892. If he left his mother, father, sisters and brothers, relatives and the five cords of sensual pleasures, he should meditate like this Anuruddha does.
893. Formerly, I was surrounded by songs and dance. I woke from sleep to the sound of music. I was trapped in Māra’s snare of sensual pleasures, but I didn’t gain any purity from that.
894. Giving up these sensual pleasures, delighting in the Buddha’s path and crossing over all the floods of defilements, one should meditate like this Anuruddha does.
895. Forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches are attractive. Removing desire for them, one should meditate like this Anuruddha does.
896. After returning from alms round, the sage lives alone. He doesn’t have the companion called “craving.” Freed from taints, Anuruddha is searching for a thrown away rag.
897. He has clear mindfulness. Taintless sage, Anuruddha found a thrown away rag. He washed it well and dyed it. He wore that as a robe.
898. Having many desires, without being content with what is available, and mingling with the crowd, if one lives with a conceited mind, all of these behaviours generate evil defilements in him.
899–900. But establishing clear mindfulness, desiring little, being contented with what is available, if one lives energetically, with a still mind, all of these behaviours become aids to enlightenment. The Great Seer, the Buddha, spoke about that person as a taintless one.
901. The unsurpassed teacher in the world knew my thoughts and, by his psychic powers, creating a mind made body, approached me.
902. My great teacher beautifully explained more about the things I was thinking. The Supreme Buddha, delighting in Nibbāna, taught me about Nibbāna.
903. Having learned the Buddha’s Dhamma, I delighted in his path. I achieved the Triple Knowledge. The Buddha’s path has been fully followed by me.
904. It has been fifty-five years since I started meditating without sleep. It has been twenty-five years since sleepiness was abandoned completely.
905. The Buddha had an unshaken mind and was established in Nibbāna. The Blessed One’s breathing in and breathing out halted. The Great Sage with eyes of Dhamma who was freed from craving, aiming at serene Nibbāna, attained final extinguishing at passing away.
906. The Blessed One had an unstirred mind and endured all feelings with that mind. His mind was released from craving. That liberated mind was extinguished like a lamp.
907. Now what remains here is only the five faculties of the Great sage’s final body. Once a supremely enlightened Buddha has attained final extinguishing, nothing will remain.
908. Hey, net of craving! I too now don’t have any living, even in a heaven. Journeying on from rebirth to rebirth has completely ended. There is no more rebirth.
909. He can know in an instant about thousands of worlds along with the Brahma World. He has psychic powers and the knowledge of seeing the death and rebirth of beings. Devas also visit this monk at the proper time.
910. In a former life, he was very poor. His job was carrying leftover food. His name was Annabhāra. He suffered a lot. At that time, there was a private Buddha named Upariṭṭha who was well known. He made an offering to that Buddha.
911. In this life, I was born in the Sākya clan. Everybody knew me as Anuruddha. I was surrounded by music and dance. I woke up from my sleep listening to music.
912. One day I saw the fully enlightened teacher, the Supreme Buddha who was without fear from any direction. My heart was pleased with him. Then I abandoned my home life and became a monk.
913. I achieved the knowledge to see my former lives in saṁsāra. I have been born hundreds of times in the Tāvatiṁsa Heaven.
914. Seven times I have become a universal wheel turning king and have ruled this whole earth bounded by the ocean. I have ruled the world as the great king of the Indian subcontinent righteously without stick or sword.
915. Having passed from the human world, I was reborn in heaven seven times. Having passed from heaven, I was reborn in the human world seven times. Even as a God, I had the knowledge of past lives.
916. The fourth Jhāna is very peaceful. The mind gets very unified and tranquil there very well. Using this, I purified my divine eye.
917. Using the fourth Jhāna, I also understood the death and rebirth of beings according to their kamma.
918. The Buddha’s instruction has been respectfully followed by me. The Buddha’s path has been fully followed by me. I lowered the heavy load of defilements. I rooted out the fetters of existence.
919. I live in the village of Beluva in the Vajji country. My life is just about to end. Under the shade of these bamboo trees, with a taintless mind, I will attain final extinguishing at passing away.
These verses were said by Arahant Anuruddha.
