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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Inthe Lalita Vistara we read Sakyabadh(, the wives of the Sakyas. 5 I take siang here in its usual (Buddhist) sense as equal to ‘lakshana,’ and f& as equal to ‘dharma’ in the sense of ‘substance.’ Aa2 356 NOTE II. The king on hearing this was filled with joy, and caused a white elephant to be sumptuously equipped for the purpose of bringing to the place this learned man1. Then all the Devas and Nagas and spirits assembled in countless numbers and in various shapes accompanied the cortége as it left the city. Then Asita, seeing the transformed appearances of the Devas, knew that Suddhodana-raga had a holy son, whose spiritual (divine) glory outshone that of all the Devas and men, and so his heart was rejoiced, and he desired to go to behold him. On this the world-honoured one (i.e. Buddha) again, for the sake of the assembly, repeated these Gathds : ‘The Brahman Rishi Asita Beholding the Devas flying thro’ space, Their forms beautiful and of golden colour, Seeing them, was filled with joy. Devas, Asuras, and Garudas (golden-wings) | Chanting? their praises in honour of Buddha, Hearing these verses, how great his joy. Then looking by his divine sight thro’ the world, And considering the various examples of men of renown, Whose excellences were as the mountain tops, Or like the well-set and glossy flowers of the tree, Wherever dwelt the lord of the three worlds, There the wide-spreading earth would be level as the palm of the hand, There would be heavenly and unmixed joy, There would be abundance as the treasures of the sea king. Regarding thus the declarations (‘ reason,” or “ way”) of the law, That one should come who would destroy evil and put an end to sorrow, Whilst he saw the Devas flying thro’ space, And listened to their melodious songs (sounds), Regarding these fortunate and rare occurrences, Asita looked through the world, And narrowly scanning (the territory of) Kapila (and the family of) Suddhodana-raga °, He saw that a child had there been bom with fortunate signs. 1 Taou gin, this is another instance of the use of this expression not for a Buddhist, but for a religious man generally. ® Kun-to, which I can only restore to Khandas, in the sense of a verse or singing a verse. * The sentence is elliptical and difficult; literally rendered it would be ‘scanning Ka-i-pih-wang,’ where I take Ka-i to be a form for Kapi(la) (just as the expression Kiu-i, so commonly met with as the name of Bodhisattva’s wife, may be restored to Gopf) and pih-wang (the white king) to be a contracted form of Suddh(odana)-réga, EXAMPLE OF THE STYLE OF EXPANDED SOTRAS. 357 Seeing this, rejoicing he set out, And (arriving) stood at the king’s palace gate; He beheld there an innumerable concourse of people, When spying out a servant (grey-clothes), he asked and said: “All haill where dwells the king? I desire to have an audience with the lord of the kingdom ; The servant seeing the Rishi venerable for age,
2I desire to have an audience with the lord of the kingdom ; The servant seeing the Rishi venerable for age, With joy elated, entered the palace and delivered the message. The king then ordered him to cause the Rishi to appear before him, And spreading a seat he went forthwith to meet him. Asita, hearing (the message), was glad at heart, And filled with a yearning desire}, He asked where dwelt the lord, the holy one, For he was failing now in years and had but few to live. The king, commanding him to be seated, Asked him wherefore he had come?? Because (he said) of the many signs he had seen, he had come, Hearing of the excellency (superiority) of the son he had, The thirty-two signs on his body, He wished to behold him and inspect the fortunate indications, Therefore (he said again) have I come. “Welcome! (said the king) I rejoice (to see you) (or, I rejoice (to hear it)]. Now for a moment the child sleeps ‘in peaceful rest, But wait for a little while until he wakes, And you shall see him beautiful as the moon at ‘full.”’ On this the mind of Asita being much perplexed, he replied to the king in the following Gathas and said : ‘From endless Kalpas With perseverance* accumulating meritorious conduct, From time long past inspired with wisdom, How is it possible that such a one can again take his rest in sleep? Thro’ ages past exercising the virtue of charity, Feeling deep compassion for the poor, Grudging nothing which he possessed, How can such a one again seek rest in sleep? Reverencing the rules of pure conduct (sfla), Observing the moral law without transgression, Desiring to relieve and save all that lives, How can such a one still find rest in sleep? Always practising patience and equanimity, His mind harbouring no resentment, Controlling his heart (firm) like the solid earth, How can such a one still repose in sleep? Persevering steadily, as the moon from its first appearance, ' Literally, ‘in his heart harbouring-hungry-void.’ 3 Why himself invited, or condescended to come. § Virya. 358 NOTE II. His eye ever looking onward without a moment’s hesitation, Regarding the example of the Buddhas of the ten regions (the universe), How can such a one again repose in sleep? With equal mind! ever lost in contemplation (dhy4na), Without at any time disturbance or confusion, The mind fixed as a great mountain, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Possessed of wisdom (pragA#4) without limit, With divine penetration like the sun’s brightness, Able to open out and explain every subject of enquiry, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Always cherishing the fourfold qualities ?, Practising love and pity, joy and equanimity Ceaselessly and without neglect as Brahma® himself, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Reverently practising the four gracious acts ‘— Benevolence, charity, humanity, and love— Doing all for the good of men and that they again may profit others,
