BUDDHA:

HIS LIFE, HIS DOCTRINE, HIS ORDER,

BT

DE.

HEEMAMi)LDENBEEG,

PaOFESSOR AT THE C:IVERSITT OF BERLIN, EDITOR OF THE VINAYA PITAKAM

AND THE DIPAVAMSA

S^niitslittcir

IN PALI.

fxam fbc 6crmiiit

BT

WILLIAM HOEY,

M.A.,

D.LlT.,

MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL,

OF HER majesty's BENGAL CIVIL SERVICE.

ETO.

WILLIAMS AND NORGATE,

14,

HENRIETTA STliEET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON;

AND 20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH.
18Si'.

1^"

LONDON
C.

SOBMAN AND

SON, PKINTKKS,

COVENT GARDEN.

HAET STEEET,

TRANSLATOR'S PEEFAcf.

This book
Leben,

is

seine.

Oldenberg,

Vinaya

a translation of a Gei'man work, Buddha, 8ein

Lelire,

of

seine Gemeinde,

Berlin,

Pitakani and

editor

" Pali Texts

The

European

scholars,

the

and the name

a sufficient guarantee of the value of

coming from the pen

coadjutor of Mr.

of

original has

A review of the original doctrines of

contents.

its

is

by Professor Hermann

tlie

the Dipavamsa."

attracted the attention of

of Dr. Oldenberg

of

of

German

the eminent

Rhys Davids

scriptures for Professor

Max

East," and the editor of

many

Buddhism,

scholar, the

in the translation of the Pali

Miiller's

" Sacred Books of the

Pali texts,

must be welcome as

an addition to the aids which we possess to the study of

Buddhism.

Dr. Oldenberg has in the work

now

translated

successfully demolished the sceptical theory of a solar

He

put forward by M. Senart.

has

sifted

Buddha,

the legendary

elements of Buddhist tradition, and has given the reliable

residuum of
the

facts

concerning Buddha's

life

ho has examined

teaching of Buddha, shown that the cardinal

original

tenets of the pessimism which he preached are

of suffering

and the truth

of the deliverance

"the truth

from suffering

:"

he has expounded the ontology of Buddhism and placed the

Nirvana in a true
of

Buddhism

light.

To do

in pre-Buddhist

this

he has gone to the roots

Brahmanism

and he has given

Orientalists the original authorities for his views of Buddhist

dogmatics in Excursus at the end of his work.

To thoughtful men who evince an

interest in the comparative

TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.

iv

study of religious beliefs^ Buddhism^ as

pure
is

intellect to solve the

tlie

problem of being,

highest effort of

who study

not less so to the metaphysician and sociologist

modern German

the philosophy of the

observe
will

its social

tendencies.

be as valuable as

My aim in

it is

to the Orientalist.

this translation has

been

made

slight

and

in a

have done

few passages

oi'iginal, at his

thought

this,

my

omissions, as

request.*

have to thank Dr. Rost, the Librarian of the India

whose suggestion

and courtesy in
necessary to

Office,

I undei'took this work, for his kindness

facilitating

make

I have

manuscript

of the English

additions, or

alterations,

compared with the German

at

to reproduce the

If I

Dr. Oldenberg has kindly perused

before going to press

I have

pessimistic school and

To them Dr. Oldenberg's work

of the original in clear English.

succeeded.

It

attractive.

is

some references which

found

it

to tlie India Office Library.

W. HOEY.
Belfast, Octoher 21, 1882.
* At

p. 241-2,

Dr. Oldenberg refers to the impossibility of Buddliist

terminology finding adequate expression in the

make a

German

similar complaint of the English tongue,

language. I

and point

may

in jiroof to

the same word which occasioned his remark Sankhara. This term is
translated in the German by " Gestaltungen," which would be usually
:

rendered in English by " shapes " or " forms :" but the " shape " or
" form," and the " shaping " or " forming," are one to Buddhist thought

hence I have used for " sankhara " an English word which may connote
both result and process, and is at the same time etymologically similar
to,

though not quite parallel

"conformations."

The

to,

*'

The word chosen

sankhara."

selection of the

term

translations of philosophical technicalities

is

is

arbitrar^^ as all such

must be

until a consensus of

scholars gives currency to a fixed term.

The conception intended

as far as I

know, no exact

approach to

it is

in the

underlying which, be

know.

to

be conveyed by the term " sankhjira " has,

parallel in

European philosophy. The nearest

Buddhist Sankhara are modi

modi of Spinoza.
there

substance

or be there not,

we do not

''*'^^:

Z':P E I K

..^j
CONTENTS.

f^ "^

-^OIT
\'L

^^'^-

,'

^-^Mmt:^'

INTRODUCTION.
CHAPTER

I.

India and Buddhism

India and the West, p.
the Order, p.

The Triad

1.

of

15

Buddha, the Doctrine,

6.

Western and Eastern India The Brahman-castes, jj. 7. The

Aryans in India and their extension, p. 9. Aryan and Vedic
cuUure,

i5.

10.

The Indian

peoples, p. 11.

The Brahman-

castes, p. 13.

CHAPTER

II.

Indian Pantheism and Pessimism before Buddha

Symbohsm of the offering The Absohite, p. 16. Rudiments of
Indian speculation, p. 17. Sacrifice and the symbohsm of
The Atman, p. 25. The Brahma, p. 27.
sacrifice, p. 20.
The Absolute as Atman-Brahma, p. 29.
The Absolute and the External world, p. 32. Earlier and later

IG 60

forms of the Atriaan idea,

Avith Maitreyi, p. 35.

p. 34.

Conversation of Yajnavalkya

The non-ego,

p. 38.

Pessimism, Metempsychosis, Dehverance,

p. 42.

The Ka^/mka-Upanishad,
Tempter Brahman, p. 54.
Naciketas and the God of Death, p. 54. The God of Death
and Mara the Tempter, p. 58. Brahman, p. 59.

The

CHAPTER
Asceticism.

III.

Monastic Orders

Beginning of Monasticism, id. 61. Advance of asceticism from

Western India to the East formation of monastic orders,
:

p. 63.

Sects and heads of sects, p. 66.

Sophistic, p. 68.

01

71

CONTENTS.

V i

PART
BUDDHA'S

I.

LIFE.

CHAPTER
The Chaeacter

I.

Legend and Myth

op Tradition.

72

9i

Doubt of the historical reality of Buddha's personality Buddha

and the Sun-hero, p. 73. Basis of the traditions regarding
;

Buddha the sacred Pali hterature, p. 75. Character of the

memoranda regarding Buddha's person, p. 76. Want of an
:

ancient biography of Buddha, p. 78. Biographical fi-agments

handed down from ancient times, p. 81. Legendary elements,
Examination of the history of the attainment of
p. 82.
delivering knowledge,

86.

p.

Character of the statements

regarding the external surroundings of Buddha's hfe, p. 91.

CHAPTEE

II.

95

Buddha's Youth
The Sakyas,

Buddha not a

p. 95.

112.

Child-

king's son, p. 99.

Dei^arture from home, p. 103.

hood, marriage, p. 100.
Period of fruitless search, p. 105. Decisive turning-point of
his hfe, p. 107.

CHAPTER

III.

Beginning of the Teacher's Career.

The

four -times seven days, p. 114.

113137'

History of the Temptation,

p. 116.

The sermon

at Benares, p. 123.

Further Conversions,

j).

The

first disciples, p.

CHAPTER
Buddha's

130.

131.

IV,

Work

138195-

Daily Life, p. 141. Rainy season and

season of Itinerancy, p. 142. Allotment of the day, p. 149.

Buddha's work,

p. 140.

Buddlia's disciples, p. 150.

Women,

p. 164.

Lay adherents,

p. 162.

Dialogue between Buddha and Visakha,

Buddha's opponents,

p. 170.

Brahmanism,

p.

criticism of the sacrificial system, p. 172.

171.

p. 167.

Buddha's

Relations ^\^th

other monastic orders. Criticism of self-mortilications, p. 175.

Buddha's method

of teaching, p. 176.

Dialect, p. 177.

discourses, their scholastic character, p. 178.

histories of conversions, p. 184.

Induction, p. 189.

Type

Dialogues, p. 188.

Similes, p. 190.

His

of the

Analogy,

Fables and Tales, p. 193.

Poetical sayings, p. 193.

CHAPTER
Buddha's Death

V.

196

20^i

CONTENTS.

PART

vii

II.

THE DOCTRINES OF BUDDHISM.

CHAPTER

The Texet

I.

-04

of Suffering
doctrine of suffering and deliverance, p. 204.

Buddhism a

222

Its

scholastic dialectic, p. 207. Difficulty of comprehension, p. 208.

The

The first and Buddhist pessimism,

The Nothing and Suffering, p. 212. Dialectic foundapessimism discussion of the non-ego, p. 213. The

four sacred truths.

p. 209.

tion of

tone of Buddhist pessimism, p. 221.

CHAPTER

The Tenets

II.

Origin and of the Extinction"

of the

OF Suffering

223

285

the causal nexus, p. 223.

The formula of
The third Unk

Consciousness and

in the chain of causality.

corporeal form,, p. 227.

The
The

Hnk

fourth to the eleventh

first

and second links

p. 237.

The

in the chain of causality, p. 231.

of the causal chain, p. 237.

Sa/ukharas, p. 242.

Kamma

Ignorance,

(moral retribution),

p. 243.

Being

The
The

Substance

and Becoming.

Dhamma,

and Formation,

247.

p.

Sawikhara, p. 250.

Soul, p. 252.

The Ego. The Nirvana, p. 263. The Nirvana in

The death of the Saint, p. 266. Is the
264.

Saint.

this

life, p.

Nu-vana the Nothing? p. 267. Buddha's conversation with

Vacchagotta, p. 272 with Malukya, p. 275. Disallowing the
question as to the ultunate goal, p. 276. Veiled answers to the
;

the conversation between

question

p. 278.

Sariputta's conversation with

CHAPTER

The Tenet

Path

of the

to

Khema and
Yamaka,

Pasenadi,

p. 281.

III.

the

Extinction

of

286-330

Suffering
Duties to others, p. 286.

The

three categories of uprightness,

and \visdom, p. 288. Prohibitions and

commands, p. 290. Love and compassion, p. 292. Story of
Long-Ufe and Long-grief, p. 293. Story of Kunala, p. 296.
Beneficence the story of Vessantara, p. 302. The story of
self-concentration,

The Wise Hare,

Moral

p. 303.

self-culture, p. 305.

Mtira, the Evil One, p. 309.

The

last stages of the

and Buddlias,

path of salvation.

p. 313.

Abstractions.

Saints

CONTENTS.

viii

PART

III.

THE ORDER OP BUDDHA'S DISCIPLES.

The constitution of the Order and its codes of Ieavs, p. 332.
The Order and the Dioceses. Admission and \\"ithdraAval, p.
Clothing.

Property.

The Cultus, p. 369.

The Order of Nuns, p. 377.
The sphitual Order and the

336.

Maintenance, p. 354.

Dwelling.

lay-world, p. 381.

EXCUESUS.
FIRST EXCUESUS.

Ok

the relative Geographical Location of Vedic

AND Buddhist Culture

391

411

Separate demarcation of Aryan and Vedic culture, p. 391. The

enumeration of peoples in the Aitareya Brahma?(a Texts,

Manu,

The stocks mentioned in the

The Kurus, p. 396. Yajnavalkya
and the Videhas, p. 397. The legend of Agni Vai(?vanara,
The Magadhas, p. 400. The stocks named in the
p. 399.
The Turvagas, p. 404, The T;-/tsui^ik-Sa?hita, p. 401.
Ditto in

p. 392.

p. 393.

Bralmiaiia Texts, p. 395.

Bharatas, p. 405.

SECOND EXCURSUS.
T^'oTES

AND Authorities on the History of Buddha's

41112(>

Youth
The Sakyas,
king's son,
p. 417.

p. 411.
-p.

The name Gotama,

416. His youth

p. 413.

Buddha not a

and departure from Kapilavatthu,

to Sambodhi, p. 420.
The

The period from Pabbajja

Sambodhi,

p. 424.

THIRD EXCURSUS.

......

Appendices and Authorities on some

Buddhist Dogmatic
1.

The

Upadhi, p. 427. Upadana, p. 429.

Passages bearing on the Nirvana, p. 438.

Nirvajja, p. 427.

Upadisesa, p. 433.

NirvaHa and Parinirvana,

2.
3.

Matters of

p. 444.

Namarupa, p. 445.
The Four Stages of HoUness,

p. 448.

427

450

c>

INTRODUCTION.
CHAPTER

I.

INDIA AND BUDDHISM.

history of the Buddhist faith begins with a

The

band of

mendicant monks who gathered round the person of Gotama,

the Buddha, in the country bordering on the Ganges, about
five

hundred years before the commencement of the Christian

era.

What bound them

together and gave a stamp to their

simple and earnest world of thought, was the deeply

clearly

and sternly expressed consciousness, that

of sorrow,

is full

sorrow

in renunciation of the world

An

itinerant teacher

and

earthly

and that the only deliverance from

existence
is

felt

all

and eternal

and his itinerant

rest.

followers, not unlike

who in later times bore through Galilee the

''the kingdom of heaven is at hand,^' went through

those bands,
tidings:

the realms of India with the burden of sorrow and death, and
the announcement

death

is

" open ye your

ears; the deliverance

from

found.''

Vast gaps separate the

historical circle, in the

middle of

which stands the form of Buddha, from the world on which we

IJSDIA

wont next

are

AND BUDDHISM.
when we speak

to lis our thoughts,

of the

history of the world.

Those upheavals of nature which partitioned

off

India from

the cooler lands of the west and north by a gigantic wall

of vast mountains, allotted at the

who should

The Indian

detached isolation.

developed
far

its life

removed

who

nation, in a

by any other nation

paralleled

same time

to the people,

tread this highly favoured land, a role of

first

in the

manner

civilized

out of itself and according to

alike

from the

in the west, within the

alien

scarcely

own

its

laws,

and the cognate peoples,

compass of closer mutual

relations,

have performed the parts to which history called them.

For those

took no share in this work.

race,

has

world,

among whom Buddha preached

circles of the

India

Indian

his doctrine, the idea of

non-Indian lands had hardly a more concrete signification than

the conception of those other worlds, which, scattered through
infinite space,
hells, to

combine with other suns, other moons and other

form other universes.

'The day was yet to come, when an overpowering hand broke

down

the partition between India and the west

But

Alexander.

much later

this contact of India

the

period than that which formed Buddhism

the death of

Buddha and Alexander's Indian

the national
freshly

events

life

of the Indians

and genially

had

When

at

an

overtaken

it

as

might have opened

this

between

Who

can

when

earlier epoch,
itself

to the influences of a foreign

weapons and Hellenic culture

late.

if,

of

to a

expedition there

elapsed perhaps about one hundred and sixty years.

conceive what might have been,

hand

and Greece belongs

life,

more
such

incursion of Macedonian

For India Alexander came too

he appeared, the Indian people had long since

come, in the depth of their loneliness, to stand alone among

nations, ruled

by forms

of life

and habits

of thought,

which

INDIA AND TEE WEST.

dijBfered wliolly

from the standards of

Without a past living in

which they might

tlie

nou-Iudiau world.

memory^ without a present,

their

utilize in love

and hate, without a

future, for

which men might hope and work, they dreamed morbid and
proud dreams of that which
peculiar

On

government which

is

is

beyond

time,

all

scarcely any of the creations of the exuberant culture of

India, do
sharply,

we

find the

and therefore,

Buddhism.

stamp of

this Indian characteristic

so

too, so enigmatically impressed, as

on

But the more completely do

all

external bonds between these

we

are acquainted, as

far as they consist of the intercourse of nations

change of their

intellectual wealth,

much

clearly do

the

-^

distant regions and the world with which

more

apparently foreign

seem to us

we perceive another

closely together internally

to

the bond

and the

inter-

be severed, so

tie,

what are outwardly

which holds

far apart

and

of historical analogy between

phenomena, which are called into being in

and of the

within these everlasting realms.

different places

by

the working of the same law.

Invariably, wherever a nation has been in

develope

its

intellectual life in purity

and

a position to

tranquillity

through

a long period of time, there recurs that phenomenon, specially

observable in the domain of spiritual

life,

which we may venture

to describe as a shifting of the centre of gravity of all supreme

human

interests

from without to within

an old

faith,

which

promised to men somehow or other by an offensive and defensive alliance with the

Godhead, j)Ower, prosperity, victory and

subjection of their enemies, will, sometimes

degrees, and sometimes

by a new phase

of

by great

by imperceptible

catastrophes, be supplanted

thought, whose watchwords are no longer

welfare, victory, dominion, but rest, peace, happiness, deliver-

ance.

The blood

of the sacrificial victim no lonrfer -brinsrs

1*

AND BUDDHISM.

4:

INDIA

reconciliation to fhe

dismayed and erring

ways are sought and found, to overcome

heart,

and to become whole, pure, and happy.

This altered condition of the inner

new form

to a

man new
enemy within the

lieart of

tlie

life

of spiritual fellowship.

gives rise externally

In the old order of

things nature associated religious unity with the family, the

'

and the nation

clan,

worship existed of
thereby the right

jointly,
itself.

to,

and

and inside these unity of faith and

Whoever belongs
is

bound

Near

worship of the popular gods.

people with other gods

to

a people has

"to

have a share

in,

the

this people are other

for each individual it is

determined as

a natural necessity by the circumstances of his birth, what

gods

shall

be to him the true and

particular collective body,

church, there

is

him the operative

for

deities.

which may be denominated a

not and there cannot be, for the circle of

worshippers of the popular gods

all

no narrower and no wider

is

than the people themselves.

The circumstances under which the

life

come

to

antiquity co-eval with the people

When

forms of religious

They have not an

among whom they

arise.

they come into existence they find a faith already rooted

in the people

and giving an imprint to popular

They must begin

among

later

the surface are different.

to

institutions.

gather adherents to themselves from

the crowds of professors of another

faith.

It is

no

longer natural necessity, but the will of the individual, which

determines whether he hopes to find his salvation on this side

or on that.

There arise the forms of the school, the society, and

From the narrow social circle of teacher and

may eventually grow a church, which, exceeding
the nation, the limits of all seats of culture, may

the holy order.

disciples there

the limits of

extend to distances the most remote.

Were

it

allowable to borrow fi'om one particular instance

PRIMART AI^D SEC ONDIET RELIGIONS.

of those cases wlilcli

revolution

of

illustrate

universal

a designation for this

this,

which

occurrence,

transforms

the

we

religious life of nations internally as well as externally,

might describe

it

as the transition from the Old Testament

dispensation to the

New Testament dispensation. The honour of

having given the most unique and most marked expression to

this transition in

Semitic race.

forms unequalled in history, belongs to the

Somewhere about

five

hundred years

earlier

among

than in Palestine, analogous occurrences took place

the

Indo-Germanic nations in two places, widely separated

in

but approximate in time, in Greece and in India.

locality,

In the former case we find the most eccentric among the

Athenians, the defining explorer of the bases of

human

action,

who, in the market and over the wine-cup, to Alkibiades as

well as to Plato, demonstrates that virtue can be taught and
learned,

in

the latter case there

most

out as the

steps

prominent among the world's physicians, who then traversed

India in monastic garb, the noble Gotama,

who

the Exalted, the holy, highly Illuminated One,

into the world to

show

to

gods and

men

himself

calls

who

has come

the path out of the

sorrowful prison of being into the freedom of everlasting

rest.

What

can be more different than the relative j)roportions in

which in these two

spirits

and historical treatment

will

permit

us to add as a third their great counterpart in his mysterious

majestic form of suffering humanity

and

feeling, of

But even

the elements

of thought

depth and clearness, were arranged and mixed

in the

sharply-defined

was, and

still is,

historical

necessity holds

difference

Socratic, Buddhistic,

historical necessity that,

good.

when the

this spiritual reconstruction

For
stej)

of that

and Christian
it

vitality,

was a matter

was attained

was required and

which

at

of

which

called for, the

INDIA AND BUDDHISM.

Greeks were bound to meet

tlie

Jews with a new

faith.

tliis

demand with a new

pliilosopliy,

The Indian mind was wanting

in

that simplicity, which can believe without knowing, as well as

in that bold clearness,

which seeks to know without believing^

and therefore the Indian had to frame a doctrine, a religion

and a philosophy combined, and

bo

neither -the

said,

sketch

is

therefore, perhaps, if

one nor the other;

intended to keep in view, at every step in

parallelism of these

While

phenomena.

it

in

it

many

a dark place within

descry outlines and forms,

thereby

in

it

hopes on

its

its

the

obtains from the

which

own province

to

part in return to aid

suggesting bases founded on

assured, for the

Our

detail,

similar historical pictures of the western world a light

enables

must

it

Buddhism.

facts,

and

sifted

discovery of those universally valid rules,

which govern the changes in the religious thought of nations.

The course which our sketch

indicated
is to

by the nature

have to follow,

is

Obviously, our

first

clearly

task

describe the historical national antecedents, the ground

and base on which Buddhism

life

will

of the case.

rests,

above

all

the religious

and philosophical speculation of pre-Buddhist India

for

hundreds of years before Buddha's time movements were in

progress in Indian thought, which

prepared the way for

Buddhism and which cannot be separated from a sketch of the
latter.
Then the review of Buddhism will naturally divide

itself into

three heads, corresponding to that Triad, under

which even in the very oldest time the Buddhist society in

their liturgical language, distributed the

which they esteemed sacred, the

the Order.

Buddha, the Law,

Buddha's own person stands necessarily

sketch also, as

We

whole of those matters

trinity of

it

in

our

did in that ancient formula, in the foreground.

must acquaint ourselves with

his life

and

his debut as teacher of his people, with his

his deatli, with

band of

disciples.

BUDDHA, THE LAW, THE CHVECH.

who gathered round

him^ and with his intercourse with rich

We

and poor, high and low.

shall

then turn, in the second

dogmatic thought of the oldest Buddhism, above

place, to the
all to

that which stands evermore as a focus in this world of

thought, to the doctrine of the sorrow of

all

deliverance from this sorrow, the goal of

Buddhism, as well as
binds together

common

We

effort to escape,

that which externally

of Christianity,

who

are united

by

common

faith,

and

bonds of a common church

In that formula of the Buddhist trinity we find the

named

shall

all

effort for delivei"ance, in

fellowship.

order

that is earthly, the

all

There then remains the characteristic feature of

the Nirvana.

Buddha and

after

the

follow this course and,

Buddha and

his

Law, we

Law

as the third

keep in view,

shall

the Order and their corporate

member.

when we have spoken

We

life.

of

in the third place,

shall

come

to under-

stand the organization which Buddhism has given to the

narrower

who have taken

circle of believers,

monks and nuns,

the doctrine of Buddha,

of the most ancient

With

Buddhism

this will
or,

end the investigation

more accurately expressed,

the sketch of Buddhism in that form, which

oldest;

and

to

this

vows as

their

community, who accept

as well as to the lay

investigation only will

is

to us

the

our sketch be

confined.

Western and Eastern India

The

The stage upon which antecedent

most

ancient

history

of

Brahman-castes.

history as well

Buddhism

was

enacted,

Gangetic valley, the most Indian of Indian lands.

times of which
alone in the
centres of

we have

to speak, the

as

the

is

the

In the

Gangetic valley, almost

whole peninsula, comprised within

Aryan state-government and

culture.

itself

all

The great

westi:bn and eastern indiatee brahman-castes.

natural divisions of this territory, wliicli coincide witli stages

in the distribution of the Indian family-stock, and with stages
in the extension

stages in the

movement has

At

old-Indian culture,

of

course of

correspond also to

development which

this

religious

taken.

the outset

we

are carried into the north-west half of the

Gangetic valley, to those territories where the Gangetic tracts

and

the

Indus tracts approach each other, and

through which the

Yamuna

two twin streams of

the

those

to

Ganges and

flow as they converge to their conjunction.

Here,

and for a long period here alone, lay the true settlements of
Brahmanical culture;
of

Buddha, in the

here

first,

centuries before the time

Brahman

circles of

thinkers, at the place

of sacrifice and in the solitudes of forest

life,

those thoughts

were thought and uttered, in which the transition from the

old Yedic religion of nature to the doctrine of deHverance

began and ultimately found development.

The

culture fostered in the north-west,

and with

it

these

thoughts, following the course of the Ganges, flowed on to

the south-east through those powerful veins in which from of
old beat most strongly the

they assumed

new

of India.

life

forms, and

Among new

when Buddha

peoples

himself at last

appeared, the two greatest kingdoms in the south-eastern half

of the- Gangetic valley, the lands of Kosala (Oude) and
(Bihar),

became the

Thus there

lie

chief scenes of his teaching

broad strips of land between the tracts in

which, long before Buddha, Buddhism began

course of development, and those in which

gathered round him his

first

scenery and actors has had,

an appreciable
of the play.

Magadha

and labours.

effect in

it

its

preparatory

Buddha himself

believers; and this change of

could not have been otherwise,

more than one respect on the course

TEE ARYANS IN

We
meet

next take a glance at

us,

some

tlie

as the originators

INDIA.

tribes, wliicli

and

successively

otliers as tlie

promoters

of this religious movement.

The Aryan population

is

of India

came

well known, from the north-west.

into the peninsula, as

This immigration lay

already in the remote past at the time to which the oldest

monuments which we have

The

of religious poetry belong.

memory

Indians had as completely lost the

of this as the

corresponding events had been forgotten by the Greeks and

Italians.

Fair Aryans pressed on and broke

down

the strong-

holds of the aboriginal inhabitants, the "black-skinned," the

" lawless," and "godless."

The

When

annihilated, or subjugated.

sung, Aryan

clans,

solitary pioneers,

though

enemy was driven back,

the songs of the

perhaps

only

as

Yeda were

adventurous,

had already pressed on to where the Indus in

the west, and possibly also to where the Ganges in the east,

empty

their

mighty waters into the sea

inexhaustibly rich

regions in which the flocks of the Aryans grazed and the

Aryan

deities

were honoured with prayer and

Probably the
forward to the

know

sacrifice.

first

immigrants, and, therefore, the farthest

east,

whether confederate or disassociated we

not, are those tribes

which meet us

junction of the Ganges and

Yamuna,

Anga and Magadha,

the Ganges, the

later

settled

on east

of the

on both banks of

the Videha, the Kagi and

Kosala.

A second wave
it

new groups

nected,

of the great tide of immigration brought with

of Aryans, a

number

of tribes closely intercon-

who, surpassing their brothers

intellectually,

liave

produced the most ancient great monuments of the Indian'

mind which we
Vedas.
the Eig

possess,

We find

and which wo

call

by the name of the

these tribes at the time of which the

Veda give us

hymns of

a picture, near the entrances of the Indian

WESTERN AND EASTERN INDIA THE BRAHMAN-CASTES.

10

and in the Panjab

peninsula^ at the Indus

later

on they are

driven to the south-east and have founded on the upper stream

of the

Ganges and on the Yamuna those kingdoms, which are

called in

"Manu^s Institutes'^ the land of the '^Brahmarshis/' the

home and the type of holy, upright living " By a Brahman

who has been born in this land/' says the Law (of Manu),
''shall all men on earth be instructed as to their conduct.'"
The names of the Bharata tribe, Kuru, Pancala, stand out
among the peoples of this classic land of Vedic culture, which
:

lies

before our gaze in clear illumination as a land rich in

advanced
tribes,

intellectual creation, while the destinies of the other

who had immigrated

darkness until the period

an

at

earlier date,

when they came

remained in

into contact with the

culture of their brother tribes.*

In a Vedic work, the " Brahmana of the hundred paths,''

have a remarkable legend, in which

is

Yeda

course which the extension of the cult and culture of the

took.

we

clearly depicted the

The flaming god Agni Yai9vanara, the

sacrificial fire,

wanders eastward from the river Sarasvati, beyond the old

sacred home-laud of the Vedic Sacra.

but Agni burns on across

prince Mathava and the

all

Brahman Gotama.

it

Agni does not

cross

it.

him

follow the

Thus they came

down from

the river Sadanira, which flows

tains in the north

Rivers cross his path,

streams, and after

the snowy

to

moun-

" Brahmans crossed

not in former ages for Agni Vai9vanara had not burned

beyond
east.

it.

But now maiiy Brahmans dwelt beyond

This was formerly very bad land, inundated

Agni Vai^vanara had not made

it

habitable.

in support of the

to the

it

for

soil,

But now

very good land, for Brahmans have since made

* Further proofs

it

it

is

enjoyable

view here taken of the separation of

the western Vedic and the eastern non- Vedic tribes, are advanced at the
close of this

work

in

Excursus

I.

ARYAN AND VEDIO CVLTUBE.

"
tlirongh offerings ;

iu

India bad land

is

11

not converted into

who plough and

good, as in the rest of the world, by peasants

dig_,

but by sacrificing Brahmans.

Prince Mathava takes up

his abode to the east of the Sadanira, in the

Agni had not essayed

The

of Videha.

Vai9vanara, the ideal champion of Vedic

Whoever pursues an

We

among whom Agni

life, is

remember

oldest Buddhist communities

limits of those tracts, into

which

from

of old at

inquiry into the beginning of the

extension of Buddhism, must

in his flaming course

land_,

which these legends

023position is clear in

place the eastern tribes to the western,

home.

bad

His descendants are the rulers

to enter.

that the

home

of the

the tracts or near the

in

lies

which Agni Vai9vanara did not cross

when he

travelled to the east.

are unable to fix any graduated series of dates, either

by years

or

by centuries, indicating the progress of

this

which Aryans and Vedic culture over-

victorious campaign, in

ran the Gangetic valley.

But, what

more important, we are

is

able from the layers of Yedic literature which overlie each

other, to gather

new home,
over the

some idea of how, under the

of Indian nature

life

of the people

and Indian

first

which has survived

as long as there

In the

is

and

morbid impression

that

all

change came

and foremost of the Vedic

peoples, the tribes of the north-west

mind received

influences of a

climate, a

how

of sorrow

the popular

and disease,

changes of fortune, and which

will last

an Indian people.

sultry, moist, tropical lands of the

endowed by nature with

rich gifts, the peoisle

Ganges, highly

who were

in the

prime of youthful vigour when they penetrated hither from the

north, soon ceased to be

come rapidly

young and

strong.

Men and

peoples

to maturity in that land, like the plants of the

tropical world, only just as rapidly to fall asleep both bodily

and

spiritually.

The sea with

its

invigorating breeze, and the

WESTERN AND EASTERN INDIA TEE BRAHMAN- CASTES.

12

school of uoble national energy^ play no part in

The Indian has above

Indians.

all,

aside from that which chiefly preserves a people

healthy, from the battle

The thought

law.

with

is true, also

train,

The

all

free will of

young and

the quickening, and,

the deadly powers which

has always been

India.

tlie

and struggle for home, country, and

freedom with

of

all

of

tlie life

an early stage, turned

at

brings in

it

it

its

unknown and incomprehensible in

man may not chafe against the system

of Brahma, the natural law of caste, which has given the

people into the power of the king and the king into the power

Well might

of the priest.

Greek

opposing armies to
for

it

awaken the astonishment of the

go forth between

to see in India the peasant calmly

he

is

till

common

the

his fields:* '^He is sacred

benefactor of friend and

and inviolable
foe.''^

But

in

what the Greeks mention as a beautiful and sensible feature in

Indian national
mildness.
to

sow

life,

When

thought.

Roman

and

ideals

life.

which are

But when once the

is

to the

the basis of

at

all

Will and action are overgrown by

internal balance

and the natural relationship between the

of the world

soft

peasant ceased

The Indians are wholly strangers

his fields.

highest interests

healthy national

more than mere

there lies something

Hannibal came, the

spirit

is

disarranged

and the

reality

disturbed, thought has no longer the power to

take a wholesome grasp of what

is

wholesome.

^Vhatever

is,

appears to the Indian worthless compared to the marginal

illuminations with which his fancy surrounds
of his fancy

To him

terrific

the true world, hidden

writers,

cf.

Irving, " TLcory

and Practice

is

and the images

power against

by the images

dreams, remains an unknown, which he

* This fact mentioned by Megastlienes

it,

shapeless and dis-

in tropical luxuriance,

and turn eventually with

torted,
creator.

own

grow

is

their

of his

unable to trust

also confirmed

of Caste," p. 75.

by modem

TEE INDIAN PEOPLE.

and over

wliicli lie

has no control

and happiness

life

13
in this

world break down under the burden of excessively crushing

contemplation of the hereafter.

The

visible manifestation of the

of the present world

is

world to come in the midst

the caste of the Brahmans,

knowledge and power, who can open and shut

to

who have
man the

approach to the gods, and make friends or enemies for him

Those powers, which were excluded from development

above.

in political

life,

could find in the case of the Brahmans alone a

sphere for creation, but verily for what a creation

whom

a Lykurgus or a Themistokles,
to

they have

Indians,

the

Yajnavalkyas,

had

who knew how

to

Instead of

fate peremptorily denied

the more Arunis and

all

found with masterly hand

the mysteries of fire-offering and soma-offering, and to give

currency in not less masterly fashion to those claims which are

advanced against the secular classes by the champions of the

kino-dom which

No

is

not of this world.

one can understand the course which Indian thought has

taken, without keeping in view the picture, with

its lights

and

shadows, of this order of philosophers, as the Greeks named the

Brahmanical caste.

And

that, at that time at least,

above

must be remembered

all it

which has shaped the determinative

fundamental thoughts for the intellectual

age and for Buddhism

more than a vain and greedy priestcraft,

that

form in which the innermost essence, the

so call

it,

of the Indian people has

The days

of the

efforts of a

also, this priestly class

it

was the necessary

evil genius, if

embodied

Brahman passed

subsequent

was something

we may

itself.

in solemn routine.

every step those narrow, restraining limits held him

in,

At

which

the holy dignity that he represented imposed on the inner and

outer man.

He

passed his youth in hearing and learning the

sacred word, for a true

And

if

Brahman

is

he alone " who has heard."

he acquired the reputation

'^of

having

heard,''^

his

EASTERN AND WESTERN INDIA THE BRAHMAN-CASTES.

14:

adult

passed in teacliing, in

life

or out in the

village

tlie

on which the

solitude of the forest in the consecrated circle,

sun shone in the

east,

where alone the most secret instruction

Or he was

could be imparted openly to the muffled scholar.

c;>be

and

found at the place of

for

the sacred

others

observances,

sacrifice,

Yeda.

that

is,

duty of
sacred

into

hands by the re-

his

which kings and nobles gave

sacrifice,

Brahmans, but he passed as most worthy, who

offerings for others, but

and the

the daily prayer from the

Well might riches flow

muneration for

countless

its

painful minuteness
fulfilled the life-long

most laborious proficiency, or he

Brahma-offei-ing,

which, with

office,

demanded the most

performing for himself

by the gleanings

to the

lived, not

of the field,

by

which he

gathered, or by alms for which he had not ashed, or such

charity as he

had begged as a favour.

Still,

living even as

a beggar, he looked on himself as exalted above earthly

potentates and subjects, made of other stuff than they. The

Brahmans

call

themselves gods, and, in treaty with the gods

of heaven, these gods of earth

know

weapons of the gods, weapons of

all

earthly

weapons snap powerless.

Vedic song, " carry sharp arrows

which

themselves possessed of

spiritual
''

they have darts

They attack

they take, fails not.

power, before which

The Brahmans," says a

their

the aim,

enemy

in their

holy ardour and their fury, they pierce him through from afar."

The king, whom they anoint

their king

to rule over their people, is not

the priest, at the coronation,

ruler to his subjects, says

king over us Brahmans

standing without the

" This
is

pale

of

Yeda

when he

your king,

Soma."

too-ether in a great confederacy,

ordinances of the

is

the

presents the

people

State,

far as the

The members

of this

confederacy are the only teachers of the rising youth.

young Indian

of

Aryan

birth

is

as

the

bind themselves

which extends as

are current.

They, the Brahmans,

good as

out-caste,

if

The
he be

THE BBAEMAN- CASTES.

15

not bronglit at a proper age to a Braliman teacher, to receive

from him the sacred cord, the mark of the

and

spiritual twice-born,

be inducted into the wisdom of the Yedas.

to

control," then says the teacher,

thought follow

And

word."

my

thought, with

modern

my

take thy heart,

lot

thy

all

thy soul rejoice in

my

through the long years, which the pupil passes

by

in the master^s house, he is coerced

The house of the Brahman

to him.

^^Into

^'^I

State, the great school,

share of the best part of his

his fear

is,

and obedience

like the

army

in the

which demands of every one a

life,

to discharge

him eventually

with the indelibly implanted consciousness of subordination to

the idea embodied, in the one case in the State, in the other
case in the Brahman-class.

In the strength and the weakness of the forms of

class of thinkers lies also, as

and weakness of

their

it

thought.

They were,

banished into a self-made world, cut

atmosphere of
belief

in

real

and in

comparison with which

others,

off

all

of this

so

to

speak,

from the refreshing

by nothing shaken

life,

themselves

life

were in a germ, the strength

in their

unbounded

unique omnipotence, in

their

that gave character to the life of

must have appeared small and contemptible.

And

thus, therefore, in their thought also the utmost boldness of

world-disclaiming abstraction shows

all that is visible into

to caper in sickly

itself,

which soars beyond

the regions of the spaceless and timeless,

company

in baseless chimeras, without limit

or aim, in fancies such as can be conceived only by a spirit

which has

lost all taste for the sober realities of fact.

They

have created a mode of thought in which the great and

profound has joined partnership with childish absurdities so
uniquely that the history of the attempts of humanity to

comprehend

self

and the universe

study this thought in

its

development

affords
is

no

parallel.

our next task.

To

CHAPTER

11.

INDIAN PANTHEISM AND PESSIMISM BEFORE

BUDDHA
Symbolism op the OFrERiNG

The rudiments
Ip'ic

The Absolute.

of Indian speculation extend back to

poetry of the Rig Yeda.

Here, in the oldest

Vedic poetry, among- songs at

sacrifice

and Indra for protection, prosperity, and

the

first

tlie

monument

of

and prayers to Agni

victory,

we

bold efforts of a reflecting mind, which tm-ns

discover
its

back

on the spheres of motley worlds of gods and myths, and, in

conscious reliance on

its

of being and origination

"

Nor

own power, approaches

the enigmas

Alight nor I^aught existed, yon bright sky

Was not, nor heaven's broad roof outstretched above.

What covered all? What sheltered? What concealed ?

Was it the

water's fathomless abyss

" There was not death

yet was there naught immortal.

There was no confine betwixt day and night

The only One breathed breathless by itself.

Other than

It there nothing since has been.

" Darkness there was, and

In gloom profound

The germ
Burst

that

forth,

still

all at first

was veiled

an ocean without light

lay covered in the husk

one nature, from the fervent heat.

RUDDIENTS OF INDIAN SPECULATION.

'

WIio knows the secret? wlio proclaimed

17

it liere,

"Whence, whence this manifold creation sprang

The gods themselves came later into being

"Who knows from whence this great creation sprang ?
from whom all this great creation came,
"Whether His will created or was mute,
The Most High Seer that is in highest heaven.

"He

He knows

it

or perchance even He knows not."*

And

in another song a poet speaks,

faitli

in the old deities, seeks after the one God, "

is

Lord over
"

He who

that

gives breath,

He who

immortality, whose shadow

He

He

is

God to whom we

shall offer

our

is

death

sacrifice ?

are,

the sea, they say, with the distant river (the Easa)

of

whom

these regions are the two arms

Who is the God to whom we

He
He

the bright gods revere,

through whose greatness these snowy mountains

And

*'

gives strength

"Whose shadow
the

alone

all

is

from the

who

moves "

"Whose command

"Who
"

all

wlio, estranged

through

through

shall offer our sacrifice ?

whom the sky is bright

whom the heaven was

and the earth firm

'stablished,

nay the higLest

heaven

He who
"Who
"

is

measured out the space

the

God

to

whom we

in the sky ?

shall offer

our

sacrifice ?

He who by His might looked even over the waters

Which held power and generated the sacrificial fire,
He who alone is God above all gods
Who is the God to whom we shall ofier our sacrifice Pf"
;

Each strophe of the

the

God

whom we

to

which

clearly perceptible
this

and the

x. 129.

Ibid., X. 121.

ends in these words

lies

positive faith of

* Eig Veda,

lyric

shall offer our sacrifice

" who

" The gap

between inquiring hymns

an

earlier age,

Translated by

Translated by

Max

Max

is
is

like

which knew, but

Muller.

Muller.

STMBOLISM OF SACRIFICE THE ABSOLUTE.

IS

inquired not regarding the gods to wliom tliey sliould

make

sacrifice.

We

can only toucli

witli brief

comment

this first flash ol

conscious thought of the Indians regarding the fundamental

phantasms

is

The development

life.

of

self-development out of a world of

or, rather, its

assumes a connected progressive form at a

first

time which

universe and

the

of

questions
speculation

later

probably much

later

than that to which

these hymns, quoted from the Rig Veda, belong.

It

was that

period of widely ramified and exuberant literary production

which has given birth to the endless mass of

and mystic

collections of

prose, which

Upanishad.

are

dogmas and

of these works,

can rely for this portion of our sketch,

approximately and within uncertain

be much

in error, if

we

works

named Brahmana, Aranyaka, and

usually

The age

sacrificial

discourses, written in

upon which alone we

we can determine

We

limits.

place their origin

only

shall scarcely

somewhere between

the ninth and seventh centuries before the Christian era.

development of thought, which was progressing in

The

this period,

while resting apparently on the basis of the old faith in gods,

had

really

undermined that

faith,

and, forcing

its

way through

endless voids of fanta,stic chimeras, had at last created a

ground of

religious thought, the belief

new

in the undisturbed,

unchangeable universal-Unity, which reposes behind the world

of sorrow and impermanence, and to which the

leaving this world, returns.

On

this

centuries after the Brahmanical thinkers had laid

doctrine and the church built, which were

name

We

delivered,

very foundation, moreover,

it,

named

were the
after the

of Buddha.

now proceed

self-destruction

of

to

trace step

by

step the process of that

the Vedic religious thought, which has

produced Buddhism as

its

positive outcome.

RUDIMENTS OF INDIAN SPECULATION.

At the

tiuiG

when

Id

this process begins, all spiritual exercises

which are performed in India are concentrated round one focus,

the

sacrifice.

The world, which surrounds the Brahmans,

the place of sacrifice

the matters, of which, above

he has knowledge, are those relating to

must understand the

standing

is

sacrifice

with

By

all-subduiug power.

chained the demons

sacrificial duties.

this

He

secrets, for under-

its

all

is

others,

all

power the gods have

"mighty/' so runs the promise for those

who have knowledge, " doth he himself become, and powerless

becomes his enemy and controverter, who possesses such
knowledge.'"

The elements,
the sacred

from the

of

which

sacrificial

knowledge of the meaning of

this

rites consists, are

spiritual bequests of the past,

twofold; some spring

and others are a newly-

acquired possession.

On

the one side, the legacy inherited from the time of the

simple belief in Agni and Indra and Varuna, and

of gods, before

whom

selves in prayer

and

points to these.

When

he

says,

fathers

sacrifice.

is

Every hand

" I grasp thee at the

to

the hosts

laid

on the

offering-

the offerer seizes the sacred implement,

call

arms of the Acvins, with Pushan's

object

all

and ancestors had bowed them-

of

god

Savitar, with the

If the sacrificial

hands.''

be consecrated with sprinkling of water, he says to

the waters, " Indra hath chosen you as his associates at the

conquest of Vritra;

ye have chosen Indra as your associate

at the conquest of Vritra."

And

from

eai-ly

morn

until

evening

there resound at the place of sacrifice praises and songs to

Ushas, the redness of dawn, the divine maiden, who, with her
glistening steeds, approaches the dwellings of man, dispensing
blessings; to Indra, who, fired
in wild battle the legions of

by the soma-draught, breaks

demons with

his thunderbolt;

to Agni, the benign god, the heavenly guest,

who beams

2*

in


SY^IBOLISM OF SACRIFICE THE ABSOLUTE.

20

the habitations of meiij and bears their

gifts to

sacrificial

heaven.

But the world

gods of

of the old gods^ the living

bloody can no longer of itself alone satisfy the

flesh

mind

and

of the

Ever stronger becomes the tendency to name by

later age.

their proper

names the powers which govern the wide world

and the life of man. There is space the Indians named it

" the regions of the world." There is time^ with its creating
and destroying power ; the Indians named it " the year/*"
;

There are the seasons^ the moon, day and night, earth and au%
the sun

" he

who burns," and

the wind

'^

he who blows."

There are the breath-powers, which pass through the human

There are thought and speech, "which are one with

body.

each other and yet separate."

The movements and operations

of these powers govern the course of the universe, and bring

men weal and woe.

And now men look
their own age, to the
world of gods, to

for an answer, in the

whom

mysteries and symbols increase.

Brahman

In

all

at the altar of sacrifice,

state in

there

all

will

and above

universe, "for the universe,"

movement
is

of sacrifice."

not merely what

further

that

all in

it is

which

it

it

is

move
said,

What meets

to

and

shall

"is swayed by the

is

something

Speech and action have a

double signification, the apparent and the hidden; and,

human knowledge

be

fro in the

the eye in the offering

or appears to be, but there

signifies.

the

Agui and the

no longer be present alone, but there

the hidden powers which

which

the surroundings of

sacred office which he there performs, the god

god Savitar

of

made, suggest to the

sacrifice is

Then the atmosphere assumes a

thought.

the

new language

question which the sacrifice and the

if

follows the apparent, yet the gods love the

hidden and abhor the apparent.

ELEMENTS OF THE SYMBOLISM OF SACRIFICE.

Numbers

liavo

21

mysterious power, words and syllables Iiave

mysterious power, rhythms have mysterious power.

an imaginary play between imaginary

forces

which

There

is

subject

is

to no law of perceptibility.

Consecration (diksha) escapes from

the gods; they search for

it

it

through the months; they find

summer nor with

neither with

the months of the cool season

consecrate himself

come round.
draught

when

The metra

winter, but they find

(^.i9ira)

therefore

it

with

man must

the months of the cool season have

fly

up

to

heaven to bring the soma-

the voice speaks standing in the seasons.

The system

of offering is a type of the year, or, briefly, the

sacrifice is the year

the officiating priests are the seasons of

We

the year ; the objects oSered up are the months.

should

import something foreign into these plays of thought

attempted to trace in them any sharply-defined

line of

if

we

demar-

cation

between the being and the signifying, between the

reality

and

representative;

its

the one

overlaps the other.

'^Prajapati (the Creator) created as his image that which

the offering.

Therefore people say the offering

For he created

Morning

is

as his image.''

it

morning, and evening after evening', two

after

offerings are placed in the sacred fire

the one

is

the past, the

other the future;

the one

To-day

therefore, the first of both offerings will

is

certain

is

made with an utterance of

certainty.

The morrow

offering will be
is

is

Prajapati.

made

is

to-day, the other the morrow.

sacrificial

uncertain;

formula, for speech

be
is

therefore, the second

in silence, for silence, as the Indian says,

the uncertain.

In the confused cloud-world

of these mysteries, there lurk,

concealed from the eye of the ignorant, countless enemies of

the destinies of the children of

men

days and nights

roll on,

and bear away with them the blessings which the good deeds

22
of

SYMBOLISM OF SACRIFICE THE ABSOLUTE.

men had won

for

them

above

tlie

and nights the sun, "^'who shines/'

burns

death.

is

Since he

who dwell below him

godsj

die

realm of clianging days

enthroned; and "he who

death, therefore the creatures

is

who

those

live

beyond him are the

therefore are the gods immortal.

traces,

wherewith

soever

life

all

His rays are the

yoked

these creatures are

to

Whose-

life.

he wishes, he draws to himself and he departs

But the wise man knows formulas and

dies.'''

him above the region

exalt

is

he

which

offerings,

and

of rolling days and nights,

above the world, in which the sun, with his heat, has power
over

life

and death.

of his works

Day and night rob not him

he sets his

life

dehverance from death, which

free
is

The world thus darkens down

from death

in the

reward

of the

''

that

the

is

Agnihotra offering."

for the fancy of this race to a

dismal arena for the movement of unlimited

shapes.

lifeless

Symbols are heaped unceasingly on symbols ; wherever thought

turns,

new gods and new miraculous powers

as formless as the rest.

all

gods and

who was

That God,

all existences,

it is

true,

confront

it,

who was

the creator of worlds, Prajapati,

alone in the beginning and desired " might I

become

a plurality, might I produce creatures,'' stands out above

and

in the hot

work

each

before

all

of toilsome creation he gave forth from

himself the worlds, and gods and men, and space and time, and

thought and speech.

But even the thought

of Prajapati, the

lord of beings, evoked no louder response from the breast of

the believer; the image of the Creator floats hazily

among

others in the great, gray, shapeless mist, which sm'rounds the

world of creatures.

Wherever we look
I

in the vast

mass of monuments, which the

strange activity of that age has bequeathed to us, there

nowhere

is

be seen an operation of the inquiring mind, proceeding from the depths, nowhere that effort of bold thought,
to

EBIPTINESS OF THE SYMBOLISM.

That imbecile wisdom

wliich plays for a heavy stake and wins.

which knows

all

things and declai'es

23

things, sits enthroned

all

in self-content in the middle of its absurd images,

quakes before the

which

siDectral hosts

wherefore should the wise tremble,

which

spirits

and demons bow

grows up under the ban

who knows

its

it

dim

after another

and one

after

quota to the contributions

of

away.

also passes

Our eyes must accustom themselves,

to see in the

the word before

One generation

and not even

has conjured up

of confused thoughts,

another unwearied adds

departed races, and then

it

until

they have learned

light of this shadow-land, in

which the fanciful

images of those ages move, crowding formlessly together.

But then even here there reveals

itself

a kind of natural law

operating in the region of the spiritual.

part trace what

those

is

speculations,

successively,

picture

Let us

first

and then the work of

later generations

and thus as we mount up layer by

which

on our

preserved to us in the oldest monuments o

we

changes,

see

and

the

layer,

changes

the

have

connection and meaning.

The more important

ually

of these conceptions of the fancy grad-

emerge from the confused mass, press into the foreground,

trample

down

of every circle.

the weak, and step triumphantly into the centre

The powers and symbols, on whose working

the Indian thinker fancies the system of the universe to rest,

are what they are, not in and
farther thought goes, the

on great fundamental

more

forces,

by themselves
clearly

alone, but the

do they appear

to rest

from which their existence

principally derived, or in which they are again merged,

the goal of their being

is

each phenomenon presents

reached.
itself

From

is

when

the surface, where

as something different from

every other, the speculative imagination strives to pierce into

the depths below, in which

lies

the unifying bond of

all

diver-

SYJilBOLISM OF SACRIFICE-TEE ABSOLUTE.

24

Man

sity.

looks for the essence in things, and the essence of

the essence,* for the reality, the truth of phenomena, and the
truth of the true.

This quest of the substance

search for unity in

all diversity.

separately

upon one

And

is

necessarily a

thus thought lays hold

phenomena, connected by

single group of

a common feature, and regards them as united in a common

root,

and ere long thought passes

so and so
of

is

that one

And

the universe.

all

bounds and boldly

then

it lets

go what

it

declares,

phenomenon which had just now been declared

the universe

is lost

again in the floating crowd of

all

hold

laid

to

be

the powers,

which hold sway in man and the world, in space and time, in

word and speech.

In none of the Vedic texts can we trace the genesis of the
*

Cf. "

tlie earth,

Cliandogya Upanisliad,"

i.

1,

" Tlie essence of

the essence of plants man, the essence of

man

speech the Eig Veda, the essence of the E-ig

essence of the

(Om)

is

all

beings

is

the essence of the earthis water, the essence of water the plants,

Sama Veda

the best of

all

speech, the essence of

Veda

the TIdgitha (which

is

the Sania Veda, the

Om).

That TJdgitha

essences, the highest, deserving the highest place,

the eighth."

The conception which

lies at

essence, essence of the

the bottom of this eight-fold series of

essence,

Midler) something like this

and so on,

" Earth

is

pervades the earth, plants arise from water,

is

the best part of man, the Eig

Veda

Veda

is

(in the

the support of

man

lives

words of

all

by

Max

beings, water

plants, speech

Sama
Om, the

the best part of speech, the

the best extract from the Eik, Udgitha, or the syllable

crown of the Sama Veda."

Later on, where the idea of the Brahma will claim our attention,
shall

have to speak of the symbolical relation or of the hidden

identity,

we

intrinsic

which the Indian fancy detects between nature and the world of

language, especially the sacred word.

bearing on

this,

inasmuch as

it

This passage has an important

shows how, in the mind of the Indian, the

objects of nature point back through a series

word of the Veda, and

the Brahma, as

it

were

finally to the

Om,

to the Ufe-giving

of middle terms, to the

the most suitable expression of

power

in them.

25

EMERGING OF CENTEAL POINTS.

conception of the unity in

from the

all tliat is,

cations of this thought until

dim

first

indi-

attains a steady brilliancy, as

it

work, which, next to the hymns of the Rig

clearly as in that

Yeda, deserves to be regarded as the most significant in the

whole range of Vedic literature, the " Brahmana of the hundred
paths/'

The " Brahmana

foremost

domineer over

Atman, the

and

find root

powers

he

is

''

the Atman

powers."

''

human body)

it life

life,

the

The breath-powers penetrate the

;

the

Atman

is

lord over

all

breath-

the " innominate breath-power," from

truly," so says the

'''

Brahmana,

dwells in

the eleventh, on him are dependent the breath-

is

From

the

Atman come

all

into being," " of all that

central point

is

is,

these membei-s (of the

the

Atman is the first."

human

here found for the domain of

personality, with its limbs

is

will
:

nominate " breath-powers derive their being.

A decade of breaths
;

and

the central power, which works and creates in

which the other

man

others,

which the forces and functions of human

footing.

give

the basis of personal

''

all

them, in the language of the Indians

subject, in

human body and

and

first

these confused masses of ideas the notion

how from

" ego " presses to the front of

of the

life

of the hundred paths " shows us

and

its faculties,

the intrinsic and essential, working in

what the Indian thinker has conceived

all

that

power which

forms of

life.

And

"
in the particular " ego

extends in his idea, by inevitable necessity, to the universe at

large beyond him

according to him microcosm and macrocosm

continuously play corresponding parts, and here and yonder

similar appearances point significantly to each other.

human eye resembles

As the

the cosmic eye, the sun, and as the gods,

resembling in the general system the

human breath-powers,

as the breath-powers of the universe, so also the

act

Atman, the

central substance of the " ego," steps forth on the domain of


STMBOLISM OF SACRIFICE TEE ABSOLUTE.

2G

the bare liiiman individual, and

is

taken as the creating power

that moves the great body of the universe.

He, the lord o

whom

the limbs of the

the breath -powers, the firstling, from

body were formed,

is

at the

same time the lord

of the gods, the

who has caused the worlds to proceed

from his " ego ;" the Atman is Prajapati. Yea, the very
expression occurs, " the Atman is the universe." At this stage
this phrase is only one play of the fancy among a thousand
creator of creatures,

others, not the thought grasped in its fulness, that the

less universe

and the restricted

are in truth one.

''

Atman, who

expression once uttered, though

it,

will turn his thoughts

back to

the

is

die

it

away, works on in secret and awaits the time when he

once uttered

it,

of other figures pushes to the

crowd

front and diverts the attention from the

universe; but the

bound-

ego," which contemplates

who

it.

Meanwhile from another train of conceptions another power

not less potent pushes itself forward, with a claim to be

racognized as the great cosmic energy.

established guide in sacrifice,

is

The sacred word, the

preserved in

its

three forms

threefold
hymn, formula, and song,* making up the
knowledge " of those who knew the Vedas. The spiritual fluid,
of

^''

which bears the sacred word and

floating above the profane

Brahma

if it is

its

supporters, the Brahmans,

word and the profane world,

the power which dwells in

song, as the power of holiness

is

the

hymn, formula, and

" the truth of the word

is

the

Brahma.^'
* That is Eic (hymn of the Eig Veda), Yajus (sacrificial formula of the
Yajur Veda), Saman (songs contained in the Sama Veda). Translato}'.
t It -will not be superfluous to bear in mind that the times, of which we
are speaking, know nothing of the god Brahman. While " brahman,"

"brahmana" occur

frequently

signification of " Priest," the

latest parts of the

Veda.

enough

in

the

god Brahman appears

oldest
first

texts

in

the

only in the very

THE EGO, THE ATMAX.

The world of the word

is to

27

the Indian another microcosm.

In the rhythm of the sacred song he hears the echoes of the

rhythm

Thus must that substance

of the universe resound.*

being, also be a power

from which the sacred word derives

its

which operates

all

at

the basis

things.

The

fanciful

enigma of the Brahma reposing in the

subtleties, regarding the

of

countless passages wliicL. could be quoted in illustration of

us merely refer to one, to the working out hy the theologians of

Of the

tliis,

let

the

Sama Veda

of the idea of the symbolic relation of the Saman-

(song-) diction with its five parts ("

" Let a

man

hinkara is the earth, the prastava the

the sun, the nidhaua heaven.
as rain.

cloud

is

thunders

fire,

2,

etc.)-

as the five worlds.

The

ii.

the udgitha the sky, the pratihara

(that brings the rain)

is

'

it

rains

the prastava

the pratihara,

;'

'

it

is

'

the

flashes,

it

him and he brings

who, thus knowing, meditates on the fivefold Saman as

the nidhana

rain for others,

Saman

Let a man meditate on the fivefold Saman

The hinkara is wind

come ;' the udgitha
;'

Chandogya Upanishad,"

meditate on the fivefold

'

it

stops.'

There

is

rain for

rain."

And
with

then

its five

more of the

it

goes on through a series of other comparisons

the S;iman

and

parts rei^rescnts the waters, the seasons, the animals,

Often these symbolizings rest upon nothing more than

like.

the most meaningless superficialities, as

three syllables of the

word udgitha

by means of breath a man

are called girah

[" Chand. Up.,"

tha
i.

is

rises (ut-tishthati)

food, for

3, 6.

when the matter treated of is the

"ut (ud) is breath, for

(sacred song),

To

by means

this passage

gt is speech, for speeches

of food

Max

all

subsist (sthita)."

Miiller furnishes from

Irish sources interesting parallels in the fanciful conceits of the Christians

of the Middle Ages.] However senseless such fancies may appear to us,
they cannot be overlooked as precursors of the most important event in
the religious development of India. In the symbolical interpretation or

mystical identification, which the individual word or the individual sacred

song furnishes, of the individual phenomenon in the

the ego, the ultimate tendency of this development
identification of the central

power

in the

life
is

of nature or of

being shaped

the

whole range of the sacred

word (Brahma), with the central power of the human person (Atman),
and with the life-centre of nature the genesis of the idea of the universal
:

One.


SYMBOLISM OF SACRIFICE THE ABSOLUTE.

28

Vedic

text^

and

human

priestly pride of tlie

tlie

supporters of

fhe Bralima, combine to elevate this entity to a dominant

said of the priest

who completes

" the Brahma the head of

is

which began

"

On

truth

By

the

Brahma

is

Brahman

the earth founded, on the sun is the

is

the right do the Adityas (the supreme

"By

the right."

Now it is

infinite) consist."

the word, the truth in the word

is

'^The Brahma

therefore the

There was an ancient Vedic ode

gods, the sons of the Aditi, the

'*'

it is

a specific sacrificial operation,

this universe

the head of this universe."

heaven founded.

He makes/^

'^

position in tlie Indian's world of thought.

Brahma

the

said

the Brahma."

is

are the heavens

and the earth held together."

Here
else

of

is

an example furnished more

illustrative

the peculiarities of Indian thought.

than anything
This gradual,

from the

pressure of an idea, which arises not

persistent

contemplation of visible nature, but from the speculation about

the sacredness of the holy Vedic text
and of this

wrhich the

word

mind can grasp

This stage

is

" The Brahma

the pressure of this idea

and deepest conceptions

until all the loftiest

are associated with this word.

not attained at one bound.

is

the noblest

among

When

the gods,"

in another place in proximity to this, " Indra and

which the Indian

calls

said,

also said

Agui

are the

Well, the power of sacred truth,

noblest aniong the gods."

among

it is

is

it

the Brahma, has stepped into a position

the most prominent forces

the universe

of

is

it

recognized as the power which holds the heavens and the earth
together, but

it is

not yet the

The young upstart among

first

and

the, ideas

last
is

the one

and

all.

not yet suSiciently

powerful to push the ancient creator and ruler of the worlds,

Prajapati, from his throne; but he
this throne.

" The

spirit,

is

become the nearest

Prajapati," thus says the

of the hundred paths, " wished

May

become a

to

Bnlhmana
plurality

THE BRAHMA.

may

He
When he

I propagate myself/'

himself severe pangs.

29-

exerted laimself

endured severe pangs, he created the Brahma

That became a support

knowledge.

fold

people say, " The

Therefore, he

Brahma

who has

a support, for what

Brahma,"

it is

is

is

is

has

for

took on

lie

when he had
the three-

first^

him

therefore

the support of this universe/'

learned (the sacred word) has gained

the

Brahma

is

the support.

^'

The

also said, ''is the first-born in this universe.'"

from which everything

It is not yet the everlasting unborn,

that

exerted himself^

been born, but

it

among

the first-born

is

the

children of Prajapati, the father of worlds.

There

something of the calm uncontrollable necessity of

is

a natural process in this emerging or growth of both

notions, the

Atman and

the Brahma, each of which

the dominant position in

its

own

circle,

and

is

first

these-

gains

then carried

forward by the progress of thought into the expanse of worlds ;

and there

also plays

an ever-widening

Though the

part.

images which were originally associated with each, in the mind

of the Indian, were so different, yet

it

could not but be that,

in the course of such a development, the thought of the

should assimilate

itself continually

more and more

Atman';

to that of

the Brahma, and that of the Brahm.a to that of the

Atman.

" The

first-born in this universe is the

said.

And

been
" Of all

of the

Atman

it is

Brahma,"

as has

said in another place,

Atman."

The Brahma

is

the face of the universe, and " the firstling of this universe "

is

that exists, the

the Atman.

first

existent

is

the

The Brahma displays himself in hymn, formula,

" the nature of the Atman consists," it is further

and song

said, ''of

hymn, formula, and song."

The

definite,

obviously

presented, and limited meaning, which simple consciousness

had

at

one time attached to the idea of the Atman, and to the

idea of the Brahma, extends itself to unlimited ranges, and

SYMBOLISM OF SACRIFICE THE ABSOLUTE.

so
then

between

difference

tlie

The imagination

underlying things,

is

tlie

two ideas gradually vanishes.

Indian, eager

the

grasp the unity

to

wanting in the power to preserve the

images of the different notions within their several limitations,

and

in their separation

And

from each other.

the remaining barriers are passed at

What

last.

here-

emerged momentarily, and was again lost in the current

an erratic imagination, is grasped anew by the mind, to be

tofore
of

no more again

lost

and

eternal One, in

spirit

the conception of the great everlasting

which

all

called the

Atman,

called the

it is

from which are

diversity vanishes,

and universe, and in which they

and move.

live

Brahma

It is

Atman and Brahma

converge in the One, in which the yearniag

spirit,

wearied of

w^andering in a world of gloomy, formless phantasms, finds

" That which was,"

rest.

it

is

written,

''

its

that which will be,

I praise, the great Brahma, the One, the Imperishable, the wide

Brahma, the One

''

Imperishable.''^

To the Atman

bring his adoration, the spiritual, whose body

whose form the

forms he

will,

light,

whose soul the

quick as a thought,

eether,

man

let

the breath,

is

who assumes what

full of right

purpose, full of

right performance, the source of every vapour, of every essence,

who extends

to all the regions of the world,

universe, silent

and unmoved.

who pervades

Small as a grain of

this

rice,

or

barley, or hirse, or a millet-seed, this spirit dwells in the ego

2-olden, like a liffht without

smoke,

is

he

wider than the

heavens, wider than the aether, wider than this earth, wider

than

my

ail

the range of being

ego (Atman)

from
there

with this

this state, unite myself.

is

no doubt.

A new centre
than

all

of

Thus
all

he

is

the ego of the breath, he

Atman

shall I,

when

is

I separate

Whosoever thiuketh thus

truly,

said Qandilya.^^

thought

old gods, for ho

is

is

found, a

new

god, greater

the All; nearer to the quest of

AT2IA2{ A2sD BRAiniA IDENTICAL.

man^s heart,
thinker

know

the

first to

jnropound this

not j* the circle of people in which

must have been

all

new

of the

philosophy,

we

found response

it

very narrow.

But they were the

of the Indian people,

and we see how for

at that time

most enlightened

them

The name

for lie is the particular ego.

who was

31

other thoughts fade, and

other quests are

all

merged

the one quest, the quest of the Atmau, the foundation of

in

The parting words

things.

home and speaks

the

to

Atman.

The debates

together at the gorgeous

kings, deal with the

come down

of the wise man,

who

leaves his

for the last time with his wife, have reference

to us,

of

sacrificial

Atman.

the Brahmans,

who come

solemnities at the courts of

Many

a lively description has

showing how Brahmans eager for the

and Brahman females not

less

fray,

eager for the contest, have

crossed lances in argument regarding the Atman.

The wise

Gargi says to Yajuavalkya, " As an heroic youth from Kagi or

Yideha bends

his

his hand, I have

which solve

unbent bow, and takes two deadly arrows in

armed myself against thee with two questions,

for me.''^

the legend of the

And

another of those opponents,

"Brahmana

whom

of the hundred paths'" represents

as confronting Yajnavalkya in this great tournament of debate,

and

as being conquered

says 'that

is

by him, says

an ox, that

* Tlie names of

tlie

is

a horse,'

teaclicrs

to him,

it

is

''When anyone

thereby jDointed out.

in wliose moutlis our texts put the

Atman cannot be regarded otherwise than with

distrust. In the " ^^tapatha Br." yajnavalkya appears as the one who has
most successfully advocated the new doctrines at the court of the Videha
king. But while the first books of the said text, which must have been
discourses re,2;arding the

compiled at a not inconsiderable length of time before the development

of these speculations, frequently quote Yajnavalkya as an authority, the
role

which he plays in the

traditions,

later

books must be a fabrication.

which give Candilya a similar place

in the history of

thought, arc hardly deserving of greater credence.

The
Indian

TEE ABSOLUTE AND TEE EXTERNAL

32

Point

to

oiat

wliicli

me

revealed, unveiled Bi-alima^ the

tlie

dwells in everytliing

everything, what

that^

is

TVORLD.

the Atman,

Yajnavalkya

Atman,

which dwells in

"

Thus the com-

batants commence, and the princes listen to the debate, to see

which has the deeper knowledge of the Brahma

and he who

conquers in the fight gains the Brahmani cows, with horns

hung with

And

gold.

side

by

side with these highly-coloured

court scenes, where renowned masters from

all

lands,

who have

knowledge of the Atman, contend with each other for fame,

patronage, and reward, the same text gives us another very
diflferent

picture

" Knowing

the Atman,

him,

Brahmans

relinquish the desire for posterity, the desire for possessions,

the desire for worldly prosperity, and go forth as mendicants/^

This

is

the earliest trace of Indian monasticism; from those

Brahmans who, knowing the Atman, renounce

earthly,

and

become beggars, the

historical

progresses in a regular line up to Buddha,

kin,

and goods and

chattels, to

who

all

that

is

development

leaves kith and

seek deliverance, wandering

homeless in the yellow garb of a monk.

The appearance of

the doctrine of the eternal One and the origin of monastic

in India, are simultaneous; they are

two

issues of the

life

same

important occurrence.

The Absolute and the External Woeld.

We must more closely examine the various meanings attached

by the Indian mind
and

by

to the idea of the

Atman, the Brahma, alone

in its connection with the material woi'ld, for

it is

and

in

these thoughts that those tendencies, which have given to

the Buddhist world

its

characteristic

stamp, were, at

first

imperceptibly but subsequently more decidedly, developed.

TEE FEOFESSOES OF TEE ATMAN FAITE.

The doctrines
form a system

of tlie

Brahmans regarding

mind

their

strength for a great venture

ment

equanimity, necessary

is

Atman

while,

Atman do

tlie

true, the courage

it,

not

and

in the excite-

the same time the cool

arranging

for

While the mind

is

but how could

and harmonizing

ever seeking

making new comparisons, which

the

it

this creation, preserve at

of

creation

has,

33

new

its

paths, ever

shall explain the

enigma of

no matter whether man's inquiry be as to

the remote past of the world's beginning*, or as to the future

of the
is

human

and

soul in a world to come, the first

invariably the

Atman, who can be astonished

word

last

often, in the

if

accumulated masses of these notions, the most irreconcilable

differences

remained in juxtaposition, pi-obably without their

inherent contradictions having been even noticed

now

shall

abstract from

monuments which have come down

from the concluding sections

one of the most important

of the

to us

from those times,

" Brahmana of the hundred

paths," a passage which seems to be connected with the

rude eSbrts of speculation regarding the Atman.

who

If the

first

being

created the worlds out of himself, here also bears that

name, which

have given him, Atman, one

later times

may

well

be tempted to believe that the thoughts themselves with their

antique and crude stamp belong to the preceding age.

" The Atman,''

spirit

form

it

himself; he spoke the

name

'

;'

first

which he bears.

I,

of

afraid.

is

what then

had he

to

now

It is I,'
.

also,

am

He

I afraid
?

Man

whoever

is

addressed by

and then he names the other name

was afraid

Then he thought

be afraid

else but

word: ^I am;' hence comes the

first

therefore even

another, says

alone

" existed in the beginning, in a

says,

he looked round him and saw nothing

?'

So

'

therefore whoever

There

is

is

nothing else but

his fear vanished.

Of what

But he

experiences fear of another.

THE ABSOLUTE AND THE EXTERNAL WORLD.

34:

did not feel content

He

content.

therefore wlioever

is

alone does not feel

He combined

desired another.

in himself the

natures of female and male which are locked in each other's

He

embrace.

divided this nature of his into two parts

came husband and wife

this
half,

says Yajnavalkya; therefore

nature) filled

thus were
It

men

creating

this void

is

He

up by the woman.

(of a

Atman,

as sire

how

the two halves of the

and dam, assume

Atman produces from

divinities

man's

joined himself to her

all

animal forms after

the human, and produce the animal kingdom, and

the

by

born."

then further narrated,

is

therefore each of us ahke, is a

himself

" This

Agni and Soma.

Inasmuch

superior to himself.

than he himself

Whosoever has

as

how then

and moisture, or the

is

Brahma's

creation

he has created gods greater

inasmuch as he, a mortal, has created

is,

immortals, therefore

fire

a creating of the superior to himself.

it is

this

knowledge, finds his place in

this, his

superior creation."

As

the foregoing text

may

cosmogonies which begin

or

apparently resemble those ancient

" In the beginning was Prajapati "

so, internally also, this 7ia'ive

conception of the highest being

of the original being, for

it

is

nob the highest yet

scarcely differs from that which a preceding age

in Prajapati, the creator

and

here resembles a powerful

first

say the one great heent, in

moves.

he

This

Atman

feels desire, like a

human

beings.

is

ruler of the world.

man more than

whom

all

had conceived

The Atman
a god, not to

other being lives and

afraid in his loneliness, like a

man

It is true,

man

he begets and brings forth like

gods are among his creatures, but

these creatures arc higher than the creator

creating greater

than himself, he, a mortal^ produces from himself immortal

deities.

EARLIER AND LATER FORMS OF THE ATilAN IDEA.

Side by side with this cosmogony

we

35

place other fragments

of the same test, which are of an age probably not

much

later

than the passage quoted.

Yajnavalkya, the renowned Brahman,

He

home, to wander as a mendicant.

between
he

is

Then

two wives.

his

departing, " If

my

his wife Maitreyi says to

like the life of the rich

bring no hope."
use

is all this

And he

knowest."
"

She

As when

the

forth,

the sound

stayed ;

prevent

is

its

He

but

cannot be immortal, what

If I

beaten, a

is
if

he

man

seize the

as when the lute

sound

forth,
is

but

stayed

if

cannot prevent

drum
is

issue here

being

which a

and

he

man

as

when

there, so truly

Rig Veda, he

is

sound going

places
is

is

man cannot

played, a

he seize the lute or the

trumpet

the

trumpet or the trumpeter, the sound

its

its

drummer,

or the

seize the

cannot prevent

in

life

but of immortality riches

man

fire,

" Thy

replies,

blown, a

from a

as

addresses her regarding, the Atman.

sound going

lute-player, the

him

me, exalted one, whatever thou

Tell

drum

sound going

^'

says,

me ?

to

about to leave his

divides his property

property included the whole earth,

would I therefore be immortal ?"

would be

is

but

forth,

if

stayed ;

is

damp wood, clouds

of

is

he

as

smoke

the exhalation of this great

Yajur Veda, he

Sama Veda,

is

the Atharvan and Angiras songs, tale and legend, knowledge

and sacred

doctrine, verses, rules,

the second explanation

of salt, which

is

he

all this is his

it is

into

a lump

is

drawn,

it

is salty,

with this great being, the endless, the unlimited,

the fulness of knowledge

came

As

thrown into the water, dissolves and cannot be

gathered up again, but wherever water

so truly

the explanation and

is

exhalation.

from these

view and with them

it

(earthly)

vanishes.

beings

There

is

it

no

consciousness after death ; hearken, thus I declare unto thee."

Thus spoke Yajnavalkya.

Then Maitreyi

said,

"This speech

3*


THE ABSOLUTE AND THE EXTERNAL WORLD.

36

of

me ;

exalted one, perplexes

tliine^

Then

after death."

perplexing

it

is

"I

comprehensible

quite

is

there

said Yajnavalkya,

no consciousness
thee nothing

tell

^Yhere there

is

duality of existences, one can see the other, one can smell the

other, one can speak to the other, one can hear the other, one

can think of the other, one can apprehend the other.

where

tmmed

for each everything has

into his ego (the

But

Atman),

whom and whom shall he

he speak, by whom and
whom shall he hear, think and apprehend ? By whom shall he
apprehend him through whom he apprehends this universe ?
Through whom shall he apprehend him, the apprehender V
by whom and whom

smell,

by whom and

This

shall

he

and those cosmogonic speculations, which we

this

have already described, there

who

is

shall

the farewell conversation of Yajnavalkya with his wife.

is

Between
which

by

see,

whom

to

a development of thought,

lies

much less than a revolution. There is the Atman,

afraid, who soliloquizes, who experiences desire, who can

is

not

be compared with
greater,

creatures.

Here

whether he or they be the

his creatures, as to

and who must

is

the

fall

back behind the highest of his

Atman, who

is

Can

personal, human-like existence.

free

there,

from

all limits

man now

of

inquires^

be perception, thought, consciousness, in the Universe-Being

No,

for all perception rests

of subject

and

object.

plurality there is
in

upou a

duality,

In the external world with

everywhere a

the absolutely existent

all

its

unhmited

field for this opposition,

plurality

ceases,

but

and with

it

consciousness, which have

necessarily all perception,

and

their origin in a plurality.

The Atman

all

on the opposition

is

not bhnd and deaf

on the contrary the one great seer and hearer, who does

he

is

all

the seeing and hearing in the external world

own domain he

sees not

and hears

but

not, for in the unity,

there prevails, the opposition of seeing

and

in his

which

seen, of hearing

PLURALITY AND VNITY.

and heard,

is

37

Like the ultimate supreme One of the

removed.

NeoplatonicS; which cannot be regarded as intellect nor yet as

but transcends the reason

intelligible^
ipvaiv),

the

Atman

represent him,

{v7rep/3e/37]KO'i

also, as these farewell

rrjv

vov

words of Ytijnavalkya

transcends the personal,

the root of

is

all

personality, the comprehensive fulness of all those powers, in

which personal

come

life

finds its termination

these powers

bu.t

phenomenal world, not in the

into operation only in this

domain of the everlasting One, the everlasting unchangeable

itself.

The one

heent

is

neither great nor small, neither long nor

short, neither hidden nor revealed, neither within nor without

the " No,

No "

his

is

prehended by any

name, inasmuch as he cannot be com-

epithets,

syllable of affirmation,

and yet his representative

Om ;*

he

the

is

the ens realissimum.

is

There yet remained for Indian speculation the task of finding

way back from

its

ground of

this ultimate

being to the

all

empirical state of being, to define the relation which subsists

between the Atman and the external world.

Is the external

world something separate, side by side with the

that, apart

from that which the Atman

thing

howsoever

else,

which

left,

is

not

It

the
at

or

is

Atman

less definite, as

Atman and

Atman

works in

it,

such

some-

the world of plurality absolved

?

was necessary to approach

more or

or

have to be apprehended, may yet be

it

Atman

without residuum in the

is

soon as

this question in

men came

the material world

by the Indian thinkers

to

some form,

speak at

but the question

is

all

of

hinted

of these ancient times, rather than

put directly or point blank.

In their estimation,

this alone is

* In Sanscrit the same expression (ekam aksliaram) lias tlic same

double meaning, " tlie one imperishable," namely, the Atman and *' the
;

one

syllable,"

namely, the

Om.

THE ABSOLUTE AND TEE EXTERNAL WORLD.

88

of all tilings

most important, that the Atman may be recog-

nized as the sole source of

thread in which

attempt

made

is

to

this unity, or of their existence in each

other, finds a solution, they speak in the

similes

but where the

show how the problem of the co-existence

and

of that plurality

and as the

in all that lives,

life

plm^ality finds its unity;

all

vague language of

and symbols, rather than in expressions which admit of

their signification being sharply defined.

The Atman, they

say, pervades things, as the salt,

which has

dissolved in water, pervades the water; from the Atman things

spring, as the sparks fly out from the
spider, as the
all

sound comes from the

fire,

as threads

flute or the

from the
" As

drum.

the spokes are united together in the nave and the felly of

a wheel, so in this
worlds,

all

There

is

gods,

all

Atman
beings,

are united
all

these

all

breath-powers,

great danger, in interpreting such similes, of not

keeping within the

which separates that which

faint line

was intended they should convey and that which

beyond

and unintentionally;

accidentally

this,

would avoid

this

the veil which

in types

all

ego-ities.-'^

lies

it

them

lies in

yet he

who

danger altogether must simply forbear to

lift

over the Indian world of thought, shrouded

And

and symbols.

we, for our part, think

detect behind these similitudes,

the living power of the

by which men strove

Atman

we can

to bring

in the universe near to his

understanding, a conviction, though at the same time but a

half-conscious conviction, of the existence of an element in

things separate from the Atman.

pervades the universe, as the

dissolved ; but
this,

we may

easily

The Atman,

salt

says the Indian,

the water in which

it

has

go on to add, as a complement to

although no drop of the

salt

water

is

without

salt,

the

water continues, notwithstanding, to be something separately

constituted from the
fitted into the

salt.

nave and the

The spokes
felly,

of the wheel are all

and fastened

iu,

and

still

the

THU NON-EGO.
spoke

sometLing wliich the nave and the

is

we may

thus

Atman

the

infer^

felly

And

are not.

to the Indian certainly the

is

sole actuality^ light-diffusing, the only significant reality in

things

"

not.

but there

He who

" being within the

body

is

a remainder left in things, which he

is

dwells in the earth,"

the earth,

Atman, the in-dwelling

who

the water,

dwells in the

who
who dwells in space, who
dwells in all worlds, who

dwells in the wind,

all

beings,

are,

who

whom

who

fire,

He who

whoso
is

the

dwells in

dwells in the sether,

who

dwells in the sun, moon, and stars,

dwells in lightning and thunder,
illatent in all

is

beings

all

not,

operates within the earth, that

ruler, the immortal.

is

Atman,

said of the

whota the earth knows

earth,

who

it is

operates within

all

know

not,

And

who

all offerings,

whose body

beings, that

in-dwelling ruler, the immortal.''^

Vedas,

all

beings

Atman, the

is

the

in

another part of

the same dialogue, from which these propositions have been

excerpted

" by the

heaven and

earth

command

stand

fast

of this unchangeable being

;

by the command

unchangeable being sun and moon stand

half

fast,

months and months, seasons and years stand

command

of this unchangeable being

snowy mountains

to the east,

points of the heavens

being

fast

rivers flow

to the west

by the

from the

and other

of this unchangeable

is

the proper part belonging to

'^

Though thus varied

is

the garb in which thought wraps itself

in all these expressions, yet

^ Atman,

this

the giver, the gods the offerer, and the

made with the spoon

the Manes.

and others

by the command

men commend

libation

some

of

days and nights,

it is

always the same,

as the sole directing power,

is

viz.,

that the

in all that lives

and

g^ moves, but that the world of creatures operated on stands side

by side with the directing power, pervaded by his energy, and
yet separate from him.

THE ABSOLUTE AND THE EXTERNAL WORLD.

40

and

Tliougli here

more
the

means, the language seems

all

and expressions are found which, convey a hint that

free,

Atman

is

everything which lives and moves, yet, I take

more

the contradiction lies

thought.

by

tliere,

Is

in the

not allowable, for the bold language in which

it

young thought

these hazardous ventures of

Atman

to say that the

is

clothe themselves,

the universe, even where the thought,

if it

were accurately expressed,

the

Atman

is

it,

words employed than in the

is

only this, that in the universe

the only valuable, the source of

and

all life

all

light ?

Since, then, there remains in things a residue which

Atman, we ask

what light was

in

this residue

it

was conceived

which, formless in

itself,

be matter, or dark chaos,

to

Atman,

receives its form from the

Our

the source of forms and light.

not

Naturally comes the

comes it? what significance has it?

expectation that

is

viewed ? whence

texts have preserved for

us but few hints on this subject.

The knowledge

the

of

Atman itself, which was inseparably associated with the ideas

of the deliverance of the spirit from the domain of sorrowfraught impermanence, had such unlimited value for the Indian,
that the other side of

importance

before

it

the problem receded in speculative

the

into

But

background.

utterances bearing on these questions

are found,

where

they do

actually point to the notion of a chaos, a world of potentialities,

from which the operation of the Atman produces realities.

The bee7it, that was in the beginning alone, Uddalaka thus
instructs his son,* thought

forth

fire

from

itself

water produced food.

the

may I become

fire

a plurahty.

" Then thought

this

being

let

enter these three beings with this living self and let
* " Cliandogya TJpan.,"
is

" 9at. Br.,"

xi. 2, 3.

vi. 2,

It sent

sent forth water from itself

etc.

the

me now
me then

Similar but mucli more involved

THE NON-EGO.
reveal

And

names and forms."

life into tlie

fire,

^it

enters witli

and

into the water,

41

breath of

its

into the food,

mixes the

elements of the one with those of the other, and thus the real

world

prepared from the three original existents by the

is

demiurgic operation of the Atman.

It is clear that those three oldest existents, those original

creations of the

Atman,

form by his breath of

which he then reveals name and

in

life,

are treated before

revealing as a chaotic something,

which

act

this

there, but

is

is

of

not as

yet anything precisely determinate, older than the world of

things
first

we

see,

and not eternal

things

is

Atman, but the Atman's

like the

But these attempts

creation.

to demonstrate

matter, bear very perceptibly the

One would expect

marks

what

to find in the chaos, before the breath of life

of the demiurgus produces in

it

" name and form/' a nameless

and formless, an absolute, indeterminate something, and yet

is in the very

beginning organic, of

water, and food, and thus

it

tlie

threefold nature, of

has thereby originally in

And

element of distinctness and nomination.

the other hand,
less

chaotic,

is

in

of immaturity.

it

fire,

itself

similai'ily,

an

on

the Atman, the creator and vivifier of the

firmly maintained

in

that paramount position

resulting from the abstraction which

we found

farewell discourse of Yajnavalkya.

It is not the simple One,

from whose nature, for

jection

his unity's sake, all reflection

must be excluded,

and object ; he

thinks,

I become a plurality.

attained in the

and

and pro-

as involving the duality of subject

this,

indeed,

is

his thought

may

Those thinkers who have pursued the

idea of the unity in the nature of the

Atman

to its ultimate

consequence, would scarcely have ventured to attemjDt, in the

way entered upon

and

its

here, a solution of the

evolution from the

Atman

it is

problem of matter

surely

no mere accident

that those passages in our texts also, which accentuate those

FESSIMIS3I, NETEMPSYCEOSIS, DELIVERANCE.

42

consequences
tliese

most marked emphasis, are

witli tlie

problems

men may tave

felt that

silent

on

thought had here

reached a chasm, over which to throw a bridge was not in

their power.

Pessimism, Metempsychosis, Deliveeance.

This

the place in which to speak of the inferences which

is

the speculation of the Indians drew from the doctrine of the

One

universal

side

by

side with

and in the world of

plurality,

bearing on the estimate of the value of the woi-ld,

life

and

death, and the ethical questions so closely connected therewith.

We

stand here at the birthplace of Indian pessimism.

When
Atman

thought, liberal to

with

all

itself,

had laden the idea

of the

absolute

of

attributes of every perfection,

measured

unity, of unlimited fulness, the world of plurality,

by the standard of the everlasting One, must have necessarily

appeared a state of disruption, restriction and pain. The
unconstrained feeling of being at home in this world is
destroyed at one stroke, as soon as thought has weighed
against

its ideal

and thus the

of the

glorification of the

an ever increasingly

Atman

supreme One, and found

Atman becomes

bitter ci'iticism of this

be commended " who

is

far

involuntarily
If the

world.

above hunger and

who does not

thirst,

who

is

detect in such words a reflection, though

it

above sorrow and confusion, above old age and death,''

there

it

wanting,

it

be not openly expressed, on the world of the creature, in which

hunger and thirst, sorrow and confusion ai-e at home, and
in which

men grow

old and die

Yiijnavalkya speaks to Uddalaka,

unthought thinker, the

seer,

That

no
is

" The unseen seer," thus

"the unheard

unknown knower

there

hearer, the
is

no other

other hearer, no other thinker, no other knower.

thy Atman, the mover within, the immortal

whatever


43

TEE RUDIMENTS OF PESSUIISM.

is

besides liim,

occasion

is full

and unaffected by
also the

of sorrow."

And

it is

said on another

" as the sun, the eye of the universe, remains

all

far off

sickness that meets the (human) eye, so

One, the Atman,

who

dwells in

all

creatures, dwells

and untouched by the sorrows of the world." Here

occurs for the first time the expression " Sorrow of the world."

afar

That the One, the happy Atman, has chosen to manifest himself in the

world of plurality, of becoming and decease, was

a misfortune

this is not

openly stated, for

thought, which would trace to the happy

men

are shy of a

One Being the

roots

of the sorrow of earth or even any fault, but they cannot have

been very

far

from

this

thought when they proposed to

man

as

the highest aim of his effort, the undoing in his case of this
manifestation, and the finding for himself a return from the
plurality to the One.

The place which Indian speculation

man, in and

allots to

between the two worlds of the happy Atman and the sorrowful
state

of the

present

life,

is

intimately connected with the

conceptions of metempsychosis, the

in the

lasting

first

traces of

which appear

Vedic texts not long before the doctrine of the ever-

One comes

The thought

to the surface.

that

new wanderings, new

repetitions of death

and re-birth await the soul after death, are wholly foreign to
the ancient times in which the

sung.

Men

hymns

of the

Eig Veda are

can talk of the habitations of the happy, where in

Yama^s kingdom those who have trodden the dark way of

death enjoy everlasting pleasures
" Where joy and pleasure and gladness

And
Of

and men speak

rapture dwell, where the wish

the wisher finds fulfilment

also of the

"

deep places of darkness, and of the

horrors which await the evil-doer in the world to come.

But

PESSIMISM, METE2IPSTCH0SIS, DELIVERANCE.

44:

men have no

other tliouglit but the one, that on the entry into

the world of the blessed, or into the world of everlasting

darkness, destiny

We

is

for ever fixed.

have shown how the age which followed the period of

the Eig Yeda created a new scheme of the universe.

men

sides

descried gloomy form] ess powers,

On

all

openly

either

displayed or veiled in mysterious symbols, contending with

each other, and, like harassing enemies, preparing contretemps

human

for

The tyranny

destiny.

of death also

is

enhanced

in

the estimation of the dismal mystic of this age ; the power of

death over
It

men

is

not spent with the one blow which he

inflicts.

who

soon comes to be averred that his power over him,

is

not wise enough to save himself by the use of the right words

and

the right offerings, extends even into the world beyond,

and death cuts short

meet the conception

yonder again and again; we soon

his life

whom

of a multiphcity of death-powers, of

some pursue men

in the worlds

worlds beyond.

"Whoever

on

this side,

and others

in the

passes into that world without

having made himself free from death, will become in that world
again and again the prey of death, in the same

shows no respect in

And

in another

this

place,

powers have dominion;

world and

kills

"Through

all

if

way

worlds

truly

he offered to these no

death would pursue him from Avorld to world

libations to the

that death

him when he

if

wills.'*

death's

libations,

he

offers

powers of death, he repels death through world

after world."*

We must refrain from asking

t]ie belief

of this idea of

idea

is

the question, wlietlier the influences of

of non-Aryan peoples in India Lave

new

had any share

in the origin

existences and recurrences of the fate of death.

quite capable of explanation,

if

we regard

it

as the

This

outcome of the

progressive course which the thought or imagination of the

Brahmans has

taken, entirely independent of the co-operation of extraneous impulses,

the existence of which

is

as incapable of proof as of disproof.

METEMPSYCHOSIS.
In the texts of
fancy
as

first

it first

And

tlie

timeSj in whicL. tliese plays of a cheerless

appear^ there

said of the idea of re-birth^ or,

is little

meets us in characteristic form, of that of re-dying.

yet the influence, which these ideas must have had on

the aspirations of religious

spirit
all,

45-

determined for

all

eternity

Th&

cannot have been small.

life,

can bear the thought of a decision of

its

destiny once for

but the endless migration from

world to world, from existence to existence, the endlessness of

the struggle against the pallid power of that ever-recurring
destruction

a thought like

this

might well

the heart even

fill

of the brave with a shudder at the resultlessness of

unending course

When

of things.

all

this

other associations directed

the thought to the opposition of a happy world of unity, of

rest, to

a second world of plurality, of change, the appalling

that

prospect of re-birth

small share in causing

men

of re-death

is,

to paint the

those dark colours, as unhappy and desolated

But a thought such

as that of

have had no

will

domain

more and

of plurality in

by sorrow.

still

more

deaths,

which await the mortal in future forms of being, cannot be

entertained without evoking

rather

deliverance
despair.

perhaps,

say,

from death

From

its

complement

neutralizer

its

the

we

should
of

end would

without this the

or,

thought

the beginning, therefore, the idea of

At

without hope of escape.

human

is

is

it

an

subject

the same time, with the belief in

the transmigration of the soul, and as

plement, the conception

life

be

metem-

psychosis was not so conceived, as though there were in

unavoidable fatality, to which every

the

its

necessary com-

formed that from the

limitless

change of birth and death a way out stands ojDen; the thought

and the word

'^

deliverance" are

foreground of religious

The phases, both

now ready

to step into the

life.

of

style

and

matter,

through which

PESSIMISM, METEMPSYCHOSIS, DELIVERANCE.

46

Bralimamcal

tliouglit passes at

tMs time,

are reflected successively in the

deliverance

So long

is

way

in rapid succession,

in wliicli the thought of

embodied.

as the

out of that confused maze of grotesque

way

and formless symbolical conceptions

to the idea of the

Atman,

the universal One, had not been found, the notions of deliver-

ance

same

bear the

also

externality,

which

The

that age.

offering, the great

fundamental power, and the

and next to the

being and of

procession of being,

all

offering to the

Above

free.

of death

knowledge of the

offering itself, the sacred

has the power to set

sacrificial rites

morning

all

power by which man bursts the bands

the

fantastic

of the spiritual creations of

fundamental symbol of
is also

stamp of an arbitrary

is characteristic

all,

the daily

two luminaries of the day and the night

and the evening

offering to the sun,

the

offering to Agni,

the sun of the night, both accompanied by a silently-performed

In the sun

offering to Prajapati, the lord of the created.

dwells death

power

the sun's rays are the cords by which death has

draw man's

to

his stand with the

death's

power

sunrise, he

life-breath

to

two fore-quarters

{i.e.,

in the sun)

makes the two

(of

if in

offerings,

"

himself.

he makes the two

evening, after sunset,

If

offerings,

the

in

he takes

his being)

in that

the morning, before

he takes

his stand

with

the two hind-quarters (of his being) in that death's power.

When

he

rises, then,

he bears him with him as he

he delivers himself from that death.

from death which

is

This

is

inherent in the Agnihotra

delivers himself from the recurrence of death

rises

who have

this offering, will after death

again to die no more.

this

thus

offering;.

He

who thus under-

stands this deliverance from death in the Agnihotra."

another place, " Those

the deliverance

And

in

knowledge, and perform

be born again ; they

But those who have not

this

will

be born

knowledge.

METEMPSTOHOSIS AND THE ABSOLUTE.

47

or do not perform this offering, will after dcatli be born again,

and

will

become the prey of death anew, over and over again

for ever."

These are the

earliest

appearances of the belief in the trans-

migration of souls and the deliverance from death, dressed in

When

fanciful miraculous shapes.

front, events

these thoughts

were in process which were

to give a

came

to the

new

aspect

to the Brahmanical world of ideas; at that very time speculation directed itself to detect in the

Atman, or the Brahma, the

everlasting, imperishable Being, the source of every state of

back

existence, the unity resting at the

of all plurality.

As

soon as this step was taken, a ground was gained on which

those thoughts of death and deliverance could be planted out,

and from which they could derive new

different

together into a whole which

the one side a dualism

left

the

no joinings to be seen.

everlasting

of all being, the true nature also of the

The

decease, of sorrow

the

On

and of death.

On

Brahma, the ground

human

= Atman), and opposed to him the world

opposition

intrinsic value.

elements of speculation of themselves here fitted

of

spirit

(Brahma

becoming and of

the other side a similar

undelivered soul, which death holds in his

bonds, and ever anew hurries from one state of being into
another, and the delivered soul, which has overcome death,

and attained the goal of wayfarers.

The

result of the union

of the two trains of thought could only be this

of the soul through the domains of death

non-union with the Brahma

unity of the soul with

Unity there

is not,

and

in thought

long does

it

its

is

the deliverance

true

mode

as long as the

the wandering

the fruit of
is

its

the attained

of being, the Bi'ahma,

human

will as a citizen of the

soul conducts itself

world of plurality ; so

remain subject to the law which operates in

this

world, the law of origination and decease, of birth and death.

"

PESSIMISM, METEMPSYCHOSIS, DELIVERANCE.

48

But

wliere the look and longing fixed on plurality have been

vanquished^ the soul, freed from the dominion of death, returns

home

to the

of

all life, to

the Brahma.

''As a weaver," says

the Brahmaua of the hundred paths, " takes away a piece of a

many-coloured cloth and weaves another, new, more beautiful

and

pattern, so also the spirit (in death) shufiSes off this body,

allows consciousness to be extinguished, and takes upon itself

new

another,

form, of ]\Ianes or Gandharvas,

or Prajapati^s nature, of divine or

As he

being

becomes

acted

human

manner

he who does good becomes a good being, he who

So with him who

action

But he who

desires not

from

who

desire,

his desire,

He who

desires the

is

is

by

evil

who

without desire,

Atman

only,

who has

speaks of this

to the

Brahma.

The mortal

set himself free

and action

the powers which hold the

of impermanence.
is

:_

Both are

said in the

Brahma here

(karman)
spirit

is

his aspiration

below.'

are here

essentially the same.

same

named

bound within the

treatise

as

limits

''Man's

from which we have

taken the passage quoted, " depends on desire.

so

the

The following couplet

from every desire of his heart.

enters immortal into the

Desire (kama)

it

(into
is

When lie has

nature,"

is

attained

from his body the breath-powers do not escape

Brahma, and he goes

evil

in the net of desire.

another body), but here draw themselves together; he

of

and as he walked, so he

does bad a bad ; he becomes pure by pure action,

free

Brahma^s

of

or other

As

his desire,

as his aspiration, so is the course of action

(karman) which he pursues ; whatever be the course of action

he pursues, he passes to a corresponding state of being."

The form

in which the idea of a moral retribution here

appears, and in which, through long ages,

it

has constituted

a fundamental principle of religious thought, with Buddhists

;;

MORAL RETRIBUTION DESIRE.

as well as with. Bralimaus,

is

4:D

doctrine

tlie

(action) as the powei' wliicli pre-determines

of

tlie

Jcarman

tlie

course of the

Our

migration of the soul from one state of being to another.

show us that

sources of information

new

doctrine did not

meet with general acceptance among the

at first

Brahmans

philosophizing

possessing in

whoever knows

Brahmana

the opponents

who seek

puts a question
fire,

circles

of

has the feeling of

So

to trip

which

in the great debate, of

of the hundred paths gives an account,

among

up the wise Yajnavalkya with

comes forward. He
" Yajnavalkya, when man dies, his voice goes

Jaratkfirava Artabhaga

their questions,

into the

it,

a mysterious secret^ of which one should speak

it

only covertly and in private.

the

this

his breath into the wind, his eye to the sun, his

thought to the moon, his ear to the quarters of heaven, his

body

to earth, his personality to the iether, his hairs to the

head

plants, the hair of his

semen
the

man

answer.

himself

"

" Give

" Artabhaga

me

we two

and

his blood

to the trees;

find a place in the waters.

my

thy hand,

friend,^^ is

" And

not a word on that subject where people are listening.^'

What

they said regarding action (karman)

man becomes pure

by

they then

and what they

then propounded, they propounded regarding action

action

the

alone must be privy to this

they two went out and conversed together.

said,

his

But where, then, remains

by pure

action

evil

into the world of deliverance

and

(fortunate),

evil

(unfortunate).^'

But no action can lead

happiness.

Even good

action

is

something which remains

confined to the sphere of the impermanent;

it

receives its

reward, but the reward of the impermanent can only be an

impermanent one.
alike
''

The

above reward and

He, the immortal,

is

everlasting
effort,

Atman

is

highly exalted

above holiness and unholiness.

beyond both, beyond good and

4

evil

PESSnnSM, IIETEMPSTCHOSIS, DELIVEEAXCE.

50

what

is

domain

done and what

is

affected

is left

by no

undone^ cause him no pain ; his

Thus^ action and the being

action."

delivered are two things, quite separate from each other; the

dualism of impermanence and permanence, which influences

thought in this age, here imposes from the

and on the

of deliverance,

this negative character

it,

first

which flow from

ethical postulates
:

morality

all

on the idea

not a form of active

is

participation in the world, but a complete severance of self

from the world.

The

felicity of the perfection

which has divested

action and dealing, good and evil, has

its

illustration in the state of the deepest sleep,

which surrounds the mind in

of all

itself

prefiguration

when

and

the world,

waking hours, has vanished

its

from its view, and not even a dream is seen when it sleeps
" like a child, or like a great sage, when he, wrapt in sleep, feels
;

no desire and sees no

desires only the

he

is

vision, that is the condition in

Atman, when he has attained

which he

his desire,

when

without desire."

The succeeding age turned, with a

special predilection, to

the description of conditions of the

abstraction, in which perception
objectivity, vanished

and

deepest self-contained
feeling, space

from the mind, and

it

hangs, as

and
it

all

were,

in the middle, between the transient world and the Nirvana.

Disquisitions on these ecstasies of contemplation are

among

the pet themes of the discourses which the Buddhist Church

have put in their master's mouth.

We

we here recognize the preliminary traces

man seeks for an earthly prefiguration
universal One,

he must, before he

shall

not be wrong

of these ideas.

if

When

of the return to the

lights

upon those

sickly

conditions of semi- or complete unconsciousness, picture to

himself the rest of deep, dreamless sleep as the most natural

and

readiest image.

IGNORANCE AND KNOWLEDGE.

Up

this

to

point

we have found

51

the opposition of the

delivered and undelivered associated with the opposition of

desire

The same thought

and non-desire.

often expressed,

is

with a slight alteration of such a turn that, instead of desire,

knowledge and absence of knowledge are

set

minators of the ultimate destiny of the soul

on the one hand,

all

of the unity, to

up

as the deter-

the knowledge,

which the individual ego and

beings draw together in Brahma

and, on the other hand,

the being absorbed in the contemplation of the

finite as

"Where all beings have become one's self, for the

hnoiving how can there be delusion how can there be pain
" He who has
for him who has his eye on the unity ? "
discovered aiid understood (pratibuddha) the Atman dwelling

plurality.

in the darkness of this corporeity, he is all-creating, for

the creator of the universe

They who know the breath

world.

he

his is the world,

is

he

is

himself the

of the breath, aud the eye

of the eye, the ear of the ear, the food of food, the thought of

thought, they have comprehended the Brahma, the ancient, the

supreme, attainable by thought alone

diversity.

He

there

any diversity; thought alone can behold

it,

is

not in

who here

attains the death of death

any

it

detects

this Imperishable,

Everlasting."
If then deliverance
all desire,

and

be based at one time on the conquest of

at another

on the knowledge of the Brahma,

may be regarded merely as the

same thought. "If a man knows

both

myself '

Atman:*

wishing what, for the sake of what

cling to the bodily state

it

expression of one and the

the

be obtained,

all

The main thing

desire vanishes of itself.

^that

is

knowledge ;

the deepest root of the clinging to the impermanent,

" If a

if

In other words,

absence of knowledge.
* These words also mean

am

desire, should he

man knows

himself."

4*

is

the

FESSIMISM, METEMP8TCH08IS, DELIVEBANCE.

52

Here we stand wholly

those very ranges of tliouglit

in

The

with which Buddha's teaching dealt.

question, which has

suggested the Buddhist views on deliverance,

is

here already

put exactly in the same form as afterwards, and the same two-

answer

fold

bound

answers

desire

ignorance, the

What keeps

given to this question.

is

in the cycle of birth, death,

and ignorance.

first

and re-birth

the soul

Buddhism

Of the two, the greater evil

link in the long chain of causes

and

is

effects,

in which the sorrow- working destiny of the world is fulfilled.

Is

knowledge attained, then

at

is all sufferino^

the tree of knowledge, Buddha,

knowledge that gives deliverance, utters these words

When

"

Under

an end.

when he has obtained the

:

the conditions (of existence) reveal tliemselves

To the ardent, contemplating Brahman,

To earth he casts the tempter's hosts.
Like the sun, diffusing light through the

Here Brahmanical speculation

anticipates

air."

Buddhism in diction

Language even now begins

as well as in thought.

to

make

use of those phrases, which have received at a later time from

the lips of Buddha's followers, their established currency as an

When he wha
mentioned in the " Brahmana

expression of the tenets of the Buddhist faith.

has come to
of the

know

hundred

''knowing"

is

the

Atman,

is

paths,'' as delivered, the

that

word then used

word (pratibuddha) which

for

also signifies

" awaking," the word which the Buddhists are accustomed to

use,

when they

describe

how Buddha

has in a solemn hour

under the A^vattha tree gained the knowledge of the delivering^

truth, or is

which

awake,"

Of

awake

also the

all

is

to the delivering truth

name

'^

Buddha,"

I'.e.,

the same word from

"the knowing,"

''^the

derived.

the texts in which the Brahmanical speculations as to

the delivering power of knowledge are contained, perhaps not

THE TONE OF RELIGIOUS

oven one was known except by
the Buddhist community of
it

certain that

is

bent of

its

But, for

Buddhism has acquired

series of its

religious thought

most important

and

feeling,

which

is

man himself

faith without a god, it is

prepared the

way

god

by

step

easily

to conceive a

delivers himself, to create a

Brahmanical speculation which has

It has thrust

for this thought.

step

more

in words.

Buddhism the proud attempt be made

If in

deliverance in which

that,

all

an inheritance

as

not less significant to the historian, the

is

comprehended than expressed

of a

53

liearsay to tlie founder of

believers.

from Brahmanism, not merely a

dogmas, but, what

LIFE.

back the idea

the forms of the old gods have faded

away, and besides the Brahma, which

enthroned

is

in

its

everlasting quietude, highly exalted above the destinies of the

human

world, there

remaining, as the sole really active

is left

man

person in the great work of deliverance,

who

himself,

possesses inherent in himself the power to turn aside from this

world, this hopeless state of sorrow.

Every people makes for

is

not less

what

gods

its

gods

made what

who

are.

shall

it

itself

gods after

actually

their

power

of their state.

whose

The god

make themselves

their

of

Israel

is

flaming majesty the heart of

adoration and supplication, and to

and

ideal,

history,

who

and join in the adminis-

shall fight their battles with them,

before

in

own

reflex influence of

people with a history

show

tration

its

by the

is

whom

it

the Holy One,

man bows

in

draws near in

prayer as to a father with the confidence of a child; whose

wrath causes men to disappear, whose tender mercy worketh

good

to

children,

and

thousandth generation.
thought
stilled,

children's

children even

And

god

the

The Great One, before whom

where

all

all

of

unto

the

the Brahmanical

human movement

colours pale and all sounds expire.

No

is

song

THE TEMPTER. BEAE3IAN.

54:

of praise,

man

of

and no

is

depths of his

him

petition,

unmoved,

own

is

no hope, no

no

fear,

The gaze

love.

turned upon himself and looks into the

being, expecting his ego to disclose itself to

as the everlasting One,

and the thinker, for -whom the

veil

has risen, discovers as an enigma of deep meaning, the mystery

of the

Unseen

Seer, the

Unheard Hearer,

Brahmans leave goods and

chattels, wife

to find out

and

child,

whom

and move

as mendicants, homeless through the world.

The Temptee.

Beahman.

Tradition enables us to gain but a very imperfect idea of

how the remaining notions, images, expressions, which passed

to Buddhism as an inheritance from Brahmanical speculation,
ranged themselves one after another round the central point of
the religious thought, with which our sketch has been dealing.
If

we except

the oldest, fundamental texts of the doctrine of

we have drawn material for our sketch

we are driven to conjectm'es of the most
when we ask what works may be received as

the Atman, from which

up

to the present,

uncertain kind,

pre -Buddhist and what not.

we

are

thrown

to render

it

Internal evidence, on which alone

in this case, is sufficient in very

few instances

possible to form even a probable estimate, as to

whether what

is

connected in these texts in thought or form of

expression with the Buddhist, belongs to the stages preparatory

to the Buddhist phase of thought, or has on its part been

influenced
for the

of

its

by that phase.

might claim a pre-Buddhist origin

Kathaka Upanishad, a poem which

composition reflects

all

the

singularity of that age of self-study.

in the rude

grandeur

earnestness and
If I

am

all

correct in

the

my

surmise as to the time of the production of this Upanishad,

it


NACIEETAS AMD THE GOD OF DEATH.
contains an important contribution to

preparatory to Buddhist thought

tlie

namely,

5j

history of tlLOUglit

we here

find the

Satan of the Buddhist world, Mara, the Tempter, the demon

death-foe of the deliverer, in the form of Mrityu, the

The

Death.

identity of the conception

is

God

of

most unmistakably

apparent notwithstanding- the difference of the clothing, and

indeed the Brahmanical
has in

common

poem has preserved that image, which

it

with the Buddhist legends, in a form assuredly

more original.
" U9ant, son of

far

away

all

Vaja9ravas,^^ the Upanishad begins, " gave

He had

that he had.*

one son, named Naciketas.

In this youth faith was awakened, when the offeringsf were

being carried away.

He

then reflected

"Water-driuking, grass-eating, milked-out (creatures) whose strength

is

exhausted

Cheerless are the worlds called, to which he tends,

who

offers

such

gifts."|

He said to his father

me ?" And a second and
his father said

" Father, to

Many come

wilt thou give

Then

" I give thee to Death. })

The
"

whom

a third time (he asked this).

after

me

Son.

many have

before

me

trodden the path

ot

death.

The Prince

of Death, the

god Yama, what need can he have of me ?"

The Fathee.
'

Look forward, look backward a like

The destiny of man resembles the
;

fatality rules

grain,

here and yonder.

which ripens,

falls,

and

again returns."

The poem passes over what now happens

*

He
AU

Naciketas

divided these out to the priests as sacrificial remuneration.

his father's gifts, especially cows.

