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Are found in my mind as well," as if, Thus remembering, not long after, the ascetic, Attained the immaterial jhāna by the power of effort; 55. "That which you have attained has been attained by you," When thus informed by the excellent ascetic, "Let us both take good care of this group," Saying this, he honored him with the teacher's duty; 56. "This path is not for liberation from existence, But truly for attainment of the peak of existence," Thus having decided in his heart, the compassionate one, Disgusted, departed from there, "Enough!"; 57. The seeker of liberation, with the gait of a victorious elephant, Wandered alone in Magadha, Where the village of Senānī was, He approached the hermitage in Uruvelā; 58. He saw it teeming with deer and birds, Adorned with groves swayed by gentle breezes, Cool with the flowing waters of the Nerañjarā, A delightful and supreme hermitage there; He, controlling himself, endeavored to disentangle The matted locks, swarming with lice, of the ascetic; There, by his practice of self-mortification, He pleased the eminent ascetic, a Vidyādhara. Then, as he journeyed through the country, The five monks, reaching the grove, Attended on that great man, As he strenuously practiced austerities, according to their ability. The wise one, fulfilling the most difficult practice, Pressed his teeth tightly together, And with his tongue forced his palate, And with his mind oppressed and tormented his mind. Seizing the head with his strong hands, the wise one, Though very weak, squeezed it hard, As if he were squeezing a strong man; Then from his armpits flowed abundant drops of sweat. "This is the path," thinking thus for the sake of enlightenment, He long practiced the lifeless path, And, controlling himself, he dwelt, stopping The in-and-out breathing from his mouth and nose. When they were stopped, and the openings of his ears closed, The wind issued forth with excessive force, Like the loud sound from the mouth of a smith's bellows, When blown upon. Whatever pain arises from a sharp point When piercing the head of a pleasure-seeker, Such then were the severe headaches, From the wind being stopped in his mouth, ears, and nose. At the time of the wind's impact, the wise one Had pains again and again in his head, As if a strong man were tightly binding His head with a strong leather strap. When the openings of his mouth, ears, and nose were completely stopped, The wise one further stopped the wind; Then, the wind, agitating his entrails, Caused severe pains to arise in his abdomen. As a clever butcher might cut open The belly of a cow with a sharp knife, So there arose severe abdominal pains In him who was following the path of non-breathing. Again, practicing lifeless meditation, The hero completely stopped the wind, Arising from thought, going to his mouth, ears, and nose; Thence came bodily distress to the steadfast one. 70. Two strong men, very powerful, Seized the weak man by the arms, And dragged him to the charcoal pit, He experienced such painful suffering. 71. Like a broken pot thrown away, Afflicted with fierce, painful feelings, Seeing the hero fallen in the forest, They declared, "The noble man is dead!" 72. "He is dying," said one deity, "Or what else is it?" asked another, "He is Gotama the ascetic, friends, They announced such behavior." 73. "Why shouldn't I undertake, To completely stop his food?" Thus thinking, moved by compassion, That deity approached Gotama. 74. "If you, ascetic, Cut off your regular food, We will fill you, from the pores of your hair, With divine nourishment, to sustain your body." 75. "If I stop eating solid food, And they sustain me with sweet, delicious juice, While desiring such a method of sustenance, How can that not be a lie for me?" 76. "It is not fitting," he said, rejecting the deity's Deceptive way of sustaining his body, Thus recollecting, the restrained one lived, Taking little, unappetizing food daily. 77. He wore bark cloth, wandered without shaving, Abandoned proper conduct, and was unsteady, He did not accept offerings, invitations, Or food from a pot or a bowl. 78. He did not accept a staff, pestle, or mortar, Food brought from between a pregnant woman, Or food from a place where a dog was lying, He did not accept food collected by trickery. 79. He did not drink strong or weak liquor, Even if it was triple-purified, He rejected fish, meat, and delicacies, Once, in his asceticism, he was without the smell of meat. 80. He gradually reduced his food from seven handfuls, Until he took only one mouthful, striving for strength, He gradually reduced his food from seven handfuls, Until he went to only one house to beg. 81. Having been given one, two, three, four, five morsels, He accepted six, seven, or thirty, Living on alms collected in a day or half a month, He ate roots and self-fallen fruits. 