Chapter XVII · SAṄKÂŚYA. BUDDHA’S ASCENT TO AND DESCENT FROM THE TRAYASTRIṂŚAS HEAVEN, AND OTHER LEGENDS.
James Legge translation
[Chinese]
Through Buddha having for three months partaken of the food of heaven, his body emitted a heavenly fragrance, unlike that of an ordinary man. He went immediately and bathed; and afterwards, at the spot where he did so, a bathing-house was built, which is still existing. At the place where the bhikshuṇî Utpala was the first to do reverence to Buddha, a tope has now been built.
At this place there is also a tope to Buddha, where a good spirit constantly keeps (all about it) swept and watered, without any labour of man being required. A king of corrupt views once said, ‘Since you are able to do this, I will lead a multitude of troops and reside there till the dirt and filth has increased and accumulated, and (see) whether you can cleanse it away or not.’ The spirit thereupon raised a great wind, which blew (the filth away), and made the place pure.
Notes in this chapter
Note 1 · The name is still remaining in Samkassam, a village forty-five miles north-west of Canouge, lat. 27° 3′ N., lon. 79° 50′ E.Note 2 · The heaven of Indra or Śâkya, meaning ‘the heaven of thirty-three classes,’ a name which has been explained both historically and mythologicNote 3 · Buddha’s mother, Mâyâ and Mahâ-mâyâ, the mater immaculata of the Buddhists, died seven days after his birth. Eitel says, ‘Reborn in Tushita,Note 4 · 4 Compare the account of the Arhat’s conveyance of the artist to the Tushita heaven in chap. v. The first expression here is more comprehensNote 5 · 5 Anuruddha was a first cousin of Śâkyamuni, being the son of his uncle Amṛitodana. He is often mentioned in the account we have of Buddha’sNote 6 · Eitel gives the name Utpala with the same Chinese phonetisation as in the text, but not as the name of any bhikshuṇî. The Sanskrit word, howNote 7 · Perhaps we should read here ‘to see Buddha,’ and then ascribe the transformation to the nun herself. It depends on the punctuation which vieNote 8 · ‘A holy king who turns the wheel;’ that is, the military conqueror and monarch of the whole or part of a universe. ‘The symbol,’ says Eitel Note 9 · This was Brahmâ, the first person of the Brahmânical Trimurti, adopted by Buddhism, but placed in an inferior position, and surpassed by eveNote 10 · See chap. ix, note 2.Note 11 · See chap. iii, note 14.Note 12 · A common name for the earth below, where, on digging, water is found.Note 13 · The height is given as thirty chow, the chow being the distance from the elbow to the finger-tip, which is variously estimated.Note 14 · A note of Mr. Beal says on this:—‘General Cunningham, who visited the spot (1862), found a pillar, evidently of the age of Aśoka, with a welNote 15 · That is, in niches on the sides. The pillar or column must have been square.Note 16 · Equivalent to ‘all through.’Note 17 · Has always been translated ‘heretical teachers;’ but I eschew the terms heresy and heretical. The parties would not be Buddhists of any creeNote 18 · See chap. xiii para 6.Note 19 · These three predecessors of Śâkyamuni were the three Buddhas of the present or Mahâ-bhadra Kalpa, of which he was the fourth, and Maitreya iNote 20 · That is, walked in meditation. Such places are called Chaṅkramaṇa (Pâli, Chankama); promenades or corridors connected with a monastery, madeNote 21 · See chap. i, note 10.Note 22 · The character in my Corean copy is 虵, which must be a mistake for the 蛇 of the Chinese editions. Otherwise, the meaning would be ‘a small meNote 23 · The reading here seems to me a great improvement on that of the Chinese editions, which means ‘Fire Limit.’ Buddha, it is said, 本 converted Note 24 · See Hardy, M. B., p. 194:—‘As a token of the giving over of the garden, the king poured water upon the hands of Buddha; and from this time iNote 25 · This would seem to be absurd; but the writer evidently intended to convey the idea that there was something mysterious about the number of tNote 26 · See chap. xiii note. 15.Note 27 · This seems to be the meaning. The bodies of the monks are all burned. Hardy’s E. M., pp. 322–324.Note 28 · From this they proceeded south-east for eighteen yojanas, and found themselves in a kingdom called Saṅkâśya,1 at the place where Buddha cameNote 29 · Then the bhikshuṇî Utpala6 thought in her heart, ‘To-day the kings, with their ministers and people, will all be meeting (and welcoming) BudNote 30 · As Buddha descended from his position aloft in the Trayastriṃśas heaven, when he was coming down, there were made to appear three flights ofNote 31 · At the places where Buddha, when he was in the world, cut his hair and nails,18 topes are erected; and where the three Buddhas19 that precedNote 32 · At this place the monks and nuns may be a thousand, who all receive their food from the common store, and pursue their studies, some of the Note 33 · Fifty yojanas north-west from the monastery there is another, called ‘The Great Heap.’23 Great Heap was the name of a wicked demon, who was Note 34 · At this place there are a hundred small topes, at which a man may keep counting a whole day without being able to know (their exact number).Note 35 · There is a monastery, containing perhaps 600 or 700 monks, in which there is a place where a Pratyeka Buddha26 used to take his food. The ni