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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Is it likely that the two translators were unknown to one another? It is true, indeed, that I have not been able to test the translation of Dharmaraksha by comparison with the Sanskrit. As I understand Professor Max Miiller, the Sanskrit text is not always easy to interpret, and differs in many places from the Chinese version. Sometimes it is possible to see how it happened that the Chinese translator misunderstood the text before him. Sometimes it would seem that he omitted intentionally whole passages which would be either unintelligible or uninteresting to Chinese readers. As there is some prospect of the Sanskrit text of Asvaghosha’s work being published, we may hope to arrive in time at something like certainty on the point under consideration. But with respect to the trustworthiness of Chinese translations in general, it depends, as I said before, on the character of the individual scholar. There is no reason at all why a Brahman should not have become familiar with Chinese, and when we add to this the extraordinary facilities afforded the Buddhist missionaries in China for executing their work, in the way I mean of royal patronage and able coadjutors, there is no reason to suspect the result of their labours. Yet doubtless there are many unreliable versions of sacred texts to be found. Every zealous Upasaka who came to China was not thereby duly qualified for the work of translation; and as a rule we should be cautious in attaching entire credence to the literary labours of such persons. C2 XXXVI FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING. ASVAGHOSHA’S STYLE.
2Every zealous Upasaka who came to China was not thereby duly qualified for the work of translation; and as a rule we should be cautious in attaching entire credence to the literary labours of such persons. C2 XXXVI FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING. ASVAGHOSHA’S STYLE. The Chinese priest I-tsing says that the hymns used in the Buddhist church during his visit to India were composed and arranged by Asvaghosha (Nan-hae, § 32). There can be little doubt that he was a musician as well as poet. . He travelled about, we are told, with a body of musicians, and was the means of converting many persons of distinction by his skill (Abstract, &c., p. 97). The work before us gives proof of his poetical talent. In translating his verses, even from the Chinese, an impulse to follow in his poetical vein has been felt. But the requirements of a literal translation forbad any such diversion. Nevertheless the reader will observe many passages that would have easily allowed a more ‘flowery diction. The passage in verse 629 and following verses is very touching—the consuming grief of Yasodhara until ‘her breath grew less and sinking thus, she fell upon the dusty ground.’ The account of Buddha’s enlightenment in verse 1166 and following is also striking: ‘Thus did he complete the end of self, as fire goes out for want of grass; thus he had done what he would have men do; he first had found the way of perfect knowledge. He finished thus the first great lesson ; entering the great Azshi’s house, the darkness disappeared, light burst upon him; perfectly silent and at rest, he reached the last exhaustless source of truth; lustrous with all wisdom the great Rzshi sat, perfect in gifts, whilst one convulsive throe shook the wide earth.’ There are many passages throughout the poem of great beauty; there is much also that is dry and abstruse, yet we cannot doubt that in that day and among these people the ‘great poem’ of Asvaghosha must have had considerable popularity. Hence the translations of it are numerous; it must have tested Dharmaraksha’s powers to have turned it into Chinese. There is also a Tibetan copy of it; and whether it was originally composed in Sanskrit or not, we know that there are now various editions of it in that language. I do not pretend to have INTRODUCTION. XXXViI
