Anépidu, the hearing or reading of one single stanza of the bana would be more meritorious than all. He who listens not to the bana is unable to procure merit. Even Seriyut, whose wisdom was vast as the rain that falls during a whole kalpa, could not attain nirwana without hearing the bana of Budha; it was from hearing a stanza repeated by Assaji that he was enabled to enter the paths. The dharmma brings to those who listen to it with affection, though it be only for a little time, all the happiness of the déwalókas, the joy of the brahma-lókas, received during myriads of years; the greatness of the chakrawartti, and the other advantages of the world of men; the pleasures that are to be obtained in the worlds of the nágas, suparnnas, and other beings; and the wisdom of the supreme Budhas. There was a virgin in Kapilawastu, of the Sákya race, who heard bana, and had great merit. As she was a woman she could not become Sekra, or Maha Brahma, or a chakrawartti; but when she died she became a déwa, changing her sex, and received a glory like that of the ruler of Tawutisá. There was a certain déwa, who was aware that in eight days he must die, and be re-born in a place of torment; but as he perceived that Budha, and he alone, had the power to help him, he went and heard bana, by which he was enabled to enter the paths. It may be asked why all who heard Budha had not the power to become rahats, and the reply is this:-"When the king partakes of food, he gives a portion to the princes who are near him, and they receive as much as their hands will hold. In like manner, when the Budhas say bana, it can only be effectual to those who listen, in proportion to their capacity for receiving its advantages, though in itself it is always good." In the time of Kásyapa Budha there were two priests who lived in a cave, and were accustomed to repeat aloud the Abhidharmma Pitaka. In the same cave there were 500 white bats, that were filled with joy when they heard the bana of the priests, by which they acquired merit, so that they afterwards became déwas, and in the time of Gótama were born in the world of men. They were the 500 priests who kept wass at Sakaspura, with Seriyut, when Budha visited him from the déwa-lóka. Now if these bats, merely from hearing the sound of the words of the Abhidharmma, without understanding them, received so great a reward, it is evident that the reward of those who both hear and understand them must be something beyond computation. The dharmma softens the hearts of even such obdurate beings as Angulimála, Suchiróma, Khararóma, Bakabbrahma, Sachaka, and Déwadatta. It establishes friendship between beings that have naturally the greatest antipathy to each other, as between the asurs and the déwas, the nágas and the garundas, snakes and frogs, elephants and lions, tigers and deer, crows and owls, and cats and rats. It is as a witness to tell the beings in the world of men, that they who are under the power of demerit will be born in a place of misery, by this means saving them from this awful state; even as Asóka, the king, was saved from his inveterate scepticism, and led to attend to the precepts. It shines upon the darkness of the world, as the rays of the sun, when this luminary has ascended the Yugandhara rocks, shine upon the lotus flowers of the lake, causing them to expand, and bringing out their beauty. XIX. MODES OF WORSHIP, CEREMONIES, AND FESTIVALS. The Budhists of the present age are image-worshippers; but it is not known at what period they adopted this custom, nor indeed at what period it was introduced into India. The first notice of idolatry is in connexion with the history of Abraham, whose father "served other gods," and there is an ancient tradition, that he was a maker of idols. All the nations with which the patriarchs had intercourse appear to have been image-worshippers. But if we may trust the most ancient uninspired writers, both eastern and western, this practice was of more recent establishment among other nations. Among the Greeks, the first objects of worship were nothing more than a pillar, a log of wood, or a shapeless The original image of the Ephesian Artemis, as seen upon coins, was little more than a head with a shapeless trunk. When statues were introduced, they were of the rudest form; and it would have been regarded as sacrilege to make any innovation upon the ancient model. The profession of idol-carvers being hereditary would seem to indicate that they had originally belonged to some other race. According to Eusebius, the Greeks were not worshippers of images until the time of Cecrops, and Lucian tells us stone. that even the ancient Egyptians had no statues in their temples. In the Homeric poems there is only one allusion to a statue as a work of art. The substitution of images for the more ancient objects of worship was supposed to have been brought about by Egyptian settlers.* Numa forbade the Romans to set up an image; so that for the space of 170 years from the founding of the city, "they made no image, nor statue, nor so much as a picture."Clemens. Alex. Strom. lib. 1. The British Druids had no images among them; as it was contrary to the principles of the Celtic religion to represent any gods by the human figure.f It is said by Professor Wilson that the religion of the Vedas was not idolatry, their real doctrine being the unity of the Deity in whom all things are comprehended. The prevailing character of their ritual is the worship of the personified elements. Image-worship is alluded to by Manu, but with an intimation that the Brahmas who subsist by ministering in temples are an inferior class.