Words of Sir Emerson Tennent, that it is
"the oldest historical tree in the world;" but this must be denied if
it be true, as Eitel says, that the tree at Buddha Gaya, from which
the slip that grew to be this tree was taken more than 2000 years ago,
is itself still living in its place. We must conclude that Fa-hien,
when in Ceylon, heard neither of Mahinda nor Sanghamitta.
[7] Compare what is said in chap. xvi, about the inquiries made at
monasteries as to the standing of visitors in the monkhood, and
duration of their ministry.
[8] The phonetic values of the two Chinese characters here are in
Sanskrit sa; and va, bo or bha. "Sabaean" is Mr. Beal's reading of
them, probably correct. I suppose the merchants were Arabs,
forerunners of the so-called Moormen, who still form so important a
part of the mercantile community in Ceylon.
[9] A Kalpa, we have seen, denotes a great period of time; a period
during which a physical universe is formed and destroyed. Asankhyeya
denotes the highest sum for which a conventional term exists; -
according to Chinese calculations equal to one followed by seventeen
ciphers; according to Thibetan and Singhalese, equal to one followed
by ninety-seven ciphers.
