Texts from the Buddhist canon : commonly known as Dhammapada

( I30 )
SECTION XXVIII.
THE WAT (mAGGAVAGGO).
I. In days of old ttere was a Brahman, who when young
had left Ms home for the purpose of religious seclusion, and
who remained a solitary student till he was sixty years of
age, but even after this long period he was unable to
arrive at supreme wisdom (B&dhi). Now, according to
the law of the Brahmans, if a man at sixty years of age
has not reached wisdom, it is his duty to return to his
home and .marry a wife. Accordingly, the man having so
done, there was born to him a very graceful' boy, who
when seven years of age, being already deeply read in the
books of his religion, and possessed of wonderful dialectic
skill, was suddenly struck by a fatal disease and died.
The father, overwhelmed by sorrow, gave himself up to
immoderate grief, and was quite unable to control himself.
He threw himself on the corpse of his child, and lay there
as one dead. On recovering himself, the child's body was
enshrouded and coffined—the father having been remon-
strated with by his relatives and those of his caste—and
finally taken without the city for interment. On this
occasion the Brahman began to reflect with himself thus
" What use is it thus giving way to tears ? It is not of
any service ; but I will go at once to the abode of Chen-
lo-wang (yamar§,ja), and beg him humbly to give me back
my child alive." On this the Brahman, having gone
through certain religious rites and offered flowers and
incense, departed from his home, and wherever he came
he asked of all he met whether they knew where YamarSja
—