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He treats fully of the conditions of Pretas (departed spirits) and of the brute creation (Tiryagyoni), likewise of those of the gods, men, and the hell spirits. Even though fire should be burning above our head, he further writes, we ought to waste no time in putting it out, but should keep in view perpetually our Final Libera- tion (Moksha), reflecting on the truths of the ‘Chain of Causality’ (twelve Niddnas 2, verses 109-112), Since I wrote the above I found a most satisfactory passage, confirming my statements, in I-tsing’s translation of the Ekasatakarman of the Mflasarvastivada- nik4ya (Nanjio’s Catal., No. 11313 J., p- 38). It is as follows :— () Be Th Ob RE FE eH Be. (2) Bi hk 52 JES Be aK rp BS. (3) bib He 1 tm. 3H fe ra BS. (1) I take refuge with the Buddha as the most Aonouradle of the Bi-ped, (2) I take refuge with the Dharma as the most Aonourable among all things that refer to the freedom from desire. (3) I take refuge with the Sangha as the most honourable of all assemblies. The same idea is found in Dipavamsa XI, 353 there king Asoka says: Buddho dakkhizeyyan’ aggo, Dhammo aggo virdginam Samgho 4a pufffakkhettaggo, tini agg sadevake u ‘The Buddha is the best among those who are worthy of presents, the Dhamma is the best of all things which refer to the extinction of the passions, and the Samgha is the best field of merit; these are the three best objects in the world of men and. devas,’ * Lit. ‘We should practise the medtfation of impurity with regard to all the wealth and beauty.’ © ? For the twelve Nidanas, see Prof. Oldenberg’s Buddha, chap. ii, p. 223 seq.; for the eight Paths, pp. 128, 211; for the four Truths, p. 209; for this last also Prof. Rhys Davids’ Buddhism, p. 106 seq. Y ss 162 A RECORD OF BUDDHIST PRACTICES, XXX. He advises us to practise the threefold wisdom? (three Prag#s), that we may clearly understand the ‘noble eightfold path’ (eight Arya- mArgas), and teaches us the ‘four truths’ (four Aryasatyas) to realise the twofold attainment of perfection®. Like Avalokitesvara, we should not make any distinction between friends and enemies (cf. verse 120). We shall then live hereafter in the SukhAvatt® for ever, through the power of the Buddha Amitdyus (or Amitabha, verse 121), whereby one can also exercise the superior power of salvation over the world. In India students learn this epistle in verse early in the course of instruction, but the most devout make it their special object of study throughout their lives. As, in China, the Satras about Avalokitesvara (chapter 24 in Saddharmapurdarika)+ and the Last Admonition of the Buddha (abridged Mah4parinirvama-sfitra)® are recited by young priests, as the ‘Composition of the One Thousand (Chinese) Characters ’ (Ch‘ien- tyli-wén)® and the ‘Book of Filial Piety’ (Hsiao King)’ are learnt by lay- students, just so the work above referyed to is studied (in India) with great earnestness, and is regarded as standard literature. There is another work of a similar character called ‘Gatakamala*.’ Gataka means 1 Wisdom obtained (1) from study (Sruta), (2) by thought (Himta), (3) by meditation (Bh4van4), see Kasawara Dharma-sangraha, cx, p. 28; the note from the Chinese list given in p. 63 ought to have been placed under cxiv, three G#Anas. See also Childers, s.v. Pa##4. 2 Kasyapa says that twofold attainment of perfection is the attainment of the great wisdom and the great compassion that a Buddha possesses. ® J.e, The Land of Bliss; see Max Miiller on this (Introd. Sukhévati-vyfha, ‘S. B.E,, vol. xlix, pp. v—xii). * I.e. Samantamukha-parivarta Avalokitesvara-vikurvama nirdesa ; Kern, chap. 24, but chap. 25 of the common Chinese text of Kumfaragiva. Also Nanjio’s Catal., No. 137. This is still widely read in the East. * Nanjio’s Catal. No. 122; referred to, p. 6, note 1, above. * A Chinese school-book written by Chou Hsing-ssii, about a.p. 504. 7 Another common book of instruction, translated by Prof. Legge, S. B. E., vol. iii. . § The Sanskrit text of Arya Stra’s Gatakam4l4 was published by Prof. Kern “in the Harvard Oriental Series, vol. i, edited by Prof. Lanman, 1891. , We have a translation in the Chinese Tripi/aka, though it does not much agree THE CEREMONY OF CHANTING. 