The Life of the Buddha; And the Early History of His Order (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1884 Excerpt: ...when we have honoured his remains with perfumes and garlands, they will carry his body to the western gate of the city, which we will traverse and leave by the eastern gate; then after having crossed the Hiranyavati, we will go to the Makuta bandhana tchaitya of the Mallas, and there we will burn the body" (f. 642). But when the Mallas women tried to move the body, they were unable to do so; and Aniruddha told Ananda that the will of the gods was that the Mallas and their sons should carry the bier. So Ananda told the Mallas, and they lifted up the bier and carried it to the Makuta bandhana tchaitya (f. 643). Now at that moment there fell in the town of Kusinara such a quantity of mandarava flowers (Erythrinafulgens), that they were knee-deep. There was an ajivaka1 (hts'oba-chan), who was going to the Pava country on business, and this man picked up a quantity of these divine flowers. MahakaXyapa, with five hundred disciples, was going to Kusinara, and was passing through the Pava country when he met this man, and from him he heard that the Buddha had been dead seven days. Among Kaxjyapa's disciples there was an old man, who, when he heard of the Buddha's death, spoke these unseemly words: "Why should we thus lament? for now the old mendicants (rgan-dzugs) are freed from being told, 'This may be done, this may not be done;' now we may do what we want to do and not do what we do not want to do" (f. 644). But Kjujyapa rebuked him and spoke to his followers of the impernianency of all created things.2 1 Ceoma's translation of this pas-passages. Moreover, it omits seve sage, Asiat. Res., vol. xx. p. 309-317, ral important facts, and Foucaux, Rgya-tcher-rol-pa, ii. 2 In Bigandet, vol. ii. p. 8l, it is p. 417 et seq., is incorrect in several called ...