[1]‘Life of Alexander Duff, D.D., LL.D., by George Smith, C.I.E., LL.D.’
London: Hodder and Stoughton; published first in 1879, and a popular
edition in 1881.
[2]A reference to pages 74, 226, 232 of the following Lectures will make
the connexion which I wish to illustrate clearer. In many images of
the Buddha the robe is drawn over both shoulders, as in the portrait
of the living Sannyāsī. Then mark other particulars in the
portrait:—e.g. the Rudrāksha rosary round the neck (see ‘Brāhmanism
and Hindūism,’ p. 67). Then in front of the raised seat of the
Sannyāsī are certain ceremonial implements. First, observe the
Kamaṇḍalu, or water-gourd, near the right hand corner of the seat.
Next, in front of the seat, on the right hand of the figure, is the
Upa-pātra—a subsidiary vessel to be used with the Kamaṇḍalu. Then,
in the middle, is the Tāmra-pātra or copper vessel, and on the left
the Pañća-pātra with the Āćamanī (see ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ pp.
401, 402). Near the left hand corner of the seat are the wooden
clogs. Finally, there is the Daṇḍa or staff held in the left hand,
and used by a Sannyāsī as a defence against evil spirits, much as
the Dorje (or Vajra) is used by Northern Buddhist monks (see p. 323
of the present volume). This mystical staff is a bambu with six
knots, possibly symbolical of six ways (Gati) or states of life,
through which it is believed that every being may have to migrate—a
belief common to both Brāhmanism and Buddhism (see p. 122 of this
volume). The staff is called Su-darṡana (a name for Vishṇu’s Ćakra),
and is daily worshipped for the preservation of its mysterious
powers. The mystic white roll which begins just above the left hand
and ends before the left knot is called the Lakshmī-vastra, or
auspicious covering. The projecting piece of cloth folded in the
form of an axe (Paraṡu) represents the weapon of Paraṡu-Rāma, one of
the incarnations of Vishṇu (see pp. 110, 270 of ‘Brāhmanism and
Hindūism’) with which he subdued the enemies of the Brāhmans. With
this so-called axe may be contrasted the Buddhist weapon for keeping
off the powers of evil (engraved at p. 352).
[3]‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism.’ Third Edition. John Murray, Albemarle
Street.
[4]The heaven of Ṡiva is Kailāsa, of Vishṇu is Vaikuṇṭha, of Kṛishṇa is
Goloka.
[5]The Sāṅkhya system, as I have shown, was closely connected with the
Vedānta, though it recognized the separate existence of countless
individual Purushas or spirits instead of the one (called Ātman).
Both had much in common with Buddhism, though the latter substituted
_Ṡūnya_ ‘a void’ for Purusha and Ātman.
[6]Freely translated by me in Indian Wisdom, p. 133, and literally
translated by Prof. E. B. Cowell.
[7]‘Let us eat and drink for to-morrow we die.’ 1 Cor. xv. 32.
[8]See Dr. John Muir’s Article on Indian Materialists, Journal of Royal
Asiatic Society, N. S. xix, p. 302.
[9]It is difficult to accept the theory of those who maintain that
writing had not been invented.
[10]One hundred is given as a round number. The actual distance is about
one hundred and twenty miles.—_Corr._
[11]Tapas is a Sanskṛit word, derived from the root tap, ‘to burn,
torment.’ It is connected with Lat. tepeo, Greek {Thaptô}, which
last originally denoted ‘to burn,’ not ‘to bury’ dead bodies. Tapas
ought not to be translated by ‘penance,’ unless that word is
restricted to the sense poena, ‘pain.’
[12]Such men are called Pañća-tapās (Manu VI. 23). A good representation
of this form of Tapas may be seen in the Museum of the Indian
Institute, Oxford.
[13]According to Dr. Oldenberg, the Mṛityu of the Kaṭhopanishad.
[14]In the same way the Cistercian monks of Fountain’s Abbey lived under
certain trees while the Abbey was building.
[15]The Bhagavad-gītā (V. 28) asserts:—‘The sage (Yogī) who is
internally happy, internally at peace, and internally illumined,
attains extinction in Brahma.’ This is pure Buddhism if we
substitute Cessation of individual existence for Brahma.
[16]Or Kuṡa-nagara, identified by Gen. Sir A. Cunningham with Kasia, 35
miles east of Gorakh-pore on an old channel of the Chota Gandak.
[17]I give 420 as a round number. Rhys Davids has good reasons for
fixing the date of Gautama’s death about B.C. 412, Oldenberg about
480, Cunningham 478, Kern 388. The old date is 543.
[18]See Book of the great Decease, translated by Rhys Davids, p. 72.
[19]The Ṡatapatha-brāhmaṇa (p. 1064) and the Bṛihad-āraṇyaka Upanishad
(p. 455) affirm that the Ṛig- Yajur- Sāma- and Atharva-veda, the
Upanishads, Itihāsas, and Purāṇas were all the breath (niḥṡvasitāni)
of the Supreme Being. And Sāyaṇa, the well-known Indian Commentator
on the Ṛig-veda, speaking of the Supreme Being in his Introduction,
says, Yasya niḥṡvasitaṃ Vedāḥ, ‘whose breath the Vedas were.’
[20]How else can we account for Pāṇini’s applying the term Bhāshā to
colloquial Sanskṛit? Professor E. B. Cowell holds that Pāṇini’s
standard is the Brāhmaṇa language as opposed to the Saṃhitā of the
Veda and to Loka or ordinary usage.
[21]According to Professor Rhys Davids, the Pāli text of the whole
Tri-piṭaka, or true Canon of Buddhist Scripture, contains about
twice as many words as our Bible; but he calculates that an English
translation, if all repetitions were given, would be about four
times as long. I should state here that in this chapter Koeppen,
Childers, Rhys Davids, and Oldenberg have all been referred to,
though I have not failed to examine the original Pāli documents
myself.
[22]Upāli is said to have been originally the family barber of the
Ṡākyas. Professor Oldenberg rightly remarks that this did not make
him a man of low position, though he was probably the lowest in rank
of all the early disciples of Gautama.
[23]Professor Oldenberg, in his preface to his edition of the
Mahā-vagga, shows that in early times there were only two divisions
of the Piṭaka, one called Vinaya and the other Dharma (Dhamma),
which were often contrasted.
[24]The ten usually enumerated are the three above-named and seven
others, viz. power of admitting to the Order and confession in
private houses, the use of comfortable seats, relaxation of monastic
rules in remote country places, power of obtaining a dispensation
from the Order _after_ the infringement of a rule, drinking whey,
putting salt aside for future use, power of citing the example of
others as a valid excuse for relaxing discipline.
[25]According to Professor Oldenberg’s calculation. The date is
doubtful. A round number (say 350 B.C.) might be given.
[26]Professor Oldenberg places the locality of the Pāli on the eastern
coast of Southern India in the northern part of Kaliṅga (Purī in
Orissa), and would therefore make it an old form of Uriya. That
country he thinks had most frequent communications with Ceylon.
[27]Professor Childers thought that Pāli merely meant the language of
the line or series of texts, the word pāli like tanti meaning
‘line.’ Pāli differs from the Prākṛit of the Inscriptions, and from
that of the dramas, and from that of the Jainas (which is still
later and called Ardha-māgadhī), by its retention of some consonants
and infusion of Sanskṛit. The Gāthā dialect of the northern books is
again different.
[28]550 is a round number. The text of the Jātakas has been edited by
Fausböll and translated by Rhys Davids and others. See a specimen at
p. 112.
