A RECORD OF BUDDHISTIC KINGDOMS Being an Account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Hien of his Travels inIndia and Ceylon (A. D. 399-414) in Search of the Buddhist Books ofDiscipline Translated and annotated with a Corean recension of the Chinese text BY JAMES LEGGE PREFACE Several times during my long residence in Hong Kong I endeavoured toread through the "Narrative of Fa-hien;" but though interested withthe graphic details of much of the work, its columns bristled soconstantly--now with his phonetic representations of Sanskrit words, and now with his substitution for them of their meanings in Chinesecharacters, and I was, moreover, so much occupied with my own speciallabours on the Confucian Classics, that my success was far fromsatisfactory. When Dr. Eitel's "Handbook for the Student of ChineseBuddhism" appeared in 1870, the difficulty occasioned by the Sanskritwords and names was removed, but the other difficulty remained; and Iwas not able to look into the book again for several years. Nor had Imuch inducement to do so in the two copies of it which I had been ableto procure, on poor paper, and printed from blocks badly cut at first, and so worn with use as to yield books the reverse of attractive intheir appearance to the student. In the meantime I kept studying the subject of Buddhism from varioussources; and in 1878 began to lecture, here in Oxford, on the Travelswith my Davis Chinese scholar, who was at the same time Boden Sanskritscholar. As we went on, I wrote out a translation in English for myown satisfaction of nearly half the narrative. In the beginning oflast year I made Fa-hien again the subject of lecture, wrote out asecond translation, independent of the former, and pushed on till Ihad completed the whole. The want of a good and clear text had been supplied by my friend, Mr. Bunyiu Nanjio, who sent to me from Japan a copy, the text of which isappended to the translation and notes, and of the nature of whichsome account is given in the Introduction, and towards the end of thisPreface. The present work consists of three parts: the Translation of Fa-hien'sNarrative of his Travels; copious Notes; and the Chinese Text of mycopy from Japan. It is for the Translation that I hold myself more especiallyresponsible. Portions of it were written out three times, and thewhole of it twice. While preparing my own version I made frequentreference to previous translations:--those of M. Abel Remusat, "Revu, complete, et augmente d'eclaircissements nouveaux par MM. Klaproth etLandress" (Paris, 1836); of the Rev. Samuel Beal (London, 1869), andhis revision of it, prefixed to his "Buddhist Records of the WesternWorld" (Trubner's Oriental Series, 1884); and of Mr. Herbert A. Giles, of H. M. 's Consular Service in China (1877). To these I have to add aseries of articles on "Fa-hsien and his English Translators, " by Mr. T. Watters, British Consul at I-Chang (China Review, 1879, 1880). Those articles are of the highest value, displaying accuracy ofChinese scholarship and an extensive knowledge of Buddhism. I haveregretted that Mr. Watters, while reviewing others, did not himselfwrite out and publish a version of the whole of Fa-hien's narrative. If he had done so, I should probably have thought that, on the whole, nothing more remained to be done for the distinguished Chinese pilgrimin the way of translation. Mr. Watters had to judge of the comparativemerits of the versions of Beal and Giles, and pronounce on the manypoints of contention between them. I have endeavoured to eschew thosematters, and have seldom made remarks of a critical nature in defenceof renderings of my own. The Chinese narrative runs on without any break. It was Klaproth whodivided Remusat's translation into forty chapters. The division ishelpful to the reader, and I have followed it excepting in threeor four instances. In the reprinted Chinese text the chapters areseparated by a circle in the column. In transliterating the names of Chinese characters I have generallyfollowed the spelling of Morrison rather than the Pekinese, which isnow in vogue. We cannot tell exactly what the pronunciation of themwas, about fifteen hundred years ago, in the time of Fa-hien; but thesouthern mandarin must be a shade nearer to it than that of Peking atthe present day. In transliterating the Indian names I have for themost part followed Dr. Eitel, with such modification as seemed goodand in harmony with growing usage. For the Notes I can do little more than claim the merit of selectionand condensation. My first object in them was to explain what in thetext required explanation to an English reader. All Chinese texts, andBuddhist texts especially, are new to foreign students. One has to dofor them what many hundreds of the ablest scholars in Europe have donefor the Greek and Latin Classics during several hundred years, andwhat the thousands of critics and commentators have been doing ofour Sacred Scriptures for nearly eighteen centuries. There are fewpredecessors in the field of Chinese literature into whose labourstranslators of the present century can enter. This will be received, Ihope, as a sufficient apology for the minuteness and length of some ofthe notes. A second object in them was to teach myself first, and thenothers, something of the history and doctrines of Buddhism. I havethought that they might be learned better in connexion with a livelynarrative like that of Fa-hien than by reading didactic descriptionsand argumentative books. Such has been my own experience. The bookswhich I have consulted for these notes have been many, besides Chineseworks. My principal help has been the full and masterly handbook ofEitel, mentioned already, and often referred to as E. H. Spence Hardy's"Eastern Monachism" (E. M. ) and "Manual of Buddhism" (M. B. ) have beenconstantly in hand, as well as Rhys Davids' Buddhism, published by theSociety for Promoting Christian Knowledge, his Hibbert Lectures, and his Buddhist Suttas in the Sacred Books of the East, and otherwritings. I need not mention other authorities, having endeavouredalways to specify them where I make use of them. My proximity andaccess to the Bodleian Library and the Indian Institute have been ofgreat advantage. I may be allowed to say that, so far as my own study of it has gone, I think there are many things in the vast field of Buddhist literaturewhich still require to be carefully handled. How far, for instance, are we entitled to regard the present Sutras as genuine andsufficiently accurate copies of those which were accepted by theCouncils before our Christian era? Can anything be done to trace therise of the legends and marvels of Sakyamuni's history, which werecurrent so early (as it seems to us) as the time of Fa-hien, and whichstartle us so frequently by similarities between them and narrativesin our Gospels? Dr. Hermann Oldenberg, certainly a great authorityon Buddhistic subjects, says that "a biography of Buddha has not comedown to us from ancient times, from the age of the Pali texts; and, we can safely say, no such biography existed then" ("Buddha--His Life, His Doctrine, His Order, " as translated by Hoey, p. 78). He has also(in the same work, pp. 99, 416, 417) come to the conclusion that thehitherto unchallenged tradition that the Buddha was "a king's son"must be given up. The name "king's son" (in Chinese {. . . }), alwaysused of the Buddha, certainly requires to be understood in the highestsense. I am content myself to wait for further information on theseand other points, as the result of prolonged and careful research. Dr. Rhys Davids has kindly read the proofs of the Translation andNotes, and I most certainly thank him for doing so, for his manyvaluable corrections in the Notes, and for other suggestions whichI have received from him. I may not always think on various pointsexactly as he does, but I am not more forward than he is to say withHorace, -- "Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. " I have referred above, and also in the Introduction, to the Coreantext of Fa-hien's narrative, which I received from Mr. Nanjio. Itis on the whole so much superior to the better-known texts, that Idetermined to attempt to reproduce it at the end of the little volume, so far as our resources here in Oxford would permit. To do so has notbeen an easy task. The two fonts of Chinese types in the ClarendonPress were prepared primarily for printing the translation of ourSacred Scriptures, and then extended so as to be available forprinting also the Confucian Classics; but the Buddhist worknecessarily requires many types not found in them, while many othercharacters in the Corean recension are peculiar in their forms, andsome are what Chinese dictionaries denominate "vulgar. " That wehave succeeded so well as we have done is owing chiefly to theintelligence, ingenuity, and untiring attention of Mr. J. C. Pembrey, the Oriental Reader. The pictures that have been introduced were taken from a superbedition of a History of Buddha, republished recently at Hang-chau inCheh-kiang, and profusely illustrated in the best style of Chineseart. I am indebted for the use of it to the Rev. J. H. Sedgwick, University Chinese Scholar. James Legge. Oxford: June, 1886. [ Picture: Sketch Map Of Fa-Hien's Travels ] The accompanying Sketch-Map, taken in connexion with the notes on thedifferent places in the Narrative, will give the reader a sufficientlyaccurate knowledge of Fa-hien's route. There is no difficulty in laying it down after he crossed the Indusfrom east to west into the Punjab, all the principal places, at whichhe touched or rested, having been determined by Cunningham andother Indian geographers and archaeologists. Most of the places fromCh'ang-an to Bannu have also been identified. Woo-e has been put downas near Kutcha, or Kuldja, in 43d 25s N. , 81d 15s E. The country ofK'ieh-ch'a was probably Ladak, but I am inclined to think that theplace where the traveller crossed the Indus and entered it must havebeen further east than Skardo. A doubt is intimated on page 24 as tothe identification of T'o-leih with Darada, but Greenough's "Physicaland Geological Sketch-Map of British India" shows "Dardu Proper, "all lying on the east of the Indus, exactly in the position wherethe Narrative would lead us to place it. The point at which Fa-hienrecrossed the Indus into Udyana on the west of it is unknown. Takshasila, which he visited, was no doubt on the west of the river, and has been incorrectly accepted as the Taxila of Arrian in thePunjab. It should be written Takshasira, of which the Chinesephonetisation will allow;--see a note of Beal in his "Buddhist Recordsof the Western World, " i. 138. We must suppose that Fa-hien went on from Nan-king to Ch'ang-an, butthe Narrative does not record the fact of his doing so. INTRODUCTION Life of Fa-Hien; Genuineness and Integrity of the Text of hisNarrative; Number of the Adherents of Buddhism. 1. Nothing of great importance is known about Fa-hien in addition towhat may be gathered from his own record of his travels. I have readthe accounts of him in the "Memoirs of Eminent Monks, " compiled inA. D. 519, and a later work, the "Memoirs of Marvellous Monks, " by thethird emperor of the Ming dynasty (A. D. 1403-1424), which, however, is nearly all borrowed from the other; and all in them that has anappearance of verisimilitude can be brought within brief compass. His surname, they tell us, was Kung, and he was a native of Wu-yang inP'ing-Yang, which is still the name of a large department in Shan-hsi. He had three brothers older than himself; but when they all diedbefore shedding their first teeth, his father devoted him to theservice of the Buddhist society, and had him entered as a Sramanera, still keeping him at home in the family. The little fellow felldangerously ill, and the father sent him to the monastery, where hesoon got well and refused to return to his parents. When he was ten years old, his father died; and an uncle, consideringthe widowed solitariness and helplessness of the mother, urged him torenounce the monastic life, and return to her, but the boy replied, "I did not quit the family in compliance with my father's wishes, butbecause I wished to be far from the dust and vulgar ways of life. Thisis why I chose monkhood. " The uncle approved of his words and gaveover urging him. When his mother also died, it appeared how great hadbeen the affection for her of his fine nature; but after her burial hereturned to the monastery. On one occasion he was cutting rice with a score or two of hisfellow-disciples, when some hungry thieves came upon them to take awaytheir grain by force. The other Sramaneras all fled, but our younghero stood his ground, and said to the thieves, "If you must have thegrain, take what you please. But, Sirs, it was your former neglect ofcharity which brought you to your present state of destitution; andnow, again, you wish to rob others. I am afraid that in the comingages you will have still greater poverty and distress;--I am sorry foryou beforehand. " With these words he followed his companions into themonastery, while the thieves left the grain and went away, all themonks, of whom there were several hundred, doing homage to his conductand courage. When he had finished his noviciate and taken on him the obligations ofthe full Buddhist orders, his earnest courage, clear intelligence, andstrict regulation of his demeanour were conspicuous; and soon after, he undertook his journey to India in search of complete copies of theVinaya-pitaka. What follows this is merely an account of his travelsin India and return to China by sea, condensed from his own narrative, with the addition of some marvellous incidents that happened to him, on his visit to the Vulture Peak near Rajagriha. It is said in the end that after his return to China, he went to thecapital (evidently Nanking), and there, along with the Indian SramanaBuddha-bhadra, executed translations of some of the works which he hadobtained in India; and that before he had done all that he wished todo in this way, he removed to King-chow (in the present Hoo-pih), anddied in the monastery of Sin, at the age of eighty-eight, to the greatsorrow of all who knew him. It is added that there is another largerwork giving an account of his travels in various countries. Such is all the information given about our author, beyond whathe himself has told us. Fa-hien was his clerical name, and means"Illustrious in the Law, " or "Illustrious master of the Law. " The Shihwhich often precedes it is an abbreviation of the name of Buddhaas Sakyamuni, "the Sakya, mighty in Love, dwelling in Seclusion andSilence, " and may be taken as equivalent to Buddhist. It is sometimessaid to have belonged to "the eastern Tsin dynasty" (A. D. 317-419), and sometimes to "the Sung, " that is, the Sung dynasty of the House ofLiu (A. D. 420-478). If he became a full monk at the age of twenty, and went to India when he was twenty-five, his long life may have beendivided pretty equally between the two dynasties. 2. If there were ever another and larger account of Fa-hien's travelsthan the narrative of which a translation is now given, it has longceased to be in existence. In the Catalogue of the imperial library of the Suy dynasty(A. D. 589-618), the name Fa-hien occurs four times. Towards the end ofthe last section of it (page 22), after a reference to his travels, his labours in translation at Kin-ling (another name for Nanking), inconjunction with Buddha-bhadra, are described. In the second section, page 15, we find "A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms;"--with a note, saying that it was the work of the "Sramana, Fa-hien;" and again, onpage 13, we have "Narrative of Fa-hien in two Books, " and "Narrativeof Fa-hien's Travels in one Book. " But all these three entries maypossibly belong to different copies of the same work, the first andthe other two being in separate subdivisions of the Catalogue. In the two Chinese copies of the narrative in my possession thetitle is "Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms. " In the Japanese or Coreanrecension subjoined to this translation, the title is twofold; first, "Narrative of the Distinguished Monk, Fa-hien;" and then, more atlarge, "Incidents of Travels in India, by the Sramana of the EasternTsin, Fa-hien, recorded by himself. " There is still earlier attestation of the existence of our little workthan the Suy Catalogue. The Catalogue Raisonne of the imperial libraryof the present dynasty (chap. 71) mentions two quotations from it byLe Tao-yuen, a geographical writer of the dynasty of the Northern Wei(A. D. 386-584), one of them containing 89 characters, and the other276; both of them given as from the "Narrative of Fa-hien. " In all catalogues subsequent to that of Suy our work appears. Theevidence for its authenticity and genuineness is all that couldbe required. It is clear to myself that the "Record of BuddhisticKingdoms" and the "Narrative of his Travels by Fa-hien" weredesignations of one and the same work, and that it is doubtful whetherany larger work on the same subject was ever current. With regard tothe text subjoined to my translation, it was published in Japan in1779. The editor had before him four recensions of the narrative;those of the Sung and Ming dynasties, with appendixes on the namesof certain characters in them; that of Japan; and that of Corea. Hewisely adopted the Corean text, published in accordance with a royalrescript in 1726, so far as I can make out; but the different readingsof the other texts are all given in top-notes, instead of foot-notesas with us, this being one of the points in which customs in the eastand west go by contraries. Very occasionally, the editor indicates bya single character, equivalent to "right" or "wrong, " which readingin his opinion is to be preferred. In the notes to the presentrepublication of the Corean text, S stands for Sung, M for Ming, andJ for Japanese; R for right, and W for wrong. I have taken the troubleto give all the various readings (amounting to more than 300), partlyas a curiosity and to make my text complete, and partly to show how, in the transcription of writings in whatever language, such variationsare sure to occur, "maculae, quas aut incuria fudit, Aut humana parum cavit nature, " while on the whole they very slightly affect the meaning of thedocument. The editors of the Catalogue Raisonne intimate their doubts of thegood taste and reliability of all Fa-hien's statements. It offendsthem that he should call central India the "Middle Kingdom, " andChina, which to them was the true and only Middle Kingdom, but "aBorder land;"--it offends them as the vaunting language of a Buddhistwriter, whereas the reader will see in the expressions only aninstance of what Fa-hien calls his "simple straightforwardness. " As an instance of his unreliability they refer to his account ofthe Buddhism of Khoten, whereas it is well known, they say, that theKhoteners from ancient times till now have been Mohammedans;--as ifthey could have been so 170 years before Mohammed was born, and 222years before the year of the Hegira! And this is criticism in China. The Catalogue was ordered by the K'ien-lung emperor in 1722. Betweenthree and four hundred of the "Great Scholars" of the empire wereengaged on it in various departments, and thus egregiously ignorantdid they show themselves of all beyond the limits of their owncountry, and even of the literature of that country itself. Much of what Fa-hien tells his readers of Buddhist miracles andlegends is indeed unreliable and grotesque; but we have from him thetruth as to what he saw and heard. 3. In concluding this introduction I wish to call attention to someestimates of the number of Buddhists in the world which have becomecurrent, believing, as I do, that the smallest of them is much abovewhat is correct. i. In a note on the first page of his work on the Bhilsa Topes (1854), General Cunningham says: "The Christians number about 270millions; the Buddhists about 222 millions, who are distributed asfollows:--China 170 millions, Japan 25, Anam 14, Siam 3, Ava 8, Nepal1, and Ceylon 1; total, 222 millions. " ii. In his article on M. J. Barthelemy Saint Hilaire's "Le Bouddha etsa Religion, " republished in his "Chips from a German Workshop, "vol. I. (1868), Professor Max Muller (p. 215) says, "The young princebecame the founder of a religion which, after more than two thousandyears, is still professed by 455 millions of human beings, " andhe appends the following note: "Though truth is not settled bymajorities, it would be interesting to know which religion counts atthe present moment the largest numbers of believers. Berghaus, inhis 'Physical Atlas, ' gives the following division of the human raceaccording to religion:--'Buddhists 31. 2 per cent, Christians 30. 7, Mohammedans 15. 7, Brahmanists 13. 4, Heathens 8. 7, and Jews 0. 3. 'As Berghaus does not distinguish the Buddhists in China from thefollowers of Confucius and Laotse, the first place on the scale reallybelongs to Christianity. It is difficult to say to what religion aman belongs, as the same person may profess two or three. The emperorhimself, after sacrificing according to the ritual of Confucius, visits a Tao-sse temple, and afterwards bows before an image of Fo ina Buddhist chapel. ('Melanges Asiatiques de St. Petersbourg, ' vol. Ii. P. 374. )" iii. Both these estimates are exceeded by Dr. T. W. Rhys Davids(intimating also the uncertainty of the statements, and that numbersare no evidence of truth) in the introduction to his "Manual ofBuddhism. " The Buddhists there appear as amounting in all to 500millions:--30 millions of Southern Buddhists, in Ceylon, Burma, Siam, Anam, and India (Jains); and 470 millions of North Buddhists, ofwhom nearly 33 millions are assigned to Japan, and 414, 686, 974 tothe eighteen provinces of China proper. According to him, Christiansamount to about 26 per cent of mankind, Hindus to about 13, Mohammedans to about 12 1_2, Buddhists to about 40, and Jews to about1_2. In regard to all these estimates, it will be observed that the immensenumbers assigned to Buddhism are made out by the multitude of Chinesewith which it is credited. Subtract Cunningham's 170 millions ofChinese from his total of 222, and there remains only 52 millions ofBuddhists. Subtract Davids' (say) 414 1_2 millions of Chinese from histotal of 500, and there remain only 85 1_2 millions for Buddhism. Ofthe numbers assigned to other countries, as well as of their wholepopulations, I am in considerable doubt, excepting in the cases ofCeylon and India; but the greatness of the estimates turns upon theimmense multitudes said to be in China. I do not know what totalpopulation Cunningham allowed for that country, nor on what principalhe allotted 170 millions of it to Buddhism;--perhaps he halved hisestimate of the whole, whereas Berghaus and Davids allotted to it thehighest estimates that have been given of the people. But we have no certain information of the population of China. At aninterview with the former Chinese ambassador, Kwo Sung-tao, inParis, in 1878, I begged him to write out for me the amount, with theauthority for it, and he assured me that it could not be done. Ihave read probably almost everything that has been published onthe subject, and endeavoured by methods of my own to arrive at asatisfactory conclusion;--without reaching a result which I canventure to lay before the public. My impression has been that 400millions is hardly an exaggeration. But supposing that we had reliable returns of the whole population, how shall we proceed to apportion that among Confucianists, Taoists, and Buddhists? Confucianism is the orthodoxy of China. The commonname for it is Ju Chiao, "the Doctrines held by the Learned Class, "entrance into the circle of which is, with a few insignificantexceptions, open to all the people. The mass of them and the massesunder their influence are preponderatingly Confucian; and in theobservance of ancestral worship, the most remarkable feature of thereligion proper of China from the earliest times, of which Confuciuswas not the author but the prophet, an overwhelming majority areregular and assiduous. Among "the strange principles" which the emperor of the K'ang-hsiperiod, in one of his famous Sixteen Precepts, exhorted his people to"discountenance and put away, in order to exalt the correct doctrine, "Buddhism and Taoism were both included. If, as stated in the notequoted from Professor Muller, the emperor countenances both the Taoistworship and the Buddhist, he does so for reasons of state;--to pleaseespecially his Buddhist subjects in Thibet and Mongolia, and not tooffend the many whose superstitious fancies incline to Taoism. When I went out and in as a missionary among the Chinese people forabout thirty years, it sometimes occurred to me that only the inmatesof their monasteries and the recluses of both systems should beenumerated as Buddhists and Taoists; but I was in the end constrainedto widen that judgment, and to admit a considerable following of bothamong the people, who have neither received the tonsure nor assumedthe yellow top. Dr. Eitel, in concluding his discussion of this pointin his "Lecture on Buddhism, an Event in History, " says: "It is nottoo much to say that most Chinese are theoretically Confucianists, but emotionally Buddhists or Taoists. But fairness requires us to addthat, though the mass of the people are more or less influenced byBuddhist doctrines, yet the people, as a whole, have no respect forthe Buddhist church, and habitually sneer at Buddhist priests. " Forthe "most" in the former of these two sentences I would substitute"nearly all;" and between my friend's "but" and "emotionally" I wouldintroduce "many are, " and would not care to contest his conclusionfarther. It does seem to me preposterous to credit Buddhism with thewhole of the vast population of China, the great majority of whom areConfucianists. My own opinion is, that its adherents are not so manyas those even of Mohammedanism, and that instead of being the mostnumerous of the religions (so called) of the world, it is onlyentitled to occupy the fifth place, ranking below Christianity, Confucianism, Brahmanism, and Mohammedanism, and followed, somedistance off, by Taoism. To make a table of percentages of mankind, and assign to each system its proportion, is to seem to be wise wherewe are deplorably ignorant; and, moreover, if our means of informationwere much better than they are, our figures would merely show theoutward adherence. A fractional per-centage might tell more for onesystem than a very large integral one for another. THE TRAVELS OF FA-HIEN or RECORD OF BUDDHISTIC KINGDOMS CHAPTER I FROM CH'ANG-GAN TO THE SANDY DESERT Fa-hien had been living in Ch'ang-gan. (1) Deploring the mutilated andimperfect state of the collection of the Books of Discipline, in thesecond year of the period Hwang-che, being the Ke-hae year of thecycle, (2) he entered into an engagement with Kwuy-king, Tao-ching, Hwuy-ying, and Hwuy-wei, (3) that they should go to India and seek forthe Disciplinary Rules. (4) After starting from Ch'ang-gan, they passed through Lung, (5) and cameto the kingdom of K'een-kwei, (6) where they stopped for the summerretreat. (7) When that was over, they went forward to the kingdomof Now-t'an, (8) crossed the mountain of Yang-low, and reached theemporium of Chang-yih. (9) There they found the country so muchdisturbed that travelling on the roads was impossible for them. Itsking, however, was very attentive to them, kept them (in his capital), and acted the part of their danapati. (10) Here they met with Che-yen, Hwuy-keen, Sang-shao, Pao-yun, andSang-king;(11) and in pleasant association with them, as bound on thesame journey with themselves, they passed the summer retreat (of thatyear)(12) together, resuming after it their travelling, and goingon to T'un-hwang, (13) (the chief town) in the frontier territory ofdefence extending for about 80 le from east to west, and about 40 fromnorth to south. Their company, increased as it had been, halted therefor some days more than a month, after which Fa-hien and his fourfriends started first in the suite of an envoy, (14) having separated(for a time) from Pao-yun and his associates. Le Hao, (15) the prefect of T'un-hwang, had supplied them with themeans of crossing the desert (before them), in which there are manyevil demons and hot winds. (Travellers) who encounter them perishall to a man. There is not a bird to be seen in the air above, nor ananimal on the ground below. Though you look all round most earnestlyto find where you can cross, you know not where to make your choice, the only mark and indication being the dry bones of the dead (leftupon the sand). (16) NOTES (1) Ch'ang-gan is still the name of the principal district (and its city) in the department of Se-gan, Shen-se. It had been the capital of the first empire of Han (B. C. 202-A. D. 24), as it subsequently was that of Suy (A. D. 589-618). The empire of the eastern Tsin, towards the close of which Fa-hien lived, had its capital at or near Nan-king, and Ch'ang-gan was the capital of the principal of the three Ts'in kingdoms, which, with many other minor ones, maintained a semi-independence of Tsin, their rulers sometimes even assuming the title of emperor. (2) The period Hwang-che embraced from A. D. 399 to 414, being the greater portion of the reign of Yao Hing of the After Ts'in, a powerful prince. He adopted Hwang-che for the style of his reign in 399, and the cyclical name of that year was Kang-tsze. It is not possible at this distance of time to explain, if it could be explained, how Fa-hien came to say that Ke-hae was the second year of the period. It seems most reasonable to suppose that he set out on his pilgrimage in A. D. 399, the cycle name of which was Ke-hae, as {. }, the second year, instead of {. }, the first, might easily creep into the text. In the "Memoirs of Eminent Monks" it is said that our author started in the third year of the period Lung-gan of the eastern Tsin, which was A. D. 399. (3) These, like Fa-hien itself, are all what we might call "clerical" names, appellations given to the parties as monks or sramanas. (4) The Buddhist tripitaka or canon consists of three collections, containing, according to Eitel (p. 150), "doctrinal aphorisms (or statements, purporting to be from Buddha himself); works on discipline; and works on metaphysics:"--called sutra, vinaya, and abhidharma; in Chinese, king {. }, leuh {. }, and lun {. }, or texts, laws or rules, and discussions. Dr. Rhys Davids objects to the designation of "metaphysics" as used of the abhidharma works, saying that "they bear much more the relation to 'dharma' which 'by-law' bears to 'law' than that which 'metaphysics' bears to 'physics'" (Hibbert Lectures, p. 49). However this be, it was about the vinaya works that Fa-hien was chiefly concerned. He wanted a good code of the rules for the government of "the Order" in all its internal and external relations. (5) Lung embraced the western part of Shen-se and the eastern part of Kan-suh. The name remains in Lung Chow, in the extreme west of Shen-se. (6) K'een-kwei was the second king of "the Western Ts'in. " His family was of northern or barbarous origin, from the tribe of the Seen-pe, with the surname of K'eih-fuh. The first king was Kwo-kin, and received his appointment from the sovereign of the chief Ts'in kingdom in 385. He was succeeded in 388 by his brother, the K'een-kwei of the text, who was very prosperous in 398, and took the title of king of Ts'in. Fa-hien would find him at his capital, somewhere in the present department of Lan-chow, Kan-suh. (7) Under varshas or vashavasana (Pali, vassa; Spence Hardy, vass), Eitel (p. 163) says:--"One of the most ancient institutions of Buddhist discipline, requiring all ecclesiastics to spend the rainy season in a monastery in devotional exercises. Chinese Buddhists naturally substituted the hot season for the rainy (from the 16th day of the 5th to the 15th of the 9th Chinese month). " (8) During the troubled period of the Tsin dynasty, there were five (usurping) Leang sovereignties in the western part of the empire ({. } {. }). The name Leang remains in the department of Leang-chow in the northern part of Kan-suh. The "southern Leang" arose in 397 under a Tuh-fah Wu-ku, who was succeeded in 399 by a brother, Le-luh-koo; and he again by his brother, the Now-t'an of the text, in 402, who was not yet king therefore when Fa-hien and his friends reached his capital. How he is represented as being so may be accounted for in various ways, of which it is not necessary to write. (9) Chang-yih is still the name of a district in Kan-chow department, Kan-suh. It is a long way north and west from Lan-chow, and not far from the Great Wall. Its king at this time was, probably, Twan-yeh of "the northern Leang. " (10) Dana is the name for religious charity, the first of the six paramitas, or means of attaining to nirvana; and a danapati is "one who practises dana and thereby crosses {. } the sea of misery. " It is given as "a title of honour to all who support the cause of Buddhism by acts of charity, especially to founders and patrons of monasteries;"--see Eitel, p. 29. (11) Of these pilgrims with their clerical names, the most distinguished was Pao-yun, who translated various Sanskrit works on his return from India, of which only one seems to be now existing. He died in 449. See Nanjio's Catalogue of the Tripitaka, col. 417. (12) This was the second summer since the pilgrims left Ch'ang-gan. We are now therefore, probably, in A. D. 400. (13) T'un-hwang (lat. 39d 40s N. ; lon. 94d 50s E. ) is still the name of one of the two districts constituting the department of Gan-se, the most western of the prefectures of Kan-suh; beyond the termination of the Great Wall. (14) Who this envoy was, and where he was going, we do not know. The text will not admit of any other translation. (15) Le Hao was a native of Lung-se, a man of learning, able and kindly in his government. He was appointed governor or prefect of T'un-hwang by the king of "the northern Leang, " in 400; and there he sustained himself, becoming by and by "duke of western Leang, " till he died in 417. (16) "The river of sand;" the great desert of Kobi or Gobi; having various other names. It was a great task which the pilgrims had now before them, --to cross this desert. The name of "river" in the Chinese misleads the reader, and he thinks of crossing it as of crossing a stream; but they had to traverse it from east to west. In his "Vocabulary of Proper Names, " p. 23, Dr. Porter Smith says:--"It extends from the eastern frontier of Mongolia, south-westward to the further frontier of Turkestan, to within six miles of Ilchi, the chief town of Khoten. It thus comprises some twenty-three degrees of longitude in length, and from three to ten degrees of latitude in breadth, being about 2, 100 miles in its greatest length. In some places it is arable. Some idea may be formed of the terror with which this 'Sea of Sand, ' with its vast billows of shifting sands, is regarded, from the legend that in one of the storms 360 cities were all buried within the space of twenty-four hours. " So also Gilmour's "Among the Mongols, " chap. 5. CHAPTER II ON TO SHEN-SHEN AND THENCE TO KHOTEN After travelling for seventeen days, a distance we may calculate