There are two images of Kwan-yin in the British Museum, one with sixteen arms and the other with eight.
Images of the third mythical Bodhi-sattva—the fierce Vajra-pāṇi, ‘holding a thunderbolt in one hand’—like one form of Ṡiva—are almost as common as those of the merciful and mild Avalokiteṡvara. He has been described in a previous Lecture (p. 201).
In the Pitt-Rivers collection at Oxford there is an image of this Bodhi-sattva engaged in combating the power of evil. It is remarkable that the figures of three monkeys are carved underneath, one stopping his ears with his hands, another stopping his eyes, and another his mouth, to symbolize the effort to prevent the entrance of evil desires through the three most important organs of sense.
With regard to the images of female deities we may observe that Tārā, the wife or Ṡakti of Amogha-siddha (p. 216), is represented as a green sedent figure; her right hand on her knee, her left holding a lotus.
A standing image of the goddess Paṭṭinī (p. 217of this volume) may be seen in the British Museum.
In a temple which I visited near Dārjīling I saw the image of the Padma-sambhava or ‘lotus-born’ form of Buddha occupying the centre of the altar, with the images of Gautama Buddha and of Buddha Āyushmat, or the ‘Buddha of Life,’ on each side.
Sir R. Temple (Journal, p. 212) relates how in a chamber of a Sikkim monastery there were three figures, the central of which, with a fair complexion,was Amitābha, that on its right Gautama Buddha, and on its left Gorakh-nāth (seep. 193of this volume).
In the monastery of Galdan (p. 441) Mr. Sarat Chandra Dās saw the golden image of Tsong Khapa (with his golden chain and his tooth and his block-prints), along with the images of Amitābha, Gautama, Maitreya, Bhairava (the awful defender of Buddhism), Yama ‘the lord of death,’ and his terrific messengers.
In the great Cho Khang at Lhāssa (seep. 459) he saw images of Avalokiteṡvara, Mañju-srī, Maitreya, Kuvera, Padma-sambhava, with an immense number of others, and especially one of the terrific goddess Paldan (or Pandan) who is feared all over Tibet, Mongolia, and China, as the greatest guardian deity of the Dalai and Tashi Lāmas and of the Buddhist Dharma. He found her shrine infested with mice, who are believed to be metamorphosed monks.
At Sera (p. 442) he saw images of the Buddha in his character of ‘demon-vanquisher,’ along with Maitreya (in silver), Avalokiteṡvara, the six-armed Bhairava, the goddess Kālī, Dolkar (= Tārā,p. 271), the Tāntrik Vajra-vārāhī, the sixteen Sthaviras (pp.48,255), and a great variety of others.
At Radeng (p. 273) he saw a golden image of Milaraspa (p. 384).
In the monastery of Sam ye (p. 448) he saw images of the Indian Paṇḍits who brought Buddhism into Tibet, with a vast number of other images.
At Tashi Lunpo he saw golden images of Buddha and Maitreya, besides images of 1000 other Buddhas (p. 189), and the four guardians of the quarters (p. 206).
At Yarlung he saw an image of Vairoćana Buddha, besides images of the sixteen Sthaviras, and a gigantic image of the king of the Nāgas, and a terrific representation of the demon Rāvaṇa (of the Rāmāyaṇa).
At Mindolling he saw fresco paintings of the six classes of beings (p. 122) inhabiting the six corresponding worlds. Of course delineations of the Jātakas (p. 111) and pictures of all kinds were common in monasteries and temples everywhere.
The two wonder-working images brought from Nepāl and China have been already mentioned (p. 271).
As an illustration of the monstrous superstition and idolatry prevalent in modern Buddhist countries, I venture, in conclusion, to quote, with abridgment, the following description of an idol seen by Miss Bird in Japan (see her ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan,’ published by Mr. Murray):—
In one shrine is a large idol spotted all over with pellets of paper, and hundreds of these may be seen sticking to the wire-netting which protects him. A worshipper writes his petition on paper, or, better still, has it written for him by the priest, chews it to a pulp and spits it at the divinity. If, having been well aimed, it passes through the wire and sticks, it is a good omen, if it lodges in the netting the prayer has probably been unheard.On the left there is a shrine with a screen, to which innumerable prayers have been tied. On the right sits one of Buddha’s original sixteen disciples (seep. 47of these Lectures). A Koolie with a swelled knee applied it to the knee of the idol, while one with inflamed eyelids rubbed his eyelids on it!
In one shrine is a large idol spotted all over with pellets of paper, and hundreds of these may be seen sticking to the wire-netting which protects him. A worshipper writes his petition on paper, or, better still, has it written for him by the priest, chews it to a pulp and spits it at the divinity. If, having been well aimed, it passes through the wire and sticks, it is a good omen, if it lodges in the netting the prayer has probably been unheard.