‡ With this agrees the testimony of Dr. Stevenson. "It is manifest," he says, "from every page of the Sáma and Rig Vedas, that Agni was adored under the element of fire, that Mitra had no emblem but the sun which shines in the firmament, and that Vayú's presence was only known by hearing his voice resound through the sacrificial hall. The genius of the pestle and mortar is indeed addressed as well as the genius of the mortars; but no image in any human or bestial form appears ever to have been made, except when the genius of the oblation was addressed; the barley-meal of which it was composed being formed into something like the shape of a human head. But with this doubtful exception, no image was introduced into the Jyotishtoma, Somayága, or other sacred brahmanical rites authorised by the Vedas. Polytheistical the worship undoubtedly is, but not idolatrous in the proper and distinctive sense of that term." § The Budhists of Ceylon have a legend that in the lifetime of Gótama Budha an image of the founder of their religion was made by order of the king of Kósala, and the Chinese have a similar story; but it is rejected by the more intelligent of the priests, who regard it as an invention to attract worshippers to the temples. The images of Budha are called Pilamas, which means literally a counterpart or * See Histories of Greece, by Thirlwall and Grote. Wilson's Vishnu Purana, Preface. likeness, and though they are not coeval with Budhism, they must have come into use at an early period. In the inscription at Mihintala, A. D. 246, mention is made of the great house of the pilama. Fa Hian, A. D. 400, saw many of these images in his travels. At Tho li, in northern India, he saw a statue of wood, 80 feet high, of the future Budha, Maitrí, the likeness of whom had been brought from the fourth heaven by a rahat. At Sewet he saw the statue of sandal-wood made by the king of Kósala, which was said to be the model of all the statues afterwards erected. At Anuradhapura he saw an image of blue jasper, 23 feet 6 inches high, set with precious stones, and sparkling with inexpressible splendour. In its right hand was a pearl of great value. At Amarapura there is an image of Budha, 20 cubits high, said to have been made during the life-time of the sage. The wiháras in which the images are deposited are generally, in Ceylon, permanent erections, the walls being plastered, and the roof covered with tiles, even when the dwellings of the priests are mean and temporary. Near the entrance are frequently seen figures in relievo, who are called the guardian deities of the temple. Surrounding the sanctum there is usually a narrow room, in which are images and paintings; but in many instances it is dark, the gloom into which the worshipper passes at once, when entering during the day, being well calculated to strike his mind with awe; and when he enters at night the glare of the lamps tends to produce an effect equally powerful. Opposite the door of entrance there is another door, protected by a screen; and when this is withdrawn an image of Budha is seen, occupying nearly the whole of the apartment, with a table or altar before it, upon which flowers are placed, causing a sense of suffocation to be felt when the door is first opened. Like the temples of the Greeks, the walls are covered with paintings; the style at present adopted in Ceylon greatly resembling, in its general appearance, that which is presented in the tombs and temples of Egypt. The story most commonly illustrates some passage in the life of Budha, or in the births he received as Bodhisat. The wiháras are not unfrequently built upon rocks, or in other romantic situations. The court around is planted with the trees that bear the flowers most usually offered. Some of the most celebrated wiháras are caves, in part natural, with excavations carried further into the rock. The images of Budha are sometimes recumbent, at other times upright, or in a sitting posture, either in the act of contemplation, or with the hand uplifted, in the act of giving instruction. At Cotta, near Colombo, there is a recumbent image 42 feet in length.* Upon the altar, in addition to the flowers, there are frequently smaller images, either of marble or metal, the former being brought from Burma and the latter from Siam. In the shape of the images, each nation appears to have adopted its own idea of beauty, those of Ceylon resembling a well-proportioned native of the island, whilst those of China present an appearance of obesity that would be regarded as anything but divine by a Hindu. The images made in Siam are of a more attenuated figure, and comport better with our idea of the ascetic. According to Hodgson, there are in Nepaul images of Budha with three heads and six or ten arms. Bishop Smith gives a lively description of the idol-manufactories in China. In one of the narrow streets of Amoy he entered an idol-shop, where idols of every pattern and quality were procurable, the prices varying from several dollars each to the low sum of six cash, equal to about one farthing. The licensed permission of the mandarins to pursue the vocation of idol-maker was visibly depicted on a signboard in the shop. On another board was a notice that precious Budhas were there manufactured or repaired. A large number of idols, of every shape, and in every stage of manufacture, were lying around. Another idol-manufactory had the sign suspended over the door, "The golden Budha shop." These shops were to be seen at every quarter of a mile, and presented groups of images, some black with age and sent thither for regilding, and others gaudily painted and fresh from the hand of the artist. Some had stern visages; some wore the expression of pleasure; and all looked exceedingly grotesque.† In the court-yard of nearly all the wiháras in Ceylon, there is a small déwála, in which the brahmanical deities are worshipped. The persons who officiate in them are called kapuwas. They marry, and are not distinguished by any particular costume. The incantations they use are in Sanskrit; but they do not understand the meaning of the words, and repeat them merely from memory. Europeans are not allowed to enter the déwálas, and it is difficult to ascertain the exact nature of the rites therein performed. In the sanctum are the armlets or foot-rings of Pattiné, or the weapons * Selkirk's Recollections of Ceylon. + Smith's China. Alfred required Guthrum and the other Danish chiefs to swear on the holy ring, or bracelet, consecrated to Odin, an oath which more than any other they were fearful to violate. |