English
417, Journal Asiatique, Nov.-Dec, . 1888), See my note below, p. 160. * All the etymologies except those in notes are T-tsing’s. * J. has Sadhu ; the other editions have P*o-tu, which would make the original Badu, or Bade as in Fujishima’s translation; but I do not see how Bade could mean ‘bien.’ In favour of the reading ‘ Sddhu,’ moreover, we have several points: (1) It is explained by ‘ Well!’ or ‘Well done!’ a usual exclamation in India. (2) I-tsing uses again and again the same charaters and interpretation in his other translations, e. g. see the translation of the Milasarvastivadaikasata- karman (Nanjio’s Catal., No. 1131). (3) ead ‘Ba’ or‘ P’o’ for ZB ‘Sa’ or ‘Sha,’ or vice versa, is one of the most numerous misprints in Chinese Buddhist texts, e.g. P'o-lo-tu-lo stands for Sanskrit Saldtura, the native place of Panini; P'o is evidently a misprint for Sa. See Julien, Hiuen Thsang, tom, i, 165 ; ii, 125; li, 312. Quoted by Weber, p: 218 History of Sanskrit Literature (Trtibner). , ae gg ee ne a, a em at ma 154 A RECORD OF BUDDHIST PRACTICES. XXXII he returns to his own. Now the priest second in rank rising salutes them in the same manner as the first, and afterwards bows to the head priest. When he has returned to his own seat, the priest third in rank per- forms the same ceremonies, and in the same manner do all the priests successively. But if a great crowd be present, after three or five persons have performed the above ceremony, the remaining priests salute the assembly at one and the same time, after which they retire at pleasure. . The above is a description of the rites practised by the priests in Tamraliptit in the Eastern Aryadesa (E. India). In the Nalanda monastery the number of priests is immense, and exceeds three thousand; it is difficult to assemble so many together in one place. There are eight halls and three hundred apartments in this monastery. The worship can only take place separately, as most con~ venient to each member. Thus, it is customary to send out, every day, one precentor to go round from place to place chanting hymns, being preceded by monastic lay servants and children carrying with them incense and flowers®, He goes from one hall to another, and in each 1 An ancient kingdom and city (now Tamluk, at the mouth of the Hooghly), a centre of trade with India and China in I-tsing’s time. 2 J. has 3,000, but all the other texts 5,000; the former is a right reading, for I-tsing, in chap. x, p. 65, gives the number of priests in Nalanda as ‘more than 3,000,’ and in his Memoirs, as ‘3,500.’ See Chavannes’ translation, p. 97. 8 (a) ‘To send out one precentor’ is in Chinese x _ BE re BS fin, lit. “To send out one teacher who takes the lead in chanting” This is a priest. (4) ‘Monastic lay servants,’ lit. ‘pure men.’ It is pretty certain that they are not, as Julien thought, priests. Hiuea Thsang on one occasion sends out a ‘pure man’ to pull down and trample under foot a document which was put up by a heretic; when the ‘pure man’ was asked who he was, he answered, ‘I am the servant of Mahayanadeva’ (Beal, Life of Hiuen Thsang, book iv, p. 161). A ‘pure man’ is attending at a meal (F4-hien, chap. iii). In I-tsing’s Record we have many similar instances. A ‘pure man’ carries a chair and utensils when a priest goes to a reception (chap. ix, p. 36); he carries away the remnant of the food eaten by a priest (chap. ix, p. 47); he cultivates the field for the church THE CEREMONY OF CHANTING. 155 he chants the service, every time three or five slokas in a high tone, and the sound is heard all around. At twilight he finishes this duty. This precentor generally is presented by the monastery with some special gift (Paga). In addition there are some who, sitting alone, facing the shrine (Gandhakué\), praise the Buddha in their heart. There are others _who, going to the temple, (in a small party) kneel side by side with their * bodies upright, and, putting their hands on the ground, touch it with their heads, and thus perform the Threefold Salutation. These are the ceremonies of worship adopted in the West (i.e. in India), Old and (chap. x, p. 61); the time-drum is beaten by him, but he is not allowed to strike the gong announcing the beginning of a service (chap. xxx, p. 145). And when a priest is very learned (bahusruta) or has finished the study of one Pifaka, the Safigha gives him the best rooms and servants (lil. ‘pure men to serve him ’) (chap. X, p. 64). He may be a professed Upasaka, but he is not a priest in any case. The ‘ pure man’ is probably ‘purifying man.’ In Japan, the monastic gardener is often called by this name. It does not signify ‘ Brahmans,’ as Julien supposed (Mém,, liv. ii, p. 78), in any case 3 and ‘ Vimala,’ suggested by Legge (Fa-hien, chap. iv, p. 18, note), is very doubtful. Perhaps Pali ‘Aramiko’ (Hull. p. 282). (c) The word ‘children,’ for which we have the author’s own explanation (chap. xix, p. 105): ‘ Those Upfsakas who come to the abode of a Bhikshu chiefly in order to learn the Sacred Books, and intending to shave their hair and wear a black robe, are called “ children (ive. (manava’), Now the question is whether the latter two, i.e. the ‘pure men’ and ‘children,’ who carry incense and flowers, take part in chanting. We can answer this question in the negative or in the affirmative. Probably not. ‘One who takes the lead in chanting’ does not imply that that person is taking the lead in chanting in this service, for the name may be used technically. JI explain this, because, from Fujishima’s translation, it appears as if a priest is conducting a procession of priests. All I-tsing mentions is one priest, ‘pure men,’ and ‘children,’ and no other priests go with them. 1 The ‘ West’ in I-tsing never means Western India, but India in general. Taking the ‘West’ as Western India, as M. Fujishima does, is a blunder that would not arise, had one carefully compared all the names of India used in the text. In this case, at any rate, it cannot mean Western India, for the NAlanda monastery is in Central India, seven miles north of ancient Ragagr7ha (Cunning- p PELE a eam? eee eee te) eg Stee, 156. 4A RECORD OF BUDDHIST PRACTICES. XXXII. infirm priests are allowed to use small mats whilst worshipping. Though, (in China), the hymns in praise of the Buddha have long existed, yet the manner of using them for a practical purpose is somewhat different from that adopted in India? (lit. ‘Brahma-rashéra’). The words which begin with ‘Praise be to the signs of the Buddha,’ and are used when worshipping the Buddha (in China), should be intoned in a -long monotonous note, and the rule is to proceed thus for ten or twenty Slokas at one time. Further, Gathas such as the one beginning with, ‘O Tathagata !’ are really hymns in praise of the Buddha? It is true that, when the note is much lengthened, it is difficult to understand the meaning of the hymn sung. A delightful thing it is, however, to hear a skilful person recite ‘The Hymn in one hundred and fifty verses’ ‘that in four hundred verses,’ or any other song of praise at night, when the assembled priests remain very quiet on a fasting . s snlente (such 4s the night of an Uposatha). In India numerous hymns of praise to be sung at worship have been most carefully handed down, “for every talented man of letters has praised in verse whatever person he deemed most worthy of worship. Such a man was the venerable Matrzketa, who, by his great literary talent and virtues, excelled all learned men of his age. The following story is told of him. While the Buddha was living, He was once, while instructing his followers, wandering in a wood among the people. A nightingale in the wood, seeing the Buddha, majestic as a gold mountain, adorned by his perfect ‘The text has Fan=Brahman for ‘Brahma-rash/ra,’ meaning India in general; he says in chap. xxv, p. 118, that the whole territory of the five divisions of India is called the ‘Brahman kingdom ;’ not simply ‘Central India,’ as M. Fujishima makes it out. 2 What I-tsing wishes to make clear is this: that the praising of the Buddha exists both in China and India, but the Indians chant in a long sing-song fashion, while the Chinese read the text or G&tha in the ordinary way. He would have the text or Gatha chanted in China. * The hymns in 1g0 verses and in 400 verses are those of MAtrzke/a ; the 150 verses were translated into Chinese by I-tsing while he was staying in the Nalanda monastery (a.p. 675-685), and revised by him afterwards (a. p. 708). It is called ‘Sardhasataka-Buddhaprasamsag4tha.’ For the translation, see Nanjio’s Catal., No. 1456. The 400 verses were not translated into Chinese. THE CEREMONY. OF CHANTING. 157 signs, began to utter its melodious notes, as if it sang in praise of him. The Buddha, looking back to his disciples, said: ‘The bird, transported with joy at sight 3f me, unconsciously utters its melodious notes. On account of this good deed, after my Departure (Nirvaza) this bird shall be born in human form, and named Matriéeta!; and he shall praise my virtues with true appreciation.’ Previously, as a follower of another religion, when born as man, MAtr?ke/a had been an ascetic, and had worshipped Mahesvaradeva. When a-worshipper of this deityghe had composed hymns in his praise. But on becoming acquainted with the fact that his birth? had been foretold, he became a convert to uddhism, robed in colour, and free from worldly cares, He mostly engaged him- self in praising and glorifying the Buddha, repented of his past sins, and was desirous henceforward of following the Buddha’s good example, regretting that he could not see the Great Teacher himself, but his image only.