"INTRODUCTION.

"All my transmigrations during four atsankyas and one hundred thousand kalpas have been to complete my preparation for becoming a Budha. Leaving my journeyings from birth to birth during the kalpas that are past, I will declare my transmigrations during the present one.

"I was once Siwi, king of Aritha, and sitting in my magnificent palace I thus thought:

There is no kind of treasure possessed by men which I have not given in alms. Should any one beg from me my eyes, unhesitatingly would I give them to him.

"Sakraya, the chief of the gods, sitting amidst his heavenly attendants, and knowing my thoughts, spake these words;

"The king Siwi, endued with great super-human power, sitting in his magnificent palace, and meditating on the various kinds of alms, does not perceive one that he has not given.

"What are his feelings? I will ascertain immediately. Wait until I know his mind.

"He then assumed the form of a trembling, hoary-headed, wrinkled, decayed, and emaciated blind man, and approached the king.

"Having taken this form, with his clasped hands raised to his forehead, he said;

"Great and just sovereign, the author of your country's prosperity! the fame of your almsgiving has ascended up, both to gods and men; I have a boon to ask;

"I am become blind of both eyes; give me one of yours, and retain the other yourself.

"When I heard these words I immediately with a joyful and compassionate mind thus addressed the trembling one :

"Ah! acquainted with my reflections while sitting in my palace, thou hast come to solicit the gift of an eye:

"My desires are accomplished! my wish is fulfilled! I shall this day give alms to a supplicant which I have not given before.

"Come! arise Siwika, be not unskilful; hesitate not! pluck out both my eyes and give them to the supplicant.

"My slave Siwika being thus addressed, scooped out my two eyes and delivered them to the beggar.

"When I proposed to give, when I gave, and after I had given this gift, I had no other design than that of becoming a Budha.

"It was not that I had no regard for my two eyes; my body was not displeasing to me; but I delighted in becoming a Budha, and therefore gave my eyes.

"LEGEND OF THE FISH-KING.

"At another time I was a fish-king in a large lake; and during the summer the heat of the sun dried up the water of the lake. "Then the eagles, the kites, the cranes, and the crows, descending by day and by night, devoured the fish.

66

I then thought, by what means can I deliver my relatives from this affliction which has befallen them?

66

'Reflecting on virtuous acts I perceived truth,* and saw that established in truth I could rescue my relations from this destruction.

66

Having thus reflected, I thought of the most noble doctrines of virtue which continue constantly in the world, and performed the satcha kiriya, (saying)

"From the first period that I can remember, up to the present time, to my knowledge, I am not conscious of having wilfully injured any single being.

66

Through this true declaration, ye lightnings flash and thunders roar, and ye clouds pour down copious rains: deprive the crows of their prey; let them mourn, but let the fish be delivered from

sorrow.

66

Consentaneously with my powerful satcha kiriya, the clouds uttered their thunders, and instantly the rains descended, filling the depths and overflowing the land.

"Having performed this supreme truth-act, and by my most excellent perseverance, (in virtue) being established in the glorious strength of truth, I caused the clouds to rain.

"In the performance of the satcha I have no equal. This was my satcha paramita (the path of truth, one of the ten paths to be fully traversed before arriving at the dignity of a Budha.)"

We learn from the Commentary that when Siwi had become blind he abdicated his kingdom and became a recluse, without regretting the performance of his benevolent act. In this situation he was again visited by the ruler of the déwas, who addressed him in the follow

* By the word satcha, truth, I apprehend the satcha kiriya is meant.

ing words: "Great king, almsgiving is not merely productive of benefits in a future state, but in the present state also. Therefore perform a satcha kiriya concerning (or on account of) the merit of your almsgiving, and by the power of that you will obtain eyes." In accordance with this advice he pronounced the following:

"Have any come to beg,

Supplicants of various castes?

When any one begged from me, then

He was delightful to my mind.

By that true declaration.

May an eye be produced to me!"

Upon this one eye was produced; after which he said:

Did any one come to me to beg (saying)

Give an eye to the Brahman;

To him I gave eyes,

To the mendicant Brahman.

Great was the joy I experienced :

The delight was not small.

By this true declaration

May a second (eye) be produced to me!"

It is said by the learned translator* of these legends that we are not here to understand natural eyes, but a divine or spiritual vision, by which the whole world of sentient being became apparent; but in this case how did Siwi see when he had only one divine eye? Did he see one hemi-kosm only, and not the other? Or, did he see all beings, but only by halves? Or, did he see the whole of all beings, but in a sort of purblind manner? These are grave questions for the Budhist schoolman.

