Chapter XXXV: Ceylon (2)

The Sinhalese Sangha is generally described as divided into four schools, those of Siam, Kelani, Amarapura and Ramanya, of which the first two are practically identical, Kelani being simply a separate province of the Siamese school, which otherwise has its headquarters in the inland districts. This school, founded as mentioned above by priests who arrived in 1750, comprises about half of the whole Sangha and has some pretensions to represent the hierarchy of Ceylon, since the last kings of Kandy gave to the heads of the two great monasteries in the capital, Asgiri and Malwatte, jurisdiction over the north and south of the island respectively. It differs in some particulars from the Amarapura school. It only admits members of the highest caste and prescribes that monks are to wear the upper robe over one shoulder only, whereas the Amarapurans admit members of the first three castes (but not those lower in the social scale) and require both shoulders to be covered. There are other minor differences among which it is interesting to note that the Siamese school object to the use of the formula "I dedicate this gift to the Buddha" which is used in the other schools when anything is presented to the order for the use of the monks. It is held that this expression was correct in the lifetime of the Buddha but not after his death. The two schools are not mutually hostile, and members of each find a hospitable reception in the monasteries of the other. The laity patronize both indifferently and both frequent the same places of pilgrimage, though all of these and the majority of the temple lands belong to the sect of Siam. It is wealthy, aristocratic and has inherited the ancient traditions of Ceylon, whereas the Amarapurans are more active and inclined to propaganda. It is said they are the chief allies of the Theosophists and European Buddhists. The Ramanya[100] school is more recent and distinct than the others, being in some ways a reformed community. It aims at greater strictness of life, forbidding monasteries to hold property and insisting on genuine poverty. It also totally rejects the worship of Hindu deities and its lay members do not recognize the monks of other schools. It is not large but its influence is considerable.

It has been said that Buddhism flourished in Ceylon only when it was able to secure the royal favour. There is some truth in this, for the Sangha does not struggle on its own behalf but expects the laity to provide for its material needs, making a return in educational and religious services. Such a body if not absolutely dependent on royal patronage has at least much to gain from it. Yet this admission must not blind us to the fact that during its long and often distinguished history Sinhalese Buddhism has been truly the national faith, as opposed to the beliefs of various invaders, and has also ministered to the spiritual aspirations of the nation. As Knox said in a period when it was not particularly flourishing, the Hindu gods look after worldly affairs but Buddha after the soul. When the island passed under British rule and all religions received impartial recognition, the result was not disastrous to Buddhism: the number of Bhikkhus greatly increased, especially in the latter half of the nineteenth century. And if in earlier periods there was an interval in which technically speaking the Sangha did not exist, this did not mean that interest in it ceased, for as soon as the kingdom became prosperous the first care of the kings was to set the Church in order. This zeal can be attributed to nothing but conviction and affection, for Buddhism is not a faith politically useful to an energetic and warlike prince.

5

Sinhalese Buddhism is often styled primitive or original and it may fairly be said to preserve in substance both the doctrine and practice inculcated in the earliest Pali literature. In calling this primitive we must remember the possibility that some of this literature was elaborated in Ceylon itself. But, putting the text of the Piṭakas aside, it would seem that the early Sinhalese Buddhism was the same as that of Asoka, and that it never underwent any important change. It is true that mediæval Sinhalese literature is full of supernatural legends respecting the Buddha,[101] but still he does not become a god (for he has attained Nirvana) and the great Bodhisattvas, Avalokita and Manjuśrî, are practically unknown. The _Abhidhammattha-sangaha_,[102] which is still the text-book most in use among the Bhikkhus, adheres rigidly to the methods of the Abhidhamma.[103] It contains neither devotional nor magical matter but prescribes a course of austere mental training, based on psychological analysis and culminating in the rapture of meditation. Such studies and exercises are beyond the capacity of the majority, but no other road to salvation is officially sanctioned for the Bhikkhu. It is admitted that there are no Arhats now--just as Christianity has no contemporary saints--but no other ideal, such as the Boddhisattva of the Mahayanists, is held up for imitation.

