Again,.Sariputra, if there be some monk or nun pretending to Arhatship without an earnest vow to reach supreme, perfect enlightenment and saying, ‘ I am standing too high 1 for the Buddha-vehicle, I am in my last appearance in the body before complete Nirv&Tza,’ then, Sariputra, consider such a one to be conceited. For,.Sariputra, it is unfit, it is improper that a monk, a faultless Arhat, should not believe in the law which he hears from the Tathagata in his presence. I leave out of question when the Tathd- gata shall have reached complete Nirva?za; for at that period, that time,.Sariputra, when the Tatha¬ gata shall be wholly extinct, there shall be none who either knows by heart or preaches such Sutras as this. It will be under other Tathagatas, &c., that they are to be freed from doubts. In respect to these things believe my words,.Sariputra, value them, take them to heart; for there is no falsehood in the Tathagatas, S'&riputra. There is but one vehicle, .Sariputra, and that the Buddha-vehicle.
And on that occasion to set forth this matter more copiously the Lord uttered the following stanzas: 1 According to the reading utsanna; another MS. has u^^^inna, the reading followed by Bumouf, for he renders it by ‘exclu.’ The form \ikkh\nna. could the more easily creep in, because instead of utsanna we often find \xkkha.nn&, which, in fact, I believe to be the true form, for the word may be derived from jad, akin to Latin cedo, Greek KcKa<rpcu; the usual spelling, however, is ut¬ sanna.
44 IT.
37. No less than five thousand monks, nuns, and lay devotees of both sexes, full of unbelief and conceit, 38. Remarking this slight, went, defective in training and foolish as they were, away in order to beware of damage.
39. The Lord, who knew them to be the dregs of the congregation, exclaimed 1: They have no suffi¬ cient merit to hear this law.
40. My congregation is now pure 2, freed from chaff; the trash is removed and the pith only remains.
41. Hear from me,.Sariputra, how this law has been discovered by the highest man s, and how the mighty Buddhas are preaching it with many hundred proofs of skilfulness.
42. I know the disposition and conduct, the various inclinations of kods of living beings in this world; I know their various actions and the good they have done before.
43. Those living beings I initiate in this (law) by the aid of manifold interpretations and reasons; and by hundreds of arguments and illustrations have I, in one way or another, gladdened all creatures.
44. I utter both Sfitras and stanzas; legends, 1 The two preceding stanzas and the half of this stanza make no part of the Lord’s speech. It appears that the maker of the prose text has worked upon the older text in poetry, and on this occasion has been at a loss how to connect the latter with the former. The matter is easily explained on the assumption that the verses con¬ tained the ancient text, and therefore were treated with the greatest scruples.
2.Suddh^; Burnouf rendering! ayant de la foi’ has followed another reading, rraddha.
3 The term used is Purushottama, a well-known epithet of Vishmi.
n.
SKILFULNESS.
45 Citakas and prodigies, besides hundreds of intro¬ ductions and curious parables.
45. I show Nirvana to the ignorant with low dispositions, who have followed no course of duty under many ko/is of Buddhas, are bound to con¬ tinued existence and wretched.
46. The self-born one uses such means to mani¬ fest Buddha-knowledge, but he shall never say to them, Ye also are to become Buddhas 1 2.
47. Why should not the mighty 3 one, after having waited for the right time, speak, now that he per¬ ceives the right moment is come? This is the fit opportunity, met somehow, of commencing the ex¬ position of what really is.
48. Now the word of my commandment, as con¬ tained in nine divisions 4, has been published accord¬ ing to the varying degree of strength of creatures. Such is the device I have shown in order to intro¬ duce (creatures) to the knowledge of the giver of boons.
49. And to those in the world who have always been pure, wise, good-minded, compassionate sons 1 Moralising tales and fables, so-called birth stories. Of the P&li version of those tales a part has been edited by Professor Fausboll and translated by Dr. Rhys Davids.
2 The reading is uncertain; one MS. has yushme pi bud- dheka (!) bhavishyatheti; another yushmaipi buddhehi bha- vishati (!).
