1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. The Blessed One was once staying at Benares, at the hermitage called Migadāya. And there the Blessed One addressed the company of the five Bhikkhus[10], and said:
2. 'There are two extremes, O Bhikkhus, which the man who has given up the world[11] ought not to follow — the habitual practice, on the one hand of those things whose attraction depends upon the passions, and especially of sensuality — a low and pagan[12] way (of seeking satisfaction) unworthy, unprofitable, and fit only for the worldly-minded — [147] and the habitual practice, on the other hand, of asceticism (or self-mortification), which is painful, unworthy, and unprofitable.
3. 'There is a middle path, O Bhikkhus, avoiding these two extremes, discovered by the Tathāgata[13] — a path which opens the eyes, and bestows understanding, which leads to peace of mind, to the higher wisdom, to full enlightenment, to Nirvāṇa!
4. 'What is that middle path, O Bhikkhus, avoiding these two extremes, discovered by the Tathāgata — that path which opens the eyes, and bestows understanding, which 'leads to peace of mind, to the higher wisdom, to full enlightenment, to Nirvāṇa? Verily! it is this noble eightfold path that is to say
'Right views;
Right aspirations;
Right speech;
Right conduct;
Right livelihood;
Right effort;
Right mindfulness; and
Right contemplation.
'This, O Bhikkhus, is that middle path, avoiding these two extremes, discovered by the Tathāgata — that path which opens the eyes, and bestows understanding, [148] which leads to peace of mind, to the higher wisdom, to full enlightenment, to Nirvāṇa!
5. 'Now[14] this, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning suffering.
'Birth is attended with pain[15], decay is painful, disease is painful, death is painful. Union with the unpleasant is painful, painful is separation from the pleasant; and any craving that is unsatisfied, that too is painful. In brief, the five aggregates which spring from attachment (the conditions of individuality and their cause)[16] are painful.
'This then, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning suffering.
6. 'Now this, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the origin of suffering.
'Verily, it is that thirst (or craving), causing the renewal of existence, accompanied by sensual delight, seeking satisfaction now here, now there — that is to say, the craving for the gratification of the passions, or the craving for (a future) life, or the craving for success (in this present life)[17].
[149] 'This then, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the origin of suffering.
7. Now this, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the destruction of suffering.
'Verily, it is the destruction, in which no passion remains, of this very thirst; the laying aside of, the getting rid of, the being free from, the harbouring no longer of this thirst.
'This then, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the destruction of suffering.
8. 'Now this, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the way[18] which leads to the destruction of sorrow. Verily! it is this noble eightfold path[19]; that is to say:
Right views;
Right aspirations;
Right speech;
Right conduct;
Right livelihood;
Right effort;
Right mindfulness;
and Right contemplation.
This then, O Bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the destruction of sorrow.
9. 'That this was the noble truth concerning sorrow, was not, O Bhikkhus, among the doctrines handed down, but there arose within me the eye (to perceive it), there arose the knowledge (of its nature), there arose the understanding (of its cause), there arose the wisdom (to guide in the path of tranquillity), there arose the light (to dispel darkness from it)[20].
10. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I should comprehend that this was the noble truth concerning sorrow, though it was not among the doctrines banded down, there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
11. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I had comprehended that this was the noble truth concerning sorrow, though it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye, there [151] arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
12. 'That this was the noble truth concerning the origin of sorrow, though it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye; but there arose within me the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
13. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I should put away the origin of sorrow, though the noble truth concerning it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
14. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I had fully put away the origin of sorrow, though the noble truth concerning it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
15. 'That this, O Bhikkhus, was the noble truth concerning the destruction of sorrow, though it was not among the doctrines handed down; but there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
16. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I should fully realize the destruction of sorrow, though the noble truth concerning it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
17. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I had fully realized the destruction of sorrow, though the noble [152] truth concerning it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
18. 'That this was the noble truth concerning the way which leads to the destruction of sorrow, was not, O Bhikkhus, among the doctrines handed down; but there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
19. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I should become versed in the way which leads to the destruction of sorrow, though the noble truth concerning it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
20. 'And again, O Bhikkhus, that I had become versed in the way which leads to the destruction of sorrow, though the noble truth concerning it was not among the doctrines handed down, there arose within me the eye, there arose the knowledge, there arose the understanding, there arose the wisdom, there arose the light.