Mediæval images of Avalokita and of goddesses have however been found in Ceylon.[104] This is hardly surprising for the island was on the main road to China, Java, and Camboja[105] and Mahayanist teachers and pilgrims must have continually passed through it. The Chinese biographies of that eminent tantrist, Amogha, say that he went to Ceylon in 741 and elaborated his system there before returning to China. It is said that in 1408 the Chinese being angry at the ill-treatment of envoys whom they had sent to the shrine of the tooth, conquered Ceylon and made it pay tribute for fifty years. By conquest no doubt is meant merely a military success and not occupation, but the whole story implies possibilities of acquaintance with Chinese Buddhism.

It is clear that, though the Hinayanist church was predominant throughout the history of the island, there were up to the twelfth century heretical sects called Vaitulya or Vetulyaka and Vâjira which though hardly rivals of orthodoxy were a thorn in its side. A party at the Abhayagiri monastery were favourably disposed to the Vaitulya sect which, though often suppressed, recovered and reappeared, being apparently reinforced from India. This need not mean from southern India, for Ceylon had regular intercourse with the north and perhaps the Vaitulyas were Mahayanists from Bengal. The Nikâya-Sangrahawa also mentions that in the ninth century there was a sect called Nîlapatadarśana,[106] who wore blue robes and preached indulgence in wine and love. They were possibly Tantrists from the north but were persecuted in southern India and never influential in Ceylon.

The Mahâvaṃsa is inclined to minimize the importance of all sects compared with the Mahâvihâra, but the picture given by the Nikâya-Sangrahawa may be more correct. It says that the Vaitulyas, described as infidel Brahmans who had composed a Piṭaka of their own, made four attempts to obtain a footing at the Abhayagiri monastery.[107] In the ninth century it represents king Matvalasen as having to fly because he had embraced the false doctrine of the Vâjiras. These are mentioned in another passage in connection with the Vaitulyas: they are said to have composed the Gûḍha Vinaya[108] and many Tantras. They perhaps were connected with the Vajrayâna, a phase of Tantric Buddhism. But a few years later king Mungayinsen set the church in order. He recognized the three orthodox schools or nikâyas called Theriya, Dhammaruci and Sâgaliya but proscribed the others and set guards on the coast to prevent the importation of heresy. Nevertheless the Vâjiriya and Vaitulya doctrines were secretly practised. An inscription in Sanskrit found at the Jetavana and attributed to the ninth century[109] records the foundation of a Vihâra for a hundred resident monks, 25 from each of the four nikâyas, which it appears to regard as equivalent. But in 1165 the great Parâkrama Bâhu held a synod to restore unity in the church. As a result, all Nikâyas (even the Dhammaruci) which did not conform to the Mahâvihâra were suppressed[110] and we hear no more of the Vaitulyas and Vâjiriyas.

Thus there was once a Mahayanist faction in Ceylon, but it was recruited from abroad, intermittent in activity and was finally defeated, whereas the Hinayanist tradition was national and continuous.

Considering the long lapse of time, the monastic life of Ceylon has not deviated much in practice from the injunctions of the Vinaya. Monasteries like those of Anuradhapura, which are said to have contained thousands of monks, no longer exist. The largest now to be found--those at Kandy--do not contain more than fifty but as a rule a pansala (as these institutions are now called) has not more than five residents and more often only two or three. Some pansalas have villages assigned to them and some let their lands and do not scruple to receive the rent. The monks still follow the ancient routine of making a daily round with the begging bowl, but the food thus collected is often given to the poor or even to animals and the inmates of the pansala eat a meal which has been cooked there. The Pâtimokkha is recited (at least in part) twice a month and ordinations are held annually.[111]