163 ‘previous births, and mala ‘garland ;’ the idea being that the stories of the difficult deeds accomplished in the former lives of the Bodhisattva (afterwards the Buddha) are strung (or collected) together in one place. If it were to be translated (into Chinese) it would amount to more than ten rolls'. The object of composing the Birth-stories in verse is to teach the doctrine of universal salvation in a beautiful style, agreeable to the popular mind and attractive to readers. Once king Siladitya 2, who was exceedingly fond of literature, commanded, saying: ‘ Ye who are fond of poetry, bring and show me some pieces of your own to-morrow morning.” When he had collected them, they amounted to five hundred bundles 3, and, on being examined, it was found that most of them were GAta- kamélas. From this fact one Judges that Gatakamala is the most beautiful (favourite) theme for laudatory poems. There are more than ‘ten islands in the Southern Sea; here both priests and laymen recite the Gatakamal4, as also the verses above mentioned *; but the former | has not yet been translated into Chinese. King Siladitya versified - the story of the Bodhisattva Gimdtavahana * (Ch. ‘Cloud-borne’), who with the original. See Nanjio’s Catal., No. 1312; it"was translated into Chinese A.D, 960-1127, - * Prof. Kern’s edition has 1,340 verses and contains thirty-four GAtakas, while the Chinese has four volumes containing only fourteen GAtakas (Nanjio’s Catal., No. 1312). A comparison of this text with the Pali and Chinese texts will be very important. It has since been translated by Mr. Speyer, 1895. * King Siladitya of Kanoj died towards the end (a.D. 655, not 6g0) of the Yung Hui period (a. . 650-655). See Beal, Life of Hiuen Thsang, p. 156; Julien, Vie, iv, p. 215; and Max Miller, ‘India, what can it teach us?’ p- 286. a We means ‘folded between boards.’ We know well that Sanskrit MSS. were kept in this way. Not slokas, as M. Fujishima makes it out. ‘ Le. 150 verses, 400 verses, and Suhrillekha. ® Since then, it was translated in a. p. 960-1127 (Nanjio’s Catal., No. 1312). As the date of Arya Sra is not yet settled, I may add here that one of his works was translated into Chinese a. p. 434, and we cannot place him later than this, * This is, no doubt, the Buddhist play Nagdnandam; it was edited in Calcutta in 1864 by Chandra Ghosha, and in Bombay, 1893, by Govind Brahme and’ Parafgape. A translation appeared in 1872 (Triibner) by Mr. Boyd, witha preface Y2 164 A RECORD OF BUDDHIST PRACTICES. XXXII. surrendered himself in place of a Naga. This version was set to music (lit. string and pipe). He had it performed by a band accompanied by dancing and acting, and thus popularised it in his time. Mahasattva Kandra (lit. ‘Moon-official, probably Kandrad4sa), a learned man in Eastern India, composed a poetical song about the prince Visvantara (Chinese, Pi-yu-an-ta-ra)!, hitherto known as Sudana, and people all _Sing.and dance? to it throughout the five countries of India. ne byte Cowell. Though, in the prologue, this play, like the Ratnavalt, is assigned ~ to. $1f Harshadeva (= Siladitya), Prof. Cowell would ascribe it to Dhavaka for several reasons. He also advocates an early date for it, Now we know that the play cannot be later than I-tsing’s stay abroad (a.p. 671-695), and that Siladitya died about a.p. 655 (see p. 163, note 2). Prof. Weber has dis- cussed the subject in Literarisches Centralblatt, 8 Juni, 1872, No. xxiii, p. 614. Mr. S. Beal’s correspondence about these passages in the Academy, Sept. 29, 1883, No. 598, pp. 217, 218, is simply a blunder; he makes out that Sfladitya was accustomed himself to take the part of Gimf@tavahana on the stage—this is utterly impossible. The story of Gimftavahana is told in the Kath4-sarit-sagara I, 175. For the discussion about this play, see M.S, Lévi, Le Théatre Indien, 1890, PP. 190-198, 319, 320. 1 This is, of course, a song about the Visvantara-(= Visvamtara, Kern)-gataka, being the Buddha’s last birth but one. This GAtaka is found in Kern’s GAataka- mala (gth) and Morris’ Kariy4pisaka (gth). See Childers, s.v. Vessantara. ‘This seems to be the most famous among Buddhists, for it is heard from the mouths of all the Buddhist travellers in India: (1) Fa-hien refers to Sudéna (= Vessantara) in his travels (Legge’s, ch. xxxviii, p. 106) ; (2) Sung-yun tells us that he and his companions could not refrain from tears when they were shown the picture of the sufferings of this prince, in the White Elephant Temple near-Varusha (Beal, Catena, p. 4); Hiuen Thsang speaks of him (Julien, Mémoires, liv. ii, p. 122). See Mr. R. L. Mitra’s Nepalese Buddhist Literature, p. 50, and Hardy’s Manual of Buddhism, pp. 116-124. In the French translation of M. Fujishima, these passages were entirely misunderstood ; see Journal Asiatique, Nov. .1888, p. 425. He seems to have taken Pi-yu as “avadanasataka, and An-ta-ra as Andhra, instead of Pi-yu-an-ta-ra as Visvantara, which is my restoration. I do not know how Pi-yu in our text could mean Avaddna, much less Avadanasataka. It is true Julien gives in his THE CEREMONY OF CHANTING. 165 Asvaghosha alsowrote some poetical songs and the SitralankérasAstra3, He also composed the Buddhaéaritakavya (or ‘Verses on the Buddha’s career’), This extensive work, if translated, would consist of more than ten volumes‘, It relates the Tathagata’s chief doctrines and works during his life, from the period when he was still in the royal palace till Hiuen Thsang (Index, p.