English
Therefore he exhorted them to strive after the imperishable body ; to cast away and discard the unreal. Then returning to his gemmous conchy he reposed with his head to the north, in the Stork-garden, and passed through every stage of mental absorption, about to resume the nature of the One True condition of being. He entered and passed through all the modes of Dhyana in a direct and indirect order ; fixed thus, in entire self-absorp- tion, he plunged at once into the perfect state of eternal rest, known as Pari-Nirvana. Then both Devas and men uttered cries of lamentation ! birds and beasts were filled with distress ! the winds drove the clouds in confusion, the mountains quaked, and the rivers flowed back to their sources ! With respect to the manner of his burial, he directed them to follow the old rule of the wheel kings ; but all the strength of the Litchhavis was unable to move the sacred cofiin — then of itself it rose in the air, and passed forwards and backwards through the city of Kusinagara ; and then again the torches were brought, but they were insufficient to light the funeral pyre, for the crowning act of worship at the cremation was not yet accomplished ! Meantime the king Ajatasatru in Rajagriha was afllicted with distressing dreams ! Then the great Kasyapa coming down from the dis- tant Cock-foot Mountain, was privileged to behold, and rever- 1 This clause, wlncli seems to be parontlictical, refers to the four Dagobas erected. 1. On tlie ]ilace of liis birth ; 2. Where he arrived at supreme wisdom ; 3. Where he began to preach ; L Where ho entered Nirvana. SCRIPTURES FROM THE CHINESE. 139 ently to worship, the sacred feet! After which the fire self- enkindled consumed the swathing-bands of the corpse ! At length Sakra, pouring water from his golden pitcher, ex- tinguished the flames of the royal sandal wood pyre, and the force of his vow yet remains in the preservation of the relics of his sacred body ! Then came the gorgeous retinues of the princes of the eight kingdoms, with elephants, horses, chariots, and in- fantry, carrying golden vessels for the relics ! Each emulous to raise precious chaityas over the remains ; whilst Kasyapa proceeded to the Trayastriiishas heaven, to worship at the Dagobas, there erected over the tooth and the hair ! Then over the dust and ashes, Asoka raised Dagobas throughout Jambudwipa. The wisdom of his golden word the Law still preserves. The elephant king having departed, the elephant^ cub soon follows — one lamp indeed extinguished, yet the light not finally put out, for the flame is imparted to another. Then the great Kasyapa assembles the thousand Eahats, and Ananda, with his thunder- voice recites the Sutras ; whilst Sanakavasa exhibited himself in a condition of Samadhi, and uttered predictions relating to the future. Upagupta, with his wooden slips fills the cave. The beginning was from the dream^ of the broken bridge, and the end^ the streams of the Sveti overflowing with blood. But though the vessels are different, the water is the same, and though the flame be of various lamps, yet the ^ These words are attributed to Gavampati, a disciple of Sariputra. - The dream of the broken bridge — referring to a dream of Ajata- satru. 3 The end was the persecution by Mahirakula, when the twenty-fourth patriarch Sitsi was murdered, and the whole region of the Cophes (Cabul), and the Sveti River overflowed with the blood of the priests and followers of Buddha. The twenty-fifth patriarch Bashiasita re- moved to the south of India — this was the end of Buddhism in the north. Mahirakula is placed by Cunningham 500 to 550 a.d. Archce- ology, Survey, .p. 12. Fergusson, on the contrary, places him in the second ceuturv. 140 A CATENA OF BUDDHIST illumination is of one kind, so there are differences in the schools of Manjusri and Maitreya, in the Great Vehicle, and also in the Little Vehicle, the schools of the Sthaviras, and the Mahasaiigikas. But with respect to the various works written by the eminent sages ; there was the exhibition of the ten branches,^ and the fragrance of the 1,000 Shasters; Asvagosha and Nagarjuna were connecting links in this garland of flowers, Asanga and Vasubandhu scattered their sweetness. Arya Dcva also waxing angry at the deceit,^ bored out the eyes of the idol ; and Djina Bodhisatwa overpowered the charm of the shrieking rock. The hundred lines of Vimala-mitra silenced the heretics. The hymns of the ten masters are included in the Vidya matri siddhi. The Shasters com- posed by Asanga and Vasubandhu after the visit of the former to the Tusita Heaven are still preserved, as also the record of Bhavaviveka^ entering the cave of the Asuras, to await the advent of Maitreya, The vow to cut off the head according to agreement, and the gold carried on the elephant, with the challenge to controvert the thesis, and the appointment of the victorious teacher to rule a city, and the flags erected in honour of the victory of Asvagosha, and the discourse on the hidden sense of the Prajna called the lamp, and finally, the Koshakarika Shaster of Sangabhada. So that in the end the whole of the supporters of the theory of the Little Vehicle were converted to the true principles of the real nature explained in the Mahayana. Thus, from the time of the Shang and Chow dynasty, 1 The ten branches, i.e., to celebrated works written by Vasubhandu, Asanga, Maitreya, and others. 2 Arya Deva being in the south of India, in a temple of JMaliOswara, the eyes of the idol l)eiag made to move by some machinery, he went np and destroyed the eyes, and said, " a spirit is spiritual ! What then is this contemptible object ? A spirit by liis spiritual power should in- fluence men to seek wisdom, &c." •^ Bhavaviveka, by enchanting the grain of mustard seed, and casting it against the face of the rock, caused the door of the Asura cave to open, and entered into it. SCEIPTURES FROM THE CHINESE. 141 when the portents^ were seen iu the heavens, to the time when the illustrious Emperor of the Han- dynasty beheld in his dream the golden statue, the doctrine having spread through India, reached even to China ; until, I, Wong Puh, born at the very limit of the period of image worship,^ re- ceiving and collecting the true words, have thus compiled and connected them ; residing at Piu-ling, without any pretence to inspiration (literally, not observing the gemmous character- istic). All immediate revelation has ceased; the various sys- tems of religious instruction emit their light: the words be- queathed to us as deposits of the true faith, remain iin- changed, treasured in the several original collections. His apparitional forms all depending on his one true nature, in this Bhadra Kalpa, he appeared perfect in merit. His varied con- duct, manifested in this true system, the treasured Karma of Asaukheyas of ages. He was born from the divided side of his mother, in order to destroy the three evils of old age, disease and death. His brows arched like the rainbow, his eyes ribbed like the leaf of the Lotus, the Rishi divining his destiny, wept; the Devas contend in their desire to render him honour ; his head anointed as the son of a Chaki^avarttin, the flying discus proclaims his dignity ; de- scended from the illustrious race of the sun, in the family of Sinha Okaka ; placed under the tuition of illustrious teachers; able at fifteen years of age to thrum the string of the ancestral bow ; taking a tour of inspection, he was brought to reflection by seeing the sick man and the corpse; passing out of the city, he left his attendants and his wife ; he cut oflp his flowing locks with his own royal sword ; he exchanged clothes with the hunter whom he met ; he dwelt in retreats familiar to the roaming deer ; he reduced his body by the ^ This refers to certain portents recorded in the history of these dynasties. 2 That is Ming Ti, a.d. 62. =• This refers to the prediction that for 500 years after Bnddha's death the True Law should be preached, and for the next 1000 years the ■worship of images should last ; vide Lotus, p. 305. 142' A CATENA OF BUDDHIST severest austerities to the substance of a shadow ; then he partook of the offering of the rice milk, having- discarded all human knowledge. Sitting on the mat, the kingdom of Mara was moved with fear ; he came forth from the temp- tation pure as the lily which bursts forth on the water.