ofabout 1500 le, (the pilgrims) reached the kingdom of Shen-shen, (1) acountry rugged and hilly, with a thin and barren soil. The clothesof the common people are coarse, and like those worn in our landof Han, (2) some wearing felt and others coarse serge or clothof hair;--this was the only difference seen among them. The kingprofessed (our) Law, and there might be in the country more thanfour thousand monks, (3) who were all students of the hinayana. (4) Thecommon people of this and other kingdoms (in that region), as wellas the sramans, (5) all practise the rules of India, (6) only thatthe latter do so more exactly, and the former more loosely. So (thetravellers) found it in all the kingdoms through which they went ontheir way from this to the west, only that each had its own peculiarbarbarous speech. (7) (The monks), however, who had (given up theworldly life) and quitted their families, were all students of Indianbooks and the Indian language. Here they stayed for about a month, and then proceeded on their journey, fifteen days walking to thenorth-west bringing them to the country of Woo-e. (8) In this alsothere were more than four thousand monks, all students of thehinayana. They were very strict in their rules, so that sramans fromthe territory of Ts'in(9) were all unprepared for their regulations. Fa-hien, through the management of Foo Kung-sun, _maitred'hotellerie_, (10) was able to remain (with his company in themonastery where they were received) for more than two months, and herethey were rejoined by Pao-yun and his friends. (11) (At the end ofthat time) the people of Woo-e neglected the duties of propriety andrighteousness, and treated the strangers in so niggardly a manner thatChe-yen, Hwuy-keen, and Hwuy-wei went back towards Kao-ch'ang, (12)hoping to obtain there the means of continuing their journey. Fa-hienand the rest, however, through the liberality of Foo Kung-sun, managedto go straight forward in a south-west direction. They found thecountry uninhabited as they went along. The difficulties which theyencountered in crossing the streams and on their route, and thesufferings which they endured, were unparalleled in human experience, but in the course of a month and five days they succeeded in reachingYu-teen. (13) NOTES (1) An account is given of the kingdom of Shen-shen in the 96th of the Books of the first Han dynasty, down to its becoming a dependency of China, about B. C. 80. The greater portion of that is now accessible to the English reader in a translation by Mr. Wylie in the "Journal of the Anthropological Institute, " August, 1880. Mr. Wylie says:--"Although we may not be able to identify Shen-shen with certainty, yet we have sufficient indications to give an appropriate idea of its position, as being south of and not far from lake Lob. " He then goes into an exhibition of those indications, which I need not transcribe. It is sufficient for us to know that the capital city was not far from Lob or Lop Nor, into which in lon. 38d E. The Tarim flows. Fa-hien estimated its distance to be 1500 le from T'un-hwang. He and his companions must have gone more than twenty-five miles a day to accomplish the journey in seventeen days. (2) This is the name which Fa-hien always uses when he would speak of China, his native country, as a whole, calling it from the great dynasty which had ruled it, first and last, for between four and five centuries. Occasionally, as we shall immediately see, he speaks of "the territory of Ts'in or Ch'in, " but intending thereby only the kingdom or Ts'in, having its capital, as described in the first note on the last chapter, in Ch'ang-gan. (3) So I prefer to translate the character {. } (sang) rather than by "priests. " Even in Christianity, beyond the priestly privilege which belongs to all believers, I object to the ministers of any denomination or church calling themselves or being called "priests;" and much more is the name inapplicable to the sramanas or bhikshus of Buddhism which acknowledges no God in the universe, no soul in man, and has no services of sacrifice or prayer in its worship. The only difficulty in the use of "monks" is caused by the members of the sect in Japan which, since the middle of the fifteenth century, has abolished the prohibition against marrying on the part of its ministers, and other prohibitions in diet and dress. Sang and sang-kea represent the Sanskrit sangha, constituted by at least four members, and empowered to hear confession, to grant absolution, to admit persons to holy orders, &c. ; secondly, the third constituent of the Buddhistic Trinity, a deification of the _communio sanctorum_, or the Buddhist order. The name is used by our author of the monks collectively or individually as belonging to the class, and may be considered as synonymous with the name sramana, which will immediately claim our attention. (4) Meaning the "small vehicle, or conveyance. " There are in Buddhism the triyana, or "three different means of salvation, i. E. Of conveyance across the samsara, or sea of transmigration, to the shores of nirvana. Afterwards the term was used to designate the different phases of development through which the Buddhist dogma passed, known as the mahayana, hinayana, and madhyamayana. " "The hinayana is the simplest vehicle of salvation, corresponding to the first of the three degrees of saintship. Characteristics of it are the preponderance of active moral asceticism, and the absence of speculative mysticism and quietism. " E. H. , pp. 151-2, 45, and 117. (5) The name for India is here the same as in the former chapter and throughout the book, --T'een-chuh ({. } {. }), the chuh being pronounced, probably, in Fa-hien's time as tuk. How the earliest name for India, Shin-tuk or duk=Scinde, came to be changed into Thien-tuk, it would take too much space to explain. I believe it was done by the Buddhists, wishing to give a good auspicious name to the fatherland of their Law, and calling it "the Heavenly Tuk, " just as the Mohammedans call Arabia "the Heavenly region" ({. } {. }), and the court of China itself is called "the Celestial" ({. } {. }). (6) Sraman may in English take the place of Sramana (Pali, Samana; in Chinese, Sha-man), the name for Buddhist monks, as those who have separated themselves from (left) their families, and quieted their hearts from all intrusion of desire and lust. "It is employed, first, as a general name for ascetics of all denominations, and, secondly, as a general designation of Buddhistic monks. " E. H. , pp. 130, 131. (7) Tartar or Mongolian. (8) Woo-e has not been identified. Watters ("China Review, " viii. 115) says:--"We cannot be far wrong if we place it in Kharaschar, or between that and Kutscha. " It must have been a country of considerable size to have so many monks in it. (9) This means in one sense China, but Fa-hien, in his use of the name, was only thinking of the three Ts'in states of which I have spoken in a previous note; perhaps only of that from the capital of which he had himself set out. (10) This sentence altogether is difficult to construe, and Mr. Watters, in the "China Review, " was the first to disentangle more than one knot in it. I am obliged to adopt the reading of {. } {. } in the Chinese editions, instead of the {. } {. } in the Corean text. It seems clear that only one person is spoken of as assisting the travellers, and his name, as appears a few sentences farther on, was Foo Kung-sun. The {. } {. } which immediately follows the surname Foo {. }, must be taken as the name of his office, corresponding, as the {. } shows, to that of _le maitre d'hotellerie_ in a Roman Catholic abbey. I was once indebted myself to the kind help of such an officer at a monastery in Canton province. The Buddhistic name for him is uddesika=overseer. The Kung-sun that follows his surname indicates that he was descended from some feudal lord in the old times of the Chow dynasty. We know indeed of no ruling house which had the surname of Foo, but its adoption by the grandson of a ruler can be satisfactorily accounted for; and his posterity continued to call themselves Kung-sun, duke or lord's grandson, and so retain the memory of the rank of their ancestor. (11) Whom they had left behind them at T'un-hwang. (12) The country of the Ouighurs, the district around the modern Turfan or Tangut. (13) Yu-teen is better known as Khoten. Dr. P. Smith gives (p. 11) the following description of it:--"A large district on the south-west of the desert of Gobi, embracing all the country south of Oksu and Yarkand, along the northern base of the Kwun-lun mountains, for more than 300 miles from east to west. The town of the same name, now called Ilchi, is in an extensive plain on the Khoten river, in lat. 37d N. , and lon. 80d 35s E. After the Tungani insurrection against Chinese rule in 1862, the Mufti Haji Habeeboolla was made governor of Khoten, and held the office till he was murdered by Yakoob Beg, who became for a time the conqueror of all Chinese Turkestan. Khoten produces fine linen and cotton stuffs, jade ornaments, copper, grain, and fruits. " The name in Sanskrit is Kustana. (E. H. , p. 60). CHAPTER III KHOTEN. PROCESSIONS OF IMAGES. THE KING'S NEW MONASTERY. Yu-teen is a pleasant and prosperous kingdom, with a numerous andflourishing population. The inhabitants all profess our Law, and jointogether in its religious music for their enjoyment. (1) Themonks amount to several myriads, most of whom are students of themahayana. (2) They all receive their food from the common store. (3)Throughout the country the houses of the people stand apart like(separate) stars, and each family has a small tope(4) reared in frontof its door. The smallest of these may be twenty cubits high, orrather more. (5) They make (in the monasteries) rooms for monks fromall quarters, (5) the use of which is given to travelling monks who mayarrive, and who are provided with whatever else they require. The lord of the country lodged Fa-hien and the others comfortably, and supplied their wants, in a monastery(6) called Gomati, (6) of themahayana school. Attached to it there are three thousand monks, whoare called to their meals by the sound of a bell. When they enter therefectory, their demeanour is marked by a reverent gravity, and theytake their seats in regular order, all maintaining a perfect silence. No sound is heard from their alms-bowls and other utensils. When anyof these pure men(7) require food, they are not allowed to call out(to the attendants) for it, but only make signs with their hands. Hwuy-king, Tao-ching, and Hwuy-tah set out in advance towards thecountry of K'eeh-ch'a;(8) but Fa-hien and the others, wishing to seethe procession of images, remained behind for three months. There arein this country four(9) great monasteries, not counting the smallerones. Beginning on the first day of the fourth month, they sweep andwater the streets inside the city, making a grand display in thelanes and byways. Over the city gate they pitch a large tent, grandlyadorned in all possible ways, in which the king and queen, with theirladies brilliantly arrayed, (10) take up their residence (for thetime). The monks of the Gomati monastery, being mahayana students, and heldin great reverence by the king, took precedence of all others in theprocession. At a distance of three or four le from the city, they madea four-wheeled image car, more than thirty cubits high, which lookedlike the great hall (of a monastery) moving along. The seven precioussubstances(11) were grandly displayed about it, with silken streamersand canopies hanging all around. The (chief) image(12) stood in themiddle of the car, with two Bodhisattvas(13) in attendance upon it, while devas(14) were made to follow in waiting, all brilliantly carvedin gold and silver, and hanging in the air. When (the car) was ahundred paces from the gate, the king put off his crown of state, changed his dress for a fresh suit, and with bare feet, carryingin his hands flowers and incense, and with two rows of attendingfollowers, went out at the gate to meet the image; and, with his headand face (bowed to the ground), he did homage at its feet, and thenscattered the flowers and burnt the incense. When the image wasentering the gate, the queen and the brilliant ladies with her inthe gallery above scattered far and wide all kinds of flowers, whichfloated about and fell promiscuously to the ground. In this wayeverything was done to promote the dignity of the occasion. Thecarriages of the monasteries were all different, and each one had itsown day for the procession. (The ceremony) began on the first day ofthe fourth month, and ended on the fourteenth, after which the kingand queen returned to the palace. Seven or eight le to the west of the city there is what is called theKing's New Monastery, the building of which took eighty years, andextended over three reigns. It may be 250 cubits in height, rich inelegant carving and inlaid work, covered above with gold and silver, and finished throughout with a combination of all the precioussubstances. Behind the tope there has been built a Hall of Buddha, (15)of the utmost magnificence and beauty, the beams, pillars, venetianeddoors, and windows being all overlaid with gold-leaf. Besides this, the apartments for the monks are imposingly and elegantly decorated, beyond the power of words to express. Of whatever things of highestvalue and preciousness the kings in the six countries on the east ofthe (Ts'ung) range of mountains(16) are possessed, they contribute thegreater portion (to this monastery), using but a small portion of themthemselves. (17) NOTES (1) This fondness for music among the Khoteners is mentioned by Hsuan and Ch'wang and others. (2) Mahayana. It is a later form of the Buddhist doctrine, the second phase of its development corresponding to the state of a Bodhisattva, who, being able to transport himself and all mankind to nirvana, may be compared to a huge vehicle. See Davids on the "Key-note of the 'Great Vehicle, '" Hibbert Lectures, p. 254. (3) Fa-hien supplies sufficient information of how the common store or funds of the monasteries were provided, farther on in chapters xvi and xxxix, as well as in other passages. As the point is important, I will give here, from Davids' fifth Hibbert Lecture (p. 178), some of the words of the dying Buddha, taken from "The Book of the Great Decease, " as illustrating the statement in this text:--"So long as the brethren shall persevere in kindness of action, speech, and thought among the saints, both in public and private; so long as they shall divide without partiality, and share in common with the upright and holy, all such things as they receive in accordance with the just provisions of the order, down even to the mere contents of a begging bowl; . . . So long may the brethren be expected not to decline, but to prosper. " (4) The Chinese {. } (t'ah; in Cantonese, t'ap), as used by Fa-hien, is, no doubt, a phonetisation of the Sanskrit stupa or Pali thupa; and it is well in translating to use for the structures described by him the name of topes, --made familiar by Cunningham and other Indian antiquarians. In the thirteenth chapter there is an account of one built under the superintendence of Buddha himself, "as a model for all topes in future. " They were usually in the form of bell-shaped domes, and were solid, surmounted by a long tapering pinnacle formed with a series of rings, varying in number. But their form, I suppose, was often varied; just as we have in China pagodas of different shapes. There are several topes now in the Indian Institute at Oxford, brought from Buddha Gaya, but the largest of them is much smaller than "the smallest" of those of Khoten. They were intended chiefly to contain the relics of Buddha and famous masters of his Law; but what relics could there be in the Tiratna topes of chapter xvi? (5) The meaning here is much disputed. The author does not mean to say that the monk's apartments were made "square, " but that the monasteries were made with many guest-chambers or spare rooms. (6) The Sanskrit term for a monastery is used here, --Sangharama, "gardens of the assembly, " originally denoting only "the surrounding park, but afterwards transferred to the whole of the premises" (E. H. , p. 118). Gomati, the name of this monastery, means "rich in cows. " (7) A denomination for the monks as vimala, "undefiled" or "pure. " Giles makes it "the menials that attend on the monks, " but I have not met with it in that application. (8) K'eeh-ch'a has not been clearly identified. Remusat made it Cashmere; Klaproth, Iskardu; Beal makes it Kartchou; and Eitel, Khas'a, "an ancient tribe on the Paropamisus, the Kasioi of Ptolemy. " I think it was Ladak, or some well-known place in it. Hwuy-tah, unless that name be an alias, appears here for the first time. (9) Instead of "four, " the Chinese copies of the text have "fourteen;" but the Corean reading is, probably, more correct. (10) There may have been, as Giles says, "maids of honour;" but the character does not say so. (11) The Sapta-ratna, gold, silver, lapis lazuli, rock crystal, rubies, diamonds or emeralds, and agate. See Sacred Books of the East (Davids' Buddhist Suttas), vol. Xi. , p. 249. (12) No doubt that of Sakyamuni himself. (13) A Bodhisattva is one whose essence has become intelligence; a Being who will in some future birth as a man (not necessarily or usually the next) attain to Buddhahood. The name does not include those Buddhas who have not yet attained to pari-nirvana. The symbol of the state is an elephant fording a river. Popularly, its abbreviated form P'u-sa is used in China for any idol or image; here the name has its proper signification. (14) {. } {. }, "all the thien, " or simply "the thien" taken as plural. But in Chinese the character called thien {. } denotes heaven, or Heaven, and is interchanged with Ti and Shang Ti, meaning God. With the Buddhists it denotes the devas or Brahmanic gods, or all the inhabitants of the six devalokas. The usage shows the antagonism between Buddhism and Brahmanism, and still more that between it and Confucianism. (15) Giles and Williams call this "the oratory of Buddha. " But "oratory" gives the idea of a small apartment, whereas the name here leads the mind to think of a large "hall. " I once accompanied the monks of a large monastery from their refectory to the Hall of Buddha, which was a lofty and spacious apartment splendidly fitted up. (16) The Ts'ung, or "Onion" range, called also the Belurtagh mountains, including the Karakorum, and forming together the connecting links between the more northern T'een-shan and the Kwun-lun mountains on the north of Thibet. It would be difficult to name the six countries which Fa-hien had in mind. (17) This seems to be the meaning here. My first impression of it was that the author meant to say that the contributions which they received were spent by the monks mainly on the buildings, and only to a small extent for themselves; and I still hesitate between that view and the one in the version. There occurs here the binomial phrase kung-yang {. } {. }, which is one of the most common throughout the narrative, and is used not only of support in the way of substantial contributions given to monks, monasteries, and Buddhism, but generally of all Buddhistic worship, if I may use that term in the connexion. Let me here quote two or three sentences from Davids' Manual (pp. 168-170):--"The members of the order are secured from want. There is no place in the Buddhist scheme for churches; the offering of flowers before the sacred tree or image of the Buddha takes the place of worship. Buddhism does not acknowledge the efficacy of prayers; and in the warm countries where Buddhists live, the occasional reading of the law, or preaching of the word, in public, can take place best in the open air, by moonlight, under a simple roof of trees or palms. There are five principal kinds of meditation, which in Buddhism takes the place of prayer. " CHAPTER IV THROUGH THE TS'UNG OR "ONION" MOUNTAINS TO K'EEH-CH'A;--PROBABLYSKARDO, OR SOME CITY MORE TO THE EAST IN LADAK When the processions of images in the fourth month were over, Sang-shao, by himself alone, followed a Tartar who was an earnestfollower of the Law, (1) and proceeded towards Kophene. (2) Fa-hien andthe others went forward to the kingdom of Tsze-hoh, which it took themtwenty-five days to reach. (3) Its king was a strenuous follower ofour Law, (4) and had (around him) more than a thousand monks, mostlystudents of the mahayana. Here (the travellers) abode fifteen days, and then went south for four days, when they found themselves amongthe Ts'ung-ling mountains, and reached the country of Yu-hwuy, (5)where they halted and kept their retreat. (6) When this was over, they went on among the hills(7) for twenty-five days, and got toK'eeh-ch'a, (8) there rejoining Hwuy-king(9) and his two companions. NOTES (1) This Tartar is called a {. } {. }, "a man of the Tao, " or faith of Buddha. It occurs several times in the sequel, and denotes the man who is not a Buddhist outwardly only, but inwardly as well, whose faith is always making itself manifest in his ways. The name may be used of followers of other systems of faith besides Buddhism. (2) See the account of the kingdom of Kophene, in the 96th Book of the first Han Records, p. 78, where its capital is said to be 12, 200 le from Ch'ang-gan. It was the whole or part of the present Cabulistan. The name of Cophene is connected with the river Kophes, supposed to be the same as the present Cabul river, which falls into the Indus, from the west, at Attock, after passing Peshawar. The city of Cabul, the capital of Afghanistan, may be the Kophene of the text; but we do not know that Sang-shao and his guide got so far west. The text only says that they set out from Khoten "towards it. " (3) Tsze-hoh has not been identified. Beal thinks it was Yarkand, which, however, was north-west from Khoten. Watters ("China Review, " p. 135) rather approves the suggestion of "Tashkurgan in Sirikul" for it. As it took Fa-hien twenty-five days to reach it, it must have been at least 150 miles from Khoten. (4) The king is described here by a Buddhistic phrase, denoting the possession of viryabala, "the power of energy; persevering exertion--one of the five moral powers" (E. H. , p. 170). (5) Nor has Yu-hwuy been clearly identified. Evidently it was directly south from Tsze-hoh, and among the "Onion" mountains. Watters hazards the conjecture that it was the Aktasch of our present maps. (6) This was the retreat already twice mentioned as kept by the pilgrims in the summer, the different phraseology, "quiet rest, " without any mention of the season, indicating their approach to India, E. H. , p. 168. Two, if not three, years had elapsed since they left Ch'ang-gan. Are we now with them in 402? (7) This is the Corean reading {. }, much preferable to the {. } of the Chinese editions. (8) Watters approves of Klaproth's determination of K'eeh-ch'a to be Iskardu or Skardo. There are difficulties in connexion with the view, but it has the advantage, to my mind very great, of bringing the pilgrims across the Indus. The passage might be accomplished with ease at this point of the river's course, and therefore is not particularly mentioned. (9) Who had preceded them from Khoten. CHAPTER V GREAT QUINQUENNIAL ASSEMBLY OF MONKS. RELICS OF BUDDHA. PRODUCTIONS OFTHE COUNTRY. It happened that the king of the country was then holding the panchaparishad, that is, in Chinese, the great quinquennial assembly. (1)When this is to be held, the king requests the presence of the Sramansfrom all quarters (of his kingdom). They come (as if) in clouds;and when they are all assembled, their place of session is grandlydecorated. Silken streamers and canopies are hung out in, andwater-lilies in gold and silver are made and fixed up behind theplaces where (the chief of them) are to sit. When clean mats have beenspread, and they are all seated, the king and his ministers presenttheir offerings according to rule and law. (The assembly takes place), in the first, second, or third month, for the most part in the spring. After the king has held the assembly, he further exhorts the ministersto make other and special offerings. The doing of this extends overone, two, three, five, or even seven days; and when all is finished, he takes his own riding-horse, saddles, bridles, and waits on himhimself, (2) while he makes the noblest and most important ministerof the kingdom mount him. Then, taking fine white woollen cloth, allsorts of precious things, and articles which the Sramans require, hedistributes them among them, uttering vows at the same time alongwith all his ministers; and when this distribution has taken place, heagain redeems (whatever he wishes) from the monks. (3) The country, being among the hills and cold, does not produce theother cereals, and only the wheat gets ripe. After the monks havereceived their annual (portion of this), the mornings suddenly showthe hoar-frost, and on this account the king always begs the monks tomake the wheat ripen(4) before they receive their portion. There is inthe country a spitoon which belonged to Buddha, made of stone, and incolour like his alms-bowl. There is also a tooth of Buddha, for whichthe people have reared a tope, connected with which there are morethan a thousand monks and their disciples, (5) all students of thehinayana. To the east of these hills the dress of the common peopleis of coarse materials, as in our country of Ts'in, but here also(6)there were among them the differences of fine woollen cloth and ofserge or haircloth. The rules observed by the Sramans are remarkable, and too numerous to be mentioned in detail. The country is in themidst of the Onion range. As you go forward from these mountains, theplants, trees, and fruits are all different from those of the land ofHan, excepting only the bamboo, pomegranate, (7) and sugar-cane. NOTES (1) See Eitel, p. 89. He describes the assembly as "an ecclesiastical conference, first instituted by king Asoka for general confession of sins and inculcation of morality. " (2) The text of this sentence is perplexing; and all translators, including myself, have been puzzled by it. (3) See what we are told of king Asoka's grant of all the Jambudvipa to the monks in chapter xxvii. There are several other instances of similar gifts in the Mahavansa. (4) Watters calls attention to this as showing that the monks of K'eeh-ch'a had the credit of possessing weather-controlling powers. (5) The text here has {. } {. }, not {. } alone. I often found in monasteries boys and lads who looked up to certain of the monks as their preceptors. (6) Compare what is said in chapter ii of the dress of the people of Shen-shen. (7) Giles thinks the fruit here was the guava, because the ordinary name for "pomegranate" is preceded by gan {. }; but the pomegranate was called at first Gan Shih-lau, as having been introduced into China from Gan-seih by Chang-k'een, who is referred to in chapter vii. CHAPTER VI ON TOWARDS NORTH INDIA. DARADA. IMAGE OF MAITREYA BODHISATTVA. From this (the travellers) went westwards towards North India, andafter being on the way for a month, they succeeded in getting acrossand through the range of the Onion mountains. The snow rests on themboth winter and summer. There are also among them venomous dragons, which, when provoked, spit forth poisonous winds, and cause showers ofsnow and storms of sand and gravel. Not one in ten thousand of thosewho encounter these dangers escapes with his life. The people of thecountry call the range by the name of "The Snow mountains. " When(the travellers) had got through them, they were in North India, and immediately on entering its borders, found themselves in a smallkingdom called T'o-leih, (1) where also there were many monks, allstudents of the hinayana. In this kingdom there was formerly an Arhan, (2) who by hissupernatural power(3) took a clever artificer up to the Tushitaheaven, to see the height, complexion, and appearance of MaitreyaBodhisattva, (4) and then return and make an image of him in wood. First and last, this was done three times, and then the image wascompleted, eighty cubits in height, and eight cubits at the base fromknee to knee of the crossed legs. On fast-days it emits an effulgentlight. The kings of the (surrounding) countries vie with one anotherin presenting offerings to it. Here it is, --to be seen now as ofold. (5) NOTES (1) Eitel and others identify this with Darada, the country of the ancient Dardae, the region near Dardus; lat. 30d 11s N. , lon. 73d 54s E. See E. H. P. 30. I am myself in more than doubt on the point. Cunningham ("Ancient Geography of India, " p. 82) says "Darel is a valley on the right or western bank of the Indus, now occupied by Dardus or Dards, from whom it received its name. " But as I read our narrative, Fa-hien is here on the eastern bank of the Indus, and only crosses to the western bank as described in the next chapter. (2) Lo-han, Arhat, Arahat, are all designations of the perfected Arya, the disciple who has passed the different stages of the Noble Path, or eightfold excellent way, who has conquered all passions, and is not to be reborn again. Arhatship implies possession of certain supernatural powers, and is not to be succeeded by Buddhaship, but implies the fact of the saint having already attained nirvana. Popularly, the Chinese designate by this name the wider circle of Buddha's disciples, as well as the smaller ones of 500 and 18. No temple in Canton is better worth a visit than that of the 500 Lo-han. (3) Riddhi-sakshatkriya, "the power of supernatural footsteps, "="a body flexible at pleasure, " or unlimited power over the body. E. H. , p. 104. (4) Tushita is the fourth Devaloka, where all Bodhisattvas are reborn before finally appearing on earth as Buddha. Life lasts in Tushita 4000 years, but twenty-four hours there are equal to 400 years on earth. E. H. , p. 152. (5) Maitreya (Spence Hardy, Maitri), often styled Ajita, "the Invincible, " was a Bodhisattva, the principal one, indeed, of Sakyamuni's retinue, but is not counted among the ordinary (historical) disciples, nor is anything told of his antecedents. It was in the Tushita heaven that Sakyamuni met him and appointed him as his successor, to appear as Buddha after the lapse of 5000 years. Maitreya is therefore the expected Messiah of the Buddhists, residing at present in Tushita, and, according to the account of him in Eitel (H. , p. 70), "already controlling the propagation of the Buddhistic faith. " The name means "gentleness" or "kindness;" and this will be the character of his dispensation. (6) The combination of {. } {. } in the text of this concluding sentence, and so frequently occurring throughout the narrative, has occasioned no little dispute among previous translators. In the imperial thesaurus of phraseology (P'ei-wan Yun-foo), under {. }, an example of it is given from Chwang-tsze, and a note subjoined that {. } {. } is equivalent to {. } {. }, "anciently and now. " CHAPTER VII CROSSING OF THE INDUS. WHEN BUDDHISM FIRST CROSSED THE RIVER FOR THEEAST The travellers went on to the south-west for fifteen days (at the footof the mountains, and) following the course of their range. Theway was difficult and rugged, (running along) a bank exceedinglyprecipitous, which rose up there, a hill-like wall of rock, 10, 000cubits from the base. When one approaches the edge of it, his eyesbecome unsteady; and if he wished to go forward in the same direction, there was no place on which he could place his foot; and beneath wherethe waters of the river called the Indus. (1) In former times men hadchiselled paths along the rocks, and distributed ladders on the faceof them, to the number altogether of 700, at the bottom of which therewas a suspension bridge of ropes, by which the river was crossed, itsbanks being there eighty paces apart. (2) The (place and arrangements)are to be found in the Records of the Nine Interpreters, (3) butneither Chang K'een(4) nor Kan Ying(5) had reached the spot. The monks(6) asked Fa-hien if it could be known when the Law of Buddhafirst went to the east. He replied, "When I asked the people of thosecountries about it, they all said that it had been handed down bytheir fathers from of old that, after the setting up of the image ofMaitreya Bodhisattva, there were Sramans of India who crossed thisriver, carrying with them Sutras and Books of Discipline. Now theimage was set up rather more than 300 years after the nirvana(7) ofBuddha, which may be referred to the reign of king P'ing of the Chowdynasty. (8) According to this account we may say that the diffusion ofour great doctrines (in the east) began from (the setting up of)this image. If it had not been through that Maitreya, (9) the greatspiritual master(10) (who is to be) the successor of the Sakya, whocould have caused the 'Three Precious Ones'(11) to be proclaimed sofar, and the people of those border lands to know our Law? We knowof a truth that the opening of (the way for such) a mysteriouspropagation is not the work of man; and so the dream of the emperorMing of Han(12) had its proper cause. " NOTES (1) The Sindhu. We saw in a former note that the earliest name in China for India was Shin-tuh. So, here, the river Indus is called by a name approaching that in sound. (2) Both Beal and Watters quote from Cunningham (Ladak, pp. 88, 89) the following description of the course of the Indus in these parts, in striking accordance with our author's account:--"From Skardo to Rongdo, and from Rongdo to Makpou-i-shang-rong, for upwards of 100 miles, the Indus sweeps sullen and dark through a mighty gorge in the mountains, which for wild sublimity is perhaps unequalled. Rongdo means the country of defiles. . . . Between these points the Indus raves from side to side of the gloomy chasm, foaming and chafing with ungovernable fury. Yet even in these inaccessible places has daring and ingenious man triumphed over opposing nature. The yawning abyss is spanned by frail rope bridges, and the narrow ledges of rocks are connected by ladders to form a giddy pathway overhanging the seething cauldron below. " (3) The Japanese edition has a different reading here from the Chinese copies, --one which Remusat (with true critical instinct) conjectured should take the place of the more difficult text with which alone he was acquainted. The "Nine Interpreters" would be a general name for the official interpreters attached to the invading armies of Han in their attempts to penetrate and subdue the regions of the west. The phrase occurs in the memoir of Chang K'een, referred to in the next note. (4) Chang K'een, a minister of the emperor Woo of Han (B. C. 140-87), is celebrated as the first Chinese who "pierced the void, " and penetrated to "the regions of the west, " corresponding very much to the present Turkestan. Through him, by B. C. 115, a regular intercourse was established between China and the thirty-six kingdoms or states of that quarter;--see Mayers' Chinese Reader's Manual, p. 5. The memoir of Chang K'een, translated by Mr. Wylie from the Books of the first Han dynasty, appears in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute, referred to already. (5) Less is known of Kan Ying than of Chang K'een. Being sent in A. D. 88 by his patron Pan Chao on an embassy to the Roman empire, he only