English
They then brought four bowls made of stone, of the colour of the mung fruit ; and when each entreated that his own bowl might be accepted, Budha caused them to appear as if formed into a single bowl, at the upper rim appearing as if placed one within the other. In this bowl he received the honey, and as it was the first food he had eaten since he became Budha, he taught them in return the three-fold protective formulary, and they be- came up^akas. The merchants then requested that he would give them something they might honour as a relic ; upon which he lifted up his right hand, and gave them a lock of his hair. When the merchants had entered a ship to return to their own country, they passed in their way near Ceylon, and landed at a place called Oirihandu, to take in wood and water. They placed the casket containing the relic upon a rock whilst they prepared some food ; but when they attempted to take it again they were not able, as it had become attached to the rock. They therefore surrounded it with lamps and flowers, and went away. At this place the Oirihandu wihara was afterwards erected.* * This account is taken from the Puj4walija, but it differs from the legends I have seen in other works, which state that the relics were taken to their own oonntry, Swamna-bhdmi (Burma). In the inscription upon the great bell at Bangoon, as translated by the Bev. G-. H. Hough, it is stated, " In the ci^ Bangoon, in order that the religious dispensation (of GhStama) might be established during the period of 5000 years, to the merchant brothers Tapoktha and Pallika, he with his golden hand stroking his head, gaye eight hairs, that to those coming to pay their respects and homaee to the monu- ments in which they are enshrined . . . the immense adyantaiees of merit 188 A MANUAL OF BUDfflSM. 7. The first Discov^se ddivered by Budha. In the eighth week, Budha went from the kiripalii forest to the tree Ajdpala, where he reflected that the bana is deep, and that the beings of the world are nnwise and filled with evil desire ; he thought again, that though his own merit was great, the demerit of men was also great, and that in consequence, it would be to no purpose for him to declare the dharmma, as it would not be understood. When this hesitancy was perceived by Sahampati Maha Brahma, he exclaimed, " Nassati wata bhd I6k6 ; nassati wata bh6 Idkd ; the universe will most certainly be destroyed." This cry was immediately repeated by the other brahmas and dewas, and by the d6was of the clouds, cold, wind, and rain. All these beings then proceeded to the tree Aj&pdla ; and Maha Brahma, bending his knee that was 4S miles high, said to Budha, " My lord, the Budhaship is difficult to acquire ; but you have accomplished it, that you might release the beings of the world &om existence ; therefore proclaim the dharmma, that this may be effected ; those who refuse to listen shall be chastised with my discus ; d6s6tha munindd dhamman ; d6s6tha bhagawd. dhamman. Oh, wise one, let the dharmma be said ! Oh, purified one, let the dharmma be said !'' Budha promised that this prayer should be attended to ; when all the d6was and brahmas thrice returned thanks, in such a manner that the noise might be everywhere heard ; after which they retired to their several Idkas. When Budha looked to see unto whom he should first say bana, he saw that the ascetics Alara and IJddaka were worthy ; but when he looked again to discover in what place they were, he perceived that the former had been dead seven days, and that the latter had died the day before ; and that as they were now in an artipa world, they could not receive its benefit. With affection for the two ascetics who were dead, he looked to discover in what place Kondanya was, and the four other recluses with whom he had practised austerities ; and when he saw that might be obtained." It 10 said in the additional remarks made by M>. Hough, that the merchants on their way home were depriyed of four hairs at two different places, but when thej arrived at Ukkalaba, near the present Bangoon, thej found that they had all the eight. The monument in which they are deposited is the far-£Etmed Swa-da-gon. — As. Res. xvi. vn. LEGENDS OF g<Stama budha. 189 ihej were in the Isipatana wibara, near Benares, he resolved that nnto them first hana should be said.* At the end of 60 days, in the eighth week after he became Bndha, G6tania went alone from the Ajap&la tree to Isipatana, a distance of 288 miles. All the Bndhas begin to say bana in .^isala masa, on the day of the fnll moon. In the coarse of this jonmey he was seen by the ajiwaka mendicant, Upaka, who, as he noticed with what gravity the sage moved along, his body shining most beaatif ally, was pleased, and asked him if he were Sekra or Maha Brahma. GKStama replied, *' I am neither Sekra nor Maha Brahma, bat the supreme Badha ; I know the manner in which the repetition of existence is to be overcome ; all that is proper to renounce, I have put from me, as far as the sky is from the earth ; all that is proper for me to acquire, I have in my possession, as if it were a portion of ambrosia; all the beings in the world are my servitors ; Maha Brahma ofFers flowers to the cloth that cleans my feet ; I am above all ; I am the conqueror of Mdra; my name is Ananta-Jinayo." On hearing this, Upaka said, "From this time you shall be my friend; but if I attach myself to you, is it in your power to protect me P" Budha informed him that it was in his power, and proceeded forward to Isipatana. Some time afterwards the mendicant went to the country called Wangah4ra,t where he entered a hunter's village in his usual scanty attire. The people flocked round him to look at him ; and when they enquired who he was, he said that be was the rahat Ardhap&la, and that he was so called because he did not put on clothing like other people, his shame being only half hid, and not entirely covered. The people of this country are at times tormented by a kind of fly about the size of a grain of sesamum, and when the insects are very numerous, they construct places like caves, to which they retire. As they believed the words of Ardhap^a, they made him one of these places, and supported him. There was a maiden in the village, called Gbawi ; and when the mendicant saw her, he wished to possess her, and from passion remained without food many days. The father wondered why he did not * In a temple at Amoy, Bishop Smith saw eighteen images, which were said to represent the eighteen origmal disciples of Budha. t The Yangas may be the people here referred to, who resided in Eastern BengaL 190 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. come to receive alms as usual, and thinking that he mnst be sick, he went to his retreat to enquire what was the matter, when ArdhapAla told him the whole truth. The father consented that he should come and live at his house, and gave him his daughter in marriage; but after this he had sometimes to work for the father, then to fetch fuel and water for the mother, and after that to pound rice for his wife, until his strength was nearly gone. A son, Bhaddaka, was bom to him, but this increased his difficulties, as his wife now did nothing but nurse the child ; and though he did all that was required, she continually abused him. Wearied out, he told his wife that he must leave her, at which she became more insulting, as she thought that she might get a younger husband ; and when he could endure her abuse no longer, he left her as he had said, and going to Benares, he enquired if any one knew Ananta-Jinayo. From his description the people knew that he meant Budha, and directed him to the place where he was. Budha foresaw his approach, and told his attendants that if they met with any one enquiring for Ananta- Jinayo, they were to direct him to himself. On his arrival he requested permission to enter the priesthood, saying that though he was old, he could fulfil the duties required. Budha then admitted him, and taught him the discipline, when he entered the path andgami, and after his death was bom in one of the* brahma-16kas, where he still remains.* On the evening of the day on which Budha first spoke to Upaka, he arrived at Isipatana.