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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
129. Many Bodhisattvas as well as disciples, beyond measure and calculation, will in that field adorn the reign of that Buddha, all of them freed from existence and exempt from existence ?, Again the Lord addressed the complete assembly of monks: I announce to you, monks, I make known, ’ that the senior Mah4-Maudgaly4yana here present, my disciple, shall propitiate twenty-eight thousand Buddhas * and pay those Lords homage of various kinds; he shall show them respect, &c., and after their expiration build Stdpas consisting of seven precious substances, to wit, gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, red pearl, emerald, and, seventhly, coral ; (Stipas) a thousand yoganas in height and five hundred yoganas in circumference, which Stipas he shall worship in different ways, with flowers, incense, perfumed wreaths, ointments, powder, robes, umbrellas, banners, flags, and triumphal streamers. 1 One MS. has a second-hand reading, “dabh4sa. 2 Vibhava; Burnouf must have read vibhaya, ‘exempts de terreur.’ * The number of twenty-eight—the cyphers not being taken into account—probably indicates the number of days (Buddhas) during which the planet is standing in some stage of its course. 150 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. VI. Afterwards he shall again pay a similar worship to twenty! hundred thousand ko¢is of Buddhas; he shall show respect, &c., and in his last bodily existence become in the world a Tathagata, &c., named TamAélapatraéandanagandha?, endowed with science and conduct, &c. The field of that Buddha will be called Manobhirama; his period Ratipratipdrza. And that Buddha-field will be even, nice, pretty, beautiful, crystalline, variegated with jewel-trees, strewn with detached flowers, replete with gods and men, frequented by hundred thousands of Seers, that is to say, disciples and Bodhisattvas. The measure of his lifetime shall be twenty-four intermediate kalpas; his true law is to last forty intermediate kalpas and its counterfeit as many. And on that occasion the Lord uttered the fol- - lowing stanzas : 30. The scion of the Mudgala-race, my disciple here, after leaving* human existence shall see twenty thousand mighty‘ Ginas and eight (thousand) more of these faultless beings. 31. Under them he shall follow a course of duty, trying to reach Buddha-knowledge; he shall pay homage in various ways to those Leaders and to the most high of men. 32. After keeping their true law, of wide reach and sublime, for thousands of ko¢is of AEons, he shall at the expiration of those Sugatas worship their Stdpas. ? As many days in another stage. * T.e. having the odour (or resemblance) of Xanthochymus and sandal. From the dark colour I infer that Saturn is meant, for this planet is represented as being black. ® Gahitva. ‘-Tayin. VI. ANNOUNCEMENT OF FUTURE DESTINY. I5t
2? As many days in another stage. * T.e. having the odour (or resemblance) of Xanthochymus and sandal. From the dark colour I infer that Saturn is meant, for this planet is represented as being black. ® Gahitva. ‘-Tayin. VI. ANNOUNCEMENT OF FUTURE DESTINY. I5t 33. In honour of those most high Ginas, those mighty beings! so beneficial to the world, he shall erect Stipas consisting of precious substances, and decorated with triumphal streamers, worshipping them with flowers, perfumes, and the sounds of music. 34. At the period of his last bodily existence he shall, in a nice and beautiful field, be a Buddha bounteous and compassionate to the world, under the name of Tam4lapatra#andanagandha. 35. The measure of that Sugata’s life shall be fully twenty-four intermediate kalpas, during which he shall be assiduous in declaring the Buddha-rule to men and gods. 36. That Gina shall have many thousands of kotis of disciples, innumerable as the sands of the Ganges, gifted with the six transcendent faculties and the triple science, and possessed of magic power, under the command of that Sugata. 37. Under the reign of that Sugata there shall also appear numerous Bodhisattvas, many thousands of them, unable to slide back (or to deviate), developing zeal, of extensive knowledge and studious habits. 38. After that Gina’s expiration his true law shall measure in time twenty-four’? intermediate kalpas in full; its counterfeit shall have the same measure. 