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SEPTEMBER, 1878.]
CORRESPONDENCE AND MISCELLANEA.
233
With all due forms, and meet respect,
The King received the holy man,
And made him sit; and then began"Great sage, I do not recollect “That I thy venerable face
Have ever seen before ; allow
Me then to ask what brings thee now From thy far-distant dwelling-place." "To see thy babe," the saint replies,
"I come from Himalaya's steeps."
The King rejoined -"My infant sleeps ; A moment wait until he rise." "Such great ones ne'er," the Rishi spake,
"In torpor long their senses steep
Nor softly love luxurious sleep; The infant Prince will soon awake." The wondrous child, alert to rise,
At will his slumbers light dispelled. His father's arms the infant held Before the sage's longing eyes. The babe beholding passing bright, More glorious than the race divine,
And marked with every noble sign, The saint was whelmed with deep delight; And crying-"Lo! an infant graced
With every charm of form I greet!"
He fell before the Buddha's feet, With fingers joined, and round him paced.' Next round the babe bis arms he wound,
And "One," he said, "of two careers
Of fame awaits in coming years The child in whom these signs are found. "If such an one at home abide,
He shall become a King, whose sway
Supreme a mighty arm'd array On earth shall stablish far and wide. "If, spurning worldly pomp as vain,
He choose to lead a joyless life,
And wander forth from home and wife, He then a Buddha's rank shall gain." He spoke, and on the infant gazed,
When tears suffused his aged eyes;
His bosom heaved with heavy sighs ; Then King Suddhôdan asked, amazed
Certain corporeal marks are supposed by Indian writers to indicate the future greatness of those children in whom they appear. Of these, thirty-two primary and eighty secondary marks are referred to in the original as being visible on Budaha's person.
• The word here, imperfectly translated, means, accord. ing to Professor H. H. Wilson's Dictionary, "reverential salutation, by circumambulating a person or object, keeping the right side towards them."
The term here translated insight' is derived from the same root as the word Buddha, and means 'intelligence,' or 'enlightenment.'
"Say, holy man, what makes thee weep,
And deeply sigh? Does any fate
Malign the royal child await ? May heavenly powers my infant keep!" "For thy fair infant's weal no fears
Disturb me, King," the Rishi cried ;
"No ill can such a child betide; My own sad lot commands my tears. "In every grace complete, thy son
Of truth shall perfect insight gain,
And far sublimer fame attain Than ever lawgiver has won. “He'such a Wheel of sacred lore
Shall speed on earth to roll as yet
Hath never been in motion set By priest, or sage, or god before. “The world of men and gods to bless,
The way of rest and peace to teach,
A holy law thy son shall preachA law of stainless righteousness. "By him shall suffering men be freed
From weakness, pain, and grief,
From all the ills shall find relief Which hatred, love, illusion, breed. "His hand shall loose the chains of all
Who groan in fleshly bands confined ;
With healing touch the wounds shall bind of those whom pain's sharp arrows gall. "His potent words shall put to flight
The dull array of leaden clouds Which helpless mortals' vision shrouds, And clear their intellectual sight. "By him shall men who, now untaught,
In devious paths of error stray,
Be led to find a perfect wayTo final calm at last bo brought. "But once, 0 King, in many years,
The figtree somewhere flowers perhaps;
So after countless ages' lapse, A Buddha once on earth appears. "And now, at length, this blessed time
Has come: for he who cradled lies
An infant there before thine eyes Shall be a Buddha in his prime. • The term thus rendered, dharmachakva, expresses a somewhat singular figure. It denotes the wheel of the law, or the wheel of righteousness,' or the wheel of religion.
The word in the original is nirudna, a torm of which the sense is dispated-some scholars esteeming it to mean absolute annihilation; others explaining it as the extinction of passion, the attainment of perfect dispassion. Mr. Childers considers nirvana to signify active bliss on earth for a brief period, followed (upon death) by total annihilation.
The tree referred to in the original is the Udumbara, the Ficus glomerata.