On the left there is a shrine with a screen, to which innumerable prayers have been tied. On the right sits one of Buddha’s original sixteen disciples (seep. 47of these Lectures). A Koolie with a swelled knee applied it to the knee of the idol, while one with inflamed eyelids rubbed his eyelids on it!
Next to the subject of images and idols comes that of certain sacred objects which Buddhists of all Schools—whether adherents of the Hīna-yāna or Mahā-yāna systems—hold in veneration; for example, relics, relic-receptacles or Stūpas, foot-prints, trees, utensils, bells, symbols, and animals.
The narratives of the Chinese travellers, frequently mentioned before, teem with descriptions of such objects. Take, for instance, Fā-hien’s account of the district of Nagāra, near Peshawar in Northern India (Legge, 34-40), in which several sacred objects are stated to exist—such as a fragment of Buddha’s skull, one of his teeth, portions of his hair and nails, his alms-bowl, his staff (contained in a wooden tube, so heavy that even a thousand men could not lift it), his robe, and the impression of his shadow. This was at the beginning of the fifth century of our era.
Fā-hien’s statements are confirmed by Sung-Yun, the next Chinese traveller mentioned before (p. 161of this volume[259]), who started on his journey rather more than a century after Fā-hien.
We then visited the Ki-Ka-lam temple near Nagāra. This contains the yellow robe (Kashāya) of Buddha in thirteen pieces. Here also isthe staff of Buddha, in a wooden case covered with gold-leaf. The weight of this staff is sometimes so heavy that a hundred men cannot raise it, and at other times it is so light that one man can lift it. In the city of Na-kie (Nagarahāra) is a tooth of Buddha and also some of his hair, both of which are contained in precious caskets. Morning and evening religious offerings are made to them.We next arrive at the cave of Go-pāla, where is the shadow of Buddha. To anyone entering the cavern, and looking for a long time (or, from a long distance) at the western side of it opposite the door, the figure, with its characteristic marks, appears; on going nearer, it gradually grows fainter and then disappears. On touching the place where it was, there is nothing but the bare wall. Gradually retreating, the figure begins to come in view again, and foremost is conspicuous that peculiar mark between the eyebrows (ūrṇa), which is so rare among men.Before the cave is a square stone, on which is a trace of Buddha’s foot (Beal’s Translation, p. cvii, abridged).
We then visited the Ki-Ka-lam temple near Nagāra. This contains the yellow robe (Kashāya) of Buddha in thirteen pieces. Here also isthe staff of Buddha, in a wooden case covered with gold-leaf. The weight of this staff is sometimes so heavy that a hundred men cannot raise it, and at other times it is so light that one man can lift it. In the city of Na-kie (Nagarahāra) is a tooth of Buddha and also some of his hair, both of which are contained in precious caskets. Morning and evening religious offerings are made to them.
We next arrive at the cave of Go-pāla, where is the shadow of Buddha. To anyone entering the cavern, and looking for a long time (or, from a long distance) at the western side of it opposite the door, the figure, with its characteristic marks, appears; on going nearer, it gradually grows fainter and then disappears. On touching the place where it was, there is nothing but the bare wall. Gradually retreating, the figure begins to come in view again, and foremost is conspicuous that peculiar mark between the eyebrows (ūrṇa), which is so rare among men.
Before the cave is a square stone, on which is a trace of Buddha’s foot (Beal’s Translation, p. cvii, abridged).
Hiouen Thsang, the third traveller, confirms the statements of his predecessors in regard to the relics in this district, and adds as follows:—
There is another little Stūpa, made of the seven precious substances, in which is deposited theeye-ballof the Buddha, large as an Āmra fruit, and bright and clear throughout. It is deposited in a sealed-up casket (Beal, i. 96).
There is another little Stūpa, made of the seven precious substances, in which is deposited theeye-ballof the Buddha, large as an Āmra fruit, and bright and clear throughout. It is deposited in a sealed-up casket (Beal, i. 96).
It is easy to perceive from the above extracts that the worship of certain sacred objects connected with the founder of Buddhism had become even in Fā-hien’s time a marked feature of Buddhism. In fact, the number of such objects increased so rapidly that before long it became usual to classify them under three heads as follow[260]:—
(1) Ṡārīrika (or Ṡarīra-dhātu or simply Ṡārīra), objectswhich once formed part of the Buddha’s body, such as a bone, a tooth, a hair, a nail.
(2) Pāribhogika, ‘objects possessed or used by the Buddha,’ such as his seat, alms-bowl, drinking-vessel (kumbha), staff, vestments, and even his spittoon. Under this division is placed the Bodhi-tree.
(3) Uddeṡika, objects worshipped as in some way commemorative of the Buddha or of some event or incident in his life.