The duties of the Bhikkhus are partly educational, partly clerical. In most villages the children receive elementary education gratis in the pansala, and the preservation of the ancient texts, together with the long list of Pali and Sinhalese works produced until recent times almost exclusively by members of the Sangha,[112] is a proof that it has not neglected literature. The chief public religious observances are preaching and reading the scriptures. This latter, known as Bana, is usually accompanied by a word for word translation made by the reciter or an assistant. Such recitations may form part of the ordinary ceremonial of Uposatha days and most religious establishments have a room where they can be held, but often monks are invited to reside in a village during Was (July to October) and read Bana, and often a layman performs a pinkama or act of merit by entertaining monks for several days and inviting his neighbours to hear them recite. The recitation of the Jâtakas is particularly popular but the suttas of the Dîgha Nikâya are also often read. On special occasions such as entry into a new house, an eclipse or any incident which suggests that it might be well to ward off the enmity of supernatural powers, it is usual to recite a collection of texts taken largely from the Suttanipâta and called Pirit. The word appears to be derived from the Pali _paritta_, a defence, and though the Pali scriptures do not sanction this use of the Buddha's discourses they countenance the idea that evil may be averted by the use of formulæ.[113]

Although Sinhalese Buddhism has not diverged much from the Pali scriptures in its main doctrines and discipline, yet it tolerates a superstructure of Indian beliefs and ceremonies which forbid us to call it pure except in a restricted sense. At present there may be said to be three religions in Ceylon; local animism, Hinduism and Buddhism are all inextricably mixed together. By local animism I mean the worship of native spirits who do not belong to the ordinary Hindu pantheon though they may be identified with its members. The priests of this worship are called Kapuralas and one of their principal ceremonies consists in dancing until they are supposed to be possessed by a spirit--the devil dancing of Europeans. Though this religion is distinct from ordinary Hinduism, its deities and ceremonies find parallels in the southern Tamil country. In Ceylon it is not merely a village superstition but possesses temples of considerable size[114], for instance at Badulla and near Ratnapura. In the latter there is a Buddhist shrine in the court yard, so that the Blessed One may countenance the worship, much as the Piṭakas represent him as patronizing and instructing the deities of ancient Magadha, but the structure and observances of the temple itself are not Buddhist. The chief spirit worshipped at Ratnapura and in most of these temples is Mahâ Saman, the god of Adam's Peak. He is sometimes identified with Lakshmana, the brother of Râma, and sometimes with Indra.

About a quarter of the population are Tamils professing Hinduism. Hindu temples of the ordinary Dravidian type are especially frequent in the northern districts, but they are found in most parts and at Kandy two may be seen close to the shrine of the Tooth.[115] Buddhists feel no scruple in frequenting them and the images of Hindu deities are habitually introduced into Buddhist temples. These often contain a hall, at the end of which are one or more sitting figures of the Buddha, on the right hand side a recumbent figure of him, but on the left a row of four statues representing Mahâbrahmâ, Vishṇu, Kârttikeya and Mahâsâman. Of these Vishṇu generally receives marked attention, shown by the number of prayers written on slips of paper which are attached to his hand. Nor is this worship found merely as a survival in the older temples. The four figures appear in the newest edifices and the image of Vishṇu never fails to attract votaries. Yet though a rigid Buddhist may regard such devotion as dangerous, it is not treasonable, for Vishṇu is regarded not as a competitor but as a very reverent admirer of the Buddha and anxious to befriend good Buddhists.

Even more insidious is the pageantry which since the days of King Tissa has been the outward sign of religion. It may be justified as being merely an edifying method of venerating the memory of a great man but when images and relics are treated with profound reverence or carried in solemn procession it is hard for the ignorant, especially if they are accustomed to the ceremonial of Hindu temples, not to think that these symbols are divine. This ornate ritualism is not authorized in any known canonical text, but it is thoroughly Indian. Asoka records in his inscriptions the institution of religious processions and Hsüan Chuang relates how King Harsha organized a festival during which an image of the Buddha was carried on an elephant while the monarch and his ally the king of Assam, dressed as Indra and Brahmâ respectively, waited on it like servants.[116] Such festivities were congenial to the Sinhalese, as is attested by the long series of descriptions which fill the Mahâvaṃsa down to the very last book, by what Fa-Hsien saw about 412 and by the Perahera festival celebrated to-day.

