Difference between revisions of "The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 83: In the Realm of Yamaraja"
(Created page with "{{DisplayImages|297|426|1081|1391|1650|763|19|1680|596|585|586|1513|238}} There was a Brahman, a religious man<br/> and fond in his affections but without deep wisdom.<br/> He...") |
|||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{DisplayImages|297|426|1081|1391|1650|763|19|1680|596|585|586|1513|238}} | {{DisplayImages|297|426|1081|1391|1650|763|19|1680|596|585|586|1513|238}} | ||
− | There was a Brahman, a religious man<br/> | + | There was a [[Brahman]], a [[religious]] man<br/> |
− | and fond in his affections but without deep wisdom.<br/> | + | and fond in his affections but without deep [[wisdom]].<br/> |
He had a son of great promise, who, when seven years old,<br/> | He had a son of great promise, who, when seven years old,<br/> | ||
− | was struck with a fatal disease and died.<br/> | + | was struck with a fatal {{Wiki|disease}} and [[died]].<br/> |
The unfortunate father was unable to control himself;<br/> | The unfortunate father was unable to control himself;<br/> | ||
− | he threw himself upon the corpse and lay there as one dead. [1]<br/> | + | he threw himself upon the corpse and lay there as one [[dead]]. [1]<br/> |
<br/> | <br/> | ||
− | The relatives came and buried the dead child<br/> | + | The relatives came and buried the [[dead]] child<br/> |
and when the father came to himself,<br/> | and when the father came to himself,<br/> | ||
− | he was so immoderate in his grief<br/> | + | he was so immoderate in his [[grief]]<br/> |
− | that he behaved like an insane person.<br/> | + | that he behaved like an insane [[person]].<br/> |
− | He no longer gave way to tears but wandered about<br/> | + | He no longer gave way to {{Wiki|tears}} but wandered about<br/> |
− | asking for the residence of Yamaraja, the king of death,<br/> | + | asking for the residence of [[Yamaraja]], the [[king]] of [[death]],<br/> |
humbly to beg of him that his child<br/> | humbly to beg of him that his child<br/> | ||
− | might be allowed to turn to life. [2]<br/> | + | might be allowed to turn to [[life]]. [2]<br/> |
<br/> | <br/> | ||
− | Having arrived at a great Brahman temple<br/> | + | Having arrived at a great [[Brahman]] [[temple]]<br/> |
− | the sad father went through certain religious rites and fell asleep.<br/> | + | the [[sad]] father went through certain [[religious]] [[rites]] and fell asleep.<br/> |
− | While wandering on in his dream he came to a deep mountain pass<br/> | + | While wandering on in his [[dream]] he came to a deep mountain pass<br/> |
− | where he met a number of samanas who had acquired supreme wisdom.<br/> | + | where he met a number of [[samanas]] who had acquired [[supreme wisdom]].<br/> |
"Kind sirs," he said,<br/> | "Kind sirs," he said,<br/> | ||
− | "can you not tell me where the residence of Yamaraja is?" And they asked him,<br/> | + | "can you not tell me where the residence of [[Yamaraja]] is?" And they asked him,<br/> |
− | "Good friend, why wouldst thou know?"<br/> | + | "[[Good friend]], why wouldst thou know?"<br/> |
− | Whereupon he told them his sad story and explained his intentions.<br/> | + | Whereupon he told them his [[sad]] story and explained his {{Wiki|intentions}}.<br/> |
− | Pitying his self-delusion, the samanas said:<br/> | + | Pitying his self-delusion, the [[samanas]] said:<br/> |
− | "No mortal man can reach the place where Yama reigns,<br/> | + | "No {{Wiki|mortal}} man can reach the place where [[Yama]] reigns,<br/> |
− | but some four hundred miles westward<br/> | + | but some four hundred {{Wiki|miles}} westward<br/> |
− | lies a great city in which many good spirits live;<br/> | + | lies a great city in which many good [[spirits]] live;<br/> |
