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

2 Pancasikha, which became a famous name in Indian legends, and was adopted by Saivite and Sankhya writers. It is nowhere explained what, or how disposed, his five crests were.

D. ii. 212. JANA-VASABIIA S STORY. 245 ground, even so did Brahma Sanawkumara, rising up into the air, sit down cross-legged in the sky. And seeing the tranquillity of the gods of the company of the Thirty-Three he expressed his pleasure in these verses : —

The Three-and-Thirty, verily, both gods and lord, rejoice,

Tathagata they honour and the cosmic law sublime,

Whereas they see these gods new-risen, beautiful and bright,

Who erst the holy life had lived, under the Happy
One,

The Mighty Sage's hearers, who had won to higher truths,

Come hither ; and in glory all the other gods outshine.

This they behold right gladly, both lord and Thirty- Three,

Tathagata they honour and the cosmic law sublime.

19. This was the matter of Brahma Sana^zkumara's speech. And he spoke it with a voice of eightfold characteristics — in a voice that was fluent, intelligible, sweet, audible, continuous, distinct, deep, and resonant. And whereas, lord, Brahma Sana;;/kumara communicated with that assembly by his voice, the sound thereof did not penetrate beyond the assembly. He whose voice has these eight characteristics is said to be Brahma-voiced.

20. Then, lord, Brahma Sana;/zkumara, having created thirty-three shapes of himself [212], sitting each on the couch of each of the Thirty-Three Gods, thus addressed the Gods : —

" Now what think ye, my lord gods Thirty-and- Three ? Inasmuch as the Exalted One hath acted for the welfare of the peoples, for the happiness of the peoples, out of pity for the world, for the advantage, for the welfare, for the happiness of gods and men, they, whoever they be, Sirs, who have taken the Buddha for their refuge, the Truth for their refuge,p. 246 the Order for their refuge, they, on the dissolution of the body after death, have been reborn, some of them into the communion of the Paranimmita-Vasavatti gods, some of them into the communion of the Tusita ofods, or of the crods in the retinue of Yama, or of the Thirty-Three Gods, or of the Four Great Kings. Those who fill the number of the lowest group, they go to fill the number of the Gandharva host."

21. This was the matter of Brahma Sanawkumara's speech. And he spoke it with such a voice, that each god fancied1: — "He who is on my divan, he alone hath spoken."

Speaks but one Brahma-shape, the Thirty-Three all

speak ;
Silently sits one shape, they all in silence sit.
Then all the Three-and-Thirty with their king too

think, Pie who is on my couch, 'tis he alone that spake 2.

22. Then, lord, Brahma Sana^kumara betook himself to one end [of the Hall] and then [213] sitting down on the divan of Sakka, lord of the gods, addressed the Thirty-Three Gods : —

" Now what think ye, my lord gods Thirty-and-Three, of the completeness wherewith the Exalted One, who knows, who sees, the Arahant, Buddha Supreme, hath revealed the Four Ways to Iddhi for the development, thereof, for proficiency therein, for the elaboration thereof? Which are the Four Ways? In the first place a brother practises that way which is compounded of concentration and effort with desire. In the second place a brother practises that way which is compounded of concentration and effort with energy. In the third place a brother practises that way which

1 In the text read so so devo.

2 The first couplet of this verse, oddly enough it seems to us, was a great favourite. It survived among the Buddhists for many centuries, and is extant in its Sanskritiscd form in the Divydvadana, ]). 1 66; and also in the Madhyamaka V/Ytti, p. 118 of the edition published by the Buddhist Text Society.

p. 247