6

The Buddhism of southern India resembled that of Ceylon in character though not in history. It was introduced under the auspices of Asoka, who mentions in his inscriptions the Colas, Pândyas and Keralaputras.[117] Hsüan Chuang says that in the Malakûta country, somewhere near Madura or Tanjore, there was a stupa erected by Asoka's orders and also a monastery founded by Mahinda. It is possible that this apostle and others laboured less in Ceylon and more in south India than is generally supposed. The pre-eminence and continuity of Sinhalese Buddhism are due to the conservative temper of the natives who were relatively little moved by the winds of religion which blew strong on the mainland, bearing with them now Jainism, now the worship of Vishṇu or Śiva.

In the Tamil country Buddhism of an Asokan type appears to have been prevalent about the time of our era. The poem Manimegalei, which by general consent was composed in an early century A.D., is Buddhist but shows no leanings to Mahayanism. It speaks of Śivaism and many other systems[118] as flourishing, but contains no hint that Buddhism was persecuted. But persecution or at least very unfavourable conditions set in. Since at the time of Hsüan Chuang's visit Buddhism was in an advanced stage of decadence, it seems probable that the triumph of Śivaism began in the third or fourth century and that Buddhism offered slight resistance, Jainism being the only serious competitor for the first place. But for a long while, perhaps even until the sixteenth century, monasteries were kept up in special centres, and one of these is of peculiar importance, namely Kancîpuram or Conjeveram.[119] Hsüan Chuang found there 100 monasteries with more than 10,000 brethren, all Sthaviras, and mentions that it was the birthplace of Dharmapâla.[120] We have some further information from the Talaing chronicles[121] which suggests the interesting hypothesis that the Buddhism of Burma was introduced or refreshed by missionaries from southern India. They give a list of teachers who flourished in that country, including Kaccâyana and the philosopher Anuruddha.[122] Of Dharmapâla they say that he lived at the monastery of Bhadratittha near Kancipura and wrote fourteen commentaries in Pali.[123] One was on the Visuddhi-magga of Buddhaghosa and it is probable that he lived shortly after that great writer and like him studied in Ceylon.

I shall recur to this question of south Indian Buddhism in treating of Burma, but the data now available are very meagre.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 10: _E.g._ Burma in the reign of Anawrata and later in the time of Chapaṭa about 1200, and Siam in the time of Sûryavaṃsa Râma, 1361. On the other hand in 1752 the Sinhalese succession was validated by obtaining monks from Burma.]

[Footnote 11: Geiger, _Literatur und Sprache der Singhalesen_, p. 91.]

[Footnote 12: Compare the history of Khotan. The first Indian colonists seem to have introduced a Prakrit dialect. Buddhism and Sanskrit came afterwards.]

[Footnote 13: Literally demons, that is wild uncanny men. I refrain from discussing the origin and ethnological position of the Vaeddas for it hardly affects the history of Buddhism in Ceylon. For Vijaya's conquests see Mahâvaṃsa VII.]

[Footnote 14: IX. 26.]

[Footnote 15: Dîpavaṃsa I. 45-81, II. 1-69. Mahâvaṃsa I. 19-83. The legend that the Buddha visited Ceylon and left his footprint on Adam's peak is at least as old as Buddhaghosa. See Samanta-pâsâdikâ in Oldenburg's _Vinaya Pitaka_, vol. III, p. 332 and the quotations in Skeen's _Adam's Peak_, p. 50.]

[Footnote 16: Dîpa. V. x. 1-9. Mahâvaṃsa VIII. 1-27, IX. 1-12.]

[Footnote 17: Mahâvaṃsa X. 96, 102.]

[Footnote 18: For the credibility of the Sinhalese traditions see Geiger introd. to translation of Mahâvaṃsa 1912 and Norman in _J.R.A.S._ 1908, pp. 1 ff. and on the other side R.O. Franke in _W.Z.K.M._ 21, pp. 203 ff., 317 ff. and _Z.D.M.G._ 63, pp. 540 ff.]