[29]The seven are called: 1. Dhamma-saṅgaṇi, ‘enumeration of conditions
of existence,’ edited by Dr. E. Müller; 2. Vibhaṅga, ‘explanations;’
3. Kathā-vatthu, ‘discussions on one thousand controverted points;’
4. Puggala-paññatti, ‘explanation of personality;’ 5. Dhātu-kathā,
‘account of elements;’ 6. Yamaka, ‘pairs;’ 7. Paṭṭhāna, ‘causes.’
[30]A list of these is given in Childers’ Dictionary.
[31]See Introduction to Buddha-ghosha’s Parables, by Professor Max
Müller; Turnour’s Mahā-vaṉṡa, pp. 250-253.
[32]They are in two quite distinct kinds of writing. That at
Kapurda-garhi—sometimes called Northern Aṡoka or Ariano-Pāli—is
clearly Semitic, and traceable to a Phœnician source, being written
from right to left. That at Girnār, commonly called Southern Aṡoka
or Indo-Pāli, is read from left to right, and is not so clearly
traceable. If it came from the west it probably came through a
Pahlavī channel, and gave rise to Devanāgarī. General Cunningham and
others believe this latter character to have originated
independently in India. James Prinsep was the first to decipher the
inscription character.
[33]See Dr. R. N. Cust’s article in the ‘Journal of the National Indian
Association’ for June, 1879, and one of his Selected Essays, and
General Sir A. Cunningham’s great work, ‘The Corpus Inscriptionum
Indicarum.’ The General reckons thirteen rock inscriptions,
seventeen cave inscriptions, and six inscribed pillars.
The eight most important rock inscriptions are those on (1) the Rock
of Kapurda-garhi (at Shāhbāz-garhi), in British Afghānistān, forty
miles east-north-east of Peshāwar—this is in the Ariano-Pāli
character; (2) the Rock of Khālsi, situated on the bank of the river
Jumnā, just where it leaves the Himālaya mountains, fifteen miles
west of the hill-station of Mussourie; (3) the Rock of Girnār,
half-a-mile to the east of the city of Junagurh, in Kāthiāwār; (4)
the Rock of Dhauli, in Kuttack (properly Kaṭak), twenty miles north
of Jagan-nāth; (5) the Rock of Jaugada, in a large old fort eighteen
miles west-north-west of Ganjam in Madras; (6) Bairāt; (7) Rūpnāth,
at the foot of the Kaimur range; (8) Sahasarām, at the north-east
end of the Kaimur. The second Bairāt inscription is most important
as the only one which mentions Buddha by name.
The five most important pillars are: (1) the Pillar at Delhi known
as Firoz Shāh’s Lāṭ; (2) another Pillar at Delhi, which was removed
to Calcutta, but has recently been restored; (3) the Pillar at
Allahābād, a single shaft without capital, of polished sandstone,
thirty-five feet in height; (4) the Pillar at Lauriya, near Bettiah,
in Bengal; (5) the Pillar at another Lauriya, seventy-seven miles
north-west of Patnā.
[34]Hiouen Thsang states that the three commentaries were engraved on
sheets of copper and buried in a Stūpa. Beal, I. 152-156.
[35]Our word _monk_ (derived from {monachos}, ‘one who lives alone,’) is
not quite suitable unless it be taken to mean ‘one who withdraws
from worldly life.’ See p. 75.
[36]Although he discouraged, he did not prohibit monks from living
solitary lives. See p. 132 as to the Pratyeka-Buddha, and note, p.
72.
[37]Some prefer to derive the Pāli Ṡamaṇo from the Sanskṛit root Ṡam,
‘to be quiet.’ Ṡmāṡānika, ‘frequenting burning grounds,’ is a later
name, life being to monks a kind of graveyard.
[38]We may note that in the ‘Clay-Cart,’ a Sanskṛit drama written in an
early century of our era, a gambler becomes a Buddhist monk.
[39]I hear from Dr. Oldenberg that the mention in his ‘Buddha’ of twelve
years as the minimum is a mistake. The age of eight mentioned by
Prof. Rhys Davids as the minimum, must be a modern rule peculiar to
Ceylon, if it be admissible at all.
[40]I give these quotations to show the unsuitableness of the term
‘Ordination’ applied to Pabbajjā and Upasampadā in the S. B. E.
[41]In Mahā-vagga I. 30. 4, five kinds of dwellings are named besides
trees, viz. Vihāras, Aḍḍhayogas (a kind of house shaped like
Garuḍa), storied dwellings (prāsāda), mansions (harmya), and caves
(guhā).
[42]Comparing Western with Eastern Monachism, I may remark that the
chief duty of the lay-brethren attached to the Cistercian monastery
at Fountain’s Abbey was to wait upon the monks, procure food and
cook it for them; and we learn from the _Times_ of December 24,
1885, that the same duty devolved on the Carthusian lay-brothers.
[43]The Chronicles of Ceylon state that 80,000 laymen entered the paths
in Kashmīr. Compare Divyāvadāna, p. 166, line 12; p. 271, 12.
[44]See Tevijja-Sutta, S. B. E. §§ 14, 15.
[45]The venerable Svāmī Ṡrī Saććidānanda Sarasvatī, in sending me a copy
of the Bhagavad-gītā with a metrical commentary, says, ‘It is the
best of all books on the Hindū religion, and contains the essence of
all kinds of religious philosophy.’ I find in the Madras _Times_ for
October 29, 1886, the following: ‘At a meeting of the “Society for
the Propagation of True Religion,” at 6 p.m. to-day, the
Bhagavad-gītā will be read and explained.’
[46]XIV. 7. 2. 17. This was first pointed out by Professor A. Weber.
[47]Centenarians (Ṡatāyus, Ṡata-varsha) seem to have been rather common
in India in ancient times, if we may judge by the allusions to them
in Manu and other works. See Manu III. 186; II. 135, 137.
[48]I here merely give the substance of what may be found fully stated
in Aristotle’s Ethics, I. 1 and IV. 3.
[49]That is, Saṃkhārā = Sanskṛit Saṉskārāḥ pl. (see p. 109), ‘qualities
forming character.’ In the Vaiṡeshika system Saṉskāra is one of the
twenty-four qualities, the self-reproductive quality. In the Yoga
system Saṉskāra = Äṡaya, ‘impressions derived from actions done in
previous births.’ According to Childers, Saṃkāro is practically =
Karma, ‘act.’ It may also stand for ‘matter,’ and for a quality, or
mode of being; e.g. not only for a plant but for its greenness.
[50]The Pāli in Mahā-v° I. 23. 5, is:—Ye dhammā hetuppabhavā tesaṃ hetuṃ
Tathāgato āha tesaṃ ća yo nirodho evamvādī Mahā-samaṇo. The form
Tathāgato is also common in Sanskṛit versions. The metrical form of
the sentence has become broken.
Professor Cowell informs me that the Sanksṛit given in an old MS. at
Cambridge is:—‘Ye dharmā hetu-prabhavā hetuṃ teshāṃ Tathāgataḥ | Hy
avadat teshāṃ ća yo nirodha evaṃ-vādī Mahā-Ṡramaṇaḥ.’ Burnouf gives
a slightly different version, thus:—Ye dharmā hetu-prabhavās teshāṃ
hetuṃ Tathāgata uvāća teshāṃ ća etc. Sometimes both _avadat_ and
_uvāća_ are omitted.
[51]Sometimes a human being is said to be made up of the five
elements—ether, air, fire, water, earth—with a sixth called Vijñāna.
[52]The body is often compared to a city with nine gates or apertures,
which have to be guarded (viz. two eyes, ears, nostrils, etc.).
[53]In fact Gautama remained a Bodhi-sattva until he was thirty-four or
thirty-five, when he attained perfect enlightenment and Buddhahood.
