ENTERING INTO NIRVANA

  THEN the Mallas, with their young men and maidens and their wives,

being grieved, and sad, and afflicted at heart, went to the

Upavattana, the sala grove of the Mallas, and wanted to see the

Blessed One, in order to partake of the bliss that devolves upon those

who are in the presence of the Holy One.

  The Blessed One addressed them and said: "Seeking the way, ye must

exert yourselves and strive with diligence. It is not enough to have

seen me Walk as I have commanded you; free yourselves from the tangled

net of sorrow. Walk in the path with steadfast aim. A sick man may

be cured by the healing power of medicine and will be rid of all his

ailments without beholding the physician. He who does not do what I

command sees me in vain. This brings no profit; while he who lives far

off from where I am and yet walks righteously is ever near me. A man

may dwell beside me, and yet, being disobedient, be far away from

me. Yet he who obeys the Dharma will always enjoy the bliss of the

Tathagata's presence."

  Then the mendicant Subhadda went to the sala grove of the Mallas and

said to the venerable Ananda: "I have heard from fellow mendicants

of mine, who were deep stricken in years and teachers of great

experience: 'Sometimes and full seldom do Tathagatas appear in the

world, the holy Buddhas.' Now it is said that today in the last

watch of the night, the final passing away of the samana Gotama will

take place. My mind is full of uncertainty, yet have I faith in the

samana Gotama and trust he will be able so to present the truth that I

may become rid of my doubts. O that I might be allowed to see the

samana Gotama!"

  When he had thus spoken the venerable Ananda said to the mendicant

Subhadda: "Enough! friend Subhadda. Trouble not the Tathagata. The

Blessed One is weary." Now the Blessed One overheard this conversation

of the venerable Ananda with the mendicant Subhadda. And the Blessed

One called the venerable Ananda, and said: "Ananda! Do not keep out

Subhadda. Subhadda may be allowed to see the Tathagata. Whatever

Subhadda will ask of me, he will ask from a desire for knowledge,

and not to annoy me, and whatever I may say in answer to his

questions, that he will quickly understand."

  Then the venerable Ananda said: "Step in, friend Subhadda; for the

Blessed One gives thee leave."

  When the Blessed One had instructed Subhadda, and aroused and

gladdened him with words of wisdom and comfort, Subhadda said to the

Blessed One: "Glorious Lord, glorious Lord! Most excellent are the

words of thy mouth, most excellent! They set up that which has been

overturned, they reveal that which has been hidden. They point out the

right road to the wanderer who has gone astray. They bring a lamp into

the darkness so that those who have eyes to see can see. Thus, Lord,

the truth has been made known to me by the Blessed One and I take my

refuge in the Blessed One, in the Truth, and in the Order. May the

Blessed One accept me as a disciple and true believer, from this day

forth as long as life endures."

  And Subhadda, the mendicant, said to the venerable Ananda: "Great is

thy gain, friend Ananda, great is thy good fortune, that for so many

years thou hast been sprinkled with the sprinkling of discipleship

in this brotherhood at the hands of the Master himself!"

  Now the Blessed One addressed the venerable Ananda, and said: "It

may be, Ananda, that in some of you the thought may arise The word

of the Master is ended, we have no teacher more!' But it is not

thus, Ananda, that you should regard it. It is true that no more shall

I receive a body, for all future sorrow has now forever passed away.

But though this body will be dissolved, the Tathagata remains. The

truth and the rules of the order which I have set forth and laid

down for you all, let them, after I am gone, be a teacher unto

you.When I am gone, Ananda, let the order, if it should so wish,

abolish all the lesser and minor precepts."

  Then the Blessed One addressed the brethren, and said: "There may be

some doubt or misgiving in the mind of a brother as to the Buddha,

or the truth, or the path. Do not have to reproach yourselves

afterwards with the thought, 'We did not inquire of the Blessed One

when we were face to face with him.' Therefore inquire now, O

brethren, inquire freely."

  The brethren remained silent. Then the venerable Ananda said to

the Blessed One: "Verily, I believe that in this whole assembly of the

brethren there is not one brother who has any doubt or misgiving as to

the Buddha, or the truth, or the path!"

  Said the Blessed One: "It is out of the fullness of faith that

thou hast spoken, Ananda! But Ananda, the Tathagata knows for

certain that in this whole assembly of the brethren there is not one

brother who has any doubt or misgiving as to the Buddha, or the truth,

or the path! For even the most backward, Ananda, of all these brethren

has become converted, and is assured of final salvation."

