English
I will declare the renunciation, How the Clear-Eyed One renounced; How, having reflected, He approved of renunciation. "This household life is confined, A place of dust," thus he thought; "Renunciation is like open air," Seeing this, he renounced. Having renounced, with his body, He avoided evil deeds; Abandoning verbal misconduct, He purified his livelihood. The Buddha went to Rājagaha, The mountain city of the Magadhans; He went for alms, Endowed with excellent marks. Bimbisāra saw him, Standing on his palace; Seeing him endowed with marks, He spoke these words. "Sirs, listen to this: He is handsome, tall, pure; And endowed with good conduct, He looks only a yoke's length ahead. "With downcast eyes, mindful, He is not like one of low birth; Let royal messengers run forth, Where will the bhikkhu go?" Those royal messengers, sent forth, Followed behind him; "Where will the bhikkhu go? Where will his dwelling be?" Walking from house to house, With guarded doors, well-restrained; Quickly he filled his bowl, Comprehending, mindful. Having gone for alms, The sage departed from the city; He went to Paṇḍava, "Here will be my dwelling." Seeing him settled, Three messengers sat down; One of them, having come, Reported to the king. "This bhikkhu, O great king, Is in front of Paṇḍava; Seated like a lordly tiger, Like a lion in a mountain cave." Hearing the messenger's words, The warrior king, by a fine carriage; Hurrying forth, departed, Towards Paṇḍava mountain. Having gone as far as the carriage could go, The warrior king descended from the carriage; On foot, he approached, And sat down near him. Having sat down, the king exchanged greetings, Then spoke courteous words; Having concluded the conversation, He spoke these words. "You are young and youthful, In the prime of life..." Endowed with excellent appearance, like a high-born Khattiya. 423. “Adorning the forefront of the army, surrounded by a host of elephants; I give you enjoyments, partake of them, tell your birth, when asked.” 424. “Straight is the country, O king, facing the Himalayas; Endowed with wealth and energy, dwelling among the Kosalans. 425. “By clan, named Adicca, by birth, named Sakya; From that family I have gone forth, not desiring sensual pleasures. 426. “Having seen the danger in sensual pleasures, and renunciation as safety; I will go for exertion, in this my mind delights.” The first discourse on Going Forth is finished. 2. The Discourse on Exertion 427. “Me, thus intent on exertion, by the Nerañjarā river; Having withdrawn, meditating, for the attainment of security from bondage. 428. “Namuci with a piteous voice, approached, speaking: ‘You are thin, ill-favored, death is near you. 429. “‘One thousandth part is death’s, one part is your life. Live, sir, life is better, living, you will do meritorious deeds. 430. “‘And if you practice the holy life, and offer the fire sacrifice; Much merit is accumulated, what will you do with exertion? 431. “‘The path of exertion is difficult, hard to do, hard to achieve.’” Māra, speaking these verses, stood before the Buddha. 432. To Māra, who spoke thus, the Blessed One said this: “Friend of the heedless, evil one, for what purpose have you come here? 433. “Even a tiny bit of merit is of no use to me. And for those who need merit, Māra, you should speak to them. 434. “Faith exists, and energy, and wisdom exists in me. Though I am thus resolute, why do you ask about my life? 435. “Even the streams of rivers, this wind can dry up. What then For me, resolute, blood will not dry up. 436. As the blood dries up, bile and phlegm also dry up; As the flesh wastes away, the mind becomes more serene; More mindfulness and wisdom, and concentration remain for me. 437. As I thus dwell, having attained the supreme feeling; The mind does not long for sensual pleasures, see the purity of this being. 438. Sensual desires are your first army, the second is called discontent; The third is hunger and thirst for you, the fourth is called craving. 439. The fifth is sloth and torpor for you, the sixth is called fear; The seventh is doubt for you, hypocrisy and stubbornness are your eighth. 440. Gain, fame, honor, and wrongly acquired glory; He who exalts himself, and despises others. 441. This, Namuci, is your army, attacking the Dark One; A coward does not conquer it, but having conquered, one obtains happiness. 442. Let him wear the muñja grass, fie upon my life! Better for me to die in battle, than to live defeated. 443. Here, some recluses and brahmins are not seen to plunge in; And they do not know the path by which the virtuous go. 444. Having seen the army all around, Māra with his mount, ready; I go forth to battle, let him not dislodge me from my place. 445. That army of yours, which the world with its gods cannot overcome; That I will shatter with wisdom, like an unripe fruit with a stone. 