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In process of time Pur&na Dipankara Budha was bom as the son of the monarch of Kappawati. After remaining in the state of a laic 10,000 years, he became an ascetic, and subsequently a supreme Budha. From this Budha the B6dhisat who after- wards became Dipankara Budha, then a Brahman, received the assurance that he would become a Budha. In the same age GhStama Bddhisat was a prince ; and one day, when sitting in his palace, having seen Dipankara Bddhisat carrying the alms- bowl, he sent an attendant to enquire what was his business, when he was informed that he was seeking oil. On hearing this the prince called him to the palace, and filling a golden vessel with oil of white mustard-seed, sidharttha, put it upou his head, saying at the same time, " By virtue of this act may I hereafter become a Budha ; and as this is sidhArttha oil, may my name in that birth be Sidharttha." This oil was presented by Dipankara B6dhisat to Pur&na Dipankara Budha, who IV. THE BUDHA8 WHO PRECEDED G<5tAMA. 95 declared tliat the prince would in an after age become a sn- preme Bndha. In the seven asaokja-kap-lakshas that elapsed after G6tama B6dhisat formed the wish to become a Bndha, 125,000 Bndhas appeared; and during this period he was bom many hundreds of times, either as a d^wa or as a man. 1. In the Nanda asankya, there were 5,000 Budhas. 2. In the Sunanda asankja, 9,000. 3. In the Prathuwi asankya, 10,000. 4. In the Manda asankja, 11,000. 5. In the Dharati asankya, 20,000. 6. In the Sagara asankya, 30,000. 7. In the Pundarika asankya, 40,000. Throughout the whole of these ages, in what birth soever he appeared, G6tama Bddhisat continnally exercised mandpranid- hana, the wish to become a supreme Budha. 2. The Era of Expression, In the first Sarwa Bhadra kalpa of the thirteenth asankya- kap-laksha previous to the present Maha Bhadra kalpa, Gdtama B<$dhisat was bom as the son of the monarch of Dhannya. In the course of time he succeeded to the kingdom, and became a chakrawartti. One day his magical chariot having descended to the earth from its appointed place in the sky, he was alarmed by the portent^ and enquired from one of his nobles what could be its cause. The noble replied, ''This sign betokens either the near approach of the death of the chakrawartti, or that the chakrawartti will become an ascetic, or that a supreme Budha has appeared in the world ; but as your majesty has yet many years to Hve, it cannot portend your death ; and it must there- fore have been caused by S4kya, the Budha who at present is blessing the world." When the king heard that a Budha was in existence, he went to the wihira in which SiUcya resided, and ofEered him all his treasures, expressing at the same time his earnest expectation that when the necessary qnalifications were received, he should himself become a Bud)ia. After this he was re-bom in a brahma-ldka. 1. In the same Sarwa-bhadra asankya, 50,000 Budhas ap- peared. 2. In the Sarwa-phulla asankya, 80,000. 3. In the Barwa-ratna asankya, 90,000. 4. In the IJsabhakkhanda as- ankya, 70,000. 5. In the Manibhadda asankya, 60,000. 6. In the Pudnma asankya, 20,000. 7. In the second IJsabhakkhanda 96 A MANUAL OF BUBHISM. asankya, 10,000. 8. In the Khandatwa asankya, 5,000. 9. In the Sarwa-sela asankya, 2,000. During the whole of these ages, in which 387,000 Budhas appeared, GtStama B6dhisat expressed his wish to become a Bndha. This was the period called w4k- pranidh^na. 3. The Era of Nomination; including the History of the Budhas who preceded OStama^ In the fonrth asankya-kap-laksha previons to the present Maha Bhadra kalpa, was the S^ramanda kalpa, in which appeared the f onr Budhas, Tanhankara, M6dhankara, Saranankara, and Dipan- kara. In the time of Tanhankara, 06tama B6dhisat was bom as the son of Snnanda, king of the city of Pnspawatl. From Tanhan- kara he received aniyata-wiwarana, or an indefinite assurance that he wonld become Bndha. From Dipankara, and the snc- ceeding twenty-three Bndhas, he received niyata-wiwarana, or a definite assurance. Dipankara was bom in the city of Bammawati : his father was the king Snd^wa ; his mother, Sam6dh& ; he reigned 10,000 years before he became an ascetic ; his queen was called Paduma ; his son, Usabhakkhanda ; he exercised asceticism, previous to the reception of the Budhaship, ten months ; the kusa grass was given by Sunanda; the sacred tree under which he became Budha was the pulila; his principal male disciples, degasaw, were Mangala and Tissa ; his personal attendant, upasth^yaha, was Sagara ; he lived 100,000 years ; he was eighty cubits high ; he had a retinue of 400,000 rahats ; and the name of GK5tama B<5dhisat was at this time Sum6dha-brdhmana.