[397]
With a slanderer, with an angry man,
with a miser, with one who delights in [others'] ruin,
a wise man should not make friendship:
evil is association with a vile man.
With one of faith and amiable conduct,
with one wise and of great learning,
a wise man should indeed make friendship:
blessed is association with good men (sappurisa).
Behold the decked-out puppet,
a mass of sores, propped upright,
ailing, the object of many designs,
in which there is no lasting stability.
Of great learning, a brilliant speaker,
the attendant of the Buddha,
his burden laid down, released from bondage,
Gotama lies down to rest.
With taints (āsava) destroyed, released from bondage,
passed beyond ties, fully quenched,
he bears his final body,
gone beyond birth and death.
In whom stand established the dhammas (dhammā)
of the Buddha, the Kinsman of the Sun (ādiccabandhu),
on the path (magga) leading to Nibbāna —
there this Gotama stands.
Eighty-two [thousand] I received from the Buddha,
and two thousand from the bhikkhus:
eighty-four thousand
are the dhammas kept current by me.
This man of little learning
ages like an ox:
his flesh increases,
his wisdom does not increase.
The man of much learning who, on account of his learning,
despises the man of little learning
appears to me just so:
like a blind man bearing a lamp.
One should wait upon a man of great learning,
and one should not let one's learning perish;
that is the root of the holy life (brahmacariya);
therefore one should be a bearer of the Dhamma (dhammadhara).
Knowing what precedes and what follows, knowing the meaning,
skilled in language and expression,
he grasps [the teaching] so that it is well grasped
and examines the meaning.
Through patience (khanti) he becomes possessed of zeal;
having exerted himself, he weighs it;
at the right time he strives,
inwardly well concentrated.
Desiring understanding of the Dhamma,
let one resort to such a one:
of great learning, a bearer of the Dhamma,
wise, a disciple of the Buddha.
Of great learning, a bearer of the Dhamma,
guardian of the treasury of the Great Sage (mahesi),
the eye of all the world —
the one of great learning is worthy of veneration.
With the Dhamma as his delight, delighting in the Dhamma,
pondering the Dhamma,
recollecting the Dhamma, a bhikkhu
does not fall away from the true Dhamma (saddhamma).
For one who esteems stinginess as to the body,
who does not bestir himself while [life] is wasting away,
who is greedy for bodily pleasure —
whence [can come] the ease of an ascetic?
All the quarters are indistinct;
the teachings are not clear to me;
with our good friend (kalyāṇamitta) gone,
it appears as if darkness [is all around].
For one whose companion has passed away,
whose Teacher is gone and past,
there is no friend such as
mindfulness directed to the body (kāyagatā sati).
The old ones have passed away;
I do not accord with the new;
today I meditate all alone,
like a bird gone to shelter in the rains.
"Do not turn away the many hearers
come over from various foreign realms for an audience;
let them see me —
it is the time."
For the many come over from various foreign realms
for an audience, the Teacher makes opportunity;
the One with Vision (cakkhumā)
does not turn them away.
For twenty-five years,
while I was a trainee (sekha),
no perception of sensuality arose [in me]:
behold the excellence of the Dhamma!
For twenty-five years,
while I was a trainee,
no perception of hatred arose [in me]:
behold the excellence of the Dhamma!
For twenty-five years I attended
upon the Blessed One
with loving-kindness (mettā) in bodily action,
like a shadow never departing.
For twenty-five years I attended
upon the Blessed One
with loving-kindness in verbal action,
like a shadow never departing.
For twenty-five years I attended
upon the Blessed One
with loving-kindness in mental action,
like a shadow never departing.
While the Buddha walked [in meditation],
I walked along behind him;
while the Dhamma was being taught,
knowledge (ñāṇa) arose in me.
I am one who still has work to do,
a trainee whose mind's aim is unattained —
and the Teacher, who was compassionate to us,
has attained final Nibbāna!
Then there was terror,
then there was horripilation,
when the Fully Awakened One, endowed with every excellent quality,
attained final Nibbāna (parinibbuta).
Of great learning, a bearer of the Dhamma,
guardian of the treasury of the Great Sage,
the eye of all the world —
Ānanda has attained final Nibbāna.
Of great learning, a bearer of the Dhamma,
guardian of the treasury of the Great Sage,
the eye of all the world —
a dispeller of gloom amid the darkness.
The seer endowed with intelligence,
endowed with mindfulness (sati), endowed with steadfastness,
the Elder who upheld the true Dhamma,
Ānanda — a mine of gems.
The Teacher has been served by me … the conduit to existence (bhavanetti) has been utterly uprooted.
The Elder Ānanda.
Summary (uddāna):
Phussa, Upatissa, Ānanda —
these three are celebrated [here];
the verses reckoned therein
are one hundred and five.
The Chapter of the Thirties (Tiṃsanipāta) is concluded.
__________________
The Chapter of the Forties (Cattāḷīsanipāta) of the Theragāthā
[Variant notes in the Siam Raṭṭha apparatus:
1. Po., Ma. read "mahāmati."
1. (on "gaṇhi") The reading "gaṇhiṃ" is also found.
2. (on "appassutoyaṃ puriso") Po., Ma. read "appassutāyaṃ puriso."
1. (on "puthū") Po., Ma. read "puthu."]
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.