[54]Their names are Dīpaṃkara, Kauṇḍinya, Maṅgala, Sumanas, Raivata,
Ṡobhita, Anavama-darṡin, Padma, Nārada, Padmottara, Sumedhas,
Sujāta, Priya-darṡin, Artha-darṡin, Dharma-darṡin, Siddhārtha,
Tishya, Pushya, Vipaṡyin, Ṡikhin, Viṡva-bhū, Krakućanda, Kanaka-muni
(or Koṇāgamana), Kāṡyapa.
[55]Beginning with Vipaṡyin. These are the only Buddhas mentioned in the
Dīgha-nikāya. If the coming Buddha Maitreya is reckoned, then
Vipaṡyin must be omitted.
[56]It must not be inferred that the episode of the Bhagavad-gītā is of
great antiquity. This point I have made clear in ‘Brāhmanism and
Hindūism’ (p. 63) as well as in ‘Indian Wisdom.’ My object at p. 138
is simply to show that Nirvāṇa is an expression common to Buddhism,
Brāhmanism, and Hindūism.—_Corr._
[57]The expression Brahma-nirvāṇa is repeated several times afterwards.
Mark, too, that one of the god Ṡiva’s names in the Mahā-bhārata is
Nirvāṇam.
[58]Rāga, dvesha, moha. Eleven fires are sometimes enumerated.
[59]Dr. Rhys Davids holds that the Buddha only advocated the suppression
of good desires; Fausböll says ‘desire in all its forms.’ I agree
with the latter.
[60]When I was on the confines of Tibet, this was described to me by a
Tibetan scholar as the unchangeable state of conscious beatitude.
[61]Or _Anupādi-ṡesha_, that is, Nirvāṇa without remains or remnants of
the elements of existence. See Childers’ Pāli Dictionary, s. v.
[62]This was remarked by Hooker when travelling in Sikkim. Sir Richard
Temple in his Journals (II. 216) asserts that he often found married
monks in Sikkim, and they make no secret of it. They are free to
resign the monastic character when they choose.
[63]The Vaibhāshika was divided into Sarvāstivāda (assertion of the real
existence of all things), Mahāsaṅghika, Sammatīya (said to have been
founded by Upāli), and Sthavira; the Sautrāntika had also its own
subdivisions.
[64]Another great king was the celebrated Harsha-vardhana or Silāditya
of Kanauj, who flourished about A.D. 610-650, and who is said to
have founded an era formerly much used in Northern India. He ruled
from the Indus to the Ganges, and his doings are described by Hiouen
Thsang (Beal’s Records, I. 210-221.)
[65]The Mahā-yāna is said to be connected with the Mādhyamika and
Yogāćāra Schools, and the Hīna-yāna with the Vaibhāshika and
Sautrāntika.
[66]Professor Legge’s Travels of Fā-hien, p. 28.
[67]Translated from the Chinese by the Rev. S. Beal and more recently by
Professor Legge.
[68]According to Dr. Legge’s orthography this name should be written
Hsüen Chwang.
[69]See Beal’s ‘Records of the Western World,’ which gives a translation
of these travels in two volumes.
[70]Hiouen Thsang describes the Sthavira form of the Mahā-yāna as
existing as far south as Ceylon. He found many monks studying both
the Great and Little Vehicles in Central India. Beal’s Records, ii.
247, 254, 257.
[71]As I have shown in ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ the term incarnation
is not strictly expressive of the Hindū idea of Avatāra, which means
‘a descent’ of a god (or a portion of his essence) in various forms
upon earth.
[72]Professor Legge’s translation, p. 56.
[73]There are four great Buddhist kings of India who may be called
historical, the dates of whose reigns may be fixed with fair
certainty:—1. Ćandra-gupta, who was at any rate a sympathiser with
Buddhism, B.C. 315-291. 2. Aṡoka, a decided Buddhist, B.C. 259-222.
3. Kanishka (see p. 69). 4. Ṡilāditya, above. Some consider Kanishka
to have founded the Ṡaka era, dating from A.D. 78.
[74]Translated in 1872 by Mr. Palmer Boyd, and published with an
interesting introduction by Professor Cowell.
[75]See Beal’s Records, ii. 167-172; a long account of this monastery
visited by Hiouen Thsang is there given.
[76]No doubt there are places in the South of India where there is
evidence of some violent persecution. I may instance among the
places I visited Tanjore and Madura. When I concluded the reading of
a paper on this subject at the meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society
on February 15, 1886, the then President, Colonel Yule, justly
remarked that the members of two religious communions who hold very
similar doctrines, often on that account hate and oppose each other
all the more; but my point was that the ultra-tolerance which was of
the very essence of both Brāhmanism and Buddhism must have prevented
actual persecution, except under special circumstances. Brāhmanism
was much more likely to have adopted Buddhism as part of its system,
than to have persecuted and expelled it. In point of fact, the
Brāhmans, as is well known, are ready to regard any great teacher as
one of Vishṇu’s incarnations, and in this way are even willing to
pay homage to the Head of Christianity.
[77]Buddhism began to lose ground in India about the fourth or fifth
century after Christ, but it maintained a chequered career for
several succeeding centuries even after Hiouen Thsang’s time. See p.
161.
[78]First, the Vedic triad of gods, Agni, ‘Fire,’ Indra, ‘wielder of the
thunderbolt,’ and Sūrya, ‘the Sun,’ followed by the Tri-mūrti or
Brahmā, Ṡiva, and Vishṇu. Then the three Guṇas or constituents of
the material Universe, Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas, and lastly the
triple name of Brahmă, Sać-ćid-ānanda.
[79]Sarat Chandra Dās, in his interesting Tibetan journal, describes
them as the ‘three Holies.’
[80]Edited by Childers. See Journal R. A. S., N. S. iv. 318, and Kern’s
Buddhismus, ii. 156.
[81]Legge’s Fā-hien, pp. 112-116.
[82]Capt. Temple states that the Saṅgha is personified in Sikkim under
the form of a man holding a lotus in his left hand, the right hand
being on the right knee.
[83]Probably all the images of Dharma are meant to be female, as
described in the note on the same page, and at p. 485.—_Corr._
[84]According to Capt. Temple, Dharma, ‘the law,’ is personified in
Sikkim as a white woman with four arms, two raised in prayer, the
third holding a garland (or rosary), the fourth a lotus.
[85]One legend says:—‘Thus, O monks, Buddha was born, and the right side
of his mother was not pierced, was not wounded. It remained as
before.’ Foucaux, p. 97. Hiouen Thsang relates that there is a
Vihāra at Kapila-vastu indicating the spot ‘where the Bodhi-sattva
descended _spiritually_ into the womb of his mother,’ and that there
is a representation of this scene drawn in the Vihāra. I have myself
seen many representations of it in Buddhist sculptures.
[86]Beal’s Records, i. 228.
[87]Beal’s Records, i. 134, note.
[88]This work, ‘Die Religion des Buddha,’ by Carl Friederich Koeppen,
has been long out of print, and has unfortunately never been
translated into English. The German is often difficult, but I have
endeavoured to give a correct idea of Koeppen’s statements in the
instances in which I have made use of them. It is now somewhat out
of date.
[89]It is obvious to remark that in the same way those who are
intellectually self-dependent and self-raised among ourselves
generally rise to a higher level of popular esteem than those taught
by other men.
[90]There was also a ‘middle way,’ see p. 159.
[91]See pp. 47, 104. Koeppen compares them to St. Peter and St. Paul.
[92]The Rev. S. Beal (Ind. Antiquary for Dec., 1886) shows that
Nāgārjuna and Nāgasena are two different persons. Sir A. Cunningham
is of the same opinion. It may be noted that Padma-sambhava is
credited with introducing the more corrupt form of Buddhism along
with magic into Tibet at a later date, probably in the eighth
century.
[93]For the account of Nāgārjuna’s disciple Deva, mentioned by Hiouen
Thsang, see Beal’s Records, ii. 97.