* In the third asankya-kap-laksha previous to the present kalpa, Kondannya was Budha. His birth-place was Bammawati ; his father, Sunanda ; his mother, Sujdta ; his reign, 10,000 years ; * Eelative to each of the twenty -four Budhas we hare : — His name ; his birthplace ; the names of his father and mother ; the length of his reign ; the names of his queen and son ; his period of asceticism ; the names of the persons who gave him the rice-cakes and the sacred grass ; his sacred tree ; the names of the two- principal disciples, and of his personal attendant ; his age, stature, and the number of his retinue ; and the name of Gdtama Bdd- hisat. Some of these allusions cannot be understood until the legend of the life of G-dtama Budha has been read. In the greater number of instances, I hare not copied these names from my MS., as their insertion would be of no possible use. IV. THE BUDHAS WHO PRECEDED G<3TAMA. 97 his queen, Surnchi; his son, Wijitas^na; his period of asce- ticism, ten months ; the person who gave him cakes, Yas6- dhard ; the grass giver, Sunanda ; his sacred tree, the sal ; his principal disciples, Bhadm. and Subhadra : his attendant, Ann- rudha ; his age 100,000 years ; his height, 88 cubits ; his retinue, a kela-laksha ; and the name of Gk5tama B6dhisat was Wijitawi- chakrawartti. In the succeeding asankya-kap-laksha, in the Sdrananda kalpa, four Budhas appeared ; Mangala, Sumana, R6wata, and Sdbhita. In the time of the first of these Badhas, the name of Gotama Bddhisat was Surachi-brdhmana ; in that of the second, Atulan- ^gardja ; in that of the third, Atid6wa-brahmana ; and in that of the fourth, Sajata-brahmana. One asankya-kap-laksha previous to the present kalpa, in the Wara kalpa, three Badhas appeared ; Anomadarshi, Paduma, and Narada; in whose ages respectively, G6tama B^dhisat was Mah^sikya-yaksha-s^ndpati, a k^sara lion, and an ascetic. In the Sib:u-kalpa, 100,000 kalpas previous to the Maha Bhadra kalpa, there was one Budha, Piyumatura; and the name of 06tama Bodhisat was Jatilarashtrika. In the Manda-kalpa, 30,000 kalpas previous to the present kalpa, there were two Budhas; Sam6dha and Sujdta. In the age of the first, the name of G6tama B6dhisat was Uttara, and in that of the second he was a chakrawartti. In the Wara-kalpa, 118 kalpas previous to the present, there were three Budhas; Piyadarshi, Arthadarshi, and Dharmma- darshi; in whose ages the names of G6taina Bddhisat were Kasyapa-brahmana, Susima-tapasa, and Sekradew6ndra. In the Manda-kalpa, 96 kalpas previous to the present, there was one Budha, Sidhartha ; and the name of G6tama B6dhisat was Mangala-brahmana. In the Manda-kalpa, 93 kalpas previous to the present, there were two Budhas, Tissa and Phussa ; and G6tama B6dhisat was called Sujatd-tdpasa and Wijitawi-chakrawartti. In the S&ramanda-kalpa, 91 kalpas previous to the present, there was one Budha, Wipassi, and the name of G6tama B<5dhisat was Atula-ndga-rdja. In the Manda-kalpa, 31 kalpas previous to the present, there were two Budhas, Sikhi and Wessabhn ; and the names of Go- tama Bodhisat were Arindama-rija and Sudarshana-rdja. H 98 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. After the dissolution of Wessabhu there were 29 kalpas in which no supreme Bndha appeared. This long period of remediless ignorance was succeeded by the Maha-bhadra* kalpa, in which five Budhas are to appear ; Elaku- sanda, K<5nagamana, Kasyapa, Gdtama, and Maitrif* The first four have already appeared ; and Maitri will be the next Budha who will arise to bless the world. The birth-place of E[akusanda was M^khald ; his father, Aggi. datta, and his mother, Wisakhd. The father of Kakusanda was prdhita to the monarch of Ksh6ma. He remained a laic for the space of 4000 years, and had an establishment of 30,000 females, but Bochani was his principal queen.