Path of Freedom [Vimuttimagga]

In Mernoriamshortly afterwards the Venerable Ananda Thera uttered the following verses:And is the comrade passed away,And is the Master gone from hence ?No better friend is left, methinks,Than to mount guard o'er deed and sense.They of the older time are gone;The new men suit me not at all.Alone to-day this child doth brood,Like nesting-bird when rain doth fall. 1Thus did the Venerable Ananda Thera find comfort, and we, too, findsolace at the feet of the Teacher of divine and human beings.Sometimes birds fly into houses and, staying a while, sing and cheer thosethere; but suddenly they fly away, casting no glance behind, none knowingwhere. In like manner even as it is said: Anavhdto tato dga, anunndto itogato 2 — 'uncalled he hither came, unbidden soon to go', Soma Maha Thera,too, came uninvited and unbidden went away, the while having cheered someweary traveller on the way.To me Soma Maha Thera was a kalydnamitta. In life he blessed me withthe friendship extolled by the Blessed One in no uncertain terms: Sakalameva h-idam Ananda brahmacariyam yad idam kalydna-mittatd kalydna-sahdyatdkalydna-sampavankatd*—'the whole of this holy life consists in noble friendship,in association, in intimacy with what is noble'. And in death he has drawn meever near to the Dhamma, that sure refuge and support, as has been sung bythe ancients, thus:Dhammam vind natthi pita ca mdtdTameva tdnarh saranam patitthdTasmd hi bho kiccamannarh pahdyaSundtha dhdretha carat ha dhamme}Except the Dhamma of the Perfect One,There is no father and no mother here;The Dhamma is your refuge and support,And in the Dhamma is your shelter true,So hear the Dhamma, on the Dhamma thinkAnd spurning other things, live up to it. 5May that 'trusty, staunch, true friend', the Venerable Soma Maha Thera,attain to that happiness, higher than which there is none — Nibbdna, theHappiness Supreme!Vissdsaparamd hdti, nibbdnam paramam sukham. 6Vajirarama,Bambalapitiya, KHEMINDA THERAColombo, September 3, 1960.* Psalms of the Brethren, 1035-36. 2. J. Ill, 165 OJraga Jataka). 3. S. I, 87-8.. Rasavahini. 5, Soma Thera's translation, 6. Dh. 204.XXV