82. He ate wild rice, broken rice, moss, and herbs, Nīvāra grains, husks, and broken rice gruel, Oil cake, cow dung, grass, burnt rice, The hero, greatly detached, consumed such food. 83. He drank a little thin lentil soup, And likewise chickpea, bean, and mung bean broth, Content with little food, he lived Even on sesame seeds and rice grains. 84. He wore hemp cloth, coarse cloth, discarded rags, Bark garments, grass garments, and tree-bark robes, He wore a hair blanket or a wool blanket, And wings of owls and pelts of animals. 85. Of bad complexion, deformed, and despised, Sometimes he wore rags from a dust heap, Devoted to self-mortification, He had a beard, matted hair, thin body hair, and sunken eyes. 86. He was an ascetic who avoided sitting, He undertook the practice of standing erect, In a frightful, uneven place full of thorns, He made his bed and walked above it. 87. He strove to wash away his sins By descending into the water at sunset on the third day, Burning and tormenting his own body, For a long time he avoided evil out of fear. 88. He was like a tree, an Induka tree, Whose bark had become like scales, Thus his body became covered With scales of accumulated dirt and grime. 89. He did not remove the dirt and grime, The soot-like stains, with his hand, He made his body emaciated by abstaining from good food, He smeared it with oil and thickened it with dust. 90. He fulfilled the vows of one or two sittings, He was a water drinker, even on a plank or bare ground, He made his bed and lived desiring solitude, He entered the great forest alone, without a companion. 91. "I will not kill these very small creatures That move about in a disorderly way," Out of compassion, having made a vow, The protector walked mindfully, stepping back mindfully, fearing the worms. 92. Low A low-lying forest thicket, a forest abode, A low-lying, dense forest, like a deer. Driven away, seeing people approaching the forest, Overcome with fear, he retreated in such a way. Seeing hunters, forest workers, and others, Cowherds, grass, reed, and wood gatherers, "May they not see me," thinking, "this person," "May I not be seen," he firmly resolved. Fearing solitary dwelling and company, The treasure of asceticism, a low-lying, dense forest, He entered a low-lying, dense forest, Such was his solitude then. In whatever forest he wandered, without detachment, Hair stood on end, and feet trembled, Seeing such a frightening forest, He entered, desiring solitude, he dwelt. During the time of the rains and the cold season, In the cold nights of winter, Filling the open space with his vow, He dwelt with difficulty, dwelling in the forest grove by day. In the hot season, in the late afternoon, Filling the open space with the Dhamma, At night, in the forest, near a cremation ground, He lay down, relying on a heap of firewood. Approaching the Buddha-seed, they spat, They threw dust, They gave a stick to the cattle herders, And began to make them speak. He endured with mindfulness and equanimity, That painful, harsh, and unpleasant feeling, In suffering and happiness, the wise one was like a scale, He did not get angry at those fools. "Purification is through food and austerity," So say some ascetics and other sectarians here, Such as eating jujube and other foods, Desiring purity, he experienced it with few desires. While eating little food, His body shone with the glory of the thirty-two marks, His body was exceedingly radiant and beautiful, His skin clung tightly to his bones. His ribs were like dark, winding vines, Raised and lowered, So were his hands, feet, and other parts, His limbs were raised and lowered in his body. Seeking liberation... Like a half-moon, devoid of splendor, Without flesh, without blood, but with glory; His spine, bent inwards, Was like a necklace of beads. 104. Like a loose latch, a worn-out tie, Or a worn-out Sal tree propped up, His rib cage, with no flesh and blood, Was broken, the ribs visible. 105. Eating little, consuming poor food, His eyes, like wells with stars, Became sunken, deep, Like stars in a deep well. 106. As if blown by wind and sun, Like a bitter gourd, cut and split, The skin of his head, once fine, Was cracked by the cutting of food. 107. The skin of his belly clung to his spine, The sage, the remover of defilement, Bent over, and foul-smelling hairs Fell from his body to the ground. 108. With his hand, touching his spine, He stroked the skin of his belly, With his hand, touching his spine, He stroked the skin of his belly. 109. "Is he a noble man, touched by time?" "Is he handsome, with golden skin?" People of poetic minds then spoke, Seeing his impure, unsightly skin. 110. Those who were ascetics in the past, Who practiced self-mortification, and will be in the future, How intensely will they feel, How intensely do they feel, how intensely will they feel, this bitter pain? 111. Through this difficult practice,