Another legend, taken from the same source, will complete our notice of the sacha kiriya. There was once a courtezan, Bindumati, who turned the course of the mighty Ganges by the force of this spell, founded upon the manner in which she exercised her base vocation. "The king" according to the original authority, "hearing the rushing sound of the refluent river, being greatly astonished, enquired of his chiefs; Friends, why does the current of the great Ganges flow backwards? They replied: Great king, the courtezan, Bindumati, has recited the satcha kiriya, in consequence of which the Ganges flows back to its head. The astonished king hastened to the courtezan, and said: Is it true that by the satcha kiriya, you have turned the course of the Ganges? When she replied: Yes,

*The Rev. D. J. Gogerly; Ceylon Friend, vol. ii. p. 146.

your majesty he asked: Whence have you that power? Who will receive your declaration? By what power can an insignificant person like you cause the stream of the Ganges to flow backward? she replied: Great king, I caused the stream to flow back by the power of truth (satcha). The king said: What power of truth have you, a thief, vile, immodest, sinful, an overstepper of all restrictions, one who leads astray the blindly lascivious? The courtezan confessed that she was all the king had named, but said that it was by the following truth-spell she had turned the stream of the Ganges, and that by the same power she could overturn the heavens ; Does any one give me wealth, be he a prince, a brahman, a merchant, a labourer, or of any other tribe; whatever they may be, I receive them equally the prince is not preferred, the labourer is not despised contented, and free from regarding pleasure or pain. I follow the owner of wealth.'" According to this principle, beings the most degraded may obtain the power to work the most stupendous miracles; and acts of the grossest iniquity may be done without guilt, if the mind be unmoved during their commission.

:

XXII. NIRWANA: ITS PATHS AND FRUITION.

As the subject upon which we now enter is one of the quæstiones vexate of Budhism, and is in itself of deep interest, a larger space will be required for its elucidation; and as no western opinion will be regarded as of any authority, we shall confine ourselves almost entirely to extracts from native writers. In the former pages of this work we have received nirwána as meaning simply, the cessation of existence.

1. The Paths.-There are four paths, margga, an entrance into any of which secures, either immediately or more remotely, the attainment of nirwana. They are:-1. Sowán, 2. Sakradágámi. 3. Anágámi. 4. Arya. Each path is divided into two grades:-1. The perception of the path. 2. Its fruition, or enjoyment, margga-ph’ala.

(1.) The path sowán, or srótápatti, is so called because it is the first stream that is entered before arriving at nirwána. It is divided into twenty-four sections, and after it has been entered, there can be only seven more births between that period and the attainment of nirwana, which may be in any world but the four hells.

(2.) The path sakradágámi is so called because he who enters it will receive one more birth. He may enter this path in the world of men, and afterwards be born in a déwa-lóka; or he may enter it in a déwa-lóka, and afterwards be born in the world of men. It is divided into twelve sections.

(3.) The path anágámi is so called because he who enters it will not again be born in a káma-lóka; he may, by the apparitional birth, enter a brahma-lóka, and from that world attain nirwána. This path is divided into forty-eight sections.

(4.) The path arya, or aryahat, is so called because he who enters it has overcome or destroyed, as an enemy, all klésha. It is divided into twelve sections.

When the fruit-tree is cut down, the latent fruit that is in it, which has not yet appeared, but which would appear in due time if it were permitted to remain, is destroyed. In like manner, by margga-bháwaná the klésha is destroyed that would otherwise have continued to exist and would have brought forth fruit.

They who have entered into any of the paths can discern the thoughts of all in the same or the preceding paths. Thus, he who has entered the path sowán can know the thoughts of any being in the same path, but not those of any one in the three other paths. He who has entered the path sakradágámi can know the thoughts. of any being in the same path or in sowán, but not in the two other paths. He who has entered the path anágámi can know the thoughts of any being in the same path, or in sowán and sakradágámi, but not the thoughts of one in the fourth path, or the rahat. The rahat can know the thoughts of any one, in any situation

whatever.

The wisdom necessary for the reception of the paths is called gótrabhu-gnyána. When the paths are entered the wisdom that is received by those who have made this attainment is called gnyánadassana-sudhi. A man goes at night to watch the conjunction of the moon and certain stars; he looks up, but the moon is hid by clouds; then a wind arises and drives away the clouds, so that the moon becomes visible. The klésha that darkens the mind is like a cloud; the anulóma-chitta is like the wind; the looking up is like the sight of nirwána; the moon is like nirwána itself; and the passing away of the clouds is like the revealing of nirwana by the wisdom called gótrabhu-gnyána. The wind has power to disperse the cloud, but it cannot see the moon; so the exercise of anulóma