[94]Of course not to be confounded with Gautama’s disciple of the same
name, who is generally called Mahā-Kāṡyapa.
[95]According to Eitel he is still revered as the patron-saint of all
novices, and is to be re-born as the eldest son of every future
Buddha; see Legge’s Fā-hien, p. 46.
[96]The use of the passive participle in an active sense is not uncommon
in Sanskṛit, but is generally confined to verbs involving some idea
of motion.
[97]See Beal’s Records, i. 114, note 107.
[98]Professor Legge tells us that an intelligent Chinese once asked him
whether ‘the worship of Mary in Europe was not similar?’
[99]Legge’s Translation, p. 46. Beal, i. 180, ii. 220. According to
Schlagintweit, a historical teacher named Mañju-ṡrī taught in the
eighth or ninth century A.D.
[100]Even the Brahmās, after immense periods of life in the Brahmā
heavens, have to go through other births in one of the six ways of
migration. Sahām-pati may therefore mean ‘the lord of sufferers,’
‘all life involving suffering,’ and this excludes the idea of his
‘being lord over the Buddha who has not to be born again.’
[101]See Wright’s Nepāl, p. 43.
[102]Beal’s Records, ii. 103, 174.
[103]The images of this deity represent him as coarse and ill-favoured
in form (his name in fact signifying ‘deformed’). He has sometimes
three legs. As guardian of the northern quarter he is sculptured on
the corner pillar of the northern gate of the Bharhut Stūpa. He had
a metropolis of his own, according to Hindū mythology (as we know
from the Megha-dūta), called Alaka, on the Himālayas.
[104]A very interesting specimen of ancient sculpture representing a
Nāga-kanyā may be seen in the museum of the Indian Institute,
Oxford. It belongs to a collection of Buddhist antiquities lent by
Mr. R. Sewell, of the Madras Civil Service.
[105]I give this as my own theory. I am no believer in the learned M.
Senart’s sun theory, or in its applicability to this point.
[106]These are described in Childers’s Pāli Dictionary, s.v.
[107]See my ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ p. 105.
[108]Quoted in Colonel Olcott’s ‘Yoga Philosophy,’ p. 282.
[109]See my ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ p. 35.
[110]Colonel Olcott and Mr. Sinnett mention this faculty as a peculiar
characteristic of Asiatic occultism.
[111]‘The Occult World,’ by A. P. Sinnett, Vice-President of the
Theosophical Society, pp. 12, 15, 20.
[112]At a meeting of the Victoria Institute, where I repeated the
substance of the present Lecture, Mr. W. S. Seton-Karr, who was for
some time Foreign Secretary at Calcutta, stated that he also had
witnessed the performance of this feat in India.
[113]Colonel Olcott’s ‘Lectures on Theosophy and Archaic Religions,’ p.
109.
[114]Report in the _Times_ newspaper.
[115]See Mr. Walter Besant’s recent interesting story, ‘Herr Paulus.’
[116]Nāga-worship is not always identical with serpent-worship. See p.
220.
[117]The Naths are certain demons or spirits of the air more worshipped
in Burma than in Ceylon. See p. 259.
[118]His proper title is Ṡrīpāda Sumaṅgala Unnānse. The title Unnānse is
used by all the superior monks of Ceylon for ‘venerable’ (Sanskṛit
_vandya_).
[119]Sumaṅgala informed me that this was the only prayer used in Ceylon.
It is no real prayer, but only an expression of reverence. Often,
however, wishes for good luck are expressed like prayers. They are
called Maṅgala or Jaya-maṅgala. For example: ‘May I for this
particular act of merit obtain some particular piece of good
fortune!’
[120]Some connect the wizard-priest Shaman with the Buddhist Ṡramaṇa.
[121]Lāma (written in Tibetan bLama) is the Tibetan name for a superior
teacher (Sanskṛit Guru), and from this word the hierarchical system
of Tibet is usually called Lāmaism. It seems, however, as legitimate
to form a word Lāmism from Lāma, as Buddhism from Buddha. At any
rate my adjective Lāmistic is less awkward than Lāmaistic. As to ā
in Lāma, see Rules for pronunciation at p. xxxi.
[122]This is the Sanskṛit _vandya_, ‘to be saluted.’ I cannot help
thinking that Bante and Bandya may be the origin of the term Bonze,
applied to monks or priests in China, though I believe Professor
Legge connects Bonze with Munshī.
[123]According to Dr. Schlagintweit the number of rules is 250, and they
are detailed in the first or Dulva portion of the Kanjur.
[124]One was a Nepālese princess (called Bribsun) and the other a
Chinese princess (called Wenching). According to Koeppen, they were
worshipped under the general name Dāra Eke—Dāra standing for the
Sanskṛit Tārā and Eke meaning Mother.
[125]Some write Lhāsa (strictly Lhasa). I prefer Lhāssa as best
representing the pronunciation. It means ‘the city of the gods’ (lha
or lhā).
[126]Bakshi is probably a corruption of Bhikshu. Koeppen says it is
Mongolian for Ton. Mr. Edgar (Report, p. 39) pronounces Brom Ton
Domton.
[127]Dr. Schlagintweit (p. 73) identifies this with the sect which wear
_red_ dresses, but this must surely be an error for _yellow_.
[128]Through the Mongols Tibet gradually came under the power of China
from 1255 to 1720. The dynasty in China is now Manchu.
[129]It is remarkable that the expression {ho katabas} is said of Christ
in the New Testament.
[130]According to the _Times_ Correspondent Lhāssa stands in no closer
relation to China than the least dependent of Indian States to the
British Empire; history, however, proves that China can, when her
interests demand it, assume a very different position. The military
power of China is not great, but that of the Lāma Government is
nearly _nil_. The expulsion of the missionaries Huc and Gabet proves
this.
[131]It is said by some that even his excreta are held sacred. They are
dried, ground to powder, and either swallowed or made use of as
charms. Others deny this.
[132]In the _Times_ newspaper for June 15, 1888, is the following: ‘_How
the Grand Lāma of Tibet is appointed_.—A recent number of the
_Peking Gazette_ contains a memorial to the Emperor from the Chinese
Resident at Lhāssa, stating that a certain Tibetan official called
the Nominhan (see p. 286 of this volume) had reported to him that he
had found three young boys of remarkable intelligence and acuteness,
into one of whom beyond a doubt the spirit of the late Lāma of Tashi
Lunpo (one of the two supreme pontiffs) had passed. Thereupon the
Chinese Resident sent a report to Peking, asking that the ceremony
of selecting one of these three children might be permitted. By the
time the authority arrived, the Nominhan with the children had
reached Lhāssa, and a lucky day was chosen for the ceremony. The
golden vase in which the lots are cast was brought and placed before
the image of the Emperor. Prayers were chanted before the assembled
Lāmas, and the children were conducted into the presence of the
Resident and Tibetan authorities in order that their intelligence
and difference from other persons might be tested.’
[133]‘Cloven-headed’ seems a misprint for eleven-headed; but the account
of the creation of Avalokiteṡvara at p. 487 of this volume justifies
‘cloven-headed.’—_Corr._
[134]Article on Japan in the last edition of the Encyclopædia
Britannica.
[135]According to one of my Japanese informants Butsu should he Bhutsu,
and the formula should be translated, ‘Reverence to the Infinite
Being.’
[136]My quotations from the travels of Huc and Gabet have been made from
excellent translations by Mrs. Percy Sinnet and W. Hazlitt, but I
have been compelled to abbreviate the extracts.
[137]Published by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. Shway Yoe is an assumed name.
The author’s real name is Scott.
[138]I was told when in Ceylon, that many monasteries in the Kandyan
provinces had misappropriated their endowments and dropped the
schools, which they were bound to keep up.
[139]Notes illustrative of Buddhism as the daily religion of the
Buddhists of Ceylon, by J. F. Dickson, M. A. Oxon.