X The rewards for earthly

gifts,

such as those cows, are vain.

TEE TEMPTER. BRAHMAN.

56
descends to

tlie

kingdom

does not see him

Yama^

of Death.

God

tlie

of Death,

unhonoured

so he remains three days

in the

realms of the departed.

The Servants

flaming

fire

Yama

guest.

God of Death.

of the

BraLman who approaches

the

is

house as a

the

presents water to the guest, thus the heat of the

fire is

allayed.

"

Hope and

wish, friendship and every joy,

Tlie fruit of his actions, children

and

fruitfulness of the flock.

These the Brahman takes away from the

In whose house he

Yama
" Unfed within

guest, hast thou tarried.

shall

be granted thee

Naciketas chooses as the

him without

three nights,

to thee, let prosperity attend

Three wishes

will

ill

on

first

God

of

of this fire

me

choose

!"

Death may teach

hira the

by the help

Death imparts

to

and guarantees that

of

it

'

They

made regarding

are,'

says one

'
;

not,' says another.

This I wish to know, resolve this (doubt) for me.

This

is

the third wish, which 1 choose."

The God of Death.

" The gods themselves sought after this long since

Hard

to fathom, dark

is

this secret.

Choose some other boon, Naciketas,

On

this insist not

release

me from my

man

promise."

be called

Naciketas has

the fate of the dead

they are

hidden

which

shall

Naciketas.
is

receive

him the mystic

among men after his name the Nacik etas-fire.

now to express his third wish.
" Inquiry

may

from the realms of the dead;

sacrificial fire,

wins the heavenly world.

knowledge

wish, that his father

his return

as the second, that the

knowledge of the

man

God of Death).

(the

my house

Brahmnna, a worthy

Honour

foolish

tarries unfed."

;;

IRE TEMPTER.

57

Naciketas.

" From tlie gods tliemselves is tliis hidden, thou sayest

Hard to fathom hast thou, O Death, declared it.
There is no other who can reveal this to me as thou canst.
;

There

is

no other wish which I can choose instead of

this.''

The God of Death.

" Fulness of years, and children's children,

Choose gold, herds,

elejjhants, Tiorses,

Choose widely-extended rule upon the earth,

Have

thy

life

long as thou desirest.

If this appear to thee acceptable instead of that other wish.

Then choose

wealth, choose long life;

Eule broad realms, Naciketas

I give thee the fulness of

What

men

mortal

all

pleasures.

obtain but with difficulty.

Choose every pleasure on which thy heart

Maidens here, with harps, with

Fairer than

men may hope

These give I

Ask

is set.

carriages.

to gain.

thee, that they

may do

thee service

not of death, Naciketas."

Is'aciketas.

O Lord of Death,
The power of the organs of life to fail in the children
The whole life swiftly passes away

"The

lapse of days causes,

of

men

Song and dance, chariot and horse, thine are they,

man
we have beheld

liiches cannot give contentment to

What

We

is

wealth to us when

shall live as long as

Still this

wish alone

is

thee

thou biddest us

that which I choose.

Tell us of the far-reaching future of the world to come,

Whereon, O Death, man meditates in doubt.

The wish, which penetrates into hidden depths,
That alone it is which Naciketas chooses."

The reluctance

of the

God

of

Death

is

overcome^ and he

grants to the importunate inquirer his request.

The two paths

of knowledge and ignorance diverge widel}^ from each other.

58

THE TEMPTER.

Naciketas has chosen knowledge

like the

The wise man who knows the One,

blind led by the blind.

the Everlasting, the ancient God,

free

in the path of ignorance,

wander about through the world beyond,

endlessly

no part

the fulness of jjleasures has

They who walk

not led him astray.

who

dwells in the depths, has

and sorrow, becomes free from right and wrong,

in joy

from the present, and free from hereafter. That

is

Yama's

answer to Naciketas^s inquiry.

strange picture coming from this great period of old

,

Indian thought and poetry

Hades, and, unmoved by

all

the

Brahman who descends

to

promises of transient pleasures,

wrings from the God of Death the secret of that which

lies

beyond death.

We
-t

now turn from

this

Vedic poem to Buddhist legend.

Through many a long age, he who

Buddhahood pursues
deliver

his quest of the

him from death and

As

Evil One.

earth, if
offers

he

His enemy

is

the

to

is

to

Mara, the

Mara
will

if

he

will forego the

knowledge

Buddha the sovereignty

offers

of the

of the whole

renounce his career of Buddha; as Mrityu

Naciketas nymphs of more than earthly beauty, so

Buddha

is

tempted

Unrest, and Pleasure.

all

destined

the god Mrityu promises Naciketas dominion

over extended realms,

hereafter, so

re-birth.

is

knowledge which

by Mara's daughters, named

Desire,

Naciketas and Buddha ahke withstand

temptations, and obtain the knowledge which delivers

from the hand of death.

The name Mara*

is

them

no other than

* Botli words signify " death," and are derived from tlie same root,
mar, " to die." The mode of expression in many places of the Dhamma-

pada makes the identity of Mara and Mrityu

(Pali maccu) clearly evident.

Compare ver. 34, "Maradheyyam pahatave," with ver. 86, " maccudheyyam
snduttaram

v.

46

chetyana Marassa papupphakani adassanam maccu-

rajassa gacche." Cf. also ver. 57 with 170.

See also " Mahavagga,"

I,

ii.

2.

BEAHMAN.
Mrityu; the God of Deatli
of this world/^ the lord of

is at
all

GO

the same time the "Prince

worldly enjoyment^ the foe of

for pleasure is in Brahmanical^ as

knowledge ;

speculation, the chain which binds to the

and knowledge
aspect of the

in

Buddhist

the power which breaks that chain.

is

God

it is

bondage of death,
This

of Death, as the tempter to pride and worldly

pleasures, steps in the Buddhist legend in the shape of Miivsb

so prominently into the foreground that the original character

of that god thereby almost disappears

Kathaka-Upanishad preserves
Mrityu, but

it

shows us

at the

the older

poem

clearly the original

same time

of the

nature of

in it the point

from

which the conception of the Prince of Death could be transformed into that of the Tempter.
Together with Mara, we find in the Buddhist texts very
frequently mentioned another spiritual being, the conception of

whom had

likewise been

formed in the

first

Brahman. The god Brahman's

figure

is

later

Vedic age.

an outcome of that idea

of the Brahma, the development of Avhich has occupied our

attention in a previous passage.

It is exceedingly characteristic

of the influence which the most abstract speculation of the

schools

exercised in India over the notions

generally, that the

Brahma, the

of the people

colourless, formless absolutum,

has become an important element in the popular faith; of

course, not without the thought in its original purity having

been modified

or,

more accurately speaking,

lost sight of.

The

thing in the abstract would have been rather too unconcrete a

god even

for the Indians.

So the neuter personified

itself,

and

became masculine ; the Brahma turned into the god Brahman,

the " progenitor of all worlds,'' the first-born among beings.

We

cannot here attempt to give a more detailed picture

of this peculiar invasion of the popular consciousness

by the

speculative idea; our sources of information completely forbid

BRAHMAN.

60

we know with certainty, tliat the process

we speak had not only completed itself in the age of

This mucli only

it.

of which
earlier

Buddhism, but that a considerable period must have

elapsed since
S'O

Sahampati

and
to

its

familiar to
;

Scarcely any divine being

completion.

the imagination of the Buddhists as

at all important

his followers,

he

is

wont

moments

in the

to leave his

life

of

is

Brahma

Buddha

Brahma-heaven and

appear on earth as the profoundly humble servant of

holy men.
imagination

who have

And from
has
their

more finger-post

this

one principal Brahman the Buddhist

created
place

in

whole

classes

different

in addition to

of

Brahma-gods,

Brahma-heavens

many

one

others, indicating the

impossibility of those Vedic texts, in which the origin of the

doctrine of the universal

One

is

exhibited,

the Buddhist period, in which the god

coming

at all near

Brahman has

already

developed himself from the Brahma, and the whole system of

the Brahma-divinities from the god Brahman.

CHAPTER

Asceticism

We now proceed to
life

Okdees.

describe the forms of religious, monastic

speculations

discussed

Monastic

sprung up in close connection with the already

whicli have

As

deliverance.

III.

regarding

the

One and

universal

those philosophical ideas the

in

way was

prepared for the dogmatics of Buddhism, so in those beginnings of monastic

The two

life

the foundation of the outward forms

Church was

of the Buddhist

lines of

laid.

development, that of the inner side and

that of the outer side of religious

otherwise

life,

run

how could

it

bo

in close harmony.

Those speculations which represented the phenomenal world

to be unstable
base, the

and worthless as compared with the world's

Atman, had

those aims of
consciousness

life

of

at

one blow deprived of their value

all

which appear important to the natural

ordinary

men.

observance are unable to raise the

Sacrifice
spirit to

and

external

the Atman, to

disclose to the individual ego his identity with the universal

ego.
fly

Man must

separate himself from

all

that

is earthly,

from love and hate, from hope and fear;

live as

though he lived not.

intelligent

and wise

The Brahmans,

desire not posterity

must

man must

it is said,

" the

what are descendants

ASCETICISMMONASTIC ORDERS.

to us, wliose liome

the

is

Atman

They

relinquish the desire

for children, the struggle for wealth, the pursuit of worldly

weal,

and go forth as mendicants."

Many

content themselves with a less strict renunciation

they go forth,
their property

forest

their

houses, and give up

living,

but they do not wander about

they build themselves half-covered huts in the

and

from

the comforts and enjoyments of their

all

customary mode of
homeless

true,

is

it

and

live there, alone or

and berries of the

forest

with their women, on the roots

their sacred fire also accompanies

them, and they continue as before to perform at least a part of

the duties of the

sacrificial cult.

It is probable that there

who

chiefly Bi'ahmans,

were from the beginning persons,

as beggars or forest hermits sought

their deliverance in retirement from worldly concerns.

an exclusive right
to obtain which

of

Brahmans only

men

parted with

all

earthly treasure,

was not

we have no trace that before Buddha's

Buddha's own time, the Brahman caste had come-

asserted in early times

time, or in

But

to those spiritual treasures,

forward with claims of such a kind, or that there was need of

any struggle whatever

Brahman, the right

to

win for prince and peasant,

to leave wife

and

child,

in order to seek, as mendicant monks, in poverty

of

life,

the deliverance of their souls.

Bra-hmans,

who appear

in the

old

as well as

goods and

chattels,

and purity

Side by side with the

philosophical dialogues

speaking of the mysteries of the Atman, we find in more than

one place princes, and even wise women are not wanting in
these circles

why

should

men

desire to forbid those,

whose

discourses on deliverance they listened to and applauded, an

entry on that
deliverance

life

of holy renunciation, which leads

man

to this

point which, seems highly characteristic of the religious

THE BEGINNING OF HERMIT

tone of this Veclic monasticism,

is

tlie

Go

LIFE.

strongly hiaintained

There was a consciousness of

esoteric character of the faith.

possessing a knowledge which could and must belong to but

a few, to chosen persons, a sort of select doctrine, which was

not intended to penetrate the national

life.

The

father

might

impart the secret to his son, and the teacher to his pupil, but,
in the circle of the believers in the

Atman, there was

wholly-

wanting that warm-hearted enthusiasm which holds that

then, and then only, properly enjoys the possession of

goods,

when

summoned

has

it

its

it

own

the world to participate in

all

their possession.

Our sources
to

be

of information are quite too incomplete for us

able, while resting

facts, to trace

on the sure ground

of transmitted

even the most prominent only of the landmarks

in the further development of Indian monasticism.

constructions must here

come

Conjectural

to our aid, which, even

where

they show with tolerable certainty something like what must

have taken place, yet utterly

fail

us

if

we

seek for those

touches, which could impart to the picture of this evolution an

appearance of

Two

life.

events, which

stand apparently in close

connection

with each other, must have played a prominent part in the

development of
stage in which

this

monasticism from

Buddha found

it

its

beginning up to the

the cohesion of

ascetics into organized fraternities,

monks and

and therewith the emanci-

pation of numbers, or even of a majority and the paramount,

among
It

these fraternities, from the authority of the Vedas.

appears that these

materially influenced

two important occurrences, were

by a change

of geographical scene.

We

spoke in the beginning of this sketch of the difference of

culture in the western

and eastern parts of the Gangetic

the holy land of the Veda, the

homo

of

tract

Vedic poetry and Yedic

ASCETICISM-MONASTIC ORDERS.

64:

speculation lies in the west

tlie

east has acquired the

and the Brahman ical system from the

advanced

but

west,

foreign

this

assimilated, converted into flesh

blovrs in the east

weak

to the
is

like the

Veda
more

element was not wholly

and blood.

different air

language which gives a preference

above the rough r of the west, the whole being

more relaxed

the

Brahman

is

here

less,

The movement, which had

people more.

much

here loses

intellectually

of the

its

the king and the

origin in the west,

fantastically abstruse

which was in

probably also something of the bold vastness and clear

it,

sequence of ideas, and thereby gains in popularity

which

it

was

chiefly the schools

and the

questions,

intellectual aristocracy

of the nation had touched in the west, change in the east into
vital questions for the people.

but

little

speculation ;* so

come the

Here men trouble themselves

about the mystic universal One of

much

the

more decidedly

Brahmanical

into the foreground

ideas of the sorrow of every state of being, of moral

retribution, of purification of the soul, of deliverance.

It cannot be ascertained whether

any

political convulsions

or social revolutions were also in play at that time, to direct

people's minds

with particular earnestness and energy to

thoughts and questions such as these,

its

kingdom

if

the government of

despotism of the Oriental,

* It

is

amid the death

India lived in more settled

struggles of a collapsing world.

peace

Christianity founded

in times of the keenest suffering,

its

small states was the evil

men knew

of no other

government

significant that, although the speculations of the

regarding the

Atman and the Brahma must,

in

Upanishads

Buddha's time, have

heen long since propounded, and must have become part of the standing
property of the students of the Vedas, the Buddhist texts never enter
into them, not even polemically.

The Brahma,

as the universal

One,

is

not aUuded to by the Buddhists, cither as an element of an alien or of

their

own

creed, though they very frequently mention the

god Brahma.

MONASTIO ORDERS.

65

and mado no complaint ; was the gulf between poverty and

wealthy between kniglit and yeoman, a wide one and it lias
always been so in

tliat

land by natural necessity

by no means tbe poor and oppressed

still it

was

alone, or even chiefly,

who

sought in monastic robes freedom from the burdens of the

world.

Voices

are raised

full

of

lamentations

bitter

over

the

degeneracy of the age, the insatiable greed of men, which

knows no Hmit, until death comes and makes rich and poor
" I behold the rich in this world," says a Buddhist
alike
:

Sutra;*

'^

of the

goods which they have acquired, in their

they give nothing to others

folly

together and farther and

still

they eagerly heap riches

farther they go in their pursuit of

The king, although he may have conquered the

enjoyment.

may be

he

earth, although

kingdoms of the

ruler of

this side the sea,

up to the ocean^s shore, would,

covet that which

is

men, with desires

beyond the

sea.

unsatisfied, fall a

all

land

still insatiate,

The king and many other

prey to death

neither relatives nor friends, nor acquaintances, save the dying

man

the heirs take his property ; but he receives the reward

of his deeds

no treasures accompany him who

And

nor child, nor property nor kingdom.''^

it is

nor wife

" the princes, who rule kingdoms, rich in treasures

said :t

and wealth, turn

their greed against

their

desires.

insatiably

to

swimming

in the stream of

greed and carnal

peace

dies,

in another Sutra

desire,

If

one another, pandering

these

act

thus restlessly,

impermanence, carried along by

who then can walk on the

earth iu

But from passages

like these, cuiTent as they are

* Eatthapala-Suttanta in the " Majjliima-Nikaya,"

fol.

among
nri'

Tumour MS.
t " Sarayuttaka-Nikaya,"

vol.

i,

fol.

ku' of the Phayre

MS.
5

of

the
llie

;;

ASCETICISM MONASTIC ORDERS.

66

moral preceptors of
at that time there

ages and

all

all lands,

we cannot

Rome in the sultry period of

No such period was necessary

that prevailing at
of the empire.
to strike

infer tliat

was an atmosphere prevalent something

him with sudden

like

the early days

for the Indian

terror at the picture of

which

life

surrounded him, to bring to his notice the traces of death in

From

that picture.
to

the unprofitableness of a state of being

which they had not learned to give

and struggles for ends worthy

fly to

The

stability

of labour

and

by labours

struggle,

rich

and the noble

the young, wearied of

more than the poor and humble

still

before hfe had well begun, rather

life

than the old, who have nothing more to hope from

monks and

nuns.

Everywhere we meet pictures

struggles, which every day

between those who make

wife, the children,

who

of those

must have brought in that period,

and the parents, the

this resolution,

detain those eager for renunciation

acts of invincible determination are narrated of those

in spite of

life;

maidens, abandon their homes and don the garb

women and
of

men

seek peace for the soul in a renunciation of the world.

all

opposition, have

managed

to burst the

who,

bonds

which bound them to a home-life.

Soon teachers appeared

in

more than one place who pro-

fessed to have discovered independently of Vedic tradition a

new, and the only true path of deliverance, and such teachers
failed not to attract scholars,

who

attached themselves to them

Under the protection

in their wanderings through the land.

of the most absolute liberty of conscience which has ever

existed, sects

were added to

sects, the

Niggantha " those freed

from fetters,"* the Acelaka "the naked,'' and by whatever

* This

sect,

founded by one of the older contemporaries of Buddha,

has maintained

its

ground to

this

day under the name of Jama, especiallj

in the south and west of the Indian peninsula.

The view

of

it,

which we

THEIR INCREASING POPULARITY.

other

name those communities

themselves, into whose midst the

monks and nuns named

of

young brotlierhood

The name which people gave

entered.

67

of

Buddha

to these persons

of

self-constituted religious standing in contradistinction to the

Brahmans, whoso dignity rested on their

Le.,

Buddha was

Ascetic ; thus

people called his disciples

the Sakya house."

another

among

was " Samana/ '

birth,

Samana Gotama
" the Samanas who follow the son of
called the

It is probable also that already

one and

the older Samana-sects had gone so far as to

whom

attribute to the teacher round

attributes in a

way

they gathered, dogmatic

which the Buddhists

similar to that in

acted at a later time with reference to the founder of their

Church

the

man

of the Sakya race

probably not even the

as

"'

first,

is

the enlightened one " (Buddha) or as

(Jina)

not the only, and

who has been honoured

'^

in India

the conqueror

''

he was only one among the numerous saviours of the

world and teachers of gods and

men who then

travelled

through the country, preaching in monastic garb.

The paths
believers

in

of deliverance,

by which these masters

quest of salvation,

were legion ;

led their

for us,

who

possess on this subject only the hardly impartial reports of the

Buddhists and Jainas, their serious thought

must be

it

is,

allowed, covered deeply over with dull or abstruse conceits.

There were Ascetics who lived in self-mortification, denied

themselves nourishment for long periods, did not wash themselves, did not sit

down, rested on beds of thorns

adherents of the faith in

who were

intent on purging

which clung to them

get from
in

many

its

the purifying

there were

efficacy of water,

by continued ablutions

all guilt

others aimed at conditions of spiritual

otlierwise comxiarativcly

essential points witli

modern sacred

Buddhism.

One

literature, corresponds

point of difference lay in

the great importance -which the Niggantha attached to penances.

5^=

SOPHISTIC.

68
abstraction,
all

and

sought,,

while

separating themselves from

perception of external realities, to imbue themselves with

the feeling of the " eternity of space/^ or of the " eternity of

reason," or of

''^

not-anything-whatever-ness," and

else these conditions

among

that,

were

may

It

called.

this multiplicity of holy

easily

whatever

be imagined

men, the whimsical were

are told of a " hen-saint," whose

vow

consisted in picking up his food from the ground like a

hen

not unrepresented

we

and, as far as possible, in

all

matters acting like a hen;

another saint of a similar type lived as a

cow-saint," and

'''

thus the Buddhist accounts give a by no means short

different kinds of holy

seem

men

list

few among

in those days,

of

whom

have always been lucky enough to preserve their

to

holiness from the fate

of ridicule and from

dangers more

serious than ridicule.

Sophistic.

Certain
bustle of

phenomena which developed themselves

in the

these ascetic and philosophizing circles,

busy

may be

wherever a Socrates

desci'ibed as a species of Indian sophistic

appears, sophists cannot fail to follow.

The conditions under

which

this sophistic arose are in fact quite similar to those

which gave birth to their Greek counterpart.

of those

who

In the footsteps

men, such as the Eleatics and the enigmatic Ephesian,

oijened

and large

up the highways

of

thought with their simple

ideas, there followed Gorgiases

and a whole host of ingenious,

virtuosi,

dealers

same way

in India there

in

dialetic

came

specious,

and

and Protogorases,

somewhat

rhetoric.

frivolous

In exactly

th.e

after the earnest thinkers of the

masculine, classical period of Brahmanical speculation, a younger

SOPHISTIC.

69

generation of dialecticians^ professed controversialists with an

overweening materialist or sceptical

air,

who were not

in either the readiness or the ability to

show up

deficient

of

all sides

the ideas of then' great predecessors, to modify them, and to

turn them into their opposites.

constructed,

it

System

system was

after

seems, with tolerably light building material.

We know Httle more than a

series of war-cries: discussions

raised about eternity or transitoriness of the world

were

and the

ego, or a reconciliation of these opposites, eternity in the one

direction or transitoriness in the other, or about infiniteness

and

finiteness of the world, or about the assertion of infiniteness

and

finiteness

at

of infiniteness as

the same time,

about the

or

negation

Then spring up the

well as finiteness.

beginnings of a logical scepticism, the two doctrines, of which

the fundamental propositions run,
true," and

'''

obviously the dialectician,

untrue,

upon

is

''

everything appears to

me

everything appears to

who

untrue,^'

me

and here

declares 'everything

to

bo

met forthwith by the question whether he looks

own also, that everything is untrue, as

Men wrangle over the existence of a world

this theory of his

likewise untrue.

beyond, over the continuance after death, over the freedom of

the

human

will,

over the existence of moral retribution.

Makkhali Gosala,

whom Buddha

declared to be the worst of

the negation of
there
all

no

is

ability

beings,

deemed

is

weather

man

everything

erroneous teachers,*

"there

the worst

has no strength,
that

breathes,

garment of

so,

man

is

ascribed

(of action),

has no control

everything

that

is,

wliicli

there are, a garment

my

disciples, is in cold

hair,

cold, in heat hot, of a dirty colour,

the touch

no power

is

O ye disciples, of all woven garments

* "As,
of hair

all

free will:

To

represented as having

is

has a bad smell,

is

rough to

my disciples, of all doctrines of other ascetics and Brahmans

the doctrine of Makkhali

is

deemed the worst."

Angtittara Nikdya.

SOPHISTIC

70
everytliing tliat has

own

to control (its

decree, nature ;"

life is

powerless^ witliout power or ability

on to

actions) ; it is hurried

every

goal by fate,

its

being passes through a fixed series

of re-births, at the end of which the fool as

wise " puts a period to pain/^

government

man makes

denied

is also

waste and

there

crosses to the north

burns and

is

the

" If a

kills

lets

charity, offers

and

burn, he

no punishment of

bank of the Ganges,

and causes to be distributed

offered sacrifices,

as

Purana Kassapa teaches

lets lay waste,

imputes no guilt to himself

man

well

the existence of a moral

a raid on the south bank of the Ganges,

lets kill, lays

If a

And

guilt.

distributes

and causes to be

he does not thereby perform a good work

no reward for good works." And another expression

" the wise and the fool, when the body is
of similar doctrines

there

is

dissolved, are subject to destruction

are not

beyond death."

and

to annihilation

they

In disputations before adherents,

opponents, and great masses of people, these professional

wranglers and " hair-splitters " this word was even then in

use in India

made propaganda

for their theories

like their

Greek counterparts, though a good deal coarser, they caused

swaggering reports of their
them.

Saccaka says

"I

dialectic invincibility to

go before

know no Samaua, and no Brahman,

no teacher, no master, no head of a school, even though he

holy supreme Buddha, who,

calls himself ^the

if

sweat would not exude.

my
a

language,

it

human being

we

would

!"

are here dependent,

fair

if

I attacked a lifeless pillar with

totter, tremble,

quake

may

how much more

whose reports

in their animosity against

this

have drawn them in darker colours than

the picture of such a sophistic

fabrication.

Possibly, the Buddhists, on

class of dialecticians

was

And

me in
whom the

he face

debate, would not totter, tremble, quake, and from

is

certainly not all a

SOPHISTIC.

At

this time of

71

deep and many-sided intellectual movements,

which had extended from the

circles of

Brahmanical thinkers

into

the people at large,

when amateur

studies of the

dialectic

routine had already

grown up out

of the arduous

far

struggles of the past age over

when

dialectic scepticism

time,

when a

its

simple profound thoughts,

began to attack moral ideas

painful longing for deliverance

was met by the first signs

Buddha appears upon the scene.

of being

at

this

from the burden

of moral decay,

Gotama

PART

I.

BUDDHA'S

LIFE.

CHAPTER

The Chaeactee
Theee

is

op Tradition

I.

Legend and Myth.

no lack of current legendary narratives wMcli

Buddhists relate concerning the founder of their

we

learn anything of the

life

of

Buddha from them

have gone farther, and have asked

Or

at least,

us,

whom

lived

tlie

Can

Some

has Buddha ever hved

as Buddhism must have had a founder

Buddha ever
to

faith.

has that

those narratives seem to present

though in a superhuman form and

in

miraculous

surroundings ?*

That ingenious student of Indian antiquity who has occupied himself most closely with this question, Emile 8enart,-f

answers

it

somewhere

with an absolute no.

at

some

period, but that

tradition speaks, has never hved.

his birth, the struggles

Buddha may have

lived

whom Buddhist
Buddha is not a man

Buddha, of
This

he undergoes, and his death, are not

those of a man.

And what

is

this

Buddha?

From

the

earliest

age the

* In the second Excursus at the end of this work the chief authoritative
sources relative to Buddha's hfe are collected from the sacred Pali texts

and

discussed.

t Senart, "Essai sur

la legende

du Buddha,"

Paris, 1875.

;;

FOmiATION OF TRADITION. LEGEND AND MYTH.

allegorical poetry of the Indians, like that of the

73

Greeks and

the Germans, treats of the destinies of the sun-hero

birth from the morning-cloud, which, as soon as

him

iDeing,

child

must

vanish before the rays of

itself

of his battle with

the thunder-cloud

illuminating

and victory over the dark demon of

how he then

its

of his

has given

it

mai'ches triumphantly across

the firmament, until at last the day declines and the light-hero

succumbs to darkness.
Senart seeks to trace step by step in the history of Buddha's
life,

the history of the

life

of the sun-hero

like the

sun from

the clouds of night, he issues from the dark

womb

a flash of light pierces through

when he

Maya

all

the world

dies like the morning-cloud

sun's rays.

Maya

is

born

which vanishes before the

Like the sun-hero conquering the thunder- demon,

Buddha vanquishes Mara, the Tempter,

the sacred tree

the tree

is

in dire combat, under

the dark cloud-tree in heaven,

round which the battle of thunderstorm rages.

When

the

won, Buddha proceeds to preach his evaugelium to

worlds, " to set in motion the wheel of the Law ;" this is

victory
all

of

is

the sun-god

who sends his illuminating wheel revolving

At last the life of Buddha draws to a

the firmament.

across
close

he witnesses the terrible destruction of his whole house, the

Sakya

race,

which

is

annihilated

by enemies,

powers of light die away in the blood-red

clouds.

His own end has now arrived:

funeral pile, on which Buddha's corpse

guished by streams

^of water,

as at sunset the

tints of the

is

burnt, are extin-

which come pouring down from

heaven, just as the sun-hero dies in the sea of

his

own

rays,

and the

evening

the flames of the

fire

kindled by

last flames of his divine obsequies die

out on the horizon in the moisture of the evening- mist.*

* Cf. Senart's work already referred
seq.

to, especially

the resume, p. 504,

8ENART AND TEE MYTHOLOGICAL

74:

In Senart's opinion, Buddlia, the real Buddlia, did

is

true

as

we

his reality,

he admits,

see the reality of the Church founded

beyond

followers attached

his

to

life

of the

The

man Buddha had been

One cannot read the ingenious

person the great

his

sun-god in human guise,

allegorical ballad of the life of the

the

by him; but

nothing substantial.

this bare reality there is

fancy of

exist, it

a logical necessity, inasmuch

is

forgotten.

efforts of

Senart without

admiring the energy with which the French scholar constrains

the

Veda

as well as the Indian

epic, the

Greeks as well as that of northern races

was here necessary

But one
availed

one

is

bear witness for his solar Buddha.

astonished that this so extensive reading has not

itself,

field,

to

Kterature of the

no small constraint

when dealing with

the legends of Buddha, of

which would have presented not

important

less

hymns and
Buddhism itself,

Edda

sources of information than the Homeric

the

the oldest available literature of

the oldest

declarations of the

body

of

Buddha^s

personality of their master.

disciples regarding the

Senart bases his criticism almost

wholly on the legendary biography, the " Lalita-Vistara,'^ current

among

the northern Buddhists in Tibet, China and Naipal.

But would

it

be allowable for any one, who undertook to write

a criticism on the

life

of Christ, to set aside the

New Testament,

and follow solely the apocryphal gospels or any legendary works

whatsoever of the Middle Ages

Or does the law of

which requires us to trace back tradition to

before forming an opinion on

it,

its

criticism,

oldest form,

not deserve to be as closely

observed in the case of Buddhism as in that of Christianity

The most ancient

in Ceylon

traditions of

Buddhism

are those preserved

and studied by the monks of that island up to the

present day.

While

in India itself the Buddhist texts experienced

new

CONCEPTION OF BUDDHA.

75

fortunes from century to century, and while the ceremonies of

more and more

original Churcli were vanishing continually

tliG

behind the poetry and

of Ceylon remained true to the simple, homely,

The

Ancients" (Theravada).
recorded

''

language of the southern Indian

it

Word

which

dialect itself in

contributed to preserve

territories,

texts (" Pali

the conversion of Ceylon.*

''),

himself,

and

all

and

Buddhas

Though the legends and

find their

way

if

not the

This language of the

regarded

is

Buddha

there supposed that

it is

was

whose Churches

imported from the south of India,

in Ceylon as sacred

of the
it

from corruptions, the

and missions had naturally taken the largest share,

initiative, in

Church

fiction of later generations,, the

of preceding ages,

had spoken

it.

speculations of later periods might

into the religious literature produced in the

island and written in the popular tongue of Ceylon, the sacred

Pali texts remained unaSected

by them.

we must go in preference to all

other sources, if we desire to know whether any information
is obtainable regarding Buddha and his life.
It is to the Pali traditions

There we see

first

and foremost that from the very begin-

ning, as far back as

we can go

to the time of the earliest

utterances of Buddhist religious consciousness, there

a firm

is

conviction that the source of saving knowledge and holy

the word of a teacher and founder of the Church,

designate the Exalted

One (Bhagava),

Enlightened One (Buddha).

or the

life is

whom

they

Knowing, the

Whoever proposes

to enter the

* According to the Church history of the island which has attained a fixed
canonical status in Ceylon, and which first meets us in texts of the fourth

and

century after Christ, but which must be based on considerably

memoranda, Mahinda, the son of the great Indian king Asoka

fifth

older
.(circ.

260 b.c), was the converter of Ceylon,

essential parts obviously a concoction

contains, cannot for the present

The

how much

tradition

or

how

is

little

be determined with certainty.

in

some

truth

it

THE PALI WFJTINGS AS BASIS OF BUDDHIST TRADITION.

76

tMs formula three times " I take

spiritual brotlierliood^ repeats

my refuge with Buddha I take my refuge in the Doctrine I

take my refuge in the Order." At the fortnightly confession,
;

the liturgy of which

life,

^'

sins

And

the oldest of

the monk,

who

the

monuments
by

silence

is

lying,

brethren, brings destruction ; thus

intentional lying,

And

hath the Exalted One said/'

the same liturgy of con-

monks, who embrace

mouths these words

''
:

Thus

heresies,

not an impersonal revelation, nor

thought, but

it

Exalted One, the Buddha, which

the truth and holy

not very remote past.

it is

own

word

of the Master, the

regarded as the source of

is

him

as of a man,

century

is

his death to the council of the seven

and

B.C.),

Throughout

the individual's

etc.

it

not regarded as a wise

is

past, but people think of

(about 380

in

life.

master

this

is

the person, the

is

by putting

I understand the doctrine

which the Exalted One hath preached,'^

And

all

leads in the confession,

are present, not to conceal

fession describes

their

who

which they have committed, for silence

charges the brethren

any

among

is

of Buddhist Church

it

man

of the dim

who has

lived in a

said to have passed

hundred fathers

may be taken

from

at Vesali

as a fact that the great

bulk of the holy texts, in which from beginning to end his

person and his doctrine are the central points, in which his

and

spoken

his death are

this council of the

of,

life

had been already compiled before

Church assembled

the oldest components

of these texts, such as the liturgy of the confession to which

we have

referred, belong in

all

beginning than to the end of

death.

The

probability

much

rather to the

this first century after

Buddha's

period, therefore, which separates the deponent

witnesses from the events to which they undertake to depose,

[

is

short enough

it

is

not

much

longer, probably not at

all

longer^ than the period which elapsed between the death of

THE HISTORICAL CHARACTER OF THE TRADITION.

Jesus and the compilation of our gospels.

Is

it

77

credible that

during the lapse of such a time in the Church of Buddha^

genuine memory of his

life

all

could be extruded by ballads of the

sun-god, transferred to his personality

brotherhood of ascetics, in whose

crushed

circle of ideas,

out in a

according to

the evidence of the literature which they have bequeathed to

us, everything else possessed a higher value

ballads of nature

than these very

Let us now examine more closely how far the

collective

picture of the age of which the sacred texts speak, bears on

the question of Buddha's personality.

The

Pali books give

us an exceedingly concrete picture of the movements of the

religious world of

he

really lived,

India at the period in which Buddha,

must have played a part

the most minute details of

all

the holy

in it;

we

if

possess

men who, sometimes

standing alone and sometimes surrounded by communities

of adherents, with

and without organization, some in more

profound and some in more shallow terms, preached to the

people salvation and deliverance.

Buddhists naturally
other faiths; and
to Biihler's

There are mentioned, among

Buddha,

six great teachers, to the

false teachers, the

heads of six sects holding

others, as contemporaries of

we

find

one of them, Nataputta, according

and Jacobi's learned researches, mentioned

texts of the Jaina sects,

still

at the present day, as the founder of their faith

of these sects, with

which

is

whom

we

are, therefore, in

possess two groups of accounts

whom

he

Buddha

and

and the saviour

he occupies a place analogous to that

given to Buddha in the Buddhist texts.

this Nataputta,

is

in the

numerously represented in India

As

regards

such a position that

those of

his

own

we

followers, to

the holy, the enlightened one, the victor (Jina), the

the

texts of the Jainas also use this last expression

the statements of the Buddhists,

who

stigmatize

him

THE HISTORICAL CHABACTER OF THE TRADITION.

73

an ascetic leader^ teacliing an erroneous doctrine

as

as

pretender^ claiming the dignity whicli properly belongs

The

Baddlia.

Baddliists^ as well as the Jainas, casually

tion the place where Nataputta died

town

place^ the

of

Pava

a
to

men-

both name the same

a small but by no means insignificant

The harmony

contribution to the value of these traditions.

of

the testimony regarding a collateral fact of this description

makes us conscious
ground of

we

that

are here treading on the sure

historical reality.

It is evident that

Buddha was

a head of a monastic order of

the very same type as that to which Nataputta belonged ; that

he journeyed from town to town in the garb and with

the

all

external circumstance of an ascetic, taught, and gathered round

himself a band of
ordinances,

disciiDles,

whom

to

he gave their simple

such as the Brahmans and the other monastic

brotherhoods possessed.
I hold that, even under the most unfavourable circumstances,

we

much

can lay claim to the possession of this

reliable

iu formation,

as

as

reliable

at least of

any knowledge of such

things can ever be.

But does

all

that

we can gather end

here

Are there

not,

in the masses of fable which tradition places at our disposal,

some

further,

more

specific traces

found, which contribute to give

life

In order to be able to answer

of

historical truth to

to that first outline

this question,

describe the aspect of the tradition as regards

Here

it

must be premised

as

we

be

shall

next

its details.

a cardinal statement

biography of Buddha has not come down to us fi'om ancient

times, from the age of the

no such biography was

*

Tills assertion is

by what they do not

Pfili

texts, and,

in existence then.*

supported as well by what the

contain.

we can
This

is,

safely say,

moreover,

Pilli tests contain,

They do not contain

as

either a biography

WANT OF AN ANCIENT BIOGRAPH Y OF BUDDHA.

The

very easily understood.

70

idea of biography was foreign to

To take

man

tlie

mind

its

development from beginning to end, as a unified subject

of that age.

of a

tlie life

for literary treatment, this thought,

though

it

as a whole,

appears to us

occurred to any one yet in

natural and obvious, had not

that age.

To

this

was added that in those times the interest in the

life

of the master receded entirely behind the interest attached to

liis

teaching.

early

was exactly the same

It

Christian

Church and in the

in the circles of the

of the

circles

Socratic

of Buddha, or even the shghtest trace of such a thing having been in

existence before, and this alone

is

The

conchisive.

were once possessed, and a fortiori the

loss of all

loss of texts,

memory

which

of them,

is

wholly iinmentioned in the literary history of the Tipitaka. On the

contrary, the texts contain here and there unconnected fragments of the
history of Buddha's

life,

in a form

which our Excursus

II. will exemplify,

and which cannot be construed as if the complete life of Buddha had at

that time already found a connected literary exposition. Senart (p. 7, 8)
has not overlooked the fact that in the sacred literature of the southern

Buddhists there

which there

is

is

no work

like the " Lalita Vistara " in the north, in

life up to the beginning

But the explanation which the French scholar
scarcely gain acceptance with many. The legend

a connected narrative of Buddha's

of his career as a teacher.

gives of this fact will

of Buddha, with

its

popular character, he says, " a du demeurer particu-

lierement vivace parmi les populations dont

elle etait

reellement I'oeuvre,

et qui, des le debut, avaient activement collabore a I'etablissement et

progres de la secte nouvelle.

s'introduisit surtout
recits

Ccylan au contraire,

oii le

aux

buddhisme,

par une propagande theologique et sacerdotale, dcs

de ce genre n'avaient ni pour les predicateurs ni pour Icurs

neophytes un interet

si

sensible ni

si

vivant."

It

wUl not be easy to

prove this alleged difference between the dogmatic tendency of the

Ceylonese, and the leanings of the northern Church to popular legend.

In

fact,

the greater antiquity of the Pali version of the sacred texts,

compared with the northern

currents,

is

editions, infected

throughout by

later literary

the sole and completely satisfactor}- means of explaining the

fact in question.

CHARACTER OF THE TRADITION.

so

Long

schools.

before people began to commit to writing

manner

life

of Jesus in the

in

the young communities

sayings

of Jesus

appended

just

necessary to

{\6yca

precise

to

this

and

was

collection

matter

narrative

tlie

was current

a collection of discourses

KvpiaKa)

much

so

call to

of our gospels, there

was

as

mind the occasion when, and the external

surroundings amid which, the several discourses were delivered.

This collection of the sayings of Jesus laid no claim to any
historical

logical

arrangement or sequence whatever, or to any chronoSimilarly the Memorabilia

accuracy.

Socratica

The method and manner of Socratic

Xenophon.

of

action are

here illustrated by a rich profusion of the individual utterances

But neither Xenophon nor any other of the old

of Socrates.

Socratics has given us the

induce them to do so

to the Socratics for the

lips of that great,

fortunes of his

What

of Socrates.

life

The form

of Socrates

words of wisdom which came from the

eccentric

man, not

poor external

for the

life.

The development

of the traditions of

Buddha corresponds

at

an early date to

fix

as

His disciples

closely as possible to these parallel illustrations.

had begun

should

was memorable

those discourses which the

great teacher had preached, or at any rate, discourses after the

method and manner

deliver these

where and to

in

which he had delivered them, and to

to the Church.

whom he had

uttered each word

this

They did not omit

to

note

uttered or was supposed to have

was necessary

order to

in

fix

in

concrete the situation, and thereby to place the authenticity

of the respective words of

when Buddha
begin

said so

At one time

and

or

so,

Buddha beyond

doubt.

The

at this time the exalted

tarrying at such and such a place

worthless.

all

they did not ask.

But,

narratives

Buddha was

as far as dates go, this is

People in India have never had any -organ for the

TF^.Yr

OF AN ANCIENT BIOGRAPHY OF BUDDHA.

when of things

was
it

and

in the life of

an

especially, year after year rolled

must have appeared

this or that

happen

to

ascetic,

by

was

to ask

this or that

provided any one had ever thought at

such as Buddha

so very uniformly that

them superfluous

When

81

When

word uttered

did
?

of the possibility of

all

such a question arising.*

Special events in the course of his wandering
"with this

and that other teacher, with

the

life,

meetings

and that worldly

memory

potentate, were associated with the

a,uthentic or invented discourse

this

of one or other

stages of his public

first

career, the conversion of his first disciples,

and then again the

end, his farewell address to his followers, and his death, stand
out,

as

may be

readily understood,

most prominent of

graphical fragments, but a biography was compiled from

for the

first

time at a

much

all

in

Thus there were bio-

the foreground of these memories.

them

later period.

Comparatively few are the memoranda preserved in the older

authorities

regarding

the

early

life

of

Buddha, the years

preceding the beginning of his professional career,

it as

ment
was

him

or, to

put

the Indians are wont to do, the period prior to the attainof the

still

Buddhahood, when he had not yet acquired, but

seeking, that saving knowledge, which

the teacher of the worlds of gods and men.

less of these

days than of others,

is

explicable.

much on

of the Church was fixed not so

constituted

That we hear

The

interest

his worldly character

* At a later time, indeed, this question was actually put, and then
obviously there was no embarrassment felt for a moment in answering it.

Then were drawn up those

great

lists

in the sixth, seventh, eighth, etc.,

of what

Bigaudet, "Life of Gaudama," p. IGO,

these later-produced

lists is

obvious,

Buddha had

said

year of his Buddhahood

etc.).

The

when we bear

and done
{e.g.,

vide

utter worthlcssness of
in

mind the absolute

silence of the sacred texts as to matters of chronology.

FORMATION OF TRADITION.

83
as the child

the

''

and heir of the Sakya house,

exaltedj sacred, universal

know what he had

as on the person of

Buddha/'

People desired

uttered from that time forward,

had become the Buddha; behind that vanished the

everything

history of

quite

It

is later

centuries which have built

Buddha with wonders

different

interest in

even the interest in this struggle for the

else,

Buddhahood.*

to-

when he

up a

piled on wonders on a scale

from older times, and which

first

devoted

themselves with special zeal to surrounding the form of the

blessed child with the extravagant creations of a boundless
imagination.

Let us now examine the

tradition,

meaning, of course, the

older tradition continued in the sacred Pali texts, to define

accurately of what kind are the fabulous elements contained
in them.
It is obvious that the appearance of the

world on earth, must have presented

mind

deliverer of the-

the believer's

itself to

as an event of incomparable importance

to the Indian,,

who was and is accustomed, in the most trivial incidents of

his own daily life, to pay attention to concomitant omens,
would have been the most impossible contingency

it

if

the-

conception of the exalted, holy, universal Buddha had not

* Moreover, there

is

in tLe external form of the Siitra,

and Vinaya texts

a point -which essentially contributes to explain this receding of narrativesof

Buddha's youth.

exceptions,

Inasmuch

as

these texts,

-with

inconsiderable

do not contain arbitrary communications, couched in

freely chosen form, but always an instructive speech of

ordinance prescribed by Buddha for his disciples,

in his career as

Buddha

it

Buddha

was only occurrences

-which could be chosen for the introductory

narratives on the occasions "which called for these utterances of

his

youth could only be touched on

putting in his
his life.

or an

in

Buddha
by
;

occasional allusions or

own mouth communications regarding

that period of

;:

DIFFERENT GROUPS OF LEGENDARY ELE3IENTS.

83

been already announced by the mightiest wonders and

the whole universe had not joined in

signs,

and

if

An

inconceivably bright flash of light pierces through the

universe

the worlds quake

the four divinities,

celebration.

its

who have

The birth

keep guard over the pregnant mother.

by wonders

in

no

less a degree.

attended

is

The Brahmans possessed

of bodily signs which import good and bad fortunes to

the infant

Buddha must obviously bear on

auspicious

marks

in

"

if

he choose a worldly

world

ho

if

monarch
he

life,

renounce

the

lists

men

person

his

the highest perfection, in

perfection as a world-ruling

in

combine to

their protection the four quarters of the heavens,

the

all

same

the soothsayers declare

will

become a

world, he

will

ruler of the

become the

Buddha."

We need not
description

cite

any more fabulous embellishments of

their character cannot

be mistaken. As

to the Christian Church an obvious necessity, that

and

excellence, which the

prophets of the

this

seemed

it

all

power

Old Testament

possessed, must have dwelt with enhanced glory in the person

of Jesus,

it

was in the same way natural that the Buddhists

should attribute to the founder of their Church

all

wonders-

and perfections, which, in the Indian mind, were attributed to

the most powerful heroes and sages.

on which Indian intuitions

to an all-powerful hero

rest,

Among

the foundations,

regarding that which pertains

and conqueror of the

w^orld, the ancient

nature-myth, the original signification of which had long since

ceased to be understood,
is

is

obviously not wanting

not a matter of surprise,

which were mentioned in the

as indicating the nobility of

many media
before,

if

circles of

monks and

Buddha, comes

to be connected with that

among

and thus

one and another of the

it

ti'aits

lay-disciples

at last

through

which many centuries^

the herdsmen and peasants of the Vedic age,.

FORMATION OF TRADITION.

S4:

aud much
Indian,

earlier still

among

the

German

and

Grecian,

common

associated in song with the sun-hero, the

earthly heroism.

This

is

forefathers of thei

had

fancy

popular

stocks,

beaming type of

the element

all

which

of propriety

cannot be denied to Senart's theory of the solar Buddha.

As
be

regards another group of legendary touches,

in part

The elements of

memories.

mentioned

hitherto

from

the

more important and more prominent

shall

special

may

well

now have

to treat,

theological

regarding Buddha

the* tradition

flowed

Buddha^s all-overpowering might and

we

it

doubted whether we have not in them historical

universal

belief

but the

nobility,

in

much
which

characteristics, of

have their origin partly in the

predicates

Buddhist speculation

which

affirmed of the holy, knowing, Delivered One, and partly in

the external events which regularly occurred in the

life

of

the Indian ascetic, and which consequently, according to an

drawn by legend, cannot have been

inference so naturally

wanting in the

What makes

life

of Buddha, the ideal ascetic.

Buddha a Buddha

He

his knowledge.

is,

as his

name

iudicates,

does not possess this knowledge, like

a Christ, by virtue of a metaphysical superiority of his nature,

surpassing everything earthly, but he has gained
strictly speaking,

same time the

won

Jina,

struggle for the

it

by a

i.e.,

the conqueror.

Buddhahood must

it,

or,

The Buddha

struggle.

The

more
at the

is

history of the

therefore

precede the

history of the Buddha.

an enemy, a victor the vanquished.

The

Prince of Life must be opposed by the Prince of Death.

We

Battle involves

have seen how the Indian mind

identity of the

world.

We

kingdom

call

Yedic poem of

to

liad settled for itself the

of death, and the

mind the

ISTaciketas, to

role of the

whom

kingdom
Death-god

he pi-omises long

of this
in

the

life

and

HISTORY OF ATTAINMENT OF DELIVERING KNOWLEDGE.

might abandon the

fulfilment of all desire, in order tliat he

pursuit of knoTvledge.

So

also

85

there comes to the ascetic

seeking Buddhahood, as his opponent, Mara, Death, the lord of

all

worldly desire, which indeed

Mara

death.

follows his

enemy

is

nothing else than veiled

step

by

and watches

step,

moment of weakness to overpower his soul. No such

moment comes. Amid many failures and desperate fights
for a

Buddha remains throughout unshaken.

within,

When

he

is

on the point of reaching the saving knowledge,

the purchase of

all his efforts,

Mara approaches him

him by tempting words from the path

Buddha

attains the

to divert

In vain.

of salvation.

knowledge "that bringeth salvation " and

the supreme peace.

We

choose the narrative of this last struggle and victory,

to illustrate

by

it

the difference between Senart's and our

conception of the nature of these legends.

How

does the primitive Church narrate the history of the

attainment of the knowledge which "maketh free

''

What are

the real facts of the occurrence as accepted by them

and only

this, that

Buddha, passing through a

This,

series of stages

of esctasy, sitting under a tree through the three watches of a

certain night, obtains the threefold sacred knowledge, that his

soul becomes free from all sinful taint,

and he becomes partaker

of deliverance with a knowledge of his deliverance.*

These

purely theological elements far transcend in importance, in

the opinion of the primitive Church, the struggle with

Mara

wherever in the sacred Pali texts the attainment of Buddha-

hood

is

described, there

Some few

* Vide references

t The

is

not a word spoken of Mara.

passages in the textsf narrate distinct encounters

to the sacred texts in Excursus II.

texts compiled in a verse

which the legendary element

as

form are here

especially referred to, in

compared with the purely dogmatic always

FORMATION OF TRADITION.

86
of

Buddha with Mara sometimes they

:

are referred to a timo

not long before and sometimes to a time not long after the

Mara endeavours by

attainment of Buddhahood.

seductive

speeches to turn him from the path of holiness; mention

also

made

when

of temptresses, who,

renew the

all for lost,

fight

the daughters of Mara,

named

Buddha remains unmoved

and Pleasure.

Desire, Unrest,

is

up

the tempter has given

in

Lis peaceful quietude.

These are the unadorned representations of the primitive

Church.

The simple thoughts, from which these have been

constructed, are,

it

seems, so very evident, that

it

would be no

easy task even for the keen intellect of Senart, to show that
this is the old

myth

of the victory of the sun-hero over the

Senart does not even attempt

cloud-demons.

this,

but he

leaves this cast of the legends wholly untouched.

He
into

bases his criticism instead on that romance of wonders

which the grotesque tastes of

this primitive story.*

Buddha

later ages

sits

have transformed

down under

knowledge with the firm resolve not to

the tree of

rise until

attained the knowledge which " maketh free."

advances with his forces

with

fiery darts,

downpour

hosts of

amid the whirl

demons

his position

Whoever wishes
mythological
struggle of

to give

fancies,

him (Buddha)

of hurricanes, darkness,

of floods of water, to drive

Buddha maintains

assail

unmoved

at last the

comes more into the foreground, than

much

in the prose Sutras.

tree;

demons
of

must reproduce the history

in

and the

him from the

a complete picture

Buddha and the demons

he has

Then Mara

fly.

Senart's
of

this

greater detail

Vide references

in Excursus II.

* The chief sources of this later form of the legend, wholly foreign to
the sacred Pali texts, are the commentary of the " Jataka" (i, p. 69, seq.)

and the "Lalita Vistara"

(cap. 19, seq.).

HISTORY OF ATTAINMENT OF DELIVERING KNOWLEDGE.

than I can make up

my mind

to

do for

tlils

87

wild and coarse

tableau of miracles and sensations, wholly foreign to ancient

I shall confine myself to the discussion of a

Buddhism.

few

characteristic points.

The

it,

i.e.,

naturally,

Mara

sits.

this place does not

belong to you,

is

determined to

will defeat his resolve not

he

The demon

he has attained deliverance.

rise until

-to

"

under which Buddha

tree

him from

drive

it

Thus, Senart concludes, the true object of the fight

the

is

Mara Buddha has taken possession

Contesting with him the possession of the tree and

The

.tree.

of

says

belongs to me.''

it.

tree belongs to

contesting with him the possession of deliverance are the same.

How
tie

does the tree come to have this importance

which connects the possession

of the

What

is

the

knowledge that brings

deliverance, to which Buddha's efforts are directed, with the

possession of the tree

The Veda mentions the heavenly

strikes

down the mythology

;

tree

which the lightning

of the Fins speaks of the heavenly

oak which the sun-dwarf uproots.

Yama, the Vedie god

of

death, sits drinking with bands of the blessed under a leafy

-tree,

Saga HeFs place

just as in the northern

at the root of

is

the ash Yggdrasill.

The

tree

of the

the cloud-tree

is

and

is stored,

Veda

it is

in the clouds the heavenly fluid

guarded by the dark demons

fight their great battle for the clouds

they contain

which

is

hymns

of

Buddha with the

In the cloud-battle the ambrosia (amrita),

in the clouds, is

Buddha

won

the enlightenment

and

deliver-

wins, are also called an ambrosia (amrita)

the kingdom of knowledge

amritam).

in the

and the ambrosia which

this is the identical battle

hosts of Mfira.

ance, which

the powers of light and the powers of darkness

is

the land of immortality (padaiu

FORMATION OF TRADITION.

88
This

Senart's explanation.

IS

"Would this acute scholar have ventured

him the old account

composed

solely of

If

had he had before

dogmatic elements such as the description

of the four ecstasies

Buddha

it,

of the occurrence under the tree which is

and the threefold knowledge attained by

he had been aware that Buddha and Mara

older texts do not fight under the tree,

That the only reference we hear

of,

made

to the

tree

knowledge, the supposed cloud-tree and ambrosia-tree,

Buddha

that

sat at its foot,

when he

Buddha^s time, where

our days do

ascetics,

vagrant folk,

sit,

who have no

is this,

Where

we cannot

cloud-trees which are shattered

sheltering roof, and

We

are not

all

com-

forget that, besides these

by lightning or uprooted by
method of Senart's criticism,^
Saddharmapuuda Eika " (p. 247,

It is exceedingly characteristic of the

that he quotes a text of the stamp of the "

note

even down to

else

but at the foot of a tree ?t

parative mythologists and

of

into those trains of

fell

thought, which led him to the highest knowledge ?*

else sat in India in

in the

less for the tree

still

1),

to

knowledge

show the
;

inseparability of the notions,

Buddha and

a tree of

he should have quoted the sacred Pali texts to show the

complete non-essentiahty of the

tree.

t Buddha tarries seven days at the foot of the banyan tree Ajapala
(" Mahavagga," i, 2 and 5), and for the same length of time at the foot of
the Mucaliuda tree

way from Benares

to

of a tree in a grove.

(i,

3)

and of the Eajayatana

Uruvela he leaves the

Similarly the

monk Kassapa

Ananda, urged by Buddha to leave him alone

down

at the foot of a tree not far off "

In a description of the

ascetic

" Culahatthipadopamasutta

")

at the foot of a tree,

" Cullavagga,"

vi, 1, 1.)

On

the

at the foot

Cullavagga,"

xi, 1, 1).

for awhile, " set himself

("Maha ParinibbauaS.,"p.24).

exerting himself,

He

4).

it

is

said (in the

dwells in a lonely spot, in a grove,,

grotto, in a

under an open sky, on a heap of

tarrying of ascetics imder trees

be any necessity.

("

(i,

down

on a mountain, in a cave, in a mountain

burial-place, in the wilderness,

(Cf. also

"

tree

street to sit

The number

may be

straw.""

of these instances of the

miiltiplied

ad

lihiinm, if there

HISTORY OF ATTAINilENT OF DELIVERING KNOWLEDGE.

89-

the sun-dwarf, there grow other trees also on the earth, and

we go
latter,

which

so far as to surmise, that the trees, at the foot of

Gotama Buddha was wont

much

less

and meditate, belonged

to sit

to this-

deep-meaning but more widely extended,

class

of trees.

Nor are we more

successful in the effort to persuade ourselves

of the mythical character of the remaining elements of the narrative,* than we have been in the case of the Tree of Knowledge.
The demons, who make an assault on Buddha, fling mountains

of
*'

fire,

trees with their roots, glowing masses of iron,

as if these so evident

rain,

and obvious symbols did not

and

suffice,,

darkness and lightning complete the picture, and figure

* But not so regarding the mythological significance of the person of

Mara

himself as a thunder-demon.

in order to explain so simple

It

is

entirely misleading to call up,

and transparent a conception as that of

Mara, the whole host of Vedic mythology and symbolical conceptions

from the first-born Kama (Love) to the airy Agni and the demon Namuci.

The

and prevailing idea which

original

finds expression in the personifica-

name

enough
But that the prince of
death is at the same time the ruler of the kingdom of earthly pleasure,
the tempter to this pleasure, and is thus connected with Kama, is
tion of
("

Mara,

Mara, in

is

loc.

that of death

Antaka

;" cf.

the

indicates this clearly

antea, p. 58, note).

adequately accounted for in the course of development, which pre-

Buddhist as well as Buddhist speculation has taken {vide antea,

Least of all can
gives to

named

it

Mara, the

in the

evil

enemy, the

Veda as an enemy of Indra

also observes in a discussion

The nature of the

whom

on Big V.

as

14, 13

draw mythological inferences

who would venture

logical theories as to the origin of the

the Buddhist

Mara with

Zoroaster) of the Avesta

after his

If

we speak

to build thereon

Faust legend ?

The

the Mairya (epithet of Ahriman,

is

xii, 7, 3, 4,

papma vai Namucih).

do not flow from the nature of the being

they are used, but are purely secondary.

Titanic nature o a Faust,

and

(the " (^atapatha Br,"

viii,

case forbids us seeking to

from such uses of names

of

p. 58).

when Buddhist poetry occasionally

name of jN'amuci, a demon, who is

cause astonishment,

considerately waived

example by Darmesteter

("

Ormazd

by Senart
et

of the

mytho-

identity of

who

(p.

Ahriman,"

tempts-

244, note)
p. 202),

90

FORMATION OF TBADITION.

as the most characteristic touches of the whole scene.''*

does seem to us as

if

these very touches

nothing can be

nothing presents

more natural or necessary

the fancy as

itself to

for the assaults of

bands of demons

than the accessories of lightning, thunder and darkness. f

those spirits also,

are

magic

island,

by whom Caliban

thunder-demons

The vanquished Mara

and precisely

-and feet,J
Vritra,

whom

the Veda

Mara

is

''

is

compared

in the

trunk without hands

to a

same way the cloud-demon

and handless."

But what

is

is

styled in

thus said of

nothing more than one in a hundred similes used

regarding him, and therefore means very

more, can one not lose hands and feet

beside the battle of the thunder-storm

But enough

may

Or

tormented on the

is

Indra crushes with his thunderbolt,

footless

It

characteristic than

less

little;

and, further-

any other battles

in

of these vagaries of the sunshine theory.

say in a word

the components which go to

make up

We
the

we may

history of the attainment of the Buddhahood, and,

add, countless similar narratives in the legends of Buddha, arc

not to be explained by reference to the mythology of the Yeda,

and

still

less to that of the

Edda, but by the^ogmatics of the

Buddhist doctrine of deliverance and the external conditions

and habits of Buddhist monastic

One

class of doubts,

fully resolved

by

this

* Senart,

first

It

is,

is

evident, cannot

be

method of explanation.

In each indi-

we have succeeded

showing that

vidual instance in which

life.

however, and this

in

p. 200.

may have

perhaps, possible that one or other of these touches

received

its

concrete form in the fables of the battle of the clouds,

and may thenceforward have kejit its place before the fancy
would do very little for Senart's theory.
X Senart, p. 202.

but that

EXTERNAL SURROUNDINGS OF BUDDHA'S

91

LIFE.

occurrences narrated of Buddha are frequent, or even constant,

events in

one

of Indian ascetics generally,

tlie life

ceed to reason further in

two

different ways.

have before us credible memoranda,

were wont to take

this course

memoranda before

us,

for,

or,

for

here

may

we

we

see that things

we have not

inasmuch as

pro-

Either, here

credible

course

this

is

the

regular course which things took in the period succeeding

Buddha^s death, the legends of Buddha's

life

must have been

concocted so as to suit this precise course of events and no

other.

To decide with
is

certainty which of the

proper to pursue in each case

He who

is

two

lines of reasoning

absolutely impossible.

has arrived at this stage of the investigation must

unreservedly acknowledge the limits which are here placed to

inquiry, or, at all events, he

mind

must acquiesce

in

making up

or the other of the two alternatives, and, in doing so,

be impossible, of course, quite to exclude the

:subjective feeling

If

his

as to the gi'eater or less degree of probability in the one

from the momenta determining

we now abstract from

indicated,

it

will

momentum

the traditions those of the categories

which are wholly unhistorical, or are

at least sus-

we then have left

regarding Buddha a thread

pected to be of unhistorical character,

the very pith of these stories
facts,

may

of

this decision.

which we may claim to be a perfectly

reliable,

though,

as
of
it

be, a very meagre, historical acquisition.

We

know about Buddha's

family from which he came.

early death of his mother,

the boy.

name

and about her

about his parents, the

sister,

who

We know a number of other facts which

the several parts of his

ceivable,

native country and about the

We know

even in India,

life.

if

of the son of the

It

bi"ought

up

extend over

would indeed be quite incon-

the Church which called itself by the

Sakya house had, within a century

FORMATION OF TRADITIOK.

92
after

liis

death, ceased

to

memory

legend, a correct

preserve, even

though veiled in

of the most important

names

of the^

persons round Buddha, and of certain leading public events

his

Who

life.

would admit

it

possible for the

memory

in

of

Joseph and Mary, of Peter and John, of Judas and Pilate,

of Nazareth

and Golgotha,

to

be forgotten or supplanted by

inventions in the early Christian Churches of the

Here,

if

anywhere,

Or are we

it is fair

in error,

and

is

century

?'

to accept simple facts as such.

that criticism in the right which

even here discovers gross deception

name of Buddha^s
The abode of the

first

Must not even the

native town, Kapilavatthu, excite suspicion

Kapila, the mythical primitive philosopher

Why should we

Kapila, the founder of the Sankhya school ?*

not seek, aye, and find, arcana of mythology, allegory and

literary history in

such a name

Especially

when

of opinion,

as Senart is,t that the very existence itself of such a

town

is

not guaranteed to us on any satisfactory evidence whatever.

Is the evidence really unreliable

who

The Chinese

pilgrims,,

travelled in India in the fifth

and seventh centuries after

saw the ruins of the town. J

But, interposes Senart, no

Christ,

* The alleged derivation of Buddhism from the Sankhya philosophy

many sketches of this as well as of other

know nothing better to say on this subject than what
Max Miiller has already said (" Chips from a German Workshop," i, 226):

plays an important part in

philosophies.

"

We have looked in vain for any definite

of Kapila, as

known

similarities

to us in the Sankhyasutras,

between the system

and the Abhidarma, or

the metapliysics of the Buddhists."

t P. 512, Cf. p. 380, sec, and also Weber, " Indische Literatur
Geschichte " (2 Auflage), p. 303. Senart finds, as was to be expected, in
Kapilavatthu, " la

J It

is

much

ville, la fortresse

to

de I'atmosphere."

be regretted that General Cunningham,

when he

travelled the districts concerned for his archaeological researches, allowed

himself to be so far led astray by his geographical theories, which are on

this point decidedly erroneous, as to look for the ruins of Kapilavatthu.

EXTERNAL SUBROVNDINGS OF BUDDHA'S

one can

tell

by looking

at the ruins wlietlier the

they belong, was called Kapilavatthu.

assuredly no one can

some weight

to

tell

local traditions

this case also to the

statements and

regarding the

the

map

connected
still

The strongest
state,

on the one hand, the occasional direct

indirect

hints

the

of

sacred

works

Pali

of the town, and, on the other hand, the

site

who looked

route of the pilgrims

on

which

what the Chinese pilgrims

-confirmation, however, of

in the fact that,

to

monuments

extant in the time of those Chinese pilgrims.

lies

town

Unfortunately, most

look, although there is always

be attached to the

and in

Avith the place,

by a

93

LIFE.

for

of India, coincide exactly

it,

if

both be traced

in addition to this,

at the very place where, according to this evidence, Buddha^s

home must have

been, there

is

the present day, bears the same

a small stream which, even in

name

(Rohini) as

was borne by

a stream in the territory of the Sakyas often mentioned in

the Buddhist traditions.

I hold, stronger indications

it

is

impossible to expect of an early demolished town in a country

in

which systematic excavations have not yet been made.*

Buddha's mother Maya

become a mark

To

Senart, Maya,

iu a

wrong place a
would be most
;

texts

{i.e.,

who

dies a

after the birth of

fresh search in the regions clearly indicated

"VVlien Senart feels the

want of a

her

by the

positive authority for the existence

mind the

literature, especially the great epic

epics,

few days

desirable.

of E^apilavatthu, he has in his

what the

''miraculous power'') has also

because of her significant name.

for criticism

poems.

silence of the

Whoever

which were composed in the more westerly

and the subject-matter

of

which

lies chiefly iu

Brahmanical

considers at once
jjarts of

India

the more westerly lands,

do yield for the geography of the east of the peninsula, and what they do
not yield, will find their silence very explicable in

tlie

matter of this

certainly not very important, and moreover very early destroyed,

Kapilavatthu.

town of

FORMATION OF TRADITION.

94
son,

is

the morning vapour, wliich vanishes before the rays of

the sun. Weber,*

who thought

discovered in Maya's

Maya

name

at

an

earlier period that

a reference to the costeic

he had

power

Sankhya philosophy, has himself revoked

in the

of

this

opinion elsewhere at a later period, remembering that the

notion of the

Maya

the Vedanta system

belongs, not to the Sankhya school, but to

may be added, that every philosophicoMaya is wholly foreign to the ancient

it

mystical idea of the

Buddhist texts throughout, and consequently the name r of

Buddha's mother cannot have been invented out of deferenceto any such idea.f

We must
We believe

admit that we place greater reliance on tradition.

town of Kapilavatthu had once an

that the

existence, that

Buddha passed

name

sacred texts

and that the

his youth there,

mother Maya, not because

his

of

any

mythical or allegorical secrets, but because she was so called.

Having unfolded our estimate

we now proceed

* " Literaturgescliichte,"
i,

of the value of the tradition,

to sketch the history of

I.e.

Cf.

Buddha's

life.

Koppen, " Die Eeligion des Buddha,"

76.

t Even Maya's

sister,

Maliaprajapati, does not escape the fate, that

rurious secrets have been supposed to be veiled in her significantly

sounding name.
*

(Senart, p. 339, note

1.)

Senart translates PrajTipati

creatrix," not Tvithout himself seeing that this

matical rule.

Did the variante Prajavati

(in

is

contrary to gi'am-

the " Lai. Vist.") rightly

noticed by him, not remind the distinguished Pali scholar, that the

does not

mean "creatrix"

in descendants?"

at

all,

word

but stands for Prajavati, "prolific

In Pali pajapati (^prajavati) is a very common

See Childcrs, sub. verb, and " Mahavagga," i, 14>

appellation for " wife."

1,2;

X, 2, 3, 8.

The meaning of the proper name

of a harmless nature.

is

therefore quite

CHAPTER

II.

Buddha's Youth.

The noble boy Siddhattha was born

in the country

tribe of the Sakyas (''The Powerful^')

middle of the sixth century before Christ.

name which he seems

this

are other

appellations.

and

the-

somewhere about the

Better

known than

to have borne in the family circle,

As

a preaching

monk wandering

through India he was to his contemporaries " The ascetic

Gotama "

this

surname the Sakyas had,

in accordance with

the custom of Indian noble families, borrowed from one of the

ancient Vedic bard-families
of

all

Indians

who accepted

to us

no name for this renowned

so familiar as that with which the disciples

is

his faith have expressed his authoritative position

as the overthrower of error, as the discerner of the truth which

gives deliverance, the

''the

name Buddha,

i.e.,

"the enlightened,"

knower."

We

can point out the native land of Buddha on the

map

of

India with tolerable accuracy.

Between the Nepalese lower range of the Himalaya and the

middle part of the course of the Rapti,* which runs through the
north-eastern part of the province of Oudh, there stretches

a strip of

level, fruitful land,t

some

thirty English miles broad^

* This river often appears in the Buddhist literature as Aciravati.

t The Chinese pilgrim Hiouen Thsang (about GoO a.c.) says of

Buddha's native state (St. Julien's Translation, ii, 130): "La tcrre
est grasse et fertile

n'gulieres
fiont

les

les saisons

douces et faciles."

scmailles et les recoltes ont lieu a des epoqucs

ne se derangcnt jamais

les

moeurs des habitants

BUDDHA'S YOUTH.

96

well-watered by the numerous streams that issue from tho

Himala.yas.

Here lay the not very extensive

territory over

On

which the Sakyas claimed supremacy and dominion.

east

the Rohini separated their lands from their neighbours

name which

this day this stream has preserved the

On

more than two thousand years ago.*

it

the
;

to

bore

the west and south

the rule of the Sakyas extended quite up, or nearly

so, to

the

E-apti.f

Scarcely anywhere does the appeai'ance of a country depend

so completely on the activity or sloth of its inhabitants, as in

these parts of India adjoining the Himalayas.

send

forth year

by year

The mountains

inexhaustible volumes

of

whether

for the benefit or for the destruction of the

depends

solely

on man's

activity.

water

country

Tracts of land which in

swampy wilderness,
may by a few years of

times of unrest and thriftlessness are a

the

homes

of pestilential vapours,

regular and steady industry pass into a state of high and

prosperous culture, and,

return

still

more quickly

if

the causes of decline set in anew,

to the state of a wilderness.

In the time of Sakya sovereignty this land must have been

highly cultivated, a condition which

again attained under

it

the government of the great emperor Akbai*, and which, after

long periods of protracted disquiet and sore decay,

now beginning once more

* The Eohini
]j)nglisli

falls

into

it is

just

under the beneficent

to approach

the Eapti near Goruckpore, some hundred

miles north of Benares.

t The territory of the Sakyas included,

as far as

it

appears, accordiui;

to the present divisions of the land, approximately the following circles

(pergunnahs)

Bansce,

belonging

to

the

Goruekpore

district

and the western half of perguunah HaAcli.

Einayakpore,

For an exact

estimate of the extent of this territory the data at hand are obviously
uusufBcient

Yorkshire.

I might quite roughly estimate

it

at nine-tenths the area of

LA^'D OF

hand

THE SAKYAS.

of the British administration^

1)7

which

on sup-

intent

is

plying the land with the necessary working power.*

Between

forests of sal trees yellow rice-fields spread

tall

out in uniform richness.

The

rice plant,

which the Buddhist

texts here mention, constitutes to-day, as in ancient times, the

chief crop of this country, where the water of the rainy season

and of inundations remains long standing on the rich

the low lying

flats,

that excessively troublesome artificial irrigation which

where necessary

for rice.f

Between the

rice-fields

and there place

villages in the days of the

to-day, hidden

among

of

is

else-

we may here

Sakyas such as exist

the rich, dark -green foliage 'of

and tamarinds, which surround the

ground

soil

and renders in great measure superfluous

village site.

mangos

In the back-

of the picture, over the black masses of the mountains

of Nepal, rise the towering snow-capt

summits of the Hima-

layas.

The kingdom

of

the

Sakyas was

one

of

those

small

governments, a number of which had maintained

aristocratic

themselves on the outskirts of the greater Indian monarchies.

We

shall

not be far astray

we

if

picture

to

ourselves the

Sakyas as the forerunners in some fashion of such Eajput

families as have in later times,
their

by

the aid of

ground against neighbouring

* Cf. the descriptions of Buclianan,

1810 (Montgomery Martin,

ii,

who

rajas.

armed bands, held

:}:

Of these greater

travelled in the country about

292, 402, etc.), with A. Swinton's "

Manual

of Statistics of the district of Goruckpore " (Allahabad, 1861), and the

new official " Statistical description and historical account of the

Gorakhpore district" (Allahabad, 1880), pp. 287-330.

t Inie>' alia, the importance of rice cultivation to the Sakyas is evident
from the name of Buddha's father, "pure rice," probably also from the
otherwise seemingly fictitious names of his four brothers
strong-rice, white-rice,

clear-rice,

and immeasurable-rice.

X An instructive pictiu'c of these occurrences is given by Sir W. H.

Slecman, in his " Journey through the Kingdom of Oude," for inst.
vol.

i,

p. 240.

BUDDHA'S YOUTH.

OS

monarcliies there stood iu closest proximity to the Sakyas, the

powerful kingdom of Kosala (corresponding pretty nearly with

the

Oudh

o to-day), adjoining

it

The

on the south and west.

Sakyas looked on themselves as Kosalas, and the kings of

Kosala claimed certain rights over them, though probably
merely honorary rights
the

Sakya-land

later

on they are said to have brought

wholly within

power, and to

their

have

exterminated the ruling family.*

But

though the Sakyas

occupied

but

position in respect of military and political

an

insignificant

power among

their

neighbours, the haughty spirit which prevailed in their ancient

family was characteristic of the Sakya line.

Brahmans who

had entered the council chamber of the Sakyas could

to the

little

notice which these worldly nobles,

their nobility

testify

who derived

from the king Okkaka (Ikshvaku), renowned in

song, were inclined to take of the claims of spiritual dignataries.

Of the wealth

also

Thoy

frequently.

of the Sakyasf our authorities speak

talk of

them

as

"a

family blessed with

prosperity and great opulence," and mention the gold which

they possess, and which the land they rule produces.

chief source of their wealth

* The Kosala king to

whom

was undoubtedly

this act is ascribed, is

of Buddha's contemporary and patron, Pasenadi.

The

rice cultivation

Yidudabha, the son

Though

later legends

represent the Sakyas as having been destroyed during Buddha's life-time,

know, supported by any proof contained in the

Moreover the history of Buddha's relics (" Mahiipariu,"

this is not, as far as I

sacred Pali texts.

Sakya dynasty survived Buddha.

must not be forgotten that the value of these statements
inasmuch as the object was to represent
is not quite indisputable;
Buddha's separation from his kin, as being, from a worldly point of view,
S. p. 08) clearly states that the

t Indeed,

it

a very great sacrifice, the wealth

which he renounced must have beea

painted in the strongest colours possible.

the biography of jMahavira, Buddha's

the Jaina sect.

This

is

to be noticed also in

contemporary, the founder of

FAMILY OF THE SAEYAS.

and

tlie

advantageous position of their territory, commercially,

wliich liad

been formed, as

cation between

it

medium

communi-

of

of.

widespread tradition represents Buddlia as having been a

ting's son.

must

were, for a

mountain range and the Gangetic plains,

tlie

cannot have been unavailed

A.

09

At

the head of this aristocratic

certainly have

community there

been some one leading man, appointed,

we know not by what

rules, with the title of king,

scarcely in this case have indicated

position

But the idea that Buddha's

of primus inter pares.

Suddhodana, enjoyed

which can

more than the

this

royal dignity

is

quite

father,

foreign to

the oldest forms in which the traditions regarding the family

are presented to us

rather,

we have nothing more

or less to

contemplate in Suddhodana than one of the great and wealthy

whom

landowners of the Sakya race,

formed

into the

The mother

Her

filled for

later legends first trans-

great king Suddhodana.^'

of the child, Mayji, also a

stock, died soon

boy.

''

seven days,

sister,

it

is

said

member

of the

Sakya

after the birth of

the

Mahapajapati, another wife of Suddhodana,

him the place

of mother.

Traditional story represents with apparent truth that the

young noble passed

his youth in the capital of the

Sakya realm,

Kapilavatthu ("red place," or red earth).*

in

This town,

wholly unknownf to Brahmanical literature, cannot have been

of

much

importance, although in an old Buddhist dialogue

* Montg. Martin,

i,

293, says of Gorackpore district

red colour was observed on

be procured by digging."

tlie

"

No

it is

soil

of a

surface, altliougli earths of this kind

may

This

is

quite sufficient, if

we

consider the

changes caused in the earth's surface by inundations in the course

of more than two thousand years, to explain the

Swinton

(p.

33) mentions

name

Kaj)ilavatthu.

" red spots resembling carbonate of iron,"

in the sand}-- beds under the surface of the yellow earth.

t Antea, note

p. 93.

7*

BUDDHA'S YOUTH.

100

spoken of as a densely populated place, in the narrow streets

and men.

of which were thronging elephants, carts, horses,

We

know

We

scarcely anything of Buddha's childhood.

hear of a step-brother and of a step-sister renowned for her

What was

beauty, children of Mahapajapati.

of age between

them and

their brother,

the difference

not known.

is

In the training of nobles in those lands which were but

Brahmanism, more attention was paid to

slightly attached to

martial exercises than to knowledge of the Veda.

Buddhists

Many

have not attributed Vedic scholarship to their master.

a day may have been passed by the boy out of doors on his
father's estate, indulging in meditations, as

him

to us, in a field

an old text describes

under the cool shade of a fragrant jambu

tree (rose-apple).

Among

the opulent and gentle youth of that age,

indispensable to the comfort of a style of

their dignity, to have three palaces,

life

in

it

was

keeping with

which were constructed to

be occupied by turns corresponding to the changes of winter,

summer, and

rains.

Tradition states that the coming

passed his early years in three such palaces, a

ground

of

which was the

same

scenery,

splendour of which then surrounded, and,

still

life

the

Buddha

the back-

wonderful

unchanged, now

surrounds, the habitations of Indian nobles; shady gardens

with lotus-pools on which the gently waving, gay-coloured

lotus-flowers

gleam

like floating flower beds,

and in the evening

diSuse their fragrance afar, and outside the town the pleasure

grounds to which the walks or elephant-rides

and solitude await the comer,

beneath the shade of

and

tall

far

lead,

where

rest

from the bustle of the town,

and thick foliagcd mango, pipal

sal-trees.

We

are told that the coming

whether to one or several wives

is

Buddha was married

not

known

but

and that he had

a son, Eahula, who afterwards became a member of his religious

CHILDHOOD AND MARRIAGE.

These statements we can

order.

101

regard as concoctions,

tlie less

the more casually and incidentally they meet us in the older

Kahula or of his mother* being there

traditions, the person of

employed neither for didactic purposes nor to introduce pathetic

situations.

If

one takes into account the part which the

obligation of austere chastity plays in the ethical views and

the monastic rules of the Buddhists, he will understand that

had we before us here not

but gratuitous inventions, the

facts

tendency of the fabricators of the history must have been

Buddha

rather to throw a veil over a real existing^ marriaofe of

than to invent one which had no existence.

These scanty traces exhaust

-credible

all

that

concerning Buddha's early

handed down to

is

We

life.

us,

must forbear

asking the question, from what quarter and in what form the

germs

which drove him

of those thoughts entered his soul

change home

for exile

and the plenty

to

of his palaces for the

poverty of a mendicant.

We

can very readily understand how, in the oppressive

monotony

come

of idle ease

directly over

restlessness, the

and satiated enjoyment, there may have

an earnest and vigorous nature a mood of

thirst for a

career

and a struggle

for

the

highest aims, and the despair at the same time to find anything
to assuage that thirst in the

Who

knows

empty world

of transitory pleasui'e.

anything][of the form which these thoughts

may

have assumed in the mind of the youth, and how far the
impulse which pervaded that age, and led
leave

home

for

an ascetic

inner pre-dispositions,

life,

men and women

may have

influenced

him

* Her name appears to have been unknown to

Copious inventions of later times
Cf. Davids'
i,

51.

and

my notes

to

acting from without upon these

first filled

tlie

also

ancient Church.

up these gaps in various ways.

to our English translation of the " MaliAvagga,"

BVDDEA'S TOUTH.

102

We have

one of the

in

how

in bare simplicity,
selves the

a description whicli sIiow&

lioly texts

the early disciples represented to them-

awakening of the fundamental ideas of their

faith in

the mind of their master.

Buddha

speaking to his disciples of his youth, and after

is

he has spoken of the abundance which surrounded him in his

palaces,

he goes on to say

^'With such wealth was I endowed,

within me.

'

A weak-minded,

himself liable to decay and

is

my

Then

such great magnificence did I hve.

everyday man, although he

himself.

power

I also

am

revulsion,

free

Should I

also,

am

not free from the

subject to decay

from the power of old age,

my own

mind,

all

While I thus

that

reflected,

A weak-minded

liable to sickness,

from the power of disease, ^^ and so on

train of thought,

This

my

buoyancy of youth, which

dwells in the young, sank within me.

day man, though he be himself

horror,

feel

I see another in old age

if

would not be becoming to me/

free

he sees another

who am

subject to decay and

and disgust,

disciples, in

if

the horror which he then feels recoils on

of old age.

and am not

is-

not free from the power of old

age, feels horror, revulsion and disgust,

person in old age

and in

disciples,

these thoughts arose

then

and

everyis

not

the same

which has been stated regarding old age and

youth, follows in reference to disease and health, and then in

regard to death and

life.

" While

this passage,

" thus reflected in

which dwells

in

life,

of

for the first

disciples," thus ends

all

that spirit of

life

see illustrated in concrete occurrences,

time and with impressive power the thoughts

old age, disease,

and death crept over the young man,,

healthy and in the freshness of

by some

my

mind,

sank within me."

A later age desired to

how

I,

my

significant

life,

and how he was directed

example to that path which leads away

DEPARTURE FROM HOME.

beyond

tlie

power of

ratlier transferred to

all

tlie

suffering.

youtli of

105

Thus was invented, or

Gotama, a legend

wliicli

narrated o one of the legendary Buddhas of bygone ages

was

the

familiar history of the four drives of the youth to the garden

outside the town, during

which the pictures of the imper-

manence of everything earthly presented themselves to him

one after the other, in the form of a helpless old man, a sick
person, and a dead body; and at last a religious mendicant

with shaven head and wearing yellow garments meets him, a

picture of peace

and of deliverance from

all

pain of imper-

In that way later tradition concocted this narrative

manence.

preparatory to the flight of Gotama from his home.

the early ages

knew

When Gotama

Of all

this

nothing.

left

home

to lead a religious

life,

he was,

according to good tradition, twenty-nine years old.

He must

have been no mean poet in whose hand the history

of this flight grew into that poem, rich in the splendour of

Indian colouring, as

we read

in the later

it

The king's son returns from

books of legends.

that drive during which,

appearance of a religious mendicant, thoughts of a

peaceful renunciation

He

says

me "

which he

" Eiihula*
fetter
is

is

which

When

had come home to him.

his chariot, the birth of a son is

mounts

born to me, a

tries to

strugghng to

announced

fetter has

by the
life

of

he

to him.

been forged for

bind him to the home-life from

A princess, who is standing on

part.

the balcony of the palace, beholds him as he approaches the

city

on

his chariot, diS'using a

of

She breaks

beaming radiance.

out at the sight of him into these words

''
:

Happy

the repose

the mother, happy the repose of the father, happy the

repose of the wife, whose he

is,

such a husband

* In the name Euliula there seems to be an

and moon subduing (darkening) demon.

\"

allusion to

The young
Eahu, the sun

BUBDBA'S TOUTH^

104

man

hears her words and thinks to himself

''

well

might she

say that a blessed repose enters the heart of a mother,

when

she beholds such a son, and blessed repose enters the heart of

But whence comes the repose

a father and the heart of a wife.

which brings happiness to the heart?" And he gives the

answer himself " when the fire of lust is extinguished, when
:

the

and

hatred

of

fire

ambition, error, and

infatuation is

all sins

when

extinguished,

and sorrows are extinguished, then

the heart finds happy repose/^

In his palace the prince was surrounded by beautiful, gailyattired handmaids,

music and dance

and soon

who sought

to dissipate his

but he neither looks upon nor

He wakes up

falls into sleep.

thoughts with
listens to

at night

them,

and sees by

the light of the lamps those dancing-girls wrapt in slumber,

some talking

in their sleep,

some with running mouths, and

repulsive deformities of the body.

he were in a burial-place

a,s

if

if

the house around him

surrounds me," he cried,

the time

come

At

full of

this sight it

was

to

him

disfigured corpses, as

were in flames.

^^alas

me

of

become disarranged and exposed

others again the clothes have

" Alas

distress surrounds

danger

me

Now

go on the great pilgrimage."

Before hastening away, he thinks of his new-born son " I will
is

for

to

see

my

He

child."

goes to his wife^s chamber, where she

is

sleeping on a flower-strewn couch, with her hand spread over

the

Then

head.

child^s

move her hand from

When I
my son."

shall

the thought occurs to him:

head

to clasp

my child,

have become Buddha, I

His trusty steed Kanthaka

thus the prince

flies,

and child and from

for his soul

follows

his

and

seen by no

human

shall return

and see

waiting outside, and

eye,

away from wife

his kingdon, out into the night, to find rest

for the

Mara, the

is

''^If

she will awake.

world and the gods, and behind him

tempter, shadow-like, and watches

till

LEPARTVRE FROM HOME.

percliance a

moment may come, when

105

a thought of lust or

entering the struggling soul, will give him

unrighteousness^

power over the hated enemy.

That

is

now

poetry;

listen to the bare prose, in

older age speaks of the

Gotama, from his home

" The
while

Gotama has gone from home into homelessness,

young, young in years, in the bloom of youthful

ascetic

still

strength, in the first freshness of

and wept, has had

his hair

freedom

xeflected thus, he left his

ascetic

Gotama,

although they shed tears

home

put in another place

a state of impurity

it,

and beard shaved, has put on yellow

garments, and has gone from his

it is

The

life.

although his parents did not wish

Or, as

which an

or rather of the departure of

flight,

is

into homelessness."

" Distressing

in leaving

is life at

home

home,

while he

home."

It is necessary, in the face of the highly coloured poetical

form into which later ages have thrown the history of Buddha's
departure from Kapilavatthu, to remember these unadorned

fragments of the
to

know

little

which older generations knew or desired

of these thinsrs.

After the early

life

home comes

passed at

homelessness, of wandering ascetic

has severed the ties of

home and

eternal blessings lead to success

the period of

Only in his case who

life.

family, can the effort to attain

such was the conception of

that age.

Seven years of inquiry are stated to have passed from the

day when Gotama
realization

left his

native town,

was imparted to him,

Buddha, the

deliverer,

till

till

he

the consciousness of

felt

himself to be the

and the preacher of deliverance to the

worlds of gods and men.

He

trusted himself during this period of seven years at

to the guidance of

two successive

first

spiritual teachers, to find

BUDDHA'S YOUTH.

lOG

what the language of that time termed " the highest state of
sublime repose/^ the " unoriginated^ the Nirvana, the eternal

The

state."

path, in which these teachers directed him, must,

have been grounded on the production of pathological conditions

of self-concentration, such as have in later

Buddhism played a

not unimportant part

by a long-continued

conditions in which,

observance of certain bodily discipline, the

spirit

seeks to divest

concrete subject-matter, of every entity, of every

itself of all

conception, and, as

Then he

is

added, even of conceptionlessness.

teachers

these

left

and

unsatisfied,

travelled

through the land of Magadha until he came to the town of

Uruvela *

An

of

this

thought within myself

a beautiful forest
places,

go

and

mouth

old narrative puts these words into his

when he speaks

wandering

truly this

is

" Then,

disciples,

a charming spot of earth,,

clear flows the river, with pleasant bathing-

fair lie the villages

round about,

to

which one can

here are good quarters for one of high resolve,

who

is

in

search of salvation.'^

Then

many
sat
^^

woods

in the

of Uruvela

Gotama

years in the severest discipline.

is

said to have lived

It is described

how

he-

tongue pressed against his palate, resolutely

there, his

checking, repressing, chastening

the moment,

when

upon him.

It

^'

his aspirations, waiting-

the supernatural illumination should come-

He

comes not.

struggles for a

still

more

perfect performance by imposing the greatest strains on his

physical frame

nourishment.

hood

he holds

his

breath

he

in astonishment at the resolution with

his mortifications, they wait to see will

* Buddha Gaya, south of Patna.

is

there called Phalgu now.

India," p. 457.

denies himself

Five other ascetics arc living in his neighbour-

Cf.

which he pursues

he bo made partaker of

The oft-mentioned

river Neranjara

Cunningham, " Ancient Geography of

EERMIT

lOT

LIFE.

the longed-for enlightenment^ in order that they

may

his disciples the path of deliverance indicated

by him.

body becomes attenuated by

but he finds

self-inflicted pain,

He

himself no nearer the goal.

cannot lead to enhghtenment

sees that self -mortifications

Then his

five

companions

he seems to them to have deserted

cause,

and there appears to be nothing more to hope

him.

So Gotama remains

One

his own.
for or of

alone.

night, the old traditions narrate, the decisive turning-

point came, the

moment wherein was vouchsafed

the certainty of discovery.

named

His

so he takes nourishment again

freely to regain his former strength.

abandon him

tread as

to the seeker

Sitting under the tree, since then,

the Tree of Knowledge, he went through successively

purer and purer stages of abstraction of consciousness, until

the sense of omniscient illumination came over him

in all-

piercing intuition he pressed on to apprehend the wanderings

of spirits in the mazes of transmigration, and to attain the

whence flows the

suffering of the

knowledge

of the sources

world, and

of the path which leads to the extinction of this

suffering.

"
this

When

I apprehended this," ho

moment, "and when

from the

desire, released

of

evil

is

reported to have said of

I beheld this,

my

soul

from the

was released

evil

of earthly

existence, released fi'om the evil of error, released from the

evil of ignorance.

release

extinct

is

In the released awoke the knowledge of

re-birth, finished the sacred course, duty

done, no more shall I return to this world

This

moment

point in his

life

this I

knew."

the Buddhist regard as the great turning-

and

in the hfe of the worlds of

gods and men

::

the ascetic Gotama had become the Buddha, the awakened, the
enlightened.

That night which Buddha passed under the tree

BUDDHA'S YOUTH.

108

of knowledge;* on the banks of the river Neranjara,

is

the

sacred night of the Buddhist world.

Thus the holy text narrates the history

of the inner struggles

of Grotama and his untiring pursuit of knowledge and peace.

Is there

We

any

historical fact in this narrative

are here face to face with a question, on which the

and

analysis of the historical critic is unable to return a clear

bold verdict, a decisive Yes or No.

The character

of the sources does not of itself determine

whether we here have historical fact or legend before

the authorities unquestionable truth

unquestionable romance

mixed up with

is

In

us.

just as

the history of the attainment of

Buddhahood does not bear any

direct traces of being either the

one or the other.

So much

is

even that Buddha had not

clear that, granted

experienced, and had not even professed to have experienced,

something analogous to

among the groups

If

this, still

he was the Buddha,

must

at

the existence of this narrative

of his disciples can be readily understood.

some place and

if

he possessed sacred knowledge, he

at

some

definite

moment have become

the Buddha, have attained that sacred knowledge, and before

this

moment

there must have

been

legend- weaving fancy

a period in

could scarcely have overlooked this conclusion

which the consciousness that ho was

dominated strongly and

* Cunninglaam
(Ficus religiosa) at

(" Arcliteol.

Heports,"

Buddha Gaya,

" The celebrated Bodhi tree

wliicli is

still exists,

still

What

painfully.

5)

i,

but

other branches are barkless and rotten.

as the present

from

his

goal,

can this period of

of

says

tlie

pipal tree

looked upou as being this tree

is

very

large stem, with three branches to the westward,

renewed frequently,

far

pipal

The
is

is

much decayed
still

tree

one

green, but the

must have been

standing on a terrace at

least thirty feet above the level of the surrounding country."

TURNING POINT OF LIFE.

bootless searcli liave been like

of

Buddha had

who expected

At every

109'

step the disciples

to contend against the tendencies of ascetics

to attain quietude through fasting

bodily discipline.

It is

and severe

not surprising that this opposition in

which they felt themselves to be to these tendencies should have

influenced the belief of the early Church regarding Buddha^s

own

previous history

he, too, must, before he

became par-

taker of the imperishable treasure of true deliverance, have

sought for salvation in the mazes of bodily discipline

have surpassed
plished before

must have

that

all

him

in the Avay of

self-mortification,

for himself the fruitlessness

realized

he must

Brahmans and devotees had accomand he

of such a

course, until he at last, turning from the false to the true path,

became the Buddha.

It

is,

a myth

therefore, evident that the narrative concerned

:

the conditions, which suffice to

of such a

myth comprehensible,

possibility

of

make

may be

the concoction

certainly exist.

And

a purely mythical conception gains

this

further

support by the undoubted mythical character of the occurrences

yet to be discussed, which followed

on the attainment of

Buddhahood.

But showing that a thing may be a myth

to showing that

it

is

a myth, and I

am

is

not equivalent

inclined to think that

that which can be urged in favour of an opposite conception

is

by no means without weight.

The coming of such a sudden turning-point

inner

life

corresponds

similar natures
ditions, for

occurrence.

in

too closely with what in

Buddha's
all

times

have actually experienced under similar con-

us not to be inclined to believe

in

such

In the most widely different periods of

the notion of
perfecting

much

itself

revolution or
in

an

histor}^

change of the whole man

one moment meets us in

many forms

110

-BUDDHA'S YOUTH.

a day and hour

must be possible

it

to determine^ in

which

the unsaved and unenlightened becomes a saved and enlightened

man

and

men hope and

if

look for such a sudden, and pro-

bably also violent, breaking through of the soul to the light,

they reahze

it

in fact.

Within the Christian Church we have

the Methodists especially, but not they alone,

mony

who bear

testi-

Furthermore, phenomena of this kind are not

to this.

confined by any means to persons of a vulgar type, living in a

On

dull religious atmosphere.

endowed with the keenest

versatile

power

A flash of

thought, a sudden excitement of

or vivid imagination, or a

moment

breathing-time following on times of internal

morphosed

for

them

for

of tranquil

strife, is

meta-

opening of the heart, or that

into that

by divine omnipotence,

call

which they were consciously or

unconsciously waiting, and which

turn to their whole

with the most

imagination, are especially suscej)tible of

of

such experiences.

warm emotion

the contrary, natures which are

spiritual sensibility,

sufficient

is

to give a

new

life.

In the age of which the sacred writings of the Buddhists

give us a picture, and,

we may add with

probability,

in

Buddha's own time, the belief in a sudden illumination of the

soul, in the fact of

in one

an internal emancipation perfecting

moment, was universally prevalent

itself

people looked for

the " deliverance from death," and told one another with

beaming countenance that the deliverance from death had

been found

for salvation

people asked
is

how long

able to attain his goal,

it

was

till

one striving

and gave one another to

understand, with and without figure or parable, that of course

the day and hour, in which the fruit of immortality will be

given to man, are not in his power, but

promised to his follower

'^

that,

after a short time that for

if

still

the Master

he trod the right path,

which noble youths leave their

w
TURNING POINT OF LIFE.
lead a pilgrim

liomes to

relisrious effort,

yet in this

life

Ill

the highest achievement

life,

of

would be vouchsafed to him, that he would

apprehend the truth

itself,

and see

it

face to

This visionary grasp of truth some pursued by morti-

face/'
fication,

by abstraction of the mind, pushed

others

to the

utmost limit and accompanied by long-jDrotracted retention

body

of the

in fixed postures, all waiting the

moment

in which

the attainment of their aim would be clearly realized by them

When

with absolute certainty.

any one came to regard his

natural state as impermanent and dark, that to which he

and which he, therefore, expected

aspired,
realize,

finally to actually

could not but appear to him to be a condition of purer

internal illumination and self-knowledge, and with this con-

pure

of

dition

consciousness
intuition,
"\Ve

of

his

was

illumination

internal

own

power

to

look,

combined

the

by visionary

through the whole concatenation of the universe.

can scarcely doubt that such a

mode

of viewing things

among religious inquirers at Buddha's time. Whohome and became a mendicant did so looking for
his
ever left
the coveted fruit of enlightenment. May we not also surmise

prevailed

that similar expectations

he

vrlien

left his

filled

native town

the heart of the Sakya youth,

?

That he then experienced

within himself those struggles, those combats between hope

and doubt,

of which the history of those

who have paved nt

much to say

paths for religious feeling and thought have so

That

after periods of intense mental,

ano-uish there arose in

him

and why not also bodily,

at a particular

moment

the feeling

of clearer rest and internal certainty, and he laid hold on this

as the longed-for illumination, as a token of deliverance

That he thenceforward
called

by

felt

come

himself to be the Buddha, the one

a universal law to be a follower of the

Buddhas of

BUDDEA'S YOUTH.

112

bygone

and determined

ages,

which had been imparted

disciples, to

to bring to others the blessing"^

him

was anything

If the process

followed that

to

Buddha

whom

like

this_, it

at a later time

cannot but have

communicated

to

the

he pointed out the path to holiness, these

inner experiences also, through which he was conscious of

having himself attained his goal

these communications

may have

and though the memory of

received in the Church in the

course of time a stamp of scholastic dogmatism, yet their

original character

sense

it is

must always have shone through.

quite possible that this narrative

may

In this

cover actual

fact.

The

historical inquirer cannot create certainties

clusion, or refrain

Tjorper

let

from coming to a conclusion, as he thinks

me be

allowed, for

that, in the narrative of

BuddLa, there

is

where there

Let each individual come to a con-

are only potentialities.

really

how

my

part, to declare

the Sakya youth

an element of

historical

my

belief

became the

memory.

CHAPTER

III.

I
Beginning op the Teacher's Career.

With

this decisive turning-point begins in our authorities

a long-connected narrative.*

This gives us a picture of

the early Church represented to itself Buddha's

appearance, the winning of the

over the

first

first converts;,

They were

opponents.

still

and the triumph

from thinking of

far

an attempt to delineate a continuoas sketch of Buddha^s

but these

first

days of his public

were invested with an especial

of his

life

life,

interest,

and therefore

own

Who

this part

for the narrative

bears unmistakably the stamp of high antiquity

tradition.

life,

as well as his last days,

has already in very ancient times

form of a fixed

how

public

first

assumed the

has not experienced in his

case that in long, monotonous periods of time, in

which

reminiscences float promiscuously and blur one another, the

early beginnings, the days of freshness

usually preserve themselves clear in the

We cannot read the

and self-adjustment,

memory ?

beginning of the narrative referred

without calling to mind the story in our gospels.

before

He

There

to-

Jesus,,

begins openly to teach, spends forty days fasting in

the wilderness, " and

was tempted of Satan

* "Maliavagga,"

i,

1-24 (pp. 1-41 of

my

and

He was

Edition).

with.

BEGINNING OF THE TEACHER'S CAREER.

114

the wild beasts

Buddha

and the angels ministered unto Him."

So

before he sets out to propagate his doctrine,

also,

remains four times seven days* fasting in the neighbourhood

of the tree of knowledge, " enjoying the happiness of deliver-

The idea which

ance."

underlies this

after a severe struggle the victory has

readily understood

is

been won

that the victor, before he betakes himself to

it is

new

natural

conflicts,

should pause to enjoy what he had won, that the delivered,

before he preaches deliverance to others, should himself taste
its

happiness.

Buddha spends

the

under the sacred tree

seventh

day,

he

seven days, wrapt in meditation,

first

Daring the night following the

itself.

causes

mind

his

pass

to

through

the

concatenation of causes and effects, from which the pain of

existence

arises

" From ignorance come

from conformations comes consciousness "

conformations ;t

and so

on through

* The oldest form of the tradition in the " Mahavagga." Later narratives

The

give seven times seven days.

Buddha

at the

oldest tradition specifically states that

end of the seventh day went from the tree of knowledge

to the fig-tree Ajapala (" tree of the goat-herds

The
explain away

here inserts three periods of seven days.

Buddhagosha is naturally anxious

the two narratives.

himself
first

down

to rest.

" It

as

is

to

when one

Thereby

it is

says

")

the later narrative

the difEerence between

after

he has eaten, he lays

not implied that he

convey

So here

after dinner-time
also it is not

he

meant

went forward

later on,

it

but

he had risen from

merely means

is

his couch,

only meant to
lie

down.

this meditation

after

he did not omit to go forward.

Exalted One do immediately before he went forward

three times

it

down, he does not omit to

lies

after

immediately went forward, but

down without

lies

washing his hands, rinsing out his mouth, having gone to

having indulged in any conversation whatever

and

commentator

patristic

he had

he

he
But what did the

He

risen,

tarried other

seven days in the neighbourhood of the tree of knowledge,"

so on.

We

shall

have to return later on to these propositions, in the review of

the Buddhist doctrine.

THE FOUR-TBIES SEVEN DAYS.

115
_

a long series of intervening links, until, " from, desire comes

clinging

being

death, pain

But

if

existence)

(to

from clinging

from being comes birth

the

and mourning,

first

(to

comes

existence)

from birth come old age and

suffering, sorrow,

and despair."

cause be removed, on which this chain of effects

hangs, ignoi-ance becomes extinct, and everything which arises

from

collapses,

it

the Exalted
'

One

When

tlie

and

all

suffering

at that time

is

overcome. " Realizing this

spoke these words

conditions (of existence) reveal themselves

To the ardent, contemplating Brahman,

Then must every doubt give way,
"When the orisrin of all becomincf is revealed
(C

his

to him.'

Three times, in the three watches of the night, he caused

I

mind

to pass

through

at last he spoke thus

'

all this series

of causes

and

effects

When

the conditions (of existence) reveal themselves

To the

ardent, contemplating

He

Brahman,

casts to earth the tempter's hosts,

Like the sun, which sheds

i(

Then Buddha

rose,

when

its light

through space.'

the seven days had passed,

the meditation in which he had been absorbed,

left

fz*o:ii

the spot

under the tree of knowledge, and went to the fig-tree Ajapala

(tree of the goat-herds)."

Another and probably

an account

later cast of this tradition here inserts

of a temptation

just as

on Jesus

also

Satan made

He spent those forty days in the wilderness,

He should enter on His career, to make Him

an attack, when
trying, before

unfaithful to His calling as the Saviour.*

* It seems scarcely necessary to observe that in both cases the samo
obvious motives have given rise to the corresponding narratives tlie
;

notion of an influence exerted

by Buddhist

tradition on Christian cannot

8*

BEGINNING OF THE TEACHER'S CAREER.

116
It

would be going too

we were

far if

to

suppose

preserved to us in the Buddhist tradition the

is

single

and

specific visions of

Buddha professed

to have

good and

evil spirits,

had intercourse

but

doubt that he himself and his disciples shared the

there

tliat

memory of
with which

beyond

is

it

beliefs of all

the Indian world in such appearances, and that they were

'
convinced that they had seen the like.

Mara, the tempter, knows that fear or lust can have no

further influence over

Buddha

he had vanquished

all

but there

this victory is impossible,

which the tempter may

his

back

at this stage

effect

he

on earthly

Then he alone would be

may

life

one thing

is

earthly

To

thoughts and emotions under the tree of knowledge.

undo'
left

still

induce Buddha to turn

and

to enter into Nirvana.

power

delivered from Mara's

he

would not have proclaimed the doctrine of deliverance to

men.
" Then came "

thus Buddha afterwards relates the history

Ananda " Mara, the wicked

of this temptation to his disciple

one, unto me.

standing at

unto me,

Coming up

my

side,

saying

'

to

me, he placed himself at

my side

Enter now into Nirvana, Exalted One,

enter Nirvana, Perfect

for the Exalted One.^

One now is the time

:

As he

of Nirvana arrived

thus spake, I replied, Ananda,

to Mara, the wicked one, saying

'

I shall not enter Nirvana,

thou wicked one, until I shall have gained monks as

disciples,

who

Ananda, Mara, the wicked one, spake

my

are wise and instructed, intelligent hearers of

the word, acquainted with the doctrine, experts in the Doctrine

and the second Doctrine, versed in the ordinances, walking in

the Law, to propagate, teach, promulgate, explain, formulate,
be entertained.
in the "

The Buddhist

history of the temptation

Mahaparinibbana Sutta," p. 30,

seq.,

and

is

is

to be found

inserted in the context

of the whole continuous narrative in the " Lalita Vistara," p. 489.

HISTORY OF THE TEMPTATION.

117

analyze, what they have heard from their master, to annihilate

and exterminate by

their

knowledge any heresy which

and preach the doctrine with wonder-working. I

arises,

shall not enter

Nirvana, thou wicked one, until I shall have gained nuns as

my

disciples,

who

and instructed (and here,

are both wise

Buddhist

after the fashion of the

ecclesiastical style,

what has

been said of monks follows about nuns, lay brothers, and

lay

sisters).

shall

not enter Nirvana, thou wicked one,

until the life of holiness

grown

which I point

vogue and thoroughly made known to

We

out, has

and extended among

in favour,

all

been successful,

mankind, and

all

in

is

'*

men.^

return to the older version of the narrative.*

Buddha

still

tarries thrice

seven days in various places in

the neighbourhood of the tree of knowledge "enjoying the

happiness of delivei'ance.^'
to the great

A sort of

drama of which he

to

is

overture

is

be the hero

here played
:

significant

The meeting with a

typical occurrences foreshadow the future.

" Brahman of haughty air," causes us to think of a struggle

We

with and conquest of Brahmanism.

taunt with which that
*

In.

accosted

Buddha

it

addition to the external ground of the history of this temptation

'being wanting in the "

Mahavagga," there

sideration which determines

older traditions.

We

me

is still

to believe that it

shall afterwards

internal struggle whether

come

tlie

another deeper con-

was excluded from the

to the history of

Buddha's

he should preach his doctrine and not rather

enjoy the acquired deliverance himself aloue

solved

hear nothing of the

Brahman may have

Brahma's appearance

This history conveys no otlier thought but the same

doubt.

which underlies the narrative of Mara Buddha's struggle with the

knowledge which he had won, to
:

possibility of permitting the sacred

benefit himself only

and not humanity

at large.

Had

he repelled Mara's

by saying that the time to enter Nirvana

would not come until he had gained disciples, male and female, and
preached his doctrine to all the world, there would have been no opening
left for the whole account of the dialogue with Brahma.
tempting suggestion to do

this,

"

BEGINNING OF TEE TEACHER'S CAREER.

118
is

only reported that

puts this question to him

lie

'^
:

wherein^

Gotanaa, consists the nature of the Brahman, and what are

the qualities which

make

man

Brahman V

Buddha had,

thinking of himself, spoken in that speech under the tree of

knowledge

mind the pro-

the Brahman, to whose ardent

of

cession of destiny reveals itself

Brahman now

disputes with

him, the heir of worldly rank, the right to claim the

a Brahman.

put away

Buddha

all evil

tells

him he
:

is

attacks have no

raging of the elements

repose

peaceful

title of

Brahman who has

from himself, who knows nothing of contempt,

nothing of impurity, a conqueror of

Human

a true

is

which

continuous days rain

but the

also unable to disturb the abiding

is

falls

darkness surround him.

self.

power against Buddha

Storms

his.

in torrents;

arise

for

seven

tempest, and

cold,

Mucalinda, the serpent-king, comes-

from his hidden realm, enfolds Buddha's body in a sevenfold

covering with his serpent

"And

storm.

after

coils,

seven

and protects him from

days,

when

the

the-

serpent-king,

Mucalinda, saw that the sky had become clear and cloudless,

he loosed his

from the body of the Exalted, concealed

coils

his serpent form,

assumed the guise of a young man, and

stepped before the Exalted One, worshipping him with folded

hands.
v/ords
*

Seeing

this,

the Exalted

One

at this time

spoke thes&

Happy
Happy

the soHtude of the peaceful,

is

who knows and beholds

truth

he who stands firmly unmoved, who holds himself in cheek at

all times.

Happy he whose every sorrow, whose every wish is at an

The conquest

of the stubbornness of the ego-ity

is

end.

truly the supreme

happiness.'

genuine Buddhist picture

the deliverer of the world;,

who, amid the raging of tempests, wrapped

in a seven-fold


FIRST MEETING WITH MEN.

IID

casing by a serpent's body, enjoys the happiness of solitary

repose.

Here

men who honour him

Two merchants come passing that way on a
deity, who had been in earthly life related to.

follows the first meeting with

as Buddha.

journey

the merchants, announces to them the nearness of Buddha^

and prompts them

to feed

The

Buddha.

who

deities,

rule

over the four quarters of the earth, present to him a bowl

for the perfect

Buddhas accept no food except

and he partakes

of

nourishment which he takes after

*'

bowl
first

lone; fasting*.