21. 'So long, O Bhikkhus, as my knowledge and insight were not quite clear, regarding each of these four noble truths in this triple order, in this twelvefold manner — so long was I uncertain whether I had attained to the full insight of that wisdom which is unsurpassed in the heavens or on earth, among the whole race of Samaṇas and Brāhmans, or of gods or men.
22. 'But as soon, O Bhikkhus, as my knowledge [153] and insight were quite clear regarding each of these four noble truths, in this triple order, in this twelvefold manner — then did I become certain that I had attained to the full insight of that wisdom which is unsurpassed in the heavens or on earth, among the whole race of Samaṇas and Brāhmans, or of gods or men.
23. 'And now this knowledge and this insight has arisen within me. Immovable is the emancipation of my heart. This is my last existence. There will now be no rebirth for me!'
24. Thus spake the Blessed One. The company of the five Bhikkhus, glad at heart, exalted the words of the Blessed One. And when the discourse had been uttered, there arose within the venerable Kondañña the eye of truth, spotless, and without a stain, (and he saw that) whatsoever has an origin, in that is also inherent the necessity of coming to an end[21].
25. And when the royal chariot wheel of the truth had thus been set rolling onwards by the Blessed One, the gods of the earth gave forth a shout, saying:
'In Benāres, at the hermitage of the Migadāya, the supreme wheel of the empire of Truth has been set rolling by the Blessed One — that wheel which not by any Samaṇa or Brāhman, not by any god, [154] not by any Brahma or Māra, not by any one in the universe, can ever be turned back!'
26. And when they heard the shout of the gods of the earth, the attendant gods of the four great kings[22] (the guardian angels of the four quarters of the globe) gave forth a shout, saying:
'In Benāres, at the hermitage of the Migadāya, the supreme wheel of the empire of Truth has been set rolling by the Blessed One — that wheel which not by any Samaṇa or Brāhman, not by any god, not by any Brahma or Māra, not by any one in the universe, can ever be turned back!'
27. [And thus as the gods in each of the heavens heard the shout of the inhabitants of the heaven beneath, they took up the cry until the gods in the highest heaven of heavens] gave forth the shout, saying:
'In Benāres, at the hermitage of the Migadāya, the supreme wheel of the empire of Truth has been set rolling by the Blessed One — that wheel which not by any Samaṇa or Brāhman, not by any god, not by any Brahma or Māra, not by any one in the universe, can ever be turned back[23]!'
[155] 28. And thus, in an instant, a second, a moment, the sound went up even to the world of Brahmā: and this great ten-thousand-world-system quaked and trembled and was shaken violently, and an immeasurable bright light appeared in the universe, beyond even the power of the gods!
29. Then did the Blessed One give utterance to this exclamation of joy: 'Kondañña hath realized it. 'Kondañña hath realized it!' And so the venerable 'Kondañña acquired the name of Aññāta-Kondañña ('the 'Kondañña who realized')'.[24]
END OF THE DHAMMACAKKAPPAVATTANA SUTTA
[1]MS. Egerton, 794; bought from a bookseller named Rodel in 1839
[2] Livraison, No. X.
[3]'Buddhism,' p. 45.
[4]'Memoir on the Tooth Relic,' &c., p. 15.]
[5]'Wheel of the Law,' p. 288.
[6]Chap. I, §§ 10-20.
[7]Journal of the Ceylon Asiatic Society, 1845.
[8] Ibid. 1865.
[9]Chap . I, § 12, and often afterwards.
[10]These are the five mendicants who had waited on the Bodisat during his austerities, as described in 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' pp. 88, 89. Their names are given on p. 113 of that book; see below, the note on § 32.
[11] Pabbajito, one who has gone forth, who has renounced worldly things, a 'religious.'
[12]Gamma, a word of the same derivation as, and corresponding meaning to, our word 'pagan.'
[13]The Tathāgata is an epithet of a Buddha. It is interpreted by Buddhaghosa, in the Samangala Vilāsinī, to mean that he came to earth for the same purposes, after having passed through the same training in former births, as all the supposed former Buddhas; and that, when he had so come, all his actions corresponded with theirs.
'Avoiding these two extremes' should perhaps be referred to the Tathāgata, but I prefer the above rendering.
