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"Such were the words of the Blessed One.4
"The law, accordingly, which the Buddha has left us as a precious inheritance has now become the visible body of the Tathgata. Let us, therefore, revere it and keep it sacred. For what is the use of erecting dgobas for relics, if we neglect the spirit of the Master's teachings?"5
And Anuruddha arose and said:6
"Let us bear in mind, O brethren, that Gotama Siddhattha has revealed the truth to us. He was the Holy One and the Perfect One and the Blessed One, because the eternal truth had taken abode in him.7
"The Tathgata taught us that the truth existed before he was born into this world, and will exist after he has entered into the bliss of Nirvna.8
"The Tathgata said:9
"'The truth is omnipresent and eternal, endowed with excellencies innumerable, above all human nature, and ineffable in its holiness.'10
"Now, let us bear in mind that not this or that law which is revealed to us in the Dharma is the Buddha, but the entire truth, the truth which is eternal, omnipresent, immutable, and most excellent.11
"Many regulations of the Sangha are temporary; they were prescribed because they suited the occasion and were needed for some transient emergency. The truth, however, is not temporary.12
"The truth is not arbitrary nor a matter of opinion, but can be investigated, and he who earnestly searches for the truth will find it.13
"The truth is hidden to the blind, but he who has the mental eye sees the truth. The truth is Buddha's essence, and the truth will remain the ultimate standard by which we can discern false and true doctrines.[Pg 254] 14
"Let us, then, revere the truth; let us inquire into the truth and state it, and let us obey the truth. For the truth is Buddha our Master, our Teacher, our Lord."15
And Kassapa rose and said:16
"Truly thou hast spoken well, O brother Anuruddha. Neither is there any conflict of opinion on the meaning of our religion. For the Blessed One possesses three personalities, and every one of them is of equal importance to us.17
"There is the Dharma Kya. There is the Nirmna Kya. There is the Sambhoga Kya.18
"Buddha is the all-excellent truth, eternal, omnipresent, and immutable. This is the Sambhoga Kya which is in a state of perfect bliss.19
"Buddha is the all-loving teacher assuming the shape of the beings whom he teaches. This is the Nirmna Kya, his apparitional body.20
"Buddha is the all-blessed dispensation of religion. He is the spirit of the Sangha and the meaning of the commands which he has left us in his sacred word, the Dharma. This is the Dharma Kya, the body of the most excellent law.21
"If Buddha had not appeared to us as Gotama Sakyamuni, how could we have the sacred traditions of his doctrine? And if the generations to come did not have the sacred traditions preserved in the Sangha, how could they know anything of the great Sakyamuni? And neither we nor others would know anything about the most excellent truth which is eternal, omnipresent, and immutable.22
"Let us then keep sacred and revere the traditions; let us keep sacred the memory of Gotama Sakyamuni, so that people may find the truth; for he whose spiritual eye is open will discover it, and it is the same to every one who possesses the comprehension of a Buddha to recognize it and to expound it." 23
[Pg 255] Then the brethren decided to convene a synod in Rjagaha in order to lay down the pure doctrines of the Blessed One, to collect and collate the sacred writings, and to establish a canon which should serve as a source of instruction for future generations.24
Eternal verities dominate the formation of worlds and constitute the cosmic order of natural laws. But when, through the conflicting motion of masses, the universe was illumined with blazing fire, there was no eye to see the light, no ear to listen to reason's teachings, no mind to perceive the significance of being; and in the immeasurable spaces of existence no place was found where the truth could abide in all its glory.1
In the due course of evolution sentiency appeared and sense-perception arose. There was a new realm of being, the realm of soul-life, full of yearning, with powerful passions and of unconquerable energy. And the world split in twain: there were pleasures and pains, self and notself, friends and foes, hatred and love. The truth vibrated through the world of sentiency, but in all its infinite potentialities no place could be found where the truth could abide in all its glory.2
And reason came forth in the struggle for life. Reason began to guide the instinct of self, and reason took the sceptre of the creation and overcame the strength of the brutes and the power of the elements. Yet reason seemed to add new fuel to the flame of hatred, increasing the turmoil of conflicting passions; and brothers slew their brothers[Pg 256] for the sake of satisfying the lust of a fleeting moment. And the truth repaired to the domains of reason, but in all its recesses no place was found where the truth could abide in all its glory.3
Now reason, as the helpmate of self, implicated all living beings more and more in the meshes of lust, hatred, and envy, and from lust, hatred, and envy the evils of wrongdoing originated. Men broke down under the burdens of life, until the saviour appeared, the great Buddha, the Holy Teacher of men and gods.4
And the Buddha taught men the right use of sentiency, and the right application of reason; and he taught men to see things as they are, without illusions, and they learned to act according to truth. He taught righteousness and thus changed rational creatures into humane beings, just, kind-hearted, and faithful. And now at last a place was found where the truth might abide in all its glory, and this place is the heart of mankind.5
Buddha, O Blessed One, O Holy One, O Perfect One, thou hast revealed the truth, and the truth has appeared upon earth and the kingdom of truth has been founded.6
There is not room for truth in space, infinite though it be.7
There is not room for truth in sentiency, neither in its pleasures nor in its pains; sentiency is the first footstep of truth, but there is not room in it for the truth, though sentiency may beam with the blazing glow of beauty and life.8
Neither is there any room for truth in rationality. Rationality is a two-edged sword and serves the purpose of love equally as well as the purpose of hatred. Rationality is the platform on which the truth standeth. No truth is attainable without reason. Nevertheless, in mere rationality there is no room for truth, though it be the instrument that masters the things of the world.[Pg 257] 9