− | every eighth day of the month Yama visits the place,<br/> | + | every eighth day of the month [[Yama]] visits the place,<br/> |
and there mayest thou see him<br/> | and there mayest thou see him<br/> | ||
− | who is the King of Death<br/> | + | who is the [[King]] of [[Death]]<br/> |
and ask him for a boon." [3]<br/> | and ask him for a boon." [3]<br/> | ||
<br/> | <br/> | ||
− | The Brahman rejoicing at the news went to the city<br/> | + | The [[Brahman]] [[rejoicing]] at the news went to the city<br/> |
− | and found it as the samanas had told him.<br/> | + | and found it as the [[samanas]] had told him.<br/> |
− | He was admitted to the dread presence of Yama, the King of Death,<br/> | + | He was admitted to the dread presence of [[Yama]], the [[King]] of [[Death]],<br/> |
who, on hearing his request, said:<br/> | who, on hearing his request, said:<br/> | ||
− | "Thy son now lives in the eastern garden<br/> | + | "Thy son now [[lives]] in the eastern garden<br/> |
where he is disporting himself;<br/> | where he is disporting himself;<br/> | ||
go there and ask him to follow thee." [4]<br/> | go there and ask him to follow thee." [4]<br/> | ||
<br/> | <br/> | ||
− | Said the happy father:<br/> | + | Said the [[happy]] father:<br/> |
"How does it happen that my son,<br/> | "How does it happen that my son,<br/> | ||
without having performed one good work,<br/> | without having performed one good work,<br/> | ||
− | is now living in paradise?"<br/> | + | is now living in [[paradise]]?"<br/> |
− | Yamaraja replied:<br/> | + | [[Yamaraja]] replied:<br/> |
− | "He has obtained celestial happiness not for performing good works,<br/> | + | "He has obtained [[celestial]] [[happiness]] not for performing good works,<br/> |
− | but because he died in faith and in love<br/> | + | but because he [[died]] in [[faith]] and in [[love]]<br/> |
− | to the Lord and Master, the most glorious Buddha.<br/> | + | to the [[Lord]] and [[Master]], the most glorious [[Buddha]].<br/> |
− | The Buddha says:<br/> | + | The [[Buddha]] says:<br/> |
− | 'The heart of love and faith spreads as it were<br/> | + | 'The [[heart]] of [[love]] and [[faith]] spreads as it were<br/> |
− | a beneficent shade from the world of men to the world of gods.'<br/> | + | a beneficent shade from the [[world]] of men to the [[world of gods]].'<br/> |
− | This glorious utterance is like the stamp of a king's seal upon a royal edict." [5]<br/> | + | This glorious utterance is like the stamp of a king's seal upon a {{Wiki|royal}} {{Wiki|edict}}." [5]<br/> |
<br/> | <br/> | ||
− | The happy father hastened to the place<br/> | + | The [[happy]] father hastened to the place<br/> |
and saw his beloved child playing with other children,<br/> | and saw his beloved child playing with other children,<br/> | ||
− | all transfigured by the peace of the blissful existence of a heavenly life.<br/> | + | all transfigured by the [[peace]] of the blissful [[existence]] of a [[heavenly]] [[life]].<br/> |
− | He ran up to his boy and cried with tears running down his cheeks:<br/> | + | He ran up to his boy and cried with {{Wiki|tears}} running down his cheeks:<br/> |
"My son, my son, dost thou not remember me,<br/> | "My son, my son, dost thou not remember me,<br/> | ||
− | thy father who watched over thee with loving care<br/> | + | thy father who watched over thee with [[loving]] care<br/> |
− | and tended thee in thy sickness?<br/> | + | and tended thee in thy [[sickness]]?<br/> |
Return home with me to the land of the living."<br/> | Return home with me to the land of the living."<br/> | ||
But the boy, while struggling to go back to his playmates,<br/> | But the boy, while struggling to go back to his playmates,<br/> | ||
upbraided him for using such strange expressions as father and son.<br/> | upbraided him for using such strange expressions as father and son.<br/> | ||