3There is also a Tibetan copy of it; and whether it was originally composed in Sanskrit or not, we know that there are now various editions of it in that language. I do not pretend to have INTRODUCTION. XXXViI found the author’s meaning in all cases; the Chinese is not easy; but in the main drift of the poem I have followed my text as faithfully and literally as possible. The concluding portion of the last section, as it seems to support the idea of only one Asoka, first fierce and then gentle, or religious, is, to say the least, a curious passage. But we may not attach too much weight to an isolated statement of this sort; there may have been reasons more than we know of why the orthodox tradition of the Dharma-Asoka, the patron of the Theravd4di school, should have been ignored by a friend of Kanishka. But in any case the evidence is too slight to build upon; we can only say that in Asvaghosha’s time it had become usual to put the Council of P&éaliputra out of sight, and to regard the Theravadi school as one opposed to the generally received traditions of the North. I cannot conclude this Introduction without expressing my thanks to Mr. Bunyiu Nanjio, who kindly suggested emendations of my translation of some passages at the beginning of the work, and also to Professor Max Miller, to whom I am indebted for the restoration of many of the proper names that occur throughout the text. S. BEAL. Tue Rectory, Wark, NoRTHUMBERLAND, Feb. 4, 1883. Digitized by Google FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING. Digitized by Google FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING. A METRICAL VERSION OF THE LIFE OF BUDDHA BY MA-MENG-PU-SA. (ASVAGHOSHA BODHISATTVA.) ae we wo ye . Unive. 4 KIOUEN I. ( . Varcal. THE BirtH. . .(There was) a descendant of the Ikshvaku! (family), an invincible? Sakya monarch, pure in mind (mental gifts) and of unspotted virtue, called therefore ‘ Purerice’ (Suddhodana). 1 Joyously reverenced by all men (or, ‘ beings’), as the new moon (is welcomed by the world), the king indeed (was) like the heaven-ruler Sakra’, his queen like (the divine) Saét. 2 Strong and calm of purpose as the earth, pure in mind as the water-lily, her name, figuratively assumed, May, she was in truth incapable of classcomparison. 3 * The Ikshvaku (sugar-cane) family of Potala. Suddhodana was the father of the Bodhisattva. * Wou-shing; this is the equivalent for the Agitavati (river). But it here refers to the Sakyas, as a race of Xakravartin monarchs, ® Or, like Sakra, king of Devas, the husband of Sadi. [19] B b> 2 ‘ FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING, I,r. On her in likeness as the heavenly queen descended the spirit and entered her womb. A mother, but free from grief or pain, (she was) without any false or illusory! mind. 4 Disliking the clamorous ways of the world, (she remembered) the excellent garden of Lumbint, a pleasant spot, a quiet forest retreat, (with its) trickling fountains, and blooming flowers and fruits. 5
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Is it likely that the two translators were unknown to one another? It is true, indeed, that I have not been able to test the translation of Dharmaraksha by comparison with the Sanskrit. As I understand Professor Max Miiller, the Sanskrit text is not always easy to interpret, and differs in many places from the Chinese version. Sometimes it is possible to see how it happened that the Chinese translator misunderstood the text before him. Sometimes it would seem that he omitted intentionally whole passages which would be either unintelligible or uninteresting to Chinese readers. As there is some prospect of the Sanskrit text of Asvaghosha’s work being published, we may hope to arrive in time at something like certainty on the point under consideration. But with respect to the trustworthiness of Chinese translations in general, it depends, as I said before, on the character of the individual scholar. There is no reason at all why a Brahman should not have become familiar with Chinese, and when we add to this the extraordinary facilities afforded the Buddhist missionaries in China for executing their work, in the way I mean of royal patronage and able coadjutors, there is no reason to suspect the result of their labours. Yet doubtless there are many unreliable versions of sacred texts to be found. Every zealous Upasaka who came to China was not thereby duly qualified for the work of translation; and as a rule we should be cautious in attaching entire credence to the literary labours of such persons. C2 XXXVI FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING. ASVAGHOSHA’S STYLE.