3 Tayin; here one might translate the word by ‘able, clever.’
4 The nine divisions, according to the matter, of Scripture, are with the Southern Buddhists, Sutta, Geya, Veyyakarawa, Gatha, Udana, Itivuttaka, Gataka, Abbhutadhamma, and Vedalla, to which answer in the Northern enumeration Sutra, Geya, Vaiyakarawa, GsitM, Udana, Ityukta (or Itivn'ttika), Uataka, Adbhutadharma, and Vaipulya; see Burnouf, Introduction, p. 51 sqq.
46 II.
of Buddha and done thei rduty under many ko/is of Buddhas will I make known amplified Sutras.
50. For they are endowed with such gifts of mental disposition and such advantages of a blame¬ less outward form 1 that I can announce to them: in future ye shall become Buddhas benevolent and compassionate.
51. Hearing which, all of them will be pervaded with delight (at the thought): We shall become Buddhas pre-eminent in the world. And I, per¬ ceiving their conduct, will again reveal amplified Sutras.
52. And those are the disciples of the Leader, who have listened to my word of command. One single stanza learnt or kept in memory suffices, no doubt of it, to lead all of them to enlightenment.
53. There is, indeed, but one vehicle; there is no second, nor a third anywhere in the world, apart from the case of the Purushottamas using an expe¬ dient to show that there is a diversity of vehicles.
54. The Chief of the world appears in the world to reveal the Buddha-knowledge. He has but one aim, indeed, no second; the Buddhas do not bring over (creatures) by an inferior vehicle.
55. There where the self-born one has established himself, and where the object of knowledge is, of what¬ ever form or kind; (where) the powers, the stages of meditation, the emancipations, the perfected faculties (are); there the beings also shall be established.
56. I should be guilty of envy, should I, after 1 The text has: tath&hi te &saya.rampadahi visuddharupa- yasamanvita ’bhfit. This abhiit is rather an unhappy attempt at Sanskritising a Prakrit ahu m or ahu, than a singular used for a plural. Sampad and aya are nearly synonymous terms.
II.
SKILFULNESS.
47 reaching the spotless eminent state of enlightenment, establish any one in the inferior vehicle. That would not beseem me.
57. There is no envy whatever in me; no jealousy, no desire, nor passion. Therefore I am the Buddha, because the world follows my teaching 1.
58. When, splendidly marked with (the thirty- two) characteristics, I am illuminating this whole world, and, worshipped by many hundreds of beings, I show the (unmistakable) stamp of the nature of the law; 59. Then,.Sariputra, I think thus: How will all beings by the thirty-two characteristics mark the self-born Seer, who of his own accord sheds his lustre all over the world?
60. And while I am thinking and pondering, when my wish has been fulfilled and my vow accomplished, I no more 2 reveal Buddha-knowledge.
61. If, O son of Slri®, I spoke to the creatures, ‘ Vivify in your minds the wish for enlightenment,’ they would in their ignorance all go astray and never catch the meaning of my good words.
62. And considering them to be such, and that they have not accomplished their course of duty in previous existences, (I see how) they are attached and devoted to sensual pleasures, infatuated by desire and blind with delusion.
1 Anubodhat, which may be rendered otherwise, ‘(because the world) perceives me.’
2 One MS. reads £a, ‘and,’ for na, ‘not.’
8.Sarisuta, otherwise.Sariputra. Varika or sarika is the Turdus Salica, one of whose other names is dfttf, masc. duta. It is hardly a mere play of chance that.Sariputra in Afullavagga VII, 4 is praised as being an excellent dftta.
48 II.
63. From lust they run into distress; they are tor¬ mented in the six states of existence and people the cemetery 1 again and again; they are overwhelmed with misfortune, as they possess little virtue.
64. They are continually entangled in the thickets of (sectarian) theories, such as, ‘ It is and it is not; it is thus and it is not thus.’ In trying to get a decided opinion on what is found in the sixty-two (heretical) theories they come to embrace falsehood and continue in it.
65. They are hard to correct, proud, hypocritical, crooked, malignant, ignorant, dull; hence they do not hear the good Buddha-call, not once in ko^is of births.
66. To those, son of 6ari, I show a device and say: Put an end to your trouble. When I perceive creatures vexed with mishap I make them see N irva^a.
67. And so do I reveal all those laws that are ever holy and correct from the very first. And the son of Buddha who has completed his course shall once be a Cfina.
68. It is but my skilfulness which prompts me to manifest three vehicles; for there is but one vehicle and one track 2; there is also but one instruction by the leaders.