[Footnote 19: Grünwedel, _Buddhist art in India_, pp. 69-72. Rhys Davids, _Buddhist India_, p. 302.]

[Footnote 20: The Jâtaka-nidâna-kathâ is also closely allied to these works in those parts where the subject matter is the same.]

[Footnote 21: This section was probably called Mahâvaṃsa in a general sense long before the name was specially applied to the work which now bears it.]

[Footnote 22: See introduction to Oldenburg's edition, pp. 8, 9.]

[Footnote 23: Perhaps this is alluded to at the beginning of the Mahâvaṃsa itself, "The book made by the ancients (porvâṇehi kato) was in some places too diffuse and in others too condensed and contained many repetitions."]

[Footnote 24: The Mahâvaṃsa was continued by later writers and brought down to about 1780 A.D.]

[Footnote 25: The Mahâvaṃsatîkâ, a commentary written between 1000 and 1250 A.D., has also some independent value because the old Aṭṭhakathâ-Mahâvaṃsa was still extant and used by the writer.]

[Footnote 26: Son according to the Sinhalese sources but according to Hsüan Chuang and others, younger brother. In favour of the latter it may be said that the younger brothers of kings often became monks in order to avoid political complications.]

[Footnote 27: The modern Mahintale.]

[Footnote 28: The Mahâvaṃsa implies that he had already some acquaintance with Buddhism. It represents him as knowing that monks do not eat in the afternoon and as suggesting that it would be better to ordain the layman Bhandu.]

[Footnote 29: The chronicles give with some slight divergences the names of the texts on which his preaching was based. It is doubtless meant that he recited the Sutta with a running exposition.]

[Footnote 30: Mahâvaṃ. xx. 17.]

[Footnote 31: Many other places claimed to possess this relic.]

[Footnote 32: Of course the antiquity of the Sinhalese Bo-tree is a different question from the identity of the parent tree with the tree under which the Buddha sat.]

[Footnote 33: Mahâvaṃ. XVIII.; Dîpavaṃ. XV. and XVI.]

[Footnote 34: But he says nothing about Mahinda or Sanghamittâ and does not support the Mahâvaṃsa in details.]

[Footnote 35: Duṭṭha, meaning bad, angry or violent, apparently refers to the ferocity shown in his struggle with the Tamils.]

[Footnote 36: Dîpavaṃsa XIX. 1. Mahâvaṃsa XXVII. 1-48. See Fergusson, _Hist. Ind. Architecture_, 1910, pp. 238, 246. I find it hard to picture such a building raised on pillars. Perhaps it was something like the Sat-mahal-prasâda at Pollanarua.]

[Footnote 37: Parker, _Ancient Ceylon_, p. 282. The restoration of the Ruwanweli Dagoba was undertaken by Buddhists in 1873.]

[Footnote 38: Mahâvaṃsa XXVIII.-XXXI. Duṭṭhagâmaṇi died before it was finished.]

[Footnote 39: Mahâvaṃsa XXIX. 37. Yonanâgarâlasanda. The town is also mentioned as situated on an Island in the Indus: Mil. Pan. III. 7. 4.]

[Footnote 40: According to the common reckoning B.C. 88-76: according to Geiger B.C. 29-17. It seems probable that in the early dates of Sinhalese history there is an error of about 62 years. See Geiger, _Trans. Mahâvaṃsa_, pp. XXX ff. and Fleet, _J.R.A.S._ 1909, pp. 323-356.]

[Footnote 41: For the site see Parker's _Ancient Ceylon_, pp. 299 ff. The Mahâvaṃsa (XXXIII. 79 and X. 98-100) says it was built on the site of an ancient Jain establishment and Kern thinks that this tradition hints at circumstances which account for the heretical and contentious spirit of the Abhaya monks.]

[Footnote 42: Mahâv. XXXIII. 100-104. See too the Ṫîkâ quote by Turnour in his introduction, p. liii.]

