Text of Confucianism Part 02

SR No.: 007676
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: James Legge
Publisher: Oxford
Publication Year: 1882
Total Pages: 2405
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 43 MB

Page 1536

INTRODUCTION.
xix
born in Kapilavastu as the Bodhisattva about to accomplish his career as Buddha.
Varga 2. Bodhisattva descends as a spirit. In this section we find an account of Bodhisattva's conception. He descends under the form of a white elephant, and is seen by Mâyâ in a dream: 'She beholds in the middle of heaven a white elephant resplendent with glory, and lighting up the world, accompanied by music and sounds of rejoicing, and whilst accompanying Devas scatter flowers and incense, the elephant approaches her, and for a moment hovers above the spot and disappears. The dream is interpreted by the soothsayers as an exceedingly fortunate one, because it indicated the descent of a holy spirit (Shing-shin) into the womb.' The child born therefore would be either a wheel-turning flying-as-he-goes (fi-hing), universal monarch, or a Buddha born to save the world. The queen from that moment leads a pure, uncontaminate life.
'Now on account of this conception, Bearing as I do a Mahasattva, I give up all false, polluting ways,
And both in heart and body rest in purity The kings of neighbouring countries bring their presents of gold, silver, jewels, and robes, and on the eighth day of the fourth month the child is born under an Asoka tree. The angels sing for joy, and thirty-two supernatural events indicate the nativity. We need not enumerate all these events; the first, however, is that the earth was greatly shaken, and all rough and hilly places became smooth. The fifteenth is, the star Pushya came down and appeared waiting on the prince. The last is that the tree spirit (i.e. the spirit residing in the tree under which the Bodhisattva was born) appearing from it as a man bowed his head in worship. We then have an account of Asita's visit and prediction. The
· Or, riding on a white elephant. The phrase in the Chinese is ambiguous. There is reason to suppose that the original thought was that the Bodhisattva was riding on an elephant, but was invisible as a spirit. * Tree and Serpent Worship, plate xci, fig. 4.
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