(Once) There Came From One Of The Kingdoms A Devotee[5] To Worship At The Tope.

When he encountered the elephants he was greatly alarmed, and screened himself among the trees; but when he saw

Them go through with the offerings in the most proper manner, the thought filled him with great sadness - that there should be no monastery here, (the inmates of which) might serve the tope, but the elephants have to do the watering and sweeping. Forthwith he gave up the great prohibitions (by which he was bound),[6] and resumed the status of a Sramanera.[7] With his own hands he cleared away the grass and trees, put the place in good order, and made it pure and clean. By the power of his exhortations, he prevailed on the king of the country to form a residence for monks; and when that was done, he became head of the monastery. At the present day there are monks residing in it. This event is of recent occurrence; but in all the succession from that time till now, there has always been a Sramanera head of the establishment.

NOTES

[1] Rama or Ramagrama, between Kapilavastu and Kusanagara.

[2] See the account of the eightfold division of the relics of Buddha's body in the Sacred Books of the East, vol. xi, Buddhist Suttas, pp. 133-136.

[3] The bones of the human body are supposed to consist of 84,000 atoms, and hence the legend of Asoka's wish to build 84,000 topes, one over each atom of Sakyamuni's skeleton.

[4] Fa-hien, it appears to me, intended his readers to understand that the naga-guardian had a palace of his own, inside or underneath the pool or tank.

[5] It stands out on the narrative as a whole that we have not here "some pilgrims," but one devotee.

[6] What the "great prohibitions" which the devotee now gave up were we cannot tell. Being what he was, a monk of more than ordinary ascetical habits, he may have undertaken peculiar and difficult vows.

[7] The Sramanera, or in Chinese Shamei. See chap. xvi, note 19.

CHAPTER XXIV

WHERE BUDDHA FINALLY RENOUNCED THE WORLD, AND WHERE HE DIED.

East from here four yojanas, there is the place where the heir- apparent sent back Chandaka, with his white horse;[1] and there also a tope was erected.

Four yojanas to the east from this, (the travellers) came to the Charcoal tope,[2] where there is also a monastery.

Going on twelve yojanas, still to the east, they came to the city of Kusanagara,[3] on the north of which, between two trees,[4] on the bank of the Nairanjana[5] river, is the place where the World-honoured one, with his head to the north, attained to pari-nirvana (and died). There also are the places where Subhadra,[6] the last (of his converts), attained to Wisdom (and became an Arhat); where in his coffin of gold they made offerings to the World-honoured one for seven days,[7] where the Vajrapani laid aside his golden club,[8] and where the eight kings[9] divided the relics (of the burnt body): - at all these places were built topes and monasteries, all of which are now existing.

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