Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 1

Cf. Divyâv. ed. Cowell, p. 37 and Sam. Nik. P.T.S. edition, vol. IV. p. 60.

648

See Takakusu on the Abhidharma literature of the Sarvâstivâdins in the Journ. of the Pali Text Society, 1905, pp. 67-147.

649

But not always. See S. Lévi, J.A. 1910, p. 436.

650

See Lüders, Bruchstücke Buddhistischer Dramen, 1911 and ib. Das Sâri putra-prakaraṇa, 1911.

651

Inscriptions from Swat written in an alphabet supposed to date from 50 B.C. to 50 A.D. contain Sanskrit verses from the Dharmapada and Mahâparinirvânasûtra. See Epig. Indica, vol. IV. p. 133.

652

E.g. The Sanskrit version of the Sutta-Nipâta. See J.R.A.S. 1916, pp. 719-732.

653

See the remarks on the Saṃyuktâgama in J.A. 1916, II. p. 272.

654

In the same spirit, the Chinese version of the Ekottara (sec. 42) makes the dying Buddha order his bed to be made with the head to the north, because northern India will be the home of the Law. See J.A. Nov., Dec. 1918, p. 435.

655

See for the whole question, Péri, Les Femmes de Çâkya Muni, B.E.F.E.O. 1918, No. 2.

656

Those of the Dharmaguptas, Mahâsânghikas and Mahîśâsakas.

657

See J.A.O.S. Dec. 1910, p. 24.

658

Jacobi considers the Yoga Sûtras later than 450 A.D. but if we adopt Péri's view that Vasubandhu, Asanga's brother, lived from about 280-360, the fact that they imply a knowledge of the Vijnânavâda need not make them much later than 300 A.D. It is noticeable that both Asanga and the Yoga Sûtras employ the word dharma-megha.

659

Called Citta in the Yoga philosophy.

660

See Tylor, Primitive Culture, vol. II. pp. 410 ff. Savages often supplement fasting by the use of drugs and the Yoga Sûtras (IV. 1) mention that supernatural powers can be obtained by the use of herbs.

661

Kleśa: Kilesa in Pạli.

662

The practices systematized in the Yoga Sûtras are mentioned even in the older Upanishads such as the Maitrâyaṇa, Śvetâśvatara and Chândogya.

663

An extreme development of the idea that physical processes can produce spiritual results is found in Raseśvara Darśana or the Mercurial System described in the Sarva-Darśana-Sangraha chap. IX. Marco Polo (Yule's Edition, vol. II. pp. 365, 369) had also heard of it.

664

It seems to me analogous to the introversion of European mystics. See Underhill, Mysticism, chaps, VI. and VII.

665

Jhâna in Pali.

666

Samprajñâta and Asamprajñâta, called also sa- and nirbīja, with and without seed.

667

Savitarka and Savicâra, in which there is investigation concerned with gross and subtle objects respectively: Sânanda, in which there is a feeling of joy: Sasmitâ, in which there is only self-consciousness. The corresponding stages in Buddhism are described as phases of Jhâna not of Samâdhi.

668

It is not easy to translate. Megha is cloud and dharma may be rendered by righteousness but has many other meanings. For the metaphor of the cloud compare the title of the English mystical treatise The Cloud of Unknowing.

669

Siddhi, vibhûti, aiśvarya. A belief in these powers is found even in the Rig Veda where it is said (X. 136) that munis can fly through the air and associate with gods.

670

So too European mystics "are all but unanimous in their refusal to attribute importance to any kind of visionary experience" (Underhill, Mysticism, p. 335). St John of the Cross, Madame Guyon and Walter Hilton are cited as severe critics of such experience.

671

Cf. Underbill's remarks about contemplation (Mysticism, p. 394). "Its results feed every aspect of the personality: minister to its instinct for the Good, the Beautiful and the True. Psychologically it is an induced state in which the field of consciousness is greatly contracted: the whole of the self, its conative power, being sharply focussed, concentrated upon one thing. We pour ourselvea out or, as it sometimes seems to us, in towards this overpowering interest: seem to ourselves to reach it and be merged with it. Whatever the thing may be, in this act we know it, as we cannot know it by any ordinary devices of thought."

672

See instances quoted in W. James, Varieties of Religious Experience, pp. 251-3.

673

This curious idea is also countenanced, though not much emphasized, by the Brahma Sûtras, IV. 4. 15. The object of producing such bodies is to work off Karma. The Yogi acquires no new Karma but he may have to get rid of accumulated Karma inherited from previous births, which must bear fruit. By "making himself many" he can work it off in one lifetime.

