..续本文上一页s cannot fail:
there is no departure from truth in their speech. [18]
"For as the fall of a stone thrown into the air,
as the death of a mortal,
as the sunrise at dawn,
as the lion”s roar when he leaves his lair,
as the delivery of a woman with child,
as all these things are sure and certain -
even so the word of the Buddhas is sure and cannot fail. [19]
"Verily I shall become a Buddha." [20]
The prince returned to the bedroom of his wife to take a last farewell glance
at those whom he dearly loved above all the treasures of the earth.
He longed to take the infant once more into his arms and kiss him with a parting kiss.
But the child lay in the arms of his mother
and the prince could not lift him without awakening both. [21]
There Siddhattha stood gazing at his beautiful wife and his beloved son,
and his heart grieved.
The pain of parting overcame him powerfully.
Although his mind was determined,
so that nothing, be it good or evil, could shake his resolution,
the tears flowed freely from his eyes,
and it was beyond his power to check their stream.
But the prince tore himself away with a manly heart,
suppressing his feelings but not extinguishing his memory. [22]
The Bodhisatta mounted his noble steed Kanthaka,
and when he left the palace, Mara stood in the gate and stopped him:
"Depart not, O my Lord," exclaimed Mara.
"In seven days from now the wheel of empire will appear,
and will make thee sovereign over the four continents and the two thousand adjacent islands.
Therefore, stay, my Lord." [23]
The Bodhisatta replied:
"Well do I know that the wheel of empire will appear to me;
but it is not sovereignty that I desire.
I will become a Buddha and make all the world shout for joy." [24]
Thus Siddhattha, the prince, renounced power and worldly pleasures,
gave up his kingdom, severed all ties, and went into homelessness.
He rode out into the silent night,
accompanied only by his faithful charioteer Channa. [25]
Darkness lay upon the earth,
but the stars shone brightly in the heavens. [26]
King Bimbisara
Siddhattha had cut his waving hair
and had exchanged his royal robe for a mean dress of the colour of the ground.
Having sent home Channa, the charioteer,
together with the noble steed Kanthaka,
to king Suddhodana to bear him the message that the prince had left the world,
the Bodhisatta walked along on the highroad with a begger”s bowl in his hand. [1]
Yet the majesty of his mind was ill-concealed under the poverty of his appearance.
His erect gait betrayed his royal birth and his eyes beamed with a fervid zeal for truth.
The beauty of his youth was transfigured by holiness and surrounded his head like a halo. [2]
All the people who saw this unusual sight gazed at him in wonder.
Those who were in haste arrested their steps and looked back;
and there was no one who did not pay him homage. [3]
Having entered the city of Rajagaha,
the prince went from house to house silently waiting till the people offered him food.
Wherever the Blessed One came, the people gave him what they had;
they bowed before him in humility and were filled with gratitude
because he condescended to approach their homes. [4]
Old and young people were moved and said:
"This is a noble muni!
His approach is bliss.
What a great joy for us!" [5]
And king Bimbisara, noticing the commotion in the city,
inquired the cause of it,
and when he learned the news sent one of his attendants to observe the stranger. [6]
Having heard that the muni must be a Sakya and of noble family,
and that he had retired to the bank of a flowing river
in the woods to eat the food in his bowl,
the king was moved in his heart;
he donned his royal robe,
placed his golden crown upon his head
and went out in the company of a…
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