..續本文上一頁s-legged and entered into the state of the Fruition Attainment of Arahatship.

　　At the time predetermined by him, he arose from the meditation, and this thought occurred to him: "Do the Enlightened Ones have their final passing away first, or the Chief Disciples

　　" And he saw that it is the Chief Disciples who pass away first. Thereupon he considered his own life-force, and saw that its residue would sustain him only for another week.

　　He then considered: "Where shall I have my final passing away

　　" And he thought: "Rahula finally passed away among the deities of the Thirty-three, and the Elder Kondañña the Knower at the Chaddanta Lake.[43] Where, then, will be my place

　　"

　　While thinking this over repeatedly he remembered his mother, and the thought came to him: "Although she is the mother of seven Arahats[44] she has no faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. Has she the supportive conditions in her to acquire that faith or has she not

　　"

　　Investigating the matter he discerned that she had the supportive conditions for the Path-intuition (abhisamaya) of stream-entry. Then he asked himself: "Through whose instruction can she win to the penetration of truth

　　"

　　And he saw that not through anyone else”s but only through his own instruction in the Dhamma, could it come about. And following upon that came the thought: "If I now remain indifferent, people will say: ”Sariputta has been a helper to so many others; on the day, for instance, when he preached the Discourse to the Deities of Tranquil Mind a large number of devas attained Arahatship, and still more of them penetrated to the first three Paths; and on other occasions there were many who attained to stream-entry, and there thousands of families who were reborn in heavenly worlds after the Elder had inspired them with joyous confidence in the Triple Gem. Yet despite this he cannot remove the wrong views of his own mother

　　 Thus people may speak of me. Therefore I shall free my mother from her wrong views, and shall have my final passing away in the very chamber where I was born."

　　Having made that decision, he thought: "This very day I shall ask the Master”s permission and then leave for Nalaka." And, calling the elder Cunda, who was his attendant, he said: "Friend Cunda, please ask our group of five hundred bhikkhus to take their bowls and robes, for I wish to go to Nalaka." And the elder Cunda did as he was bidden.

　　The bhikkhus put their lodgings in order, took their bowls and robes, and presented themselves before the Elder Sariputta. He, for his own part, had tidied up his living quarters and swept the place where he used to spend the day. Then, standing at the gate, he looked back at the place, thinking: "This is my last sight of it. There will be no more coming back."

　　Then, together with the five hundred bhikkhus he went to the Blessed One, saluted him and spoke: "May, O Lord, the Blessed One permit, may the Exalted One consent: the time of my final passing away has come, I have relinquished the life-force.

　　Lord of the World, O greatest Sage!

　　From life I soon shall be released.

　　Going and coming no more shall be;

　　This is the last time that I worship thee.

　　Short is the life that now remains to me;

　　But seven days from now, and I shall lay

　　This body down, throwing the burden off.

　　Grant it, O Master! Give permission, Lord!

　　At last for me Nibbana”s time has come,

　　Relinquished have I now the will to live."

　　Now, says the text, if the enlightened One were to have replied, "You may have your final passing away," ho, stile sectarians would say that he was speaking in praise of death; and if he had replied, "Do not have your final passing away," they would say that he extolled the continuation of the round of existence. Therefore the Blessed One did not speak in ei…

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