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"As to its Nature, then, the Divine Intelligence must be effulgent, and it is folly and contradiction to speak of an en- ligJitened Divine Intelligence. 12. " The substantial character of the Divine Intelligence ad- mits not of any ground for enlightenment ; but because of this property of enlightenment we do assign to it a ground for the acquirement of it ; and this ground being assigned, we fall into a false apprehension of the Divinity, and there is produced in us a fictitious poetical power (a power to make, i. e., invent). The meaning of this verse seems to be that the Divine Intelligence, i. e., the Supreme state of Being, unites in itself effulgency [activity (pi-avritti)] and mysterious non-action (nirvritti). In other words, like tlie sun or moon, there is effulgence (activity) and a substanti;il unity (liassive Being). - All this simply means that if the Divine Intelligence is not originally SCBIPTURES FROM THE CHINESE. 347 13. "In the absence of any such ideas as being "alike" or " different" — the idea of a flame as distinct from its splendour suddenly caused the origination of the idea of distinction ;i and then, by distinguishing these various grounds of difference (the idea still further prevailed), whilst the opposite idea of identity naturally arose from the supposition of difference, and identity and difference having been conceived, then the absence of identity and of difference also followed, and thus arose the endless classi- fications and confusions which language has conveyed to us, with all the laboured theories and expositions which have resulted in the present accounts we have of the order of the world, and the character of space, this last representing the idea of identity, and the former that of difference ; and the further idea of absence of identity and absence of difference supplying the origin of all the phsenomenal forms that exist around us. 14. " The idea of effulgence which, we thus have attached to the Divine Intelligence naturally originated the idea of darkness as belonging to the void ; and these, mutually related in thought, originated the idea of motion, and thence came the fiction of the circle of wind which envelopes and holds the world we live in. 15. " As from the idea of the void sprang the idea of motion, so from the power of light or effulgence sprang the idea of ex- clusion of darkness or the void; and this being compared to gold, the brightness of the Divine Intelligence in its manifesta- tions was the origin of the fiction of the golden hills that em- brace and surround our world. 16. "From these two ideas of wind and the golden circle sprang the idea of attrition, and from this the scintillations of fire, whence also came the idea of apparitional births (Natures). 17. " From (the comparison of the Divine Intelligence to) the brightness of a precious jewel arose the idea of moisture (the water of the precious stone), and this associated with the ascend- and necessarily effulgent (enlightened), then what is there external to it to enlighten it? In other words, if God did not create from the beginning (. e., from eternity), what was the moving cause (in time) to lead Him to create? [This is a question also that occurs in the " Golden Legend" (Longfellow).] ' Or the idea of a "fire" or "lighting a fire" gave origin to the ground of the idea of subject and object. o 4-8 A CATENA OV BUDDHIST ing vapour of flame engendered tlie farther association of a circle of water embracing the ten regions of the world. 18. " From the ideas of the x^atures of fire and moisture arose the further distinction of the seas and the continents with their rivers and lakes. 18. " From the power of water over fire came the idea of the high mountains of the earth ; for the rocks of these mountains when struck produce fire, and when melted liquify like water. 19. " From the idea of the strength of earth over water sprang the thought of the trees and woods that cover the earth. 20. " And so, from accepting the false ideas we have named, sprang continual inventions of others — transmitting from one generation to another the ideas of these numberless varieties of phaenomena — and from these the ideas of causal connection and the theories of the causes of existence of the world. 21. " In continuation, Puma ! the mistaken idea of efi'ulgence or action, to which we have alluded, is really fatal to those very external phtenomena of which it is the origin : and a correct idea on the same subject ovei'throws the foundation on which these false suppositions rest ; for, by not exceeding the just limits of this correct and rational theory respecting the essential efi'ulgence of the Divine Intelligence, we arrive at this opinion respecting the so-called causes and effects ; that hearing pro- ceeds not from sound ; nor seeing from matter, and so on for the other senses ; and then, advancing further still, we say that these several effects are but the result of individual Karma, the variety of which in difierent individuals produces the various results we observe in the apparitional world. 22. " From a consideration of these results, the combined efiect of sight and object of sight^ arose ' thought' (longing thought). From a difierence in sight (or in opinion respecting the thing observed, or the object of sight) arose dislike, whilst from agree- ment arose love. From the outgoings of love proceeds genera- tion (or generative power) ; the reception (nah) of sympathetic thought constitutes the basis of conception (the womb) ; union produces birth ; common intention produces the same karma ; and so in regular succession is produced the Kalala (embryo), the Arbuda, and so on. Thus came vivipai'ous, oviparous genera- tion, and also generation from moisture and by transformation ; ' vovs and vov/xfvov, or " sight" and " brightucss" in the origiual. SCRIPTURES FROM THE CHINESE. 349 according to their several adaptations (ying), ovipara from thought or longing alone; vivipara from passion; birth from moisture, by touch ; transformational birth, by distance ; by one of these methods whatever is is produced according to Karma, and hence all the connections and complications of life. 23. " Purna ! thought and love being connected thus ! and as it were the same, love cannot be separated (from its object) ; thence are the several worldly relationships — father, mother, son, grandson — born together, and thus bound together generation after generation, and from this arose the origin of selfish desire and covetousness. 2-4. " Selfish desire still producing love, the one and the other increasing together from the body receiving nourishment, selfish desire not being able to check itself, the various forms of being, according to their strength or weakness, turning against one another, were bent on devouring and feeding one on the other — hence arose murder and bloodshed, men feeding on sheep, the sheep when dead becoming men, and the men when dead be- coming sheep, and so throughout the ten kinds of birth, per- petually dying and being born again. And thus perpetually oscillating, every wicked Karma being formed and perfected, they were brought to the utmost verge of wretchedness and poverty throughout endless ages, and thus robbery and violence arose ! 25. " And thus arose the endless intricacies of retributive transmigrations and the association of the three fatal evils — murder, robbery, and lust. 26. " Purna ! thus it is these three kinds of moral perversion have become intermingled and confused, and all from this opinion of the (intermittent effulgence or action of the) Divine Intel- ligence. This ground having been supplied, there arose from it the idea that there was a distinct nature or essence of knowledge, from which sprang the various classifications of quahties belong- ing to phfenomena. And thus arose the idea of the successive generation of heaven and earth, and all mundane existences. 27.