But the merchants, Tapussa and Bhallika, when they saw

that the Exalted One,

his

in a

what the merchants give him, the

bowl and

when

his hands,

his repast

bowed

was over, had washed

their heads to the feet of the

Exalted One, and spake to the Exalted One, saying

are here,

Doctrine

from

may

this

sire,

take refuge in the Exalted

the Exalted

These were the

namely,

the third

come
In

life,

first

member

we who
in his

we who have taken

persons in the world

their profession of the faith with the

the faith in the

'

accept us as his adherents*

day forward throughout our

our refuge in him.'

who made

One

One and

Buddha and

two words "

his Doctrine, for as yet,

of the Buddhist triad, the Order, had not

into existence.
this overture to the history of

one element
task of his

Buddha's labours we miss

a typical adumbration of the most prominent

life,

the preaching of the doctrine of deliverance,

and of the coming out of persons from among

follow

him

refuge in

in mendicant attire.

Buddha and

the

is

classes to

Doctrine, and nevertheless

Doctrine has not yet been preached to them.

* That

all

Those two merchants take

as lay-followers, not as

monks.

The

the

narrative

BEGINNING OF TEE TEACHER'S CAREER.

120
wticTi
this

now

follows has to do witli tlie motive, in which all

seeming inconsistency finds

its

It is one

explanation.

thing to have realized for one's self the truth of deliverance,

and another

proclaim

to

accomplished the

first

Buddha has

to the world.

it

the resolution to do the second

not yet firmly fixed within him

is

apprehensions and doubt

remain to be overcome before he adopts this resolve.*

I shall here let the textf speak for

retired

in

deep

this

came

solitude,

which

truth,

is

this

thought

difficult

understand, peace-giving,

to

itself.

the mind of the Exalted One, while he tarried,

''Into

'

I have penetrated

and

to perceive,

difficult

sublime, which transcends

all

thought, deeply-significant, which only the wise can grasp.

Man moves
his place

in an earthly sphere, in an earthly sphere he has

and

finds his enjoyment.

For man, who moves in an

earthly sphere, and has his place and finds his enjoyment in an

earthly sphere,

it

will

be very

difficult to

grasp this matter,

the law of causality, the chain of causes and effects

be very

also will
all

difficult

for

him

and

this

to grasp, the extinction of

conformations, the withdrawal from

all

that

earthly, the

is

extinction of desire, the cessation of longing, the end, the

Nirvana.

Should I now preach the Doctrine and mankind not

understand me,

it

would bring me nothing but

would cause me nothing but trouble

'

And

fatigue, it

there passed

unceasingly through the mind of the Exalted One, this voice,

which no one had ever before heard.

* In the language o Euddliist dogmatic, a Paccekabuddlia
for himself only)

is

not a

Sammasambuddha

(a Buddha
Buddha and
a Sammasambuddha

(universal

a teacher of the world). For Buddha's appearance as

a special deliberation was necessary, which the legend gives in the

narrative

now

following.

t " Mahavagga,"

i,

5, 2, seq.

RESOLVES TO^PREACE TEE DOCTRINE.

"
'

121

Why reveal to the world what I have won by a severe struggle?

The truth remains hidden from him whom desire and hate absorb.
It is difficult, mysterious, deep, hidden from^the coarse mind
He

cannot apprehend

it,

whose mind earthly vocations surround with

night,'

"Wlien

Exalted

tlie

One

inclined to abide in quietude

Then

Brahma

Sahampati=i^

thouglit

tlius,

liis

heart was

and not to proclaim the Doctrine.

with his thought' perceived the

thought of the Holy One and said thus to himself

the world

truly the world is undone,

is lost,

if

'

Truly

the heart of the

Perfect One, the holy, highest Buddha, be bent on abiding in

quietude and not preaching the Doctrine.'

" Then Brahma Sahampati

quickly as a strong

man

his outstretched arm,

left

the heaven of

stretches out his bent

Brahma

arm

as

or bends

and he appeared before the Exalted One.

Then Brahma Sahampati made bare one

of his shoulders from

under his robe,t bowed his right knee to the earth, raised his
folded hands to the Exalted One, and spake to the Exalted

One thus

'

May it
may

the Doctrine,

please,
it

sire,

the Exalted One, to preach

please the Perfect

One

to preach the

There are beings, who are pure from the dust of

Doctrine.

the earthly, but

they are lost

if

they hear not the preaching of the Doctrine,

they will be believers of the Doctrine.'

Thus

spake Brahma Sahampati ; when he had spoken thus, he went

on to say

'

In the land of Magadha there arose before

A doctrine of impure beings,

* Sahampati

is

Supreme Brahma

mark

men.

with the Buddhists the standing surname of the

(cf.

antea, p. GO)

certainty.

sinful

of respect.

the

word

is

not to be explained with

"

BEGINNING OF THE TEAQHER'S CAREER.

122

Open

thou,

O "Wise

One, the door of eternity,

Let be heard what thou,

Who

One, hast discovered.

Sinless

stands above high on the mountain's rocky summit,.

His eye looks afar over

So mount thou

all

people.

O Wise

One, up where on high

Far over the land stand out the battlements of truth.
And look down. Painless One, on mankind,

The

also,

suffering (creatures),

whom

birth

and old age

torture,.

Eise, rise, thou valiant hero, rich in victories.

Go

through the world,

Eaise thy voice,

sire

sinless preacher of the path,

;

many

shall

understand thy word.'

(Buddlia sets the solicitation of Bralima against the doubts

and apprehensions, which made the preaching of the truth

appear to him to be a

fruitless

his request three times

" As on a

at last

Brahma

undertaking.

Buddha grants

it

some water-roses, blue

lotus stalk

repeats-

lotus flowers,,

white lotus flowers, generated in the water, growing up in thewater, rise not out of the water, but bloom in the deep

other

water roses, blue lotus flowers, white lotus flowers, generated

in the water,

the water

growing up

and

in the water, rise

lotus flowers, generated in the water,

rise

up out

blossoms

up

to the surface

of

other water roses, blue lotus flowers, white

of the

growing up in the

water,,

water and the water damps not their

when the Exalted One surveyed the

so likewise,

universe with the glance of a Buddha, he saw beings whose

souls were pure,

and whose souls were not pure, from the

dust of the earthly, with sharp faculties and with dull faculties,
with noble natures and with ignoble natures, good hearers

and wicked hearers, many who lived in

to

come and of

sin.

When

Sahampati these words

'

Let opened be to
lie

who hath

all

he saw

this,

fear of the

the door of eternity

cars, let

world

he spake to Brahma

him hear the word and

believe.

THE SERMON AT BENARES.

I thought of

Not

affliction* for myself, therefore

have

I,

Brahma,

yet proclaimed the noble word to the world.'

" Then BraLma Saliampati perceived

answered

123-

my

He

prayer.

The Exalted One

will preach the Doctrine.

bowed before the Exalted One, walked round him

lias

Then he

respectfully

and vanished.^'

Thus has the legend conducted

very
as

last obstacle

hero to victory over the

its

which stood between him and his calling

a deliverer, to victory over

doubt and dismay

all

the

resolution to proclaim to the w^orld the knowledge, in which he

had himself found peace, now stands unshaken.

The Sermon at Benaees.

Who

should be the

makes Buddha think

guidance he had

were
him.

first to

first

of

hear the

all

new gospel

confided himself as a disciple.

first

to preach his doctrine to them, they

dead.

deity brings

him the

of this touch in the legend

is

clear.

any case the meaning

in

No

higher claim than those two to be the

It

treasure.

all

one could have a

first

would have been ingratitude

made them before

If he

would understand

intelligence that they are both

Perhaps they were really so

gospel.

Legend

of the two teachers, to whose

if

hearers of the

Buddha had not

others participators of his self-acquired

But no one knew anything

and others were known

to

of his

having done so

be or said to be the

first

converts.

These two were therefore represented as being no longer alive

when Buddha began

* Fruitless

to

preach his doctrine.

toil, if

the doctrine found no hearers.

THE SERMON AT BENARES.

124

Could those, who had once been Buddha's teachers, not turn

him

to

quondam partners

as his first disciples, yet the

when they

vied with him in penances, and had forsaken him

saw

that he gave

up the pursuit of

They

tion {vide antea, p. 107).

is

possible

quite

now wandering

that tradition here rests

Benares has

trustworthy memories.*
* It

is

at

all

a natural supposition that Buddha directed

tion to his

quondam

most surely to

associates

and admirers,

find willing hearers.

absolutely, whether

we

self-mortifica-

and

are staying at Benares,

our narrative represents Buddha as

It

by

salvation

of his

who had long

quest and struggle, those five ascetics, could,

in

Criticism has no

liis

thither.

on old and
times

first

been

ministra-

whom

he could hope

means

of determining

are here to find in the internal probabilities of

the case, a mark of genuineness, or of fiction. But, in my opinion, it is

u priori probable that the recollection of where and to whom Buddha's
first discourse, or at any rate his first successful discourse, was delivered,
had not been lost. That some preceding unsuccessful attempts on Buddha's
part to gain adherents, have been passed over in silence by tradition, is
quite possible; but Mons. L. Feer's attempts ("Etudes Bouddhiques,"
i, p. 1-37) to point out traces
of such events in the tradition, seem
to

me

unsuccessful

the nature of these traditions does not admit of

calculating from Buddha's proceedings

any such pragmatic consecutive

order of things, as this scholar has sought to

make out

follow the victorious

" Mahavagga,"
itinerarium

i,

march of Buddha,

1-24,

on the map, there

this to-and-fro'

movement

customs of these pious wanderers.

many

therefrom, not

If we
we find it described in the
not much to be said against the

without some violence towards the tradition in

places.

as

is
is

quite in accordance with the

When we

call to

mind

the sharply

defined analogy, which the imagination of the Buddhists traces between the
victorious career of their master

and the victorious progress of a world-

subduing king, we can scarcely avoid opining that the former,

invention had

here had

swing, would

full

have

been

if

pure

constructed

according to the standing geographical scheme of the latter {vide " Lalita
Vistara," p. 16, seq.).

The

direct contradiction in

of the

"Mahavagga"

that

contains authentic matter.

it

which the narrative

finds itself to this scheme, demonstrates essentially

THE SERMON AT BENARES.

125

regarded by the Buddhists as the town in which the gospel

of deliverance was

We

first

reserve for

heard and believed.

the attempt to give a

passage

a later

connected description of the manner in which Buddha preached

his doctrine,

what chords he was wont

In

we merely

this place

to strike in his hearers.

give the old narrative.

It

shows us

its

hero now, at the beginning of his career, already wholly the

same

as it

makes him appear

The monks,

to

to be throughout his long

whom we owe

life.

these notices, could not depict

internal becoming, nor could they invent internal becoming,

for they did not

had they known

the case of the

know what internal becoming is ; and, even

how could they admit internal becoming in
Perfect One, who had discovered for himself
it,

the path from the world o sorrowful becoming into the world
of

happy being

The
in the

history of the

first

discourse of

Buddha

to the sacred writings of the Buddhists, thus

"And
came

Benares runs,
is

peculiar

=f=

the Exalted One, wandering from place to place,

to Benares, to the deer-park Isipatana,

ascetics dwelt.

Then the

five

approaching from a distance

ascetics

lives in self-indulgence,

returned to self-indulgence.

where the

who

five

saw the Exalted One

when they saw him, they

to one another: ^Friends, yonder

who

at

solemn circumstantial narrative style which

comes the

ascetic

said

Gotama,

has given up his quest, and

We

shall

show him no

respect,

not rise up before him, not take his alms-bowl and his cloak

from him
if

he

but we

shall give

him a

seat,

and he can

sit

down,

likes.^

" But the nearer and nearer the Exalted One came to the
five ascetics, the less

could the five ascetics

* " Maliavagga,"

i,

6-10, seq.

abide

by

their

THE SERMON AT BENARES.

126
resolution

fhey went up to

Exalted One

tlie

Exalted One his alms-bowl and cloak

tlie

one took from

another brought him

a seat, a third gave him water to wash his feet and a footstool.

The Exalted One

when he had

"Now

down on

When

'Friend.'

Exalted One said to the

One* by

not the Perfect

The Perfect One,

Open ye your
found
to

him

feet.

they addressed him thus, the

ascetics

five

his

name and

monks,

monks

ears,

is
;

'

Ye monks,

address

him not " Friend."

call

the holy, supreme Buddha.

the deliverance from death

I teach you, I preach the

my

for

the seat which was set for

they addressed the Exalted One by his name and

him

called

sat

down, the Exalted One washed his

sat

Law.

is

If ye walk according

teaching, ye shall be partakers in a short time of that

which noble youths leave their homes and go into home-

lessness, the highest

end of religious

effort

apprehend the truth

this present life

itself

ye

shall

even in

and see face to

face.'

"

When

One

'
:

he spake thus, the

If thou

five ascetics

course,

by those

human

perfection, the full

mortifications of the body, to attain super-

supremacy of the knowledge and

contemplation of sacred things,

thou

livest in self-indulgence,

effort,

and returned
the

perfection,

to

" When they said

* The
4hat

'
:

wilt

thou now, when

hast given up thy

this,

?'

the Exalted

One spake

wc

translate "

tlie

Perfect

most probably, Buddha was wont

speaking of himself.

superhuman

self-indulgence, attain

monks, the Perfect One liveth

n'ord, wliicli

wliicli,

how

when thou

supremacy of the knowledge and con-

full

templation of sacred things

ascetics

said to the Exalted

hast not been able, friend Gotama, by that

One

to the five

not

in

self-

" (Tathagata)

to use,

is

when he was

::

THE SERMON AT BENARES.

indulgence

has not given up

lie

deliverance from death

Law.

If ye

Open ye your

Buddha.

supreme

walk

found

is

and returned to

effort

liis

The Perfect One,

self-indulgence.

127

monks,

ears,

the holy,

is

monks

ye

the

I teach you, I preach the

my

according to

teaching,

ye

be

shall

partakers in a short time of that for which noble youths

homes and go

leave their

of religious effort

ye

into homelessness, the highest

even in the present

shall

the truth itself and see face to face/

(They repeat the same

life

end

apprehend

"

dialogue

second and a third

time.)

''When they
ascetics

'

said this, the Exalted

Tell me, ye

you in these terms

"

'

Sire,

One spake

to the five

monks, have I ever before addressed

?'

thou has not.'

" ' The Perfect One,

Open ye your

ears,

monks^

the holy, highest Buddha.

is

ye monks, the deliverance from death

is

found,' etc.
''

Then the

hearkened once more to the Exalted

five ascetics

They opened

One.

and directed

their ears

their thoughts to

knowledge.

" Then the Exalted One spake

There are two extremes,

'

a religious

One

is

that

is

other

is

life
life

base,

life

The Perfect

must

to the five ascetics, saying

monks, from which he who leads

What

abstain.

are those two extremes

of pleasure, devoted to desire

ignoble,

unspiritual,

of mortification

One,

monks,

unworthy, unreal.

The

gloomy, unworthy, unreal.

it is

is

and enjoyment

removed from both these

extremes and has discovered the way which

lies

between

them, the middle way which enlightens the eyes, enlightens

the mind, which leads to rest, to knowledge, to enlightenment,
to Nirvana.

And

what,

monks,

is

this

middle way, which

THE SERMON AT BENARES.

128

the Perfect One has discovered, -which enlightens the eye and
enlightens the

spirit,

which leads to

enlightenment, to Nirvana
as

Right Action, Right Living, Right

Right Self-concentration.

knowledge, to

Right Resolve, Right Speech,

called: Eight Faith,

is

it

rest, to

It is this sacred, eight-fold path,

This,

Right Thought,

Effort,

monks,

is

the middle way,

which the Perfect One has discovered, which enlightens the

eye and enlightens the

spirit,

which leads to

rest, to

know-

ledge, to enlightenment, to Nirvana.

"^This,
is

monks,

suffering, old

is suffering, to

age

is
is

the sacred truth of suffering: Birth

suffering, sickness is suffering, death

be united with the unloved

separated from the loved

desires

suffering, in

is

is

suffering, to

suffering, not to obtain

is

be

what one

short the five-fold clinging (to the

earthly*) is suffering.

" ' This,

it

is

monks, is the sacred truth of the origin

of suffering

the thirst (for being), which leads from birth to birth,

together with lust and desire, which finds gratification here

and there

the thirst for pleasures, the thirst for being, the

thirst for power.

"

'

This,

suffering

monks,

of desire, letting
ffivino^ it

is

the sacred truth of the extinction of

the extinction or this thirst by complete annihilation

it

go, expelling

" ' This,

monks,

is

wit

Action,

separating oneself from

it,

the sacred truth of the path which leads

to the extinction of suffering

to

it,

no room.

it is

this sacred, eight-fold path,,

Right Faith, Right Resolve, Right Speech, Right

Right Living, Right

Effort,

Right Thought, Right

Self-concentration.

* Tlie clinging
state

to the fire elements, o wliicli

of being consists

man's bodj-cum-spirit

corporeal form, sensations, perceptions, con-

formations (or aspirations), and consciousness.

THE SERMON AT BENARES.

*'
'

This

tlie

is

sacred trutli of suffering

monks, was opened

vision were

my

thus

to these conceptions, whicli

comprehended before, and

and

12:>

my judgment,
" It

opened.

is

eye,

no one had

cognition, intuition,

necessary to

understand

this sacred truth of suffering."

" I have comprehended this

sacred truth of suffering/' Thus,

monks,

my eye was opened to

these conceptions, which no one had comprehended before, and

my judgment,

and vision were opened/

cognition, intuition,

'*

(Then follow similar passages regarding the other three

truths.)
'^
'

And

monks, as I did not possess in perfect

as long,

clearness this triple, twelve-part,* trustworthy

knowledge and

understanding of these four sacred truths, so long,

I

knew

that I

in this world,

among

all

monks,

had not yet attained the supreme Buddhahood

and the worlds of gods, of Mara and of Brahma,

beings,

ascetics

and Brahmans, gods and men.

But since,

monks, I have come to possess in perfect clearness

this triple,

twelve-part,

trustworthy knowledge and under-

standing of these four sacred truths,

since then I

know,

monks, that I have attained the supreme Buddhahood in

world, and in the worlds of gods, of

among

all

and know

new

this is

my

this

last birth

the deliverance of

henceforth there

is

this

Brahma

of

beings, ascetics and Brahmans, gods and men.

1 liave seen

secured

Mara and

my
for

And

soul

is

me no

birth.'

" Thus spake the Exalted One

the five ascetics joyfully

received the words of the Exalted One.'"

This
* Of
e.g.

is

the sermon at Benares, which tradition gives as the

each, of

of the

first

the four truths

:

" this

is

Buddha

possesses a tri-partite knowledge,

the sacred truth of

suffcrmg " " one must

;

understand this sacred truth of suffering;" "I have understood this

sacred truth of suffering."

THE SERMON AT BENARES.

130

opening of

tlie

ministry of

disciples expressed themselves,

One may

of the law/'

Buddha, by whicli he, as lii&

" lias set in motion the wheel

entertain whatever opinion he pleases-

regarding the historical truth with

reported

which

sermon

this

is

I am inclined, for my part, to entertain no very high

opinion of

it

but

even the more freely concocted one

may

take this discourse to be, only the more highly must he rate

fundamental importance, for he

here to find,

if

is

so

much

its

the more certain

not the words actually spoken on the occasion

any rate the ideas which the ancient

of a definite occurrence, at

Church regarded, and certainly not improperly regarded, as

the real lever in the preaching of their master.

and

Clearly

sharply defined are the leading thoughts, which stand in the

middle of the contracted solemn thought-world, in which the

Buddhist Church lived

in the centre of all one sole idea, the

Of

idea of deliverance.

to be delivered, of the

deliverance, of that

way

and of nothing

may

add, do the sermons of

Buddha

how

from suffering

shall I in this
?

We

be delivered, of

shall

we

God and

as a rule, treat.

the universe trouble not the Buddhist

question

from which we are

shall

does this sermon of Buddha's, and,

this

else

which we

in

he knows only one-

world of suffering be delivered

have to return to the answer which

the sermon at Benares gives to this question.

When Buddha finishes

through

all

Holy One has

from earth

set in

motion the wheel of the law.

The

five

headed by Kondaiina, who has hence obtained the

ascetics,

name

his discourse, there rises

the worlds of gods the cry, that at Benares the-

of Kondafina, the

Knower, beg Buddha

to initiate

them

as students of his doctrine, and he does so in these words

" Come

monks ; well preached is the doctrine walk in

make an end of all suffering." Thus is founded the

near,

purity to

Church of Buddha's followers

the five are

its first, as

yet

SENDING OUT FIRST DISCIPLES.

members.

only,

its

instability

discourse of Buddha's^ on the

fresli

and impermanence

131

of everything earthly, causes the

souls of the five disciples to obtain the condition of sinless

"

purity.

At

thus ends this narrative,

this time/^

''

six holy persons in the world

''

there were

Buddha himself and these

five

disciples.

Further Conversions.

The number
is

of believers soon increases.

The next convert

Yasa, a scion of a wealthy house at Benares

and

his parents

Buddha^s discourses and become

his wife likewise hear

Nume-

adherents of the faith as a lay-brother and lay-sister.

rous friends of Yasa, youths of the most prominent houses in

Benares and the country roundabout, adopt the monastic

The company of the

Buddha sends them

faithful

forth to preach the law throughout the

In nothing did the secret of the great power of

country.

rapid increase, which existed in the young Church, so

lie

as

life.

soon reaches sixty members.

in its

vanishing,

itinerancy

much

here anon, there anon, appearing,

"

simultaneously at a thousand places.

dis-

run the words with which

Buddha sends out his followers, " I am loosed from all bands,,

ciples," thus

in our authorities

divine and human.

Ye

disciples, are loosed

also,

bands, divine and human.

Go ye

out,

from place to place for the welfare of

joy of

many

disciples,

many

from

all

and travel

people, for the

people, in pity for the world, for the blessing,

welfare,

and joy

place.

Preach,

of

gods and men.

noble, the middle of which

noble, in spirit

Go

and

in letter

is
:

noble,

not in twos to one

beginning of which

is

and the end of which

is

disciples, the law, the

preach the whole and

full,

9*

pure

::

FURTHER CONVERSIONS.

132

Tliere are beings,

patli of holiness.

dust of the earthly, but

law, they

perish

disciples,

go

if

who

are pure

from the

thej hear not the gospel of the

But

they shall understand the law.

I,

to Uruvela, to the village of the general, to

preach the law."

At Uruvela

there reside

Brahman

number, who keep alight the sacred

hermits, a thousand in
of sacrifice according

fire

the rites of the Yedas, and perform their ablutions in the

Three brothers, Brahmans, of the Kassapa

river Neranjara.

Buddha comes

family, are the leaders of these ascetics.

to

one of them and overcomes with miraculous power the terrible

serpent-king,

who dwelt

in

Kassapa's

He

winter with them.

chamber.

sacrificial

The Brahmans wonder-struck persuade him

to

spend the

stops there, dwelling in the forest near

Kassapa's hermitage, in which he takes his food every day.

Miracle after miracle convinces the Brahmans of his greatness

gods come to
fire all

listen to his discourses;

Kassapa, overcome with wonder, admits the

night long.

superhuman greatness
to submit to

they shine like flaming

him.

of his guest, but he cannot bring himself

" Thus the Exalted One,'' as our old

narrative states in this connection, " thought within himself

'

this

simpleton will long

Sumana
am."

is

Thou

thinking

very powerful and mighty, but he

So then, I

fore the Exalted

'

continue

shall

work on

One spake

is

" the

There-

this hermit's heart.'

to the hermit

great

not holy as I

Kassapa of Uruvela

art not holy, Kassapa, nor hast thou found the path of

holiness

and thou knowest nothing of the way by which thou

canst be holy and mayest reach the path of holiness.'

the hermit Kassapa, of Uruvela,

bowed

his

the Exalted One, and said to the Exalted One

sire, to

higher.'

'

Grant me,

receive the degrees of initiation, 'the lower

"

Then

head to the feet of

and the

PROCEEDS TO BA JAGAHA.

133

All narratives of conversions in the Buddhist

resemble this narrative more or

individuality

is

made,

scriptures

Where any attempt

less.

turns out clumsy and "poor.

it

earnest, deep feeling", and the impulse of strong emotion

not denied to these minds,

least capable of

them turn

not,

all

life.

the bands of hermits round

Buddha and adopt monastic

to

and what they

understanding was individual

Kassapa's two brothers and

number

was

amply proved by the poetry of

is

But describe they could

the Buddhists.

were

at

That

Thus the

garb.

of believers is at one stroke raised to a thousand.

They now wander from Uruvela

capital of the

to Eajagaha, the near-lying

Magadha kingdom.

The halting-place

is in

The young king Bimbisara

bambu-thicket outside the town.

hears of Buddha's arrival, and goes out with a vast following*

and Brahmans to make the acquaintance of the

who had acquired sudden fame. When the people saw

of citizens

teacher

Buddha and Kassapa

two
his

is

seat,

master

together, doubts arose as to which of the

master and which

is

bows

his

the Exalted

the Exalted

One

One

am

am

and says

feet

his pupil.

his pupil."

the king and his retinue

Kassapa

the disciple.

is

head to Buddha's

Sire,

Thenceforth throughout his long

and patrons

of

life

from

Sire,

my

master

is

number

of

Buddha's Church.

he became one of the

Buddha and

Tradition informs us that

"

my

Bimbisfira, with a great

rises

Buddha preaches before

his people, declares himself a lay convert of

truest friends

his doctrine.

on that occasion

at

Eajagaha

* The text says that " twelve myriads of Brahmans and citizens of
Magadha" surrounded the king. These extravagantly high figures
differ

far

disciples

too widely from

the statements regarding the

accompanying Buddha

(a

few hundreds,

at

number of

most thousands),

for

us to be in a position to draw conclusions from them with any certainty

whatever as to the excessive character of the

credible, numbers.

latter, in

themselves very

'
:

FURTHER CONVERSIONS.

134

Buddha

also gained as disciples those

two men, Sariputta and

Moggallana, who came later on to be lionom'ed as the

rank after their master in the

two young men, bound

by

to each other

Brahman

ship, sons of a

family,

first

in

These

Church.

circles of the

close ties of friend-

were at that time residing at

Eajagaha as pupils of Sanjaya, one of the itinerant medicants

and teachers

numerous in that age.

so

is related,

each other this promise, that he who would

deliverance

from death, should

first

given

obtain the

One

the other.

tell

common

In their

pursuit of spiritual possessions, they had, as

day

Sariputta saw one of Buddha's disciples, Assaji, walking the

Rajagaha to

streets of

collect alms, peaceful

and

^'When he saw him," our

downcast look.

informs us, " he thought

'

truly this

is

with

dignified,

narrative* here

one of those monks who

are already sanctified in this world, or have attained the path

of purity.

" Friend,

who

is

Sariputta, the mendicant, reflected

collecting

He

alms.

is

shall

approaches a person from

when

him

I shall ask

and
and whose doctrine dost thou recognize ?"

time to ask this monk.

is

monk and

whose name hast thou renounced the world

thy master

But then

go up to this

I shall
in

'

Now

is

not the

going from house to house and

approach this

whom

monk,

as

he desires something.'

the venerable Assaji had collected alms

at^

one

But

Rajagaha, he

took the contributions he had received and turned

back.

Thereupon the mendicant, Sariputta, approached the venerable

Assaji

arrived near him, he saluted the venerable Assaji.

After he had exchanged words of friendly salutation with him,

* The passage

-wliicli

I here translate

260

is

one of those which ting

commanded

Asoka, in the Bairat inscription

(circ.

and nuns, the lay-brothers and

lay-sisters, intently to

The
is

text

is

name

B.C.),

the

monks

hear and learn.

there described as " the question of Upatissa," but Upatissa

of Sariputta.

; ::

sariputta and MOGGALLANA.

placed himself near him.

lie

135

Standing near him, the mendi-

cant, Sariputta, addressed the venerable Assaji, saying

visage, friend,

luminous, thy colour

is

is

pure and

whose name,/riend, hast thou renounced the world

'

clear.

Thy
In

and who

is

thy master? and whose doctrine^ dost thou recognize?' 'It

is

the great Samana,

my

Sakya's son,

friend, the

who comes

from the Sakya's house and has renounced the world.

name, the Exalted One's,

is my master, and
And what, friend,

the Exalted One,

I recognize.'

'

what does he teach

long since I
this doctrine

to thee in

left

?'

the world

and

Be

it so,

his law, the Exalted One's,

does thy master say, and

am but

a novice

it is

not

have only recently conformed to

I cannot

this order.

its fulness,

Then the mendicant,

"^

Friend, I

'

In his

have renounced the world, and he,

but I can

tell

expound the doctrine

thee

its

spirit briefly.'

Sariputta, said to the venerable Assaji

me little or much, but tell me its spirit

know the spirit only what great care

Tell

friend.

I have a longing to

canst thou have for the letter

Then the venerable Assaji

?'

addressed to the mendicant, Sariputta, this statement of the

doctrine

" 'Existences which flow from a cause, their cause the Perfect

One

teaches,

and how they end

this is the

doctrine of the

great Samana.' "*

* This sentence
fession of faith of

monuments.

become
Buddhism

lias

Undoubtedly

it

in later ages the briefly-expressed conit

is

to

be met inscribed on numerous

refers to the doctrine of the concatenation

of causes and effects, on which doctrine tradition, as

(p.

114) represents Buddha's thoughts as being fixed,

the sacred tree of the Buddhahood.

works

itself

The

we have seen
when he sits under

painful destiny of the world

out in the chain of operations, which flow from ignorance

the doctrine of

Buddha

tells

us what these existences

are,

dependent one

on another, springing from ignorance, and how they come to an end,

how

the suffering of the world

is

removed.

i.e.,

FURTHER CONVERSIONS.

136

And when

the mendicant Sariputta heard this statement of

the doctrine, he obtained the

truth,

undimmed

clear,

and he perceived: "Whatever

beginning,

all

that

he said to Assaji

also subject to the law of decay /^

(And

" If the doctrine be nothing else but

this,

is

:)

vision of the

subject to the law of

is

thou hast at any rate attained the condition in which there

no
of

bygone ages, hath

friend,'* says

come near unto us."

" Thy visagey

to his friend, Moggallana.

Moggallana, " is luminous, thy colour

Hast thou found the deliverance from death

pure and

him

" the

is

have found the deliverance from death "

friend, I
tells

in these days

now goes

Sariputta

clear.

of his meeting with Assaji,

clear,

is

That which hath not been seen by many myriads-

suffering.

undimmed

instructor, in vain

"Yes,,

And he

and on Moggallana

light of truth " dawns.

also

Sanjaya, their

They go

begs them to remain with him.

with great crowds of ascetics into the wood where Buddha

resting

is

but a hot stream of blood bursts from Sanjaya's

Buddha

mouth.

sees the

two coming

he announces to those

around him that those are now approaching who should be the
foremost and noblest

them

among

his disciples.

receive the initiation from

"At

this

And

the two of

himself.

our narrative,

continues

time,*'

Buddha

"many

distin-

guished and noble youths of the Magadha territory joined

themselves to Buddha, to lead a pure

populace

became

saying: 'The ascetic

the ascetic

Gotama

is

Gotama

come

is

Gotama
come

is

come

to bring

his

the two hundred and

disciples,

youths

of

the

fifty

this

the

angry,

to bring childlessness:

widowhood

to bring subversion of families.

he turned the thousand hermits into

made

On

life.

murmured, and were

displeased,

his disciples,

the ascetic

Already hath

and he hath

mendicant followers of Sanjaya

and now these many distinguished and noble

Magadha kingdom

are

betaking themselves

''

POPULAR FEELING.
to the ascetic

Gotama

to lead a religious

137

And

life.^

wlienever

the people saw auy of the disciples they taunted them with

these words
*

The

great

on a

monk came

in his travels to the capital of Magaclha, seated

hill.

He has

converted

him to-day

Sanjaya's followers,

all

how

''The disciples then learned

murmured, and was angry

One.
'

will

will

'This excitement,

not
it

whom

will

he draw after

last long.

But

vanish.

my

disciples told the Exalted

the Exalted One,

disciples,^ said

Seven days
ye,

the populace was displeased,

and the

will it last

after seven

disciples, if they taunt

days

you with

the saying
'

The

great

on a

He

monk came

in his travels to the capital of

Magadha, seated

hill.

has converted aU Sanjaya's followers,

whom will

he draw after

him to-day ?

answer them with these words

The heroes, the

Who will reproach

of truth

Have we
as

the Enlightened

by

their true discourse

One who

converts

by the power

"

really here a pair of those

they were

friends

'

perfect ones, convert

rhymes before

us,

such

probably bandied at that time between the

and foes of the young teacher among the gossiping

populace of the streets of the capital

CHAPTER

IV.

Buddha's Wokk.

With

tlie

conversion of those two

history of the

prominent of his

most

and the account of the soon-allayed

disciples^

discontent of the people at Rajagaha, the connected narrative

of Buddha's career breaks

oflP,

again to unite hut once more,

where the memory had to be fastened on the

wanderings

last

of the aged teacher, on his parting utterances and his death.

For the long period which

end, a period, as
is

we

lies

between that beginning and the

arc told, of

more than

iu our tradition, at least in that

four decades, there

which deserves

this

name,

nothing in the way of a continuous description, but merely

collections of countless real or feigned addresses, dialogues,

and sayings of Buddha,

to

which

is

annexed a short note

regarding the external circumstances of place and company,

which led to these utterances.

To outward view

it is

a uniform

this uni-coloured tradition,

which

life

lies

before us in

and that wherein alone the true

history of this hfe lay, the inner current of being with

and

flow, its

coming and

and how the picture

its

of the

Buddha's mind the form

followers, in

going,

hidden from

is

world and
in

which

what order above

life

it

all his

comes

presented

us.

to

its

ebb

When

assume iu

itself to his

convictions regarding

UNIFORMITY OF LATER
Iiimself

and

139

LIFE.

how

his mission developed themselves within him,

far the prejudices of the Indian people

and the criticism of the

Indian schools eventually reacted on Buddha's thought and

inclination,

even to ask these questions nobody who

our authorities will be bold enough.

learn anything

What we

we

can do

and

tion of early

Of

this

we

looks to

never

shall

cannot.

is,

without attempting to draw any distinc-

merely to unite the different

later periods,

features which tradition places at our disposal, so as to form

a connected

picture, a picture of

Buddha's teaching and

life,

of his intercourse with high and low, of the circle of disciples

gathered round him, and of the wider circles of partizans and

antagonists.

Can we hope
Yes and

No

for

Buddhist

to attain historical truth in such a picture

no.
this

picture

shows us only the type of ancient

but not the individual

life,

chai'acteristics

which

belonged to Buddha and him only, as peculiarly his own, in

the sense that

we have

a picture

resembles Socrates only and no one

Still this,

of Socrates
else,

which truly

even no Socratic.

which on the one hand indicates a want in our

knowledge, gives us on the other hand, however, a ground for

trusting

it.

India

is

altogether a land of types, not of individualities

stamped with

own

their

there, as the plant

rule

of

the laws

dies.

Life begins and passes

blooms and withers, subject to the

of Nature;

floats are

dull

and the laws of Nature can

produce nothing but typical forms.

freedom

away

Only where the breath of

those proud forces of

manhood

unfettered,

which enable man to become, and daro to become, something

individual, like himself alone.

Thus on

all

pictures in the

Indian epics, despite their splendid colouring, there

lies

that

BUDDHA'S WORK.

140

men

strange torpor whicli makes

tlie

look like spectres, to wkick

draught of vivifying blood liad been denied

effect is

owing

and

this

domain

to this cause above all others,, that the

of this poetry does not extend to the point where the particularly characteristic

of

life

This

the individual begins.

range was closed to Indian poetry because the Indian peoples

themselves were denied the power to develope individualties.

And

in the

also the

same way

power

at

in the history of Indian thought, there

work

is

not the individual mind, but always

merely the great Indian folk-mind, that which the Indians,

if

questioned regarding the origin of their sacred writings,,

denominate the sacred Vedic

Through

spirit.

all

there operates

an unindividual universal, and the individual bears only those

marks with which the universal mind has endowed him.

Are we not

to believe that this

the beginnings of Buddhist

same law has

The great

life ?

and Ananda, completely

and

resemble

who

each

other in

old

the

their picture is nothing else but the invariably

uniform copy of Buddha himself, only on a reduced

reality

governed

and Moggallana, Upali,

clustered round the Master, Sariputta

narratives,

also

disciples,

was hardly much otherwise

scale.

The

the individual was

little

more than a specimen, which the general

spirit disclosed to

view, and this general spirit again was, with reference to the

forms in which
different

it

outwardly displayed

from the

spirit of

among which Buddha^s

life

itself,

scarcely intrinsically

Buddha himself and the forms

was passed.

Furthermore, the period between Buddha and the fixing

of our traditions regarding
as in

minds capable

movement, or of stamping
life

this

him was

of giving a
it

in nothing so deficient

new

dix'ection to the great

with the impress of their

the ancient Buddhist Church had not a Paul.

we have

a guarantee that this movement, as

it is

own

But

in

sketched

BUDDEA'S PERSON AND THE BUDDHISTIC TYPE.

for

us,

is

mark

True,

it.

and

intellect

of

natures,

iu its essence the

made

disciples

by which

same

as

141

Buddha and

his

first

Buddha may have had many a noble

of

creative

his picture has

reduced to their own lower

power, which the puny

been preserved

level,

to us,

have

but a form like his

can.

certainly not be fundamentally misconceived.

Thus, though only a few touches of the picture presented

to us

by

tradition can be said to be absolutely reliable, in the

sense of historically exact,

upon

still

we

shall

have a right to look

a higher

this picture itself in its entirety as reliable in

sense.

Buddha's Daily Life.

From

year to year the change from a period of wandering

to a period of rest

and

his disciples.

and retirement repeated

itself for

Buddha

In the month of June when, after the dry

scorching heat of the Indian summer,

clouds

come up

in

towering masses, and the rolling thunders herald the approach

of the rain-bearing monsoon, the Indian to-day, as in ages past,

prepares himself and his house for the time

all usual

operations are interrupted

weeks long

in

many

by the

during which

rain

for whole

places the pouring torrents confine the

inhabitants to their huts, or at any rate to their villages, while

communication with neighbours

streams, and

by inundations.

is

cut off

"The

by

rapid, swollen

birds,'' says

Buddhist work, " build their nests on the

there they nestle and hide during the

an ancient

toj^s of trees

damp

season."

and

And

was in those days an established practice with the

thus also

it

members

of monastic orders, undoubtedly not first in

Buddha's

time, but since ever there was a system of religious itinerancy


BUDDHA'S DAILY LIFE.

142

in ludia^ to suspend itinerant operations during the three rainj-

months and

to spend this time in quiet

retirement in the

neio-hbourhood of towns and villages^ where sure support was

To

to be found through the charity o believers.

they adhered

this

custom

the more strongly because they could not,

all

during the rainy season, which, after the scorching heat of

summer,

everywhere into being an

calls

vegetable and animal

at every step the

also

(rainy reason),"

travel

form of

infinite variety of

about, without

commandment which

of even the lowest

Buddha

life,

infringing

forbids the destruction

life.

every year

for

three months ^^kept vassa

surrounded by groups of his

disciples,

who

flocked together to pass the rainy reason near their teacher.

Kings and wealthy men contended

taining

him and

his disciples,

for the

honour of enter-

who were with him,

as guests

during this season in the hospices and gardens which they

had provided

The

for the

community.

rains being over, the itinerating

from town to town and village to

great concourse of disciples

village,

began

Buddha went

the texts are wont to speak in

one place of three hundred, and in another of

followed their master.*

always attended by a

In the main

five

streets,

who

hundred,

through which

the religious pilgrims like travelling merchants used to pass,

the believers
shelter, to

who dwelt near had taken ample

which Buddha and

his disciples

care to provide

might resort

or,

where monks who professed the doctrine dwelt, there was sure
to be found lodging for the night in their abodes, and even
*

On

if

the occasion of a prophecy of Buddha's regarding Metteyya, the

next Buddha, who will in the far future appear upon the earth, it is said
" He will be the leader of a band of disciples, numbering hundreds of
:

thousands, as I

hundreds."

am now

the leader of bands of disciples, numbering

CakJcavattisuttanta.

WS

HAINY SEASON AND SEASON OF ITINERANCY.

cover was to be had, there was no want of

110 otlier

mango

which the band might halt

trees, at the feet of

banyan

or

for the

night.

The

territory

throngh which these wandering excursions

generally extended was the circuit of the

chiefly the old

i.e.,

" Eastern Land/^

kingdoms of Kasi-Kosala and Magadha,,

with the neighbouring free states, the territories

as

Oudh and

known

to-day

Contrasted with this were the kingdoms

Bihar.

of " Western Hindostan," the ancient seat of Vedic culture

and of the exclusive power

of

Brahman order

strongly

opposed to the religious influences of the East, affected,

true, if tradition rightly

tions of

Buddha, but

still

only seldom and superficially.

most important headquarters during these wanderings,

same time the approximately extreme

west and

it is

inform us, by the itinerant ministra-

The
at the

points, to the north-

south-east, of the area, in which

Buddha's pilgrim-life

was

passed, are the capital cities of the kings of Kosala and

,and

Magadha, Savatthi (now Sahet Mahet on the Rapti) and

In the immediate

\r {vjagaha (now Rajgir, south of Bihar).*

neighbourhood

of

these

towns

the

community possessed

numerous pleasant gardens, in which structures of various

kinds were

erected for the requirements

of the members.

*^Not too far from, nor yet too near the town,'' thus runs
the standard description of such a park given in the sacred
texts,

to

all

"well provided with entrances and exits, easily accessible

people

bustle of

life

who

inquire after

by day,

quiet

by

it,

with not too

night, far from

much

of the

commotion and

the crowds of men, a place of retirement, a good spot for

solitary

meditation."

Such a

garden

was

("Bambu-grove"), once a pleasure ground

* The distance between these two
London and Edinburgh.

of

the

Veluvaua

king Bimbisara

capitals is about the

same

as

between

^""^

^^

BUDDHA'S DAILY LIFE.

Ill

Buddha and

tlie

Churcli

more renowned Jetavana

(at

Savatthi), a gift

and presented by

was the

still

liim to

another

made by Buddha's most liberal admirer, the great merchant

Not alone the sacred texts, but equally also

Anathapindika.

the monumental records, the reliefs

It

highly celebrated this

was from the

of Anathapindika's

gift

Buddhist Church.

narrated

is

Stupa of

of the great

how

Bharhut, recently explored, show

earliest

days in the

how Anathapindika was

in search of a spot which should be worthy to serve as a place

of sojourn for

Buddha and

his disciples

prince Jeta alone appeared to

him

the garden of the

to unite in itself all require-

ments, but the prince declined to

sell

it

to

protracted negotiations Anathapindika obtained

for as

much gold

He gave

to

ground

Buddha, whose favourite

Numberless passages

thenceforward was.

it

sacred texts, in which the

the

of

it

After

the garden

as sufficed to cover the surface of the

of the whole Jetavana.

place of sojourn

him.

subject-matter consists

of addresses and sayings of Buddha, begin

" At

this

time the

holy Buddha was sojourning at Savatthi, in the Jetavana, the

garden of Anathapindika."
If

it

is

wandering

possible
life

of

speak of

to

Buddha and

Veluvana and Jetavana may of

great centres of Indian

life

home

in the

homeless,

his disciples, places like the

all

others be so called, near the

and yet untouched by the turmoil

of the capitals, once the quiet resting places of rulers and

nobles, before the yellow-robed mendicants appeared
scene,

and "the Church

in

on the

the four quarters, present and

absent," succeeded to the possession of the kingly inheritance.

In these gardens were the residences of the

halls, cloisters,

mango
over

trees,

all else,

brethi-en, houses,

storerooms, surrounded by lotus-pools, fragrant

and slender fan-palms that

lift

their foliage

high

and by the deep green foliage of the Nyagrodha

SOJOURN IN GARDENS NEAR CHIEF TOWNS.

whose roots dropping from

tree,

become new

to earth

tlie air

145

stems, aud with their cool _shady arcades and leafy walks seem
to invite to peaceful meditation.*

These were the surroundings in which Buddha passed a

great part of his

life,

probably the portions of

Here masses of the population,

work.

effective

monastic, flocked together to see

him and

Hither came pilgrim monks from

richest in

it

lay as well as

him preach.

to hear

who have

countries,

far

heard the fame of Buddha's teaching and, when the rainy

season

is

past,

" It

to face.

our texts,

undertake a pilgrimage to see the master face

customary," runs an oft-recurring passage in

is

monks, when they have passed the rainy

'^for

season, to set out to see the Exalted One.

Buddha

the exalted
''Is

to

well with you,

it

the arrivals.

'^

monks ? " Buddha

Are you
and

custom of

able to live

is

Have you passed the

and without

afar.''

accustomed to ask

discord,

and have you

hear, for instance, of one of the faithful

named Sona,

rains in peace

unity,

experienced any want of support

We

It is the

welcome monks who come from

in the land of

Avanti (Malwa),

Buddha

whom

lived,

and there arose

in

"

far

from the country in which

the fame of the

him the

Three long

professors.

new

doctrine had reached,

desire to be received amonsr its

years

he

had

to

wait

until

he

succeeded in bringing together in this distant land the ten

monks, whose presence was indispensable to conferring the

orders on a
there

*'

new member.

Once, when he was in solitude,

occurred to him the thought

The

Cliineso pilgrim

Fa Hiau

(in

''
:

have,

the beginuing of the

it

is

fifth

true,

century

after Christ) writes regarding the Jetavana (according to Beal's translation, p. 75)

"

The

clear water of the tanks, the luxuriant groves,

and

numberless flowers of variegated hues, combine to produce the picture of

wliat is called the Vihara of Chi-un (Jeta)."

30

BUDDHA'S DAILY LIFE.

146

heard of the Exalted One,

bim

face to face.

I will

highest Buddha,
teacher,
''

if

whom

to

lie is

but I have not seen

so,

my

teacher allows

me

he

expressed

wish,

Good, Sona, good

his

And

to go."

his

him

answered

go, Sona, to behold him, the exalted,

supreme Buddha. Thou

holy,

and

so

go to behold him, the exalted, holy,

shalt see him, Sona, the Exalted

One, the bringer of joy, the dispenser of joy, whose organs of

life

are placid,

whose

the supreme self-subduer

spirit is at rest,

and peace-possessor, the hero who has

iquered

prepares

journey

the

for

Buddha

where

Savatthi,

to

and

self

And Sona

watches himself, who holds his desires in check. '^

is

tarrying in the Jetavana, the garden of Anathapiudika.

Pilgrims of this class come

:sojourning,

together where

Buddha

is

and the meetings and greetings of the arriving

groups with the

clerical brothers

who

live

on the spot, the

interchange of news, the arrangement of lodging-places for

the

monks, then not unfrequently caused

itinerant

those

noisy clamours so strange to western ears, which seem to be

inseparable from such occasions in the East, and which are

most earnestly deprecated more than once

The fame

of Buddha^s person also

and near crowds

in the sacred texts.

drew together from

of the community.

" To the ascetic Gotama," people remarked

to one anothei', " folks are coming, passing through

and

converse with

countries, to

happened to
princes,

halt

and

is

dignitaries,

Often,

when he

and reappears in

Magadha

Such a

or to hear his doctrine.

the reliefs at Bliarhut.

Ajatasattu of

kingdoms

came on waggons or on elephants,

him

described to us in the opening of the

fruit of asceticism,"

among

him."

near the residences of potentates, kings,

to put questions to

scene

far

of such as stood without the narrower circles

in the

The

'^

Sutra on the

pictorial representation
Siitra relates

" Lotus-night,'^ that

how king
is

in the

MEETINGS WITH LAITY AND MONKS.

full

in

moon

tlie

of October,

tlie

time when the lotus blooms,

by

open-air, surrounded

"Then,"

palace.

as

Ii7

it is

bis nobles

on the

sitting

is

roof of bis

flat

recorded in that text, "the king of

Magadha, Ajatasattu, the son of the Videha princess, uttered

this exclamation

in sooth

is

this

'

fair in

sooth

is

this

light night, heart-enchanting in sooth

happy omens

Samana

moonlight night, lovely

moonlight night, grand in sooth

.1

hear him

'

"

moon-

this

is

moonlight night,

..ahman shall I go to hear, that

be cheered when

this

What
may

moonlight night.

in sooth givetli this

or what

is

One

my

soul

names

counsellor

this

and another that teacher but Jivaka, the king's physician,

" Then the king of Magadha, Ajatasattu,
sits on in silence.
:

Komarabhacca

the son of Vedehi, spake to Jivaka

art thou silent, friend Jivaka

he

resteth,

band of

'

'

Su'e, in

'

my mango

Why

grove

the exalted, holy, supreme Buddha, with a great

disciples,

Of him, the

with three hundred, monks.

exalted Gotama, there spreadeth through the world lordly

terms

praise in these

He, the Exalted One,

is

the holy,

supreme Buddha, the wise, the learned, the blessed, who

knoweth the universe, the highest, who tameth man

like

ox, the teacher of gods and men, the exalted Buddha.

go

to hear him, the Exalted

One

him, the Exalted One, thy soul,

and the king orders elephants

perchance,

sire,

to

may be

if

an

Sire,

thou hearest

refreshed

'

"

be prepared for himself

and the queens, and the royal procession moves with burning
torches on that moonlight night through the gate of Bajagalia
to Jtvaka's

with

the

mango

grove, where

Buddha

kiug the famous discourse

asceticism,^' at the

is

said to have held

"On

the

fruits

of

end of which the king joined the Church

as a lay -member.

The

pictures,

which the sacred texts give us of meetings and

scenes like these, are very numerous

no doubt, the concourse

10*

BUDDEA'S DAILY

14:3

LIFE.

which moved round Buddha's person

them.

If

Buddha comes

is faithfully

to the free towns,

reflected in

we hear

of his

meetings with the noble families who exercise rule there

at

Kusinara the Mallas, the ruling family of that town, go out to

meet him and

Exalted One

issue an'edict
is liable

" whosoever goeth not to meet the

to a penalty of five

From

hundred pieces/'

the gayest of the Indian free towns, the dissolute and wealthy
Yesali, the distinguished youths of the Licchavi house drive

Buddha with

out to

splendid teams, some in white

their

garments with white trimmings, and others in yellow, black, or

Buddha

red.

youths coming

says to his disciples,

in the distance

you hath not seen the divine host

him gaze on the host

of the Licchavis,

let

when he

" who

ever,

sees the Licchavi

my disciples, among"

of the thirty -three gods, let

of the Licchavis, let

him view the host

him behold the host

of the Licchavis."

And

besides the noble yo^th of Vesali, there comes driving with

not less pomp, to see Buddha, another celebrity of the town,

the courtesan Ambapali.
to dine in her

dinner

is

mango

over, she

She

invites

grove, and

makes a

Buddha and

his disciples

when they assemble

gift of the

there

and

grove to Buddha and

the Church.

To complete the
Buddha, the

picture of the society which existed round

class of dialecticians

and theological disputants of

shades already flourishing prosperously in India at this

all

period,

must not be allowed

to pass unnoticed the distinguished

:

Brahman, endowed by the king with the

revenues of

who comes conducted by a great following, the young

Brahmanical scholar, who is sent forth by his teacher, to bring*
village,

him
to

tidings of the much-spoken-of Gotama, and

win

his

who

is

eager

spurs in a logical dispute with the renowned

adversary, countless sophistic hair-splitters, persons of religious

as well as worldly standing,

who have heard

that the

Samaua

ALLOTMENT OF THE DAY.

"Gotama

is

staying in the neiglibourliood, and

lay traps for

him

l-i'J

who prepare

him with two-edged questions and

in contradiction^ whatever be the

to

to entangle

answer he may give.

frequent end of these dialogues

is

of

course that the

vanquished opponents or the partisans of Buddha invite him

and
it

his disciples to dine

on the following day

"

Sire, may-

me
And Buddha permits his consent to be inferred
silence.
On the following day about noon, when
One and

please the Exalted

his disciples to dine with

to-morrow."

from his
dinner

is

word

ready, the host sends

time, the dinner

is

Buddha

to

''
:

Sire,

it

is

ready;" and Buddha takes his overcoat

and alms-bowl and goes with

his disciples into the

town or

After dinner at which

village to the residence of his host.

well-to-do hosts offer, except meat dishes, the best which the

not-very-luxurious cooks of those days could provide, and at

which the host himself and

his family serve the guests,

the customary hand washing

with his family at Buddha's

them a word

side,

of spiritual admonition

If the day be not filled

when

over, the host takes his place

is

by an

and Buddha addresses to

and instruction.

invitation,

Buddha, according

to monastic usages, undertakes his circuit of the village or

town in quest

of alms.

He, as well as his

disciples, rises early,

when the

light of

moments

in spiritual exercises or in converse with his disciples,

dawn appears

in the sky,

and spends the early

and then he proceeds with his companions towai'ds the town.

In the days when his reputation stood
his

name was named

at its highest point,

and

throuo^hout India among^ the foremost

names, one might day by day see that

man

before

whom

kings

bowed

themselves, walking about, alms-bowl in hand, through

streets

and

alleys,

from house to house, and without uttering

any request, with downcast look, stand

silently waiting until

morsel of food was thrown into his bowl.

BUDDHA'S DISCIPLES.

150

When

lie

returned from his begging* excursion and

hoid.

Lad eaten Ms

repast, tltere

demanded, a time,

followed^ as tbe Indian climate

not of sleep, at any rate of peaceful

if

liesting in a quiet chamber, or better

retirement.

still

in the

cool shades of dense foliage, he passed the sultry, close hours

of the afternoon in solitary contemplation, until the evening

came on and drew him once more from holy

silence to the

bustling concourse of friend and foe.

Buddha's Disciples.

From

the exterior aspect of that which

to accept as a picture of this

V/e have yet

the interior.
of those to

whom

the disciples

life,

we must be
now

our description

satisfied

turns to

to acquaint ourselves with the circle

Buddha's teaching was especially directed,

who endeavoured by following him to

find for their

souls the path to rest.

To

appearance this

all

earliest

was even

circle of disciples

in the

days by no means a free society, bound together by

band of Jesus*

merely internal cords, something like the

We

disciples.

can

scarcely doubt that

it

was from

the

beginning much more of a community of ascetics organized

according to fixed rules, a formal monastic order with Buddha
at its head.
this class

The forms and

external technic of a religious

life

of

had been already established in India long before the

age of Buddha

a monastic order appeared then to the religious

consciousness to be the reasonable, natural form, in which alone

the

life

of those

who

are associated in a

for release could find expression.

As

common

struggle

there was nothing in

Buddha's attitude generally which could be regarded by his

contemporaries as unusual, he had not to introduce anything*

ORGANIZED COMMUNITY OF DISCIPLES.

fundamentally new
innovation

if

on the contrary,

151

would have been an

it

he had undertaken to preach a way of salvation,

which did not proceed on a basis of monastic observances.

The standing formula with which Buddha

have received the
preserved to us
doctrine,

We

believers

first

" Come

this

this

is

supposed to

circle

has been

monk well preached is the

make an end of all suffering."

hither,

walk in purity, to

know not whether

into

tradition rests

memory, but the thought which here

on any authentic
seems

finds expression

quite correct, that the circle of Buddha^s disciples

was from

the very beginning a monastic brotherhood, into which the

postulant had to be admitted

by an appointed

with the

step,

utterance of a prescribed formula.

The yellow garment

monk and

of the

tonsure are the visible

tokens of separation from the world and worldly

life;

severance of the family bond, the renunciation of

property,

rigorous

"

chastity,

ascetics

(Samana

are

who adhere
Sakyaputtiya),

the
to

self-evident

son of

the

the

oldest

all

obligations

the

of

the

the

Sakya house "

term with which

the

people designated the members of the young Church.

We

know

which we

how

not

forms of that corporate

far tlfe

shall give a fuller description later on,

life,

extend back to Buddha's own time, of which we are

speaking.

It

is

possible,

those half-monthly

gatherings, to which so great significance

is

of

severally

now

confessional

attached in the

may have been observed

disciples who were with him.

simple cult of ancient Buddhism,

by Buddha himself with the

The tone which

prevailed in the assembly of the

was calm, composed, one might

say, ceremonious.

believers

Were we

permitted to judge by the impression conveyed to us by the

sacred writings,

we might opine that the sense

of tranquil good-

ness and the quiet self-conscious joy, by which the associated

BUDDHA 8

152
life

monks was pervaded, were not

of these

compensate

DISCIPLES.

tlie

sufficient

to

lack of liveliness in expression and interchange

of the experiences and emotions of each individual.

Occasions

of rapture were not unfrequent, and were desired as a high

spiritual

good

in ecstatic

alone
seizes

Each aspired

knew nothing

they

they consisted rather in quiet transport than

excitement.

to

them

for himself

of that popular enthusiasm

which

on whole assemblies, where one carries the others away

and common emotion

excites similar visions in the imagination

To boast before the brothers

of hundreds.

of experiences of

ecstasy was strictly forbidden.

The

distinction of caste

had no place

Whoso-

in this band.

In one of

ever will be Buddha's disciple renounces his caste.

the speeches which the sacred writings put in Buddha's mouth,

it is said

on

this subject

however many they

''

As

the great streams,

Yamuna,

be, the Ganga,

disciples,

Aciravati, Sarabhu,

Mahi, when they reach the great ocean, lose their old name

and

and bear only one name, 'the. great

their old descent,

ocean,'

so

also,

my

disciples,

these

four

castes.

Nobles,

Brahmans, Yai9ya and ^udra, when they, in accordance with

the law and doctrine which the Perfect
forsake their

name and
'

Ascetics,

home and go

and bear only the one designation,

old paternity,

who

One has preached,

into homelessness, lose their old

follow the son of the Sakya house.' "

the discourse "

On

the fruit of asceticism," in whicli

And

in

Buddha

answers king Ajatasattu's question regarding the reward of

him who
life,

leaves his

Buddha speaks

home and

devotes himself to the religious

of this matter

a slave or servant of the

if

king puts on the yellow garment, and

lives as a

monk

without

reproach in thought, word and deed, " wouldest thou, then,"

asks

be

Buddha

my

slave

of the king,

and servant,

" say

man still
bow before

well, then, let this

to stand in

my

presence,

ATTITUDE TOWARDS CASTE.

153

take upon Mmself to perform my beliests^ live to minister

my enjoyments^ speak deferentially, hang upon my word ? "
And the king answers, " No, sii-e I should bow before him,

T3ie^

to

stand before him, invite him to

sit

needed in the way of clothing, food,

wheu he

is

ill,

and ward, as
Thus the

is

becoming."

religious garb of

^^

is

and of medicine,

and I should assure him of protection, watch

Buddha's disciples makes lords

and commons, Brahmans and

deliverance

down, give him what he

shelter,

The gospel of

^lidras equal.

not confined to the high-born alone, but

to the welfare of

many

people, to the joy of

many

is

given

people, to

the blessing, welfare and joy of gods and men."

We

how

can quite understand

historical treatment in our

times, which takes a delight in deepening

religious

movements by bringing

into

its

knowledge of

prominence or

who

role of a social reformer,

chains of caste and

the spiritual

won

is

dis-

Buddha the

<3overiDg their social bearings, has attributed to

conceived to have broken the

for the poor

and humble

kingdom which he founded.

their place in

But any one who

attempts to describe Buddha's labours must, out of love for

truth, resolutely

combat the notion that the fame of such an

exploit, in whatever
to

Buddha.

If

way he may

depict

it

to himself, belongs

any one speaks of a democratic element in

Buddhism, he must bear

reformation of national

mind

in

life,

that the conception of

any

every notion in any way based on

the foundation of an ideal earthly kingdom, of a religious

Utopia, was

quite

foreign to this

fraternity.

There was

nothing resembling a social upheaval in India.

spirit

was a stranger

to that enthusiasm, without

Buddha's

which no

one can pose as the champion of the oppressed against the

oppressor.

Let the state and society remain what they are;

the religious man,

who

as a

monk

has renounced the worlds

BUDDHA'S DISCIPLES.

15i

has no part in

cares

its

and occupations.

Caste

lias

no value

for him, for everything earthly has ceased to affect his interests,

but

it

never occurs to him to exercise his influence for

its

abolition or for the mitigation of the severity of its rules for

those

who have lagged behind

While

it is

true that

in worldly surroundings.

Buddhism does not reserve

only the right of entry into a spiritual

into the error of supposing that

up

for this cause

and do

life,

Buddha was the

battle

for

to

Brahmans

we must not
first to

fall

stand

Before Lis time,

it.

probably long before his time, there were religious orders,

which received members of

vSide

by

all castes,

both males and females.*

side with the first exclusive religious order of ancient

times, the Brahmans, there existed long ere this period, equal

Brahmans

to the

in public estimation, the second religious

order of the Samana,

was open
career,

to every one

i.e.,

ascetics,

who was

admission to whose ranks

resolved to renounce a worldly

whether he was high born or low born.

recognized in the

Buddhist traditions

something of which there

been otherwise.

There

is

these traditions, to find in

not deem

it

is

as

This fact

indisputable,

no recollection that

it

is

as

had ever

no need of overratiug the value of

them a guarantee

that

Buddha did

necessary to undertake a struggle against the

leaders of society and thought iu behalf of the spiritual rights

of the poor and humble

and

least of all is

it

possible that in

such a struggle lay the essential character of his

This by no means ends
historically

champion
of birth

all

life.

might be said against the

that

untrue conception of Buddha as the victorious

of the lower classes against a

haughty aristocracy

and brain.

If one speaks of the equality of

all

* Vide antea,

within the pale of Buddha's

p. G3.

SOCIAL POSITION OF TEE DISCIPLES.

confraternity,

it

is

not altogether superfluous to contrast the

theory, which was prevalent on this subject

with the actual

155

among

Buddhists,,

facts.

we have

seen, that the Buddhist theory

acknowledged the equal right

of all persons without distinction

It is the case, as

to

be received into the order, and

ledge

it,

or

And

principles.

could not but acknow-

it

would have given up the consequences of

it

indeed

to occur that postulants should

on the score of caste.*

its

own

does not appear to have been likely

it

be rejected contrary to the law,

Nevertheless

seems as

it

if

the actual

composition of the band, which surrounded Buddha's person,

and the composition of the early Church

moans

in

Brahman
still

exclusiveness was not maintained in

marked leaning

ancient

was by no

especially,

due keeping with the theory of equality

Buddhism

writings, in

to aristocracy

as an inheritance

if

even

extent,

seems to have lingered in

The sacred

from the past.

what they openly record

imply between the

full

its

as well as in

what they

give us sufficient means of drawing a

lines,

conclusion as to these matters.

In the

first

great address

which tradition puts in Buddha's mouth, the sermon

at Benares,

there occurs an expression, which unwittingly characterizes,

and withal

criticizes, as briefly as it

the early Church.

did sharply, the state of

Buddha speaks on

that occasion of the

highest consummation of religious aspirations, for the sake of

which ''the sons

homes and go
* Otlierwise

we

abuse.

is

noble families (kulaputta)

The

which the

especially detailed,

leave

their

who gathered

The Tinaya shows

section treating o the reception into the

distinct regulations directed against this

clearly that necessity existed

much more

to

(i.e.,

in the case of persons

into the order the rights of the

Third might have been

prevent improper concessions of admission

by whose entry

disciples

should expect to find in the Vinaya, the codex of

ecclesiastical law, in

order

of

into homelessness."

infringed), than to

guard against improper refusals of admission.

BUDDHA'S DISCIFLES.

lo6

round

tlie teaclier

coming from the noble House of the Sakyas,

the descendant of king Ikshvaku, were themselves for the

most part " sons of noble

personages,

whom we

we review

If

families."

are accustomed to

meet

the ranks of

in the texts,

find it clearly indicated, that the real situation

was by

we

this

phrase described conformably to fact ; here are young Brah-

mans

like Sariputta, Moggallana,

Kaccana, nobles like Ananda,

Eahula, Anuruddha, sons of the greatest merchants and highest

municipal dignitaries, like Yasa, invariably

men and

youths of

the most respectable classes of society, and with an education

in keeping with their social status.*

Besides there were the

numerous ascetics of other sects, converts to the faith of Buddha,

who undoubtedly

occupied,

social position. t

Among

am

by

birth and breeding, the

who surrounded Buddha,

man of low position. Not

the disciples

picked out as being a

same

not aware of any instance in which a

the barber Upali

is

quite correctly

as

barber of the Sakyas he was a courtier, and appears in the tradition as

Vide " Cullavagga,"
cf. " Jataka," i,

the personal friend of the Sakya youths.

and, as to the courtly standing of kings' barbers,

t It

may be

vii, 1-4,

p. 342.

observed in this connection that, according to Buddhist

dogmatic, a

Buddha can be born only

we have

clearly indicated, that the distinctions of caste have

it

as a

means vanished or become worthless

There

is

stih

much

else

which points in

Brahman

or as a noble

in this

by no

to the Buddliist consciousness.

this direction

with characteristic

In the narrative of a respected young Brahman who appears

significance.

" Thus the

Ambattha ii
respected and of high family, and he is the pupil of a respected Brahman,
Pokkharasati.
Truly not undesired by the Exalted One is such an
interview with such noble youths" (Ambutthasutta).
And Buddha's

in the cloister-garden and asks after Buddha,

disciples

communed among

recorded

it is

themselves, saying: this youth

beloved disciple, Ananda, says to his master with reference to a man of

" Sire, this

the noble house of the Mallas, the rulers over Kusinara

Malla Roja,

is

a respected, well-known person.

a respected and well-known person towards

is

of the highest importance.

So then,

The good

this doctrine

sire,

may

will of

such

and ordinance

the Exalted

One be

SOCIAL POSITION OF THE DISCIPLES.

Cand.ila

tlie

writings as a

Pariah of that age

member

is

lo7

mentioned in the sacred

of the order.

For the lower order of

the people, for those born to toil in manual labour^ hardened

by the struggle

for existence, the

nor was the

forms of existence was not made,*

dialectic of the

law of the painful concatenation of

pleased to bring
trine

announcement of the con-

all

nection of misery with

it

about tbat the Malla Roja shall be

And Buddha

and ordinance."

of his disciple (" Mahavagga,"

won

to this doc-

willingly complies with this request

If the texts permit any person at

vi, 36).

random, not specified by name, to come to Buddha and to be taught by

him, they describe such a person as a rule as " a certain
(especially

numerous instances occur

in the "

Nipata"). The text of the Jainas also furnish similar cases.

of the lotus flower, which

is

Siiti'akridanga), the flower

but " a king."

* By this it

is

is

to

Brahman

"

Anguttara-Nikaya, Tika-

In the simile

be delivered from the miry earth

(in

the

not any man at large in need of deliverance,

not meant to imply that people of humble origin in no

case appear in the old texts as

standing quite alone,

members of the

the narrative which

is

is

Interesting, but

order.

attributed to the Thera

(Ekler) Sunita in the collection of " Sayings of the Elders " (Theragatha) :
" I have come of a humble family, I was poor and needy. The work

which I performed was lowly, sweeping the withered flowers (out of

I was despised of men, looked down upon and

temples and palaces).

esteemed. With submissive mien I showed respect to many.

Then I beheld the Buddha with his band of monks, as he j)assed, the
great hero, into the most important town o Magadha, Then I cast
away my burden and ran to bow myself in reverence before him. From
Then I bowed myself
pity for me he halted, that highest among men.
at the Master's feet, stepped up to him and begged him, the highest
among all beings, to accej)t me as a monk. Then said unto me the
Come hither, O
gracious Master, the compassionator of all worlds

lightly

monk

;'

relates

that

was the

initiation

how he withdrew

'

which I received."

(Sunita further

and there wrapt

in contemplation,

to the forest,

longed for deliverance. The gods came to him and paid him reverence.)
" Then the Master saw me, how the host of the gods surrounded me.

smile broke over his features, and he spake these words

zeal

and chaste

living,

becomes a Brahman

by

that

restraint
is tlie

and

" B}^ holy

self-repression, thereby a

highest Brahmanhood."

man

BUDDHA'S DISCIPLES.

158

causes and effects calculated to satisfy "the poor in spirit."

"To

the wise belongetli this law/'

foolish."

Very unlike the word

" little children to come unto him,

of God."

"not

said,

is

it

who

of that Man_,

for of such is the

For children and those who are

to

the

suffered

kingdom

like children, the

arms of Buddha are not opened.

Of the several personages in the narrower

we cannot

expect to have a

circle

of disciples

life-like individual portrait.

as everywhere else in the literature of ancient India,

meet merely with types, not

individualities.

touched on this peculiarity

each

-of

We

Here,

we always

have already

the chief disciples re-

sembles every other, so that one might be taken for the other,
the same conglomerate of perfect purity, perfect internal peace,
perfect devotion to Baddha.

These are not real individuals

but the incarnated esprit de corps of the pupils of Buddha.

The names and the more important surronndings

in the life

of the individual disciples are undoubtedly authentic.

tion accords

among them

the foremost place

Tradi-

to those

two

Brahmans, bound to each other from youth up in bonds of

and Moggallana, who meet

closest friendship, viz., Sariputta

us

among

career

(p.

the converts gained by

134,

seq.).

they followed him

interval of each

Buddha's death.

Buddha

Throughout

faithfully,

his

in the outset of his

and

their

long

life

and they died within a short

other in extreme old age, not long before

It is Sariputta

whom Buddha

is

believed to

have declared to be the most prominent among his followers

he

is, it is

said,* like the eldest son of a world-ruling

monarch,

who, following the king, helps him to put in motion the wheel
of sovereignty, which he sets rolling over the earth. f

Nearest

* " Anguttara Nikaya, Pancata-Niptita."

t

By

tliis

description of Sariputta as " eldest son of the Churcli,"

was not contemplated,

however, that

lie

it

might be called to be Buddha's

SARIPUTTA, MOGOALLANA, ANANDA.

among

to tliese two Bralimans,

Buddha,

own

his

is

monk

adopted the garb of a

young nobles

we

of

his brother Devadatta,

disciples behind,

it

is

Ananda

well address gives, as

we

may

to

disciple

''

him

entitle

whom

whom

of Buddha's person

life,

when Buddha had

often,

and the narrative of Buddha's

well

The care

necessities of his daily

to Ananda's hands

a youth,

be the apostate and traitor in the band,

was likewise among these Sakyas.

and the ordinary

still

company with a whole group of

in

Sakya family;*

shall discover to

those wlio stand closest to

Ananda, who, when

cousin,

lo'J

the other

who accompanies him,

alone

journeyings and of his fare-

last

shall

were committed
left all

see, to

bo above

the Master loved."

Ananda a

role,

which

known

as the

Another member

of this

all

others

was Upali, who had formerly served the noble

select circle

Sakyas as a barber, and who entered Buddha's order at the

same time with

He

his masters.

the sacred writings as the

first

law of the young Church

it is

special share in the framing

is

frequently mentioned in

propouuder of the

ecclesiastical

not improbable that he had a

and the

scholastic transmission of

the old confessional liturgy, from which has sprung the whole
ecclesiastical

Euhula,

whom

literature

of

Buddha's own son,

Buddhism.

he had begotten before leaving

also entered the order,

and

the great disciples already

is

his father's roof,

not unfrequently mentioned with

named

a prominent part, however,

he does not seem to have played in this band.

successor, the

head of the Church after the Master's death.

of any head of the Church but Buddha himself

to

Buddhism, independently of the

is,

as

we

The notiou

shall see, foreign

fact that tradition could not

have

chosen a person more ill-adapted to give expression to this idea, than a

disciple,

One

states
<'

who

died before Buddha.

of the few chronological statements contained in the sacred texts

that this happened twenty-five years before

Theragatha,"

fol.

gai of the

Phayrc MS.).

Buddha's death

BUDDHA'S DISCIPLES.

CO
Tlio

Judas Iscariot among Buddha's disciples

Lis macliinations

own

were unsuccessful

is^

except

that

Buddha's

as narrated^

Stimulated by ambition he seems to

cousin^ Devadatta.*

have aimed at stepping into the place of Buddha^ who had

management

already grown old^ and at getting the

community
permit

tliis,

of

who

aiming

is

the Master out of the way.

by which the

of the

life

at his father's throne, to

Their projects

Holy One

fail

preserved

is

they come near Buddha

are converted to the faith

Buddha,

so that

it

elephant, which

is

peaks,

is

put

miracles are

defeated murderers are attacked by fear and trembling,

to crush

the

does not

he attempts, in conjunction with Ajatasattu, the son

of king Bimbisara_,

related,

When Buddha

own hands.

into his

the

when

he speaks gently to them, and they

the piece of rock which

interrupted

merely grazes
driven against

is

intended

by two converging mountain

Buddha's foot:

Buddha

in a

the wild

narrow

street,

remains standing before him, paralyzed by the magic power of

his

"

friendly thought,"

Devadatta

is

the Church in another way.

He makes

number

of points which affect monastic

Buddha allowed

a certain

amount of freedom

discretion of the individual

substitvite

last

five propositions,

which we possess an account seemingly quite above

On

At

and then turns tamely back.

said to have attempted to obtain the leadership of

of

suspicion.-j-

life,

on which

of action at the

member, Devadatta attempted to

a more rigorous ascetic praxis for these liberal

* The oldest form of the narratives regarding Devadatta

is

to

be foimd

in the seventh book of the " Cullavagga."

t " Cullavagga."

It

is

possible, but naturally

that the history of these five propositions

it

cannot be demonstrated,

and the schism brought about

by Devadatta arc the ouly historical kernel of these narratives, and that
the attempts at murder are an invention, which the orthodox Buddhist
tried to tack

on

to the

memory

of the hated heretic.

uPALi, eJhvla, devadatta.

regulations

for instance, he insisted tliat a

IGl

monk

should have

Buddha

his camping-place all his life long in the jungle, while

permitted him to live in the neighbourhood of towns and

villages,

and was himself accustomed

to live there;, a

monk

was, furthermore, to live only on the contributions which he

collected on his

begging excursions, and was not to accept any

dine with the pious laity

invitations to

himself only in clothes

made up

Whoever acted

of the like.

he was to dress

of gathered rags

and more

otherwise, would be punished

with expulsion from the community.

Devadatta proposed

these rules as the fundamental principles of a true and rigid

spiritual

opposition to Buddha's arrangements as a

in

life,

human

lax concession to
to himself the

frailties,

tradition, with a transient

total

and he

monks around Buddha

discomfiture.

success,

Devadatta

is

tried to
if

draw

we may

off

believe

which then turned into

said

to have

come

to

deplorable end.*

These are the most prominent figures in the band of Buddha's

disciples

who
^^

but disciples in deed and in truth those alone are

give up

all

that

is

earthly to, as the formula puts

walk in holiness, to put an end to

all

nuns, with the Indian designations,

(beggar, m.)

in the history of Jesus,

Mary and Martha, stand

with Peter and John, so Buddhism

it,

" monks and

"bhikkhu"

and '^bhikkhuni" (beggar,/.). But, as

Lazarus and Nicodemus,

suffering

also, side

by

side

by

side

side with the

male and female mendicants recognize male and female votaries

(upasaka, m.

upasika,/.) of

who honour Buddha

Buddha and

his law, believers,

as the holy preacher of deliverance

and his

* According to the later wide-spread version of the narrative, the

the narrative of the
jaws of hell opened and swallowed him alive
" GuUavagga," as a matter of course, represents him going to hell, but
;

.says

nothing of this departure to hell in living form.

11

BUDBEA'S DISCIPLES.

162

word

word

as the

position_, in

make themselves
gifts

and

of trutb^ but

who remain

in their worldly

wedlock, in the possession of their property, and

by

useful to the Church, as far as they can,

Yet the monks

charities of every kind.

the lay-adherents, are exclusively

The formation

members

this wider

of

circle

alone, not

of the Church.*

worldly believers

of

as an inconsistent relaxation of original

has been resra-rded
O
O

Buddhism,

on the part of clear and rigorous

as a concession

thought to practicability and the weakness of human nature.

been supposed that in the oldest texts the distinc-

It has also

tion to be found

and

is

only between professed believers,

non-believers,

monks and

i.e.,

believing

we

A close examination of the

iii).

monks,

The

wholly erroneous.

is

possess speak of the laity,

relations

between

tlie

be reserved for the

lay-associates miist obviously

Life " (part

This

laity.

oldest traditions which

i.e.,

the laity, but not that of believing

who

monks proper and

sketch, of "

Church

It will suffice in this place to point out that the idea of

lay-members (upasaka) in Buddhist Church-law cannot be taken in the

same sense
idea there

as a technical
is

term as that of monks (bhikkhu)

in the latter

involved a definite de jure relationship, in the former the

For anyone

relationship is rather de facto than inherently de jure.

become a bhikkhu a special procedure

Church to complete the fact the case

to

is

necessary on the part of the

of a person

who

be

desires to

considered an upasaka expresses this, of course, and the texts have

in this

case

also,

as

for

everything

definite formula (" I take, sire,

my

that occurs with frequency,

and

may

the

with the Doctrine, and with the Order of

me as his
me who have

Exalted One accept

through

my

life,

refuge with the Exalted One,

the disciples

votary [upasaka] from this day forward

taken refuge with him

"),

but no special

procedure follows, no recognition of the upasaka as such on the part

of the Church.

Furthermore there were no

ties

which prohibited the

Buddhist upasaka from being at the same time the upasaka of another

Church

(cf.

" Cullav.,"

v,

20,

3),

so that

it

appears in every

way

impossible to identify the position of the upasaka with anything

understand to be among the components of a Church.

we

LAY- ASSOCIATES, BniBISAEA, ETC.

163

profess to be friends and votaries of Buddlia and the order,

and the nature of the case compels us

There must in

traditions.

cant

monks

something

names,

felt

it

xip,

is

were mendi-

have also been pious laymen, who gave

to these religious beggars,

have grown

definite

in India,

to attach credit to those

fact, since ever there

and there must

also soon

whether with or without recognized forms and

quite immaterial, a certain relationship between

monks

or monastic orders

and a

definite laity,

who

themselves bound to each other, the one class to receive

spiritual instruction, the other to obtain the little that they

needed

And more

for their maintenance.

than a connection

of this class, the relation which subsisted between Buddha's

order and the lay -believers has not been.

and merchants, we find

who " took their refuge in Buddha, the Law, and
Order," i.e., who made their profession as lay-believers

Princes and nobles, Brahmans

among
the

those

the wealthy and the aristocrat,

it

seems, here also exceeded

the poor; to reach the humble and wretched, the sorrowing,

who endured

yet another sorrow than the great universal

sorrow of inpermanence, was not the province of Buddhism.

Prominent among the

friends

'^

adherents" stand the two royal

of Buddha, Bimbisara,

the ruler of Magadha, and

Pasenadi, the ruler of Kosala, both approximately of the same

age as Buddha, and throughout their

Church.

Then

lives true protectors of his

comes Jivaka, the renowned physician-in-

ordinary to Bimbisara,*

who was appointed by

undertake medical attendance, not on him and his

the king to

women

only,

but also on Buddha and Buddha's order ; next, the merchant

Anathapindika, who had presented to the order the garden of
Jetavana, Buddha's favourite place of resort.

In

all

important

* The story of Jivaka and the wonderful cures which he

related in the Eighth

Book

of the "

effects is

Mahavagga."

11*


WOMEN.

1G4:

places wliicli Buddlia touclied in

lie

found bands of

tlie

course of his wanderings,

sucli lay-believers,

wbo went out to meet

Baddha spoke, who

him, arranged for assemblies, in which

gave him and his companions their meals, who placed their
residences and gardens at their disposal, or

the order as Church property.

'ith

hundreds of his

made them over

to

he went wandering about

If

were sure to

disciples, pious votaries

ftccompany him on his journey with carts and waggons, and

they brought necessaries of

life, salt,

and

oil

with them, for

each in his turn to prepare the wanderer a meal, and crowds of

needy folk followed

in their train to snatch the remains of

these provisions.

Women.
Buddha and

and could not

his disciples did not

into contact with

women

fail to

repast at the house of a lay-member, at which the

members

come

every begging excursion,* every

female

of the household appeared with the master of the

house and listened after the repast to spiritual instruction,

The

necessarily involved such meetings.

from the outer world, which

quite unheard of in ancient India ;

the intellectual

life

of the people,

tenderest of the epic

seclusion of

women

custom has enjoined, was

later

women

took their share in

and the most

poems of the Indians show

delicate

and

how

well

us

they could understand aud appreciate true womanhood.

But was

it

possible for a

mind

like

Buddha, who in the severe

determination of renunciation had torn himself away from

* It was, as a rule,
the

women

their howls.

Cullavajga,

answered
handed them food into

wlio, in the liouses of the laity,

monks who went on begging

excursions, and

viii, 5, 2.

all

FEMALE DISCIPLES.
and lovely in

tliat is attractive

faculty to understand

165

this world,

was ho given the

And were

and to valuo woman^s nature ?

those ideals, which evoked the exertions of Buddha's disciples,

calculated

in

and

women's

satisfy

impersonal transcendentalism, to kindle

their

hearts, to

be even realized in their rigorous

and stern consequences by womanly feeling

Women

are to the Buddhist of

the snares which the

all

tempter has spread for men, the most dangerous

are embodied

mind
are

The ancient story books

of the world.

of

full

artifice of

in

women

the powers of infatuation, which bind the

all

and

narratives

of

illustrations

" Unfathomably deep,

women.

of the Buddhists

the incorrigible

like a fish's course

in the water," the moral of one such history runs, ^'is the

character of

truth

is

women, robbers with many

hard to

find, to

truth .like a lie."

" how

shall

their gaze,

then are
if

" Master,"

we behave

Ananda."
to do ? "

we

we do speak

whom

artifices,

lie is like

Buddha

is

with whonj

the truth and the

asked by Ananda,

women ? " " You should shun

" But if we do see them, master, what

before

''

Not speak

to them, master,

to them, Ananda."
" But
what then ? " " Then you

must watch over yourselves, Ananda."

We are told, and some trustworthy memory may possibly
be at the bottom of

men were
that

it

this tradition, that for a

long time only

permitted to be received into Buddha's order, and

was only with grave misgiving that Buddha yielded

to the pressure of his foster-mother, Mahapajapati, to receive

women

also as his disciples.*

* " Cullavagga,"
in

tlie

x, 1.

"As

Agreeably to

in a field of rice,

this,

Ananda,

nuns do not appear as

narratives of Buddha's hrst experiences as a teacher.

disciples

The

con-

fessional formulary, " Patiniokkha," notably one of the oldest literary

monuments of Buddhism, mentions the nuns at every

Asoka also remembers them in the Edict of Bairat.

step,

and king

WOMEN.

166

vigour, the disease breaks out whicli

wliicli is in full

then
longer, so
mildew,

vigour of that

tlie

also,

Ananda,

and to an order

if

women be

to renounce the

called

no

admitted in a doctrine

world and go into home-

lessuess, holy living does not last long.

If,

doctrine and the order, which the Perfect

it

is

of rice continues

field

Ananda, in the

One has founded,

were not conceded to women to go out from their homes

holy

homelessness,

into

Ananda,

for

which

order,

the

remain

preserved,

the pure doctrine would abide

But now, Ananda,

for a thousand years.

and

would

living

a long time;

that, in the doctrine

One has founded, women

Perfect

renounce the world and go into homelessness, under these

circumstances, Ananda, holy living will not be long preserved;

only

five

hundred years, Ananda,

will the doctrine of the truth

abide."

The narratives of the sacred

writings, accordingly, unmis-

takably keep the female disciples,

who have donned

the garb

of nuns, at a certain distance from the master, both in spiritual

>offices

and

Bethany.

in daily life.
Buddhism has not had a Mary of
Buddha announces the rules, which he lays down

for the order of nuns, to the

to reach the

monks and merely

nuns through them

causes

them

and these regulations keep

the nuns as regards the monks in perfectly submissive subjection

and

throughout they are treated merely as a tolerated,

reluctantly tolerated,

x>of the female disciples is

and

it

is

made

element in the Church.

near the master when he

Not one
is

dying,

a matter of reproach to Ananda, that he has

granted access to Buddha's corpse to women, whose tears

bedewed the

corpse.

"

home,'' says Socrates,

Kriton, let some one lead this

when Xanthippe appears

woman

in his prison

to take a last farewell of him.

Thus, between the

spirit,

which

animated

Buddha and

BUDDHA'S CONVERSATION WITH VISAKHA.

Buddlia's

and

disciples,

wliicli

tliat

167

woman's nature

and

is

gives and seeks, tliere was a fundamental difference, which

But instead we

could not be reconciled.

India

more

the

all

zealously engaged

find the

women

of

fellow-labourers

as

through charity, assistance, and service, in those practical

spheres which the young Church opened up for religious

The

usefulness.

stupendous

munificence,

which

met the

Buddhist order at every step, proceeded in groat measure,

perhaps in the greatest measure, from women.

In the sacred texts the type of a female votary of Buddha,

as she ought to be, with her indefatigable zeal as a giver and
as a helper,
citizen

is

the honourable matron Visakha.

commoner

many blooming

mother of
countless

grandchildren.

sacrificial

ceremonies

offered to her first;

house.
the

It

a rich

grandmother

invites

and

Visakha

has

the

disciples

of

I here

who

is

represented to have

who came

dishes

made

to Savatthi, the chief necessaries

insert the narrative in point ;*

once an intelligible picture of what people in

it

gives at

the

young

brotherhood thought as to giving and receiving and as

which

of the

of
to

preparations on a large scale to provide for

Buddha's
life.

one

and banquets,

is

a guest like her brings luck to the

Visakha,

is

first liberal

the

children,

Every

She

town of Kosala, the

at Savatthi, the chief

two

is

the

more blessed

<-^

the only benefactor,

who must be thanked, is not he who gives anything to Buddha

and his order, but Buddha who accepts the gift and thereby
puts the giver in the position to practice the virtue of charity
:and to

become partaker

of that reward,

which

is

promised to

this virtue.

Buddha

is

one day dining with his disciples at Visakha's.

* " Maliuva^ga,"

viii,

15.


WOMEN.

168
After dinner Visakha
requests, sire, I

make

approacbes liim and

One ''

of the Exalted

'^

says

What

is

and what

allowable, sire,

Perfect,
wish.'''

" Then

unblamable."

is

Eiglit

" The

Visakha, are too exalted to be able to grant every

*'

?peak, Visakha."

"

I desire as long as I live, sire, to give the brotherhood

food to stranger

*lothes for the rainy season, to give

who

arrive here, to

give food to

monks who

monks

are passing-

through, to give food to sick brethren, to give food to the

attendants on the sick, to

give

medicine to the sick, to

distribute a daily dole of cooked rice, to give bathing dresses

to the sisterhood of nuns."

" What object hast

thou

in

view,

(Visakha
^'

know

now

monk,

who comes from

"
:)

foreign parts, does not

the streets and lanes and he goes about weary to collect

When

alms.
for the

he has partaken of the food which I

monks who

he

arrive,

may

streets,

This end,

have in view

sire, I

I live to give food to

monk who

is

then,

shall provide

when he has

go out refreshed

the ways and the

sire,

So she says

explains her several wishes.

sire,

thou

that

Yisiikha,

approachest the Perfect One with these eight wishes

to

inquired

collect alms.

therefore I desire as long as

monks when they

arrive.

travelling through will,

if

And

again,

he has to seek

for food for himself, fall behind his caravan, or will arrive late

when he

intends to rest, and he will walk on his journey

wearily.

If

he has partaken of the food which I

provided for monks

who

shall

have

are passing through, he will not

behind his caravan, and he

will arrive in

fall

proper time at the

place where he intends to rest, and he will walk on his journey

refreshed.

This object I have in view,

as long as I live, to give food to the

through.

It has

happened,

sire, that

sire

therefore I desire^

monks who

are passing

nuns were bathing naked

BUDDHA'S CONVERSATION WITH VISAKHA.

160

together in the river Aciravati (Rapti) at the same bathing'

The

with prostitutes.

place

prostitutes^

mocked the

sire,

nuns^ saying: 'Most respected ones, what do you need of

your holy

life,

as long as

When

gi'atify desire ?

you

so both will be yours, this life

When

the nuns,

sire,

young ?

are

Is

not proper to

it

you are old you may begin a holy

and that which

is

to

life,

come/

were thus mocked by the prostitutes,

they were put out of temper.

Improper,

a woman, obscene and objectionable.

sire, is

nakedness for

This, sire, I consider;

therefore I desire, as long as I live, to provide bathing-dresses

for the sisterhood of nuns.^^

And Buddha

says

" Good, Yisakha

thou doest well, that

thou, seeking this reward, askest the Perfect

eight wishes.

One

for these

I grant thee these eight wishes, Visakha."

Then the Holy One praised Visakha, the mother of Migara,

in these words
"

Who
The

gives food

and

follower of the

Who,

Who

di-ink

with generous readiness.

Holy One,

without grudging, gives

puts an end to pain,

is

rich in virtues,
gifts for

Obtains the reward of a heavenly

She walks the

shining,

the reward of heaven.

ever intent on bringing joy,

life.

commendable path,

Free from pain, she joyfully reaps for a very long period
The reward of good deeds in the happy realm of heaven above."

Pictures like this of Visakha, benefactresses of the Church,

with their inexhaustible religious

zeal,

and

their

inexhaustible resources of money, are certainly,

ever was, drawn from the

life

cannot be

if

actors

was.

left

out of sight,

who made

if

not

of India in those days

we

less

anything
:

they

desire to get an idea of the

the oldest Buddhist community what

it

BUDDHA'S OPPONENTS.

170

Buddha's Opponents.

Now

that

friends_,

we have made

our next inquiry

is

the acquaintance of disciples and

about the enemies and about the

battles in

which the new gospel had to prove

we might

believe the Buddhist texts on this subject, Buddha's

career was

strength.

If

nothing but one great uninterrupted victorious

Wherever he comes, the masses,

march.

its

after time, flock to him.

they are silent

Whoever hears

if

he "

it

told us time

is

The other teachers are deserted

raises his lion voice in the assemblies."

his discourse, is converted.

This picture certainly does not wholly correspond with the

truth,

and we can, on some points

at least, learn the actual

facts tolerably well.

Above

all it

must be borne

in

mind

that

Buddha did not

find himself like other reformers face to face with a great,

united power, capable of resistance, and determined to resist,

in which

was embodied the old which he attacked and desired

to replace by the new.

People are accustomed to speak of Buddhism as opposed to

Brahmanism, somewhat

in the

way

that

it is

allowable to speak

of Lutheranism as an opponent of the papacy.

mean, as they might be inclined from

But

if

they

this parallel to do, to

picture to themselves a kind of Brahmanical Church, which

assailed

by Buddha, which opposed

its

resistance

to

is

its

operations like the resistance of the party in possession to an

upstart, they are mistaken.

Buddha did not

find himself in

the presence of a Brahmanical hierarchy, embracing the whole

people, overshading the whole popular
districts

religious

ramified in
side

by

many

side, at

The champions

movement, allowing
separate directions

life.

In the eastern
play,

itself free

sects

upon

had

sects exist

peace or at war as circumstances determined.

of the

Yeda, of Brahmanism, are

really not

BUDDHA AND BRAHMANI8M.

more than one among many
ance,

by no means an

171

parties, and, indeed, to all appear-

They wanted

especially powerful one.

altogether compact organization

rate in the territories in

least of all did they, at

any

which Buddha's work was prosecuted,

represent a state-Church or had they power to enforce their

commands by
(prestige

the assistance of worldly power.

was by no means undisputed

Brahman, who as an

officer of

in the king's

name and then deceived

clerics,

the king in turn,

invited to dine,

if

the great

high rank oppressed the people

to the small

who,

Their personal

From

there.

down

made themselves

disagreeably conspicuous by their behaviour at table, their

personal appearance and manner of

men

life

provoked

Long

did not withhold that criticism.

v{an ascetic)

had come

Brahman

and

Samana

be not a hair lighter in popular

to

estimation than a Brahman.

nobility of the

criticism,

since a

The Veda, the great patent

class could not possibly give

of

them a

claim to power and popularity, such even as that the Pharisees

had

Who among

in the Mosaic law.

Veda, for the abstruse theories of

which no one understood, or

language of which was

still

the people cared for the

sacrifice,

the language of

the ancient hymns,

for

less understood, the

hymns

the
to

forgotten deities, the heirlooms of grammarians and antiquaries?

The propitiatory
guilt

and

sacrifice

with

its

plain external conception of

behind which the greedy exaction of

purification,

a priestcraft lay concealed, must have kept alive in earnest

and clear thinking natures,

ill-will

Thus Brahmanism was not

to

towards

this priesthood.

Buddha an enemy whose

conquest he would have been unable to

effect.

He may

often

have found the local influence of respected Brahmans an

obstacle in his path,*
* The insignificant part

but against

wliicli tlie

this

hundred

other

western portions of Ilindostan (the

countries of the Kuru-Pancala, and so forth) phiy in the narration of

BUDDHA'S OPPONENTS.

172

Bralimans stood by him as

tim

as lay

taken place.

liis

disciples or

bad declared for

Here no struggle on a large

members.*

scale has

The Brahmans had not the weapons of the world

without at their disposal in such a warfare, and where the

arbitrament was of intellectual weapons, they were sure to
lose.

Buddha

discredited the sacrificial system

bitter irony the

knowledge of Vedic scribes

not as shameless swindle

as sheer folly, if

Brahmanical pride of caste was not

He who

more gently handled.

he censured with

repeats the lays and sayings of

the poetic sages of antiquity and then fancies himself a sage,

is

like a plebeian or a slave,

who should mount up

from which a king has addressed his

same words and then fancy himself

retinue,

"Like a chain of

received from the teachers before him.

blind men, I take

it,

is

the discourse of the

in front sees nothing, he

he who
so,

is

who

is

Brahmans vain

Brahmans he who
:

in the middle sees nothing,

behind sees nothing, what then

the faith of the

The

The pupil

also a king.f

what the teacher has believed, the teacher what he has

believes

is

to the place

and speak the

Is not,

if

this

bo

VJ

classical expression of the views of the old

Buddhist

33uddLa's wanderings arises not only from their remoteness, but also in
a not less degrees from the

more powerful

Manu

(9,

225) gives authority for expelling

state, there is in this a claim of

Brahmans
"When the law of

position which, the

occupied there, in the old home of the Yedic faith.

all

heretical people from the

Brahmanism which a code framed

in

the

east could scarcely have dared to advance.

* It
Ti'ay

is

worthy of observation that the usage of the Buddhist texts in no

connects with the word "

cause of Buddha, in the

way

Brahman "

that in the

the notion of an

New

Scribes appear as the standing enemies of Jesus.

t Sic Ambattasutta (Digha-Nikaya).

X Cankisuttanta (Majjhima N.).

enemy

to the

Testament Pharisees and

CRITICISM OF SACRIFICIAL SYSTEMS.

we may

Church, and,

Buddha, regarding the value of

say, of

the Vedic sacrificial cult,

Buddha with a Brahman

contained in a conversation of

is

of position,

about the essentials of a proper

Buddha then

173

who had asked Buddha

saci'ifice.*

narrates the story of a powerful and successful

king of bygone days, who, after splendid victories and the

conquest of the whole earth, formed the resolution of making

He summoned

great offering to the gods.

-and asked his instructions, as to

The

project.

to establish

kingdom.
does

priest admonishes

first of all

Not

his family priest

should set about his

him before

offering a sacrifice,,

peace, prosperity, and security in his

until all injustices in the land are repaired,

he proceed to

sentient creature
trees are

how he

is

And

at his sacrifice

cattle

and sheep are

sacrifice.

taken

hewn down

no

no grass

The servants

is cut.

king perform their work in connection with the

under pressure and in

king's sacrifice

is

oil,

own

is,

of the

not

verge

Buddha goes on

to say, yet another offering, easier to perform than that,

yet higher and more blessed

of

no

and thus the

offered,

But there

performed.

prompts him.

inclination

and honey are

life

sacrifice,

tears, in fear of the overseer's

each works willingly, as his

Libations of milk,

no

killed

where men make

and

gifts to pious

monks, where men build dwelling-places for Buddha and his

order.

And

there

is

yet a higher offering

where a man with

believing heart takes his refuge with Buddha, with the Doctrine,

with the Order, when a

man

man

robs no being of

puts far from him lying and deceit.

higher offering

there

when a
is

yet a

where a man separates as a monk from joy and

sorrow and sinks himself in holy repose.

offering,

its life,

And

But the highest

which a man can bring, and the highest blessing of

* Kutadantasutta of

tlie

Diglia-jN'ikaya.

BUDDHA'S OPPONENTS.

174:

wliicli

he can be made

participator^

deliverance and gains this knowledge

This

to this world.

is

when

is^

the highest perfection of

Thus speaks Buddha; the Brahman hears

believingly,

and says

my

" I take

lie

obtains

I sball not again return

all offering.

his

discourse-

refuge with Buddha, with

He had

the Doctrine and with the Order.'^

himself intended

and had hundreds of animals

to perform a great sacrifice^

''
I let them loose and set them
it.
" let them enjoy green grass, let them drink

ready for

free/' he says,
cool water, let

the cool wind fan them.'^

The expressions which we here

clearly elicit from

them the

the ancient cult.

We

new

sketches

what procedure they adopted

but,

faith;

Buddha's

of

no commentary to

do not hear how the Brahmans on their

part fortified their position,

against the

find need

attitude of the Buddhists towards

if

we

possessed Brahmanical

our

appearance,

conviction

would

hardly be thereby destroyed, that from the very beginnings

the intrinsic superiority as well as the external advantage in
this straggle

was on the

Buddha found

Buddha's

side of

orders more subtle and dangerous

champions of the ancient

many

faith.

of these communities

was

We

it

seems as

their monastic

The

spirit

which animated

If

we read

on which

the sacred books

we heard Buddhists speaking.

have no quite reliable opinion as to the terms upon

which the monks of the

other.

if

and

opponents than in the

allied to the spirit

Buddha's own work was based.

of the Jainas,

disciples.

in the rival ascetic leaders

rival

communities mixed with each

Openly expressed enmity appears

prevailed

it

was not unusual

for

members

to

have not always

to visit each other

in their hermitages, to exchange civilities, to speak to each

other coolly and temperately on dogmatic

subjects.

That

there was notwithstanding an incessant play of intrigue in

RELATIONS WITH OTHER MONASTIC ORDERS.

progress

be obvious

"will

175'

wliere tbe object in view

was to

deprive each other of the protection of influential personages

King Asoka found

no trouble was spared.

occasion in his

edicts to point out to the spiritual brotherhoods, that he is

only doing an injury to his

own

who

faith

thinks to set

a clear light by abusing the adherents of another

it

in

But

faith.

whether Buddha himself and the disciples immediately round

him descended from the heights

the

orthodox

scramble,

we

a point on which

is

of holy meekness,

enthrones

tradition

them, to

this

on which
religious

are forbidden to hazard

a conjecture.

What more

than anything else distinguished Buddha from

the most of his rivals was his dissentient attitude towards the
self-mortifications, in

We

which they saw the path to deliverance.*

saw how, according

Buddha himself

to tradition,

period of search through which he passed

had endured

their fruitlessness in his

drives earthly thoughts out of

bodily agony, but

the soul

above

self-culture,

knowledge, and for this struggle

from an external

and from

most rigorous

self-mortifications in their

and had found out

life,

privation,

which

and

still

is

man

far

in the

when a young man,

own

What

not fasting and

is

all

severity,

case.

the struggle for

derives the power only

removed

more from

alike

from luxury

self-inflicted pain.

In

* I take the following passages from one of the sacred texts of the
iNiggantha-

putta

"

or Jaina-sect, founded

By day

by Buddha's contemporary

motionless as a statue,

sun, permitting himself to

night cowering, unclothed

tlie

jSTtita-

countenance turned to the

burn on a place exposed to the sim's rays, by

...

by

this conspicuous, great, intense,

prominent, precious, efficacious, rich, promising, noble, exalted, high,

supreme, conspicuous, very potent exercise of penance he appeared very

debilitated
flesh

and blood

brilhantly

with penance richly covered, but impoverished iu

like a fire covered over with heaps of ashes, shining

through

penance, through radiance, in

radiance of penance, there he stands."

nobleness of the

BUDDHA'S VIEWS AS TO PENANCES.

176

the sermon at Benares, in whicli tradition has undertaken to

draw up something

like a

programme

of

Buddha's operations,*

polemic directed against those errors o gloomy ascetics is not

absent ; the way which leads to deliverance keeps itself as far

from

all self-mortification

earthly pleasure

unworthy and

as

it

steers clear

on the other

the one as well as the other

The

vain.

true spiritual

life

is

th'ei-e

side of

termed

once compared

is

to a lute, the strings of which must not bo too loose nor

The
stretched too tensely, if it is to give a correct sound.
balance of the faculties, the internal harmony,

Buddha commands
So

his followers to

is

is

once for

limits to

by its nature

all

that which

at securing.

far as moral living can maintain a healthy

on the ground and within the

cism

aim

development

which Indian monasti-

confined, so far

we must

claim

Buddha's work the merit of such inherent soundness. He

has seen through the enveloping husks which conceal the

for

kernel of the ethical more clearly than his contemporaries,

to the

and has bequeathed

knowledge
which

is

community of

his followers this

of the subject, the clear rejection of everything

foreign thereto.

It

may be chance

that has given his

doctrine the victory over the doctrines of his rival contemporaries centuries after the deaths of all;

more

but possibly the

the darkness which covers these centuries for us

dissipated, this

game

of chance

may

is

the more resemble the

operation of a law of necessity.

Buddha's Method of Teaching.

Our task
teaching ;

is

now

to give

we reserve

the following Part.

some idea

of the

form of Buddha's

the attempt to unfold

its

purport for

Buddha's whole work was carried on by

* See above

p. 127.

THE DIALECT WHICH HE SPOKE.

communication

oral

written

lie

in all probability not

unknown

writing was unheard

of.

has not.

"Writing itself was

in his day, but certainly

book-

Brief wi'itten communicatious, brief

common in India even

written notifications, appear to have been

at that time

177

books were not written, but learned by rote and

taught from memory.

Those extensive

such as were

treatises,

addressed by the apostles in the form of letters to the early

Christian Churches, and which

cast so rich a light

on the

history of those Churches and circles of thought, are wholly

wanting in Buddhist

literature.

Buddha spoke, not

Sanscrit, but, like every one around him,*

We

the popular idiom of eastern Hindostan.

and the analogies of a

tions

can by inscrip-

closely allied, jDrobably

South

Indian popular dialect, the Pali, obtain an adequate picture of

this dialect

a soft

and agreeably-sounding language, which

distinguished from the Sanscrit

of

is

by the same smoothing down

the conjoined consonants, the same

tendency to vocalic

terminations, which gives the Italian its character as opposed

to the Latin language.

People said mutte for muldas (" free "),

vijju for vidyut {" the lightning "), as the Italian says fatti for

ama

facti,

for amat.

suited to express fine

The syntax was simple and not very well

and sharp shades of

dialectic.

* The Bralimans also of this eastern land spoke undoubtedly in their

daily intercourse the popular dialect
find

it

later in the dramas, the

of this circumstance

had the Sanscrit been

language of the upper

must have shown

But, as far as I know, there

is

itself in the

no reference

to

And

Brahman

we

some trace

sacred Pali texts.

be found in them (except,

perhaps, at " Cullavagga," v, 33) to the Sanscrit, which to

ances was not, setting aside the

here, as

classes,

schools,

known

in

all

wider

appearcircles.

this is not at all difficult to account for, as the Sanscrit belongs

originally to the western parts of

Hindostan

its

universal einployment

as the language of the educated classes through all India,

the inscriptions teach us,

first

acquired at a

much

it

has, as also

later period.

12

BUDDHA'S METHOD OF TEACHING.

178

In

tlie

early Churchy moreover^ no special importance

was

attached to the dialect, in which, the doctrine of deliverance

had been

first

language.

"I

''

Buddha's words are confined to no

preached.

disciples^" tradition*

direct^

that each individual learn the

makes him

words of Buddha

say,

own

in his

tongue."

Anyone who reads

'

the lectures which the sacred texts put

in Buddha's mouth, can scarcely refrain from asking whether

the form, in which he himself taught his doctrine, can possibly

have resembled these self-same panoramas of abstract and

often abstruse structures with their endless repetitions piled

high upon each other.

Should we not like to see in the picture

of those early times something else beside merely a living spirit

operating with the fresh vigour of youth in the circle of master

and

jDupils,

and should we not for that reason be inclined to

eliminate from this

tension and fiction

we

picture all that imparts to

And

at the

same time

is it

it

an

air

natural,

of

when

'

endeavour to obtain a representation of Buddha's teaching

and preaching,

for us to

resort

another

to

the tradition of the Buddhist Church, that

is,

source

beside

when thought,

consciously or unconsciously, recurs to the teaching of Jesus

Those homely sentences with their

setting

and

totally

their deep internal wealth,

form, from which

we may

may have accompanied

infer that

seem

it,

uu studied external
to

wear that very

or some similar form,

the dissemination of

the

Buddhist

doctrine, as long as the spirit of the early ages survived.

Reflections

such as these are not easy to

historical treatment, before

committing

itself to

repress,

but

them, will do

well not to leave untested the ground and foundation on which

they

rest.

It cannot

be forgotten that the fundamental differences of

* " Cullavagga,"

v, 33, 1.

SCHOLASTIC CHARACTER OF HIS DISCOURSES.

thouglits

tlie

Christian and

and the

dispositions

early Buddhist

that these differences

must

with which

179

the

early-

communities dealt, were such

method

also find expression in tlie

of religious instruction.

Where

the pure sentiment of the simple, believing heart

supreme, where there are children to

whom

is

the Father in

heaven has given His kingdom to possess, there the brief and

homely language, which comes from the depth

may touch

But the mode

organized development of a system of ideas.

which Buddha

thinkino- of the world in

paths

for

ignorance

of a pure heart,

the proper chords more effectually than the highly

it

all

moves

lived,

weal and woe, depend on knowledge and

ignorance

the ultimate root of

is

all evil,

and the

power, which can strike at the root of this

sole

knowledge.

Deliverance

therefore, above

is,

than the exposition of

of

series

this

is

less or

more

knowledge, Avhich means the

abstract

of

evil,

knowledge ;*

all,

and the preachicg of deliverance can be nothing

unfolding

of

in other

notions

and

abstract

propositions.

* This mode of viewing things

is

not capable of a more significant and

same time naive expression than that which it has found in the
narrative of the Singhalese Church records of the first conversation of
at the

Mahinda, the converter of Ceylon, with the king Devanampiya Tissa

(circ.

250

B.C.).

The Thera

(elder)

proceeds to a formal examination of

the king in logic, "to find out: does the king possess a clear understanding ? " There is a mango tree near. The Thera asks " What is
:

"Are
mango tree yet other mango trees or
"Are
are there not?" "There are, sire, many other mango trees,"
there, O great king, beside this mango tree and those mango trees stQl
other trees ? " " There are, sire but they are not mango trees." " Are
there beside those other mango trees and non-mango trees yet another
tree?" "Yes, sire, this mango tree here." "Well done, great king,
thou art clever." The Thera proceeds to apply another test which the
this tree

there,

called,

great king?"

"It

is

called

mango,

sire."

great king, beside this

12*


BUDDHA'S METHOD OF TEACHING.

180
If,

tlierefore,

feeling

of

we do not

probability;,

wish, out of deference to a universal

which has based

ground other than Indian,

to

we must be on

continuity of Indian developments,

against

making a

standard on a

its

destroy the singularity

fanciful picture of

Buddha, as

and

our guard

he were one

if

of those aboriginal natures living only amid the concrete and

tangible, to

whom

His thought drew

the spirit
its

is

everything, the letter nothing.

nourishment from the long course of

metapLysical speculation which preceded him

delight in the metaphysical which

he shares the

inherent in the Indian

is

blood, the taste for abstraction, classification, and construction,

and viewing him from

so

much

this aspect,

we

should compare him not

to the founder of Christianity, as to its theological

Thus we cannot

champions, something such as Origen was.

refuse credence to the tradition which, in
it

however many forms

makes Buddha speak, yet represents the

particular weight

of his teaching as lying in great lectures, beside which dialogue

and parable, fable and sententious sayings, appear

to

be some-

thing merely adventitious or marginal.

