English
There is speech according to nature in the dispensation of the King of the Dhamma; Not understanding their meaning in the Mendaka Questions spoken by the Conqueror, In the future, there will surely be disputes; Having pleased my heart with a story, I will cut through the Mendaka Questions, By the path he has indicated, they will indicate in the future; Uneven, fearful, with excessive wind, covered, dependent on gods, A path, a bridge, a ford—these eight should be avoided; The passionate, the hateful, the deluded, the conceited, the greedy, and the lazy, One The fool and the unwise, these are destroyers of wealth; The lustful, the malicious, the deluded, the fearful, with eyes for gain, A woman, a eunuch, an impotent man, and the ninth is a young child; These nine types of people in the world are inferior, unstable, and fickle. A secret discussed with these quickly becomes public; Through influence, questions of fame, auspicious dates, and wise living, Discussions, affectionate association, and suitable circumstances, These eight things cause the decline of wisdom; For those who possess these, their wisdom is destroyed; They are honored unequally by gods and humans, They do not relish honor; this is the nature of the Buddhas. This verse was spoken by the Venerable Sāriputta. With these bones, I go for refuge to the supreme person, The god above gods, the charioteer of men to be tamed, The all-seeing one, marked with a hundred merits, The Buddha, with my life. Giving up Jāli, Kaṇhājina, my daughter, and Maddi Devi, the faithful wife, I did not regret it, for the sake of enlightenment alone. (Jātaka verse) Neither in the sky, nor in the midst of the ocean, Nor by entering the clefts of mountains, Is there any place on earth Where one might escape death. Restraint in body is good, good is restraint in speech, Restraint in mind is good, good is restraint in all things; A senseless brahmin, unhearing, Knowing, yet not knowing this leaf, Having roused energy, ever unheedful, Why do you ask for a pleasant sleep? (Jātaka verse) Thus, even the Phadana tree then spoke, "I too have a word, Bhāradvāja, listen to me!" (Jātaka verse) "Having eaten Cudassa's meal, the blacksmith's," I heard, "A disease afflicted the wise one, severely, unto death." A deceitful wind, fear is born, from a dwelling arises dust, Homelessness, a deceitful wind, this indeed is the sage's vision. (Spoken by Jinabhāsita to Minida) The earth with its surrounding ocean, the sea as its earring, I would not desire, even with a treasure; thus, O Sayha, know! (Jātaka verse, spoken by Lomakassapa) Thinking "I will kill him," he saw the saffron flag. Withered, To one struck by sorrow, awareness arose: "Arahant's banner, by the wise, indestructible!" (Jātaka verse spoken by the Chaddanta Nāga king) A verse sung, is not to be eaten; Seeing this, brahmin, this is not the Dhamma. Verses sung, the Buddhas reject; In the Dhamma, brahmin, is the livelihood. (Suttanipāta verse spoken by the Victor) I have no teacher, nor is there one like me; In the world with its devas, there is no rival to me. (Khadhaka verse spoken by the Victor) Vipula is called the best of the Rājagaha mountains, Seta is the best of the Himalayas, the sun of those who dispel darkness; The ocean is the best of waters, the moon of the stars, The Buddha is called the best of the world with its devas. (Two verses spoken by Māṇavaka Devaputta, spoken by Nāgasena Thera) A single mental serenity, going for refuge, or offering a salutation, Is enough to deliver in the Buddhas who crush Māra's army. (This verse was brought by Sāriputta Thera) Be diligent, go forth, strive in the Buddha's teaching, Shake off the army of death, as an elephant a house of reeds. (Spoken by the Victor, spoken by Milinda) He who gives a gift to the virtuous or the immoral, Obtained lawfully, with a very serene mind, Believing in the great fruit of karma, That gift is purified by the giver. (This was brought by Nāgasena) Neither are my two sons hateful, nor is Maddi Devi unloved, Omniscience is dear to me, therefore I gave away those dear to me. For my father gave me, worth a thousand, to a brahmin, And also Kanhajina, a maiden, and a hundred elephants. By hunger, by thirst, bitten by a snake, and by poison, By fire, water, weapons, thus one dies untimely; These verses being spoken in the question of inference, should be considered? Having carried many people across, extinguished with the destruction of defilements, It can be known by inference: "There was that excellent island." Taking the root of karma, go to the shop, Buying an object, then be freed by liberation. The scent of a flower does not travel against the wind, nor sandalwood, nor tagara, Like an orris root, The virtuous one goes against the wind, pervades all directions; Sandalwood, tagara, lotus, or jasmine, Among these scents, the scent of virtue is unsurpassed; This scent