A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s3.t2.42

v2.c19.s3.t2.42

It is an open question whether, as *Seidenstücker* thinks,³ the majority of the Udānas in this collection are really "authentic words of the Master." We are safe, however, in granting that most of these short⁴ and beautiful utterances certainly bear the stamp of antiquity, and that many of them are possibly the actual words of Buddha himself or of his most prominent disciples. On the other hand, there can be no doubt that the utterances themselves are, as a rule, older than the narratives into which they are inserted. Though a few of them may have come down from the very beginning in association with an introductory story, yet in the majority of cases it was the compiler who appended such a story to an old Udāna. This is why many of the Suttas only contain very simple, in fact sometimes silly stories, inappropriate to the pathos of the utterances themselves. For instance, in one pithy saying (III, 7) we are told that even the gods envy the saint who is free from desire. To illustrate this, a story is told how Sakka and the other gods actually envy the Arhat Mahākassapa. Another pithy saying (VI. 9) compares people who are engrossed in worldly life and do not strive after that which is essential, with moths rushing into a flame. The corresponding story relates that Buddha once sojourned in Sāvatthi, and noticed a number of moths flying into the burning oil-lamps and being burnt. Or, again, Buddha sees the venerable Sāriputta teaching another monk by means of a sermon. This is sufficient pretext for his being made to utter the following pithy saying (VII, 2) :