(The two following poems present respectively the Buddhist and
Christian Ideals of Life.)
THE BUDDHIST IDEAL.
DHANIYA SUTTA.
1 _Hot steams my food. My cows are milked.
--So said the herdsman Dhaniya--
Along the banks of the Mahī
With equals and with friends I dwell.
Right well is my trim cottage thatched,
And on my hearth the fire burns bright.
So let the rain pour down now, if it likes, to-night!_
2 _Cool is my mind. No fallow land lies there.
--So said the Exalted One--
For one night only, as I wander on,
I dwell upon the banks of the Mahī.
My lodging’s open to the sky. The fires
Are out (for in my heart the flames
Of Lust, Ill-will, and Dulness burn no more).
So let the rain pour down now, if it likes, to-night!_
3 _There are no gadflies here. My kine
--So said the herdsman Dhaniya--
Are roaming through the meadows rich with grass;
Well can they bear the fickle rain-god’s blows.
So let the rain pour down now, if it likes, to-night!_
4 _My basket raft was woven well together.
--So said the Exalted One--
Crossed over now, I’ve reached the farther bank
And overcome the floods (the Lust of Sense,
The Lust of Life, Delusion, Ignorance).
So let the rain pour down now, if it likes, to-night!_
5 _Obedient is my wife, no wanton she,
--So said the herdsman Dhaniya--
Long has she dwelt with me, my well-beloved,
I hear no evil thing in her against me.
So let the rain pour down now, if it likes, to-night!_
6 _Obedient is my heart, wholly set free,
--So said the Exalted One--
Long has it been watched over, well subdued,
No evil thing is found within my breast.
So let the rain pour down now, if it likes, to-night!_
7 _On my own earnings do I live at ease.
--So said the herdsman Dhaniya--
My boys are all about me, strong in health,
I hear no evil thing in them against me.
So let the rain pour down now, if it likes, to-night!_
8 _No man can call me servant, and I wander
--So said the Exalted One--
At will, o’er all the earth on what I find.
I feel no need of wages, or of gain.
So let the rain pour down now, if it likes, to-night!_
9 _I’ve barren cows, and sucking calves
--So said the herdsman Dhaniya--
And cows in calf, and heifers sleek,
And a strong bull, lord o’er the cows.
So let the rain pour down now, if it likes, to-night!_
10 _No barren cows have I, nor sucking calves,
--So said the Exalted One--
No cows in calf, nor heifers sleek,
Nor a strong bull, lord o’er the cows.
So let the rain pour down now, if it likes, to-night!_
11 _The stakes are driven in, nothing can shake them.
--So said the herdsman Dhaniya--
The ropes of munja grass are new and strong,
No calves could break them loose, and stray.
So let the rain pour down now, if it likes, to-night!_
12 _I’ve broken all the bonds loose, like a bull,
Or like the lordly elephant, calm in his strength,
Contemning the weak strands of jungle rope.
I ne’er again shall enter the dark womb.
So let the rain pour down now, if it likes, to-night!_
13 _Then lo! a thunder-cloud filling the hollows,
And the high ground, that moment poured forth rain,
And Dhaniya, the herdsman, as he heard
The god’s rain rushing, yielded him, and said:_
14 _O, great the gain that has accrued to us,
In that we met the Exalted One to-day!
In thee of the seeing eye we put our trust.
Be thou, O mighty Sage, a teacher to us.
My wife and I will be obedient;
Under the Happy One we both will lead
A holy life, and pass beyond old age and death,
And put an end, for aye, to every pain!_
15 _The man with sons takes pride in sons,
--So said Mara, the Evil One--
The man with kine takes joy in kine.
Lusts, evil, and Karma bring delights to men;
He, who has none of these, has no delights._
16 _He, who has sons, has sorrow in his sons,
--So said the Exalted One--
He who has kine, has trouble with his kine,
Lusts, evil, and Karma, are the source of care;
He, who has none of these, is not care-worn.
Dhaniya Sutta is ended._
(By kind permission of Professor RHYS DAVIDS, LL.D., Ph.D., whose
translation it is. From _Buddhism: Its History and Literature_.)