Dear Yong Peng,
>Also, "I am still seeking the way." is obviously a quote taken from
someone or somewhere and inadequately applied >to the Buddha. Please
correct me if I am wrong, but I am sure most Buddhists would agree the
Buddha's final words >are "Transient are all compounded things, strive
on with diligence!". This is of course from the Pali tradition. Is
there >any difference from the Chinese and Tibetan traditions?
There are seven sources of the Buddha's last words that I am aware of. Two in Indic languages (Pāli and Buddhist Sanskrit), one in the Tibetan Vinaya, and four in the Chinese canon. In his 1944 work (Die Uberlieferung vom Lebensende des Buddha) Waldschmidt gives a summary (in German) of all but the Tibetan (page 249 - 250). No one has ever translated these into English that I am aware of. None of these have anything about "I am still seeking the way".
1) The Pali everyone is familiar with
2) the Sanskrit is from the Muulasarvaastivaadin school. Partial translation is as follows:
[after the silence of the monks re: any doubts that they want the Buddha to answer] Then the Blessed One uncovered his upper robe on one side and showed his body to the monks. "Look, Monks, at the body of the Tathaagata, examine the body of the Tathaagata closely. What is the reason for this? Tathaagatas, arahants, are hard to see, as difficult as an Udumbara flower. Indeed, Monks, you may remain silent: all conditioned things are subject to dissolution." These were the Buddha's last words.
42.9 atha bhagavaan
svakaayaad uttarāsa`ngam ekānte viv.rtya bhik.suun aamantrayate ||
42.10 avalokayata bhik.savas tathaagatasya kaayam || vyavalokayata bhik.savas tathaagatasya
kaayam || tat kasmaad dheto.h|| durlabhadar"sanaa yasmaat tathaagataa arhanta.h
samyaksa.mbuddhaas tadyathoduṃbare pu.spam ||
42.11 a`nga bhik.savas tuus..nii.m bhavata vyayadharmaa.h sarvasa.mskaaraa.h||
42.12 iyaṃ tatra tathaagatasya pa"scimaa vaacaa ||)
Waldschmidt translates the "bhavata" in 42.11 as an indicative ("The monks remained silent" - "Da schwiegen die Moenche alle..") but it is clearly a 2nd pers. pl. imperative, unless it may be a BHS form for third pers. pl. indicative (I don't have my grammar handy).
2) The Tibetans have a similar story and translated the last words of the Buddha as: "O Monks, for the time
being, do not speak. It is like this: all compounded phenomena are subject to
disintegration." They translate in the imperative, but I'm not quite sure why Buddha is saying not to speak (perhaps because he has just asked them three times if they have any doubts and no one spoke up?). The Tibetan is dge slong dag re shig cang ma smra zhig dang/ 'di ltar 'dus byas thams cad ni 'jig pa'i chos can yin te.
There are also four Chinese versions which I have tentatively translated (my Chinese is not that great), but they by and large follow the Sanskrit. Since this is a Paali forum I will not burden the group with a translation of each one, unless it is wanted.
I hope this helps,
Mettaa,
Bryan
________________________________
From: Ong Yong Peng <
palismith@...>
To:
Pali@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, February 14, 2010 7:24:44 AM
Subject: [Pali] Last words of the Buddha...
Dear friends,
a senior pastor from Singapore recently made unruly comments and insensitive remarks on Buddhism. Pastor Rony Tan, who claims to have a congregation of 12,000+ in Singapore, made a video of a church service speech. In this video, Pastor Tan referred to Buddhism and each time accompanied it with his opinion of the religion. I watched this video, which was first available from Tan's website and subsequently in several video sharing websites. This matter has created a huge outcry within Singapore's civic circles on various fronts. Tan has since apologised for his actions, and promised not to repeat the same mistake again.
In this past decade, we have seen almost daily how bigotry and fundamentalism has caused tensions and conflicts within communities and across continents. It is human to err, but irresponsible religious speeches can threaten social stability of a secular country like Singapore. It is not my intention to "talk" about the person on this forum. Only one point I like to discuss: at one point in the speech, Pastor Tan said that when the Buddha was about to pass away, he uttered the last words "I am still seeking the way."
I thought I have heard this before, but used on someone else. So, I am curious if Christian evangelicals used "canned messages" in their preaching to win ignorant converts. Is there anyone who knows Christian evangelism methods well enough to comment?
Also, "I am still seeking the way." is obviously a quote taken from someone or somewhere and inadequately applied to the Buddha. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I am sure most Buddhists would agree the Buddha's final words are "Transient are all compounded things, strive on with diligence!". This is of course from the Pali tradition. Is there any difference from the Chinese and Tibetan traditions?
Thank you.
metta,
Yong Peng.
__________________________________________________________________
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