69. Remove all doubt and uncertainty; and should 1 Ka/Swsi vardhenti. This is a strangely altered ka/asiw vardhenti, Pali ka/asi m va</</^enti; see Aullavagga XII, 1, 3, and cf. the expression ka/asiva<f<//$ano in Gataka (ed. Fausboll) I, p. 146, and the passage of Apastamba II, 9, 23, 4 (in Buhler’s transl. p. 156), where cemeteries, Ama^anani, by the commentator Haradatta, are said to denote ‘ fresh births.’
2 Or, method.
II.
SKILFULNESS.
49 there be any who feel doubts, (let them know that) the Lords of the world speak the truth; this is the only vehicle, a second there is not.
70. The former Tathigatas also, living in the past for innumerable Aions, the many thousands of Bud¬ dhas who are gone to final rest, whose number can never be counted, 71. Those highest of men 1 have all of them re¬ vealed most holy laws by means of illustrations, reasons, and arguments, with many hundred proofs of skilfulness.
72. And all of them have manifested but one vehicle and introduced but one on earth; by one vehicle have they led to full ripeness inconceivably many thousands of ko/is of beings.
73. Yet the ffinas possess various and manifold means through which the Tathagata reveals to the world, including the gods, superior enlightenment, in consideration of the inclinations and dispositions (of the different beings).
74. And all in the world who are hearing or have heard the law from the mouth of the Tatha- gatas, given alms, followed the moral precepts, and patiently accomplished the whole of their religious duties; 75. Who have acquitted themselves in point of zeal and meditation, with wisdom reflected on those laws, and performed several meritorious actions, have all of them reached enlightenment.
76. And such beings as were living patient, sub¬ dued, and disciplined, under the rule of the dfinas of those times, have all of them reached enlighten¬ ment.
77. Others also, who paid worship to the relics of the departed (rinas, erected many thousands of Stftpas made of gems, gold, silver, or crystal, 78. Or built Sthpas of emerald, cat’s eye 1, pearls, egregious lapis lazuli, or sapphire; they have all of them reached enlightenment.
79. And those who erected Stupas from marble, sandal-wood, or eagle-wood; constructed Stftpas from Deodar or a combination of different sorts of timber; 80. And who in gladness of heart built for the (rinas Stupas of bricks or clay; or caused mounds of earth to be raised in forests and wildernesses in dedication to the (rinas; 81. The little boys even, who in playing erected here and there heaps of sand with the intention of dedicating them as Stupas to the (rinas, they have all of them reached enlightenment.
82. Likewise have all who caused jewel images to be made and dedicated, adorned with the thirty- two characteristic signs, reached enlightenment.
83. Others who had images of Sugatas made of the seven precious substances, of copper or brass, have all of them reached enlightenment.
84. Those who ordered beautiful statues of Su¬ gatas to be made of lead, iron, clay, or plaster have &c.
85. Those who made images (of the Sugatas) on painted walls, with complete limbs and the hundred holy signs, whether they drew them themselves or had them drawn by others, have &c.
1 Karketana, a certain precious stone, which, according to the dictionaries, is a kind of cat’s eye. It rather looks as if it were the Greek \a\Kr/86vios.
II.
SKILFULNESS.
5* 86. Those even, whether men or boys, who during the lesson or in play, by way of amusement, made upon the walls (such) images with the nail or a piece of wood, 87. Have all of them reached enlightenment; they have become compassionate, and, by rousing many Bodhisattvas, have saved ko/is of creatures.
88. Those who offered flowers and perfumes to the relics of the Tathagatas, to Stftpas, a mound of earth, images of clay or drawn on a wall; 89. Who caused musical instruments, drums, conch trumpets, and noisy great drums to be played, and raised the rattle of tymbals at such places in order to celebrate the highest enlightenment; 90. Who caused sweet lutes, cymbals, tabors, small drums, reed-pipes, flutes of — 1 or sugar-cane to be made, have all of them reached enlightenment.
91. Those who to celebrate the Sugatas made iron cymbals resound, —(?) or small drums 2 3; who sang a song sweet and lovely; 92. They have all of them reached enlightenment. By paying various kinds of worship to the relics of the Sugatas, by doing but a little for the relics, by making resound were it but a single musical instru¬ ment; 93. Or by worshipping were it but with a single 1 The MSS. have ekonnaf/a, which I do not understand; Burnouf, it would seem, has read ekotsava, for his translation has ‘ ceux qui ne servent que pour une fete.’
