METRICAL ADAPTATIONS OF BUDDHIST LEGEND AND SCRIPTURE.
THE LAST WORDS OF GOTAMA BUDDHA TO HIS FAVOURITE DISCIPLE ANANDA. Weep not, Ananda, sorrow not!
Have I not said ere this to thee
That from all things which man most loves,
From these, Ananda, man must flee?
How can it be, Ananda, then,
That Birth and Growth should not decay,
That all things made, begotten here,
Should not, Ananda, pass away?
That cannot be. But thou for long
In thought and words and holy deed
The Perfect One hast glorified.
Strive on, and thou shalt soon be freed.
It may be so, that thou shalt say
"The Word has lost its Master here,"
"We have no Master more." Not thus,
Ananda, be thou fraught with fear.
The Law and Ordinance I taught,
These are your Master when I'm gone:
Each man his own salvation is,
Thus only is Deliverance won.
SAMSÂRA AND NIRVANA.[AX] I. Look on this life and meditate!
Herein are birth and growth's decay.
Atoms combine and separate;
Nought lasts: all things must pass away.
II. As flowers are the glories of this world,
Full blossoms scent the morning shade;
The painted petals soon are furled,
And in the heat of noon-day fade.
III. Lo! everywhere the panting breath
Of Pleasure and Pursuit of fame,
Of panic flight from pain and death
And fierce Desire's consuming flame.
IV. The world is nought but endless change,
A restless, driven, surging sea.
Is it through lives we thus must range,
Ever becoming, never be?
V. Is there no permanency, then?
No realm of rest where troubles cease,
Where birth is not, nor death of men,
No City of Eternal Peace?
VI. Must anxious hearts for ever beat?
What power from all this ill redeems?
Will not our hot, earth-weary feet
At last be dipped in cooling streams?
VII. Buddha, our Lord, with pitying eyes
Came and beheld this world of woe.
He found the path whereby we rise
Above all evil here below.
VIII. Ye who for life unending crave
Know that there lurks immortal bliss
In transient form. There is no grave,
No death for those who know of this.
IX. Ye who for riches vainly yearn
Take of the treasure He will give.
Ye who the mighty Truth discern
The birthless, deathless life will live.
X. Truth is the immortal part of mind;
Possessing truth is rich to be.
In truth the changeless you will find,
The image of Eternity!
I. Let the whole earth with joy resound,
Buddha, our Lord, the Blessed One,
The hidden cause of Ill hath found,
And for the world salvation won.
II. He who the ravelled knot unwinds,
Buddha, our Lord, has rent the veil!
Illusion now no longer blinds,
Nor fear of death our hearts assail.
III. Ye who of tribulation tire,
Ye who must struggle and endure,
Rejoice; ye, too, who truth desire,
For now is your deliverance sure.
IV. Here is a balm for every woe,
Here for the hungry princely fare;
For those athirst the fountains flow,
And Hope triumphant kills Despair.
V. On mountain heights, in valleys low,
O, darkened soul, where'er thou art,
This light ineffable will glow
With blessings for the pure in heart.
VI. Bind up your wounds, ye bruisÉd feet!
O broken, beating hearts, be still!
Drink, thirsty lips, the waters sweet;
Ye that are hungered, eat your fill!
VII. O children of the night, arise!
The star of morning is on high.
O bleeding breasts, O suppliant eyes,
Be of good cheer, your bliss is nigh.
VIII. Buddha, our Lord, the truth revealed,
Which gives us strength in life and death;
The sorrowing and the sick are healed,
And every evil languisheth.
THE GOAL.[AZ] I. Why thus so long by Karma tied?
O Bhikshus, listen! You and I
The four great truths have set aside,
Not understanding—that is why!
II. Through rock and plant and breathing things
Migrate[BA] the wandering souls of each,
Till they, beyond imaginings,
The perfect light of Buddha reach.
III. Karma inexorable reigns!
E'en though you fly from star to star,
The Past on you imprest remains,
And what you were is what you are!
IV. To new births onwards you must press
Before the hill of light you see
Where shines the beacon Righteousness
From transmigration's bondage free.
V. The higher birth I've reached, O friends;
I've found the truth, rebirth's surcease;
I've taught the noble path that wends
To kingdoms of eternal peace.
VI. I've showed to you Ambrosia's lake,
Which all your sins will wash away;
The sight of truth your thirst will slake,
And Lust's destroying strife allay.
VII. He who has crossed through Passion's fire,
And climbed Nirvana's radiant shore,
His bliss the envious gods desire,
His heart defiled by sin no more.
VIII. As lotus leaves upon the lake
The pearly drops do not retain,
So they the noble path who take,
Though in the world, the world disdain.
IX. A mother will her life bestow
To safely guard an only son,
But they unmeasured mercy show,
And give their lives for anyone.
X. Steadfast in mind let man remain,
Whether he stand or walk or rest;
Living or dying, sick or sane,
Of all, this state of heart is best.
XI. If truth's bedimmed by lust of sense,
Reborn, man must again o'erpass
The desert tracks of Ignorance,
Illusion's mirage, Sin's morass.
XII. But, when Truth holds entire sway,
With it migration's cause departs;
All selfish cravings melt away,
And Truth its saving cure imparts.
XIII. O Bhikshus, true deliverance this—
The only heaven to which we soar.
This is salvation's endless bliss!
Here, within sight, Nirvana's shore!
BUDDHA AND THE HERDSMAN. (Rhymed version of stanzas translated by Professor Rhys Davids.) I. Hot steams my food: all milked the cows—
The Herdsman Dhaniya said—
Hard by there stands where Mahi flows
New thatched my lowly shed:
My friends are near, my hearth burns bright,
Then let the rain pour down to-night!
