Chapter V · GREAT QUINQUENNIAL ASSEMBLY OF MONKS. RELICS OF BUDDHA. PRODUCTIONS OF THE COUNTRY.
James Legge translation
[Chinese]
Notes in this chapter
Note 1 · See Eitel, p. 89. He describes the assembly as ‘an ecclesiastical conference, first instituted by king Aśoka for general confession of sins Note 2 · The text of this sentence is perplexing; and all translators, including myself, have been puzzled by it.Note 3 · See what we are told of king Aśoka’s grant of all the Jambudvîpa to the monks in chapter xxvii. There are several other instances of similarNote 4 · Watters calls attention to this as showing that the monks of Kʽeeh-chʽâ had the credit of possessing weather-controlling powers.Note 5 · The text here has 僧徒, not 僧 alone. I often found in monasteries boys and lads who looked up to certain of the monks as their preceptors.Note 6 · Compare what is said in chapter ii of the dress of the people of Shen-shen.Note 7 · Giles thinks the fruit here was the guava, because the ordinary name for ‘pomegranate’ is preceded by gan (安); but the pomegranate was calleNote 8 · It happened that the king of the country was then holding the pañcha parishad, that is, in Chinese, the great quinquennial assembly.1 When tNote 9 · After the king has held the assembly, he further exhorts the ministers to make other and special offerings. The doing of this extends over oNote 10 · The country, being among the hills and cold, does not produce the other cereals, and only the wheat gets ripe. After the monks have received