got as far as the Caspian sea, and returned to China. He extended, however, the knowledge of his countrymen with regard to the western regions;--see the memoir of Pan Chao in the Books of the second Han, and Mayers' Manual, pp. 167, 168. (6) Where and when? Probably at his first resting-place after crossing the Indus. (7) This may refer to Sakyamuni's becoming Buddha on attaining to nirvana, or more probably to his pari-nirvana and death. (8) As king P'ing's reign lasted from B. C. 750 to 719, this would place the death of Buddha in the eleventh century B. C. , whereas recent inquirers place it between B. C. 480 and 470, a year or two, or a few years, after that of Confucius, so that the two great "Masters" of the east were really contemporaries. But if Rhys Davids be correct, as I think he is, in fixing the date of Buddha's death within a few years of 412 B. C. (see Manual, p. 213), not to speak of Westergaard's still lower date, then the Buddha was very considerably the junior of Confucius. (9) This confirms the words of Eitel, that Maitreya is already controlling the propagation of the faith. (10) The Chinese characters for this simply mean "the great scholar or officer;" but see Eitel's Handbook, p. 99, on the term purusha. (11) "The precious Buddha, " "the precious Law, " and "the precious Monkhood;" Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; the whole being equivalent to Buddhism. (12) Fa-hien thus endorses the view that Buddhism was introduced into China in this reign, A. D. 58-75. The emperor had his dream in A. D. 61. CHAPTER VIII WOO-CHANG, OR UDYANA. MONASTERIES, AND THEIR WAYS. TRACES OF BUDDHA. After crossing the river, (the travellers) immediately came to thekingdom of Woo-chang, (1) which is indeed (a part) of North India. Thepeople all use the language of Central India, "Central India" beingwhat we should call the "Middle Kingdom. " The food and clothes ofthe common people are the same as in that Central Kingdom. The Law ofBuddha is very (flourishing in Woo-chang). They call the places wherethe monks stay (for a time) or reside permanently Sangharamas; andof these there are in all 500, the monks being all students of thehinayana. When stranger bhikshus(2) arrive at one of them, theirwants are supplied for three days, after which they are told to find aresting-place for themselves. There is a tradition that when Buddha came to North India, he came atonce to this country, and that here he left a print of his foot, which is long or short according to the ideas of the beholder (onthe subject). It exists, and the same thing is true about it, at thepresent day. Here also are still to be seen the rock on which he driedhis clothes, and the place where he converted the wicked dragon. (3)The rock is fourteen cubits high, and more than twenty broad, with oneside of it smooth. Hwuy-king, Hwuy-tah, and Tao-ching went on ahead towards (the placeof) Buddha's shadow in the country of Nagara;(4) but Fa-hien and theothers remained in Woo-chang, and kept the summer retreat. (5)That over, they descended south, and arrived in the country ofSoo-ho-to. (6) NOTES (1) Udyana, meaning "the Park;" just north of the Punjab, the country along the Subhavastu, now called the Swat; noted for its forests, flowers, and fruits (E. H. , p. 153). (2) Bhikshu is the name for a monk as "living by alms, " a mendicant. All bhikshus call themselves Sramans. Sometimes the two names are used together by our author. (3) Naga is the Sanskrit name for the Chinese lung or dragon; often meaning a snake, especially the boa. "Chinese Buddhists, " says Eitel, p. 79, "when speaking of nagas as boa spirits, always represent them as enemies of mankind, but when viewing them as deities of rivers, lakes, or oceans, they describe them as piously inclined. " The dragon, however, is in China the symbol of the Sovereign and Sage, a use of it unknown in Buddhism, according to which all nagas need to be converted in order to obtain a higher phase of being. The use of the character too {. }, as here, in the sense of "to convert, " is entirely Buddhistic. The six paramitas are the six virtues which carry men across {. } the great sea of life and death, as the sphere of transmigration to nirvana. With regard to the particular conversion here, Eitel (p. 11) says the Naga's name was Apatala, the guardian deity of the Subhavastu river, and that he was converted by Sakyamuni shortly before the death of the latter. (4) In Chinese Na-k'eeh, an ancient kingdom and city on the southern bank of the Cabul river, about thirty miles west of Jellalabad. (5) We would seem now to be in 403. (6) Soo-ho-to has not been clearly identified. Beal says that later Buddhist writers include it in Udyana. It must have been between the Indus and the Swat. I suppose it was what we now call Swastene. CHAPTER IX SOO-HO-TO. LEGEND OF BUDDHA. In that country also Buddhism(1) is flourishing. There is in it theplace where Sakra, (2) Ruler of Devas, in a former age, (3) tried theBodhisattva, by producing(4) a hawk (in pursuit of a) dove, when (theBodhisattva) cut off a piece of his own flesh, and (with it) ransomedthe dove. After Buddha had attained to perfect wisdom, (5) and intravelling about with his disciples (arrived at this spot), heinformed them that this was the place where he ransomed the dove witha piece of his own flesh. In this way the people of the countrybecame aware of the fact, and on the spot reared a tope, adorned withlayers(6) of gold and silver plates. NOTES (1) Buddhism stands for the two Chinese characters {. } {. }, "the Law of Buddha, " and to that rendering of the phrase, which is of frequent occurrence, I will in general adhere. Buddhism is not an adequate rendering of them any more than Christianity would be of {to euaggelion Xristou}. The Fa or Law is the equivalent of dharma comprehending all in the first Basket of the Buddhist teaching, --as Dr. Davids says (Hibbert Lectures, p. 44), "its ethics and philosophy, and its system of self-culture;" with the theory of karma, it seems to me, especially underlying it. It has been pointed out (Cunningham's "Bhilsa Topes, " p. 102) that dharma is the keystone of all king Priyadarsi or Asoka's edicts. The whole of them are dedicated to the attainment of one object, "the advancement of dharma, or of the Law of Buddha. " His native Chinese afforded no better character than {. } or Law, by which our author could express concisely his idea of the Buddhistic system, as "a law of life, " a directory or system of Rules, by which men could attain to the consummation of their being. (2) Sakra is a common name for the Brahmanic Indra, adopted by Buddhism into the circle of its own great adherents;--it has been said, "because of his popularity. " He is generally styled, as here, T'een Ti, "God or Ruler of Devas. " He is now the representative of the secular power, the valiant protector of the Buddhist body, but is looked upon as inferior to Sakyamuni, and every Buddhist saint. He appears several times in Fa-hien's narrative. E. H. , pp. 108 and 46. (3) The Chinese character is {. }, "formerly, " and is often, as in the first sentence of the narrative, simply equivalent to that adverb. At other times it means, as here, "in a former age, " some pre-existent state in the time of a former birth. The incident related is "a Jataka story. " (4) It occurs at once to the translator to render the characters {. } {. } by "changed himself to. " Such is often their meaning in the sequel, but their use in chapter xxiv may be considered as a crucial test of the meaning which I have given them here. (5) That is, had become Buddha, or completed his course {. } {. }. (6) This seems to be the contribution of {. } (or {. }), to the force of the binomial {. } {. }, which is continually occurring. CHAPTER X GANDHARA. LEGENDS OF BUDDHA. The travellers, going downwards from this towards the east, infive days came to the country of Gandhara, (1) the place whereDharma-vivardhana, (2) the son of Asoka, (3) ruled. When Buddha was aBodhisattva, he gave his eyes also for another man here;(4) and at thespot they have also reared a large tope, adorned with layers of goldand silver plates. The people of the country were mostly students ofthe hinayana. NOTES (1) Eitel says "an ancient kingdom, corresponding to the region about Dheri and Banjour. " But see note 5. (2) Dharma-vivardhana is the name in Sanskrit, represented by the Fa Yi {. } {. } of the text. (3) Asoka is here mentioned for the first time;--the Constantine of the Buddhist society, and famous for the number of viharas and topes which he erected. He was the grandson of Chandragupta (i. Q. Sandracottus), a rude adventurer, who at one time was a refugee in the camp of Alexander the Great; and within about twenty years afterwards drove the Greeks out of India, having defeated Seleucus, the Greek ruler of the Indus provinces. He had by that time made himself king of Magadha. His grandson was converted to Buddhism by the bold and patient demeanour of an Arhat whom he had ordered to be buried alive, and became a most zealous supporter of the new faith. Dr. Rhys Davids (Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xi, p. Xlvi) says that "Asoka's coronation can be fixed with absolute certainty within a year or two either way of 267 B. C. " (4) This also is a Jataka story; but Eitel thinks it may be a myth, constructed from the story of the blinding of Dharma-vivardhana. CHAPTER XI TAKSHASILA. LEGENDS. THE FOUR GREAT TOPES. Seven days' journey from this to the east brought the travellers tothe kingdom of Takshasila, (1) which means "the severed head" in thelanguage of China. Here, when Buddha was a Bodhisattva, he gave awayhis head to a man;(2) and from this circumstance the kingdom got itsname. Going on further for two days to the east, they came to the placewhere the Bodhisattva threw down his body to feed a starvingtigress. (2) In these two places also large topes have been built, both adorned with layers of all the precious substances. The kings, ministers, and peoples of the kingdoms around vie with one anotherin making offerings at them. The trains of those who come to scatterflowers and light lamps at them never cease. The nations of thosequarters all those (and the other two mentioned before) "the fourgreat topes. " NOTES (1) See Julien's "Methode pour dechiffrer et transcrire les Nomes Sanscrits, " p. 206. Eitel says, "The Taxila of the Greeks, the region near Hoosun Abdaul in lat. 35d 48s N. , lon. 72d 44s E. " But this identification, I am satisfied, is wrong. Cunningham, indeed, takes credit ("Ancient Geography of India, " pp. 108, 109) for determining this to be the site of Arrian's Taxila, --in the upper Punjab, still existing in the ruins of Shahdheri, between the Indus and Hydaspes (the modern Jhelum). So far he may be correct; but the Takshasila of Fa-hien was on the other, or western side of the Indus; and between the river and Gandhara. It took him, indeed, seven days travelling eastwards to reach it; but we do not know what stoppages he may have made on the way. We must be wary in reckoning distances from his specifications of days. (2) Two Jataka stories. See the account of the latter in Spence Hardy's "Manual of Buddhism, " pp. 91, 92. It took place when Buddha had been born as a Brahman in the village of Daliddi; and from the merit of the act, he was next born in a devaloka. CHAPTER XII PURUSHAPURA, OR PESHAWUR. PROPHECY ABOUT KING KANISHKA AND HIS TOPE. BUDDHA'S ALMS-BOWL. DEATH OF HWUY-YING. Going southwards from Gandhara, (the travellers) in four days arrivedat the kingdom of Purushapura. (1) Formerly, when Buddha was travellingin this country with his disciples, he said to Ananda, (2) "After mypari-nirvana, (3) there will be a king named Kanishka, (4) who shall onthis spot build a tope. " This Kanishka was afterwards born into theworld; and (once), when he had gone forth to look about him, Sakra, Ruler of Devas, wishing to excite the idea in his mind, assumed theappearance of a little herd-boy, and was making a tope right in theway (of the king), who asked what sort of thing he was making. The boysaid, "I am making a tope for Buddha. " The king said, "Very good;"and immediately, right over the boy's tope, he (proceeded to) rearanother, which was more than four hundred cubits high, and adornedwith layers of all the precious substances. Of all the topes andtemples which (the travellers) saw in their journeyings, there was notone comparable to this in solemn beauty and majestic grandeur. Thereis a current saying that this is the finest tope in Jambudvipa. (5)When the king's tope was completed, the little tope (of the boy)came out from its side on the south, rather more than three cubits inheight. Buddha's alms-bowl is in this country. Formerly, a king of Yueh-she(6)raised a large force and invaded this country, wishing to carry thebowl away. Having subdued the kingdom, as he and his captains weresincere believers in the Law of Buddha, and wished to carry off thebowl, they proceeded to present their offerings on a great scale. Whenthey had done so to the Three Precious Ones, he made a large elephantbe grandly caparisoned, and placed the bowl upon it. But the elephantknelt down on the ground, and was unable to go forward. Again hecaused a four-wheeled waggon to be prepared in which the bowl wasput to be conveyed away. Eight elephants were then yoked to it, anddragged it with their united strength; but neither were they able togo forward. The king knew that the time for an association betweenhimself and the bowl had not yet arrived, (7) and was sad and deeplyashamed of himself. Forthwith he built a tope at the place and amonastery, and left a guard to watch (the bowl), making all sorts ofcontributions. There may be there more than seven hundred monks. When it is nearmidday, they bring out the bowl, and, along with the common people, (8)make their various offerings to it, after which they take their middaymeal. In the evening, at the time of incense, they bring the bowl outagain. (9) It may contain rather more than two pecks, and is of variouscolours, black predominating, with the seams that show its fourfoldcomposition distinctly marked. (10) Its thickness is about the fifth ofan inch, and it has a bright and glossy lustre. When poor people throwinto it a few flowers, it becomes immediately full, while some veryrich people, wishing to make offering of many flowers, might not stoptill they had thrown in hundreds, thousands, and myriads of bushels, and yet would not be able to fill it. (11) Pao-yun and Sang-king here merely made their offerings to thealms-bowl, and (then resolved to) go back. Hwuy-king, Hwuy-tah, andTao-ching had gone on before the rest to Negara, (12) to make theirofferings at (the places of) Buddha's shadow, tooth, and the flat-boneof his skull. (There) Hwuy-king fell ill, and Tao-ching remained tolook after him, while Hwuy-tah came alone to Purushapura, and saw theothers, and (then) he with Pao-yun and Sang-king took their wayback to the land of Ts'in. Hwuy-king(13) came to his end(14) in themonastery of Buddha's alms-bowl, and on this Fa-hien went forwardalone towards the place of the flat-bone of Buddha's skull. NOTES (1) The modern Peshawur, lat. 34d 8s N. , lon. 71d 30s E. (2) A first cousin of Sakyamuni, and born at the moment when he attained to Buddhaship. Under Buddha's teaching, Ananda became an Arhat, and is famous for his strong and accurate memory; and he played an important part at the first council for the formation of the Buddhist canon. The friendship between Sakyamuni and Ananda was very close and tender; and it is impossible to read much of what the dying Buddha said to him and of him, as related in the Maha-pari-nirvana Sutra, without being moved almost to tears. Ananda is to reappear on earth as Buddha in another Kalpa. See E. H. , p. 9, and the Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xi. (3) On his attaining to nirvana, Sakyamuni became the Buddha, and had no longer to mourn his being within the circle of transmigration, and could rejoice in an absolute freedom from passion, and a perfect purity. Still he continued to live on for forty-five years, till he attained to pari-nirvana, and had done with all the life of sense and society, and had no more exercise of thought. He died; but whether he absolutely and entirely _ceased_ to be, in any sense of the word _being_, it would be difficult to say. Probably he himself would not and could not have spoken definitely on the point. So far as our use of language is concerned, apart from any assured faith in and hope of immortality, his pari-nirvana was his death. (4) Kanishka appeared, and began to reign, early in our first century, about A. D. 10. He was the last of three brothers, whose original seat was in Yueh-she, immediately mentioned, or Tukhara. Converted by the sudden appearance of a saint, he became a zealous Buddhist, and patronised the system as liberally as Asoka had done. The finest topes in the north-west of India are ascribed to him; he was certainly a great man and a magnificent sovereign. (5) Jambudvipa is one of the four great continents of the universe, representing the inhabited world as fancied by the Buddhists, and so called because it resembles in shape the leaves of the jambu tree. It is south of mount Meru, and divided among four fabulous kings (E. H. , p. 36). It is often used, as here perhaps, merely as the Buddhist name for India. (6) This king was perhaps Kanishka himself, Fa-hien mixing up, in an inartistic way, different legends about him. Eitel suggests that a relic of the old name of the country may still exist in that of the Jats or Juts of the present day. A more common name for it is Tukhara, and he observes that the people were the Indo-Scythians of the Greeks, and the Tartars of Chinese writers, who, driven on by the Huns (180 B. C. ), conquered Transoxiana, destroyed the Bactrian kingdom (126 B. C. ), and finally conquered the Punjab, Cashmere, and great part of India, their greatest king being Kanishak (E. H. , p. 152). (7) Watters, clearly understanding the thought of the author in this sentence, renders--"his destiny did not extend to a connexion with the bowl;" but the term "destiny" suggests a controlling or directing power without. The king thought that his virtue in the past was not yet sufficient to give him possession of the bowl. (8) The text is simply "those in white clothes. " This may mean "the laity, " or the "upasakas;" but it is better to take the characters in their common Chinese acceptation, as meaning "commoners, " "men who have no rank. " See in Williams' Dictionary under {. }. (9) I do not wonder that Remusat should give for this--"et s'en retournent apres. " But Fa-hien's use of {. } in the sense of "in the same way" is uniform throughout the narrative. (10) Hardy's M. B. , p. 183, says:--"The alms-bowl, given by Mahabrahma, having vanished (about the time that Gotama became Buddha), each of the four guardian deities brought him an alms-bowl of emerald, but he did not accept them. They then brought four bowls made of stone, of the colour of the mung fruit; and when each entreated that his own bowl might be accepted, Buddha caused them to appear as if formed into a single bowl, appearing at the upper rim as if placed one within the other. " See the account more correctly given in the "Buddhist Birth Stories, " p. 110. (11) Compare the narrative in Luke's Gospel, xxi. 1-4. (12) See chapter viii. (13) This, no doubt, should be Hwuy-ying. King was at this time ill in Nagara, and indeed afterwards he dies in crossing the Little Snowy Mountains; but all the texts make him die twice. The confounding of the two names has been pointed out by Chinese critics. (14) "Came to his end;" i. E. , according to the text, "proved the impermanence and uncertainty, " namely, of human life. See Williams' Dictionary under {. }. The phraseology is wholly Buddhistic. CHAPTER XIII NAGARA. FESTIVAL OF BUDDHA'S SKULL-BONE. OTHER RELICS, AND HIS SHADOW. Going west for sixteen yojanas, (1) he came to the city He-lo(2) inthe borders of the country of Nagara, where there is the flat-boneof Buddha's skull, deposited in a vihara(3) adorned all over withgold-leaf and the seven sacred substances. The king of the country, revering and honouring the bone, and anxious lest it should be stolenaway, has selected eight individuals, representing the great familiesin the kingdom, and committing to each a seal, with which he shouldseal (its shrine) and guard (the relic). At early dawn these eight mencome, and after each has inspected his seal, they open the door. Thisdone, they wash their hands with scented water and bring out the bone, which they place outside the vihara, on a lofty platform, where it issupported on a round pedestal of the seven precious substances, andcovered with a bell of _lapis lazuli_, both adorned with rows ofpearls. Its colour is of a yellowish white, and it forms an imperfectcircle twelve inches round, (4) curving upwards to the centre. Everyday, after it has been brought forth, the keepers of the vihara ascenda high gallery, where they beat great drums, blow conchs, and clashtheir copper cymbals. When the king hears them, he goes to the vihara, and makes his offerings of flowers and incense. When he has done this, he (and his attendants) in order, one after another, (raise the bone), place it (for a moment) on the top of their heads, (5) and then depart, going out by the door on the west as they entered by that on the east. The king every morning makes his offerings and performs his worship, and afterwards gives audience on the business of his government. Thechiefs of the Vaisyas(6) also make their offerings before theyattend to their family affairs. Every day it is so, and there is noremissness in the observance of the custom. When all the offerings areover, they replace the bone in the vihara, where there is a vimokshatope, (7) of the seven precious substances, and rather more than fivecubits high, sometimes open, sometimes shut, to contain it. In frontof the door of the vihara, there are parties who every morning sellflowers and incense, (8) and those who wish to make offerings buysome of all kinds. The kings of various countries are also constantlysending messengers with offerings. The vihara stands in a square ofthirty paces, and though heaven should shake and earth be rent, thisplace would not move. Going on, north from this, for a yojana, (Fa-hien) arrived at thecapital of Nagara, the place where the Bodhisattva once purchasedwith money five stalks of flowers, as an offering to the DipankaraBuddha. (9) In the midst of the city there is also the tope of Buddha'stooth, where offerings are made in the same way as to the flat-bone ofhis skull. A yojana to the north-east of the city brought him to the mouth of avalley, where there is Buddha's pewter staff;(10) and a vihara alsohas been built at which offerings are made. The staff is made ofGosirsha Chandana, and is quite sixteen or seventeen cubits long. Itis contained in a wooden tube, and though a hundred or a thousand menere to (try to) lift it, they could not move it. Entering the mouth of the valley, and going west, he found Buddha'sSanghali, (11) where also there is reared a vihara, and offerings aremade. It is a custom of the country when there is a great drought, forthe people to collect in crowds, bring out the robe, pay worship toit, and make offerings, on which there is immediately a great rainfrom the sky. South of the city, half a yojana, there is a rock-cavern, in a greathill fronting the south-west; and here it was that Buddha left hisshadow. Looking at it from a distance of more than ten paces, youseem to see Buddha's real form, with his complexion of gold, andhis characteristic marks(12) in their nicety clearly and brightlydisplayed. The nearer you approach, however, the fainter it becomes, as if it were only in your fancy. When the kings from the regions allaround have sent skilful artists to take a copy, none of them havebeen able to do so. Among the people of the country there is a sayingcurrent that "the thousand Buddhas(13) must all leave their shadowshere. " Rather more than four hundred paces west from the shadow, whenBuddha was at the spot, he shaved his hair and clipt his nails, andproceeded, along with his disciples, to build a tope seventy or eightycubits high, to be a model for all future topes; and it is stillexisting. By the side of it there is a monastery, with more than sevenhundred monks in it. At this place there are as many as a thousandtopes(14) of Arhans and Pratyeka Buddhas. (15) NOTES (1) Now in India, Fa-hien used the Indian measure of distance; but it is not possible to determine exactly what its length then was. The estimates of it are very different, and vary from four and a half or five miles to seven, and sometimes more. See the subject exhaustively treated in Davids' "Ceylon Coins and Measures, " pp. 15-17. (2) The present Hilda, west of Peshawur, and five miles south of Jellalabad. (3) "The vihara, " says Hardy, "is the residence of a recluse or priest;" and so Davids:--"the clean little hut where the mendicant lives. " Our author, however, does not use the Indian name here, but the Chinese characters which express its meaning--tsing shay, "a pure dwelling. " He uses the term occasionally, and evidently, in this sense; more frequently it occurs in his narrative in connexion with the Buddhist relic worship; and at first I translated it by "shrine" and "shrine-house;" but I came to the conclusion, at last, to employ always the Indian name. The first time I saw a shrine-house was, I think, in a monastery near Foo-chow;--a small pyramidical structure, about ten feet high, glittering as if with the precious substances, but all, it seemed to me, of tinsel. It was in a large apartment of the building, having many images in it. The monks said it was the most precious thing in their possession, and that if they opened it, as I begged them to do, there would be a convulsion that would destroy the whole establishment. See E. H. , p. 166. The name of the province of Behar was given to it in consequence of its many viharas. (4) According to the characters, "square, round, four inches. " Hsuan-chwang says it was twelve inches round. (5) In Williams' Dictionary, under {. }, the characters, used here, are employed in the phrase for "to degrade an officer, " that is, "to remove the token of his rank worn on the crown of his head;" but to place a thing on the crown is a Buddhistic form of religious homage. (6) The Vaisyas, or bourgeois caste of Hindu society, are described here as "resident scholars. " (7) See Eitel's Handbook under the name vimoksha, which is explained as "the act of self-liberation, " and "the dwelling or state of liberty. " There are eight acts of liberating one's self from all subjective and objective trammels, and as many states of liberty (vimukti) resulting therefrom. They are eight degrees of self-inanition, and apparently eight stages on the way to nirvana. The tope in the text would be emblematic in some way of the general idea of the mental progress conducting to the Buddhistic consummation of existence. (8) This incense would be in long "sticks, " small and large, such as are sold to-day throughout China, as you enter the temples. (9) "The illuminating Buddha, " the twenty-fourth predecessor of Sakyamuni, and who, so long before, gave him the assurance that he would by-and-by be Buddha. See Jataka Tales, p. 23. (10) The staff was, as immediately appears, of Gosirsha Chandana, or "sandal-wood from the Cow's-head mountain, " a species of copper-brown sandal-wood, said to be produced most abundantly on a mountain of (the fabulous continent) Ullarakuru, north of mount Meru, which resembles in shape the head of a cow (E. H. , pp. 42, 43). It is called a "pewter staff" from having on it a head and rings and pewter. See Watters, "China Review, " viii, pp. 227, 228, and Williams' Dictionary, under {. }. (11) Or Sanghati, the double or composite robe, part of a monk's attire, reaching from the shoulders to the knees, and fastened round the waist (E. H. , p. 118). (12) These were the "marks and beauties" on the person of a supreme Buddha. The rishi Kala Devala saw them on the body of the infant Sakya prince to the number of 328, those on the teeth, which had not yet come out, being visible to his spirit-like eyes (M. B. , pp. 148, 149). (13) Probably="all Buddhas. " (14) The number may appear too great. But see what is said on the size of topes in chapter iii, note 4. (15) In Singhalese, Pase Buddhas; called also Nidana Buddhas, and Pratyeka Jinas, and explained by "individually intelligent, " "completely intelligent, " "intelligent as regards the nidanas. " This, says Eitel (pp. 96, 97), is "a degree of saintship unknown to primitive Buddhism, denoting automats in ascetic life who attain to Buddhaship 'individually, ' that is, without a teacher, and without being able to save others. As the ideal hermit, the Pratyeka Buddha is compared with the rhinoceros khadga that lives lonely in the wilderness. He is also called Nidana Buddha, as having mastered the twelve nidanas (the twelve links in the everlasting chain of cause and effect in the whole range of existence, the understanding of which solves the riddle of life, revealing the inanity of all forms of existence, and preparing the mind for nirvana). He is also compared to a horse, which, crossing a river, almost buries its body under the water, without, however, touching the bottom of the river. Thus in crossing samsara he 'suppresses the errors of life and thought, and the effects of habit and passion, without attaining to absolute perfection. '" Whether these Buddhas were unknown, as Eitel says, to primitive Buddhism, may be doubted. See Davids' Hibbert Lectures, p. 146. CHAPTER XIV DEATH OF HWUY-KING IN THE LITTLE SNOWY MOUNTAINS. LO-E. POHNA. CROSSING THE INDUS TO THE EAST. Having stayed there till the third month of winter, Fa-hien andthe two others, (1) proceeding southwards, crossed the Little Snowymountains. (2) On them the snow lies accumulated both winter andsummer. On the north (side) of the mountains, in the shade, theysuddenly encountered a cold wind which made them shiver and becomeunable to speak. Hwuy-king could not go any farther. A white frothcame from his mouth, and he said to Fa-hien, "I cannot live anylonger. Do you immediately go away, that we do not all die here;" andwith these words he died. (3) Fa-hien stroked the corpse, and cried outpiteously, "Our original plan has failed;--it is fate. (4) What can wedo?" He then again exerted himself, and they succeeded in crossing tothe south of the range, and arrived in the kingdom of Lo-e, (5) wherethere were nearly three thousand monks, students of both the mahayanaand hinayana. Here they stayed for the summer retreat, (6) and whenthat was over, they went on to the south, and ten days' journeybrought them to the kingdom of Poh-na, (7) where there are also morethan three thousand monks, all students of the hinayana. Proceedingfrom this place for three days, they again crossed the Indus, wherethe country on each side was low and level. (8) NOTES (1) These must have been Tao-ching and Hwuy-king. (2) Probably the Safeid Koh, and on the way to the Kohat pass. (3) All the texts have Kwuy-king. See chapter xii, note 13. (4) A very natural exclamation, but out of place and inconsistent from the lips of Fa-hien. The Chinese character {. }, which he employed, may be rendered rightly by "fate" or "destiny;" but the fate is not unintelligent. The term implies a factor, or fa-tor, and supposes the ordination of Heaven or God. A Confucian idea for the moment overcame his Buddhism. (5) Lo-e, or Rohi, is a name for Afghanistan; but only a portion of it can be here intended. (6) We are now therefore in 404. (7) No doubt the present district of Bannu, in the Lieutenant-Governorship of the Punjab, between 32d 10s and 33d 15s N. Lat. , and 70d 26s and 72d E. Lon. See Hunter's Gazetteer of India, i, p. 393. (8) They had then crossed the Indus before. They had done so, indeed, twice; first, from north to south, at Skardo or east of it; and second, as described in chapter vii. CHAPTER XV BHIDA. SYMPATHY OF MONKS WITH THE PILGRIMS. After they had crossed the river, there was a country namedPe-t'oo, (1) where Buddhism was very flourishing, and (the monks)studied both the mahayana and hinayana. When they saw theirfellow-disciples from Ts'in passing along, they were moved with greatpity and sympathy, and expressed themselves thus: "How is it thatthese men from a border-land should have learned to become monks, (2)and come for the sake of our doctrines from such a distance in searchof the Law of Buddha?" They supplied them with what they needed, andtreated them in accordance with the rules of the Law. NOTES (1) Bhida. Eitel says, "The present Punjab;" i. E. It was a portion of that. (2) "To come forth from their families;" that is, to become celibates, and adopt the tonsure. CHAPTER XVI ON TO MATHURA OR MUTTRA. CONDITION AND CUSTOMS OF CENTRAL INDIA; OFTHE MONKS, VIHARAS, AND MONASTERIES. From this place they travelled south-east, passing by a succession ofvery many monasteries, with a multitude of monks, who might be countedby myriads. After passing all these places, they came to a countrynamed Ma-t'aou-lo. (1) They still followed the course of the P'oo-na(2)river, on the banks of which, left and right, there were twentymonasteries, which might contain three thousand monks; and (here) theLaw of Buddha was still more flourishing. Everywhere, from theSandy Desert, in all the countries of India, the kings had been firmbelievers in that Law. When they make their offerings to a communityof monks, they take off their royal caps, and along with theirrelatives and ministers, supply them with food with their own hands. That done, (the king) has a carpet spread for himself on the ground, and sits down in front of the chairman;--they dare not presume to siton couches in front of the community. The laws and ways, accordingto which the kings presented their offerings when Buddha was in theworld, have been handed down to the present day. All south from this is named the Middle Kingdom. (3) In it the cold andheat are finely tempered, and there is neither hoarfrost nor snow. The people are numerous and happy; they have not to register theirhouseholds, or attend to any magistrates and their rules; only thosewho cultivate the royal land have to pay (a portion of) the grain fromit. If they want to go, they go; if they want to stay on, they stay. The king governs without decapitation or (other) corporal punishments. Criminals are simply fined, lightly or heavily, according to thecircumstances (of each case). Even in cases of repeated attempts atwicked rebellion, they only have their right hands cut off. The king'sbody-guards and attendants all have salaries. Throughout the wholecountry the people do not kill any living creature, nor drinkintoxicating liquor, nor eat onions or garlic. The only exception isthat of the Chandalas. (4) That is the name for those who are (held tobe) wicked men, and live apart from others. When they enter the gateof a city or a market-place, they strike a piece of wood to makethemselves known, so that men know and avoid them, and do not comeinto contact with them. In that country they do not keep pigs andfowls, and do not sell