*A

The Vedic

literature gives us a picture of the forensic style

of dogmatic teaching and debate, which had established itself

long before Buddha's time in the Brahmanical schools and on

the sacrificial ground.

The word which

things, needs a fitting garb

is

to

convey holy

the setting of spiritual discourse

bears a solemn, sacred character, the stateliness of which soon

changes to ponderous gravity.

The personal bearing

of the

king stands as successfully. " Beside thy relatives and tlie non-relatives,
" Myself, sire." " Well done,
is there any other man, O great king ? "
great king, a man is neither relative nor non-relative to himself." " There-

upon the Elder

said," the nari'ative proceeds,

and
him
YinayaFitaha,

"that the king

is

clever

that he will be able to understand the doctrine, and he propounded to

the parable of the elephant's foot."

vol.

iii,

p. 324.

BuddhagJiosa,in the

HIERATIC TYPE.
speaker also
regulates

Ms

181

not a matter of indifference: a strict ceremonial

is

Thus men were

appearance and his movements.

wont to think

in

Brahman

long before Buddha's time,

circles

thus they were wont to think in the Buddhist Church at the

Are we to suppose

time in which our texts were compiled.

Buddha and

that

the circles around him, standing in the

middle between this epoch and that,

both

However widely form,

didactic lectures,

which we find

tone,

differently

felt

from

and movement in the

in the sacred texts,

may

differ

from what appears to us the natural and necessary manner

of living, spoken language, anyone

who knows how

to apply

different standards to things differing in their conditions, will

find

it

not impossible to believe that the solemnly earnest style

of address of

Buddha was much more nearly

allied to the

type

of the addresses preserved to us by tradition, than to that

which our feeling of the natural and the probable might be

tempted

to substitute for

The periods

it.

of these addresses in their motionless

uniformity, on which no lights and shadows

picture of the world as

presented

it

itself to

and rigid

are an accurate

fall,

the eye of that

monastic fraternity, the grim world of origination and decease,

which goes on

clockwork in an ever uniform course, and

like

behind which rests the

still

of this ministry, there

is

deep of the Nirvana. In the words

heard no sound of working within,

no voice of yearning, nothing which

passing

from person

person with the power which the utterance of a superior

possesses,

and with

from that power

entreating of

unbelieving

all

men

to

it

come

who remains

word, one sentence,

whether

the relentlessness which

may fasten on the hearers.

lies

expresses the

to the faith,

afar

off.

is

inseparable

No

impassioned

no bitterness for the

In these addresses, one

beside another in stony

most

to

man

trivial

stillness,

thing or the most

BUDDHA'S METHOD OF TEACHING.

182

As worlds

important.

men

of gods and worlds of

Buddhist consciousness, ruled by everlasting

and of

also are the worlds of ideas

there

one,

is

verities

and only one, necessary form

countless

and

is

Buddhas

hand

ready to

as

knowledge

of

form but

this

Buddha

in countless ages of the

so

for these, too,

and expression, and the thinker does not make

he adopts what

are, for the

necessity,

speaks, so

world have spoken

Therefore, everything which resembles a free

will speak.

or arbitrary dealing of the

mind with the

absent from the diction of

material,

must be

salvation

this ministration of

every idea, every thought, has the same right to be heard

in full and uncurtailed at the place which belongs to

thus those endless repetitions

disciples

it,

and

accumulate which Buddha's

were never tired of listening to anew, and always

honouring afresh as the necessary garb of holy thought, as

One might
human mind had not

something which should be so and not otherwise.

often fancy that at Buddha's time the

the

yet discovered

magic word which joins together the

lengths of disconnected co-ordinates into one compact whole,

Hear how one

word ^^and."

the insignificant but powerful

of the most renowned discourses expresses the thought that

all

man's senses and the world, which they apprehend, are

attacked and wasted by the sorrow-bringing powers of the

earthly and the impermanent as

Then

One

said the Exalted

disciples, is in flames.
is in
is in

flames

The

flames, the

eye,

And what

from contact with the

fire.*
:

" Everything,

Everything,

disciples,

disciples, is in flames, the visible

knowledge of the

contact with the visible

it

by a flaming

to the disciples

is in

visible is in flames,

flames, the feeling

visible,

be

it

neither pleasure nor pain, this also

* " Maliavagga,"

i,

which

pleasure, be
is

21.

it

in flames.

the

arises

pain, be

By what

DISCOURSE ON TEE CONFLAGRATION OF THE SENSES.

kindled

fire is it

by the

By

the fire of

of fascination,

fire

by the

desire_,

death, pain, lamentation, sorrow, grief, despair,

The

thus I say.

ear

with the audible, be

it

kindled

the

fire

which

pleasure, be

pleasure nor pain, this also

it

By

the fire

of fascination,

it is

is

it

The sense

arises

from contact

pain,

be

of desire,

kindled

by the
by

of smell is in flames

in flames

the body

is

in flames

is

by

birth, old age, death,

it

kindled

is

thus

and then follows

the

fire

fire of hate,

the third time the same series of propositions

is

neither

it

By what

in flames.

pain, lamentation, sorrow, grief, despair,

I say.

kindled

is

in flames, the contact with the

is

in flames, the feeling

is

it

in flames, the audible is in flames, the

is

knowledge of the audible'

audible

of hate,

fire

kindled ; by birth, old age,

is

it

183

mind

the

is

for

tongue

in flames

Then the

each time the same detail follows unabridged."

address goes on:
''

Knowing

this,

a wise, noble hearer of the

disciples,

word becomes wearied

of the

he becomes wearied of

eye,

the visible, he becomes wearied of the knowledge of the

visible,

he becomes wearied of contact with the

becomes wearied of the feeling which

arises

with the visible, be

pain,

pleasure nor pain.

it

be

pleasure,

He becomes

it

visible,

he

from contact
be

it

neither

wearied of the ear,

and

then follows one after the other the whole series of ideas

The address concludes

as above.^^

" While he becomes wearied thereof, he becomes free from

desire

free

arises the

perfected

from desire he becomes delivered ;

in the delivered

knowledge: I am delivered; re-birth

is

to this woi'ld

holiness,
;

duty done

he knows

there

is

is at

an end,

no more returning

this.^'

The address on the flames

of the conflagration of the senses

purports to have been delivered by

Buddha

to the

thousand

BULDHA-S METHOD OF TEACHING.

184:

hermits of

wlien tliey liad already confessed the

Ui'iivela_,*

faith

and received

wont

to express it/

was awakened

initiation,

whatever

every such thing

when

in them, as the texts are

" the pure and moteless eye of the truth

is

subject to the law of origination,

also subject to the

is

But

law of decease."

if

the object be to bring the doctrine of suffering and of deliver-

ance near to a novice^ who

is

still

from the revelation of

far

Buddha, the variations of the sacred writings assume a some-

what

different form.

As

may

a specimen o their type, place

here be given to the narrative of the village-fathers of the

Magadha kingdom, who were

eighty thousand villages of the

assembled round the king of Magadha, and at the end of their

deliberations were sent

"But when

by him

to

Buddha.

the king of Magadha, Seniya Bimbisara, had

instructed the eighty thousand village elders in the laws of

the visible world, he dismissed them and said

have now been iustructed by

universe

me

Friends, ye

in the rules of the visible

go now and approach him, the Exalted One

he,

the Exalted One, will instruct you in the things of the hereafter."

Then the eighty thousand

the mountain

Gijjhakuta

(vulture

village

peak).

elders

At

went to

that time the

The

venerable Sagata was on duty with the Exalted Oue.

eighty thousand village elders went on to where the venerable

Sagata was

when they had come up

the venerable Sagata

elders, sire, to see the

Exalted One.

to us to see the Exalted

friends, that I

to him, they

One."

may announce you

Come,

to the Exalted

the monastery) in the presence of the

village elders,

and before

* Vide antea,

p. 132.

sire,

vouchsafe

" Tarry here a while,

vanished the venerable Sagata from the steps

to

said to

" Here come eighty thousand village

their eyes rose

up

One."

(at

my

Then

the entrance

eighty thousand
in the presence of

f " Mahavagga,"

v, 1.

185

TYPE OF EISTOEIES OF CONVERSIONS.

Exalted One and spoke to

tlie

thousand village elders

One.

Sire, let the

Exalted One

tlie

come

ai'e

hither,

" The eighty

to see the Exalted

sire_,

now

Exalted One be pleased to do what he

Then place a seat for me,

the monastery.''' " Yes, sire,^' replied
'^

thinks right for the occasion."

Sagata, in the shadow of

the venerable Sagata to the Exalted One, took a stool, vanished

before the face of the Exalted One, came up again before the
face of the eighty thousand village elders

and before

their

eyes on the steps, and prepared a seat in the shadow of the

Then the Exalted One went out

monastery.

and took a

shadow

seat

on the stool which had been

to

One and

down near him.

him they bowed themselves before the Exalted

But the eighty thousand

elders directed their thoughts to the venerable

and therefore not

knew
elders,

and

village

Sfvgata alone,

Then the Exalted One

to the Exalted One.

mind the thoughts

in his

in the
village

where the Exalted One was ; when they

had come up
sat

him

Then the eighty thousand

of the monastery.

elders approached to

monastery

of the
set for

of the eighty thousand village

said to the venerable Sagata

" Come, Sagata, show

" Yes, sire," the

yet greater marvels of superhuman ability."

venerable Sagata answered the Exalted One, rose up into the

air,

sat

and walked on high

in the atmosphere, stood, descended,

When

down, emitted smoke and flames, and vanished.

the venerable Sagata had exhibited in various ways, on high

in the atmosphere, such marvels

bowed

his

Exalted One
disciple

disciple."

elders

of

superhuman power, he

head at the feet of the Exalted One, and said to the

'^
:

my

My

master,

master,

sire,

sire, is
is

the Exalted

One

One

the Exalted

am
am

Thereupon thought the eighty thousand

" truly

this is glorious, truly it is

wonderful

his
his

village
:

if

the

disciple is so exceedingly

mighty and exceedingly powerful,

what

and they directed

will the

Master be

!"

their thoughts to

BUDDHA'S METHOD OF TEACHING.

186
the Exalted

One alone and not

the Exalted One

thousand

knew

village

to tlie venerable Sasrata.

mind the thoughts

in his

Then

of the eighty

and preached to them the word

elders,

according to the law, as

it

is

the discourse on giving, the

discourse on uprightness, the discourse on the heavens, the

corruption, vanity, impurity of desires, the glory of being free

from

When now

desire.

One perceived

the Exalted

that their

thoughts were prepared, susceptible, free from obstructions,

elevated,
is

and directed towards him, he preached

them what

to

pre-eminently the teaching of the Buddhas, suffering, the

way

origin of suffering, the removal of suffering, the

As

removal of suffering.
impurity

is

removed, wholly absorbs within

opened in these eighty thousand village

the pure moteless eye of the truth

law of origination,

And

such

all

to the

a clean gai*ment, from which

all

the dye, so

itself

elders, as they sat there,

whatever

is

subject to the

subject to the law of decease.

is

disceniing the doctrine, having pierced thi-ough to the

doctrine,

knowing the

doctrine,

overcoming doubt, free from

doctrine, sinking

themselves in the
vacillation,

having

penetrated to knowledge, needing nothing else in their faith

in the Master's doctrine, they spoke to the Exalted

" Excellent,
that which

way

to

sire, excellent, sire

is

bowed down,

as a

man,

sire,

who has

eyes

may be

things, even so has the Exalted

in manifold discourses.

or uncovers the hidden, or shows the

one who has gone astray, or shows a light

ness, so that he

One thus

straightens

We,

in the dark-

able to see the forms of

One proclaimed the

sire,

doctrine

take our refuge with the

Exalted One, and with the Doctrine and with the Order
of his disciples
disciples, for

may

from

the Exalted

this

refuge with him as long as our

This narrative of the

One

receive us as his lay

day henceforth we have taken our

visit of

life

endures."

the elders to

Buddha may be

TYPE OF HISTORIES OF CONVERSIONS.

taken as a typical one^ tie features of
sacred texts on

all similar

at starting of the things

wliicli

187

reappear in

tlie

Buddha does not speak

occasions.

which constitute the scope and kernel

of his teaching, but he begins

by admonishing

to the practice

of virtues in worldly vocations, to generosity, to rectitude in

every earthly occupation

he speaks of the heavens with their

rewards which await him who has led a

And

here below.

fitted to receive

them

as soon as he

life

knows

of earnest purpose

that his hearers are

something deeper, he proceeds to speak to

of that which, as the texts say, "is pre-eminently the

revelation

of the

Buddhas," the doctrines of suffering and

These are always the same subjects of Buddha's

deliverance.

preaching, and

we over and

over again meet the same expres-

and gratitude on the part of the converted, then

sions of joy

formula with which they take their refuge as lay

finally the

brothers or lay sisters in the ancient trinity of the Buddhist

Church, the Buddha, the Doctrine, and the Order.

there there

is

inserted a story of

no way above the

level of

Here and

some wonder which

rises in

quaint and tedious miracle.

All

we

these narratives are absolutely Avanting in individuality;

seek in vain to gather something therefrom as to

how Buddha

penetrated and operated on the private, personal

individual
gospels,
traces

among

we

find

of the

his

disciples.

"Whenever we

life

of the

open our

portrayed the most delicate and deepest

work

of Jesus,

which, providing,

consoling,

healing,

and building up, passes from man to man

different

from the picture which the Buddhist Church has

preserved to us of

its

master's work

is

and

to console the suffering

no one

and the sorrowing

only the sorrow of the whole universe of which

again hear.

very

the living human, the

personal hides itself behind the system, the formula

to seek out

it

we again and

BUDDHA'S METHOD OF TEACHING.

ISS

Here and tHere

outward garb of

tlie

Buddha
a

questions or
picture

life-like

is

less

tlie

narratives is

find a dialogue;

task of producing

such conversations as took place in

of

Buddha^s time, or in their own

circles,

who had not many things

sacred texts,

nothing

In

questioned.

sucli

we

somewliat altered; instead of a sermon

the compilers of our

to

go upon, but had

than a dramatic vein, have certainly in their mode

of treatment failed most signally.

Those who converse with

Buddha

are

but simply to say " yes/'

and

be eventually converted,

to

good for nothing

An

they have not yet been

if

But any one who does not

converted.*
*

else

amusing

illustration of the

manner

suffer himself to

be

in wliicli the sacred texts deal

with the claims of chax'acter of the speakers and the other requirements
of description

by dramatic

dialogue,

to be

is

found in the history of

Buddha's conversation with Anathapindika's daughter-in-law

" Anguttara-Nikaya,"

Buddha comes

Sattakanipata).

in

his

(in

the

begging

excursion to the house of his wealthiest and most liberal admirer, the great

He

wholesale merchant Anathapindika.

wrangling, and asks

house

One would

"Why

hears loud conversation and

think fishermen had been robbed of their fish."

Anathapindika pours out his grief to Buddha

rich family has

and her

come

into his house,

who

parents-in-law, and declines to

Buddha

says to her

comes

Buddha.

to

will not listen to her

"

One has
to

What

seven are they

all

man may

One resembles

mistress, another a mother,

another a friend, another a servant.

have.

These Sujata, are

Which kind

art thou.P"

obstinacy and pride, and says deferentially

do not understand the

full

meaning of that which the Exalted

may the Exalted One so expound

may be able to understand the full meaning of
Exalted One has stated briefly." " Hearken, then, Sujata,

stated in brief; therefore, sire,

me his

doctrine, that I

that which the

and take
Sujata.

husband

Buddha.

Sujata has forgotten

Sire, I

to

the seven kinds of wives which a

And

And

a daughter-in-law of a

" Come, Sujata." She answers " Yes, sire," and

says to her " There are seven kinds of wives

He

which a man may have, Sujata.

sister,

show due reverence

a murderess, another a robber, another a

another a

and crying in thy

are the people screaming

it

well to heart: I shall state

And Buddha

it

to thee."

" Yes,

sire," said

describes to her then the seven kinds of

from the worst who goes

after other

women,

men, despises her husband, and

tries


DIALOGUES.

1S9

deterred by this want of living concrete reality from following

up the

logical train of these conversations, will here find

more

than one trace, though dim and unskilful, of the same maieutic

method

which history has properly denominated

of dialectic,

the

after

Socratic,

name

man who

the

of

has practised

it

incomparably more perfectly, among a more brilliantly-gifted

people

the same

by argument from

sifting of spiritual truths

analogies which daily

life

supplies, the

same rudiments of the

inductive method.

Thus

is

who had imposed on

observances, and now,

lessness of

himself an excess of ascetic

when he becomes aware

and reverting

says to this disciple

"'
:

to

How

able to play the lute before you left

''What do you think

of the fruit-

on the point of turning

practice, is

his

opposite extreme,

Buddha

Buddha with Soua,*

related to us the conversation of

a young man,

then, Sona,

life

is

it,

home

of

to the

enjoyment.

Sona, were you

V " Yes,

sire."

the strings of your lute

if

are too tightly strung, will the lute give out the proper tone

and be

fit

to

play?"

"It

will not, sire."

''And what do you

the strings of your lute be strung too slack

think, Sona,

if

will the lute

then give out the proper tone and be

"

It will not, sire."

lute

" But how, Sona,

be not strung too tight or too

fit

to

play?"

the strings of your

if

slack, if they

have the

proper degree of tension, will the lute then give out the
proper sound and be

fit

to play

"

" Tes,

sire."

same way, Sona, energy too much strained tends

to tate his
lier

life,

husband's

"These,

What

up

to tlie best

will,

who, like a servaot,

Sujiita, are the

"

resembles a servant."

* " Mahavagga,"

he says and does.

v, 1-15, seq.

man may

" From this day forward,

One esteem me one who

is

to her

the

to excessive

always submissive to

all

seven kinds of wives which a

kind among these art thou

the Exalted

is

and bears without a mui-mur

" In

have.

sire,

may

husband a wife who

BUDDHA'S METHOD OF TEACHING.

190
zeal,

and energy too mucli relaxed tends to apathy.

Sona, cultivate in yourself the

to the

mean

mean

in your mental powers,

Therefore,

of energy, and press on

and place

you

this before

as your aim."

Another conversation,* carried on between Buddha and a

Brahman, deals with the

between the four castes and

relation

the claim to service and obedience which the Brahmans advance

against

other castes, and each higher

all

advances

among

other castes

Buddha couches

lower castes.

the

against

'^If

anyone were

whom

to ask a Kshatriya (noble) as follows

wouldst thou render service

him with whom,

to

his

and answer.

criticism in the form of a dialogue, with question

'^To

if

thou

doest him service, thou wilt fare worse for thy service, not better;

him with whom,

or to

thou doest him service, thou wilt fare

if

better for thy service, not worse ?^

answers properly, answer thus

service, I should fare

worse

The Kshatriya would,

Him with whom,

my service, not

'

for

would I not serve ; but him with whom,

my

I should fare better for

I render service.^ "
stiff

And

consecutive course

as follows

if

anyone were

I did

better,

him

him

service, not worse, to

"

If

he

him

service,

him would

then the induction goes on in

anyone were
to

if

if

I did

if

its

anyone were to ask a Brahman

to ask

a Vaicya

as follows

The answer

ask a Qudra as follows."

if

is

naturally every time the same, and the exposition eventually

yields

result

this

" Where by the

service

which anyone

renders to another, his faith increases, his virtue increases,

his understanding increases, his
I say,

it is

that he should render

Here and

increases, there,

service."

there, as in our gospels, parables alternate with

doctrine and admonition

says,

knowledge

him

" I shall show you a parable," Buddha

" by a parable many a wise

man

perceives the

* Phasukari Suttanta (Majjhima iNikaya).

meaning of

PARABLES.

191

The operations

wliat is being said."

of

man

as well as the life

of nature are the fields of observation, with which these similes

and

for spiritual life

the delivered, deal.

is

compared

to the

deliverance,

effort, for

of

Buddha^s

work

and the company

deliverance

pi'feaching* of

who draws

of the physician,

the

poisoned arrow from a wound, and overcomes the power of the

The company

poison with remedial herbs.

gathering of noble
of high

and low

spirits,

whom

in

all

of

disciples, the

worldly differences

cease, resembles the sea with its wonders, in

the depths of which

pearls

lie

and

which gigantic

crystals, in

creatures have free play, into which the rivers flow, and lose

and make up the ocean, so many

their names,

As

are.

the lotus flower raises

unaffected by the water, so the

head out

its

Buddhas born

of

them there

of the water,

in the world, rise

As

above the world, unaffected by the impurity of the world.

the peasant ploughs his fields and sows the seed and irrigates,

but has not the power to say

to

morrow

must wait

it

shall

till

the

and ripeness

the grain shall swell to-day,

germinate, next day

of his corn, so also

seeks deliverance

it

shall ripen,

but

proper time comes and brings 'growtb

it is

with the disciple

who

he must regulate his course according to

strict discipline, practise religious meditation,

study diligently

the doctrine of salvation, but he has not the power to say

to-day or to-morrow shall

impure

habit,

my

spirit

but he must wait until his time comes for

deliverance to be vouchsafed to him.

tries to

him

to

be delivered from every

shut up against
false paths,

man

and the

to the right path, this simile

disciples, in the forest,

tract of low laud

For the tempter who

the path of salvation and to lure

deliverer,
is

who

employed

on a mountain

:*

leads
''

him back

As when,

slope, there lies a great

and water, where a great herd of deer

* Dvedliavitakka Sutta (Majjh. N.).

lives,

BUDDHA'S METHOD OF TEACHING.

192

and there comes a man, who devises hurt,

who

for the deer ;

safe,

and danger

distress

covers over and shuts up the path which

is

good, and pleasant to take, and opens up a false path, a

swampy

path, a

marshy

Thenceforward,

track.

disciples, the

great herd of deer incurs hurt and danger and diminishes.

But now,
welfare,

man

disciples, if a

and safety

opens up the path which

and does away with the

path, the

marshy

comes,

for this great

devises prosperity,

Thenceforth,

is

The great lowland and the

tliis.

The great herds

disciples, are pleasures.

men.

are living
distress,

and

The man,

disciples,

of deer,

who

disciples, is the eight-fold false path, to wit

speech,

resolve, false
false

disciples, is pleasure

rance.

The man, O

salvation,
safe,

false

action,

false

thought, false self-concentration.

is

and

desire.

disciples,

who

water,

disciples,

devises

The

Mara, the Evil One.

ruin, is

I have spoken

make known my meaning.

disciples, in a parable, to

But the meaning

hurt,

false path,

living,

false

effort,

The swampy way,

The swampy track

igno-

is

devises prosperit}', welfare,

which

disciples, in

holy eight-fold path, to wit

false faith, false

the Perfect One, the holy, supreme Buddha.

good way,

and

to take,

disciples, will the

great herd of deer thrive, grow, and increase.

to you,

clears

and abolishes the swampy

false path,

track.

who

good and pleasant

safe,

is

who

herd of deer

it is

well to walk,

The
is

the

right faith, right resolve, right

speech, right action, right living, right effort, right thought,

right self-concentration.

path, in which
false path has

it is

Thus,

who

good

by me ; the

been done away, the swampy path, the swampy

track has been abolished.

master,

disciples, has the safe,

well to walk, been opened up

Everything,

disciples,

seeks the salvation of his disciples,

who

that a
pities

them, must do out of pity for them, that have I done for you."

Such

similes

run through the discourse

on sorrow and

FABLES AND ROMANCES.

deliverance.

193

measured formality of the monastic

Tlirougli the

church-diction,

we

constantly feel

sympathy with

life

and nature, that genuine human desire to

the breath

observe this motley world, and see whether

figurative language

throw some light on the

of

intelligent

cannot by

it

its

world and

spirit

its secrets.

From

similes to fable

and romance

Buddhist mendicant monks were

is

not a long

abundant share of the old Indian delight

Some-

in romance.

make Buddha

times the sacred writings

way ; the

Indian to have an

sufficiently

tell his

disciples a

fable of animals, sometimes a history of strange occurrences,

all kinds of human actions, thoughtful or amusing
"There
were once two wise brothers,^^ or " there was once at Benares

and

a king-, called Brahmadatta," the history of the banished king

Long-grief, and his sagacious son Long-life, or the fable, how^
the partridge, the ape, and the elephant have learned to live

together in virtue and harmony

came, as

is fitting,

at the

end

of every history

a moral.*

But the most beautiful embellishments of Buddha's preaching

are

those poetical sentences in which

all

the most delicate

powers of light and warmth, which dwell within the Buddhist

mind, are concentrated as

it

were in a

focus.

Here we need

not by any means see merely a poetic embellishment which the

Church has attributed to

its

master's teaching

this kind, short improvisations, to

* Some of
hero

is

tliese stories

identified with

other personages

same

sentences of

hardly are so applied that their

all

Buddha

in one of his previous existences,

who appear with

circles of his opponents.

which the pliant nature of

leading

and the

persons in Buddha's society or in the

Later on new

stories,

but always with tho

were invented by the hundred, or even old legendary matter

has been wrought up ^?i majonm BuddhcE gloriam ; these make up a jmrtipoints,

cular book of the sacred writings, the collection of the Jataka (stories of
earlier births), cf .,

however, also

my

note to Suttavibhaiiga, Pacittiya,

13

2, 1.

BUDDHA'S METHOD OF TEACHING.

191

the Qloka-metre readily adapted

itself^

may very

been actually a feature of Buddha's mode

that specially-gifted

among

are so unlike the dry

numbness

may be tempted
spirits

how

to ask

We

and bound up those who spoke

poetry.

grand and rich

attire of

and the Qlokas with

own

simple emotions,
life i

roused and

measured rhythms, so pecudiversity, flow

amid variegated, fragrant

this poesy, too, is

hearts,

Indian metaphor, looks out upon us,

their gently

up and down

on which the

like the surging billows of the sea,

faith itself

it

Thoughtful feeling, clad in the

combining uniformity and

reflected

feel

in

men are expressing

not dry, subtle systems of ideas, but the

the sorrows and hopes of their
life,

we

of the prose lectures, that

whether they were really the same

but when the domain of prose ceases, where

the blood of

and of

These apothegms

his disciples.*

which have composed the one and the other.

that prose confined

liarly

well tave

of speech,

lotus flowers.

clear

The

sky

is

soul of

nothing else but what the soul of the Buddhist

the one thought, which rings out in sublime

is,

monotony from

these apothegms

all

happy he who has the

Unhappy, impermauence,

From

eternal.

this

thought there per-

vades the proverbial wisdom of the Buddhist, that tone of deep,

happy repose,

of

which that proud sentence says that the gods

themselves envy

it,

that repose which looks

down upon the

struggling world, stoops to the most distressed and quietly

extends to him the picture of absolute peace.

* Tradition

allots

among Buddha's

specially the task

disciples to

Vangisa

of

For the elucida-

improvisation

(patibhana)

(" Dip.," iv, 4), wLio is the

hero of one

particular section in the holy texts, the Vangisathera-Samyutta.

There
and that thought " dawned on Vangisa" (patibhati),
and then he utters a verse in which he gives expression to the collateral
it is

often said: this

circumstances, praises Buddha, and so on.

He

they are not prepared beforehand (pubbe

suddenly dawned on

me "

(thdnaso

then says of these verses,

parivitakkita)

mam patibhanti).

but "they

POETICAL SENIENCES.
tion of

Buddhism

notliing better could

195

happen than

that, at the

very outset of Buddhist studies, there should be presented to

Dhammapada,*

the student by an auspicious hand the

most beautiful and richest of collections of proverbs,

anyone who

to

that

which

determined to come to know Buddhism must

is

we

over and over again return, and to which

Dhammapada

* Here a few sayings of the

find a fitting place

shall often

have

Buddhist teaching.

to allude in our sketch of the

(60,

153 seq. 383, 82)

may

I have avoided attempting to reproduce the metrical

form:
"

Long

is

weary, long

the night to
is

him who keeps watch, long

is

the road to the

the wandex'ing path of re-births for the foolish,

who know

not the word of truth."

"

A path of many re-births have

of the house (of corporeity)

and over again.

Now

I vainly traversed, seeking the builder

full

of suffering

have I seen thee,

shaft not again build the house.

Thy

ments of the house are demolished.

ability,

is

thou

rafters are all broken, the battle-

The

soul,

having escaped change-

has attained the end of desire."

" Stem the current with might, banish from thee

if

birth (recurring) over

builder of the house

all desire,

O Brahman

thou hast sighted the end of the changeable, thou art a knowcr of the

uncreated,

"A

rest

Brahman."

Hke that of the deep

sea,

calm and

clear, the

wise find,

hear the truth."

13*

who

CHAPTER

Y.

Buddha's Death,

Buddha

is

what

his followers

death

is
;

said to have reached the age of eighty years

term belong to his public career, to

forty-four years of this

history

term

his

The year

Buddhahood.

of his

one of the most firmly fixed dates in ancient Indian

calculations,

by which the sum

of possible error

is

confined within tolerably narrow limits^ give as a result, that

he died not long before or not long

Regarding the

last

months

after

480

of his life

B.C.

and his

last

great

journey from Rajagaha to Kusinai^a, the place of his death,

we

possess a detailed account in a Sutra of the sacred Pali Canon.*

The external

features of this narrative bear for the

most

though perhaps not in every particular,t the stamp of

part,
trust-

worthy tradition ; in the utterances and addresses of Buddha,

most of which convey a

clear

or

covert intimation of his

approaching end, fancy has undoubtedly allowed

range.

portion at any rate of the narrative

* The " Maliaparinibbana Sutta," by

wliicli tlie

itself freer

may

here be

northern Buddhist

versions of this narrative are rendered superfluous.

It

especially

excites

distrust,

to

find that

the

occurrences

at

Pataliputta and the meeting with Ambapali (" Childers* Ed.," p. 10 seq.)

are narrated at another place in quite a different connection (" Mahavagga,"

vi,

28

seq.).

BVDDHA'S DEATH.

197

reproduced, partly in resume, and partly in a verbal translation.

From

Eajagalia, tlie cliief

Buddha goes northward.

where the new
builtj

in the Magadlia territory,

crosses the

Ganges

{UaXi^oOpa),

capital, Pataliputta

at the place

is

then being

Buddha

the chief city o India in the following centuries.

foretells the

on

tpwn

He

coming greatness of

to the opulent

this town.

Then he journeys

and brilliant free-town Yesali.

Near

Vesali, in

who were with

the village of Beluva, he dismissed the disciples

him, to pass in solitary retirement the three months at the

damp period

of the year, the last rainy season of his

Beluva he was attacked by a severe

seized him, he
'^

disciples.

He

was near dying.

It

becomes

me

illness

At

life.

violent pains

then bethought him of his

not to enter into Nirvana, without

having addressed those who cared for me, without speaking to

my

community of

the

by

my power,

One subdued the

life

sickness

And

within him.

I shall conquer this illness

followers.

and hold

fast within

by

his

me."

Then the Exalted

power and held the

the illness of the Exalted

life fast

One vanished.

And

the Exalted One recovered from his sickness and soon after,
when he had recovered from his sickness, he went out of the

house and sat down in the shade of the house, on the seat which

was prepared

salutations
sitting

by

One thus

sire

to

when he was near him and had made his

the Exalted One, he sat down beside him
:

his side, the

'^

was

faint

my

of the Exalted One.

Exalted One

worthy Ananda spake

Sire, I see that the

that the Exalted

sire,

Thereupon the venerable Ananda went

for him.

Exalted One

to the

will

One

is

Exalted One

better.

senses failed

But

still

me

to the
is

well

Exalted
;

I see,

All nerve had left me,

because of the sickness

had one consolation,

sire

the

not enter Nirvana, until he has declared his

purpose concerning the body of his followers.^^

"

What need


BUDDHA'S DEATH.

l98

body

hatli the

of

my

followers of

me

now, Ananda

declared the Doctrine, Ananda, and I have

made no

I have

distinction

between within and without ; the Perfect One has not, Ananda,
He, Ananda, who

been a forgetful teacher of the Doctrine.

says

I will rule over the Church, or let the Church be subject

to me, he,

Ananda, might declare

his will in the Church.

The Perfect One, however, O Ananda, does not say

over the Church, or
shall

let the

One

the Perfect

regarding the Church

I

am an

old age

old man,
;

declare,

who

Ananda,

am now

to

to

I will rule

be his purpose

Ananda, I

frail,

What

me.

am

aged,

has finished his pilgrimage and reached

eighty years old

Ananda, your own

Church be subject

light,

am

Be ye

to yourselves,

your own refuge ; seek no other refuge.

Let the truth be your light and your refuge, seek no other
now, Ananda, or

whosoever

refuge

departure shall be' his

own

light, his

own

refuge,

no other refuge, whosoever taketh the truth as

his refuge

and

Ananda, be

my

shall seek

no other refuge, such

true disciples,

Buddha now goes on

excursion through the town.

calls

who walk

to Yesali

and

after

my

shall seek

his light

and

will henceforth

in the right path.^^

and makes

his usual

Here Mara comes

on him to enter at once into Nirvana,

begging

him and

to

Buddha repels him,

saying, " give thyself no trouble on that score, thou evil one.

After a short time the Nirvana of the Perfect One will be

accomplished
Nirvana.''*
life

three

months hence

And Buddha

to himself

will the Perfect

One enter

dismisses the volition which atttached

earthquakes and thunderings accompany his

resolution to enter into Nirvana.

In the evening Buddha sends for

all

the monks,

who

are

tarrying in the neighbourhood of Vesali, and he seats himself

in the midst of
'^

them and he addresses them

Learn ye then

fully,

my

disciples, that

knowledge which

BUDDHA'S DEATH.

199

I have attained and have declared unto you, and walk ye in

practice
last

and

increase^ in order that this path of holiness

and long endure, for the blessing of many people, for the

joy of

many

people, to the relief of the world, to the welfare,

And

the blessing, the joy of gods and men.

is

it^

may

what,

disciples,

the knowledge which I have attained and have declared unto

you, which you are to learn fully, walk in

increase, in order that this path of holiness

many

endure, for the blessing of

it,

may

practice
last

and

and long

many

people, for the joy of

people, to the relief of the world, to the welfare, the blessing,

the joy of gods and

four-fold

right

men ?

effort,

It is the four-fold vigilance, the

the four-fold holy strength, the five

organs, the five powers, the seven

members

sacred eight-fold path.

disciples, is the

This,

of knowledge, the

knowledge

which I have attained, and have declared unto you," etc.

And the Exalted One spake further to the monks " Hearken,
:

ye monks, I say unto you

strive

on without ceasing.

will attain

Nirvana

all

earthly things are transitory

In a short time the Perfect One

three months hence will the Perfect

One

enter Nirvana."

Thus spake the Exalted One

when

the Perfect

thus said, the Master further spake as follows

"

My existence is ripening to its

close, the

I go hence, ye remain behind

the place of refuge

One had

end of my

life is

is

near.

ready for me.

Be watchful without intermission, walk evermore in holiness

Aye resolute and aye prepared keep ye, O disciples, your minds.
He who evermore walks without stumbling, true to the word of truth.
;

Struggles into freedom from birth and death, presses through to the

end of

On

all suffering."

the following day Buddha once more makes a begging

excursion through Vesali, then looks back upon the town for
the last time and sets out with a large concourse of disciples

BUDDHA'S DEATH.

200

for Kusinara^* which he

On

Nirvana.

into

terminate his
naivete

way

that

from modern

for his entry

which was

sickness,

attacked him at Pava.

life,

removed

far

had chosen as the place

the

Our

text,

has in

affectation,

to

with a
the

course of the narrative of Buddha^s last addresses, preserved

to us the information that his illness

was brought on by eating

pork, which Cunda, the son of a goldsmith at Pava, put before

him.

Buddha journeys
verses, of
to us

which

on, sick

and weary,

to Kusinara.

this journey is the subject,

A few

have come down

" Travel-worn

came Buddha

to the river Kakutt]ia,t

Peaceful, pure, with clear waters,

Down

into the water

went the Master, weary,

The supreme Perfect One, without

equal.

When he
And

had bathed, the Master drank of the river

went up out of it with the bands of his discij)les,

The holy Master, the preacher of the truth.

The sage went on to the mango grove.
Then spake he to Cunda, the monk Fold me
:

My robe in four folds,

And Cunda

He

that I

may

lay

me down.

did cheerfully as the Master bade him

quickly spread out the robe folded in four folds.

There the Master

And Cunda

laid himself

also sat

down

down, the weary one,

beside him. "J

* JN'ow Kasia, east of Goruckpore, on the Chota Gandak.

" Ancient Geography o India," 430.

On

(1. c.

the

way between

435) the Kakuttha

into the

Ptiva

is

and Kusinara. According

Cunningham,
to

Cunningham

the small stream Badhi or Barhi, which flows

Chota Gandak, eight English miles below Kasia.

J These very old verses, which plainly

and truly depict a plain

beyond all doubt to the most trustworthy reminiscences,
which we have of Buddha's life. In the face of the wild phantasms of
later works like the "Lalita Vistara," they should not be forgotten by those,
situation, belong

who
man

are in doubt as to whether the biography before

or of a sun-hero.

them

is

that of a

BUDDHA'S DEATH.

At

There lay on the bank

Baddlia arrives at Kusinara.

last

201

of the river Hiranyavati (Chota Gandak) a grove of sal trees.

" Go^ Ananda/^ says Buddha_, " and prepare a bed for

between two twin

tired,

It

Ananda

I shall

with

trees,

head

to the north.

for sal trees to bloom, but these

twin trees were covered with blossoms from crown to

Buddha

laid himself

lion taking his rest,

of flowers

fell

me
am

down."

lie

was not the season

my

down under

two
foot.

the bloominc;' trees, like a

and blossoms

fell

down on him

a shower

from heaven; and heavenly melodies sounded

over head, in honour of the dying saint.

" Then spake the Exalted One

Although

to the venerable

this is not the time for flowers,

Ananda

Ananda, yet are these

two twin trees completely decked with blossoms, and flowers are
showering, streaming

falling,

One,

honour of the Perfect One.

another

down on

the body of the Perfect

heavenly melodies are sounding in the

honour,

another

homage, other reverence.

But

to the Perfect

another

glory,

in

air,

One belongeth

reward,

another

Whosoever, Ananda, male

disciple

or female follower, lay-brother, or lay-sister, lives in the truth

in matters both great

and

small,

and

lives

according to the

ordinance and also walks in the truth in details, these bring to

the Perfect One the highest honour, glory, praise, and credit.
Therefore, Ananda, must ye practise, thinking

Let us

live in

the truth in matters great and small, and let us live according
to the ordinance

and walk

But Ananda went

in the truth also in details."

into the house

and wept, saying

'*
:

am

not yet free from impurities, I have not yet reached the goal,

and

my

master,

Nirvana."
saying

who

takes pity on me, will soon enter into

Then Buddha

" Go,

disciple,

sent one of the disciples to him,

and say to Ananda in

my name

the

Master wishes to speak with thee, friend Ananda." Thereupon

BUDDHA'S DEATH.

202

Ananda went
sat

down

in to

tlie

Master,

Ananda, weep

Ananda, tbat from

man

enjoys,

born, grows,

is

How

it.

can

made, which

and

liinij

" Not

so,

and from

must give

it

tbat

all

up, and

Ananda, that that which

subject to decay, should not

is

But thou, Ananda, hast long

That cannot be.

loves

part,

be,

it

bim

I not ere this said to

man

tbat

from tbat must man

tear himself from

pass away

all

said to

Have

not, sorrow not.

tbee,

is

bowed Limself before

But Buddha

beside bim.

honoured the Perfect One, in love and kindness, with cheerful-

and unwearyingly,

ness, loyally

Thou

hast done well,

Ananda ;

in thought,

word and deed.

only strive on, soon wilt thou

be free from impurities."

When

night came on, the Mallas, the nobles of Kusinara,

went out

pay

monk

of another sect,

who had

speak with Buddha, turned to him as the

converts

dying

their respects for the last time to the

Subhadda, a

Master.
to

who have

last

desired
of the

seen the Master in the flesh.

Buddha, shortly before his departure, said to Ananda

may

Ananda, that ye

be,

master,

and

in streams to the sal grove with their wives

children, to

say

shall

we have no master more.

The

Ananda.

law,

the

Word

Ye must

''
:

has lost

It

its

not think thus,

Ananda, and the ordinance, which

have

taught and preached unto ye, these are your master when I

am

gone hence."

And

to his

charge ye

he said

disciples

spirit

last

disciples, I

words.

all

the stages of rapture, until he passed

The earth quaked and thunders

moment when Buddha

:

then rose from one state of ecstasy to another,

up and down through

into Nirvana.

words

" Hearken,

These were his

strive without ceasing."

His

everything that cometh into being passeth away

entered Nirvana,

rolled.

At

the

Brahma spake these

203

BUDDHA'S DEATH.
" In the worlds beings
Just as at

tliis

all

put

ofE corporeity at

supreme master of

all

worlds,

The mighty, Perfect One, hath entered

Towards

sunrise

tlie

Buddha's body before the

are

shown

some time,

present time Buddha, the prince of victory, the

nobles of

into Nirvana."

Kusinara

city gates with all the

to the relics of universal monarchs.

have

burned

honours that

PAET

II.

THE DOCTRINES OF BUDDHISM.

CHAPTER

I.

The Tenet of Suffering.

" At one time," as we read,* "
at

Kosambi

a few Sinsapa leaves in

*'

tlie

in the Sinsapa grove.

what think

ye,

my

liis

Exalted One was staying

And

hand and

disciples,

tlie

liis

disciples

whether are more, these few

Sinsapa leaves, which I have gathered in

other leaves yonder in the Sinsapa grove

" The few leaves,

Exalted One took

said to

my

hand, or the

"

which the Exalted One holds in his

sire,

hand are not many, but many more are those leaves yonder

in

the Sinsapa grove."

"'So also,

my

disciples, is

that

much more, which

I have

learned and have not told you, than that which I have told
you.

And, wherefore,

Because,

my

my

disciples, it

disciples,

have I not told you that

brings you no profit,

conduce to progress in holiness, because

it

it

does not

does not lead to

the turning from the earthly, to the subjection of

all desire,

to the cessation of the transitory, to peace, to knowledge, to

illumination, to Nirvana
* In

tlie "

Samyuttaka

oftliePliayreMS.).

therefore have I not declared

JN'ikaya," at tlie

end of

tlie

work

(vol.

it

unto

iii, fol.

as

THE DOCTRINE OF DELIVERANCE.

And

you.
'

This

you.

what,

suffering

is

This

'

unto you.

is

'

disciples,

is

the cessation

proclaimed unto you.

suffering

'

have I preached unto you?

This

'

have I proclaimed unto

disciples,

thus have I proclaimed

of suffering thus have I
'

the origin of suffering

This

'

thus, O

205

'

the path to the cessation of

is

thus have I proclaimed unto yon."

This passage states briefly and clearly what the doctrine of

Buddhism

and what

is

not.

is

it

It does not purport to

be a

philosophy, which inquires into the ultimate grounds of things,

unfolds to thought the breadths and depths of the universe.

It addresses itself to

him

teaches

exterminate

man plunged

it,

root and

all.

which Buddhist thought

disciples, is
also,

my

but one

Yet
spirit

is

This

Law and

it

shows him the way to

the only problem with

is

" As the vast ocean,

taste, the taste of salt, so

Doctrine

is

impregnated with

with the taste of deliverance."*

this deliverance is

not an inheritance for the poor

And

but only for the wise.

doctrine of deliverance

those

it

concerned.

impregnated with one

disciples, this
taste,

in sorrow, and, while

understand his sorrow,

to

is

therefore the

in

Buddhist

by no means content with merely

simple ethical reflections, which appeal more to the

sensation of a pure heart than to the intellectual faculty of a

The main

trained mind.

outlines of the doctrine

might be

grasped by every one endowed with a lively feeling among the

members
tions,

of the

Church

the

more

detailed dialectical deduc-

however, the proficiency in which was by no means

regarded as an unnecessary accomplishment, can have been

within the grasp of but comparatively few individuals, even

among

a people

capacity for

so

exceptionally highly

endowed with

dealing with abstract thought as the Indians,

and among men who devoted

their

* " CuUavagga,"

whole

ix, 1, 4.

life

exclusively to

THE TENET OF SUFFERING.

206

In the

these very thouglits.

also they

were

who have

worldly pursuits,

to

comprehend, the law of

effects " thus Buddha

himself, before he took

And

120).

(p.

" To men concerned with

their occupation

pleasure in worldly pursuits, will

and

so

we

said

their

difficult

of causes

have remarked to

to

to preach

when we open

by

find

be

the chain

causality,
is

and

matter

this

upon himself

find,

of the Buddhists, side

the ancient Church

circles of

fully conscious of this.

doctrine

his

the sacred writings

side with those simple, beautiful

apothegms, such as are contained in the Dhammapada, those

most abstruse dogmatic

expositions

also,

those

much-involved systems of ideas, comprehensive

long

lists

of categories, which are held together

nexus or some other logical

this arises, that also arises

not ;

is

if

tie.
;

" If

if this

circuitous,

classifications,

by

a causal

this be, that also is

if

be not, then that also

this perishes, that also perishes

"^ thus they were

accustomed to reason in the period in which the sacred writings

originated,

and we have already

that Buddha's

own mode

(p.

182) seen that

of thought

it is

probable,

and speech moved in

these very paths of abstract discussion, of technical, often

scholastic expression

and

of a, it

may

be, not very dexterous

dialectic.

On

the whole

we

shall

be authorized

to refer to

himselff the most essential trains of thought which

* Culasakuludayi Suttanta, in

cases,

distinction of earlier

and only witb

and

tlie

Majjhima Nikaya.
be drawn

later can as yet

Buddha

we

in but

tolerable accuracy, in the collection of

find

few

Buddha's

didactic discourses (the " Sutta-Pitaka"). This affects the greater and lesser

antiquity of dogmatic notions and doctrines as well as that of the texts.

of the oldest, if not the oldest, of these texts is the " Sutta-Nipata,"

One

frequently quoted in other works.

We find

in

it

already

all

the more

important dogmatic categories and tenets enumerated or alluded

fact

when we

to.

In

think what the mental labours of Brahmanism and the

207

SCHOLASTIC DIALECTIC.
recorded in

not too

tlie

mucb

ascetic of the

sacred texts, and, in

many

places,

it is

to believe that the very words, in

Sakya house couched

have come down

to us as

they

fell

probably

which the

his gospel of deliverance,

from his

AVe find that

lips.

throughout the vast complex of ancient Buddhist literature

which has been

collected, certain mottoes

and formulas, the

expression of Buddhist convictions upon some of the weightiest

problems of religious thought, are expressed over and over

again in a standard form adopted once for

all.

Why may not

these be words which have received their currency from the

founder of Buddhism, which had been spoken by him hundreds

and thousands of times throughout

teaching

his long

life,

devoted to

The meaning- which he conveyed by such words we can

often

Here, as in every case where

only approximately determine.

the word has a preponderant importance over the thought,

where
it

it

does not smoothly

Avithin its

own

fit

the thought, but compresses

straight form, the inquirer

who

desires to

reconstruct remote and foreign forms of thought, has not

that surest key Avhich consecutive progression, the inherent

necessity of the thought, can give him.

repetitions,

those permutations

Those hundred-fold

and combinations of every

kind, in which dogmatic technicalities meet us, but through

which a living current of

dialectic

movement does not

flow,

hardly render the meaning of those expressions more comprehensible to us.

IMoreover,

older sects have transmitted to

we

find the

same technical term

Buddhism ready made,

it

does not seem

improbable that the latter started at the very beginning with a very

comprehensive and very definitely formulated dogmatic apparatus.

not impossible, but not quite probable, that,
to the public in their full extent,
jirocess of eliminating later

if

we may be able to go farther

we can go at present.

elements than

It

is

the Sutta texts be given

in the

THE TENET OF SUFFERING.

208
t

used often ia distinctly different meanings^ or we find the

same thought expressed

obstacle, however,

hending

dogmatics

is

passed over which

is

The most

the

not

which

with

silence

does

lead

separation from the earthly, to the subjection of

to

serious

which stands in the way of our compre-

Buddhist

everything

which can be

in different settings,

only partially harmonized with each other.

'^to

the

desire,

all

the cessation of the transitory, to quietude, knowledge,

We

illumination, to Nirvana."

remarked that an extensive

stock of metaphysical, and especially psychological technicalities,

was esteemed anything but superfluous for him who

seeks after quietude and illumination

direction

was made only up to a certain

but advance

and no

point,

in this

farther.

Speculations like those which were proposed can only be

thoroughly comprehensible when they present themselves as

a complete, self-contained

circle.

But here we have a fragment

of a circle, to complete which, and to find the centre of which,

forbidden, for

it

would involve an inquiry

after things

When we
own language

do not contribute to deliverance and happiness.

to resuscitate in our

own way and

in our

thoughts that are embedded in the Buddhist teaching,

scarcely help forming the impression that
idle statement

Perfect
say,

which the sacred texts preserve to

than what he esteemed

For that which

and completion

for it

the Nirvana
it

to

was

to

is

us, that the

inadvisable to

else,

which

is

its

explanation

passed over in

to serve for quietude, illumination,

which we can scarcely help believing that

really present in the

whom we owe

we can

profitable to his disciples to

declared points for

something

seemed not

but of

it

try

the

was not a mere

One knew much more which he thought

unfold.

silence

it

is

which

minds of Buddha and those

disciples,

the compilation of the dogmatic texts.

GAPS

m THE SYSTEM.

The Four Sacked Teuths.

The

20:>

and Buddhist

First,

Pessimism.

Ancient tradition, like Nature, provides ns with a starting-

commended

point, equally

to us

by ancient

the natural condition of the question

tradition

must begin our sketch of Buddhist teaching.

the whole body of Buddhist thought

and leavening

lies,

and by

from which we

itself,

At

the basis of

like a

permeating

principle, the contemplation of the suffering of

very form of

life

here on earth.*

The

four sacred truths of

the Buddhists treat of suffering, of the origin of suffering, of

the removal of suffering, and of the path to the removal of
suffering

it is

evermore the word and the idea of suffering

which gives the key-note to Buddhist thought.

In these four truths we have the oldest authentic expression
of this thought.

We

may

describe this as the Buddhist creed.

While most of the categories and propositions which we

imbedded

peculiar to this faith, but as the obviously

all

find

in Buddhist teaching are treated, not as something

common

property of

reflecting religious minds,t the four sacred truths always

appear to us as something which the Buddhists hold beyond

* If Buddhism be treated strictly as

indeed be admitted that

it

looks

upon tbe

pliilosopliical doctrine, it

an ultimate hypothesis, but as the product of deeper-lying

might therefore be tempted in reviewing the system
M-ith the latter,

first,

factors.

Wc

to begin preferably

with the fundamental metaphysical notions o Buddhism.

It appears to me, however,

coiirse laid

must

suffering of the universe not as

down by our

instead of

more

in

keeping with the subject to follow the

authorities themselves,

and

to state the result

the premises, the former being foremost and

most

important for the religious consciousness, though probably not so ia

strict dialectic.

t ^-ff; the doctrine of metempsychosis, of ecstatic conditions, the idea

of

the saint (Arhat), etc.

14

THE FOUR SACBED TRUTHS.

210
all

non-Buddhists,* as

tlie

Buddha had taken on

Buddhahood

kernel and the pole of the

Many were

Doctrine).

(the

Dhamma

the steps of knowledge which

and toilsome journey

his long

to the

yet evermore was there something wanting to

his attainment of the

On

knowledge that gives deliverance.

that night, under the Acvattha tree at Uruvela, the four truths
at

dawn on him; they become the key-stone

last

knowledge

now he

Benares to preach to the

learned

death

"Open ye your

is

found

And when

the Buddha.

is

monks what he has himself

five

ears,

his

of

he goes to

ye monks; the deliverance from

I instruct you, I preach the

Law "

again

there are those very four sacred truths which constitute the

gospel of the newly-discovered path of peace

And
is

(p.

128

seq.).

throughout the long career of Buddha as a teacher, as

it

depicted for us in the sacred texts, the discourse on the four

truths

is

constantly coming to the front as that " which

most prominent announcement

of the

is

the

Buddhas." The Buddhists

describe ignorance as being the ultimate and most deeply-

hidden root of

all

the suffering in the universe

inquires the ignorance of what

is

regarded as

anyone

if

this fatal

power,

{/

the uniform answer comes

the ignorance of the four sacred

truths.

And

number

in the canonical texts repeated, discussed,

thus

we

find these propositions times without

importance magnified in extravagant terms.

and

It is

their

diflScult

to avoid the presumption that the thoughts they convey

the wording in which they are expressed go back to

and

Buddha

himself, or at any .rate to Buddha^s first circle of followers.

* To give but one proof out of
it is

said in the " Saiiiyuttaka

in the world

mauy

Nikaya"

(vol.

if

sun and moon do not shine,

iii,

fol.

am), darkness prevails

also darkness prevails in the world, if perfect, saintly

appear in

it;

So
Buddbas do not

day and night, months and years are not observable.

then the four sacred truths are not preached, taught,

proclaimed, revealed,

etc.

VERSION OP THE FOUR TRUTHS.

We

here repeat

211

tliese propositious, as tliey liave

already met

us in the sermon at Benares, in order to lay them as a founda'/'

tion for our sketch of the Buddhist teaching.

T

" This,

monks,

suffering, old

age

the sacred truth of suffering

is

be united with the unloved

suffering, to

separated from the loved

desires

is

suffering, to

suffering, not to obtain

is

is

bo

what one

in short the five-fold clinging

suffering,

is

Birth

suffering, sickness is suffering, death is

is

(to

the

earthly*) is suffering.

" This,
it

is

monks,

is

the sacred truth of the origin of suffering

the thirst (for being) which leads from birth to birth,

together with lust and desire, which finds gratification here

and there

the thirst for pleasures, the thirst for being, the

thirst for power.

"This,
suffering

monks,

of desire, letting

giving

it

" This,

the sacred truth of the extinction of

is

the extinction of this thirst

it

go, expelling

by complete

annihilation

separating oneself from

it,

it,

no room.

monks,

the sacred trnth of the path which leads

is

to the extinction of suffering

it is

this sacred, eight-fold path,

Eight Faith, Eight Eesolve, Eight Speech, Eight

to wit:

Action, Eight Living, Eight Effort, Eight Thought, Eight

Self-concentration.''^t

* The hankering after corporeal form, after sensations, perceptions,

conformations, and after consciousness.

Koppen

(i,

222, n. 1) finds quite

groundlessly in tliese last words a "metaphysical postscript" to the

original text of the four truths.

as

much

Buddhism has

of metaphysical terminology as

t " Koppen,"

i,

225, n. 2

is

times possessed

" These eight divisions or branches also do

not belong originally to the simple dogma."

enough protest against

at all

comprised in these words.

We

cannot enter a strong

this setting aside of everything

which militates

against this gratuitous conceit of a peculiar simplicity of the earliest

Buddhism.

It cannot count

" metaphysical postscripts

up

to eight without

it

being suspected of

!"

14*

THE FIRST OF THE FOUR SACBED TRUTHS.

212

The four

truths give expression to Buddhist pessimism in

its

characteristic singularity.

They teach us
pessimism

is

of

first

is

this

widespread opinion finds the ultimate ground of this

pessimism in the thought

,

what

direct attention to

all to

not.

the Nothing.

The

world which surrounds

wholly unreal,

if it

that, of all that is, the true existence

Nothing

is

And

alone certain.

appears to surround

us, or

if

the

us, is

not

contains a certain, though ever so hollow a

degree of existence, which cannot be ignored, this is a misfortune;

and

it

is

wrong, for right

^,

The wrong

only the Nothing.

is

must be removed j we must remove it.

Being, which originated

in and from nothing, must again go to nothing,

for

it

is

essentially nothing.*

strange error

is this

picture of what

Whoever

sented to have been.

Buddhism

is

repre-

looks, not into the metaphysical

speculations of later centuries, but into

tions disclose to us of the teaching of

what the

Buddha,

oldest tradi-

of the belief of

that order of wandering mendicants, will not find therein one

tenet of these

all

lucubrations regarding the Nothing.

Neither

openly expressed nor otherwise, neither in the foreground, nor

in the farthest

background of the

idea of the Nothing find a place.

show us

clearly

enough

religious thought, does the

The

that, if this

tenets of the sacred truths

world has been weighed by

the Buddhists and found wanting, the ground of this

it,

an

illusory, specious

but the sole ground

is

something,

that

it

is

in reality a

is

not, that

mere nothing,

consists of suffering

and nothing

but suffering.
All

life is suflferiug

this is the inexhaustible theme, which,

* Adolf Wuttke has made by far the most clever and iutelligent efforts
to evolve

Buddhism from these fundamental thoughts,

des Heidenthums,"
,

214

seq.

ii,

520

seq., especially pp. 55, 535.

vide " Geschichte

Cf. also

"Koppen,"

THE NOTHING AND SORROW.

now

2io

in the strict forms of abstract philosophical discussion

and now

in the

garment o poetical proverb, evermore comes

We

ringing in our ears from Buddhist literature.

may

take

as the standard dialectic expression of this thought one of

those discourses which Buddha, according to tradition, held at

Benares soon after his

whom

disciples, to

And

'^

he

sermon, before those

first

first

the Exalted One," so the tradition narrates, " spake

monks thus

to the five

" The material form,

form were the

monks,

monks,

self,

not the

is

this material

self.

subject to sickness,

and a man should be able

my body

not be so and

man

self,

shall

therefore

my body
''
The sensations, O

follows

in

detail

my

body

shall
is

material form subject to sickness, and

is

cannot say as regards his material form

be so and so

to say regarding

be so and so ;

monks, as material form

But inasmuch,

so.

If material

form could not be

his material form

not the

five earliest

proclaimed the four sacred truths.*

shall not

be so and

my

body

shall

and

then

so.

monks, are not the

self "

regarding the sensations, the very same

exposition which has been given regarding the body.

Then

comes the same detailed explanation regarding the remaining

three component elements, the perceptions, the conformations,

the

consciousness, which

combination with the material

in

form and the sensation constitute man^s sentient

Then Buddha goes on

"

How

to say

think ye then,

state of being.

monks,

is

material form permanent

or impermanent ?"
^'

Impermanent,

''

But

is

sire."

that which

" Sorrow,

is

sire."

* This discourse

is

usually described as the " Sutta of the tokens of

not-self " (of the non-ego).

1,

6,

38 seq.

impermanent, sorrow or joy ?"

The

text

is

to be found in the " Maliavagga,"

THE FIRST OF TEE FOUR SACBED TRUTHS.

214:

" But
full of

that

is I,
''

if

Sire,

Then

is

'^

duly considers that

wliicli is
:

impermanent,

that

is

mine, that

myself?"

he cannot."

follows the

sensations,
after

man

sorrow, subject to change, can he say

same exposition

perceptions,

in similar terms regarding

and consciousness

confoi'mations,

which the discourse proceeds

monks, whatever in the way of material form

Therefore,

(sensations, perceptions, etc., respectively) has ever been, will

be, or

is,

either in our cases, or in the outer world, or strong

or weak, or low or high, or far or near,

must he

in truth

who

perceive,

Whosoever regards things

it

not

is

self

this

possesses real knowledge.

monks, being a

in this light,

wise and noble hearer of the word, turns himself from material
form, turns

himself

from

sensation and

conformation and consciousness.

perception,

from

"When he turns therefrom,

he becomes free from desire; by the cessation of desire he

obtains deliverance

of his deliverance

re-birth is extinct, holiness

duty

is

in the delivered there arises a consciousness

accomplished ; there

is

completed,

is

no more a return to

this world,

he knows."

/The

characteristic

speculation turn

dominant

fundamental

up again

We have

force.

in the conception of a

immutable, which

is

Brahmanical

of

Buddha's with

shown how that speculation works

dualism.

On one

side the

endowed with the predicates

freedom and happiness

that

is

side the world of origination

a word, of suifering.

of

the Brahma, and the

nothing else but man's own true

iu

outlines

in this discourse of

self

(Atman).

and decease,

From

eternal

supreme

Brahma

On

is

the other

birth, old age, death,

this very dualism flow the

ground-axioms, on which Buddha's discourse on the not-self

proceeds

that

proposition, which needed no proof for the

DIALECTIC FOUNDATION OF PESSimSM.

215

be had wliere origination and

Buddliists^ tliat refuge can only

decease have no dominion, the identity of the ideas of change

and sorrow, the conviction that the

man

of

self

(atta

elements, in which the empirical state of

are

continual change

to

liable

spiritual life flows on, while

closes

this stream, the

He

waves of which he cannot keep back or control.

peace be thought

of,

impermanence

from

it

where

all

into

no continuance, but only

But

if

he cannot press

he can sever himself

service,

contact with the earthly ceases, there are

point this discourse on the transitory nature of the

earthty, shows a gap in

was, as

his

how can happiness and

is

and freedom.*

deliverance

At one

Avhere there

change holds sway

this

linked to another and

is

stands helpless in the middle of

cannot attain happiness or peace

uncontrollable

itself,

the bodily as well as the

one event

Man

up with another.

man matures

we

its train

shall see later on,

of thought

to

fill

up which

with a definite purpose omitted.

of the old Brahmanical dualism, the belief in an

One portion

external world involving origination, decease and suffering,

What

adopted without reservation.

doctrine with reference to

What

does

is

the other side of this dualism

teach regarding the eternal, the

it

then, the self

Is,

self.

or has

it,

"What

itself,

to its freedom

inconstant,

is

not-self, that is

taka Nikfiya," vol.

here indicated

is

sorrow

not mine, that

is

ii,

fol.

ka,

am

not

or

is

it

It is

I,

that

sorrow,
is

is

this

no existence at
is

involved in

there nothing

-wliat is

and suffering _cauuot

Is deliverauce a return of the self which

change to

Atman

something raised above

phenomenal world, separated from

all ?

is

the attitude of Buddha's

said that whatever^ is subje ct to change

be the

The

sansk, atman) cannot belong to the world of evolution.

left,

not-self;

not myself."

which
what

is

" Saiiiyut-

where the equivalence of the categories

carried out to a great length in repetitions of all kinds.

'

THE FIRST OF THE FOUR SACRED TRUTHS.

216

in the disappearance of the transitory, shovrs itself real and

permanent

We

note for the present that the sermon at

The answer

Benares leaves these questions open.

Buddhism has given any answer

far as

claim our attention only

We

c"

in-

another connection.

to the Buddhist

return

The

the

quoted.

discourse

But

this

and

abstract

been

development of these thoughts has

in

the imperma-

thoughts of

-^ nence and sorrow of earthly things.

'

to thsm, so

at all to them, can

unfolded

ideal

to

us

only a one-sided,

is

In a form, the most concrete, with

imperfect expression.

the convincing and overwhelming force of a painful reality,

there

is

ever present to the vision of the Buddhist, the picture

man

of the universe and

enveloped in suffering.

There are

not shadows only, not clouds, which sorrow and death cast
over
v)

human

life,

but sorrow and death pertain inseparably

to every state of being.

Through the delusion of happiness

to the sorrow into which

and youth the Buddhist looks on

Behind the sorrowful

happiness and youth must soon turn.

[present lies an

immeasurable

sorrowful

and

past,

there

extends equally immeasurably through the endless distance,

which the belief in the transmigration of souls

awe-struck imagination, a future

full

discloses to the

of sorrows for

him who

does not succeed in attaining deliverance, '^putting an end

to sorrow."

"The
Buddha

pilgrimage
says,*

''

has

(Samsara)
its

beings,

of

my

beginning in eternity.

disciples,"

No

opening

can be discovered, from which proceeding, creatures, mazed in

ignorance, fettered

What
is

by a

thirst for being, stray

think ye, disciples, whether

is

in the four great oceans, or the tears

from you and have been shed by

* " Samyuttaka Nikaya,"

and wander.

more, the water which

which have flown

you, while ye strayed and

vol.

i,

fol.

tLo.

BIRTH, OLD AGE, DEATH.

wandered on

217

and sorrowed and wept^

this long" pilgrimage^

because that was your portion which, ye abhorred and that

which ye loved was not your portion

mother's death,

a father's death, a brother's death, a sister's death, a son's

death, a daughter's death, the loss of relations, the loss of

property,

And

have ye experienced through long ages.

this

all

while ye experienced this through long ages, more tears

have flown from you and have been shed by you, while ye
strayed and wandered on this long pilgrimage, and sorrowed

and wept, because that was your portion which ye abhorred

and that which ye loved was not your portion, than

water which

is

all

the

in the four great oceans."

Birth, old age, death, are the leading forms in which the

sorrow of earthly existence

my

not in the world,

is

depicted.

disciples,

"

If these things

were

the Perfect One, the holy,

supreme Buddha, would not appear

in the world, the law

and

the Doctrine, which the Perfect One propounds, would not

shine in the world.

What

pitiless,

five

three things are they

Birth and

Impermanence holds sway with the

old age and death."*

inexorable power of natural necessity.

" There are

things which no Samana, and no Brahman, and no god,

neither Mara, nor Brahma, nor any being in the universe, can

bring about.

What

things are these

five

subject to old age, should not

grow

to sickness, should not be sick, that

should not die, that what

that

what

is liable

is

what

is

That what

old, that

what

is

is

subject

subject to death,

subject to decay, should not decay,

to pass away, should not pass

away

this can

no Samana bring about, nor any Brahman, nor any god, neither
Mara, nor Brahma, nor any being
* "Angutt:ara Nikaya,"
t From

Munda
Nikaya,

tlie

at Pataliputta
vol.

vol.

discourse witli

ii,

fol.

iii,

in the nniverse."t

fol. tliai.

wliicli tlic

monk Narada

consoled the king

on the death of the Queen Bhaddii.Anrjuttara

khai.

THE FIRST OF TEE FOUR SACRED TRUTHS.

218

The

men who

actions of

pui'sue earthly pleasur-es, are

the curse of impermanence, iUusionj vanity.

'

under

Paining, deceiv-

ing, sweeping, destroying, turning hoped-for enjoyments into

sorrow and death, the inexorable necessity of progression

holds dominion over

all life

and hopes.

Whoever

seeks to

acquire worldly goods, the merchant, the farmer, the shepherd,

the soldier, the civil servant of the crown, must expose himself
to the inconveniences of heat and cold, the bite of serpents, to

hunger and

in vain

he does not gain the object of his

If

to thirst.*

he laments and grieves

pursuit,

was

all

my

in vain did I exert myself,

If he attains his object, he

labour.

guard his gains with anxiety and trouble,

may

robbers

not wrest them from him, that

may

them, that floods

f not

and

fall

into the

fire

may

gratify desire, kings

relations.

wage war,

may

To gain property

father or mother quarrels

with son, brother with brother, warriors make their arrows

and

their

agonies.

swords

To gain

or

not burn

not sweep them away, that they

hands of hostile

must

that kings

fly,

and they brave death and mortal

flash,

pleasure,

robbery, murder, adultery

men

break their word, commit

they endure excruciating tortures

human punishments, and when their bodies succumb in

death, they go the way of evil-doers; in the kingdoms of hell
they will be born again to new torments.
as

And
human
also

these same powers of decadence and sorrow, to which

life is

subject

and which extend through

power over heaven.

an incomparably longer and more happy

earthly humanity

from sorrow.

still

"The

to

have

them

state of being than

even they are not immortal or free

three and thirty gods, and the Ytlma-

gods, the happy deities, the gods

ruling gods,

all hells,

The gods may have assured

bound by the chain

who

joy in creation, and the

of desire, return within the

* I here paraphrase briefly a part of the " Maliadiikkliakklianclha

Suttanta " (in the Majjliima I^ikaja).

BIRTH, OLD AGE, DEATH.

power of Mara.

The whole universe

the whole universe

is

on

is

219

consumed with flames,

is

enveloped in smoke, the whole universe

the whole universe trembles/^*

fire,

The proverbial wisdom of the " Dhammapada " gives the

truest picture of all of Buddhist thought
disciples of

Buddha saw

and

feeling,

how

the

in everything earthly the one thing,

vanity and decay.

"How
desire

you

will

Man

"

can ye be gay, -"^t

said,

''how can ye indulge

Evermore the flames burn.

Darkness surrounds

gathers flowers

sweeps him

Man

ye not seek the light

comes upon him,

''

is

it

his heart is set

Death

on pleasure.

water on a village, and

like the floods of

away.''^

gathers flowers

Destroyer brings the

of

The

on pleasure.

his heart is set

man

insatiable

within his

desire

clutch.''
*'

Neither in the aerial region, nor in the depths of the

nor

if

any place on

find

sea,

thou piercest into the clefts of the mountains, wilt thou

where the hand of death

this earth

will not

reach thee."

"

From merriment cometh sorrow

Whosoever

fear.

sorrow

is

free

whence should come

" From love cometh sorrow

ever

is free

from

love, for

should come fear to him

"

Whoso

looketh

from merriment cometh

from merriment,
fear to
:

him

for

him

there

is

'

no sorrow

whoso-

whence

"

down upon

the world, as though he gazed

on a mere bubble or a dream, him the ruler Death beholdeth

not."

" Whosoever hath traversed the

* From

tlae

evil, trackless

" Bhikkhuni Samyutta," vol.

t " Dhamuiapada,"

v,

no

"

from love cometh fear

him there

is

i,

path of the

fol. gliai.

146, 47, 48, 128, 212, 213, 170, 414.

THE FIRST OF TEE FOUR SACRED TRUTHS.

220
Sansara^

who

of error,

end, hath

pushed on to the

hatli

reached the shore, rich in meditation, free from desire, free

from

him

irresolution,

I call a true

Is

it

who, freed from being, hath found

dialectic only with its

of becoming,

rest,

Brahman."
comparison between the notions

sorrow, which causes the world

decease,

appear to the Buddhist that immeasurable, painful waste

It is true, indeed, that

to

wherever the popular mind cannot

obtain a sure anchorage for itself in the firm and clear realities
of practical

life,

of thought, of

where

speculation, with

gains

an

it is

under the overpowering influence

dreamy fancy without any counterpoise, there

answer given by

or

real

its

supposed logical conclusions,

influence

incalculable

as

to

which

be the

shall

individuals as well as collective masses, to

the question whether

life is

worth

But

living.

it is

not merely

the speculation of the Indian which furnishes the answer.

Speculation

is

bound up with

his wishes

and hopes

shares

it

with them the character of impatient impetuosity, untrained to

Thought, which passes over everything,

deal with realities.

and arrives with one bound

at the absolute, finds its counter-

part in a craving whose impatience pushes from itself

w;hat is the supreme

good

As

all

But

goods, which are not the supreme, everlasting good.

the glow of the Indian sun

causes rest in cool shades to appear to the wearied body the

good of goods, so
rest, is

also with the

the only thing for which

it

wearied

soul,

craves.

Of

rest,

eternal

this life,

which

promises to the cheerful sturdiness of an industrious, struggling

people, thousands of gifts and thousands of

good things, the

Indian merely scrapes the surface and turns away from

weariness.
still

The

slave

is

it

tired of his servitude, the despot

sooner and more completely wearied of his despotism,

unlimited enjoyment.

in
is

its

The Buddhist propositions regarding


THE TONE OF BUDDHISM NOT RESIGNATION.
the sorrow of

all

that

transitory are the sharp

is

221

and trenchant

expression, which these dispositions of the Indian people have

framed for themselves, an expression, the commentary to which

is

written not alone in the sermon at Benares and in the

apothegms of the " Dhammapada/' but

in the

whole of the mournful history of

in indelible characters

unhappy people.

this

In some of the sayings, which we have quoted from the

" Dhammapada," the thought of the impermanence and unsubstantiality

of

of

the earthly world

him who has succeeded

him

to

the prison-house.

blended with the praise

is

in breaking the fetters which bind

And

brings us to

this

in a

fill

necessary part without which our sketch of the Buddhist

Some

pessimism would be very incomplete.

often

represented the tone prevailing in

peculiarly

characterized

by a feeling

it,

certainly

The

misunderstood Buddhism.

altoo-ether

sees in

if

were

it

melancholy which

of

bewails in endless grief the unreality of beiug.

have

writers have
as

In

this

they

true Buddhist

world a state of continuous sorrow,

this

but this sorrow only awakes in him a feeling of compassion

for those

who

are yet in the world; for himself he feels

sorrow or compassion, for he knows he

stands awaiting him, noble beyond
annihilation

We

Perhaps

it

But be

this as it

question yet.

is.

is

all

else.

Is

this

goal

cannot here answer this

may, the Buddhist

from bewailing as a misfortune, or as an

must submit with sad resignation as

no

near his goal which

to

injury, to

is

far

which he

an unalterable destiny,

the constitution of things, which has provided just this goal

and only

this

goal for man's existence.

with the same

He

seeks Nu-vana

joyous sense of victoiy in prospect, with

which the Christian looks forward to his goal, everlasting life.

The following sayings also of the " Dhammapada " reflect
this spirit*:

* Verse 94, 197 seq. 373.

TEE FIRST OF THE FOUR SACRED TRUTHS.

222

''He whose appetites are

broken in by tbe

steeds

at rest, like

who has put away

trainer, lie

thorougUy

pride,

who

is

from impurity, him thus perfect the gods themselves

free

envy/'
''

we
among men

In perfect joy

enmity;

without enemy in this world of

live,

filled

with enmity

we dwell without

enmity."

" In perfect joy we

men we

" In perfect joy

toilino-

men we

is

among

the sick

among

sick

we

live,

without

toil

among

toilers

among

dwell without toil."

" In perfect joy we

scrip

hale

live,

dwell without sickness."

live, to

whom

belongeth nothing.

Our

pleasantness, as of the effulgent gods."

" The monk who dwells

full of peace, enjoys

empty abode, whose

in an

superhuman

felicity,

soul

is

gazing solely on the

truth."
It is not

enough to say that the final goal

strives to pass as

Nirvjina.
to

to

which the Buddhist

an escape from the sorrow of the world,

It is also necessary to

note as a fact assured beyond

cheerfulness, infinitely surpassing

which the Buddhist pursues

is

any delineation of Buddhism

all

this end.

all

doubt, that internal

mere

resignation, with

CHAPTER

XL

THE TENETS OE THE OEIGIN AND THE EXTINCTIOX

OF SUFFEEING.

The Formula of the Causal Nexus.

In order to understand the
tlie

tenet of sufferings

witli the criticism

first of tlio

we needed

four sacred truths^

to acquaint ourselves ouiy

which Buddha's discourses give of the events

the dispositions and inclinations which govern our

of daily

life,

actions,

and the consequences which follow from them.

tenets of the origin of suffering and

of the

its

The

extinction bring us out

domain of the popular speculative view of

life^

into the

realms of abstract notions of Buddhist dogmatic, and therewith

where the ground vanishes from beneath our

into a region

feet

at every step.

" This,
i fc

is

monks,

is

the sacredtrut h of th^origin of

the thirst (for be ing),

w hi ch

s uffering

leads frombirth to birth,

together with lust and desire, which finds gratification here

and there
thirst for

" This,
suffering

the thirst for pleasures, the thirst for being, the

power.

O
:

monks,

of desire, letting
giving- it

is

the sacred truth of the extinction of

the extinction of this thirst by complete annihilation

it

no room."

go, expelling

it,

separating oneself from

it,

224:

AND EXTINGTION OF SORROW.

ORIGIN

The

state of being, as

restless

oscillation

The arround

misfortune.

our besetting

sin,

we

will our

our

This

is

be our-

being to blend with other being

sum

of all

human

of suffering

action and all

destiny.

The former

composed.

tenet, as

this birth ?

ground does

it itself

It,

rest

which

of

we have quoted

from one birth

of the thirst for being, which leads

"Whence

there,

its

is

will to

But the sum must be resolved into the elements

is

v/ifcli

of the will to be, cuts off being,

cessation, comprise the

human

we

Thus the two tenets of the origin

for us at least.
its

world,

tliis

of our existing is our will.

will to be, that

The negation

and extend.

and

that

we fondly

selves, that

surrounds us in

it

between origination and decease,

it,

it

speaks

to another.

the ground of our being, on what

And what

what intermediate links are

law,

there,

what mechanism

by which the

tion of our being, re-birth with its sorrows^

is

is

repeti-

connected with

it?

The very
of

oldest traditions from which

we draw our account

Buddhist speculations, show that these questions had been

People found the brief and concise setting of the

asked.

sacred truths obviously inadequate and two formulas, or, more

correctly speaking, a bipartite formula

was intended

regarding the origin of suliering and

of the

was drawn up, which

to supplement, or rather strengthen, the tenets

its cessation,

the formula

" Causal Nexus of being " (paticcasamuppada).*

Tradition assigns to this formula the next place in sacredness

The knowledge

to the four truths.

of the four verities

makes Buddha Buddha; the formula

which had occurred
* This

is

to

of the

is

what

causal nexus,

him already before the attainment

of

frequently designated in later literature the formula of the

twelve nidanas (Bases of Existence), an expression which, as far as I

know, occurs neither

in

Buddha's discourses nor in the Vinaj'a

texts.

THE FORMULA OF THE CAVSAL NEXUS.

225

Buddliahood had been vouchsafed to him, occupied his mind

while he

happiness of deliverance/^*
that his

And when

he combats the fear

gospel will not be comprehended on earth,

especially the law of the causal nexus of beings to

fear attaches

under the tree of knowledge, " enjoying the

sits

is

it

which this

" Men who move in a woi'ldly sphere, who have

their lot cast

and

will find this

matter hard to grasp, the law of causality, the

find their enjoyments in a worldly sphere,

chain of causes and

effects. '^f

Occasionally the sacred texts

make

the formula of the causal

nexus actually an integral portion of the sacred truths themselves,

by omitting the second and

in their stead this formula in its

The propositions
which

third truths

insei'ting

of the causal nexus of being, in the form

most commonly met with in the

is

and

two branches.

traditions,

and

which may be regarded as the most ancient form, with their

double, their positive and negative, arrangement

and backwards,'^ hs the texts express themselves

as follows

"

From

ignorance come conformations

(sankhara)

conformations comes consciousness (vinnana)

ness

" forwai'ds

are worded

come name and corporeal form

poreal form

come the

* " Maliavagga,"
(Phayre MS.,

vol.

i,

i,

six fields ;

Buddha

from

from conscious-

from name and cor-

from the six

1 (supra, pp. 116, 117).

fol. ja)

fields

comes

"
In the " Saiiiyutta Nikaya

says that, in his case as in the case

wisdom
dawned on him before the attainment o the Buddhahood (pubbeva me
bhikkhave sambodha anabhisambuddhassa).

of the prior Buddhas, the knowledge of this hitherto unheard-of

t Vide supra, j). 120.

"
X So in the Anguttara Nikaya

"

(Tikanipata,

Phayre MS., voh

i,

foh

ce').

The

fields of

five senses the

the six senses and their objects.

In addition to the

Indians reckoned understanding (mano) the sixth.

15

THE FOBilULA OF THE CAUSAL NEXUS.

226

contact (between

senses and

tlie

tlieir objects)

comes sensation; from sensation comes

thirst

comes clinging

(to existence)

existence

(to

comes being (bhava)

from birth come old age and

suffering, anxiety

and

despair.

from contact

thirst (or desire)

upadana)

from

from clinging

from being comes birth

tleath^

pain and lamentation,

This

the origin of the whole

is

realm of suffering.

" But ifignorance be removed by the complete extinction of

this brings

desire,

about the removal of conformations; by

the removal of conformations, consciousness

name and

the removal of consciousness,

removed

fields are

by the removal

name and

of

removed ; by the removal

sensation, thirst

is

removed

clinging (to existence)

clinging

(to existence),

corporeal form, the six

removed

is

is

is

and lamentation,
Tliis is

by the

of

of thirst, the

by the removal

of

the

removed; by the removal of

removed ; by the removal of

is

death, pain

removed

removed ; by the removal

by the removal

being

being, birth

are removed.

is

by

of the six fields, contact

(between the senses and their objects)

removal of contact, sensation

removed

is

corporeal form are

birth, old

suffering, anxiety,

age and

and despair

the removal of the whole realm of

suffering."

The attempt
to trace

is

here made by the use of brief pithy phrases

back the suffering of

The answer

all

earthly existence to its most

as confused as the question

was

remote

roots.

bold.

It is utterly impossible for

out

meaning, to trace from beginning to end a connected

its

meaning- in this formula.

separately,

is

Most

anyone who seeks to find

of the links of the chain, taken

admit of a passable interpretation

many

arrange

themselves also in groups together, and their articulation

be said to be not incomprehensible

may

but between these groups

there remain contradictions and impossibilities in the consecu-

CONSCIOUSXESS AND CORPOREAL FORM.

arrangement of priority and sequence,

tive

exegesis

Even

lias

not

tlie

power, and

of causality

is

strictly in

muss

that ^^ein Begriff

here a stumbing-block

bei

wliicli

an exact

not permitted to clear up.

who were by no means

the ancient Buddhist theologians,

accustomed to construe too

ment

is

227

every case the require-

dem Worte

sein,"* found

the variations, with which the formula

found in the sacred writings, afford unmis-

takable evidence of this.

The Third Link

in

the Chain op Causality.

seems advisable for the explanation of the formula of

It

The

causality not to begin at the beginning.

series

the

and the '^conformations^'

ignorance

first

links of the

ultimate ground of earthly existence, ignorance,

are in

which develop themselves from

their nature

much more

difficult of

compre-

hension by concrete explanation than the following categories.

We

shall return later

on to the attempt here made to denomi-

nate the cause of causes

at present

we begin where

sciousness appears in the chain of categories and with

step

upon the ground of conceivable

reality.

conit

The sacred

also apparently justify us in proceeding thus, as they

we

texts

them-

selves often begin the chain of causality wath the category of

consciousness, omitting the

'^

first

conformations " are evidently

members.

among

" Ignorance " and

the things, of which

Buddhist dogmatists have, as far as possible, omitted to speak.

" From consciousness '' runs the third proposition

" come name and corporeal form."
series

in

the

* Gothe's "Faust," Dialogue of j\Iepliistoplieles and the Student.

" A meaning must underHe words." [_Translaio)\']

Anghce

15*


THE THIRD LINK IN THE CHAIN OF CAVSALITT.

228

One

of

tlie

dialogues on this subject in the collection of the

sacred texts, in which

Buddha

Ananda, the greater part

unfolds to his beloved disciple,

of the formula of causality,* gives

us a very concrete explanation of

ness,

" If conscious-

Ananda, did not enter into the womb, would name and
womb ? " '' No, sire/^ "

corporeal formf arise in the

if

consciousness, Ananda, after

were again

to leave its place,

be born into

it

And

has entered into the

womb,

would name and corporeal form

V "No,

this life

Ananda, were again

lost to the

sire/'

"And

boy or to the

if

consciousness,

girl,

while they

would name and corporeal form attain growth,

" " No, sire."
increase, progress ?
Thus the proposition, " From consciousness comes name and
were yet

which

proposition,

this

undoubtedly expounds the original meaning.

small,

corporeal form,^' leads us to the

shall,

when

treating of

moment

of conception.

We

Buddhist notions of soul and

the

metempsychosis, come to understand from another point of

view

still

more completely the ideas which meet us here ; here

we must only

state this

much, that

in death the other elements,

which constitute the body-cum-spirit

state of

being of a man,

are dissolved; the body, the sensations, the perceptions vanish,

but not the consciousness (vifmana).

long as the existent

is

bound

in

Consciousness forms, so

metempsychosis, the connecting

* The Malianidanasuttca (Diglia Nikaja).

for the Excursus the more particular statements which the
acred texts make regarding this double notion of "name and corporeal
form," derived from older Brahmanical speculation. Originally in this
t I reserve

expression undoubtedly the

fchis

person and no other,

is

Name,

in so far as

it

expresses vrhat

is

only

regarded as a peculiar element annexed to the

body, somehow connected with the bod}', and this interpretation has not

wholly disappeared from the Buddhist texts.

Meanwhile another view

grew up, by which " name " was understood to include the more subtle
immaterial functions connected with the body in contradistinction to the
body formed of earth, water, fire, and aii.

;:

CONSCIOUSNESS AND CORPOREAL FORM.

link wliicli connects

tlie

old existences witli the

deliverance^ the nirvana

the bourne o

22t>

new ;

not

till

reached, does the

is

consciousness also of the dying perfect one vanish into nothing.

As

the

human body

consciousness also

is
is
''

spiritual element.

formed out of the material elements^ so

regarded as consisting of an analogous

There are six elements,

my

disciples,^'

says Buddha, " the element of earth, the element of water, the

element of

fire,

the element of

is

as

made
it

is

air,

The

element of consciousness."

the element of ^ther, the

which consciousness

stuff of

highly exalted above the other elements

were, in

its

own

" Consciousness,^^

world.

it

it is

dwells,

written,

" the indemonstrable, the evei'lasting, the all-illuminating

is

where nor water nor earth, nor

nor

fire

air, finds

it

a place, in

which greatness and smallness, weakness and strength, beauty

and non-beanty, in which name and material form

cease

altogether."

man

That which in the dying

is

constructed of this highest

of earthly elements, the consciousness-element,

becomes

at the

moment when the old being dies the germ of a new being
this germ of consciousness seeks and finds in the womb the
material stuffs, from which
in

name and
But

as

it

forms a new state of being coined

material form.

name and

material form rest on consciousness, so also

the latter rests on the former.

which do not carry back the

Those passages in the

texts,

line of causality to the ultimate

end, to Ignorance, are wont to

make

it

run in a

circle

with

these two categories interchangeably dependent on one another

We have

ah-eady quoted from Buddha's and Ananda's dialogue

the passage bearing on the one side of this subject, on the

allegation that

On
"

If,

name and

the other side, then,

material form rest on consciousness.

it

is

said in the

Ananda, consciousness were not

same conversation

to find

name and

material

THE THIRD LINE IN THE CHAIN GF CAV8ALITY.

230

form as

its resting-place,

would

and death,

tlien birtli, old age,

the origin and development of sorrow, reveal themselves in

? ^^

succession

Ananda,

'''No,

sire,

they would not."

this the cause, this the ground,

is

the basis of consciousness

name and

material form."

thus comprehensively are the bases on which

and all existence

rest,

'^Therefore,

this the origin, this

all

and

of the existent, their birth, death,

described as "

name and

And

nameability
re-birth,

material form combined with

consciousness."

We

extract from

other

texts

some more

passages for the elucidation of this subject

'^

What must

material form

there be, in order that there

characteristic

Whence come name and

may be name and

material form

may be name and

material form; from consciousness come name and material
What must there be in order that there may be
form.
consciousness ? Whence comes consciousness ? Name and
material form must be, in order that there may be conConsciousness must be in order that there

sciousness

Then,

from name and material form comes consciousness

my

disciples,

the

Bodhisatti

consciousness conversely depends on

thought

material form

Vipassi*

name and

the chain goes no farther."t

And
mouth

in another placej the following simile is put into the

of Sariputta, the greatest authority

disciples

against

"

My

friend, as

among Buddha's

two bundles of

each other stand, so also,

my

sticks

leaning

friend, consciousness

grows out of name and material form, and name and material
* Vipassi

is

one of

tlie

mythical Budclhas of

attributed tliose reflections on

Bodhisatta

(pursuinfij the

tlie

tlie past,

to

wliom are

chain of casuahty, while he was

path to the Buddhahood).

t Mahapadhanasutta (Digha Nikaya), second Bhunavara.

" Samyatta N." vol. i, fol. iiah'.
X

still

THE SIX FIELDS- CONTACT SENSATION.

form out of consciousness."

It

"grows out

intended to convey that consciousness

is

which name and material form are made

it is

to

originates

consciousness

that

saying,

is

of'^

it

231

this is

not

the element, out of

merely tantamount

the forming power, which

from the material elements or being, which bears

name and

is

clothed with a body.

The Fourth

to the

Eleventh Link in the Chain of

Causality.

When

the spirit has found

the spirit and united itself to

spirit

into

and body, provides

its
it^

itself

body and the body found

this

being compounded of

with organs to put

communication with the external world.

itself

" From name

and material form," runs the fourth term of the formula,

"come

the

six

fields"*

the

"'six

fields of

(ajjhattika ayatana), eye, ear, nose, tongue,

the subject"

body

(as

organ for

sensations of touch), understanding,t and the six corresponding

fields of

eye,

the object world, corporeal forms as the object of the

and so on

sounds,

odours, taste^ tangibility, and

last,

as

the object of the understanding, thoughts (or ideas, notions,

"dhamma"), which

are represented evidently as something

standing present before the thinking faculty in quite an objective

* The Tersion contained in the " Malianidanasutta " (Dialogue between
Buddha and Ananda) skips the categories of the " six fields," and goes
on from " name and material form " straight to the next following
(Vide infra.)
t " Understanding " (mano) and " consciousness " (viilnana) are always
quite distinct in the sacred texts, wherever they express themselves strictly.
category of contact.

Turns such

as these:

"What

people are accustomed to call thought

(citta)

or understanding (mano) or consciousness (viunana) " occur, as far as

1 know, only in such a connection that they

intentional accommodation to customary

may

be described as an

modes of speech.

THE FOURTH TO THE ELEVENTH LINK.

232
existence

and

realized

by

in the

it,

same way as

visible bodies

before the eyes.

The organs

of the subject

the objective world.

From

comes

contact

now

step into communication with

''From the

We

certainly not very clearly expressed,

scarcely well-thought-out, attempt^ to

processes.

comes contact.

six fields

sensation."

meet

and

still

also

at the

with a

same time

further analyze these

Before the organ of sense grasps the object, an

operation of the central organ, consciousness, on the organ of

sense in requisition, gives

command to join communication

way that the former
manner to work. And when this

the

it

with the object, apparently in such a

sets the latter in a certain

communication follows, then by means of

it,

besides the two

elements primarily concerned, the organ of sense and the

object, the third element, consciousness, the author

visor of this communication,

somewhat

is at

and super-

the same time in play.

in this way, I believe, that

It is

we must understand

following proposition which recurs not unfrequently in

sacred texts

consciousness,

" From the

eye and

directed^

the

to

conjunction of the three, the

visible

contact.''^

address of Buddha^s already quoted

bodies

comes

(cakkhuvinhana),

eye

(p.

the
the

the

And

similarly in that

185

seq.), the series

and processes treated of in this connection, is expressed

in the following fashion " Eye body
consciousness directed
of ideas

contact of the eye (with the
:

to the eye

which
it

arises

objects)

the sensation,

from the contact of the eye (with the

pleasure be

it

pain,

be

it

objects),

neither pain nor pleasure."*

be

Of

course similar processes take place in the case of the other

organs of sense to those which occur in the case of the eye.

* Pleasure, pain, and what

is

neither pleasure nor pain: a classification

of sensations under three heads found frequently repeated in the sacred

texts.

233

THUiST CLINGING.
Tlie

goes on

foi-mula

Here the point

is

" From sensation arises thirst."

r^

reached, which the tenets of the origin and

the extinction of suffering had

made a starting-point, " the thirst

which leads from re-birth to re-birth," not the ultimate but

We

the most powerful cause of suffering.

thirst for

being; we

" Whomsoever

it

suffer,

its

venom through

grows as the grass grows.

the world, his

Whosoever holds

it

in

which

it

is

subjection, that thirst, that contemptible thing,

difficult to

escape in this world, suffering

falls off

" As,

the water-drops from the lotus flowers."*

uninjured, even a

we

be, because

because we thirst for pleasure.

holds in subjection, that thirst, that con-

temptible thing, which pours

suffering

"^

hewn tree grows up anew

'

from him as

if

the root be

mightily, so,

if

the

excitement of thirst be not wholly dead, suffering ever and

anon breaks out

other gifts

again.'''

" The

gift of

sweetness;

joy

in

the truth surpasses

extermination of thirst, this subdues

The

the truth transcends

the sweetness of the truth transcends

all

all

all

all

other

other joy;

the

suffering."

idea of thirst, usually divided by scholastic teaching

into six heads, according to whichever one or other of the six

senses

it is

that has caused the sensation which generates the

thirst, is usually

met

in close connection with the category,

which follows next in the formula of

causality, that of clinging,

"From

to wit, clinging to the external world, to existence.f

* " DLamniapada,"

from

tlie

same

r.

335 seq.

The

follo^ving quotations

are taken

text, v. 338, 354.

t Scholastic terminology specially distiuguislics four classes of clinging

by desire, clinging by (mistaken) intentions, clinging by building
:

clinging

on virtue and monastic observances

to obtain salvation),

(as

though these were alone

and clinging by thinking of the ego.

We

sufficient

shall not

be able to explain the last point, the attitude of Buddhist teaching as to

the idea of the ego, until

we

reach a later stage.

THE FOURTH TO THE ELEVENTH LINK.

234:

The

thirst/^ says the formula^ ''comes clinging."

for "clinging

^^

(upfidana) involves a metaphoi*

cannot be contemplated without

it

Even

fuel.

its

being

is

which

it

clings, the wind.

like the flame

being

(nirvana)

the flame

of

extinguished so long as

"

And

clings.^'

into far
laid

ofi"

on the

distances,
it,

it

is

but

on,

is

still

is

the

not

is

supplied with fuel to which

is

not

but presses on in transmigration to far

from heaven to

hell,

from

it

wind presses on

distance, so also the flame of our existence

spot,

to a certain

the flame

as the flame clinging to the

of every

Dehverance

extent a continuous process of burning.

extinction

is

The existence

like the flame, our

way

the flame

if

be carried into the distance by the wind, there

fuel there to

word

highly

fuel (upadana)

to the

still

is

The flame

descriptive of the idea which is here underlying.

which, as a scarcely material existence, freely urges

spreading and rising, " clings "

Pali

which

off

What

hells to heaven.

is

to which the flame-resembling process of our being clings

in the

wind

moment
*''

of such transmigration, like the flame to the

Then, say

I,

(the

the substratum to which

at that time (at the

it

moment

being of the existent) has

clings

for this thirst,

thirst as

Vaccha,

is

of transmigration) its (the being's)

clinging.''*

Even the

slightest residue of clinging prevents deliverance.

who-

Whosoever separates from everything that

is

* From a dialogue between Buddha and a monk

named Vaccha (" Samyutta Nikaya," vol. ii, fol.

of another persuasion

transitory,

tau).

Here may be

seen an illustration of the disconnectedness of the sacred texts already

animadverted on,

as regards the succession of the categories appearing in

the formula of causality.

consciousness come
conception, that

is

We

name and

pointed out, that the proposition " from

material form " refers to the

of transmigration of the soul.

of thirst and clinging, which appear

carried back to the very same

moment.

much

And

later in

moment

of

here the categories

the formula, are

BECOMING BIRTH AND DEATH.

235

soever attains the most perfect quietude, but clings with

thought even to this very quietude and

he

is

The

in bondage.

still

clinging

is

the clinging

best,

to the

but

liis

glad of this quietude,

is

minimum

the

still

of

condition of deepest self-

suppression where consciousness and non-consciousness are

overcome

alike

complete deliverance has overcome even this

last clinging.*

''By the cessation of clinging his soul was

delivered from

all

"

existence

sinful

this

the

is

standing

phrase with which the texts intimate that a disciple of Buddha

has become a partaker of holiness, of deliverance.

Up

to this point the connection of the causes

eifects in

The impression

our chain of categories was tolerably clear.

will

and

have been formed that the being whose conception {" from

consciousness come

name and material

form'')

was the starting-

point of the series, has long since, in the later terms of the
formula, entered on real

the clinging to

its

dialogue between
position
of

human

In

struggles with the outer world,

this light also the oft-mentioned

Buddha and Ananda puts

" fi'om sensation comes thirst,"

toil

backbiting, lying.

to

whom we

three last terms

comes becoming (bhava)

come old

there are

its

when

theory of the world

social life,

egoism against egoism, suddenly turns back

and causes that being

birth

to the pro-

It is therefore very surprising,

have already seen taking part

in the transactions of the world to be born.

its

have already arrived at the dealings of

at the struggle of

thus in

it

appends a picture

seek, obtain, possession, guard, envy, quarrel,

the formula of causality, which in

seemed

it

and struggles for pleasure and gain

met the words

strife,

life,

goods.

age,

"

From

The formula runs

clinging (to existence)

from becoming comes birth; from

and death, pain and lamentation, sorrow,

anxiety and despair.''

* " Ananjasappaya Suttanta

" (Majjli. N.).

THE FOURTH TO THE ELEVENTH LINK.

23G
It

seems to

me

evident that there

here a gap in the train

is

of thought which our efforts of elucidation cannot, and are not

What was more

even permitted to bridge over.

death

"If three things were not

Perfect

in the world,

One, the holy, supreme

the Perfect

Law and

appear in the world, the

One propounds, would not

three things are they

ready than

from which come old

to recoffnize in birth the sources

my

Buddha,

agfe

would

not

the Doctrine, which the

What

shine in the world.

Birth and old age and death.^'*

and

disciples,

Thus

these so closely associated ideas were thrown together in the

two

last

these

terms of the causal- chain, but

new groups

The

form a harmonious whole.

was thrust
vaguenessf

very

little

it

was omitted

to

weld

of categories with those preceding, so as to

middle, inevitably creates

into the

which

idea of " becoming,^' which

you may regard as you

or of very great import

were intended for a

the

shift or sleight to

by

its

very

like, as either

impression as

of

if it

get over the break in

continuity.

We close with some proverbs

of the

" Dhammapada,^^ which

J

translate these last terms of the formula of causality

from the

language of ideas into that of emotion and poetry.

" Behold this painted picture, the

frail,

scarred form of

corporeity, wherein manj^ an aspiration dwells, which has no

happiness and no stability."

" To age comes as

the perishable body
* Vide supra,

t This

is

form,

life in it is

frail,

death.

a nest of diseases

)}

p. 217.

not removed by the explanation frequently occurring in the

sacred texts, that there

becoming

its lot this

fails

in form, the

is

a triple becoming

becoming

born again in the lower worlds ruled by

the worlds of form and formlessness.
J Vers 147-149, 46.

the becoming in desire, the

in formlessness, according as a being is

desire, or in the higher states,

IGNORANCE.
" Those bleaclied bones,

gourds in the autumn

be happy

237
out yonder like

wlilcli are tlirown

when anyone

sees them,

how can he

"

''Esteeming

this

body

a bubble, regarding

like

as a

it

mirage, breaking the flower-shafts of the tempter, press on to the

bourne where the monarch Death

shall

gaze no more on thee.'*

But death is not the end of the long chain of

death follows re-birth,

new

The First and Second Links

From

suffering

upon

sorrow, another death.

of the Causal-chain.

the end of the formula of causality

to its beginning, to speak of the

two

we must turn back

first

members

of the

begins,

"come

series.

"From

ignorance

formula

the

(avijja),"

conformation s (sankh ara)

" From conformations comes consciousness."

If ignorance
[

the question

is

be designated the ultimate source of

must

arise

Who

that of which this ignorance

It is tempting,

is
is

here the ignorant

ignorant

by the place assigned

suffering,
?

What

to the category of

" ignorance,^' at the beginning of the whole line of causality,

to allow one's self to

be carried away by interpretations which

see in this idea, as

it

at

the primitive

tempted to read in

be

hiient,

Or one might be

the history of a crime preceding

it

time, an unlucky act

itself to

were, a cosmogonical power working

foundation of things.

all

by which the non-hcent had doomed

that

is

to suffer.

'

The philosophy

of later

Brahmanical schools speaks in similar fashion of Maya,

that'

power of delusion, which causes the deceptive picture of the

created world to appear to the One, the uncreated, as

were

heent.

"He, the

if

it

knowing-, gave himself up to confused

THE FIRST AND SECOND LINKS.

238

and when

fancies,

is

my

amazement multiform dreams

in

father, this

my

mother, this

Some have compared

Maya

of the

Maya

that, as

my field,

the ignorance of

Brahmanical theosophy
is

this

my

him

by-

I am, this

kingdom/^

Buddhism with

this

only with this note

the deceptive reflection of the true everlasting

so ignorance

heent,

into tlie slumber prepared for

lie fell

Maya, he beheld

is

the reflection of that which, as they

thought, took the place of

the

everlasting

htent

for

the

Buddhists, that this, the Nothing.

Interpretations of this kind, which find in the category of

ignorance an expression for the deceptive Nothing appearing

as a heent, completely correspond in fact with the explicit

The construction alluded

utterances of later Buddhist texts.

to is

met with

in the great standard text-book of mystic-

nihilistic speculation,

theologians in the

esteemed

sacredly

(Prajnaparamita),

Buddha

said

who
"

" They
in

we read

the

" Perfection

as follows
:

of

Sfiriputra,

and ignorant men, clinging

then,

sire,

In this most
Knowledge "

" Things,

are not instructed on the

How

do they exist

^'

do not

closely to them,

subject."

Sariputra

Buddha answered

Sariputra, in so far that they do not exist

exist,

truth.

century after Christ.

text,

said to Sariputra

exist as ordinary

fancy,

which was an authority among Buddhist

first

And inasmuch

called Avidya, that

is,

this ordinary, ignorant

matter, cling closely.

as

they do not exist, they are

the non-existent, or ignorance.f

To

men, who are not instructed on the

They represent

to themselves all things,

of which in truth not one has any existence, as existent."

* The passage

is

Buddliisme indien,"

t This

is

quoted by Burnouf, " Introduction a

p.

473

I'liistoire

du

seq. 478.

the same term which occurs at the beginning of the formula

of causality (avidya

= Pali,

avijja).

IGNORANCE.

Then Buddha asks the holy

thou now, Subhuti,
another

Is

another

one

illusion

perceptions another

disciple

" What thinkest

and

thing

" Nay, Master, nay

not one thing and material form another.

is

itself

the illusion and the illusion

sensations, perceptions, conformations,

says

"

itself

consciousness

is

Buddha

another

sensations

conformations another

Subhuti answered

''

Subhuti

one thing and material form

illusion

is

239

illusion

Material form

is

material form,

and consciousness/^ And

It is in the nature of the illusion that that lies

which makes beings what they

are.

It

is,

Subhuti, as

if

a clever magician, or the pupil of a clever magician, caused a

vast concourse of

men

to appear at a cross road,

where four

great thoroughfares meet, and, having caused them to appear,

caused them again to

vanish.''^

Thus the speculations

" Perfection

contained

in

the treatise on the

Knowledge,^' make ignorance

of

the ultimate

cause of the appearing of the world and at the same time

the essential character of
rather not-being

its state

of being,

which

is

in truth

ignorance and not-being here coincide.

We have taken this glance at this later phase of the development

of Buddhist thought merely with the intention of being

put on our guard against assigning any of these ideas to

ancient

Buddhism and against framing any

interpretation of

the old texts, especially of the formula of causality, influenced

by such a process.

Inquirers,

of the chain of causes

later period,

and

who had access to

effects

the propositions

only in the garb of that

found themselves in fact in a not very different

position from that in which a historian of Christianity would

be placed,

if

he were directed to string together some account

of the teaching of Jesus

The
cated

course, which

we have

from the phantasms of the Gnostics.

we must

follow, is clearly

enough

indi-

only to inquire from the oldest tradition of

THE FIRST AND SECOND LINKS.

24:0

Buddliist dogmatics, obtainable in the Pali texts, what

ignorance, the ultimate ground of

Wherever

in the

that

is

all suflFering.

sacred Pali literature this

question

is

mooted, as well in the addresses which Buddha himself and

have delivered, as in the systema-

his chief disciples are said to

tizing compilations of a later generation of dogmatists, the

answer

is

The ignorance

invariably the same.

but

like a mysterious original sin,

/

not declared

the four sacred truths.

Sariputta says

know

ing, friend, not to

friend,

this,

the four sacred

:*

is

the ignorance of

" Not to

know the path to the

called ignorance.'"

is

truths as they are,

seen them
suffering

is

the current of being

destroyed

there

The method and procedure

clearly exemplified

way through

when

that
that

is,

to the

is

itself

moment

" Not seeing

have I

The

of old-Buddhist

dogmatic

here
its

moment when

with " name and material form,^'

of conception, their thought is not

on

account lost in the arcanum of pre-existence prior to

consciousness, but

ignorance, which
(

is

tracks personality back on

it

makes

this empirical existence take

root in another equally empirical conceivable existence.

root of

henceforward no re-birth. "f

is

it

know

extinction

Now

stemmed.

the world of sorrow beyond that

consciousness clothes

suffer-

have wandered on

long path from one birth to another.

the

know

the origin of suflFering, not to

the extinction of suffering, not to

of suffering

within the range of

is

it

The ignorance

earthly, tangible reality.

all

is

be anything in the way of a cosmic power, nor anything

to

is

stated to

That

be the ultimate ground of your

present state of being, involves that, at an earlier date, a being

who then occupied your

place, a

being who has lived in not

* " Saramadittliisuttanta " (Majjhima Nikaya). Similar j^assages occur

frequently.

t " Mahavagga,"

vi, 29.

IGNORANCE AND CONFORMATIONS.

less tangible reality

than you

or in a hell^

failed

definable

in

has

now

211

do^ on earth or in a heaven

possess a specific knowledge,

to

and bound for that reason

certain words,

in

the bonds of transmigration, must have brought about your

We

present state of being.

saw

old-Brahman

52) that

(p,

speculation, in reply to the question,

what

is

the power which

enemy must

holds the spirit bound in impermanence, what

may be

be overcome in order that deliverance

obtained, has

answered with the very same conception, that of ignorance.

With

the

Brahmans

this ignorance

was the ignorance of the

which

identity of the particular ego with that great ego,

source and the

sum

these thoughts and

them

all

possible, but

than the thought

of all egoity.

the

is

Buddhism has given up

metaphysical hypotheses which rendered

the word proved

still

more

itself

lasting

now, as before, the ultimate root of all

suffering continues to be called " ignoi'ance/^
And there it

was

when

natural,

made

inquiry "was

import of this idea of " ignorance,"

non-possession

of

it

as

the

to

illateut

should be described as

that knowledge, the possession of which

appeared to the Buddhist the highest aim of every struggle for

deliverance, the
ing, of

knowledge of

suffering, of the origin of suffer-

the extinction of suffering, and of the path to the

extinction of suffering.

The ultimate root

delusion which conceals from

man

of all suffering

value of the system of the universe.

Being

is

suffering

Ignorance totally deceives us as to this suffering

to see instead of suffering a

And

phantom

of happiness

the next consequence of this delusion

causality expresses

it

is

the

the true being and the true

in its first proposition

but

causes us

it

and

pleasure.

The formula

of

" From ignorance

come conformations (Sankhara)."

Here the

imjjossibility of

Buddhist

terminology

adequate expression in our language makes

itself

finding-

keenly
16

felt.

THE FIRST AND SECOND LINKS.

242

The word Sankliara

derived from a verb wliicli siguifies

is

Sankhara

to arrange^, adorn, prepare.

and

prepared;

that

conceptions

we

but

shall

these

much more than

is botli tlie

preparation

two coincide in Buddhist

this point later

on

the made

has existence only and solely in the process of being

whatever

is, is

not so

mind

in ours, for to the Buddhist

have more to say on

much a something which

is,

made

as the process

rather of a being, self-generating and self-again-consuming

being.

Now, nothing can be imagined

coming under observation in

this

any time any how

at

world of becoming and

decease, to which the idea of forming or of

and thus we

does not attach,

word Sankhara
everything that

shall farther

becoming formed
on meet with the

as one of the most general expressions for

is

in

In our formula, however, which has

it.

not to do with the universe, but with the origin and decease of
personal
is

life,

the idea of Sankhara suitable to the connection

much narrower one

here a forming

is

meant which

is

consummated in the domain of the personal body-cum-spirit

''
existence. We might translate Sankhara directly by actions,^'
if

we understand

this

includes also at the

and wish.

