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Buddha-carita, or Life of Buddha by Ven. Aśvaghoṣa

An English translation of this famous life of the Buddha, one of the great pieces of Sanskrit literature, with additions to help complete the text.

An English translation of this famous life of the Buddha, one of the great pieces of Sanskrit literature, with additions to help complete the text.

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<strong>Buddha</strong>-<strong>carita</strong>, <strong>or</strong> <strong>Life</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Buddha</strong> - 146<br />

23. ‘Ign<strong>or</strong>ance, the merit <strong>or</strong> demerit <strong>of</strong> f<strong>or</strong>mer actions, and desire are<br />

to be known as the causes <strong>of</strong> mundane existence; he who abides in the<br />

midst <strong>of</strong> this triad does not attain to the truth <strong>of</strong> things, –<br />

24. ‘From mistake, egoism, confusion, fluctuation, indiscrimination,<br />

false means, in<strong>or</strong>dinate attachment, and gravitation.<br />

25. ‘Now "mistake" acts in a contrary manner, it does wrongly what it<br />

should do, and what it should think it thinks wrongly.<br />

26. “I say," "I know," "I go," "I am firmly fixed," it is thus that<br />

"egoism" shows itself here, O thou who art free from all egoism.<br />

27. ‘That state <strong>of</strong> mind is called "confusion," O thou who art all<br />

unconfused, which views under one nature, massed like a lump <strong>of</strong><br />

clay, objects that thus become confused in their nature.<br />

28. ‘That state <strong>of</strong> mind which says that this mind, intellect, and these<br />

actions are the same as "I," and that which says that all this aggregate<br />

is the same as "I," – is called "fluctuation."<br />

29. ‘That state <strong>of</strong> mind is called "indiscrimination," O thou who art<br />

discriminating, which thinks there is no difference between the<br />

illuminated and the unwise, and between the different evolvents.<br />

30. ‘Uttering "namas" and "vaṣaṭ," sprinkling water upon sacrifices,<br />

&c. with <strong>or</strong> without the recital <strong>of</strong> Vedic hymns, and such like rites, –<br />

these are declared <strong>by</strong> the wise to be "false means," O thou who art<br />

well skilled in true means.

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