live cattle; in the markets there are nobutchers' shops and no dealers in intoxicating drink. In buyingand selling commodities they use cowries. (5) Only the Chandalas arefishermen and hunters, and sell flesh meat. After Buddha attained to pari-nirvana, (6) the kings of the variouscountries and the heads of the Vaisyas(7) built viharas for thepriests, and endowed them with fields, houses, gardens, and orchards, along with the resident populations and their cattle, the grants beingengraved on plates of metal, (8) so that afterwards they were handeddown from king to king, without any daring to annul them, and theyremain even to the present time. The regular business of the monks is to perform acts of meritoriousvirtue, and to recite their Sutras and sit wrapt in meditation. Whenstranger monks arrive (at any monastery), the old residents meet andreceive them, carry for them their clothes and alms-bowl, give themwater to wash their feet, oil with which to anoint them, and theliquid food permitted out of the regular hours. (9) When (the stranger)has enjoyed a very brief rest, they further ask the number of yearsthat he has been a monk, after which he receives a sleeping apartmentwith its appurtenances, according to his regular order, and everythingis done for him which the rules prescribe. (10) Where a community of monks resides, they erect topes toSariputtra, (11) to Maha-maudgalyayana, (12) and to Ananda, (13) and alsotopes (in honour) of the Abhidharma, the Vinaya, and the Sutras. A month after the (annual season of) rest, the families which arelooking out for blessing stimulate one another(14) to make offeringsto the monks, and send round to them the liquid food which may betaken out of the ordinary hours. All the monks come together in agreat assembly, and preach the Law;(15) after which offerings arepresented at the tope of Sariputtra, with all kinds of flowers andincense. All through the night lamps are kept burning, and skilfulmusicians are employed to perform. (16) When Sariputtra was a great Brahman, he went to Buddha, and begged(to be permitted) to quit his family (and become a monk). Thegreat Mugalan and the great Kasyapa(17) also did the same. Thebhikshunis(18) for the most part make their offerings at the topeof Ananda, because it was he who requested the World-honoured oneto allow females to quit their families (and become nuns). TheSramaneras(19) mostly make their offerings to Rahula. (20) Theprofessors of the Abhidharma make their offerings to it; those of theVinaya to it. Every year there is one such offering, and each classhas its own day for it. Students of the mahayana present offeringsto the Prajna-paramita, (21) to Manjusri, (22) and to Kwan-she-yin. (23)When the monks have done receiving their annual tribute (from theharvests), (24) the Heads of the Vaisyas and all the Brahmans bringclothes and other such articles as the monks require for use, anddistribute among them. The monks, having received them, also proceedto give portions to one another. From the nirvana of Buddha, (25)the forms of ceremony, laws, and rules, practised by the sacredcommunities, have been handed down from one generation to anotherwithout interruption. From the place where (the travellers) crossed the Indus to SouthernIndia, and on to the Southern Sea, a distance of forty or fiftythousand le, all is level plain. There are no large hills with streams(among them); there are simply the waters of the rivers. NOTES (1) Muttra, "the peacock city;" lat. 27d 30s N. , lon. 77d 43s E. (Hunter); the birthplace of Krishna, whose emblem is the peacock. (2) This must be the Jumna, or Yamuna. Why it is called, as here, the P'oo-na has yet to be explained. (3) In Pali, Majjhima-desa, "the Middle Country. " See Davids' "Buddhist Birth Stories, " page 61, note. (4) Eitel (pp. 145, 6) says, "The name Chandalas is explained by 'butchers, ' 'wicked men, ' and those who carry 'the awful flag, ' to warn off their betters;--the lowest and most despised caste of India, members of which, however, when converted, were admitted even into the ranks of the priesthood. " (5) "Cowries;" {. } {. }, not "shells and ivory, " as one might suppose; but cowries alone, the second term entering into the name from the marks inside the edge of the shell, resembling "the teeth of fishes. " (6) See chapter xii, note 3, Buddha's pari-nirvana is equivalent to Buddha's death. (7) See chapter xiii, note 6. The order of the characters is different here, but with the same meaning. (8) See the preparation of such a deed of grant in a special case, as related in chapter xxxix. No doubt in Fa-hien's time, and long before and after it, it was the custom to engrave such deeds on plates of metal. (9) "No monk can eat solid food except between sunrise and noon, " and total abstinence from intoxicating drinks is obligatory (Davids' Manual, p. 163). Food eaten at any other part of the day is called vikala, and forbidden; but a weary traveller might receive unseasonable refreshment, consisting, as Watters has shown (Ch. Rev. Viii. 282), of honey, butter, treacle, and sesamum oil. (10) The expression here is somewhat perplexing; but it occurs again in chapter xxxviii; and the meaning is clear. See Watters, Ch. Rev. Viii. 282, 3. The rules are given at length in the Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xx, p. 272 and foll. , and p. 279 and foll. (11) Sariputtra (Singh. Seriyut) was one of the principal disciples of Buddha, and indeed the most learned and ingenious of them all, so that he obtained the title of {. } {. }, "knowledge and wisdom. " He is also called Buddha's "right-hand attendant. " His name is derived from that of his mother Sarika, the wife of Tishya, a native of Nalanda. In Spence Hardy, he often appears under the name of Upatissa (Upa-tishya), derived from his father. Several Sastras are ascribed to him, and indeed the followers of the Abhidharma look on him as their founder. He died before Sakyamuni; but is to reappear as a future Buddha. Eitel, pp. 123, 124. (12) Mugalan, the Singhalese name of this disciple, is more pronounceable. He also was one of the principal disciples, called Buddha's "left-hand attendant. " He was distinguished for his power of vision, and his magical powers. The name in the text is derived from the former attribute, and it was by the latter that he took up an artist to Tushita to get a view of Sakyamuni, and so make a statue of him. (Compare the similar story in chap. Vi. ) He went to hell, and released his mother. He also died before Sakyamuni, and is to reappear as Buddha. Eitel, p. 65. (13) See chapter xii, note 2. (14) A passage rather difficult to construe. The "families" would be those more devout than their neighbours. (15) One rarely hears this preaching in China. It struck me most as I once heard it at Osaka in Japan. There was a pulpit in a large hall of the temple, and the audience sat around on the matted floor. One priest took the pulpit after another; and the hearers nodded their heads occasionally, and indicated their sympathy now and then by an audible "h'm, " which reminded me of Carlyle's description of meetings of "The Ironsides" of Cromwell. (16) This last statement is wanting in the Chinese editions. (17) There was a Kasyapa Buddha, anterior to Sakyamuni. But this Maha-kasyapa was a Brahman of Magadha, who was converted by Buddha, and became one of his disciples. He took the lead after Sakyamuni's death, convoked and directed the first synod, from which his title of Arya-sthavira is derived. As the first compiler of the Canon, he is considered the fountain of Chinese orthodoxy, and counted as the first patriarch. He also is to be reborn as Buddha. Eitel, p. 64. (18) The bhikshunis are the female monks or nuns, subject to the same rules as the bhikshus, and also to special ordinances of restraint. See Hardy's E. M. , chap. 17. See also Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xx, p. 321. (19) The Sramaneras are the novices, male or female, who have vowed to observe the Shikshapada, or ten commandments. Fa-hien was himself one of them from his childhood. Having heard the Trisharana, or threefold formula of Refuge, --"I take refuge in Buddha; the Law; the Church, --the novice undertakes to observe the ten precepts that forbid--(1) destroying life; (2) stealing; (3) impurity; (4) lying; (5) intoxicating drinks; (6) eating after midday; (7) dancing, singing, music, and stage-plays; (8) garlands, scents, unguents, and ornaments; (9) high or broad couches; (10) receiving gold or silver. " Davids' Manual, p. 160; Hardy's E. M. , pp. 23, 24. (20) The eldest son of Sakyamuni by Yasodhara. Converted to Buddhism, he followed his father as an attendant; and after Buddha's death became the founder of a philosophical realistic school (vaibhashika). He is now revered as the patron saint of all novices, and is to be reborn as the eldest son of every future Buddha. Eitel, p. 101. His mother also is to be reborn as Buddha. (21) There are six (sometimes increased to ten) paramitas, "means of passing to nirvana:--Charity; morality; patience; energy; tranquil contemplation; wisdom (prajna); made up to ten by use of the proper means; science; pious vows; and force of purpose. But it is only prajna which carries men across the samsara to the shores of nirvana. " Eitel, p. 90. (22) According to Eitel (pp. 71, 72), A famous Bodhisattva, now specially worshipped in Shan-se, whose antecedents are a hopeless jumble of history and fable. Fa-hien found him here worshipped by followers of the mahayana school; but Hsuan-chwang connects his worship with the yogachara or tantra-magic school. The mahayana school regard him as the apotheosis of perfect wisdom. His most common titles are Mahamati, "Great wisdom, " and Kumara-raja, "King of teaching, with a thousand arms and a hundred alms-bowls. " (23) Kwan-she-yin and the dogmas about him or her are as great a mystery as Manjusri. The Chinese name is a mistranslation of the Sanskrit name Avalokitesvra, "On-looking Sovereign, " or even "On-looking Self-Existent, " and means "Regarding or Looking on the sounds of the world, "="Hearer of Prayer. " Originally, and still in Thibet, Avalokitesvara had only male attributes, but in China and Japan (Kwannon), this deity (such popularly she is) is represented as a woman, "Kwan-yin, the greatly gentle, with a thousand arms and a thousand eyes;" and has her principal seat in the island of P'oo-t'oo, on the China coast, which is a regular place of pilgrimage. To the worshippers of whom Fa-hien speaks, Kwan-she-yin would only be Avalokitesvara. How he was converted into the "goddess of mercy, " and her worship took the place which it now has in China, is a difficult inquiry, which would take much time and space, and not be brought after all, so far as I see, to a satisfactory conclusion. See Eitel's Handbook, pp. 18-20, and his Three Lectures on Buddhism (third edition), pp. 124-131. I was talking on the subject once with an intelligent Chinese gentleman, when he remarked, "Have you not much the same thing in Europe in the worship of Mary?" (24) Compare what is said in chap. V. (25) This nirvana of Buddha must be--not his death, but his attaining to Buddhaship. CHAPTER XVII SANKASYA. BUDDHA'S ASCENT TO AND DESCENT FROM THE TRAYASTRIMSASHEAVEN, AND OTHER LEGENDS. From this they proceeded south-east for eighteen yojanas, and foundthemselves in a kingdom called Sankasya, (1) at the place where Buddhacame down, after ascending to the Trayastrimsas heaven, (2) and therepreaching for three months his Law for the benefit of his mother. (3)Buddha had gone up to this heaven by his supernatural power, (4)without letting his disciples know; but seven days before thecompletion (of the three months) he laid aside his invisibility, (4)and Anuruddha, (5) with his heavenly eyes, (5) saw the World-honouredone, and immediately said to the honoured one, the great Mugalan, "Doyou go and salute the World-honoured one. " Mugalan forthwith went, andwith head and face did homage at (Buddha's) feet. They then salutedand questioned each other, and when this was over, Buddha said toMugalan, "Seven days after this I will go down to Jambudvipa;" andthereupon Mugalan returned. At this time the great kings of eightcountries with their ministers and people, not having seen Buddha fora long time, were all thirstily looking up for him, and had collectedin clouds in this kingdom to wait for the World-honoured one. Then the bhikshuni Utpala(6) thought in her heart, "To-day the kings, with their ministers and people, will all be meeting (and welcoming)Buddha. I am (but) a woman; how shall I succeed in being the first tosee him?"(7) Buddha immediately, by his spirit-like power, changed herinto the appearance of a holy Chakravartti(8) king, and she was theforemost of all in doing reverence to him. As Buddha descended from his position aloft in the Trayastrimsasheaven, when he was coming down, there were made to appear threeflights of precious steps. Buddha was on the middle flight, the stepsof which were composed of the seven precious substances. The king ofBrahma-loka(9) also made a flight of silver steps appear on the rightside, (where he was seen) attending with a white chowry in his hand. Sakra, Ruler of Devas, made (a flight of) steps of purple gold on theleft side, (where he was seen) attending and holding an umbrella ofthe seven precious substances. An innumerable multitude of the devasfollowed Buddha in his descent. When he was come down, the threeflights all disappeared in the ground, excepting seven steps, whichcontinued to be visible. Afterwards king Asoka, wishing to know wheretheir ends rested, sent men to dig and see. They went down to theyellow springs(10) without reaching the bottom of the steps, and fromthis the king received an increase to his reverence and faith, andbuilt a vihara over the steps, with a standing image, sixteen cubitsin height, right over the middle flight. Behind the vihara he erecteda stone pillar, about fifty cubits high, (11) with a lion on the top ofit. (12) Let into the pillar, on each of its four sides, (13) there isan image of Buddha, inside and out(14) shining and transparent, and pure as it were of _lapis lazuli_. Some teachers of anotherdoctrine(15) once disputed with the Sramanas about (the right to) thisas a place of residence, and the latter were having the worst of theargument, when they took an oath on both sides on the condition that, if the place did indeed belong to the Sramanas, there should be somemarvellous attestation of it. When these words had been spoken, thelion on the top gave a great roar, thus giving the proof; on whichtheir opponents were frightened, bowed to the decision, and withdrew. Through Buddha having for three months partaken of the food of heaven, his body emitted a heavenly fragrance, unlike that of an ordinary man. He went immediately and bathed; and afterwards, at the spot where hedid so, a bathing-house was built, which is still existing. At theplace where the bhikshuni Utpala was the first to do reverence toBuddha, a tope has now been built. At the places where Buddha, when he was in the world, cut his hairand nails, topes are erected; and where the three Buddhas(16) thatpreceded Sakyamuni Buddha and he himself sat; where they walked, (17)and where images of their persons were made. At all these places topeswere made, and are still existing. At the place where Sakra, Ruler ofthe Devas, and the king of the Brahma-loka followed Buddha down (fromthe Trayastrimsas heaven) they have also raised a tope. At this place the monks and nuns may be a thousand, who all receivetheir food from the common store, and pursue their studies, some ofthe mahayana and some of the hinayana. Where they live, there is awhite-eared dragon, which acts the part of danapati to the communityof these monks, causing abundant harvests in the country, and theenriching rains to come in season, without the occurrence of anycalamities, so that the monks enjoy their repose and ease. Ingratitude for its kindness, they have made for it a dragon-house, witha carpet for it to sit on, and appointed for it a diet of blessing, which they present for its nourishment. Every day they set apart threeof their number to go to its house, and eat there. Whenever the summerretreat is ended, the dragon straightway changes its form, and appearsas a small snake, (18) with white spots at the side of its ears. Assoon as the monks recognise it, they fill a copper vessel with cream, into which they put the creature, and then carry it round from the onewho has the highest seat (at their tables) to him who has the lowest, when it appears as if saluting them. When it has been taken round, immediately it disappeared; and every year it thus comes forth once. The country is very productive, and the people are prosperous, andhappy beyond comparison. When people of other countries come to it, they are exceedingly attentive to them all, and supply them with whatthey need. Fifty yojanas north-west from the monastery there is another, called"The Great Heap. "(19) Great Heap was the name of a wicked demon, whowas converted by Buddha, and men subsequently at this place reared avihara. When it was being made over to an Arhat by pouring water onhis hands, (20) some drops fell on the ground. They are still on thespot, and however they may be brushed away and removed, they continueto be visible, and cannot be made to disappear. At this place there is also a tope to Buddha, where a good spiritconstantly keeps (all about it) swept and watered, without any labourof man being required. A king of corrupt views once said, "Since youare able to do this, I will lead a multitude of troops and residethere till the dirt and filth has increased and accumulated, and (see)whether you can cleanse it away or not. " The spirit thereupon raised agreat wind, which blew (the filth away), and made the place pure. At this place there are a hundred small topes, at which a man may keepcounting a whole day without being able to know (their exact number). If he be firmly bent on knowing it, he will place a man by the side ofeach tope. When this is done, proceeding to count the number of men, whether they be many or few, he will not get to know (the number). (21) There is a monastery, containing perhaps 600 or 700 monks, in whichthere is a place where a Pratyeka Buddha used to take his food. Thenirvana ground (where he was burned(22) after death) is as large as acarriage wheel; and while grass grows all around, on this spot thereis none. The ground also where he dried his clothes produces no grass, but the impression of them, where they lay on it, continues to thepresent day. NOTES (1) The name is still remaining in Samkassam, a village forty-five miles northwest of Canouge, lat. 27d 3s N. , lon. 79d 50s E. (2) The heaven of Indra or Sakya, meaning "the heaven of thirty-three classes, " a name which has been explained both historically and mythologically. "The description of it, " says Eitel, p. 148, "tallies in all respects with the Svarga of Brahmanic mythology. It is situated between the four peaks of the Meru, and consists of thirty-two cities of devas, eight one each of the four corners of the mountain. Indra's capital of Bellevue is in the centre. There he is enthroned, with a thousand heads and a thousand eyes, and four arms grasping the vajra, with his wife and 119, 000 concubines. There he receives the monthly reports of the four Maharajas, concerning the progress of good and evil in the world, " &c. &c. (3) Buddha's mother, Maya and Mahamaya, the _mater immaculata_ of the Buddhists, died seven days after his birth. Eitel says, "Reborn in Tushita, she was visited there by her son and converted. " The Tushita heaven was a more likely place to find her than the Trayastrimsas; but was the former a part of the latter? Hardy gives a long account of Buddha's visit to the Trayastrimsas (M. B. , pp. 298-302), which he calls Tawutisa, and speaks of his mother (Matru) in it, who had now become a deva by the changing of her sex. (4) Compare the account of the Arhat's conveyance of the artist to the Tushita heaven in chap. V. The first expression here is more comprehensive. (5) Anuruddha was a first cousin of Sakyamuni, being the son of his uncle Amritodana. He is often mentioned in the account we have of Buddha's last moments. His special gift was the divyachakshus or "heavenly eye, " the first of the six abhijnas or "supernatural talents, " the faculty of comprehending in one instantaneous view, or by intuition, all beings in all worlds. "He could see, " says Hardy, M. B. , p. 232, "all things in 100, 000 sakvalas as plainly as a mustard seed held in the hand. " (6) Eitel gives the name Utpala with the same Chinese phonetisation as in the text, but not as the name of any bhikshuni. The Sanskrit word, however, is explained by "blue lotus flowers;" and Hsuan-chwang calls her the nun "Lotus-flower colour ({. } {. } {. });"--the same as Hardy's Upulwan and Uppalawarna. (7) Perhaps we should read here "to see Buddha, " and then ascribe the transformation to the nun herself. It depends on the punctuation which view we adopt; and in the structure of the passage, there is nothing to indicate that the stop should be made before or after "Buddha. " And the one view is as reasonable, or rather as unreasonable, as the other. (8) "A holy king who turns the wheel;" that is, the military conqueror and monarch of the whole or part of a universe. "The symbol, " says Eitel (p. 142) "of such a king is the chakra or wheel, for when he ascends the throne, a chakra falls from heaven, indicating by its material (gold, silver, copper, or iron) the extent and character of his reign. The office, however, of the highest Chakravartti, who hurls his wheel among his enemies, is inferior to the peaceful mission of a Buddha, who meekly turns the wheel of the Law, and conquers every universe by his teaching. " (9) This was Brahma, the first person of the Brahmanical Trimurti, adopted by Buddhism, but placed in an inferior position, and surpassed by every Buddhist saint who attains to bodhi. (10) A common name for the earth below, where, on digging, water is found. (11) The height is given as thirty chow, the chow being the distance from the elbow to the finger-tip, which is variously estimated. (12) A note of Mr. Beal says on this:--"General Cunningham, who visited the spot (1862), found a pillar, evidently of the age of Asoka, with a well-carved elephant on the top, which, however, was minus trunk and tail. He supposes this to be the pillar seen by Fa-hien, who mistook the top of it for a lion. It is possible such a mistake may have been made, as in the account of one of the pillars at Sravasti, Fa-hien says an ox formed the capital, whilst Hsuan-chwang calls it an elephant (P. 19, Arch. Survey). " (13) That is, in niches on the sides. The pillar or column must have been square. (14) Equivalent to "all through. " (15) Has always been translated "heretical teachers;" but I eschew the terms _heresy_ and _heretical_. The parties would not be Buddhists of any creed or school, but Brahmans or of some other false doctrine, as Fa-hien deemed it. The Chinese term means "outside" or "foreign;"--in Pali, anna-titthiya, ="those belonging to another school. " (16) These three predecessors of Sakyamuni were the three Buddhas of the present or Maha-bhadra Kalpa, of which he was the fourth, and Maitreya is to be the fifth and last. They were: (1) Krakuchanda (Pali, Kakusanda), "he who readily solves all doubts;" a scion of the Kasyapa family. Human life reached in his time 40, 000 years, and so many persons were converted by him. (2) Kanakamuni (Pali, Konagamana), "body radiant with the colour of pure gold;" of the same family. Human life reached in his time 30, 000 years, and so many persons were converted by him. (3) Kasyapa (Pali, Kassapa), "swallower of light. " Human life reached in his time 20, 000 years, and so many persons were converted by him. See Eitel, under the several names; Hardy's M. B. , pp. 95-97; and Davids' "Buddhist Birth Stories, " p. 51. (17) That is, walked in meditation. Such places are called Chankramana (Pali, Chankama); promenades or corridors connected with a monastery, made sometimes with costly stones, for the purpose of peripatetic meditation. The "sitting" would be not because of weariness or for rest, but for meditation. E. H. , p. 144. (18) The character in my Corean copy is {. }, which must be a mistake for the {. } of the Chinese editions. Otherwise, the meaning would be "a small medusa. " (19) The reading here seems to me a great improvement on that of the Chinese editions, which means "Fire Limit. " Buddha, it is said, {. } converted this demon, which Chinese character Beal rendered at first by "in one of his incarnations;" and in his revised version he has "himself. " The difference between Fa-hien's usage of {. } and {. } throughout his narrative is quite marked. {. } always refers to the doings of Sakyamuni; {. }, "formerly, " is often used of him and others in the sense of "in a former age or birth. " (20) See Hardy, M. B. , p. 194:--"As a token of the giving over of the garden, the king poured water upon the hands of Buddha; and from this time it became one of the principal residences of the sage. " (21) This would seem to be absurd; but the writer evidently intended to convey the idea that there was something mysterious about the number of the topes. (22) This seems to be the meaning. The bodies of the monks are all burned. Hardy's E. M. , pp. 322-324. CHAPTER XVIII KANYAKUBJA, OR CANOUGE. BUDDHA'S PREACHING. Fa-hien stayed at the Dragon vihara till after the summer retreat, (1)and then, travelling to the south-east for seven yojanas, he arrivedat the city of Kanyakubja, (2) lying along the Ganges. (3) There are twomonasteries in it, the inmates of which are students of the hinayana. At a distance from the city of six or seven le, on the west, on thenorthern bank of the Ganges, is a place where Buddha preached theLaw to his disciples. It has been handed down that his subjectsof discourse were such as "The bitterness and vanity (of life) asimpermanent and uncertain, " and that "The body is as a bubble or foamon the water. " At this spot a tope was erected, and still exists. Having crossed the Ganges, and gone south for three yojanas, (thetravellers) arrived at a village named A-le, (4) containing placeswhere Buddha preached the Law, where he sat, and where he walked, atall of which topes have been built. NOTES (1) We are now, probably, in 405. (2) Canouge, the latitude and longitude of which have been given in a previous note. The Sanskrit name means "the city of humpbacked maidens;" with reference to the legend of the hundred daughters of king Brahma-datta, who were made deformed by the curse of the rishi Maha-vriksha, whose overtures they had refused. E. H. , p. 51. (3) Ganga, explained by "Blessed water, " and "Come from heaven to earth. " (4) This village (the Chinese editions read "forest") has hardly been clearly identified. CHAPTER XIX SHA-CHE. LEGEND OF BUDDHA'S DANTA-KASHTHA. Going on from this to the south-east for three yojanas, they came tothe great kingdom of Sha-che. (1) As you go out of the city of Sha-cheby the southern gate, on the east of the road (is the place) whereBuddha, after he had chewed his willow branch, (2) stuck it in theground, when it forthwith grew up seven cubits, (at which height itremained) neither increasing nor diminishing. The Brahmans with theircontrary doctrines(3) became angry and jealous. Sometimes they cut thetree down, sometimes they plucked it up, and cast it to a distance, but it grew again on the same spot as at first. Here also is the placewhere the four Buddhas walked and sat, and at which a tope was builtthat is still existing. NOTES (1) Sha-che should probably be Sha-khe, making Cunningham's identification of the name with the present Saket still more likely. The change of {. } into {. } is slight; and, indeed, the Khang-hsi dictionary thinks the two characters should be but one and the same. (2) This was, no doubt, what was called the danta-kashtha, or "dental wood, " mostly a bit of the _ficus Indicus_ or banyan tree, which the monk chews every morning to cleanse his teeth, and for the purpose of health generally. The Chinese, not having the banyan, have used, or at least Fa-hien used, Yang ({. }, the general name for the willow) instead of it. (3) Are two classes of opponents, or only one, intended here, so that we should read "all the unbelievers and Brahmans, " or "heretics and Brahmans?" I think the Brahmans were also "the unbelievers" and "heretics, " having {. } {. }, views and ways outside of, and opposed to, Buddha's. CHAPTER XX KOSALA AND SRAVASTI. THE JETAVANA VIHARA AND OTHER MEMORIALS ANDLEGENDS OF BUDDHA. SYMPATHY OF THE MONKS WITH THE PILGRIMS. Going on from this to the south, for eight yojanas, (the travellers)came to the city of Sravasti(1) in the kingdom of Kosala, (2) in whichthe inhabitants were few and far between, amounting in all (only) to afew more than two hundred families; the city where king Prasenajit(3)ruled, and the place of the old vihara of Maha-prajapti;(4) of thewell and walls of (the house of) the (Vaisya) head Sudatta;(5)and where the Angulimalya(6) became an Arhat, and his body was(afterwards) burned on his attaining to pari-nirvana. At all theseplaces topes were subsequently erected, which are still existing inthe city. The Brahmans, with their contrary doctrine, became full ofhatred and envy in their hearts, and wished to destroy them, but therecame from the heavens such a storm of crashing thunder and flashinglightning that they were not able in the end to effect their purpose. As you go out from the city by the south gate, and 1, 200 paces fromit, the (Vaisya) head Sudatta built a vihara, facing the south; andwhen the door was open, on each side of it there was a stone pillar, with the figure of a wheel on the top of that on the left, and thefigure of an ox on the top of that on the right. On the left and rightof the building the ponds of water clear and pure, the thickets oftrees always luxuriant, and the numerous flowers of various hues, constituted a lovely scene, the whole forming what is called theJetavana vihara. (7) When Buddha went up to the Trayastrimsas heaven, (8) and preached theLaw for the benefit of his mother, (after he had been absent for)ninety days, Prasenajit, longing to see him, caused an image of him tobe carved in Gosirsha Chandana wood, (9) and put in the place where heusually sat. When Buddha on his return entered the vihara, Buddha saidto it, "Return to your seat. After I have attained to pari-nirvana, you will serve as a pattern to the four classes of my disciples, "(10)and on this the image returned to its seat. This was the very firstof all the images (of Buddha), and that which men subsequently copied. Buddha then removed, and dwelt in a small vihara on the south side(of the other), a different place from that containing the image, andtwenty paces distant from it. The Jetavana vihara was originally of seven storeys. The kingsand people of the countries around vied with one another in theirofferings, hanging up about it silken streamers and canopies, scattering flowers, burning incense, and lighting lamps, so as to makethe night as bright as the day. This they did day after day withoutceasing. (It happened that) a rat, carrying in its mouth the wick ofa lamp, set one of the streamers or canopies on fire, which caught thevihara, and the seven storeys were all consumed. The kings, with theirofficers and people, were all very sad and distressed, supposing thatthe sandal-wood image had been burned; but lo! after four or fivedays, when the door of a small vihara on the east was opened, therewas immediately seen the original image. They were all greatlyrejoiced, and co-operated in restoring the vihara. When they hadsucceeded in completing two storeys, they removed the image back toits former place. When Fa-hien and Tao-ching first arrived at the Jetavana monastery, and thought how the World-honoured one had formerly resided there fortwenty-five years, painful reflections arose in their minds. Born in aborder-land, along with their like-minded friends, they had travelledthrough so many kingdoms; some of those friends had returned (totheir own land), and some had (died), proving the impermanence anduncertainty of life; and to-day they saw the place where Buddha hadlived now unoccupied by him. They were melancholy through their painof heart, and the crowd of monks came out, and asked them from whatkingdom they were come. "We are come, " they replied, "from the landof Han. " "Strange, " said the monks with a sigh, "that men of a bordercountry should be able to come here in search of our Law!" Then theysaid to one another, "During all the time that we, preceptors andmonks, (11) have succeeded to one another, we have never seen men ofHan, followers of our system, arrive here. " Four le to the north-west of the vihara there is a grove called "TheGetting of Eyes. " Formerly there were five hundred blind men, wholived here in order that they might be near the vihara. (12) Buddhapreached his Law to them, and they all got back their eyesight. Fullof joy, they stuck their staves in the earth, and with their heads andfaces on the ground, did reverence. The staves immediately began togrow, and they grew to be great. People made much of them, and no onedared to cut them down, so that they came to form a grove. It was inthis way that it got its name, and most of the Jetavana monks, afterthey had taken their midday meal, went to the grove, and sat there inmeditation. Six or seven le north-east from the Jetavana, mother Vaisakha(13)built another vihara, to which she invited Buddha and his monks, andwhich is still existing. To each of the great residences for monks at the Jetavana vihara therewere two gates, one facing the east and the other facing the north. The park (containing the whole) was the space of ground which the(Vaisya) head Sudatta purchased by covering it with gold coins. Thevihara was exactly in the centre. Here Buddha lived for a longer timethan at any other place, preaching his Law and converting men. At theplaces where he walked and sat they also (subsequently) rearedtopes, each having its particular name; and here was the place whereSundari(14) murdered a person and then falsely charged Buddha (withthe crime). Outside the east gate of the Jetavana, at a distance ofseventy paces to the north, on the west of the road, Buddha held adiscussion with the (advocates of the) ninety-six schemes of erroneousdoctrine, when the king and his great officers, the householders, andpeople were all assembled in crowds to hear it. Then a woman belongingto one of the erroneous systems, by name Chanchamana, (15) prompted bythe envious hatred in her heart, and having put on (extra) clothes infront of her person, so as to give her the appearance of being withchild, falsely accused Buddha before all the assembly of having actedunlawfully (towards her). On this, Sakra, Ruler of Devas, changedhimself and some devas into white mice, which bit through the stringsabout her waist; and when this was done, the (extra) clothes which shewore dropt down on the ground. The earth at the same time was rent, and she went (down) alive into hell. (16) (This) also is the placewhere Devadatta, (17) trying with empoisoned claws to injureBuddha, went down alive into hell. Men subsequently set up marks todistinguish where both these events took place. Further, at the place where the discussion took place, they reared avihara rather more than sixty cubits high, having in it an imageof Buddha in a sitting posture. On the east of the road there wasa devalaya(18) of (one of) the contrary systems, called "The ShadowCovered, " right opposite the vihara on the place of discussion, with(only) the road between them, and also rather more than sixtycubits high. The reason why it was called "The Shadow Covered" wasthis:--When the sun was in the west, the shadow of the vihara of theWorld-honoured one fell on the devalaya of a contrary system; but whenthe sun was in the east, the shadow of that devalaya was diverted tothe north, and never fell on the vihara of Buddha. The mal-believersregularly employed men to watch their devalaya, to sweep and water(all about it), to burn incense, light the lamps, and presentofferings; but in the morning the lamps were found to have beensuddenly removed, and in the vihara of Buddha. The Brahmans wereindignant, and said, "Those Sramanas take out lamps and use them fortheir own service of Buddha, but we will not stop our service foryou!"