The

word

in

same time the

the wide sense in which

internal

" actions," the

it

will

old scholastic teachers divide "conformations"

or " actions " under two heads, always in three classes, either

viewing them as corresponding to the three categories of thought,

word, and deed, or proceeding on the basis of a moral principle
of division, into conformations which have a pure end in view
(good actions), those which have an impure end in view, and
"Pure"' and " impure,^'

those which have a neutral end in view.

in the language of Indian theology, are nothing

moral merit, which

which finds
'

'

its

will

more than

be rewarded hereafter, and

punishment hereafter.

guilt,

Thus the category

conformations " brings us to the doctrine of

Kamma,

of
i.e.,

KAMMA QIORAL
the law of moral retributioUj
soul

RETRIBUTION).

are^i is

the fruit of that which

acquisition of pre-Buddhist speculation

across the proposition

we have

we have

my

action

which bears me.

action
is

wandering

is

my

is

My

As an

done.
already

come

" whatsoever he does, to a corresponding

he attains ;"* and Buddhism teaches

possession,

body

tlie

hell.

What we

my

out for

wliicii traces

path through the world of earthly being, through

its

heaven and

state

243

my

inheritance,

action

is

"

is

the

to

man

is my
womb

am

the race to which I

What appears

refuge. ^^t

My action

my action

akin,

be his

to

in truth ''the action of his past state, which then

,c

assuming a form, realized through his endeavour, has become

endowed with a tangible

substantially

The law

existence.'"!

law, here assumes the form of a moral

No man

universe.

of causality,

regarded by Buddhist speculation as a natural

in the heavens/^

it is

midst of the

not

sea,

power influencing the

''

can escape the effect of his actions.

said in the
if

Dhammapada, " not

thou hidest thyself away in the

Not

in the

clefts of

the mountains, wilt thou find a place on earth where thou canst
escape the fruit of thy evil actions.^' H

''

Him, who has been long

* Vide supra, p. 49.

t " Anguttara Nikfiya," Paucaka Nipata.
+ " Samyutta Nikaya," vol.

i,

fol. jhe'.

Verses 127, 219 seq.

II

He who

obtains deliverance does not thereby escape punishment for

the evil which he has not yet expiated.

form for the delivered, in which none of

Yet

this

its terrors

imnishment assumes a
remain for them.

history of the robber Angulimala gives au illustration.

This man,

The
who

had on his conscience countless deeds of robbery and murder, is converted

by Buddha and obtains sanctity. When he goes into the city of Savatthi
to collect alms, he sustains injuries from the populace by stone-throwing
and the hurling of other objects at him. Covered with blood, with
broken alms-bowl and torn garments, he comes to Buddha. The latter
says to

him

" Seest thou not,

Brahman.'^

The reward of

evil actions,

IG*

t^\

THE FIRST AND SECOND LINKS.

244:

and who returns home in

travelling

relatives, friends

has done good works,

when he

welcome of

safety, the

So him, who

and acquaintances, awaits.

passes over from this world into

the hereafter, his good works welcome, like relatives a home-

Through the five regions

returning friend."

of transmigration,

through divine and human existence, and through the realms of

and

goblins, of animal-life
us.

The

hell bring

up the wicked before the throne

asks him, whether he,

five

power of our actions leads

hells, the

The warders

exaltation of heaven awaits the good.

when he

lived

on

five visions of

of

Yama who
;

earth, did not see the

messengers of the gods who are sent

men, the

king

of

admonition of

for the

human weakness and human

suffering

the child, the old man, the sick man, the criminal suffering

Of course he has seen them.

punishment, and the dead man.

'^

And

hast thou,

becamest
to

birth,

old,

man, when thou reachedst riper years and

not thought within thyself:

old age, and death

am

''I

also

am

subject

not exempt from the

dominion of birth, old age, and death. Well, then I will do

good in thought, word and deed V " But he answers " I was
!

imable to do

it,

sire;

Then king Yama addresses him

mother hath not done, nor thy
sistei",

in

my

frivolity."

" These thy

evil

deeds thy

I neglected
:

it, sire,

father,

nor thy brother, nor thy

nor thy friends and advisers, nor thy connections and

blood-relations, nor ascetics, nor Brahmans, nor gods.

thou alone that hast done these

gather their fruit."
places of torment.

for

evil actions

this life."

to suffer for long j'cars

of years in hell, that thou art

now

(Augalimala Suttanta, Majjh. Nikaya.

Hardy's Manual,
the narrative.)

p.

260

It is

thou alone shalt

And the warders of hell drag him to the

He is riveted to glowing iron, plunged in

which thou shouldst otherwise hare had

many thousands

seq.,

aud

receiving ah-eady in

The

extract given in

does not fully meet the theological points of

KAMMA AND CONFORMATIONS.

245

glowing seas of blood, or tortured oa mountains of burning

coals,
lias

and

dies not until the very last residue of

lie

guilt

liis

been expiated.*

It is quite in keeping witb tlie spirit of the old dogmatic,

when a

later

compares the cycle of ever-recurring

textf

by Kamma, by merit_ and

existence, connected, throughout

upon

demerit, to a wheel which recoils

re^ciprocal

or with the

itself,

generation of the tree from the seed, of the seed

corn from the fruit of the tree, of the hen from the egg, and. of
the egg from the hen.

Eye and

(kamma)

desire, action

and the new

ear, the

body and

ear,

into contact with the external world

spirit,

move

thus arises sensation,

the fruit of the action

new body and the new

is

new

eye,

which

will

the

spirit,

go to make up the being in the coming existence.

It is this

group of thoughts, associated with the idea of

Kamma, which we must next

intelligible the role

take up in order to render

which the category

in the formula of causality.

Yet the

of the

Sankharas plays

sacred, texts point also to

another more distinct interpretation of this category, which

somewhat

lies

in another direction.

In one of the great collections of Buddha's addresses, we

meet a sermon "on re-birth according

Now

this

to the

Sankharas. ''|

very " re-birth according to the Sankharas "

that

is

with which the formula of causality has to do at the place,

where we are now

arrived,

for

this

formula speaks here

precisely of the Sankharas, in so far as they cause the con-

sciousness of the dying being to

being ("from the

consciousness

become the germ

come name and material form

entitled to expect in the

* Devadiita Sutta.

").

expositions of this

We are thus
Siitra a cora-

t " Milinda Panha," seq., etc.

tlie Majjhima I^ikaya.

X Sankharuppati Suttauta in

new
From

of a

Sankharas comes consciousness.


FIRST AND SECOXD LINKS.

246

mentaiy upon

we

fact
It

"

find

this part o tlie formula of causality

runs as follows
happens,

It

and

my

disciples, that a

monk, endowed with

endowed with righteousness, endowed with knowledge

doctrine, with resignation, with wisdom,

himself

'

in

it.

Now

then, could

I,

faith,

of the

communes thus with

when my body

dissolved in

is

He thinks

death, obtain re-birth in a powerful, princely family/

on this thought, cherishes this thought.

this thought, dwells

These Sankharas and internal conditions

(vihara),

which he has

thus cherished within him and fostered, lead to his re-birth in

such an existence.

This,

the avenue, this the

disciples, is

path, which leads to re-birth in such an existence.^'

The

train of thought is

then similarly repeated in detail

with reference to the several classes of

believing and righteous monk,
his thoughts

and wishes

men and

The

gods.

has in his lifetime directed

to these forms of existence, will

be

So on up to the highest classes of gods, who

re-born in them.

are separated from Nirvana

earthly, the

who

a diminishing residuum of the

by

" gods of the spheres, in which there

perception nor absence of perceptiou.^^

place, the Sutra speaks of the

then, were I but able

And

monk " who

is

neither

finally, in

the last

thus reflects

by the destruction of

'^Now

sinful existence, to

discover and behold for myself the sinless state of deliverance

in action
it

my

and in knowledge even

abode.'

He

will,

in this present

by the destruction

life,

and

find in

of sinful existence,

discover and behold for himself the sinless state of deliverance

in action and in
find in

it

knowledge even

his abode.

in this present

This monk,

life,

disciples, will

and

will

never be

re-born."

We

see

what are

decisive influence

here

the

Sankharas, which

on the re-birth of man

have

the inner form of

CONFORMATIONS AND RE-BIBTH.

the

which anon readily contents

spirit,

itself

247

with the aspira-

anon with

tions of the spheres of earthly greatness, raises itself

purer energy to the worlds of the gods, even to the highest

and soars in re-birth to existence actually in these

altitudes,
altitudes.

however, sorrow pushes even into the most

Still,

The wise man,

exalted regions.

human nor

divine

only to the cessation of

nence.

The

conformations.

all

the contrary, led astray by

all states

therefore, aspires neither to

happiness; his self -forming directs

itself

ignorant, on

ignorance of the suffering of

lies,

of being, becomes a settler in the world of imperma-

As

the fuel will not permit the flame to be extinguished,

so this inner forming of one^s self, this hankering after an

impermanent

name and

holds the dying being fast bound to

object,

The

existence.

spirit clothes

itself

old cycle of birth

and old age,

Being and Becoming.

We have attempted
line of causality

it

with a

new

material form, and in a

of sorrow

Substance

and Conformation.

to explain the several elements of the

remains for

us,

viewing

be admissible, what answer to the question

is

of

and death.

point out what view of the structure of being,

and what

new garment

existence repeats the

it

as a whole, to

if

the expression

what

it

amounts

implied by, anything being stated to be,

to,

given in

is

the formula itself and in the elsewhere-occurring utterances

connected therewith in the Buddhist texts.

ever,

we must

here insert a proviso

First of

we have only

all,

how-

to deal with

that which in this material transient realm of things, in which

we

live, constitutes

for

of

being.

Buddhism, beyond

life,

this

The question whether there

is

form of being, another realm

existing under peculiar laws, whether there

is

beyond

the temporal an everlasting, cannot yet be grappled.

As

a suitable

starting-point

for

our inquiry there

is


248 BEING

AND BECOMING BVBSTANCE AND CONFORMATION.

discourse

put

concerning

dehverance

is

disciples,

who

rules his consciousness,

holy effort and

is

from joy and

in

body of mine.

But

Where
this

himself and

there

self-culture,

Then he knows

cause, not without a cause.

(or,

It is

immovably intent thereon in

has arisen this pleasurable sensation

has become

pain.

who thus guards

is

steadfast

sensation of pleasure.

in this

tradition^

striving for

monkj

this

sacred

in

by which a monk

led to dissociation

therein recorded

"In

mouth

Buddha's

into

the reflections

this cause

of

mine

is

In

'

me

from a

this has arisen

lies

body

arises

as follows

It lies

impermanent,

been formed), been produced by causes.

pleasurable sensation, the cause of which lies in the- imper-

manent, originated,

permanent V
to

the

cause-produced

Thus,

renunciation,

of

well

impermanence,

how can

commits

While

be

to

the

evanition,

commits

he

himself to the contemplation of impermanence,

it

body as

himself

transitoriness,

resignation.

cessation,

body,

with regard to the

sensation, he

pleasurable

contemplation

as

etc., as

well

with regard to the body as to the pleasurable sensation, he

desists

from

all

yearning propensity based on the body and

on pleasurable sensation.^'

He who

is

not repelled by the tedious minuteness of this

discursive style, will here find a view very important for the

thou gilt- fabric of Buddhism

the association of the imper-

manent and transitory with that which

operation

of

Causality,

causality.

accurately the Indian

or,

is

to

produced by an
ti'auslate

word (paticcasamuppada), the

more

origin (of

one thing) in dependence (from another thing), represents a

* " Samyuttaka Nikaya,"

vol.

ii,

fol.

jhu of the Pliayre

MS.

t Later on follows an exactly identical soliloquy regarding painful

sensations, and sensations which are neither pleasurable nor painful.

;.

CAUSALITYBEING AND NON-BEING.

between two members,

relation existing

because of

There

is

resolve

necessarily the otlier,

it

when

and

of wliicli tlie one,

no moment unaltered.

causality, that does

no being subject to the law of

itself,

not

analyzed, into a process of self-changing,

by the

oscillation, ruled

In the continuous

becoming.

of

at

is

249

natural law of causality, between being and not-being, consists

alone the reality of the things which

this world.

" This world,

make up the contents

KaccJina," as

proceeds on a duality, on the 'it

is

Kaccana, whoever perceives in

Whoever, Kaccana, perceives

'

Sorrow alone

no

is

in truth

arises

this is the

this is

one extreme,

not

'it is

is

no

'

where anything

Kacctina.

'

'

'

in this

it is

in

arises

Everything

Everything

The Perfect One,

the other extreme.

But,

and wisdom how

sorrow passes away where anything passes away.

is,^

not.^

it is

and wisdom how things

things pass away in this world, in his eyes there

this world.

of

read,* " generally

and the

ti-uth

originate iu the world, in his eyes there

world.

we

is not,'

Kaccana,

remaining far from both these extremes, proclaims the truth in

the middle:

'From ignorance come conformations'"

follows the wording of the formula of causality.

the world's process, the formula of causality

is

and here

The world

is

the expression

of this process of the world, or at least of that side of the

process with which alone man, bound in sorrow and seeking

deliverance, has anything to do.

The

conviction of an absolute

law, which rules the world's process expressed in this formula,

deserves to be set out in bold relief as one of the mosiJ essential

elements of the body of Buddhist thought.

* " Saniyuttaka Isikfiya," vol.

is

i,

fol.

dbi.

t In another department, as may here be incidentally remarked, there

evinced this same thoroughly rationalistic mode of thought of Buddhism

in its interesting attempts to explain

on the principle of cause and con-

sequence, the origin of the state and classes ( Aggafmasutta, Digha IS^ikaya)

Of a

primeval difference of castes, rooted in mystic depths, as Brahmanism

BEING AND BECOMING-SUBSTANCE AND CONFOEMATIOX.

2o0

Things or substances, in the sense

by

itself,

we

as

cannot, according to

As

Buddhism.

of a

something existing

are accustomed to understand these words,

we have

all

be at

stated,

all

thought of by

the most general expression for those things,

the mutual relation of which the formula of causality explains,

the being of which, one might almost say,

their standing in

is

that mutual relation, the language of the Buddhists has two

tei'ms

Dhamma* and Sankhara we may

:

rendering of them by

*'

order

^^

and

'^

give an approximate

formation

Both designations are really synonymous;

idea that, not so

much something

^'

(p.

24-7).

both include the

ordered, a something formed,

as rather a self-ordering, a self-forming, constitutes the subject-

matter of the world

with both there

must give place

inseparably associated

and every formation

to

Bodily as well as spiritual evolutions,

all

to another order,

another formation.

is

Buddhist the thought that every order

in the feeling of the

sensations, all perceptions, all conditions, everything that

that passes,

i.e., all

Dhamma,

is

speculation had confined

unchangeable
regarded
rice,

on

it,

''

1,"

i^

all

we do not now

is,

While older

being to the Atman, the great

was now

wliicli tliey lived, in

a Sankhara.

speak.

common.

laid

down

as a fundamental

In old times beings possessed the

Later on they divided

it

among

them. One being encroached on the share of another. The others at

first

punished the evil-doer on their own responsibility. Then they resolved

"
desire to appoint one being, who shall reprimand for us him who
:

We

deserves reprimand,

who

rice."

Thus was the

who deserves censure, banish him

we desire to give him a share of our
king chosen on earth.
The origin of the

censure him

deserves banishment

therefore

first

priestly class is described in similar fashion.

* The word

Dhamma

(Sansk. dharma, in the oldest form dharman),

" order, law," usually signifies in Buddhist terminology " essence, idea,"
in so far as the essence of

Thus the word

is also

anything constitutes

its

own immanent

law.

used as the most general designation of the doctrine

or truth preached by Buddha.

DHAMMASANKHAEA.
proposition

an-atman)

all

tliey

;t

Dliammas are " not-I

are

"^'

(an-atta^

Time

transitor3^

all

251

Sansk.

after time

the

words uttered by the god Indra wlien Buddha entered Nirvana

recur in the sacred texts " Impermanent truly are the Sank:

and decease ; as they arose so they

haras, liable to origination

pass away; their disappearance

Some have expressed

happiness."

is

Brahman

the difference between the

and the Buddhist conceptions of the existence of things, as

if,

component parts which together form the idea

of the

becoming (being and not-being), the former had

We

the idea of being only, and the latter of non-being only.

prefer to avoid every expression which would

of

laid hold of

make Buddhism

regard non-being as the true substance of things, and to

The speculation

express ourselves thus.

apprehended being in

becoming

all

of the

Brahmans

becoming, that of the Buddhists

In the former case substance

in all apparent being.

without causality, in the latter causality without substance.

"Where the sources

sanction and

* N.B.
i.e., all

It

its

is

lie,

from which

this causality derives its

power. Buddhism does not

not said, " there

is

no ego," but merely

make up

things which, go to

It is as little

ask.

" the

DLammas

the contents of this world

are

non-ego."

t Verses 277-279 of the "Dhammapada

" are

very significant as the most

general expression of these propositions.

In them

synonymousness of Dhamma and Sankhara

is

In the two
is

made

first

at the

same time the

characteristically evidenced.

of these three exactly similarly constructed verses mention

of the Sankhara

in the third verse,

curtailed for metrical reasons,

Dhamma

" All Sankharas are .impermanent

is

when he

where a

syllable

must be

used instead of Sankhara

perceives this in truth, he

turns from sorrow this is the path of purity.

" All Sankharas are full of sorrow when he perceives this in truth, he
;

turns from sorrow ; -this is the path of purity.

" All Dhammas are non-ego when he perceives this in truth, he turns
:

from sorrow

this is the

path of purity."

THE SOUL.

252

coucerned wiietlier the world was created by a god, or whetlier

it

was evolved by an absolute substance or by a creative natural

suh-stratum out of

its

own

He

interior.

accepts

its

presence

and the working of the law of the world as facts. Should any
one wish to express, though by no means in full accord with
Buddhist habits of thought, what

domain of impermanence

most absolute

we

he might name

as such the controlling law of

the universe, that of causality.

only becoming,

it is

be recognized as the

the absolute within this

is

should, perhaps, rather say the

Where

there

is

no being, but

not a substance, but only'd law, which can

first

and the

last.

A beginning of time from which the working of this law takes

effect,

limit
2,

and a

limit of space,

which encloses the world in which

operates, cannot be discovered.

it

Is there in fact

" This has the Exalted One not revealed."

no such
''

ciples, think not such thoughts as the world thinks

everlasting, or the woi'ld

world

is

world

is finite,

O
'

or the world

disciples, thus think

This

is

ye

the origin of suffering

extinction of suffering

'

now, in

is

suffering

'

thus think ye
:

'

This

If

The

ye think,

thus think ye
:

is

'

This

is

the

the path to

Soul.

this connection, that

understand

...

"*

The
It is only

'

The

not everlasting.

is

finite.''

thus think ye

the extinction of suffering.^

to thoroughly

not

This

'
:

is

dis'

we

are in a position

am uch-talked-of dogma of Buddhism:

the negation of soul.

It is

not incorrect to say that Buddhism disaffirms

the

existence of soul, but this cannot be understood in a sense

* " Samyutta

JS".,"

vol.

iii,

fol.

kya.

THE SOUL.
which would in any way give
stamp.

It

26'i-

this

thought a materialistic

might be said with equal propriety that Buddhism

The body,

denies the existence of the body.

soul, exists only

a complex

as

and decease;

origination

of manifold

but

as Avell as the

inter-connected

body nor

neither

has

soul

existence as a self-contained substance, sustaining itself j^er

Sensations, perceptions, and all those processes which

se.

make up

the inner

variety

in

the

life,

centre

crowd upon one another

of

consciousness (viilnana), which,

a state,

may be spoken

consciousness

is

sensations, the

of thinking.

stands

of as the ruler of this state.*

But

not essentially different from perceptions and

comings and goings of which

Sankharas

We must here

in motley

plurality

the body be compared to

if

time superintends and regulates

like all other

changing

this

it is

is

it

same

at the

and

changeable and without substance.

divest ourselves wholly of

We

it

also a Sankhiira,

customary modes

all

are accustomed to realize our inner

when we'are allowed

a comprehensible factor, only

life

as

to refer its

changing ingredients, every individual feeling, every distinct

act of the will, to one

of thinking

is

everywhere

it

and an ever

condemns

that fixity which

to the current of incidents that

we

* "

Saiiiyiitta

Compare
{e.g. in

Nikaya,"

vol.

ii,

all

fol.

is

as

come and go by conceiving

seeing,

a suffering, takes place

jo

but

" Milindapanlia," p.

G2.

also the following passage, often repeated in the sacred texts

the " Saraaililaphala Sutta")

" Tliis

out of the four elements, begotten by

that

Here

are prone to give

a substance, to or in which they might happen.

a hearing, a conceiving, above

mode

identical ego, but this

fundamentally opposed to Buddhism.

my

my

is

my body, the material, framed

father

and mother

consciousness, which clings firmly thereto,

is

joined to

it.

but

Like

a pvecious stone, beautiful and valuable, octahedral, well polished, clear

anc pure, adorned with

all perfection, to

which a string

or yellow, red or white, or a yellowish band," &e.

is

attached, blue

~^

THE SOUL.

254

an existence, which may be regarded as the

the

suflPerer, is

It

may be

seer, the hearer,

not recognized in Buddhist teaching.

allowable in this place to go beyond the range of

the sacred texts, and here insert those very clear expressions

which we find on

this

group of problems in a

later

respects exceedingly remarkable dialogue, the

Milinda."

In

the

which

centuries

^^

followed

and

in

many

Questions of

Alexander's

invasion of India, which was so highly important an event in

Indian history

in those times, the traces

of

which meet our

eyes in the Grreek coins struck in India, and the half-Hellenic

figures of ancient Buddhist reliefs

there

cannot but have

been in the Indus territory meetings of argumentative Greeks

with Indian monks and dialecticians, and Buddhist literature
has preserved one record of such encounters in that dialogue,

which bears the name of the Yavana king Milinda, that

Ionian or Greek prince Menander

King Milinda*
The

100

sire

what

is

Nagasena

"

thy name, sire

"I am named Nagasena,

saint replies:

but Nagasena, great king,

the

is,

B.C.).

says to the great saint

known, venerable

art thou

(ca.

How

"

great king;

only a name, an appellation,

is

a designation, an epithet, a mere word

here there

no

is

subject."

Then

said the king Milinda

" Well

to

be sure

let

the five hundred Yavanas and the eighty thousand

Nagasena says
Can anyone assent to this ? "

hear

it

And
*^If,

this

'

Here there

king Milinda went on to say

is

no

to the venerable

venerable Nagasena, there

is

only

monks

subject.^

Nagasena

no subject, who

is it

then that provides you with what you need, clothes and food,
lodging and medicine for the sick
* " Milindapailha,"

p.

25 seq.

unnecessary repetitions in

my

I take

translation.

Who
tlie

is it

that enjoys all

liberty of omitting a

ew

THE SOUL.

255

Who walks ia virtues ? Who expends labour

Who attains the path and the fruits of holiness ?
Wlio attains Nirvana ? Who kills ? Who steals ? Who walks
in pleasures ?
Who deceives ? "Who drinks ? Who commits
these tilings

upon himself ?

the five deadly sins

there

is

good action and

If

Thus there

then no good and no

is

no doer and no originator of good and

evil action

anyone were to

bring no reward and bear no

thee^

kill

evil

evil actions
fruit.

venerable Nagasena, even he

would commit no murder.

"

Sire, are the hairs

Nagasena ? "

" No, great king."

*'

Are

''

No, great king."

nails or teeth, skin or flesh or

" Is the bodily form Nagasena,

*'

bone Nagasena

sire ?

"

"

No, great king."

" Are the sensations Nagasena

"

" No, great king."

" Are the perceptions, the conformations, the consciousness
Nagasena ? "
*'
No, great king."
" Or, sire, the combination of corporeal form, sensations,

perceptions, conformations, and consciousness,

sena

is

this

Naga-

"

" No, great king."

''

Or, sire, apart from the corporeal form, and the sensations,

the perceptions,

a Nfigasena

conformations, and consciousness,

is

there

"

" No, great king."

''Wherever I look then,

mere word,

Thou speakest
Nagasena."

sh"e,

is

sire, I

Nagasena.

false then,

sire,

nowhere find a Nagasena,

What

and thou

is

Nagasena then

liest;

there

is

no

:;
;

THE SOUL.

256

Tlien spoke the venerable Nsigasena to king Milinda thus

" Thou
princely

to the greatest comfort.

life^

comfort of a

art accustomed^ great king^ to all the

great king,

If then,

thou goest out on foot at midday on the hot earth, on the

burning sand, and treadest on the sharp stones, gravel, and

sand, thy feet are liurt

thy body

is

mind upset

fatigued, thy

there arises a consciousness of a bodily condition associated

Hast thou come on foot or on a chariot

with dislike.

"1 do not

on

travel

foot, sire

" If thou hast come on a

I have

And now

the

saint

"

a chariot."

chariot, great king, then define the

king

Is the pole the chariot, great

chariot.

come on

"

turns the same course

of reasoning

against the king which the king himself had used against him.

Neither the pole, nor the wheels, nor the body, nor the yoke
the chariot.
all

chariot, moreover, is not the

component

these

"Wherever

no

is

king,

Thou

chariot.

speakest untruth

anything else beyond them.

is

the chariot.

art,

Well

let

said,

"^If

'

the five hundred

And

?'

Can anyone assent

to this

it.

This king

in a chariot.''

thou hast come on a chariot,

explain the chai'iot

When

come here

I have

all

any dread, that thou

Yavanas and the eighty thousand monks hear

Milinda has said

tlien is

great king, suzerain of

be sure

to

What

king, and thou liest

false then,

therefore, hast thou

is

combination of

great king, I nowhere find the

Thou speakest

Of whom,

India.

or

parts,

I look then,

A mere word, O

chariot.

the chariot
there

The

Then

great king,

then

he could not point out the chariot.

he spoke thus, the

five

hundred Yavanas shouted

approval of the venerable Nagasena and said to king Milinda

''

Now,

great king, speak,

if

thou canst.''

But king Milinda said to the venerable Nagasena

" I do not speak untruly, venerable Nagasena. In reference

THE SOUL.
to pole^ axle^ wlieels,

body and

257

bar, the

the designation, the epithet, the word

in

'

name, the appellation,

chai'iot

'

is

used."

" Good indeed, great king, thou knowest the chai'iot. And
the same way, O king, in reference to my hair, my skin and

bones, to corporeal form, sensations, perceptions, conforma-

and consciousness, the word Nagasena

tions,

is

subject, in the stinct sense of the word, there

also,

used
is

but here

Thus

none.

great king, has the nun Yajira explained in the presence

One (Buddha)
" ' As in the case where the parts of a chariot come
together

of the Exalted

the word
there

is

chariot

'

a person

'

is

used, so also where the five groups* are,

that

is

the

" Well done, venerable Nagasena

Many
Bravo

bravo

If
!

Buddha were

Nagasena

wonderful, Nagasena

my mind and

questionings indeed arose in

resolved them.

notion/ "

common

he would applaud thee.

alive,

many

thou hast

questionings arose in

my

mind and thou hast resolved them."

We have

selected for quotation this passage of the

tions of Milinda," because

it

substance more fully and clearly than

texts.

" Ques-

controverts the idea of a soul-

But the old texts themselves

is

done in the canonical

virtually rest

ground and the dialogue does not omit

on the same

to authenticate

it,

by

Although the "Milinda-

expressly quoting the canonical books.

pailha" was written apparently in the north-west of the Indian

and the sacred texts

peninsula,

lie

which they were preserved, and

before us in the form in

still

cloisters of Ceylon, nevertheless the

are preserved, in the

words of the nun Vajira

quoted in the dialogue are actually to be found in these texts.

* The

five

that exists

groups of

tlie

elements, wliicli

make up

tlie

being of any one

material form, sensations, perceptions, conformations, con-

sciousness.

17

THE SOUL,

258
_

I have succeeded in findmsr

which they occur

saint

old

them there,* and the connection

Nagasena and the Greek king Menander truly reflects the

Church teaching on the

men by

seeks to confuse

nun and say

to her

Mara, the tempter, who

subject.

and heresy, appears before a

error

" Thou art that by which personality

constituted, the creator of the person

She answers
person

thy teaching.

is

changeful conformations (Sankhara)

This
;

only

is

here there

is

^chariot' is used, so also

a person ; that

where the

common

the

is

five

groups are, there

arises,

more,

here

it

its

reahzes in

act

if it is

full

suffer,

the absolutely restless move-

thou sufferest

certainty that there

is

"

it

cannot be said any

there

suffering, or better

keeps on coming and going.

entity of

consciousness the ultimate

of things which creates suffering,

"I

that

nothing else but pain vanishes again."

consequences of

ment

it is

nothing else

Thought has smitten down the stony, unvarying

Brahmanism

not a person.

Pain alone

notion.

comes, pain that exists and that passes away

but pain

is

a heap of

where the parts of a chariot come together the

in the case

word
is

is

the person that has an

" What meanest thou, Mara, that there

False

thou art; thou art the person that passes away/'

origin, that

As

in

a guarantee that the conversation of the

is

is

left

still,

alone the

that suffering

For the stream of Sankharas

appearing and again vanishing admits no " I " and no " thou,"
but only a phenomenon of the " I " and " thou," which the

many

in their hallucination address with an appellation of personality.!

* In the Bhikkliuni Samyutta, " Samy.

]N"ik." vol.

i,

fol.

ghai'-gho.

t The difEculty of bringing this doctrine [of the non-existence of a

subject in the complex of the body-cum- spirit attributes of man into
harmony with the doctrine of moral retribution of our actions, has been
keenly

felt.

" If material form be not the ego, if sensations,

perceptions,

formations, consciousness be not the ego,

what ego

is

there to be affected

THE SOUL.

259

Imagiuatioii, wliicli in the service of inquiring tliought seeks

for types

and symbols of formless ideas

nature, has at

all

times

when

the characteristic of which

preference two images

in the forra-world of

its

object was to represent a being,

is

movement, chosen with decided

the flowing stream of water and the

In the dark sayings of Buddha^s great

self-consuming flame.

contemporary, Heraklitos,

who

in his theory of the being of

beings more nearly approaches

Buddha than does any

other

Greek thinker, both comparisons are constantly recurring in

" Everything flows on " the universe is '' an
the foreground
;

The

ever-living fire."

Buddhism

figurative language of

also

employs both the stream and the flame as symbols of the

restless

movement involved

this the

Buddhist figure

in every state of being.

differs

But

in

from that of the Ephesian, that

Buddhism, ignoring every metaphysical interest which has not

its

root in an ethical interest, does not in

and the flame contemplate the mere

becoming only, but above
and

destructive

all

power of

its

view of the water

movement, the bare

the to-human-life-so-momentous

movement,

this

this

becoming.

There are four great currents which break in with destructive

force

upon the human world

the stream of desire, the stream

of being, the stream of error, the stream of ignorance.

" The

by the work, which the non-ego now performs ?" Thus a monk asks.
Buddha answers the question " With thy thoughts, which are under the
:

dominion of desire, dost thou dream thou canst overhaul the teaching of
the Master " (" Saniyutta Nikaya," vol.

i,

fol.

du).

In fact Buddhism does

not allow itself to be confused by metaphysical questions as to the

identity of the subject, in

our actions overtakes us.

happens to

its belief

that the reward and j)unishment of

If in our present state of being this or that

us, it is a result of the fact, that

in a previous existence
this idea is firmly

we have done

this or that

in this simple belief, universally comprehensible,

kept in view, heedless of theoretical

he who performs an evil action, and he who

thereof, are one and the same person.

difficulties, that

suffers the

punishment

17*

2C0

THE SOUL.

sea, tlie sea

tlius,

dlscij^les, saith

that which

eye of man,

mass

He who

disciples, is not

prodigies

disciples,

in his inner

man

it

is

said

That

is

outridden the sea of the

its

depths profound

he hath reached the shore

The

things visible are the foam

waves and whirlpools, with

eye, with its

Holy One

hath overcome the foaming billows of

him,

things, of

Brahman who hath

its

worlds "who

tliis

of water, a great flood of water.

disciples, is the sea

of this sea.

and

this,

called the sea in the Doctrine of the

is

this is only a great

visible

a child of

But

hath not received the Doctrine.

he stands on

firm earth. ^^

(The same follows regarding the sea of hearing

and the other

senses.)

the Perfect
"

'

If thou

" Thus spake the Exalted One

One had thus spoken, the Master went on

tills

when

to say

sea witli its abyss of waters,

Pull of waves,

full of deeps, full

of monsters,

Hast crossed, wisdom and holiness are thy portion

The land hast thou, the goal of the iiniverse hast thou
;

But no other

picture

reached.' "*

was so perfectly adapted for Buddhism

to express the nature of being as the figure of flame, which,

remaining in apparently restful invariability,

yet

is

only

continuous self -production and self -consumption, and in which

at the

same time

is

embodied, with a

still

reality for the Indians than for us, the

enemy

heat, the

and peace.
so also

'^

of blissful coolness, the

As, where there

where there

and infatuation

is

the

" Everything,
is

in flames

fire is it

fire

the

extinction of the

sought.^t

kindled

* " Samyutta Nikjxya,"

enemy

heat, coolness

the threefold

Everything

By what

is

more impressive

tormenting power of
of happiness
is

fire (Nirvlina)

disciples, is in flames.

The eye

By

vol.

ii,

the

is

in flames,

fire of desire,

fol. chi.

also found,

fire of love,

hate

must bo

And what
and so on.

by the

fire of

f " Buddhavamsa."

;:

THE SOUL.

by

Late,

tlie fire of fascination, it is

261

kindled

by

birth, old age,

kindled

deatli, pain, lamentation, sorrow, grief, despair, it is

thus I

world

" The whole world

say.-'^*

wrapped

is

in

in flames

is

smoke, the whole world

is

the whole

wasted by

fire

the whole woi-ld quakes/^f

But

to us

employment
view,

in

more important than the

connection

this

metaphor of

of the

fire,

from an

It is reserved to later

being as of a continuous process.

of

ethical point of

introduction to illustrate the metaphysical nature

is its

metaphor to perfect clearness ; but

texts to -work up this

already exists in the sacred writings, although

thought

has

resemble

re-born

is

here
flame

to

with

struggle

their

a flaming cleaving of

self,

Beings

becoming

their

a feeding of self

the fuel which the world of impermanence supplies.

flame, clinging to the wind, borne

it

how

feel

expression.

being,

of

state

we

upon

As

the

by the wind, inflames even

distant things, so the flame-like existence of beings, presses

on

in the

being puts
body.

As

clings

to

moment

of re-birth into far distances

off the old

body, there

it

here the

clothes itself with a

new

the wind carries on the flame, so the thirst which

being carries on the soul from one existence to

another. J

In the

previously

quoted

dialogue

" The

Questions

of

Milinda,"|| the conversation turns upon the problem of the

identity or non-identity of the being in his several existences.

The

saint

Nagasena says

it

is

not the same being and yet

they are not separate beings which relieve one another in the

* " Maliavagga,"

i,

21, vide supra, p. 182, seq.

t " Saiiiyutta JNikaya," vol. i, fol. gliai.

+ Cf. the above (p. 234) quoted dialogue of Buddha and the monk
Vaccha.
II

P. 40.

*^

262

TEE SOUL.

series

of

Milinda.

would

it

"Give

existences.

"If a man were

the flame in the

first

night.-*^

midnight watch,

watch of the night ?"

is it

"Yes^
" How then, great king,
sire,

it

" No,

sire."

sire."

" But how then, O great

watch of the night another,

first

midnight watch another, and in the

night another?"

"No,

feeding on the

same

" And the flame

identical with the flame in the last

"No,

king, was the light in the

in the

great king,

liglit,

watch of the night identical with the

flame in the midnight watch ?"

in the

king

says

illustration,"

not burn on tlirougli the night?"

would burn through the

is

an

light a

to

sire, it

fuel."

last

has burned

" So

watch of the

all

night long

great king, the

also,

chain of elements of being

(Dhamma) completes

comes, the

Without beginning, without end,

other goes.

the circle completes itself: therefore

it is

being nor another being, which presents

itself:

the one

neither the same

itself

the

last to

consciousness."

Being

is,

we may

law of causality

say, the

procession

of continuous

consuming and anew begetting.

being,

is

one individual

member

one flame in this sea of flame.

always seeking fresh fuel for
of

regulated

by the

being at every moment

What we term

self-

souled

in the line of this procession,

As

in

itself,

consuming the flame

so

also this

is

continuity

perception, sensation, action and sufi'ering, which seems to

the deluded gaze, deceived by the appearance of unbroken

invariability,

to

be a being, a subject, maintains

itself

in

the general influx and evanescence of ever fresh elements

from the domain of the objective world.

CAUSALITY AND ITS CESSATION.

263

The Saint The Ego The Nirvana.

Sitting under the tree of
self

" Difficult

will

knowledge Buddha says

men

be for

it

and

causality, the chain of causes

And

effects.

be very hard for them to grasp, the coming of

an

to

end,

the

from

loosening

to

grasp the

to

all

him-

law of

this also will

conformations

everything

the

earthly,

extinction of desire, the cessation of longing, the end, the

These words divide the

Nirvana.^'

thought describes, into

side the

earthly world, ruled

the other side

may
is

doubt.

is

We

it

by the law

the eternal

know

circle,

which Buddhist

two natural halves.

its

much

this

Is

it

On

the one

On

of causality.

the Nothing

We

only to begin with, that

it

the domain over which the law of causality has no power.

Our sketch

From

will follow this clearly indicated division.

the flames of becoming, decease, and suffering*, the

he who has knowledge, saves himself in the world

believer,

of " extinction " (Nirvana), in the cool quiet of everlasting

He

peace.
free

overcomes ignorance and thereby sets himself

from the painful

through the

which are bound up with

fruits

natui-al necessity

of the law of causality.

knows the four sacred

truths,

and apprehends,

is

his soul

it

He

and " while he thus knows

freed from the calamity of desire,

freed from the calamity of becoming, freed from the calamity

of

error,

freed from

dehvered there

ended

is

calamity of

the

arises

knowledge

the

re-birth, fulfilled the law,

more any returning

to this

world

Buddha's disciple hopes to

in the hereafter.

He who

rid of desire enjoys the

ignorance.
of

his

In the

deliverance
j

duty done, there

this

is

no

he knows.''

attain this happiness not merely

has conquered ignorance and got

supreme reward already

in this

life.

THE SAINTTHE EGO THE NIRVANA.

26i

His outer
lie

man may

knows

that

be detained in the world of suffering

still

is

it

whom

not he himself

the coming and

Buddhist proverbial philo-

going of the Sankharas affects.

sophy attributes in innumerable passages the possession

oi

Nirvana to the saint^ who still treads the earth

" The disciple who has put off lust and desire^ rich in wisdom,
:

has here on earth attained the deliverance from death, the rest,
the Nirvana, the eternal state."

"

He who

has escaped from the trackless, hard mazes of the

who has

Sansara,

crossed over and reached the shore,

self-

without doubt, who has

absorbed, without stumbling and

delivered himself from the earthly, and attained Nirvana,

him

I call a true Brahman.'^*

It is not

an anticipation in parlance, but

the absolutely

it is

when not merely

exact expression of the dogmatic thought,

the hereafter, which awaits the emancipated saint, but the

perfection which he already attains in this

What

Nirvana.
the

fire

tance

is

to

hope and fear; the

nation of egoity

is

state

What

of being, the root

indifferent

phenomenal

* " Suttasangaha,"

fol.

cu

man

which

is

whether the transitory

is

nipped, lay aside

now put an end

his

to

" Dlaammapada," 414.

ascetic addresses to Sariputta this question

But what

throws aside the foolish

it

its

instantaneously or in after ages

contain very numerous similar expressions.

friend Sariputta.

called the

the hugging of the halluci-

matters

of

life

saint will even

If the

will,

subdued, as a

wishes of childhood.

is

In unsubstantial dis-

of lust, hatred, bewilderment.

lie

life,

be extinguished has been extinguished,

state

The prose

of

texts

For instance, a Brahmanical

"iN'irvana, nirvana, so

the Nirvana, friend

? "

they say,

" The subjugation

of desire, the subjugation of hatred, the subjugation of perplexity; this,

friend,

is

called Nirvana."

Thereon follows in the same way the

The answer

question: "Holiness, holiness (arahatta), so they say," &c.

is

word, for

word

similar to the preceding (" 831113% Nik."

ii,

nam).

TEE NIRVANA IN THIS

being he can do
bas reached her
are put in the
disciples

"

but

so,

ffoal

majority stand fast until nature

tlie

of such

mouth

2G5

LIFE.

mav

those words be said which

the most prominent of Buddha^s

of

I long not for death, I long not for

mine hour come,

like a servant

who

long not for death, I long not for

I wait

till

awaiteth his reward.

life

I wait

life

till

mine hour

come, alert and with watchful mind/^*

If

we

are to indicate the precise point at which the goal

is

reached for the Buddhist, we must not look to the entiy of the

be
but to that

dying Perfect One into the range of the everlasting

either everlasting being or everlasting nothing

moment

of his earthly

Buddhist

make

faith really

itself into

nothingness

whether

it

does so

sake

not at

is

all

attained the status of

this is the true Nirvana.

If the

the saint's state of being disembody

we

still

shall

come

directly to the question

entry into nothingness for nothingness'

the object of aspiration which has been

set before the Buddhist.

we must

when he has

life,

and painlessness

sinlessness

this

The goal

which he pressed was,

to

constantly repeat this, solely deliverance from the

sorrowful

world

of

origination

aspiration did not purposely

and

decease.

this

when

this

deliverance should transport to nothingness, but

was taught

at all

Religious

and expressly demand that

expression was merely given thereby to the

indifferent, accidental

consequences of metaphysical reflections,

which prevent the assumption of an everlasting, immutable,

happy

existence.

prevailed

in

the

In the religious
ancient Buddhist

annihilation has had

disciples, is
also,

no

influence.

permeated by but one

disciples, this

life,

in the tone

order,

" As the great

taste,

Doctrine and this

the taste of

Law

sea,

salt, so

are pervaded by

but one taste, the taste of deliverance."

* " Milindapaiilia,"

which

the thought of

p. 45, cf. Tlicrag. fol. ko.

'266

THE SAINT TEE EGO THE NIRVANA.

Our speculations must not seek

inquiry to point out

Buddhism

describes

how they have

from

specific

its

succeeded in wholly missing the main

for historical

is

it

defined

If

it.

as a religion of annihilation,

to develope it therefrom as

the

is

the adherents of each

themselves to determine this, and

faith

fact,

discover wliat

to

we must permit

essence of a faith;

any one

and attempts

germ, he has, in

drift of

Buddha and

the ancient order of his disciples.

Has the
of

saint attained the goal of his earthly

him what an

old text says of

Perfect One,

and men see him

gods and men

shall

who

of beings

as his

if his

body

body be

life,

then is true

" The body of the

:*

from the stream of

disciples, subsists, cut off

As long

becoming.

Buddha

subsists, so

long will gods

dissolved, his life run out,

no more behold him."

While

in the case

are committed to the path of metempsychosis,

consciousness (vinnana), escaping from the dying, becomes the

germ

of a

saint

is

new

state of being, the consciousness of the dying-

extinguished without residuum.

'^Dissolved

the

is

body," says Buddha, when one of the disciples has entered

into Nirvana,

'^

extinct is perception; the sensations have all

vanished away. The conformations have found their repose

consciousness has sunk to

When

its

the

rest.^f

the venerable Godhika has brought about his

own

death by opening a vein, the disciples see a dark cloud of

smoke moving

to

and

fro

on

round his corpse. They

" That is Mara, the

all sides

T^

ask Buddha what the smoke means.

wicked one,
the

noble

disciples,"

Godhika's

says

Buddha

consciousness

Godhika's consciousness found

its

* " Bralimajalasutta "

t " Udaiia

"

'

" he

place

(at the end),

(Phayre MS.),

is

looking for

where has the noble

fol.

uu.

But the noble


THE SAINrS DEATH.
Godliika

entered into Nirvana

lias

267

his consciousness nowliere-

remains."*

Does

end of the earthly existence imply

tliis

time the total cessation of being

One

receives the dying Perfect

Step by step

Is

it

into its dominion

we have prepared

at the same-

the Nothing which

?

now

the ground so as

to

be

able to face this question.

Some have thought

tained in the

to find the

word Nirvana

answer to

itself^ i.e.,

this question con-

" Extinction." It seemed

the most obvious construction that extinction

of being in the Nothing.

summary

to the propriety of so

is

an extinction

But doubts were soon expressed

a disposal of this question.

was quite allowable to speak of an extinction in the case

as
It

and

the term was most incontrovertibly used by the Indians in the

case

where

being was not annihilated, but where

it_,

freed

from the glowing heat of suffering, had found the path to the
cool repose of painless happiness. t

others maintained with

warm

Max

Miiller has above all

eloquence the notion of Nirvana

as the completion but not as an extinction of being. J

position

is,

His

that although later Buddhist metaphysicians have

* " Saiiiyutta Nikaya,''

the commentary to the "

vol.

i,

fol. glai'.

Dhammapada,"

Tlie story is also narrated in

p. 255.

t How universally in the language of that age the word Nirvana

denoted the summum Sowmot, without any reference to the close o

existence,

is

clearly

shown by the following passage,

considering earthly enjoyments as the highest good

are,

believe

disciples,
:

many Samanas and

is

in

which the view

spoken of: "There

who thus teach and thus

endowed with the pleasure of all

IBrahmans,

If the ego moves, gifted and

the five senses, then has this ego, tarr3'ing in the visible world, attained
the highest Nirvana."

Brahmajdlasutta.
X Introduction to Rogers, " Buddhaghosha's Parables,"

p.

xxxix, seq.

THE SAINT THE EGO THE NIRVANA.

268

uudoubtedly regarded the Nothing- as the supreme object of

effort,

yet the original teaching of

order of his disciples was different

for

nothing more than the entry of the

eternal beatitude, which

all

Buddha and the ancient

them the Nirvana was
upon

spirit

its rest,

an

as highly exalted above the joys, as

is

it is

above the sorrow of the transitory world.

asks

Max

Miiller, a religion,

which lands us

Would
at

last

not,

in the

'

Nothing, cease to be a religion

It

would no longer be what

every religion ought to be and purports to be, a bridge from the

temporal to the eternal, but

which suddenly breaks

off

it

would be a delusive gangway,

and shoots a man, just when he

fancies he has reached the goal of the eternal, into the abyss of
annihilation.

We

cannot follow the famous inquirer, when he attempts

to trace the limits

between the possible and the impossible in

the developement of religion.

In the sultry, dreamy

stillness

of India, thoughts spring and grow, every surmise and every

sensation grows, otherwise than in the cool air of the west.

Perhaps what

is

of

may

here beyond comprehension

we reach a point which

the comprehensible, we shall permit much to

comprehensible, and

if

is

there be

to us a limit

pass and stand

as incomprehensible, and await the future, which

may

bring us

nearer the solution of the eniarma.

Max

Mliller's researches,

which could under the then circum-

stances of the case be based on only a portion of the authentic

texts bearing on this branch of the subject, did not

fail

to

attract the attention of native literati in Ceylon, the country

which has preserved

and knowledge

to the present

in its purest form.

day Buddhist temperament

And by

the joint labours

of eminent Singhalese students of Buddhist literature, such

as the late

James d^Alwis, and European

whom we may

inquirers,

among

mention especially Childers, Rhys Davids, and

HAPPINESS on ANNIHILATION.
Trenckner, literary materials for

tlie

2G9

elucidation of

of Nirvana liave been amply unearthed and

I have endeavoured

we have
submitted

to

dogrnas

complete the collections, for which

to

thank these learned scholars,

the testimony of the

all

tlie

ably treated.

Buddha

contained in the discourses of

that

in

have

sacred Pali canon, that

as well as that in the

writings upon the rights of the Order, to a detailed examinaso that I believe I

tion,

essential expression

am

Before I undertook this task,

poets has been omitted.*

was

my

conviction that there

is

it

in the ancient Buddhist litera-

ture no passage

which

the Nirvana

eternal felicity or annihilation.

is

hope that no

in a position to

the ancient dogmatics and doctrinal

of

directly decides the alternative

whether

So much the

greater therefore was

my

these researches I

not upon one passage, but upon very

lit

surprise,

numerous passages, which

upon

the point, regarding

and determine

it

And

it

desired.

when

when

speak as

in

the

course of

expressly as

which the controversy

possible
is

waged,

with a clearness which leaves nothing to bo

was no

less a cause of

astonishment to

me

found that in that alternative, which appeared to have

been laid down with

all

possible cogency, viz., that the Nirvana

must have been understood

in the ancient

Order to be either

the Nothing or a supreme felicity, there was finally neither on

the one side nor on the other perfect accuracy.

We

shall

now endeavour

have presented

itself to

to state the question as

Buddhist dogmatic on

its

it

must

own premises,

and then the answer which the question has received.

A doctrine which

contemplates a future of eternal perfection

behind transitory being, cannot possibly admit of the kingdom

* In Excursus

iii,

further quotations are given from

here mentioned, and the dogmatic terminology

is

tlie

materials

discussed iu detail at

greater length than appeared expedient in this place.

'

;;

THE SAINT THE EGO THE NIRVANA.

270
o

eternal first beginning

tlie

only at the point where the

world of the transient ends^ cannot conjure

as

it

itself

up immediately,

it

In the kingdom of the transient

were out of the Nothing.

there must be contained, veiled perhaps like a latent

germ, but

present, an element which bears in itself the

still

pledge of everlasting being stretching out beyond origination

and decease.

where the claims

It is possible that,

of strict

sequence are opposed by motives of another kind,

dialectic

thought pauses before accepting this so obvious conclusion

but

important before we examine these deviations from the

it is

logical consequence,

which we may possibly expect

to find, to

obtain a view of the form in which the logical consequence

must have presented

The

finite

itself to

Buddhist thought.

world appears in the dogmatic of Buddhism to rest

wholly upon

Whatever we

itself.

see,

whatever we hear, our

senses as well as the objects which are presented to them,

everything

is

drawn within the cycle

everything

is

only a

all

Dhamma,

Sankharas are transitory.

whence;

of origination and decease

a Sankhara, and

'Whence

of the conditional is accepted as a given fact

from going back

This

''

not a person "

We

see

it

its

No

matter

The existence

thought shrinks

evident in the question as to the soul, the

This

is

only a heap of Sankharas

here there

is

(p. 258).

the finite world bears in itself no traces which

connection with a world of the eternal.

possibly be

transient

Dhammas,

to the unconditional.

is specially

point to

there from a past beyond ken.

it is

personality.

all

this cycle

and

otherwise
eternal

is

Where

cai'ried

the

How

could

opposition of

to the point

the

which Indian

thought has here reached, there can in fact be no union

conceived between the two extremes.

Had

share whatsoever in the occurrences of

the eternal any

the world

of

the

EAPPINE88 OR ANNIHILATION.

271

changeable, a shadow of the changeable would

The

unchangeability.

conditioned through another conditional.

consequence

dialectic

on

fall

its

own

conditional can only be thought of as

this theory of life to conceive

has run out, annihilating

how, where a

itself,

anything

we

If

follow the

on the basis of

solely, it is impossible

series of conditions

else is to

be recog-

nized as remaining but a vacuum.

This

is

the consequence.

Does Buddhism

actually admit

this?

We

must here

few remarks upon the standard

insert a

which our texts are wont

technical terms,

to use in dcalina*

with these questions.

The word which we have

passages quoted,

is

translated " Person

"

(Satta) in the

not the precise technical term which the

Brahmanical speculation, discussed by us at an earher stage,

had coined

as the

most exact and

special expression for the

man Atman, " the self,^^ '' the ego." The Buddhist
texts deal with the Atman (in Pali Atta) also.
If the demands
of dialectic alone be regai-ded, it cannot be understood how the
eternal in

ego " was to be answered otherwise

" it seems clear enough
than the question as to the " person
question regarding the

''

that both

that he

words are only

who

different

names

for the

same

maintain the existence of the " ego " or even admit

Beside the expression

which the same may be

One."
his

Buddha

Buddhahood

essentiality
is

idea,

and

denies the existence of the "person," cannot

is in
(p.

Atman

said,

the

(atta)

we

place

it

possible.

another, of

name Tathagata, " the

Perfect

the habit of calling himself Tathagata in

126).

If a question be raised as to the

and everlasting continuance of the Tathagata,

this

altogether parallel to the question regarding the essentiality

and continuance of the ego

if

there be an ego, the sacred

perfect personality of the Tathagata

must undoubtedly be the

THE SAINTTHE EGO TEE NIRVANA.

272

ego, wliicli deserves this

name

in the liigliest sense^

which bears

But

in itself the greatest claim to everlasting being'.

might expect, with the

''

lot of the

person "

the Tathagata,, as well as that of the ego

(satta)

as

we

the lot of

(atta), is cast.

Let us see whether the expressions of the Buddhist texts are

in accordance with this view.
''

Then the wandering monk* Vacchagotta went to where

One was staying. When he had come near him,

the Exalted

he saluted him.

When,

saluting him, he

words with him, he

friendly

sat

had interchanged

down beside him.

Sitting

him the wandering monk Yacchagotta spake

beside

Exalted One, saying

Gotama,

"

How

there the ego (atta) ?"

is

When he said this, the

" How then, venerable
And

to the

does the matter stand, venerable

still

the Exalted

Exalted One was

Gotama,

is

One maintained

wandering monk Vacchagotta

silent.

there not the ego ?"

silence.

Then the

rose from his seat and

went

away.
venerable Ananda,

But the

when

the wandei'ing

monk

Vacchagotta had gone to a distance, soon said to the Exalted

One

" wherefore,

answer

to

Vacchagotta

"

If

I,

the

sire,

has the Exalted One not given an

questions

put

by

the

wandering

monk

Ananda, when the wandering monk Vacchagotta

asked me: 'Is there the ego?' had answered:

''the

ego

is,'

then that, Ananda, would have confirmed the doctrine of the

Samanas and Brahmanas who believe in permanence.f If I,

Ananda, when the wandering monk Vacchagotta asked me
*
to

A monk

of a non-Buddliist sect.

The dialogue here

translated

is

be found in the " San.iyuitaka Nikaya," vol. ii, fol. tan.

" A few Samanas and Brahmanas, who believe in permanence, teach
t

that the ego and the world are permanent."

Brahnajdlasiitta.

THE
'is there

273

not tte ego?' had answered

Ananda, would

that,

EGO.

'the ego

is

not/ then

have confirmed the doctrine

Samanas and Brahmanas, who believe

the

of

in annihilation.*

If I,

Ananda, when the wandering monk Vacchagotta asked mc

*

my

served
all

there the ego

is

end_,

had answered

'the ego is/ would that have

Ananda, by producing in him the knowledge

"
?

existences (dhamma) are non-ego

" That

" But
asked

it

would

me

Is there not the ego

not, sire.''

Ananda, when the wandering monk Vacchagotta

if I,

'

had answered

'

The ego

is

then that, Ananda, would only have caused the wandering

not,'

monk Vacchagotta
another

'

no longer

We

My

!'

see

thrown from one bewilderment into

to be

ego, did

it

not exist before

the person

who has framed

his thought very nearly

though probably he

consequence with
expressed

now

it

exists

this dialogue,

has in

approached the consequence, which

leads to the negation of the ego.

that,

but

"

it.

If

overt

Buddha

did

may

It

wish

not

almost be said^
to

consciousness, yet he

express

this

has

fact

in

avoids the negation of the existence

of the ego, he does so in order not to shock a weak-minded

hearer.

Through the shirking

of

to

question as to the

the

existence or non-existence of the ego,

is

heard the answer,

which the premises of -the Buddhist teaching tended: The

ego

is

not.

Or,

what

equivalent

is

The

Nirvana

is

annihilation.

But wo can
* "

understand

well

A few Samanas

that the person (satta)

why

these

and Bralimans, wlio believe

is,

and that

it

thinkers,

who

iu anniliilation, teach

undergoes annihilation, destruction,

and removal" (ibidem). It is meant, that the ego, even without being
from sins, undergoes no transmigration, but becomes extinct in

purified

death.

18

TEE SAINT THE EGO THE NIRVANA.

274

were in a position to
to bear

it,

realize this ultimate

abandoned the erection of

of the Buddhist order.

consequence and

as an official

it

dogma

There were enough, and more than

enough, of hopes and wishes, from which he who desired to

Why

follow the Sakya's son, had to sever his heart.

to the

weak the keen edge

the delivered

is

of the truth

the Nothing

True,

it

not permissible to

is

put falsehood in the place of truth, but

draw a well-meant

veil

allowable to

is

it

over the picture of the truth, the sight

of which threatens the destruction of the unprepared.

harm did

it

do

That which was alone of

present

the victor's prize of

intrinsic

What

worth and

was maintained

essential to excite the struggle for deliverance

in unimpaired force, the certainty that deliverance is to

be

found only where joys and sorrows of this world have ceased.

Was

the emancipation of him,

who knew how

to free himself

from everything transitory, not perfect enough

become more

perfect, if

beside the transitory there

Therefore the

official

Would

it

he were driven to acknowledge that

is

only the Nothing

teaching of the Church represented

that on the question, whether the ego

is,

whether the perfected

saint lives after death or not, the exalted

Buddha has taught

nothing.*

From

the texts, in which this shirking of the question

inculcated, the following epitomized dialogue

The venerable Malukya comes

may be

to the Master

is

given.t

and expresses

his astonishment that the Master's discourse leaves a series of

* The

having

first scholar,

an

who has

important

given the correct interpretation of a text

bearing on

this

connection and has directed

attention to this disallowing of the question as to continuance in the

hereafter,

am

is,

as far as I know,

glad to find

my

V. Trenckner

("

opinion of this able Danish scholar.

"

Milinda P." 424).

independently formed conclusion confirmed by the

Cula-Malukya-Ovada " (Majjhima Nikaya).


DISALLOWING TEE QUESTION AS TO THE ULTIMATE GOAL. 275
the very most important and deepest questions unanswered.
Is the world eternal or is

limited

it

Buddha (Tathugata)

the perfect

by bounds of time

Does

on beyond death

Does

live

the Perfect One not live on beyond death

says that monk, that

all this

do not think

right

it

answer them

am come
May

therefore I

understand a matter and does not

forward

man

says

not,

Master to

to the

please

it

Buddha

" But when anyone does not

he can.

if

me

should remain unanswered, and I

him about these doubts.

interrogate
to

It pleases

know

then a straight-

it,

know

I do not understand that, I do not

that."

We

see

be

of the Nirvana

the question

Buddha by

brought before

is

monk as directly and definitely as

And what answers Buddha ? He

possible.

.Socratic fashion, not without a touch of irony

"

What have

Have

could ever

that

I said

shall teach

said

thee before now,

to

Come, Malukyaputta, and be

whether the world

thee,

everlasting, whether the world

the vital faculty

is

is

identical with the

whether the Perfect One

lives

on

One

on, or whether the Perfect

is

finite

says in his

Malukyaputta

my

disciple

everlasting or

body or separate from

Or hast thou, Buddha goes

lives

on and

same time

at the

on, said to

me

lives

I shall

unto me, whether the world

not everlasting, and so on

it,

after death or does not live

live

disciple, declare

not

or infinite, whether

on after death, or whether he neither

"
nor does not live on ?
" That thou hast not said, sire."
does not

is

on

be thy

everlasting or

This also must Malukya answer in the negative.

If a

arrow,

man, Buddha proceeds, were struck by a poisoned

and

physician

his

what

friends
if

the

and

relatives

wounded man

called

said

in
''

skilfid

shall

18*

not

THE SAINT TEE EGO THE NIRVANA.

276

my wound to be treated until I know wlio

whom I have been wounded^ whether he is

man

allow

the

by

a noble^ a

Brahman^ a Vai9ya^ or

my wound

allow

man who
he

is tall,

(^udra

''

or

if

ho said

or small, or of middle stature, and

of the case

Why
world

"I

has wounded me, and of what family he

not conduce

The man would

Buddha not taught

has

is finite

death or not

be

shall not

how

is,

call

the

whether

weapon

his

What would

was made, with which he has struck me."

end

be treated, until I know what they

to

die of his

is-

the

wound.

his disciples,

whether the

or infinite, whether the saint lives on

beyond

Because the knowledge of these things does

to

progress in holiness, because

contribute to peace and

enlightenment.

What

it

does not

contributes

peace and enlightenment, Buddha has taught his own

to

the truth of sufiering, the truth of the origin of suffering, the

truth of the cessation of suffering, the truth of the path to the

^^

cessation of suffering.*

Therefore, Malukyaputta, whatso-

ever has not been revealed by me, let that remain unrevealed,

and what has been revealed,

let it

Our researches must accept

''
be revealed.

this clear

and decisive solution

of the question, recurring often in the sacred texts, as

given;

it

construction.

Buddhists

it

is

needs no interpretation, and admits of no strained

Orthodox

teaching in

expressly on

inculcated

the ancient
its

order of

converts to

forego

the knowledge of the being or non-being of the perfected

saint.

But, besides the question as to what was recognized as the

orthodox dogma, there

up.

Who

is

yet another which

we have

would believe that he has fathomed the

* The wording of

tlie

passage of wliich an epitome

identical with that given before at

j).

204.

is

to take

faith

and

here given

is

EVASION OF QUESTIONS AS TO ULTIMATE GOAL.

277

hope of the devout hearty when he knows the dogma, which

the Church prescribed and to which the believer subscribed

Was

the waiving" of the question which the religious conaltogether to put to itself over and

sciousness cannot cease

over again, sufficient to eliminate from the spirits of Buddha's

disciples the craving for a

No

the

mio'ht not be

heretical disobedience of

make

itself

of light
it

Yes or No

Certainly the

doctrine:

declared as

But

Buddha's injunction.

Yes or

would be

this

it

might

perceptible like a vibi-ation, like a gentle flutter

shadow, something

or

felt

rather than definable

might, even where the honest purpose to faithfully enunciate

the

dogma

existed,

betray

incautious expression, in a

the

dialogue

itself

between the

lines, in

word too many or too few.

between Buddha and Ananda

how some

(p.

an
In

272, seq.),

a trace seemed to show

itself

in the order were not far

from perceiving that the conclusion

of

resolute spirits

of the doctrine involves the negation of the ego, the negation

of an eternal future.
official

But

this very circumstance, that the

dogmatic abstained from answering these questions, was

sure to lead to greater liberty and variety in the solutions

which individual thought worked

out, than could

be the case

with regard to problems, for which a recognized orthodox

solation

Could not that negative answer,

had been furnished.

which we have come to recognize as the true answer

dialectic,

be met by an affirmative

also

of close

Might not

hearts,

that quailed before the Nothing, that could not relinquish the

hope
all

of everlasting weal, gather

this

hope

one response, that

it

from Buddha's silence above

was not forbidden

to

them

to

It appears to
|uestions,

me

that

among

the

many

utterances on these

which are bound up together in the great complex

THE SAINT THE EGO THE NIRVANA.

278

of the sacred writings, traces of such agitations, as I have here

described, are unmistakably

King Pasenadi

of Kosala,

enough

we

to

be seen.

are told,* on one occasion on

a journey between his two chief towns, Saketa and Savatthi,

in with the

fell

renowned

nun Khema, a female

for her

of Buddha,

disciple

The king paid

wisdom.

his respects to her,

and inquired of her concerning the sacred doctrine.

" Venerable lady,'' asked the king, " does the Perfect One
"
(Tathagata) exist after death ?
" The Exalted One,
Perfect

One

great king, has not declared

the

exists after death.''

" Then does the Perfect One not exist after death, venerable
lady

"

" This

also,

king, the Exalted

One has not declared

exist after death."

venerable lady, the Perfect One does exist after

'^Thus,

death,

O great

One does not

the Perfect

and

at the

same time does not

exist after death

thus,

venerable lady, the Perfect One neither exists after death, nor

does he not exist

The answer
revealed

it.

is

We

"
still

see

the same

how

somewhat clumsy subtlety which

at

One has not

the Perfect

great pains are taken, with that

is

characteristic of thought

every step in this stage of development, not merely to

exhaust the two alternatives immediately confronting each

other, but in the

most careful manner

to close

up

all

joinings

and loopholes, by which the true facts of the case might

escape being caught in the logical net.

Exalted One has not revealed

The king

is

astonished.

But

it is

iu vain

the

this.

"

What

* " Sainyutta Nikaya,"

vol.

is

ii,

the reason, venerable

fol.

no, seq.

EVASION OF QUESTIONS AS TO ULTIMATE GOAL.

lady^ what

is tlie

revealed this

"Permit
question,

279

ground, on whicli the Exalted One has not

"

me," answers the nun, ^'now

to

great king, and do thou answer

me

How

seems to thee to stand.

thinkest thou,

ask

thee a

as the case

great king,

who
who could say there
so many hundreds, or

hast thou an accountant, or a mint-mastei', or a treasurer,

could count the sands of the Gauges,

are there so

many

grains of sand, or

thousands, or hundreds of thousands of grains of sand

" No, venerable lady,

" Or hast thou an accountant, a mint-master or a

who

could measure the water in the great ocean,

say

there arc therein so

"

have not."

many measures

treasurer,

who could

of water, or so

many

hundreds or thousands, or hundreds of thousands of measures

"
of water ?
" No, venerable lady, I have not."
''

And why

not

Perfect.

So

unfathomable.

The great ocean

is

deep, immeasurable,

great king,

if

the existence of the

also,

One be measured by the predicates

form

of corporeal

:*

these predicates of the corporeal form are abolished in the

Perfect One, their root

a palm-tree, and laid

again in the future.

One from

this,

is

severed, they are

aside, so that

great king,

Released,

should be

that his being

measure of the corporeal world

he

unfathomable as the great ocean.

after death,' this is not apposite

exist after death,* this also

at once exists

and does not

* Afterwards, what

is

is

'

'

is

like

is

the Perfect

gauged

by the

deep, immeasurable,

The Perfect One

the Perfect

exists

One does not

not apposite; 'the Perfect One

exists after death,' this also is not

here said of corporeal form, will be repeated in

detail regarding the four other groups of elements, of

is

hewn away

they cannot germinate

which earthly being

constituted (sensations, perceptions, conformations, consciousness).

THE SAINT THE EGO-THE NIRVANA.

280
apposite;

'the Perfect

after death/ this also

''But Pasenadi,

is

One neither does nor does not

the king of

Khema's discourse with

from his

bowed

seat,

exist

not apposite/'
Kosala,

satisfaction

the

nun

and approbation,

rose

Khema

nun,

received

reverently before

the

turned and went away/'*

We

shall scarcely

line

be astray in supposing that

which the course of thought confines

to

previously quoted conversation between

(p.

can

it

One

the

itself in

Buddha and Malukya

answered here as there, but why

as little

is

not be answered

The Perfect One's existence

unfathoraably deep, like the ocean

terrestrial

discover

True, the question as to the eternal duration of

274, seq.).

the Perfect

we

marked departure from the sharply defined

in this dialogue a

it

is

is

of a depth which

human thought with the appliances at its command,

The man who applies to the strictly uncon-

cannot exhaust.

being and non-being, which are

ditional predicates such as

used properly enough of the

a person

who attempts

finite,

the conditional, resembles

to count the sands of the

Ganges or the

drops of the ocean.

When

such a reason

is

assigned for the waiving of the

question as to whether the Perfect

this

very giving of a reason

answer a Yes

No

itself

One

lives for ever, is

an answer

And

is

being in the ordinary sense, but

assuredly not a non-being

sublime positive,

not

not this
still

which

of

thought has no idea, for which language has no expression,

which beams out

tality in that

to

meet the cravings of the thirsty for immor-

same splendour, of which the apostle says

" Eye

* The texts relates then

the same questions to

how the king at a Liter opportunity addressed

Buddha and obtained from him word for word the

same answers which he had received on

Xhema.

this occasion

from the nun

EVASION OF QUESTIONS AS TO ULTIMATE GOAL.

liath

281

not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the

God

heart of man, the things which

We

hath prepared for them

Him/'

that love

here proceed to insert another passage,* which adopts a

position on this question similar to that last quoted.

" At

monk named Yamaha had adopted

time a

this

following heretical notion

by the Exalted One

when

sin,

body

his

to

be

'

the

I understand the doctrine taught

monk who

this, that a

is

free

from

dissolves, is subject to annihilation, that

he

"
passes away, that he does not exist beyond death/

Whoever names

the absolute Nothing as the goal, in which,

the Perfect

One

ends,

that

the

may learn from .the opening words of this passage,

monk Yamaka advocated this very interpretation and

that

according to the Buddhist creed, the

life of

he had thereby been guilty of heresy.

The venerable

"How

Sariputta undertakes to instruct him.

thinkest thou, friend

(Tathagata)

identical

with

Yamaka,

is

the Perfect

corporeal form

the

Buddha^s body represent his true

"
?

ego)

{i.e.,

One
does

Dost thou hold

this

" I do
''^Is

not,

my

perceptions

the

thou hold this

" I do not,

"

friend."

One

the Perfect

How

identical with the

the

Dost

friend."

thinkest thou, friend

Dost thou hold

" I do not,

my

Yamaka,

comprised in the corporeal form

on)

sensations?

the consciousness

conformations,

my

this

is

the Perfect

One

the sensations, and so

friend."

" Is the Perfect One

Dost thou hold

this

scpai-ate

from the corporeal Ibrm

* " Samyutta Nikaya,"

vol.

i,

fol.

de, scq.

't

TEE SAINT THE EGO THE NIRVANA.

282
*'

I do not,

" How

my

friend.^

tliinkest tliou^ friend

Yamaka,

are the corporeal form;,

and consciousness

sensations, perceptions, conformations,

their aggregate) the Perfect

"

I do not,

"

How

my

One

formations, and consciousness

not,

"Thus
Perfect

my
is

Yamaka,

free

One
con-

Dost thou hold

this ?

Yamaka, even here

in this

world the

not to be apprehended by thee in truth.

doctrine taught by the Exalted

is

the Perfect
perceptions,

is

sensations,

thou therefore a right to speak, saying,

who

(in

friend/'

then, friend

One

this

friend/^

thinkest thou, friend

separate from corporeal form,

" I do

Dost thou hold

from

sin,

when

his

One

annihilation, that he passes away, that

be

to,

body

'

Hast

understand the

this,

monk

that a

dissolves, is subject ta

he does not exist beyond

death'?''
''

Such, indeed, was hitherto, friend Sariputta, the heretical

But now when

view which I ignorantly entertained.

I hear

the venerable Sariputta expound the doctrine, the heretical

view has

lost its

Thus are

all

hold of me, and I have learned the doctrine."

attempts to define dialectically the ego of the

The idea

Perfect One, repelled.

is

certainly not that

other attempt might prove successful, but

ment by Sariputta

is

some

kept in conceal-

no more does the unavailingness of

all

these attempts to find a solution imply that the Perfect One-

does not exist at

Thought, Sariputta means to say, has

all.

here reached an unfathomably deep mystery, on the solution of

which

it

must not

insist.

The monk, who seeks

the happiness

of his soul, has something else to pursue.

One who
future

clearly

would speak

mystery there

flies

and
in

indefinitely

renounced an everlasting

another strain

behind the

veil of the

the longing for escape from opposing

EVASION OF QUESTIONS AS TO ULTIMATE GOAL.

283

reason, wMcli declines to admit the conceivablencss of ever-

hope

lasting existence, the

an existence, which

for

beyond

is

reason and conception.

The

terms, which can be applied to such an existence, are

" There

obviously exclusively negative.

state,
air,

where there

disciples, a

is,

neither earth nor water, neither light nor

is

neither infinity o space, nor infinity of reason, nor abso-

lute void, nor the co-extinction of perception

tion, neither this

That,

term neither coming nor going nor standing;,

disciples, I

death nor

neither

cession, without

" There

is,

birth.

cessation

disciples,

Were

unformed.

It is

without basis, without pro-

that

the

is

end of

sorrow.-'^*

an unborn, unoriginated, uncreated,

there not,

unborn, un-

disciples, this

would be no possible

originated, uncreated, unformed, there

exit

and non-percep-

world nor that world, both sun and moon.

from the world of the born, originated, created, formed."t

These words seem to sound as

we heard Brahmanical

if

philosophers talking of the Brahma, the unborn, iutrausient

which

is

neither great nor small, the

No," for no word can exhaust

sions,

is

To

different.

so veritable a reality, that

created pales before

solely

name

being.

of which

it

the created derives

from the uncreated.

is

" No,

Yet these expres-

in the connection of Buddhist

when viewed

convey something wholly

uncreated

its

the

thought,,

Brahman the

the reality of theits

being and

For the Buddhist the

life

words

an uncreated " merely signify that the created can

there is a path
free himself from the curse of being created^
" there

is

* "Udana,"

fol. ^liau.

" Udiiua," fol. gliaii'.

+ In the "Dhaminapada"

it is

said (v. 383)

" If thou Last learned the

Max

destruction of the Sankhara, thou knowest the uncreated."

(Introduction

I.e.,

p. xliv)

adds to these words the remark

shows that even for Buddha a sometlimg existed which

is

Miiller

" This surely

not made,

and

THE SAINT THE EGO THE NIRVANA.

284

from

world of the created out into dark endlessness.

tlie

path lead into a

tlie

Nothing?

The Buddhist creed

between the two.

eternal

has

The longing

rests

it

Does

lead into the

in delicate

equipoise

of the heart that craves the

not nothing, and yet the thought has not a

something, which
idea of

new existence? Does

the

might firmly grasp.

it

Farther

the

off

the eternal could not withdraw itself

endless,

from belief than it has done here, where, like a gentle flutter
on the point of merging in the Nothing, it threatens to evade
the gaze.
I

cbse with a few sentences from the

of ancient

Buddhist

nothing new to what has been

than

clearly

awakened

abstract

all

collections of aphorisms

These aphorisms may add

literature.

but they will show more

said,

what

treatment,

chord of the Nirvana

were

melodies

in the circle of that ancient monastic order,

when

the

was touched.

" Plunged into meditation, the immovable ones who valiantly

which, therefore,

is

imperishable and eternal."

can find in the expression another

It appears to

meaning, and

connection with the Buddhist theory of the world,

meaning

if

we

me, that we

consider

we must

it

in

find another

Let thine own aim be, to discover the cessation of impermaIf thou knowest that, thou hast 'the highest knowledge. Let
others pursue the uncreated by their erroneous paths, which will never
:

nence.

them beyond the realm of the created. As for thee let the attainment of the uncreated consist in this, that thou reachest the cessation of
carry

the created.
belief

In the " Alagaddupama Sutta

which says

'

This

is

" (Majjh.

the world, this

is

N.)

we read

"

The

the self (atta), this shall I

dying become, firm, durable, everlasting, unchangeable so shall I be

in eternity' is not that, O disciples, merely sheer folly?"
;

yonder
^'

How

can

it

?" " How think ye then,

form everlasting or impermanent?" and then

be, sire, aught else but sheer folly

disciples, is corporeal

there follow the familiar doctrines of the impermanence of the five

complexes {vide supra, p. 218), a significant commentary to the allegation,
that the Buddhist asking after the eternal

cessation of the impermanent.

is

the same as asking after the

THE UNCREATED.

285.

struggle evermore, the wise, grasp the Nirvana, the gain which,

no other gain surpasses."

" Hunger is the most grievous

illness

most grievous sorrow ; recognizing

the Sankhara are the

this of a truth

man

attains

the Nirvana, the supreme happiness."

" The wise, who cause no suffering to any being, who keep
their

body

in check, they

walk to the everlasting state

ho who

has reached that, knows no sorrow/'

"
to

Ho who

BuddlWs

is

permeated by goodness, the

teaching, let

him turn

monk who

adheres

to the land of peace,

transientness finds an end, to happiness."*

* "Dhammapada,"23, 203, 225, 3GS.

where

CHAPTER

TIL

THE TENET OF THE PATH TO THE EXTINCTION OF

SUFFERING.

Duties to others.

Following the course

wliicli

sacred truths) marks out for us,

the rule of

we have

faitli (i.e.

the four

delineated, as corre-

sponding with the second and third of these tenets, what may

be described as the metaph3\sic of Buddhism

the picture of

the world bound in the chain of causality, of the sorrow-fraught

present, and the picture of the hereafter, in which origination

and decease have come

extinguished.

us to

know

to a pause, the flame of sorrow has

The fourth tenet

the path which leads out of that world into the

domain of deliverance ; the group

may be termed

of thoughts

which the division of the sacred texts proceeds,

i.e.,

which

it

covers,

the ethic of Buddhism.*

* If the sketch of Buddhism be divided according

on.

been

of the sacred truths teaches

to the

two categories

Dhamma

and Viuaya,

Doctrine and Ordinance, ethic must be referred, according to the

Buddhist view, to the head o " Doctrine,"

for not

only does that briefest

expression of the Doctrine, the sacred truths, include within itself ethic
in the last of the four tenets, but the matters falling

under the scope of

ethic have throughout found their place in the " Basket of the Doctrine,"
?'.e.,in

the complex of the sacred texts dealing with Dhamma. " Ordinance,"

as opposed to " Doctrine,"

legal sense

order.

it is

is

not to be understood in an ethical, but in a

ordinances to govern the associated

life

of the monastic

ETHICAL SCHOLASriC.
''

287

monks," so runs tMs tenet, " is the sacred

Thisj

the path to the extinction of suffering

fold path, to wit

trutli of

this sacred, eight-

it is

Right Faith, Right Resolve, Right Speech,

Right Action, Right Living, Right

Right Thought,

Effort,

Right Self-concentration."

The

ideas here

placed before us gather significance and

many

colour from the

discourses of Buddha, in which the path

of salvation leading to deliverance

is

That scholastic

described.

apparatus, from which Indian thought can never shake itself

wholly free,
has

its

employed

is

vices have their

there

are

number

powers

five

there

and

Heretics and unbelievers also

the

Everything

no sparing manner.

in

Virtues and

established, ever recurring expression.

is

a fourfold onward effort

organs

five

know

moral

of

life.

the five impediments and

seven elements of illumination, but Buddha^s disciples

how

alone know,

that cinq

becomes a

and

dix,

this

seven a

fourteen.*

More valuable than this scholastic, as an aid to understanding

how the moral presented itself to the Buddhist view, are the
beautiful utterances of the poetical collections, as well as fables

and parables, above

all

the ideal form of

Buddha himself

the religious fancy of his disciples has sketched him.

in his final stage of

earthly existence, but

as

Not only

hundreds of

in

preceding existences has he unintermittingly arrived at

all

those perfections which were bringing him nearer and nearer

to the supreme

Buddhahood, and has

example

make up

for

his

believers.

numberless displays of

in

self-sacrifice created

an

The components, which go

to

invincible strength of will and devoted

this ethical ideal, obviously disclose at every step the

monastic character of Buddhist morality.

is

the

life

of the

monk;

necessarily unsatisfying

life,

the worldly

The

life

true holy

is

life,

an imperfect,

the preliminary step of the weak.

* " Samyutta Nikaya,"

vol.

iii,

fol. pi', scq.

DUTIES TO OTHERS.

288

The primary demaud made upon the monk

live in this

worthy of

world and make

life

but

it is

is

not

thou

slialt

world a something which

this

is

thou shalt separate thyself from this

world.
It is

hardly necessary to say that any attempt to deduce

from these enumerations

opposed to

scientific

and sayings and

of moral notions

code of morals^ would be not less

a connected

narrations

truth than to scientific taste.

find in the sacred texts expressions

Still,

wo

which point to a definite

path of thought traversing the wide range of moral action

and

and

passion, a distribution of all that tends to happiness

Above

under certain leading heads.

deliverance

all

there

"

recur continually three categories, to some extent like the

headings of three chapters on ethic

and wisdom.*

centration,

uprightness, self-con-

In the narrative of Buddha\s

last

addresses, the discourse in which he places before his followers

the doctrine of the path of salvation,

in the following

words

concentration.

This

self-concentration

by

is

self-concentration,

" This

is

is

time after time couclied

uprightness.

is

and rich

fruitful

wisdom

is

This

is

self-

Pervaded by uprightness,

wisdom.

in blessing;

fruitful

and rich

pervaded

in blessing

pervaded by wisdom, the soul becomes wholly free from

infirmity,

from the infirmity of

desire,

all

from the infirmity of

becoming, from the infirmity of error, from the infirmity of

ignorance.'^

These three ranges of moral living are compared

to the stages of a journey

The base

ance.

the end of the journey

is

deliver-

of all is uprightness of walk, but inversely

outward righteousness receives its finish only through wisdom.

" As hand washes hand and foot washes foot, so uprightness
is

purified

Where

by wisdom, and wisdom

is

uprightness, there

is

there

wisdom, there

is
is

And

uprightness.

* The Pali expressions are

sila,

purified

wisdom

by uprightness.
where there

is

the wisdom of the upright

samadlii (or

citta),

pamia.

>

UPRIGHTNESS, SELF-REPRESSION, AND WISDOM.

and

tlie upriglitness of the wise, have of

289

uprightness and

all

"wisdom in the world the highest value."*

The

supreme lawgiver and ruler

will of a

in the

realm of

the moral world, as the ground on which the fact and force

of a moral

command

rest,

is

no more a factor of Buddhist

thought than any bold claim, based on inherent necessity,

the universal, that the individual should be subordinate

of

Nay more,

thereto.

the decided advantage of moral action

over immoral arises wholly and solely from the consequence

the

to

himself,

actor

which

is

naturally and

necessarily

attached to the one course of action or the other.

one case reward

in the other

In the

" He who speaks

punishment.

or acts with impure thoughts, him sorrow follows, as the wheel

He who

follows the foot of the draught horse.

speaks or acts

with pure thought, him joy follows, like his shadow, which
does not leave him.'^f " ^ peasant who saw a fruitful field

and scattered no seed

so

I,

who

for action

would not look

good works,

for a crop.

if

saw a

Even

fine field

and did not do good, should not expect tho reward

of works."!
is

there,

desire the reward of

Thus morality has

its sole

weight in

this, that it

the means to an end, in the lower degree the means to the

humble end

of

happy

life

here on earth and in the forms of

being yet to come, in the higher degree the means to tho

supreme and absolute end of happy deliverance.

We

now pause

in the next place to consider the requirement

which Buddhism makes the precursor and preliminary of

higher moral perfection, the

we

all

precept of " uprightucss," and

find its purport expressed in a scries of uniformly negative

propositions.

Upright

is

he,

w^ho

keeps

himself

* " Sonadancja Sutta " (" Digha Nikaja

t "Dliammapada,"],
I

" Cariya Pitaka,"

from

").

2.

1, 2.

]9

all

DUTIES TO OTHERS.

290

impurity in word and deed.

which

liibitionSj into

complex of

texts* a

In the different series of pro-

this precept is analyzed in the sacred

commandments

five

takes a special place

in the foreground, the regular observance of which constitutes

the " five-fold uprightness."
1.

To

no living thing

kill

Their substance

is

;*

2.

Not

to lay

,;^*

Not

to touch another's wife

4.

Not

to

5.

Not

to drink intoxicating drinks.

hands on another's property

speak what

untrue

is

For monks the injunction of absolute chastity was inserted

instead of the third of these propositions, and there
for

them a

long* series

of further

prohibitions

added

is

which

in

abstinence from worldly comforts and enjoyments, from

worldly intermeddling as well as self-indulgence,

In the detailed expositions, which we find

as their duty.

appended to the several prohibitions, the

limits of the

negative are not unfrequently transgressed.f

but

happen

whether

that,

is

well

known

to

principle

regulations for the daily

in

which animal

life

When monks
murmur and
obliged to

life

kill

" It

many

is

iise

of monks.

silk cloths

the

is

of even the

life

bottom

of

A monk may not

made

our misfortune,

little

numerous

drink water

contained, and

must not

it

for themselves, silkweavers

is

our

iU-fate, that

we

are

creatures for the sake of our living, for our

wives' and children's sake."

account the

at

out on grass or clay (" Pacittiya," 20, 62).

it

wish to have
say

lies

of any kind whatever

even as much as pour

what an extreme Buddhism, and Indian habits

This regard

creature.

of

conceived as

of thought generally, tends to push the regard for the

smallest

pure

It could not

fundamental

the

Buddhist ethic admitted of morality being

* It

all

down

laid

is

And Buddha

of silk cloths ("

forbids the

Vinaya Pitaka,"

vol.

iii,

monks on

this

p. 224).

t Cf the extensive section bearing on this subject in the " Samauilaphala

Sutta " (the Discourse on the Reward of Ascetism).

PROHIBITION AND COMMAND.

power or

positively constituted

should gradually transform

'^

sciousness into

thou

the

not,

'''^tliou

the

for

itself

291

not"

slialt

moral con-

lively

In this way we find the

shalt.'^

first

of these prohibitions, that of killing, construed in a manner

which scarcely

falls

short of the Christian version of that

command, which " was

"

not kill."

uprightness

How

?''

old time

of

monk become

from

killing

the

following

living

ho lays down weapons.

tender-hearted
all living

thou

he

He

He

of

himself

to

That

things.

is

monk
from

'^
:

down the

lays

spirit the welfare

is

in the same speech of Buddha\s in the following

way

from

calumnious

conversation

What

calumnious conversation.

not repeat there, to separate this

he

He

of

is

deduced
''
:

refrains

He

from

he has heard here he does

man from

that

what he has

heard there he does not repeat here, to separate that

this.

of

From

part of his uprightness.'"

the prohibition of backbiting a positive course

abstains

and

compassionate

is

he seeks with friendly

slialt

partaker

refrains

sentences

creatures

causing the death of living creatures.

stick

asks Buddha, and then proceeds

furnish the answer in

abstains

by them

said

does

man from

the uniter of the separated, and the confirmer

He

the united.

he seeks to

enjoys concord;

concord; he takes delight in concord

concord-producing words.

This also

is

he

is

promote

a speaker of

a part of his upright-

ness."

In every case

it is

quite true that the prohibition

comprehensive than the command

goes in but few cases beyond what

gentle

influence

which

woman's nature
her,

we

shall

to

is

diffuse

As

it is

far

more

command

of itself implied in the<

good men exercise by

presence without action.

is

the range of the

their

mere

peculiarly characteristic of

such an influence silently around

perhaps be justified in attributing a trace of the

19*

DUTIES TOIOTEERS.

292

feminine to that type o morality to whicli Buddhism has given

birth.

Some who have endeavoured

to

bring Buddhism up to

have given compassionate love of

Christianity_,

as the kernel of the Buddhist's pure morality.

something of truth.
moral powers

no word

N^

Paul's

is still

But the inherent

all

creatures

In this there

difference of the

The language of Buddhism has

apparent.

for the poesy of Christian love, of which that

the love which

is full,

is

two

is

hymn

of

greater than faith and hope,

without which one, though he spake with the tongue of men or

would be a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal; nor

of angels,

have the reahties, in which that poetry assumed

flesh

and

blood within the Christian world, had their parallel in the

history
1

\\

of

We

Buddhism.

displays

itself

negative

and

positive,

actually touching

may

Buddhist

in

it,

in

say that love, such as

morality,

approaches
a

way

oscillating

Christian

love

it

between
without

which the

similar to that in

beatitude of the Nirvana, though fundamently wholly different

from the Christian idea of happiness, does

as

we

saw, swing towards

it.

to a certain extent,

Buddhism does not

enjoin on one to love his enemy, as not to hate his

so

much

enemy

it

evokes and cherishes the emotion of friendly goodness and

tender-heartedness towards
^

motive power

is

all creatures,

a feeling in which the

not the groundless, enigmatic self-surrender

of love, but rather intelligent reflection, the conviction that

it is

thus best for

natural law

all,

and not

of retribution

least the expectation, that the

will

allot

to

such conduct the

richest reward.

''He who keeps the angry passion," thus we read in the

Dhammapada,* " within his control, like a rolling waggon, him

* Verses 222, 223, 3 seq. ("MaMvagga,"

x, 3).

LOVE AND COMPASSION.

I call
^'

tlie

overcome

by

real

waggon-driver ; any other

man overcome anger

Let a

evil

with good

only a rein-holder."

is

byjnot becoming angry

let a

man overcome

man overcome

generosity, let a

203

the

liar

let

man

the parsimonious

with

truth.''

"

'

He

has abused me, he has struck me, he has oppressed me, he has

me they who do not entertain such thoughts, in such

men enmity comes to an end. For enmity never comes to an
robbed

'

end through enmity here below ;

enmity

The
is to

this has

last of these verses is

be found

:)ne

all

to an

end by non-

eternity."

connected with a narrative, which

of the canonical books,* and

him who

the consideration of

desires to

" there

far the Christian thought, that

perfect

comes

it

been the rule from

is

worthy of

know whether and how

is

no fear in

love,

but

casteth out fear," recurs in the ground of the

love

Buddhist moral intelligence.

On

one occasion when a dispute arises in the baud of his

disciples,

Buddha

narrates to the discontented the history of

King Long-grief, whom

had driven from

his powerful

Disguised as a mendicant

from

his wife

his

monk

whom

home and sought

one of

his

quondam

to

the

safety in concealment at

There the queen bore him

who became a clever boy,

One day Long-grief was recognized by

he named Long-life

proficient in all arts.

betrayed

of all his possessions.

the vanquished king fled with

Benares, the capital of his enemy.

a son,

neighbour Brahmadatta

kingdom and deprived

his

courtiers

and

his place of concealment

Brahmadatta

king,

thereupon the king

ordered him and his wife to be led bound through

streets

town.

of the town, and then

hewn

But Long-life saw how

his father

who

said to

him

the

And

and mother were

he went up to his
" My son Long-life, look not too

being led in chains through the town.

father,

all

into four pieces outside the

* " Mahavagga,"

x, 2.

294
far

DUTIES TO OTHERS.

and not too near.

enmity,

my

For enmity comes not

son Long-life; by non-enmity

my

_,

to

an end by

son Long-lifO;,

enmity comes to an end."

Thereupon king Long-grief and

were put to death.

his wife

But Long-life made the guards who were placed over the
corpses drunk^ and

when they had

he burnt both

fallen asleep,

the dead and walked with folded hands three times round
the funeral

Then he went

pile.

and wept and

into the forest

wailed to his hearths content, then washed away his tears, went

and took service

into the town,

By

who made him

in the king's elephant- stalls.

he won the favour of Brahmadatta,

his beautiful singing

managed that the

They two were alone

lap,

Thereupon thought the youth Long-life

much

datta of Benares has done us

Long-life had so

The king became

retinue took another road.

head in Long-life's

tired, laid his

One day he accompanied

his trusted friend.

the king out hunting.

and soon fell asleep.

" this King Brahma-

He

evil.

has taken away

our army and baggage, and land, and treasure, and stores, and

my

has killed

me

to satisfy

Long-life

away

my

"

My

to an end.'

It

his

sword from the

thought occurred to the youth

when he was being

look not too far and

'

my

to

an end by enmity,

So he put

his

desire for revenge

my

son Long-life, enmity comes

would not be right for

father's words."

the time come for

My son Long-life,

by non-enmity,

The

this

For enmity comes not

son Long-life

is

And he drew

father has said to me,

to execution

not too near.

again.

Kow

and mother.

enmity.^'

But just then

scabbard.

led

father

me

to transgress

my

sword back in the scabbard

comes over him three times

three times the recollection of his father's last words overcomes

his hatred.

Then the king

has awakened him

taking his

life

starts

with the sword.

seized with his left

up from sleep

an

evil

dream

he has dreamed about Long-life, that he

is

" Then the youth Long-Hfe

hand the head of Kinj? Brahmadatta

of

STORY OF LONG-LIFE AND LONQ-GRIEF.

Benares, and with

liis

riglit

he drew his sword, and he said to

Brahmadatta, the king of Benares

done us much

evil

'

am

King Long-grief,

king, the son of

;

father

my

satisfy

the boy Long-Hfe,

thou hast taken away our army and

Now

and mother.

stores,

and hast killed

me

the time come for

is

Then the King Brahmadatta

enmity/

Thou hast

of Kosala.

baggage, and land, and treasure, and

my

295

to

of Benares,

the feet of the youth Long-life, and said to the youth

fell at

grant me
Grant me my life, my son Long-life
my life, my son Long-life
How can I grant thee thy life,
O king ? It is thou, king, who must grant me life/ Then
grant thou me life, my son Long-life, and I will also grant
Long-life

'

'

'

'

thee

life.'

Then the King Brahmadatta

boy Long-life granted each other

hands, and swore to do

of Benares

And King

each other no harm.

Brahmadatta of Benares said

to the

and the

gave each other their

life,

youth Long-life

'

My

son Long-life, what thy father said to thee before his death,

" Look not too

to an end

what
O

far

signifies

my

by non-enmity enmity comes

father

me

before his death

an end

''

father

" Look not too

far,''

" Let not enmity long continue " that was what
;

meant when he

And what my

too far."

to

'What my

mean by that?'

did thy father

king, said to

For enmity comes not

and not too near.

by enmity

with

thy friends ;"

king, said to

father,

" Not too near,"

death

said before his death

signifies

" Look not

mo

before his

" Fall not out too readily

my father,

that was what my father meant when

me before his death " Not too near." And what
O king, said to me before his death " For enmity

comes not

to

he said to

an end by enmity

to an end," signifies this

and

my

life,

then those

Were
who are

mother.

by non- enmity enmity comes

Thou,

I now,

king, hast killed

my

father

king, to seek to take thy

attached to thee,

king, would take


DUTIES TO OTHERS.

296

my

and those who are attached to me, would take their

life,

lives

thus our enmity would not come to an end by enmity.

But now,

come
to

to an end.

me

life

This

And

said/

is this

king,

I,

he gave him

meant when he

all

to

an end."

said

an end

to

Then

'

^Wonderful! Astonish-

expound

Long-life, that he can

meaning of what

army and baggage, and

him

father

of Benares reflected

in such detail the

and

For enmity comes not

'^
:

What a clever youth

my

what

is

by non-enmity enmity comes

King Brahmadatta

life

thus by non-enmity has our enmity

before his death

by enmity
ing

me

king, thou hast granted

have granted thee

his father has so briefly

that had belonged to his father,

land,

and treasure, and

and gave

store,

his daughter to wife."

While Buddhism enjoins the forgiveness

which others have done

us,

we ought not

the wrongs

of

to overlook the

thought which incidentally peeps out from this moral, that in

(3

the dealings of the world forgiveness and reconciliation are

a more profitable policy than revenge.

The proposition

enmity comes not to an end by enmity

is verified

way

substantial

in

the case of

instead of losing his

life,

the

clever lad

that

in a very

Long-life

he obtains a kingdom and a king's

daughter to wife.

The
/

lesson of forgiveness and love of enemies finds a deeper

and more beautiful expression

in the

pathetic narrative of

prince Kunala,* the son of the great Buddhist king

(circ.

250

account

Kunala

e.g.).

of

this

wonderfully

his

name was given

beautiful

beautiful as the eyes of the bird

eyes,

Kunala

to

which

lives far

Asoka

him on
ai'e

as

from the

bustle of the court, devoted to meditation on impermanence.

One

of

the

queens

* The narrative

is

is

only

burning with love for the beautiful

known from northern Buddhist

are scarcely of very ancient origin.

sources,

Burnouf, Introduction,

which

p. 403, seq.

STORY OF KUNALA.

and

but her solicitation

youtli,

him sent

to

menaces of disdained

Thirsting for revenge, she contrives

beauty are alike in vain.

to have

tlie

297

a distant province, and then issues an

order to that quarter, sealed with the slyly stolen ivory seal of
eyes to be torn out.

the king, for the prince's

When

the

order arrives, no one can be prevailed upon to lay hands on the

The prince himself

noble eyes of the prince.

to

any one who should be prepared

At

order.

last

man

rewards

offers

execute the king's

to

appears, repulsive to look on,

undertakes the performance.

When, amid

who

the cries of the

weeping multitude, the first eye is torn out, Kunala takes it

" Why seest thou no longer those forms
in his hand and says
:

on which thou wast just now looking, thou coarse

iiesh

How

fools,

who

they deceive themselves,

and say

cling to thee

his second eye is torn out,

is

how blamable

" This

he says

is

And when

I."

" The eye of

ball of

are those

flesh,

which

hard to get, has been torn from me, but I have won the

perfect, faultless eye of

wisdom.

The king has forsaken me,

am the son of the highly exalted king of truth whose

He is informed that it is the queen,
child I am called."
by whom the command concerning him was issued. Then
but I

" Long may she enjoy happiness, life, and power

who has brought me so great welfare." And he goes forth
and when he comes to his father's
a beggar with his Avife
The king hears
city, he sings to the lute before the palace.
he has him called into him, but when he sees
Kuniila's voice
the blind man before him, he cannot recognize his sou. At

he says

last

the truth comes to light.

and rage

is

Kunala says
as honour

The king

about to torture and

:

kill

in the excess of grief

" It would not become thee to

demands and do not

kill

But

the guilty queen.

a woman.

higher reward than that for benevolence

kill

Do

her.

There

is

no

patience, sire, has

DUTIES TO OTHERS.

298

And

been commanded by the Perfect One."

king's

feet,

saying

"

he

at

falls

the

king, I feel no pain, and notwith-

standing the inhumanity which has been practised on me,.

My

I do not feel the fire of anger.

my

kindly feeling for

mother,

heart has none but a

who has given

the order to

my eyes torn out. As sure as these words are true,,

may my eyes again become as they were " and his eyes shonehave

in their old splendour as before.

Buddhist poetry has nowhere glorified in more beautiful

v^

and the love of enemies than in the

fashion, forgiveness,

But even here we

narrative of Kunala.
"which floats round

that

feel

cool

air

The wise

pictures of Buddhist morality.

all

man stands upon a height to which no act of man can approach.

He resents no wrong which sinful passion may work him, but
he even

feels

no pain under

which his enemies have power,

this
is

The body, over

wrong.

not himself.

Ungrieved by

the actions of other men, he permits his benevolence to flow

over

all,

me pain and

those

and hatred

know

in

" Those who cause

over the evil as well as the good.

who

cause

not.

me joy, to

all

honour and in dishonour ; throughout I

the perfection of

my

am alike

afi'ection

In joy and sorrow I remain unmoved,

am

alike.

That

is

equanimity.'"*

The Buddhists had a

peculiar jpenchant for systematic

methodical devotion at fixed times to certain modes

and
and

meditations, for which they previously put themselves with due

precision in appropriate postures.

So we have rules which

are highly characteristic of this almost extravagant, quaint

peculiarity of Buddhist praxis, regarding the art

by which a man

is

and method

to foster within himself the disposition of

kindly benevolence to

all

beings in the universe, following the

course of the four-quarters of the heavens.

* " Cariya Pitaka,"

iii,

15.

Buddha

says

BENEVOLENCE TO ALL BEINGS.

" After

reflection^

excui'sion, I

when

go into the

I Lave returned
forest.

291>

from the begging

There I heap together the

blades of grass or the leaves which are there to be found, and I

down on them, with

sit

my

Thus
fills

crossed legs, upright body, surrounding

countenance with vigilant thought

I remain, while I cause the

my

on

sides, in

all

all

my

directions over the whole of the

of hate,

were a magical power ;

it

on them a ray of

and

street

(p.

within him, possesses therein

men and

beasts,

lets loose
"^^

IGO).

when he

among Buddha's

on Buddha a wild elephant

in a

elephant Nalugiri, struck by the Exalted

of his benevolence, lowered his trunk,

Then the

One with

went up

Exalted One was, and stopped before him."t

Ananda

narrow

But the Exalted One exercised on the

elephant Nfdagiri the power of his benevolence.

occasion

lets fall

power, are thereby wondrously subdued

this

Devadatta, the Judas Iscariot

attracted.

disciples,

power of benevolence, which

which doeth no evil."*

Whoever bears benevolence

as

in the

the wide, great, immeasurable (feeling) which

spirit,

knows naught

third, the fourth, above, below,

entire univ^erse I send forth the

fills

with an aureola).

mind, to extend over one quarter of the world

same way over the second, the

across

(as

power of benevolence, which

to

the power

where the

On

another

entreats the Exalted One, to be pleased to

convert to the faith Roja, one of the stranger noblemen of the

* There follow several repetitions of the same passage, in which
instead of " power of benevolence," there occur

power of

pity,

of cheerfulness, power of equanimity (" Auguttara Nikaya," vol.

caiji.

cf.

vol.

ii,

fol.

power
i,

fol.

chu, whore the same spiritual exercises are attributed

" Saiiiyutta !Nikaya," vol. ii, fol. tho'

to Bralimanical ascetics also
" Cbilder's Dictionary," p. 021).
t " Cullavagga," vii, 3, 12. The using of the power of benevolence
;

over the different kinds of snakes as a protection against snake-bite

described previously in v,

G.

;.

is-


300

DUTIES TO OTHERS.

house of
not

is

tlie

Ananda, for the Perfect One

Malla, Roja, to be

the Exalted

" It

Mallas^ inimical to the doctrine of Buddlia.

difficult,

won

to this faith

One extended

and

to cause the

Thereupon

this order."

to Roja, the Malla, the

power

of his

benevolence^ rose from his seat and went into the house.
Roja, the Malla, struck by the Exalted
of his benevolence, went, like a

from one house

the

monks

" Where,

cow

that seeks her

from one

to anothei",

young

cell to another,

venerable men,

calf,

and asked

he now dwelling,

is

Buddha

the Exalted One, the holy, supreme

And

One through the power

I desire to see

him, the Exalted One, the holy, supreme Buddha."*

Place

may be

given in this connection to one of those brief

sketches, in which the fancy of the faithful loved to portray

the conception of Buddha's previous existences.

collection of such sketches

and short

stories,

We possess

admitted into the

sacred canon, which are arranged to illustrate the perfections

or cardinal virtues of the later Buddha.f

passage

'^I lived

slope

under the name of Sama,J

.

drew

and

gazelles

no

tigers,

any being.

No

and

brief

on the mountain

tigers

through the

I lived in the forest surrounded

by panthers,

and boars.

fear of

in a forest

to myself lions

power of my benevolence.
lions

The following

devoted to the virtue of benevolence

is

bears,

creature

The power

is in

by

and wild buffaloes, by

terror of

me, and I have

of benevolence is

my footing,

therefore I dwell on the mountain slope."

It appeared important to follow

* " Mahavagga,"

vi, 36, 4.

t The usual enumeration of

not

all

tliese perfections, whicli are,

beneficence, uprightness, wishlessness,

power, patience, sincerity, steadfastness, benevolence, equa-

nimity.
J

however,

represented in that text (the " Cariya Pitaka") by illustrative

narratives, comprises ten virtues

wisdom,

up the idea of benevolence,

The narrator

is

Buddha

himself.

BENEVOLENCE TO ALL BEINGS.

oOlt

of forgiveness, of goodness even towards enemies, in tlie many-

various forms in whicli

meets

it

ns,

now

garment of

in the

sober reflections, again in the noble robe of pure and

anon veiled

and

poesy,

fantastic

Methodism.

embracing

love,

which gave

its

and

It

was not the emotion

a world-

of

but this peaceful feeling of friendly harmony,

stamp to the common

life

of

Buddha's

disciples,

the Buddhist faith permits even the animal world to

if

and

participate in the blessing of this peace

may

cliildliko

surroundings of a quaint

the

in

this goodwill, this

serve to remind us of the charming tales which Christian

legend has woven round a form like that of the saint Franciscus, the friend of all animals,

to be

and

of all inanimate nature.

the remaining emotional virtues, which arc wont

Among

named

benevolence,

prominent

in conjunction with

the virtue

place

It is significant

the

in

those of uprightness and

beneficence occupied

of

didactic

how completely,

the

most

poetry of the Buddhists.

in the conception of this poetry,

the picture of the highest ideal beneficence melts away into

that of renunciation, of self-sacrificing endurance.
sets perfection before

him

as his goal,

unconditionally surrender everything, even what

to him.

The

which our conception would

limits,

inherent propriety of the

any regard

to

what

gift,

Whoever

must be prepared
is

set to the

are not here applicable; without

the measure of the real benefit thereby

is

extended to the recipient of the

gift,

the legends set before

us as a duty, the most unbounded generosity, pushed even

the extreme of self-destruction.*
*

On

legends,

to

dearest

Though penances,

tO'

as they

the question, as to what, apart from the moralistic poetic of

practical performance of beneficence in the actual life

was the

of the early order,

we

subject in the First Part

refer on the

one hand

on the Life of the Order.

Wo

tlic

remarks on the

and on the other to the Part

cannot refrain from thinking, that the

(p. 143, 166, seq.),

DUTIES TO OTHERS.

302

were

among

tlien practised

by Buddha

as

^^

the ascetics of India, were discarded

vexatious, unworthy, unprofitable," yet motives

of the most closely kindred character maintained their place

Buddhist moral poetry

in

Brahmanical

if

poems

of

tell

marvellous self-mortifications, by which the sages of the past

obtained a power portentous to the

gods themselves,

it

is

not far to go from them to the Buddhist narratives of those

displays of unlimited generosity,

crowned

immeasurable

witli

heavenly reward, in which the proper element of beneficence

vanishes into nothing behind that of ascetic self-sacrifice.

Thus, for instance, in the narrative of Prince Vessantara,

i.e.,

the later

existences.

'^^

Buddha in the last but one of his earthly

The king's son was unjustly driven from the

He

kingdom by the people by a mistake.

treasures, even the waggon on which he
to beo-o-ars,

rode,

gave his

last

and the horses

and he went on with wife and children through the

''When the children saw trees bearing
foot.

burning heat on
fruit in

the forest, they wept, longing for the

they saw the weeping

down

and came down

of themselves

they came

to the

in a leaf -hut.

Vanka mountain

When

fruit.

mighty trees bowed

children, the lofty,

to the children."

At

last

there they lived as hermits

" I and the princess Maddi, and the two children,

and Kanhajina, dwelt

in the hermitage, each dissipating

the sorrow of the others.

I remained in the hermitage to

Jfdi

guard the children

them

Maddi gathered wild

to us there for food.

When

forest, there came a beggar,

fruits

who asked me

the two, Jali and Kanhajina.

and brought

was there dwelling

When

for

my

in the

children,

saw the beggar who

treatment of beneficence in Buddhist morals would have been more soimd

and less prolix, it' it were not that here a virtue was being handled, in
a position to iDractise whicli, the pauper monk could scarcely ever be.
* " Cariya Pitaka," i, 9. Cf. Hardy, Manual, 118.


BENEFICENCE TEE STORY OF VE8SANTARA.

my

come, I smiled, and I took

Tiad

them

When

Brahman,

to the

two

and gave

cliildron

made over my

303

children to

Jujaka the Brahman, the earth quaked, the forest-crowned

Meru

And

shook.

again

came

it

Sakka came down from heaven

me

he asked

Then

I took

to

pass,

in the

form

him with

to

him Maddi, the gods

in

filled

wife, I

her hands with water,*

Wlien

cheerful heart.

heaven were

.glad,

gave

and again the

Meru shook.

earth quaked, and the forest-crowned

my

Brahman;

Maddi, the princess, the virtuous and true.

for

Maddi by the hand,

and I gave Maddi

Kanhajina,

the god

that
of a

Jjlli

and

daughter, and Maddi, the princess, the true

gave away, and I counted

it

not loss so that I might

win the Baddhahood."

Another of these narratives of Buddha's past existences

is

the following " Story of the wise hare.^f

"And
mountain

again in another
forest

life

I ate grass

and did no being any harm.

and

I,

late.

is

An

is

ape, a jackal, a

But

I instructed

good and what

evil

them

in duties

abstain from

the holy day

otter,

early

and

and taught them what

evil, incline to

full,

in a

fruits,

young

we dwelt together and we were seen together

holy days when I saw the moon

them

was a hare, that lived

and vegetables, leaves and

I said to

On

good.

them

'

to-day

have alms in readiness that ye may disjDcnse

Give alms according to merit and spend

to the worthy.

the holy day in fasting.'

Then

said they

'
:

So be

and

it/

according to their power and ability they got their offerings

ready and looked for one who might be worthy to receive

them.