− | "In my present state," he said, "I know no such words,<br/> | + | "In my {{Wiki|present}} state," he said, "I know no such words,<br/> |
− | for I am free from delusion." [6]<br/> | + | for I am free from [[delusion]]." [6]<br/> |
<br/> | <br/> | ||
− | On this, the Brahman departed, and when he woke from his dream<br/> | + | On this, the [[Brahman]] departed, and when he woke from his [[dream]]<br/> |
− | he bethought himself of the Blessed Master of mankind,<br/> | + | he bethought himself of the Blessed [[Master]] of mankind,<br/> |
− | the great Buddha, and resolved to go to him,<br/> | + | the great [[Buddha]], and resolved to go to him,<br/> |
− | lay bare his grief, and seek consolation. [7]<br/> | + | lay bare his [[grief]], and seek consolation. [7]<br/> |
<br/> | <br/> | ||
− | Having arrived at the Jetavana, the Brahman told his story<br/> | + | Having arrived at the [[Jetavana]], the [[Brahman]] told his story<br/> |
− | and how his boy had refused to recognize him<br/> | + | and how his boy had refused to [[recognize]] him<br/> |
and to go home with him. [8]<br/> | and to go home with him. [8]<br/> | ||
<br/> | <br/> | ||
− | And the World-honoured One said:<br/> | + | And the [[World-honoured One]] said:<br/> |
− | "Truly thou art deluded.<br/> | + | "Truly thou [[art]] deluded.<br/> |
− | When man dies the body is dissolved into its elements,<br/> | + | When man [[dies]] the [[body]] is dissolved into its [[elements]],<br/> |
− | but the spirit is not entombed.<br/> | + | but the [[spirit]] is not entombed.<br/> |
− | It leads a higher mode of life in which all the relative terms<br/> | + | It leads a higher mode of [[life]] in which all the [[relative]] terms<br/> |
of father, son, wife, mother, are at an end,<br/> | of father, son, wife, mother, are at an end,<br/> | ||
just as a guest who leaves his lodging has done with it,<br/> | just as a guest who leaves his lodging has done with it,<br/> | ||
− | as though it were a thing of the past.<br/> | + | as though it were a thing of the {{Wiki|past}}.<br/> |
− | Men concern themselves most about that which passes away;<br/> | + | Men [[concern]] themselves most about that which passes away;<br/> |
− | but the end of life quickly comes as a burning torrent<br/> | + | but the end of [[life]] quickly comes as a burning torrent<br/> |
sweeping away the transient in a moment.<br/> | sweeping away the transient in a moment.<br/> | ||
− | They are like a blind man set to look after a burning lamp.<br/> | + | They are like a blind man set to look after a burning [[lamp]].<br/> |
− | A wise man, understanding the transiency of worldly relations,<br/> | + | A [[wise]] man, [[understanding]] the transiency of [[worldly]] relations,<br/> |
− | destroys the cause of grief, and escapes from the seething wirlpool of sorrow.<br/> | + | destroys the [[cause]] of [[grief]], and escapes from the seething wirlpool of [[sorrow]].<br/> |
− | Religious wisdom lifts a man above the pleasures and pains of the world<br/> | + | [[Religious]] [[wisdom]] lifts a man above the [[pleasures]] and [[pains]] of the [[world]]<br/> |
− | and gives him peace everlasting." [9]<br/> | + | and gives him [[peace]] everlasting." [9]<br/> |
<br/> | <br/> | ||
− | The Brahman asked the permission of the Blessed One<br/> | + | The [[Brahman]] asked the permission of the [[Blessed One]]<br/> |
− | to enter the communitiy of his bhikkhus,<br/> | + | to enter the communitiy of his [[bhikkhus]],<br/> |
− | so as to acquire that heavenly wisdom<br/> | + | so as to acquire that [[heavenly]] [[wisdom]]<br/> |
− | which alone can give comfort to an afflicted heart. [10]<br/> | + | which alone can give {{Wiki|comfort}} to an afflicted [[heart]]. [10]<br/> |
{{The Gospel of Buddha}} | {{The Gospel of Buddha}} |
Latest revision as of 20:05, 31 December 2013
There was a Brahman, a religious man
and fond in his affections but without deep wisdom.