39. These are my five mighty disciples whom I 1 Téyin. ® The original reading has been meddled with; one MS. has vimsak kavam (second-hand, 4a vim) syantarakalpa ; another, vimsaé 4a visantarak®, The original Prékrit may have had something like vimsam Ratum. 152 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. VI. have destined to supreme enlightenment and to become in future self-born Ginas; now hear from me their course?. * In this chapter only four disciples are mentioned; the fifth must be Sariputra, whose destination has been predicted before. VIL. ANCIENT DEVOTION. 153 CHAPTER VII. ANCIENT DEVOTION}, Of yore, monks, in the past, incalculable, more than incalculable, inconceivable, immense, measureless /Eons since, nay, at a period, an epoch far beyond, there appeared in the world a Tath4gata, &c., named Mahabhig#dg#4n4bhibht, endowed with science and conduct’, a Sugata, &c. &c., in the sphere Sambhava (i.e. origin, genesis), in the period Mahérapa. (You ask), monks, how long ago is it that the Tathagata was born? Well, suppose some man was to reduce to powder the whole mass of the earth element as much as is to be found in this whole universe; that after taking one atom of dust from this world he is to walk a thousand worlds farther in easterly direction to deposit that single atom; that after taking a second atom of.dust and walking a thousand worlds farther he deposits that second atom, and proceeding in this way at last gets the whole of the earth element deposited in eastern
3* Pfirvayoga, which recurs as the heading of chaps. XXII and XXV, would at first sight seem to mean ‘former conjunction,’ but that does not answer any more than ‘ancient devotion.’ I think that yoga here is an alteration of yuga, age, period, or a Prakritism for yauga, i.e. referring to an age. A Sanskrit pfirvayauga would be formed like pfirva-y4yata, &c.; cf. Pamini VI, 2, 103. The original meaning of pfirva-yoga is, I suppose, pre-history. Cf. pubbayogo ti pubbakammam, Milinda Pafho, p. 2. . 3 I. e. with light and motion. 154 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. VIL. direction. Now, monks, what do you think of it, is it possible by calculation to find the end or limit of these worlds? They answered: Certainly not, Lord; certainly not, Sugata. The Lord said: On the contrary, monks, some arithmetician or master of arithmetic might, indeed, be able by calculation to find the end or limit of the worlds, both those where the atoms have been deposited and where they have not, but it is impossible by applying the rules of arithmetic to find the limit of those hundred thousands of myriads of AZons; so long, so inconceivable, so immense is the number of AZons which have elapsed since the expiration of that Lord, the Tathagata Mahabhig#agf#andbhibhd. Yet, monks, I perfectly remember that Tathagata who has been extinct for so long a time?, as if he had reached extinction to-day or yesterday *, because of my possessing the mighty knowledge and sight of the Tath4gata. And on that occasion the Lord pronounced the following stanzas : 1. I remember® the great Seer Abhig#ag#4n4bhibhd, the most high of men, who existed many ko¢is of AZons ago as the superior Gina of the period. 2. If, for example, some men after reducing this 1 Hence follows that the Buddha has existed since time immemorial; in other words, that he is Adibuddha. ? T have taken the liberty to render svas by* yesterday,’ though Ihave no other warrant for the word ever being taken in this sense except the context and the fact that in sundry languages the notions of to-morrow and yesterday are occasionally expressed by the same term, e.g. Hindf kal (properly morning, to-morrow, Sansk. kalyam, kalyam); the English ‘yesterday’ is ‘the very same word with Gothic gistradagis, to-morrow. ® Anusmar4mi, omitted by Burnouf. Vil. ANCIENT DEVOTION. 155 universe to atoms of dust took one atom to deposit it a thousand regions farther on ; 3. If he deposited a second, a third atom, and so proceeded until he had done with the whole mass of dust, so that this world were empty and the mass of dust exhausted ; 4. To that immense mass of the dust of these worlds, entirely reduced to atoms, I liken the number of AZons past. 5. So immense is the number of ko/¢is of AZons past since that extinct Sugata; the whole of (existing) atoms is no (adequate) expression of it; so many are the AZons which have expired since.
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.