But

which I was

sat

down and sought

to offer

'

If I find a

in

my

mind

for a gift,

worthy object, what

is

* For the solemn surrender o Maddi, with a hbation of water

the completion of a dedication.

t The narrator

is

Buddha

himself.

Carina PitaJca,

i,

10.

my

as for

304

DUTIES TO OTHERS.

gift to

be

have not sesame, nor beans, nor

nor

rice,

I live on grass only; one cannot offer grass.

butter.

me and

worthy person comes to

me

asks

to give

If a

him

food,

then I shall give him myself; he shall not go hence empty-

Thereupon Sakka

handed.'

(the

king of gods) discerned

Brahman

thoughts, and came in the form of a

put

me

spake to him joyfully these words

thou comest to

me

to seek food.

not erst been given,

shall

to inflict pain
fire;

He

consume me.'

wood and stacked

the middle and a

When

roast

said

it

A noble

gift,

such as hath

give thee

this

Thou

day.

But go gather wood and

it/

roasted

thou

mayest

and he gladly gathered

He

in a great heap.

was soon kindled

fire

not thy character

is

it

myself;

So bo

put living coals in

then he shook off

the dust, which covered his powerful limbs, and sat

before the

fire.

When

the midst of the burning

As

and comfort, so the flaming

all

my

fire into

torment.

fresh-water quenches the

members, I have given

Buddha's

itinerancy

to the

last existeuce, the

it,

as

it

for

my

whole body with

to do,

One himself

who

is

and
all

Brahman. '^
days of attained sanctity, of

and teaching, are not adorned

him

like fresh-

Cuticle and skin, flesh

in the narratives of

the order with any such marvels of self-sacrifice.

are

gives vitality

which I leaped,

sinews, boues, heart and ligaments,

its

down

to send

and plunged into

into the air

fire.

torment of heat for him who dives into

water, quelled

wood began

the great heap of

up flame and smoke, I leaped

'Tis well that

on any creature.
I will

my

cover to

'

observest the duties of uprightness

kindle a

my

and see what I would give him.

to the test

saw him,

to

Good works

pressing on to perfection.

The

'^

hath overcome both shackles, good and

* " Dliammapada," 412.

Buddhism here stands wholly on the ground

Perfect
evil."*

of the Brahmanical philosophy which preceded

it,

vide supra, p. 48.

MORAL SELF-CULTURE.

Moral

Self-culture.

The most important part

of moral

according to Buddhist notions

man

externally, from

30.'>

man, or more

to

own

his

discipline

inner

life,

" Step by

the exercise of

in

sterp,

moment, must he who

is

by

piece

in the scope

incessant

self-

moment by

piece^

cleanse

wise,

lie

owing

correctly speaking,

from each being to the being nearest him, but

of

not

does

action

duties which arc

in

ego from

his

all

impurity, as the goldsmith refines silver."*

The ego, whose

reality

remained

to metaphysics

an unsolved

enigma, hero becomes for ethical speculation a determinate

power, before which everything external to
the background as something foreign.

acknowledged

be the worthiest object of

to

vanishes into

it

To

find the ego

all

search, to

" By

a friend of the ego the truest and highest friendship.

thine ego spur on thy ego

by thine ego explore thine ego

monk, well guarding thine ego and

so shalt thou,
live in happiness.

For the protection of the ego

the refuge of the ego

is

the ego

man

establish his

instruct others

own ego

in the

good

" First of

leading notions,

manner a succession of

which Buddhist ethic has divided the

steps, into

diiferent ranges of

and

self-purifi-

on the part of the ego, the scholastic system

allots

* *'Dhammapada,"239.

t " Dhammapada," 379,

moral

To the

uprightness, self-concentration, and wisdom.

duties of internal watchfidness, self-education,

cation,

all let

thus shall the wise remain free from misery ."f

constituting in a certain

then only can ho

We have already (p. 288) touched those three

action

vigilant,

the ego

is

therefore keep thy ego in

subjection, as a horse-breaker a noble steed."

is

make

scq., 158.

20

-fC^

MORAL SELF- CULTURE.

306

middle place, between

External

rectitude

and second of these ranges.

tlie first

the

is

which

from

foundation,

alone

proceeding, can those internal and deeper tasks of morality

be performed, and these tasks again occupy a preparatory

position as.^&e regards the last, finishing forces of spiritual effort,
self-concentration

The standard expressions,

and wisdom.

by which the language

of the schools describes the class of

moral duties in question and inserts them in the described

manner

in that threefold class, are the headings

of the

senses, vigilance

and

attention, to

added the idea of contentment

We

want).*

subjection, so that

all

may

they

which endanger

its

the

further

is

feeling

of

senses

in

other

by dwelling on external

not,

to the

peace and purity.

We

ego impresare to direct

our movements with vigilant consciousness ;f whether

walk or stand, whether we

* In the

Pfili

sit

or

is

to

fostered

this are

we

down, whether we talk or

Tlie closer

be found in the Samaiiuaphala Sutta

and recurs elsewhere very frequently

With

lie

inclriyasamvara, satisampajafma, santuttlii.

examination of these notions

all

them and convey

objects, find pleasure in

sions

(absence of

must keep the eye and

government

which

in the sacred tests.

connected several half-bodily, half-spiritual exercises,

by Buddhism with

such

great fondness, which,

seems

it

probable, occupied a very prominent place in the monks' allotment

here select only one of them, " vigilance in inhaling
of time.

We

and exhaling."

"

monk,

disciples,

or dwells at the foot of a tree, or dwells

down with

legs

body

crossed,

tenance with watchful thought.

<?xhales

with consciousness.

who
in

bolt upright,

He

dwells in

the forest,

an empty chamber,
surrounding

his

sits

coun-

inhales with consciousness, he

If he draws in a long breath, he

knows

am drawing in a long breath.' If he exhales a long breath, he knows

*
I am exhaling a long breath.' If he draws in a short breatli he knows
Buddha calls this exercise
I am drawing in a short breath,' and so on.
it drives away the evil that rises in man
profitable and enjoyable
(" Vinaya Pitaka," vol. iii, p. 70, seq.). If the disciples are asked, how
'

INTERNAL WATCHFULNESS.

he

we

silent,

that

wo

are to think of what

We

be done becomingly.

it

what we carry on our

are doing, and take care

should need nothing, but

persons,, like the bird in the air

has no treasure, and carries nothing with

which bear

whithersoever

it

307

but

it

its

which
wings,

wishes.

it

In contact with j)eople of worldly occupation the most

scrupulous caution must be observed.

'^

As

one, wlio*has

no

shoes, walks over thorny ground, watchfully picking his steps,

so

the wise

let

man walk

in the

and

juice

When

man

village,

from

he

all

monk,

when

is

but sucks

its

in the village. "t

has completed his begging excursion through the

to

examine himself, whether he has remained free

Buddha

internal dangers.

Silriputta,

flower,

man walk

on, so let the wise

flies

'^As the bee

village."*

damages not the colour or perfume of the

must thus

was going

solicited alms,

reflect

to collect alms,

and on

my way

'

says to Sariputta:J

On my way

and

in the places

back from the

"A

to the village,

village,

where I
have I in

the forms which the eye perceives, experienced pleasure, or

desire, or hatred, or distraction, or

my mind V

anger in

If

the monk, Sariputta, on thus examining himself, discovers

'

On my way

to the village, etc., I

have in the forms which

the eye perceives, experienced pleasure,

monk,

Sariputta, endeavour to

Buddha spends

etc.,^

free

then must this

from these

evil,

the rainy season, they are to answer, 'Buried in watcli-

fulness of inhahng and exhaling,

spend

become

friends, the

his time during the rainy season.'

"

Exalted One

is

Samyutta Nilcdya,

wont
vol.

to
iii,

fol. vi.

* " Thei'ag:Ulm,"

fol. gii.

t " Dhammapada,"

49.

X Pintlapataparisuddhisutta (Majjliima iXikaya).

There follow after this repetitions of the same question in reference
to

"the sounds which the ear hears," and the other senses

witli tluir

objects.

20*

f;

308

MORAL SELF-CULTURE.

But

treacherous emotious.

etc.,^

if

the

monk

Sai-iputta,

who submits

I have not experienced pleasure,

then should this monk,

Sariputta, be glad and rejoice:

himself to this test, finds

Happy the man who has long accustomed his mind to good "
" As a woman or a man,'' it is said in another Sutta,* ''who is
!

young and takes a delight

in being clean, looks at his face in a

bright, clear mirror, or in a clear stream of water, and,

smudge or

discovers therein any

this
is

smudge

glad:

or spot, but

if

That^s good! I

sees that he

is

spot, takes pain to

clean

But

evil,

rejoice

those

he sees

treacherous emotions, this

Happy

that which

if

who

the man,

evil,

that,

monk

he

treacherous

all
is

is to

those

free

evil,

from

all

be glad and

has long accustomed his mind to

!"

good

is

monk, who

so also the

!^

all

emotions, must endeavour to become free from

those

ho

he sees therein no smudge or spot,

am

not yet free from

treacherous emotions.

if

remove

Incessantly and ever in

new

forms,

we

find the admonition

repeated, not to take the show of moral action for the reality,

not to remain clinging to the external, when salvation can

come alone from

avail nothing

It is all very well to

within.

eye and ear from

evil,

were the blind and deaf the most

else

The purpose, with which we speak and

value of
acts

are

word and
wanting

thought; thought

He who

consists.

guard the

but mere not-seeing and not-hearing

action
:

the

perfect.

act, is decisive of

word alone

is

the

worthless, where

" Our whole existence depends on our

is its

noblest factor;

in thought its state

speaks or acts with impure thoughts, him

sorrow follows, as the wheel follows the foot of the draught

animal.

thought

Our
is

its

whole

existence

noblest factor

depends

on our

thought

in thought its state consists.

* Amuiianasutta (Majjhima Nikaya).

t Indn'jabluivaiiasutta

(Majjli. N.).

MAKA, THE EVIL ONE.

He

wlio speaks or acts with pure

like the

joy follows,

tlioiiglits^ liim

shadow which never forsakes him."

''

He

Avho speaks

wise words, but does not act up to them, the fool

many
li,

S09

herd who counts the cows of others

nobility of the

monks.

He who

is like

he has no share in the

speaks only a few wise words,

but walks in the law of truth, who gets rid of love and hate,

and of

who

infatuation,

has knowledge and whoso niiud has

found deliverance, who hankers after nothing in heaven or on

monks."*

earth, he has part in the nobility of the

Mara, the Evil One.

The

toil,

by which the

spirit

seeks purity,

rest,

and

ance, pictures itself to the religious consciousness of

as a struggle against a hostile power.

deliver-

Buddhism

This power of the

evil,

of the sorrow, which opposes a resistance to man's escape from

its

shackles,

from

aloof

whence

this

comes

it ?

Buddhist thought holds

If the question of the

problem.

sorrow "-f be asked, this question merely directs

taining

how sorrow

originates in us,

by what

"

origin of

itself to ascer-

sluice the

world-

deluging stream of sorrow-fraught impermanencc finds

way

whence
add

One

But

into our existence.

it

comes that there

is

if

its

one were to seek to know,

sorrow at

this to the too inquisitive questions,

all,

Buddhism would

on which the Exalted

has revealed nothing, because they are not profitable to

happiness.
.sorrow

To be

curious about the origin of evil and of

would amount

to nothing less than prying into the

origin of the universe, for the innermost essence of the world

* " Dhammapada,"

1, 2, 19,

20.

formuln of
t Eemember the second of the four sacred truths and the
^causality.

310

mAra, the evil one.

according to Buddhism consists in

that

evil,

it is

tliis, tliat

one by

It is not, therefore, as the

whom

chief seducer to evil thought,

word and deed,

to-

as the-

all evil,

that the creed

Buddhas looks upon Mara, the Evil One, the Prince of

Deaths for Mara means death.*

with

subject

has come into

evil

the world, but rather as the supreme lord of

of the

is

it

a state of continual sorrow.

its

pleasures

is

the spheres of the

the

The kingdom

kingdom of death.

universe, which

of this world

In the highest of

are given over to

the

dominion of pleasure, he rules with his hosts as a powerful

god

thence he comes

attack the

kingdom

To simple
as

Buddha, as

down

men and

it is

all

and space, every whit

But philosophic

gods.

which sees the enemy of peace and happiness

power

as real

thought,,

in the impersonal

of a universal law swaying the external world, regu-

lating origination
to

his object to

his saints.

a personal existence, a personality,

is

confines of time
all

when

to earth,

Buddha and

Mara

faith

by the

limited

of

push

this

and decease, has naturally a tendency

conception of

Mara

into the

either

background or

amplify his personal existence into a universal.

Mara^s actually ceasing to be looked upon as a person,

contents

of

Wherever there

the whole universe

is

Mara, there
:J

is

subjected

sorrow,

is

there

the being of

is

an ear

thinking and thought, there

world. f

is

" Mara, Mara, thus people say,

sire, consists

sorrow.

to

an eye and form, wherever there

and sound, wherever there

Buddha

the-

being become so wide as to have room to embrace

limits of his

the

to-

Without

Mara

'^

Eadha
sire.

is

says to

Wherein,,

" Where there

is

cor-

* Concerning the mythological elements, which have suppHed the

materials for-the conception of Mara,

t " Samyutta Nikaya,"

J Ibid,

vol.

i,

fol.

no.

vol.

ii,

fol.

we

khu.

refer to p. 54 scq.,"note p. 89.

MARA, THE EVIL ONE.

Radha, there

poreal fonn*^

or he

who

is

dying.

Mara

is

is

(Dcatli), or

he who

kills,

Kadha, look upon corporeal

Thoreibrc,

form as being Mara, or that it

311

ho who

kills,

or he

who

is

dying,

or sickness, or an abscess, or a wounding dart, or impurity, or

impure existence.

Whoever regards

it

thus, understands

it

correctly.^'

Mara

not everlasting, as there

is

is

nowhere

domain

in the

origination and decease an everlasting permanent.

But

of"

as

long as worlds revolve in their orbits and beings die and are

born again, new Maras are evermore appearing with ever new
hosts of gods,

who

are subject to

that the existence of

Mara

is

them

and thus wo may say

actually eternal in that sense in

which alone eternal existence can be conceived by Buddhist

speculation.

In thoge discourses and legends which speak of Mara, the

we meet with none

tempter,

of

that

gloomy tragedy with

which we are accustomed

to fancy the diabolical, deadly foe

The

colours and grand outlines for the

of

good surrounded.

dark form of a Lucifer were not at the command of the

Buddhist

They narrate

monk-poets.

enough conceived, legends

and

his pious followers,

Brahman, and

petty,

of the attacks of

how he appears

at

often

poorly

Mara on Buddha
one

time as a

at another as a husbaiidman, at another as

elephant-king, and in

many

other different forms

an

comes to

shake their sanctity by temptations, their faith and their

knowledge by
If a holy

lies.f

man makes

* Tlien similarly

formation

is

his excursion for alms in vain

where sensation

where consciousness

is

where

pcrecptiou

is

and

where

is.

few such narratives have already been touched upon, supra

p. 116, 258.

The

" Sainyutta

in the MarasaTpyutta.

Nikaya"

gives a whole collection of

them

//

MARA, THE EVIL ONE.

312
nowliero obtains a

gift,

Mara's work

is

it

if tlio

people in

a village ridicule pious monks with derisive gestures, Mara

lias

entered into tliem

when Ananda

in the critical

moment

before Buddha's death neglected to ask the Master to prolong

end of

his earthly existence to the

mundane

this

happened because Mara had bewildered

time/' as

we

One was

read,* *Hhe Exalted

his

mind

jiess,

"^

it

so

At one

living in the land of

When

Kosala, in the Himalaya, in a log-hut.

One was

period,

his mind.

the Exalted

thus living retired in hermitage, this thought entered

'

king

It is possible really to rule as a

in righteous-

without killing or causing to bo killed, without practising

oppression or permitting oppression to be practised, without

suffering pain or inflicting pain

in the

Then Mara, the

on another.'

mind the thought which had

Evil One, perceived in his

mind of the Exalted One, and he approached

One and spake thus

'

May the

may

to rule as a king,

Exalted One,

tle

sire,

arisen

Exalted

be pleased

the Perfect One be pleased to rule

as a king in righteousness, without killing or causing to be

killed,

without practising oppression or permitting oppression

to be practised, without suffering pain or inflicting pain

Buddha

another.'

challenges

him

'

What

me ?

thou Evil One, that thou speakest thus to

'

The Exalted One,

power

own

his

if

'

Mara

says

has made the fourfold miraculous

sire,

on

dost thou see in me,

the Exalted One,

sire,

desired, he

could ordain that the Himalaya, the king of mountains, should

become gold, and

him away

it

would turn

what would

even a mountain of

it

silver or of

prehended sorrow, whence

to desire

it

He who knows

Buddha motions

to gold.'

profit the wise

gold

springs,

man,
'

if

has com-

how can he bend himself

that earthly existence

* " Samyuttaka Nikaya,"

he possessed

He who

vol.

i,

fol.

gha'.

is

a fetter in

THE LAST STAGES OF THE PATH OF SALVATION,

him

tliis "world, let

One knows

the Perfect

said,

'

313

free therefrom.'

The Exalted One knows me,

me,' and disconcerted and disheartened

he rose and went away "

of these narratives

him

practise that which sets

Then Mara, the Evil One,

ETC.

the

invarial3le obvious conclusion

Buddha looks through

the Evil

One and

turns his temptations to naught.

Of the precautions which the

religious should adopt with

constant vigilance against the machinations of Mara, liuddha

speaks in the fable of the tortoise and the jackal.*

once a

tortoise, that

to seek her food.

seek for prey.

There was

went in the evening to the bank of a river

And
When

there went also a jackal to the river to

the tortoise saw the jackal, she hid

all

her limbs in her shell and dived quietly and fearlessly into the

The

water.

jackal ran

and waited

one of her limbs from her

move

was obliged

so the jackal

go away.

'^

Thus,

disciples,

evermore

lurking for you and

access to

them by the door of

until she should put forth

But the

shell.

Mara

tortoise did not

his prey

and

also is constantly

and

give

to

cogitating
their eye

up

'

or,

gain

shall

by

door

tlio

of their ear, or of their nose, or of their tongue, or of their

body, or of their thought,

Therefore,

disciples,

then will Mara, the Evil One, give

when he

finds

was obliged

gain

shall

access

to

guard the doors of your senses

them.'
.

up and forsake you,

it

he cannot find any access to you, as the jackal

to depart

The Last Stages

from the

op the

tortoise.

})

Path op Salvation

Abstractions

Saints and Buddhas.

Thus

is

the inimical purpose of

Mara

in league with the

inimical natural law of the sorrow-causing chain of causes and

* " Samyuttaka IS'ikaya,"

vol.

ii,

fol. ja.

THE LAST STAGES OF THE FATH OF SALVATION,

314

In the wilderness of

effects.

ETC.

sanhhdras, of

tlie

restless,

substanceless procession,

darkness, the

>^
/

From

neither slight nor brief.

moment

struggle

to

The struggle

sorrow.

that

undulating-

forward,

when

the conviction dawns upon a soul, that this battle must be

first
^

and

combatants stand, who

solitary

find the exit from this labyrinth of

is

surging

ever

in

fought, that there

is

a deliverance which can be gained

up

that first beginning of the struggle

countless ages of the world pass away.

heavenly worlds, and worlds of hells

arise

and pass away,

all eternity.

go, die

Gods and men,

victorious,

who

end.

this endless tide of all

are seeking deliverance,

now advancing

and anon driven back, press on

The path reaches beyond

torment,

and passed away from

animated beings, come and

and are born again, and amid

things, the beings

and

all

Earth worlds and

also, states of

as they have arisen

from

to the final victory,,

to their goal.

the range of the eye, but

it

has an

After countless wanderings through worlds and ages

the goal at last appears before the wanderer's gaze.

his sense of victory there

victory

won by

his

is

And

in

mingled a feeling of pride for the

own power.

The Buddhist has no god

to

thank, as he had previously no god to invoke during his

struggle.

The only

The gods bow before him, not he before the gods.

help,

which can be imparted to the struggle, comes

from those like himself,

Buddhas and

fi'om those

he now wrestles, and who cannot,

victory, but can

Buddhism,
religious life

to

who have gone before, the

who have wrestled as

their enlightened disciples,

show him the path

closely following a

which preceded

the victory which

abstraction, in

is

it,

it

is

true, grant

common

feature of all Indian

regards as stages preparatory

won, certain exercises of

which the religieux withdraws

from the external world with

him the

to victory.

its

his

spiritual

thoughts

motley crowd of changing

THE STRUGGLE FOR HAPPINESS.

ol5

own

ego, afar from

forms, to anticipate in tbe stillness of his

pain and pleasure, the cessation of the impermanent.

devotion of abstraction

is to

Buddhism what prayer

The

to other

is

religions.

actually
life

doubted that protracted and methodically

cannot bo

It

pursued

superinduce states

to

efforts

of

of the

The prose

monks.

manner disturb

are reprimanded

their brothers at

Monks who

moments

a careful housekeepei%

have

the spiritual

in

as well as the poetry of the

sacred texts bears ample testimony to this.

noisy

abstraction

formed a very prominent element

b}''

of abstraction

when he

assigns the

brothers their resting places, does not omit to arrange for those
of

them who are endowed with the

lodging, so that they

also

may not be

gift of abstraction, a separate

disturbed by others.*

of delight in the solitude of the forest cheered

of holy abstraction.

sees

no other,

Come, then

Buddha
dwell,

it is

"

If before me,

therein

it

is

good

for the solitary

sUa

perfection. In the

Alone without comrades

shall I

by the blessing

behind me,

my

eye

Into solitude will I go, into the forest, which

praises

who seeks

alone.

if

truly pleasant to dwell alone in the forest.

in the cool mountain cave, will I

"

And

through the poems of the monk-poets there runs a vein

monk

to

forest rich in blossoms,

wash

my body

and walk

in the lovely forest

when

have gained the goal ? Avhen shall I be free from sins ?"t

When

the thunderclouds in heaven beat the drum,

floods of water

choke the paths of the

air,

when

and the monk

the
in a

mountain cave surrenders himself to abstraction, he can have

no greater

joy.

On banks

of flower-bestrewn streams, wliicli

* " MaLavagga," v, 6 " Cullavagga," iv, 4, 1.

t " Theragatba," saying of the Ekavibariya Tlicra
;

(fol. klic).

THE LAST STAGES OF THE PATH OF SALVATIOK,

516

are garlanded witli motley forest-crowns^

in abstraction

The

can

lie

no

liave

liiglier

lie sits

ETC.

joyfully wrapt

joj."^

descriptions in the prose Sutras which deal with these

conditions

mind, although the scholastic accessories

the

of

of doubtful or imaginary psychological categories materially

impair the objectivity of the picture, leave no room to doubt

that here circumstances of a pathological kind also, as well as
qualities

which a sound mind

The

have played a part.

abundantly

at

is

must

in a position to induce,

predispositions to these were super-

In men who were by the power of a

hand.

from existence in the regular relations of

religious idea torn

home-life, the physical consequences of a wandering mendicant

life,

combined with

exhaustion of

spiritual over- excitement,

the nervous system, might easily produce a tendency to morbid

phases of this kind.

We

hear of hallucinations of the sight

" heavenly

as well as of the hearing, of

From

sounds. "t

ment,

it

is

the days

related

how he

visions ^^

when Buddha
sees

and " heavenly

aspired to enlighten-

" a ray of light and the vision

of forms," or even a ray of light alone and again forms only.

The appearances

of deities also, or of the tempter of

whom

the legends have so

much

hallucinations.

visions of this kind are, comparatively

Still,

to relate, betray the existence of

-speaking, isolated occurrences.

concentration

'^

The normal type of "

was that which appears in the

'^

self-

four stages of

abstraction (jhana)," mentioned and described times without

number.
sat

In a quiet chamber, but oftener in the

down, "with crossed

legs,

body

-countenance with vigilant thought."

erect,

JS.ff.,

man

Thus he persevered

* " Theragatha," saying of the Thera Bliuta

forest, a

surrounding his

Mahalisuttanta (Diglia N.).

X Upakilesiya Suttanta (Majjhima N.).

(fol.

khu').

in

O1
31

SELF-CONCENTBATION.
body, and

long-continued motionlessness of

freed

successively from the disturbing elements of " desire

himself

and

evil

emotions/^ of ''deliberation and reflection/^ of joy and sorrow;

at

last

Thus the

even breathing stopped.

''collected,

purified,

ready to be wrought, firm and unflinching."

sin, pliant,

was the condition

in

This

which the sense of clairvoyant knowledge

of the rationale of the universe

became

As

active.

the secret

of creation revealed itself to Christian enthusiasts in

men imagined

ecstasy, so in this case

of

became

spirit

from impurity, free from

free

refined,

over the past of their

own ego through

moments

they looked back

countless periods of

transmigration, imagined they saw throughout the universe

wandering beings, how they are dying and being born again,
imagined they could penetrate the thoughts of others.
the possession of

miraculous powers,

Even

the capability of

of

vanishing and reappearing, of the capability of multiplying

the individual ego,

is

alleged in connection with this state of

In addition to

abstraction.

this there is talk of

acquired concentration of the mind,

v.^hich,

an otherwise

without pathological

ingredients, rests solely on a progressive and methodical abstraction from the plurality of the
this

house of Migaramata

stallions

'

not empty only in one

is

empty of monks, so

gets rid of the notion

forest,'

it

"As

cattle, of

and gold, empty of the

silver

men and women, and

respect, viz., not

phenomenal world.*

empty of elephants and

and mares, empty of

crowds of

'

is

also

Ananda

the

monk

man,^ and thinks only on the notion

then he perceives that emptiness has entered

his notions in respect of the notion

has entered in respect of the notion

'

'

village,'

man

alone present in respect to the notion

the notion " forest " also

is

got rid

'

;'

and emptiness

non-emptiness

forest.'

of,

"

And

is

next

so that the notion

* Culasufiilatasutta (Majjli. N.).

318

"

THE LAST STAGES OF THE PATH OP SALVATION, ETC.

eartli

''

attained with the omission of

is

all tlie

similar

way

to the notion of

lessness of reason," of

multitudinous

mind mounts

variety of the earth's surface; thence the

in a

" endlessness of space/' of " end-

" nothing-whatever-ness," step by step

approaching deliverance.*

As

that which accomplishes deliverance

is

wisdom,

i.e.,

the

knowledge of the Doctrine, the knowledge principally of the

four sacred ti'uths,

wisdom and

mutual support and aid

is

" There

abstraction lend each other

is

no abstraction where there

not wisdom, no wisdom where there

Truly he

is

not abstraction.

near the Nirvana, in Avhom abstraction dwells and

is

wisdom. "t
Side by side with the doctrine of abstractions there was
:another doctrine matured, which, like
last stages of the

path of deliverance

it,

had as

scope the

its

the theory of the four

graded classes in which believers who are approaching the

goal are arranged, according to the greater or lesser perfection
-of their

In the older text

saintliness.

* It

is

moved,

this doctrine

Men

comparatively speaking, in the background.

were then

not impossible that these imaginations, which are liere attained

in the normal
logical form,

path, of progressive abstraction,

when

of space, which

it is

is

said

meant

"

to

He

appeared also

in a patho-

raises himself to the stage of infinity

convey: 'Endless

is

space'

he

himself to the stage of nothing- whatever-ness, which means

'

raises

There

is

nothing whatever.' " The pantheistic mysticism derived from Brahmanical

speculation

may

here possibly join contact with the morbid conditions of

spiritual void familiar to psychiatry.

from a Buddhist Sutra, where

It sounds, in fact, like a translation

(" Geisterkraukheiteu," p. 100)

:"
describes the " universal feeling of the nothing free from every effect

" jS'othiug exists, and there

is

Schiile

and

will

be nothing "

these

being the

words of a patient afflicted with this feeling. For Brahmanical doctrine

parallel to the Buddhist doctrine of Abstractions, compare specially
"

Yogasutra,"

i,

42, seq.

t " Dhammapada," 372.

SELF-CONCENTRATION.

'6V.}

content with defining only a double event in

who hear and

accept Buddha's teaching.

ledge of the imperinanence of

souls of tlioso

tlie

At

first

the

know-

being dawns upon them,

all

then bursts upon them," as the standard expression of the

^'

texts runs, " the clear

thing whatever that

They

decease."

and

spotless vision of the truth

all

He who

being.

knowledge and perseveres as a monk

this

may hope

every-

impermanence necessarily

discern painful

inherent in the existence of

origination, is also liable to

is liable to

has attained

in earnest endeavour,

and reach the stage where,

to take even the last step

''by the cessation of the hankering (after the earthly), his soul

becomes

free

from sins

tion, deliverance,

We

refrain

:"

the ultimate aim of spiritual aspira-

and sanctity.*

from unfolding

system of the

in this place the

four graded classes of believers, of later date, as

be, and over weighted, as

cumbrous

it

To the

scholastic accessories. t

* The narrative of Bucldlia's

vagga," Book

first

appears to

belonffino-

one

to

discourses and conversions ("Malia-

ample vouchers

I) gives

it

with ever more increasingly

is,

for both grades of this succession

of steps.

We

more

reserve for the third excursus at the close of this work, a

detailed examination of the texts, which give the psychological attributes

Here we content

of the four stages.

characteristics of those stages,

ourselves with stating

brief

tlie

which arc not unfrequently met

in the

sacred writings {e.g.,vide "Mahaparinibbana Sutta,"p.l6, seq.). The lowest

class

is

made up

of the Sotapanna,

(of sanctification).
ties,

Of them

it is

they have attained the path

lower worlds

(hells, spirit

sure (of deliverance)

those

i.e.

said

"

By

who have

attained the path

the annihilation of the three

they are not

liable to rc-birth in

worlds, and world of lower animals)

the

they are

they shall attain the highest knowledge."

The

next higher class is that of the Sakadagami (" those who return onco ")
" By the annihilation of the three lies, by the suppression of desire,
hatred and frivolity, they have become 'once-returning:'

when they

have returned once only to this world, they shall attain the end of
sorrow."

Then

follow the

Anagami ("the

not-rcturniag

")

"By

the

THE LAST STAGES OF TEE PATH OF SALVATION,

320

ETC.

or other of tliese grades there were^ moreover, attached no

claims to a more or less prominent position in the Order;
far each individual

had advanced

of sanctity, was an

affau",

how

in his approach to the goal

which wholly concerned his own

heart only and of which the Order as such took no notice.*

The highest

of these stages, that of complete deliverance,

How

regarded as attainable by monks alone.f

was

could those

who had renounced everything

earthly for the sake of their

salvation, concede that eternal

freedom from the world and

sorrows of the world

the outer

man

compatible Avith the continuance of

is

Yet an exception was made

in worldly life ?

favour of pious lay-disciples,

at least in their death

not in the matter of their

if

a believing, wise layman, who directs

anBihilation of the five first ties tlaey Iiave

originate of tliemselves

{i.e.

being begotten or born

gods)

who

this

is

come

(in

the world of gods)

they are

who have deserved

hands of the Order, had some share, to

perfect holiness could

It seems that in the construction

of this class, special consideration for the laity,

lay standing

be beings, who

the case of the higher worlds of the

not liable to return from that world."

at the

to

enter upon the state of being without

they attain the Nirvana up there

not:

whom

highest of the four stages and last

is

well

because of their

be attributed, but to

whom

condition very nearly approaching thereto could not be denied.

The view taken by Childers

in

life,

that of the Arhat,

(" Diet.," p. 268, cf. 444), that

i.e.,

The

the Saint.

any higher of

the four stages could not be attained, without having passed the lower
successively,

is

wholly inaccurate, at least as regards the older period

which alone I venture to give an opinion.

* Only in one place, as far as I know, does Buddhist Church-law

of Buddhist dogmatic, on

attach any legal importance to a monk's belonging to one of the four

stages

man who had

killed a saint could not receive monastic orders

Mahavagga," i, 66), Still, it is possible, that the word " saint " is here
used, as a remnant of a very ancient mode of speech, in a non-technical
signification, and that the injunction in its original sense prohibited
("

generally the admission of a murderer of a

monk

to the Order.

Strictly taken the word Arhat ("saint") signifies this, i.e., "one
has a claim " it is to be supplied : on pious charity and veneration.

who

THE BUDDHAS.
his

thoughts,

last

eartlily being,

his

longings,

last

becomes participator

Mahanama,

321

that between

the

to

in this prize.

cessation

"I

a lay disciple, whose soul has

reached this stage of deliverance, and a monk, whose soul

freed from

of

tell thee,

is

impurity, there exists no difference, as far as

all

concerns the state of their deliverance/^*

High above

these four stages stand those perfect ones, "

who

have of themselves alone become partakers of the Buddhahood " (Paccekabuddha) they have won the knowledge that
:

brings deliverance; not as disciples of one of the holy, universal

Buddhas, but of their own power, yet their perfection does not
extend so far that they could preach

it

to the world.

The

sacred texts seldom touch this notion of the Paccekabuddh;is

it

can only have played an entirely secondary part in tbe

ancient Order's circle of conceptions.

Paccekabuddhas were thought

earlier ages,

when

to

It appears that the

have lived chiefly in the

there were no universal

Buddhas and no

Orders founded by them; the notion of a Paccekabuddha seems

been principally intended to imply that even in such

to have

periods the door of deliverance

powerful

effort.

is

not shut against earnest and

But the doctrine

* " Sainyuttata Niktiya,"

vol.

iii,

advanced, that the

later

fol. lau.

The later doctrine, not yet

advanced, as far as I know, in the sacred texts, construes this to mean,

that even a layman can attain holiness, but that he

the weight thereof, just as a blade of grass

weight of a heavy- stone.

he

He

is

is

not able to sustain

unable to support the

must, therefore, on the same day on which

attains holiness, either receive monastic orders, or, as the external

requisites for this cannot always be complied with,

Nirvana

("

Milinda Pafiha,"

wantonly formal conception,

p.

he must enter into

265). In the same connection

also, as far as I

that

know, foreign as yet to the

sacred tests, grows up, that the more highly endowed believers generally
attain deliverance " in the barber's shop,"

i.e.,

during the performance of

tonsure, which marks the passage from the worldly to the rehgious

21

life.

-^

TEE LAST STAGES OF TEE PATH OF SALVATION, ETC

322

appearance of Paccekabuddhas
ages, is not, as far as

is

is,

the Paccekabuddhas
is

consequently, to

own

accordance

the dog-

-with,

" In the whole universe/' says

matic of the sacred Pali texts.

Buddha^* "there

confined exclusively to those

appearS;, in

it

except me only, no one who is equal to

" the existence of saints of this grade

all

appearance, admitted even in Buddha's

time.

Above the four grades

last

of

all,

of believers

and

saints, there

embodying in themselves the essence

stand

of every

supreme perfection, the " exalted, holy, universal Buddhas."

It

may

cause surprise, that

dogma

sketch mentions the

it

is

only in this place that our

of the Buddhas,

somewhat as an

appendix to other more essential groups of thought.

Is the

must

doctrine of Buddha's personality a secondary matter,

it

not be a fundamental part of the Buddhist

much
is

At
I

as in our regard the doctrine of the personality of Christ

f andamental,

creed

nay, the fundamental part of the Chi-istian

hardly any other point does the general similarity of

these two lines of evolution appear to diverge more determinately than at this point.

undoubtedly correct to
;

faith, quite as

be in

all essentials

idea of the
ineffaceable
iu

It

may sound

say, that the

what

it

actually

Buddha being conceived

memory

of

paradoxical, but

it

is

Buddhist doctrine might

is,

and yet admit

apart from

Buddha's earthly

life,

it.

of the

That the

that the belief

Buddha's word as the word of truth, subjection to Buddha's

law as the law of holiness

that

all

these considerations were

* "Apadana," fol. ki of the Pliayre MS. Also when it is said, that

two holy universal Buddhas can never appear iu the same world-system
at the same time (" Anguttara Nik.," vol. i, fol. kani), it seems thereby to

be implied, that the contemporaneous appearing of a universal Buddha

with Paccekabuddhas is not excluded.

THE BUDDHA8.
of

tlie

utmost importance in the formation of religious

experience in
to be said.
g'reat

But

as far as the dogmatic treatment of that one

is

concerned^ with which alone the whole of

and deliverance,

deals, the question of pain

Buddha stands

of

and

Order of Buddha^sTdisciples, scarcely needs

problem

dogma

life

tlie

Buddhist dogmatic
the

32o

in the background.

In the creed-

formula of the four sacred truths the word^Buddha does not

occur.

The key
the idea of

to the explanation of this

Buddha towards the

circle of thought_, is to

remarkable attitude of

central ideas of the Buddhist

be found, I

believe, in pre-Buddhist

history.

Where

a doctrinal system, like the Christian, grows up on

the basis of a strong faith in a God,

it

natural that in the

is

consciousness of the community a reflection, aye, more than

a reflection of the grandeur and fulness of the almighty and
all-good

God should

teacher, example,
to the

of

life

bestow eternal

is

by whom the grace

on the person of him who, as master,

way

followers.

his
life

fall

in every

on man

of immeasurable significance

The grace

of

God

said to

is

the Master becomes the mediator

God extends to man. His natm'e is raised

of

in supernatural dignity to unity with God^s nature

his earthly

doings and sufferings appear to be the world-delivering doings

and

sufferings of God.

The

preconditions did not exist, under which an analagous

evolution of notions regarding Buddha's person might have

taken place.
obliterated

Atman, the

The

faith

in

by the pantheism

the

ancient

of the

eternal inactive universal One,

could evince pity for

man by

had been

deities

Atman

theory

and the

was not a god, who

a display of delivering activity.

And

even the behef in the Atman

lost,

and as ruler over the world longing for deliverance there

itself

had been effaced or

21*

THE LAST STAGES OF TEE PATH OF SALVATION, ETC.

324

remained no raore a god, but only the natural law of the

necessary concatenation of causes and effects.

man

sorrow and death

\V
^

There stood

alone as the sole operative agent in the struggle against

:

his task was,

.

by a

knowledo'e of

skilful
.

the law of nature, to aim at gaining a position against

which he was beyond the reach of

in

it,

sorrow-bringing'

its

operations.

The

data,

which must determine the dogmatic treatment of

He

Buddha^s person, were hereby given.

sent deliverer, for

Knowledge

man

to deliver

is

could not be a god-

looked not for deliverance from a god.

;

my

knowledge

is

me

to deliver

he must be the great knower and bringer of knowledge for

He must

the world.

be a being, who has no inherent super-

natural nobility beyond other beings,* but

powerful

effort first discovers that path, in

him, following his footsteps, walk.

say, that every disciple,

who

is

* The fact

god

tliat

Buddlia, before

in the Tusita

by higher, more

which others after

In a certain sense

we may

pressing on to holiness,

a Buddha as well as his Master.f

lives as a

so
all

lie

is

is

also

This idea of essential

born to bis

last life

on earth,

heavens and tlience descends to earth, in no

way implies that a siiperbuman, god-and-man nature is claimed for him.

One who is a god in one existence, may in the next existence be born
again as an animal or in a hell. As Buddha in his last life but one was
a Tusita god, he had been in earlier existences also a
a hare, and so on
in every

way only

lion, a

peacock,

but in his last appearance on earth he was a

man and

a man.

t The customary terminology does not indeed designate Buddha'^

saintly followers themselves as Buddhas, but still it is evident on several
occasions, that such an expression

when

the Sotapanua (note

attain the highest

it

is

2, p.

was

319)

often doubtful, whether the

be really allowable.

defined as a person,

knowledge (sambodhi)."

who

Thus,
" will

Especially in jwetical texts

word buddlia is used in its narrower

Vide " Dhammapada," v. 398 (cf.

sense or with reference to every saint.

V. 419).

felt to
is

TEE BUDDHAS.
resemblance between Buddha and
significantly set forth in the

O Brahman^

o2o

men is very
" As when,

delivered

all

followiug words

a hen has laid cggs^ eight or ten or twelve, and

the hen has sat on them long enough, and kept them

and hatched them

when then one

the egg-shell with the tip of

claw or with

its

chicken, as the oldest or the youngest

the oldest, venerable Gotama, for

So

also,

Brahman,

will

men

?""

"It

how

creeps successfully out of the egg,

''

is

it

of those beings,

and are shut up and confined

as

it

warm

of the chickens first breaks

beak, and

its

describe this

be called

will

the oldest of them."

who

ignorance

live in

were in an egg, I have

first

broken the egg-shell of ignorance and alone in the universe

Thus am

obtained the most exalted, universal Buddhahood.

I,

Brahman, the

Buddha

eldest, the noblest, of beings/'*

does not deliver beings, but he teaches

them

themselves, as he has delivered himself.

They accept

declaration

of the

not because

truth,

to

deliver

his

comes from him,

it

but because, verified by his words, personal knowledge of

that whereof he speaks,

This

is

dawns on

not, however, to

their minds.

be understood, as

if

had not in the belief of the Order exceeded the

human

as

reality,

if

Buddha's form

limits of earthly-

dogmatic had disdained to cast round

Buddha's head the halo of a glory that illuminates the universe.

The land

of India

was not

like the

Athens of Thukydides and

Aristophanes, in which care was taken that

* " Suttaviblianga, Parajika,"

t It

is

i,

Sammasambuddhas

1, 4.

said in one of Buddha's addresses, after a prcfatoiy exposition

of the causality formula " It ye now know thus, and see thus, O discijjles
respect the Master, and out of reverence for the
\\\]1 ye then say
:

We

Master do we thus speak

'

What

ye speak,

known, yourselves

"

" That

disciples, is

it

we

shall not,

seen, yourselves reaUzed

liasaTchamija Sutta,

sire."

...

not even that which ye have yourselves

Majjhima Nilcdya.

"

" It

is,

sire."

JlahAtatt'

THE LAST STAGES OF THE PATH OF SALVATION, ETC.

326

and god-men sLould not appear on

The eye

eartli.

of

tlae

Indian was accnstomed at every step to regard the natural

course of events within their earthly limits as interwoven in

The longer thought

fanciful continuity with infinite distance.

occupied

with any specnlatioUj the oftener

itself

the more the human, the earthly in

it,

the dreamy, the typical, the nniversal.

the

doctrines

deliverance

first

it

recurred to

vanished behind

The age

in

which

sorrow of everything earthly and of

the

of

it

engaged young thought, could look upon

a Yajnavalk3'a and a (^andilya as merely wise and j)ure

viewed as the Buddhist viewed them, the

of such forms were
of

bound

floatinq-

men

outlines

to fix themselves after the type

Buddhas appearing

the exalted, holy universal

at

fixed

historical

form

times according to an eternal law of the universe.

It could scarcely

of the one actual

be otherwise than that the

Buddha

multiplied itself under dogmatic ^

treatment to a countless number of past and coming Buddhas.

It

might

satisfy a faith,

by thousands

of years,

to see standing out

Saviour, to

whom

which measured

its

future

past of this world

by

days,

the past prophetically jDointed, whose second

to the brief future.

horizon bounds the view

of world-life;

immeasurable

to

th.e

years, or perhaps

above the span of time the form of one

coming puts an end

distance

by

For the Indian no

from immeasurable

through

distance,

innumerable,

immense ages of the world, extends the gigantic course of

origination, decease,

what appeared

own

and

rc-origination.

time, as the nniversal middle point of

times

could he regard

own
all

world, of his

worlds,* of

all

* The allotment of time to

world

How

to stand in the centre of his

is

not an equal one.

the statement

is

tlie

Buddhas

in the different ages of the

In one of the Pali-Sutras (Mahapadanasutta)

found, that the last

Buddhas appeared

at the following

;;

THE

As an

JBUDDIIAS.

327

effort to reach, the liglit that gives tleliverauce

extends

throughout the whole coming and going of ages, throughout

the whole of being, enveloped in dark sorrow, so must at
certain times certain beings obtain a glimpse of this light

they must become Buddhas and

from everlasting, of a Buddha.

the career ordained

fulfil

They

all

all

come

Eastern half of central Hindostanj* they

or Kshatriya families
sitting

they

all attain

the foot of a tree.

at

born in the

are

of

Brahman

delivering knowledge,

Their lives are of different

duration according to the ages in which they appear, and the

doctrine also which they teach, maintains

its hold,

sometimes

for a longer, sometimes for a shorter period, but in each case

" Five hundred years, Ananda,

for a definite length of time.

the doctrine of the truth abide," says

will

beloved

disciple. f

until a

new Buddha

Wheel

of the Law."'

Then the

faith vanishes

two

one iu the ninety-first age of

in the thirty-first age

dakappa)

it

his

Buddhas extends throughout

tlie

the appearing of Metteyya

world, back from the present,

our present age

possesses five Buddhas, of

is still

observe, that all these Buddhas,

purely imaginary forms.

to

appears, and again "sets in motion the

It follows that as the line of

times

Buddha

from the earth,

is

a " blessed age " (bhad-

whom Gotama

looked

for.

It

is

Gotama Buddha

is

the fourth

hardly necessary to
alone excepted, are

(In the corresponding teaching of the Jaina-

sect regarding the Jinas of ancient times, Jacobi, " Indian Antiquary,"

1880, p. 158, seq., believes he can find elements of actual fact.

convince myself of

* So already the canonical

passage
far

is

I cannot

it.)

instructive,

P;ili tradition,

inasmuch as

it

" Cullavagga,"

xii, 2, 3.

The

shows how ancient Buddhism,

from that cosmopolitan breadth of view, which people are wont to

conceive as inherent in the Buddhist nature, regards

its

own narrow

fatherland as the only chosen land.

f "Cullavagga," x, 1, 6. Later on, when this prophecy was contr:;Cf.

by events, the numbers were naturally made greater.

dicted
"

Hoppen,"

i.

'H27.

THE LAST STAGES OF TEE FATE OF SALVATION, ETC.

o28

immeasurable

the

extent

time,

of

so

immeasurable expanses of space have

also

not

tlie

less

The

Buddhas.

tlieir

sacred texts appear to touch, very slightly this idea of

Buddha

appearing in distant systems of worlds, but the conception

quite

is

in keeping with Indian fancy, that even

by

separated from us

worlds

of beings for deliverance repeats

this earth.
*'

itself,

cannot happen,

^""It

which

in those

same struggle

the

infinities

is

going on on

Buddha,

disciples/' says

impossible for two holy, universal Buddhas to appear in

it is

one world-system at one time, not one before or

other"*

in

we may

these words

after the

pei-haps see a hint given,

that in other systems, apart from what

is

occurring in our

triumphs of light over darkness are won, to that

woi-ld, similar

which Buddha has secured under the tree at TJruvela.

We

hope

be excused

to

scholastic predicates,

from expanding in

which dogmatic attributes

holy, universal Buddhas, from speaking of

marks

faculties, of the thirty-two external

on.

Instead of this

which the union

we

of

the ten

of a

the

detail

to the exalted,

Buddha

Buddha, and so

shall try to exhibit the to2U ensemble,

all

these perfections produced in the

imagination of the believer, the picture of supreme power,

supreme knowledge, supreme peace, supreme compassion.

We shall speak in the words of

Buddha

says

the texts.

" The all-subduing, the all-knowing,

in everything that I ain, without a spot.

everything;

own power
master

am

I
I

I have

no teacher

no one

whom
is

to

In the world, including the heavens, there

me.

am

the

Holy One

in the

world

I,

up

By my

without desire, a delivered one.

possess knowledge

am

I have given

should I

call

my

be compared to me.
is

* " Anguttara Nikaya," vide supra, note,

no one

am

like

unto

the supreme

p. 322.

THE BUDDHA8.
Master.

I alone

extinct in

me

am

perfect

tlie

329

Buddha

the

flames

arc

" The Exalted

I liave attained the Nirvana.^^*

One/' Kaccana names him^f "the bringer of joy, the dispenser

whose organs of

of joy,

life

are placid, whose spirit

is

at rest,

the supreme self-subduer and peace-possessor, the hero,

has conquered
"

in clieck/'

self

He

people, for joy to

and watches himself, who holds

appears in the world for salvation to

many

who

his desires

many

people, out of compassion for

the

world, for the blessing, the salvation, the joy of gods and

Thus have the Buddhas of bygone ages appeared,

meu/'J

thus shall the Buddhas of coming ages appear.

Will their succession ever have an end

become complete,
deliverance

The

days du-ected their thoughts but

it

In the narrative of Buddha's death

over.

read the exclamation to which the god

utterance

But they did

this last question as to the future.

not wholly pass

we

Will the victoiy

faithful of ancient

seldom to

so that all beings shall have crossed over to

when

One entered

the Holy

" In the worlds beings

all

Brahma gave

into the Nirvana

put off corporeity at some time,

Just as at this present time Buddha, the prince o victory, the

supreme master of

all

worlds,

The mighty, Perfect One, hath entered

Thus beings

shall

all

into Nirvana."

Then, when

reach the Nirvana.

animated, sorrow-susceptiblo beings have vanished from the

domain

of

origination

being, will the procession of the Sankharas, the

and decadence of worlds, continue

Or, after the extinction of

consciousness

all

in eternity?

in

which

procession was reflected, will the world of the Sankharas

* " Mahrivagga,"

f Vide
J

i,

6, 8.

supra, p. 146.

" Anguttara Kikaya," vol.

i,

fol.

ko.

and elsewhere.

this
fall

THE LAST STAGES OF THE PATH OF SALVATION, ETC.

d'dO

to pieces, sinking in its

depths of

wliich. tlie

the One and All

We
As

it

holy

own

ruins

Will

Nirvana, in

tlie

ask too much.

" The Exalted One has not revealed

does not conduce to salvation, as

life,

tlie

realms of the visible have disappeared, be

to separation

from the

desire, to cessation, to peace, to

it

this.

does not conduce to

earthly, to the extinction of

knowledge, to illumination, to

Nirvana, therefore has the Exalted One not revealed

it.^'

PART

III.

THE ORDER OE BUDDHA'S DISCIPLES.

CHAPTER

I.

The Constitution of the Order and

We

now

its

Codes op Laws.

turn from the examination of the faith which hckl

together the band of Buddha^s followers^ to the consideration

of the outward observances^ which rehgious custom

and

reli-

gious discipHne have prescribed for the hfe of this monastic

fraternity.

It appears

from the very beginning

a society governed by law.

have been

to

The completion of

a procedure

prescribed by law was necessary to the reception of a postulant

into the society.

The law

of the Order poiuted out to

course of action and of omission.

The

him

his

society itself as a court

of discipline secured conformity to the ecclesiastical rules

by

keeping up a regular judicial procedure.

This early appearance of a form of associated

governed by law can cause no

astonishment.

life

It

strictly
is

the

counterpart of the equally early appearance of a matured

and formulated dogmatic

the period in which
of

the same characteristic features of

Buddhism developed

preceding history upon which

phenomenon

as

well

as

the

it

other.

itself,

the same forces

rests, explain

the one

The monastic orders

THE LAWS OF THE ORDER AND BOOKS OF THE LAWS.

.a32

professing otlier faiths^ preceding and coeval with Buddha^s

common

Order, and^ in a not less degree, the

source of

all

these sectSj Brahmanism, have furnished for the formation of a

Church
/0\

i'

polity, as they did in the case of

of

sot

/,;a

dogmatic speculation,

ready-made forms, which Buddhism had only to

appropriate.

Quickly as the formation of canonical observances seems to

have attained a complete

that

no need of proving

state, still there is

cannot have been the work of a moment.

it

which contain the rules for the

life

of the

In the texts,

members

of the

Order, traces are clearly enough discernible which enable us to

distinguish earlier and later phases of development.
trace

how

a complex 6f injunctions

first

grew

regularly propounded about the time of full

moon

recurring technical expressions

them.
tions,
{''^

of

guilt

the

moon and new

described in

monk

incurred

these rules

all

who

transgressed

It is quite possible that this old collection of prohibi-

which has come down to us under the

Patimokkha

of

title

unburdening^^), the basis of the whole body of Buddhist

Church-law, goes back to Buddha^s

;*

can

meetings of the Order; constantly

iu the confessional

what degree

We

up, which were

own time, to

meetings held by him with his disciples.*

sacred texts shows us
felt in

how

the confessional

A later layer of the

further on the necessity

the next period, of supplementing by

new

made

itself

regulations

* Not, indeed, in the Patimokkha itself, but in another portion of the

Church ordinances, bearing likewise the stamp of high antiquity, there
is a clue which appears to point directly to the origin of the rules in
question within Buddha's

who

own

lifetime.

In the description of the persons

are not permitted to receive ordination, " he

who

has shed blood

"

meant that every one is rejected who has inflicted

on another a bloody wound, for not even all murderers are excluded, but
appears.

It cannot be

only parricides, matricides, and murderers of a holy man.

<;an

hardly be doubted that the traditional explanation

is

Therefore
correct,

it

which

EARLY FBAMmG OF BINDING

tlie

principles laid

down

33^

IIULES.

But no one

Patimokklia.

in the

ventured to add anything on his own authority to the old

hallowed formulas.

They therefore

the Putimokkha

left

itself

untouched, but undertook, in the form of commentaries and in

new works,
rules.

a revised and enlarged edition of the canonical

They did not

hesitate, indeed, to prescribe

transgressions which

for

Yet they did not presume

Patimokkha.

punishments

were not SDecified as such in the

in doing so to use the

same expressions which had been adopted

in the Patimokkha,

but they employed new words and introduced new forms of

disciplinary procedure for bringing to

punishment any offences

Thus the succession

against the newly-constituted ordinances.*

of earlier

and

certainly

still

later periods reveals itself to our research

more

and more clearly in the development of the

system of connexional law than in that of dogmatic.

But,
or

we must

add, although the Order of Buddha's disciples,

members thereof

specially called

on and

qualified to

do

so,

have virtually acted as law-makers, yet in theory the community

has distinctly disclaimed
I

The authority

functions.

all legislative

to frame a law for the community belongs to Buddha alone

according to Buddhist theory.

All

commands and

prohibitions

received their character as binding rules from the fact that

Buddha has
them.

for creating
to apply
liere

enunciated, or

With

supposed to have enunciated

new laws has become

extinct.

That

"who

has so wounded

this definition originated in a

i]i

the same

way

Buddha that his blood has

time when it had a meaning

will be regarded, if not as absolutely certain, at

natural.

and the necessity

The Order has only

and expound Buddha's regulations,

understands:

flowed."

is

his death both the possibility

For the elucidation of the passage

any rate as more thau

in point ("

Mahavagga,"

i,

67), cf. " Cullav." vii, 3, 9.

* Cf. the Introduction to

p. xvii, seq.

my

edition of the "

Vinaya Pitaka,"

vol.

i,

THE LAWS OF THE OBDEB AND BOOKS OF THE LAWS.

334
tliat

carefully preserve

to

lias

it

Buddlia, but

not been laid down (by Buddha) ^ and

laid

down;

it

is

it

competent to

" The Order does not lay down what has

improve or extend.

he has

hj

doctrine revealed

the

not called upon nor

is

it

it

does not abolish what

accepts the ordinauces as he has prescribed

"
them, and abides by them

so

traditional legend represents

a Church council to have resolved- shortly after Buddha's

death.*

In the sacred texts, accordingly,

all

regulations, even

those obviously belonging to later periods, appear as

had been issued by Buddha

himself.

if

they

The inconsistency with

which, from this very desire to be consistent, they came to

is

characteristic

of the exalted, holy

selves

act,

they had no scruple in giving out as orders

Buddha, those very rules made by them-

which they shrank from clothing in the time-hallowed

form of the Patimokkha

institutes.

The

liturgical conscience

was stronger than the historical if, indeed, that complete

indifference with which men in India have at all times regarded
or rather have not regarded, literary and historical authenticity

speak of an historical conscience.

will allow us in this case to

The ancient compilations

the fullest extent in

all

of the laws of the Order share to

those peculiarities which cause some

sections of Buddhist dogmatics to appear to us to be a so very

pathless waste.

The same

subtlety here as there, the

same

inexhaustible capability of enjoying long abstract series

notions purely for their

drawn from

life for life,

own

sake.

xi, 1, 9,

cf.

The form

how

in

which they

" Suttavibhanga, jN^issaggiya," xv,

Tlio narrative of the council at Vesali (" Cullavagga,"

illiistx'ates

of

rules

but scholastic lucubrations, unpractical

and, strictly speaking, not even clear.

* " Cullavagga,"

Here we have, not

sii),

1,

2.

also clearly

the Church, according to the current theory, limited itself

throughout to the authentic interpretation of the spuitual law ordained

by Buddha.

;
:

LAW-MAKING IN THE BUDDHIST COMMUNITY.

are usually introduced
outline:

At

is

most simple.

when the

this time,

ouo
33

In every case the same

exalted

Buddha was

stayino- in

such and such a place, this and that irregularity occurred.

The people who came

and complained

know of this were

to

How

can monks,

Sakya house, commit such

who

irritated,

hke wanton

offences,

murmured,

follow the son of the

worldlin.o-s

or

like unbelieving heretics, as the case in point has occurred.

The

spiritual brothers hear the whisperings

irritated,

venerable

N. be guilty of the

IST.

matter to Buddha;
to

he

them an admonitory

I order,

Whoso

does this

like

address,

liable

and then

and so

Stereotyped like this narrative

itself,

for

and by

which recurs thousands

if

beneficence.
actor, as a

who appear

in the

their actions afford occasion in every instance

Buddha's interference.

the culprit,

not be done.

and such a punishment.

of times, are also the figures of the culprits

narrative,

together, delivers
issues the order

shall or shall

to such

can the

They mention the

calls the disciples

disciples, that so
is

of the people

murmur and complain: How

they too are

A specific brother turns

out to be

the matter be an inordinate exaction of pious

If offences of a lascivious description occur, the

rule, is

the venerable TJdayi.

But the longest

catalogue of crimes attaches to the Chabbaggiyas, six

associated together in

Buddha may

all

mischievous

artifices.

monks

"Whatever

way

prescribe, the Chabbaggiyas always find a

of circumventing the law, or, while they comply with

mixing up some

evil

with their performance.

it,

of

"When Buddha

declares that the twigs of certain plants are to be used for

cleaning the teeth, the Chabbaggiyas take long and massive

twigs, and beat the novices with them.
to

be censured before the Order, the

If a transgressor is

Chabbaggiyas

raise

objections and thereby defeat the enforcement of disciphne.

On one

occasion

when

the nuns had dirty water poured over

336

TEE LAWS OF TEE ORDER AND BOOKS OF TEE LAWS.

them,

tlie

Chabbaggiyas were

tlie actors,

and so on tbrougli tlie

long texts of the Eules for the Order the Chabbaggiyas figure

everywhere as the arch-criminals, whose new discoveries in

regions of mischief the spiritual legislation enacted

up step by

follows

doubtedly

many an

step.

There

authentic

is

in these narratives un-

memory

needs scarcely to be

the evil deeds of

of

But, taken as a whole,

this and that black sheep of the flock.

it

all

by Buddha

said, a picture of

what was wont to occur

withm the Order, based on these cases of spiritual disciphne,

would only be correct to the same extent as if, for example,
one were to admit Stichus, the much renowned slave of the
Digests, to pass for an illustration of

We

shall

now endeavour

Eoman

to present in a

slaves in general.

connected form the

regulations of the Order, as they are illustrated in the descriptions of countless occurrences scattered here

and there in the

canonical texts.

The Order and the Dioceses

The band

Admission and Withdrawal.

of disciples gathered

round Buddha, out

of

which

grew the Order and the Church, rested, as without doubt did
also the other monastic orders of India so

numerous

in that

age, on the forms, which under the older Brahmanical system

governed the relation between the rehgious teacher and his

il
'

religious disciples.

case as

a-

The use

of the

same words, which,

in this

well as in that, constituted the solemn expression of

this relationship,

warrant our inferring the homogeneousness

of the last-named system.

The youth who

desires to

commit

the
himself to the guidance of a Brahmanical teacher to learn

Yeda, steps

Brahmacarya

before

him and says: "I am come

(spiritual discipleship).

I desire to be a

for

the

Brahma-

THE ORDER.

And

carin (spiritual disciple).'-'

round him, gives him the

water ; perform service

the teacher "ties the girdio

staff into his

by saying

the Brahmacarya,

337

'

Thou

obediently to thy teacher.''

''*

Brahmacarin

by day

sleep not

hand and explains him

art a

drink

study the Veda

In the very same way, accord-

ing to Buddhist tradition, the coming Buddha goes in the time

of his quest of delivering knowledge to the spiritual teacher

"I

TJddaka and says:

desire,

Uddaka

according to thy

friend,

teaching and thy direction, to

walk in the Brahmacarya."

receives him, and the relation thus established is

indicated with the very expressions, which are those regularly

adopted in the Brahmanical mode of speech, as that subsisting

between Acarya
the same

way

and Antevasin

(teacher)

later on,

when Buddha

And

(scholar). f

in

himself as a teacher

receives the first students of his gospel, tradition rej^resents

him

as doing so in these words

doctrine

end

is

duly preached

" Come hither,

monk, the

walk in the Brahmacfirya, to put an

to all sorrow.'"

The Order
alive,

of Buddhists presents, as long as the Master

is

a union of teacher and scholars after the Brahmanical

model.

The

transition of such a

a monarchical typo to a republican,

passing somehow, when

its

the teacher dies, into a confederacy of independent

existing side

by

side, is

of the Brahmans. J

members

wholly unknown to the religious system

This very transition has completed

* " Agvalayana G.,"

i,

22

cf.

" Paraskara,"

ii,

2,

itself in

" ^at. Br.,"

xi, 5,

4, seq.

t Thus
(i.e.

it

also

when

the Buddliisls say

" ITruvclakassapo raaliasaniano

bliagavati) bralimacariyain carati," this

is

said in the "

amounts

Chandogya Upauishad

brahmacaryam uvasa ;" when Indra resolves

pupil, it is said of him " abhipravavraja."
X Not even in that case

community, so to speak, from

in

"

"

to the

same as

wlicii

Maghavan Prajapatau

to enter into this relation of

which we should be especially inclined to

\+

3C8

ORDER AND THE DIOCESES.

TIIE

Buddha

Buddhism.

died,

and

his disciples,

already at that

time scattered over the greater part of India, survived as a

monastic community, which had no visible head and saw

its

head only in the doctrine and ordinance declared by

Buddha.* " Be your own light, be your own refuge," says
invisible

Buddha, when approaching death, "have no other refuge.

Let the truth be your light and your refuge ; have no other

Thus became

refuge."
trinity of

fixed,

as the

what has been described

Buddhism, the triad of those sacred powers, in

which the newly- entering monk or lay -brother by solemn

" takes

declaration

it

"

Buddha, the Doctrine, the

here venture to hazard a

hesitation I

which has no support and can have none

conjecture,
tion

his refuge

Not without

Order.

in tradi-

I think that the formula of this sacred triad does not

back to the time of Buddha^s

life,

but that

it

had

go

origin in

its

connection with those very changes which his death wrought

for the

community

as long as he lived,

of his disciples.

to the believers their refuge

by him have appeared

anyone

call

with them

Must not Buddha

alone,

and the Doctrine of deliverance preached

?

Could

the disciples his refuge, as long as the Master

His death changed everything.

Now

was

the Order

stood as the sole visible exponent of the idea hitherto embodied

in Buddha, as the sole possessor of delivering truth

now he

-expect to find sucL a transition, that, namely, wlicre tlie pupils of the

deceased teachers had been life-long (naishthika) Brahmacarins. Cf. the

statements as to the scholars, whose teacher dies, in " Gautama," iii, 7,
seq., "

Manu,"

ii,

247, seq.

Biihler on " Apastamba," i,l,

1, 12.

* Considering the great number and the scattered residences of the

members of the Order, it is natural to think it is even probable, that
already in Buddha's lifetime the fraternities of his disciples had an
existence independent of Buddha's personality in essential features.
Buddhist tradition also points to this. More intimate knowledge of the
facts bearing

on

this

matter

is

obviously not obtainable by us.


THE THREE SACRED ENTITIES

who

desired to

BUDDHA, DOCTRINE, ORDER. 339

become a partaker

of this truth,

was obliged

to

^ take his refuge also with the Order.

The confession

of this sacred triad has been couched in

these articles, to which has been added in the fourth place the

expression of the determination to abide bj the precepts of

holy living.

The formula runs

" To Buddha
holy,

supreme Buddha, the

blessed,

men

will I look in faith

who knows

he, the Exalted,

Knowing, the

is

the

instructed,

the

the worlds, the Supreme One,

who yokcth

an ox, the Teacher of gods and men, the Exalted

like

Buddha.

" To the Doctrine

will I look in faith

well-preached

the

is

by the Exalted One. It has become apparent ; it

it leads to welfare
needs no time it says ' come and see
Doctrine

'

it is

realized

by the wise

" To the Order

own

in their

will I look in faith

the Order of disciples of the Exalted

lives the

hearts.
in right behaviour lives

One

in proper behaviour

Order of the disciples of the Exalted One; in honest

behaviour lives the Order of the disciples of the Exalted One

in just behaviour lives the-Order of the disciples of the Exalted

One, the four couples, the eight classes of believers;* that

is

the Order of the disciples of the Exalted One, worthy of

offerings,
lift

worthy of

the world, in which

'*

gifts,

worthy of alms, worthy to have men

their hands before them in reverence, the highest place

man may do

In the precepts of rectitude

love,

in

good.
will I walk,

which the holy

which are uninfringed, unviolated, unmixed, uncolourcd,

free, praised

by the wise and not

counterfeit,

which lead on to

concentration, '^t

* The different grades of the holy.

t So according to the " Saiiiyuttalca Nikaya,"

vol.

iii,

fol.

22*

su

(T.

THE ORDER AND TEE DIOCESES.

340

But

the Order be regarded as

if

monks over

tlie ideal

holiness which resembles the holiness of

trine, yet in actual life the

sense.

There

is really

Buddha and

his

Doc-

Order never appears in this universal

not one order, but only orders,

monks sojourning

nities of the

unit of believing

whole face of the earth, as the bearer of a

tlie

in the

same

diocese.

commuDevout

persons might indeed present gifts and endowments to the

" Church of the four quarters of the world, those present and

monks happening

those absent;" then the

the

monks present of

to

be present, or

the diocese concerned, appear to have

been regarded as the legitimate representatives of the " Church

of the four quarters " for the receiving of such a gift and the
administration of property so acquired

organization
collective

for

the superintendence

but regular standing

of

its

concerns

the

Church had none ; for the forming of any resolution,

the completion of any act in

its

name, there was a

total absence

of legal form.

The

difficulties,

which were

and which have as a

disciples,

bound

to

arise

fact arisen, are obvious.

this,

of

which had gathered round Buddha, had grown with

unparalleled rapidity into a great spiritual power.

all

from

Tho band

Throughout

India and soon beyond the confines of India, in the woods,

through the
begging.

villages,

How

went the Buddhist monks preaching and

then was the " Church of the four quarters,

those present and those absent " to undertake in fact the

administration of their

common

concerns

This object could

only have been secured by creating a powerful centre,

spiritual

regency in which the will of the whole Church would

" Mahaparin, S.," p. 17, seq.

" D'Alwis, Kaclicliayana," p. 77.

He

vrlio

tceps the vows expressed in this confession, has reached the grade of the
" Sotapanna " {vide p. 319, note 2) on the path of holiness.

WANT OF A CENTRAL POWER.

concentrated

liave

carrying out such arrangements.-]-

for

gravity of

all

the small

But

circuit.

corps

in the

all,

months of the rainy season bring to a

composition of these limited corps

monks

We

monks,

certain standstill, the

is natui-ally

always changing.

to-morrow those have

to-day,

to-day these, to-morrow

together,

same

in the

of these mendicant

life

of

wo may

within the circumference,

lies

of brethren dwelling

wandering

if

coming and going, which only the three

in their constant

These

The centre

operations of Church-government,

speak of such a thing at

within

find tliat not even the

been made in the whole Church-regula-

slightest attempt has

tions

But wo

itself.*

34:1

have aheady referred

(p. 158,

those

been

exercise

thrown
decisive

note 2) to the fact that after

may

Buddlia's death none of the disciples was regarded as called to what

We

here insert further the following passage

be styled the succession.
" At one time the venerable Auanda was sojourning at Hajagaha
.

shortly after the Exalted

One had entered

At

into JNirvana.

that time

the king of Magadha, Ajatasattu, the son of the Vedehi princess, was
fortifying llajagaha against the

directing these

fortifications,

Xing

Pajjota."

Vassakara,

The

minister,

asks Ananda

who

is

" Venerable

Ananda, has any special monk been marked out by the venerated Gotama
whom he has said This shall be your refuge after my death in

of

whom you

'

'

can now find your shelter ?"

Ananda answers the question in

the negative. The minister further asks " Has then the Church named
a specific monk, has a multitude of elders appointed him and given an
:

order

'

He

shall after the

death of the Exalted One be our refuge

This also Ananda answers in the negative.

revered Ananda,

how

does unity exist

"

'

?"

H you thus have no refuge,

among you f"

" There

is

no

want to us of a refuge, O Brahman we have a refuge, the Doctrine.'

(' Gopakamoggallana Suttanta "
Cf. also
in the " Majjhima Kikaya."
;

supra, p. 198.)

How

far the olllcial construction of

Church history current

in Ceylon

has xinderstood the post of the Vinayapamokkha (" Heads of the Church
Law ") as that of a primate, I do no pretend to determine. But this very
notion of the Vinayapamokkha, wholly foreign to the ancient Church law,

shows that here we meet a not happy

fictitious construction of history.

TEE OBDEB AND TEE DIOCESES.

342
authority

among

the brothers.

the direction of matters of

Continuity and succession in

common

these circumstances, possibly exist

wanting in the

how

could there be

of this vast ecclesiastical corporation matters

life

which demanded a continuous direction

particular district

under

interest could not,

and

If the synod of a

had come to any resolution

of a doubtful point, or as to the right

between spiritual brothers,

it

for the decision

and wrong

was open

in a dispute

synod

to every other

to resolve the contrary, and higher authority there was none,

either to re-establish

harmony

in a

synod divided within

early times after

disciples,

itself,

In the

or to reconcile the rival claims of different synods.*

Buddha's death the personal authority of the

stood nearest to the Master,

who had

may

possibly

have operated to compensate this want and have checked the

outbreak of serious discord but a condition of things, which
:

depends on the weight of individuals, not upon the sure structure of legal institutions, bears in itself the

The sacred

texts,

end of the

first

germ

century after Buddha's death, show clearly

what disorder and confusion must have prevailed

at that time

of dissolution.

which became fixed some time towards the

there

is reflected in

of disaster, which dissensions

in the

Church

these texts the deep feeling

among

the brethren were

bound

to cause and were already causing, and at the same time the
The chapter on
utter incapacity to prevent this disaster.

Schisms in the Church

topic of spiritual

life is

is

constantly treated

discussed

given occasion for suph dissensions

gravest sins

of,

whenever the

the guilt of him

is

who has

reckoned among the

the most impressive admonitions to the brethren

are -out in Buddha's mouth, to live in

* Of the disorder,

-wliicli

harmony with each other

lience arising prevailed in the Cliurch law

and subsequently undoubtedly

also in the Cliurcli

14, 25, for example, gives us a glimpse.

life,

" Cullavagga,"

iv,

WANT OF A CENTEAL POWER AND THE

and to make concessions^ even when in the

COUNCILS.

right, rather than

More

to allow divisions to arise in the Order.

than these admonitions would have been

the power to

sessing

watch

over

the

3i3

effective

institutions,

relations

still

pos-

between

communities and members of communities, over the co-operation of all

The

such institutions were wholly wanting.

which lay here, shows

defect,

observably than

in

those very

itself in

nothing more

features which

examination might be inclined to regard as

its

cursory

remedy

iu

the great councils to which such transcending importance

is

The sacred

old Buddhist tradition.

attached in

The

mentions two such councils.

first is

texts

said to have been

held at Rfijagaha a few months after Buddha's death, for

the purpose of compiling an authentic collection of Buddha's
discourses

and precepts.

The second took

place, as it is said,

a hundred years later at Vesali, occasioned by a difference of

opinion as to certain licenses, which had come to be practised

by
at

the

monks

Rajagaha

is,

of that town.

This narrative of the council

we

appearance quite unhistorical,

admit, to

all

but the legal construction, on which

it

rests, is

account anything the less instructive for us.

not on that

In the great

gathering of disciples, who came together at Kusinara after

Buddha's death, thought turns upon collecting and ari'anging

Buddha's discourses, so as to possess in them a weapon against

profane innovators.

brethren of

known

It is decided that five

hundred chosen

holiness should perform this great task at

Rajagaha, and the assembled monks give them a commission

in this behalf

by a formal

resolution.

This resolution decides

that the five hundred arc to pass the rainy season at Rajagaha

and that no other monk

is

Thus the

is

town.

wording

council

permitted to remain then in that

held

the arrangement and the

of the canonical texts is fixed

by the

five hundi'ed

THE ORDER AND THE DIOCESES.

344

Now then,

fathers.

assembly,
less

if

we ask what

evident, that

is

it

is

the legal nature of this

is

nothing more and nothing

than the assembly of the brethren sojourning in the

diocese

There have come together, because

of E-ajagaha.

the resolution passed

of

it

and

qualified

specially

Kusinara,

at

persons, and,

resolution, unqualified persons

of this

pursuance of

that

have kept themselves aloof from

that diocese,* but that in no

delibei'ations

numerous

specially

in

way

so-called

alters the case, that the

council

are in fact only the

proceedings of one specially prominent diocese, brought about

by the

of another similar diocesan meeting, but

resolution

on the authority of the

not a Church-proceeding, resting

'^

Church of the four quarters of the world/'

tradition itself

was

clearly sensible of this,

to give expression to this,

monk who had

Purana, a

when

it

It

seems that

and that

desired

it

represented the venerable

not been a sharer in the deliberations,

and being told

''

The

coming

to

Eajagaha

fathers,

my

dear Purana, have fixed the canon of the Doctrine

and Law

at

their close,

accept this canon."

of the Doctrine and Law,

fixed

by the

my

But he answers
friends, has

"The canon

been admirably

fathers, but I will adhere to that

which I have

myself heard and received from the Exalted One."

make no

reply;

the right of the individual

little

notice

reply,

The

and cannot, indeed, say anything in

fathers

to take

as

much

or as

as he pleased of the resolution of an assembly

such as that at Eajagaha was, could not be disputed with

propriety on the basis of this form of Church.f

cogent necessity to do 50 can scarcely liave been brouglit about

the right of every brother to live where be pleases,

bj such a decree

could hardly be set aside by a resolution like tbat here spoken of.
To remedy tbe abuses
t It is the same as to tbe Council at Vcsali.

wbich bad arisen in Vesali, a number of elders come together in that

ANARCHY IN THE OBDERADMISSION TO

The
up

for,

personages might perhaps for a time help to make

or conceal the utter want of organization

ever, the inherent impossibility of a

the narrow circle

of

was

coterie,

certain

how-

applicable
to lead

to

Those deeply

ever increasingly momentous consequences.

incisive schisms,

finally,

Church without Church-

which were only

government, with ordinances

to

345

and tLe authority of

existing" cii'cumstanccs

force of

influential

ITS HANKS.

which early arose and never disappeared, the

weakening of the resistance opposed to the Brahmanism at

successfully attacked, are

so

first

phenomena

certainly not

unconnected with that fundamental defectiveness of Buddhist

Church-organization.

If at last, after a

Buddhism has vanished from

trace behind,

we venture

its

to think, that in the old rules of the

community, in what they say and not

unsaid,

long death-struggle.

Indian home, leaving not a

less in

what they leave

no small part of the preparatory history leading to that

distant future is clearly

enough depicted.

Entry into the Order* was, as a

earthly suffering affects

rule,

as all are

all,

open to everyone.

bound

to the paths of metempsychosis, so too

as

it

As

were by bands

must the

liberation

from these bands, which Buddha's teaching promises, embrace

all

who choose

ment

to accept

it.

Buddha

of his career these words

"

Open

thou,

O Wise

place

it

commence-

One, the door of eternity

Let bc^heard what thou,

Nevertheless

utters at the

Sinless One, hast discovered."

could not but bo that practical necessity

the resolutions of the" Council " arc in reality only resolutions of

the diocese of Vesali, to which every monk,

who comes

to Vesali, eo ipso,

belonged, and the composition of which was modilicd appropriately to

the importance of this special cause.

We

We confine our observations for the present to the Order of Monks.

shall speak of the

nuns farther on.

THE CHURCH AND THE DIOCESES.

34G

should cause the imposition of certain restrictions on admission

The reception of those

into the Order.

afflicted

with serious

bodily deformities and sicknesses was, as a matter of course,

forbidden

it

was the same with confirmed criminals.

there were above

whose entry

into the spiritual status

interference with the rights of

were in the royal

Then

several categories of persons excluded,

all

would have involved an

third parties

persons

who

especially soldiers, could not

be

admitted, as that would have interfered with the rights

of

sei-vice,

the king as commander of the forces

not, for this

debtors and slaves could

would have been an infringement of the rights of

their creditors
/

and owners ;

whose parents had not given

sons,

consent were similarly excluded.

their

Children, too, were

considered unfit for admission into the Order

be received as a novice at the

years,* and as a fully-accredited

The ceremony

a person might

earliest at the

member

age of twelve

at twenty.

of initiation is completed in

two grades

there

* These twenty years are reckoned not from birth biit from conception,

by a method of computation occurring

Brahmans.

("

Mahavagga,"

75

i,

cf.

also in the spiritual law of the

" ^ankhayana G.," ii, 1, seq.)

t The statements having reference to invalidity of reception

vagga,"

i,

49, seq.

61, seq.) prohibit, partly the

and partly that of the higher grade of

("

Maha-

completion of the lower,

initiation {vide infra).

In cases

of the latter kind the initiation granted contrary to rule must be cancelled;
the old codex of the " Patimokkha" goes even farther, and, in the only case

of the kind which

jure invalid
there

is

it

touches, declares the initiation granted to be ipso

no such clause

remained in

force,

it

cases of the first kind on the contrary

appears, that in this case the initiation

even though

Thus we might here have a

'

Por

(" Pacitt.," 65).

it

had been conceded contrary to rule.

which may be compared to that of

distinction

impedimenta dirimcntia and impedientia in the legal system of our own

In detail the separation of cases falling under the two classes
times.

mentioned gives

vagga

rise to

manifold doubts

" is in this point not without

the redaction of the "

embarrassment.

Maha-

TEE LOWER

INITIATION.

341

a lower, to a certain extent preparatory ordination, Pabljajja,,

is

i.e.,

the outgoing, and a higher Upasampada,

The Pabbajja
lay-life or

is

Buddha's own

faith

members

of the

Buddhist Order

home

the de|)arture from

life,

Upasampada, the attainment

is

just as in

distinct

if

twenty years,

from

delivering knowledge,,

of

Between

which coincides with the founding of the Order.*

the two steps of initiation,

the age of

the

the entry into the circle of the Bhikkhus, the

is

fally-accredited

the

the going out from a prior state, from the

from a monastic sect holding another

Upasampadil

the postulant has not yet attained

lies

the noviciate, or

ii:

he has

previously belonged to another monastic order, a probationary

To

period extending over four months. f

outsiders,

upon the Order as a whole, without considering the

based on
as

all

internal relationship, he

its

his brethren,

Sakya house;

is

during this

look

tei'm, as well

an " ascetic who follows the son of the

but in the Order he

''J

who

difference

first

is

treated as a

Bhikkhu, a real member, when he has received the higher

initiation.

Where

two stops of

the grounds mentioued for separating the

appear to have been

initiation did not exist, they

gone through, as a

rule, at the

same time.

"We directed attention above

prevails

(p.

33G) to the analogy which

between the reception of a Buddhist believer into

the Order and the reception of the young

teacher.

the

first

This
of the

is

Brahman by

two steps

raiilia," p.

t So according

his

the place to institute a comparison between

in

Buddhist

initiation

and another

stage in the Brahmanical system, the entry of the

* " Milinda

Y"

the an*ival.

i.e.,

76

" Mahavastu," vol.

to " Maliavagga,"

to that stated in the "

i,

38.

i,

Brahman

p. 3.

I give this view the preference

Mahaparinibbrma Sutta,"

the probationary period precedes the Pabbajja.

"
40.
X Vide e.g., Mahavagga," i,

p. 59,

according to which

THE ORDER AND TEE DIOCESES.

348

" When the

into the state of a hermit or wandering beggar.

Brahman/' we read

Manu's

in

" who

Institutes,

is

living in

the state of a householder, sees his skin becoming wrinkled and

his hair

becoming grey,

go forth into the

if

enjoys in the village, and

make

all

him commit

to his sons let

forest, or let

he sees his son's son, then

Let him leave

forest.

him go forth with

sacrifice

let

him

food, such as one

household furniture behind him

his wife,

and

let

him go

to the

Let the Brahman

his wife.

the Prajapati-offering and give

remuneration of

all

his possessions as

all

him take up

his holy fire let

in his

own body, and thus let him go forth from his house.* For the
Brahman, who leaves his home and becomes a homeless ascetic,
his own act of outgoing only is necessary ; and Pabbajja, i.e.,
" the outgoing "

therefore used by the Buddhists of the first

by which the change of a layman into an
takes place, " outgoing from home into homelessis

step of initiation,
ascetic

ness " (agarasma anagariyam pabbajja).

Pabbajja, as

is

implied by

act on the part of the

its very essence, is a one-sided

" outgoer.'" He alone speaks, and of

what he says the Order as such takes no notice

fully-accredited

monk

every older,

The

can receive his declaration.

candi-

date puts on the yellow garment of the religieux, has his hair

and beard shaved

attitude to the

the Buddha.

off,

monk
I take

or

and says three times

monks present

my

"I

in

take

reverential

my

refuge in the Doctrine.

refuge in
I take

my

refuge in the Order.''

To

full

membership of the Order,

to

be a Bhikkhu, the

novice was raised by the ordination of Upasampada, which,

differing

from the lower form, consisted of a ceremony com-

* The word "going forth" (pra-vraj) can be used equally well, whether
the entry upon the condition of a hermit or upon that of a mendicant

monk

be spoken

of.

" Apastamba,"

ii,

9, 8. 19.

THE LOWER AND THE HIGHER INITIATION.

pletcd before

The outer

Order and by their participation.

tlie

the old Order was

forms were most simple;

3i9

wont when

ib

undertook ceremonial operations^ to express what had to be

expressed, with bare business-like

We find in the

more.

ceremonies which

we

precision,

and

nothing

ceremony of ordination nothing of the

Church

are accustomed to look for in

we might hear ringing the

Instead, we hero
religious idea.

observances, no sound, in which

depths and the poetry of the

meet, in truly Indian fashion, the careful concise expression of

all

the precautions, which the Order takes before admitting a

new member

The postulant speaks before

into their midst.

the assembled chapter of the monks, cowering reverently on

the ground, raising his joined hands to his forehead, saying

" I entreat the Order, reverend

Order, reverend

And

me.

second

the Order, reverend

reverend

Now

me up

to itself

for the third time I entreat

for

sirs,

me up

sirs, raise

may

may

have pity on

May

initiation.

to itself;

it

it

truly

What

Now

and to speak honestly.

is,

must say thereof

tion, epilepsy ?

It

aflaicted

not in the royal service?

?

with any of

leprosy, goitre, white leprosy,

Art thou thine own master

consump-

Art thou a man

Hast thou no debts

Hearest

how things are.

What is not, thou

Art thou a human being ?*

and mother

''

for thee to speak

thee,
is.

Art thou

It is not.
:

come

I ask

thou must say thereof:

the following diseases

father

the time

is

Order,

the

have pity on me.'^

follows a formal examination of the postulant.

thou me, N. N.

the

and

sirs, raise

for the

May

for initation.

sirs,

Has thou the permission

Art thou

full

Art thou

twenty years of age

of
?

thy
llast

thou the almsbowl and the garments? What is thy name?

What is thy teacher's name ? " If the answer to all these
* That

is,

not a scrpent-dcmon in

human

form, and the like.

THE ORDER AND THE DIOCESES.

'350

questions be satisfactory, the motion for the conceding

initiation is

Order and repeated

tlie

the Order hear me.

let

sirs,

put to

tlirice

''

N. N. here present desires as

He is

pupil of the venerable N. N. to receive ordination.

from the obstacles

He

to ordination.

N. as

The Order grants N. N. ordination

his teacher.

Whoever

with the said N. N. as his teacher.

is for

speak.''^

If,

him be

Order

is

against

is

" N.

in favour of this

N".

let

has from

therefore

it is

silent

they have measured the

determined the time of day, in order to

i.e.,

anciennete of the newly-ordained

it,

no dissen-

with the said N. N. as his

Next, when

thus I understand.^'

shadow,

declared passed.

is

it

received ordination

The Order

teacher.

Whoever

silent.

after thrice repeating this motion,

tient voice is heard,

tlie

of the venerable

granting the said N. N. ordination with the said N. N.

as his teacher, let

him

free

has the almsbowl and

N. N. entreats the Order for ordination with the

garments.
said N.

Rs7eread

the

fix

member, and have announced

the particulars therefore, they communicate

the

to

young

member

of the Order the four rules of monastic austerity in

external

life

The food

of him, v/ho has gone from

homelessness, shall be

His clothing

begging.

he

collects.

forest.

shall

bo made out of the rags which

His resting-place shall be under the trees of the

His medicine

shall

be the

stinkins" urine of cattle.

if

upon

this

If

they give him clothing,

him

shelter, medicine, it is not forbidden

to look

into

morsels which he receives by

pious laymen prepare him a meal,

is

home

the

to take them, but

he

harsh form of mendicancy as the proper

and appointed mode of

life

for a

monk.

Finally the four great prohibitions are communicated to the

member, the

fundamental duties

of

monastic

life,

by an

infringement of which the guilty person brings about his

inevitable expulsion from the Oi'der

THE FOUR GREAT PROHIBITIONS.

An

351

monk may not liave sexual intercourse, not

The monk who has sexual intercourse,
he is no disciple of the son of the
is no longer a monk
Sakya house. As a man whose head is cut off, cannot live
with the trunk, so also a monk who practises sexual intercourse
he is no disciple of the son of the Sakya
is no longer a monk
'^

even

ordained

witli

an animal.

Thou must abstain therefrom

house.

"

An

monk may

ordained

all

thy

life.

not take what has not been given

what is called a theft not even a blade of grass. The

monk, who takes ungiven a pada* or a pada's worth or more
to him,

than a pada, (commits) what

a

monk

he

stalk cannot again

son

the

of

become green,

so also a

the

of

itself

monk,

ungiven a pada or a pada's worth or more than a

is called

a theft,

is

no longer a monk ; he

son of the Sakya house.

thy

of

Thou must

is

Sakya

from the
avIio

takes

pa,da,

what

no disciple of the

abstain therefrom

all

life.

" An ordained monk may not knowingly deprive any creature

The monk, who knowingly
life, not even a worm or an ant.

deprives a

no longer

called a theft, is

is

disciple

a dry leaf which has separated

As

house.

no

is

foetus, is

Sakya house.

tlie

into

human being of life, eve a by the destruction of

he is no disciple of the son
no longer a monk

two

and so
"An

parts, cannot again

great stone, which has been split

be made into one, so

also a

monk

on.

ordaiued

perfection, as

house.'

As a

monk may

much

as to say

The monk, who with

not boast of any supcrluuuan

:

'1 like to dwell in an empty

evil intent

and from covctous-

ness falsely and untruly boasts of a superhuman perfection,t

*

When we here,

coin or a trivial metallic weight.

find the false

next to the offences of unchastity, theft and murder,

spiritual perfections mentioned

and fraudulent assumption of

THE ORDER AND TEE DIOCESES.

352

be

it

a condition of abstraction, or of rapture, or of concentra-

patb of deliverance, or of the

tion, or of elevation, or of the

fruit of deliverance, lie

of the son of tlie

is

no longer a monk

As

Sakya bouse.

he

is

no

disciple

a palm-tree, tbe top of

.

wbicb has been destroyed, cannot again grow, so also a monk

and so on/'
The communication of these four great
the ceremony of ordination.

We

prohibitions concludes

no

see, that in it

liturgical

elements come to the front which might to a certain extent

serve to express

natural

man and

by solemn symbolism the putting

of the old believers

unity.*

and the

off of

new man, or the

young member into a

the putting on of a

the

cohesion
spiritual

We have before us merely a process of spiritual law, not

i
as the fourth of the major sins, this entitles us to infer, with

preference

what offensive

branch of religious swindling must have been cultivated

tliis

already even in that age in Indian monastic circles.

Vinaya Pitaka,"
Buddha's ruling on
('

vol.

iii,

seq.)

p. 87,

The sacred

texts

narrate as an illustration to

community of monks in the Vajji

by famine. It was proposed that
they should take service with the laity to obtain the means of living
a more quick-witted monk, however, advised that every brother should
territory once

this point, that a

endured great

distress

attribute the highest spiritual perfections to the other brethren in the

hearing o the laity

threefold

" This

monk

"this monk a
knowledge" and more

of abstraction"

has attained such and such a degree

is

saint"

of

"this

the

accepted, and the laity say in astonishment

for us that such

Never

like.
:

" It

monk

possesses the

The suggestion
is

is

lucky, very lucky

monks are spending the rainy season in our midst.

by have monks come to us for the rainy season such

in days gone

as these

monks

are, rich in virtue

and noble."

liberality of the laity corresponds in full to the

IS^aturally

then the

high opinion which they

entertain of the spiritual merit of their guests, so that the latter survive
the period of famine, " blooming, well-fed, with healthy complexion and

healthy skin."

* The assertion often made, that the person entering the Order changes
his

famUy-name

for a cloister-name, is erroneous or at

any

rate supported

WITIWRAWAL FROM THE ORDER.

a mystic transformation

as rational as

breaking

it is

off of

wliicli

comes over and permeates the

The consequence of

person of the ordained.

bare,

is

353

that there

is

this conception,

nothin<^ to prevent the

the relation thus established, either on the part

of the Order* or on the part of the ordained.

guilty of

If the latter

any serious transgression, especially

if

be

he infringe

the four great prohibitions, imposed on him at ordination,

it

becomes the right and the duty

On

him.

of the

fondness for a worldly

life,

open the Order makes no

:

the exit from the Order

effort to detain

him "to renounce monastic practice and

my

"

My

father

is

thoughts,'^ or

in

my

him.

commit

thoughts," or "

''my wife

my

in

is

may

the Order permits him to

him

is

He

return to the world.

depart

to declare before a witness,

who

always

It is better for

sin.

my

Whoever

mother

old days

is

is

in

"the

thoughts,^' or

laughter and the jest, the pleasantry of

thoughts,"

lingering
is

to admit his weakness,'*

than, remaining in the spiritual state, to

says

Order to renounce

who has a

the other side, to the monk,

my

in

can do so silently

bat the proper way for

hears and understands

him,t his resolution, that he renounces Buddha, the Doctrine,

and the Order.

He

departs without enmity;

if

he desires

again to re-establish his connection as a lay-brother or as

a novice with the

comrades of his (piondum

spiritual

life,

only by solitary cases. Ananda, as member of the brotherhood, is called

"the venerable Ananda," Kassapa of Uruvclil is called "the venerable

Kassapa of Uruvcla."
* The technical expression for this
(naseti).

list

means confined only

may be found
p.

34G

(s.

is:

the Order "destroys

him"

of the cases in which this occurred these are by no

to ofToncos aj;ainst the four great prohibitions-

compiled in the Index to the " Vinaya Pitaka,"

vol.

ii,

V. naseti).

declaration should
t It does not appear to have been required that this
be made before a monlc. Cf. " Vinaya Pitaka," vol. iii, p. 27.

23


PBOPEltTT-CLOTHINCx-DWELLING-IIAINTENANCE.

354

ihej do not repel him.

recession
that

it

Thougli this unlimited possibility of

may have brought

evils in its train

influence on the moral health of monastic life

as

it

is

admitted,

has led to gross abuses in the present day*

more

beneficial than otherwise.

yet

its

may be regarded

Apart from the

fact that

the Order would have been wholly deficient in the external

power

to bind its

members by

means of any kind

forcible

whatever^ nothing could have been more decidedly opposed to

the nature of Buddhism than such constraint.

Every man

might go the way which the strength or the weakness

nature, the merit or demerit of past existences led

him

of his
:

the

doors of the Order stood open, but no impatient or pertinacious

zeal pressed the reluctant

wayward

of the

to cuter or

impeded the return

to the world.

Property

Clothing Dwelling Maintenance.

" Community of mendicants " (Bhikkhusangha) was the name

by

given to themselves
ordained
duties

monks.

that

of

This

fraternity

indicates

poverty ranked next in

This had always been

system in India.
first

this

name

so,

of fully-accredited,
that

order

amonof
to

their

chastity.

ever since there was a monastic

Vedic text belonging to the age of the

rudiments of this monasticism says of the Brahraans

* " It happens every day tliat monks who have entered the cloister
under the compulsion of parents, or to avoid the service of the liing, or
from poverty, from laziness, from a love of solitude or of study, or from

any other worldly motive, again quit tlic cloister, to succeed to an

In furtJicr India it is even the custom for
young men, even princes, to assume the monk's'cowl for a term only, at
inheritance, to marry, &c.

least for three

months."

Koppen,

i,

338.

POVERTY OF THE BUDDHIST MONKS.

vylio

renounce

world

ttie

and

children,

seeking

" The}^ cease from seeking

for

is,

that

the one

monk

is

that

is

of poverty

facto cancelled

ijyso

homelessness.^t

No

express

by the " going

Property was

and the rights

are regarded

woi'ld,

forth

from home into

be a

to

felt

vow imposes on

tie

it is said,

freedom

in

is

"is

life-

in the

behind must one go thence"

* "

home, a

" Very

state of impurity

home " " Leaving

leaving the

which

fetter,

holds in bondage the spirit struggling for freedom

straitened,"

what

So the Buddhist

as the other."*

him who renounces the

of property of

also seeking for the worldly;

both the marriage

for

the

For what seeking

beggars.

also renounces all property.

him the duty

as

is,

much

seekinsr as

seeking

also seeking for possessions

is

seeking for possessions

and

possessions,

worldly, and they itinerate as

for children

355

all

property

'^In supreme felicity live we.

gatapatlia Br.," xiv, 7, 2, 26.

t More accurately expressed

true to the spiritual

life,

property as given away.

termed

in the texts "his

the monk,

looks vipou

who

is

resolved to remain

marriage as dissolved, his

his

The wife wliom he has forsaken, is strictly

quondam partner" (puranadutiyika, " Mahii-

he addresses her, like

i, 8,
78; " Suttavibhanga," Par. i, o)
It is in no Avay
every other woman, as " sister " (Par. I.e. 7).
inconsistent with this, if the family of a monk, which desires his return
vagga,"

to a worldly status, looks

upon

his marriage

and his rights of property as

continuing, and if he himself, longing for a worklly

"I have

a wife, for wlioni I must provide"

income of which I desire to live"

(" Suttavibhanga," Par.

i,

8, 2).

"I

In

"I

life,

says to himself

have a

have gold, on

it

village,

on the

I shall live"

one direction the spiritual law

permitted a noteworthy operation of the old rights of property surrendered

by the mouk to take effect in certain cases where the receiving C'f
any new article whatever for monastic house-keeping was forbidden,
e.q., a new almsbowl, he was permitted to take the object in question, if
" from his own means." (" Suttav. Nis.saggiya,"
it had been made for him
xxvi, 2, seq.) Cf. Mayr, " Indisches Erbrecht," p. 145,
xxii, 2, 2
:

23*

PROPERTY CLOTHING-DWELLING MAINTENANCE.

356

who

possess nothing

cheerfuhiess

of the regions of light

^'

"As

our

is

the gods

diet, as of

the bird, wherever he

content with the garment, which he

food,

which he has

everywhere

in

his

is

the

goes,

he

property with him/^

cari-ies his

in the climate of India belong to

The simple needs, which

the

weai'ing, with

is

Wherever he

body.

flies,

monk

carries nothing with him but his wings, so also a

monk, and the common life of a monastic order,

" Clothing, food, lodging, medicine for
satisfied.

of a

life

are easily

the sick

"

this

is

the standing enumeration of what the Order

looked for from the pious beneficence of the

circle of these

laity,

and seldom

did not come within the narrow

What

looked for in vain.

immediate necessaries of

life,

could as

little

constitute part of the property of the Order as that of the

individual

Lands, slaves, horses and

monk.*

Order did not possess, and was not allowed

not engage in agricultural pursuits, nor did

be carried on on

its

''^

account.

sional formula says, "

who

live stock,

it

monk,"

the

It did

to accept.

permit them to

as the old confes-

digs the earth or causes

it

to

be

* That the Order was allowed to have any kind of possession whatever,

which was forbidden

to the individual brethren, has

been often asserted,

The more important items of

property which belonged to the Order, could not indeed by gift or division pass into the possession of individual monks (" Cullavagga," vi, 15,
but, as far I can see, quite groundlessly.

16),

but

it

was not unallowable

for a

monk

to possess things of this

Mahavagga," viii, 27, 5). Then after his death they fell
into the property of the " Church of the four quarters of the world, the
present and the absent," while smaller articles of a deceased monk were
description ("

divided

special regard for those

among the brethren with a

attended to liim during his sickness.

death-bed bequests
property

is to

"

nun

go to the Order "

said

Mention, however,

is

who had
made of

when dying after my death my

Whether any other heirs
ii).
:

(" Cull," x,

but the Order of the monks or of the nuns could be nominated,

known.

is

not

POVERTY OF THE MONKS.

dug,

is

357

But most

liable to punisliment.'^*

was the

strictly

receiving of gold and silver forbidden to Buddha^s disciples,

individually

well

as

requires, but

operatives,

money

their

The

collectively.

value,

money

the

delivers

The provisions

case,

where a brother permits gold or

was the feeling of what was here

common life, and how

something touching about

sembled monks,

to

it,

confessed his
if

one of the

the neighbourhood, the gold

then purchase for the

oil,

lively

When

is

as-

Order be in

given to him, with these words

This they
is

If he wishes, he can

monks what they

or honey.

Or the layman may

monk

the guilty

transgression before the

laity attached to the

he who has received the gold,

it.

how

guard against the dangerous

" Friend, take this into thy keeping."

receive, butter,

be

silver to

at stake for the spirit of their

"

penitently

is

care was taken with an anxiety which has

consequences of such sinful greed.

of

to

Order to

of the rules of the

tendered to him in spite of the prohibition, show

has

who

benefactor,

not the things themselves which he

and the monk then receives from them what

intended for him.

meet the

as

monk

desires to give a

are

may

permitted to

all

enjoy

only

not allowed to have any share

cast the gold away.

If

it

is

not

possible for the Order to get rid of the dangerous possession

in this way, one

of the brethren

" thrower away of the

gold,''

* Of Buddha's Order the same

is

to be chosen to be the

who has
may

five

be said

qualities

wliicli the

who

is

Brahmajala

Buddha himself:
" From receiving bondsmen and bondswomen, the ascetic Gotama refrains
from receiving elephants, cattle, horses and mares, the ascetic Gotama
from receiving arable land the ascetic Gotama refrains." In
refrains
Satta represents people saying to each other regarding

the Vinaya texts, accordingly, nothing

is

found which points to the

pursuit of agriculture, except only one, quite solitary passage, "

vagga,"

vi, 39,

which hardly refers

to

Maha-

anything more than the occasional

sowing of seed in the land belonging to the Aramas.

PROPERTY CLOTEINGDWELLING MAINTENANCE.

S58
free

from

from

from hate, free from iDfatuation,

free

desire,,

He is to throw the gold or the silver away,

casting

away means.

and

to take care that the place

is

free

and who knows what casting away and what not

fear,

recognized by any sign.

where

not to be

it lies is

he makes any signs, he

If

is liable

to

Already at an early date severe struggles arose

punishment.

in the Order regarding this prohibition of the receipt of gold

and

silver,*

but

it

By

for centuries.

in its integrity

was successfully maintained

nothing so clearly as by this prohibition

and by the obedience which

has obtained,

it

is it

guaranteed

that the ancient Buddhist Order did really remain free and pure

from

hankering after worldly power as well as worldly

all

Never could

enjoyment.

have so completely surrendered

it

the possession of gold and therewith

action,

had

it

all possibility

of outer

not been in truth precisely that alone which

professed to be, a community

and deliverance

in separation

The dwelling,

food,

of those

who sought

from everything earthly.

and clothing of the monks are

in detailed regulations.

it

for peace

The

laid

character of these rules

down

is

very

decided: the abstaining from everything which implies comfortable enjoyment, being at one^s ease in worldly possessions,
is

just as urgently

demanded, as on the other

those strange
recently

made up

Buddhism
under no

features, with

which a

the picture

of

a society of ascetics,

roof,

side excesses of

Here we

ascetic praxis are wholly eschewed.

fanciful

what he

find

calls

who were allowed

but to pass their whole

life

none of

inquirer has
original
to live

under the open

heavens, sitting in cremation-grounds or under trees, whose

whole appearance bears upon

it

the stamp of deformity and

* Apparently in the Council of Vesali

(circ.

one century after Buddha's

death) the dispute

touching the receipt of gold and silver was the

particularly essential

among a

series of secondary

and subtle

differences.

CHARACTER OF THE RULES GOVERNING OUTER

impurity.*

In

truth

especially in clothing,

is

all

negligence in outer

most

LIFE.

35'J

appearance,

In the case of

strictly tabooed.

younger monks, who are placed under the superintendence of an

elder brother, the latter has to pay attention to the appearance

of those committed to his care

make
The

he

is

their clothes right, dye them,

and

sanitation

it,

sunning of

furniture, the

all

articles

are prescribed with the greatest minuteness in

the works on the rules of the Order.

less

by the

ventilation of the quarters occupied

monks, the cleaning of

that require

required to see, that they

and wash them properly.

Touching the greater or

degree of abstinence from the necessities and comforts

of regular

life,

a certain freedom

allowed to the individual,

is

and

to allow scope for his individual likes

wished might take a vow to

dislikes.

Whoever

only on the food which he

live

might obtain on his begging expedition from house to house,

but no one was forbidden to accept the invitations of pious

laymen

to dine,

and we read that Buddha himself accepted

Whoever wished

such invitations on numberless occasions.

might patch together rags, which he had

himself a monk's yellow garment

happened

to

come

collected, to

to a cremation-ground,

* " Wassiljew, der Buddhismus,"

Ijiter alia, it is

there said

p. 16, seq. (of

"In

fact

we

used perhaps to

made

gather there the shreds from which they

tion).

make

wandering monks, who

the

see

their clothes.

German translaBuddha in the

tlic

legends, notwithstanding the specious splendour with which they invesl

him, every day in his

and walking

own person going

to the nearest

town

out of the grove of Anathapindika

to collect alms.

In the face of

this,

what meaning have the cloister rules, the directions for associated life,
and whatever else of the kind meets us in the Vinaya ? Is it consistent
with this, that a host of scholars surround the Buddha and have satiated
themselves with his doctrine and have taught others ?" Of course, how
could scholars indeed satiate themselves with the teaching of a man,
daily goes out of a

wood

in person

who

PROPERTY CLOTniNG DWELLING MAINTENANCE.

360

But no one was forbidden

which laymen presented

to dress himself in the gai'ments,

to the

clothes

both,

monks,

might dwell

Jf

laity,

may

monks,
also

wear

you have a fancy

for

Whoever wished,

it.'"*

in the forest or in the caves of the mountains,

With

town.

the

have no objection to

no one was forbidden to take up

monk

"I grant you^

monks.

who wears clothes given by

made up from gathered, rags.

that he

but

abode near a village or a

his

and

sticks gathered in the forests,

grass, every

could easily construct a hut for himself, and laymen not

unfrequently even lent their assistance or caused

building

operations to be carried on at their expense for the Order, so

that

monks^ houses

(viharas),

detached buildings or a complex

whole, with assembly-rocms, council-chambers,

* The following passage of

briefly

and graphically the

tlie

" Tlieragatlui "

may be

the

monk

On

dunghills, on cremation-grounds,

wherewith he

may

let

the abode of

able to dwell in retirement and seclusion.

and on the

prepare himself clothing

"With submissive air

which he wears.

describes

" In solitude and quiet where the

wild beasts have their dwelling and the gazelles, there

he

Idie)

(fol.

of a monk, wlio adheres to the stricter

life

ordinances in dress, food, and so on

be, that

diuing-halls,

let

the

streets, let

rough

him seek

the garment be

let

monk move, watching

the

doors of his senses and keeping himself in check, from house to house in

Let him be content

order to beg for food.

many

desire anything else,

things, his spirit

is

him

avoid.

let

Like a

him not speak, who

The dangers, which

He who

is

the wise

dumb

man

live

or a deaf

wise, at

forest life

is

layman and

man

let

daily

anchorite, both

Indian forests.

imminent

and hourly cause

to spiritual

acceleration of spiritual effort,

death.

when year

hundreds by snakes and wild beasts in

particular section of the sacred texts, entitled

dangers of forest

let

in the Order."

personages, were obviously not fewer in those days than now,

after year hermits are killed in

him not

him show himself;

an unseasonable moment

must

let

fond of savoury

Needing nothing, content,

not fond of abstraction.

apart from the world,

let

also with poor food

savoury things.

life,"

contains

admonitions

to

when every moment may bring

"the

zealous
violent

DWELLING.
structures for

warm

batlis

On

disposal.*

and ablutions, as well

members

in its entirety as for tlie

the whole

361

individually,

for the

were

Order

at their

we have undoubtedly to picture to

who had chosen a life in the

ourselves monks, those even

under the

forestSjt dwelling rather in huts or houses than

open sky, perchance under the shade

of a tree.

Even wanNovices and

derers had as a rule a shelter at their disposal.

scholars used generally to go on ahead and see that quarters

were prepared

for

their

among

teachers

communities,

the

The younger
who came on their

whose places of residence they passed through.

brethren went out to meet the older monks,

wanderings

they took their overalls and almsbowls from them,

got water ready for them to w^ash their feet and showed them
to their quarters for the night.

During the three months of

the rainy season in which itinerating ceased, the

monks were

expressly forbidden to resort to a place of rest in the open,

Thus the

at the foot of a tree.

represents
spiritual

We

which,

On

Mahinda, the

companions, before the

are not to think o

had been erected

the whole

it

tlie viliaras

seems to have been the

;

the island,

season sets

in,

and his
dwelling

of ancient times as cloisters,

number

rule, that

of residents.

one vihara accom-

such viharas usually lay near one another in

greater or smaller numbers.

is

I'ainy

for the reception of a great

modated only one monk

which

tradition of the Singhalese

converter of

The vihara

is

mentioned in the "Cullavagga"

described as especially great

(vi,

11), in

which seventeen

Six other monks

monks arranged themselves for a rainy season.
come thither, and still there is room for them also. Possibly we have to
look upon both parties as accompanied by scholars, novices, and so forth.
Stone, brick, and wood are named as the usual materials for the buildings
of

the Order.

t Compare the rules for the house and the day

forest, which we read in the " Cullavagga," viii,

which the venerable Udayi had

for
6.

monks living in the

The stately vihara,

built for himself in the forest, is described

in the " Suttavibhanga," Sangh.

ii,

1, 1.

PROPERTY-CLOTHING DWELLING-MAINTENANCE.

362

near the capital in a park,

disposal, " with a

flowers

and

the king bad placed at their

"wliicli

good view and rich

truly

fruit,

lovely

in shade, adorned with

there

lotus poo], covered with lotuses, white

and blue

a beautiful

is
;

there

fresh

is

But

water in beautiful springs, scented by sweet flowers/''

when

when

the rainy season comes round,

weather sets in
the whole year

monks

in

India

damp

in Ceylon
these are the finest months of
Mahinda leaves the park and goes with the
itself

mountain of Missaka, there

to provide

himself accommodation in the holes of the rocks.

