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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> - 149<br />

47. ‘Cultivating absolute content with any alms from any person, he<br />

carries out his lonely life, indifferent to all feelings, meditating on the<br />

holy books, and satisfied in himself.<br />

48. ‘Then having seen how fear arises from passion and the highest<br />

happiness from the absence <strong>of</strong> passion, he strives, <strong>by</strong> restraining all<br />

the senses, to attain to tranquillity <strong>of</strong> mind.<br />

49. ‘Then he reaches the first stage <strong>of</strong> contemplation, which is<br />

separated from desires, evil intentions and the like, and arises from<br />

discrimination and which involves reasoning.<br />

50. ‘And having obtained this ecstatic contemplation, and reasoning<br />

on various objects, the childish mind is carried away <strong>by</strong> the possession<br />

<strong>of</strong> the new unknown ecstasy.<br />

51. ‘With a tranquillity <strong>of</strong> this kind, which disdains desire <strong>or</strong> dislike,<br />

he reaches the w<strong>or</strong>ld <strong>of</strong> Brahman, deceived <strong>by</strong> the delight.<br />

52. ‘But the wise man, knowing that these reasonings bewilder the<br />

mind, reaches a (second) stage <strong>of</strong> contemplation separate from this,<br />

which has its own pleasure and ecstasy.<br />

53. ‘And he who, carried away <strong>by</strong> this pleasure, sees no further<br />

distinction, obtains a dwelling full <strong>of</strong> light, even amongst the<br />

Ābhāsura deities.<br />

54. ‘But he who separates his mind from this pleasure and ecstasy,<br />

reaches the third stage <strong>of</strong> contemplation ecstatic but without pleasure.

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