3 Two words are doubtful; one MS. has ^alama^/uka va— mawrfakS v&; another ^Slamaddraki v£ — maddrak& va. It is not impossible that maddraka is essentially the same with Sanskrit mandra, which is said to be a kind of drum. Burnouf renders the words by ‘ qui ont battu l’eau, frappd dans leurs mains.’
52 II.
flower, by drawing on a wall the images of the Su- gatas, by doing worship were it even with distracted thoughts, one shall in course of time see ko/is of Buddhas.
94. Those who, when in presence of a Stflpa, have offered their reverential salutation, be it in a complete form or by merely joining the hands; who, were it but for a single moment, bent their head or body; 95. And who at Stupas containing relics have one single time said: Homage be to Buddha! albeit they did it with distracted thoughts, all have attained superior enlightenment.
96. The creatures who in the days of those Su- gatas, whether already extinct 1 or still in existence, have heard no more than the name of the law, have all of them reached enlightenment.
97. Many ko/is of future Buddhas beyond imagina¬ tion and measure shall likewise reveal this device as (Anas and supreme Lords.
98. Endless shall be the skilfulness of these leaders of the world, by which they shall educate 2 3 ko/is of beings to that Buddha-knowledge which is free from imperfection s.
1 Or, expired, and more grandly entered Nirvana. The real meaning of the contents of stanza 74 seq. will be that all men who lived under past Sugatas, i. e. in past days, after doing acts of piety, have finished with reaching enlightenment, i. e. with dying.
4 Vinayati, to train, educate, also means to carry away, remove.
3 I.e. death. Such terms as perfect enlightenment, Buddha- knowledge, &c., when they are veiled or euphemistic expressions for death, may be compared with the phrase ‘to see the truth,’ which in some parts of Europe is quite common, especially among II.
SKILFULNESS.
53 99. Never has there been any being who, after hearing the law of those (leaders), shall not become Buddha 1; for this is the fixed vow of the Tatha- gatas: Let me, by accomplishing my course of duty, lead others to enlightenment.
100. They are to expound in future days many thousand ko/is of heads of the law; in their Tatha- gataship they shall teach the law by showing the sole vehicle before-mentioned.
101. The line of the law forms an unbroken con¬ tinuity and the nature of its properties is always manifest. Knowing this, the Buddhas, the highest of men, shall reveal this single vehicle 2.
102. They shall reveal the stability of the law, its being subjected to fixed rules, its unshakeable per¬ petuity in the world, the awaking of the Buddhas on the elevated terrace of the earth, their skilfulness.
103. In all directions of space are standing Bud¬ dhas, like sand of the Ganges, honoured by gods and men; these also do, for the weal of all beings in the world, expound superior enlightenment.
104. Those Buddhas while manifesting skilfulness display various vehicles though, at the same time, indicating the one single vehicle 3: the supreme place of blessed rest.
country people, as synonymous with dying. No less common is the expression nirva»am paryati, to see Nirvawa.
1 The text has eko ’pi satvo na kadai’i tesha m,.SYutvana dhar- ma m na bhaveta buddha/2,.Srutvana answers, of course, to a Prakrit sutvdna; cf.Vedic pitvanam, Pdmni VII, 1, 48.
3 Viditva Buddha dvipadanam uttama, prakarayishyanti 'mam ekay&naw. The elision of i is an example of Prakrit or Pali Sandhi, frequent in the stanzas.
3 Yana here properly denotes way, or place where one is going to.
54 IT.
105. Acquainted as they are with the conduct of all mortals, with their peculiar dispositions and pre¬ vious actions; with due regard to their strenuous¬ ness and vigour, as well as their inclination, the Buddhas impart their lights to them.
106. By dint of knowledge the leaders produce many illustrations, arguments, and reasons; and con¬ sidering how the creatures have various inclinations they impart various directions.
107. And myself also, the leader of the chief (Anas, am now manifesting, for the weal of creatures now living, this Buddha enlightenment by thousands of koris of various directions.