[140]This is the derivation given by Childers; one might otherwise have
been inclined to suspect some connexion with Preta, a ghost (pp.
121, 219 of this volume).
[141]The texts and commentaries of some of these were collected by M.
Grimblot, and translated with notes by M. Leon Feer, in the Journal
Asiatique. The Tibetan Pirit is said to consist of only thirteen
Suttas.
[142]A cold climate necessitates the addition of trousers, and boots and
occasionally shoes are worn.
[143]This is probably permitted with a view to prevent the study of
Mongolian from entirely dying out. It is certain that, although the
Buddhist sacred books have long been translated into Mongolian,
Chinese, and Tungusic, only the Tibetan texts are esteemed as
canonical.
[144]The indomitable persevering Hungarian traveller, Alexander Csoma de
Körös, already mentioned (at p. 70), was the first European to throw
light on the Tibetan language. He had been impelled to acquire it by
the task he had imposed on himself of searching out the progenitors
of his race. More than eighty years ago he set out on his travels,
and his search ultimately brought him to Tibet. There he devoted
himself to the study of the Tibetan language and its sacred
literature, taking up his abode in the monastery of Pugdal, in
defiance of intense cold and other hardships. But his heroic energy
did not end there. In 1831 he travelled from Tibet to Calcutta, and
in that city, about the year 1834, published his Grammar and
Dictionary of the Tibetan language, besides his table of contents of
the Kanjur and the extra-canonical treatises. At length fancying
himself qualified for the accomplishment of his self-inflicted task,
he started off again, and died in Sikkim in April 1842. He is buried
at Dārjīling. We Englishmen, who ought to have taken the greatest
share in these linguistic conquests—so important in their bearing on
the interests of our Indian frontier—have hitherto, to our great
discredit, almost entirely neglected them. Meanwhile, St. Petersburg
and Paris have founded chairs of the Tibetan language, and nearly
all that has been effected for promoting the study of Tibetan has
been due to Russian and French scholars, and to German and Moravian
missionaries, especially to Jäschke and Hyde.
I am glad, however, to see from the annual address delivered by the
President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and published in the
Report for February, 1888, that this reproach is now being wiped out
by our fellow-subjects in India. Babu Pratāpa Chandra Ghosha is
bringing out in the Bibliotheca Indica the Tibetan translation of
the Buddhistic work Prajñā-pāramitā, forming the second division of
the Kanjur, while Mr. Sarat Chandra Dās, C.I.E., is editing the
Tibetan version of the Avadāna-Kalpalatā (a store-house of legends
of Buddha’s life and acts), and compiling a Tibetan-Sanskṛit-English
Dictionary. Great credit is due to our Indian Government for the
publication of Jäschke’s Tibetan-English Dictionary.
[145]As corpses are exposed to be devoured by animals in Tibet human
bones are easily obtained for this purpose.
[146]As before stated (p. 306, note) I have been compelled to abbreviate
the translator’s version and occasionally to vary the expressions,
and have therefore felt it right to omit inverted commas.
[147]According to Schlagintweit this sect (also called Brugpa, p. 272)
are especially worshippers of the Dorje (see p. 322), and are
therefore Tāntrikas.
[148]This I heard from his own lips.
[149]The abstract has been made by me from a copy of Sarat Chandra Dās’
Report kindly lent to me by Sir Edwin Arnold. But I learnt much from
Mr. S. C. D. in personal conversations. In my numerous quotations I
have ventured to make a few alterations in the English.
[150]This is the Tibetan name of Avalokiteṡvara or Padma-pāṇi. It is
often spelt Chenresi, or Chenresig, or Chenressig.
[151]The Lion is an emblem of the Buddha, and he is called Ṡākya-siṉha,
‘the Lion of the Ṡākya tribe’ (see pp. 23, 394).
[152]See p. 321.
[153]See these enumerated at p. 528.
[154]See Mr. Clements Markham’s Tibet, p. cxiii.
[155]This was the Buddha’s attitude when he died (see pp. 50, 241). He
is called ‘a Lion.’ (See note 2, p. 332.)
[156]See my ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ p. 367.
[157]I found, when in the South of India, that an image of Bhavānī in a
Hindū temple was very like that of the Virgin Mary in an adjacent
Roman Catholic Church. I was told that the same Hindū carver carved
both.
[158]We know that Hindūism, in the end, adopted Buddha himself, and
converted him into one of the incarnations of Vishṇu (see
‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ p. 114).
[159]These good deities, according to Schlagintweit, are represented
with formidable countenances and dark complexions, and a third eye
in the forehead—probably the eye of wisdom, as in the Dhyāni-Buddhas
(see p. 203 of these Lectures).
[160]See the account of the female demons called Tanma at p. 457 of
these Lectures.
[161]The shape is not quite the same as that of the Phurbu, but there
can be no doubt of its being a kindred weapon. I purchased my
specimen at Dārjīling, and was assured that it came from Tibet, and
was used by the Tibetans in the same way as the Phurbu.
[162]See ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ p. 345.
[163]See my work on ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ pp. 357, 358, 370, etc.
[164]See the translation of a horoscope given in ‘Brāhmanism and
Hindūism,’ p. 373.
[165]According to Schlagintweit, those amulets which are curved round to
a point are intended to represent the leaf of the sacred fig-tree.
[166]In this it did good service, at least for a time; for the cost of
marriage-ceremonies among the Hindūs often cripples the resources of
a family for years. The marriage of the poorest persons sometimes
entails expenses in gifts to the Brāhmans, etc., to the amount of
300 rupees.
[167]Mr. Scott points out in his ‘Burman’ that this is especially the
case in Burma.
[168]Scott’s ‘Burman,’ p. 125.
[169]My authority for this is Mr. J. F. Dickson’s pamphlet called ‘Notes
and illustrations of Buddhism,’ etc.
[170]Scott’s ‘Burman,’ i. 282.
[171]The Dāgabas of laymen have no umbrellas at the top (see p. 505).
This privilege is only accorded to the monkhood (Scott’s ‘Burman’).
[172]This is mentioned by Huc as well as by Koeppen.
[173]He is sometimes represented seated on a Lotus, or born from a
Lotus.
[174]Om is borrowed from the Hindūs. It is their most sacred syllable,
symbolical of their triad of gods, Brahmā, Vishṇu, and Ṡiva, denoted
by the three mystical letter A, U, M (see my ‘Brāhmanism,’ p. 402).
When imported into Buddhism it may possibly symbolize the Buddhist
triad. Om is sometimes translated by Hail! Hūm, as a particle of
solemn assent, is sometimes translated by Amen! I prefer to treat
both Om and Hūm as untranslatable ejaculations.
[175]I had formed this opinion long before I saw the same view hinted at
in one of Koeppen’s notes (see my ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ p. 33).
It is certainly remarkable that the name Maṇi is applied to the male
organ, and the female is compared to a lotus-blossom in the
Kāma-ṡāstras. I fully believe the formula to have a phallic meaning,
because Tibetan Buddhism is undoubtedly connected with Ṡaivism.
[176]Some think, however, that the six syllables owe their efficacy to
their symbolizing the six Pāramitās or transcendent virtues.
[177]Dr. Schlagintweit mentions (p. 121) that when Baron Schilling
visited a certain convent he found the Lāmas occupied in preparing
100 million copies of Om maṇi padme Hūm to be inserted in a
prayer-cylinder. He also states that the inscription relating to the
foundation of the monastery of Hemis in Ladāk (see p. 433 of these
Lectures) records the setting up of 300,000 prayer-cylinders along
the walls and passages of the monastery.
[178]The _Maṇi-padme_ prayer is itself for shortness often called Maṇi.
[179]Stūpas and Ćaityas are explained at p. 504.
