Lalit Vistara

Author(s): Rajendralala Mitra
Publisher: Asiatic Society

Page 14

12
LALITA-VISTARA.
. 17. Dharanis. -"Short significant forins of prayers, similar to # the mintras of the Bráhnians." They are, like their prototypos, the Bráhmaņical martras, declared highly efficacious antidotes to worldly evils. Sumu are said to overcome devils, somo assunge pain, others make th.cir wearers invisible, somu facilitate victory, others aguin are snil to ensure the love of truant fairs. The author of the Aparimiti Dhírinn (Transcendental Formula), obseryes, that they were promulgated by Súkya himsell, when in Srávasti, to save man.. kind from mim ly deaths, and pruunote prosperity. M. Burnouf, however, after a careful csamination of the Nepalese collection of Kuddet werkt collected by Dir. Hudgsun, is of opinion that it is of a mode origin, and furmo no part of the religion promulgated by Sáky2; for hile th: Tantras of modern times abound with these my tkal charms and magical formulas, the simple Sútras, which he has ruas to b.lieve are the most ancient, shew no trace of their exis. ten pr of the belief in their clicacy.
18. Yirmidhi, Bestacy.--" Deep and devout ineditation restraining the 301:03, and confining the mind to contemplation on tho trile nature of spirit.” Wilson.& lemachandrali, a celebrated Bauldha lexi. cographer, detines it to be “meditation causing a manifestation of th. ulsjert meelitated npon ; " and the Garuda Purána, 1 describes it to be an inte application of the mind to some particular object, which identities tho ineditator with the object neditated npon." Mary supernatural phenomena attend this act of Bauddha-Brahmanic devotion, of which we sball have ample instances as we provuel.
19. Eleminl of perfection; Bhumi: Sans.--The Bauddha disolofure of a futwe state, in accordance with its belief in transmigration, treats vf several states or stages of existence, through which an adopt. in Buddhism must pass before he obtaius his final reward, the perfeo." tion in any one state of existence being denominated, the attainment
• Hodgson's Tllustrations' &c., p. 27. + My Sinskrit Buddhist Literaturu of Nepal, p. 41.
$11..kuita MS. No. 816. Idbry. Av. Boo. f. 2.
Banyk. Dio.. p. 996. | Abhilduv-chintamani, Chap. 1, Verse 86.
Rédhákánta's S'abda-kalpadruma, Vol. VI, p. 6917.