1. And the Blessed One, having pronounced these stanzas standing in the midst of
the assembly, went forth to Bâlakalonakâra-gâma (or, to Bâlaka, the salt-maker's
village).
At that time the venerable Bhagu dwelt at Bâlakalonakâra-gâma. And the venerable
Bhagu saw the Blessed One coming from afar; seeing him he prepared a seat,
brought water for the washing of his feet, a foot-stool, and a towel, went forth
to meet him, and took his bowl and his robe. The Blessed One sat down on the
seat he had prepared; and
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when he was seated, the Blessed One washed his feet. And also the venerable
Bhagu, having respect-fully saluted the Blessed One, sat down near him. When he
was sitting near him, the Blessed One said to the venerable Bhagu: 'Is it all
well with you, O Bhikkhu? Do you find your living? Do you get food without too
much trouble?'
'It is all well with me, Lord; I find my living, Lord; I get food, Lord, without
too much trouble.'
And the Blessed One, having taught, incited, animated, and gladdened the
venerable Bhagu by religious discourse, rose from his seat and went forth to the
Eastern Bambû Park (Pâkîna-vamsa-dâya).
2. At that time the venerable Anuruddha and the venerable Nandiya and the
venerable Kimbila dwelt at Pâkîna-vamsa-dâya. And the park-keeper saw the
Blessed One coming from afar; seeing him he said to the Blessed One: 'Do not
enter this park, O Samana; here dwell three noble youths accustomed to comfort
and ease; you must not annoy them.' And the venerable Anuruddha heard what the
park-keeper was saying to the Blessed One; hearing that he said to the
park-keeper: 'Do not keep off the Blessed One, my good park-keeper; our teacher,
the Blessed One, has arrived.' And the venerable Anuruddha went to the place
where the venerable Nandiya and the venerable Kimbila were; having approached
them, he said to the venerable Nandiya and to the venerable Kimbila: 'Come here,
my venerable friends! Come here, my venerable friends! Our teacher, the Blessed
One, has arrived.'
3. And the venerable Anuruddha, the venerable Nandiya, and the venerable Kimbila
went forth to meet the Blessed One; one took the bowl and the
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robe of the Blessed One, the other one prepared a seat, the third one brought
water for the washing of his feet, a foot-stool, and a towel. Then the Blessed
One sat down on the seat they had pre-pared; and when he was seated, the Blessed
One washed his feet. And also those venerable persons, having respectfully
saluted the Blessed One, sat down near him. When the venerable Anuruddha was
sitting near him, the Blessed One said to him:
'Is it all well with you, O Anuruddhas 1? Do you find your living? Do you get
food without too much trouble?'
'It is all well with us, Lord; we find our living, Lord; we get food, Lord,
without too much trouble.'
'And do you live, O Anuruddhas, in unity and concord, without quarrels, like
milk and water (mixed together) 2, and looking at each other with friendly
eyes?'
'Certainly, Lord, do we live in unity and concord (&c., down to:) and looking at
each other with friendly eyes.'
'And in what way, O Anuruddhas, do you live in unity and concord, &c.?'
4. 'I think, Lord: "It is all gain to me indeed, it is high bliss for me indeed,
that I live in the companionship of brethren like these." Thus, Lord, do I
exercise towards these venerable brethren friendliness in my actions, both
openly and in secret; I
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exercise (towards them) friendliness in my words, and friendliness in my
thoughts, both openly and in secret. And I think thus, Lord: "What if I were to
give up my own will and to live only according to the will of these venerable
brethren." Thus, Lord, I give up my own will and live only according to the will
of these venerable brethren. Our bodies, Lord, are different, but our minds, I
think, have become one 1.'
And also the venerable Nandiya . . . . and also the venerable Kimbila . . . .
said to the Blessed One: 'I think also, Lord: "It is all gain to me" (&c., down
to:) have become one.
'In this way, Lord, do we live in unity and concord, without quarrels, like milk
and water (mixed together), and looking at each other with friendly eyes.'
5. 'And do you live, O Anuruddhas, in earnestness, zeal, and resolvedness?'
'Certainly, Lord, do we live in earnestness, zeal, and resolvedness.'