[180]So says Schlagintweit, but he adds that in some places passers by
keep them to the right. Mr. Sarat Chandra Dās also mentions this.
[181]According to Sir Richard Temple (Journal, p. 198) travellers walk
first on one side and then on the other.
[182]Schlagintweit (p. 253) says this is the horse which constitutes one
of the seven treasures (see p. 528 of these Lectures). It brings
good fortune to the man who keeps it flying on a flag.
[183]The gem called Norbu is another of the seven treasures.
[184]Dr. Schlagintweit says that a Dhāraṇi to the following effect is
often written on the flag: ‘Tiger, Lion, Eagle, and Dragon, may they
co-operate Sarva-du-du-hom! (‘Tibetan Buddhism,’ p. 255).
[185]The number 108 seems sacred, as the sole of Buddha’s foot is said
to have that number of marks upon it.
[186]Common people in Buddhist countries are satisfied with 30 or 40
beads.
[187]This is a great Tibetan saint, author of a hundred thousand songs.
[188]Translated for me by Mr. Sarat Chandra Dās, who was my companion
during part of my sojourn at Dārjīling.
[189]Hiouen Thsang says that this place is near Prayāga (the modern
Allahābād), and that Aṡoka built a Stūpa there. (Beal, i. 231.)
[190]General Sir A. Cunningham puts the date at about A.D. 150.
[191]See the account given in ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ p. 442.
[192]Many images and sculptures were abstracted by the Burmese, but many
never reached Burma, for they accidentally fell into the Ganges in
the process of being transported there. The colossal image found
outside the temple is now in the Calcutta Museum (see the engraving
opposite to p. 466).
[193]Mr. Beglar gave me specimens of the fragments, which I have still.
[194]The umbrella is symbolical of supremacy. See p. 523.
[195]The lion is often associated with Buddha, who is called Ṡākya-siṉha
(see p. 23), and whose throne is therefore called a _Siṉhāsan_.
[196]This will be evident to any one who examines it attentively. The
socket-hole of the umbrella-ornament may be easily detected.
[197]The form of ritual observed was like that I witnessed at Gayā, and
described in my ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ p. 310.
[198]See my ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ p. 434.
[199]That is, ‘the lord of deer.’ Sāraṅga is a kind of deer, and the
Buddha was probably called so because he is fabled to have wandered
about as a deer in this very place in one of his former births (see
p. 111 of this volume). The legend is that he was born eleven times
as a deer, and on this account a deer is one of the sacred symbols
of Buddhism. We learn from General Sir A. Cunningham (i. 105) that
the name Sārnāth properly belongs to a temple dedicated to Ṡiva near
the Buddhist monument, and the epithet ‘Lord of deer,’ is equally
applicable to the god Ṡiva, who is often represented in the act of
holding up a deer in his hand.
[200]The name Dhamek may possibly be a corruption of Dhamma-ćakka
(Dharma-ćakra).
[201]Fā-hien says that the old city was girdled by five hills. These
hills are now called Baibhār (on which are five Jain temples),
Vipula, Ratna, Udaya, and Sona-giri. A long account of the place
will be found in Cunningham’s ‘Ancient Geography of India,’ pp.
462-468, and in his ‘Archæological Report,’ i. 20. Bimbi-sāra seems
to have built the town, which was afterwards improved by
Ajāta-ṡatru, and the site of the new portion being not quite
identical, the new town was called ‘new Rāja-gṛiha.’ Legge’s
‘Fā-hien,’ p. 81. There are several hot springs in this locality.
[202]Ajāta-ṡatru seems first to have sided with Buddha’s enemy
Deva-datta.
[203]It may be mentioned here that any place or house in which the
Buddha resided for a time was afterwards called Gandha-kuṭī
(probably from the fragrance of the perfumed offerings always to be
found in it). Hence the Bambu grove at Rāja-gṛiha, and the Jeta-vana
at Srāvastī (p. 407), were both Gandha-kuṭīs.
[204]A magnificent edition of this work in Tibetan, Mongol, Manchu, and
Chinese came into the possession of the French Missionaries (Huc,
ii. 74).
[205]Here, therefore, there was a Gandha-kuṭī (see note, p. 404).
[206]Fā-hien says, ‘Here lived Buddha for a longer time than at any
other place,’ and on that account, perhaps, was called
Dharma-pattana (Beal’s ‘Records,’ ii. 1). It was at this place that
the Brahmaćārīns killed a courtesan, and accused Buddha of adultery
and murder (see Legge, p. 59; Beal, ii. 8).
[207]Legge, pp. 57, 59; Beal, ii. 5.
[208]Another statue, claiming to be the genuine sandal-wood image, was
at Kauṡāmbī (see p. 412).
[209]A kūṭāgāra is properly any building with a peaked roof (kūṭa) or
pinnacle.
[210]Cunningham (i. 301) gives a full account of the place.
[211]The story is fully narrated in the second and third books of the
Kathā-sarit-sāgara of Soma Deva. See my ‘Indian Wisdom,’ p. 511.
King Udayana is said to have been a contemporary of the Buddha.
[212]See my ‘Indian Wisdom,’ p. 486.
[213]See Hiouen Thsang’s account of it, p. 471. Another similar image
belonged to King Prasenajit at Ṡrāvastī, see pp. 408, 471.
[214]The name is said to have been derived from that of a Nāga, who
lived in a neighbouring tank. See the description in two Chinese
Buddhist inscriptions found at Buddha-Gayā. R. A. S. Journal, vol.
xiii.
[215]This Utpalā must be the same as Utpala-varṇā (see p. 48 of this
volume).
[216]A Yojana is variously estimated at 4 or 5 or 9 English miles.
[217]Hiouen Thsang states that this name, which means a ‘hump-backed
virgin,’ is derived from the fact that an old sage (Ṛishi), who
possessed supernatural powers, cursed ninety-nine daughters of king
Brahma-datta for refusing to marry him, and made them deformed
(Beal, i. 209). A different legend is given in my Sanskṛit-English
Dictionary.
[218]This is very instructive in regard to the numerical proportion
between Brāhmans and Buddhists at this place.
[219]According to Cunningham, about B.C. 450.
[220]One for each of the 84,000 elements of the body (p. 499). The real
number of Stūpas was 84, but, as usual, three ciphers have been
added.
[221]It is difficult to understand exactly what these Aḍḍhayoga, Prāsāda
and Harmya were. In some Buddhist countries storied houses are
considered objectionable, as no one likes to submit to the indignity
of having the feet of another person above his head.
[222]The objection to the hollow of trees was that spirits, ghosts, and
goblins often took up their abode there.
[223]The term Vihāra was afterwards usually applied to temples, or to
buildings combining temple and monastery in one.
[224]Some authorities place them in the sixth century of our era.
[225]This is curiously illustrated in a recent letter from a resident in
Burma to the Editor of the _Times_ newspaper, in which it is stated
that about six months after King Theebaw had been deported, some of
his things were exhibited by us in the lower rooms of the Rangoon
Museum, to the great disgust of his Burmese admirers, who asked,
‘how we dared place their king’s things in a lower room where people
could walk above them?’
[226]It is for this reason that in the Tibetan language they are called
Gonpa.
[227]So described in a pamphlet on Buddhist Monasteries in Lahoul, by a
Moravian Missionary.
[228]Mr. Sarat Chandra Dās gives the names of 1026 monasteries. Koeppen
makes 3000 monasteries and 84,000 Lāmas.
[229]A small river flowing into the Tsanpo or Brahma-putra.
[230]The hill is called Potala, and the palace-monastery is named after
it. Koeppen says it has three peaks, but the illustration in
Markham’s account of Manning’s journey (p. 256) shows three long
summits rather than peaks. The hill is called Buddha-la by Huc (ii.
