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NOVEMBER, 1883.)
BUDDHIST SÚTRAS FROM THE TIBETAN.
309
reach perfect enlightenment, who would become a Buddha. The omniscience of which the Buddha was possessed made the more humble virtues sink into insignificance-in the case mentioned in the Brahmájala, at least.
Morality-that is to say, keeping the ten or the six commandments binding on a mendicant or on a lay follower-was a virtue essential to all beings, and was a source of great future felicity; but this only required to be impressed upon the ignorant crowd; and to such were these sermons or "trifles" spoken.
I have endeavoured to preserve, as much as possible, the style of the gáthás forming the latter part of the Maitribhavana Sútra, which appears to me to have been something like a song.
This Sutra gains especial interest from the fact that it is one of a rather numerous class of Sútras which were translated into Tibetan directly from Pâli, as we are informed by the colophon, which says that "it was translated in the Mahâvihara, in the island of Ceylon, by the great pandit Anandasri and the bahusrutya lotsava, the bhikshu of Sakya, Ni-ma-rgyal. mtaan dpal-bzang-po (Súryadhwaja Sríbhadra ?), who (both of them) understood the two languages (Pali and Tibetan or Sanskrit)."
1. BHIKSHU PRAREJU SUTRA. In the language of India, Bhikshu prarējt sútra ; in the language of Bod (Tibet), Dg-e slong-la rab-tu gches-pai mdo (the sútra called * very agreeable to a bhikshu').
Praise be to him who knows all !
I once heard the following discourse, while the Blessed One was residing in the Phullapadma vihdra in the great city of Srivasti, accompanied by a retinue of twelve hundred and fifty bhikshus.
Then it happened that from amidst the retinue of the Blessed One, the Ariya called Upâli, whose senses were well controlled, who was attentive, whose wisdom was profoud, who was particularly esteemed on account of the way in which he could recite the disciplinary rules that had been set forth by the Blessed One, rising up from his mat, throw. ing his cloak over one shoulder, touched the ground with his right knee with hands joined over his breast, and smilingly said to Bhagavat: "Thou who, like a lotus, art free from the mire of the world, thou who art unshaken as a mountain, whose mighty body is adorned with the ornaments of
symmetry and beautified with the flowers of signs, thou whom one gazes at unwearyingly, who art the best of the best, thee do I worship!
We who are here gathered together, all of us bhikshus, we teseech the Mighty One to tell us these four things: 1, the nature of a bhikshu ; 2, the different kinds of bhikshu); 3, what constitutes (this condition); 4, the deportment (of a bhikshu)."
Then the Conqueror, the Blessed One, well pleased; turned toward Up&li and said: "Give thou only ear, Upåli, and I will satisfy you by explaining what is becoming in bhikshus.
The real bhikshu, being the chief ornament of the Law, the real bhikshu is a living diamond.
The real bhikshu, having cast off suffering, the real bhikshu is the son of the Conqueror.
The real bhikshu, having destroyed all corruption, the real bhikshu goes to the garden of freedom.
The bhikshu controlling (or who controls) his whole nature, knowing the four fundamental (truths), and observing the two hundred and fifty (rules of the Prátimóksha ), is pure and virtuous.
There are many kinds of bhikshus: the signs and characteristics of the real bhikshu, of him to whom that name only really applies, are these:
He who seeks for virtue (dge-slong=bhikshu), and who seeks for his food by begging, who is dispassionate, who walks in the way, whose life is correct, who has cast off passions, he, on account of these qualities, is a bhikshu.
The real bhikshu is adorned, for having cast away (worldly) ornaments, he is well adorned. He has attained his great desire when he has cast off desires.
The mendicant who cares about unguents, baths, choice food, jewels, (fine) garments, collyrs, horses, elephants, palanquins, waggons and carriages, for which he ought not to care, is not a (real) bhikshu.”
Then Upali said to the Blessed One: "What the Sugata has said is obscure; I beseech the Sugata to illuminate with the light of his words the obscurity of his (previous) sayings/"
Then the Blessed One said:
"He who has cast far away gold and all the other ornaments of the world, and who is merciful, he is adorned with the most precious of ornaments.
Not the garments of the world, but the garment of the doctrine, the saffron-coloured gown, is the best of raiment.
It is not camphor and such like, but morality, that is the best of unguents.
There are 253 rules in the Bhikshu Pratimáksha and 373 in the Bhikshuns P. in the Tibetan version. The
Chinese Pratimo kaha has 250 rules.