674

World as Will and Idea, Book III. p. 254 (Haldane and Kemp's translation).

675

E.g. Dig. Nik. II. 95, etc.

676

St Theresa, St Catharine of Siena and Rudman Merawin. Cf. 1 John ii. 20, 27. "Ye know all things."

677

Chândog. Up. VIII. 15.

678

As also to the Saṃhitâs of the Vaishṇavas and the Âgamic literature of the Śaivas. The six cakras are: (1) Mûladhâra at the base of the spinal cord, (2) Svâdhishṭhâna below the navel, (3) Maṇipûra near the navel, (4) Anâhata in the heart, (5) Viśuddha at the lower end of the throat, (6) Âjñâ between the eyebrows. See Avalon, Tantric Texts, II. Shaṭcakranirûpana. Ib. Tantra of Great Liberation, pp. lvii ff., cxxxii ff. Ib. Principles of Tantra, pp. cvii ff. Gopinatha Ras, Indian Iconography, pp. 328 ff. See also "Manual of a Mystic" (Pali Text Soc.) for something apparently similar, though not very intelligible, in Hinayanist Buddhism.

679

For the later Yoga see further Book V. I have recently received A. Avalon, The Serpent Power, from which it appears that the danger of the process lies in the fact that as Kuṇḍalinî ascends, the lower parts of the body which she leaves become cold. The preliminary note on Yoga in Grieraon and Barnett's Lallâ-Vâkyâni (Asiat. Soc.'s Monographs, vol. XVII. 1920) contains much valuable information, but both works arrived too late for me to make use of them.

680

Maj. Nik. 36 and 85, but not in 26.

681

Dig. Nik. 2. For the methods of Buddhist meditation, the reader may consult the "Manual of a Mystic," edited (1896) and translated (1916) by the Pali Text Society. But he will not find it easy reading.

682

See Ang. Nik. 1. 20 for a long list of the various kinds of meditation. A conspectus of the system of meditation is given in Seidenstücker, Pali-Buddhismus, pp. 344-356.

683

Dig. Nik. XXII. ad. in.

684

Dig. Nik. I. 21-26.

685

See, for instance, Dig. Nik. II. 75. Sometimes five Jhânas are enumerated. This means that reasoning and investigation are eliminated successively and not simultaneously, so that an additional stage is created.

686

See Dhamma-Sangaṇi; Mrs Rhys Davids' translation, pp. 45-6 and notes. Also Journal of Pali Text Society, 1885, p. 32, for meaning of the difficult word Ekodibhâva.

687

E.g. Maj. Nik. 77; Ang. Nik. 1. XX. 63.

688

Hardy, Eastern Monachism, pp. 252 ff.

689

But also without shape, colour or outward appearance, so this statement must not be taken too literally.

690

Such procedure has not received much countenance in Christian mysticism but the contemplation of a burnished pewter dish and of running water induced ecstasy in Jacob Boehme and Ignatius Loyola respectively. See Underhill, Mysticism, p. 69.

691

Maj. Nik. 62 end.

692

The analysis means to analyze all things as consisting alike of the four elements. The one perception is the perception that all nourishment is impure.

693

See Dig. Nik. 13 and Rhys Davids' introduction to it. In spite of their name, they seem to be purely Buddhist and have not been found in Brahmanic literature. The four states are characterized respectively by love, sympathy with sorrow, sympathy with joy, and equanimity.

694

Dig. Nik. XIII. 76.

695

Dig. Nik. XVII. 2-4.

696

Christian mystics also, such as St Angela and St Theresa, had "formless visions." See Underhill, Myst. pp. 338 ff.

697

Attha vimokkhâ. See Mahâparinib. sut. in Rhys Davids' Dialogues of the Buddha, II. 119.

698

Akiñcaññâyatanam.

699

Nevasaññânâsaññâyatanam.

700

Saññavedâyita nirodhasamâpatti. The Buddha when dying (Dig. XVI. V. 8, 9) passes through this state, but does not go from it to Parinibbâna. This perhaps means that it was regarded as a purification of the mind, but not on the direct road to the final goal.

