English
When the assembly was freed, they became silent, without doubt in the Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha, or the Path, "If there is doubt, bhikkhus, ask"; 74. "Since the Jina abandons the aggregates, bhikkhus, now, I exhort you, always be fortunate, all conditioned things, Achieve it," with immeasurable wisdom, with diligence, you, The Blessed One declared, "This is our last word"; 75. The form and formless, the realm of action, the absorption, the cessation of perception, Known as the nine kinds of attainments, in direct and reverse order, The Buddha, with boundless, ocean-like qualities, a hero in the battle with Māra, Possessing the strength of Nārāyana, then attained them; 76. That t Entering that meditation, the sage, arising from cessation, Perfectly attained the end of the first jhāna. Again and again entering that meditation, arising from the fourth Form jhāna, he was devoid of all conditioned things. 77. Born of the destruction of affection, Like a lamp, the jewel of the three worlds, The Buddha, without remainder, By himself, attained final Nibbāna. 78. At that moment, gods and humans Together wept aloud, As if in sorrow, trembled This great earth with a thousand roars. 79. Like flashes of lightning, Thunderous clouds struck, Like a banana grove, the serpent Crushed all the world with sorrow. 80. Birthplace, field, Like a crowded place, at those moments, Lonely places, skies, In the world, auspicious signs arose. Thus, in the Jinavaṃsadīpa, composed by the ascetic named Medhānanda, the giver of joy to the hearts of all poets, in the section on the origin, the twenty-ninth chapter, the detailed account of the Tathāgata's attainment of final Nibbāna, is completed. When the Blessed One had attained final Nibbāna, Brahmā Sahampati, together with the attainment of final Nibbāna, spoke this verse: All beings in the world will lay down their accumulation, As such a teacher, a rare individual in the world, The Tathāgata, attained to strength, the fully enlightened one, has attained final Nibbāna. When the Blessed One had attained final Nibbāna, Sakka, the lord of the gods, together with the attainment of final Nibbāna, spoke this verse: Impermanent are conditioned things, subject to arising and passing away, Having arisen, they cease; their cessation is bliss. When the Blessed One had attained final Nibbāna, the venerable Anuruddha, together with the attainment of final Nibbāna, spoke these verses: There was no in-breath or out-breath for him, the steadfast of mind, Free from desire, he, the sage, attained peace, destroying sorrow. With an unattached mind, he endured the pain, Like the extinguishing of a lamp, the liberation of his mind occurred. When the Blessed One had attained final Nibbāna, the venerable Ānanda, together with the attainment of final Nibbāna, spoke this verse: Then there was terror, then there was hair-raising, When the All-Accomplished Buddha He has attained Nibbāna at dawn; 1. The unique eye of the triple world, the sage, quickly, Raising their heads, with folded hands, has attained Nibbāna, They wept, they lamented, they threw open, They whirled around, they fell down, their passion not yet gone; () 2. Consoling the group of disciples, with its sorrow, And the remaining assembly, then the elder with a Dhamma talk, That was passed by Anuruddha, who dispelled the darkness, A friend of Ānanda Thera, pleasing to the heart; () 3. To the Mallas’ city of Kusinārā, prosperous, For announcing his attainment of Nibbāna, Ānanda Thera, with Anuruddha, famed in glory, Sent a messenger, himself as the second; () 4. The Mallas, devoted to that matter, at that time, Where they had gathered, awaiting news, The Thera, with himself as the second, approaching that Council hall, announced that matter, sorrow-stricken; () 5. Hearing that Thera’s well-spoken words, the sons of the Mallas, The Malla women, the Malla daughters-in-law, the Malla women of the land, Wept, fell down, lamented, With arms adorned with bracelets, struck by the arrow of sorrow; () 6. Taking various kinds of instruments, fragrant garlands, And five hundred pairs of cloths, the Mallas, Where the Sugata’s body was lying, Approached that Sāla grove, the Upaṭṭana; () 7. With incense, perfumes, flowers, and dance and song, With musical instruments, parasols, jewels, fans, and chowries, Having made cloth canopies, new decorated pavilions, etc., They performed the bodily veneration for six days; () 8. The chief Malla men, with eight bathed heads, Clad in clean clothes, well covered with perfumed water, Adorned with pearls and jewels, the Tathāgata’s Body was placed on a golden bier; () 9. Unable to move it even a little, on the seventh day, They asked Thera Anuruddha, why is it unliftable, He, with divine eye, knowing the thoughts Of the countless deities, explained after considering; () 10. That body of the Blessed