Part 8 (1/2)
”Let me teach you, O bhikkhus, the middle path, which keeps aloof from both extremes. By suffering, the emaciated devotee produces confusion and sickly thoughts in his mind. Mortification is not conducive even to worldly knowledge; how much less to a triumph over the senses! 11
”He who fills his lamp with water will not dispel the darkness, and he who tries to light a fire with rotten wood will fail. And how can any one be free from self by leading a wretched life, if he does not succeed in quenching the fires of l.u.s.t, if he still hankers after either worldly or heavenly pleasures. But he in whom self has become extinct is free from l.u.s.t; he will desire neither worldly nor heavenly pleasures, and the satisfaction of his natural wants will not defile him. However, let him be moderate, let him eat and drink according to the needs of the body. 12
”Sensuality is enervating; the self-indulgent man is a slave to his pa.s.sions, and pleasure-seeking is degrading and vulgar. 13
”But to satisfy the necessities of life is not evil. To keep the body in good health is a duty, for otherwise we shall not be able to trim the lamp of wisdom, and keep our mind strong and clear.
Water surrounds the lotus-flower, but does not wet its petals. 14
”This is the middle path, O bhikkhus, that keeps aloof from both extremes.” 15
And the Blessed One spoke kindly to his disciples, pitying them for their errors, and pointing out the uselessness of their endeavors, and the ice of ill-will that chilled their hearts melted away under the gentle warmth of the Master's persuasion. 16
Now the Blessed One set the wheel of the most excellent law rolling, and he began to preach to the five bhikkhus, opening to them the gate of immortality, and showing them the bliss of Nirvana. 17
The Buddha said: 18
”The spokes of the wheel are the rules of pure conduct: justice is the uniformity of their length; wisdom is the tire; modesty and thoughtfulness are the hub in which the immovable axle of truth is fixed. 19
”He who recognizes the existence of suffering, its cause, its remedy, and its cessation has fathomed the four n.o.ble truths. He will walk in the right path. 20
”Right views will be the torch to light his way. Right aspirations will be his guide. Right speech will be his dwelling-place on the road. His gait will be straight, for it is right behavior. His refreshments will be the right way of earning his livelihood. Right efforts will be his steps: right thoughts his breath; and right contemplation will give him the peace that follows in his footprints. 21
”Now, this, O bhikkhus, is the n.o.ble truth concerning suffering: 22
”Birth is attended with pain, decay is painful, disease is painful, death is painful. Union with the unpleasant is painful, painful is separation from the pleasant; and any craving that is unsatisfied, that too is painful. In brief, bodily conditions which spring from attachment are painful. 23
”This, then, O bhikkhus, is the n.o.ble truth concerning suffering. 24
”Now this, O bhikkhus, is the n.o.ble truth concerning the origin of suffering: 25
”Verily, it is that craving which causes the renewal of existence, accompanied by sensual delight, seeking satisfaction now here, now there, the craving for the gratification of the pa.s.sions, the craving for a future life, and the craving for happiness in this life. 26
”This, then, O bhikkhus, is the n.o.ble truth concerning the origin of suffering. 27
”Now this, O bhikkhus, is the n.o.ble truth concerning the destruction of suffering: 28
”Verily, it is the destruction, in which no pa.s.sion remains, of this very thirst; it is the laying aside of, the being free from, the dwelling no longer upon this thirst. 29
”This, then, O bhikkhus, is the n.o.ble truth concerning the destruction of suffering. 30
”Now this, O bhikkhus, is the n.o.ble truth concerning the way which leads to the destruction of sorrow. Verily! it is this n.o.ble eightfold path; that is to say: 31
”Right views; right aspirations; right speech; right behavior; right livelihood; right effort; right thoughts; and right contemplation. 32
”This, then, O bhikkhus, is the n.o.ble truth concerning the destruction of sorrow. 33
”By the practice of lovingkindness I have attained liberation of heart, and thus I am a.s.sured that I shall never return in renewed births. I have even now attained Nirvana. 34