CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

  WHEN the Blessed One had passed away into Nirvana, the disciples

came together and consulted what to do in order to keep the Dharma

pure and uncorrupted by heresies.

  Upali rose, saying: "Our great Master used to say to the brethren:

'O bhikkhus! after my final entrance into Nirvana you must reverence

and obey the law. Regard the law as your master. The law is like

unto a light that shines in the darkness, pointing out the way; it

is also like unto a precious jewel to gain which you must shun no

trouble, and be ready to bring any sacrifice; even, should it be

needed, your own lives. Obey the Dharma which I have revealed to

you; follow it carefully and if as in no way different from myself.'

Such were the words of the Blessed One. The law, accordingly, which

the Buddha has left us as a precious inheritance has now become the

visible body of the Tathagata. Let us, therefore, revere it and keep

it sacred. For what is the use of erecting dagobas for relics, if we

neglect the spirit of the Master's teachings?"

  Then Anuruddha arose and said: "Let us bear in mind, O brethren,

that Gotama Siddhattha has revealed the truth to us. He was the Holy

One and the Perfect One and the Blessed One, because the eternal truth

had taken abode in him. The Tathagata taught us that the truth existed

before he was born into this world, and will exist after he has

entered into Nirvana. The Tathagata said: 'The truth is omnipresent

and eternal, endowed with excellencies innumerable, above all human

nature, and ineffable in its holiness.'

  "Now let us bear in mind that not this or that law which is revealed

to us in the Dhanna is the Buddha, but the entire truth, the truth

which is eternal, omnipresent, immutable, and most excellent. Many

regulations of the Sangha are temporary; they were prescribed

because they suited the occasion and were needed for some transient

emergency. The truth, however, is not temporary. The truth is not

arbitrary nor a matter of opinion, but can be investigated, and he who

earnestly searches for the truth will find it. The truth is hidden

to the blind, but he who has the mental eye sees the truth. The

truth is Buddha's essence, and the truth will remain the ultimate

standard. Let us, then, revere the truth; let us inquire into the

truth and state it, and let us obey the truth. For the truth is Buddha

our Master, our Teacher."

  And Kassapa rose and said: "Truly thou hast spoken well, O brother

Anuruddha. Neither is there any conflict of opinion on the meaning

of our religion. For the Blessed One possesses three personalities and

each of them is of equal importance to us. There is the Dharma Kaya.

There is the Nirmana Kaya. There is the Sambhoga Kaya. Buddha is the

all-excellent truth, eternal, omnipresent, and immutable: this is

the Sambhoga Kaya which is in a state of perfect bliss. Buddha is

the all-loving teacher assuming the shape of the beings whom he

teaches: this is the Nirmana Kaya, his apparitional body. Buddha is

the all-blessed dispensation of religion; he is the spirit of the

Sangha and the meaning of the commands left us in his sacred word, the

Dharma: this is the Dharma Kaya, the body of the most excellent law.

  "If Buddha had not appeared to us as Gotama Sakyamuni, how could

we have the sacred traditions of his doctrine? And if the

generations to come did not have the sacred traditions preserved in

the Sangha, how could they know anything of the great Sakyamuni? And

neither we nor others would know anything about the most excellent

truth which is eternal, omnipresent, and immutable. Let us then keep

sacred and revere the traditions; let us keep sacred the memory of

Gotama Sakyamuni, so that people may find the truth."

  Then the brethren decided to convene a synod to lay down the

doctrines of the Blessed One, to collate the sacred writings, and to

establish a canon which should serve as a source of instruction for

future generations.