One, being greatly honored By the complete human and divine great offerings, Lift it up, following the custom of the universal monarch, Go to the north side, east of the city; () 11. In the middle of the middle. Entering the city Through the northern gate, Hearing that Bandhula and Pajāpati Mallikā Were standing at the gate for a glimpse; 12. Washed with fragrant water, adorned with great creepers, Shining with the seven jewels, He overshadowed the body of Aṅgīrasa, a mind of a hundred meritorious deeds, Allowing a suitable opportunity; 13. To the east of the Mallanagara city Exists the Makuṭabandhana Cetiya, The body of the refuge of the three worlds, through the eastern Gate, they carried and placed it there; 14. That city, with its level ground, Was then covered with Mandārava flowers, six inches deep, They asked the Elder Ānanda about the procedure For the body of the Teacher, and how the rulers should act; 15. "As one treats the body of a wheel-turning Monarch, so should you treat the body of the Buddha," Thus he spoke, and they wrapped the venerable body of the Blessed One In new linen cloths; 16. They wrapped it also in cloths made of cotton and silk, Making five hundred pairs of cloths in this way, Placing it in a golden trough filled with oil, They covered it with another iron trough; 17. The pyre for the body of the Conqueror, artistically made, Adorned with garlands and creepers, a hundred cubits high, And twenty more, filled with agarwood and sandalwood, They erected, surpassing Vejayanta in glory; 18. The Elder Kassapa, the great lord, went from Pāvā to the Mallanagara named Kusinārā, Walking along the road with five hundred monks, Approaching the foot of a tree, he sat down for a moment; 19. Then, as he was proceeding along the road, Another man, taking a Mandārava flower, An Ājīvaka, seeing him, Kassapa by name, Asked, "Do you know that Gotama, the unsurpassed Conqueror, has passed away?"; 20. "Yes, friend, today is the seventh day Since the Blessed One attained Parinibbāna," When it was said, "I brought this Mandārava flower," Some wept, others lamented, not free from passion; 21. In that assembly of monks, the old Subhadda- Having gone forth, immediately hostile to the Teacher, That bad monk, by the Great Ascetic, We are freed, since our body and speech were oppressed; 22. Whatever we wish, now we will do that, Whatever we do not wish, now we will not do that, "Sorrow not, weep not, enough, friends," Having said, he gave a blow to the Jina's Dhamma-wheel; 23. The Mallas, whose footstools were marked By the diadems of kings, Let four men light the pyre, not easily subdued, They asked the Elder Anuruddha, he said this: "Here, in the hand, the flame blazes, of Kassapa the Elder, the lion;" 24. By whom, with the discourse on Dhamma, the lake of sorrow was struck, The monks, the Teacher's pyre, Kassapa by name, He approached, with Subhadda's talk in his head, Like a dry seat, like a spear in the chest, thinking; 25. Having circumambulated, he resolved, the fourth Jhāna having arisen, the Blessed One's pyre, three times, With joined palms on his head, having broken Those well-established feet, they were established; 26. By the thousand lotus-like hands of the Elders, the Teacher's Foot-rays, a prostration was made, He plunged into the ocean of the taste of the perfume of thought, And the world into the darkness of sorrow born of that; 27. By the Elders, when the pyre was bowed down all around, It blazed up of itself, in the season's own nature, When the Jina was burned, there was no ash like soot, The relics of bones, without fear, remained as they were; 28. Seven were not scattered, the forehead, neck, The tooth-relics of the Sage, the four canine teeth, The mustard-seed sized relics of Siddhattha, The rest, by their radiance, were scattered in three ways; 29. They extinguished the pyre's fire, from the sky Coming forth, the charming streams of water with chowries, With Sal trees, and with water all around, The Mallas, with water perfumed with fragrance; 30. Hanging jeweled garlands, golden garlands, Painted canopies, then the Malla kings bound, Having made a fragrant, excellent, noble dwelling, Well-spread with Kojava blankets; 31. From that place, to the hall named Crown-Binding, As far as With golden and silver arches, And offerings of parched grain, banana trees, full pots, lamps, Incense, flags, they adorned it all around; 32. That golden urn full of the relics of the Teacher, The Mallas brought to Kusinara with festivals, Placing it on a beautiful throne shaded by a white parasol, Adorned with pearls and gems; 33. Striking urn against urn, neck against neck, Wheel against wheel, arm against arm, Protecting it with a fourfold army on all sides, Like a coat of mail with golden armor; 34. Thus making a fence of bows, And a cage of spears in the hands, for the relics of the boundless Conqueror,