It would be difficult to decide under which of these categories thesacred bookscontaining the Buddha’s Law are to be placed, and yet they are deeply revered, and at the present day almost deified, as if they were intelligent and omniscient beings. They are wrapped in costly cloth or silk, and their names are mentioned with the addition of honorific personal titles. Occasionally such sacred books are placed on a kind of rude altar, near the road-side, that passers-by may place offerings of money upon them[261].
Without attempting, therefore, to follow any particular classification, we proceed to notice some of the chief objects in the order of their importance, beginning with relics.
Adoration of relics constitutes an important point of difference between Buddhism and Brāhmanism; for Brāhmanism and its offspring Hindūism are wholly opposed to the practice of preserving the ashes, bones,hair, or teeth of deceased persons, however much such individuals may have been revered during life.
I remarked in the course of my travels through India that articles used by great religious teachers—as, for example, robes, wooden shoes, and seats—are sometimes preserved and venerated after their death. All articles of this kind, however, must, of course, be removed from the body before actual decease; for it is well known that, in the minds of Hindūs, ideas of impurity are inseparably connected with death, and contamination is supposed to result from contact with the corpses of even a man’s dearest relatives. Nor is the mortal frame ever held in veneration by the Hindūs as it was by the ancient Egyptians, and as it generally is in Christian countries.
Even the living body is regarded as a mass of corruption, a thing to be held in contempt, and a constant impediment to sanctity of life. How much more then ought every part of a dead body to be got rid of without delay! Hence in the present day a corpse is burnt, and its ashes are generally scattered on the surface of sacred rivers or of the sea.
It is true that the bodies of great Hindū ascetics and devotees are exempted from this rule. They are usually buried—not burnt. Not, however, because the mere corporeal frame is held in greater veneration, but because the bodies of the most eminent saints are supposed to lie undecomposed in a kind of trance, or state of intense ecstatic meditation (samādhi).
The Buddhist, too, is a thorough Hindū in contemning the living body; but when the corpse is burnt, hedoes not scatter the ashes on rivers. He takes measures to preserve them.
We know that according to the teaching of Brāhmanism the burning of a corpse is followed by religious ceremonies called Ṡrāddhas[262]. The greater the number of Ṡrāddhas which a living man is able to perform in behalf of his deceased relatives, the greater is the benefit which accrues to their souls; and if the dead man’s soul happens to be in one of the hells, the sooner it is released from its purgatorial pains.
A true Buddhist, on the other hand, considers all such Ṡrāddhas as useless; although it is certainly a fact that in the end the more developed Buddhism of the North invented similar ceremonies, called Bardo (see pp.293,334).
True Buddhism, in short, has only one way of honouring ancestors, and only one method of keeping alive the memory of those perfected saints whose whole personality has become extinct, and whose transition into other forms of life has finally ceased.
The calcined ashes, or certain unconsumed portions of the body—such as fragments of bone or hair or nails or teeth—are deposited in relic-shrines.
Of course the most sacred of all Buddhist relics are those of the Buddha himself. It is said that after the cremation of his corpse the chief remains consisted of four teeth, the two cheek-bones, and fragments of the skull. But it is believed that, even before his death, portions of his hair and nails were preserved and placedunder Dāgabas (Stūpas). One legend relates that when Gautama had decided on abandoning all worldly associations, his first act was to cut off the mass of his hair, with its ornament (ćūḍā-maṇi), and that these were taken up by the god Indra to the Trayastriṉṡa heaven, and there placed under a Dāgaba and worshipped by the gods.
Fā-hien, in a passage already alluded to, says that in the country of Nagāra there is a particular spot where Buddha shaved off his hair and clipt his nails, and, having done so, proceeded to erect a lofty mound or Stūpa to enshrine them, as well as to be a model for all future Stūpas (p. 504of this volume).
Hiouen Thsang relates a tradition that when the two travelling merchants Trapusha and Bhallika (seep. 40) were converted, the Buddha gave them at their own request some of his own hair and nail-parings, besides his alms-bowl, staff, and a portion of his clothing, and bade them deposit each article in Stūpas or Dāgabas. The two merchants, it is narrated, went home to their own country and acquired an enormous stock of religious merit by being the first to erect a Stūpa for the reception of personal memorials of the great Buddha. According to a tradition the two merchants were from Burma, and the shrine which was erected to receive eight of his hairs afterwards developed into the great Rangoon Dāgaba (Pagoda). It may be inferred from this legend (as Dr. Oldenberg has already remarked) that the care of the Buddha’s relics, and the institution of ceremonies in their honour, were in the first instance left to the devotion of religiously minded Buddhist laymen.
‘What are we to do,’ Ānanda asks of the Master, when his end is drawing near[263], ‘with the body of the Perfect One?’ ‘Let not the honours due to the body of the Perfect One trouble you, Ānanda. Seek ye rather perfection for yourselves. There are, Ānanda, wise men among the nobles, the Brāhmans, and the citizens, who believe in the Perfect One; they will honour the body of the Perfect One.’