701

See Maj. Nik. 43. But the point of the discussion seems to be not so much special commendation of this form of trance as an explanation of its origin, namely that it, like other mental states, is bound to ensue when certain preliminary conditions both moral and intellectual have been realized. See also Sam. Nik. XXXVI. ii. 5. See for examples of this cataleptic form of Samâdhi Max Müller's Life of Ramakrishna, pp. 49,59, etc. Christian mystics (e.g. St Catharine of Siena and St Theresa) were also subject to deathlike trances lasting for hours and St Theresa is said once to have been in this condition for some days.

702

Maj. Nik. 86.

703

This is known to European mystics, particularly Suso. St Francis of Assisi, St Catharine of Siena and Richard Rolle are also cited. See Underhill. Mysticism, p. 332.

704

Christian visions of Hell, Purgatory and Paradise are another instance of the divine eye, which thinks it can see the whole scheme of things.

705

Tales about such powers, are still very common in the East, for instance the Chinese story (in the Liao Chai) of the man who learnt from a Taoist how to walk through a wall but failed ignominiously when he tried to give an exhibition to his family. Educated Chinese seem to think there is something in the story and say that he failed because his motives were bad.

706

Bernheim, La Suggestion, chap. I. Quand j'ai éloigné de son esprit la préoccupation que fait naître l'idée de magnétisme … je lui dis "Regardez-moi bien et ne songez qu'à dormir. Vous allez sentir une lourdeur dans les paupières, une fatigue dans vos yeux: ils clignotent, ils vont se mouiller; la vue devient confuse: ils se ferment." Quelques sujets ferment les yeux et dorment immédiatement.... C'est le sommeil par la suggestion, c'est l'image du sommeil que je suggère, que j'insinue dans le cerveau. Les passes, la fixation des yeux ou des doigts de l'opérateur, propres seulement à concentrer l'attention, ne sont pas absolument necéssaires.

707

Thus in the drama Ratnâvalî a magician makes the characters see an imaginary conflagration of the palace and also a vision of heaven. His performance seems to be accepted as merely a remarkable piece of conjuring.

708

Ang. Nik. xvi. 1. In spite of his magic power he could not prevent himself being murdered. The Milinda-Pañha explains this as the result of Karma, which is stronger than magic and everything else.

709

E.g. Maj. Nik. 77.

710

Cullavag. v. 8.

711

Dig. Nik. xi.

712

Visuddhi Magga, xii. in Warren, Buddhism in Translation, pp. 315 ff.

713

R.V. II. 12. 5.

714

Yet Tennyson can say "And at their feet the crocus brake like fire," but in a mythological poem.

715

Mahâv. V. i.

716

E.g. Dig. Nik. XI. and Cullavag. V. 8.

717

Even in the Upanishads the gods are not given a very high position. They are powerless against Brahman (e.g. Kena Up. 14-28) and are not naturally in possession of true knowledge, though they may acquire it (e.g. Chând. Up. VIII. 7).

718

Dig. Nik. XI.

719

Dig. Nik. I. chap. 2, 1-6. The radiant gods are the Abhassara, cf. Dhammap 200.

720

Watters, II. p. 160.

721

The legends of both Râma and Krishna occur in the Book of Jâtakas in a somewhat altered form, nos. 641 and 454.

722

Thus Helios the Sun passes into St Elias.

723

He is often called Brahmâ Sahampati, a title of doubtful meaning and not found in Brahmanic writings. The Pitakas often speak of Brahmâs and worlds of Brahmâ in the plural, as if there were a whole class of Brahmâs. See especially the Suttas collected in book I, chap. vi. of the Saṃyutta-Nikâya where we even hear of Pacceka Brahmâs, apparently corresponding in some way to Pacceka Buddhas.

724

Maj. Nik. 49. The meaning of the title Baka is not clear and may be ironical. Another ironical name is manopadosikâ (debauched in mind) invented as the title of a class of gods in Dig. Nik. I. and XX. The idea that sages can instruct the gods is anterior to Buddhism, See e.g. Bṛihad-Âr. Up. II. 5. 17, and ib. IV. 3. 33, and the parallel passage in the Tait. Chând. Kaush. Upanishads and Śat. Brâhmaṇa for the idea that a Śrotriya is equal to the highest deities.

725

Six Manvantaras of the present Kalpa have elapsed and we are in the seventh.

726

We are in the Kali or worst age of the present mahâyuga. The Kali lasts 432,000 years and began 3102 B.C.

In their number and in many other points of cosmography the various accounts differ greatly. The account given above is taken from the Vishnu Purâna, book II. but the details in it are not entirely consistent.