129. Many Bodhisattvas as well as disciples, beyond measure and calculation, will in that field adorn the reign of that Buddha, all of them freed from existence and exempt from existence ?, Again the Lord addressed the complete assembly of monks: I announce to you, monks, I make known, ’ that the senior Mah4-Maudgaly4yana here present, my disciple, shall propitiate twenty-eight thousand Buddhas * and pay those Lords homage of various kinds; he shall show them respect, &c., and after their expiration build Stdpas consisting of seven precious substances, to wit, gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, red pearl, emerald, and, seventhly, coral ; (Stipas) a thousand yoganas in height and five hundred yoganas in circumference, which Stipas he shall worship in different ways, with flowers, incense, perfumed wreaths, ointments, powder, robes, umbrellas, banners, flags, and triumphal streamers. 1 One MS. has a second-hand reading, “dabh4sa. 2 Vibhava; Burnouf must have read vibhaya, ‘exempts de terreur.’ * The number of twenty-eight—the cyphers not being taken into account—probably indicates the number of days (Buddhas) during which the planet is standing in some stage of its course. 150 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. VI. Afterwards he shall again pay a similar worship to twenty! hundred thousand ko¢is of Buddhas; he shall show respect, &c., and in his last bodily existence become in the world a Tathagata, &c., named TamAélapatraéandanagandha?, endowed with science and conduct, &c. The field of that Buddha will be called Manobhirama; his period Ratipratipdrza. And that Buddha-field will be even, nice, pretty, beautiful, crystalline, variegated with jewel-trees, strewn with detached flowers, replete with gods and men, frequented by hundred thousands of Seers, that is to say, disciples and Bodhisattvas. The measure of his lifetime shall be twenty-four intermediate kalpas; his true law is to last forty intermediate kalpas and its counterfeit as many. And on that occasion the Lord uttered the fol- - lowing stanzas : 30. The scion of the Mudgala-race, my disciple here, after leaving* human existence shall see twenty thousand mighty‘ Ginas and eight (thousand) more of these faultless beings. 31. Under them he shall follow a course of duty, trying to reach Buddha-knowledge; he shall pay homage in various ways to those Leaders and to the most high of men. 32. After keeping their true law, of wide reach and sublime, for thousands of ko¢is of AEons, he shall at the expiration of those Sugatas worship their Stdpas. ? As many days in another stage. * T.e. having the odour (or resemblance) of Xanthochymus and sandal. From the dark colour I infer that Saturn is meant, for this planet is represented as being black. ® Gahitva. ‘-Tayin. VI. ANNOUNCEMENT OF FUTURE DESTINY. I5t
2? As many days in another stage. * T.e. having the odour (or resemblance) of Xanthochymus and sandal. From the dark colour I infer that Saturn is meant, for this planet is represented as being black. ® Gahitva. ‘-Tayin. VI. ANNOUNCEMENT OF FUTURE DESTINY. I5t 33. In honour of those most high Ginas, those mighty beings! so beneficial to the world, he shall erect Stipas consisting of precious substances, and decorated with triumphal streamers, worshipping them with flowers, perfumes, and the sounds of music. 34. At the period of his last bodily existence he shall, in a nice and beautiful field, be a Buddha bounteous and compassionate to the world, under the name of Tam4lapatra#andanagandha. 35. The measure of that Sugata’s life shall be fully twenty-four intermediate kalpas, during which he shall be assiduous in declaring the Buddha-rule to men and gods. 36. That Gina shall have many thousands of kotis of disciples, innumerable as the sands of the Ganges, gifted with the six transcendent faculties and the triple science, and possessed of magic power, under the command of that Sugata. 37. Under the reign of that Sugata there shall also appear numerous Bodhisattvas, many thousands of them, unable to slide back (or to deviate), developing zeal, of extensive knowledge and studious habits. 38. After that Gina’s expiration his true law shall measure in time twenty-four’? intermediate kalpas in full; its counterfeit shall have the same measure. 