(19) On that night the Brahmans themselves kept watch, when theysaw the deva spirits which they served take the lamps and go threetimes round the vihara of Buddha and present offerings. After thisministration to Buddha they suddenly disappeared. The Brahmansthereupon knowing how great was the spiritual power of Buddha, forthwith left their families, and became monks. (20) It has beenhanded down, that, near the time when these things occurred, aroundthe Jetavana vihara there were ninety-eight monasteries, in all ofwhich there were monks residing, excepting only in one place which wasvacant. In this Middle Kingdom(21) there are ninety-six(21) sorts ofviews, erroneous and different from our system, all of which recognisethis world and the future world(22) (and the connexion between them). Each had its multitude of followers, and they all beg their food:only they do not carry the alms-bowl. They also, moreover, seek (toacquire) the blessing (of good deeds) on unfrequented ways, settingup on the road-side houses of charity, where rooms, couches, beds, andfood and drink are supplied to travellers, and also to monks, comingand going as guests, the only difference being in the time (for whichthose parties remain). There are also companies of the followers of Devadatta still existing. They regularly make offerings to the three previous Buddhas, but notto Sakyamuni Buddha. Four le south-east from the city of Sravasti, a tope has beenerected at the place where the World-honoured one encountered kingVirudhaha, (23) when he wished to attack the kingdom of Shay-e, (23) andtook his stand before him at the side of the road. (24) NOTES (1) In Singhalese, Sewet; here evidently the capital of Kosala. It is placed by Cunningham (Archaeological Survey) on the south bank of the Rapti, about fifty-eight miles north of Ayodya or Oude. There are still the ruins of a great town, the name being Sahet Mahat. It was in this town, or in its neighbourhood, that Sakyamuni spent many years of his life after he became Buddha. (2) There were two Indian kingdoms of this name, a southern and a northern. This was the northern, a part of the present Oudh. (3) In Singhalese, Pase-nadi, meaning "leader of the victorious army. " He was one of the earliest converts and chief patrons of Sakyamuni. Eitel calls him (p. 95) one of the originators of Buddhist idolatory, because of the statue which is mentioned in this chapter. See Hardy's M. B. , pp. 283, 284, et al. (4) Explained by "Path of Love, " and "Lord of Life. " Prajapati was aunt and nurse of Sakyamuni, the first woman admitted to the monkhood, and the first superior of the first Buddhistic convent. She is yet to become a Buddha. (5) Sudatta, meaning "almsgiver, " was the original name of Anatha-pindika (or Pindada), a wealthy householder, or Vaisya head, of Sravasti, famous for his liberality (Hardy, Anepidu). Of his old house, only the well and walls remained at the time of Fa-hien's visit to Sravasti. (6) The Angulimalya were a sect or set of Sivaitic fanatics, who made assassination a religious act. The one of them here mentioned had joined them by the force of circumstances. Being converted by Buddha, he became a monk; but when it is said in the text that he "got the Tao, " or doctrine, I think that expression implies more than his conversion, and is equivalent to his becoming an Arhat. His name in Pali is Angulimala. That he did become an Arhat is clear from his autobiographical poem in the "Songs of the Theras. " (7) Eitel (p. 37) says:--"A noted vihara in the suburbs of Sravasti, erected in a park which Anatha-pindika bought of prince Jeta, the son of Prasenajit. Sakyamuni made this place his favourite residence for many years. Most of the Sutras (authentic and supposititious) date from this spot. " (8) See chapter xvii. (9) See chapter xiii. (10) Arya, meaning "honourable, " "venerable, " is a title given only to those who have mastered the four spiritual truths:--(1) that "misery" is a necessary condition of all sentient existence; this is duhkha: (2) that the "accumulation" of misery is caused by the passions; this is samudaya: (3) that the "extinction" of passion is possible; this is nirodha: and (4) that the "path" leads to the extinction of passion; which is marga. According to their attainment of these truths, the Aryas, or followers of Buddha, are distinguished into four classes, --Srotapannas, Sakridagamins, Anagamins, and Arhats. E. H. , p. 14. (11) This is the first time that Fa-hien employs the name Ho-shang {. } {. }, which is now popularly used in China for all Buddhist monks without distinction of rank or office. It is the representative of the Sanskrit term Upadhyaya, "explained, " says Eitel (p. 155) by "a self-taught teacher, " or by "he who knows what is sinful and what is not sinful, " with the note, "In India the vernacular of this term is {. } {. } (? munshee (? Bronze)); in Kustana and Kashgar they say {. } {. } (hwa-shay); and from the latter term are derived the Chinese synonyms, {. } {. } (ho-shay) and {. } {. } (ho-shang). " The Indian term was originally a designation for those who teach only a part of the Vedas, the Vedangas. Adopted by Buddhists of Central Asia, it was made to signify the priests of the older ritual, in distinction from the Lamas. In China it has been used first as a synonym for {. } {. }, monks engaged in popular teaching (teachers of the Law), in distinction from {. } {. }, disciplinists, and {. } {. }, contemplative philosophers (meditationists); then it was used to designate the abbots of monasteries. But it is now popularly applied to all Buddhist monks. In the text there seems to be implied some distinction between the "teachers" and the "ho-shang;"--probably, the Pali Akariya and Upagghaya; see Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xiii, Vinaya Texts, pp. 178, 179. (12) It might be added, "as depending on it, " in order to bring out the full meaning of the {. } in the text. If I recollect aright, the help of the police had to be called in at Hong Kong in its early years, to keep the approaches to the Cathedral free from the number of beggars, who squatted down there during service, hoping that the hearers would come out with softened hearts, and disposed to be charitable. I found the popular tutelary temples in Peking and other places, and the path up Mount T'ai in Shan-lung similarly frequented. (13) The wife of Anatha-pindika, and who became "mother superior" of many nunneries. See her history in M. B. , pp. 220-227. I am surprised it does not end with the statement that she is to become a Buddha. (14) See E. H. , p. 136. Hsuan-chwang does not give the name of this murderer; see in Julien's "Vie et Voyages de Hiouen-thsang, " p. 125, --"a heretical Brahman killed a woman and calumniated Buddha. " See also the fuller account in Beal's "Records of Western Countries, " pp. 7, 8, where the murder is committed by several Brahmacharins. In this passage Beal makes Sundari to be the name of the murdered person (a harlot). But the text cannot be so construed. (15) Eitel (p. 144) calls her Chancha; in Singhalese, Chinchi. See the story about her, M. B. , pp. 275-277. (16) "Earth's prison, " or "one of Earth's prisons. " It was the Avichi naraka to which she went, the last of the eight hot prisons, where the culprits die, and are born again in uninterrupted succession (such being the meaning of Avichi), though not without hope of final redemption. E. H. P. 21. (17) Devadatta was brother of Ananda, and a near relative therefore of Sakyamuni. He was the deadly enemy, however, of the latter. He had become so in an earlier state of existence, and the hatred continued in every successive birth, through which they reappeared in the world. See the accounts of him, and of his various devices against Buddha, and his own destruction at the last, in M. B. , pp. 315-321, 326-330; and still better, in the Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xx, Vinaya Texts, pp. 233-265. For the particular attempt referred to in the text, see "The Life of the Buddha, " p. 107. When he was engulphed, and the flames were around him, he cried out to Buddha to save him, and we are told that he is expected yet to appear as a Buddha under the name of Devaraja, in a universe called Deva-soppana. E. H. , p. 39. (18) "A devalaya ({. } {. } or {. } {. }), a place in which a deva is worshipped, --a general name for all Brahmanical temples" (Eitel, p. 30). We read in the Khang-hsi dictionary under {. }, that when Kasyapa Matanga came to the Western Regions, with his Classics or Sutras, he was lodged in the Court of State-Ceremonial, and that afterwards there was built for him "The Court of the White-horse" ({. } {. } {. }), and in consequence the name of Sze {. } came to be given to all Buddhistic temples. Fa-hien, however, applies this term only to Brahmanical temples. (19) Their speech was somewhat unconnected, but natural enough in the circumstances. Compare the whole account with the narrative in I Samuel v. About the Ark and Dagon, that "twice-battered god of Palestine. " (20) "Entered the doctrine or path. " Three stages in the Buddhistic life are indicated by Fa-hien:--"entering it, " as here, by becoming monks ({. } {. }); "getting it, " by becoming Arhats ({. } {. }); and "completing it, " by becoming Buddha ({. } {. }). (21) It is not quite clear whether the author had in mind here Central India as a whole, which I think he had, or only Kosala, the part of it where he then was. In the older teaching, there were only thirty-two sects, but there may have been three subdivisions of each. See Rhys Davids' "Buddhism, " pp. 98, 99. (22) This mention of "the future world" is an important difference between the Corean and Chinese texts. The want of it in the latter has been a stumbling-block in the way of all previous translators. Remusat says in a note that "the heretics limited themselves to speak of the duties of man in his actual life without connecting it by the notion that the metempsychosis with the anterior periods of existence through which he had passed. " But this is just the opposite of what Fa-hien's meaning was, according to our Corean text. The notion of "the metempsychosis" was just that in which all the ninety-six erroneous systems agreed among themselves and with Buddhism. If he had wished to say what the French sinologue thinks he does say, moreover, he would probably have written {. } {. } {. } {. } {. }. Let me add, however, that the connexion which Buddhism holds between the past world (including the present) and the future is not that of a metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls, for it does not appear to admit any separate existence of the soul. Adhering to its own phraseology of "the wheel, " I would call its doctrine that of "The Transrotation of Births. " See Rhys Davids' third Hibbert Lecture. (23) Or, more according to the phonetisation of the text, Vaidurya. He was king of Kosala, the son and successor of Prasenajit, and the destroyer of Kapilavastu, the city of the Sakya family. His hostility to the Sakyas is sufficiently established, and it may be considered as certain that the name Shay-e, which, according to Julien's "Methode, " p. 89, may be read Chia-e, is the same as Kia-e ({. } {. }), one of the phonetisations of Kapilavastu, as given by Eitel. (24) This would be the interview in the "Life of the Buddha" in Trubner's Oriental Series, p. 116, when Virudhaha on his march found Buddha under an old sakotato tree. It afforded him no shade; but he told the king that the thought of the danger of "his relatives and kindred made it shady. " The king was moved to sympathy for the time, and went back to Sravasti; but the destruction of Kapilavastu was only postponed for a short space, and Buddha himself acknowledged it to be inevitable in the connexion of cause and effect. CHAPTER XXI THE THREE PREDECESSORS OF SAKYAMUNI IN THE BUDDHASHIP. Fifty le to the west of the city bring (the traveller) to a town namedToo-wei, (1) the birthplace of Kasyapa Buddha. (1) At the place where heand his father met, (2) and at that where he attained to pari-nirvana, topes were erected. Over the entire relic of the whole body of him, the Kasyapa Tathagata, (3) a great tope was also erected. Going on south-east from the city of Sravasti for twelve yojanas, (the travellers) came to a town named Na-pei-kea, (4) the birthplace ofKrakuchanda Buddha. At the place where he and his father met, andat that where he attained to pari-nirvana, topes were erected. Goingnorth from here less than a yojana, they came to a town which had beenthe birthplace of Kanakamuni Buddha. At the place where he and hisfather met, and where he attained to pari-nirvana, topes were erected. NOTES (1) Identified, as Beal says, by Cunningham with Tadwa, a village nine miles to the west of Sahara-mahat. The birthplace of Kasyapa Buddha is generally thought to have been Benares. According to a calculation of Remusat, from his birth to A. D. 1832 there were 1, 992, 859 years! (2) It seems to be necessary to have a meeting between every Buddha and his father. One at least is ascribed to Sakyamuni and his father (real or supposed) Suddhodana. (3) This is the highest epithet given to every supreme Buddha; in Chinese {. } {. }, meaning, as Eitel, p. 147 says, "_Sic profectus sum_. " It is equivalent to "Rightful Buddha, the true successor in the Supreme Buddha Line. " Hardy concludes his account of the Kasyapa Buddha (M. B. , p. 97) with the following sentence:--"After his body was burnt, the bones still remained in their usual position, presenting the appearance of a perfect skeleton; and the whole of the inhabitants of Jambudvipa, assembling together, erected a dagoba over his relics one yojana in height!" (4) Na-pei-kea or Nabhiga is not mentioned elsewhere. Eitel says this Buddha was born at the city of Gan-ho ({. } {. } {. }) and Hardy gives his birthplace as Mekhala. It may be possible, by means of Sanskrit, to reconcile these statements. CHAPTER XXII KAPILAVASTU. ITS DESOLATION. LEGENDS OF BUDDHA'S BIRTH, AND OTHERINCIDENTS IN CONNEXION WITH IT. Less than a yojana to the east from this brought them to the city ofKapilavastu;(1) but in it there was neither king nor people. All wasmound and desolation. Of inhabitants there were only some monks and ascore or two of families of the common people. At the spot where stoodthe old palace of king Suddhodana(2) there have been made images ofthe prince (his eldest son) and his mother;(3) and at the places wherethat son appeared mounted on a white elephant when he entered hismother's womb, (4) and where he turned his carriage round on seeingthe sick man after he had gone out of the city by the eastern gate, (5)topes have been erected. The places (were also pointed out)(6) where(the rishi) A-e(7) inspected the marks (of Buddhaship on the body) ofthe heir-apparent (when an infant); where, when he was in company withNanda and others, on the elephant being struck down and drawn to oneside, he tossed it away;(8) where he shot an arrow to the south-east, and it went a distance of thirty le, then entering the ground andmaking a spring to come forth, which men subsequently fashioned intoa well from which travellers might drink;(9) where, after he hadattained to Wisdom, Buddha returned and saw the king, his father;(10)where five hundred Sakyas quitted their families and did reverence toUpali(11) while the earth shook and moved in six different ways; whereBuddha preached his Law to the devas, and the four deva kings andothers kept the four doors (of the hall), so that (even) the king, hisfather, could not enter;(12) where Buddha sat under a nyagrodha tree, which is still standing, (13) with his face to the east, and (his aunt)Maja-prajapati presented him with a Sanghali;(14) and (where)king Vaidurya slew the seed of Sakya, and they all in dying becameSrotapannas. (15) A tope was erected at this last place, which is stillexisting. Several le north-east from the city was the king's field, where theheir-apparent sat under a tree, and looked at the ploughers. (16) Fifty le east from the city was a garden, named Lumbini, (17) where thequeen entered the pond and bathed. Having come forth from the pondon the northern bank, after (walking) twenty paces, she lifted up herhand, laid hold of a branch of a tree, and, with her face to the east, gave birth to the heir-apparent. (18) When he fell to the ground, he(immediately) walked seven paces. Two dragon-kings (appeared) andwashed his body. At the place where they did so, there was immediatelyformed a well, and from it, as well as from the above pond, where (thequeen) bathed, (19) the monks (even) now constantly take the water, anddrink it. There are four places of regular and fixed occurrence (in the historyof) all Buddhas:--first, the place where they attained to perfectWisdom (and became Buddha); second, the place where they turned thewheel of the Law;(20) third, the place where they preached the Law, discoursed of righteousness, and discomfited (the advocates of)erroneous doctrines; and fourth, the place where they came down, aftergoing up to the Trayatrimsas heaven to preach the Law for thebenefit of their mothers. Other places in connexion with them becameremarkable, according to the manifestations which were made at them atparticular times. The country of Kapilavastu is a great scene of empty desolation. Theinhabitants are few and far between. On the roads people have to beon their guard against white elephants(21) and lions, and should nottravel incautiously. NOTES (1) Kapilavastu, "the city of beautiful virtue, " was the birthplace of Sakyamuni, but was destroyed, as intimated in the notes on last chapter, during his lifetime. It was situated a short distance north-west of the present Goruckpoor, lat. 26d 46s N. , lon. 83d 19s E. Davids says (Manual, p. 25), "It was on the banks of the river Rohini, the modern Kohana, about 100 miles north-west of the city of Benares. " (2) The father, or supposed father, of Sakyamuni. He is here called "the king white and pure" ({. } {. } {. }). A more common appellation is "the king of pure rice" ({. } {. } {. }); but the character {. }, or "rice, " must be a mistake for {. }, "Brahman, " and the appellation= "Pure Brahman king. " (3) The "eldest son, " or "prince" was Sakyamuni, and his mother had no other son. For "his mother, " see chap. Xvii, note 3. She was a daughter of Anjana or Anusakya, king of the neighbouring country of Koli, and Yasodhara, an aunt of Suddhodana. There appear to have been various intermarriages between the royal houses of Kapila and Koli. (4) In "The Life of the Buddha, " p. 15, we read that "Buddha was now in the Tushita heaven, and knowing that his time was come (the time for his last rebirth in the course of which he would become Buddha), he made the necessary examinations; and having decided that Maha-maya was the right mother, in the midnight watch he entered her womb under the appearance of an elephant. " See M. B. , pp. 140-143, and, still better, Rhys Davids' "Birth Stories, " pp. 58-63. (5) In Hardy's M. B. , pp. 154, 155, we read, "As the prince (Siddhartha, the first name given to Sakyamuni; see Eitel, under Sarvarthasiddha) was one day passing along, he saw a deva under the appearance of a leper, full of sores, with a body like a water-vessel, and legs like the pestle for pounding rice; and when he learned from his charioteer what it was that he saw, he became agitated, and returned at once to the palace. " See also Rhys Davids' "Buddhism, " p. 29. (6) This is an addition of my own, instead of "There are also topes erected at the following spots, " of former translators. Fa-hien does not say that there were memorial topes at all these places. (7) Asita; see Eitel, p. 15. He is called in Pali Kala Devala, and had been a minister of Suddhodana's father. (8) In "The Life of Buddha" we read that the Lichchhavis of Vaisali had sent to the young prince a very fine elephant; but when it was near Kapilavastu, Devadatta, out of envy, killed it with a blow of his fist. Nanda (not Ananda, but a half-brother of Siddhartha), coming that way, saw the carcase lying on the road, and pulled it on one side; but the Bodhisattva, seeing it there, took it by the tail, and tossed it over seven fences and ditches, when the force of its fall made a great ditch. I suspect that the characters in the column have been disarranged, and that we should read {. } {. } {. } {. }, {. } {. }, {. } {. }. Buddha, that is Siddhartha, was at this time only ten years old. (9) The young Sakyas were shooting when the prince thus surpassed them all. He was then seventeen. (10) This was not the night when he finally fled from Kapilavastu, and as he was leaving the palace, perceiving his sleeping father, and said, "Father, though I love thee, yet a fear possesses me, and I may not stay;"--The Life of the Buddha, p. 25. Most probably it was that related in M. B. , pp. 199-204. See "Buddhist Birth Stories, " pp. 120-127. (11) They did this, I suppose, to show their humility, for Upali was only a Sudra by birth, and had been a barber; so from the first did Buddhism assert its superiority to the conditions of rank and caste. Upali was distinguished by his knowledge of the rules of discipline, and praised on that account by Buddha. He was one of the three leaders of the first synod, and the principal compiler of the original Vinaya books. (12) I have not met with the particulars of this preaching. (13) Meaning, as explained in Chinese, "a tree without knots;" the _ficus Indica_. See Rhys Davids' note, Manual, p. 39, where he says that a branch of one of these trees was taken from Buddha Gaya to Anuradhapura in Ceylon in the middle of the third century B. C, and is still growing there, the oldest historical tree in the world. (14) See chap. Xiii, note 11. I have not met with the account of this presentation. See the long account of Prajapati in M. B. , pp. 306-315. (15) See chap. Xx, note 10. The Srotapannas are the first class of saints, who are not to be reborn in a lower sphere, but attain to nirvana after having been reborn seven times consecutively as men or devas. The Chinese editions state there were "1000" of the Sakya seed. The general account is that they were 500, all maidens, who refused to take their place in king Vaidurya's harem, and were in consequence taken to a pond, and had their hands and feet cut off. There Buddha came to them, had their wounds dressed, and preached to them the Law. They died in the faith, and were reborn in the region of the four Great Kings. Thence they came back and visited Buddha at Jetavana in the night, and there they obtained the reward of Srotapanna. "The Life of the Buddha, " p. 121. (16) See the account of this event in M. B. , p. 150. The account of it reminds me of the ploughing by the sovereign, which has been an institution in China from the earliest times. But there we have no magic and no extravagance. (17) "The place of Liberation;" see chap. Xiii, note 7. (18) See the accounts of this event in M. B. , pp. 145, 146; "The Life of the Buddha, " pp. 15, 16; and "Buddhist Birth Stories, " p. 66. (19) There is difficulty in construing the text of this last statement. Mr. Beal had, no doubt inadvertently, omitted it in his first translation. In his revised version he gives for it, I cannot say happily, "As well as at the pool, the water of which came down from above for washing (the child). " (20) See chap. Xvii, note 8. See also Davids' Manual, p. 45. The latter says, that "to turn the wheel of the Law" means "to set rolling the royal chariot wheel of a universal empire of truth and righteousness;" but he admits that this is more grandiloquent than the phraseology was in the ears of Buddhists. I prefer the words quoted from Eitel in the note referred to. "They turned" is probably equivalent to "They began to turn. " (21) Fa-hien does not say that he himself saw any of these white elephants, nor does he speak of the lions as of any particular colour. We shall find by-and-by, in a note further on, that, to make them appear more terrible, they are spoken of as "black. " CHAPTER XXIII RAMA, AND ITS TOPE. East from Buddha's birthplace, and at a distance of five yojanas, there is a kingdom called Rama. (1) The king of this country, havingobtained one portion of the relics of Buddha's body, (2) returned withit and built over it a tope, named the Rama tope. By the side of itthere was a pool, and in the pool a dragon, which constantly keptwatch over (the tope), and presented offerings to it day and night. When king Asoka came forth into the world, he wished to destroy theeight topes (over the relics), and to build (instead of them) 84, 000topes. (3) After he had thrown down the seven (others), he wished nextto destroy this tope. But then the dragon showed itself, took the kinginto its palace;(4) and when he had seen all the things provided forofferings, it said to him, "If you are able with your offerings toexceed these, you can destroy the tope, and take it all away. I willnot contend with you. " The king, however, knew that such appliancesfor offerings were not to be had anywhere in the world, and thereuponreturned (without carrying out his purpose). (Afterwards), the ground all about became overgrown with vegetation, and there was nobody to sprinkle and sweep (about the tope); buta herd of elephants came regularly, which brought water with theirtrunks to water the ground, and various kinds of flowers and incense, which they presented at the tope. (Once) there came from one of thekingdoms a devotee(5) to worship at the tope. When he encounteredthe elephants he was greatly alarmed, and screened himself among thetrees; but when he saw them go through with the offerings in the mostproper manner, the thought filled him with great sadness--that thereshould be no monastery here, (the inmates of which) might servethe tope, but the elephants have to do the watering and sweeping. Forthwith he gave up the great prohibitions (by which he wasbound), (6) and resumed the status of a Sramanera. (7) With his ownhands he cleared away the grass and trees, put the place in goodorder, and made it pure and clean. By the power of his exhortations, he prevailed on the king of the country to form a residence formonks; and when that was done, he became head of the monastery. At thepresent day there are monks residing in it. This event is of recentoccurrence; but in all the succession from that time till now, therehas always been a Sramanera head of the establishment. NOTES (1) Rama or Ramagrama, between Kapilavastu and Kusanagara. (2) See the account of the eightfold division of the relics of Buddha's body in the Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xi, Buddhist Suttas, pp. 133-136. (3) The bones of the human body are supposed to consist of 84, 000 atoms, and hence the legend of Asoka's wish to build 84, 000 topes, one over each atom of Sakyamuni's skeleton. (4) Fa-hien, it appears to me, intended his readers to understand that the naga-guardian had a palace of his own, inside or underneath the pool or tank. (5) It stands out on the narrative as a whole that we have not here "some pilgrims, " but one devotee. (6) What the "great prohibitions" which the devotee now gave up were we cannot tell. Being what he was, a monk of more than ordinary ascetical habits, he may have undertaken peculiar and difficult vows. (7) The Sramanera, or in Chinese Shamei. See chap. Xvi, note 19. CHAPTER XXIV WHERE BUDDHA FINALLY RENOUNCED THE WORLD, AND WHERE HE DIED. East from here four yojanas, there is the place where theheir-apparent sent back Chandaka, with his white horse;(1) and therealso a tope was erected. Four yojanas to the east from this, (the travellers) came to theCharcoal tope, (2) where there is also a monastery. Going on twelve yojanas, still to the east, they came to the city ofKusanagara, (3) on the north of which, between two trees, (4) on thebank of the Nairanjana(5) river, is the place where the World-honouredone, with his head to the north, attained to pari-nirvana (anddied). There also are the places where Subhadra, (6) the last (of hisconverts), attained to Wisdom (and became an Arhat); where in hiscoffin of gold they made offerings to the World-honoured one for sevendays, (7) where the Vajrapani laid aside his golden club, (8) and wherethe eight kings(9) divided the relics (of the burnt body):--at allthese places were built topes and monasteries, all of which are nowexisting. In the city the inhabitants are few and far between, comprising onlythe families belonging to the (different) societies of monks. Going from this to the south-east for twelve yojanas, they came to theplace where the Lichchhavis(10) wished to follow Buddha to (the placeof) his pari-nirvana, and where, when he would not listen to them andthey kept cleaving to him, unwilling to go away, he made to appear alarge and deep ditch which they could not cross over, and gave themhis alms-bowl, as a pledge of his regard, (thus) sending them back totheir families. There a stone pillar was erected with an account ofthis event engraved upon it. NOTES (1) This was on the night when Sakyamuni finally left his palace and family to fulfil the course to which he felt that he was called. Chandaka, in Pali Channa, was the prince's charioteer, and in sympathy with him. So also was the white horse Kanthaka (Kanthakanam Asvaraja), which neighed his delight till the devas heard him. See M. B. , pp. 158-161, and Davids' Manual, pp. 32, 33. According to "Buddhist Birth Stories, " p. 87, the noble horse never returned to the city, but died of grief at being left by his master, to be reborn immediately in the Trayastrimsas heaven as the deva Kanthaka! (2) Beal and Giles call this the "Ashes" tope. I also would have preferred to call it so; but the Chinese character is {. }, not {. }. Remusat has "la tour des charbons. " It was over the place of Buddha's cremation. (3) In Pali Kusinara. It got its name from the Kusa grass (the _poa cynosuroides_); and its ruins are still extant, near Kusiah, 180 N. W. From Patna; "about, " says Davids, "120 miles N. N. E. Of Benares, and 80 miles due east of Kapilavastu. " (4) The Sala tree, the _Shorea robusta_, which yields the famous teak wood. (5) Confounded, according to Eitel, even by Hsuan-chwang, with the Hiranyavati, which flows past the city on the south. (6) A Brahman of Benares, said to have been 120 years old, who came to learn from Buddha the very night he died. Ananda would have repulsed him; but Buddha ordered him to be introduced; and then putting aside the ingenious but unimportant question which he propounded, preached to him the Law. The Brahman was converted and attained at once to Arhatship. Eitel says that he attained to nirvana a few moments before Sakyamuni; but see the full account of him and his conversion in "Buddhist Suttas, " p. 103-110. (7) Thus treating the dead Buddha as if he had been a Chakravartti king. Hardy's M. B. , p. 347, says:--"For the place of cremation, the princes (of Kusinara) offered their own coronation-hall, which was decorated with the utmost magnificence, and the body was deposited in a golden sarcophagus. " See the account of a cremation which Fa-hien witnessed in Ceylon, chap. Xxxix. (8) The name Vajrapani is explained as "he who holds in his hand the diamond club (or pestle=sceptre), " which is one of the many names of Indra or Sakra. He therefore, that great protector of Buddhism, would seem to be intended here; but the difficulty with me is that neither in Hardy nor Rockhill, nor any other writer, have I met with any manifestation of himself made by Indra on this occasion. The princes of Kusanagara were called mallas, "strong or mighty heroes;" so also were those of Pava and Vaisali; and a question arises whether the language may not refer to some story which Fa-hien had heard, --something which they did on this great occasion. Vajrapani is also explained as meaning "the diamond mighty hero;" but the epithet of "diamond" is not so applicable to them as to Indra. The clause may hereafter obtain more elucidation. (9) Of Kusanagara, Pava, Vaisali, and other kingdoms. Kings, princes, brahmans, --each wanted the whole relic; but they agreed to an eightfold division at the suggestion of the brahman Drona. (10) These "strong heroes" were the chiefs of Vaisali, a kingdom and city, with an oligarchical constitution. They embraced Buddhism early, and were noted for their peculiar attachment to Buddha. The second synod was held at Vaisali, as related in the next chapter. The ruins of the city still exist at Bassahar, north of Patna, the same, I suppose, as Besarh, twenty miles north of Hajipur. See Beal's Revised Version, p. Lii. CHAPTER XXV VAISALI. THE TOPE CALLED "WEAPONS LAID DOWN. " THE COUNCIL OF VAISALI. East from this city ten yojanas, (the travellers) came to the kingdomof Vaisali. North of the city so named is a large forest, having in itthe double-galleried vihara(1) where Buddha dwelt, and the tope overhalf the body of Ananda. (2) Inside the city the woman Ambapali(3)built a vihara in honour of Buddha, which is now standing as it was atfirst. Three le south of the city, on the west of the road, (is the)garden (which) the same Ambapali presented to Buddha, in which hemight reside. When Buddha was about to attain to his pari-nirvana, as he was quitting the city by the west gate, he turned round, and, beholding the city on his right, said to them, "Here I have taken mylast walk. "(4) Men subsequently built a tope at this spot. Three le north-west of the city there is a tope called, "Bows andweapons laid down. " The reason why it got that name was this:--Theinferior wife of a king, whose country lay along the river Ganges, brought forth from her womb a ball of flesh. The superior wife, jealous of the other, said, "You have brought forth a thing of evilomen, " and immediately it was put into a box of wood and throwninto the river. Farther down the stream another king was walking andlooking about, when he saw the wooden box (floating) in the water. (Hehad it brought to him), opened it, and found a thousand little boys, upright and complete, and each one different