He had a son of great promise, who, when seven years old,
was struck with a fatal disease and died.
The unfortunate father was unable to control himself;
he threw himself upon the corpse and lay there as one dead. [1]
The relatives came and buried the dead child
and when the father came to himself,
he was so immoderate in his grief
that he behaved like an insane person.
He no longer gave way to tears but wandered about
asking for the residence of Yamaraja, the king of death,
humbly to beg of him that his child
might be allowed to turn to life. [2]
Having arrived at a great Brahman temple
the sad father went through certain religious rites and fell asleep.
While wandering on in his dream he came to a deep mountain pass
where he met a number of samanas who had acquired supreme wisdom.
"Kind sirs," he said,
"can you not tell me where the residence of Yamaraja is?" And they asked him,
"Good friend, why wouldst thou know?"
Whereupon he told them his sad story and explained his intentions.
Pitying his self-delusion, the samanas said:
"No mortal man can reach the place where Yama reigns,
but some four hundred miles westward
lies a great city in which many good spirits live;
every eighth day of the month Yama visits the place,
and there mayest thou see him
who is the King of Death
and ask him for a boon." [3]
The Brahman rejoicing at the news went to the city
and found it as the samanas had told him.
He was admitted to the dread presence of Yama, the King of Death,
who, on hearing his request, said:
"Thy son now lives in the eastern garden
where he is disporting himself;
go there and ask him to follow thee." [4]
Said the happy father:
"How does it happen that my son,
without having performed one good work,
is now living in paradise?"
Yamaraja replied:
"He has obtained celestial happiness not for performing good works,
but because he died in faith and in love
to the Lord and Master, the most glorious Buddha.
The Buddha says:
'The heart of love and faith spreads as it were
a beneficent shade from the world of men to the world of gods.'
This glorious utterance is like the stamp of a king's seal upon a royal edict." [5]
The happy father hastened to the place
and saw his beloved child playing with other children,
all transfigured by the peace of the blissful existence of a heavenly life.
He ran up to his boy and cried with tears running down his cheeks:
"My son, my son, dost thou not remember me,
thy father who watched over thee with loving care
and tended thee in thy sickness?
Return home with me to the land of the living."
But the boy, while struggling to go back to his playmates,
upbraided him for using such strange expressions as father and son.
"In my present state," he said, "I know no such words,
for I am free from delusion." [6]
On this, the Brahman departed, and when he woke from his dream
he bethought himself of the Blessed Master of mankind,
the great Buddha, and resolved to go to him,
lay bare his grief, and seek consolation. [7]
Having arrived at the Jetavana, the Brahman told his story
and how his boy had refused to recognize him
and to go home with him. [8]
And the World-honoured One said:
"Truly thou art deluded.
When man dies the body is dissolved into its elements,
but the spirit is not entombed.
It leads a higher mode of life in which all the relative terms
of father, son, wife, mother, are at an end,
just as a guest who leaves his lodging has done with it,
as though it were a thing of the past.
Men concern themselves most about that which passes away;
but the end of life quickly comes as a burning torrent
sweeping away the transient in a moment.
They are like a blind man set to look after a burning lamp.
A wise man, understanding the transiency of worldly relations,
destroys the cause of grief, and escapes from the seething wirlpool of sorrow.