108. I reveal the law in its multifariousness with regard to the inclinations and dispositions of creatures. I use different means to rouse each according to his own character. Such is the might of my knowledge.
109. I likewise see the poor wretches, deficient in wisdom and conduct, lapsed into the mundane whirl, retained in dismal places, plunged in affliction inces¬ santly renewed.
no. Fettered as they are by desire like the yak by its tail, continually blinded by sensual pleasure, they do not seek the Buddha, the mighty one; they do not seek the law that leads to the end of pain.
in. Staying in the six states of existence, they are benumbed in their senses, stick unmoved to the low views, and suffer pain on pain. For those I feel a great compassion.
112. On the terrace of enlightenment I have remained three weeks in full, searching and pon¬ dering on such a matter, steadily looking up to the tree there (standing).
113. Keeping in view that king of trees with an II.
SKILFULNESS.
55 unwavering gaze I walked round at its foot 1 (thinking): This law is wonderful and lofty, whereas creatures are blind with dulness and ignorance.
114. Then it was that Brahma entreated me, and so did Indra, the four rulers of the cardinal points, Mahesvara, I war a, and the hosts of Maruts by thou¬ sands of ko/is 2.
115. All stood with joined hands and respectful, while myself was revolving the matter in my mind (and thought): What shall I do? At the very time that I am uttering syllables 3, beings are oppressed with evils.
116. In their ignorance they will not heed the law I announce, and in consequence of it they will incur some penalty. It would be better were I never to speak. May my quiet extinction take place this very day!
117. But on remembering the former Buddhas and their skilfulness, (I thought): Nay, I also will manifest this tripartite Buddha-enlightenment.
118. When I was thus meditating on the law, the other Buddhas in all the directions of space appeared to me in their own body and raised their voice, crying ‘ Amen.
119. ‘Amen, Solitary, first Leader of the world! now that thou hast come to unsurpassed knowledge, 1 Tasyaiva hesh the, i.e. Prakrit h tithe, Sanskrit adhastat.
2 The story slightly differs from what is found in the Mahavagga, Lalita-vistara, and other works, in so far as the number of weeks is generally reckoned as seven. There are, however, other discre¬ pancies between the relations in the various sources, for which I must refer to Mahavagga I, 5; Lalita-vistara, p. 511; cf. Bigandet, Legend, p. 112.
3 The text has varwan, i.e. colours, letters.
and art meditating on the skilfulness of the leaders of the world, thou repeatest their teaching.
120. ‘We also, being Buddhas, will make clear the highest word 1, divided into three parts; for men (occasionally) have low inclinations, and might per¬ chance from ignorance not believe (us, when we say), Ye shall become Buddhas.
121. ‘Hence we will rouse many Bodhisattvas by the display of skilfulness and the encouraging of the wish of obtaining fruits/ 122. And I was delighted to hear the sweet voice of the leaders of men; in the exultation of my heart I said to the blessed saints, ‘ The words of the eminent sages are not spoken in vain.
123. ‘ I, too, will act according to the indications of the wise leaders of the world; having myself been born in the midst of the degradation of creatures, I have known agitation in this dreadful world.’
124. When I had come to that conviction, O son of iShri, I instantly went to Benares, where I skilfully preached the law to the five Solitaries 2, that law which is the base of final beatitude.
125. From that moment the wheel of my law has been moving 3, and the name of Nirvana made its appearance in the world, as well as the name of Arhat, of Dharma, and Sangha.
126. Many years have I preached and pointed to the 1 Properly, the most lofty place; the word pad a in the text means place, spot, word, subject, &c.
2 A^-Mta-Kauw^nya and the four others mentioned in the open¬ ing chapter.
3 In chap. VII we shall see that the wheel was put in motion at an inconceivably long period before, by the Tathagata Maha- bhi^Ia^wanabhibhh.
II.
SKILFULNESS.
57 stage of N irv£«a, the end of wretchedness and mundane existence. Thus I used to speak at all times.
127. And when I saw,.Sariputra, the children of the highest of men by many thousands of ko/is, numberless, striving after the supreme, the highest enlightenment; 128. And when such as had heard the law of the (Anas, owing to the many-sidedness of (their) skilful¬ ness, had approached me and stood before my face, all of them with joined hands, and respectful; 129. Then I conceived the idea that the time had come for me to announce the excellent law and to reveal supreme enlightenment, for which task I had been born in the world.