from the others. Hetook them and had them brought up. They grew tall and large, and verydaring, and strong, crushing all opposition in every expedition whichthey undertook. By and by they attacked the kingdom of their realfather, who became in consequence greatly distressed and sad. Hisinferior wife asked what it was that made him so, and he replied, "That king has a thousand sons, daring and strong beyond compare, andhe wishes with them to attack my kingdom; this is what makes me sad. "The wife said, "You need not be sad and sorrowful. Only make a highgallery on the wall of the city on the east; and when the thievescome, I shall be able to make them retire. " The king did as she said;and when the enemies came, she said to them from the tower, "You aremy sons; why are you acting so unnaturally and rebelliously?" Theyreplied, "If you do not believe me, " she said, "look, all of you, towards me, and open your mouths. " She then pressed her breasts withher two hands, and each sent forth 500 jets of milk, which fell intothe mouths of the thousand sons. The thieves (thus) knew that she wastheir mother, and laid down their bows and weapons. (5) The two kings, the fathers, thereupon fell into reflection, and both got to bePratyeka Buddhas. (6) The tope of the two Pratyeka Buddhas is stillexisting. In a subsequent age, when the World-honoured one had attained toperfect Wisdom (and become Buddha), he said to is disciples, "This isthe place where I in a former age laid down my bow and weapons. "(7) Itwas thus that subsequently men got to know (the fact), and raised thetope on this spot, which in this way received its name. The thousandlittle boys were the thousand Buddhas of this Bhadra-kalpa. (8) It was by the side of the "Weapons-laid-down" tope that Buddha, havinggiven up the idea of living longer, said to Ananda, "In three monthsfrom this I will attain to pavi-nirvana;" and king Mara(9) had sofascinated and stupefied Ananda, that he was not able to ask Buddha toremain longer in this world. Three or four le east from this place there is a tope (commemoratingthe following occurrence):--A hundred years after the pari-nirvanaof Buddha, some Bhikshus of Vaisali went wrong in the matter ofthe disciplinary rules in ten particulars, and appealed for theirjustification to what they said were the words of Buddha. Hereupon theArhats and Bhikshus observant of the rules, to the number in all of700 monks, examined afresh and collated the collection of disciplinarybooks. (10) Subsequently men built at this place the tope (inquestion), which is still existing. NOTES (1) It is difficult to tell what was the peculiar form of this vihara from which it gets its name; something about the construction of its door, or cupboards, or galleries. (2) See the explanation of this in the next chapter. (3) Ambapali, Amrapali, or Amradarika, "the guardian of the Amra (probably the mango) tree, " is famous in Buddhist annals. See the account of her in M. B. , pp. 456-8. She was a courtesan. She had been in many narakas or hells, was 100, 000 times a female beggar, and 10, 000 times a prostitute; but maintaining perfect continence during the period of Kasyapa Buddha, Sakyamuni's predecessor, she had been born a devi, and finally appeared in earth under an Amra tree in Vaisali. There again she fell into her old ways, and had a son by king Bimbisara; but she was won over by Buddha to virtue and chastity, renounced the world, and attained to the state of an Arhat. See the earliest account of Ambapali's presentation of the garden in "Buddhist Suttas, " pp. 30-33, and the note there from Bishop Bigandet on pp. 33, 34. (4) Beal gives, "In this place I have performed the last religious act of my earthly career;" Giles, "This is the last place I shall visit;" Remusat, "C'est un lieu ou je reviendrai bien longtemps apres ceci. " Perhaps the "walk" to which Buddha referred had been for meditation. (5) See the account of this legend in the note in M. B. , pp. 235, 236, different, but not less absurd. The first part of Fa-hien's narrative will have sent the thoughts of some of my readers to the exposure of the infant Moses, as related in Exodus. (Certainly did. --JB. ) (6) See chap. Xiii, note 14. (7) Thus Sakyamuni had been one of the thousand little boys who floated in the box in the Ganges. How long back the former age was we cannot tell. I suppose the tope of the two fathers who became Pratyeka Buddhas had been built like the one commemorating the laying down of weapons after Buddha had told his disciples of the strange events in the past. (8) Bhadra-kalpa, "the Kalpa of worthies or sages. " "This, " says Eitel, p. 22, "is a designation for a Kalpa of stability, so called because 1000 Buddhas appear in the course of it. Our present period is a Bhadra-kalpa, and four Buddhas have already appeared. It is to last 236 million years, but over 151 millions have already elapsed. " (9) "The king of demons. " The name Mara is explained by "the murderer, " "the destroyer of virtue, " and similar appellations. "He is, " says Eitel, "the personification of lust, the god of love, sin, and death, the arch-enemy of goodness, residing in the heaven Paranirmita Vasavartin on the top of the Kamadhatu. He assumes different forms, especially monstrous ones, to tempt or frighten the saints, or sends his daughters, or inspires wicked men like Devadatta or the Nirgranthas to do his work. He is often represented with 100 arms, and riding on an elephant. " The oldest form of the legend in this paragraph is in "Buddhist Suttas, " Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xi, pp. 41-55, where Buddha says that, if Ananda had asked him thrice, he would have postponed his death. (10) Or the Vinaya-pitaka. The meeting referred to was an important one, and is generally spoken of as the second Great Council of the Buddhist Church. See, on the formation of the Buddhist Canon, Hardy's E. M. , chap. Xviii, and the last chapter of Davids' Manual, on the History of the Order. The first Council was that held at Rajagriha, shortly after Buddha's death, under the presidency of Kasyapa;--say about B. C. 410. The second was that spoken of here;--say about B. C. 300. In Davids' Manual (p. 216) we find the ten points of discipline, in which the heretics (I can use that term here) claimed at least indulgence. Two meetings were held to consider and discuss them. At the former the orthodox party barely succeeded in carrying their condemnation of the laxer monks; and a second and larger meeting, of which Fa-hien speaks, was held in consequence, and a more emphatic condemnation passed. At the same time all the books and subjects of discipline seem to have undergone a careful revision. The Corean text is clearer than the Chinese as to those who composed the Council, --the Arhats and orthodox monks. The leader among them was a Yasas, or Yasada, or Yedsaputtra, who had been a disciple of Ananda, and must therefore have been a very old man. CHAPTER XXVI REMARKABLE DEATH OF ANANDA. Four yojanas on from this place to the east brought the travellersto the confluence of the five rivers. (1) When Ananda was going fromMagadha(2) to Vaisali, wishing his pari-nirvana to take place (there), the devas informed king Ajatasatru(3) of it, and the king immediatelypursued him, in his own grand carriage, with a body of soldiers, andhad reached the river. (On the other hand), the Lichchhavis of Vaisalihad heard that Amanda was coming (to their city), and they on theirpart came to meet him. (In this way), they all arrived together at theriver, and Ananda considered that, if he went forward, king Ajatasatruwould be very angry, while, if he went back, the Lichchhavis wouldresent his conduct. He thereupon in the very middle of the river burnthis body in a fiery ecstasy of Samadhi, (4) and his pari-nirvana wasattained. He divided his body (also) into two, (leaving) the halfof it on each bank; so that each of the two kings got one half asa (sacred) relic, and took it back (to his own capital), and thereraised a tope over it. NOTES (1) This spot does not appear to have been identified. It could not be far from Patna. (2) Magadha was for some time the headquarters of Buddhism; the holy land, covered with viharas; a fact perpetuated, as has been observed in a previous note, in the name of the present Behar, the southern portion of which corresponds to the ancient kingdom of Magadha. (3) In Singhalese, Ajasat. See the account of his conversion in M. B. , pp. 321-326. He was the son of king Bimbisara, who was one of the first royal converts to Buddhism. Ajasat murdered his father, or at least wrought his death; and was at first opposed to Sakyamuni, and a favourer of Devadatta. When converted, he became famous for his liberality in almsgiving. (4) Eitel has a long article (pp. 114, 115) on the meaning of Samadhi, which is one of the seven sections of wisdom (bodhyanga). Hardy defines it as meaning "perfect tranquillity;" Turnour, as "meditative abstraction;" Burnouf, as "self-control;" and Edkins, as "ecstatic reverie. " "Samadhi, " says Eitel, "signifies the highest pitch of abstract, ecstatic meditation; a state of absolute indifference to all influences from within or without; a state of torpor of both the material and spiritual forces of vitality; a sort of terrestrial nirvana, consistently culminating in total destruction of life. " He then quotes apparently the language of the text, "He consumed his body by Agni (the fire of) Samadhi, " and says it is "a common expression for the effects of such ecstatic, ultra-mystic self-annihilation. " All this is simply "a darkening of counsel by words without knowledge. " Some facts concerning the death of Ananda are hidden beneath the darkness of the phraseology, which it is impossible for us to ascertain. By or in Samadhi he burns his body in the very middle of the river, and then he divides the relic of the burnt body into two parts (for so evidently Fa-hien intended his narration to be taken), and leaves one half on each bank. The account of Ananda's death in Nien-ch'ang's "History of Buddha and the Patriarchs" is much more extravagant. Crowds of men and devas are brought together to witness it. The body is divided into four parts. One is conveyed to the Tushita heaven; a second, to the palace of a certain Naga king; a third is given to Ajatasatru; and the fourth to the Lichchhavis. What it all really means I cannot tell. CHAPTER XXVII PATALIPUTTRA OR PATNA, IN MAGADHA. KING ASOKA'S SPIRIT-BUILT PALACEAND HALLS. THE BUDDHIST BRAHMAN, RADHA-SAMI. DISPENSARIES ANDHOSPITALS. Having crossed the river, and descended south for a yojana, (thetravellers) came to the town of Pataliputtra, (1) in the kingdom ofMagadha, the city where king Asoka(2) ruled. The royal palace andhalls in the midst of the city, which exist now as of old, were allmade by spirits which he employed, and which piled up the stones, reared the walls and gates, and executed the elegant carving andinlaid sculpture-work, --in a way which no human hands of this worldcould accomplish. King Asoka had a younger brother who had attained to be an Arhat, andresided on Gridhra-kuta(3) hill, finding his delight in solitude andquiet. The king, who sincerely reverenced him, wished and begged him(to come and live) in his family, where he could supply all hiswants. The other, however, through his delight in the stillness of themountain, was unwilling to accept the invitation, on which the kingsaid to him, "Only accept my invitation, and I will make a hill foryou inside the city. " Accordingly, he provided the materials of afeast, called to him the spirits, and announced to them, "To-morrowyou will all receive my invitation; but as there are no mats for youto sit on, let each one bring (his own seat). " Next day the spiritscame, each one bringing with him a great rock, (like) a wall, four orfive paces square, (for a seat). When their sitting was over, the kingmade them form a hill with the large stones piled on one another, andalso at the foot of the hill, with five large square stones, to makean apartment, which might be more than thirty cubits long, twentycubits wide, and more than ten cubits high. In this city there had resided a great Brahman, (4) namedRadha-sami, (5) a professor of the mahayana, of clear discernment andmuch wisdom, who understood everything, living by himself in spotlesspurity. The king of the country honoured and reverenced him, andserved him as his teacher. If he went to inquire for and greet him, the king did not presume to sit down alongside of him; and if, in hislove and reverence, he took hold of his hand, as soon as he let it go, the Brahman made haste to pour water on it and wash it. He might bemore than fifty years old, and all the kingdom looked up to him. Bymeans of this one man, the Law of Buddha was widely made known, andthe followers of other doctrines did not find it in their power topersecute the body of monks in any way. By the side of the tope of Asoka, there has been made a mahayanamonastery, very grand and beautiful; there is also a hinayana one;the two together containing six or seven hundred monks. The rules ofdemeanour and the scholastic arrangements(6) in them are worthy ofobservation. Shamans of the highest virtue from all quarters, and students, inquirers wishing to find out truth and the grounds of it, all resortto these monasteries. There also resides in this monastery a Brahmanteacher, whose name also is Manjusri, (7) whom the Shamans of greatestvirtue in the kingdom, and the mahayana Bhikshus honour and look upto. The cities and towns of this country are the greatest of all in theMiddle Kingdom. The inhabitants are rich and prosperous, and vie withone another in the practice of benevolence and righteousness. Everyyear on the eighth day of the second month they celebrate a processionof images. They make a four-wheeled car, and on it erect a structureof four storeys by means of bamboos tied together. This is supportedby a king-post, with poles and lances slanting from it, and is rathermore than twenty cubits high, having the shape of a tope. White andsilk-like cloth of hair(8) is wrapped all round it, which is thenpainted in various colours. They make figures of devas, with gold, silver, and lapis lazuli grandly blended and having silken streamersand canopies hung out over them. On the four sides are niches, witha Buddha seated in each, and a Bodhisattva standing in attendance onhim. There may be twenty cars, all grand and imposing, but each onedifferent from the others. On the day mentioned, the monks and laitywithin the borders all come together; they have singers and skilfulmusicians; they pay their devotion with flowers and incense. TheBrahmans come and invite the Buddhas to enter the city. These do soin order, and remain two nights in it. All through the night they keeplamps burning, have skilful music, and present offerings. This is thepractice in all the other kingdoms as well. The Heads of the Vaisyafamilies in them establish in the cities houses for dispensing charityand medicines. All the poor and destitute in the country, orphans, widowers, and childless men, maimed people and cripples, and all whoare diseased, go to those houses, and are provided with every kindof help, and doctors examine their diseases. They get the food andmedicines which their cases require, and are made to feel at ease; andwhen they are better, they go away of themselves. When king Asoka destroyed the seven topes, (intending) to makeeighty-four thousand, (9) the first which he made was the great tope, more than three le to the south of this city. In front of this thereis a footprint of Buddha, where a vihara has been built. The door ofit faces the north, and on the south of it there is a stone pillar, fourteen or fifteen cubits in circumference, and more than thirtycubits high, on which there is an inscription, saying, "Asoka gave thejambudvipa to the general body of all the monks, and then redeemedit from them with money. This he did three times. "(10) North from thetope 300 or 400 paces, king Asoka built the city of Ne-le. (11) In itthere is a stone pillar, which also is more than thirty feet high, with a lion on the top of it. On the pillar there is an inscriptionrecording the things which led to the building of Ne-le, with thenumber of the year, the day, and the month. NOTES (1) The modern Patna, lat. 25d 28s N. , lon. 85d 15s E. The Sanskrit name means "The city of flowers. " It is the Indian Florence. (2) See chap. X, note 3. Asoka transferred his court from Rajagriha to Pataliputtra, and there, in the eighteenth year of his reign, he convoked the third Great Synod, --according, at least, to southern Buddhism. It must have been held a few years before B. C. 250; Eitel says in 246. (3) "The Vulture-hill;" so called because Mara, according to Buddhist tradition, once assumed the form of a vulture on it to interrupt the meditation of Ananda; or, more probably, because it was a resort of vultures. It was near Rajagriha, the earlier capital of Asoka, so that Fa-hien connects a legend of it with his account of Patna. It abounded in caverns, and was famous as a resort of ascetics. (4) A Brahman by cast, but a Buddhist in faith. (5) So, by the help of Julien's "Methode, " I transliterate the Chinese characters {. } {. } {. } {. }. Beal gives Radhasvami, his Chinese text having a {. } between {. } and {. }. I suppose the name was Radhasvami or Radhasami. (6) {. } {. }, the names of two kinds of schools, often occurring in the Li Ki and Mencius. Why should there not have been schools in those monasteries in India as there were in China? Fa-hien himself grew up with other boys in a monastery, and no doubt had to "go to school. " And the next sentence shows us there might be schools for more advanced students as well as for the Sramaneras. (7) See chap. Xvi, note 22. It is perhaps with reference to the famous Bodhisattva that the Brahman here is said to be "also" named Manjusri. (8) ? Cashmere cloth. (9) See chap. Xxiii, note 3. (10) We wish that we had more particulars of this great transaction, and that we knew what value in money Asoka set on the whole world. It is to be observed that he gave it to the monks, and did not receive it from them. Their right was from him, and he bought it back. He was the only "Power" that was. (11) We know nothing more of Ne-le. It could only have been a small place; an outpost for the defence of Pataliputtra. CHAPTER XXVIII RAJAGRIHA, NEW AND OLD. LEGENDS AND INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH IT. (The travellers) went on from this to the south-east for nine yojanas, and came to a small solitary rocky hill, (1) at the head or end ofwhich(2) was an apartment of stone, facing the south, --the place whereBuddha sat, when Sakra, Ruler of Devas, brought the deva-musician, Pancha-(sikha), (3) to give pleasure to him by playing on his lute. Sakra then asked Buddha about forty-two subjects, tracing (thequestions) out with his finger one by one on the rock. (4) The printsof his tracing are still there; and here also there is a monastery. A yojana south-west from this place brought them to the village ofNala, (5) where Sariputtra(6) was born, and to which also he returned, and attained here his pari-nirvana. Over the spot (where his body wasburned) there was built a tope, which is still in existence. Another yojana to the west brought them to New Rajagriha, (7)--the newcity which was built by king Ajatasatru. There were two monasteries init. Three hundred paces outside the west gate, king Ajatasatru, havingobtained one portion of the relics of Buddha, built (over them) atope, high, large, grand, and beautiful. Leaving the city by the southgate, and proceeding south four le, one enters a valley, and comes toa circular space formed by five hills, which stand all round it, andhave the appearance of the suburban wall of a city. Here was the oldcity of king Bimbisara; from east to west about five or six le, andfrom north to south seven or eight. It was here that Sariputtra andMaudgalyayana first saw Upasena;(8) that the Nirgrantha(9) made a pitof fire and poisoned the rice, and then invited Buddha (to eat withhim); that king Ajatasatru made a black elephant intoxicated withliquor, wishing him to injure Buddha;(10) and that at the north-eastcorner of the city in a (large) curving (space) Jivaka built a viharain the garden of Ambapali, (11) and invited Buddha with his 1250disciples to it, that he might there make his offerings to supportthem. (These places) are still there as of old, but inside the cityall is emptiness and desolation; no man dwells in it. NOTES (1) Called by Hsuan-chwang Indra-sila-guha, or "The cavern of Indra. " It has been identified with a hill near the village of Giryek, on the bank of the Panchana river, about thirty-six miles from Gaya. The hill terminates in two peaks overhanging the river, and it is the more northern and higher of these which Fa-hien had in mind. It bears an oblong terrace covered with the ruins of several buildings, especially of a vihara. (2) This does not mean the top or summit of the hill, but its "headland, " where it ended at the river. (3) See the account of this visit of Sakra in M. B. , pp. 288-290. It is from Hardy that we are able to complete here the name of the musician, which appears in Fa-hien as only Pancha, or "Five. " His harp or lute, we are told, was "twelve miles long. " (4) Hardy (M. B. , pp. 288, 289) makes the subjects only thirteen, which are still to be found in one of the Sutras ("the Dik-Sanga, in the Sakra-prasna Sutra"). Whether it was Sakra who wrote his questions, or Buddha who wrote the answers, depends on the punctuation. It seems better to make Sakra the writer. (5) Or Nalanda; identified with the present Baragong. A grand monastery was subsequently built at it, famous by the residence for five years of Hsuan-chwang. (6) See chap. Xvi, note 11. There is some doubt as to the statement that Nala was his birthplace. (7) The city of "Royal Palaces;" "the residence of the Magadha kings from Bimbisara to Asoka, the first metropolis of Buddhism, at the foot of the Gridhrakuta mountains. Here the first synod assembled within a year after Sakyamuni's death. Its ruins are still extant at the village of Rajghir, sixteen miles S. W. Of Behar, and form an object of pilgrimage to the Jains (E. H. , p. 100). " It is called New Rajagriha to distinguish it from Kusagarapura, a few miles from it, the old residence of the kings. Eitel says it was built by Bimbisara, while Fa-hien ascribes it to Ajatasatru. I suppose the son finished what the father had begun. (8) One of the five first followers of Sakyamuni. He is also called Asvajit; in Pali Assaji; but Asvajit seems to be a military title= "Master or trainer of horses. " The two more famous disciples met him, not to lead him, but to be directed by him, to Buddha. See Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xiii, Vinaya Texts, pp. 144-147. (9) One of the six Tirthyas (Tirthakas="erroneous teachers;" M. B. , pp. 290-292, but I have not found the particulars of the attempts on Buddha's life referred to by Fa-hien), or Brahmanical opponents of Buddha. He was an ascetic, one of the Jnati clan, and is therefore called Nirgranthajnati. He taught a system of fatalism, condemned the use of clothes, and thought he could subdue all passions by fasting. He had a body of followers, who called themselves by his name (Eitel, pp. 84, 85), and were the forerunners of the Jains. (10) The king was moved to this by Devadatta. Of course the elephant disappointed them, and did homage to Sakyamuni. See Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xx, Vinaya Texts, p. 247. (11) See chap. Xxv, note 3. Jivaka was Ambapali's son by king Bimbisara, and devoted himself to the practice of medicine. See the account of him in the Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xvii, Vinaya Texts, pp. 171-194. CHAPTER XXIX GRIDHRA-KUTA HILL, AND LEGENDS. FA-HIEN PASSES A NIGHT ON IT. HISREFLECTIONS. Entering the valley, and keeping along the mountains on thesouth-east, after ascending fifteen le, (the travellers) came to mountGridhra-kuta. (1) Three le before you reach the top, there is a cavernin the rocks, facing the south, in which Buddha sat in meditation. Thirty paces to the north-west there is another, where Ananda wassitting in meditation, when the deva Mara Pisuna, (2) having assumedthe form of a large vulture, took his place in front of the cavern, and frightened the disciple. Then Buddha, by his mysterious, supernatural power, made a cleft in the rock, introduced his hand, andstroked Ananda's shoulder, so that his fear immediately passed away. The footprints of the bird and the cleft for (Buddha's) hand are stillthere, and hence comes the name of "The Hill of the Vulture Cavern. " In front of the cavern there are the places where the four Buddhassat. There are caverns also of the Arhats, one where each sat andmeditated, amounting to several hundred in all. At the place where infront of his rocky apartment Buddha was walking from east to west(in meditation), and Devadatta, from among the beetling cliffs on thenorth of the mountain, threw a rock across, and hurt Buddha's toes, (3)the rock is still there. (4) The hall where Buddha preached his Law has been destroyed, and onlythe foundations of the brick walls remain. On this hill the peak isbeautifully green, and rises grandly up; it is the highest of all thefive hills. In the New City Fa-hien bought incense-(sticks), flowers, oil and lamps, and hired two bhikshus, long resident (at the place), to carry them (to the peak). When he himself got to it, he made hisofferings with the flowers and incense, and lighted the lamps whenthe darkness began to come on. He felt melancholy, but restrained histears and said, "Here Buddha delivered the Surangama (Sutra). (5) I, Fa-hien, was born when I could not meet with Buddha; and now I onlysee the footprints which he has left, and the place where he lived, and nothing more. " With this, in front of the rock cavern, he chantedthe Surangama Sutra, remained there over the night, and then returnedtowards the New City. (6) NOTES (1) See chap. Xxviii, note 1. (2) See chap. Xxv, note 9. Pisuna is a name given to Mara, and signifies "sinful lust. " (3) See M. B. , p. 320. Hardy says that Devadatta's attempt was "by the help of a machine;" but the oldest account in the Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xx, Vinaya Texts, p. 245, agrees with what Fa-hien implies that he threw the rock with his own arm. (4) And, as described by Hsuan-chwang, fourteen or fifteen cubits high, and thirty paces round. (5) See Mr. Bunyiu Nanjio's "Catalogue of the Chinese Translation of the Buddhist Tripitaka, " Sutra Pitaka, Nos. 399, 446. It was the former of these that came on this occasion to the thoughts and memory of Fa-hien. (6) In a note (p. Lx) to his revised version of our author, Mr. Beal says, "There is a full account of this perilous visit of Fa-hien, and how he was attacked by tigers, in the 'History of the High Priests. '" But "the high priests" merely means distinguished monks, "eminent monks, " as Mr. Nanjio exactly renders the adjectival character. Nor was Fa-hien "attacked by tigers" on the peak. No "tigers" appear in the Memoir. "Two black lions" indeed crouched before him for a time this night, "licking their lips and waving their tails;" but their appearance was to "try, " and not to attack him; and when they saw him resolute, they "drooped their heads, put down their tails, and prostrated themselves before him. " This of course is not an historical account, but a legendary tribute to his bold perseverance. CHAPTER XXX THE SRATAPARNA CAVE, OR CAVE OF THE FIRST COUNCIL. LEGENDS. SUICIDE OFA BHIKSHU. Out from the old city, after walking over 300 paces, on the west ofthe road, (the travellers) found the Karanda Bamboo garden, (1) wherethe (old) vihara is still in existence, with a company of monks, whokeep (the ground about it) swept and watered. North of the vihara two or three le there was the Smasanam, whichname means in Chinese "the field of graves into which the dead arethrown. "(2) As they kept along the mountain on the south, and went west for300 paces, they found a dwelling among the rocks, named the Pippalacave, (3) in which Buddha regularly sat in meditation after taking his(midday) meal. Going on still to the west for five or six le, on the north of thehill, in the shade, they found the cavern called Srataparna, (4) theplace where, after the nirvana(5) of Buddha, 500 Arhats collected theSutras. When they brought the Sutras forth, three lofty seats(6) hadbeen prepared and grandly ornamented. Sariputtra occupied the one onthe left, and Maudgalyayana that on the right. Of the number of fivehundred one was wanting. Mahakasyapa was president (on the middleseat). Amanda was then outside the door, and could not get in. (7)At the place there was (subsequently) raised a tope, which is stillexisting. Along (the sides of) the hill, there are also a very great many cellsamong the rocks, where the various Arhans sat and meditated. As youleave the old city on the north, and go down east for three le, thereis the rock dwelling of Devadatta, and at a distance of fifty pacesfrom it there is a large, square, black rock. Formerly there was abhikshu, who, as he walked backwards and forwards upon it, thoughtwith himself:--"This body(8) is impermanent, a thing of bitterness andvanity, (9) and which cannot be looked on as pure. (10) I am weary ofthis body, and troubled by it as an evil. " With this he grasped aknife, and was about to kill himself. But he thought again:--"TheWorld-honoured one laid down a prohibition against one's killinghimself. "(11) Further it occurred to him:--"Yes, he did; but I nowonly wish to kill three poisonous thieves. "(12) Immediately withthe knife he cut his throat. With the first gash into the flesh heattained the state of a Srotapanna;(13) when he had gone half through, he attained to be an Anagamin;(14) and when he had cut right through, he was an Arhat, and attained to pari-nirvana;(15) (and died). NOTES (1) Karanda Venuvana; a park presented to Buddha by king Bimbisara, who also built a vihara in it. See the account of the transaction in M. B. , p. 194. The place was called Karanda, from a creature so named, which awoke the king just as a snake was about to bite him, and thus saved his life. In Hardy the creature appears as a squirrel, but Eitel says that the Karanda is a bird of sweet voice, resembling a magpie, but herding in flocks; the _cuculus melanoleucus_. See "Buddhist Birth Stories, " p. 118. (2) The language here is rather contemptuous, as if our author had no sympathy with any other mode of disposing of the dead, but by his own Buddhistic method of cremation. (3) The Chinese characters used for the name of this cavern serve also to name the pippala (peepul) tree, the _ficus religiosa_. They make us think that there was such a tree overshadowing the cave; but Fa-hien would hardly have neglected to mention such a circumstance. (4) A very great place in the annals of Buddhism. The Council in the Srataparna cave did not come together fortuitously, but appears to have been convoked by the older members to settle the rules and doctrines of the order. The cave was prepared for the occasion by king Ajatasatru. From the expression about the "bringing forth of the King, " it would seem that the Sutras or some of them had been already committed to writing. May not the meaning of King {. } here be extended to the Vinaya rules, as well as the Sutras, and mean "the standards" of the system generally? See Davids' Manual, chapter ix, and Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xx, Vinaya Texts, pp. 370-385. (5) So in the text, evidently for pari-nirvana. (6) Instead of "high" seats, the Chinese texts have "vacant. " The character for "prepared" denotes "spread;"--they were carpeted; perhaps, both cushioned and carpeted, being rugs spread on the ground, raised higher than the other places for seats. (7) Did they not contrive to let him in, with some cachinnation, even in so august an assembly, that so important a member should have been shut out? (8) "The life of this body" would, I think, fairly express the idea of the bhikshu. (9) See the account of Buddha's preaching in chapter xviii. (10) The sentiment of this clause is not easily caught. (11) See E. M. , p. 152:--"Buddha made a law forbidding the monks to commit suicide. He prohibited any one from discoursing on the miseries of life in such a manner as to cause desperation. " See also M. B. , pp. 464, 465. (12) Beal says:--"Evil desire; hatred; ignorance. " (13) See chap. Xx, note 10. (14) The Anagamin belong to the third degree of Buddhistic saintship, the third class of Aryas, who are no more liable to be reborn as men, but are to be born once more as devas, when they will forthwith become Arhats, and attain to nirvana. E. H. , pp. 8, 9. (15) Our author expresses no opinion of his own on the act of this bhikshu. Must it not have been a good act, when it was attended, in the very act of performance, by such blessed consequences? But if Buddhism had not something better to show than what appears here, it would not attract the interest which it now does. The bhikshu was evidently rather out of his mind; and the verdict of a coroner's inquest of this nineteenth century would have pronounced that he killed himself "in a fit of insanity. " CHAPTER XXXI GAYA. SAKYAMUNI'S ATTAINING TO THE BUDDHASHIP; AND OTHER LEGENDS. From this place, after travelling to the west for four yojanas, (thepilgrims) came to the city of Gaya;(1) but inside the city all wasemptiness and desolation. Going on again to the south for twentyle, they arrived at the place where the Bodhisattva for six yearspractised with himself painful austerities. All around was forest. Three le west from here they came to the place where, when Buddha hadgone into the water to bathe, a deva bent down the branch of a tree, by means of which he succeeded in getting out of the pool. (2) Two le north from this was the place where the Gramika girls presentedto Buddha the rice-gruel made with milk;(3) and two le north from this(again) was the place where, seated on a rock under a great tree, andfacing the east, he ate (the gruel). The tree and the rock are thereat the present day. The rock may be six cubits in breadth and length, and rather more than two cubits in height. In Central India thecold and heat are so equally tempered that trees will live in it forseveral thousand and even for ten thousand years. Half a yojana from this place to the north-east there was a cavern inthe rocks, into which the Bodhisattva entered, and sat cross-leggedwith his face to the west. (As he did so), he said to himself, "IfI am to attain to perfect wisdom (and become Buddha), let there bea supernatural attestation of it. " On the wall of the rock thereappeared immediately the shadow of a Buddha, rather more than threefeet in length, which is still bright at the present day. At thismoment heaven and earth were greatly moved, and devas in the air spokeplainly, "This is not the place where any Buddha of the past, or hethat is to come, has attained, or will attain, to perfect Wisdom. Lessthan half a yojana from this to the south-west will bring you to thepatra(4) tree, where all past Buddhas have attained, and all to comemust attain, to perfect