livelihood by such low arts, by such lying practices.
7. ' Or whereas some Sama#a-Br&hmans, who
live on the food provided by the faithful, continue
to gain a livelihood by such low arts and such lying
practices as these : that is to say, by teaching the
ritual for making vows and performing them ; for
blessing fields ; for imparting virility and rendering
impotent; for choosing the site of a house; for
performing a house-warming. By teaching forms of
words to be used when cleansing the mouth, when
bathing, and when making offerings to the god of
200 ON KNOWLEDGE OF THE VEDAS. CH.
fire. By prescribing medicines to produce vomiting
or purging, or to remove obstructions in the higher
or lower intestines, or to relieve head-ache. By
preparing oils for the ear, collyriums, catholicons,
antimony, and cooling drinks. By practising cau-
tery, midwifery, or the use of root decoctions or
salves. —
6 He, on the other hand, refrains from seeking a
livelihood by such low arts, by such lying practices.
' This, too, (&c, see J II, 2.Y
End of the Long Paragraphs on Conduct.
ni.
Chapter III.
1. 11 And he lets his mind pervade one quarter of
the world with thoughts of Love, and so the second,
and so the third, and so the fourth. And thus the
whole wide world, above, below, around, and every-
where, does he continue to pervade with heart of
Love, far-reaching, grown great, and beyond measure.
2. ' Just, V£se#>fca, as a mighty trumpeter makes
himself heard — and that without difficulty — in all
the four directions ; even so of all things that have
shape or life, there is not one that he passes by or
leaves aside, but regards them all with mind set
free, and deep-felt love.
* Verily this, V&se/A£a, is the way to a state of union with Brahma.
3. * And he lets his mind pervade one quarter of
the world with thoughts of pity, sympathy, and equa-
nimity, and so the second, and so the third, and so
the fourth. And thus the whole wide world,
above, below, around, and everywhere, does he
continue to pervade with heart of pity, sympathy,
and equanimity, far-reaching, grown great, and be-
yond measure.
4. * Just, Vdse/Ma, as a mighty trumpeter makes
himself heard — and that without difficulty — in all
the four directions ; even so of all things that have
1 This paragraph occurs frequently; see, inter alia, below, Mah&-Sudassana Sutta II, 8. It will be seen from 'Buddhism/ pp. 170, 171, that these meditations play a great part in later Buddhism, and occupy very much the place that prayer takes in Christianity. A fifth, the meditation on Impurity, has been added, at what time I do not know, before the last. All five are prac- tised in Siam (Alabaster, ' Wheel of the Law,' p. 168).
202 ON KNOWLEDGE OF THE VEDAS. CH.
shape or life, there is not one that he passes by or
leaves aside, but regards them all with mind set
free, and deep-felt pity, sympathy, and equanimity.
'Verily this, V&se#/&a, is the way to a state of union with Brahmd.'
5. ' Now what think you, V4se#^a, will the
Bhikkhu 1 who lives thus be in possession of
women and of wealth, or will he not ? '
' He will not, Gotama ! '
' Will he be full of anger, or free from anger ? '
' He will be free from anger, Gotama ! 9
'Will his mind be full of malice, or free from
malice ? '
' Free from malice, Gotama ! '
' Will his mind be sinful, or pure ? '
' It will be pure, Gotama ! '
' Will he have self-mastery, or will he not ? '
' Surely he will, Gotama ! '
6. ' Then you say, Vdse^a, that the Bhikkhu is
free from household cares, and that Brahmi is free
from household cares. Is there then agreement and
likeness between the Bhikkhu and Brahmd ? '
' There is, Gotama ! '
7. ' Very good, V&se#/&a. Then in sooth, V&se/-
thdi, that the Bhikkhu who is free from household
cares should after death, when the body is dissolved,
become united with Brahmd, who is the same — such
a condition of things is every way possible !