  Then the Blessed One addressed the brethren and said: "If ye now

know the Dharma the cause of all suffering, and the path of salvation,

O disciples, will ye then say: 'We respect the Master, and out of

reverence for the Master do we thus speak?'" The brethren replied:

"That we shall not, O Lord."

  And the Holy One continued: "Of those beings who live in

ignorance, shut up and confined, as it were, in an egg, I have first

broken the egg-shell of ignorance and alone in the universe obtained

the most exalted, universal Buddhahood. Thus, O disciples, I am the

eldest, the noblest of beings.

  "But what ye speak, O disciples, is it not even that which ye have

yourselves known, yourselves seen, yourselves realized?" Ananda and

the brethren said: "It is, O Lord."

  Once more the Blessed One began to speak: "Behold now, brethren,

said he, I exhort you, saying, 'Decay is inherent in all component

things, but the truth will remain forever Work out your salvation with

diligence!" This was the last word of the Tathagata. Then the

Tathagata fell into a deep meditation, and having passed through the

four jhanas, entered Nirvana.

  When the Blessed One entered Nirvana there arose, at his passing out

of existence, a mighty earthquake, terrible and awe-inspiring: and the

thunders of heaven burst forth, and of those of the brethren who

were not yet free from passions some stretched out their arms and

wept, and some fell headlong on the ground, in anguish at the thought:

"Too soon has the Blessed One died! Too soon has the Happy One

passed away from existence! Too soon has the Light of the world gone

out!"

  Then the venerable Anuruddha exhorted the brethren and said:

"Enough, my brethren! Weep not, neither lament! Has not the Blessed

One formerly declared this to us, that it is in the very nature of all

things near and dear unto us, that we must separate from them and

leave them, since everything that is born, brought into being, and

organized, contains within itself the inherent necessity of

dissolution? How then can it be possible that the body of the

Tathagata should not be dissolved? No such condition can exist!

Those who are free from passion will bear the loss, calm and

self-possessed, mindful of the truth he has taught us."

  The venerable Anuruddha and the venerable Ananda spent the rest of

the night in religious discourse. Then the venerable Anuruddha said to

the venerable Ananda: "Go now, brother Ananda, and inform the Mallas

of Kusinara saying, 'The Blessed One has passed away: do, then,

whatsoever seemeth fit!'" And when the Mallas had heard this saying

they were grieved, and sad, and afflicted at heart.

  Then the Mallas of Kusinara gave orders to their attendants, saying,

"Gather together perfumes and garlands, and all the music in

Kusinara!" And the Mallas of Kusinara took the perfumes and

garlands, and all the musical instruments, and five hundred

garments, and went to the sala grove where the body of the Blessed One

lay. There they passed the day in paying honor and reverence to the

remains of the Blessed One, with hymns, and music, and with garlands

and perfumes, and in making canopies of their garments, and

preparing decorative wreaths to hang thereon. And they burned the

remains of the Blessed One as they would do to the body of a king of

kings.

  When the funeral pyre was lit, the sun and moon withdrew their

shining, the peaceful streams on every side were torrent-swollen,

the earth quaked, and the sturdy forests shook like aspen leaves,

whilst flowers and leaves fell untimely to the ground, like

scattered rain, so that all Kusinara became strewn knee-deep with

mandara flowers raining down from heaven.

  When the burning ceremonies were over, Devaputta said to the

multitudes that were assembled round the pyre: "Behold, O brethren,

the earthly remains of the Blessed One have been dissolved, but the

truth which he has taught us lives in our minds and cleanses us from

all error. Let us, then, go out into the world, as compassionate and

merciful as our great master, and preach to all living beings the four

noble truths and the eightfold path of righteousness, so that all

mankind may attain to a final salvation, taking refuge in the

Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha."

  When the Blessed One had entered into Nirvana and the Mallas had

burned the body with such ceremonies as would indicate that he was the

great king of kings, ambassadors came from all the empires that at the

time had embraced his doctrine, to claim a share of the relics; and

the relics were divided into eight parts and eight dagobas were

erected for their preservation. One dagoba was erected by the

Mallas, and seven others by the seven kings of those countries whose

people had taken refuge in the Buddha.