‘What are we to do,’ Ānanda asks of the Master, when his end is drawing near[263], ‘with the body of the Perfect One?’ ‘Let not the honours due to the body of the Perfect One trouble you, Ānanda. Seek ye rather perfection for yourselves. There are, Ānanda, wise men among the nobles, the Brāhmans, and the citizens, who believe in the Perfect One; they will honour the body of the Perfect One.’
Hiouen Thsang (Beal, ii. 40) also states that when certain Indian Rājas, eight in number, heard of the Buddha’s death, they collected armies and marched to Kusi-nārā (p. 424) to seize portions of the relics; but the prince of Kusi-nārā refused to give them up. In the end the matter was settled amicably, and the relics were divided, so that each of the eight princes might take a share. Then all departed to their own homes, and each prince built a Stūpa over his own portion of the relics. The gods also took their portions.
Fā-hien (chap. xxiii) alludes to the building of the eight Stūpas, and adds that king Aṡoka destroyed them, and in their place built 84,000 others—one for the conservation of each atom of the elements of the Buddha’s body; the belief being that the bodies of all human beings consist of that number of elementary particles (seep. 423). The eight-fold division is described in ‘Buddhist Suttas,’ pp. 133-136 (S. B. E. vol. xi).
It appears probable that the earliest relics of his burnt body held in honour were his teeth; and of these again the most celebrated seem to have been hisfour eye-teeth. One of the four is said to have been appropriated by the gods and another by the Nāgas, while the third was taken to Gāndhāra in the north-west, and the fourth to Kaliṅga in the south-east.
The first two eye-teeth have only mythical histories, and little is recorded of the third, but the fourth has gone through a series of terrestrial adventures, which have been much written about and would fill several volumes. One of the immediate followers of Gautama is said to have gained possession of it on the occasion of the eight-fold distribution of the great sage’s relics (p. 499), and to have conveyed it to a place afterwards called Danta-pura, ‘tooth-city[264],’ the capital of Kaliṅga (Orissa), where it is believed to have remained undisturbed for about 800 years. After that period it was seized, at the instigation of some Brāhmans, by a powerful Hindū king who reigned at Pāṭaliputra. Its vicissitudes and adventures for centuries afterwards were very varied. It was conveyed surreptitiously to Ceylon about the year 311 of our era by a princess of Kaliṅga, who concealed it in her hair. There it remained till 1315, when it was carried back to Southern India. After a time it was taken back to Kandy in Ceylon. Next it was seized by the Portuguese and carried off to Goa. Thence it was transported to Pegu, and finally the precious tooth-relic (dāṭhā-dhātu), or at least some imitation of it, was restored to the good people ofKandy, where it is still preserved by them as a veritable Palladium, with every possible precaution against further outrage, although under the protecting ægis of our government its security ought not any longer to be matter of anxiety.
Every native of Ceylon (Laṅkā), whether Buddhist or Hindū, seems to feel that the welfare of his country depends on its careful conservation. At any rate the Sinhalese have placed their tooth-temple—called Dalada Māligāwa—in the loveliest part of their beautiful island (seep. 454), amid richly wooded hills, from which may be obtained some of the most enchanting views in the world. The eye-tooth is in appearance like a piece of discoloured ivory about two inches[265]long, and one inch across in the thickest part. Indeed, all the supposed relics of the Buddha’s body, and the dress and implements he used, are of such a size as to make his worshippers believe that his stature far exceeded that of ordinary men.
The tooth is enclosed in nine bell-shaped, jewelled golden cases, one within the other, each locked by a key, and each key consigned to the custody of a separate official. The interior cases increase in costliness till the most highly jewelled of all is reached, and within this on a golden lotus lies the relic. When I visited the tooth-temple in 1877, the cases were kept within iron bars in a dimly-lighted shrine—redolent with flower-offerings which exhaled an overpoweringperfume—and in the very centre of the buildings of the temple. When the Prince of Wales visited Kandy in 1876, all the officials assembled to unlock the cases and exhibit the treasured relic.
A detailed account of the tooth is given in a book called Dalada-vaṉṡa or Dāṭhā-vaṉṡa, said to have been written originally in ancient Sinhalese (Elu) about the year 310 of our era, and translated into the sacred Pāli about the year 1200. This book has been rendered into English by the late Sir Coomāra Swāmy. The tooth is also described in many other Pāli and Sinhalese books, including the Mahā-vaṉṡa.