8. ' And so you say, Vdse^a, that the Bhikkhu
is free from anger, and free from malice, pure in
mind, and master of himself; and that Brahmi is
1 Or 4 Member of our Order/ See the note on MaMparinib- bana Sutta I, 6.
free from anger, and free from malice, pure in mind,
and master of himself. Then in sooth, Vdse^Ma,
that the Bhikkhu who is free from anger, free from
malice, pure in mind, and master of himself should
after death, when the body is dissolved, become
united with Brahma, who is the same — such a
condition of things is every way possible. 1,
9. When he had thus spoken, the young Br&hmans
Vase#//a and Bharadva^a addressed the Blessed One,
and said :
' Most excellent, Lord, are the words of thy
mouth, most excellent! Just as if a man were to
set up that which is thrown down, or were to reveal
that which is hidden away, or were to point out the
right road to him who has gone astray, or were to
bring a lamp into the darkness, so that those who
have eyes can see external forms; — just even so,
Lord, has the truth been made known to us, in
many a figure, by the Blessed One. And we, even
we, betake ourselves, Lord, to the Blessed One as
our refuge, to the Truth, and to the Brotherhood.
May the Blessed One accept us as disciples, as
true believers, from this day forth, as long as life
endures ! '
End of the Tevigfa Suttanta.
AK AN K H EY YA-S UTTA.
Akankheyya sutta.
Just as the Tevi^fa Sutta is an argumentum ad hominem to the man wise in the Vedas, and seeking through that knowledge for union with the Deity, urging him to adopt rather the Buddhist method of a life of right- eousness here on earth ; so the present Sutta is a similar argument addressed to the seeker after the various things specified in its different sections. If he should desire any of these things then let him live the life of uprightness as set out in the opening section, and cultivate the intel- ligent earnestness and spiritual insight described in the refrain.
The two combined amount, as would naturally be ex- pected, to the Nirvi/za of a perfect life in Arahatship — the supreme goal not only of every good Buddhist, but of every good Buddhist argument. As applied in the earlier sections it is only a re-statement of a familiar doc- trine ; as applied in the later sections it has the additional interest of showing us the answer of early Buddhism to the mystics, as the Tevi^a shows us its answer to the theologians. And in the answer we find the details of some curious beliefs which existed in India when Bud- dhism arose, and which in after times, and especially in the northern church, had so disastrous an effect upon it.
With regard to the reality of these mystical powers
our Sutta gives an uncertain sound ; leaving, however, an
impression rather in its favour. The argument is equally
good either way, but the author of the Sutta is so en-
grossed with Arahatship that he does not stay to say
IF HE SHOULD DESIRE .
whether he regards the belief in the powers referred to as a delusion or not. I have no doubt that he really believed in their theoretical possibility, which is elsewhere also in the P&li Pi/akas accepted or implied ; though the practical effect of the belief has greatly varied among Buddhists in different times and countries. In the southern church, which adhered more closely to the simple doctrines of early Buddhism, these beliefs have been relegated to the region of legend and fairy tale ; in the northern church there have been found, from time to time, believers who attached to them a practical importance. There is a useful analogy between the expressions used in i Samuel xxviii, and those in the latter part of our Suttas ; and between the general position of witchcraft in the history of Christianity, and of these beliefs in the history of Bud- dhism ; but it would take too long to carry out the com- parison and contrast in detail here, and with due regard to the necessary limitations under which the comparison should be made. The analogy only reaches to their history, and to their relative importance in the religious systems with which they were connected ; the two sets of belief themselves are fundamentally different, the Indian beliefs being much more nearly allied to modern spiritual- ism and mesmerism.
We have a curious instance of the way in which such legends grow in a parallel passage of the earlier and later lives of Gotama as accepted by orthodox Buddhists. In the Mah£ Vagga 1 it is said that during the first watch of the night following on Gotama's victory over the Evil One, he fixed his mind upon the Chain of Causation, during the second watch he did the same, and during the third watch he did the same — the only difference in the narrative being the verses with which in each of the three watches the meditation closed.
