gence in choosing the mushrooms, why should the Omniscient 

 One have exonerated him? 



42. And the Fxaltcd One addressed the \cnerable Ananda. and 

 said:— "Now it ma> happen. Ananda. that some onv should stir up 

 remorse in Cunda the smith. b\ sa\ ing: — " Iliis is c\il to thee. 

 Cunda. and loss to thee in that when the Tathagata had eaten his 

 last meal Irom th\ provision, then he died." An\ sueh remorse, 

 Ananda. in Cunda the smith shouici be eheeked by saving: ''This 

 is good to thee, Cunda. and gain to thee, in that when the Tatha- 

 gata had eaten his last meal from th\ provision, then he died.*" 

 From the very mouth ol the E.xalted One. Cunda, have I heard, 

 from his own mouth have I received this saying: "These two 

 offerings of food are of equal fruit, and of equal profit and of 

 much greater fruit and much greater profit than an\ other and 

 which are the two'.' The offering o( food which, when a Tathagata 

 has eaten, he attains to supreme and perfect insight; and the offer- 

 ing (^f food which, when a Tathagata has eaten, he passes awav by 

 thai utter passing awav in which nothing wluitever remains 

 behind - these two offerings of food are of equal Iruit and of equal 

 prolit. and of much greater fruit and much greater profit than any 

 tUhers. There has been laid up bv Cunda the sniith a karma 

 redounding to length of life, redounding to good birth, redound- 

 ing to gt)od fortune, redounding to good fame, redounding to the 

 inheritance of heaven, and of sovereign power." Mn this way, 

 Ananda. should be checked anv remorse in Cunda the smith/ (p. 

 147-S) 



* It * 



Bareau concedes that Cunda and Pava may be original ele- 

 ments but, if so, thinks that they are the sole original elements in 

 the narrati\e of the Buddha's stay in Pava: 



Deux sieeles aprcs le Parinirvana. ces deux noms, ici Pava et 

 Cunda. etaient les deux seuls elements anciens, peut-etre meme 

 hisloriques. de Icpisode du dernier repas du Buddha. Aucun 

 souvenier n avail done etc conserve ni des incidents qui avaient pu 

 s\ prodmre ni de la nature precise des aliments qui avaient etc 

 servis alors au Bienheureux. [Tome I. p 258 in his Rahcnhe.s sur 

 la hio^raphiv tin Bin/c/ha, Fcole Fran^^caisc d'ExtrCMiie Orient] 



Perhaps in the light of our discoveries Bareau may grant more to 

 the history of the Buddha's Last Meal in Pava as told in the 

 Digha Nikaya. Too many had witnessed the episode with the 



235 