The king

other

to the

hears of this and hastens out

mine and come

''

to this

Here we wish

Near a

''Why

hast thou left

me and

And Mahinda

replies

mountain

to pass the rainy reason, three

when

door

Buddha commanded the monks

rock for the monks

cells

to

Then the king gives

the rainy season comes/^*

an order for eight and sixty

months long.

village or in the forest, or in a dwelling-place, the

of which can be shut, has

dwell,

be hollowed out in the

cells to

such as throughout the whole of

India and Ceylon, lying often several stories one over the
other,

still

mark

indelibly to-day the old rallying points

centres of monastic

In the village

itself,

or in a town, the

to reside except in cases of

as to set foot in

dawn on

and

life.

monk

is

not permitted

urgent necessity, nor even as

much

them between noon and the appearance of

the following day.f

But he

is

tied to the neighbour-

* Willi tliis passage of the " Dipavamsa " (14, 64) compare the rules of
the Order on this subject, " Mahavagga," iii, 12.

t " Pacittiya,"

85.

On

one occasion when Buddha in his wanderings

approaches his native town, Eapilavatthu, he sends on one of the faithful,

saying: " Go, Mahanama, and seek in Kapilavatthu a lodging, in which
I can find shelter to-day for one night"
jhau).

("

Anguttara

Instances o this kind occur only quite isolated.

jN^ik.," vol.

i,

foL

DWELLINGDAILY BEGGING EXCURSION.

liood of village

Even

363

and town by the necessity of supporting

he, wlio has taken a

vow

life.

to live in the forest^ lives just

near enough to the village to bo able to reach

it

on his begging

Carrying in his hands the bowl, in which he

excursion.*

places the food

handed

to hiiHj

he

is

to

go from house

whether believers dwell in them or unbelievers

pass by the houses of poor people, of
that they would give the begging

whom

to house,

only he

is

to

know

the Order

monks food beyond what

they could afford, and would then themselves to suffer hunger.

Enveloped in

his ovei-all, with

downcast look, without bustle, and

monk

in neither hasty nor careless fashion, the

houses.

He

is

stay too long nor to

given to him

is

to enter the

off,

He

go away too quickly.

something

silence, until

is

not to stand too near nor too far

then he

he

is

is

not to

to wait in
is to

hold

out his bowl, and, without looking at the face of the giver,
receive

what she gives him.

Then he spreads

the almsbowl, and goes slowly on.

* " Cullava<?ga,"

"Commentary on

viii,

the

'^

his overall over

When

For illustration take

6.
Dhammapada," p. 81, seq.

they leave the

the narrative in the

The

saintly

Palita comes with sixty accompanying brethren in his wanderings,

the rainy season

sion through

is

"

it.

near, to a great village, and

The people saw

makes

these monks,

monk
when

his begging-excur-

who were adorned with

them with believing heart,

them to sit down, entertained them with the best food, and asked
them
Eeverend sirs, whither does your way lie ?
They replied
Where we may find a place good to dwell in, O believer.' The clever
The venerable men are looking for a dwelling and an abode,'
people saw
right demeanour, and they prepared seats for

invited
:

'

'

'

and they

'

said

three months,

'

If you, venerable

we

shall take

requirements of upright

life.'

sirs,

be willing to dwell here for these

our refuge in the

faith,

and observe the

Palita accepts the invitation, whereon the

villagers erect a vihara in the forest

(I.e.

p. 85, line 13).

Thence the

monks go every morning into the village to collect alms. When one of
the monks becomes blind, and can go no longer to the village, the
residents of the village send him food daily into the forest."

PROPERTY CLOTHING DWELLING MAINTENANCE.

364

village/^ says an old poem_,*

"tliey look back on uotliing.

Without looking round tkey walk about ; therefore dear

When

are the monks. '^

monk

the

me

to

has returned from the

begging excursion, there follows about midday the hour for

" The monk,^^ it is
eating, the one meal in the whole day.
said in the confessional formula, "

who

an improper timet

at

takes or enjoys hard or soft food,

is

The meal

custom requires, of bread

and

rice,

and

fish

consists chiefly, as Indian

with which water

is

limited

is

drunk.

liable to

The enjoyment

spirituous liquors are

punishment/'

most

of flesh

strictl}^

for-

bidden.

For a monk to dwell

alone, without having other brethren in

his neighbourhood, is quite the exception,

those

who have chosen

a forest-life.

even in the case of

The provisions

of the

laws of the Order are wholly based on the supposition that

small knots of brethren living near each other

who depend on each

come together,

other to unite for confession, to instruct

one another, to strengthen one another in doubt and temptation,

and to keep up spiritual

" For," says the old confessional

to care for one another in sickness,

discipline

among

formula, " the

themselves.

band

of the disciples of the Exalted

bound together that one exhorts the other and one

the other."

Especially on the

young monk

is it

One

is

so

stablishes

enjoined as a

duty to seek the company of the older and more experienced

brethren, to be instructed in the doctrines of the faith as well
as in the external rules of conduct, even
for

the wearing

of

clothes

down

to the directions

and carrying of the almsbowl.

monk

During the

first

Order, he

required to place himself under the guidance and

is

* " Thertgatliti,"

I.e.,

five

years,

which every

passes in the

fol. ni.

between the hour of midday and the dawn of the following day.


LIFE IN THE COMMUNITY

monks,* who

instruction of two able

cleaning of their
is

to look

he looks

as a father.

Thus both are

and unanimity of

respect, attachment

may be

life

his

home
is

for the faith,

young,

"

who has come

monk who

is

is

to

between

and

stablish

He who has left

he who has come hither in early years

him attach himself

let

unwearying persons of pure walk.

for the faith,

" The

to permit

to prevail

able to grow, progress,

themselves in this Doctrine and this Law.^^f

and

after the

at their meals.

upon the scholar as a son ; the scholar

look upon the teacher

them, that they

and serves them

cells,

3G5

have belonged for

shall

and begging excursions

their wanderings

SOLITUDE.

These he accompanies in

at least ten years to the Order.

teacher

AND IN

to

He who

noble friends, to
has

left his

hither in early years and

him abide

intelligent, let

in the

is

home

young,

Order and

practise the rules.''^t

There was nothing in the way of

circles of brethren,

respect,

diflTerences of

rank in the

but the natural privileges and claims to

which belong to greater

seniority

i.e.

to the greater

length of spiritual standing, which was reckoned from the date

In the proceedings, which had to be conducted

of ordination.

before the Order, any " expei-ienced and able

The numerous

the initiative.

monk" could
whom we

office-bearers

take
find

mentioned bear by no means a hierarchical character; they

have to do chiefly with the care of external necessities and the
discharge of domestic duties; thus there was a caretaker of
the sleeping places, a caretaker of the council chambers, a rice
distributor, a fruit distributor, the overseer of the novices,

*
are

One

of

them

synonymous

is

denominated Upajjliaya, the other Acariya (both

for " teacher ").

ments, see Davids's and

t " Mahavagga,"
I

" Theragatha,"

i,

and

my

25, 6

fol.

As

to the relation of these

note to " Mahavagga,"

;

kau'.

32, 1.

i,

32.

two appoint-

PROPERTY CLOTHING DWELLING MAINTENANCE.

^GG

other similar
rule in
also

As unanimity was

officers.

necessary as a general

most of the resolutions of the Order, these appointments

depended

whole on the unanimous choice of the

as a

brethren present in the diocese.

Ordinary labour of any kind whatever was always foreign to

this monastic life;

it

was deeply embedded

in the

Buddhist

conception of the moral that the educative value of labour

The whole

could not be acknowledged here.

energies were claimed for spiritual exercises.

life

and

all

the

Already at early

morn, before the hour for begging excursions had arrived, in

the chambers of the viharas, in the halls and under the trees
of the cloister-gardens, might be heard the monotonous, half-

singing recitation of the sacred sayings and discourses of

Buddha.

The

oldest of the brethren present himself recited

or directed one of the others to recite.

as questioner

Or there came forward,

and answerer, two of the brethren who were

versed in the rules of the Order, and discoursed before the

assembly on important and

of rules of the Order.*
after

difficult

Then

points of monastic law and

after the besrs-ino- excursion,

dinner and the hours of

rest

which followed, when

evening brought the brethren again together, they sat on far

into the night

was very

the

scant-j-

There were

time allotted to the monks for sleeping

silently or in converse

also times

other, like that of

it

friends

Anuruddha and

awake one night every

discussing

when

five d&js,

together. J

with one another.

made compacts with each

his

two comrades^ who kept

propounding the Doctrine and

'^He who abides in the Order,^' we

* In tMs form of discussion, whicli

is

treated of at " Mabavagga,"

ii,

15, 6-11, tlie proceedings, for instance, of the Council at Vesali regarding

the ten disputed points of the rules of the Order were carried on

t Xhe regular time for rising was about dawn.

" Mahiivagga," x, 4, 5.
J

(p. 343).

LIFE IN THE COMMIUNITY AND IN SOLITUDE.

5'ead,*

'^

talks

its exposition,

many

not of

He expounds

tilings.

tlie

topics

and

or he esteems even sacred silence not lightly/^

which sacred silence

to

the greater centres of monastic

liable, especially at

at places

talks not of vulgar

woi'd himself^ or stirs another up to

Of the very profane interruptions

was

367

life,

where hundreds, probably sometimes, indeed, thou-

sands of monks flocked together from

texts do not speak very

much with

parts of India, the

all

relish.

An

old versef

says with special reference to the spiritual brothers

Brahma men

live alone

a village they

live in threes

bustle and turmoil.-'^

like

gods they

live in

twos

" Like
like

where there are more there

saying will ho fully concur

who has

seen and especially

who

has heard the commotion of a crowd of people, or better

of a crowd of wrangling and scolding faqirs in India.

many among Buddha's

is

Particularly in the last clause of this

disciples

still

Thus

withdrew from the bustle of

the masses, from the great ctramas in the neighbourhood of

There they lived

the towns into the solitude of the forest. J

in the huts they built for themselves, in small communities, in

twos or threes, or even quite alone and only just near enough
* " Anguttara Nikaya,"

t " TlieragatLa,"

fol.

vol.

iii,

fol. ki.

kau'.

J The comparative estimation of solitude and of life with others could

naturally be only a purely personal matter, and so it appears in the sacred
Sometimes we read expressions like these " Let him seek out
texts.
:

remote places, therein to dwell

free

from

all

bands.

there let

him walk,

that he

Il lie does not find peace there, let

Order, guarding his soul from sins with watchful spirit"

quoted in the " Milinda Panha,"

And

may become

him

live in the

(" Sainy.

N.,"

" If
he finds a wise associate, a noble comrade of upright walk, then let him
live with liim, overcoming all temptation, cheerful and with a watchful
spirit.

p. 402).

then

it is

said again

If he does not find a wise associate, a noble comrade of upright

walk, then let him go forth alone, as a king

kingdom, like the elephant into the forest

who abandons

" ("

Dhammap.,"

his

conquered

328, seq.).

PROPERTY CLOTHING DWELLING MAINTENANCE.

368

to others to be in reach of one another for holding- the meetino-s

of the chapter prescribed for confessional and other purposes.

Perhaps nowhere have the sayings of Buddha, the earnest

thoughts of the suffering of everything earthly, and the great,

pure expectations of the happy cessation of impermanence, so

fully satisfied

human

small and quiet

hearts, as

among

these anchorites in their

'^When

bands.

foxiest

shall I, ^' says one of

the spiritual poets,* " dwell alone in mountain grotto without

companions, viewing instability in every form of being?

will such

made

be

my

lot ?

When

shall I, as a sage clad in

of rags, in yellow garb, calling

nothing

"VVTien

garments

my own

and

without occupation, desisting from love and hate, ceasing from

infatuation,

dwell cheerfully in the forest

seeing the instability of

and

disease, oppressed

fear,

alone in the forest

my

body, which

When

is

shall I,

a nest of murder

by

old age and death, dwell free from

When

such be

will

my

lot

"

" The

broad, heart-cheering expanses, crowned by hareri forests, those

lovely regions, where elephants raise their voices, the rocks

make me

glad.

Where

the rain rushes, those lovely abodes,

the mountains, where sages walk, where the peacock^s cry

resounds, the rocks

make me

There

is it

good

good,

who

is

on earth

for

me

There

glad.

to be, the friend of abstraction,

who

is

it

good for

me

monk, who pursues the true

to be, the

struggling for salvatiou.-"t

will the

is

struggling for salvation.

Not

in

many

places

charms of contemplative solitude have been

enjoyed so fully as there, in the forests on the Ganges and at

the foot of the Himalaya^

among

the yellow-robed

Buddha's Order.
* " Theragatha,"

fol.

gau.

t "Theragatha,"

fol.

go.

monks of

THE CULTUS.

369

The Cultus.
Twice

monks

moon and

in tlie montlij at full

of

sojourning,

come together

The observance

new moon,

at

wherever they may happen

district,

eacli

to

''

cultus

of the fast-day

" can be

>f

the most prominent and

is

at all applied to these

plain external forms of mutual religious

looks upon man's

own

life.

lip utters

so far as

it

For a

faith,

is

a concomitant

And

its

of,

a symbol corresponding to,

above

age of the

in the first

all

ceremoniousness, with

and soma-offerings, with

its

its

have been especially keenly

that so

much

and led

felt

mumbling

to the j'esult,

the more earnest heed was taken to preserve the

from every non-

internal character of the individual faith free

We

must keep before us the

Christian cultus drew

its

his people,

which the early

was foreign

vitality,

the conception that the divine

Head

anything in

fact, that

of a mysterium, such as that from

as their lord

of the

Buddhism

to

Church

is

and king, so that

all

however, has entered into Nirvana

invoke him, he could not hear them.

* Tlie designation of
tlie

Vedic

not absent

but that he dwells powerfully in their midst

cultus is nothing else but

the expression of this continuing living fellowship,

of

to the

animal sacrifices

hosts of singing and

priests,

from

what

and what the hand does, can have a value only in

old faith with

way

which

effect,

young Buddhist community must that very opposition

the

the

heart as the sole place in which decisions

that internal process.

essential.

if

most simple and

between happiness and ruin can be carried into

the

be

to celebrate the fast-day.*

almost the only observance of the ancient Buddhist cultus,

word

tlie

cultus.

tliis

if

Therefore Buddhism

day as a fast-day rests on

With an

Buddha,

his believers desired to

tlie

is

ancient usages

actual fast tlie Buddhist Order

nothing to do.

24

had

370

THE CULTUS.

The preaching

religion "witliout prayer.

of Buddha's doctrine,

the practice of spiritual abstractions, in which they thought

they possessed so powerful an aid to religious

the whole

life

the forms of a regularly organized cultus

was

little

room

left in

permeated

effort,

of the brethren, but they found

no expression in

for this last there

that universal sway, conceivable only in

a monastic Order, of religious thought over every word which

the believer utters, and over every step he takes.

Among

the operations of this quasi-cultus stands, as already

mentioned, in precedence of everything

employed

to determine

been truly and

else,

the confessional

on the " fast-day," the check, so

celebration observed

fully

whether

tlie

duties of spiritual

performed by

all

to speak,
life

the brethren.

have

These

confessional meetings give above all a lively expression to the

members of the Order.

among the monks in every

cohesion of the

The

eldest

meeting, and at evening on the fast-day

all

district calls

the

the brethren,

who

come together

in

the vihara chosen for the purpose or whatever other place

is

are sojurning within the limits of the diocese,

selected

by the Order, be

No one

tain.

is

it

a building or a cave in the moun-

permitted to absent himself.

Only

in the case

of insanity can a dispensation

be granted, and sick brethren

can be allowed to remain away,

if

they can cause an assurance

of their purity from the transgressions mentioned in the confessional formula to reach the assembled brethren through

comrade.
invalid

If there

be no one to convey

must be brought on

assembly, or

if

this cannot

on his bed to the

his chair or

be done without danger to him, the

Order must go in a body to his bedside

But under no circumstances

is it

the light of a torch the

for the celebration.

permitted to go through the

sacred office in an assembly short of the

By

this assurance, the

full

monks take

number.
their places in the

CONFESSIONAL ASSEMBLIES.

371

No

place of assembly on the low seats prepared for them.

layman, no novice, no nun may be present,

Order, which
formula,
alone.*

is

now

is

be recited in the form of a confessional

to

This confessional formula, the liturgy Patimokkha

^^),

Eeverend

sirs,"

who

the oldest of the brethren, or he

otherwise able and qualified,

now

recites

with a loud voice

he says, " let the Order hear mo.

fast-day, the fifteenth of the half

is

law of the

regarded as a reserved possession of the monks

unburdening

'^

for the

month.

If the

To-day
Order

is

ready, let the Order keep fast-day and have the formula of

confession recited.

What must

the Order do

the declaration of purity, reverend sirs.f

Eeport

first ?

I shall recite the

formula of confession.'^

who makes an unordainecl person

* " The monk,

the

Dhamma,

is liable

to

punishment"

a partaker verbatim of

(" Pacittiya," 4).

I believe, not

harmony with the ancient commentator in this passage,

that by the term Dhamma tlie maxims of the confessional formula of the
Patimokkha are to be understood. It can hardly be assumed that a
monk, who, like Mahinda, for example, before the Ceylonese king,
retailed the sayings or preachings of Buddha, thereby incurred the
penalty of an offence. There were, moreover, among the laity themselves
altogether in

" preachers of the

Cittais mentioned
vol.

i,

Dhamma "

byname

near the beginning)

(dhammakathika), as the

in one of the sacred texts ("

;

and similarly the case

" Vinaya," where a layman

summons

the

a discourse of Buddha's, with which he

the knowledge

As regards the
.

is

p. 190, seq.

this

it

to

mentioned in the
deliver

to

them
which

Mahavagga,"

5, 9).

the Patimokkha

From

whom

acquainted, and of

in danger of being lost ("

character of

" Milinda Pauha,"

is

is

monks

of

first

AnguttaraNikaya,"

as

also follows,

represents a person like the young Moggaliputta,

the model of a quickly progressing scholar, as

who

still

iii,

a secret lore,

is

when

cf.

tradition

put forward as

learning during the

four years of his noviciate only the collections of the Suttas and

tlie

Abhi dhamma, that the Vinaya was an Arcanum, which became accessible
Viyiaya PitaJca, vol. iii,
to him after his ordination, and not till then.
p. 299.

I.e.,

the declaration in the

name of the brethren absent on account of

24*

THE CULTUS.

372

The Order present

hear and consider

it

replies

"

We all,

wlio are here present,

well/^

" Whoever has committed a transgression/' the leader goes

Where there is no transgression,

it.
From your silence I shall infer that you are
reverend sirs. As an individual man, to whom a ques-

on, "let
let

him confess

him be

clear,

tion

is

silent.

put,

is

supposed to answer, so

is

in the case of

it

an

assembly like the present, when the question has been put

A monk,

three times.

who on

the question being put three

times does not confess a fault, which he has committed and

which he remembers,

is

guilty of an

intentional

But

lie.

intentional lying, reverend sirs, brings destruction ;* thus has

the Exalted

fault,

One

Therefore a monk, who has committed

said.

remembers

confess his fault.

it,

and seeks

to

be pure therefrom,

For what he confesses,

is

to

will lie lightly

on

him."

Now

the enumeration of the transgressions which are to be

confessed begins.

The most

of which every newly

at ordination,

serious stand

first,

entering brother

that whoever commits

is

those four sins,

already warned

them, can no longer

"'If a monk,"' the leader

belong to the Order (p. 351).
begins, " who has chosen the exercises and the fellowship of

the monks, has carnal intercourse with any creature whatever,

down even

to a beast, without renouncing these exercisesf

and

without admitting his weakness, then this involves a defeat

(by

evil)

and expulsion from the Order."

with the three other gravest

assumption

of spiritual

sickness, that tliey

sins, theft,

perfections.

Similar terms deal

murder, and the

At

have committed no transgression enumerated

confessional formula.

I.e., it

I.e.,

prevents the attainment of sanctification.

leaving the Order.

false

the close of

this

in the

CONFESSIONAL ASSEMBLIES.

573

enumeration of transgressions^ whicli bring with them

''

defeat

and expulsion from the Order/' the leader turns himself

to the

brethren present with the thrice repeated question

now

I ask the venerable

sions

And

the third time I ask

Are you

Are you

free

" Free are the venerable from

from these transgres-

free

second time I ask

for the

" Here

Are you

And

if all

free

For

are silent*

these^ therefore they are silent;

so I take it/'

The enumeration

now

is

directed to the less serious trans-

gressions, to those, which the Order visits with a temporary

degradation,

and

which are atoned

those,

to

without

for

any action of the Order by the mere admission of the guilty

For example,

party.

it is

said

The monk who lowers himself

''

to touch a

woman's person

with corrupt thoughts, while he clasps her hand or clasps her

* The wording of the formula shows beyond doubt, that according to
the original intention anyone

who

had

before the Order.

at this point to confess

it

himself guilty of a transgression,

felt

The

later texts

("Khan-

No

dhaka") give directions which are at variance with this construction.

one could carry unatoned guilt with him into the confessional meeting.

He

had previously
Also when he

it.

to confess and,
calls to

where any penance

mind an

is

attached, perform

offence first only during the celebra-

he has not to answer the question of the leader, but he has to

tion,

absolve himself, by anticipation as

celebration,

by saying

to his

it

neighbour

were, for

when I shall have risen from this

myself therefrom."
Whoever was cognizant of
and that ofience

the

" Friend, I have

period of the

committed

this

place, I shall purify

the transgression of

another, had to hold the guilty party to penance before the celebration

of the confession, or " to forbid the confession " in his case

until he

on

had complied with

whom

day

" ("

a transgression

Mahavagga,"

ii,

his duty.

lies, is

27

We see in this maxim

"

by

allowed to keep the ceremony of the

cf.

veto,

No man,

" Cullavagga," ix, 2) clearly the

fast-

more

scrupulous conception of a late period, as compared with the old institution,

which had created the observance of the fast-day quite particularly

for those wlio

were burdened by a sense of

guilt.

THE CULTUS.

374

hair or touches one part or another of her body, the Order

on him degradation/^

inflicts

"The monk who

knowingly so

any house belonging

in

arranges

quarters

his

commodes a monk who has come

himself
this

'

Who

finds

and nothing

" The

else in

monk who

view

he

is

may go

is

out/ having just

guilty of

sin.-''

in anger or enmity extrudes a

him

a house belonging to the Order, or causes

he

thereby in-

before him, and says within

too narrow,

it

the Order

to

he

that

monk from

to be extruded,

guilty of sin.''

In

this

thrown

manner, in more than two hundred pai'agraphs

somewhat

together

uusystematically,

those injunctions, which govern the daily

their

and

eating

residence,

drinking,

life

are

specified

of the

monks,

and

clothing,

intercourse with each other and with nuns and laity.

their

Even

the most external and the most trivial matter finds a place

which

to the painful fondness for rule,

every word, nothing

is

unessential.

is

Buddhist Order has not been able to invest

liturgical creation

element of

illiberality

will call

to

it,

Next

to

whom

most prominent

we may perhaps

detect an

but insipidity and paltriness he alone

serious

and scrupulous obedience

to rule

matters appears insipid and paltry.

half-monthly confessional

recurring simple and

in

trivial

the

its

with any other form than that of a para-

graphic collection of monastic rules

even in the most

here traceable in

In the fact that the

beautiful

celebration

mind, Avhich bears the name of

days

the

yearly

must be borne

invitation

(Pavarana).

When

the three months of the rainy season have gone by,

before

the wandering begins, the brethren in each diocese,

who have passed

for the

this time in

common

retirement-^they are

most part friends closely attached to each other

in a solemn conference, in

unite

which every one, from the oldest to


THE EABMONT OF INVITATION.

375

the youngest, sitting in a reverential attitude on the ground,

raising his clasped hands, asks his spiritual comrades,

if

he

has been guilty of any sin during this period, to

it

to

him.
if

'^Eeverend

sirs," it is

then

my

ye have seen anything on

said,

part, or

"I

name

invite the Order,

have heard anything,

or have any suspicion about me, have pity on me, reverend

sirs,

and speak.

If I see

it,

I shall atone for it."*

In these few ceremonious observances has been described

the narrow range of that, which, with the disciples of Buddha,
takes the place of regular acts of public worship.

be seen that

this cultus, if

we wish

the outer court of the religious

among

maintaining

the

monks

behaviour and dealing.

to call

life

it

it so,

It will

goes only into

has only to do with

external correctness in decent

Whatever goes beyond

this,

the

keeping up of instructive meditation and religious concentrawholly to the unfettered action of the individual

tion, is left

brother, of the individual group of brethren.

It

may be

here observed that at least the

first

rudiments of

a cultus of another stamp, separated in broad distinction from

that which

we have

discussed,

which our sketch has to deal

go back into the times with

the rudiments of the veneration

attaching to holy places and to Buddha^s

it is

relics.

Four

placeS;,

said,t arc deserving that believing, noble youths should

* According to the original custom every one

course, said

what he had

existed, these

tlien, as

to say in reply to this appeal,

were explained before the Order. The

here adopted apparent}}^, exactly as

wc

"

a matter of

and when doubts

Khandhaka Texts"

liave already (note p. 373) seen

they did in the confessional celebration, the standpoint of a later age.

No

one, it is said in tliis connection, who is under the burden of guilt,

can take part in the solemnization of the " Invitation ;" what every one

has to cast up to the other, must be previously brought to an issue.

Mah.

iv,

16,

t " Mahaparinibbana Sutta,"

p. 51.


THE CVLTUS.

'J.

0/6
see tliem

and that

ho moved by them

their hearts should

the place where the holy Buddha was born

he has obtained the highest illumination

has " set in motion the

Wheel

the place where

where he

;* the place

of the Law_," the place

where he,

delivered from everything earthly, has entered into the perfect

Nirvana.

To these

lay-sisters

have a desire to

body

dissolves,

and be born again

The
their

" For he,

travel.

lay-brothers

and

Ananda, who
will,

beyond death, walk the good road

in the heavenly world.''

and the

care of Buddha^s relics

institution of festivals in

honour are committed exclusively to the piety of believing

''What are we

laity.

when

monks and nuns,

on the pilgrimage to such holy places,

dies in the faith

'vVhen his

places

his

Perfect
Perfect

end

One

One

Ananda

to do,"

asks of the Master,

drawing near,t ''with the body of the

is

" Let not the honours due

Ananda.

trouble you_,

Ananda; be

to the

body of the

Seek ye rather holiness,

on holiness: live in holiness without,

intent

There

blemish^ in holy haste, seeking after jierfection.

are,

Ananda, wise men among the nobles, the Brahmans, and the
* Already one of the texts belonging to
festivals, which, are

tlie

sacred canon points to

kept at the "Tree of Knowledge."

"At

the great

Tree of Knowledge of the Buddha Padumuttara there was a festival

celebrated.

Then I took

When

smelling water.

vessels

of

many

kinds and offered sweet-

the Tree of Knowledge was to be bathed,

a great rainfall began," and so on.

"

At the suj)remely

holj--

foot of the

Knowledge-tree of the Buddha Padumuttara, I planted cheerfully, with

cheerful heart a banner."

t "Mahap."

p.

51,

-Apaddna,
Cf.

seq.

fol. ghi',

ghi, of tlic

"Milinda Pafiha,"

p.

Phayre MS.
It is

177, seq.

noteworthy, that, as at this place the care for Buddha's remains

is

not

represented as belonging to the disciples, so the Viuaya texts are nearly

altogether silent as to the last honours of deceased monks.
for their cremation

was perhaps committed to the

Manual, second cdn.

52.

p.

22G

cf.

laity.

Vide

To arrange
e.g.

Hardy,

however, BJiikkhunivihhanga Pdcittya,

BEGINNING OF VENERATION FOR SACRED PLACES.

citizens, wlio

the Perfect One;

believe in

377

do the

tliey will

honours to the body of the Perfect One." So then after Buddha's

death his relics are divided out to a number of princes and

whom

nobles, each of

and

"builds a stiipa (monument for

a festival"

institutes

festivals

at

The Order

play the chief part.

pompous show

of

monks

of

scale usually

as such has nothing

of veneration

the Order have not a word to say about

relics)

which offerings

and illuminations on a grand

flowers, ablutions

to do with this

the old rules of

it.

The Order op Nuns.

We

have already undertaken in a previous passage

seq.) to

show the

We saw with what

was conceded

sex,

women

to

women

in

social

164,

and how admission

Order

to the

only with reluctance and under con-

which involved their absolute subjection

ditions

(p.

Buddha's teaching.

decided antipathy Buddha's disciples stood

from the female

aloof

The

position of

law of the Indians also kept

woman

to the
all

her

monks.
life

long

" In childhood," says an oft-quoted rC/

sentence in the Institutes of Manu, " let her be subjected to

in complete dependence.

the will of her father; in adult

has led her

died

rules

home

woman

is

life to

to her son's will,

the will of the

not permitted to enjoy independence."

which Buddhist Church-law lays down for the

life of

Manu;

man who

when her husband has

nuns might pass

as the wife

is

for

an amplification of

The

spiritual

this position of

placed under the guardianship of her

husband, the mother under the guardianship of her sous, so

the Order of nuns*

is

placed under the guardianship of the

Order of monks.
* The nuns constitute by themselves an Order of their own (Bhikkhunisangha), which

is

co-ordinate with, or rather subordinate

to,

the Order of


THE ORDER OF NUNS.

378

To

a certain extent the fundamental law for the Order of

the nuns

Buddha

contained in the " eight high ordinances/^ -which

is

said to have enjoined on the first

is

nuns at their

ordination.*

"A

nun/^ so ran these propositions,

''

reveren-

before every monk, even though he be ordained only on

tially

day, rise in his presence, raise her clasped hands, duly

this

honour him.
respect,

she have been

if

bow most

ordained even a hundred years ago, must

This rule shall she observe, esteem sacred, keep;>

and through her whole

''A nun

district in

is

life

not transgress.''^

not permitted to pass the rainy season in any

which monks are not

This rule also shall

residing-.

she observe, esteem sacred, &c.

'^

The nuns

are to go once in the half-month to the

two things

for

and

to apply to the

word).

monks

for the preaching

(of the sacred

This rule also, &c.

" At the end

Ok

monks

they are to ask for the confessional ceremony,t

of the rainy season the

nuns are to give the

mouks (Bliikltlmsanglia). Tlie two Orders are together denominated

" the two-sided Order" (ubhatosangha). The two-sided Order represents,
the

however, no particular unifying organism

the term

is

only a collective-

expression, which amounts merely to "the Order of

monks and the

The two-sided Order nowhere appears acting on a
common platform. If a layman gives garments to the two-sided Order,
all members, monks and nuns, do not obtain equal shares, but one-half
Order

nuns."

of

belongs to the Order of monks, the other half to the Order of nuns.

"

Even

half."

if

there be

many monks

Mahdvagga,

* " CuUavagga,"

viii,

there and only one nun, she obtains the-

32.

x, 1, 4.

t The nuns have to observe the half-monthly confessional ceremony,

with an extended liturgy of confession corresponding to the special
circumstances of the Order of the nuns.
to

impart

instruction to

regarding the
vagga,

X, 6.

atonement

It

them regarding
of

is

incumbent on the monks

this

ceremony, as well as

any transgressions

committed.

CuUa-

THE EIGHT PMLES.

379'

threefold invitation to both, sides of the Order

them of the crime)

(to

This rule

thing, or has any suspicion against them.

7

:*

accuse

anyone has seen, or has heard of any-

if

" A nun who has been guilty

also,

&c.

must submit

of a grave offence

herself to a half-monthly discipline of penance before both sides

This rule

of the Order.

''

Ordination

is

to

&c.

also,

be applied for from both sides of

Order only when the jpostulante has lived

period of two years in the six rules. f
A.

" Under no circumstances

This rule
vj

*^

also,

From

monks

this

is

nun

This rule

day forward

&c.

monk.

the ^ath of speech against the

is

Yet

not the path of speech

is

against the nuns closed to the monks. J

The eight " high ordinances

None

of the

''

This rule

show

more important

is

chapter of the monks.

If a

&c.

enough the
kept to the

transactions required

rules of the Order could be completed

which did not require to be submitted

also,^^

clearly

Order of nuns

subordination in which the

by the

also,

to revile or scold a

&c.

closed to the nuns.

monks.

the-

for a probationary

by the nuns^

for confirmation

by the

maiden or a woman, who desires

to obtain the initiations, has kept the

vow

of the

" six rules

^^

* "When the nuns have finished the celebration o the invitation among
themselves (vide supra, ^. 364), they send a messenger to the monks on th&

who conveys

following day,

tion, to state to the

to

them

in the

nuns any offence of

name

of the nuns the invita-

theirs, seen, heard, or suspected.

corresponding invitation of the monks to the nuns does not follow (loc.

cit. X, 19).

f Vide infia, n. .
X The meaning o

this expression

cannot be that the nun

is

not allowed

monk at all. It is probably meant that the nun is not

charge a monk with an offence, to hold him to penance therefor,,

to speak to the

allowed to

eventually to veto his participation in the ceremonies of the confession and

invitation

(cf.

She has

" Cull." x, 20).

to promise expressly

" I undertake, as an inviolable vow,

to-

THE ORDER OF NUNS.

380

through a probationary period of two years, and has obtained

ordination from the Order of nuns, she

regarded as

still

is

only " ordained on one side," and not fully accredited, as long
as she has not appeared before the chapter of

monks and

in its

presence gone through the whole ceremony of ordination anew.

In the same way the confessional observances and invitation

ceremonies of the nuns' Order, the atonement for transgressions,

and the settlement of

differences of all kinds, are subject to

by the monks' Order. Every

control and partly to confirmation

half-month the nuns betake themselves to the monk, who has

been named to them by a resolution of the brotherhood,

receive

his

spiritual

instruction

presence of another monk, that

and when

sits

waiting the nuns,

have made their appearance, bowed themselves

tliey

to the ground,

monk

to

In the

and admonition.

and

sat

down

them

before him, he speaks to

of

the eight high ordinances, and expounds to them, either by

way

of

sermon or by question and answer, what he deems

profitable of the teaching

and maxims of Buddha.*

That, as for the rest, strict separation prevailed between

monks and

nuns,

is

self-a]3parent.

to preach to the nuns,

nunnery, except when one of the

liis

way

from

slie

killing

to

sisters lay

To make a journey

consolation.

.abstain

Even the monk, who had

was not allowed

with,

set

a nun, to go aboard

any living creature during two years "

then vows not to

steal,

to

foot in the

and required

ill

in

commit no unchastity, not

the same
to

lie,

to

drink no intoxicating beverages, and not to eat at the forbidden hours

between noon and the break of dawn next day).

* That these discourses do not represent the particular scholastic
traditions of the sacred texts within the Order of nuns and that the latter
{i.e.,

was formed

chiefly

the case, and

Dipavamsa.

is

through nun-teachers, follows from the circumstances of

confirmed,

cr/.,

" Cullavagga," x,

tradictory of this.

8,

by the statements

in

18th cap. of the

when properly understood

is

not con-

;;

RELATION OF ORDER OF NUNS TO ORDER OF MONKS.

the same boat with her, to
witness,

was

strictly

381

with her alone and without

sit

forbidden to the monks.

The

daily life,

the religious exercises of the nuns were not essentially different

from those
latter

monks, except that

of the

solitude, in

found so rich a source of spiritual joys,

if

which the

not absolutely

forbidden to the nuns, was at least restricted and was necessarily

so

to live in forest hermitages

was forbidden them

\they took up their abode rather within the walls of the village

pr town, in huts or nunneries, by twos or in greater numbers,

for a sister

was not allowed

From such

to live alone.

places

they made their begging excursions and set out also on those
greater pilgrimages which Avere

monks

the

deemed

for

them

a necessary clement of ascetic

as well as for

life.

In number

they were apparently far behind the monks,* and therefore

is to

be doubted

also,

whether

at

in the spiritual sisterhood a degree of influence

be

felt,

which could

bearing on the Buddhist community as a whole.

thoughts and forms of

and moulded

life

The

Buddhism had been thought out

of

by men and

solely

it

any time there was inherent

for

men.

The Spiritual Oeder and the Lay World.

Buddha^s Church
straitened,"

freedom

is

An

"

is

"

(7,

i.)

is

monks and nuns.

in the

home, a

member

" Very

state of impurity

He^who cannot

home."

not a

illustration of this

" Dipavaii'isa

is life

in leaving the

gain this freedom,

*

a Church of

is

it is said,

or will not

of the^Church.

But the

given, for example, in the statements of the

regarding the number of the monks and nuns,

have assisted at a great

festival iDstituted

who

by Asoka. Though the numbers

themselves are inordinately exaggerated, yet they throw a certain light

on the relation of the two

sides.

monks and of only 96,000 nuns.

The

chronicle speaks of 800 millions of

THE SPIRITUAL ORDER AND THE LAY WORLD.

382

nature of
tlie

tlie

case was

sucli,

Churcli even demanded,

maintained between

and the external existence of

tliat

and the worldly

it

which were

circles,

Without a

favourably disposed to the interests of the Order.

laity,

which professed a

and evinced
thought

of,

Buddha and Buddha^s

above

this faith in pious offices,

an order of

helpful beneficence,
\

faith in

tlie

regular relations should be

in

all

teaching,

works of

mendicants could not be

and the religious moveraent of Buddhism would

have been shut out from contact with the broad surface of
popular

Tradition, therefore, as

life.

we have pointed

nuns, but
votaries

''

''male votaries'^

also

(upasaka)

(upasika) as gathering round

who while remaining

" take

"

their refuge

in

Buddha,

and

Buddha from

beginning, persons

out,

monks and

represents, assuredly with propriety, not merely

''female
the very

in the worldly state,

in the Doctrine,

and

in the

Order, and show by word and deed their adherence to this

holy triad.*

But while there was framed from the beginning

monastic Church an organization, clothed with
spiritual procedure, there

strict

was no attempt made

for the

forms of

at creations

of a similar kind for the quasi-Church of lay-brothers

lay-sisters.

Certain,

customs of spiritual

life

and

beneficence must obviously have arisen even here;

institutions have not followed.

and

practical
definite

There was not so much as any

sharply drawn line between the laity,

who were

to

be regarded

Buddha, and those who stood

entry into the circle of " votaries " was

as adherents of the Order of

aloof

therefrom

dependent on no qualification and followed regularly upon a

form fixed by custom, but not dctcrmind by rule,t namely upon

* Yide supra,
t

Any

ing in

tlie

one

p. IGl, scq.

who

is

conversant witli

Vinaya Texts,

will

tlie

method of description

admit the conclusion,

tliat, if

prevail-

the form for

MALE AND FEMALE VOTARIES.

pex'soii

tlie

monk,

taking

either

children,

on

step

tlie

his

own

declaring in the presence of a

behalf alone, or jointly with wife,

and servants, that he takes

true, inculcated

Bnddha,

his refuge in

Then there was

the Doctrine, and the Order of Disciples.

it is

383

also,

on the lay-disciples on the part of the

Order, the observance of certain duties of temperance and rectitude,* but neither

was the profession of a formal vow by them

Church keep watch

insisted upon, nor did the

any way

in

whatever over the actual fulfilment of these duties.

A formal

excommunication of unbelieving, unworthy, or scandalouslyliving lay -brothers there

was

not, and, as a result of circum-

The only procedure prescribed

stances, there could not be.

the regulations of the Church against

cause of

complaint,

shows clearly how

in

who had given

laity,

little

the ideas

of

admission and expulsion had been applied to this relation

"
namely, the Order might resolve " to withdraw the almsbowl
from such a layman
tlie

(i.e.,

take no gifts from him) " and refuse

admission of an TJpasaka had been looked upon as one determined by

rule,

some narrative of the introduction of

Buddha must
to be so by

also exist.
his

acts.

occasionally people,

In truth he
It

cannot

who show honour

is

this

form by an injunction of

an Upasaka, who shows himself

therefore
to

cause

monks and

addressed by them as Upasakas, although they do not

astonishment,

if

entertain them, are

make

of their taking refuge until afterwards (" Dhp. Atth.,"

a declaration

p. 81).

Cf. also

supra, note p. 162.

* Certain biisiness pursuits were regarded as unallowable for a laydisciple, for instance, dealing in arms, in intoxicating liquors, in poison

("

Auguttara Nikaya,"

vol.

ii,

fol.

cam.).

As a counterpart to the confes-

sional celebration observed

by the monk on the

from

creatures,

first day, there is also

enjoined on the laity the observance of an " eightfold abstinence " the
;

refraining

killing

living

from the appropriation of

another's property, from lying, from the enjoyment of intoxicating liquors,

from unchastity, from eating after midday, from perfumes and garlands
and the sleeping on low, hard couches or on the ground {idem, vol. iii,
;

fol.

ghau').


THE SPIRITUAL ORDER AND THE LAY WORLD.

384:

company

tlieir

to liira at table ^'*)

if

after

tliis lie

reformed

and conciliated the Order, then by a new resolution "the

alrasbowl would be again presented to him, and the

the Order) at table be granted to him/'

what

is

here dealt with,

is

company

(of

It is evident, that

not the deprivation or the re-con-

ferring of a legal qualification of a kind such as

we

are in these

days accustomed to associate with membership of a Church

community, but merely the interruption or revival of a purely

factitious relation of daily intercourse, the giving

of material gifts

and

It is entirely in

and receiving

spiritual instruction.

keeping with the manner and method in

which the position of the lay believers has been treated, that
regular spiritual gatherings were not instituted for them, and

much

less

were they admitted to be present

at the

ceremonious

proceedings of the Order, or even to a share of any kind

whatsoever in the administration of the business

The

Order.

daily

begging excursion

the usual contact between

affairs of

them and the believing

laity,

on their part came to the parks of the community

laity also

near the gates of the town with

gifts of

every kind, with food

and medicine, with garlands and perfumes

their respects to the

monks, and listened

the sacred discourses and sayings.

* This separation -was not desired in

there they paid

case of a scandalous

tlie

of

ment

for an affront or injury done to the Order.

tills

to the exposition of

Or they erected buildings

living

the Order as such took no notice

but

mode of

only as a punish-

There are eight cases

noted, in which this resolution was to be passed against a layman

endeavours to prevent the monks obtaining

monks

to suffer injury

obtain lodgings

among

the

Doctrine

and

The

gave a natural opening for attentions of a pastoral kind.

the

the

monks maintained

of the

gifts

he speaks

"

He

he endeavours to cause the monks not to

he abuses or scolds the monks

monks

he endeavours to cause

he speaks

evil of

evil of the

Order."

Buddha

he causes dissensions
he speaks

Cullavagga, v, 20,

evil of the
3.

RULES WHICH REFER TO THE LAY BELIEVERS.

OOL

and invited tlie monks to the dedi" May it please the venerable

for tlie uses of the Order,

catory and opening celebrations.

ones to come to me," the message ran somewhat thus, which

they sent to the Order, " I wish to present a

the preaching of the Doctrine
invitations the

season,

Order

is

when otherwise

and

to receive,
it

is

gift

to see the

and to hear

monks."

Such

and even during the rainy

forbidden the

monks

to travel,

they are allowed in a case of this kind to be absent from their

place of residence for a period of seven days.
of a township requested the
their

monks

Or the believers

to pass the rainy season in

neighbourhood; then they provided lodgings for their

guests,

and gave them daily food when they made

begging excursions

their

and before the monks proceeded on

their

wanderings on the expiration of the rainy season, the

believers were in the habit of giving

them a

la}^

farewell meal,

with which was connected a distribution of clothing, or of stuff

for clothing, to the parting spiritual pilgrims.
too, a circle of

laymen clubbed together

Not unfrequently,

to establish

among

themselves a "roster of dinners'^ for the Order, each takinghis turn,

and in dear times, when the entertaining of

all

the

brethren would have exceeded the ability of one layman,

there were instituted " dinners
invitation,"

by arrangement, " dinners by

" dinners on subscriptions," ''fortnightly dinners."

They promised the brethren

""^

to furnish,

be

it

constantly or only

for a limited period, the medicines of which they might be in

need, or benefactresses of the Order went through the gardens

of the monasteries

sick

among

and asked from house

you, reverend

anything, and what

were not sparing

in

"

sirs ?

to

To whom

house: ''Who
are

we

is

to bring

That the monks then, on their part,

promising to the givers every heavenly

reward, was a matter of course.

"To

give houses to the

25

THE SPIFJTUAL ORDER AND THE LAY WORLD.

38G

Order/'

it is

a place of refuge and joy, so that

''

said,*

we may

there exercise concentration and holy intuition, has been com-

manded by Buddha

as the

most noble

wise man, w^ho understands what

beautiful

to

such,

and

houses,

He may

Doctrine.

receive

is

them knowers

into

the upright with cheerful heart.

drives

away

all

said if

it is

if

'^

Well

whom

is it

for a

man always

to

That occasionally

the drafts on a heavenly reward-fund in

return for earthly benefaction had so

much

laid very

attraction,

must

wantonly under con-

by pretentious comrades among the begging stewards

of heavenly treasures,
are drawn from

life,

is

only natural. Certainly those narratives

as they are not unfrequently told of such

occurrences in the Vinaya

oflfered to

he appre-

he have a desire for joy, whether he seek

have allowed themselves to be

tribution

if

sinless into Nirvana,'^

heavenly joy or long for earthly happiness. *'

the givers, for

These preach to

suffering

hends the Doctrine here below, he goes

In another place

the

of

give food and drink, clothes and lodging

him the Doctrine which

dispense boiled-rice

Therefore let a

gift.

best for himself, build

man who had

of the

give to the venerable

incautiously

Upanauda whatever he

and from whom he immediately demanded the

wearing, or of the pious potter, of

whom

the

required,

clothes he

was

monks demanded

almsbowls in such numbers that his business was thereby

ruined.
litui'gy

A
was

long

series

dii^ected

of

statements in the

unauthorized

against this

confessional

exaction

pious charity, and confined within narrow limits

which monks

receive,

allowed to ask.

and the

still

less, for

the

of

little,

which they were

Apparently the criticism was by no means

regarded with indifference, which might be practised in lay

* " Cullavagga,"

t " Mahavagga,"

vi, 1, 5.
vi,

24, C.

BENEFICENCE.
circles^

and wliich

tlie rival

387

religious orders certainly did not

Monks

neglect to maintain vigilantly and keenly.

cised in any

way whatever an

upon

evil influence

wlio exer-

tlie

laity,

or

caused them mortification^ were most severely discountenanced,

and in every way the

friendship they

As an
feeling

ally,

laity

knew how

were regarded as an
to put a

ally

on whose

proper value.

but at the same time as nothing more.

of having

a share as

citizen

Buddha's children, was denied to the

laity,

The

kingdom

in the

much more

of

so even

than was such a feeling denied in the old Brahmanical sacri-

medium

non-Brahman who,

to the

ficial-faitli

draw near

of the priest, could

The Buddhist

the priest himself.

through the

albeit only

to the

believer,

god equally with

who

did not feel in

himself the power to renounce the world, could console himself

with coming ages

he could hope for

this, that it

might then

be vouchsafed to him, as a disciple of Metteyya, or of one of

the countless Buddhas,

garb of a

monk and

who

shall

come

after him, to

don the

to taste the bliss of deliverance.

For to but a few chosen ones, thus the Doctrine

says,

was

it

given, already in this age to attain the goal as disciples of the

Son

of the

Sakya house, and short term was

existence of the Church on earth.

When

allotted to the

in

the

cloister-

gardens at Bajagaha and Savatthi the discourses of Buddha

were recited among the assembled brethren, they bethought

" Not a long time, Ananda,

themselves also of the prophecy

will holy living
will the

remain preserved

five

Doctrine of the truth abide."

after five

hundred years, Ananda,

Who

then foresaw, that

hundred years the Church of the Buddhists would

overspread India, and that

its

missionaries far beyond India,

traversing the ocean, crossing the snowy ranges of the

laya,

Hima-

wandering through the deserts of Central Asia, would

brino- the faith of

Buddha

to nations,

whose name even was

25*

;!

TEE SPIRITUAL OBDER AND THE LAY WORLD.

3SS

not then named in India

survived and

to nations

among whom

survives to this day, while in

still

its

tliis

faith

parent-land

the spirit of the Indian people, which in endless play dashed

into ever

new

spheres of thought and fancy, which relegated

to nothingness the

wreck

of

ruined worlds and rebuilt lost

beauty, not always in greater stateliness,* has long since

permitted the Doctrine of Buddha to decay.

* The reader of
Dr. Oldenherg has
Pt.

original will

the

observe

the happy use which

of the Chorus of Spirits in Gdthe's " Faust,"

made

I.

TV eh!

Du

Weh!

hast sie zerstort

Die schone Welt

Mit machtiger Faust
Sie

stiirzt, sie zerfallt

Ein Halbgott hat

Wir

Die Triimmern

Und

sie

zerschlagen

tragen
ins

Nichts hiniiher

klageu

TJeber die verlorne Schone.

Machtiger

Der Erdensohne,
Priichtiger,

Baue sie wieder.

In delnem Busen baue

sie

auf

EXCURSUS.

FIRST EXCURSUS.
On the

relative Geographical Location of

Vedig and Buddhist Culture.

Those
home,*

of the Indian peoples,

especially the people of

among wliom Buddliism has

Magadha, dwell

the territories, to which the poetry of the JSigveda introduces

Were they then

its

far to the east of

its.

already residing in the east, or were they at least

in the act of penetrating to

tlie east,

when

the

hymns

of the

Veda

were being sung in the west, in the Panjab and on the Sarasvati

Or were they then within the circle of the Vedic world, and have
they not moved eastward nntil a later period ? The question may
also be expressed thus

If in the

epic-Buddhist age there was an

Aryan culture in India, as partakers in which we find the Kurus

and Paiicalas, the people of Magadha and Kosala and so on, did all
these peoples at one tirae participate in the ancient Vedic culture,

or did the Vedic culture in the Vedic age within the Indian Aryandom. cover a narrower

field,

which, for example, included the Kurus

and Pancalas, and on the other hand did not comprise the people
Videha and Magadha ?

of

"We have (p. 9) declared our adherence to the latter of these

two views, and we here intend to more accurately define and support
our view, according to which the culture of the Vedas was indigenous

to

but one portion of the Aryan peoples of Hindostan, and

from them reached the other afterwards only

*

was,

What
is

at second hand.

the approxhnate geographical extent of the most ancient

stated inter alia in the " Mahaijarinibbana Sutta," p. 55.

Buddhism
The chie

towns, in which many and respected nobles, Brahmans, and Vai(,'yas, who
Campa,
confess adherence to the faith of Buddha, dwell, are there named
:

Eajagaha, Suvatthi, Saketa, Kosambi, Bara/msi.

RELATIVE LOCATION OF VEDIC AND BUDDHIST CULTURE.

392

Even,

()-

priori, considering the

and Aryan peoples

in India, it

wide spread of the Aryan territory

must be considered probable, that

already in the Vedic age a comraunity of culture had no longer

continued

to

kindred

of

indicate this.

The analogies

prevail throughout this vast tract.

nations which

we do not shut our

As, though

rocal influences,

we

themselves on

force

our

attention

eyes to the recip-

are entitled to say that the Dorians of the

Peloponnesus created for themselves

a culture apart from the

-^olians or lonians, and that to a late period Umbrians, Latins,

and Oscans, pursued

tbeir

own path

of

religious,

political,

and

literary development, so the historical treatment of India will in a

similar way have to separate between western stocks with their

Vedic culture, which went ahead in spiritual development, and the

eastern peoples, which developed themselves

Kurus and Paficalas on one

and Magadha on the other.
here,

even though

themselves, and

it is

still

more

and the peoples

side

It will

slowly,

have to make

this distinction

true that the races of India by on means in

less for us,

presented so sharply imprinted,

distinguishing individualities, as did the Grecian stocks

expect,

it is

between

of Kosala, Videha,

self -apparent, to i-ealize for ourselves

we cannot

the national

life

of the Kurupaiicalas on the one hand and of the Videha or Kosala

peoples on the other hand, in the same

and Athenians as

way

that

we know Dorians

first

to leave the JBik-

cleai-ly different types.

It is necessary for

us in our inquiry, at

Sa7?2hita out of sight,

and

first

to ask the question,

have had a share in the

spiritual

by the Brahmar;a

and kindred

texts

the results hereby gained

we

what stocks

movements, which are indicated

shall

literature.

On

the basis of

then attempt to determine

how

the group of peoples appearing in the iiik-Saj^hita are related to

the great Indian cultured peoples of later times.

The ethnological

how

table in the " Aitareya

this text,

where the incisions

constituted divisions.
*

Brahma^a "

(8,

14) shows

the Indian stocks group themselves from the standpoint of

are,

which separate the

In the middle "

In treating of the other

asyai?.*

territories, instead of

diffei'ently

dhruvayam madh-

asyam the word etasyam

is

asyjlm contains a significant hint that the compiler of the text belongs to
I'idc Weber, " Ind. Lit. Gcsch.,''- p. 49.
this very territory.

used

ETHNOLOGICAL TABLES OF THE

jamajam

AND OF MANU. 393

"AIT. BR."

realms of the Kurupaficalas

pratisli^/zfiya^ii di^i " lie tlie

To the south of

together with Va9as* and U^inaras.

this

Land

of

the Middle there dwell the Satvats, eastward the Pracjas (we shall
necessarily think chiefly of the Kii^i, Kosala,t Videha, and
peoples),

westward the Nicyas, Apacyas.

Land

bounded by the Himalaya,

is

Magadha

In the north the Middle

for as peoples north of the

Middle those are named, who dwell

pare?ia

Himavantam, the

Uttarakurus and Uttaramadras.

With

the sketch of the distribution of Indian peoples, which

thus given,

now admirably

Manu probably

fit

in the data,

is

which are supplied by

following older Sutra texts.

The land

of the

I3rahmarshis, whose customs and rights are taken as a model, whose

This

is

the accepted and, as I believe, the correct translation of sava-

The

-<,'0(,'inarilHa,m.

enumeration

Va(;'as will

of i^eoples

((/(/.

to do with the Va<,'as introduced

harata,"

C684

i,

be identical with the Va?sas in the Buddliist

but can hardly have anything

by the Petersburgh Lexicon from the " Maliab-

infra, p. 407, n. 2,),

the reading of the Calc. Edition be correct),

(if

who

are classed

together with the Yavanas, Barbaras, Cinas, and other Mlecchas. The Lexicon
finds, apparently correctly, a mention of the Va^as also in the " Gop. Br.," 2, 9
:

imeshu KuruiJancrdeshu Angamagadheshu

Ka(,'ikau(;'alyeshu

(^avasa (lege

Now,

savac^a) ui,-inareshudicyeshu.

Qtilvaniatsyeshu
from a comparison of " Ait-

and " Gop. Br.,"

2, 9, the relevancy also of a third passage seems to

me to be established, " Kaush. Upan.," iv, 1 so 'vasad U(,'inareshu savasan
Matsyeshu Kurupancrdeshu Ka(,'ivideheshv iti. The " savasan," which here occurs

J3r.," 8, 14,

between the names of the Uc,-inaras and the Matsyas, cannot be disassociated
from the " (.'avasa," which stands between the same names in the " Gop. Br.," and
the " sava(,'a," which occurs in the " Ait Br." in conjunction with the name of the
"
Thus, I think, that in this passage the conjecture " sava(^amatsyeshu
U(j'inaras.
.should be preferred to the emendation " 8atvan-Matsyeshu," reconunended by the
Pet. Lex. and by Professor

Max

Miiller (" Upanishads," Introd., ii. Ixxvii).

by the Buddhists also counted among the
Pracyas.
As the Sakyas belonged to the Kosalas, Buddlia himself was considered a Kosala
but as to the Buddhas the rule held good puratthimesu
janapadesu buddlia bhagavanto uppajjanti (" Cullav." xii, 2, 3). In the same way
it follows that Benares belonged to the eastern land, for the Buddha Kassapa
t

The

people are

Ivosala

the kingdom of the king Kiki of Bara/fasi (Mahapadana Sutta).

Moreover the Buddliist texts make the king of Kosala rule over Benares also
(Lohiccasutta in the " Digha Nikaya" raja Pasenadi Kosalo Kasikosala?K ajjhain the territory of Kasi Pasenadi fights his battles against Ajatasutta
vasati)

was born

^Kosala Sa?Hyutta).

Cf. further

" Mahsivagga,"

northern and southern Kosala kingdom

in accordance with the Pali Pi/akas.

("

viii,

Burnouf,"

2.

The

distinction of a

Intr., p. 22, vol.

i)

is

not

RELATIVE LOCATION OF VEDIO AND BUDDHIST CULTURE.

394

warriors are the bravest,

Kurtikshetra and the territory of the

is

Matsyas, the Paiicalas and Qurasenas

(2,

land of the Brahmarshis embraces what

madhyama

as

and as south

di9

Aitareya as west and

east,

above

Kosala, Videha, and Magadha,

7,

all

193).

down

hut what

;*

in

is

19

is set

is

Thus the

in the Aitareya

regarded in the

the eastern peoples of Kaci,

Manu

excluded from the land of

the Brahmarshis.

Thus

have here a distinction between those stocks, who

Ave

themselves to be the qualified champions of Aryan

who were Aryans,

those

but were not regarded as

true,

it is

Momenta

equally accredited partakers in this culture.

may have

kinds

felt

and

cultuj-e,

of

many

co-operated to bring about and enhance this

Association with non-Aryan elements, to which the

difference.

stocks that had migrated to the greatest distances were especially

exposed,

may have been

same time in play.f But it hardly

Kurus claimed to be something other and

at the

lay in this only, that the

better than the

Magadhas.

where the ancient

Rather here appears

come down from an immemorial

past,

to be the place

become apparent, which had

lines of distinction

drawn between the different

Aryan stocks, and

leading groups and leading types of the Indian

the existence of which

Of the peoi^les

Mann
is

we might be

We

j)riori certainty.

of the

entitled to

assume almost with

must, for the testing of this supposition^

madhyama

Kurus and Pancitlas occur again in

and 'U(;anaras are not expressly named,
In the south new tribal names have arisen the
cHq the

that the small stocks of the Va^as

no cause

of astonishment.

Curasenas,

who

the south.

As

are not

named

at all in the old texts, are

to the connection

now

the chief jDcople

of.

between the Satvats, Bhojas, Yjidavas, Cura-

senas, see Lassen, " Ind. Alt.," i, 757 cf. Weber, " Ind. St.," i, 211.
" Baudhuyanadharma^astra," i, 1 (according to
t So it is said in the
;

MSS.

Burnell 39 and 40 in the India Office Library)

Avantayo 'iiga-Magadhas Surash/ra-Dakshi?iapatha/j

Upavrit-Sindhusauvlra ete sawtkir/iayona/;.

Axathm Karaskaran
('?.s/c,

PuJicfran Sau\iran

Vanga-Kalingan pranrmaniti cadagatva

the last word being corrected to codag gatva, one

IDranr/nan

iti

MS.

the other reads

ca gatva) punastomena yajeta sarvai3/'/sh^/(aya va.

haranti

padbhyam

sa kurute papai ya/f KaUiigan j)rapadyate,

^/shayo nishkritiHi tasya prjlhur vaicjvanara/H havi//.

'th!ii:)y

udii-

PROMINENCE OF TEE KURVS AND

next submit the Brahraa^ia texts and
examination as

to

groups indicated by
as

If,

we

finally tlie i?ik-Sailiita to ark

on the peoples

their bearing

home

Brahmanic

of

been with the Kuru-Paiicalas and the stocks

west standing in closer union with them,

and we do

of the different

us.

hold, in the Brahma7ia period the

civilization has

395

STOCKS..

we

not, expect to find this disclosed in the exclusive

and

Kurus and

in a second degree of the Bharatas,* surpass at once

mention

But the

of peoples of the western groups in the Brahma^ia texts.

cases of their being mentioned, specially of the

of the

cannot, nevertheless,.

Paiicalas,

beyond

all

comparison in frequency the mentioning of the eastern peoples, and

then the texts frequently attribute to the western peoples unmistakably the weight of an older and higher sacral authority, than to
the eastern groups, which latter are plainly

contemptuous tone, or at

least

from the west instruction

home

named in a hostile or
who have received

appear as peoples

in the spiritual

knowledge, which has

A selection of

the very amply existing materials bearing on this

matter will suBBce for the illustration of what has been

The Kurukshetra
1, 5,

the

its

there.

13

is

xiv, 1, 1, 2).

saci'ifice,

said.

the place of sacrifice of the gods (" Qat."

From

iv^,

the Camasa, which the gods used in

was produced the sacred

tree

Nyagrodha

the

first-

born of the Nyagrodha trees grow on the Kurukshetra (" Ait."

7,

30)

In the tale of the Pururavas and Urva9is the Kurukshetra

plays a part ("gat."

offerings

xi,

and Yamuna, are known

" Pailcav. Br." 25, 10 seq).
is

the country, where the

she there
2,

3,

5,

1,

" Ind. Studien,"

which must be performed

is,

15). t

is

(v. "

gahkh.

In the

9r." 13,

noi'th,

Vac has her

29

among

peculiar

197).

i,

at the Sarasvati,

The

Dmhadvati

" Katy." 24, G

home

the Vac, as

truly (nidanena) to be called a Vile (" ^at."

Some

the Kurupaiicalas,

iii,

prefer the Pahcavattam to the Caturavattam,

but the Caturavattam follows the custom of the Kurupaucalas,

therefore let

it

be given the preference (" ^at."

i,

7,

2,

8).

saying of the Kurupaiicalas with reference to the kings of

*

Concerning these and their relation to the Kurus, see farther on.
Brahm., "Ind. Stud.," ii, p. 309.

t Cf. the ganldi.

A
the-

RELATIVE LOCATION OF VEDIC AND BUDDHIST CULTURE.

-39G

Kurupaiicalas,
V, 5, 2, 5.

who have performed the

A form

Kuru-vajapeja,

is

Rajasuja-sacrifice, v. " Qat."

which bears the name

of the Vajapeya-offering,

explained at " (^ahkh.

r." xv,

3,

To a

15.

which the Kurus sustained by a shower of stones, reference

made in " Chand. Up." i, 10, 1. An old verse, in which it is

disaster
is

" The mare saves the Kurus," is quoted at id. iv, 17, 9.
The Kurus shall be obliged to fly from Kurukshetra," a Brahman
threatens and his threat is fulfilled " (^aiikh. 91'." xv, 15, 10." Cf.

said,

"

also " Taitt. Br."

The

i,

8, 4, 1, 2.

brilliant part is well

known, which Janamejaya, the king of

the Kurus, plays in a series of the Brahma??a texts, as well as that

Kuru king
we have preserved in " Av." xx, 127, 7 seq.
As Parikshit and Janamejaya among kings,

noble ode in praise of his father, the

Parikshit,

so

Aru?ii

which

among

those versed in sacrifice stands on a high, perhaps on the highest

platform.*
To Aru?a
morning and evening

svaha; suryo jyotir

is

attributed the formula with which the

sacrifice is

jyoti/i surya/i

celebrated

svaha (" Qat."

agnir jyotir

agiii/i

34),

and in

ii,

3, 1,

others also of the Yajus formulsD are found traces of Aruwi's hand

("gat." iii, 3, 4, 19, vgL "Taitt. Ar."

mentioned as a Kaurupancala brahman

When

i,

12,

But Aru?d

4).

(" ^at." xi, 4, 1, 2)

is

the

come for the inquiries, which will have to be made

mass of names of teachers and other celebrities
may turn out that the most important centre for the

the time shall have

to create order out of the chaotic

of the

Brahmawa

period,

it

formation and diffusion of the Brahmafia doctrine will have to be looked for in
Aru)n and in the circles which surrounded him. The most divergent Unes of
tradition meet in the person of Uddalaka Aru/a.
He is named as the teacher of
Yajnavalkya (" ^at. Br." xiv, 9, 3, 15 9, 4, 33 cf. of the other books of this
;

text V. 5, 5, 14).

prominent

who

part.

in this text

But also in the texts belonging to the J?/gveda he plays a

As the VaHi(,-a at the end of the " (^at. Br." makes the teacher,
enjoys leading authority, namely, Yajnavalkya, a jiupil of

Aru?a's, so the Ivaushitaki Arai^yaka (XV) represents Kaushitaki and through

him

also his pui^il ^'afikha-yana derive his

wisdom from Aruwi ("GuHakhyac

Chafikhayanad asmabhir adhitaJH, Gu/iakhya/j

take/(, Kahola/i

^'^'"'khayana/t

Kaholat Kauslu-

And

also the teacher,

Kaushitakir Uddalakad Arue/<,"

etc.).

whose name we find at the head of another branch of ii/gveda school tradition,
Madhuka Paiiigya (cf. regarding him " Kaush. Brahm." xvi, 9 " ^at. Br." xl, 7,
2, 8), is through the medium of Yajnavalkya brought into connection with Aru)d
;

^" gat. Br." xiv,

9, 3, IG).

Cf. also "

Chand. Up."

iii,

p.

178 ed. Eoer.

THE

"

Maliabhjirata

CATAPATHA BRAHMA'SA " AND THE VIDEHAS.

682, ed. Calc.) defines

(i,

with which the fact

calya,

is

him more

d'JT

closely as a Pafi-

we

in keeping, that

find his son

(^vetaketn* appeal" in an assembly of the Pancalas (" (^at." xiv,

9,

and that a man from Kau9ambi

is

1,

"CliJind.

Up."

V, 3, 1),

mentioned as Aruwi's pnpil (" Qui."

xii, 2, 2,

13).

Certain peculiarities of recitation are laid claim to as belongingto the Paficalas, others to the Pracyas ("(^aiikh. ^r." xii, 13, 6
Pratic. Sutra "

137 and 186)

we

method

conclude, that on the whole the

arisen

among

".R^'k-

perhaps be permitted to

shall

Vedic recitation has

of

the Kurns.

The passages bearing on the Bharatas, standing

to all appearance

in closest union with the Knrus, will be set forth and explained

Here we merely mention the saying in

name Gaiigixyamunayor madhye ye vasanti

farther on.

mnnayor munibhyag ca.

To the evidence here collectedf

of the

the Kiirupaiicalas in the Vedic world

jjlay in this

Brahmawa "

shall

a part of which

will

be opposed the

very

text.

living far in the east,

The

which now engage our

attitude of the

Hindostan

to the eastern parts of

instructive on the matters

20

prominent imjjortance of

drawn from the " ^atapatha Brahmaiia "

important part, which the people of Videha,

" Qatapatha

ii,

namo Gahgaya-

evidence,

is

and their king Janaka

" Taitt. Ar. "

is

so-

attention, that

we

go into greater detail on this point.

In the last books of the "^atapatha Brahma?2a," the debates, which

are carried on between the

Brahmans

and

at the

same time the

teacher,

at the

these contests,

whose authority on

spiritual ques-

tions is regarded as decisive,;]; is Yajnavalkya.

Brahma)/a make

if

it,

Court of the Videha

The hero of

king Janaka, bear leading prominence.

Some passages

of the

not absolutely certain, at any rate highly

probable, that he belonged by descent, not to the Kurupaiicalas but

The same, who

cited as
t

in a noteworthy passage of the AjDastamba

of the

appearance of ^i-'utarshayas

still

(i,

2, 5, 6) is

in later ages.

also the very rich collections of Weber, " Ind. St." i,

the relevant passages from the " KiV/(aka " are quoted at iii, 469, 471.

Compare with these

189 seq.
I

an example

For

vi-x, xiii,

brevity's sake

we may here be permitted

the bearing of which

is

to omit notice of Books

avowedly jaecuhar (Weber, " Ind. Stud." xiii,

2G5-269; Delbrilck, " Die Altindische Wortfolge," p.

4.'5).

398 RELATIVE LOCATION OF VEDIC AND BUDDHIST CULTURE,

we may venture to add conjecturally to the Videtas.* Thus

we have here a proof, from which it is clear that Brahman- Vedic
was held

culture

in

honour at a court far east from the land

of

the

Kurupaiicalas, and also that, in all probability, the most respected,

teacher of this court was himself a native of that eastern Idnsrdom.

This fact cannot be thrown into relief bj

by means

itself alone, withou.t

drawn from that

The " (^atapatha Br." shows itself in the clearest
way, that Brahmanic culture among the Yidehas is only an offshoot
setting

it

in its trvie light

of other facts

same Brahma?ia.

Yajnavalkya himself

fi'om the Knrupaiicalas.

we

(note p. 396), who, as

Brahmans, who

a pnpil of Arujii

The groups of

flock to Janaka, are

paiicah\nam brahmaiia/i (xiv,

who

is

saw, was a Pancala.

6,

1,

except Yajnavalkya Kuru-

1,

etc.)

the king of the east,

has a leaning to the culture of the west, collects the celebrities

of the west at his court

at the court of

whole

test,

much as the intellects of Athens srathered

How

Macedonian princes.

which actualh^ appears

east, the authority of the

to

fully throughout the

have been compiled in the

west, of the Kurupancalas,

is

felt

most
time,

was
*

clearly in the

well-known narration of the " ^atapatha Br."

10 seq.J has the

4, 1,

when

memory been

the sacrificial system, as

it

i,

preserved, that there was a

flourished

a stranger to the land of the Videhas

still

and

And

acknowledged, the passages collected above amjily show.f

on the Sarasvati,

Videgha Mathava,

XIV,

G, 1, 1-3 and especially G, 9, 20.

Holding as we do with Weber that the " ^at. Br." was comi}iled in the

is very readily exj^lained

how

this text not only

east, it

knows those peojDles, kings and

knows Yajnavalkya and

teachers, as do the other texts, bnt in addition also

Janaka, of

whom the other texts are almost wholly ignorant (Weber, " Lit. Gesch.''^

p. 146, note 2).

The other

texts originated at the very centre, the " Cat. Br." at

the periphery of Vedic culture

in the jDrovinces people

know

but not vice rersd.

Cf. Weber, " Ind. Stud." i, 170 seq.

WTiat river that Sadanira here, named as a boundary,

the

the great folks of

cajDital,

see, be determined with certainty.

Weber

(loc. cit.

is,

cannot, as far as I

172, 181) identifies

it

-with

the GaHf/akl, which in later times formed the boundary between the territories

Kosala and Videha.

Against this the fact seems to speak, that the
Mahabharata on one occasion makes its heroes cross " Ga/((/akin ca Mahi^'o^awt

of

Sadaniran tathaiva ca "

(ii,

beside each other in a long

794 ed. Calc.

list)

also vi, 325, 332 the

this passage

is,

two rivers stand

of course, not decisive, for the

LEGEND OF AGNI VAICVANARA-THE MAGADHAS.

399

the national hero of tho Viclehas, goes eastward across the SadAnira

and

him

across

earlier ages
it

was bad

the

estabHshes

there

Vai9vanara,

rule

who comes from

of

the

But Agni

Videha.s.

the Sarasvati, does not accompany

he cannot burn beyond the Sadanira.

Therefoie in

no Brahmans went across the Sadanira to the

land,

whereof Agni Vaicvanara had not

many Brahmans
now have Brahmans made

however, eastward of that dwell

indeed good land, for

east, for

"

tasted.
;

it

Now,

now

is

it

enjoyable

The difference between the ancient Vedic land

and the east, where there was Aryan land,
a long time a home of Vai^vanai'a, can scarcely

through offerings."

of culture in the west

but not yet for

be more significantly expressed.

two

tracts here appear to

farther toward the east

Certainly the limits between the

have been already pushed forward a stage

the Kosalas have entered earlier than the

Videhas into the community of Vedo-Brahmanic culture.*

Still farther off

from the old centres

of

races already named stand the Magadhas.

the Atharva-Yeda

of

(5, 22,

Vedic culture than the

In a well-known passacre

14) the fever

is

washed away

to the

Gandharisf and Mujavants, and to the Aiigas and Magadhas

knowledge

of the true Sadanira,

every instance

which has been

lost to

and

later lexicograiDhers in

for the Karatoya cannot possibly be identilled with the may

S.

have been already wanting

Mahabharata.

who composed

to the poets

these i^assages of the

accordance with this that among the names of the stocks not held
which are at the same time applied as
the designations of mixed castes, Vaideha occurs as well as Magadha (Manu x,
We also find the names of the
cf. Gautama iv, 17), but not Kausalya.
11
*

It is quite in

in full esteem as though being non-Aryan,

Nicchivis (Licchavis) and the Mallas

Pavil

and the near neighbours

belonged to the stocks

t

The Gandliaras

little

(Manu

x, 22),

of the Sakyas.

affected

the rulers of Kusinara and

Probaljly, then, the latter also

by Brahmanic

influences.

in the north-west will have to be regarded by us as standing

outside the pale of Vedic culture, in the same way as the Magadha people did in
the south-east (cf. Koth, " zur Literatur," see 42). Of course they are known to the

But their mention in " Chandogya Upan." vi, 11 does not imply that
texts.
the compiler of that text was specially near to the Gandliaras, so that we cannot
conclude with Prof. Max Miiller (p. 105 of his Translation) regarding the high antiVedic

The passage seems to me

i, 219 note).
The matter
dealt with is a comparison of a man, who is led (aniya) away by the Gandliaras
with closed eyes, and who then inquires his way back from village to village. The
(juity of

the text or the northern origin of

rather to favour the opposite

(cf.

also

its

compiler.

Weber, " Ind. St."

400 RELATIVE LOCATION OF VEDIC AND BUDDHIST CULTURE.

a host of other passages in the Veclic literature combine to show

Magadhas were looked upon as

by no means with favour.*
that the

strangei\s,

and were regarded

If our inquiry up to this point, which has been based essentially

on the Brahma?ia Text, has yielded the probability, that, for the

history of the spread of Vedic culture, a sharp distinction

must be
drawn between Kurus, Paiicalas, and the peoples connected with
them on the one hand, and the Eastern stocks, especially the
Videhas and Magadhas on the other, now is the time to examine
this hypothesis by the data which the JRtk-Samhita supplies.
We
ask Can we discern among the stocks, which are mentioned in
:

the ivik-Sa5?ihita, a prominence or even an exclusive appearance of

the circle which
believe

groups

we shall have

to

itself

answer

round the Kuru-Paiicalas

"We

this question in the affirmative.

passage means the more, the farther the Gandharas are made to reside from
the land where this may have been said. With the Buddhists the capital of the

Gandharas, Takkasila, figures constantly as the place to which anyone travels,

desires to learn something good, e.g. " Tat. Atth." ii, 2 39 etc. and
already in the Vinaya Pitoka " Mahavagga," viii, 1, 5, seq.
* Vide the quotations in Professor Weber's "Lit. Gesch.,"
second edition,

when he

123 seq. 15G. I cannot agree with Weber in tracing the light esteem of
Brahmans (or quasi-Brahmans, for they do not apparently pass as pure) of
Magadha expressed in the passages in point, to the success of Buddhism in that
country. If the Brahmans of Magadha as such are spoken of in a sneering tone,
it is, I think, more natural to think of the light esteem in which their fatherland
was held, than of a circumstance the Buddhist faith which aft'ected only single
individuals among them, but affected, instead, Kosala Brahmans, etc., quite as
much. If this faith and not the origin of the Magadha Brahmans were the real
point, why then was not, for example, the well-known i^rescript regarding
p. 86,

the

Vratyastoma based on the faith and not on the descent ? Data of any kind
whatever, which might stand in any connection whatever with Buddhism, I have
not been able to discover in the whole range of the statements regarding the
Vratyas. The role which the Magadha people here play, is amply explained by
the feehng of national antipathy, or of contempt, which was harboured towards
them. Prof. Weber seems to me to hit the mark, when he, " Lit. G.,"- p. 305,

surmises that the land of Magadha was not wholly Brahmanized. But we need
not suppose that here " the aborigines always jDreserved a kind of influence." The

Aryan immigrants themselves were not wholly Brahmanized, i.e., not wholly
permeated by the culture of the Kuru-Paficrdas. We may here also refer to
" Kaush x\r." 7, 14 atha ha smasya {i.e., of the Hrasva M;bi(Zukeya) putra aha
Madhyama/t Pratibodhiputro Magadhavasi. Thus, dwelUng in the Magadha
territory is mentioned as something unusual.


THE STOCKS MENTIONED IN THE RIK-SAMHITA.

401

It is admitted that the status of Indian family-stocks, as

given in the BikSabinhita, corresponds at

first

it is

sight only partially

with that which is set forth in the Brahmawa. A series of the

most important race-names given in the i2tk-Saihita have vanished
wholly, or as good as wholly, in the Brahma?i.a

Turvacas, Tadus, Tritsus, and so on.

Knras and

of

not one

is

the Purus,

e.g.,

names
which stand in the front in the Brahmarta.

Paiicalas,

named,

dix'ectly at least, in

apparently on the one side

new names

Vice versa, of the

the

Sa7?ihita.

There arose

instead of the old (note the

well-known change of Krivi and Pancala), on the other, in the

many

migrations and struggles in numerous places, the countless

small stocks of the older days cohered into few greater peoples

might

naturally such events

names.

easily necessitate

Finally the possibility also

;*

a change in the

must not be overlooked, that

one and another among the stocks, which had participated in the
culture of the ivJk-Sa^Jihita, withdrew later from the circle, in

which the Vedic culture has further developed

itself,

and new

stocks entered this circle.

The

now

investigation will

naturally take this course

stocks of the iJik-Samhita will be enumerated,

Then

under the same names in the Brahmawa.

first

those

which reappear
mentioned

will be

the unfortunately only few cases, in which the identity of the

name

indeed wanting, but where from further considerations

is

some kind or other a connection between the one case and the

of

other

is

rendered probable.

Of instances

kind I

of the first

may

cite the following

Kurus, in the Bik-Samhita at least indirectly named, Zimmer, "Altind. Leben,"

p.

130 seq.

Ludwig, "Mantraliteratur,'"

p. 205.

Krivis

(= Paiicalas),

s.

Zimmer,

of the Krivis in ancient times as

p.

102

seq.

The small importance

compared with the

later great

prominence of the Pancalas suggests the supposition, that

change of names
*

is

the

connected with further changes, some such

Compare the analogous occurrences

in ancient

Germany, where,

for example,,

the Chamavi, Sigamberi, Ampsivarii of ancient times combined to form the

composite race of the Franks.

26


402 RELATIVE LOCATION OF YEDIC
as a cohesion of

stock

we

AND BUDDHIST CULTURE.

Krivis with other elements to form the Pancala

tlie

matter later on,

shall return to this

Matsyas, Zimmer,

p.

The passage quoted

p. 127.

404
fii'om

seq.

Manu (supra,

393) and numerous other evidences establish their connection

p.

with the great western groups of peoples.

U^inaras, Zimmer,
Kurns and Pancalas

p.

Their belonging to the group of the

130.
clear

is

from the genealogical table of the

Aitareya.

Srmjayas, Zimmer, p. 132

Weber, " Ind. Stud," i, 208
;

Ludwig, " Mantra Lit."

iii,

the Kurus has been'rightly inferred by

cf.

p.

153

seq.

Their close connection with

472.

Zimmer from " (^at." ii, 4, 4,

also " ^at." xii, 9, 3, 1 seq.

Rufamas, Zimmer,

Ru9ama

one

least

p. 129.

In the Brahmana we meet with at

(" Pane. Br." xxv, 13)

one runs round

this

Kurukshetra for a bet made with Indra.

Cedis,

Zimmer,

as I know,

it

in the great

I here insert this stock, although, as far

Epic

Paiicala9

Cedi-Matsyaf ca ^urasena/i,

The Cedis are set up as the model

2342 seq.). They lie, judging by their later

(iv.
(i,

p. 129.

does not meet us again in the Brahma?ia, but only

11).

these peoples farthest to the south-east,

Cunningham " Archreol. Survey,"

Of the Bharatas we
Already

ix,

54

s.

settlements, of all

Lassen, F, 688 A. 3

seq.

shall treat farther on.

this of itself confessedly scanty list of

unmistakably that the i2ik-Saz-hita has

groups of peoples,

etc.

of upright living

who

its

names

indicates

home among

those

are found later on gathered round the

centre of the Kurupaiicalas.

The

instances to the contrary are

They are the following

The Gandharis, Zimmer, p. 30. Vide supra, p. 399.
The Kika^as, Zimmer, p. 31. These, according to the lexicographers, would have to be taken as identical with the Magadha
But, on the one hand, they are mentioned in a way which
people.
unimportant.

appears to point to their distance from, rather than to their nearness

to,

the compiler of the poem, and on the other

it is

more than

uncertain that they are to be really identified with the

stock.

Taska

(Nir. 6, 32)

Magadha

was only able to say of the Kikaias that they

THE STOCKS MENTIONED IN TEE HIKSAUHITA.

were non- Aryans.

he was

If

justified in this,

403

then they were not

Yaska knew nothing

the Kika/as and drew what he said of them only from

the Magadhas,
really of

if

But

these were Aryans.

the passage of the ivigveda,

it is

knew more.
connection of the Ahga

then

if

difficult to believe that

the

lexicographers

krama?ii

who according

Aui'ava,

people of the Aiigas,

we have no

Ikshvakus, Zimmer,

back the royal race

of Eastern

The

104 note.

later ages trace

Hindostan to Ikshvaku

which Buddha belonged, regarded

If

Ikshvaku stands outside the

itself as

deals,
itself

the mention of
scarcely be used

But the

against us as an instance opposed to our result.

questionable: the " (^atapatha Brahmajia"

as an Ikshvakuid

Purus (Zimmer,

p.

123),

the race also,

with which, according to our

circle

a mighty prince in this way would of

knows Purukutsa

a race of Ikshvakuidee.

investigation, the JSik-Saw^hita otherwise

of the

Anu-

reason to suppose.

p. 133, of. p.

to

itself is

to the

represented to be compiler of Bv. 10, 138, with the

is

;*

whom

(xiii, 5,

case
4, 5)

but Purukutsa was prince

no one will seek

to identify

with those eastern peoples (regarding the Purus see our remarks
presently).

came

Ai-e

we

to suppose that the eastern stocks,

into closer contact with the

to theii* raost venerated kingly races ancestors of

and that

for that purpose the

when they

Vedic culture, have appropriated

name

Yedic

nobility,

of Ikshvakuidse, belonging

correctly to the Purus, has been selected ?

We

now

pass on to consider the cases, in

connection of stocks which

we mentioned

as are mentioned in the Brahma?ia,

directly

is

which the identity or

in the Sa'^nhita,

and such

to be rendered probable, not

by resemblance of name but in some other way.

The Purus

are, as is

known, brought

in the genealogical system

of the great epic into the closest connection

the Brahma?ia

there

are

with the Kurus.

In

unfortunately wanting evidences, but

internal probability really speaks for our inferring a connection

between the people, which stands in the age of the

*

Probably

Br."

from

xiii, 3,

it

serves to confirm this statement, that according to the

12 Tryaru)ia Traidliatva was an Aikshvaka

ii/gv. V.

i2ik-Sa??ihita in

"Pancav.

but a Tryaru/(a we

27 to be a descendant of Trasadasyu.

26*

know

RELATIVE LOCATION OF VEDIO AND BUDDHIST CULTURE.

404

the centre of Vedic civilization, and

tliat wliicL.

position in the case of the Brahma7ia.*

noted that the Knru9rava?ia,

Trasadasyava

x,

33,

is

4,

be

denominated

but Trasadasyu was a prince of the Purns.

the Purns were

believe that

Bv.

cf.

occupies the same

It also deserves to

which combined to form the people of

attempt to point out as

we proceed

The Turva9aSj standing

among other elements,

the Kurus another I shall

only one

(p.

408

seq.).

in closest connection with the Yadus,

belong of course to the stocks most fi'equently mentioned in the

jKik-Samhita

they are sometimes mentioned in a friendly and

From

sometimes in an unfriendly tone.

has almost completely vanished

;-]

the

Brahma%a their name

we have one passage

nevertheless

which gives us a key to the place in which we have to search for

among the people of the later age. In

who have offered the A^vamedha, we find

the ancient Turva^as

kings

of

lists

Paiicala king Qona, Satrasaha (" ^at."

whose
the

horse-sacrifice a

A^vamedha

and thirty clad

Taurva9a^

offering, the

quoted

is

Taurvagas

the construction

4, 2,

We

5,

4,

When

16),

regarding

Satrasaha makes

thousand and sis

The commentary explains

arise, six

(cf.

also the following Gatha,

who have

horse (or the horses offered), so that

"

shows that the Taurvacas are rather the " varmin,"

the mail-clad escort of noble races,

6,

xiii,
:

in mail (varmi/iam)."

&(}Ya.h

17) clearly

Gatha

16

it

the

the

i.e.,

to follow the offered

be not lost (" ^at."

xiii, 1,

" Katy. ^r." xx, 2, 11).

expressed above our doubt that the Krivis of ancient time

down as
now we have found bands of the

alone, without admixtui'e of other elements, are to be set

same with the Paiicala

Turva^a youth actively engaged

beins: the

Thus the conjecture

is justified

in the offering of a Paiicala king.

that

we

are to look to find in the

people of the Pancalas, of the stock of the JRik Sa?Hhita, the Turva9as
also as well as the Krivis.

The union of the Turva9as, frequently

Cf. the remarks of Ludwig, " Mantralit." p. 205.

That they are identical with the Vr/civants also named in the Brahma?!a,
as Zimmer (p. 124) would have them, B\. vi, 27, does not justify us to
*

assume.

This passage

is satisfactorily

if the Vncivants are

Ludwig, " Mantra L.," p. 153).

explained also

treated only as confederates of the Turvayas

(cf,

TEE STOCKS MENTIONED IN THE RIK-SAUEITA.

with

Yadus, and occasionally

tiie

witli tlie IVIatsyas (Bv. Tii, 18, 6),

completely with this conjecture.

falls in

In order to define the position which the

T?-itsiis,

victories are so highly celebrated in the Vasishi/ia

among the stocks of

the Vedic age,

we point nest to

which they stand with the Sr/njaya

which

is

undoubtedly to be

same enemies

vii, 18,

gather the same from

book (MawcZ.

vi)

i-e

whose brilliant
Hymns, occupy

the connection in

(vide supra, p. 402), a connection

Both have the

garde d as an alliance.

that the Tri'tsus stand opposed to the Turva9as in

we know from

battle

we

405

so

on

of the Srinjayas

In the hymns of the Bharadvaja

an equal friendship

prince Divodasa appears

and

19, 8,

vi, 27, 7.

for the S?-aijayas

and the Tritsu

the praises of the gifts and honours which

the bard has received from Divodasa, and of those which he has
received from the Sariijaya

poem

(vi,

47).*

Now we

(i.e.,

Daivavata), are united in the same

have already mentioned the union of the

Srmjayas and Kurus appearing in the Brahma?ia as the bard of

47 posed as the Purohita of the Tritsu and Srinjaya princes, so
;

vi,

Devabhaga Qrautarsha

(" ^at. Br."

4, 4, 5)

ii,

united the purohital

Thus we

dignity of the Kurus and Srmjaj-as.

shall be led

by

probabilities to allot to the T?'itsus their place within the circle of

stocks,

among which

most ijrominent

Much

later

on the name of the Kui'us played the

part.

clearer results are obtained

and acute supposition

of

than one consideration in support of

but

it is

(t

Among

accept the important

name

Tri'tsus to

in fact,

is,

be

more

The Tritsus

this conjecture.

exclusively in the seventh Ma^icZala

priori in the highest degree improbable that the race

which thus
*

we

I think that there

identical with the Bharatas.

are mentioned under this

if

Ludwig,t who declares the

inlays so brilliant

a part should be wholly

unknown

to

the vouchers for the connection of the Tritsus and S)'a"ijayas I also

reckon U\. \n, 19, 3, although of course the weight of tliis passage is diminished
by the mention of Trasadasyu and the Piu'us being made therein at the same lime.

As Vitahavya and Sudas there stand beside each other, it appears

to

me to be clear

that Vitahavya is to be understood as a proper name of the Sraljaya prince, cf.

" Ath. v.," V, 19, 1 ; " Taitt. Samh." v, 6,5,3; " Pane. Br." xxv, 16, 3. A Vitahavya
is also

lauded in the Bharadvaja book, which

Srmjayas {Kv.
t

vi, 15, 2, 3).

AJiter

" MantraUteratur," p. 175.

Zimmer,

is,

as

is

p. 132.

well known, friendly to the


406

RELATIVE LOCATION OF VEDIC AND BUDDHIST CULTURE.

the remaining parts of the Bigveda

where mention

of passages

is

made

there

of the

is in them no deficiency
Tntsu king Sudas and

his father, Divodasa Atithigva, the conqueror of (^ambara.

If

we

are thus authorized to presuppose that the Tritsus are identical

with one of the elsewhere-mentioned stocks and certainly in all

probability with one of those frequently mentioned there thus
remain, in fact, as the Five Peoples are excluded on account of
their enmity against the Trztsus, apparently only the Bharatas of

whom we

can entertain a thought.

That

well to support as to controvert this view

vii, 33, 6,

can be used as

evident.

Direct support

is

of this identification of the Tritsus with the Bharatas

the following considerations

Tn'tsus, like

is

found* in

Bharatas, are enemies of the Purus, mentioned

elsewhere in the

RikSamhitk

as a rule in a friendly tone,

and

certainly the

poet belonging to the Vasish^/ada? sides with the

Tritsus as with Bharatas cf. vii, 8, 4
18, 13, etc.
;

The king
Bharatas
In

is

of the Tritsus

is

found coupled in

Sudas

the praise of Sudas and of the

53, 9. 12. 24.

iii,

prayer for Divodasa and for the

united in such a fashion that one can scarcely help
taking Divodasa for a Bharata. But Divodasa is, according to viii,
vi,

Bharatas

16, 4. 5, cf. V, 19, the

is

18, 25, the father of Sudas, the

The question

king of the Tn'tsus.

of the historical position of the Tn'tsus thus

in that of the position of the Bharatas,

we have now

and to

merges

this latter question

to address ourselves.

The Brahmawa

texts tell us

of

Bharata heroes in a distant

must be regarded
In the list of A9vamedha

antiquity as well as of such as

a not very remote past.

as belonging to
offerers (" ^at."

two Bharata princes appear Bharata himself, the son of

Dushyanta, and ^^tanika Satrajita; the accompanying verses on

xiii, 5,

4)

both occasions point to the incomparable nobility of the Bharata or

Bharatas, whose greatness

is

as far

as the heavens are above the earth.

beyond that of other mortals

The

family, as belonging to

which those two princes were regarded by the compilers of the

Brahmajia text, proceeds from the person of the priests, who are
*

To

a great extent already cited by Ludwig, p. 175.

TEE BHARATA8.
named

in connection witli

them

407

Bliarata Daushyanti

received

lias

the kingly installation from Dirghatamas Mamateya, therefore from

the i?ik-Sa?rahita (" Ait."

iiishi of

viii,

therefore from a man,

whom

his

name

on

23), (^^atanika Satrajita

the contrary from Sonia9ushman Vajaratnayana ("Ait."

viii,

21),

already stamps as belonging

to a later epoch.

That the existence and prominent importance

down

continued

from a

also evident

made

of the

Bharatas

to the age of the compiler of the Brahnia?ia is

which reference

series of other passages,* in

to customs of the Bharatas usnally in such a

way

is

that the

Bharatas appear in what they say and do as the rule for correct

manner that the

procedure, once ("Ait."iii, 18) also in such a

knowledge

Bharata custom

of the

which not every one

In the

freely designated as

something

has.

"Ait. Br."

tribes in

of

lists

is

Bharatas are wanting

as little do

8,

and

14,

we meet them

in

Manu

the

in the Buddhists'

enumeration of peoples, f or in the numerous references made by

the Buddhist texts to the peoples through whose country

Buddha

wanders or who figure in any other place in Buddhist sacred

And anyone who

history. J

goes through the mentionings

made

of

the Bharatas in the Brahmawa texts will find that there, in a certain

way, the course

*

" Ait."

25

ii,

is

being prepared already for the vanishing of the

iii,

18 (twice)

" ^at-" v, 4, 4,

1.

Wlioever considers these

passages by themselves and in comparison with the evidence to be explained

further on, will scarcely adliere to the signification "

Bharata

(vide Pet. Lex.), but see in it solely the

in " Ait."

name

mercenary soldier"
of the tribe.

for

emend

Satvatam (according to " Q&t." xiii, 5, 4, 21, which

reading as opposed to the Lex. is supported by " Ait." viii, 14), and translate :
" therefore even now go the Bharatas forth for plunder against the Satvats, and
For a fourth part," etc.
their charioteers say
" Aiiguttara Nikaya " (AM/ianipata) soZasannam mahajanat One Sutta of the
seyyath' idajit Angana7/t Magadhana7 Ktlsinam Kosalana??i
.
padanarH .
Vajjina7rt MaUana??! Cetiyanant VaTwsana?^ (so agreeing two MSS. consulted by

Satvanam

ii,

25, to

me.

In the Janavasabhasutta I find Kasikosalesu Vajjimallesu Cetivawjsesu

Kurupaficalesu Macchasurasenesu).

Kuruna7?i Paucalanar/t Macchana7;t Surase-

nanam Assakanam Avantina?^ Gandharanavji Kambojana???.

+ The only mention known to me of the Bharatas in

the sacred Pali texts

occurs in the Govindasutta (" Digha-Nikaya "). It is there narrated how in old
times, after the death of the king Disampati (cf. " Dipav." 3, 40), the Brahman


408 BELATIVE LOCATION OF VEDIC
Bliarata

wont

name out

AND BUDDHIST CULTURE.

of tlie circle of Indian tribal

The

to be mentioned.

names wLicli are

Bhai'atas are referred to with great

deference, but in quite another tone than that adopted with regard
to the peoples influencing the life of the Kurus, Videhas, etc.

the^incidental

way

in which, for example,

Brahmans

in

Kuru-

of the

of, or in which it is said that some one

wanders in the country of the Matsyas or Ufinaras, the Bharatas

pancala stock are spoken

do not appear.

The peculiar importance and

isolation of the

Bharatas shows

itself,

at the

same time the

perhaps, in the most decisive

manner when Agni is spoken of as brahmawa Bharata (" Qat. Br."

i,
4, 2, 2), and is invited to dispose of the offering Manushvad
Bharatavat

We may,

(ibid,

i,

5, 1, 7).

perhaps, be allowed to surmise that in the Bharatas

we

have to do with a stock which in the time of the Brahama?ia had

merged

politically

in,

or

was about

merge

to

in,

one of the great

peoples of India in that age, but which had attaching to

the splendour of great memories and sacral precedence.

after the people,

which may have absorbed the Bharatas,

natural to seek

them

name
we ask

its

If

it is

most

which in the Brahmatza

in those tracts to

period especially the highest sacral authority appertains in the

domains of the Kurupaiicala.

to " Qat. Br."

xiii,

5,

It fits in

4, 11. 21,

victory over the Ka9is, another has

Yamuna.

It further tallies

with this that, according

one Bharata king has obtained a

made

offerings to

Garigji

and

with the fact that the formula of the

king's proclamation (esha vo,

IST.

N., raja) for the people that is

addressed, the following variants occur

Kurava/i, Pailcala/i,

Govinda divided the kingdom between Eeu, the son

cha khattiya." It is said of this

of the king,

Kuru-

and the " aSne

" Tatra sudam majjhe Ee?rassa

rafifio

janapado

hoti.

Dantapuraju Kalingana??! Assakanaj/i ca Potam'a?

Mahiyata Avantinayw Soviranafi ca Eoruka?;t
Mithila ca Videhuna?)* Cami^a Aiigesu niapita
Baravisi ca Kasinawi ete

Govindamapita

'ti.

Sattabhu Brahmadatto ca Vessabhu Bharato saha

Ee?ra dve ca Dhatarat</ia tadasum satta Bh&rata 'ti.
It is

seen

how

here the

embracing the whole

name

of India

(cf.

of the

Bharatas

is

used in a wider sense,

Bharatavarsha), or at any rate

its

princes.

THE BEAEATAS.
and Bharata^ (vide We"ber,

pancalaZi,

With

this,

above

fits

all,

409

" Ind. Lit. G."2

in the conception

126, note).

-p.

running through the

Also those who, like us, do not rate highly the confused

epics.

representations

the

of

Mahabharata regarding

the

stocks

of

antiquity in general, will not be able to avoid giving a certain

weight to the evidences which the great epic at every

indeed, even by
of the

Our

its

step, and,

name, furnishes to prove that the royal family

Kurus was a Bharata family.*

discussions hitherto regarding the Bharatas have not as yet

dealt with the evidence furnished

inquii-e,

how

does

by the

i?ik-Sajhita.

We

now

testimony stand to the view of the Bharatas

its

hitherto conjecturally evolved.

In the hymns of the Eih we meet the Bharatas as one stock

among many othersf the yi9vamitra odes are well known in praise
;

of the deeds of the Bharatas, the Yasish^/ia ode referring to their

(quondam)

defeat.

Also we find in the i2ik-Samhit;\ trace of a peculiar position

occupied by the Bharatas, a special connection of

important points of

sacred

throughout the whole

Bharata,

i.e.,

significance,

circle

propitiotis or

of ancient

which

theii"s

with

are recognized

Vedic culture.

Agni

is

belonging to the Bharata or Bharatas

among the protecting deities, who are invoked in the Apri-odes,

we find Bharati, the personified divine protective power of the
Bharatas.

We

find the Sarasvati constantly

must not the sacred

named

in connection with her

river Sarasvati be the river of the holy people,

In one ode of the Mandala, vrhich specially extols

the Bharatas

the Bharatas

(iii,

23), the

two Bharatas, Deva^ravas and Devavata,

* In this connection vre may also point to the fact that the list of the
A(?vamedhayajinas, " Qat. Br." xiii, 5, 4, generally states with reference to each

king the people over which he ruled (Purukutsa is designated as Aikshvako raja,
Marutta as Ayogavo raja, Kraivya as Pancalo raja, and so on), but in three cases
this detail

is

omitted apparently as superfluous

these cases are those of Jana-

mejaya and his brothers, as well as Bharata and ^^-^'^ini^a- The first-named
was, as is well-known, a Kuru prince the two last were Bharata kings.
t See the passages in Grassmann's Lexicon, and Ludmg, p. 175, Zimmer
;

p. 127 seq.

Cf. also " Taitt. Ar."

i,

27, 2.

410 RELATIVE LOCATION OF VEDIC AND BUDDHIST CULTURE.

are spoken of, who have generated Agni by friction
on the
Dnshadvati, on the Apaya, on the Sarasvati may Agni beam. We
find thus Bharata princes sacrificing in the land on the Dnshadvati
and on the Sarasvati. Now the land on the Dnshadvati and on
:

the Sarasvati

Kurukshetra.

that which is later on so highly celebrated as

Thus the testimonies of the Sa??ihita and the

is

Brahmawa combine

to establish the close connection of the ideas

Bharata, Knru, Sarasvati.*

Out

of the struggles in

which the migratory period of the Vedic

stocks was passed, the Bharatas issued, as

we believe we are entitled

to suppose the course of events to have been, as the possessors of
the regions round the Sarasvati and D?-'ishadvati.
the Bharata princes and the poetical fame of

theii-

The weapons
Eishis

of

may have

co-operated to acquii-e for the cult of the Bharatas the character

of universally acknowledged rule, and for the Bharatas a kind
of sacral

hegemony

hence Agni as friend of the Bharatas, the

goddess Bharati, the sacredness of the Sarasvati and Drrshadvati.

Then came the

period,

when

the countless small stocks of the

Samhita age were fused together to form the gi-eater peoples of

the Brahma/a period. The Bharatas found theii- place, probably
together with their

old enemies, the Purus,t within the great

complex of peoples now in process of formation, the Kurus

sacred land now became Kurukshetra.

We return from this

digi-ession bearing

their

on the Bharatas, to state

the result of our main investigation.

We

found that the literature of the Brahma?ias points to a

cer-

tain definitely circumscribed circle of peoples as its home, as the

On

the fact, that in the epic

and Sarasvati are named among the divine

i, 3760, 3779, etc.)
I wiU lay no stress.
note, considering the close connection of the Bharatas and
Ila.

ancestors of the Bharatas (" M. Bh."

More worthy

of

Ku(?ikas (Zimmer, p. 128), is the fact that a tributary of the D/v'shadvati

bears
the name Kau^iki ("M. Bh." iii, 6065).Eegarding the relation of the

son of
Pururavas, to Kurukshetra, see " ^at. Br." xi, 5, 1, 4.
Is
it
to
be
taken
as
connected
with the vanishing of this enmity, that
t
already in the iJ/k-Sa7hita on some occasions Sudas, or Divodasa on the one
Ila,

side and Purukutsa, or Trasadasyu on the other, are named together in a friendly
tone? i, 112, 14; vii, 19, 3.

THE BHARATAS.

home

of genuine

Brahmanism.

corresponds with those

411

We found that this circle of peoples

whom Manu

celebrates as upright in

life.

names of the stocks named in the

Higyeda, especially the most prominent of them, the Purus,
Tui'va9as, Bhai*ata-Tritsus, go back to the same circle of peoples.
"We found

finally,

that the

In this way we shall be permitted to consider established the

statement premised to this inquiry, that this circle of stocks has

formed from

community

of old a

in itself closely inter-connected,

separated from the Videhas, Magadhas, and also probably, though

less clearly,

from the Kosalas.

Inasmuch as

at the time

when

those stocks were pressing forward through the Panjab towards

their later habitations,

already existing,

we

we

iind this association

and that separation

are entitle to assume that the Kosalas, the

Magadhas, the Videhas had at that time already pressed forward

farther to the east,
its

down

home, originally at

among

the Ganges.

least,

among

Vedic culture has not had

these stocks of the east, but

the peoples of the western group.

It will be

an interesting task to follow out the distinction here

indicated also on the lines of the dialects

;*

but the time for

its

performance will not have come until Indian epigraphic has been
based on wider and surer foundations than the

first

volume of the

Corpus Inscriptionum presents.

SECOND EXCURSUS.
Annotations and Authoeities for the History of Buddha's

The

TOTTTH.

several points noted in the account given in the text of the

family from which Buddha sprang, are derived from " Cullavagga,"
1 seq. (cf. " Dhp. Atth." p. 351), as well as the following

vii,

passages Sonada?i(iasutta (" Digha N.") samano khalu bho Gotamo

pahutam hiranna?^ suvannsim ohaya pabbajito bhumigata?)! ca
:

* Also the little which -we can gather from Buddhist sources regarding the
mythology of eastern lands and their reHgious terminology, so far as this is not.
overgrovm by the Veda, coincides by no means with what the western literature

yields.

NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF BUDDHA'S YOUTH.

412

xehasaftJi&m ca

sa,mao khalu bho

Gotamo addhakula pabbajito

" Apadana,"

maliaddbana mababboga.

fob

hlaah

addhe

kule

jmababboare
O nibbattissatti tavade.
'
Apadana," fob ko'

aparimeyye

ito

kappe Ukkakakulasambbavo

Gotamo namagottena
Idem, fob

ga??t' seq.

aparimeyye

(sic)

sattba loke bbavissati.

ito

kappe bbumipalo mabiddbiko

Okkako nama namena

raja rattJie bbavissati.

soZasittbisabassana??! sabbasa?)?. pavara ca

ya

abbijata kbattiyani nava pntte janissati.

nava putte janitvana kbattiyani marissati,

tamwava

piya kaiina mabesitta-)?! karissati.

(sic)

Okkakatti tosayitvana

varam laddba ca

vara???-

kaiina labbissati,

sa kaiina putte pabbajayissati.

pabbajita ca te sab be gamissanti naguttania7?t

jatibbedabbaya sabbe bbaginibi samvasissare.

ekfi 'va kaiina

ma

no

jati

byadbibi bbavissati purakkbata,

pabbijja (sic)

ti

kbattiyo niharitvana taya

nikbawiyanti kbattiya.

saddbi')- vasissati

bbavissati tada bbedo Okkakakulasambbavo.

tesa^n-

tattba

(("

Kobya nama jati^'a,

manusakam bbogam anubbossanti nappakaj.

paja bbavissanti

Here we must
Digba Nikaya

also

compare tbe data given in tbe

") for tbe descent of

as SuttaNipata, " Paray. Vattbug."

v,

16 (" Fausboll,"

as well

p.

186).

boundary stream between tbe Sakyas and tbe

passantu tarn Sakiya KoZiya ca paccbamukbai Robiniyam

Tbe RobiHi
Koliyas

Aniba!'i'/iasutta

Baddba from Okkaka,

as a

tarantam (" Tbei-agatba," fob kbu').

Amba^^7asutta (" Digba N.")
says to

Buddba

ekam

Tbe young Brabman AmhattJia

Gotama samaya-j/i acariyassa

idaba^u bbo

brabnia?iassa Pokkbarasatissa kenacid eva kara?iiyenaKapilavattbu7?i

.agamasim yena Sakyana??z. santbagara???.

ter'

kbo pana samayena sambabula Sakya

upasa-wzkamiwi.

c'eva

tena

Sakyakumani ca

santbagare uccesu asanesu nisinnii bonti aniiamaiiiiai?i afigulipato-

dakena sa7?2Jaggbanta saiki/anta aniiadatthu manneva mamaii

anojaggbanta na jiam koci asanena pi niniantesi.

tayida-i^

iieva

bbo

THE NAME GOTAMA.

Gotama na cchana^jz- tayidam na
samana na brahma??e sakkaronti,
fol.

ppatiriipaHi

" Cull."

vii,

Pasenadi

is

speaking)

The supremacy

mentioned as

is

Dliammacetiyasuttanta (" Majjh. N.

bhagava pi Kosalako abam

i,

;"

Kino-

pi Kosalako.

of Pasenadi

following passage

over the Sakyas appears fi-om the

Sakya kho pana Yasettha raniio Pasenadiko-

salassa anantara anuyutta bhavanti

karonti kho

YsisettJia,

ranne Pasenadimhi Kosale nipaccakara?)?- abhiviidanam

anjalikamma??^

(vol.

uccfikuli-

Bhikkbus, apparently the same of whom.

tlie

1 speaks.

yad ime Sakja ibbha

In the " Ang. Nik."

etc.

kau) Bhaddiya Ka/igodhaya putta

kanai agga among

41 ^

samicikammam (Aggannasutta,

Buddha's claim to the "gotta" of Gotama

"

Sakya

-paijccuftha-nmn

Digha

]S".").

I cannot satisfactorily

The question must here be put in general terms how is

among members of the Khattiya

explain.

the appearance of a gotta-hame

caste to be explained ?

I give

of all the essential facts bearing on this point, so far

first

as they are

known

to

me.

Each of those oft-mentioned noble families, in whose hands lies

the government of separate towns and their adjacent territory,
Thus the Mallas of Kusinara
seems to have borne a gotta-name.
are denoted as Vase^^Hs (" Mahaparinibb. Sutta,"

p. 55, etc.),

the

Mallas of Pava bear the same gotta (Sajjigitipariyayasutta in the

" Digha-Nikaya"), the Koliyas are styled Byagghapajja (often in the
*
'

Aiiguttara Nikay a " )

nected herewith

padhanasuttta

is

Is the

name of their town Vy aghrapura con"Manual," p. 139.) In the Maha-

(Sp. Hardy,

explained the descent, gotta and so on, of the six

Buddhas, who have preceded the Buddhas of the present age in

the holy dignity.

Three of these

is

Buddhas'are Khattiyas, but of

six

these, as well as of the other three,

who

are Brahmareas, the gotta

mentioned as something existing as a matter of course the three

;

Khattiyas are Ko?icZaniias, the three Brahmanas are Kassapas.

last

Buddha

himself

is

The

a Gotama, apparently because his whole

at least his father is

(v. Burnouf, " In trod." p. 155)
addressed as Gotama (" Mahavagga " i, 54, 4) likewise his cousin

family are

Ananda

(" Vaiigisathera Santyutta,"

Mahapajapati,

who

at the

fol. ca,

of the

same time belongs

Phayre MS.)

to the

Sakya race

NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF BUDDHA'S YOUTH.

414

(" Lai. Vist." p. 28 ed. Calc.

Gotami

we have

so also her sister

in " Jat

k.ttli.'"

i,

"

MaMvamsa,"

Maya

p. 9), bears

(" Theragatha,"

the

khu')

fol.