446. Having brought my resolve under control, and mindfulness well-established; I shall wander from country to country, disciplining many disciples. 447. They, diligent and resolute, carrying out my teaching; They will go, without desire, where having gone, they will not sorrow. 448. For seven years, the Blessed One I followed step by step; I found no opportunity, for the Fully Awakened One, the mindful one. Like a stone the color of fat, a crow circled around. "Perhaps here we might find something soft, perhaps there might be some taste." Not finding any taste there, the crow flew away. "Like a crow approaching a rock, we will make Gotama weary." For him, overcome with sorrow, the lute slipped from his armpit. Then that dejected yakkha vanished right there. The Discourse on Exertion, the second, is finished. 3. The Discourse on Well-Spoken Words Thus have I heard: On one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi, in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, "Bhikkhus!" "Venerable sir," they replied to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this: "Bhikkhus, a statement endowed with four qualities is well-spoken, not ill-spoken, blameless and not to be blamed by the wise. Which four? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu speaks only what is well-spoken, not ill-spoken; he speaks only what is Dhamma, not what is not Dhamma; he speaks only what is pleasing, not what is unpleasing; he speaks only what is true, not what is false. These, bhikkhus, are the four qualities with which a statement is well-spoken, not ill-spoken, blameless and not to be blamed by the wise." This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One, the Teacher, further said this: The good say that well-spoken words are supreme. One should speak Dhamma, not non-Dhamma: that is the second. One should speak what is pleasing, not unpleasing: that is the third. One should speak what is true, not false: that is the fourth. Then Ven. Vangisa rose from his seat, arranged his upper robe over one shoulder, and, extending his hands in anjali toward the Blessed One, said to the Blessed One, "It occurs to me, Blessed One! It occurs to me, Fortunate One!" "Let it occur to you, Vangisa," the Blessed One said. Then Ven. Vangisa extolled the Blessed One face-to-face with fitting verses: One should speak only that word by which one does not torment oneself, nor harm others. That, indeed, is a well-spoken word. Pleasant Speak only that speech, which is well-received; Which brings no evil, and is dear to others. Truth, indeed, is immortal speech, this is the eternal Dhamma; In truth, in meaning, and in Dhamma, the good are said to be established. The speech that the Buddha speaks, for safety, for Nibbāna's attainment; For the ending of suffering, that indeed is the supreme speech. Thus have I heard: At one time the Blessed One was dwelling among the Kosalans, on the bank of the Sundarikā River. Now at that time, the brahmin Sundarika Bhāradvāja was offering fire, performing the fire sacrifice, on the bank of the Sundarikā River. Then, after the brahmin Sundarika Bhāradvāja had offered fire and performed the fire sacrifice, he rose from his seat and looked around in all four directions: "Who now might eat this remnant of the offering?" The brahmin Sundarika Bhāradvāja saw the Blessed One not far away, sitting at the root of a certain tree, with his head covered. Having seen him, he took the remnant of the offering with his left hand and a water-pot with his right hand, and approached the Blessed One. Then the Blessed One uncovered his head at the sound of the brahmin Sundarika Bhāradvāja's footsteps. Then the brahmin Sundarika Bhāradvāja thought: "This venerable one is a shaven-head, this venerable one is a shaven-head!" and was about to turn back from that very spot. Then it occurred to the brahmin Sundarika Bhāradvāja: "Indeed, some brahmins here are shaven-heads. What if I were to approach him and ask about his birth?" Then the brahmin Sundarika Bhāradvāja approached the Blessed One; having approached, he said to the Blessed One: "What is your birth, venerable sir?" Then the Blessed One addressed the brahmin Sundarika Bhāradvāja with verses: "I am not a brahmin, nor a royal son, nor a merchant, nor am I anyone; Having fully understood the lineage of ordinary people, I wander without possessions, with wisdom Wearing a patched robe, I wander without a home, With shaven hair, with a mind completely cooled; Not clinging to the young men here, It is not fitting, brahmin, that you ask me about my lineage. Indeed, brahmins ask, sirs, "Are you a brahmin among brahmins?" If indeed you say you are a brahmin, And you say I am not a brahmin; Then I will ask you about that Sāvittī, The three-footed, twenty-four-syllabled verse. Relying on what, did sages and men, Khattiyas and brahmins, for the gods, Perform various sacrifices in this world? He who has reached the end, is skilled in the Vedas, at the time of sacrifice,