________________
INTRODUCTION.
xxiii
The following life of Buddha, although named in the catalogues, has not come under my notice : (3)
Siau-pen-k’i-king
#tem in two kiouen; translated by the Sramana Ki-yau, A. D. 196.
The next history of Buddha in point of the date of its translation is the (4) Ta-tseu-sui-ying-pen-k'i-king.
* F Hot # te This is the work of an Upasaka belonging to the Wu dynasty (222-264 A.D.), who came to China towards the end of the After-Han dynasty, and was a diligent translator. The work before us is a brief one, divided into two parts, without any subdivision into sections. The first part, which resembles the translation last noticed, takes us to the defeat of Mara. The second includes in it a description of Buddha's condition as the 'fully enlightened,' and also the conversion of the fire-worshipping Kåsyapas. With respect to his work of preaching, this book has the peculiarity of excluding all mention of the journey to Benares after the enlightenment. It makes the conversion of the five men take place near the Bodhi tree in Magadha, and omits all mention of Yasa, Sâriputra, or Maudgalyayana. The account of the conversion of the Kâsyapas is full and circumstantial. It agrees in a marked way with the particulars given in the Manual of Buddhism (Spence Hardy, pp. 188-191). The illustrations of this event, given in the Sanchi Sculptures (plates xxiv, xxxi, xxxii, ist ed.), show that it was a popular episode in the history of Buddha at the time of the completion of the Sanchi Stupa. It is also given in the following pages in Asvaghosha's work, so that we cannot doubt this event formed part of the recognised work of Buddha as a teacher. This short life therefore includes in it the three portions known in the South as the distant, intermediate, and proximate epochs. The last named, however, differs materially from the more expanded account found in other books, and is in fact
Digitized by Google