60 and elsewhere Kisa Gotami,

be regarded apparently as a young Sakya woman.

name

finally

who

is

to

Numerous

other instances of the application of a gotta- designation to persons

of the Khattiya class are to be found in the Jiuacaritra of the Jainas

and

in inscriptions (it

is

enough

the " Stupa of Bharhut," p. 128

to refer at present to
seq.,

and

Cunningham,

Biihler's notice therewith

given)

From

these data

bility, that

it

appears to

me

to follow

with great proba-

according to that view of custom which

is

disclosed

by

the Buddhist and Jainist texts, every family of the Khattiya as

name

of one of the

If in the case of kings like

Bimbisara or

well as of the Brahma?ia caste bears the gentile

Vedic Brahman-gottas.

Pasenadi such a gotta cannot be pointed

seems not

to,

the reason of this

had no gotta name, but rather that the

appellation maharaja or deva was looked on as more respectful and
to be that they

consequently more correct than

That in the appropriation

Yks,ettlias

of these

or Gotama.

Brahmanical names we have

to do with a universal usage, not with a special right of individual

families,

dependent for instance on relationships of

aflB.nity, is

rendered probable by the verse often quoted in Buddhist suttas

also
:

khattiyo settho jane tasmijji yo gottapa^isarino.

An

extension of the

mode

of distinction here referred to, to

persons of the third class, does not appear to have taken place

otherwise traces of

it

could scarcely have been omitted in the

numberless cases, where they must have been expected to occur in

our texts.

The designation

of

Buddha

that the dignity of purohita

as Gotamides

may have lain

in the hands of the Gautama-race.*

As

usually traced to this,

is

in the case of the

is

Sakyas

well known, according

to the Brahmanical custom of offering at the Pravara ceremony,

instead of the
*

An

naming of the ancestors

of the person

express statement that this was the case, of course

translation.

is

making the

not found in our

SITUATION OF KAPILAVATTHU.

415

Brahman, the naming of the

must or can take place (Weber, " Indische
79 Hillebrandt, " Das Altindische Neu- nnd VollBut from the usage of calling upon the
81, A. 1).

offeinng, in case the latter is not a

ancestors of his purohita

Studien,"

x, 73,

mondsopfer,"

Agni

Agni who has served the Gotama, in

man who has a Gautama as purohit, to

as the

offering of a

of the

S.

mode

the designation

himself and his whole house as " descendants of the

man

Gotama," seems
that

the case of the

to

me

far too

of explanation

wide a step for us

to

be able to accept

Here there may be

play, which to lay bare

without hesitation.

fictions7and expressions of caste-rivalry at

even by conjecture the materials at present at our disposal do not

suflB.ce.

To the question of the position of the Sakya kingdom and of the

town of Kapilavatthu we need not return in detail after what has
That Kapilavatthu itself lay
been said above, p. 92, 25 [seq.
immediately on or in the Himalaya cannot be admitted in face of
the silence which

Fa Hian and Hiouen Thsang observed

mountain in their descriptions of the town.

True,

it is

Pabbajjasutta regarding the Sakyas (" Sutta Nipata,"

Trans., p.

68)

u]mri janapado

as to the

said in the

cf.

FausboU's

Himavantassa passato

but this warrants a conclusion as to the situation at the Himalaya

of the territory only of the Sakyas, not of their capital.

lavatthu,

did not

if it

in the girdle of

damp

lie

in the mountain,

may

That Kapi-

not even have lain

hollows (the so-called Tarai) which surrounds

the southern margin of the mountain, that

must thus have lain

The condition
in
all times the same
it

south of the Tarai, cannot be alleged with certainty.

of the land

and

air has not

tracts of the Nepalese tarai,

tiger

and wild boar

been here at

where now malaria prevails and only

live, are to

be found the splendid ruins of great

ancient cities (Hodgson in the " Journ. As. Soc," Bengal, 1835,
p.

121 seq.).

The death

of

Maya

is

often narrated in the texts of the Sutta

Pi/aka.

To the circle of testimony collected on this point, the following

passages also belong: " Sa^Hyutta Nikaya," vol. iii, fol. ha: ida??i
bhante Kajiilavatthu iddhaii c'eva phitan ca bahujanfiajra aki?iama-

NOTES ON THE BISTORT OF BUDDHA'S YOUTH.

il6

nussam

sambadhabyuliaijz-, se kliv

na pi assena

bbante

ratbena

samagaccbami.

purisena

aham

sayawliasainaya??*

pavisanto bhante na pi hattbina samagaccbami

Kapilavattliu>?i

sakai!ena

Mabasaccakasutta

na pi

("Majjb.

IS"."):

abbijanami kbo panabai/i pitu Sakkassa kammante sitaya jam-

buccbayaya
clbammebi
tbis later

nisinno
.

kamejbi

e[va

vivicc'

akusalebi

vivicca

pai^/zamajjbanam upasampajja vibaratta

(sic).

To

on was added tbe known legend of tbe Vappamangala,

" Jat. Atth:'

p.

i,

57 seq.

Tbe following leads me to deny tbe antiquity of tbe tradition,

wbicb makes Buddba's fatber a king. Wben (as in tbe Sona,da.nfZasutta of tbe " Digba !N".") tbe external claims of Buddba to
respectful consideration are discussed,

always admitted merely

it is

tbat be bas come of an "uccakula, kbattiyakula, acZcZ/zakula ;"

it is

empbasized tbat be, wben be entered on a spiritual career, forsook

relatives

family

is

and

and

friends, gold

not alluded

silver

tbe kingly dignity of tbe

If anywbere,

to.

it

is

witb reference to

a circumstance of tbis kind, wbicb assuredly could not bave been

is applicable.
To tbis
Anyone wbo knows tbe

suppressed, tbat tbe arg^imentum ex silentio

anotber consideration raust be added.

uniform

care witb wbicb

appearing in tbe Piiakas

decisive, tbat

Sakka

("

tbe

Buddba's fatber

Mabavagga,"

54,

i,

titulary

appellation

of

persons

observed, will also find tbis difference

is

is tbei-e

and

cf.

named merely Suddbodbana

tbe passage cited above from tbe

" Mabasaccakasutta ") just as mention is made of Anuruddba Sakka,

Upananda Sakyaputta, &c., wbile Bbaddiya, wbo was really king
of tbe Sakyas if we may call tbis petty raja a king is regularly
,

introduced as

Bbaddiya Sakyaraja

Moreover, Suddbodana

is

addressed

(" Cullav."

vii,

1,

3 seq.).

"Gotama" ("Mabav."l.

c),

as tbe Mallas are called YaseitJm, tbe Koliyas Byaggbapajja, but

no one says to bim " Mabaraja " as to Bimbisara or Pasenadi. Tbe

wbicb attributes to Suddbodana tbe kingly dignity,

as far as I know tbe only j^assage of tbe kind in tbe Tipi^aka,
occurs in tbe Mabapadbanasutta ("Digba N."), wbere a series
oldest evidence

of notices of tbe lives of tbe last seven

Buddbas

is

tbrown togetber.

In a systematic manner, exactly as in tbe passage apparently


BUDDHA NOT A
modelled on
length of

Sutta, " Dtp." xvii, 3 seq., there

The three

were kings' sons, the

first

following three Brahraans' sons, the last

the son of Saddhodliana raja.

also

recorded the

is

the parentage, home, tree of knowledge, Savakajuga,

these Baddhas.

of

&c.,

tliis

life,

417

KING'S SON.

aa-ain a kinar's son,

is

Possibly similar

is

the statement

the concluding portion of the Buddhava;sa

in

be quite in keej^ing with the character of this text

make any statement on

not to be able to
as

it

me

not accessible to

is

it

would

regret

this part of the said texts

There

at present.

is

no need of

enlarging to show that in any case evidence of this desci'iption

must

retire before the

From

question.

noted the verse

momenta

previously brought to bear on this

the Buddhavawtsa (Phayre MS.,

fol. ju')

I have

mayhai janettika mata Mayadeviti vuccati.

Cf.

Rahulamata devi, "Mahavagga,"

i,

54,

As the birthplace of the Bodhisatta later tradition names the

Lumbini grove fi'om the Tipi^aka itself the only passage bearing
on this question known to me, is the following from the Nalakasutta
:

of the Sutta Nipata

jato
Sakyanai game janapade Lampuneyye.*

The wonders connected with the conception and birth of the

Bodhisatta are detailed in the Acchariyabahutasutta of the " Majjh.
Nikaya "

down

(cf. "

Mahaparinibbana Sutta,"

as universally valid, that the

the birth of the child, and

deities

&c., cf. " Jat. A-tth.'"

i,

p.

54,

Iii'shi

KclMevala)

So the Phayre MS.

cf.

there the law

is

laid

Asita (or as he
is

asnii lokassa,"

The presentanamed in the " Jat.

there mentioned.
is

narrated in the just-mentioned

(v. Fausboll's translation).

Fausboll's translation,

ii.

125.

The compiler

the passage seems to have been hampered by metrical necessity

undoubtedly to say

is

born again in the heaven of the Tusita

Nalakasutta of the Sutta Nipfitaf

*

27)

Sihanada (" aggo 'ham

p. 53)

i,

tion of the child to the

Atth.'"

is

also the so-called

p.

mother dies seven days after

cf

he wished

Sakyana?rt janapade g.lme L".

Also this Sutta belongs to the texts, in which

we could not but assuredly

27

NOTES ON TEE HISTORY OF BUDDHA'S YOUTH.

'ilB

Toxicliing tlie youtli of the Bodliisatta tlie

is

found in the " Angnttara Nikaya "

to the MS., vol.

i,

fol.

fm')

snkhnmalo

according

hhikkhave parama-

aha7?2-

mama

sukhumalo accantasukhumalo.

most important passage

(I give it exactly

bhikkhave

siikhavji

pitu

nivesane pokkharaiiiyo hariyaka honti, ekattha snkha??i bhikkhave

Tippalam vappati ekattha padnmaJ ekattha pu?^?/arika??^

evam

na kho pana

atthaya.

dharemi,

kasika^ii

es'

bhikkhave su

me

tarn Yetlmnani hoti

kaucnka kasika7?i nivasana/ kasiko nttarasango.

pana me su tarn bhikkhave setachatta?Ji dhareyya
sita-jJi va -a^iham va tiam va rajo va ussavo va 'ti.
bhikkhave tayo pasada ahesum

yavad

ixham bhikkhave kasikam candanai

(this is

custom by comparing " Mahavagga,"

i,

shown

7, 1

"

ma

na7)^

tassa mayha7.

'ti.

so

vii, 1,

kho

bhikkhave vassikapasade vassike cattaro mlvse nipppurisehi

paricariyamano na he^ifha pasada orohami.

kho

phussi

to be a universal

CuUavagga,"

eko hemantiko eko gimhantiko eko vassiko

kasika

rattidiva^i

1)

aha?Ji.

turi^-ehi

yatha kho pana bhikk-

nivesane dasakammakaraporisassa Icanajtikain bhoja-

have

aiiiiesa7?z

nam

diyyati bilaiigadutiyaw?,

evam eva su me bhikkhave

nivesane dasakammakaraporisassa

salima^/isodano

how

follows the narrative translated at p. 102 seq.,

old age, disease, and death

is

awakened

in

part of that text bearing on this matter.

the origin of these thoughts

is

him
Let

diyyati.

jiitu

'Now

the thought of

therewith ends the

it

be observed that

not here attributed to an external

occurrence like the well-known four excursions.

The history of

these excursions has been transferred to the later legends, as

almost expressly stated in the " 3 at. Affh."

i,

p. 59,

is

from the

Mahapadhanasutta (" Digha Nikaya"), where it is introduced as

Buddha Vipassi* (there and in the Mahilpui'isa-

refei'ring to the

expect a reference to the birth of the Bodhisatta in a royal house,riniless this

feature

first

belonged to the later tradition.

this Sutta

of

Suddhodana's house

is

In Professor Fausboll's translation

designated a "palace," and the child

frequently a " prince ;" the Pali text has bhavcnia and liuindra respectively.
*

Wlien the compiler

of this

commentary there says

for bre\-ity's sake, that

the dialogue between the Bodhisatta and the charioteer may be sui^plied after
that Sutta, it follows apparently that a Sutta which narrated the corresponding

unknown to the commentator as

me. Also, the appeal made in " Jat.," i, 59, line 39, to the commentarythere
was
no
text
to
which
an appeal could have been made.
that
tradition shows
occurrence regarding Gotama, was quite as
it

is

to

TEE DEPARJURE FROM KAPILAVATTHU.

419

lakklaa?iasutta of the " Diglia N".," the 32 Laklvha?ms of the

MahaOf Gotama Buddha the excursions are,

purisa are also discussed).

as far as 1 know, never narrated in the Tipifaka.*

Regarding the wife and child of Buddha the chief passage

"Mahavagga,"

i,

5-1

;f

Rahula

texts as Buddha's son, without

him among

is

any prominent

the circles of disciples

Touching the Pabbajja,

sutta in the " Jat. Atth."

first
i,

is

frequently mentioned in the Sutta

of

p. 66,

7'ule

being ascribed to

by the ancient tradition.

all we must quote the Pabbajjawhich stands in the Sutta Nipata

(Fausboll's translation, p. 67, seq.).

It begins

PabbajjaHi kittayissami yatha pabbaji

cakkbuma

yatha vimainsamano so pabbajjam samarocayi.

sambadh'

ayaj?^

gharavaso

abbhokaso ca pabbajja

iti

raj assay atanai iti

disvana pabbaji.

pabbajitvana kayena j)apakammaflz. vivajjayi,

vaciduccarita7)i hitva ajivaw parisodhayi.

agania Rajagaha??i buddho, and so on.

.Then follows a narrative of the meeting of

and king Bimbisara, presented

this
*

Sutta there comes

Here

coming Buddha

th.e

in the "Jat. Aith."

next

the

also the verses of the Majzava

following
Thera

("

i,

p. 66.

After

fragment of

Therag."

fol.

ku)

the

may

be

inserted
jiiDiam ca disvri dukhitau ca bya,dhita?ft

gatam riyusaikhaya;/i
nikkhamitumna pabbaji/w
pahilya kamani manoram;lniti.
(To all appearance we here have the Fomi nikkhamituna, after which what has
been said by me in Kuhn's " Zeitschr. N. F." v, 323 seq., is to be suppHed.)
So of the Buddlra Dipa)?!kara (" Buddhava?sa," fol. cai of the Phayre MS.)
matafi ca

disvil

tato aha?/!

nimitte caturo disva, hatthiyilnena nikldrami.

Similarly of the

Buddha

Ko/Klafifia (ibid. fol. co.)

nimitte caturo disva rathayanena nikkhami.

Similarly of the following Buddhas.
va?nsa the

same

Improbable

may

is

it is

directly said of

not

\Vliether at the close of the

Gotama Buddha, I cannot

state at this

Buddhamoment.

here, as also elsewhere, the traces of later legend-building

already be discernible in the most recent parts of the Pitakas themselves

which naturally would not be able to shake the elsewhere acquired inference
regarding the earlier and later form of representations of Buddha's "ife.
t Cf. Dr. Davids's and my note to our translation of this passage.
fact

27*

NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF BUDDHA'S YOUTH.

420

Soada?uZasutta (" Diglia N".") recurring at

lated at p. 105

sania?iO klialu blio

many otlier places, trans-

Gotamo

daliaro

samano susuka-

Zake sobhadrena yobbanena samannagato paf /iamena vayasa agarasma

anagariya??^ pabbajito

samawo klialu bbo Gotamo akamakanam

matapitunnaiJi assumukliana-iJi

kasayani vatthani

rudantanam kesamassu7?i oharetva

acchadetva

Cf. also the passages quoted later

in later legends

agarasma

on

" Jat. AttJi."

(e.g.

i,

(p.

anagariyaui

of the night scene in

p. 61)

Buddha's bedroom, which precedes his

pabbajito.

The narrative given

421),

flight,

is

to be found,

nothing have escaped me, in the Tipi/aka, told not of

Yasa

himself, but of one of his earliest converts,

i,

7, 1.

2)

and seems

to the legends of

of his Pabbajja

is

to

("

Mahavagga,"

have been thence transferred at a

Buddha.

The age

if

Buddha

later

time

of the Bodhisatta at the time

stated in the " Mahaparinibbanasutta," p. 59, to

have been twenty-nine years.

Regarding the time from the Pabbajja

to

the

Sambodhi the

tradition of the Tipii'aka is to be found in the following passages.

The duration
i.e., it

up

is

is frequently set down at seven years,

Mara pursued the Bodhisatta for seven years
vain attack he made on him Padhanasutta of the

of this period

said that

to the last

Sutta-Nipata
satta vasscini bhagavantaui anubandhi;ii padapadani

otamm

nadhigacchissa/H sambuddhassa satimato.

Similarl}^ in the MarasaHiyutta of the "

ghi')

after

Samj. Nikjiya

" (vol.

i,

fol.

when Buddha shortly

under the tree) Maro papima

tena kho pana samayena (namely,

attaining deliverance

satta vassaui

sat

bhagavantam anubaddho hoti otarapekho otava,m

alabhamano.

The consecutive narrations touching

this period represent the

Bodhisatta after his Pabbajja confiding himself to the guidance of

AZara Kalama,* and Uddaka Ramaputta (the place where these

We

two versions side by side in the sacred Pali-Kanon on the one side
Buddha left his home and went to Eajagaha, where the meeting
with Binibisiira took place on the other it is said that he left his home and went
The later texts naturally arrange the different occurrences in
to A/ara Kalama.
*

it is

find

related that

one

series.

It is

worthy

of

remark that the southern tradition and the northern

THE PERIOD PRECEDING THE SAMBODHI.

persons lived

421

not given); then he goes on to Uruvela; then

is

follow the three comparisons (cf " Lai. Vist." p. 309), his labours
.

obtain the goal

to

Biiddhahood and the

This recital

is to

by penances,
first

at last the attainment o

the

incidents thereon following.

of the "

be found in different passages

Majjhima

Nikaya," namelj^, in the Ariyapariyosanasutta (here are omitted the

three comparisons and the Dnkkarakarika)
sutta, the Bodhirajakumarasuttanta,

in tlie Maliasacca-

and the Sangaravasiittanta.

I furnish from the sources indicated a selection of wliat appears

to

me

most

essential.

From

the Mahasaccakasutta

Idha

me Aggivessana pubbeva sambodha anabhisambuddhassa

bodhisattass' eva sato etad ahosi

abbhokaso pabbajja, na
V, 13, 1)

yida-))?,

pabbajeyyan

samayena dabaro

'va

sambadho gbaravaso rajapatho

sukara?)i
ti.

so

kho

(cf "

Mahavagga,"

Aggivessana aparena

ahaiii

samano susukalake sobhadrena yobbanena

samannagato paf/iamena vayasa akamakanaiii matapitunnai assumukbana5)^ rudantana7?i kesamassum oharetva kasayani vatthani

accbadetva agarasma anagariya??i pabbajito samano kijjikusalagavesi

anuttarawi santivarapadaiJi pariyesamano yena Alaro

Kalamo

ten'

upasaikami7rt., etc.

From

the Ariyapariyosanasutta

(cf. "

Lai. Vist." p. 295, seq.)

Atha kbv ciba7?i bbikkbave yena Alaro Kalamo

npasaiJikamitva Alarajji Kalama^ra etad avoca?n
*

Kalama dhamma?^

saya??2.

kittavata no avuso

abbiiiuaya saccbikatva

upasampajja

exam vutte bhikkhave Alaro K.

viharamiti pavedesiti.

akiiicaiifia-

yatanam pavedesi. tassa mayba7?i bbikkhave etad abosi

Alarass' eva

kho

Kalamassa atthi saddha mayham

Alarass' eva Kalamassa

samadhi

dhamma?7i Alaro

paiiiia

K.

attlii

mayliam

saya?ft

viriya?)^

na kho

p' attlii saddha.

pi attbi paiiiia.

abhiiiiiaya

ten' upasa)?ikami?>t

sati

na

yan nunaha7?i ja,m

saccbikatva upasampajja

have done so in different ways. The fomier represent Buddha as first going to
Eiljagaha and then to A?ara (" Jat.," i, C6), the latter has the ojiposite course
it is seen significantly how here the two branches of
(" Lai. Vist.," p. 296 seq.)
later tradition have, independently of each other, gone on building for themselves on a common basis, which is to us represented by the Piili-Pi^akas.
:

NOTES ON TEE HISTORY OF BUDDHA'S YOUTH.

422

viharamiti pavediti tassa dliammassa saccliikirij-aya padalieyjan

so klio

aham

na

bliikkliave

eva khippam eva

cirass'

sajvtm abhiuua saccliikatva upasampajja

iDhikkliave

yena Alaro

Alaram K. etad

mam

avoca?ji

K.

vihasi?;i.

kho avuso imam dliamma?ii sayam abhiiiiia

pavadesiti

(pavedemiti

dhammam

saya^Ji

lablia

viliarasi,

javi

tarn aliam

tva'jJt

janasi

dhammai)i sayaui abh.

tam

imai

tva77i

abli.

tam aham dliamma7?i

s.

abli. s.

upasam-

upasampajja

s.

upasampajja
pavedemi,

upas,

s.

viliavasi

iti

yalla?)^

jam tvam dliamma??*

janami, iti yadiso aham tadiso tvam,
ebi dani avuso ubho 'va santa imam

dliammawi

yadiso tyam tadiso aham.

tadisam

niaya7?i ayasmantajiz.

yaham dhammaHi sayam

tvam dliammam sajam abli.
iti

dlia.miuam sajam

dlianima5?i janami

saccliikatva upasampajja

saccliikatva upasampajja viharamiti.

no avuso suladdhaHt no avuso ye

pajja pavedemi tarn

ettavata

aliam pi klio avuso ettavata

?).

abliiniia

sabi'alimacarii passama,

dham-

ima7?i

upasampajja pavedesiti.

sayaiit abliiuna saccliikatva

alia^Ji.

upasaiakamitva

Kalama

ettavata no avuso

atha kkv

upasa^ikanii^z,

ten'

tf.

dliamma??z.

tsbvi

janasi,

ganam pariharama 'ti. iti khobhikkliave Alaro Kalamo acariyo me

samano antevasiuz- samana^Jt attano samasamam f/zapesi ularaya ca
mai pujaya pujesi. tassa niaylia??i bliikkliave etad aliosi Jiajam
dliammo nibbidaya na viragaya na nirodhaya na upasamaya na
:

na sambodliaya na nibbanaya

abliiuiiaya

akiScariiifij'atanupapattiya

anala^ikaritva tasnui

'ti.

sa?)ivattati

so klio alia/ bliikkliave

dhamma

yavad eva

tam dliammaHi

nibbijja pakkamijji.

so

kho

aha??i.

bhikkhave ki;ukusalagavesi anuttarai santivarapada^i pariyesaniana yena

Uddako Ramaputto

ten' upasaikami?H, upasa^zkainitva

Uddakawt Ramaputtam etad avocawt

iecham aham avuso imasmiiii

dharamavinaye brahmacariya?^; caritun

ti.

Uddako Ramaputto jnam

viharayasma, tadiso

dhammo
saya?)i

yattha

abhiiiiia

viiiiiu

na

puriso

cirass'

evaju vutte bliikkliave

eva sakawi

ayam

licarij-akaHi

'ti.
so kho
khippam eva tam dhajnmavi

sacchikatva upasampajja vihareyya

aham bhikkhave na
pariyapu7^i??^.

etad avoca

so

cirass'

eva

kho aham bhikkhave tavataken' eva ottJia-pahaiiavia (sic) vadami theravadau ca

taniattena lapitalapanamattena

janami passamiti pa/fijanami alian c'eva

niayhai bhikkhave etad ahosi

na kho

aniiesa7U ca (sic),

Ramo

tassa

imawi dhammauz.

ALARA AND UVDAKA.

kevala?)?.

pajja

sabbAmantakena

avoca?);-

sayam

Ramo

kittavata no avuso

abhiiiiia

dhammaiJi

(sic)

Ramaputtawi

(etc.,

Ramaputta

story of A^ara Kalama.

tva^ imai ga??a?ii parihara

'ti.

iti

finally says)

dhamnio nibbidtlya

kho bhikkhave Uddako Rama-

kho ahavi bhikkhave

saiiiiayataniipapattiya

'ti.

analajiikaritva tasma

dliamma nibbijja pakkamiiJi.

bhikkhave

so

anuttara^i

ki7}^kusalagavesi

ularaya

f/iapesi
:

nkjam

yavad eva nevasafiiiana-

sajiivattati

the

is

ehi diini avuso

tassa mayha-Hi bhikkhave etad ahosi

pujaya pujesi.

vutte

na kho Ramass' eva ahosi

the following, as above,

sabrahmacari samano acariya^^/iane niamai)i

nia/ii

eva?7i

nevasaiiiianasaiiii:iyatanai pavedesi.

mayhai bhikkhave etad ahosi

saddha mayhani p'atthi saddha

jDutto

3ana7ii/

ima^ dhamma^ii

saccbikatva npasampajja pavedesiti.

Uddako Ramaputto

bliikkhave

ca

abhiiiiia sacchikatva upasani-

Ramo imum

ten' xipasaikaini?, upasaiiikamitva Uddaka^it

piitto

ta;Ssa

sayam

adcllifi

atha khv ahum bliikkhave yena Uddako Rama-

passajit vihasiti.

etad

(sic)

viliaramiti pavedesi,

423

ta-Jii

so

dhammaui
kho ahaj;^

santivarapadaiw

pariye-

samano Magadhesu anupnbbena carika^i earamano yena Urnvela

senanigamo tad avasari^u.

tatth' addasaijt ren-nanijsun

bhumibhaga^i

pasadikai ca vanasada7)i. nadiwi ca sandantij/t setakat supatitthajji

ramaiya)/i samanta ca gocaragama7.

etad ahosi

tassa mayhaiji bhikkhave

ramawiyo vata bho bhiimibhago pasadiko ca

vanasa^icZo

nadi ca sandati setaka supatitthii rama?;iya samanta gocaragamo

ala?w ca tida?M (sic) kulaputtassa padhanatthikassa

60

kho

aha)'

bhikkhave attana jatidhamrao

(.

padhanaya

'ti.

jaradhammo,

vyjidhidhammo, marawadhammo, sokadhammo, sajkilesadhammo

.)

samjino jatidhamme

viditva ajatajji

yesamano

ajata?n

QjSQ,m\\.ilitthsum

iiawaii

(.

annttara?;;-

me

jaradhamme,

adinavai

yogakkhemaiji ajjhagamaire

yogakkhemai)?-

atthi

etc.)

yogakkhemam nibbanaia

dassana>;i ndapadi

jati, n'

bhikkhave etad ahosi

a,

(.

ajara?)^ etc.)

anuttaraiji

ca pana

ayam antima

nibbana7

adhigato kho me,

'ti.

jiari.

aijhagamai)i

aknppa me

dani punabbhavo

cetovimiitti,

tassa mayhaj/i

etc. (^vide "

Mahavagga,"

o, -).

As a rnle we find between the period of instruction by AZiira and

Uddaka and the attainment of Sambodhi, a descriiition of the


yOTES

424

O.Y

THE HISTORT OF BUDDHA'S YOUTH.

Dukkarakarika inserted, wMcli on the wliole corresponds to what

is narrated in " Lai. Vist.," p. 314 seq. (excepting naturally the
episode referring to

Maya

Also the three Upamas of " Lai.

devi).

found already in the Pali-Tipifaka

Vist.," p. 309 seq., are

(in the

Mahasaccakasntta)

from the

I quote

last

named Sutta

the close of this section which

ends in the narration of the Sambodhi

So kho ahawi Aggivessana

masa772

tena kho pana

paccupaiSi'/nta honti*

aharam

oZarikaj??-

maijz.

aharesi?^

yan no sama?io Gotamo dhammaz. adhigamis'ti. yato kho ahaj/i Aggivessana oZarika?)^

no acarissama

sati ta7?i

aharesi??* odanakummasai atha kho te paiica bhikkhu

pakkamimsu bahuliko sama?zo Gotamo padhanavibbhanto

ahairaT?^

nibbijja

avatto bahullaya

so

'ti.

kho aha? Aggivessana

kamehi

aharito (sic) bala??i gahetva vivicc' eva

known

the well

cakkhu, die ariyasacca

me

evawz-

o/arika^/t ahara?)i
.

(then follows

description of the attainment of the four Jhanas,

then the attainment of the three Vijjas

tassa

odanakum-

Aggivessana samayena panca bhikkhu

janato

in

the three

eva??i.

pubbenivasana7ia7H,
Yamas

of the night

passato kamasavapi

bhavasavapi citta^i vimuccittha, di^^/iasavapi

cittaj??-

c. v.,

vimxittasmi??^ vimutt' amhiti ixkn^m ahosi, khijut,

dibba??i

next

avijjasavapi

me

:)

vimuccittha,
c. v.,

jati, viTsita??i

bramacariya??;, kata;. kara?iiyaH;, napara??^ itthattaya

'ti

abbhaii-

iiasii.

This
e.g.,

p.

is

the usual description of the Sambodhi, as

in the introduction to the Vibhafiga

seq.), in the

found

also^
iii,

Bhayabheravasutta ("Majjh. Nikaya"), and in

the Dvedhavitakkasutta (ibid).

and the

it is

("Vinaya Pi^aka,"

To the ancient Order the kernel

Sambodhi (t.e., the attain-

sole essential to the event of

ment of Buddhahood) appeared to be the springing forth of such

and such a knowledge, and of such and such qualities in the mind
of the Buddha, and nothing else.
This shows
*

Cf. also

Apaclana,

itself also in

" Mahavagga,"

fol. Idie'

i,

the

6,

5,

somewhat abbreviated naiTatives of

and

specially with reference to KoH^/anua,

nikkhantenanupabbajji
kilese

(sic)

pacUianaiii sukata/ji

jhapanatthaya pabbajjim

(sic)

anagariya?.

maya,

THE SAMBODHI.
a similar kind, in

hj

wliich.

425

the attainment of deliverins: knowledsre

certain disciples, male

and female,

is

Thus

described.

history of the PupphachatZcZaka (see above, p. 159, n.

kho kho')

gatha," fob

1,

in the

" Thera-

so 'ha??i eko araiiiiasmiHi viharanto atandito

akasi[m] satthu vacauaui yatha ma??i ovadi

rattiya paf/zamam

yamam

jino.

pubbajatrwi anu.ssari[);ij,

majjhimam yama?u dibbacakkhu?)i visodhayiw;,

pacchime yame tamokhandha???. padalayim.

rattiya
rattiya

tato ratya vivasane* snriyuggamanai??. pati

In do Brahma ca agantva ma?n- namassiiHSu

namo

te purisajaiiiia,

namo

ailjali

te purisuttama,

yassa te asava khi/ia, dakkhi?ieyy' asi niarisa.

Similarly in the verses of the Vijaya, " Therigatha,"

fol.

ghmn

bhikkhunif npasamkamma sakkacca7?i paripucch' ahai,

six

me dhammaw

adesesi dhatuayatanani ca.

cattari ariyasaccani indriyani balani ca

bojjhaiigaf^/iaiigika7)i maggai?i

nttamatthassa pattiya.

tassaha??i vacana7)^ sutva karonti annsasaniiji

rattiya

pnrime yame pubbajatii

rittiyii

majjhime yame dibbacakkhn?^ visodhayiuz,

rattiya

pacchime yame tamokkhandhai.

pitisukhena ca

kaya???-

anussari7)i,

padalayi??z,

pharitva viharijji tada

sattamiya pade pasaremi, tamokkhandha);i padalayi

Compare

also the narrative of the Jainas

similar style, of

" Jinacaritra,"

how Mahavira

obtained the delivering knowledge,

p. 64, ed. Jacobi.

I here insert the prophecy of the

Buddha Dipaikara regarding

Gotama's Buddhahood, contained in the Buddhava?nsa

the Phayre MS.)

padhana?)i padaliitvana katva dukkarakarikaiji

Ajapalarukkhamulasmi??i nisiditva tathagato

*

[???].

couched throughout in

So the MS. originally

Lege bhikkhunim.
;

it

may have

been \-ivasano.

(fol.

ci'

of

NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF BUDDHA'S YOUTH.

426

payasam paggayLa (comp. "

tattha

Jat.,"

i,

69) JSTeraSjarara

p.

upeliiti.

Neranjaraya tirambi payasam adaso jino

pariyattavaramaggena bodhimulam

upeliiti,

tato padakkhi'/ia?;i katva bodhima?cZam. anuttaro

assattliafukkliamiilamlai bujjliissati mahayaso.

The

narratives of Mai'a's attacks do not stand in the sacred texts

in immediate connection with the history of the attainment of

Before the Sambodhi

Sambodhi.

is

placed that conversation recited

in the Padhanasutta (" Sutta Nipata," p. 09 of Fausboll's trans-

which a northern Buddhist

lation), of

sponding with the Pali

"Lalita Vistara," pp. 327-329.

After the Sambodhi, within the

Buddha passed under the

narrative of the Mara Sa??2yutta

period which
similar
f ol.

version, pretty closely corre-

text, occurs in the metrical portion of the

ghi-ghu

tree Ajapala,

("

falls

Samy. Nikaya,"

the

vol.

i,

here after the temptation by Mara comes that by his

daughters).

As

regards the historical trustworthiness of the traditions, which

relate to the period intervening

home and

the

commencement

between Buddha's

flight fi'om his

of his public career, I aru inclined to

recognize in the leading points therein mentioned real facts.

names

Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta

of A/ara

as possible

if

The

are as trustworthy

there had here been an intention to invent,

more

famous names would have been preferably furnished, names of

teachers,

who have adopted

later

on a pronounced

far as I

know, besides

mentioned only
also

we hear but

in the

whether

attitude,

own public operations.

being named in this connection, is

friendly or hostile, to Buddha's

A/ara, as

elsewhere

" Mahaparinibb. Sutta," p. 44; of

Uddaka

little.*

* " Samy. Nik.," vol. ii, fol. ghi'

Uddako sndca? bikkhave Eamaputto eyam
vacaw bhasati ida?M jatu vedagu idam jatu sabbaji ida/w jatu aimlildiitaHt ga(?aUddako sudaw Cunda
" Pasadikasutta " (" Digha-N.")
Bl^^laH^ palikha^ati.
Eamaputto exam vaca?^ bhiisati passa?)! na passatiti. kbn ca passa?H na passatiti ?
khurassa sadhunissitassa talam assa passati dharau ca khv assa na j^assati, idam
The relations of the raja Eleyya to the
vuccati Cunda passa?;i na iDassatiti.
samajia Eamaputta are mentioned at " Aiig. Nik.," vol. i, fol. ti.
:


SOME MATTERS OF BUDDHIST DOGMATIC.

427

THIRD EXCURSUS.
Appendices and Authorities touching some matters of the
^Buddhist Dogmatic.

The

1.

]^irvaa.

set forth the

In order to clearly

Nirvawa doctrine, we must

and

dogmatic terminology of the

first

of all go into the categories of the

of

the

Sanpadisesanibbana

(Nirvaiia

respectively without and with a residuum of " Upadi").

Childers

Annpadisesanibbana

has, as

known

is

(" Diet.," pp. 267,526), propounded the theory

is meant the condition of the perfect
Khandas are still to the fore, but the desire

that by Saupadisesanibbana
saint, in

whom

which chains
hand,

is

the five

to being is extinct

Anupadisesanibbana, on the other

said to designate the cessation of all being, the condition

or non-condition ensuing on the death of the saint.

To the

which

criticism, adverse to this \-iew,

I premise a collection of relevant passages

propose to advance,

from the

texts.

In connection with the notion of Nirva??a the following outwardly

similarly

sounding

expressions

occur:

Upadhi

upadana

con-

nected with upada, upadaya, and anupadana con. with anupada,

anupadaya

a few

of the

lastly upadisesa, saupadisesa

most important passages

and anupadisesa.

I give

for each of these termini in

order.

First for Upadhi.

Sunakkhattasuttanta (in the " Majjh.

IST.")

So \ata Sunakkhatta bhikkhu chasu phassayatanesu

upadhi dukkhassa miilan

vimutto upadhismiwi va kaya?i^ upasai?iharissati

dassanti (mel. dassati)

n'

ctam

" SaHiyuttaka Nikaya," vol.

jam kho

i,

cittaire

va anuppa-

thanSLVi vijjati.
fol. fiau'

of the

Phayre MS.

anekavidha?Ji nanappakarakav?!

idarii

saiiivutakai'i

viditva nirupadhi upadhisa)?ikhaye

ti iti

dukkhavji loke

nppajjati jaramara?iai ida,m

kho dukkha? upadhinida.nai upad-

hisamudaya^Ji upadhijatika77i

upadhipabhava???.

jaramara?ia?)z hoti

upadhisniii?i

upadhi panayam kiinidana

tanhcinidano tauhasamudayo etc.

etc. ?

sati

upadhi


428

" Itivuttaka,"

MATTERS OF BUDDHIST DOGMATIC.

SOilE

tisso

hah of

ol.

tlie

ime (lege

dliatu nirodhadhatu.

Phayre MS.

ima bliikkhave dluUuyo.

:

katama

tisso ? riipadliatu

ima) klio bliikkhave

arupa-

tisso dliatuyo

'ti.

rupadliatTiparinnaya arupesu asa?;f7iita

nirodlie ye vimniicariti (ccanti ?) te jana paeculiayino

'ti

(mac-

cnliayiiio ?)

kayena

phusayitva nirupadlii

ainata?3i dhatii-Hi

tij)adhipadnissagga7?i saccliikatvana anasavo

desesi

sammasambuddlio

" Sa7?iyiittaka N.,"

asoka???- viraja^i

vol.

padan

ti.

(= Suttanipata,

ki

fol.

i,

Dlianiya-

sutta.

The

first distich, is

put in the moiith of Mara)

goma gohhi

nandati puttehi puttima

tatli'

eva iiandati

upadhihi narassa nandanu na hi so nandati yo nirupadhtti.

socati puttehi

puttima goma gohi tath' eva socati

Tipadhihi narassa socana na hi so socati yo nirupadhiti.

" Samyuttaka

]^.," vol.

yo

addakkhi

dnklvhajji.

nameyya

i,

fol.

ghH'

yatonidana^jz.

kamesn

so

jantn katha??*

npadhi^j viditva

sa??!go

'ti

loke tass' eva jantu vinayaya sikkhe

'ti.

Ibid. fol. ghu'

(Buddha

speaking to Mara)

is

amaccudheyyai pucchanti ye jaua paragcimino

tes' ixhaiii -puttJio

Ibid.

Buddha)

akkhami jam taccha7

ghu'

fol.

(Mara's

nirupadhin

tavji

daughters

approach,

ti.

tempting

the

atha kho bhagava na manas' akasi yatha

ta?)^

anuttare upadhi-

sa}?ikhaye vimiitto.

" Mahaniddesa," Phayre MS.,

katamo upadhiviveko
abhisaikhara
Cf.

also

ca.

"Mahavagga,"

" Cullavagga,"

vi, 4,

4;

"Introd.," p. 591 seq.

Davids's and

fol.

ko :

upadhi vuccanti kilesa ca khandha ca

upadhi\dveko vuccati a,mata,m nibbana??^.
?

my note

i,

"

M.

5,

22,

Dhammap.
Milller

4.

24,

v,

13,

10;

Atthak.," p. 270; Burnouf,

on the "Dhammapada," 418;

"Mahavagga," i, 5, 2.

to the translation of the

UPADANA.

'For

429

Upiidana and the termini connected therewitli the following

passage will

suffice

"Majjhima Nikaya,"
bhikkhave upadanani.
danaui

fol.

kliai'

katamani

(Tumour's MS.) : cattar' imani

cattari.

kamupadanani

attavadupadanaj;?.

silabbatupadt\na7

Sutta," p. 248, ed. Grimblot.

" SajHjuttaka Nikaya," vol.

ii,

fol.

to seq.

diffhu-pa-

" Malianidana

Cf.

It is related that

sambahulanajii aiiiiatittliiyasama?iabi'alimaaparibbajakjxnai

*'

tubalasalanafli

sannisinnanani "

ku-

conversation turned on this,

tlie

that each, of the sis other teachers (Pura?2.a Kassapa, etc.) " sava-

ikam abbhatitaiJi kalaHzkata?^ upapattisu byakaroti

Tipapanno asu amutra upapanno

'ti,

yo pi

'ssa

paramapuriso paramapattipatto tarn pi savaka^i

kataj)?,

'ti."

"yo ca khv

asu amutra upapanno

jja

'ti

(sic

!)

assa savako uttama-

api ca

iDyakaroti acchejji ta,nham vivattayi saniiojanaHi

m.ayci, (sic)

antam akasi dukkhassa

gotta addresses to
point.

Buddha a

Buddha answers

kiicchitum.

amutra

Buddha, on the contrary, does the same only with

the other Savakas,

i-eo-ard to

amutra

abljhatitavji kalai-

upapattisu byakaroti asu amutra upapanno asu

Tipapanno

purisO'

asu

savako uttamapuriso

'ti."

kho

nai)i eva?>i

sammamanabhisa-

The Paribbajaka Vaccha-

request for the clearing up of this

" alan hi

kahkhaniye ca pana

Vaccha kahkhituiw

alaiiz.

te thane vicikicchji uppannti.

vici-

sau-

khv ahawi Vaccha upapattisu pailiiapemi no anupadanassa.

seyyathapi Vaccha aggi saupadano jalati no anupadano evam eva
Tdiv ahsivi Vaccha saupadanassa upapatti?)i paiifiapemi no anupadjinassa 'ti. yasmiwi bho Gotama samaye acchi vatena khitta duram
pi gacchati imissa pana bhavaiJi Gotamo ki^jz- upadanasmim panfia.yasmi'/Ji kho Vaccha samaye acchi vatena khitta durai/i pi
petiti.
o-acchati tam ahaijz. vatupadanaiJi paiifiapemi, vato hi 'ssa Vaccha
3'asmim bho Gotama samaye
tassiiJi samaye npadanaiJi hotiti.
imaii ca kaya-ni nikkhipati satto ca aiiiiatarai kajnm anupapanno
hoti, imassa pana bhavaiJt Gotamo kiiJi upadanasmi^n pafmapetiti.
yasmi?)i kho Vaccha samaye imassa (sic) kajam nikkhipati satto ca
.aiiiiatarat kayaw; anupapanno hoti, tam aha^jt tahupadanaj?i vadami,

-padanassa

taha hi
"

'ssa

Vaccha tasmiui samaye apadanaHz hotiti."

(" Majjhima Nikaj^a ")

Mahapu?mmaya Suttanta "

SOME MATTERS OF BUDDHIST D0G2IATIC.

430

ime pana
klio

'ti.

ime kho

tarn

yeva nu

bliante pancripacli\nakkhandlij\ ki?MinuIaka

bhikkliii panciipadanakkliandha claandamiilaka

'ti.

Lhante upadana?;?- te panciipadanakkliandha ndalm anilatra

npadanam

pancupjidanakkliandbelii

yeva iipadana?)!

pancnpadanakkliandbei

aiinatra

mention in

kho

[npadanaiH].

bhikkhn paiicupadanakkhandhesu
danan ti.

We may

na

ti.

bhikkliii

taH?-

paiicnpadanakkliandliassa* na pi

paiicupadana???.

chandarago,

tipadanai

kho

tajutattha

upa-

which the

this connection also the place

category of Upadana occupies in the causality formula

ta?ihapac-

caya upadana).
" Sa?)?y.

vol.

JN"."

fol.

ii,

ghe

sa77iyojaniye ca

bhikkhave

dhamme

desissami samyojanaii ca, tawi su7iatha. katame ca bhikkhave sa,myojaniya,

dhamma kataman ca samyojana??!. cakkhuj;;- bhikkhave

dhammo yo tattha chandarago ta??i tattha sa?)iyo-

sa?yojaniyo
janaiji.

So

Text goes on

danan

Then the

on the other organs o sense to the mano.

upadaniye ca bhikkhave

ii,

desissami upa-

There follows exactly the same

ca, taiJi sujiatha.

" Sawzy. N"." vol.

dhamme

fol.

na.

It is related that

detail.

Sakka Devana-

minda puts the question ko nu kho khante hetu ko paccayo yenam

:

idh' ekacce satta diftlieYa,

dhamme no

hetu ko paccayo yenam idhekacce

bayantiti.

The

viiineyya

rupa

tassa

ta??i

kanta

manapa

piyarupa

bhikkhu abhinandati abhivadati

abhinandato abhivadato ajjhosaya

viilnana?7^ hoti tadupadana??!

dhamme

parinib-

answer runs: santi kho Devanaminda cakkhuitfJia,

rajaniya. tail ce

parinibbayanti, ko pana bhante

satta, ditthevei

saupadano

kamopasa?hita
ajjhosiiya iitthati

tif^/;ato

ta?)missita7

Devanammda bhikkhu no

So the Tumour MS.

Consequently the two words Upadana and Samyojana are synonymous.

With this it is consistent, when on the one hand beings whirled along in the
cycle of existence are designated as tafihasay/iyojana, on the other hand taHha
t

Also the four

termed an Upadana (in the quoted dialogue \nth Vaccha).
Upadanas, so named Kar' l^oxhv (kama, di/a, silabbata, attavada), recur with
tolerable exactness in the series of the ten Saniyojana, where we meet the ideas,
kamaraga, avijja, silabbataparamasa, and sakkayadi/a. The last is considered
to be identical with attavada (Childers s. v. salvkaya) and as a fact virtually
is

comes

to the

same

thing.

UPADAKA.
parinibbayati
(etc.,

down

santi

parinibbayanti.
tail

tassa

tbo Devanaminda jivbavmiieyya rasa

aya?ii kho Devanaminda

la

to manoviiineyya dha??2m.a).

paccayo yenam idb' ekacce satta

lietu Sbjam

etc.

431

ce

kho Devanaminda

santi

dhamme na

bhikkbu nabliinandati nabbivadati na ajjhosaya

anabhinandato anabbivadato no ajjhosaya

tavi

ta77inissita2. viilila7^a7)^

minda bbikkbu

na tadupadanaiii

hoti

na

annpadano Devana-

idha bbante bbikkbu

Nikaya

eva?)i pai^ipanno boti

na bhavissati na

me

bamiti upekba?)^

pa^^iabbati.

bbavissati

yad

no

assa no ca

c'

me siy

atthi, ya?)i bbiita?ji tarn jDaja-

parinibbayi)*

nii

kbo

so

bhante

ekacco Ananda bbikkbu parinibbayeyya

bbikkbu

'ti

app

ekacco bbikkbu na parinibbayeyya

app

")

Anando bbagavantani etad avoca:

vutte ayasma

evaijz.

tittha,ti

tittjisito

parinibbayati.

" A?iailjasappa,ya Snttanta " (" Majjb.

etth'

dittheva,

cakkliuviilneyya, riipa

ettb'

ko nu kbo kbante

'ti.

betu ko paccayo yena app ettb' ekacco bbikkbu parinibbayeyya app

ettb' ekacco

bbikkbu na parinibbayeyya

evam pa/ipanno
parilabbati.

boti

tarn

so

titthaii, tassa tai

haham

no

yatanaHi

assa

Ananda

idbananda bbikkbu

'ti.

tarn pajabamiti upekbar?i

upekbaiJi abbinandati abbivadati ajjhosaya

upekbaj?^ abbinandato

bbikkbu

jjana so bhante

upadiyamano

c'

upadanase!'i/ia?)i

'ti.

upadiyamano upadiyati

nevasaSiianasaiiiia-

kira so bhante bbikkbu

upadanase/^/iaHi

upadiyatiti.

na parinibbayatiti.

.+)

upadiyatiti.

so

upadanasef^7iai b'eta?ii

Ananda bbikkbu
Ananda yad ida4

nevasannanasaiifiayatana7 J
.

"

Paucattaya Suttanta " (" Majjb.

brabma?o va "

it

is

said

" santo

N".").

anupadano 'bam asmiti samanupassati."

says

Of a

" ekacco sama?;o va

'bam asmi nibbuto 'bam asmi

Of

this the

addha ayam ayasma nibbana^i sappayaii

iieva

Tathagata
pafipadam-

abhivadati, atha ca paniiya?^ bbava?;i samaiio va brabma^io va pub-

bantanudi^^/ajn va upadiyamano upadiyati aparantanudi^i/iii va up.

*

Probably the Adj. parinibbayi should be placed here, which we have in

antaraparinibbayi, etc.
t

As above,

Now

p. 430.

follows in exactly corresponding fashion the opposite case, where a

Bhikkliu " tam upekham nabliinandati

nibbayati.

;"

anupadano Ananda bhikkhu

pari-

SOME MATTERS OF BUDDHIST DOGMATIC.

432

kamasannojaua??i*

up.

niramisam va
up.

up.

va,

yan ca kho ayam ayasma sauto

asiui

annpadano

va

paviveka??z.

tip.

ptti/)i

up.

up,

adukkhamasukhaiji va vedanawi up.

suklia7?i up. up.

'haiu

asmi nibbano

'ham

(sic)

asmiti samanupassati tad ap' imassa bkoto

'liara

samawabralinianassa uiDadanaui akkhayati.

From the

" Rathavinita Sutta" ("Majjh. Nik.")

avuso bhagavati brahraacariya))?. vussatiti.

kho bhagavati

tthat

bi'ahmacariyaH?. vussatiti.

silavisuddhi anupiidaparinibbanan

panavuso cittavisuddhi

no

ti.

dii^!J/avisuddhi

kimatthaii cai-ah'

anupadaparinibbana-

nu kho avuso

kim.

h'

kim

avuso.

ida?)^

kaukhavitara?iavisuddhi

magganiaggaiia?2adassanavisuddhipafipadaiia?iadassanavisuddhi
anupadaparinibbanan

kim panavuso

aniiatra imehi

ida,m avuso.

li'

attho da^^Ztabbo

ti.
no
yathakatham panavuso imassa bhasitassa

suddhi/ji

pahiiapessa.

ce

saupadanai
aiiiiatraii

vissa,

yeva

di^i/dvisuddhii

bhagava

avuso

yeva

Then

anupadapa-

iiajiadassanavi-

anupadaparinibbana??i

samana?>i

ca* avuso imehi

bhagava anupadapa-

samana7)z.

anupadaparinibbana?)!

jDaiifiapessa

pauiliipessa.

dhammehi anupadaparinibbana?^ abha-

puthujjano pai'inibbayeyya, puthujjano avuso

dhammehi.

h' ida?)i avuso.

dhammehi anupadaparinibbanan

rinibbanaui paiiiiapessa saupadana?H

rinibbana^z-

no

ti.

silavisuddhi??! ce avuso

'ti.

kin nu kho avuso

no h' id?im avuso.

ti,

na?iadassanavisuddhi anupadaparinibbanan

aiiiiatra

imehi

follows the comparison of the journey of the

king Pasenadi from Savatthi to Saketa

he has relays (rathavinita)

lying between the two towns and arrives "sattamena rathavinitena "
at this palace in Saketa.

Evam

eva cittavisuddhatthai?i

eva kho avuso silavisuddhi yavad

.

iia?iadassanavisuddhi yavad eva

anupadaparinibbanatthaui kho avuso

anupadaparinibbanatthajyi.

bhagavati brahmacariyaiji vussatiti.

Buddhavaiwsa
Cf.

also

nibbayi anupadano yath' agg' upadanasaikhaya.

"Dhammap."

v.

Bui'nouf, " Intr." p. 495 seq.,

Before
*

we proceed

So the Tumour MS.

"

Mahavagga,"

v,

1,

24-

seq.

so on.

to give evidences bearing

Kamasafinoianana/H the

passage.

89;

and

Tumour MS., which

on the expressions

follow in

ciuotmg

this

UPADANA.
SaupMisesa and Anupadisesa, we

shall

433
attempt to Lriefly point out

Upadana and Upadhi. These ideas

The attainment oi' non -attainment of

the dogmatic signification of

are almost synonymous.

Nirvana, victory or defeat in the struggle against suffering

is

made

dependent upon the presence or non-presence of Upadana and quite

as much so of Upadhi.
In one of the above cited passages of the
Sa??iyuttaka

Nikaya there

is

given a series of members which are

joined together by causal nexus

Upadhi comes old

From Tawha comes Upadhi, from

In exactly the same way

age, death, suffering.

the well-known formula of the twelve Nidanas makes Upadana

come from

and from Upjidana (through a few middle

Ta?^ha,

The

old age, death, suffering.

Upadana

when we remember

further diminished,

is

links)

between Upadhi and

difference

that beside

the Upadhi of the Buddhist texts there occurs in the philosophic

Upadhi (" Colebroke Misc. Ess." I^, 308 etc.) and

Upa-dha signifies " to lay one thing

Sanscrit texts an

also the participle Upahita.*

on another,

which would so

to give it a support," thus, of anything

to speak float in the air or fly about, to chain

which

su.bstratum,

exactly Upadhi.

given to

it

to reality

by a

This substratum

is

Upa-da or Upa-da (middle), on the other hand,

is

is

to localize

it

it.

" to lay hold of anything, to cling to anything," as the flame catches

the fuel

this fuel, or that laid hold of

by a being, to which

clings, as well as the act of this catching, is

that in this

them

Upadana.

way Upadhi and Upadana, although

the ideas underlying

must still acquire significations for Buddhist

minology, which cover each other or at least very nearly touch.

We

differ,

shall

now

it

It is clear,

ter-

treat of the third of these closely connected ideas,

that of Upadi, which

is

known

only in the compounds Sopadisesa

and Anupadisesa.
" Itivuttaka," fol.

bhagavata

vuttaiji

nibbanadhatuyo.

kau

of the

arahata

katama

'ti

dve.

Phayre MS.

me

suta?)?.

vuttaiJt

dve 'ma

saupadisesa

ca

h'

eta??z.

bhikkhave

nibbanadhatu

katama ca bhikkhave saupadisesa

idha bhikkhave bhikkhu araha??i hoti khinasavo

anupadisesa ca nibbanadhatu.

nibbanadhatu
*

It is characteristic in this

connection, that in Sanscrit upadhi and upadhi

are exactly equivalent in the sense of " deceit."

28


SOME HATTERS OF BUDDHIST DOGMATIC.

434

vusitava katakarawiyo oliitabharo aniTppattasadttho* parikkliiab-

LavasaDtyojano sammadannavimutto.

tassa

exa

tifthanV

paiic'

indriyani jes&vi avigliatatta, raanapa^i paccanuTolioti sukhadukkha?;?.

tassa

paiisa7?ivediyati.
aya-ni

kho ragakkliayo dosakkhayo

vuccati bhikkhave

bkikkliave anupadisesa iiibbanadliatu

araha?)?- hoti

....

etam

'ti.

tassa idh' eva bhik-

sitibbavissanti.

bhikkbave anupadisesa nibbanadbatu.

aiibbanadbatuyo

katama ca

idha bhikkbave bbikkbu

sammadaunavimutto.

khave vedayitanif anabbinanditani

itivviccati

raoliakkliayo.

saupadisesa nibbanadhatu.

ayajH-

bbagava avoca.

attbaiii

vuccati

ima kho bhikkbave dve

tattb'

etai

dve

ima cakkbnmata pakasita nibbanadbatu

tadina

anissitena
;J;

eka bi dbatu idba dij^^/iadbammika saupadisesa bbavanetti-

samkbaya,
anupadisesa pana samparayika yambi nirujjhanti bbavani
sabbaso.
|

ye etad anilaya para; asanikhatam vimutticittaH bliavanettisaiiikba}"^,

te

dbamma saradbikammakkbare^
babbavanitadino

yatba paba??isu te sab.

'ti.
|

ajam

pi attbo vutto bbagavata

iti

me

sutan

ti.

It is clear, tbat tbe chapter of the Itivuttaka here given supports

throughout the already referred to theory of Childers.

attains holiness, attains the Nirva^ia

continues, saupadisesa;

life

still

and

so on, are still present.

of the saint, that

is,

this

is,

He who

as long as his earthly

the body, the sense-perceptions,

When

theSe also vanish, in the death

his being thereby enters on the anupadisesa

nibbanadhatu.*
*

anuppattapadatto the MS.

t devayitani the

MS.

So the MS.
stii-am the MS.
Perhaps vmiuttacitta as an emendation.
emendation
without
further MS. materials. Apparently,
an
I cannot venture
considering the interchange of r and y so frequent in Burmese MSS., we should
read kammaklihaye.
*
So also the commentary on the "Dhammapada,"' p. 278 (of. p. 1C6).
I

''

'.I

UPADISESA.
It

must be

405

degree astomshing that the Hmit

in the liigliest

between saupadisesa and anupadisesa

different place

is here removed to a whol!}'from the limit between saupadana and anupadana,

or between the state of the nirupadhi

In the two

last

named

cases

opposition of the internally

now

the case

and the burdened with upadhi.

we had

to

do with the ethical

bound and the

before us, on the other hand,

internally free

we

in

could only have,

according to the view of Childers and the passage quoted from

the Itivuttaka, to do with the phj^sical opposition of the internally
free,
free,

whose

external

life

whose external

life

still

and which

the

which

belong to the

all

at first sight present

an appearance

of so close a parallelism, the third should actually

a point so

thoroughly different

"anupadisesa
different

nibbanadhatu

from

should

"

the

first

imply

from " anupadaya cittaw vimucci

internally

very hard to

It is really

believe that, of the three pairs of ideas

]N^irva1^a doctrine,

and

continues,

has ceased.

have in view

two,

that the

something

"

wholly

or " anupadhisa??!-

khaye vimutto."
Notwithstanding, I should not venture to build only on con-

meaning

siderations of this kind the supposition, that the

and expressly given

in the

Itivuttaka to

sa-

clearly

and anupadisesa

does not express the true or the original doctrine of Buddhism

yet the canonical texts themselves give us further points, which

strengthen the scruples

we

entertain against the testimony of the

Itivuttaka.

In the " Satipaf^Mnasutta " ("Majjh.

bhikkhave bhikkhu ime cattaro

IS".") ^^e

satijiaf/'/mne

read

vassani* tassa dvinnam phalanai aimatavam phalai

dittheYa

As

is

dhamme

aiiiia sati

known, he Avho

is

yo hi koci

exam bhavey3'a

satta

jjaf ikaiikha

va upadisese anagamita.

born again as Anagami, has

still

a small

residue of sinful natiire in him, from which to purify himself in the

celestial existence,

the passage
Itivuttaka,

upon which he

we have
he who

is

earthly state, but he

*

It is

enters, is allotted to him.

quoted, then, the Saupadisesa

pure from

who

is

sins,

is

who remains

still

in the

burdened with a residuum of

afterwards stated that a

still

In

not, as in the

shorter time suffices.

28*

sin,

SOME MATTERS OF BUDDHIST DOGMATIC.

435
Tvho

And

re-born into a deified state.

is

the fully pure,

lingering on earth " dif^^eva dhanime "

is in

the person in -whom

no longer present.

an Upadisesa

is

still

one passage exactly

Thus

Upadisesa here has not the physical meaning of a residuum of

earthly existence, but the ethical meaning of a residuum of impurity,

the same signification which

we have found

in

Upadana and

Upadhi.

To the passage already quoted we add

from the " Vaiigisa Sutta

a proof, which

we take

(Nigrodhakappa Sutta), a text*

"

cluded in the " Sutta N"ipata."

This Sutta begins

'Evsun

me

in-

suta??^.

eka7?i samaya7?i bhagava AZaviyawi viharati Agga^ave cetiye.

ten a
kho pana samayena ayasmato Vaiigisassa upajjhayo Nigrodhakappo

nama

AggaZave cetiye aciraparinibbuto

thero

kho

atha

hoti.

ayasmato Vaiigisassa rahogatassa pa^isallinassa eveim cetaso parivitakko udapadi parinibbuto nu kho me upajjhayo udahu no pari:

nibbuto

'ti.f

Buddha

which he has

adu saupadiseso

so

Buddha

replies

Acchecchi

is

asked

Has

brought him

lived,

the

Brahmacariya77z,

any advantage

in

" N'ibbayi

sunoma."

And

bhagava, tamhaya;}:

sotav??

yatha vimutto ahu tarn

tavihaiji

idha namarupe

'ti

digharattanusayitawi
atari jatimara?iam asesaiji ice abravi

Here

also the alternative is

monize with Childers's conception.

or

is

he Saupadisesa ?"

Buddha

pancasei^/io.

"

Has he entered

into !N"irva?za

monk whose
must consequently be he,
a not yet complete freedom from sinful nature,

death had been announced.

who, on account of

bhagava

put in a way which does not har-

is

asked concerning a

Saupjidisesa

cannot yet become partaker of the N'irvawa.

Finally decisive are the data, which the Suuakkhatta Suttanta
("

Majjhima Mkaya")

supplies.

It uses the expression, in the eluci-

See Fausboll's Translation of the " Sutta Nipata," p. 57 seq.

" Kalahavivadasutta," v, 15 (ibidem,
i^. 167).
*

died,

I.e.,
is

as also the further detail clearly shows:

known

to

Cf. also

the

the fact that Nigrodhakappa

him, but he does not know whether he

is still liable to

re-birth

or not.
I So clearly the MS. of the Phayre collection consulted by me.
" Kanha's (i.e., Mara's) stream."

Fausboll

UPADI8ESA.

which we are engaged, in

elation of

437
reference to conditions of

A man, it is said in a parable, is wounded with a

arrow. A physician treats his wound, " apaneyya visa-

material

life.

poisoned

dossim saupadisesam* anupadiseso

treats the poison as

He

maiiilaniano."

ti

In opposition

of the poisonous stuff is still present in the patient.

to this

placed a second, case, where the danger has been fully

is

overcome

therefore

having been overcome, while really a remnant

" apaneyya visadosaiii

janamano."

The

first

anupadisesa??i

anupadiseso

ti

patient thinks himself cui'ed, lives carelessly,

and so falls a victim to his wound. The second patient lives careWhile then the spiritual
fully and makes a complete recovery.

meaning of

being unfolded, the expression nirupadhi

this parable is

occurs in place of the expression anupadiseso.

perseveres successfully, to

compared,

it is

said

whom

so vata

n'etaiH

tha.na.m

here also saupadisesa

that

ti iti

viditva nirupadhi

vimutto upadhismim va kayam upasa??iharissati

va anuppadassatif

cittai^t

apparent

is

Sunakkhatta bhikkhu chasu phassaya-

tanesu samvutakari upadhi dukkhassa mulan

L^padhisa')7^khaye

Of the monk who

the second of the two patients

vijjati.

Thus

it is

and anupadisesa point

to

the presence or absence of a last remnant of deadly peril in a

spiritual

and the passage

sense,

establishes at

the

same time

the identity of the upadi contained in this word with the word
upadhi.

Now,

as

is

well known, the anupadisesa of the Pali in the

northern Buddhist texts corresponds with anupadhi^esha or nirnIn the same way reads a
padhi9esha (Burnouf, " Intr." 590).
Sanscritified Singhalese inscription of the twelfth cent. A.D. (" Ind.

Antiquary," 1877,
shall

p. 326)

nirupadhi9eshanirvvaMadhatuwen.

"We

from these considerations have no scruple in declaring the

problematic upadi to be only a spelling of the word upadhi peculiar

to the Pali

probably we should rather say, peculiar to our modem

Pali manuscripts.

The

origin of this orthography,

if

we

consider

the significant fact that this upadi occurs only in connection with
As the Pali manuscripts write the
sesa, is not hard to account for.

name of the god Skanda Khandha

Sansk. skandha, or
of Khandha

Visadosa upadisese the MS.

obviously under the influence

as the Sansk. smri'ti
t

is

written

Anuppadassanti the MS.

SOME MATTERS OF BUDDHIST DOGMATIC.

438

sammnti in the

under the influence of the word sammuti

Pali,

" nomination," so,

it

appears to me, the manuscript tradition of the

Pali has caused the

word anupadhisesa

sa?nghadisesa so very familiar

to

all

to resemble

copyists

the

word

sacred texts,

of

probably by the co-operation of the influence of anupadaya, and

thus has arisen the orthography anupadisesa.
That,
sa-

if

be

this supposition

correct,

then also the signification of

and anupadisesa, corresponding to that of upadhi, must be

" one Avith

remnant

come

whom

there

is,

or

not, respectively,

is

still

of earthly, sinful nature," is self-apparent.

to pass that a so thoroughly different

present a

How

it

has

meaning has been given

both terms in the Itivuttaka, can naturally not be explained

to

otherwise than by conjecture.

It

sion anupadisesa nibbanadhatu,

which contains

for the

its

form

appears to me, that the expresin fact a tautology

nibbanadhatu implies the absence of upadhi

easily suggest to a

saupadisesa nibbanadhatu, while the

prehended, as

we have

might

by

misinformed mind the opposition of a

word

saupadisesa, rightly com-

pointed out from the Satipaff/iana Suttaand

But if once this

had been employed regarding the nibbanadhatu by an
error like that we have supposed, if once the opposition of an

the Vahgisa Sutta, excludes the idea of ]^irva?ia.

adjective

anupadisesa and a saupadisesa nibbanadhatu had been set up, then

it

was scarcely possible

to attach a

more passable meaning

to these

words, than that given to them in the Itivuttaka.

The preceding explanation regarding the

expressions, in

the luain difliculty of the Nirvajja terminology

lies,

which

has already

given us occasion to quote a series of the passages of the canonical

texts relevant to this doctrine.

We shall now proceed to

set forth

more essential of the materials ^^pon which our

previously expounded (antea, pp. 267 seq.) view of the Nirva?ia
doctrine rests, and therewith also some passages which we havein the Pali text the

given above in translation.*

In the " Samyuttaka Nikaya " there comes after the above quoted
(p.
*

429) passage on the conversation of

Eeference

may

here also be

furter, in the " Journ.

made

to the

Buddha

Avith

communication

R. Asiatic Soc," Oct. 1880.

Yacchagotta

of Dr. 0.

Frank-

iod

UPADISESA.
the following

paribbtijaka,

antea, p. 272

(cf.

seq.)

Atha kho

Yaccliagotto paribbajako yena bbagava ten' Tipasai/ikami, upasam-

kamitva

bhagavata

sanimodi,

sadcllii??i

sa,ra)aja?Ji vitisaretva ekainaiitai nisidi,

sammodaniyam

katha?)i

ekainanta?^ nisinno Vaccha-

paribbajako bhagavantaiji etad avoca

kim nu kho bho
Gotama atth' atta 'ti. OYSbon vutte bhagava tuuhi ahosi. kim pana
bho Gotama n' atth' atta 'ti. diitiyam pi kho bhagava tuwhi ahosi.
atha kho Vacchagotto paribbajako utihajasanisi pakkami. atha kho
ayasma Anando acirapakkante Vacchagotte paribbajako bhagavanta?)! etad avoca
kii nu kho bhante bhagava Yacchagottassa
paribbajakassa paiiha7/i -puttho na byakasiti.
ahaS c' Ananda
gotto

Yacchagottassa paribbajakassa atth' atta

atta

tesa?).

samano

imftJio

'ti

atth'

Ananda sama?tabrahma9ta sassatavada

etam saddhaiu abhavissati*. ahaii c' Ananda Yacchagottassa

'ti

byakareyya?7i, ye te

parribbajakassa n' atth'

attil

'ti

samfino n' atth' atta

Tputtho

'ti

Ananda samariabrahma?ia ucchedavada tesaui

atth' atta
etamf abhavissa. ahan c' Ananda Yacchagottassa
'ti byakareyyawi,
api nn me taiji Ananda amilomai abhavissa
byakareyya?, ye te

na?2assa

upadaya^ sabbe

ahaii c'

Ananda

Ananda Yacchagottassa
ahuva me nann pubbe

dhammma

n'atth'

atta

'ti

no

'ti.

bhante.

h' eta4

byakareyyawi, sa-nimuZ/iassa

paribbajakassa bhiyyosamniohaya abhavissa

atta so etarahi n'atthiti.

" Sa?H.yuttaka Nikaya," vol.

seq.)

anatta

ii,

fol.

no. scq.

(cf.

antea, p.

278

Ekawz samayaHz- bhagava Savatthiya-ni viharati Jetavane Anatha

piwcZikassa

Kosalesu

arame.

carika??i

tena kho pana samayena

Khema bhikkhuni

caramana antara ca Savatthim antara ca

Tora/tavatthnsmirji

vasam upagata

hoti.

Saketa?}i

atha kho raja Pasenadi

Kosalo Saketa Savatthi/u gacchanto antara ca Saketa? antara ca

Savatthi??i Torawavatthusmiwi okarattivasawi. upagacchi.

raja Pasenadi Kosalo aiiiiataraHt

purisa')?i

amantesi: ehi

atha kho

tva??i

anibho

purisa ToraHavatthiismiHt tatharupa??! sama?ia??i va bra,hma7ia7. va

jana

yam

aliavi ajja

payirupaseyyan

ti.

eva7)i-

deva

'ti

kho

so puri&o

So the MS. lege abhavissa. On saddha/zi cf. Abhidhan. 11 17.

uppadiya.
Here undoubtedly saddha;/* is to be inserted.
I Lege
;

SOME MATTERS OF BUDDHIST DOGMATIC.

440
raiifio

Pasenadissa Kosalassa pa^isutva ke valakappa-/)! Torawavattliam

naddasa tatharupaiit

alii?if7anto

va

sainaa)?i

bralima??a7?i

addasa kho

Kosalo payirxipaseyya.

Pasenadi

raja

Kheraai bliikkhunii Tora?iavattliusmim

va j&vi-

[so]

puriso

vasa?)i upagatai,

disvana

yena raja Pasenadi Kosalo ten' upasamkami, upasamkamitva rajana?}t

PasenadikosalaHi etad avoca

n' attlii

kho deva

Torajiavattliusniijii

tatkarupo sama?iO va brahmano va yai devo pairupaseyya,

klio

deva

Khema nama

sammasambnddliassa, tassa kbo pana ayyaya evam kalyawo

saddo abbliuggato
kalya?2,aparibbana

pa7icZita
'ti,

Pasenadi Kosalo yena

viyatta

t&m devo payirupasatu

Khema bhikkhuni

atba kbo raja

'ti.

ten' upasa^nkami, upasani-

nisinno kho raja Pasenadi Kosalo

etad avoca
abyakata?)i

marana
etsion

'ti.

kitti-

medbavi baliusutta cittakatbi

kamitva Khenia?>i bhikknniwi abhivadetva ekanianta?)i

mantam

ca

attlii

bliikkhuni tassa bhagavato savika arahato

eka-

nisidi.

Khemavn

bliikkhuni?n.

ki??z nii kho ayye hoti tathagato para??;- marawa 'ti.

kho etaiu maharaja bhagavata hoti tathagato parawt
him pan' ayye na hoti tathagato para?)i niara?ia 'ti.

kho maharaja abyakatani bhagavata na hoti tathagato

pi

him nu kho ayye hoti ca na ca hoti tathagato

abyakatawi kho etam mahai'aja bhagavata
him pan' ayye n' eva hoti na na hoti tathagato para??i marana 'ti.
The king now
eta??z. pi kho maharaja abyakatai bhagavata
asks why she has given no other answer to all his questions, and
goes on ko rni kho aj/ye hetu ko paccayo yena tarn abyakata?n.

para?}i marajia

ti.

parai>i mara/;a

'ti.

bhagavata

tena hi maharaja

'ti.

yatha te khameyya tatha

na?>i

tail

iiev'

ettha pa^ipucchissami,

byakareyyasi.

tarn

ki^ji.

maiiuasi

maharaja, atthe te koci gaako va muddiko va sa7?ikhayako va yo

pahoti

Gangaya

valukairi

ga?ietum ettaka valuka

valnkasatani ita va ettakani valukasahassani

satasahassani

iti

va

'ti.

no

h' eta7?i ayye.

iti

atthi

iti

va ettakan^

va ettakani valuka

pana

te koci

va muddiko va sa7?ikhayako va yo pahoti mahasamudde

ga^ietum ettakani udaka?hakani
kasatasahassani

iti

va

'ti.

iti

va

no h'

eta?)i

ayye.

ettakani udakaZhata^i

mahasamuddo gambhiro appameyyo duppariyogaho

kho maharaja yena rupena
ta?)i

tathagatai?i

gaako
udaka??z.

'ti.

kissa

hetu.

evam eva

paiinapayamano paiiiiapeyya

rupa?>i tathagatassa pahinawi- ucchinnamiilai/t talavatthukatai

THE
anabliavawi

kata?)i*

gambhiro appameyyo duppari-

tatliagato

yogaho seyyathapi nialiasaniuddo.

'ti

t.

na

pi

m.

p.

upeti,

yaya vedanaya
.

yena
ti

mam

m.

p.

hoti tathagato paraui

pi

'ti

na

t.

m.

p.

pi na upeti.

'ti

yeki sa?)ikkareki

paniiapayaniano paiiiiapeyya

atko kko raja Pasenadi Kosalo

upetiti.

marawa

na ca koti

upeti, hoti ca

yciya sanfiaya

vinnajz-ena tatkagatawi

na

pi

bkikkkuniya

t.

Ba upeti, n'eva koti na na koti

pi

'ti

na koti

r{ipasa7nkliaya

aniippadadliainma'?H.

a,yatii

kho maliaraja

vimtitto

441

JVJEF^N^.I

Kkemaya

abkinanditva anumoditva ui^/ifiyasana Kke-

bkasita?)?-

Tke

bkikkhuniiji abkivadetva padakkkiai)i katva pakkami.

kow

text tken furtker relates

questions to

Buddka

tke king later on put tke same

and obtained from kim tke same

kimself,

answers word for word as tke nun

" Sa?jiyuttaka Nikaya," vol.

i,

Kkema kad
de

fol.

given kim.

(cf. antea, p.

281 seq.)

tena kko pana samayena Tamakassa nama bkikkkuno evarupawi

papakaiK
insi'm

dii^f7iigata7?i

desita-Hz-

uppanna?)! koti

ucckijjati vinassati

na koti param marana

mariiiasi

Yamaka

avuso

(Sariputta resolves

'ti.

on tke rigkt track and says

to put tke misbeliever

him

bkagavata dkam-

tatkakai^i

ajanami yatka kkinasavo bkikkku kayassa bkeda

rupa?iz.

kim

to

niccam. va aniccawi

:)

va

tai^i
'ti.

kim mannasi avuso Yamaka rupaiii

tatkagato 'ti samanupassasiti. no k'etawi avxiso. vedanam tatkatara kim raaiiiiasi avuso Yamaka
gato 'ti samanupassasiti

aniccaiji

avusof

tarn

.rupasmiHi

tatkagato

annatra rupa tatkagato

samanupassasiti.

'ti

'ti

tarn 'kim mafinasi avuso

Yamaka rupam

vinnawam tatkagato

'ri

samanupassasiti.

kim

Yamaku

maiiiiasi

avuso

kkaro aviniiano tatkagato

ettka ca te avuso

no

'ti

vedana^i

no

k'

saHikkare

saiiiiaiw

etam avuso.

k'

samanupassasiti.

Yamaka

dittheva,

kallaui

no

dkamme

tarn

nu

to

etam avuso.

k'

saccato

tam

tatkakawi bkagavata dkamma^ji desitaiJi ajanami

Lege

avuso.

etam avuso.

Sbjam so arupi avedano asanni asam-

tatkagato anupalabbkiyamano.

etaui

k'

no

samanupassasiti.

te

tato

vcyyakara7ia??2.
.

na koti

ga.tam.

The same then regardinr; the other Khandas, and

drawn therefrom as in the " Mahavagga," i, C, 42-iG.
similarly vedanaya, ailiiatra vedanaya, &c.
J Then
t

tlic

usual conclusions

SOME MATTERS OF BUDDHIST D0G2IATIC.

44:2

para??! mara'/ia

me

aliu klio

'ti.

ta?ii

avuso Sariputta pubbe avid-

dasuno papaka7>i diWiigatam, idavi ca panayasmato Sariputtassa

dharamadesanavji sutva ta.m

dhammo

ca

me

piicclieyyu),

yo

cva papakai ditt]dga.ta,m jiahinam

c'

sace

abliisam.ito.

Yamaka

avuso

so

Yamaka

avuso

yo so

puccbeyyu7i2,

byakareyya7)i

eva7?i

byakareyyasiti.

kinti
.

kbo avuso

sace

evam

ki?>^ botiti,

rupajJi/

enaiJt

bliikkliu archhum klii7iasavo

kayassa blieda parai m.arana kim botiti

so

Yamaka

avuso

tarn

eva?Ji

-puttJio

tva?)^

mam

avuso

evu?jz-

aba??i avtiso

-puttJio

yad annicam

anicca???,

tsmi

dukkba/rt, ya?. dukkbajji ta.m niruddbai?^ tad attba??iga ta?n.

daua,

safiiiS,,

sa7?ikbara, vmna?ia7}i

evam. -pattho

aham avuso

Yamaka.
"Udana,"

fol.

aiiicca?7i

byakareyyau

eva7}i

gbau (Pbayre MS.,

iTaam udana7Ji udanesi

cf.

ve-

attba7gatan

antea,

283):

p.

na

saiiiiayatana??!'

aha??i

na.ya7ft

ev' anto

Ibid.

dukkbassa
fol.

vadami na

ayati??^

na tJdtim na

gati?>i

ta?H,

es*

'ti.*

(=" Itivuttaka,"

gbau'

bbikkbave abbavissa

ajata7?i

kau

nissara?2'a7?i
.

asa7?7k

attbi
tawi

na yidba jatassa

yasma ca

pannayetba.

tasma jatassa

no ce

antea, p. 283)
bataj^i.

asa7kbata7)7,

bbutassa katassa sa7?dvbatassa

attbi ajata7?i

fob

akata7?i

abbutaT)?.

ajata7?i

kbo bbikkbave

na

nevasaiiiiana-

appatii^/mm apavattai anaramma7iam eva

bbikkbave

na

akincaiiiiayatana^JT.

loko no paraloko ubdo candimasuriya, tarn

bbikkbave n'eva

upapatti7?i

ayatana7?i yattba

n'eva pathavi na apo na tejo na vayo na akasanancayatanaTTi

viiina?ianaiicayatana7ft

ti.

sadbu sadbu avuso

ti

bbikkbave tad

atthi

nissara7ia7?t

pafmayatiti.
Ibid,

tam

fob gbau'

gba?7i

nissitassa ca calita7?i, anissitassa cali-

ratiya asati agatigati

na

na

boti,

cutupapato na

boti,

passaddbiya

n' attbi, calite asati passadbi,

boti, agatigatiya asati

sati rati

cutupapate asati n' ev' idba na bura?)7 na ubbayamantax-e.

anto dukkbassa
" Afiguttara

It is

'ti.

Nikaya

" (Pbayi'e

bear in
" Jinacaritra," 16

MS.), vob

mind the

well here to

the Jainas.

es' ev'

sivam

i,

fob ?ai

quite similar

mode

cattaro 'me

of expression of

ayalam aruyam azmmtam akkhayam

avvabaham apu/mravatti-siddhi-gai-numadheyawi

thiina,m.

THE NinrA^sA.

4i3-

lohikkliave puggala santo sa!vijjamana lokasnim.

dhamme

idha bhikkhave ekacco puggalo dif/7ieva

nibbciyi boti, idba

kafcame cattaro?
sasaikbarapai"i-

pana bbikkhave ekacco puggalo kajassa bbeda

sasa7?ikbaraparinibbayi boti, idba pana bbikkbave ekacco puggalo

di^;J/ieva

dbamnie asa??ikbaraparinibbayi

boti,

idba pana bbikkbave

katbau

ekacco puggalo kayassa bbeda asa??ikbaraparinibbayi boti.

ca bbikkbave ekacco puggalo diWieYSu dbamrtie sasawikbaraparinib-

idba bbikkbave bbikkbu asubbanupassi kayo vibarati

biiyi boti ?

abare

sabbaloke anabbiratisaiiui sabbasawi kbaresu

pai'ikulassaiiiii

aniccanupassi,

mara?7-asaiiiia

kbo pan' assa

ajjbatta?3i

supati^f/iitfl

so imani paiica sekbabalani upanissaya vibarati saddbabalajH.

boti.

liiribalaju

ottappabalai viriyabalawz-, paiiiiabalain, tass' imani paiic'

indriyani adbimattani patubbavanti saddbindriyai viriyin

sasawikbaraparinibbayi boti.

indriyanaift adbimattatta

kbikkbave puggalo

dittheYa,

di'iya?)z.

so imesani paficannaHi

satindriya7?i samadbindriya??!, paiinindriyaiii.

evai^z.

dbamnie sasa^tkbaraparinibbayi

kbo
boti.

katbaii ca bbikkbave ekacco puggalo kaj-assa bbeda sasamkbara-

parinibbayi boti

idba bbikkbave bbikkbu asubbanupassi (&c.

muduni, mudutta).

as above, for adbimattani, adbimattatta read

dbamme

katbaii ca bbikkbave ekacco puggalo diWieYO,

parinibbayi boti
-pa-

pa!f/iamajjbana?-

vibarati.

....

lokasmin

jbanaiit

cattutba?5i

upasampajja

so imani pailca sekbabalani (&c. as above, tben corre-

sponding to tbe fourtb

muduni).

asamkbara-

idba bbikkbave bbikkbu vivicc' eva kamebi

case,

but instead of adbimattani read

ime kbo bbikkhave cattaro puggala santo samvijjamana

ti.

" AnguttaraNikaya," Navanipata, vol.

iii,

fob

iiii

eka?j!-

samayam

ayasma Sariputto Rajagabe vibarati VeZuvane Kalandakanivape.

sukbaHz- ida??i avuso
tatra kbo ayasma Sariputto bbikkbu amantesi
nibbanan ti. evam vutte ayasma Udayi ayasmantam Sariputtaz.
etad avoca kim pan' ettba jivuso Sariputta sukba?Ji yad ettba n'
nttbi vedayitan ti ? etad eva kbv ettbavuso sukbam yad ettba n'
:

attbi vedayita?)!.

paS.c'

cakkbuviiineya rupa
pasaiibita

paiica

rajaniya,

kamagmia.

ime avuso kamagu^ia.

ittha,

sotavineyya sadda,
ya?)i

katame

pafica ?

kanta manapa piyrupa sa.tarupa kamu-

kbo avuso ime

paiica

ime kbo avuso

kamaguwe

paficca

444

SOME MATTERS OF BUDDHIST DOGMATIC.

iippajjati STikhawi somanassaijz.

ida.m vuccat' avuso kamasuklia?n.

idhavuso bliikkliu vivicc' eva kamelii -pa- paf/iamam jhanaiw- upasampajja viharati, tass ce avuso bhikkhuno imina viMrena viharato
kamasahagata sauna manasikara samudacaranti sv assa hoti abadlio.

seyyatbapi avuso sukhino

evam

dukkham uppajjeyya yavad eva abadhaya,

kamasabagatjx saiina manasikara samudacaranti, sv

ev' assa te

assa hoti abadbo.

bhagavata.

sukba77i nibbana77i.
.

yo kbo panavuso abadbo dukkbawi idam vuttam

iminapi kbo etam avuso pariyayena veditabba77i yatha

puna ca parawi avuso bbikkbu vitakkavicaranaiji

dutiyaui jhanaui upasampajja vibarati.

tassa ce avuso

bbikkbuno imina vibarena vibarato vitakkasabagata

kara samudacaranti (see as above).
disturbing element

is

upekbasukhasahagata
analogous

As

way

also

described as pitisabagata
saiiiia.

Tbe

saiina manasi-

In the tbird Jbana, tbe

saiiiia,

in tbe fourth

exposition then proceeds in the

through the highest stages of abstraction.

in the two last quoted passages the term nibbana

is

used of

the happy condition of him wlio has attained 'the Jbana, so also
this occurs in the following passage
:

" Aiig.

Mkaya,"

sa.nditthika^m

kittavata nii
'ti

loc. cit. fol. tha,

nibbanam

kbo avuso

sandi!^i!7;ikai,

sandii5i!/iikam

nibbanan

ti

avuso vuccati.

nibbanai Yuttam bhagavata

idhavuso bbikkbu vivicc' eva kamehi -pa- paf/;amaw jhana?>i

upasampajja vibareti.

-ettbapi

bhagavata pariyayena.

vuttai7z.

kbo avuso

ssiuditthikavi

nibbanam

(Similarly of the following Jhanas

and tbe stages of higher ecstasy. Finally :) puna ca para??i avuse

bbikkbu sabbaso nevasaiiiianasaiiriayatanaia samatikkamma saiiiiavedayitanirodhawz, upasampajja viharati paiinaya c'assa disva asava

parikkhiwa honti.

ettavata kbo avuso sandUthikam nibbana77i vuttam bhagavata nippariyayena 'ti.* Then follows a series of exactly
similar passages nibbanam nibbanan ti avuso vuccati -pa- parinibbanam parinibbanan ti, tadaiiganibbanawz tadaiiganibbanan ti, dittJiSb:

dhammanibbanan diiJ;!/mdhamraanibanan
vutta7?i

The

bhagavata nipparij-ayena

ti

avuso vuccati

'ti.

fact that here the Parinibbana is treated as exactly equal

* Here pariyayena (cf. " DiiDavajnsa,"

5, 34) means "in metaphorical sense,'
nippariyayena, " without metaphor, in the exact sense."

NIBBANA AND PAEINIBBANANAMARtJFA.

445

with the nibbana and the dif^/jadhannnanibbana, as well as the fact

that in one of the earlier quoted passages the " diWieya, dhamme

sasamkharaparinibbaya "

spoken

is

gives

of,

me

occasion to here

refer to the theory advanced

by Dr. Rhys Davids, according to

which nibbana and parinibbana are as a rule so used differently,

that the former denotes arhatship, the latter the end of the saint,

from the world of the transitory. As a fact the

usage of the canonical texts follows, on the whole, the rule laid
down by Davids. Yet it seems to me, that here we have to do only
his disappearance

with a tendency of the usage of speech, which

in the

same way

to exceptions,

is liable

between Buddha and Sambuddha, Paccekabuddha and Paccekasambuddha. Thus, the word
parinibbuta

" Dhp."

kummo

is

as usage fluctuates

used of the saint already during his earthly

and " Samyutta Mkaya,"

V, 89,

vol.

ii,

fol. ja

life,

va angani sake kapale samodaha^i bhikkhu manovitakke

apothamano parinibbuto na upavadeyya kinci

anissito annamaiiiiaiJi

and

vice versa

nibbuta

into the hereafter.

Vajjina7?i
hef^7/ato

is

also occasionally used of the saint entering

Anuruddha

says (" Theragatha,"

VeZuvagame

aha7?i jivitasaiukhaya

fol.

gu)

VeZugumbasmii?i nibbayissam anasavo.

Bakkulattherassa-Acchariyabahutasutta ("Majjh. Nikaya") atha

:

kho ayasma Bakkulo aparena samayena

viharam upasaikamitva evam aha

kamathayasmanto, ajja

me

adaya viharena

apapura?ia?Ji

abhikkamathayasmanto abhik-

nibbanain bhavissatiti

atha kho

tiyasma Bakkulo majjhe bhikkhusawighassa nisinnako parinibbayi.

Compare
quoted at

"

also the strophe of the

Dhp.

2.

To the

observations

Namariipa,

i.e.

"

Vimanavatthu, which

is

found

AttJi." p. 350.

Namarupa.

made in note

Name and

2, p. 23, regarding the terminus

form," or " l!^ame and corporeal form,"

I desire to here add a few of the more important passages of the

texts.

The expression Namarupa

is

known

to

have had

its

origin in the^

KAMMUPA.

446

Brabmaraa and Ara?iyaka period

wisdom

of beings tlie

that whicb. does not forsake a

is

Yajnavalkya answers

The name

"

all

Thus the name

attains thereby."

natural, specially

is

" Tajnavalkya

:*

man when he

An

the name, infinite (innumerable) are

he

as

Jaratkarava Artabhaga says

deep mysteries.
"what

In the name

Indian literature.

of

of those ages finds,

infinite

thing in truth

the Gods

it

is

infinite fulness

of beings or of things is repre-

Name

sented as a self-existing power beside their external form.

" monster powers " of the

and form are the two

And

dies ?"

has got at the worlds or into the worlds.

Brahma, by which

When

the universe

name and form " clearness was created

therefore they say, when they wish to make a man knowable "he
"In this this universe
is called so-and-so; he looks so-and-so."
"
or, as it is said on another occasion
consists, inform and in name
lay in chaotic confusion,

by

"

"

A triad is
The

this

world

name, form, act."t

the individual being, the attainment of

cessation of

everlasting goal presents itself as well to the

Brahman

"Buddhist method of thought and speech as the cessation of

He who

and form."
the universal

spirit,

the

as to the

"name

has attained the highest wisdom, unites with

name and form, as the streams,

name+ and

"delivered from

the flowing streams, enter into rest in the sea, leaving

form behind

;"

thus

the " Suttanipata

we read

"||

it

Ajita, that will I tell thee

residuum

.a

by the

in the

said

is

"Mun(7akopanishad."

What

"

And

thou hast asked

in

after,

where name and form cease without

cessation

of

consciousness,**

there

that

ceases."

As

regards the idea of "

understood in

its literal

" Cat. Br." xiv,

6, 2, 11.

"9at. Br."

2,

xi,

3,

name

" in this connection,

fg.

xiv, 4, 2, 15;

4,

tapaniya Upanisliad, " Ind. Studien,"

I

"

It is clear, that

CuUavagga,"
8
II

**

here

"name

Ix, 1, 4.

Phayre MS.

Fausboll, p. 191.

the Nirvana, of. .nupra, p. 2G6 seq.

ft P. 253, 255, ed. " Grimblot."
I.e.,

is

to be

4, 1

fg.

Cf. the

Nrisimha-

ix, 134.
" is to be taken quite in the hteral sense, of.

P. 322 of the edition in the " Bibl. India."

Fol. ghau' of the

it

meaning, when in the Mahanidana suttaff


NlMARUPA.

form-world through the " contact by means

llie attainability of tlae

naming"
and when it

447

is

traced back to the existence of the " name-world,"

is

there said, " that the domain of naming, the domain

of

of expression, the domain of manifestation," extends as far as

"

name and form together with consciousness." As a rule, however,

another meaning of " name " meets us in the Buddhist texts, so far
as this idea appears in connection

with that of form.

Thus already

in the " Sutta Pifaka " (" Sammadiff/d Suttanta " in the " Majjhima
Nikaj-a,"

fol.

khu

of the

Turnour MSS.), where a reply

the question regarding the definition of

to

Namarupa

is

given

vedana

saniia cetena phasso manasikaro ida7?i vuccat' avuso namarupa??!,*

cattari ca

"

mahabhutani catunna^H ca mahabhutanam upadaya rupawt

vuccat' avuso rupa?5i.

ida7?i

Vibhahga,"

fol.

Similarly

(Phayre MS.)

ci'

in the
:

Abhidhamma

texts.

tattha katamavjt viniia?ia-

paccaj^a namarupa???- ? atthi nama?)i atthi rupa?)i.

tattha katamawi

vedanakkhandho safiiiakhandho sa?)?kharakkhandho idaiJt

vuccati namam. tattha katama??i rupa??i. ? cattaro ca mahabhuta
catunna-H^ ca mahabhutana75i upadaya rupaiji ida7?i. vuccati rupaiM
nama7-

ca nama7)i

idaii

iti'

" !N'ettippakara7ia,"

upadanakkhanda

dhammaf

ida77i

ida)?i
fol'.

vuccati viiiiiawapaccaya namarupajji.

(Phayre

ku'

namariipa7jz..

idaiji

MS.)

tattha ye

tattha

ye

paiie'

phassapaiicamaka

namar, yani paiicindriyani rupaui

ida7?i rupa??z.

tadubhayaui namarupa7ji viiinaHasampayutta7.

How

this explanation of

gory of " form " or

is to

Nama

has arisen,

be met as well in the combination "

.sensations, perceptions,

It

The

cate-

together

khandhas " form,

itself to identify the

Now

two

which had actually arisen wholly independently

the

series of

of each

having the members "form" and "consciousness" in com-

mon, and
*

five

conformations, consciousness."

very natural conceit suggested

other,

evident.

name and form

with consciousness," as in the system of the

notions,

is

" corporeity " (riipa), like that of consciousness,

thus

appears to

me

the

vre

fourth place

mentioned

among which phassa

?

khandhas

" sensations,

perceptions,

should read nama?)!.

t I.e., the five categories

ditthi Sutta,

three

is

in the passage quoted from the Sammiinamed, not indeed in the last, but in the

THE FOUR STAGES OF HOLINESS.

448

conformations (Sa?nkliara

Cf. further " Milinda

= Cetana) "

"name

over for the category of

Panha,"

p.

49

The Four Stages

3.

of tlie one series

" in the other

;

remained

series.

Bumouf,

" Intr." 501 seq.

of Holiness.

It is not my intention here to expound in all its hearings

the
doctrine of the Cattaro Magga, on the whole rather unprofitable to
the comprehension of Buddhist religious thought. I shall here

only attempt to show how, in the statement of the psychological

attributes

which were attributed

to the saints of the four stao-es

the earlier and later texts of the sacred

other, in a

manner which

development of dogmatic

As

far as I

know, we

is

Kanon

differ

from each

characteristic of the history of the

literature.

possess, regarding the psychological attri-

butes of saints of the four grades, no older expressions than those

which occur in the " Mahaparinibbana Sutta," p. 16 seq., and

conformably very often afterwards in the " Sutta Piifaka."

four stages are there defined in the followino1.

tinnajon samyojanana7?i

The

way

parikkhaya sotjipanno avinipatadhammo

niyato sambodhiparayano.
2.

tinnam sa??i.yojananam parikkhaya ragadosamohanai?^ tanutta

imaiJi loka??i agantva dukkhass' antam ka-

sakadagami sakid eva

rissati.
3. paiicanna7)i

oranabhagiyana7>i sa7?^yojanana7?l parikkhaya opa-

patiko tatthaparinibbayi anavattidhammo tasma loka.

4. asavana7)i

ditthsYa,

dhamme

khaya

anasava7)i

saya77i abhiiina

cetovimutti?H

paiinavimuttim

sacchikatva upasamyajja vihasi.

These definitions show evidently that there was a conventionally

series of Sa7?iyojanas and this lay at the bottom of the

arranged

speculations

upon progressive

doubt that this

series

is

sanctification.

the same which

is

We

can scarcely

uniformly given by

commentators, and already occurs in the " Sutta Piifaka "

five

Orambhagiva

SaTJiyojana
'

are

Samyutta Nikaya,"

vol.

Sakkayadii^/ti,
iii,

fol.

dhe.

:*

the

Mcikiccha,

THE FOUR STAGES OF HOLMESS.

Silabbatapararaasa, Kamaraga, Pai!iglia

Samyojana

41^

the five Uddharabhagiva

Ruparaga, Aruparaga, Mana, Uddliacca, Avijja.

It -will be seen

how

quite nnsyrametrically couched the definitions

given of the four stages are, with reference to this

times three, sometimes

five of

categories of Raga, Dosa,

first figures
it is said,

them

Some-

series.

the Sa7?iyojanas are overcome

Moha, are introduced,

in the list of the Sa7yojanas

the

which only the

in the second stage^

these three vices are almost overcome

in the third stage is not stated

of

how

it

fares

with

but for the definition of the

is again had exclusively to the Sa??iyojana

Thus these formulas give a veritable picture of the
confusion which usually prevails in the long and abstruse series of

third grade recourse

categories.

ideas in ancient Buddhist dogmatic.

It is interesting to observe
tists,

the

how

the later generation of dogma-

whose systematizing and harmonizing labours

Abhidhamma

arrangement into

Pi/aka, endeavoured to introduce

One

this confusion.

of the

lie

before us in

some order and

Abhidhamma

texts,,

the Puggalapaiiiiatti,* deals exckisively with the different gradesof beings in relation to the goal of holiness.

Thus the four

classes-

(by the side of which stand the corresponding subdivisions of

the " phalasacchikiriyaya pa/ipanna," already, by-the-bye, frequently

mentioned in the older Pi^akas,

e.g.,

" Cullavagga," is,

1,

4) are-

defined as follows
1.

yassa puggalassa tini samyojanani pahinani aya?}i vuccati

puggalo sotapanno.
2.

yassa puggalassa kamaragabyapada tanubhuta ayaiJt vuccati

puggalo sakadagami.

Puggala (Sansk. inidgala), the subject bound in transmigration, or correSatta, and

is synonymous with

spondingly the subject delivered therefrom,

Puggala-Satta stands against the pair of synonyms, Dhaimna-Sa/Hkhslra (vide

supra, p. 250).

According to the old

strict

teaching there are only

Sattas are spoken of only in accordance with ordinary

modes

Dhammas, and
of

expression.

Eegarding the juxtaposition of Satta-jraggala and Dhamma-Sa/Kldiara compare

" Milinda Panha," p. 317, where in characteristic style the topic is " atthisatta "
and " atthidhamma ;" the Jinalamkara in Burnouf, " Intr." 505 (" Buddho 'ti ko
satto Vil sajKkliilro va "), and the northern Buddhist text, which is theis i^uotedv
p. 508 ("

Sa pudgalo na dhanna/t").

29

TEE FOUR STAGES OF HOLINESS.

450
'3.

yassa puggalassa kamaragabyapada anavasesa pahina ayawi

"vuccati puggalo anagami.

4.

yassa puggalassa ruparago aruparago

mano

Tiddliacca?)i avijja

anavasesa pahina ayaiii vuccati puggalo araha.

The system
Sai72yojanas.*

here exclusively on

rests

Whatever in the older form

to the

the series of

the ten

of the doctrine referred

Sauz-yojanas, is here adopted

the other categories which
were there dealt with, Raga, Dosa, Moha, and the Asavas, have
vanished from the new wording, or have been replaced by notions
;

from the Saiwyojana

numbered according
their conquest

is

when we regard

series. 'Thus,

to the order given above, the

the following

the Sauiyojanas

graded course of

the Sotapanna has got rid of 1

in the case of the Sakadagami and Anagami, 4 and 5 also vanished,

and that in such a way that in the Sak. they were reduced to a
small measure, in the Anag. Avholly annihilated

has extirpated the

last vices also, 6

Thus the doctrine

the Araha finally

10.

of the four grades gives a picture of the

way

in which the confused series of notions contained in the suttas have

been pondered by the theologians of the Abhidhamma, and their

inconsistencies eliminated by them.

That the notion which was designated

Sa?)iyojana

no

doubt.

list

as Pa^igha

is

in the above-quoted fonii of the

identical with that here

named Byapada, admits

of

INDICES.

INDEX TO PROPER NAMES.

1.

66

Acelaka

95 note, 96

Aciravati (Eapti)

Agni Vai(;vanara

10

Alara Kalama

Auanda
seq.,

seq.,

399 seq.

146, 152, 160

Ajatasattu

105, 123, 420 seq.

116, 159 seq., 197 seq., 201

144

AnathapiHdika

Anga

seq.,

of Buddlia)

Ikshvaku (Okkaka)

Assaji

Bakkula
Beluva
Benares
Bhaddiya

125

Ka^i

9, 31,

163

seq.

Kassapa

seq.,

132 seq.

Kaf/)aka Upanishad

439 seq.
402

Koliya

412 seq.

10,

130

Ko;((/auua

Kosala

8, 9, 11, 98, 143,

Krivi

393 note, 412

401
296 seq.

KuHala

Kum

10,

393

seq.,

395

seq., 401,

Magadha

410

200 seq.

Kusinara
8, 9, 121,

136 seq., 143, 399>

402
30, 31 note

93 note, 99

Mahapajapati

Mahiuda

Chabbaggiya
Devadatta
Dighavu (Long-life)

335 seq.

Maitreyi

160 seq.

Maklvhali Gosala

293 seq.

Malla

Dighiti (Long-grief)

293 seq.

Malukya

Gandhara
Ganges

399,402
8

202

seq.,

Manu
Matsya

10

Maya

165

69
399 note, 413
274 seq.
393 seq.
10 seq.

Miithava

31

seq.,

75 note, 361 seq.

35

402 seq.

(Vedic sage)

seq.,

Kikaia

Cedi

Gotama

54 seq.
278

Ivliema

134

406 seq.
133, 143, 163, 419
114 note

Gargi

143, 393 note

99 seq., 105, 415

445

119

9a)uZilya

412

147, 163

403

197, 445
124 seq.
416

Bhallika

98, 403,

Jivaka

9,

396 seq.

95, 118,.

411 seq., 413 seq.

Isipatana

seq.,

243 note

Angulimala
Aruni

Buddhaghosa
^akya, v. Sakya

125

Kapilavatthu 91

272 seq.

Bharata
Bimbisara

Gotama (Name

402
73,

93

seq., 99,

417

452

INDICES.

Metteyya
Milinda
Moggallana

Mucalinda
Naciketas

Nagasena

Namuci
Nataputta

Niggantha
Okkiika, V. Ikshvaku

341 note

Pajjota
Pailcala

10, 404, cf.

Pasenadi

Kuru

98 note, 163, 278 seq., 413

197

Pa^aliputta

Pava

78

Prajapati

21 seq., 26, 29 seq.

Purawa
Purawa Kassapa
Puru
Eahula
Eajagaha

344 seq.
70
403, 410
101, 103, 159

133 seq., 143, 344

Eai^ti, r. Aciravati

EohiHi

92, 96, 412

Eu<,'ama

402

Saccaka
Sadami-a

70

10

Sakya
Safijaya

67, 93, 95 seq.,

(cf.

Sr/njaya)

seq.,

398

412 seq.
130 seq.

453

INDICES.

Euddha (word and meaning)

52, 67, 75,

84, 95, 108, 322 seq.

Buddhahood, attainment
107

seq., 129,

10, 26, 29, 31, 33,

52

seq.,

CausaUty 115, 120, 206, 228

248

Ceylon

seq., 243,

262

seq.,

importance to Buddhism)

(its

40
of Buddlia's Life 81, 159

50, 61, 286 seq.

(cf.

Absolute) 263, 269 seq.,

282 seq.
Fables

193, 313

Gardens
Gods
18, 20 seq.,
Gotra of the nobles

HeU

143 seq.
53, 59 seq.,

Chm-ch Government

341 seq.

Clothing

359 seq.

Concentration 50, 67, 106, 288, 313

443 seq.

370

Confession, the

Conformations,

seq.,

378 note

319

seq.,

227

seq., 253,

Ignorance

51 seq., 227 seq., 237 seq.

seq.,

55 seq., 267

cf.

Trans-

migration, Nirvil^a

Deliverance

45

7,

seq.,

49 seq., 64, 130,

48

seq., cf.

251, 270, 449 note.

Tawha

Dhamma

195, 219, 222, 236 seq.,

283 note, 284, 292

Dialogues 31, 35

seq., 49,

seq., 278 seq.

Dinners
Disciples 150 seq.

131 seq.

their

189

seq.,

254

The first disciples

number 133 note,

typical form 140, 158

social

47, 51, 214 seq.

Dwelhng

360 seq.
v.

278

seq.,

429 seq.
366

Legends

of

119, 161 seq., 381 seq.

Buddha 72

seq.,

103 seq.,

108 seq.

334

Legislation

Love
Mara the Tempter 54
116

seq., 104,

292
58 seq., 73,

seq.,

seq., 192, 198, 258,

266, 309 seq., 420, 426

Material form

Namarupa)

(cf.

213, 228

40

Maya

237 seq.

Mendicant Life
363

14, 32, 5l seq., 149, 161,

160

Monasticism 33, 61

seq., v.

Mendicant

Life, Order, etc.

Myth

of

Buddha 73

seq.,

83 seq., 411

seq.

Namarupa (name and fonn)

position 154

Duahsm
Ecstasy,

48, 242 seq.

seq., 255,

Miracles
149, 385

Concentration

I)

193 note

Matter

and Vinaya 286 note

Dhanmiapada

Niggantha, Index

(i'.

Labour

85

205, 216, 235, 263 seq., 266

Desire

142

Itinerancy, periods of

Khanda 213

369 seq.

374, 379 note

KaiTuan

76, 343 seq.

Cultus

Dhamma

189

Invitation

Lay-beUevers

Councils

Death 45

Induction

232

183 seq.

The
194

Improvisation, poetical

Jataka

Conversions, histories of 131 seq., 147,

9, cf.

First Excursus

266

Concentration

r.

DeUver-

seq., cf.

ance, NirvaHa

Jaina

Samkhara

cf.

Consciousness

Contact
Contemplation,

seq.,

246

413 seq.

161 note, 243 seq.

Innnigration of the Aryans

note

142

329

Ethic

HoHness 263

75, 78 note

Chaos
Chronology

V.

of things

Everlasting

249 note

seq., 190,

^atapatha BrahmaHa
48

seq.,

424 seq.
152

Caste

85

of the

Atman

Ego,

End

seq.,

Name
Nidana

41,

227

445 seq.

352 note, 445

224

454

INDICES.

Nirvana 116, 200

263

seq.,

seq.,

204

seq.,

267

223

seq.,

427 seq.

seq., 329,

Nothing, Niliilism 212, 238 seq., 267

seq.

Order,

The

7, 119,

130

150

seq.,

Law

of the

seq.,

331 seq.

Order of the day

149

Organized Fraternities

seq.,

366

61 seq.

Pabbajja, v. Pravrajya

305

Self-examination

307
232

Paccekabuddha

120 note, 321

Parables

191

Parinibbana,

?'.

125 seq.

Sophistic

319, 448 seq.

Soul

252
cf.

24, 250,

253

42, 64, 128, 211, 249,

258

seq.,

275

Sun-hero, the

Suffering

Poetry

193
Mendicant Life
Pravi'ajya 337 note, 347 seq., cf. Admission to the Order
seq., r.

Property

354

of Ideas

Temptation, story of the

Tempter, v. Mara

Transmigration 43

375 seq.

Truths, the four

108

6, 119,

339

seq.,

211, 223,.

240, 286 seq.

Upadana
Upadhi

427, 429 seq.

seq., 46,

172

Upadisesa

427, 433 seq.

319, 448 seq.

Samana

67
225, 237, 241 seq., 251, 253,

258, 270, 285, 449 note

427 seq.

Upasampada

347

Uprightness

288, 290, 305

Veda 9
cf.

seq., 63, 100,

171

seq.,

120 note
429, 448 seq.

Sankhya Philosophy

92

seq.,

391

349

seq.,,

ivfgveda

Vinayapamokklia

Sanunasambuddlia
Sa7?iyojana

128

seq., 107,

Ex-

seq.

Samldmra

75
240

First

cursus

Sakadagami

115 seq.

seq., 216, 229,

Tree of Knowledge 87

Eehcs, veneration for

20

332

261

Trinity, Triad, the

Sacrificial cultus 14,

seq.,

Theravada

141 seq.

The

seq.,

193,

Eainy season

Cf.

37

180, 206 seq., 287

Tathagata 126 note, 272, 278

note, 441

note, 114, 376

JJigveda 9, 17 seq.

seq.,

Tales

449 note

Retribution, Moral 48 seq., 242 seq., 258

73 seq., 83 seq.

Symbolic System, the 21

46

seq.,

270

254 seq.

Substance

Systems

seq.,

Atman

Suffering

128, 211

Puggala

68

Sotapanna

177

Nirv3,a

Path, the eight-fold

354

231 seq.

75,

Patimokkha
332, 370 seq.
Pavarana
374, 379 note
Penances
67, 106 seq., Ill, 175 seq.
Pessimism 42 seq., 209 seq., 221 seq.,

Poverty

Senses, the six

Sermon, the

Subject,

Pali

cf.

66 seq

Self-discipUne

Sensation

161, 336 seq.

Order,

Sects

341 note

ViiluuHa, V. Consciousness

Virtues

300 seq.

Visions

Sanskrit

177

Wanderings,

Sayings, poetical

193

Withdrawal from the Order

352 seq.

Women

377 seq.

Scepticism

69

v. Itinerancy,

164

\
O.

NORMAN AND

SON, PRINTER,^, HART STREET, COVENT GARDEN.

periods of

seq.,