word ‘leader’ he appeared to smile with much inward
satisfaction.
“‘For,’ he went on, ‘this is indeed too high and too
deep for one’s own comprehension, and without a teacher
it must remain a closed book. On
e other hand, the
Veda, in the teaching of Shvetaketu, says — “Just as, O
belovèd, a man who has been led blindfolded hither from
the land of Gandhāra, and then has been let loose in the
desert, will strike too far eastward, or it may be too far to
the north, or the south, because he has been led hither
with his eyes bound; but he will, after one has unbound
his eyes and said to him — ‘There, in that direction live the
Gandhāra, go thither,’ ask his way from village to village
and reach his home, richer in knowledge and wisdom; so
also is the man who has found a Master to direct him to
the land of the Spirit. Such a man can say — ‘I shall have
part and lot in this world’s turmoil until my liberation
comes, and then I shall go to my real Home.’”’
“I saw at once, of course, that the brahmin was
planning to secure me as a pupil. But this very desire of his
destroyed any confidence which might have been awakening
within me. On the other hand, I was well pleased with
the saying from the Veda and, as I went on my way,
repeated it over and over again to myself, in order to fix it
in my memory. In doing so, a sentence occurred to me
which I had once heard used regarding a particular Master
— “The Master does not crave disciples, but the disciples,
the Master.”
“What a very different man he must be, I thought to
myself, from this forest brahmin! And I longed, Venerable
One, for such a Master, who was above all such craving.”
“Who is this Master whom you heard so praised?
What is his name?”
“He is, brother, the Samana Gotama, of the Sākya
clan, who renounced the throne of his fathers. This Master
th
148
Gotama is greeted everywhere with honour and the
yous acclaim — ‘He is the Blessèd One, the Holy One,
Impeccable in Conduct and Understanding, Knower of the
Worlds, Teacher of Gods and
the Enlightened
One, the Buddha.’ And I jo
w in order to find that
Sublime One and to
owledge myself as his disciple.”
“But where, fr
ide — this
me, this Enlightened One?”
“Far to the north, brother, in the kingdom of Kosala,
mighty trees in
e
wn
rs ago the rich
erchant Anāthapindika purchased the grove from Prince
e B
dha
it cost so much
oney that, if spread over the surface of the ground, it
so
ht‐
ve
cted: “For my sake this young
d
jo
Humans,
urney no
ackn
iend, does he now res
Subli
lies the great city of Sāvatthi. Just beyond the town is
the richly wooded Jetavana park, filled with
whose deep shade, far removed from all noise, the wis
and faithful are able to sit and meditate. Its crystal pools
ever exhale coolness, and its emerald meadows are stre
with myriads of vari‐coloured flowers. Yea
m
Jeta and presented it to th
ud
—
m
would have concealed the whole property. There, then, in
this delightful Jetavana over whose meadows the feet of
many of the wise have passed, the Master, the Fully Enlig
ened One, at present makes his abode. If I step out
bravely I hope in the course of about four weeks to ha
accomplished the distance from here to Sāvatthi and to sit
at the feet of the Master.”
“But have you ever seen him, brother — this
Blessèd One — and if you did see him would you recognise
him?”
“No, brother, I have not yet seen him, the Blessèd
One, and if I saw him I would not recognise him.”
Then the Master refle
seeker is now on the Way; he acknowledges himself as my
disciple; how would it be if I revealed the heart of the
Dharma to him?” And the Master turned to Kāmanīta an
said: “The moon has just risen over the porch, we are not
149
yet far into the night and too much sleep is not good for
the mind. If it is agreeable to you I can offer, in return for
ching of the
your narrative, to unfold to you the Tea
Buddha.”
“That would make me very happy, brother, and I
beg you to do so if you are able.”
“Listen well then, my friend, and reflect on what I
have to say to you.”
150
~ 19 ~
T
HE MASTER
A
ND THE LORD BUDDHA said: “The Tathāgata,
the Fully Enlightened One, set the wheel of
the Dharma rolling at Benares, beside the Rock of the
Prophet, in the Grove of the Gazelles. And it can neither
be stopped by monk nor brahmin neither by god nor
demon, nor by anyone else in this
*
*
“That Teaching is the Unveiling, the Revelation of
the Four Noble Truths. What Four? The Noble Truth of
Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering, the
Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering, the Noble Truth
of the Path which leads to the Cessation of Suffering.
“But what, brother, is the Noble Truth of Suffering?
Birth is Suffering, ageing is Suffering, sickness is Suffering,
death is Suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and
despair are all Suffering; to be separated from the loved is
Suffering; to be united with the unloved is Suffering; not to
obtain what we desire is Suffering; in short, all the various
forms of attachment involve Suffering. That is, brother, the
Noble Truth of Suffering.
“But what, brother, is the Noble Truth of the Origin
of Suffering? It is this: the craving that continually gives
rise to fresh birth, companioned by desire and passion,
ever seeking fresh delight, now here, now there. In other
,
world.”
*
153
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