is slight, that of orris root, But the scent of the virtuous is supreme even among the gods; People buy merit with deeds, they reap the deathless fruit, Therefore they are happy, those who buy and reap the deathless fruit; Whatever antidotes there are in the world, remedies against poison, There is nothing like the antidote of Dhamma, drink this, monks; Whatever medicines there are in the world, various and many, There is nothing like the medicine of Dhamma, drink this, monks; Having drunk the medicine of Dhamma, they become free from old age and death, Having cultivated and seen, they are extinguished in the destruction of clinging; Seeing people afflicted, he spread out the deathless shop, Having bought it with deeds, partake of the deathless, monks; Such virtues are for sale in the Buddha's shop, Having bought it with deeds, drink this jewel; For one adorned with the jewel of concentration, evil thoughts do not arise, Nor is the mind scattered, drink this, you all; For one adorned with the jewel of wisdom, existence does not last long, Quickly he touches the deathless, nor does he delight in existence; Householders look up to their master adorned with a garland of jewels, But the gods look up to one adorned with the jewel of liberation; By which knowledge the noble ones awaken to accomplished duty, Strive to obtain that jewel of knowledge, you sons of the Conqueror; Having bought the discriminations, one should touch them with knowledge, Fearless and unagitated, he shines above the gods; The gods look up to one adorned with the jewel of enlightenment factors, Having bought it with deeds, drink this jewel; Life, health, beauty, heaven, high birth, And the unconditioned deathless, are all in the Conqueror's shop; With little or much, it is bought with the root of deeds, Having bought with the root of faith, be prosperous, monks; There are here— Those without lust, without hate, without delusion, without taints, Without craving, without clinging, in the city of Dhamma. They are virtuous; Dwelling in the forest, practicing the ascetic's ways, meditating, wearing rough robes, Delighting in solitude, wise, they dwell in the city of Dhamma; Practicing constant sitting, living in groups, or wandering alone, Wearing robes of discarded cloth, all dwell in the city of Dhamma; Wearing the three robes, with a leather patch as the fourth, Delighting in a single seat, wise, they dwell in the city of Dhamma; With few desires, prudent, wise, eating little, not greedy, Content with gain or loss, they dwell in the city of Dhamma; Meditating, delighting in meditation, wise, with peaceful minds, composed, Aspiring to nothingness, they dwell in the city of Dhamma; Those on the path, those established in the fruit, learners, those endowed with the fruit, Longing for the highest good, they dwell in the city of Dhamma; The Stream-enterers, pure, and the Once-returners, The Non-returners and the Arahants, they dwell in the city of Dhamma; Skilled in the foundations of mindfulness, delighting in cultivating the factors of enlightenment, Contemplatives, upholders of the Dhamma, they dwell in the city of Dhamma; Skilled in the bases of power, delighting in cultivating concentration, Devoted to right effort, they dwell in the city of Dhamma; Having attained the perfection of higher knowledges, delighting in the ancestral domain, Wandering in the sky, they dwell in the city of Dhamma; With downcast eyes, speaking moderately, guarded at the doors, well-restrained, Well-tamed, in supreme taming, they dwell in the city of Dhamma; Masters of the three knowledges, those with dull higher knowledge, those who have reached perfection in psychic power, Those who have attained perfection in wisdom, they dwell in the city of Dhamma; Just as, having seen a city, well-divided, delightful, One knows by inference the greatness of the architect; Likewise, having seen the excellent city of Dhamma of the world's protector, One knows by inference, "There is such a Buddha"; One knows by inference, having seen a wave in the ocean, "As this wave appears, so great will it be"; Likewise, the Buddha, remover of sorrow, undefeated in all things, Attained to the destruction of craving, the liberator from the cycle of existence; Is to be known by inference, having seen a wave, with the world of gods, "As this Dhamma is manifest, so will the foremost Buddha be"; One knows by inference, having seen a very high mountain, "As this is very high," He will be the Himalayas; Having seen the mountain of Dhamma, cooled, without defilements, Lofty, of the Blessed One, unwavering, well-established; By inference, it is to be known, having seen the mountain of Dhamma, Thus, that great hero will be the foremost Buddha; Just as humans, having seen the footprint of an elephant king, Know by inference, "This is a great elephant"; Likewise, having seen the footprint of the Buddha-Naga, the discerning one,