2Every zealous Upasaka who came to China was not thereby duly qualified for the work of translation; and as a rule we should be cautious in attaching entire credence to the literary labours of such persons. C2 XXXVI FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING. ASVAGHOSHA’S STYLE. The Chinese priest I-tsing says that the hymns used in the Buddhist church during his visit to India were composed and arranged by Asvaghosha (Nan-hae, § 32). There can be little doubt that he was a musician as well as poet. . He travelled about, we are told, with a body of musicians, and was the means of converting many persons of distinction by his skill (Abstract, &c., p. 97). The work before us gives proof of his poetical talent. In translating his verses, even from the Chinese, an impulse to follow in his poetical vein has been felt. But the requirements of a literal translation forbad any such diversion. Nevertheless the reader will observe many passages that would have easily allowed a more ‘flowery diction. The passage in verse 629 and following verses is very touching—the consuming grief of Yasodhara until ‘her breath grew less and sinking thus, she fell upon the dusty ground.’ The account of Buddha’s enlightenment in verse 1166 and following is also striking: ‘Thus did he complete the end of self, as fire goes out for want of grass; thus he had done what he would have men do; he first had found the way of perfect knowledge. He finished thus the first great lesson ; entering the great Azshi’s house, the darkness disappeared, light burst upon him; perfectly silent and at rest, he reached the last exhaustless source of truth; lustrous with all wisdom the great Rzshi sat, perfect in gifts, whilst one convulsive throe shook the wide earth.’ There are many passages throughout the poem of great beauty; there is much also that is dry and abstruse, yet we cannot doubt that in that day and among these people the ‘great poem’ of Asvaghosha must have had considerable popularity. Hence the translations of it are numerous; it must have tested Dharmaraksha’s powers to have turned it into Chinese. There is also a Tibetan copy of it; and whether it was originally composed in Sanskrit or not, we know that there are now various editions of it in that language. I do not pretend to have INTRODUCTION. XXXViI
3There is also a Tibetan copy of it; and whether it was originally composed in Sanskrit or not, we know that there are now various editions of it in that language. I do not pretend to have INTRODUCTION. XXXViI found the author’s meaning in all cases; the Chinese is not easy; but in the main drift of the poem I have followed my text as faithfully and literally as possible. The concluding portion of the last section, as it seems to support the idea of only one Asoka, first fierce and then gentle, or religious, is, to say the least, a curious passage. But we may not attach too much weight to an isolated statement of this sort; there may have been reasons more than we know of why the orthodox tradition of the Dharma-Asoka, the patron of the Theravd4di school, should have been ignored by a friend of Kanishka. But in any case the evidence is too slight to build upon; we can only say that in Asvaghosha’s time it had become usual to put the Council of P&éaliputra out of sight, and to regard the Theravadi school as one opposed to the generally received traditions of the North. I cannot conclude this Introduction without expressing my thanks to Mr. Bunyiu Nanjio, who kindly suggested emendations of my translation of some passages at the beginning of the work, and also to Professor Max Miller, to whom I am indebted for the restoration of many of the proper names that occur throughout the text. S. BEAL. Tue Rectory, Wark, NoRTHUMBERLAND, Feb. 4, 1883. Digitized by Google FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING. Digitized by Google FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING. A METRICAL VERSION OF THE LIFE OF BUDDHA BY MA-MENG-PU-SA. (ASVAGHOSHA BODHISATTVA.) ae we wo ye . Unive. 4 KIOUEN I. ( . Varcal. THE BirtH. . .(There was) a descendant of the Ikshvaku! (family), an invincible? Sakya monarch, pure in mind (mental gifts) and of unspotted virtue, called therefore ‘ Purerice’ (Suddhodana). 1 Joyously reverenced by all men (or, ‘ beings’), as the new moon (is welcomed by the world), the king indeed (was) like the heaven-ruler Sakra’, his queen like (the divine) Saét. 2 Strong and calm of purpose as the earth, pure in mind as the water-lily, her name, figuratively assumed, May, she was in truth incapable of classcomparison. 3 * The Ikshvaku (sugar-cane) family of Potala. Suddhodana was the father of the Bodhisattva. * Wou-shing; this is the equivalent for the Agitavati (river). But it here refers to the Sakyas, as a race of Xakravartin monarchs, ® Or, like Sakra, king of Devas, the husband of Sadi. [19] B b> 2 ‘ FO-SHO-HING-TSAN-KING, I,r. On her in likeness as the heavenly queen descended the spirit and entered her womb. A mother, but free from grief or pain, (she was) without any false or illusory! mind. 4 Disliking the clamorous ways of the world, (she remembered) the excellent garden of Lumbint, a pleasant spot, a quiet forest retreat, (with its) trickling fountains, and blooming flowers and fruits. 5
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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