130. This (event) to-day will be hard to be under¬ stood by the ignorant who imagine they see 1 here a sign, as they are proud and dull. But the Bodhi- sattvas, they will listen to me.
131. And I felt free from hesitation and highly cheered; putting aside all timidity, I began speaking in the assembly of the sons of Sugata, and roused them to enlightenment.
132. On beholding such worthy sons of Buddha (I said): Thy doubts also will be removed, and these twelve hundred (disciples) of mine, free from imper¬ fections, will all of them become Buddhas.
133. Even as the nature of the law of the former 2 mighty saints and the future (Pinas is, so is my law 1 One would rather expect ‘who imagine not to see, fail to see,’ but the words of the text do not admit of such an interpretation.
2 Yathaiva tesM»z purimawa Tayinam, anagatana»z ki. Gin ana dharmata, mamapi esha vikalpavargita, tathaiva ’ha m derayi adya tubhyaro.
5» IT.
free from any doubtfulness, and it is such as I to-day preach it to thee.
134. At certain times, at certain places, somehow do the leaders appear in the world, and after their appearance will they, whose view is boundless, at one time or another preach 1 a similar law.
135. It is most difficult to meet with this superior law, even in myriads of kods of /Eons; very rare are the beings who will adhere to the superior law which they have heard from me.
136. Just as the blossom of the glomerous fig- tree is rare, albeit sometimes, at some places, and somehow it is met with, as something pleasant to see for everybody, as a wonder to the world including the gods; 137. (So wonderful) and far more wonderful is the law I proclaim. Any one who, on hearing a good exposition of it, shall cheerfully accept it and recite but one word of it, will have done honour to all Buddhas.
138. Give up all doubt and uncertainty in this respect; I declare that I am the king of the law (Dharmarafa); I am urging others to enlighten¬ ment, but I am here without disciples.
139. Let this mystery be for thee, S'iriputra, for all disciples of mine, and for the eminent Bodhisattvas, who are to keep this mystery.
140. For the creatures, when at the period of the five depravities 2, are vile and bad; they are blinded 1 De.fayu/2, plural; Burnouf seems to have read the singular.
2 The five kashayas are summarily indicated in Dhammapada 1x5 by ‘ragadi.’ As the list of kle-ras, Lalita-vistara, p. 348 seq., commences with rig a, there can be no doubt that Burnouf was right in supposing the five kashayas to be synonymous with the corresponding number of kleras. The items of the list are variously given.
II.
SKILFULNESS.
59 by sensual desires, the fools, and never turn their minds to enlightenment.
141. (Some) beings, having heard this one and sole vehicle 1 manifested by the Gina., will in days to come swerve from it, reject the Sutra, and go down to hell.
142. But those beings who shall be modest and pure, striving after the supreme and the highest enlightenment, to them shall I unhesitatingly set forth the endless forms of this one and sole vehicle.
143. Such is the mastership of the leaders; that is, their skilfulness. They have spoken in many mysteries 2; hence it is difficult to understand (them).
144. Therefore try to understand the mystery 3 of the Buddhas, the holy masters of the world; for¬ sake all doubt and uncertainty: you shall become Buddhas; rejoice!
1 Or, rather, learnt this way.
2 The word in the text is sandhdva^anai^, evidently synony¬ mous with sandhlbhashya.
3 Sandha, by Burnouf rendered ‘langage ^nigmatique.’ On comparing the different meanings of sandhi and sandhlya, both in Sanskrit and in Plli, I am led to suppose that sandha- (and sandhlya-) bhlshita (bhlshya) was a term used in the sense of ‘ speaking (speech) in council, a counsel,’ scarcely differing from mantra. In both words secrecy is implied, though not expressed. If we take the term as synonymous with mantra, the connection between upa.yakau.jalya, diplomacy, skilfulness, and sandhl- bhlshita is clear. Cf. the Gothic word rftna, both /3ou\r/ and fivtrTTjpiov j garuni, crvfi^ovXwv. The theistical sect have taken it in the sense of ‘ God’s counsel,’ but I cannot produce a warrant for this guess. By Hiouen Thsang, the term sandhlya is trans¬ lated by ‘in a hidden sense,’ as we know from Professor Max Muller’s note, in his edition of the Vafra^Medikl, p. 23.
