Econlib

The Library

Other Sites

Front Page arrow Titles (by Subject) arrow XLIV.: SECRECY AND PUBLICITY. - The Gospel of Buddha

Return to Title Page for The Gospel of Buddha

Search this Title:

Also in the Library:

Subject Area: Religion

XLIV.: SECRECY AND PUBLICITY. - Buddha, The Gospel of Buddha [1894]

Edition used:

The Gospel of Buddha. Compiled from Ancient Records by Paul Carus. Illustrated by O. Kopetzky (Chicago and London: The Open Court Publishing Company, 1915).

About Liberty Fund:

Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.


XLIV.

SECRECY AND PUBLICITY.

The Buddha said: “Three things, O disciples, are characterized by secrecy: love affairs, priestly wisdom, and all aberrations from the path of truth. 1

“Women who are in love, O disciples, seek secrecy and shun publicity; priests who claim to be in possession of special revelations, O disciples, seek secrecy and shun publicity; all those who stray from the path of truth, O disciples, seek secrecy and shun publicity. 2

“Three things, O disciples, shine before the world and cannot be hidden. What are the three? 3

“The moon, O disciples, illumines the world and cannot be hidden; the sun, O disciples, illumines the world and cannot be hidden; and the truth proclaimed by the Tathāgata illumines the world and cannot be hidden. These three things, O disciples, illumine the world and cannot be hidden. There is no secrecy about them.” 4