Religious wisdom lifts a man above the pleasures and pains of the world
and gives him peace everlasting." [9]
The Brahman asked the permission of the Blessed One
to enter the communitiy of his bhikkhus,
so as to acquire that heavenly wisdom
which alone can give comfort to an afflicted heart. [10]
Continue Reading
- The Gospel of Buddha: Preface
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 01: Rejoice
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 02: Samsara and Nirvana
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 03: Truth the Saviour
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 04: The Bodhisatta's Birth
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 05: The Ties of Life
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 06: The Three Woes
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 07: The Bodhisatta's Renunciation
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 08: King Bimbisara
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 09: The Bodhisatta's Search
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 10: Uruvela, the Place of Mortification
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 11: Mara, the Evil One
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 12: Enlightenment
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 13: The First Converts
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 14: Brahma's Request
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 15: Upaka
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 16: The Sermon at Benares
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 17: The Sangha
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 18: Yasa, the Youth of Benares
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 19: Kassapa
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 20: The Sermon at Rajagaha
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 21: The King's Gift
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 22: Sariputta and Moggallana
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 23: Anathapindika
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 24: The Sermon on Charity
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 25: Jetavana
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 26: The Three Characteristics and the Uncreate
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 27: The Buddha's Father
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 28: Yasodhara
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 29: Rahula
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 30: Jivaka, the Physician
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 31: The Buddha's Parents Attain Nirvana
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 32: Women Admitted to the Sangha
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 33: The Bhikkhus' Conduct Toward Women
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 34: Visakha
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 35: The Uposatha and Patimokkha
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 36: The Schism
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 37: The Re-establishment of Concord
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 38: The Bhikkhus Rebuked
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 39: Devadatta
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 40: Name and Form
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 41: The Goal
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 42: Miracles Forbidden
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 43: The Vanity of Worldliness
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 44: Secrecy and Publicity
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 45: The Annihilation of Suffering
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 46: Avoiding the Ten Evils
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 47: The Preacher's Mission
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 48: The Dhammapada
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 49: The Two Brahmans
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 50: Guard the Six Quarters
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 51: Simha's Question Concerning Annihilation
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 52: All Existence is Spiritual
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 53: Identity and Non-Identity
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 54: The Buddha Omnipresent
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 55: One Essence, One Law, One Aim
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 56: The Lesson Given to Rahula
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 57: The Sermon on Abuse
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 58: The Buddha Replies to the Deva
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 59: Words of Instruction
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 60: Amitabha
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 61: The Teacher Unknown
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 62: Parables
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 63: The Widow's Two Mites and the Parable of the Three Merchants
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 64: The Man Born Blind
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 65: The Lost Son
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 66: The Giddy Fish
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 67: The Cruel Crane Outwitted
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 68: Four Kinds of Merit
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 69: The Light of the World
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 70: Luxurious Living
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 71: The Communication of Bliss
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 72: The Listless Fool
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 73: Rescue in the Desert
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 74: The Sower
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 75: The Outcast
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 76: The Woman at the Well
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 77: The Peacemaker
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 78: The Hungry Dog
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 79: The Despot
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 80: Vasavadatta
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 81: The Marriage-Feast in Jambunada
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 82: A Party in Search of a Thief
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 83: In the Realm of Yamaraja
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 84: The Mustard Seed
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 85: Following the Master Over the Stream
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 86: The Sick Bhikkhu
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 87: The Patient Elephant
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 88: The Conditions of Welfare
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 89: Sariputta's Faith
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 90: Pataliputta
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 91: The Mirror of Truth
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 92: Ambapali
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 93: The Buddha's Farewell Address
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 94: The Buddha Announces His Death
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 95: Chunda, the Smith
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 96: Metteyya
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 97: The Buddha's Final Entering into Nirvana
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 98: The Three Personalities of the Buddha
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 99: The Purpose of Being
- The Gospel of Buddha:Chapter 100: The Praise of All the Buddhas