And here it may be remarked that one feature of the Buddha’s relics was that they gave forth on special occasions celestial light, and had the power of working miracles. Sometimes a reverent circumambulation of the shrine which contained the relics was believed to be sufficiently efficacious in stimulating their miraculous powers. Sometimes they were taken out and exhibited. The following extract from Fā-hien reminds one of what takes place at Kandy in the present day:—
In the city of He-lo (the present Hiḍḍa, west of Peshawar) there is the flat-bone of Buddha’s skull, deposited in a Vihāra adorned all over with gold-leaf and the seven sacred substances. The king of the country revering the bone, and anxious lest it should be stolen, has selected eight individuals representing great families, and committed to each a seal with which he should seal the shrine and guard the relic. At early dawn these men come, and after each has inspected his seal, they open the door. This done they wash their hands with scented water, and bring out the bone, which they place on a lofty platform, where it is supported on a pedestal of the seven precious substances. The king every morning makes his offerings and performs his worship. The chiefs of the Vaiṡyas also make their offerings.Then they replace the bone in the Vihāra, under a Stūpa of the seven precious substances (p. 528of this volume) more than five cubits high (Legge, pp. 36-38, abridged).
In the city of He-lo (the present Hiḍḍa, west of Peshawar) there is the flat-bone of Buddha’s skull, deposited in a Vihāra adorned all over with gold-leaf and the seven sacred substances. The king of the country revering the bone, and anxious lest it should be stolen, has selected eight individuals representing great families, and committed to each a seal with which he should seal the shrine and guard the relic. At early dawn these men come, and after each has inspected his seal, they open the door. This done they wash their hands with scented water, and bring out the bone, which they place on a lofty platform, where it is supported on a pedestal of the seven precious substances. The king every morning makes his offerings and performs his worship. The chiefs of the Vaiṡyas also make their offerings.Then they replace the bone in the Vihāra, under a Stūpa of the seven precious substances (p. 528of this volume) more than five cubits high (Legge, pp. 36-38, abridged).
Fā-hien records a similar exhibition of the Buddha’s alms-bowl in the country near Peshawar:—
When it is mid-day they bring out the bowl and make offerings to it. It may contain about two pecks, and it has a bright lustre. When poor people throw into it a few flowers, it becomes full. If the rich throw in myriads of flowers, they are not able to fill it.
When it is mid-day they bring out the bowl and make offerings to it. It may contain about two pecks, and it has a bright lustre. When poor people throw into it a few flowers, it becomes full. If the rich throw in myriads of flowers, they are not able to fill it.
He states that the Buddha’s robe was also brought out to be worshipped:—
When there is a drought the people collect in crowds, bring out the robe, pay worship to it and make offerings, on which there is immediately a great rain from the sky (Legge, pp. 35, 39, abridged).
When there is a drought the people collect in crowds, bring out the robe, pay worship to it and make offerings, on which there is immediately a great rain from the sky (Legge, pp. 35, 39, abridged).
The relics of all great saints in Buddhist countries were revered in a similar manner. At the same time it ought to be noted that the periodical exhibition of relics, before the eyes of worshippers, was not a usual occurrence (as it is in Roman Catholic countries). Indeed, as a general rule, the custom seems to have been to shield the ashes and remains of revered dead bodies from observation and liability to be touched. Hence they were commonly sealed up hermetically, as it were, in the interior of receptacles which effectually concealed them from view and protected them from disturbance.
And this leads us to advert to the form and character of Buddhist relic-receptacles.
It is probable that at a very early period, and even before the Buddha’s time, the Hindūs were accustomed to raise heaps or tumuli over the ashes of kings, great men, saints and sages, just as even to this day among the Sikhs of the Panjāb, the ashes of great men are sohonoured. Some think that the hemispherical dome-like form of the tumulus was intended to represent a bubble—the most transitory of all material objects. In all likelihood the dome of the Sāñchī Stūpa—which is thought to be as old as the time of Buddha—was constructed in memory of some great man.
Such heaps were at first generally called Ćaityas, and afterwards Stūpas (from the Sanskṛit roots ći and styai, meaning ‘to heap together’); but Ćaitya ultimately denoted a relic-structure in an assembly-hall (seep. 450), while the word Stūpa denoted one in the open air. Then inside the Ćaitya or Stūpa (Pāli Thūpa, corrupted into Tope) there was a casket—made of silver, gold, stone, earthenware, etc.—in which were deposited the ashes, fragments of bone, or the teeth or nails of the deceased. And this relic-casket was called in Sanskṛit Dhātu-garbha, or in Pāli Dāgaba (corrupted into Dagoba and afterwards into Pagoda)—that is, a repository of the elementary particles of which all bodies are composed.
Then in time the word Dāgaba (Pagoda) denoted the monument as well as the relic-casket. Moreover Ćaityas and Stūpas were often mere pyramidal structures, enshrining images or marking important events (seep. 390), but not containing relics. Among the Hindūs Ćaitya often denotes the sacred village-tree planted on a mound.
VOTIVE STŪPA, RECENTLY FOUND AT BUDDHA-GAYĀ.VOTIVE STŪPA, RECENTLY FOUND AT BUDDHA-GAYĀ.
