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INTRODUCTION.
xxvii
description of Ganta, the son of Ambå, is that he was contemptible and ugly, whilst in the Singhalese account he is described as lovely and well-favoured. After the complete enlightenment, Buddha sits in contemplation at the foot of different trees. Here there occurs a divergence from the Pâli, as it is in the interval of his remaining thus in contemplation that he visits the village of Senapati, and gives to his daughter Sugåtâ the two refuges in Buddha and the law. This is a curious statement, as it seems to imply that at that time the triple refuge was not known; in other words, that there was no Sangha, or Church.
The interview with Upaka is identical with the Pali. The sermon at Benares and the conversion of the five men, the visit to and conversion of Bimbisåra, the conversion of Yasa and his friends, the visit to Uruvilva and the Kasyapas, the conversion of Upatishya and Kolita-all this is as in the Southern account. The narrative then breaks off suddenly, and the rules of the Vinaya with respect to teacher and pupil &c. are introduced. This notice of Buddha's life, although not translated in China before the fifth century, must date back from the time when the Southern copy of the Vinaya, which Fa-hien brought from China, was first put together. The Mahîsasika school was an offshoot from the Aryasthåvira branch of the Buddhist church, and in all probability was regarded in Ceylon as orthodox, in opposition to the Mahasanghikas. It is curious that in the Mahasanghika copy of the Vinaya which Fa-hien brought from Patna, and which he himself translated into Chinese, there is no section corresponding to the one just adduced, that is, this copy of the Vinaya contains no record of Buddha's life. This may be accounted for on the ground that the two redactions were made at different times and at places far apart. But yet it is curious that a copy of the Vinaya brought from Patna, and said to have been copied from an authentic original, should differ so widely from a copy found by the same person at the same time in Ceylon'. This circumstance at any rate will
1 Fa-hien, p. 144.
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