3Reverently practising the four gracious acts ‘— Benevolence, charity, humanity, and love— Doing all for the good of men and that they again may profit others, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Reverently performing the thirty-seven divisions 5, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Always exercising the cross-method of indirect means (upaya), Taking advantage of the occasion to open out and convert (explain and so convert), Aiming in every turn to save the whole creation, How can such a one again repose in sleep? His heart always at perfect rest, His mind fixed with no approach to indifference, Entering thus on the deep and impenetrable samAdhi, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Seeing clearly the beginning and ending (of the history) of that and this (i.e. of all), Beholding as though present all the Buddhas, Explaining that they (i.e. the Buddhas) are essentially without beginning, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Ever practising (or using) the three gates of salvation, (Viz.) (the gate of) perfect void, without qualities, incessant effort (prayer or vow), (Teaching) that the ideas of real existence (bhava), And the absence of such existence, are without solid foundation, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Great in love, of unfailing compassion, 1 Yih-sin generally corresponds to the Sanskrit samyak ; it denotes the condition enjoyed during samAdhi. 3 Viz. the four qualities of heart named in the next line. > Fan. * Yan-hing, these four are named in the line following. 5 The thirty-seven perfections necessary to the attainment of Bodhi. I have not thought it necessary to name these in the text, : EXAMPLE OF THE STYLE OF EXPANDED SOTRAS. 359 As a boat of the law (vessel of religion) passing through the three worlds, To save and deliver the living and the dead, How can such a one again repose in sleep? His religious merit (virtue) vast as space, Himself born in this lower world for the sake of all creatures, Under a vow to deliver these by means of the three vehicles’, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Able to pass thro’ the vastness of space, Knowing the hidden depths of the wide sea, Able to count the number of every tree and shrub, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Let the king hear my words, The virtues (excellences) of his son are without compare, His wisdom infinite (beyond the number of the dust), How can such a one again repose in sleep? Descending as a god into his mother’s womb, So as to save countless beings, Not omitting even the least in his intention, How can such a one again repose in sleep?’
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.
1Inthe Lalita Vistara we read Sakyabadh(, the wives of the Sakyas. 5 I take siang here in its usual (Buddhist) sense as equal to ‘lakshana,’ and f& as equal to ‘dharma’ in the sense of ‘substance.’ Aa2 356 NOTE II. The king on hearing this was filled with joy, and caused a white elephant to be sumptuously equipped for the purpose of bringing to the place this learned man1. Then all the Devas and Nagas and spirits assembled in countless numbers and in various shapes accompanied the cortége as it left the city. Then Asita, seeing the transformed appearances of the Devas, knew that Suddhodana-raga had a holy son, whose spiritual (divine) glory outshone that of all the Devas and men, and so his heart was rejoiced, and he desired to go to behold him. On this the world-honoured one (i.e. Buddha) again, for the sake of the assembly, repeated these Gathds : ‘The Brahman Rishi Asita Beholding the Devas flying thro’ space, Their forms beautiful and of golden colour, Seeing them, was filled with joy. Devas, Asuras, and Garudas (golden-wings) | Chanting? their praises in honour of Buddha, Hearing these verses, how great his joy. Then looking by his divine sight thro’ the world, And considering the various examples of men of renown, Whose excellences were as the mountain tops, Or like the well-set and glossy flowers of the tree, Wherever dwelt the lord of the three worlds, There the wide-spreading earth would be level as the palm of the hand, There would be heavenly and unmixed joy, There would be abundance as the treasures of the sea king. Regarding thus the declarations (‘ reason,” or “ way”) of the law, That one should come who would destroy evil and put an end to sorrow, Whilst he saw the Devas flying thro’ space, And listened to their melodious songs (sounds), Regarding these fortunate and rare occurrences, Asita looked through the world, And narrowly scanning (the territory of) Kapila (and the family of) Suddhodana-raga °, He saw that a child had there been bom with fortunate signs. 1 Taou gin, this is another instance of the use of this expression not for a Buddhist, but for a religious man generally. ® Kun-to, which I can only restore to Khandas, in the sense of a verse or singing a verse. * The sentence is elliptical and difficult; literally rendered it would be ‘scanning Ka-i-pih-wang,’ where I take Ka-i to be a form for Kapi(la) (just as the expression Kiu-i, so commonly met with as the name of Bodhisattva’s wife, may be restored to Gopf) and pih-wang (the white king) to be a contracted form of Suddh(odana)-réga, EXAMPLE OF THE STYLE OF EXPANDED SOTRAS. 357 Seeing this, rejoicing he set out, And (arriving) stood at the king’s palace gate; He beheld there an innumerable concourse of people, When spying out a servant (grey-clothes), he asked and said: “All haill where dwells the king? I desire to have an audience with the lord of the kingdom ; The servant seeing the Rishi venerable for age,