VOTIVE STŪPA, RECENTLY FOUND AT BUDDHA-GAYĀ.
(Date about ninth or tenth century of our era.)
The process by which the simple Ćaitya or mound developed into more elaborate structures is remarkable. First came erections of stone or brick, generally bell-shaped or domed like bee-hives. These again expanded into elongated pyramidal structures, springing from cylindrical or octagonal or hexagonal bases, and ornamented with images of Gautama, and resting on plinth-like foundations, the summits tapering into finials consisting of three, or seven, or nine, or eleven, or even fifteen tiers of umbrella-shaped ornaments (seenote, p. 393).
Then, again, in time, these elaborate Dāgabas expanded into vast Pagodas of enormous height, as, for example, the Rangoon Pagoda (seep. 456) and that at Anurādha-pura in Ceylon.
It is doubtful whether in early Buddhism Ćaityas and Stūpas were ever empty monuments or cenotaphs. Probably all of them contained ashes, fragments of bone, teeth, or hair, though in some cases the most careful examination has failed to discover the vessel in which they were deposited. If made of fragile materials, it rapidly crumbled into dust. But Stūpas, even without relics, were themselves objects of reverence.
In the later period of Buddhism the practice of carving, or moulding mere memorial or votive Stūpas, and dedicating them at sacred spots became common. The examples of this kind of Stūpa which I saw unearthed at Buddha-Gayā have been described (p. 397).
The engraving opposite to this page is a copy of one of these votive Stūpas which I procured for the Indian Institute through Mr. Beglar.
At Mandalay there is a large Pagoda with about 620 smaller ones round it (in rows of six or seven deep). Each small Pagoda enshrines a tablet—exposed to view—on which some portion of the Law is engraved.Many small Pagodas are simply canopies of brick or some solid material erected over images.
Outside the Buddhist convent near Dārjīling, when I visited it in 1884, a monk was roughly moulding a number of small votive Stūpas in clay, with which he was probably mixing the powdered bones of some deceased Lāma. Here is a copy of one exactly the size of the original:—
If broken open, a terra-cotta seal, inscribed with some sacred formula, would probably be found inside.
Of course most of the Buddha’s chief disciples, such as Sāriputta, Maudgalyāyana, Kāṡyapa, Ānanda, Upāli, each had Stūpas erected over their relics.
Next in importance to the worship of relics is that of foot-prints (Sanskṛit Ṡrī-pada or Ṡrī-pāda). Everywhere throughout Buddhist countries the supposed impressions of the Buddha’s feet are as much honoured as those of the god Vishṇu are by Vaishṇavas.
When Fā-hien reached Gṛidhra-kūṭa (see pp.404,406), he is said to have used words to the following effect: ‘I, Fā-hien, was born when I could not meet with Buddha, and now I only see the foot-prints which he has left’ (Legge, 83).
It is well known that the practice of bowing down and honouring the feet is a thoroughly Asiatic custom. The idea seems to be derived from a kind ofa fortioriargument. If the feet, as the lowest member of the body, are honoured, how much more is homage rendered to the whole man. Hence children honour their parents, not by kissing their faces, but by prostrating themselves at their feet and touching them reverentially. Another reason for venerating the feet is well expressed in one of our hymns:—
O let me see Thy foot-marks,And in them plant my own;
O let me see Thy foot-marks,
And in them plant my own;
and in Longfellow’s
Foot-prints on the sands of time;Foot-prints which perhaps another,Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,Seeing may take life again.
Foot-prints on the sands of time;
Foot-prints which perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing may take life again.
This shows that even Europeans are familiar with the idea. There is a Roman Catholic church at Vienna which possesses a celebrated image of Christ on the Cross. On one occasion I visited this church and observed several worshippers kissing the feet of the image, while others—too short in stature to reach it with their lips—touched its feet with their fingers and then kissed their fingers. A similar honour is paidto the images of St. Peter at Rome, and indeed to that Apostle’s living representatives. The alleged foot-prints of Christ are not numerous, but they exist in certain holy places[266].
Every sentiment in the East is exaggerated, and it need not therefore be matter of wonder if a veneration for foot-prints has led to an excessive multiplication of these symbols, and to an excess of superstitious worship paid to them by Hindūs of various sects in every part of India. No true Vaishṇava will leave his house in the morning without marking his forehead with the symbol of Vishṇu’s feet. In travelling from one place to another I often came across what appeared to be an empty shrine, but on a close inspection I found that it contained two foot-prints on a little raised altar made of stone. These are called Pādukā ‘shoes,’ but are really the supposed impressions of the soles of the feet of the person to whom the shrines are dedicated. In 1876 I visited the celebrated Vishṇu-pad temple at Gayā. Crowds were worshipping the foot-mark impressed on the bare stone, but concealed by offerings, and surrounded by a silver fence under a silver canopy (see ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ p. 309).