II. Cool is my mind: no "fallow"[BB] there—
The Holy Buddha said—
One night for Mahi's banks I spare,
And all unthatched my shed.
Lo! now extinguished is the fire;
The lamps of Lust have lost their light.
"Dulness"[BC] and Evil both expire—
So let the rain pour down to-night!
III. There are no gad flies here, my kine—
The Herdsman Dhaniya said—
Are roaming where the meadows shine,
The rich grass is their bed.
In vain the fickle rain god's might!
So let the rain pour down to-night!
IV. My basket raft was woven well—
The Holy Buddha said—
I've reached the shore, I've spoiled the spell,
From me four floods have fled;
These four—Delusion, Ignorance,
The lust of life, the lust of sense—
No longer powerful to blight.
So let the rain pour down to-night!
V. Obedient is my wife: no wanton she—
The Herdsman Dhaniya said—
No evil word she spake of me
While she and I were wed.
Long dwelt with me my soul's delight.
So let the rain pour down to-night!
VI. Obedient is my heart: set wholly free—
The Holy Buddha said—
Restrained, subdued; o'erwatched by me
Through passion's tempest led.
No evil dims my heart's pure light.
Then let the rain pour down to-night!
VII. Earning my bread, I live at ease—
The Herdsman Dhaniya said—
My sons around by strength's increase
To ripening manhood bred.
No ill do they my joy to blight.
So let the rain pour down to-night!
VIII. No man can call me slave; I roam—
The Holy Buddha said—
At will I roam, each spot a home,
And when I want am fed.
No need for wage or gain to fight.
So let the rain pour down to-night!
IX. I've barren cows and calves yet young—
The Herdsman Dhaniya said—
And cows in calf and steers among,
A bull lifts up his head—
Lord of the cows, a kingly sight.
Then let the rain pour down to-night.
X. No cows have I nor calves yet young—
The Holy Buddha said—
For cows in calf and steers among
No bull lifts up his head;
No lord of cows, no king of might!
So let the rain pour down to-night!
XI. Then lo! a cloud o'er hill and plain
That moment thundering poured forth rain.
When herdsman Dhaniya heard with dread
The God's rain rush, he yielding said:
XII. "O, great the gain accrued thereby!
Since Holy Buddha came to-day,
We trust in thine all-seeing eye.
Be thou, O mighty Sage, our stay.
My wife and I obedient ever
To follow thee will make endeavour.
XIII. "Under the Happy One we'll lead
A holy life, and, as he saith,
We'll put an end to pain and need,
And pass beyond old age and death!"
BUDDHA AND THE KING.[BD] I. Their peace I praise who seek not here a home.
It is the peace the Blessed One hath found,
He who resolved in solitude to roam,
The sky his roof, his holy bed the ground.
II. "Fulfilled with hindrance is the household life,
It is the haunt of passion and of wrath.
Free is the homeless state from every strife."
He, meditating thus, went boldly forth.
III. And, going forth, wrong deeds he set aside,
Wrong thoughts and words he scattered to the wind,
And in a life pure, calm, and sanctified,
He found that peace whoever seeks shall find.
IV. To Bimbasara's royal town he went,
Where lived the ruler of Magadha-land.
Stately he moved, dispassionate, intent,
From door to door, an alms-bowl in his hand.
V. King Bimbasara saw him as he crossed
Beyond the terraced slopes of his domain.
So sweet he looked in meditation lost.
The king spake thus to his attendant train:
VI. "Be full of care for this most noble man;
In outward aspect great, all pure within.
His eyes stray not beyond a fathom's span,
So guarded moves he in this world of sin.
VII. "See how serenely he performs his task;
Of Royal birth must be this anchorite.
Let the king's messengers run forth and ask,
Where wilt thou rest, O mendicant, to-night?"
VIII. The messengers, despatched at royal behest,
The king's instructions hasten to obey;
Then, bowing low, the Bhikshu thus addressed:
"Whither, O Bhikshu, dost thou wend thy way?"
IX. From house to house he wandered guardedly,
And at each door with eyes downcast he stood.
Mindful, restrained, dispassionate was he,
Filling his alms-bowl with the proffered food.
X. His task performed, in meditation deep
He left the haunts of men, and silently
Set forth to gain Pandara's caverned steep;
Then, turning, said: "My dwelling there shall be."
XI. Seeing him stop, the messengers stayed still;
One only to the king this message gave:
"O king, he sits upon Pandara's hill,
Like to a lion in a mountain cave."
XII. The prince forthwith upon his chariot rode,
And hastened towards Pandara's lofty crest;
Then, stepping out, along the path he strode
To where the mendicant had stopped to rest;
XIII. And, bending low, thus spake he to the youth:
"Young art thou yet, too delicate to face
The life of those who battle for the truth,
Thou seeming scion of an ancient race!
XIV. "O glory of the vanguard of a band
Of heroes onwards pressing to the fray,
What is thy lineage, where thy royal land?
O let me in these robes thy form array."
XV. "Hard by Himaalaya's slopes there dwells, O king,
A Sakya race, Kosalas known by name,
Descendants of the sun; from these I spring;
From these gone forth, I seek not earthly fame.
XVI. "Seeing the danger of a carnal life,
I have set forth to battle to the end,
And in this struggle and protracted strife
Raptures ineffable my path attend!"
Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations in spelling, punctuation and accents are as in the original. The repetition of the Title on the first page has been removed. |
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