2I desire to have an audience with the lord of the kingdom ; The servant seeing the Rishi venerable for age, With joy elated, entered the palace and delivered the message. The king then ordered him to cause the Rishi to appear before him, And spreading a seat he went forthwith to meet him. Asita, hearing (the message), was glad at heart, And filled with a yearning desire}, He asked where dwelt the lord, the holy one, For he was failing now in years and had but few to live. The king, commanding him to be seated, Asked him wherefore he had come?? Because (he said) of the many signs he had seen, he had come, Hearing of the excellency (superiority) of the son he had, The thirty-two signs on his body, He wished to behold him and inspect the fortunate indications, Therefore (he said again) have I come. “Welcome! (said the king) I rejoice (to see you) (or, I rejoice (to hear it)]. Now for a moment the child sleeps ‘in peaceful rest, But wait for a little while until he wakes, And you shall see him beautiful as the moon at ‘full.”’ On this the mind of Asita being much perplexed, he replied to the king in the following Gathas and said : ‘From endless Kalpas With perseverance* accumulating meritorious conduct, From time long past inspired with wisdom, How is it possible that such a one can again take his rest in sleep? Thro’ ages past exercising the virtue of charity, Feeling deep compassion for the poor, Grudging nothing which he possessed, How can such a one again seek rest in sleep? Reverencing the rules of pure conduct (sfla), Observing the moral law without transgression, Desiring to relieve and save all that lives, How can such a one still find rest in sleep? Always practising patience and equanimity, His mind harbouring no resentment, Controlling his heart (firm) like the solid earth, How can such a one still repose in sleep? Persevering steadily, as the moon from its first appearance, ' Literally, ‘in his heart harbouring-hungry-void.’ 3 Why himself invited, or condescended to come. § Virya. 358 NOTE II. His eye ever looking onward without a moment’s hesitation, Regarding the example of the Buddhas of the ten regions (the universe), How can such a one again repose in sleep? With equal mind! ever lost in contemplation (dhy4na), Without at any time disturbance or confusion, The mind fixed as a great mountain, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Possessed of wisdom (pragA#4) without limit, With divine penetration like the sun’s brightness, Able to open out and explain every subject of enquiry, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Always cherishing the fourfold qualities ?, Practising love and pity, joy and equanimity Ceaselessly and without neglect as Brahma® himself, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Reverently practising the four gracious acts ‘— Benevolence, charity, humanity, and love— Doing all for the good of men and that they again may profit others,
3Reverently practising the four gracious acts ‘— Benevolence, charity, humanity, and love— Doing all for the good of men and that they again may profit others, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Reverently performing the thirty-seven divisions 5, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Always exercising the cross-method of indirect means (upaya), Taking advantage of the occasion to open out and convert (explain and so convert), Aiming in every turn to save the whole creation, How can such a one again repose in sleep? His heart always at perfect rest, His mind fixed with no approach to indifference, Entering thus on the deep and impenetrable samAdhi, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Seeing clearly the beginning and ending (of the history) of that and this (i.e. of all), Beholding as though present all the Buddhas, Explaining that they (i.e. the Buddhas) are essentially without beginning, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Ever practising (or using) the three gates of salvation, (Viz.) (the gate of) perfect void, without qualities, incessant effort (prayer or vow), (Teaching) that the ideas of real existence (bhava), And the absence of such existence, are without solid foundation, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Great in love, of unfailing compassion, 1 Yih-sin generally corresponds to the Sanskrit samyak ; it denotes the condition enjoyed during samAdhi. 3 Viz. the four qualities of heart named in the next line. > Fan. * Yan-hing, these four are named in the line following. 5 The thirty-seven perfections necessary to the attainment of Bodhi. I have not thought it necessary to name these in the text, : EXAMPLE OF THE STYLE OF EXPANDED SOTRAS. 359 As a boat of the law (vessel of religion) passing through the three worlds, To save and deliver the living and the dead, How can such a one again repose in sleep? His religious merit (virtue) vast as space, Himself born in this lower world for the sake of all creatures, Under a vow to deliver these by means of the three vehicles’, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Able to pass thro’ the vastness of space, Knowing the hidden depths of the wide sea, Able to count the number of every tree and shrub, How can such a one again repose in sleep? Let the king hear my words, The virtues (excellences) of his son are without compare, His wisdom infinite (beyond the number of the dust), How can such a one again repose in sleep? Descending as a god into his mother’s womb, So as to save countless beings, Not omitting even the least in his intention, How can such a one again repose in sleep?’
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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