I told the substance of my revery to Niimi. He used to be a great
reader of Buddhist books.
“Well,” he said, “I was reminded of a queer Buddhist story by the
proverb that you asked me to explain,—_The silkworm-moth eyebrow of a
woman is the axe that cuts down the wisdom of man._ According to our
doctrine, the saying would be as true of life in heaven as of life upon
earth…. This is the story:—
“When Shaka[2] dwelt in this world, one of his disciples, called Nanda,
was bewitched by the beauty of a woman; and Shaka desired to save him
from the results of this illusion. So he took Nanda to a wild place in
the mountains where there were apes, and showed him a very ugly female
ape, and asked him: ‘Which is the more beautiful, Nanda, —the woman
that you love, or this female ape?’ ‘Oh, Master!’ exclaimed Nanda, ‘how
can a lovely woman be compared with an ugly ape?’ ‘Perhaps you will
presently find reason to make the comparison yourself,’ answered the
Buddha;—and instantly by supernatural power he ascended with Nanda to
the _San-Jūsan-Ten_, which is the Second of the Six Heavens of Desire.
There, within a palace of jewels, Nanda saw a multitude of heavenly
maidens celebrating some festival with music and dance; and the beauty
of the least among them incomparably exceeded that of the fairest woman
of earth. ‘O Master,’ cried Nanda, ‘what wonderful festival is this?’
‘Ask some of those people,’ responded Shaka. So Nanda questioned one of
the celestial maidens; and she said to him:—‘This festival is to
celebrate the good tidings that have been brought to us. There is now
in the human world, among the disciples of Shaka, a most excellent
youth called Nanda, who is soon to be reborn into this heaven, and to
become our bridegroom, because of his holy life. We wait for him with
rejoicing.’ This reply filled the heart of Nanda with delight. Then the
Buddha asked him: ‘Is there any one among these maidens, Nanda, equal
in beauty to the woman with whom you have been in love?’ ‘Nay, Master!’
answered Nanda; ‘even as that woman surpassed in beauty the female ape
that we saw on the mountain, so is she herself surpassed by even the
least among these.’
[2] Sâkyamuni.
“Then the Buddha immediately descended with Nanda to the depths of the
hells, and took him into a torture-chamber where myriads of men and
women were being boiled alive in great caldrons, and otherwise horribly
tormented by devils. Then Nanda found himself standing before a huge
vessel which was filled with molten metal;—and he feared and wondered
because this vessel had as yet no occupant. An idle devil sat beside
it, yawning. ‘Master,’ Nanda inquired of the Buddha, ‘for whom has this
vessel been prepared?’ ‘Ask the devil,’ answered Shaka. Nanda did so;
and the devil said to him: ‘There is a man called Nanda,—now one of
Shaka’s disciples,—about to be reborn into one of the heavens, on
account of his former good actions. But after having there indulged
himself, he is to be reborn in this hell; and his place will be in that
pot. I am waiting for him.’”[3]
[3] I give the story substantially as it was told to me; but I have
not been able to compare it with any published text. My friend says
that he has seen two Chinese versions,—one in the _Hongyō-kyō_ (?),
the other in the _Zōichi-agon-kyō_ (Ekôttarâgamas). In Mr. Henry
Clarke Warren’s _Buddhism in Translations_ (the most interesting and
valuable single volume of its kind that I have ever seen), there is a
Pali version of the legend, which differs considerably from the
above.—This Nanda, according to Mr. Warren’s work, was a prince, and
the younger half-brother of Sâkyamuni.