[Footnote 43: A work on ecclesiastical history written about 1395. Ed. and Trans. Colombo Record Office.]

[Footnote 44: The probable error in Sinhalese dates mentioned in a previous note continues till the twelfth century A.D. though gradually decreasing. For the early centuries of the Christian era it is probable that the accepted dates should be put half a century later]

[Footnote 45: Mahâvaṃsa XXXVI. 41. Vetulyavâdam madditvâ. According to the Nikâya Sang, he burnt their Piṭaka.]

[Footnote 46: On Kathâ-vat. XVIII. 1 and 2. Printed in the _Journal of the Pali Text Soc._ for 1889.]

[Footnote 47: Watters, II. 234. Cf. _Hsüan Chuang's life_, chap. IV.]

[Footnote 48: Mahâvaṃ. XXXVI. iii. ff. Goṭhâbhaya's date was probably 302-315 and Mahâsena's 325-352. The common chronology makes Goṭhâbhaya reign from 244 to 257 and Mahâsena from 269 to 296 A.D.]

[Footnote 49: Quoted by Turnour, Introd. p. liii. The Mahâvaṃ. V. 13, expressly states that the Dhammaruci and Sâgaliya sects originated in Ceylon.]

[Footnote 50: _I.e._ as I understand, the two divisions of the Sutta Vibhanga.]

[Footnote 51: It was written up to date at various periods. The chapters which take up the history after the death of Mahâsena are said to be the work of Dhammakitti, who lived about 1250.]

[Footnote 52: He was a contemporary of the Gupta King Samudragupta who reigned approximately 330-375 A.D. See S. Lévi in _J.A._ 1900, pp. 316 ff, 401 ff. This synchronism is a striking confirmation of Fleet and Geiger's chronology.]

[Footnote 53: _E.g._ the tomb of Râmânuja at Srîrangam.]

[Footnote 54: For a somewhat similar reason the veneration of relics is prevalent among Moslims. Islam indeed provides an object of worship but its ceremonies are so austere and monotonous that any devotional practices which are not forbidden as idolatrous are welcome to the devout.]

[Footnote 55: Dig. Nik. XVI. v. 27.]

[Footnote 56: Plutarch mentions a story that the relics of King Menander were similarly divided into eight portions but the story may be merely a replica of the obsequies of the Buddha.]

[Footnote 57: IV. 3, 24. The first text is from Mahâparinibbâna Sutta, V. 24. The second has not been identified.]

[Footnote 58: _Journal des Savants_, Oct. 1906.]

[Footnote 59: See Norman, "Buddhist legends of Asoka and his times," in _J.A.S._ Beng. 1910.]

[Footnote 60: Just as the Tooth was considered to be the palladium of Sinhalese kings.]

[Footnote 61: Record of Buddhist kingdoms. Legge, pp. 34, 35. Fa-Hsien speaks of the country not the town of Peshawar (Purûshapura).]

[Footnote 62: _Ibid._ p. 109. Fa-Hsien does not indicate that at this time there was a rival bowl in Ceylon but represents the preacher as saying it was then in Gandhara.]

[Footnote 63: Watters, I. pp. 202, 203. But the life of Hsüan Chuang says Benares not Persia.]

[Footnote 64: Marco Polo trans. Yule, II. pp. 320, 330.]

[Footnote 65: For the history of the tooth see _Mahâvaṃsa_, p. 241, in Turnour's edition: the Dathavaṃsa in Pali written by Dhammakitti in 1211 A.D.: and the Sinhalese poems Daladapujavali and Dhatuvansaya. See also Da Cunha, _Memoir on the History of the Tooth Relic of Ceylon_, 1875, and Yule's notes on Marco Polo, II. pp. 328-330.]

[Footnote 66: _I.e._ about 361 or 310, according to which chronology is adopted, but neither Fa-Hsien or Hsüan Chuang says anything about its arrival from India and this part of the story might be dismissed as a legend. But seeing how extraordinary were the adventures of the tooth in historical times, it would be unreasonable to deny that it may have been smuggled out of India for safety.]

