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Like a snake with a broken fang, With pride, his body unbending. 65. Once at the foot of the banyan tree, known as Ajapāla, In Uruvelā, "Have you done your duty? The promise you made Is written in my mind's notebook." 66. "Your disciples, monks, have crossed over, Now upholders of the Dhamma, practicing in accordance with the Dhamma, Devoted to practice, learned, Eloquent, confident, and disciplined." 67. "Refuting the arguments of opponents, With the Dhamma and miracles, they Speak and cause others to speak the Dhamma. Therefore, may you attain final Nibbāna," he said. 68. Having completed all the Buddha's tasks, When the Sage was thus addressed three times, Like a flame without fuel, without attachment to existence, He was inclined to refuse. 69. "May the Light of Truth, free from anxiety, dwell, dispelling the darkness of evil, for forty-five years, Like a lamp of the Dhamma King in the three realms, with all defilements extinguished, You will attain Nibbāna," he declared that day, abandoning the force of the life-sustaining factors. 70. Thus, at the Cāpāla Shrine, abandoning the life-sustaining factors with mindfulness and clear comprehension, An earthquake occurred, and a deep sound arose like the striking of a drum, Lightning flashed, like hundreds of arms striking dry cloud drums. The world was plunged into the darkness of sorrow, and a terrifying hair-raising event occurred. Here ends the twenty-eighth chapter, the Paridīpa, on the Buddha's abandonment of the life-sustaining factors, in the Jinavaṃsadīpa, a cause of joy to the hearts of all poets, composed by the ascetic named Medhānanda, in the Nidāna section. 1. Having gone to where Ānanda was dwelling, the Blessed One sat down, With lotus-like feet, greatly honored, with clasped hands raised to his head, "Venerable Sir, is there happiness?" Hair standing on end, terrifying, Why did the earth tremble so greatly? he asked. 2. Sometimes, when a strong wind blows below in the sky, The earth, supported by wind and water, the dusty ground, Trembles like a fish in a net, like a wave-filled sea, This, Ānanda, is a cause for the earth's movement. 3. Some ascetics and brahmins, unlimited, Have cultivated the water element and subtle earth, Having attained special knowledge, mastered, and gained absorption, They cause this to tremble; this too, is a cause for the earth's shaking. 4. When a Bodhisatta consciously enters the womb, And when he emerges from the womb in his final existence, Or when the unparalleled being awakens to enlightenment, These, ascetic, are great causes for the earth's shaking. 5. When the Buddha, the eye of the world, proclaims the Dhamma-wheel, And when he relinquishes the force of his life-principle, This earth trembles, touching the element of Nibbāna in the aggregates, These, Ānanda, are great causes for the earth's trembling. 6. With a heart free from agitation, Ānanda comforted the elder Ānanda, Increasing his teaching further and further, Ānanda, I once dwelt near the Nerañjarā River, At the foot of the goatherd's banyan tree, victorious over the water-releaser. 7. Let the Blessed One touch the Nibbāna element in the aggregates there, The evil one, with a heart stained by envy and malice, spoke thus, Having found an opportunity, he again urged me in this way, Today, sitting in the most beautiful Cāpāla shrine. 8. In three months, you will attain the stilling of the aggregates, This matter was announced by a monk, wise and mindful, The life-principle was relinquished by me, the victor over Namuci. 9. Having spoken thus, the elder Ānanda, with lotus-like feet, Bowed and said, "Venerable sir, remain for an aeon for the welfare of many," Urged three times, impelled by great compassion, "This is not the time," he said, "to urge the Sugata." 10. If you believe the Blessed One's enlightenment, why Did you press the Ten-Powered One, whose word is unassailable? When the Blessed One made that sign, You alone seemed to have committed a misdeed and an offense. 11. If you had begged the Ten-Powered One, and he had refused, The Teacher would have given you a third chance, separation from loved ones. "No," said the ascetic, "accept what is conditioned by me, That which is born, come into being, and subject to change, how can that be obtained here?" 12. With a single, truthful word, with a true promise, The life-force is diminished, Ananda, declared by the Blessed One. Just as a word is like an axe that fells a tree, so It does not return, even for the sake of preserving life. 13. Having spoken thus, the Well-Gone One, who moves like a noble elephant, Went to the great forest, the beautiful Alakāsāra Vesālī. Entering the peaked house there with the Elder Ananda, He said, "Assemble the community of ascetics quickly." 