727

The detailed formulation of this cosmography was naturally gradual but its chief features are known to the Nikâyas. Dig. Nik. XIV. 17 and 30 seem to imply the theory of spheres. For Heavens, see Maj. Nik. 49, Dig. Nik. XI. 68-79 and for Hells Sut. Nip. III. 10, Maj. Nik. 129. See too De la Vallée Poussin's article, Cosmology Buddhist, in E.R.E.

728

See for the Asuras Sam. Nik. I. xi. 1.

729

See a Tibetan representation in Waddell's Buddhism of Tibet, p. 79.

730

The question of whether the universe is infinite in space or not is according to the Pitakas one of those problems which cannot be answered.

731

Dig. Nik. XXVII.

732

Mâro pâpimâ. See especially Windisch, Mâra and Buddha, 1895, and Sam. Nik. I. iv.

733

We sometimes hear of Mâras in the plural. Like Brahmâ he is sometimes a personality, sometimes the type of a class of gods. We also hear that he has obtained his present exalted though not virtuous post by his liberality in former births. Thus, like Sakka and other Buddhist Devas, Mâra is really an office held by successive occupants. He is said to be worshipped by some Tibetan sects. It is possible that the legends about Mâra and his daughters and about Krishna and the Gopîs may have a common origin for Mâra is called Kaṇha (the Prakrit equivalent of Krishna) in Sutta-Nipâta, 439.

734

Ang. Nik. III. 35.

735

This seems to be the correct doctrine, though it is hard to understand how the popular idea of continual torture is compatible with the performance of good deeds. The Kathâ-vatthu, XIII. 2, states that a man in purgatory can do good. See too Ang. Nik. 1. 19.

736

But even the language of the Pitakas is not always quite correct on this point, for it represents evil-doers as falling down straight into hell.

737

Khud. Path. 7. In this poem, the word Peta (Sk. Preta) seems to be used as equivalent to departed spirits, not necessarily implying that they are undergoing punishment. In the Questions of Milinda (IV. 8. 29) the practice of making offerings on behalf of the dead is countenanced, and it is explained exactly what classes of dead profit by them. On the other hand the Kathâ-vatthu states that the dead do not benefit by gifts given in this world, but two sects, the Râjagirika and Siddhattika, are said by the commentary to hold the contrary view.

738

See Max Müller's Ramakrishna, p. 40, for another instance.

739

In a passage of the Mahâparinib. Sut. (III. 22) which is probably not very early the Buddha says that when he mixes with gods or men he takes the shape of his auditors, so that they do not know him.

740

Sam. Nik. II. 3. 10. Sadevakassa lokassa aggo.

741

E.g. in the Lotus Sutra.

742

One hundred and eight marks on the sole of each foot are also enumerated in later writings.

743

Artaxerxes Longimanus. Cf. the Russian princely name Dolgorouki. The Chinese also attribute forty-nine physical signs of perfection to Confucius, including long arms. See Doré, Recherches sur les Superstitions en Chine, vol. XIII. pp. 2-6.

744

Though Brahmans are represented as experts in these marks, it seems likely that the idea of the Mahâpurusha was popular chiefly among the Kshatriyas, for in one form, at any rate, it teaches that a child of the warrior caste born with certain marks will become either a universal monarch or a great teacher of the truth. This notion must have been most distasteful to the priestly caste.

745

See Dig. Nik. 3. The Lakkhana Suttanta (Dig. Nik. 30) contains a discussion of the marks.

746

See Dik. Nig. 14, Mahâpadânasutta: Therag. 490; Sam. Nik. XII. 4-10.

747

Maj. Nik. 50, Mâratajjaniyasuttam.

748

Dig. Nik. 14.

749

Maj. Nik. 123. See also Dig. Nik. 14.

750

More literally that he knows exactly how his feelings, etc., arise, continue and pass away and is not swayed by wandering thoughts and desires.

751

Three extra Buddhas are sometimes mentioned but are usually ignored because they did not, like the others, come into contact with Gotama in his previous births.

752

E.g. Ang. Nik. III. 15 and the Mahâ-Sudassana Sutta (Dig. Nik. X.) in which the Buddha says he has been buried at Kusinâra no less than six times.

753

Dig. Nik. XVI. v. 15.

754

The two kinds of Buddhas are defined in the Puggala-Pannatti, IX. 1. For details about Pratyeka-Buddhas see De La Vallée Poussin's article in E.R.E.

755

Thus in Dig. Nik. XVI. 5. 12 they are declared worthy of a Dâgaba or funeral monument and Sam. Nik. III. 2. 10 declares the efficacy of alms given to them.