Page:Gospel of Buddha.djvu/152

 publicity; all those who stray from the path of truth, O disciples, seek secrecy and shun publicity. "Three things, O disciples, shine before the world and cannot be hidden. What are the three? "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." XLV.

THE ANNIHILATION OF SUFFERING. And the Buddha said: "What, my friends, is evil?

"Killing is evil ; stealing is evil; yielding to sexual passion is evil; lying is evil; slandering is evil; abuse is evil; gossip is evil; envy is evil; hatred is evil; to cling to false doctrine is evil; all these things, my friends, are evil. "And what, my friends, is the root of evil?

"Desire is the root of evil; hatred is the root of evil; illusion is the root of evil; these things are the root of evil. "What, however, is good? "Abstaining from killing is good; abstaining from theft is good; abstaining from sensuality is good; abstaining from falsehood is good; abstaining from slander is good; suppression of unkindness is good; abandoning gossip is good; letting go all envy is good; dismissing hatred is good; obedience to the truth is good; all these things are good. "And what, my friends, is the root of the good?

"Freedom from desire is the root of the good; freedom from hatred and freedom from illusion; these things, my friends, are the root of the good.

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