III.
CHAPTER III.
A PARABLE.
Then the venerable Aariputra, pleased, glad, charmed, cheerful, thrilling with delight and joy, stretched his joined hands towards the Lord, and, looking up to the Lord with a steady gaze, ad¬ dressed him in this strain: I am astonished, amazed, O Lord! I am in ecstasy to hear such a call from the Lord. For when, before I had heard of this law from the Lord, I saw other Bodhisattvas, and heard that the Bodhisattvas would in future get the name of Buddhas, I felt extremely sorry, extremely vexed to be deprived from so grand a sight as the Tatha- gata-knowledge. And whenever, O Lord, for my daily recreation I was visiting the caves of rocks or mountains, wood thickets, lovely gardens, rivers, and roots of trees, I always was occupied with the same and ever-recurring thought: ‘ Whereas the entrance into the fixed points 1 of the law is nominally 2 equal, we have been dismissed by the Lord with the inferior vehicle.’ Instantly, however, O Lord, I felt that it 1 Or, elements.
2 Tulye nama dharmadhdtuprave^e vaya»t—niry&tit&A The terms are ambiguous, and open to various interpretations. The Tibetan version has, according to Burnouf, ‘ in an equal intro¬ duction to the domain of the law,’ from which at least thus much results, that the text had tulye, not tulya, as Burnouf reads. Tulye pravere I take to be a so-called absolute locative case. As to the plural 1 we,’ it refers to Aariputra.
III. A PARABLE. 6 1 III. A PARABLE. 6 1 was our own fault, not the Lord’s. For had we regarded the Lord at the time of his giving the all¬ surpassing demonstration of the law, that is, the exposition of supreme, perfect enlightenment, then, O Lord, we should have become adepts in those laws. But because, without understanding the mystery of the Lord, we, at the moment of the Bodhisattvas not being assembled, heard only in a hurry, caught, meditated, minded, took to heart the first lessons pronounced on the law, therefore, O Lord, I used to pass day and night in self- reproach. (But) to-day, O Lord, I have reached complete extinction; to-day, O Lord, I have become calm; to-day, O Lord, I am wholly come to rest; to-day, O Lord, I have reached Arhatship; to-day, O Lord, I am the Lord’s eldest son, born from his law, sprung into existence by the law, made by the law, inheriting from the law, accomplished by the law. My burning has left me, O Lord, now that I have heard this wonderful law, which I had not learnt before, announced by the voice from the mouth of the Lord.
And on that occasion the venerable Aariputra addressed the Lord in the following stanzas: 1. I am astonished, great Leader, I am charmed to hear this voice; I feel no doubt any more; now am I fully ripe for the superior vehicle.
2. Wonderful is the voice 1 of the Sugatas; it dispels the doubt and pain of living beings; my pain also is all gone now that I, freed from imper¬ fections, have heard that voice (or, call).
3. When I was taking my daily recreation or was 1 Rather, call.
62 III.
walking in woody thickets, when betaking myself to the roots of trees or to mountain caves, I indulged in no other thought but this: 4. ‘ O how am I deluded by vain thoughts! whereas the faultless laws are, nominally, equal, shall I in future not preach the superior law in the world?
5. ‘The thirty-two characteristic signs have failed me, and the gold colour of the skin has vanished; all the (ten) powers and emancipations have likewise been lost. O how have I gone astray at the equal laws!
6. ‘ The secondary signs also of the great Seers, the eighty excellent specific signs, and the eighteen uncommon properties have failed me. O how am I deluded! ’ 7. And when I had perceived thee, so benign and merciful to the world, and was lonely walking to take my daily recreation, I thought: ‘ I am excluded from that inconceivable, unbounded knowledge! ’ 8. Days and nights, O Lord, I passed always thinking of the same subject; I would ask the Lord whether I had lost my rank or not.
9. In such reflections, O Chief of (Pinas, I con¬ stantly passed my days and nights; and on seeing many other Bodhisattvas praised by the Leader of the world, 10. And on hearing this Buddha-law, I thought: ‘To be sure, this is expounded mysteriously 1; it is an inscrutable, subtle, and faultless science, which is announced by the (Pinas on the terrace of en¬ lightenment.’
