The Great Chapter

The Leaving Home of Gotama

Narrator
Now I’ll tell of the Leaving Home,
how he, the mighty seer, went forth,
how he was questioned and described
the reason for his Leaving Home.

The crowded life lived in a house
exhales an atmosphere of dust:
but leaving home is open wide—
seeing this, he chose Leaving Home.

By doing so did he reject
all bodily evil acts,
rejected too, wrong ways of speech,
his livelihood he purified.

He went to Rājagaha town,
hill-guarded fort of Magadhans;
there he, the Buddha, walked for alms,
with many a mark of excellence.

King Bimbisāra from within
his palace saw him passing by,
and when he saw such excellence
in all his marks,

Bimbisāra
“Look, sirs”, he said,
How stately is that man, handsome,
how pure, how perfect is his gait;
with eyes downcast, mindful, he looks
only a plough-yoke’s length ahead.

He’s surely not of humble birth!
Send forth royal messengers at once
upon the path the bhikkhu takes.”

Messenger
The messengers were sent at once
and followed closely in his wake:
“Now which way will the bhikkhu go?
Where has he chosen his abode?

He wanders on from house to house
guarding sense-doors with real restraint.
Fully aware and mindfully,
his alms bowl soon was full.

His almsround is now done. The Sage
is setting out and leaving town,
taking the road to Paṇḍava—
he must be living on its hill.”

Narrator
Now when he came to his abode
the messengers went up to him;
though one of them turned back again
to give the King reply:

Messenger
The bhikkhu, sire, is like a lion,
or like a tiger, like a bull
and seated in a mountain-cave
on the eastern slope of Paṇḍava!

Narrator
The Warrior hears the runner’s tale,
then summoning up a coach of state,
he drove in haste from out the town,
out to the hill of Paṇḍava.

He drove as far as he could go,
and then descended from the coach;
the little distance that remained,
he went on foot, drew near the Sage.

The King sat down, and he exchanged
greetings, and asked about his health.
When this exchange of courtesy was done,
the king then spoke to him these words:

Bimbisāra
You are indeed quite young,
a youth, a man in life’s first phase,
you have the good looks of a man
of high-born warrior-noble stock,

one fit to grace a first-rate force,
to lead the troops of elephants,
wealth can I give you to enjoy;
please tell me of your birth.

Buddha
Straight over there, O king,
the Himalayas can be seen,
there, with wealth and energy,
living among the Kosalans

are the Ādicca of solar race,
in that, the clan of Sakyas.
From that family I’ve left home
not desiring pleasures of sense.

Having seen dangers in sense-desires,
renunciation seen as secure,
I shall go on to strive
for there does my mind delight

- Translator: Laurence Khantipalo Mills

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Going Forth

“I shall extol going forth
with the example of the seer,
the course of inquiry that led to
his choice to go forth.
‘This life at home is cramped,
a realm of dirt.’
‘The life of one gone forth is like an open space.’
Seeing this, he went forth.
Having gone forth, he shunned
bad deeds of body.
And leaving verbal misconduct behind,
he purified his livelihood.
The Buddha went to Rājagaha,
the Mountainfold of the Magadhans.
He betook himself for alms,
replete with excellent marks.
Bimbisāra saw him
while standing atop his longhouse.
Noticing that he was endowed with marks,
he said the following:
‘Pay heed, sirs, to this one,
handsome, majestic, radiant;
accomplished in deportment,
he looks just a plough’s length in front.
Eyes downcast, mindful,
unlike one from a low family.
Let the king’s messengers run out,
and find where the mendicant will go.’
The messengers sent out
followed right behind, thinking
‘Where will the mendicant go?
Where shall he find a place to stay?’
Wandering indiscriminately for alms,
sense-doors guarded and well restrained,
his bowl was quickly filled,
aware and mindful.
Having wandered for alms,
the sage left the city.
He betook himself to Mount Paṇḍava,
thinking, ‘Here is the place I shall stay.’
Seeing that he had arrived at a place to stay,
the messengers withdrew nearby,
but one of them returned
to inform the king.
‘Great king, the mendicant
is on the east flank of Mount Paṇḍava.
There he sits, like a tiger or a bull,
like a lion in a mountain cave.’
Hearing the messenger’s report,
the aristocrat set out
hurriedly in his fine chariot
towards Mount Paṇḍava.
He went as far as vehicles could go,
then dismounted from his chariot,
approached on foot,
and reaching him, drew near.
Seated, the king greeted him
and made polite conversation.
When the courtesies were over,
he said the following:
‘You are young, just a youth,
a lad in the prime of life.
You are endowed with beauty and stature,
like an aristocrat of good lineage
in glory at the army’s head,
surrounded by a troop of elephants.
I offer you pleasures—enjoy them!
But please tell me your lineage by birth.’
‘Up north lies a nation, great king,
on the slope of the Himalayas,
full of wealth and strength,
ruled by a native in the land of the Kosalans.
They are of the Solar clan,
their lineage is the Sakyans.
I have gone forth from that family—
I do not yearn for sensual pleasure.
Seeing the danger in sensual pleasures,
seeing renunciation as sanctuary,
I shall go on to strive;
that is where my mind delights.’”