Wisdom. " When they had spoken these words, they immediately led the way forwards to the place, singing as theydid so. As they thus went away, the Bodhisattva arose and walked(after them). At a distance of thirty paces from the tree, a deva gavehim the grass of lucky omen, (5) which he received and went on. After(he had proceeded) fifteen paces, 500 green birds came flying towardshim, went round him thrice, and disappeared. The Bodhisattva wentforward to the patra tree, placed the kusa grass at the foot of it, and sat down with his face to the east. Then king Mara sent threebeautiful young ladies, who came from the north, to tempt him, whilehe himself came from the south to do the same. The Bodhisattva put histoes down on the ground, and the demon soldiers retired and dispersed, and the three young ladies were changed into old (grand-)mothers. (6) At the place mentioned above of the six years' painful austerities, and at all these other places, men subsequently reared topes and setup images, which all exist at the present day. Where Buddha, after attaining to perfect wisdom, for seven dayscontemplated the tree, and experienced the joy of vimukti;(7) where, under the patra tree, he walked backwards and forwards from west toeast for seven days; where the devas made a hall appear, composedof the seven precious substances, and presented offerings to him forseven days; where the blind dragon Muchilinda(8) encircled him forseven days; where he sat under the nyagrodha tree, on a square rock, with his face to the east, and Brahma-deva(9) came and made hisrequest to him; where the four deva kings brought to him theiralms-bowls;(10) where the 500 merchants(11) presented to him theroasted flour and honey; and where he converted the brothers Kasyapaand their thousand disciples;(12)--at all these places topes werereared. At the place where Buddha attained to perfect Wisdom, there are threemonasteries, in all of which there are monks residing. The familiesof their people around supply the societies of these monks with anabundant sufficiency of what they require, so that there is no lack orstint. (13) The disciplinary rules are strictly observed by them. Thelaws regulating their demeanour in sitting, rising, and entering whenthe others are assembled, are those which have been practised by allthe saints since Buddha was in the world down to the present day. The places of the four great topes have been fixed, and handed downwithout break, since Buddha attained to nirvana. Those four greattopes are those at the places where Buddha was born; where he attainedto Wisdom; where he (began to) move the wheel of his Law; and where heattained to pari-nirvana. NOTES (1) Gaya, a city of Magadha, was north-west of the present Gayah (lat. 24d 47s N. , lon. 85d 1s E). It was here that Sakyamuni lived for seven years, after quitting his family, until he attained to Buddhaship. The place is still frequented by pilgrims. E. H. , p. 41. (2) This is told so as to make us think that he was in danger of being drowned; but this does not appear in the only other account of the incident I have met with, --in "The Life of the Buddha, " p. 31. And he was not yet Buddha, though he is here called so; unless indeed the narrative is confused, and the incidents do not follow in the order of time. (3) An incident similar to this is told, with many additions, in Hardy's M. B. , pp. 166-168; "The Life of the Buddha, " p. 30; and the "Buddhist Birth Stories, " pp. 91, 92; but the name of the ministering girl or girls is different. I take Gramika from a note in Beal's revised version; it seems to me a happy solution of the difficulty caused by the {. } {. } of Fa-hien. (4) Called "the tree of leaves, " and "the tree of reflection;" a palm tree, the _borassus flabellifera_, described as a tree which never loses its leaves. It is often confounded with the pippala. E. H. , p. 92. (5) The kusa grass, mentioned in a previous note. (6) See the account of this contest with Mara in M. B. , pp. 171-179, and "Buddhist Birth Stories, " pp. 96-101. (7) See chap. Xiii, note 7. (8) Called also Maha, or the Great Muchilinda. Eitel says: "A naga king, the tutelary deity of a lake near which Sakyamuni once sat for seven days absorbed in meditation, whilst the king guarded him. " The account (p. 35) in "The Life of the Buddha" is:--"Buddha went to where lived the naga king Muchilinda, and he, wishing to preserve him from the sun and rain, wrapped his body seven times round him, and spread out his hood over his head; and there he remained seven days in thought. " So also the Nidana Katha, in "Buddhist Birth Stories, " p. 109. (9) This was Brahma himself, though "king" is omitted. What he requested of the Buddha was that he would begin the preaching of his Law. Nidana Katha, p. 111. (10) See chap. Xii, note 10. (11) The other accounts mention only two; but in M. B. , p. 182, and the Nidana Katha, p. 110, these two have 500 well-laden waggons with them. (12) These must not be confounded with Mahakasyapa of chap. Xvi, note 17. They were three brothers, Uruvilva, Gaya, and Nadi-Kasyapa, up to this time holders of "erroneous" views, having 500, 300, and 200 disciples respectively. They became distinguished followers of Sakyamuni; and are--each of them--to become Buddha by-and-by. See the Nidana Katha, pp. 114, 115. (13) This seems to be the meaning; but I do not wonder that some understand the sentence of the benevolence of the monkish population to the travellers. CHAPTER XXXII LEGEND OF KING ASOKA IN A FORMER BIRTH, AND HIS NARAKA. When king Asoka, in a former birth, (1) was a little boy and played onthe road, he met Kasyapa Buddha walking. (The stranger) begged food, and the boy pleasantly took a handful of earth and gave it to him. TheBuddha took the earth, and returned it to the ground on which he waswalking; but because of this (the boy) received the recompense ofbecoming a king of the iron wheel, (2) to rule over Jambudvipa. (Once)when he was making a judicial tour of inspection through Jambudvipa, he saw, between the iron circuit of the two hills, a naraka(3) for thepunishment of wicked men. Having thereupon asked his ministers whatsort of a thing it was, they replied, "It belongs to Yama, (4) kingof demons, for punishing wicked people. " The king thought withinhimself:--"(Even) the king of demons is able to make a naraka in whichto deal with wicked men; why should not I, who am the lord of men, make a naraka in which to deal with wicked men?" He forthwith askedhis ministers who could make for him a naraka and preside over thepunishment of wicked people in it. They replied that it was only a manof extreme wickedness who could make it; and the king thereupon sentofficers to seek everywhere for (such) a bad man; and they saw by theside of a pond a man tall and strong, with a black countenance, yellowhair, and green eyes, hooking up the fish with his feet, while hecalled to him birds and beasts, and, when they came, then shot andkilled them, so that not one escaped. Having got this man, they tookhim to the king, who secretly charged him, "You must make a squareenclosure with high walls. Plant in it all kinds of flowers andfruits; make good ponds in it for bathing; make it grand and imposingin every way, so that men shall look to it with thirsting desire; makeits gates strong and sure; and when any one enters, instantly seizehim and punish him as a sinner, not allowing him to get out. Even if Ishould enter, punish me as a sinner in the same way, and do not let mego. I now appoint you master of that naraka. " Soon after this a bhikshu, pursuing his regular course of begging hisfood, entered the gate (of the place). When the lictors of the narakasaw him, they were about to subject him to their tortures; but he, frightened, begged them to allow him a moment in which to eat hismidday meal. Immediately after, there came in another man, whom theythrust into a mortar and pounded till a red froth overflowed. As thebhikshu looked on, there came to him the thought of the impermanence, the painful suffering and insanity of this body, and how it is butas a bubble and as foam; and instantly he attained to Arhatship. Immediately after, the lictors seized him, and threw him into acaldron of boiling water. There was a look of joyful satisfaction, however, in the bhikshu's countenance. The fire was extinguished, andthe water became cold. In the middle (of the caldron) there rose up alotus flower, with the bhikshu seated on it. The lictors at once wentand reported to the king that there was a marvellous occurrence inthe naraka, and wished him to go and see it; but the king said, "I formerly made such an agreement that now I dare not go (to theplace). " The lictors said, "This is not a small matter. Your majestyought to go quickly. Let your former agreement be altered. " The kingthereupon followed them, and entered (the naraka), when the bhikshupreached the Law to him, and he believed, and was made free. (5)Forthwith he demolished the naraka, and repented of all the evil whichhe had formerly done. From this time he believed in and honoured theThree Precious Ones, and constantly went to a patra tree, repentingunder it, with self-reproach, of his errors, and accepting the eightrules of abstinence. (6) The queen asked where the king was constantly going to, and theministers replied that he was constantly to be seen under (such andsuch) a patra tree. She watched for a time when the king was notthere, and then sent men to cut the tree down. When the king came, andsaw what had been done, he swooned away with sorrow, and fell tothe ground. His ministers sprinkled water on his face, and after aconsiderable time he revived. He then built all round (the stump) withbricks, and poured a hundred pitchers of cows' milk on the roots; andas he lay with his four limbs spread out on the ground, he took thisoath, "If the tree do not live, I will never rise from this. " Whenhe had uttered this oath, the tree immediately began to grow from theroots, and it has continued to grow till now, when it is nearly 100cubits in height. NOTES (1) Here is an instance of {. } used, as was pointed out in chap. Ix, note 3, for a former age; and not merely a former time. Perhaps "a former birth" is the best translation. The Corean reading of Kasyapa Buddha is certainly preferable to the Chinese "Sakya Buddha. " (2) See chap. Xvii, note 8. (3) I prefer to retain the Sanskrit term here, instead of translating the Chinese text by "Earth's prison {. } {. }, " or "a prison in the earth;" the name for which has been adopted generally by Christian missionaries in China for gehenna and hell. (4) Eitel (p. 173) says:--"Yama was originally the Aryan god of the dead, living in a heaven above the world, the regent of the south; but Brahmanism transferred his abode to hell. Both views have been retained by Buddhism. " The Yama of the text is the "regent of the narakas, residing south of Jambudvipa, outside the Chakravalas (the double circuit of mountains above), in a palace built of brass and iron. He has a sister who controls all the female culprits, as he exclusively deals with the male sex. Three times, however, in every twenty-four hours, a demon pours boiling copper into Yama's mouth, and squeezes it down his throat, causing him unspeakable pain. " Such, however, is the wonderful "transrotation of births, " that when Yama's sins have been expiated, he is to be reborn as Buddha, under the name of "The Universal King. " (5) Or, "was loosed;" from the bonds, I suppose, of his various illusions. (6) I have not met with this particular numerical category. CHAPTER XXXIII MOUNT GURUPADA, WHERE KASYAPA BUDDHA'S ENTIRE SKELETON IS. (The travellers), going on from this three le to the south, came to amountain named Gurupada, (1) inside which Mahakasyapa even now is. Hemade a cleft, and went down into it, though the place where he enteredwould not (now) admit a man. Having gone down very far, there wasa hole on one side, and there the complete body of Kasyapa (still)abides. Outside the hole (at which he entered) is the earth with whichhe had washed his hands. (2) If the people living thereabouts have asore on their heads, they plaster on it some of the earth from this, and feel immediately easier. (3) On this mountain, now as of old, thereare Arhats abiding. Devotees of our Law from the various countries inthat quarter go year by year to the mountain, and present offeringsto Kasyapa; and to those whose hearts are strong in faith there comeArhats at night, and talk with them, discussing and explaining theirdoubts, and disappearing suddenly afterwards. On this hill hazels grow luxuriously; and there are many lions, tigers, and wolves, so that people should not travel incautiously. NOTES (1) "Fowl's-foot hill, " "with three peaks, resembling the foot of a chicken. It lies seven miles south-east of Gaya, and was the residence of Mahakasyapa, who is said to be still living inside this mountain. " So Eitel says, p. 58; but this chapter does not say that Kasyapa is in the mountain alive, but that his body entire is in a recess or hole in it. Hardy (M. B. , p. 97) says that after Kasyapa Buddha's body was burnt, the bones still remained in their usual position, presenting the appearance of a perfect skeleton. It is of him that the chapter speaks, and not of the famous disciple of Sakyamuni, who also is called Mahakasyapa. This will appear also on a comparison of Eitel's articles on "Mahakasyapa" and "Kasyapa Buddha. " (2) Was it a custom to wash the hands with "earth, " as is often done with sand? (3) This I conceive to be the meaning here. CHAPTER XXXIV ON THE WAY BACK TO PATNA. VARANASI, OR BENARES. SAKYAMUNI'S FIRSTDOINGS AFTER BECOMING BUDDHA. Fa-hien(1) returned (from here) towards Pataliputtra, (2) keeping alongthe course of the Ganges and descending in the direction of the west. After going ten yojanas he found a vihara, named "The Wilderness, "--aplace where Buddha had dwelt, and where there are monks now. Pursuing the same course, and going still to the west, he arrived, after twelve yojanas, at the city of Varanasi(3) in the kingdom ofKasi. Rather more than ten le to the north-east of the city, he foundthe vihara in the park of "The rishi's Deer-wild. "(4) In this parkthere formerly resided a Pratyeka Buddha, (5) with whom the deerwere regularly in the habit of stopping for the night. When theWorld-honoured one was about to attain to perfect Wisdom, the devassang in the sky, "The son of king Suddhodana, having quitted hisfamily and studied the Path (of Wisdom), (6) will now in seven daysbecome Buddha. " The Pratyeka Buddha heard their words, and immediatelyattained to nirvana; and hence this place was named "The Park of therishi's Deer-wild. "(7) After the World-honoured one had attained toperfect Wisdom, men build the vihara in it. Buddha wished to convert Kaundinya(8) and his four companions; butthey, (being aware of his intention), said to one another, "ThisSramana Gotama(9) for six years continued in the practice of painfulausterities, eating daily (only) a single hemp-seed, and one grain ofrice, without attaining to the Path (of Wisdom); how much less willhe do so now that he has entered (again) among men, and is giving thereins to (the indulgence of) his body, his speech, and his thoughts!What has he to do with the Path (of Wisdom)? To-day, when he comes tous, let us be on our guard not to speak with him. " At the places wherethe five men all rose up, and respectfully saluted (Buddha), when hecame to them; where, sixty paces north from this, he sat with hisface to the east, and first turned the wheel of the Law, convertingKaundinya and the four others; where, twenty paces further to thenorth, he delivered his prophecy concerning Maitreya;(10) and where, at a distance of fifty paces to the south, the dragon Elapattra(11)asked him, "When shall I get free from this naga body?"--at all theseplaces topes were reared, and are still existing. In (the park) thereare two monasteries, in both of which there are monks residing. When you go north-west from the vihara of the Deer-wild park forthirteen yojanas, there is a kingdom named Kausambi. (12) Its vihara isnamed Ghochiravana(13)--a place where Buddha formerly resided. Now, asof old, there is a company of monks there, most of whom are studentsof the hinayana. East from (this), when you have travelled eight yojanas, is the placewhere Buddha converted(14) the evil demon. There, and where he walked(in meditation) and sat at the place which was his regular abode, there have been topes erected. There is also a monastery, which maycontain more than a hundred monks. NOTES (1) Fa-hien is here mentioned singly, as in the account of his visit to the cave on Gridhra-kuta. I think that Tao-ching may have remained at Patna after their first visit to it. (2) See chap. Xxvii, note 1. (3) "The city surrounded by rivers;" the modern Benares, lat. 25d 23s N. , lon. 83d 5s E. (4) "The rishi, " says Eitel, "is a man whose bodily frame has undergone a certain transformation by dint of meditation and ascetism, so that he is, for an indefinite period, exempt from decrepitude, age, and death. As this period is believed to extend far beyond the usual duration of human life, such persons are called, and popularly believed to be, immortals. " Rishis are divided into various classes; and rishi-ism is spoken of as a seventh part of transrotation, and rishis are referred to as the seventh class of sentient beings. Taoism, as well as Buddhism, has its Seen jin. (5) See chap. Xiii, note 15. (6) See chap. Xxii, note 2. (7) For another legend about this park, and the identification of "a fine wood" still existing, see note in Beal's first version, p. 135. (8) A prince of Magadha and a maternal uncle of Sakyamuni, who gave him the name of Ajnata, meaning automat; and hence he often appears as Ajnata Kaundinya. He and his four friends had followed Sakyamuni into the Uruvilva desert, sympathising with him in the austerities he endured, and hoping that they would issue in his Buddhaship. They were not aware that that issue had come; which may show us that all the accounts in the thirty-first chapter are merely descriptions, by means of external imagery, of what had taken place internally. The kingdom of nirvana had come without observation. These friends knew it not; and they were offended by what they considered Sakyamuni's failure, and the course he was now pursuing. See the account of their conversion in M. B. , p. 186. (9) This is the only instance in Fa-hien's text where the Bodhisattva or Buddha is called by the surname "Gotama. " For the most part our traveller uses Buddha as a proper name, though it properly means "The Enlightened. " He uses also the combinations "Sakya Buddha, "="The Buddha of the Sakya tribe, " and "Sakyamuni, "="The Sakya sage. " This last is the most common designation of the Buddha in China, and to my mind best combines the characteristics of a descriptive and a proper name. Among other Buddhistic peoples "Gotama" and "Gotama Buddha" are the more frequent designations. It is not easy to account for the rise of the surname Gotama in the Sakya family, as Oldenberg acknowledges. He says that "the Sakyas, in accordance with the custom of Indian noble families, had borrowed it from one of the ancient Vedic bard families. " Dr. Davids ("Buddhism, " p. 27) says: "The family name was certainly Gautama, " adding in a note, "It is a curious fact that Gautama is still the family name of the Rajput chiefs of Nagara, the village which has been identified with Kapilavastu. " Dr. Eitel says that "Gautama was the sacerdotal name of the Sakya family, which counted the ancient rishi Gautama among its ancestors. " When we proceed, however, to endeavour to trace the connexion of that Brahmanical rishi with the Sakya house, by means of 1323, 1468, 1469, and other historical works in Nanjio's Catalogue, we soon find that Indian histories have no surer foundation than the shifting sand;--see E. H. , on the name Sakya, pp. 108, 109. We must be content for the present simply to accept Gotama as one of the surnames of the Buddha with whom we have to do. (10) See chap. Vi, note 5. It is there said that the prediction of Maitreya's succession to the Buddhaship was made to him in the Tushita heaven. Was there a repetition of it here in the Deer-park, or was a prediction now given concerning something else? (11) Nothing seems to be known of this naga but what we read here. (12) Identified by some with Kusia, near Kurrah (lat. 25d 41s N. , lon. 81d 27s E. ); by others with Kosam on the Jumna, thirty miles above Allahabad. See E. H. , p. 55. (13) Ghochira was the name of a Vaisya elder, or head, who presented a garden and vihara to Buddha. Hardy (M. B. , p. 356) quotes a statement from a Singhalese authority that Sakyamuni resided here during the ninth year of his Buddhaship. (14) Dr. Davids thinks this may refer to the striking and beautiful story of the conversion of the Yakkha Alavaka, as related in the Uragavagga, Alavakasutta, pp. 29-31 (Sacred Books of the East, vol. X, part ii). CHAPTER XXXV DAKSHINA, AND THE PIGEON MONASTERY. South from this 200 yojanas, there is a country named Dakshina, (1)where there is a monastery (dedicated to) the bygone Kasyapa Buddha, and which has been hewn out from a large hill of rock. It consists inall of five storeys;--the lowest, having the form of an elephant, with500 apartments in the rock; the second, having the form of a lion, with 400 apartments; the third, having the form of a horse, with 300apartments; the fourth, having the form of an ox, with 200 apartments;and the fifth, having the form of a pigeon, with 100 apartments. Atthe very top there is a spring, the water of which, always in front ofthe apartments in the rock, goes round among the rooms, now circling, now curving, till in this way it arrives at the lowest storey, havingfollowed the shape of the structure, and flows out there at the door. Everywhere in the apartments of the monks, the rock has been piercedso as to form windows for the admission of light, so that they are allbright, without any being left in darkness. At the four corners of the(tiers of) apartments, the rock has been hewn so as to form steps forascending to the top (of each). The men of the present day, being ofsmall size, and going up step by step, manage to get to the top; butin a former age, they did so at one step. (2) Because of this, themonastery is called Paravata, that being the Indian name for a pigeon. There are always Arhats residing in it. The country about is (a tract of) uncultivated hillocks, (3) withoutinhabitants. At a very long distance from the hill there are villages, where the people all have bad and erroneous views, and do not know theSramanas of the Law of Buddha, Brahmanas, or (devotees of) any of theother and different schools. The people of that country are constantlyseeing men on the wing, who come and enter this monastery. On oneoccasion, when devotees of various countries came to perform theirworship at it, the people of those villages said to them, "Why do younot fly? The devotees whom we have seen hereabouts all fly;" and thestrangers answered, on the spur of the moment, "Our wings are not yetfully formed. " The kingdom of Dakshina is out of the way, and perilous to traverse. There are difficulties in connexion with the roads; but those who knowhow to manage such difficulties and wish to proceed should bring withthem money and various articles, and give them to the king. He willthen send men to escort them. These will (at different stages) passthem over to others, who will show them the shortest routes. Fa-hien, however, was after all unable to go there; but having received the(above) accounts from men of the country, he has narrated them. NOTES (1) Said to be the ancient name of the Deccan. As to the various marvels in the chapter, it must be borne in mind that our author, as he tells us at the end, only gives them from hearsay. See "Buddhist Records of the Western World, " vol. Ii, pp. 214, 215, where the description, however, is very different. (2) Compare the account of Buddha's great stride of fifteen yojanas in Ceylon, as related in chapter xxxviii. (3) See the same phrase in the Books of the Later Han dynasty, the twenty-fourth Book of Biographies, p. 9b. CHAPTER XXXVI IN PATNA. FA-HIEN'S LABOURS IN TRANSCRIPTION OF MANUSCRIPTS, ANDINDIAN STUDIES FOR THREE YEARS. From Varanasi (the travellers) went back east to Pataliputtra. Fa-hien's original object had been to search for (copies of) theVinaya. In the various kingdoms of North India, however, he had foundone master transmitting orally (the rules) to another, but no writtencopies which he could transcribe. He had therefore travelled far andcome on to Central India. Here, in the mahayana monastery, (1) he founda copy of the Vinaya, containing the Mahasanghika(2) rules, --thosewhich were observed in the first Great Council, while Buddha wasstill in the world. The original copy was handed down in the Jetavanavihara. As to the other eighteen schools, (3) each one has the viewsand decisions of its own masters. Those agree (with this) in thegeneral meaning, but they have small and trivial differences, as whenone opens and another shuts. (4) This copy (of the rules), however, isthe most complete, with the fullest explanations. (5) He further got a transcript of the rules in six or seven thousandgathas, (6) being the sarvastivadah(7) rules, --those which are observedby the communities of monks in the land of Ts'in; which also have allbeen handed down orally from master to master without beingcommitted to writing. In the community here, moreover, we got theSamyuktabhi-dharma-hridaya-(sastra), (8) containing about six or seventhousand gathas; he also got a Sutra of 2500 gathas; one chapter ofthe Parinir-vana-vaipulya Sutra, (9) of about 5000 gathas; and theMahasan-ghikah Abhidharma. In consequence (of this success in his quest) Fa-hien stayed herefor three years, learning Sanskrit books and the Sanskrit speech, andwriting out the Vinaya rules. When Tao-ching arrived in the CentralKingdom, and saw the rules observed by the Sramanas, and the dignifieddemeanour in their societies which he remarked under all occurringcircumstances, he sadly called to mind in what a mutilated andimperfect condition the rules were among the monkish communities inthe land of Ts'in, and made the following aspiration:--"From thistime forth till I come to the state of Buddha, let me not be born ina frontier land. "(10) He remained accordingly (in India), and did notreturn (to the land of Han). Fa-hien, however, whose original purposehad been to secure the introduction of the complete Vinaya rules intothe land of Han, returned there alone. NOTES (1) Mentioned before in chapter xxvii. (2) Mahasanghikah simply means "the Great Assembly, " that is, of monks. When was this first assembly in the time of Sakyamuni held? It does not appear that the rules observed at it were written down at the time. The document found by Fa-hien would be a record of those rules; or rather a copy of that record. We must suppose that the original record had disappeared from the Jetavana vihara, or Fa-hien would probably have spoken of it when he was there, and copied it, if he had been allowed to do so. (3) The eighteen pu {. }. Four times in this chapter the character called pu occurs, and in the first and two last instances it can only have the meaning, often belonging to it, of "copy. " The second instance, however, is different. How should there be eighteen copies, all different from the original, and from one another, in minor matters? We are compelled to translate--"the eighteen schools, " an expression well known in all Buddhist writings. See Rhys Davids' Manual, p. 218, and the authorities there quoted. (4) This is equivalent to the "binding" and "loosing, " "opening" and "shutting, " which found their way into the New Testament, and the Christian Church, from the schools of the Jewish Rabbins. (5) It was afterwards translated by Fa-hien into Chinese. See Nanjio's Catalogue of the Chinese Tripitaka, columns 400 and 401, and Nos. 1119 and 1150, columns 247 and 253. (6) A gatha is a stanza, generally consisting, it has seemed to me, of a few, commonly of two, lines somewhat metrically arranged; but I do not know that its length is strictly defined. (7) "A branch, " says Eitel, "of the great vaibhashika school, asserting the reality of all visible phenomena, and claiming the authority of Rahula. " (8) See Nanjio's Catalogue, No. 1287. He does not mention it in his account of Fa-hien, who, he says, translated the Samyukta-pitaka Sutra. (9) Probably Nanjio's Catalogue, No. 120; at any rate, connected with it. (10) This then would be the consummation of the Sramana's being, --to get to be Buddha, the Buddha of his time in his Kalpa; and Tao-ching thought that he could attain to this consummation by a succession of births; and was likely to attain to it sooner by living only in India. If all this was not in his mind, he yet felt that each of his successive lives would be happier, if lived in India. CHAPTER XXXVII TO CHAMPA AND TAMALIPTI. STAY AND LABOURS THERE FOR THREE YEARS. TAKESSHIP TO SINGHALA, OR CEYLON. Following the course of the Ganges, and descending eastwards foreighteen yojanas, he found on the southern bank the great kingdomof Champa, (1) with topes reared at the places where Buddha walkedin meditation by his vihara, and where he and the three Buddhas, hispredecessors, sat. There were monks residing at them all. Continuinghis journey east for nearly fifty yojanas, he came to the countryof Tamalipti, (2) (the capital of which is) a seaport. In the countrythere are twenty-two monasteries, at all of which there are monksresiding. The Law of Buddha is also flourishing in it. Here Fa-hienstayed two years, writing out his Sutras, (3) and drawing pictures ofimages. After this he embarked in a large merchant-vessel, and went floatingover the sea to the south-west. It was the beginning of winter, andthe wind was favourable; and, after fourteen days, sailing day andnight, they came to the country of Singhala. (4) The people said thatit was distant (from Tamalipti) about 700 yojanas. The kingdom is on a large island, extending from east to west fiftyyojanas, and from north to south thirty. Left and right from itthere are as many as 100 small islands, distant from one another ten, twenty, or even 200 le; but all subject to the large island. Most ofthem produce pearls and precious stones of various kinds; there is onewhich produces the pure and brilliant pearl, (5)--an island whichwould form a square of about ten le. The king employs men to watch andprotect it, and requires three out of every ten such pearls, which thecollectors find. NOTES (1) Probably the modern Champanagur, three miles west of Baglipoor, lat. 25d 14s N. , lon. 56d 55s E. (2) Then the principal emporium for the trade with Ceylon and China; the modern Tam-look, lat. 22d 17s N. , lon. 88d 2s E. ; near the mouth of the Hoogly. (3) Perhaps Ching {. } is used here for any portions of the Tripitaka which he had obtained. (4) "The Kingdom of the Lion, " Ceylon. Singhala was the name of a merchant adventurer from India, to whom the founding of the kingdom was ascribed. His father was named Singha, "the Lion, " which became the name of the country;--Singhala, or Singha-Kingdom, "the Country of the Lion. " (5) Called the mani pearl or bead. Mani is explained as meaning "free from stain, " "bright and growing purer. " It is a symbol of Buddha and of his Law. The most valuable rosaries are made of manis. CHAPTER XXXVIII AT CEYLON. RISE OF THE KINGDOM. FEATS OF BUDDHA. TOPES ANDMONASTERIES. STATUE OF BUDDHA IN JADE. BO TREE. FESTIVAL OF BUDDHA'STOOTH. The country originally had no human inhabitants, (1) but was occupiedonly by spirits and nagas, with which merchants of various countriescarried on a trade. When the trafficking was taking place, thespirits did not show themselves. They simply set forth their preciouscommodities, with labels of the price attached to them; while themerchants made their purchases according to the price; and took thethings away. Through the coming and going of the merchants (in this way), when theywent away, the people of (their) various countries heard how pleasantthe land was, and flocked to it in numbers till it became a greatnation. The (climate) is temperate and attractive, without anydifference of summer and winter. The vegetation is always luxuriant. Cultivation proceeds whenever men think fit: there are no fixedseasons for it. When Buddha came to this country, (2) wishing to transform the wickednagas, by his supernatural power he planted one foot at the north ofthe royal city, and the other on the top of a mountain, (3) the twobeing fifteen yojanas apart. Over the footprint at the north of thecity the king built a large tope, 400 cubits high, grandly adornedwith gold and silver, and finished with a combination of all theprecious substances. By the side of the top he further built amonastery, called the Abhayagiri, (4) where there are (now) fivethousand monks. There is in it a hall of Buddha, adorned with carvedand inlaid works of gold and silver, and rich in the seven precioussubstances, in which there is an image (of Buddha) in green jade, more than twenty cubits in height, glittering all over with thosesubstances, and having an appearance of solemn dignity which wordscannot express. In the palm of the right hand there is a pricelesspearl. Several years had now elapsed since Fa-hien left the land ofHan; the men with whom he had been in intercourse had all been ofregions strange to him; his eyes had not rested on an old and familiarhill or river, plant or tree; his fellow-travellers, moreover, hadbeen separated from him, some by death, and others flowing off indifferent directions; no face or shadow was now with him but his own, and a constant sadness was in his heart. Suddenly (one day), when bythe side of this image of jade, he saw a merchant presenting as hisoffering a fan of white silk;(5) and the tears of sorrow involuntarilyfilled his eyes and fell down. A former king of the country had sent to Central India and got a slipof the patra tree, (6) which he planted by the side of the hall ofBuddha, where a tree grew up to the height of about 200 cubits. As itbent on one side towards the south-east, the king, fearing it wouldfall, propped it with a post eight or nine spans round. The tree beganto grow at the very heart of the prop, where it met (the trunk); (ashoot) pierced through the post, and went down to the ground, whereit entered and formed roots, that rose (to the surface) and were aboutfour spans round. Although the post was split in the middle, the outerportions kept hold (of the shoot), and people did not remove them. Beneath the tree there has been built a vihara, in which there is animage (of Buddha) seated, which the monks and commonalty reverence andlook up to without ever becoming wearied. In the city there has beenreared also the vihara of Buddha's tooth, on which, as well as on theother, the seven precious substances have been employed. The king practises the Brahmanical purifications, and the sincerityof the faith and reverence of the population inside the city are alsogreat. Since the establishment of government in the kingdom therehas been no famine or scarcity, no revolution or disorder. In thetreasuries of the monkish communities