In the life of Gotama prefixed to the G£takas 2 , the simplicity of this account is improved away by saying that
1 I, I, 2-6.
2 Gdtaka I, 75, translated in « Buddhist Birth Stories,* p. 102.
in the first watch he acquired the knowledge of Past Births (Pubbe-nivcisa-n£na, described in our § 17), in the second the knowledge of Present Births (Dibba-£akkhu, described in our § 19), and only in the third the knowledge of the Chain of Causation (Pati££a-samuppAda). It is curious that in the corresponding passage of the northern Buddhist Sanskrit poem, the Lalita Vistara 1 , we find precisely the same tradition, which must therefore have been current in both northern and southern churches before the fifth century of our era.
I think it is quite possible that at that time it had become part of the Buddhist theory that every Arahat possessed this supernatural insight ; and as Gotama was supposed by the authors of these two later works to have acquired Arahatship by his victory over the Evil One, it naturally seemed to them proper to say that he then also acquired these particular powers. It is clear that even in the time when the Pi/akas were put into their present form it was considered that the Buddha had acquired them 2 , and that they could be acquired by less exalted persons 3 . In the later literature several instances are given of par- ticular persons who possessed one or other of them in a greater or less degree ; but it is instructive to notice that these are always persons who lived long before the time of the writer who records the instances.
The early Buddhist doctrine as to witchcraft, astrology,
omens, auguries, sacrifices, prophecies, and the like, will be
found in the Mahd Sila (above, pp. 196-200), and in the
Third Fetter (below, p. 222).
1 Calcutta edition, pp. 440-448.
a See, for instance, the Tevi^a-va^i^agotta Sutta.
8 Sama#«a Phala Sutta, pp. 144-154.
If He Should Desire—
AKANKHEYYA-SUTTA.
once staying at S&vatthi in An&tha Piwafikas park.
There the Blessed One addressed the Brethren,
and said, 'Bhikkhus/ 'Yea, Lord!' said the
Brethren, in assent, to the Blessed One.
Then spake the Blessed One:
2. * Continue, Brethren, in the practice of Right
Conduct 1 , adhering to the Rules of the Order 2 ;
continue enclosed by the restraint of the Rules of
the Order, devoted to uprightness in life 8 ; train
yourselves according to the Precepts 4 , taking them
upon you in the sense of the danger in the least
offence.
3. * If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, to be-
come beloved, popular, respected among his fellow-
disciples, let him then fulfil all righteousness, let
him be devoted to that quietude of heart which
springs from within 6 , let him not drive back the
ecstasy of contemplation 6 , let him look through
things 7 , let him be much alone ! '
1 Sila. 2 Patimokkh&\
8 AMrago^arl Comp. Tevi^g-a Sutta I, 49.
4 Sikkh&padesu. The Buddhist Decalogue (given in 'Bud- dhism/ p. 160).
5 Agghattam keto samatha/w. 6 Gh&nz.
7 Vipassana: it is always used, in contrast to samatha
Akankheyya sutta.
4. * If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, to receive
the requisites — clothing, food, lodging, and medicine,
and other necessaries for the sick — let him then fulfil
all righteousness, let him be devoted to that quietude
of heart which springs from within, let him not
drive back the ecstasy of contemplation, let him look
through things, let him be much alone ! 9
5. * If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, that to
those people among whom he receives the requisites
— clothing, food, lodging, and medicine, and other
necessaries for the sick — that charity of theirs should
redound to great fruit and great advantage, let him
then fulfil all righteousness, let him be devoted to
that quietude of heart which springs from within, let
him not drive back the ecstasy of contemplation,
let him look through things, let him be much
alone ! 9
6. * If a Bhikkhu should desire, Brethren, that
those relatives of his, of one blood with him, dead
and gone, who think of him with believing heart
should find therein great fruit and great advantage \
let him then fulfil all righteousness, let him be de-
voted to that quietude of heart which springs from
within, let him not drive back the ecstasy of con-
templation, let him look through things, let him be
much alone ! '