[14]On the following 'four truths' compare Dhammapada, verse 191, and Mahā-parinibbāna Sutta II, 2, 3, and IV, 7, 8.
[15]Or 'is painful.'
[16]Pañk' upādānakkhandhā. On the Khandhā, or the material and mental aggregates which go to make up an individual, see my 'Buddhism,' Chap. III. Upādāna, or 'grasping' is their source, and the uprooting of this upādāna from the mind is Arahatship.
One might express the central thought of this First Noble Truth. in the language of the nineteenth century by saying that pain results from existence as an individual. It is the struggle to maintain one's individuality which produces pain — a most pregnant and far-reaching suggestion. See for a fuller exposition the Fortnightly Review for December, 1879.
[17]'The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life' {footnote p. 149} correspond very exactly to the first and third of these three taṇhās. 'The lust of the flesh, the lust of life, and the pride of life,' or 'the lust of the flesh, the lust of life, and the love of this present world,' would be not inadequate renderings of all three.
The last two are in Pāli bhava-taṇhā and vibhava-taṇhā, on which Childers, on the authority of Vigesiṇha, says: 'The former applies to the sassata-diṭṭhi, and means a desire for an eternity of existence; the latter applies to the ukkheda-diṭṭhi, and means a desire for annihilation in the very first (the present) form of existence.' Sassata-diṭṭhi may be called the 'everlasting life heresy,' and ukkheda-diṭṭhi the 'let-us-eat-and-drink-for-to-morrow-we-die heresy.' These two heresies, thus implicitly condemned, have very close analogies to theism and materialism.
Spence Hardy says ('Manual of Buddhism,' p. 496): 'Bhawa-taṇhā signifies the pertinacious love of existence induced by the supposition that transmigratory existence is not only eternal, but felicitous and desirable. Wibhawa-taṇhā is the love of the present life, under the notion that existence will cease therewith, and that there is to be no future state.'
Vibhava in Sanskrit means, 1. development; 2. might, majesty, prosperity; and 3. property: but the technical Buddhist sense, as will be seen from the above, is something more than this.
[18]Paṭipadā.
[19]Ariyo ataṅgiko Maggo.
[20]The words in parentheses have been added by Gogerly, doubtless from some comment not accessible to me; and I have included them also, but in parentheses, as they seem to complete the ideas actually involved in the text.
[21]It is the perception of this fact which is the Dhammacakkhu, the Eye of Truth, or the Eye for Qualities as it might be rendered with reference to the meaning of Dhamma in the words that follow.
They are in Pāli yam kiñki samudaya-dhammaɱ, sabbaɱ taɱ nirodha-dhammaɱ, literally, 'whatever has the quality of beginning, that has the quality of ceasing.'
[22]Their names are given in the Mahā Samaya Sutta in Grimblot's 'Sept Suttas Palis.'
[23]The text repeats § 26 for each of the heavens; and the gods thus enumerated are as follows, beginning with Bhummā Devā in § 25:
1. Bhummā Devā.
2. Catumahārājika Devā.
3. Yāmā Devā.
4. Tusitā Devā.
5. Nimmānaratī Devā.
6. Paranimmitavasavattī Devā.
7. Brahmakāyikā Devā.
See the Mahā Samaya Sutta in Grimblot's 'Sept Suttas Palis,' and {footnote p. 155} compare Professor Max Müller's note in 'Buddhaghosha's Parables,' p. xxxiii, and Hardy in the 'Manual of Buddhism,' p. 25.
[24]The Mahā Vagga completes the narrative as follows: 'And then the venerable Aññāta-Kondañña having seen the truth, having arrived at the truth, having known the truth, having penetrated the truth, having past beyond doubt, having laid aside uncertainty, having attained to confidence, and being dependent on no one beside himself for knowledge of the religion of the teacher, spake thus to the Blessed One:
'"May I become, O my Lord, a novice under the Blessed One, may I receive full ordination!"
'"Welcome, O brother!" said the Blessed One, "the truth has been well laid down. Practice holiness to the complete suppression of sorrow!"
'And that was the ordination of the Venerable One.'
The other four, Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahānāma, and Assaji, were converted on the following days, according to the 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' p. 113.
It is there also said that 'myriads of the angels (devas) had been converted simultaneously with Kondanya.'
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