It is true that Buddhists never imitate the practiceof the worshippers of Vishṇu by marking their foreheads with the supposed impressions of the Buddha’s feet, but they will nevertheless make long and toilsome pilgrimages to bow down before what they believe to be the impression of his foot on a rock.
The Jainas, who are the only Hindū representatives of the Buddhistic system left in India, are quite as ardent foot-print worshippers. In 1884 I ascended Mount Pārasnāth (Pārṡva-nāth) in Bengal at the same time with crowds of Jaina pilgrims who, like myself, toiled up the hill to visit the numerous Jaina temples scattered over the uneven surface at the summit, some five thousand feet above the plain. Our objects were very different. Theirs was the acquisition of merit, mine was the acquirement of knowledge. Lepers lined the rough pathway, and much additional merit was held to accrue to the pilgrims by distributing alms among them. I found that nearly every shrine at the summit consisted of a little domed canopy of marble, covering two foot-prints of some one of the twenty-four Jaina saints (especially Pārṡva-nāth) impressed on a marble altar. The soles of the supposed foot-prints were either white or black and marked with small gilded circles.
Groups of worshippers bowed down before the shrines and deposited offerings of money, rice, almonds, raisins, and spices on the foot-marks. No sooner did they quit one shrine for the next, than a troop of frolicking monkeys promptly took their place and scampered off with the edible portion of the objects offered.
It is impossible to state positively when eitherBuddhism or Jainism first introduced foot-print worship, but the practice must have begun very early.
With regard to this point General Sir A. Cunningham, in his account of the Bharhut Stūpa—a Stūpa which dates from the second centuryB.C.—says:—
Foot-prints of Buddha were most probably an object of reverence from a very early period—certainly before the building of the Bharhut Stūpa—as they are represented in two separate sculptures there. In the first sculpture the foot-prints are placed on a throne or altar, canopied by an umbrella, hung with garlands. A royal personage is kneeling before the altar, and reverently touching the foot-prints with his hands. The second example is in the bas-relief representing the visit of Ajāta-ṡatru to Buddha. Here, as in all other Bharhut sculptures, Buddha does not appear in person, his presence being marked by his two foot-prints. The wheel symbol is duly marked on both (p. 112, abridged).
Foot-prints of Buddha were most probably an object of reverence from a very early period—certainly before the building of the Bharhut Stūpa—as they are represented in two separate sculptures there. In the first sculpture the foot-prints are placed on a throne or altar, canopied by an umbrella, hung with garlands. A royal personage is kneeling before the altar, and reverently touching the foot-prints with his hands. The second example is in the bas-relief representing the visit of Ajāta-ṡatru to Buddha. Here, as in all other Bharhut sculptures, Buddha does not appear in person, his presence being marked by his two foot-prints. The wheel symbol is duly marked on both (p. 112, abridged).
The General justly remarks that perhaps the worship of the Buddha’s foot-prints may have sprung up in imitation of the homage alleged to have been paid by Mahā-Kāṡyapa and 500 monks to his feet, which, it is said, were exposed to view when his body was lying on the funeral pile. The legend states that while the monks were in the act of bowing down in adoration before the feet, the funeral pile ignited spontaneously.
On one of the gate-pillars of the ancient Sāñchī Stūpa there is a sculpture of a foot-print marked with the wheel (Ćakra,p. 522) symbol, which the late Mr. Fergusson ascribed to the early part of the first century of the Christian era.
There are also sculptured representations of the Buddha’s foot-prints at Amarāvatī, supposed to datefrom the second or third century of the Christian era. These representations are often carved on so-called altars or else placed before altars.
But of all foot-prints, that on Adam’s Peak (the highest mountain in Ceylon, more than 7000 feet above the sea), supposed to have been left by the Buddha when he ascended thence to heaven, is the most celebrated.
According to Fā-hien (Legge, p. 102), when Buddha was in Ceylon he planted one foot on the north of the royal city and the other on Sumana-Kūṭa (Adam’s Peak), fifteen yojanas, or about a hundred miles, distant.
This fancied impression of the Buddha’s foot (believed by Christians to be that of St. Thomas, by Muhammadans to be that of Adam, and by Hindūs to be that of the god Ṡiva) is merely a shapeless hollow in the rock, five feet seven inches long by two feet seven inches broad, which would give the Buddha a stature of about thirty-five feet. It is said to have been discovered by a hunter at the beginning of the century before Christ, and, although very difficult of access, is annually visited by about 100,000 Buddhist pilgrims. Near it, on the summit of the mountain, is a small temple dedicated to Saman (p. 217).
In a shrine near the tooth-temple at Kandy, I saw a so-called facsimile of this foot-print. Those who are physically incapable of toiling up the mountain to bow down before the sacred impression on the rock, gain nearly as much merit by worshipping its copy. The shrine was filled with fragrant flowers recently deposited on the facsimile.
