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The lofty Maha M6ru may be reflected in a mirror; by putting out one finger, it may be said that the six d6wa-16ka8 are there ; a sign may be made to indicate that the sixteen brahma-16kas are in such a direction ; taking up as much earth as is carried in the mouth of a white ant, it may be said that the earth is like that ; a mustard seed may be used to declare * " Of created thinn, the most exoellent are those that are animated ; of the animated, those which suhsist by intelligence ; of the intelligent, man- kind ; and of men, the sacerdotal class." — Mann, Inst. i. 96. Vin. DIGNITY, VIBTUES, AND POWERS OF BUDHA. 375 the size of the great ocean ; the eye of a needle may be used as a comparison for the whole skj; even so may the words of a stanza be used to declare the excellence of Badha, but their power is utterly inadequate to accomplish this purpose in a right manner. The appearance of a supreme Badha in the world is the greatest of all possible events. In the time of Elisyapa Badha, the kings of K&htawahana and Benares formed a league . together ; and it was agreed that if anything particular hap- pened in either kingdom, it should be made known to the monarch of the other. On a certain occasion, the king of Eishtawahana sent to the king of Benares eight robes of the description called palas, with a suitable embassage. On their arriyal, the king called together his nobles to receive them ;. but when he saw the casket in which they were contained he was displeased, as he thought it could contain nothing of value, and was not worthy of any better use than to be given to his children for a plaything. It was opened, however, and then another that was inside ; but when the king came to the robes, they shone Hke the sun, and were of the colour of the murutu flower. The principal treasurer declared thafc their value was beyond all computation. The king then resolved to send something in return that would be of double the value; aud after meditating upon the subject some time, he wrote upon a leaf of gold that a supreme Bndha had appeared, at the same time setting forth his virtue and power. This leaf he enclosed in rich caskets, and sent it upon an elephant to K4ahfcaw4hana ; and when the king of that country received the information it contained, he rejoiced greatly, and sent an ambassador to Budha^ who did not arrive before he had attained nirwana; but on his return he bronght with him the dabariwa relic of the great teacher. The king heard bana, kept the precepts, and when he died was bom in a d6wa-16ka. At a subsequent period he was the pr6hita brahman of the king of Kosol, and was called Baw^ri. The same praises belong to the whole of the three gems. Their excellence cannot be set forth by a comparison taken from any object existing in any of the three times, present, past, or fature, nor in any of the three worlds; it is incomparable, unspeakable, inconceivable, peerless. It cannot be compared to 376 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. space, because space can be comprehended bj the rishis. It cannot be compared, as to stability, with the great earth. ; because the earth rests npon the Jala-polo wa, and this apon the Wa-polowa; so that the earth may be shaken by the wind, and its summit may be gradually attained ; but the three g^ms are firm and immovable. It cannot be compared, as to ponderosity, with Maha M^ru ; because the solid inches in the mass of this mountain can be computed, and at the end of the kalpa it will be destroyed ; but the excellence of the three gems . is incalcalable, and they are indestructible. It cannot be compared, as to depth, with the great ocean ; because at the ap- pearance of the seventh sun its waters will be dried up ; but the excellence of the three gems is unfathomable. It cannot be compared as to number, with the stars ; because the size of the heavens in which the stars appear can be told ; but the excel- lence of the three gems cannot be computed. The rishis may tell the number of inches in the sky, tbe nam- ber of drops in the ocean, and the number of atoms in Maha M6ru ; they may hide the earth by the tip of the finger ; and they may shake the vast forest of Himala, with all its high mountains, as by a cotton thread ; but there is no being in the wide universe who has the hand of energy by which he can swim to the opposite side of the ocean of excellence possessed by Badha. Were a rishi to create a thousand or a thousand thou- sand mouths, and with these to repeat the praises of the three gems during the years^ of a maha kalpa, even in this period the whole would not be declared. Were he to collect a mighty assemblage of leaves, and to write upon them all, the number of letters they would contain might be told ; but there is no method by which the excellence of the three gems can be adequately revealed. {W%svdhi'-margga-saniid, Pujdwaliya, Sadharm* maratnakdre.) 2. The Manhood of Budha. Though possessed of all this supremacy, the Budhas are men. Were Budha to appear as a dewa or brahma, the exercise of his powers would not be regarded as marvellous. It would be said that his miracles were performed by the power which he possessed as a dewa, and not as the Budha. The various orders of being would not love him ; they would not attend to his bana, nor seek Vni. DIGNITY, VIRTUES, AND POWERS OF BUDHA. 377 to be delivered from error. It is for these reasons tliat he is bom as a man. Still, thongh bom as a man, he might appear bj the opapatika, or apparitional birth. But to remove the donbts of all beings, to show that what he does is not by the power of irdhi, or from any other cause of a similar description, he receives the supreme Budhaship as a man, bom from the womb. The body of Budha was subject to pain and disease, and it was argued by the king of Sagal that on this account he could not be the all- wise. But Ndgas^na replied that there are various causes of disease, of which the karma of previous births is only one. All the pain felt by Budha was from some present cause, or from the contrivance of others. Thus the harvest may be poor, from the badness of the seed, without any fault whatever on the part of the husbandman. When a stone is thrown into the air, it falls on the ground, not from any previous karma, but naturally, from a cause then present. The purest vessel may have poison put within it. And when the earth is cleared and ploughed, it is not from any previous karma that it is thus lacerated, nor from any appointment of its own ; but from the will of another. In like manner, the pain felt by Budha was without any cause on his part; it came naturally from some cause then present, or from the contrivance of some other person. (Milinda Prasna,) 3. The Appearance and Stature of Budha, Budha is sometimes said to be twelve cubits in height, and sometimes eighteen cubits ; but in the latter case either a dif- ferent measure is used, or the nimbus on the top of his head is included, which extended above him six cubits. When Budha resided in the wihara called Purwarama, built by the upasik^wa Wisdkhd, he overcame the asdr Rahu, in the following manner. The d6was and asiirs having heard bana, ex- pressed their delight to Bdhu, recommending him to go and hear for himself the same good word. The astir enquired what kind of a person Budha was, when they described a few of his charac- teristics, but declared that they were unable to tell all. Among other things they told him that Budha was twelve cubits high ; but on hearing this he said, *' Why should I, who am 4,800 yo- 378 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. janas bigh, go to see Badha, who is only twelve cabits higb ? " Tbe d^was replied tbat if a hundred or a thousand asdrs were placed one upon another, they would be unable to reach the height of Budha. Rihn then resolved that he would go and see him, that it might be known which was the taller. His intention was perceived by Odtama, who oommanded Ananda to spread a carpet, that he might recline upon it. Upon this carpet he laj down, with his head towards the south, and his face towards the east, like a lion in repose. When the astir had seen his beauty and remained looking at him in astonishment, the sage asked what it was that he was noticing with so much interest. Baha said that he was trying to discover the end of his foot, but was not able to reach it.