39. These are my five mighty disciples whom I 1 Téyin. ® The original reading has been meddled with; one MS. has vimsak kavam (second-hand, 4a vim) syantarakalpa ; another, vimsaé 4a visantarak®, The original Prékrit may have had something like vimsam Ratum. 152 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. VI. have destined to supreme enlightenment and to become in future self-born Ginas; now hear from me their course?. * In this chapter only four disciples are mentioned; the fifth must be Sariputra, whose destination has been predicted before. VIL. ANCIENT DEVOTION. 153 CHAPTER VII. ANCIENT DEVOTION}, Of yore, monks, in the past, incalculable, more than incalculable, inconceivable, immense, measureless /Eons since, nay, at a period, an epoch far beyond, there appeared in the world a Tath4gata, &c., named Mahabhig#dg#4n4bhibht, endowed with science and conduct’, a Sugata, &c. &c., in the sphere Sambhava (i.e. origin, genesis), in the period Mahérapa. (You ask), monks, how long ago is it that the Tathagata was born? Well, suppose some man was to reduce to powder the whole mass of the earth element as much as is to be found in this whole universe; that after taking one atom of dust from this world he is to walk a thousand worlds farther in easterly direction to deposit that single atom; that after taking a second atom of.dust and walking a thousand worlds farther he deposits that second atom, and proceeding in this way at last gets the whole of the earth element deposited in eastern
3* Pfirvayoga, which recurs as the heading of chaps. XXII and XXV, would at first sight seem to mean ‘former conjunction,’ but that does not answer any more than ‘ancient devotion.’ I think that yoga here is an alteration of yuga, age, period, or a Prakritism for yauga, i.e. referring to an age. A Sanskrit pfirvayauga would be formed like pfirva-y4yata, &c.; cf. Pamini VI, 2, 103. The original meaning of pfirva-yoga is, I suppose, pre-history. Cf. pubbayogo ti pubbakammam, Milinda Pafho, p. 2. . 3 I. e. with light and motion. 154 SADDHARMA-PUNDARIKA. VIL. direction. Now, monks, what do you think of it, is it possible by calculation to find the end or limit of these worlds? They answered: Certainly not, Lord; certainly not, Sugata. The Lord said: On the contrary, monks, some arithmetician or master of arithmetic might, indeed, be able by calculation to find the end or limit of the worlds, both those where the atoms have been deposited and where they have not, but it is impossible by applying the rules of arithmetic to find the limit of those hundred thousands of myriads of AZons; so long, so inconceivable, so immense is the number of AZons which have elapsed since the expiration of that Lord, the Tathagata Mahabhig#agf#andbhibhd. Yet, monks, I perfectly remember that Tathagata who has been extinct for so long a time?, as if he had reached extinction to-day or yesterday *, because of my possessing the mighty knowledge and sight of the Tath4gata. And on that occasion the Lord pronounced the following stanzas : 1. I remember® the great Seer Abhig#ag#4n4bhibhd, the most high of men, who existed many ko¢is of AZons ago as the superior Gina of the period. 2. If, for example, some men after reducing this 1 Hence follows that the Buddha has existed since time immemorial; in other words, that he is Adibuddha. ? T have taken the liberty to render svas by* yesterday,’ though Ihave no other warrant for the word ever being taken in this sense except the context and the fact that in sundry languages the notions of to-morrow and yesterday are occasionally expressed by the same term, e.g. Hindf kal (properly morning, to-morrow, Sansk. kalyam, kalyam); the English ‘yesterday’ is ‘the very same word with Gothic gistradagis, to-morrow. ® Anusmar4mi, omitted by Burnouf. Vil. ANCIENT DEVOTION. 155 universe to atoms of dust took one atom to deposit it a thousand regions farther on ; 3. If he deposited a second, a third atom, and so proceeded until he had done with the whole mass of dust, so that this world were empty and the mass of dust exhausted ; 4. To that immense mass of the dust of these worlds, entirely reduced to atoms, I liken the number of AZons past. 5. So immense is the number of ko/¢is of AZons past since that extinct Sugata; the whole of (existing) atoms is no (adequate) expression of it; so many are the AZons which have expired since.
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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