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A Manual of Budhism, In Its Modern Development, K. Spence Hardy, 1880 - Complete Book

English

He also repeated a stanza to this effect : '* He who gives to Badha will reap a benefit for that which he has given ; this my journey has been to me a fortunate one/' From this time the door of Migdra was shut to all others, but open to the priests of Budha. As Wisdkha was thus the means of converting Migdra, she was called in consequence Migdra-Mdtdwi, and became the mother, or chief, of the updsikdwas or female lay disciples of Budha. Thrice each day Wisdkha went to the wihdra ; in the day-time taking an offering of food, and in the evening flowers and lamps. On one occasion she asked permission to prefer eight requests to Budha. The sage replied that the Budhas were not accustomed to grant the requests of women ; but when she said that they were relative to religion, permission was granted. " I request," she said, *' 1. That whatever priests come to you, you will send them to my house first, to receive alms. 2. That until my death, I may give alms daily to 500 priests. 3. That whenever a priest is sick, application may be made to me for what is necessary. 4. That I may give alms to those who assist the sick. 6. That the lord of the universe will partake of the rice- gruel and other things I provide for the 600 priests. 6. That yearly, at the end of wass, I may give 500 sets of pirikaras to as many priests. 7. That I may be applied to whenever any article of medicine is required. 8. That yearly I may give to all the priests of Budha the robes called kaspilisandan." The whole of these requests were granted by Budha. Wisdkhd had 20 children in 20 years, 10 sons and 10 daughters ; each of these had 20 children ; so that she had 400 grandchildren ; and as each of these had again 20 children, she had 8000 great grandchildren ; and all these were free from every kind of disease. Though she had the strength of ^re elephants, the king of Kosol was sceptical respecting ik ; and to ascertain its truth, he one day, on meeting her, urged his elephant towards her, but she held its trunk with two fingers, as if it had been merely a plantain tree, so that it roared out from pain. She afterwards thought it would be better to sell the ornaments she received at her marriage, and erect a wihdra with the proceeds; but there was no one in Sowet who had wealth enough to purchase them. She therefore bought a garden at 23-t A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. the east side of the citj, and expended immense treasures in the erection of a wihdra, which was called Pdwdrama, from, the place in which it stood. On the day when this wihara was presented to Badha, he declared that all her riches, strength, and prosperity, were the result of the merit she had received in former births. 18. Anurudhay Ananda, BewddattcL, and other Princes, become Priests ; and Ananda is appointed to the Office of Upastlidyalca. The qneen of Amit6dana, younger brother of Sudhddaua, was Sauda; and she had two sons, Mahauama and Anurudha, and a daughter, Bohini. When Anurudha was seven years of age, he one day played at a game called gula, with two other princes, it being agreed that the person who lost was to pay a rice-cake. As Anurudha lost the game, the brothers said they would play no more until the cake was produced ; he therefore sent to his mother, and she gave him what he required. This occurred three times. A fourth time he sent for a cake, but the queen sent him word that there were ** no more." When he received the message, he thought that the words " no more " were the name of some other kind of cake ; and he accordingly dispatched a messenger to request that a *' no more cake " might be sent him. But the queen, thinking that if he did not know the meaning of "no more," he would never be able to rule the kingdom, resolved that she would teach him ; and for this purpose sent him a vessel with nothing in it. One of the guardian d^was of the city saw that it would be better for him not to learn the meaning of this term ; and he therefore secretly placed a cake created for the purpose in the vessel that was carried by the slave. No sooner did the prince remove the cover and touch the cake with his finger, than he felt the rushing of its taste through all his veins ; and its sweet savour filled the whole city. After dividing it to his companions, he went to his mother, and said, " How is it that if you have loved me before to-day, you have never given me any of those excellent ' no more ' cakes ?" The queen, surprised, asked the slave what had taken place; and when she was informed, she said that it must have been done by some d6wa. The prince informed her that this was the only kind of cake he intended to eat in future, and then ran to rejoin his companions at their sport. From this time, when he VII. LEGENDS OF GKJTAMA BUDHA. 235 wanted a cake, he sent to his mother for it, and she returned the Tessel empty ; but the dewa always provided a cake similar to the one first received by the prince. When Anurudha was fifteen years of age, he was talking with the princes Bhaddi and Kimbila, and one asked the other whence rice was produced. Kimbila said it was produced from a vessel, naming the vessel in which rice is cleaned. Bhaddi said it was produced from another kind of vessel, naming that in which it is cooked. But Anurudha said that it is produced from a golden dish, with feet, about a carpenter's cubit in height, naming the vessel from which he had seen the rice poured out when brought te be eaten. Whilst the prince was thus ignorant of all that relates to the world, it was determined by Budha te ordain one from each of the families of the Sakya race; and as Mahanama was not desirous of enduring the privations of the priesthood, and feared that if his brother received the kingdom his ignorance would be the cause of many calamities, he thought he would try by a stratagem to prevail on him to abandon the world. He therefore said to him, ** What do you say ? How is it to be ? Rice will have to be provided." " What," said Anurudha, "is not rice produced from the golden dish ? " " No," he replied, " but from the labour of the husband- man (describing at length the manner in which agriculture was then carried on). There must be a plough, a yoke (in all eighteen different articles are enumerated). The labourer must clear a space from all obstructions, make ditehes and banks, break the hard clods, and bring manure ; the seed must be sown ; for a week the field must be watehed, that the seed may not be carried away by birds ; fences will have to be tied ; a lodge must be built for the watehers to sleep in at night ; it must be guarded from rate, pigs, deer, and other animals ; when the ear is formed, care must be teken to preserve it from the blast and other diseases ; every day persons must go round, making a noise; and dry leaves must be hung, to frighten away the birds ; if it be an inferior grain, it must be watched in this way three or four months, and if a superior, six or seven months ; as it ripens, noises must be made without ceasing, and persons must run about in all directions to keep off parrote,* peafowl, * In Ceylon there is a district called the G-irwa-pattu, or Parrot-county. In the eyening the parrots resort to the cocoanut trees that line the sea- 236 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM and other birds that steal the grain, shouting till thej are hoarse; after it is reaped, the owner mnst receive his share, whether it be half, or two thirds, so that he has to give two shares and keep only one; if the whole has to be given (the hnsbandman being only a servant), none is to be reserved for himself; a portion must be given to the watchers and win- nowers, and the washerman, tomtom-beater, and the beggar, must each have his share ; when payment has been made for what has been borrowed, the remainder must be stored in the granary ; of this, some must be kept for seed-corn ; that which is not fit for seed, must be separated from the rest, and used for food; so much as is required for each day must be portioned out, that it may last until the next harvest.