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One day, when Budha was saying bana, she entered the hall, and said in his presence, " You are a priest ; you say bana, and are surrounded by a numerous retinue; you have a pleasant voice and your appearance is beautiful ; I am with child by you ; you have appointed no place for my confinement, and in the place where we associated I cannot bring forth ; I have neither oil nor pepper prepared ; though it would not be proper for me to be confined here, you are Budha, and have friends, such as An^pidu and Wisakha, both of whom are your associates ; why do you not speak to them to render me such assistance as I require ?'' In this way she talked to G6tama, as if he were her 286 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. lawfully received husband, and derided him ; but her efforts were like those of the vilest filth to pollute the puritj of the moon. After a little time Budha said in the midst of the assem- bly, " Chinchi, thongh your words should be true, is the truth known to you alone ; mnst it not be known both to you and me ?" She answered, " The words that proceed from the lips of the jnsfc are correct ; it is not possible that they can be &lse ; it is not therefore necessary to repeat what yon haye said ; you mnst now provide a proper place and proper things for my cou- finement ; it is to no purpose now to say bana, agitating the minds of the people." The d^wa Sekra now perceived that something extraordinary was going on in the world, and when he had looked to see what it was, he learnt that a falsehood had been uttered, equal to the sapng that the dimbul tree had put forth flowers ; so he took with him four other d^was, and they approached the assembly unperceived. They then transformed themselves into mice, went secretly behind her, crept up her back, and gnawed the thongs by which the pieces of wood were bound to her person. A wind came at the same time and blew aside her garments ; and at the very moment when her person was thus exposed, the wood fell to the ground. The people assembled, when they saw the falsity of the accusation she had brought against Bndha, took her by the hands and feet, beat her, and carried her ont of the hall. As soon as she was out of the sight of Badha, the earth opened, and flames coming from Awichi wrapped them- selves around her, after the manner of her crimson robe, and she was carried to the midst of this hell. The stratagem by which the tirttakas had endeavoured to defame Gdtama was soon proclaimed throngh the city, on which account their followers gradually left them and came over to the side of Badha ; so that his fame increased from this time, as when oil is poured into a lamp nearly extinguished from the want of it, the flame becomes brighter and more powerful. The mouths of the four orders of the faithful were on that day insufficient to enable them to utter the praises of Budha.* (Sadharmmaratnakdr^,) * This account is cited as an example of drishta-dharmma-wMya-akusala. Vll. LEGENDS OF G(5TAMA BUDHA. 287 30. A Female resident in MdtiTca becomes a BahcU, There wais a Tillage belonging to the king of Kosal, called M&tika, snrronnded by high mountains. Sixty priests, after thej had worshipped 06tama set onfc to seek a place in which it would be convenient for them to perform the exercise of bhdwan4 meditation, and in the course of their search arrived at M^tika. At this time the chief of the village, who was known by the same name, was a lay devotee. His mother, when she had seen the priests, prepared food that it might be ready for them at the proper time ; and when they came to her house with the alms- bowl, she enquired where they were going. They said that they were seeking a convenient place ; and as she was wise, as well as old, she knew from this that they were in search of a place in which to perform wass, so she said that if they would keep it there, she would provide all that was necessary, and would herself keep the five precepts, and on p<5ya days the eight precepts. As they consented, she prepared a proper place for them to reside in, and offered it to them as a wifadra. One day, when the priests were assembled together, they said to each other, '^ In the present birth this woman is no relation to any of us, nor have we ever seen her before ; but through our merit she expects to receive a great reward. We must, therefore, be cAretol to keep the precepts aright ; we must not be indolent or negligent ; otherwise we cannot be saved from hell. Our bene- factress, whether we be faithful or not, on account of this good deed will be rewarded." They said further, that as the words of Budha were most certainly true, in order to receive what they thus sought, they must separate from each other, and only meet when they had to recite the pirit at night, or when in the morning they went to seek alms. Yet if any one were sick, the bell in the centre of the wihdra might be rung, and they would all assemble to see what assistance was to be rendered. From that time they remained in separate places, apaH from each other, performing the exercise of meditation. One day the woman took oil, honey, and sugar to the wihira, at a time when all the priests had gone to their retirement ; but as some one informed her that if she struck the bell with a piece of wood the priests would come ; she did so, and they were all quickly assembled in the hall, as they supposed that 288 A MANUAL OF BUDHTSM. some one was sick. When she saw them approach from separate places, she enqnired if thej had had a dispute, and were at enmity with each other ; but they said that they had retired that they might meditate on the thirty-two impurities of the body, and on the three truths, its impermanency, pain and unreality. When she learnt that this exercise was good for all, like an universal remedy, she requested to know how it was to be performed ; and as the priests gave her full instructions upon the subject, she commenced the same course, and entered the first of the paths before any of the priests had attained the same state. When she had proceeded further, and became a rahat, she looked with her divine eyes to see if the priests had received the same power; but she found that they had not. She then perceived that though other things were right, they did not receive such food as they wished ; so she ordered the right kind of food to be prepared at her own house, and gave it to them. Their bodies were then comfortable, and they could give their minds to meditation, free from care, by which means they were soon enabled to become rahats. In three months the ordinance was concluded, and they resolved upon returning to Bndha, to inform him of what had taken place. The sage was at that time in Sewet, and on arriving in his presence he enquired after their health, and how each one Had succeeded, when they told him all that had occurred. There was another priest, who, when he had heard the relation of these events, thought it would be well if he also were to go to a person who was possessed of so much merit. Accordingly he went, and on his arrival he reflected that the woman knew the thoughts of others ; so, he was weary, he wished that some one might be sent to sweep the wihdra ; and it was done. As he was thirsty, he wished for some water mixed with sngar ; and it was sent him. The next day he wished for some rice gruel and cakes, which he received ; and he afterwards wished for some barley bread and other things, which the woman herself took. On seeing her, he asked if she knew the thoughts of others, and she said, " Are there not many priests that know the thoughts of others ?'* and when he said ** I did not ask about the priests, but about yourself,'* she replied, " Can any one know the thoughts of others, but those who have entered the paths ?'' This she said, because it was a rule that those who had entered VII. LEGENDS OF G6tAMA BUDHA. 289 the paths should not inform others of the attainment, nnless there was some adequate cause. The priest now thought that as he was not jet free from impurity, he would sometimes have evil thoughts, as well as good ones, which would be known to the woman ; and she might proclaim them, and thus bring him into disgcrace. To prevent this, he told her that he could not remain there any longer, and was going away ; and though she wished him to remain where he was, his resolution was fixed, and he went to Budha.