Other foot-prints in various places throughout India, Burma, Siam, Tibet, Mongolia, and China, are from two to five feet long. A tradition is mentioned by Fā-hien (Legge, 29) that, when Buddha visited Northern India, he came to the country of Woo-chang or Udyāna, and there he left a print of his foot, which appears long or short according to the ideas of the beholders.
Another legend states that Buddha left the print of his left foot on Adam’s Peak, and then, in one stride, strode across to Siam, where he left the impression of his right foot.
The Siamese hold their foot-print in as much reverence as the Sinhalese hold theirs. It is called Phra Bat, and, according to Mr. Alabaster, its appearance is like that of the foot-print on Adam’s Peak. Nothing is to be seen but a hole in the rock, about five feet long by two broad. A temple is built over it, and every precaution taken to protect it from over-zealous worshippers. Mr. Alabaster thus describes his visit to this sacred spot:—
The grating which usually covers the foot-print was removed to enable us to see the bottom, but the temple was so dark that we could not see much of it. We moved aside some of the offerings lying on it, but could see nothing of the pattern except the five marks of the toe-nails—five grooves in the rock—which some declare to have been made with chisels. On inquiry we were told that the other marks were long ago destroyed by an accidental fire. Likeness to a foot there is none. Yet to this holy foot-print year after year crowds of Siamese flock with varied offerings, and even the most enlightened amongst them—the late King for instance—have observed and encouraged the practice. (‘Wheel of the Law,’ p. 284, abridged.)
The grating which usually covers the foot-print was removed to enable us to see the bottom, but the temple was so dark that we could not see much of it. We moved aside some of the offerings lying on it, but could see nothing of the pattern except the five marks of the toe-nails—five grooves in the rock—which some declare to have been made with chisels. On inquiry we were told that the other marks were long ago destroyed by an accidental fire. Likeness to a foot there is none. Yet to this holy foot-print year after year crowds of Siamese flock with varied offerings, and even the most enlightened amongst them—the late King for instance—have observed and encouraged the practice. (‘Wheel of the Law,’ p. 284, abridged.)
The soles of the Buddha’s feet are represented as quite flat, and all the toes of equal length. Each sole possesses, as we have seen (p. 20), one hundred and eight auspicious marks (maṅgala-lakkhaṇa), and of these the principal is generally the wheel (Ćakra), while around it are grouped representations of animals, inhabitants of various worlds, and symbols of different kinds. In all probability the idea is that all things are subject to the Buddha or belong to him; they are therefore metaphorically placed under his feet. (Compare the metaphor in Psalm viii. 6-8.)
The one hundred and eight marks vary in various specimens. A good typical example (brought from Burma) of the impression of one foot may be seen in the British Museum. The sole is divided into compartments, each compartment containing a mark. There are five conch-shells, one in each of the five toes, this symbol being highly esteemed by Buddhists as well as by Hindūs.
Among the one hundred and eight auspicious marks on the Siamese foot-print are the following:—A spear, trident (tri-ratna), book, elephant-goad, Indra’s elephant, dragon (makara), ocean, golden ship, water with lotuses, conch-shell, four-faced Brahmā, umbrella, king of Nāgas, king of horses, of tigers, of birds, sun, moon, ten mountains, peacock, flag of victory, deer, fish, water-jar. The wheel (Ćakra) does not occur in Mr. Alabaster’s list (‘Wheel of the Law,’ p. 290), but the two feet of the Amarāvatī Stūpa, described by Mr. Fergusson, have a wheel in the centre of the soles. Above is the Tri-ratna emblem with a Svastika symbol on each side.There are other Svastika marks, and others on the toes (seep. 523).
The Skanda-Purāṇa and Bhāgavata-Purāṇa give similar lists of marks on the sole of Vishṇu’s foot.
We now pass on to a brief consideration of sacred trees. Most persons are aware that the homage offered to trees and plants is not confined to Buddhism. It existed very early in Brāhmanism and is still common everywhere throughout India (see my ‘Brāhmanism and Hindūism,’ p. 330).
In point of fact various forms of tree-worship prevail at the present moment in almost every part of the world where superstition and ignorance are ruling influences. Nor can we really condemn, as either unnatural or unreasonable, the feeling of veneration with which trees are generally regarded, bearing in mind the grateful shade and shelter which they afford, the beauty of their foliage, their importance as purifiers of the atmosphere, and the hundreds of useful purposes to which their wood, leaves, and fruit are applicable. According to Dr. E. B. Tylor (‘Primitive Culture,’ ii. 223), the North American Indians of the Far West often hang offerings on the trees to propitiate the spirits and procure good weather and good hunting. He adds that Mr. Darwin describes the South Americans as doing much the same.
In Persia and other Eastern Countries trees may often be met with, the branches of which have been recently hung with offerings of cloth, rags, and even garments.