there are many precious stones, and the priceless manis. One of the kings (once) entered one of thosetreasuries, and when he looked all round and saw the priceless pearls, his covetous greed was excited, and he wished to take them to himselfby force. In three days, however, he came to himself, and immediatelywent and bowed his head to the ground in the midst of the monks, to show his repentance of the evil thought. As a sequel to this, heinformed the monks (of what had been in his mind), and desired themto make a regulation that from that day forth the king should not beallowed to enter the treasury and see (what it contained), and that nobhikshu should enter it till after he had been in orders for a periodof full forty years. (7) In the city there are many Vaisya elders and Sabaean(8) merchants, whose houses are stately and beautiful. The lanes and passages arekept in good order. At the heads of the four principal streets therehave been built preaching halls, where, on the eighth, fourteenth, and fifteenth days of the month, they spread carpets, and set forth apulpit, while the monks and commonalty from all quarters come togetherto hear the Law. The people say that in the kingdom there may bealtogether sixty thousand monks, who get their food from their commonstores. The king, besides, prepares elsewhere in the city a commonsupply of food for five or six thousand more. When any want, they taketheir great bowls, and go (to the place of distribution), and take asmuch as the vessels will hold, all returning with them full. The tooth of Buddha is always brought forth in the middle of thethird month. Ten days beforehand the king grandly caparisons a largeelephant, on which he mounts a man who can speak distinctly, and isdressed in royal robes, to beat a large drum, and make the followingproclamation:--"The Bodhisattva, during three Asankhyeya-kalpas, (9)manifested his activity, and did not spare his own life. He gave upkingdom, city, wife, and son; he plucked out his eyes and gave them toanother;(10) he cut off a piece of his own flesh to ransom the lifeof a dove;(10) he cut off his head and gave it as an alms;(11) he gavehis body to feed a starving tigress;(11) he grudged not his marrowand his brains. In many such ways as these did he undergo pain forthe sake of all living. And so it was, that, having become Buddha, he continued in the world for forty-five years, preaching his Law, teaching and transforming, so that those who had no rest found rest, and the unconverted were converted. When his connexion with the livingwas completed, (12) he attained to pari-nirvana (and died). Since thatevent, for 1497 years, the light of the world has gone out, (13) andall living beings have had long-continued sadness. Behold! ten daysafter this, Buddha's tooth will be brought forth, and taken to theAbhayagiri-vihara. Let all and each, whether monks or laics, whowish to amass merit for themselves, make the roads smooth and in goodcondition, grandly adorn the lanes and by-ways, and provide abundantstore of flowers and incense to be used as offerings to it. " When this proclamation is over, the king exhibits, so as to line bothsides of the road, the five hundred different bodily forms in whichthe Bodhisattva has in the course of his history appeared:--here asSudana, (14) there as Sama;(15) now as the king of elephants;(16) andthen as a stag or a horse. (16) All these figures are brightly colouredand grandly executed, looking as if they were alive. After this thetooth of Buddha is brought forth, and is carried along in the middleof the road. Everywhere on the way offerings are presented to it, andthus it arrives at the hall of Buddha in the Abhayagiri-vihara. Theremonks and laics are collected in crowds. They burn incense, lightlamps, and perform all the prescribed services, day and night withoutceasing, till ninety days have been completed, when (the tooth) isreturned to the vihara within the city. On fast-days the door of thatvihara is opened, and the forms of ceremonial reverence are observedaccording to the rules. Forty le to the east of the Abhayagiri-vihara there is a hill, with avihara on it, called the Chaitya, (17) where there may be 2000 monks. Among them there is a Sramana of great virtue, named Dharma-gupta, (18)honoured and looked up to by all the kingdom. He has lived for morethan forty years in an apartment of stone, constantly showing suchgentleness of heart, that he has brought snakes and rats to stoptogether in the same room, without doing one another any harm. NOTES (1) It is desirable to translate {. } {. }, for which "inhabitants" or "people" is elsewhere sufficient, here by "human inhabitants. " According to other accounts Singhala was originally occupied by Rakshasas or Rakshas, "demons who devour men, " and "beings to be feared, " monstrous cannibals or anthropophagi, the terror of the shipwrecked mariner. Our author's "spirits" {. } {. } were of a gentler type. His dragons or nagas have come before us again and again. (2) That Sakyamuni ever visited Ceylon is to me more than doubtful. Hardy, in M. B. , pp. 207-213, has brought together the legends of three visits, --in the first, fifth, and eighth years of his Buddhaship. It is plain, however, from Fa-hien's narrative, that in the beginning of our fifth century, Buddhism prevailed throughout the island. Davids in the last chapter of his "Buddhism" ascribes its introduction to one of Asoka's missions, after the Council of Patna, under his son Mahinda, when Tissa, "the delight of the gods, " was king (B. C. 250-230). (3) This would be what is known as "Adam's peak, " having, according to Hardy (pp. 211, 212, notes), the three names of Selesumano, Samastakuta, and Samanila. "There is an indentation on the top of it, " a superficial hollow, 5 feet 3 3_4 inches long, and about 2 1_2 feet wide. The Hindus regard it as the footprint of Siva; the Mohameddans, as that of Adam; and the Buddhists, as in the text, --as having been made by Buddha. (4) Meaning "The Fearless Hill. " There is still the Abhayagiri tope, the highest in Ceylon, according to Davids, 250 feet in height, and built about B. C. 90, by Watta Gamini, in whose reign, about 160 years after the Council of Patna, and 330 years after the death of Sakyamuni, the Tripitaka was first reduced to writing in Ceylon;--"Buddhism, " p. 234. (5) We naturally suppose that the merchant-offerer was a Chinese, as indeed the Chinese texts say, and the fan such as Fa-hien had seen and used in his native land. (6) This should be the pippala, or bodhidruma, generally spoken of, in connexion with Buddha, as the Bo tree, under which he attained to the Buddhaship. It is strange our author should have confounded them as he seems to do. In what we are told of the tree here, we have, no doubt, his account of the planting, growth, and preservation of the famous Bo tree, which still exists in Ceylon. It has been stated in a previous note that Asoka's son, Mahinda, went as the apostle of Buddhism to Ceylon. By-and-by he sent for his sister Sanghamitta, who had entered the order at the same time as himself, and whose help was needed, some of the king's female relations having signified their wish to become nuns. On leaving India, she took with her a branch of the sacred Bo tree at Buddha Gaya, under which Sakyamuni had become Buddha. Of how the tree has grown and still lives we have an account in Davids' "Buddhism. " He quotes the words of Sir Emerson Tennent, that it is "the oldest historical tree in the world;" but this must be denied if it be true, as Eitel says, that the tree at Buddha Gaya, from which the slip that grew to be this tree was taken more than 2000 years ago, is itself still living in its place. We must conclude that Fa-hien, when in Ceylon, heard neither of Mahinda nor Sanghamitta. (7) Compare what is said in chap. Xvi, about the inquiries made at monasteries as to the standing of visitors in the monkhood, and duration of their ministry. (8) The phonetic values of the two Chinese characters here are in Sanskrit sa; and va, bo or bha. "Sabaean" is Mr. Beal's reading of them, probably correct. I suppose the merchants were Arabs, forerunners of the so-called Moormen, who still form so important a part of the mercantile community in Ceylon. (9) A Kalpa, we have seen, denotes a great period of time; a period during which a physical universe is formed and destroyed. Asankhyeya denotes the highest sum for which a conventional term exists;--according to Chinese calculations equal to one followed by seventeen ciphers; according to Thibetan and Singhalese, equal to one followed by ninety-seven ciphers. Every Maha-kalpa consists of four Asankhyeya-kalpas. Eitel, p. 15. (10) See chapter ix. (11) See chapter xi. (12) He had been born in the Sakya house, to do for the world what the character of all his past births required, and he had done it. (13) They could no more see him, the World-honoured one. Compare the Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xi, Buddhist Suttas, pp. 89, 121, and note on p. 89. (14) Sudana or Sudatta was the name of the Bodhisattva in the birth which preceded his appearance as Sakyamuni or Gotama, when he became the Supreme Buddha. This period is known as the Vessantara Jataka, of which Hardy, M. B. , pp. 116-124, gives a long account; see also "Buddhist Birth Stories, " the Nidana Katha, p. 158. In it, as Sudana, he fulfilled "the Perfections, " his distinguishing attribute being entire self-renunciation and alms-giving, so that in the Nidana Katha is made to say ("Buddhist Birth Stories, " p. 159):-- "This earth, unconscious though she be, and ignorant of joy or grief, Even she by my free-giving's mighty power was shaken seven times. " Then, when he passed away, he appeared in the Tushita heaven, to enter in due time the womb of Maha-maya, and be born as Sakyamuni. (15) I take the name Sama from Beal's revised version. He says in a note that the Sama Jataka, as well as the Vessantara, is represented in the Sanchi sculptures. But what the Sama Jataka was I do not yet know. But adopting this name, the two Chinese characters in the text should be translated "the change into Sama. " Remusat gives for them, "la transformation en eclair;" Beal, in his first version, "his appearance as a bright flash of light;" Giles, "as a flash of lightning. " Julien's Methode does not give the phonetic value in Sanskrit of {. }. (16) In an analysis of the number of times and the different forms in which Sakyamuni had appeared in his Jataka births, given by Hardy (M. B. , p. 100), it is said that he had appeared six times as an elephant; ten times as a deer; and four times as a horse. (17) Chaitya is a general term designating all places and objects of religious worship which have a reference to ancient Buddhas, and including therefore Stupas and temples as well as sacred relics, pictures, statues, &c. It is defined as "a fane, " "a place for worship and presenting offerings. " Eitel, p. 141. The hill referred to is the sacred hill of Mihintale, about eight miles due east of the Bo tree;--Davids' Buddhism, pp. 230, 231. (18) Eitel says (p. 31): "A famous ascetic, the founder of a school, which flourished in Ceylon, A. D. 400. " But Fa-hien gives no intimation of Dharma-gupta's founding a school. CHAPTER XXXIX CREMATION OF AN ARHAT. SERMON OF A DEVOTEE. South of the city seven le there is a vihara, called the Maha-vihara, where 3000 monks reside. There had been among them a Sramana, ofsuch lofty virtue, and so holy and pure in his observance of thedisciplinary rules, that the people all surmised that he was an Arhat. When he drew near his end, the king came to examine into the point;and having assembled the monks according to rule, asked whether thebhikshu had attained to the full degree of Wisdom. (1) They answeredin the affirmative, saying that he was an Arhat. The king accordingly, when he died, buried him after the fashion of an Arhat, as the regularrules prescribed. Four of five le east from the vihara there wasreared a great pile of firewood, which might be more than thirtycubits square, and the same in height. Near the top were laid sandal, aloe, and other kinds of fragrant wood. On the four sides (of the pile) they made steps by which to ascend it. With clean white hair-cloth, almost like silk, they wrapped (the body)round and round. (2) They made a large carriage-frame, in form like ourfuneral car, but without the dragons and fishes. (3) At the time of the cremation, the king and the people, in multitudesfrom all quarters, collected together, and presented offeringsof flowers and incense. While they were following the car to theburial-ground, (4) the king himself presented flowers and incense. Whenthis was finished, the car was lifted on the pile, all over which oilof sweet basil was poured, and then a light was applied. While thefire was blazing, every one, with a reverent heart, pulled off hisupper garment, and threw it, with his feather-fan and umbrella, from adistance into the midst of the flames, to assist the burning. Whenthe cremation was over, they collected and preserved the bones, andproceeded to erect a tope. Fa-hien had not arrived in time (to see thedistinguished Shaman) alive, and only saw his burial. At that time the king, (5) who was a sincere believer in the Law ofBuddha and wished to build a new vihara for the monks, firstconvoked a great assembly. After giving the monks a meal of rice, and presenting his offerings (on the occasion), he selected a pair offirst-rate oxen, the horns of which were grandly decorated withgold, silver, and the precious substances. A golden plough had beenprovided, and the king himself turned up a furrow on the four sidesof the ground within which the building was supposed to be. He thenendowed the community of the monks with the population, fields, andhouses, writing the grant on plates of metal, (to the effect) thatfrom that time onwards, from generation to generation, no one shouldventure to annul or alter it. In this country Fa-hien heard an Indian devotee, who was recitinga Sutra from the pulpit, say:--"Buddha's alms-bowl was at first inVaisali, and now it is in Gandhara. (6) After so many hundred years"(he gave, when Fa-hien heard him, the exact number of years, but hehas forgotten it), "it will go to Western Tukhara;(7) after somany hundred years, to Khoten; after so many hundred years, toKharachar;(8) after so many hundred years, to the land of Han; afterso many hundred years, it will come to Sinhala; and after so manyhundred years, it will return to Central India. After that, it willascend to the Tushita heaven; and when the Bodhisattva Maitreya seesit, he will say with a sigh, 'The alms-bowl of Sakyamuni Buddhais come;' and with all the devas he will present to it flowers andincense for seven days. When these have expired, it will return toJambudvipa, where it will be received by the king of the sea nagas, and taken into his naga palace. When Maitreya shall be about to attainto perfect Wisdom (and become Buddha), it will again separate intofour bowls, (9) which will return to the top of mount Anna, (9) whencethey came. After Maitreya has become Buddha, the four deva kings willagain think of the Buddha (with their bowls as they did in the caseof the previous Buddha). The thousand Buddhas of this Bhadra-kalpa, indeed, will all use the same alms-bowl; and when the bowlhas disappeared, the Law of Buddha will go on gradually to beextinguished. After that extinction has taken place, the life of manwill be shortened, till it is only a period of five years. During thisperiod of a five years' life, rice, butter, and oil will all vanishaway, and men will become exceedingly wicked. The grass and treeswhich they lay hold of will change into swords and clubs, with whichthey will hurt, cut, and kill one another. Those among them on whomthere is blessing will withdraw from society among the hills; and whenthe wicked have exterminated one another, they will again come forth, and say among themselves, 'The men of former times enjoyed a verygreat longevity; but through becoming exceedingly wicked, and doingall lawless things, the length of our life has been shortened andreduced even to five years. Let us now unite together in the practiceof what is good, cherishing a gentle and sympathising heart, andcarefully cultivating good faith and righteousness. When each one inthis way practises that faith and righteousness, life will go on todouble its length till it reaches 80, 000 years. When Maitreya appearsin the world, and begins to turn the wheel of his Law, he will inthe first place save those among the disciples of the Law left by theSakya who have quitted their families, and those who have acceptedthe three Refuges, undertaken the five Prohibitions and the eightAbstinences, and given offerings to the three Precious Ones; secondlyand thirdly, he will save those between whom and conversion there is aconnexion transmitted from the past. '"(10) (Such was the discourse), and Fa-hien wished to write it down as aportion of doctrine; but the man said, "This is taken from no Sutra, it is only the utterance of my own mind. " NOTES (1) Possibly, "and asked the bhikshu, " &c. I prefer the other way of construing, however. (2) It seems strange that this should have been understood as a wrapping of the immense pyre with the cloth. There is nothing in the text to necessitate such a version, but the contrary. Compare "Buddhist Suttas, " pp. 92, 93. (3) See the description of a funeral car and its decorations in the Sacred Books of the East, vol. Xxviii, the Li Ki, Book XIX. Fa-hien's {. } {. }, "in this (country), " which I have expressed by "our, " shows that whatever notes of this cremation he had taken at the time, the account in the text was composed after his return to China, and when he had the usages there in his mind and perhaps before his eyes. This disposes of all difficulty occasioned by the "dragons" and "fishes. " The {. } at the end is merely the concluding particle. (4) The pyre served the purpose of a burial-ground or grave, and hence our author writes of it as such. (5) This king must have been Maha-nana (A. D. 410-432). In the time of his predecessor, Upatissa (A. D. 368-410), the pitakas were first translated into Singhalese. Under Maha-nana, Buddhaghosha wrote his commentaries. Both were great builders of viharas. See the Mahavansa, pp. 247, foll. (6) See chapter xii. Fa-hien had seen it at Purushapura, which Eitel says was "the ancient capital of Gandhara. " (7) Western Tukhara ({. } {. }) is the same probably as the Tukhara ({. }) of chapter xii, a king of which is there described as trying to carry off the bowl from Purushapura. (8) North of the Bosteng lake at the foot of the Thien-shan range (E. H. , p. 56). (9) See chap. Xii, note 9. Instead of "Anna" the Chinese recensions have Vina; but Vina or Vinataka, and Ana for Sudarsana are names of one or other of the concentric circles of rocks surrounding mount Meru, the fabled home of the deva guardians of the bowl. (10) That is, those whose Karma in the past should be rewarded by such conversion in the present. CHAPTER XL AFTER TWO YEARS TAKES SHIP FOR CHINA. DISASTROUS PASSAGE TO JAVA; ANDTHENCE TO CHINA; ARRIVES AT SHAN-TUNG; AND GOES TO NANKING. CONCLUSIONOR L'ENVOI BY ANOTHER WRITER. Fa-hien abode in this country two years; and, in addition (tohis acquisitions in Patna), succeeded in getting a copy of theVinaya-pitaka of the Mahisasakah (school);(1) the Dirghagamaand Samyuktagama(2) (Sutras); and also theSamyukta-sanchaya-pitaka;(3)--all being works unknown in the land ofHan. Having obtained these Sanskrit works, he took passage in a largemerchantman, on board of which there were more than 200 men, and towhich was attached by a rope a smaller vessel, as a provision againstdamage or injury to the large one from the perils of the navigation. With a favourable wind, they proceeded eastwards for three days, andthen they encountered a great wind. The vessel sprang a leak and thewater came in. The merchants wished to go to the small vessel; but themen on board it, fearing that too many would come, cut the connectingrope. The merchants were greatly alarmed, feeling their risk ofinstant death. Afraid that the vessel would fill, they took theirbulky goods and threw them into the water. Fa-hien also took hispitcher(4) and washing-basin, with some other articles, and cast theminto the sea; but fearing that the merchants would cast overboardhis books and images, he could only think with all his heart ofKwan-she-yin, (5) and commit his life to (the protection of) the churchof the land of Han, (6) (saying in effect), "I have travelled far insearch of our Law. Let me, by your dread and supernatural (power), return from my wanderings, and reach my resting-place!" In this way the tempest(7) continued day and night, till on thethirteenth day the ship was carried to the side of an island, where, on the ebbing of the tide, the place of the leak was discovered, and it was stopped, on which the voyage was resumed. On the sea(hereabouts) there are many pirates, to meet with whom is speedydeath. The great ocean spreads out, a boundless expanse. There is noknowing east or west; only by observing the sun, moon, and stars wasit possible to go forward. If the weather were dark and rainy, (theship) went as she was carried by the wind, without any definitecourse. In the darkness of the night, only the great waves were to beseen, breaking on one another, and emitting a brightness like that offire, with huge turtles and other monsters of the deep (all about). The merchants were full of terror, not knowing where they were going. The sea was deep and bottomless, and there was no place where theycould drop anchor and stop. But when the sky became clear, they couldtell east and west, and (the ship) again went forward in the rightdirection. If she had come on any hidden rock, there would have beenno way of escape. After proceeding in this way for rather more than ninety days, theyarrived at a country called Java-dvipa, where various forms of errorand Brahmanism are flourishing, while Buddhism in it is not worthspeaking of. After staying there for five months, (Fa-hien) againembarked in another large merchantman, which also had on board morethan 200 men. They carried provisions for fifty days, and commencedthe voyage on the sixteenth day of the fourth month. Fa-hien kept his retreat on board the ship. They took a course to thenorth-east, intending to fetch Kwang-chow. After more than a month, when the night-drum had sounded the second watch, they encountereda black wind and tempestuous rain, which threw the merchants andpassengers into consternation. Fa-hien again with all his heartdirected his thoughts to Kwan-she-yin and the monkish communities ofthe land of Han; and, through their dread and mysterious protection, was preserved to day-break. After day-break, the Brahmans deliberatedtogether and said, "It is having this Sramana on board which hasoccasioned our misfortune and brought us this great and bittersuffering. Let us land the bhikshu and place him on some island-shore. We must not for the sake of one man allow ourselves to be exposed tosuch imminent peril. " A patron of Fa-hien, however, said to them, "Ifyou land the bhikshu, you must at the same time land me; and if youdo not, then you must kill me. If you land this Sramana, when I getto the land of Han, I will go to the king, and inform against you. The king also reveres and believes the Law of Buddha, and honours thebhikshus. " The merchants hereupon were perplexed, and did not dareimmediately to land (Fa-hien). At this time the sky continued very dark and gloomy, and thesailing-masters looked at one another and made mistakes. More thanseventy days passed (from their leaving Java), and the provisions andwater were nearly exhausted. They used the salt-water of the sea forcooking, and carefully divided the (fresh) water, each man getting twopints. Soon the whole was nearly gone, and the merchants took counseland said, "At the ordinary rate of sailing we ought to have reachedKwang-chow, and now the time is passed by many days;--must we nothave held a wrong course?" Immediately they directed the ship to thenorth-west, looking out for land; and after sailing day and night fortwelve days, they reached the shore on the south of mount Lao, (8) onthe borders of the prefecture of Ch'ang-kwang, (8) and immediately gotgood water and vegetables. They had passed through many perils andhardships, and had been in a state of anxious apprehension for manydays together; and now suddenly arriving at this shore, and seeingthose (well-known) vegetables, the lei and kwoh, (9) they knew indeedthat it was the land of Han. Not seeing, however, any inhabitants norany traces of them, they did not know whereabouts they were. Somesaid that they had not yet got to Kwang-chow, and others that they hadpassed it. Unable to come to a definite conclusion, (some of them) gotinto a small boat and entered a creek, to look for some one of whomthey might ask what the place was. They found two hunters, whomthey brought back with them, and then called on Fa-hien to act asinterpreter and question them. Fa-hien first spoke assuringly tothem, and then slowly and distinctly asked them, "Who are you?" Theyreplied, "We are disciples of Buddha?" He then asked, "What are youlooking for among these hills?" They began to lie, (10) and said, "To-morrow is the fifteenth day of the seventh month. We wanted toget some peaches to present(11) to Buddha. " He asked further, "Whatcountry is this?" They replied, "This is the border of the prefectureof Ch'ang-kwang, a part of Ts'ing-chow under the (ruling) House ofTsin. " When they heard this, the merchants were glad, immediatelyasked for (a portion of) their money and goods, and sent men toCh'ang-kwang city. The prefect Le E was a reverent believer in the Law of Buddha. Whenhe heard that a Sramana had arrived in a ship across the sea, bringingwith him books and images, he immediately came to the seashore with anescort to meet (the traveller), and receive the books and images, andtook them back with him to the seat of his government. On this themerchants went back in the direction of Yang-chow;(12) (but) when(Fa-hien) arrived at Ts'ing-chow, (the prefect there)(13) beggedhim (to remain with him) for a winter and a summer. After the summerretreat was ended, Fa-hien, having been separated for a long timefrom his (fellow-)masters, wished to hurry to Ch'ang-gan; but as thebusiness which he had in hand was important, he went south to theCapital;(14) and at an interview with the masters (there) exhibitedthe Sutras and the collection of the Vinaya (which he had procured). After Fa-hien set out from Ch'ang-gan, it took him six years to reachCentral India;(15) stoppages there extended over (other) six years;and on his return it took him three years to reach Ts'ing-chow. Thecountries through which he passed were a few under thirty. Fromthe sandy desert westwards on to India, the beauty of the dignifieddemeanour of the monkhood and of the transforming influence of the Lawwas beyond the power of language fully to describe; and reflecting howour masters had not heard any complete account of them, he therefore(went on) without regarding his own poor life, or (the dangers to beencountered) on the sea upon his return, thus incurring hardships anddifficulties in a double form. He was fortunate enough, throughthe dread power of the three Honoured Ones, (15) to receive help andprotection in his perils; and therefore he wrote out an account of hisexperiences, that worthy readers might share with him in what he hadheard and said. (15) It was in the year Keah-yin, (16) the twelfth year of the period E-heof the (Eastern) Tsin dynasty, the year-star being in Virgo-Libra, in the summer, at the close of the period of retreat, that I met thedevotee Fa-hien. On his arrival I lodged him with myself in the winterstudy, (17) and there, in our meetings for conversation, I asked himagain and again about his travels. The man was modest and complaisant, and answered readily according to the truth. I thereupon advised himto enter into details where he had at first only given a summary, andhe proceeded to relate all things in order from the beginning to theend. He said himself, "When I look back on what I have gone through, my heart is involuntarily moved, and the perspiration flows forth. That I encountered danger and trod the most perilous places, withoutthinking of or sparing myself, was because I had a definite aim, and thought of nothing but to do my best in my simplicity andstraightforwardness. Thus it was that I exposed my life where deathseemed inevitable, if I might accomplish but a ten-thousandth part ofwhat I hoped. " These words affected me in turn, and I thought:--"Thisman is one of those who have seldom been seen from ancient times tothe present. Since the Great Doctrine flowed on to the East there hasbeen no one to be compared with Hien in his forgetfulness of self andsearch for the Law. Henceforth I know that the influence of sincerityfinds no obstacle, however great, which it does not overcome, andthat force of will does not fail to accomplish whatever service itundertakes. Does not the accomplishing of such service arise fromforgetting (and disregarding) what is (generally) considered asimportant, and attaching importance to what is (generally) forgotten?" NOTES (1) No. 1122 in Nanjio's Catalogue, translated into Chinese by Buddhajiva and a Chinese Sramana about A. D. 425. Mahisasakah means "the school of the transformed earth, " or "the sphere within which the Law of Buddha is influential. " The school is one of the subdivisions of the Sarvastivadah. (2) Nanjio's 545 and 504. The Agamas are Sutras of the hinayana, divided, according to Eitel, pp. 4, 5, into four classes, the first or Dirghagamas (long Agamas) being treatises on right conduct, while the third class contains the Samyuktagamas (mixed Agamas). (3) Meaning "Miscellaneous Collections;" a sort of fourth Pitaka. See Nanjio's fourth division of the Canon, containing Indian and Chinese miscellaneous works. But Dr. Davids says that no work of this name is known either in Sanskrit or Pali literature. (4) We have in the text a phonetisation of the Sanskrit Kundika, which is explained in Eitel by the two characters that follow, as="washing basin, " but two things evidently are intended. (5) See chap. Xvi, note 23. (6) At his novitiate Fa-hien had sought the refuge of the "three Precious Ones" (the three Refuges {. } {. } of last chapter), of which the congregation or body of the monks was one; and here his thoughts turn naturally to the branch of it in China. His words in his heart were not exactly words of prayer, but very nearly so. (7) In the text {. } {. }, ta-fung, "the great wind, "=the typhoon. (8) They had got to the south of the Shan-tung promontory, and the foot of mount Lao, which still rises under the same name on the extreme south of the peninsula, east from Keao Chow, and having the district of Tsieh-mih on the east of it. All the country there is included in the present Phing-too Chow of the department Lae-chow. The name Phing-too dates from the Han dynasty, but under the dynasty of the After Ch'e {. } {. }, (A. D. 479-501), it was changed into Ch'ang-kwang. Fa-hien may have lived, and composed the narrative of his travels, after the change of name was adopted. See the Topographical Tables of the different Dynasties ({. } {. } {. } {. } {. }), published in 1815. (9) What these vegetables exactly were it is difficult to say; and there are different readings of the characters for them. Williams' Dictionary, under kwoh, brings the two names together in a phrase, but the rendering of it is simply "a soup of simples. " For two or three columns here, however, the text appears to me confused and imperfect. (10) I suppose these men were really hunters; and, when brought before Fa-hien, because he was a Sramana, they thought they would please him by saying they were disciples of Buddha. But what had disciples of Buddha to do with hunting and taking life? They were caught in their own trap, and said they were looking for peaches. (11) The Chinese character here has occurred twice before, but in a different meaning and connexion. Remusat, Beal, and Giles take it as equivalent to "to sacrifice. " But his followers do not "sacrifice" to Buddha. That is a priestly term, and should not be employed of anything done at Buddhistic services. (12) Probably the present department of Yang-chow in Keang-soo; but as I have said in a previous note, the narrative does not go on so clearly as it generally does. (13) Was, or could, this prefect be Le E? (14) Probably not Ch'ang-gan, but Nan-king, which was the capital of the Eastern Tsin dynasty under another name. (15) The whole of this paragraph is probably Fa-hien's own conclusion of his narrative. The second half of the second sentence, both in sentiment and style in the Chinese text, seems to necessitate our ascribing it to him, writing on the impulse of his own thoughts, in the same indirect form which he adopted for his whole narrative. There are, however, two peculiar phraseologies in it which might suggest the work of another hand. For the name India, where the first (15) is placed, a character is employed which is similarly applied nowhere else; and again, "the three Honoured Ones, " at which the second (15) is placed, must be the same as "the three Precious Ones, " which we have met with so often; unless we suppose that {. } {. } is printed in all the revisions for {. } {. }, "the World-honoured one, " which has often occurred. On the whole, while I accept this paragraph as Fa-hien's own, I do it with some hesitation. That the following and concluding paragraph is from another hand, there can be no doubt. And it is as different as possible in style from the simple and straightforward narrative of Fa-hien. (16) There is an error of date here, for which it is difficult to account. The year Keah-yin was A. D. 414; but that was the tenth year of the period E-he, and not the twelfth, the cyclical designation of which was Ping-shin. According to the preceding paragraph, Fa-hien's travels had occupied him fifteen years, so that counting from A. D. 399, the year Ke-hae, as that in which he set out, the year of his getting to Ts'ing-chow would have been Kwei-chow, the ninth year of the period E-he; and we might join on "This year Keah-yin" to that paragraph, as the date at which the narrative was written out for the bamboo-tablets and the silk, and then begins the Envoy, "In the twelfth year of E-he. " This would remove the error as it stands at present, but unfortunately there is a particle at the end of the second date ({. }), which seems to tie the twelfth year of E-he to Keah-yin, as another designation of it. The "year-star" is the planet Jupiter, the revolution of which, in twelve years, constitutes "a great year. " Whether it would be possible to fix exactly by mathematical calculation in what year Jupiter was in the Chinese zodiacal sign embracing part of both Virgo and Scorpio, and thereby help to solve the difficulty of the passage, I do not know, and in the meantime must leave that difficulty as I have found it. (17) We do not know who the writer of the Envoy was. "The winter study or library" would be the name of the apartment in his monastery or house, where he sat and talked with Fa-hien.