'And in what way, O Anuruddhas, do you live in earnestness, zeal, and
resolvedness?'
'He 2 who first of us comes back, Lord, from the village, from his
alms-pilgrimage, prepares seats, gets water for washing feet, a foot-stool, and
a towel, cleans the slop-basin, and gets it ready, and puts there (water to)
drink and food. He who comes back last from the village, from his
alms-pilgrimage, eats, if there is any food left (from the dinner of the others)
and if he desires to do so; and if he does
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not desire (to eat), he throws it away at a place free from grass, or pours it
away into water in which no living things are; takes away the seat, puts away
the water for washing the feet, the foot-stool, and the towel, cleans the
slop-basin and puts it away, puts the water and the food away, and sweeps the
dining-room. He who sees a water-pot, or a bowl for food, or an easing-chair,
empty and void, puts it (into its proper place), and if he is not able to do so
single-handed, he calls some one else, and thus we put it (into its place) with
our united effort, but we do not utter a word, Lord, on that account. And every
five days, Lord, we spend a whole night, sitting together, in religious
discourse. In this way, Lord, do we live in earnestness, zeal, and
resolvedness.'
6. And the Blessed One, having taught, incited, animated, and gladdened the
venerable Anuruddha and the venerable Nandiya and the venerable Kimbila by
religious discourse, rose from his seat, and went forth to Pârileyyaka.
Wandering from place to place he came to Pârileyyaka. There the Blessed One
dwelt at Pârileyyaka, in the Rakkhita grove, at the foot of the Bhaddasâla tree.
Then in the mind of the Blessed One, who was alone, and had retired into
solitude, the following thought arose: 'Formerly I did not live at ease, being
troubled by those litigious, contentious, quarrelsome, disputatious Bhikkhus of
Kosambî, the constant raisers of questions before the Samgha. But now, being
alone and without a companion, I live pleasantly and at ease, remote from those
litigious, contentious, quarrelsome, disputatious Bhikkhus of Kosambî, the
constant raisers of questions before the Samgha.' And there
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dwelt also a noble elephant, who was surrounded by a crowd of elephants,
she-elephants, elephant-calves, and young elephants; the grass blades he ate had
their tips broken; the branches he broke down (the other elephants) ate; the
water he drank was turbid; and when he waded into the river and plunged down,
the she-elephants came and rubbed up their bodies against him. Now that noble
elephant thought: 'I am surrounded by a crowd of elephants (&c., down to:) and
rub up their bodies against me. What if I were to live alone, far away from
those crowds.'
7. And that noble elephant left the herd behind, and went to Pârileyyaka, to the
Rakkhita grove, to the foot of the Bhaddasâla tree, to the place where the
Blessed One was. Having approached him, he administered with his trunk to the
Blessed One (water to) drink and food, and removed the grass from that place.
And that noble elephant thought:
Formerly I did not live at ease, surrounded by that crowd of elephants (&c.,
down to:) and rubbed up their bodies against me. But now, being alone and
without a companion, I live pleasantly and at ease, remote from those elephants,
she-elephants, elephant-calves, and young elephants.'
Then the Blessed One, both regarding his own retirement, and understanding by
the power of his mind the thoughts which had arisen in the mind of that noble
elephant, on this occasion pronounced this solemn utterance:
'Thus the noble one and the noble, the elephant tusked with tusks like cart
poles 1 (and the noble
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[paragraph continues] One among men)--the mind of the one and the mind of the
other harmonise in this, that they take delight in dwelling alone in the
forest.'
Footnotes
310:1 We have here the plural Anuruddhâ, meaning Anuruddha and his friends. So
in Kullavagga I, 13, 6 Sâriputtâ means Sâriputta and Moggallâna.
310:2 Khîrodakibhûtâ can scarcely contain an allusion to the Milk Ocean (see
Childers, s.v. khîrodaka). Milk and water is frequently chosen by the Indian
poets as a type of the most perfect union.
311:1 Compare the last poem in the Sutta Nipâta, and especially v. 1143.
311:2 Compare IV, 1.
313:1 Îsâdanta; see Böhtlingk-Roth, sub voce îshâ.
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