The Gospel of Buddha, Compiled from Ancient RecordsCarus, Paul
ReligionEastern
The Gospel of Buddha, Compiled from Ancient Records
Carus, Paul
Buddhism; Christianity and other religions -- Buddhism; Gautama Buddha; Gautama Buddha -- Teachings
"It is good to reform, and it is good to exhort people to
reform.
The things of the world will all be swept away.
Let others be busy and buried with care.
My mind all unvexed shall be pure. 10
"After pleasures they hanker and find no satisfaction;
Riches they covet and can never have enough.
They are like unto puppets held up by a string.
When the string breaks they come down with a shock. 11
"In the domain of death there are neither great nor small;
Neither gold nor silver is used, nor precious jewels.
No distinction is made between the high and the low.
And daily the dead are buried beneath the fragrant sod. 12
"Look at the sun setting behind the western hills.
You lie down to rest, but soon the cock will announce
morn.
Reform to-day and do not wait until it be too late.
Do not say it is early, for the time quickly passes by. 13
"It is good to reform and it is good to exhort people to
reform.
It is good to lead a righteous life and take refuge in the
Buddha's name.
Your talents may reach to the skies, your wealth may be
untold--
But all is in vain unless you attain the peace of Nirvāna." 14
XLIV.
SECRECY AND PUBLICITY.
The Buddha said: "Three things, O disciples, are characterized by
secrecy: love affairs, priestly wisdom, and all aberrations from
the path of truth. 1
"Women who are in love, O disciples, seek secrecy and shun
publicity; priests who claim to be in possession of special
revelations, O disciples, seek secrecy and shun publicity; all
those who stray from the path of truth, O disciples, seek secrecy
and shun publicity. 2
"Three things, O disciples, shine before the world and cannot be
hidden. What are the three? 3
"The moon, O disciples, illumines the world and cannot be hidden;
the sun, O disciples, illumines the world and cannot be hidden;
and the truth proclaimed by the Tathāgata illumines the world and
cannot be hidden. These three things, O disciples, illumine the
world and cannot be hidden. There is no secrecy about them." 4
XLV.
THE ANNIHILATION OF SUFFERING.
And the Buddha said: "What, my friends, is evil? 1
"Killing is evil; stealing is evil; yielding to sexual passion is
evil; lying is evil; slandering is evil; abuse is evil; gossip is
evil; envy is evil; hatred is evil; to cling to false doctrine is
evil; all these things, my friends, are evil. 2
"And what, my friends, is the root of evil? 3
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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