140), but Koeppen (ii. 341) is more correct in stating that Potala
is the name of a sea-port on the river Indus, called Pattala by the
Greeks, and now Tatta. There is a tradition that this Potala was the
original home of the Ṡākya tribe (see p. 21 of this volume).
[231]Koeppen translates this by the German sau, but says it may also
mean ‘Hintere Berg.’
[232]Messrs. Huc and Gabet failed in their attempt to obtain an
interview with the Dalai Lāma of 1846.
[233]It may also mean temple of Lhāssa and ‘abode of gods,’ in which
case Lā would be for Lhā.
[234]Huc says ‘four leagues;’ Koeppen ‘drei meilen,’ which is incorrect.
[235]These are also mentioned by Sarat Chandra Dās and by Markham (p.
130, note 3), and again, differently spelt, at p. 264, note 1.
[236]For his services as an explorer and surveyor Nain Singh enjoys a
Government pension, and has been awarded the gold medal of the
Geographical Society. Sarat Chandra Dās has been made a C.I.E.
[237]My authority for all these details is Dr. Burgess’ Report.
[238]Copies of these were made for me by a Sinhalese artist.
[239]In this description I have chiefly followed Mr. Scott.
[240]This description is based on Koeppen, ii. 234, and on the narrative
of Sarat Chandra Dās’ journey in 1881, 1882.
[241]Sarat Chandra Dās mentions a ‘flag-pole forty feet high, on which
are some inscriptions, two tufts of yak hair, and several yak and
sheep-horns.’ Possibly this may be the obelisk mentioned by Koeppen.
[242]One of these is the terrific goddess Paldan (p. 491), worshipped by
all Tibetans and Mongols, and identified with the goddess Kālī.
[243]My authority for this is Bishop Edward Bickersteth, the present
Bishop in Japan.
[244]See my ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism’ (published by Mr. Murray of
Albemarle Street), pp. 2-20.
[245]Another ancient statue but not so old, though of a highly
interesting type, was procured by me (for the Indian Institute at
Oxford) from Buddha-Gayā on the occasion of my last visit in 1884,
through the kind assistance of Mr. Beglar. It is in the erect
attitude.
[246]See ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ p. 214.
[247]A good example of this tight-fitting robe is afforded by the
ancient statue of the Buddha, mentioned at p. 467, note.
[248]When Gautama renounced his family and caste, he doubtless discarded
the cord, just as a true Sannyāsī is required to do (p. 78).
[249]In the Jaina statues, the lobes of the ears, so far as I have
observed, always touch the shoulders.
[250]Some think that this represents the wheel of the Ćakra-vartī
emperor, or the wheel of the law, or the cycle of causes, or the
continual revolution of births, deaths, and re-births. Dr. Mitra
maintains that a lotus, and not a wheel, is always intended, though
the lotus is often so badly carved that it may pass for any circular
ornament.
[251]Dr. Rajendralāla Mitra considers that curly locks were given to
Gautama Buddha because the possession of curls is believed to be an
auspicious sign. Some have actually inferred from the curl-like
knobs, that Buddha was a negro!
[252]See Dr. Edkins’ ‘Chinese Buddhism’ (p. 256).
[253]See Lalita-vistara (Calc. ed.), pp. 402, 403, 449, ll. 6-14.
[254]See my remarks on the worship of serpents in ‘Brāhmanism and
Hindūism,’ p. 319; and Fergusson’s great work, ‘Tree and Serpent
Worship.’
[255]There is a striking parallel in a well-known picture by Bernardino
Luini (of the Milan school) of ‘Christ disputing with the Doctors’
to be seen in our National Gallery.
[256]Procured for me by Mr. Burrows, of the Ceylon Civil Service.
[257]See especially an image in the British Museum. In China Bas-relief
images of Buddha are sometimes inserted by Buddhist priests in large
mussel-shells while the animal is living, and are covered by it with
a coating of mother of pearl. This they call a miracle. An example
is in the Indian Institute, presented by Mrs. Newman Smith.
[258]The sculptured figures of Padma-pāṇi observed by me in the caves of
Elorā represent him with Amitābha in his head-dress.
[259]Observe that Sang Yun, as there given, is more correctly spelt Sung
Yun or Sung-Yun.
[260]Compare Hardy’s ‘Monachism,’ p. 212.
[261]See Hardy’s ‘Eastern Monachism,’ p. 192.
[262]See my ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ p. 303.
[263]‘Mahā-p.’ p. 51. ‘Milinda Pañha,’ p. 177. ‘It is certainly
noteworthy,’ says Oldenberg, ‘that as the care for Buddha’s remains
is not represented as belonging to the disciples, so the Vinaya
texts are nearly silent as to the last honours of the deceased
monks. To arrange for their cremation was probably committed to the
laity.’
[264]Subsequently called Purī, and noted for the worship of Jagan-nāth
or Kṛishṇa, who became the successor of Buddha as an object of
worship (see p. 166 of this volume).
[265]Hardy’s ‘Eastern Monachism,’ p. 224. The size of the tooth does not
seem very preposterous, on the assumption of the truth of the
tradition that Gautama attained to the stature of twenty cubits.
[266]Mr. Lesley, in his ‘Lectures on the Origin and Destiny of Man,’
states that there are two foot-prints sculptured on the summit of
Mount Olivet, and worshipped by pilgrims as the marks left when
Christ sprang into the sky at His ascension. There is another
alleged foot-print of Christ in the Mosque of Omar, and two
foot-prints at Poitiers in France. There are two foot-prints of
Ishmael in the temple at Mecca. This is mentioned by Mr. Alabaster
(p. 262).
[267]Or according to some the Ṡālmali or Silk-cotton tree (Sīmal).
[268]Spence Hardy’s ‘Eastern Monachism,’ p. 215.
[269]I conjecture that the Mućalinda-tree may have been the Sandal, for
it is described in Sanskṛit literature as infested by snakes. The
fact of a serpent having emerged from the roots of this tree and
protected the Buddha instead of injuring him, may account for the
sacred character of the sandal-wood statue (see p. 408).
[270]Hardy’s ‘Eastern Monachism,’ p. 212.
[271]I noticed a fine specimen of this tree growing in the courtyard of
the temple of the god Brahmā at Pokhar, near Ājmere, visited by me
in 1884. Near it were two Banyan trees, a Nīm tree, and Aṡoka tree.
Brahmā’s other temple at Idar was not visited by me.
[272]Compare my translation of ‘Ṡakuntalā,’ pp. 90, 91 (fifth edition).
The Christmas-tree with its suspended gifts offers a curious and
interesting analogy. The wonderful tree described by Messrs. Huc and
Gabet as seen by them (vol. ii. p. 53, Hazlett’s translation) can
only be regarded as an example of a remarkably clever hoax.
[273]Mr. R. Sewell has written an interesting article on ‘Early Buddhist
Symbolism,’ in which he connects certain symbols with solar ideas
derived from the West. Mr. Frederic Pincott thinks that the triple
symbol stands for the ancient Y of the ‘Ye dharmā’ formula.
[274]See my ‘Modern India,’ p. 193, published by Messrs. Trübner and
Co., and ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ p. 127.
[275]The Jaugada inscription has two Svastikas, the arms in each of
which are bent in opposite directions.
[276]The expression Jainism corresponds to Ṡaivism, just as Jaina does
to Ṡaiva. Consistency would require Bauddhism and Bauddha for
Buddhism and Buddhist, but I fear the latter expressions are too
firmly established.
[277]Nigaṇṭha (also spelt Niggantha) is from the Sanskṛit Nir-grantha,
‘having no ties or worldly associations.’
[278]Cicero (De natura deorum) derives _religion_ from relego, and
explains it as a diligent practice of prayer and worship. Others
have derived it from religo, and hold that it means ‘binding to
God.’