[Footnote 67: Various accounts are given of the disposal of these teeth, but more than enough relics were preserved in various shrines to account for all. Hsüan Chuang saw or heard of sacred teeth in Balkh, Nagar, Kashmir, Kanauj and Ceylon. Another tooth is said to be kept near Foo-chow.]

[Footnote 68: Plausibly supposed to be Puri. The ceremonies still observed in the temple of Jagannath are suspected of being based on Buddhist rites. Dantapura of the Kâlingas is however mentioned in some verses quoted in Dîgha Nikâya XIX. 36. This looks as if the name might be pre-Buddhist.]

[Footnote 69: They are called Ranmali and Danta in the Râjâvaliya.]

[Footnote 70: There is a striking similarity between this rite and the ceremonies observed at Puri, where the images of Jagannâtha and his relatives are conveyed every summer with great pomp to a country residence where they remain during some weeks.]

[Footnote 71: See Tennent's _Ceylon_, vol. II. pp. 29, 30 and 199 ff. and the Portuguese authorities quoted.]

[Footnote 72: Fortune in _Two Visits to Tea Countries of China_, vol. II. pp. 107-8, describes one of these teeth preserved in the Ku-shan monastery near Foo-chow.]

[Footnote 73: This practice must be very old. The Vinaya of the Mûlasarvâstivâdins and similar texts speak of offering flowers to a tooth of the Buddha. See _J.A._ 1914, II. pp. 523, 543. The Pali Canon too tells us that the relics of the Buddha were honoured with garlands and perfumes.]

[Footnote 74: Chap. XXXVII.]

[Footnote 75: Both probably represent the tradition current at the Mahâvihâra, but according to the Talaing tradition Buddhaghosa was a Brahman born at Thaton.]

[Footnote 76: The Mahâvaṃsa says he composed the Jñânodaya and Atthasâlinî at this time before starting for Ceylon.]

[Footnote 77: Fa-Hsien is chary of mentioning contemporary celebrities but he refers to a Well-known monk called Ta-mo-kiu-ti (? Dhammakathi ) and had Buddhaghosa been already celebrated he would hardly have omitted him.]

[Footnote 78: In the Coms. on the Dîgha and Dhammasangani.]

[Footnote 79: See Rhys Davids and Carpenter's introduction to _Sumangalavi_, I. p. x.]

[Footnote 80: In the _Journal of Pali Text Soc._ 1891, pp. 76-164. Since the above was written the first volume of the text of the Visuddhi magga, edited by Mrs. Rhys Davids, has been published by the Pali Text Society, 1920.]

[Footnote 81: Bhagavato Sâsanam. See Buddhaghosuppatti, chap. I.]

[Footnote 82: It appears to be unknown to the Chinese Tripitaka. For some further remarks on the Sinhalese Canon see Book III. chap. XIII. § 3.]

[Footnote 83: That is according to Geiger 386-416 A.D. Perhaps he was the Ta-mo-kiu-ti mentioned by Fa-Hsien.]

[Footnote 84: The tendency seems odd but it can be paralleled in India where it is not uncommon to rewrite vernacular works in Sanskrit. See Grierson, _J.R.A.S._ 1913, p. 133. Even in England in the seventeenth century Bacon seems to have been doubtful of the immortality of his works in English and prepared a Latin translation of his _Essays._]

[Footnote 85: It is reported with some emphasis as the tradition of the Ancients in Buddhaghosuppatti, chap. VII. If the works were merely those which Buddhaghosa himself had translated the procedure seems somewhat drastic.]

[Footnote 86: Mahâv. XXXIII. Dhammasokova so kasi Piṭakattaye Saṇgahan. Dhâtusena reigned from 459-477 according to the common chronology or 509-527 according to Geiger.]

[Footnote 87: Mahâv. XLII. 35 ff.]

[Footnote 88: Mahâv. LXXVIII. 21-23.]

