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That which knows how the results proceeding irom karma may be overcome.* The eighteen budha-dharmma were as follows : — 1. The seeing of all things past. 2. The seeing of all things future. 8. The seeing of all things present. 4. Propriety of action, or that which is done by the body. 5. Propriety of words, or that which is done by speech. 6. Propriety of thought, or that which is done by the mind. 7. The establishment of his intentions, so that they cannot be frustrated by another. 8. The similar establishment of his doctrines. 9. The same with that which proceeds from samddhi. 10. The same with that which proceeds from wirya. 11. The same with that which proceeds from wimukti. 12. The same with that which pro- ceeds from pragnydwa. 13. Avoiding pleasures, or anything that might excite ridicule. 14. Avoiding strife and contention. 15. The possession of a wisdom from which nothing is hid, in any place whatever. 16. Doing all things with due delibera- tion. 17. Having some meaning, or intention, in all that is done. 18. Not doing anything from an unwise partiality. There is no limit to the knowledge of the Budhas ; and they are the only beings ever existent of whom this can be pre- dicated. To the knowledge of all other beings there is a limit, difiering in extent according to the merit of the individual. From the Budhas nothing can be hid; all times as well as places are open to their mental vision ; they see all things as distinctly as a man in a small apartment can see all things in it, at high noon, in clear weather. The mind of the Budhas, when it goes out after anything, is sure to discover it, as the well- directed arrow of the skilful archer flies at once to the hair it is intended to split ; it does not go too far, it does not come too * The three last powers are called triwidyawa. 396 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. short; it passes exactly to the right place. (Wisudhirmarggcb- sanne.) In the conversations that were held between Milinda and N^gas^na, the king brought many objections against the supre- macy and wisdom of Bndha. It is said that all that it was necessary for Bndha to receive, such as robes, food, and medicine when sick, he received without any trouble or effort beyond that which was implied in the carrying of the alms- bowl, as was his usual custom ; but one day when he visited the brahman village of Panchasdla, no alms were given him, and he returned with an empty bowl. The king of S^gal asked Ndgas^na how this occurred, and was told that it was through the influence of M^a. " Then," said the king, '' the demerit of M&ra was more influential than the merit of Budha." But N^Lgas^na replied, ''A man brings a present of honey to the palace gate of a chakrawartti ; but the porter, out of envy tells him that the emperor cannot be disturbed at that untimely hour, and sends him away without receiving the present. In this case, the porter prevents the emperor from receiving the honey; but he is not more powerful than the emperor, in- asmuch as presents are pouring into the palace by a thousand other channels ; and in the same way, though M4ra prevented the people of Panchasdla from presenting alms to Budha, the d6was nourished his body with divine aliment, and he suffered no loss from the withholding of the alms. There are four modes in which alms may be prepared. 1. Adrishta, as when food is prepared without the intention of presenting it to Budha. 2. Uddissakata, as when food is prepared with the express intention of giving it to Budha. 3. Upakkata, as when food is placed before Budha. 4. Paribhdga, as when any article has been presented to Budha, and become his personal possession, whether it be a robe, alms-bowl, or other requisite. When food comes under the head of adrishta, Budha may be prevented from receiving it ; but in those things that relate to the other heads, no prevention can be exercised ; their reception is certain. Whatever being were in any of these instances to attempt to hinder Bndha from receiving that which was in- tended for him, or to take from him that which he has received, his head would cleave into a hundred oc a thousand pieces. There are four privileges that exclusively belong to Budha, viz.. Vni. DIGNITY, VIRTUES, AND POWEBS OF BUDHA. 397 No one can take from him the food that has been set before liim, or prepared for him, nor any of his personal possessions ; no one can prevent the shining of the rays that proceed from his body ; no one can prevent the exercise of the power he possesses of knowing any matter with which he wishes to be acquainted ; and no one can take his life. M&ra was in the brahman village in disguise; but as the thief -^hen detected is cut into a thousand pieces, or the adulteress impaled, so will M4ra suffer for his opposition to Budha ; and therefore his demerit was not more powerful than the merit of Budha. It is said that when Budha walked abroad, though the earth does not possess a mind (ach^tand), the low places in his path became elevated, and the high places plain. Nevertheless, on one occasion the fragment of a stone struck the foot of the great teacher. These declarations appeared to Milinda not to coin- cide ; but Ndgas^na informed him that the fragment did not strike the foot of Budha from any inherent or natural cause. A large stone was aimed at his head by D^wadatta; but through the merit of the sage two large rocks arose from the earth, and at the distance of twenty cubits from Budha met the htone that had been hurled against him, when a small fragment was broken ofE by the concussion, which on falling struck his foot. Thus, when any liquid, whether it be milk, honey, ghee, or gruel, is taken up by the finger, part of it is lost ; as it drops from the end ; it does not come to the proper place ; or when fine sand is taken in the hand, part of it escapes ; or when rice is eaten, part of it falls from the hand as it is conveyed to the mouth; and the breaking off of the fragment of a stone was only like the remnant or part that is wasted and lost, of which no notice is taken. When dust is raised by the wind, it falls here or there as it may happen, and the withered leaf when it falls from the tree is in the same manner carried in this direc- tion or in^hat as the case may be ; in the same way, the frag- ment, when broken from the stone, must fall in some direction, and it fell upon the foot of Budha ; the stone was arrested in its course, but the breaking off of the fragment was a casual circumstance, exterior to the main occurrence. It might be said that if Budha was all-wise, he would not have been moved to forgive Seriyut and Mugalan, when the priests who accompanied them made a noise near the wihira in 398 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. which the sage resided, at the intercession of the Sakya princes and Maha Brahma. But the wife gratifies her husband by dis- playing before him his own treasures, and even the barber pleases the king when he dresses and combe his bair ; in like manner, the princes gained forgiveness for the priests by re- peating to Bndha what he already knew. The king of S4gal one day said to Ndgas6na, *' Did yon ever see Bndha ?'' and the priest replied that he had not. Milinda : " Did your preceptor ever see him?" Ndgas6na: "No." Milinda : " Then there is no Budha " N^gas^na : " Did yon ever see the Uh4 river, in the forest of Him^la?" Milinda " No.'* Nagas^na : " Did your father ever see it ?" Milinda *• No." Ndgasena : " Then there is no UM river." Milinda " Though neither I nor my father ever saw it, still there is such a river." Nagas^na: ''So also, though neither I nor my teacher ever saw Budha, there is such a being." Again, the king enquired how Nagas^na knew that Budha, whom he had not seen, was supreme ; and the priest replied that he knew it in the same way as persons who have never seen the sea know that it is broad and boundless, and receives the waters of the five great rivers. The priest said also, " There was formerly in this city of Sagal a learned preceptor ccdled Tissa ; though he has been dead many years, we know that such a person existed by the writings he has left ; in like manner, any one who reads the discourses of Budha now extant, may learn therefrom that he is supreme." The king, on another occasion, said to N^gasena, " Did Budha know all things ? Did he see all things P" Ndgas^na : " Yes.