[279]Here is an extract from a book called ‘The Mystery of the Ages,’
published in 1887:—‘Buddhism is the Christianity of the East, and,
as such, even in better conservation than is Christianity, the
Buddhism of the West.’
[280]As instances of the trivialities I give the following from the
Ćulla-vagga (Sacred Books of the East, vol. xx. v, 31, p. 146; v, 9.
5, p. 87):—
‘Now at that time the Bhikkhus hung up their bowls on pins in the
walls, or on hooks. The pins or hooks falling down, the bowls were
broken. They told this matter to the Blessed One. “You are not, O
Bhikkhus, to hang your bowls up. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty
of a dukkata” (offence). Now at that time the Bhikkhus put their
bowls down on a bed, or a chair; and sitting down thoughtlessly they
upset them, and the bowls were broken. They told this matter to the
Blessed One. “You are not, O Bhikkhus, to put your bowls on a bed,
or on a chair. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty of a dukkata”
(offence). Now at that time the Bhikkhus kept their bowls on their
laps; and rising up thoughtlessly they upset them, and the bowls
were broken. They told this matter to the Blessed One. “You are not,
O Bhikkhus, to keep your bowls on your laps. Whosoever does so,
shall be guilty of a dukkata” (offence). Now at that time the
Bhikkhus put their bowls down on a sunshade; and the sunshade being
lifted up by a whirlwind, the bowls rolled over and were broken.
They told this matter to the Blessed One. “You are not, O Bhikkhus,
to put your bowls down on a sunshade. Whosoever does so, shall be
guilty of a dukkata.” Now at that time the Bhikkhus, when they were
holding the bowls in their hands, opened the door. The door
springing back, the bowls were broken. They told this matter to the
Blessed One. “You are not, O Bhikkhus, to open the door with your
bowls in your hands. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty of a
dukkata.” Now at that time the Bhikkhus did not use tooth-sticks,
and their mouths got a bad odour. They told this matter to the
Blessed One. “There are these five disadvantages, O Bhikkhus, in not
using tooth-sticks—it is bad for the eyes—the mouth becomes
bad-smelling—the passages by which the flavours of the food pass are
not pure—bile and phlegm get into the food—and the food does not
taste well to him who does not use them. These are the five
disadvantages, O Bhikkhus, in not using tooth-sticks.” “There are
five advantages, O Bhikkhus” (etc., the converse of the last). “I
allow you, O Bhikkhus, tooth-sticks.” Now at that time the
Ćhabbaggiya Bhikkhus used long tooth-sticks; and even struck the
Sāmaṇeras with them. They told this matter to the Blessed One. “You
are not, O Bhikkhus, to use too long tooth-sticks. Whosoever does
so, shall be guilty of a dukkata. I allow you, O Bhikkhus,
tooth-sticks up to eight finger-breadths in length. And Sāmaṇeras
are not to be struck with them. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty
of a dukkata.” Now at that time a certain Bhikkhu, when using too
short a tooth-stick got it stuck in his throat. They told this
matter to the Blessed One. “You are not, O Bhikkhus, to use too
short a tooth-stick. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty of a
dukkata. I allow you, O Bhikkhus, tooth-sticks four finger-breadths
long at the least.”’
[281]Although this Lecture was written and in type before the
publication of the Bishop of Colombo’s article in the July (1888)
number of the ‘Nineteenth Century,’ I need not say that I wish here,
as the Bishop has done, to draw attention to the collection of
‘moral horrors’ existing in some parts of the Pārājika books—the
disgusting detail of every conceivable form of revolting vice,
supposed to be perpetrated or perpetrable by monks.
[282]Dr. Kellogg, in his excellent work, ‘the Light of Asia and the
Light of the World,’ well criticizes Professor Seydel’s
Buddhist-Christian Harmony, as well as the Professor’s views on this
point expressed in his work entitled ‘Das Evangelium von Jesu in
Seinen Verhältnissen zu Buddha-Sage und Buddha-Lehre.’ Leipzig,
1880.
[283]It is true that in the Lalita-vistara Buddha is described in terms
which appear to assimilate his character to the Christian conception
of a Saviour; but how could any man, however good and great, have
any claim to be called either a Saviour or Redeemer, who only
revealed to his fellow-men such a method of getting rid of pain and
suffering, through their own works and merits, as must lead them in
the end to extinction of all personal existence? The very essence of
Christ’s character as a Saviour is His divine power of transferring
His own perfect merits to imperfect men, and leading them from death
to eternal life, not to eternal extinction of life.
[284]In regard to the Buddhist doctrine of terrific purgatorial torments
in some of the numerous Hells see p. 120 of this volume.
[285]See Dhamma-pada, 127.
[286]I have not followed the exact words in our authorized translation
of St. Luke iv. 18, because they must be taken with Isaiah.
[287]Exodus iii. 14.
[288]St. Matthew xi. 5.
[289]Sacred Books of the East, xiii. 133.
[290]It is necessary to point out that these acts of self-sacrifice took
place in former states of existence, for when a man becomes a Buddha
he has no need to gain merit by self-sacrifice.
[291]See p. 130.
[292]A Buddhist writer in a Buddhist magazine, published in Ceylon, has
lately taken me to task for asserting in a recent speech that
Christianity denies the all-sufficiency of good works as an
instrument of salvation. It is easy to quote passages, such as those
in the epistle of St. James, in support of his one-sided view of
this question, but I need scarcely say that the writer has much to
learn as to the true character of our Bible, in which no text has
full force without its context, and no part can be taken to
establish a doctrine without a comparison with other parts, and
without the balancing of apparent contradictions in both Old and New
Testaments.
_WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR._
_Brāhmanism and Hindūism_, or Religious Thought and Life in India, as
based on the Veda and other Sacred Books of the Hindūs. Third and
cheaper Edition, with full index. John Murray, Albemarle Street. 1887.
10_s._ 6_d._
_Indian Wisdom_, or Examples of the Religious, Philosophical, and
Ethical Doctrines of the Hindūs: with a brief history of the chief
departments of Sanskṛit Literature, and some account of the past and
present condition of India, Moral and Intellectual.
_Modern India and the Indians_: A Series of Impressions, Notes, and
Essays. Fourth Edition, with index. Trübner & Co., Ludgate Hill. 1888.
_Hindūism._ Published by the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge.
_Sanskṛit-English Dictionary._ Published at the University Press,
Oxford. Henry Frowde, 7 Paternoster Row. 1888.
_English-Sanskṛit Dictionary._ At the India Office.
_Practical Sanskṛit Grammar._ Fourth Edition. At the University Press,
Oxford. Henry Frowde, 7 Paternoster Row. 1877.
_Sanskṛit Manual with Exercises._ W. H. Allen & Co.
_Ṡakuntalā._ A Sanskṛit Drama, in Seven Acts; the Text, with critical
and explanatory notes and literal English translations. Second
Edition. At the University Press, Oxford. Henry Frowde, 7 Paternoster
Row. 1876. 8vo. cloth, 21_s._
_Vikramorrasī._ A Sanskṛit Drama. The Text. Stephen Austin, Hertford.
_A Free Translation in English Prose and Verse of the Sanskṛit Drama
Ṡakoontalā_, with a portrait of the heroine and her two friends. Fifth
Edition. John Murray, Albemarle Street. 1887. 7_s._ 6_d._ First
Edition printed on fine paper, illuminated and illustrated by Stephen
Austin, Hertford.
_Story of Nala_: A Sanskṛit Poem, with full Vocabulary and an improved
version of Dean Milman’s Translation. University Press, Oxford, and 7
Paternoster Row.
_Application of the Roman Alphabet to the Languages of India._
Longmans.
_Practical Hindūstānī Grammar._ Longmans.
_Bāgh o Bahār._ The Hindūstānī Text in the Roman character. Longmans.