What if the Buddha upon his Enlightenment finds that what he
realised was too profound for the people to understand, and he did
not turn the wheel of Dharma?!
THE Blessed One having attained Buddhahood while resting under
the shepherd's Nigrodha tree on the banks of the river Neranjara,
pronounced this solemn utterance:
"How sure his pathway in this wood,
Who follows truth's unchanging call!
How blessed, to be kind and good,
And practice self-restraint in all!
How light, from passion to be free,
And sensual joys to let go by!
And yet his greatest bliss will be
When he has quelled the pride of 'I'.
"I have recognized the deepest truth, which is sublime and
peace-giving' but difficult to understand; for most men move in a
sphere of worldly interests and find their delight in worldly
desires. The worldling will not understand the doctrine, for to him
there is happiness in selfhood only, and the bliss that lies in a
complete surrender to truth is unintelligible to him. He will call
resignation what to the enlightened mind is the purest joy. He will
see annihilation where the perfected one finds immortality. He will
regard as death what the conqueror of self knows to be life
everlasting. The truth remains hidden from him who is in the
bondage of hate and desire. Nirvana remains incomprehensible and
mysterious to the vulgar whose minds are beclouded with worldly
interests. Should I preach the doctrine and mankind not comprehend
it, it would bring me only fatigue and trouble."
Mara, the Evil One, on hearing the words of the Blessed Buddha,
approached and said: "Be greeted, thou Holy One. Thou hast attained
the highest bliss and it is time for thee to enter into the final
Nirvana."
Then Brahma Sahampati descended from the heavens and, having
worshiped the Blessed One, said: "Alas! the world must perish,
should the Holy One, the Tathagata, decide not to teach the Dharma.
Be merciful to those that struggle; have compassion upon the
sufferers; pity the creatures who are hopelessly entangled in the
snares of sorrow. There are some beings that are almost free from
the dust of worldliness. If they hear not the doctrine preached,
they will be lost. But if they hear it, they will believe and be
saved."
The Blessed One, full of compassion, looked with the eye of a
Buddha upon all sentient creatures, and he saw among them beings
whose minds were but scarcely covered by the dust of worldliness,
who were of good disposition and easy to instruct. He saw some who
were conscious of the dangers of lust and wrong doing. And the
Blessed One said to Brahma Sahampati: "Wide open be the door of
immortality to all who have ears to hear. May they receive the
Dharma with faith."
Then the Blessed One turned to Mara, saying: "I shall not pass
into the final Nirvana, O Evil One, until there be not only
brethren and sisters of an Order, but also lay disciples of both
sexes, who shall have become true hearers, wise, well trained,
ready and learned, versed in the scriptures, fulfilling all the
greater and lesser duties, correct in life, walking according to
the precepts-until they, having thus themselves learned the
doctrine, shall be able to give information to others concerning
it, preach it, make it known, establish it, open it, minutely
explain it, and make it clear-until they, when others start vain
doctrines, shall be able to vanquish and refute them, and so to
spread the wonderworking truth abroad. I shall not die until the
pure religion of truth shall have become successful, prosperous,
widespread, and popular in all its full extent-until, in a word, it
shall have been well proclaimed among men!"
Then Brahma Sahampati understood that the Blessed One had
granted his request and would preach the doctrine.
This is a very good article. It reveals quite a fair bit of why
our world is the way it is,and what's needed to move into the
future. However, I feel it shouldn't be taken too literally, in
order to fully understand the Truth and message behind the
article.
Rainbow Jigsaw