1 Sandhaya; the Chinese translation by Kumara-^iva, accord¬ ing to Stan. Julien’s version, has ‘ suivant la convenance.’
III.
A PARABLE.
63 i x. Formerly I was attached to (heretical) theories, being a wandering monk and in high honour (or, of the same opinions) with the heretics 1; afterwards has the Lord, regarding my disposition, taught me Nirvdwa, to detach me from perverted views.
12. After having completely freed myself from all (heretical) views and reached the laws of void, (I conceive) that I have become extinct; yet this is not deemed to be extinction.
13. But when one becomes Buddha, a superior being, honoured by men, gods, goblins, Titans, and adorned with the thirty-two characteristic signs, then one will be completely extinct.
14. All those (former) cares 2 have now been dis¬ pelled, since I have heard the voice. Now am I extinct, as thou announcest my destination (to Nir¬ vana) before the world including the gods.
15. When I first heard the voice of the Lord, I had a great terror lest it might be Mara, the evil one, who on this occasion had adopted the disguise of Buddha.
16. But when the unsurpassed Buddha-wisdom had been displayed in and established with argu- 1 Parivr&^akas Tirthikasammatar £a. The term pari- vraf aka or parivraf is occasionally applied to Buddhist monks, but here it would seem that the Brahmanistic monks are meant, the brahmasa#2sthas of.Sankara in his commentary on Brahma- Sfttra III, 4, 20. They are to be distinguished from the Tirthika’s.
2 Or, thoughts; one MS. has vyapanita sarvani ’mi (read °n\ ’mi) manyitani; another reads, vy. sarvawi ’mi ma£/£it£ini. Manyitaisa participle derived from the present tense of many ate, to mean, to mind, in the manner of ^ahita from ^ahati. MaWi- tani is hardly correct; it is, however, just possible that it is intended to stand for ma^-^ittani.
III.
ments, reasons, and illustrations, by myriads of ko/is, then I lost all doubt about the law I heard.
17. And when thou hadst mentioned to me 1 the thousands of kods of Buddhas, the past Ainas who have come to final rest, and how they preached this law by firmly establishing it through skilfulness; 18. How the many future Buddhas and those who are now existing, as knowers of the real truth, shall expound or are expounding this law by hundreds of able devices; 19. And when thou wert mentioning thine own course after leaving home, how the idea of the wheel of the law presented itself to thy mind and how thou decidedst upon preaching the law; 20. Then I was convinced: This is not Mira; it is the Lord of the world, who has shown the true course; no Miras can here abide. So then my mind (for a moment) was overcome with perplexity; 21. But when the sweet, deep, and lovely voice of Buddha gladdened me, all doubts were scattered, my perplexity vanished, and I stood firm in knowledge.
22. I shall become a Tathigata, undoubtedly, worshipped in the world including the gods; I shall manifest Buddha-wisdom, mysteriously 2 rousing many Bodhisattvas.
After this speech of the venerable Airiputra, the Lord said to him: I declare to thee, Aariputra, I announce to thee, in presence of this world including the gods, Miras, and Brahmas, in presence of this 1 Yadife me Buddhasahasrako/ya/2, kfrteshy (var. lect. kirtishy) a titan parinirvrdatfz (Jinan. Kirteshi is Sanskrit a^ikirtas.
2 Sandhaya. Bumoufs rendering ‘aux creatures' points to satvaya, which is nothing but a misread sandhaya. Cf. stanza 3 1, below.
III.
A PARABLE.
65 people, including ascetics and Brahmans, that thou, •S&riputra, hast been by me made ripe for supreme, perfect enlightenment, in presence of twenty hundred thousand myriads of ko/is of Buddhas, and that thou, 6 ciriputra, hast for a long time followed my com¬ mandments. Thou,.Sariputra, art, by the counsel of the Bodhisattva, by the decree of the Bodhisattva, reborn here under my rule. Owing to the mighty will of the Bodhisattva thou,.Sariputra, hast no recollection of thy former vow to observe the (reli¬ gious) course; of the counsel of the Bodhisattva, the decree of the Bodhisattva. Thou thinkest that thou hast reached final rest. I, wishing to revive and renew in thee the knowledge of thy former vow to observe the (religious) course, will reveal to the disciples the Dharmaparyaya called ‘the Lotus of the True Law,’ this Sutranta, &c.