THE NIDĀNAKATHĀ OR THE THREE EPOCHS. · 5

110. No danger then comes near; this day this thing is seen, By this sign we know it,—verily thou shalt become Buddha.

111. No dust flies abroad; this day this thing is seen, By this sign we know it,—verily thou shalt be Buddha.

112. All noisome odours flee away, celestial fragrance breathes around, Such fragrance breathes this day,—verily thou shalt be Buddha.

113. All the angels are manifested, the Formless only excepted, This day they all are seen,—verily thou shalt be Buddha.

114. All the hells become visible, These all are seen this day,—verily thou shalt be Buddha.

115. Then walls, and doors, and rocks are no impediment, This day they have melted into air,135—verily thou shalt be Buddha.

116. At that moment death and birth do not take place, This day these things are seen,—verily thou shalt be Buddha.

117. Do thou make a strenuous effort, hold not back, go forward, This thing we know,—verily thou shalt be Buddha.

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And the Bodhisatta, having heard the words of Dīpankara Buddha, and of the angels in ten thousand worlds, filled with immeasurable resolution, thought thus within himself, “The Buddhas are beings whose word cannot fail; there is no deviation from truth in their speech. For as the fall of a clod thrown into the air, as the death of a mortal, as the sunrise at dawn, as a lion’s roaring when he leaves his lair, as the delivery of a woman with child, as these things are sure and certain,—even so the word of the Buddhas is sure and cannot fail, verily I shall become a Buddha.” Therefore it is said,

118. Having heard the words of Buddha and of the angels of ten thousand worlds, Glad, joyous, delighted, I then thought thus within myself:

119. The Buddhas speak not doubtful words, the Conquerors speak not vain words, There is no falsehood in the Buddhas,—verily I shall become a Buddha.

120. As a clod cast into the air doth surely fall to the ground, So the word of the glorious Buddhas is sure and everlasting.

121. As the death of all mortals is sure and constant, So the word of the glorious Buddhas is sure and everlasting.

122. As the rising of the sun is certain when night has faded, So the word of the glorious Buddhas is sure and everlasting.

123. As the roaring of a lion who has left his den is certain, So the word of the glorious Buddhas is sure and everlasting.

124. As the delivery of women with child is certain, So the word of the glorious Buddhas is sure and everlasting.

And having thus made the resolution, “I shall surely become Buddha,” with a view to investigating the conditions that constitute a Buddha, exclaiming, “Where are the conditions that make the Buddha, are they found above or below, in the principal or the minor directions?” investigating successively the principles of all things, and beholding the first Perfection of Almsgiving, practised and followed by former Bodhisattas, he thus admonished his own soul: “Wise Sumedha, from this time forth19 thou must fulfil the perfection of Almsgiving; for as a water-jar overturned discharges the water so that none remains, and cannot recover it, even so if thou, indifferent to wealth and fame, and wife and child, and goods great and small, give away to all who come and ask everything that they require till nought remains, thou shalt seat thyself at the foot of the tree of Bodhi and become a Buddha.” With these words he strenuously resolved to attain the first perfection of Almsgiving. Therefore it is said,

125. Come, I will search the Buddha-making conditions, this way and that, Above and below, in all the ten directions, as far as the principles of things extend.

126. Then, as I made my search, I beheld the first Gift-perfection, The high road followed by former sages.

127. Do thou strenuously taking it upon thyself advance To this first perfection of almsgiving, if thou wilt attain Buddhaship.

128. As a brimming water-jar, overturned by any one, Discharges entirely all the water, and retains none within,

129. Even so, when thou seest any that ask, great, small, and middling, Do thou give away all in alms, as the water-jar overthrown.

But considering further, “There must be beside this other conditions that make a Buddha,” and beholding the second Perfection of Moral Practice, he thought thus, “O wise Sumedha, from this day forth mayest thou fulfil the perfection of Morality; for as the Yak ox, regardless of his life, guards his bushy tail, even so thou shalt become Buddha, if from this day forward regardless of thy life thou keepest the moral precepts.” And he strenuously resolved to attain the second perfection of Moral Practice. Therefore it is said,

130. For the conditions of a Buddha cannot be so few, Let me investigate the other conditions that bring Buddhaship to maturity.

131. Then investigating I beheld the second Perfection of Morality Practised and followed by former sages.20

132. This second one do thou strenuously undertake, And reach the perfection of Moral Practice if thou wilt attain Buddhahood.

133. And as the Yak cow, when her tail has got entangled in anything, Then and there awaits death, and will not injure her tail,136

134. So also do thou, having fulfilled the moral precepts in the four stages, Ever guard the Sīla as the Yak guards her tail.

But considering further, “These cannot be the only Buddha-making conditions,” and beholding the third Perfection of Self-abnegation, he thought thus, “O wise Sumedha, mayest thou henceforth fulfil the perfection of Abnegation; for as a man long the denizen of a prison feels no love for it, but is discontented, and wishes to live there no more, even so do thou, likening all births to a prison-house, discontented with all births, and anxious to get rid of them, set thy face toward abnegation, thus shalt thou become Buddha.” And he strenuously made the resolution to attain the third perfection of Self-abnegation. Therefore it is said,