Dialogues of the Buddha, Part II — trans. T. W. and C. A. F. Rhys Davids (1910)

no excess of either heat or cold ' (' Journal of the Ceylon Asiatic Society,' 1847-8, p. 98). The gaham is a supposed particular organ or function situate at the junction of the stomach and intestines. Moggallana explains it, udare tu tatha pacanalasmiw gahawi (Abhidhana-ppadipika 972), where Subhuti's Sinhalese version is ' kukshi, pakagni,' and his English version, 'the belly, the internal fire which promotes digestion.' Buddhaghosa explains samavipakiya kammaga-tejo-dhatuya, and adds : — ' If a man's food is dissolved the moment he has eaten it, or if it remains like a lump, he has not the samavepakini gahawi, but he who has appetite (bhattacchando) when the time for food comes round again, he has the samavepakini gahawi,' — which is delightfully nai've.

III. 1 P

2IO XVII. MAHA-SUDASSANA-SUTTANTA. D. ii. 178-

' " Suppose, now, I were to make Lotus-ponds in the spaces between these palms, at every hundred bowlengths."

' Then, Ananda, the Great King of Glory, in the spaces between those palms, at distances of a hundred bow-lengths, made Lotus-ponds.

' And those Lotus-ponds, Ananda, were faced with tiles of four kinds. One kind of tile was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal.

' And to each of those Lotus-ponds, Ananda, there were four flights of steps, of four different kinds. One flight of steps was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal. [170] The flight of golden steps had balustrades of gold, with the cross bars and the figure-head of silver. The flight of silver steps had balustrades of silver, with the cross bars and the figure-head of gold. The flight of beryl steps had balustrades of beryl, with the cross bars and the figurehead of crystal. The flight of crystal steps had balustrades of crystal, with cross bars and figure-head of beryl.

' And round those Lotus-ponds there ran, Ananda, a double railing. One railing was of gold, and one was of silver. The golden railing had its posts of gold, and its cross bars and its capitals of silver. The silver railing had its posts of silver, and its cross bars and its capitals of gold1.

1 Pokkharawi, the word translated Lotus-pond, is an artificial pool or small lake for water-plants. There are some which are probably nearly as old as this passage still in good preservation in Anuradbapura in Ceylon. Each is oblong, and has its tiles and its four flights of steps, and some had railings. The balustrades, cross bars, figure-head, and railings are in Pali thambha, suciyo, unhisa, and vedika, of the exact meaning of which I am not quite confident. They do not occur in the description of the Lotus-lakes in Sukhavati. General Cunningham says that the cross bars of the Buddhist railings are called suciyo in the inscriptions at Bharahat ('The Stupa of Bharhut,' p. 127). Buddhaghosa, who is good enough to tell us the exact number of the ponds — to wit, 84,000, has no explanation of these words, merely saying that of the two vedikas one was at the limit of the tiles and one at the limit of the parivewa. See below §31; and Rhys Davids, ' Buddhist India,' Figures 6, 7 ; pp. 74-6.

p. 211

23. ' Now, to the Great King of Glory, Ananda, there occurred the thought : —

1 " Suppose, now, I were to have flowers of every season planted in those Lotus-ponds for all the people to have garlands to put on1 — to wit, blue water-lilies and blue lotuses, white lotuses and white water-lilies."

[And the king had such flowers planted there accordingly.]

' Now, to the Great King of Glory, Ananda, occurred the thought : —