14. Having heard these words, struck by the dart of sorrow, The venerable Vasigaṇa went to the assembly hall. Having arranged the Teacher's footstool, he announced the time, And the Blessed One came and sat on the seat. 15. Having addressed the community of ascetics, "These qualities conducive to enlightenment, Attained by me myself, are well-taught to you. Having learned them, so that the Teaching may endure, They should be cultivated, well-practiced, and cherished," he said. 16. "I will attain Nibbana," said the Blessed One, "with the passing away, soon, In three months, the light of the world, the lamp of the universe. You ascetics, all strive with diligence, All conditioned things are subject to arising and dissolution, marked by impermanence." 17. In the forenoon, with a bowl placed in his lotus-like hand, The Teacher, with abundant steps, went covered in his robe, The city wall, moat, and ramparts reddened by the radiance of his body, Bearing the mark of the wheel on his foot, to the Sālīvesālī named place. 18. Wandering there from house to house for alms, Seeking, After the meal, the world-eye, with eyes like blue lotuses, Looking at that Vesali, with the gait of an elephant, Ananda, the chief, Looking around, said this: "This is my last sight." 19. From Tambhāṭha, delightful to the eyes, frequented by disciples, Dwelling in Bhaṇḍagāma's forest, the lion of the Ditthivādins, Having uttered a discourse, sweet and delightful, with profound Dharma sound, "For me, with craving destroyed, there is no more rebirth, O monks," he spoke. 20. "Practice well the three trainings, O monks," Thus having spoken, the Self-Existent, the embodiment of wisdom and virtue, From that village, again he went to Hatthigāma, Ambagāma, Jambuggāma, with gait like a swan, walking with the stride of an elephant. 21. Having reached Bhogāyatana, a prosperous place named Bhoga, Without attachment, that city, like the lord of speech, "Cultivate mindfulness, O monks, listen well to this, I will teach you four noble references," he said. 22. "This is the Dhamma, this is the Vinaya, this is the Teacher's teaching, 'I have heard this face to face from the Blessed One,' If any monk says this to me, O monks, It should not be rejected, nor should it be dismissed." 23. "In my Tipitaka, among the words and phrases, Whatever passage occurs, is seen, is found here, 'This is well grasped, spoken by that monk, you should go to him,' It should be rejected, if otherwise, it is poorly grasped, if not." 24. "In the monastery, where the great Sangha of monks dwells, Elder monks, upholders of the Tipitaka, banners of the Theravāda lineage, Or a monk who is known, more capable, face to face with me, 'This is understood by them, well grasped,' if it is said." 25. "Having compared it to the Vinaya of the Teacher, the Suttas, and the Abhidhamma, If it agrees, then it should be accepted, if not, no, You should always bear in mind these four great references, Thus spoke the Sage, ever mindful, without attachment." 26. Having reached the excellent Pāvāpura, then, with the burden of his body placed down, In Ambārañña... Having heard, "The King of Dhamma cares for me," With sharp intellect, eager mind, relishing the sight, Cunda, the smith's son, went and bowed at his lotus feet; () 27. Absorbed in hearing the true Dhamma, sitting in solitude, A Stream-enterer on the first day, seeing the Teacher, Cunda, named after the moon, imploring the Buddha, Lord of wisdom, for his own sake, entered his house like the eastern mountain; () 28. Having prepared, householder, much food at night's end, Delicious edibles, very sweet, tender pork, Rich in flavor, abundant in wealth, he informed the King of Dhamma, "It is time, Venerable One, the meal is ready, Blessed One"; () 29. Having taken the alms bowl, arms like sal-tree trunks, The bowl covered with a double lid, the color of ripe banyan, Having draped the patched robe, surrounded by disciples, His golden hue ascended into the palace; () 30. Like the rising sun, the Ten-Powered One, then on the eastern peak, Seated on the noble seat adorned with jewels, Having addressed Cunda, the kinsman of the sun, The Teacher said, "Serve me with this tender pork"; () 31. Having satisfied the Buddha and the foremost Sangha with his own hands, Having buried the pork in a pit, then the Teacher's leftovers, Having awakened Cunda, the smith's son, absorbed in hearing the Dhamma, The Victor departed, like a lotus filled with water; () 32. A severe illness, a strong, bitter pain, his meal Having been eaten, befell the Blessed One, bloody diarrhea, Having endured it, mindful and fully aware, not far, Having crossed the road, the weary Sage approached a tree's root; () 33. Having requested, the attendant elder gave him a four-folded Robe, where the Hero rested, exhausted, Having gone, Ananda, quickly bring me Water for the thirsty one, for the quenched of all suffering, he said; () 34. Because on that road, churned by the passage of a hundred carts,