[Footnote 89: Mahâv. XXXVIII. Akâsi patimâgehe bahumangalacetiye boddhisatte ca tathâsun. Cf. Fa-Hsien, chap. XXVIII. _ad fin._]

[Footnote 90: Or Parakkama Bâhu. Probably 1153-1186.]

[Footnote 91: Mahâvaṃsa LX. 4-7.]

[Footnote 92: Mahâvaṃsa LXXVIII. 21-27.]

[Footnote 93: Mahâv. LXXXIV. If this means the region of Madras, the obvious question is what learned Buddhist can there have been there at this period.]

[Footnote 94: _J. Ant_. 1893, pp. 40, 41.]

[Footnote 95: I take this statement from Tennent who gives references.]

[Footnote 96: See _Ceylon Antiquary_, I. 3, pp. 148, 197.]

[Footnote 97: Râjasinha I (1581) is said to have made Śivaism the Court religion.]

[Footnote 98: His reign is dated as 1679-1701, also as 1687-1706. It is remarkable that the Mahâvaṃsa makes _both_ the kings called Vimala Dharma send religious embassies to Arakan. See XCIV. 15, 16 and XCVII. 10, 11.]

[Footnote 99: See for some details Lorgeou: Notice sur un Manuscrit Siamois contenant la relation de deux missions religieuses envoyées de Siam à Ceylon au milieu du xviii Siècle. _Jour. Asiat_. 1906, pp. 533 ff. The king called Dhammika by the Mahâvaṃsa appears to have been known as Phra Song Tham in Siam. The interest felt by the Siamese in Ceylon at this period is shown by the Siamese translation of the Mahâvaṃsa made in 1796.]

[Footnote 100: Râmañña is the part of Burma between Arakan and Siam.]

[Footnote 101: See Spence Hardy, _Manual of Buddhism_, chap. VII.]

[Footnote 102: A translation by S.Z. Aung and Mrs. Rhys Davids has been published by the Pali Text Society. The author Anuruddha appears to have lived between the eighth and twelfth centuries.]

[Footnote 103: The Sinhalese had a special respect for the Abhidhamma. Kassapa V (_c._ A.D. 930) caused it to be engraved on plates of gold. _Ep. Zeyl._ I. p. 52.]

[Footnote 104: See Coomaraswamy in _J.R.A.S._ 1909, pp. 283-297.]

[Footnote 105: For intercourse with Camboja see _Epigr. Zeylanica_, II. p. 74.]

[Footnote 106: A dubious legend relates that they were known in the north and suppressed by Harsha. See Ettinghausen, _Harsha Vardhana_, 1906, p. 86. Nil Sâdhana appears to be a name for tantric practices. See Avalon, _Principles of Tantra_, preface, p. xix.]

[Footnote 107: In the reigns of Vohâratissa, Goṭhâbhaya, Mahâsena and Ambaherana Salamevan. The kings Matvalasen and Mungayinsen are also known as Sena I and II.]

[Footnote 108: Secret Vinaya.]

[Footnote 109: _Epigraphia Zeylan_. I. p. 4.]

[Footnote 110: One of the king's inscriptions says that he reconciled the clergy of the three Nikâyas. _Ep. Zeyl_. I. p. 134.]

[Footnote 111: See Bowden in _J.R.A.S._ 1893, pp. 159 ff. The account refers to the Malwatte Monastery. But it would appear that the Pâtimokkha is recited in country places when a sufficient number of monks meet on Uposatha days.]

[Footnote 112: Even the poets were mostly Bhikkhus. Sinhalese literature contains a fair number of historical and philosophical works but curiously little about law. See Jolly, _Recht und Sitte_, p. 44.]

[Footnote 113: _E.g._ in the Aṭânâṭiya sutta (Dig. Nik. XXXII.) friendly spirits teach a spell by which members of the order may protect themselves against evil ones and in Jâtaka 159 the Peacock escapes danger by reciting every day a hymn to the sun and the praises of past Buddhas. See also Bunyiu, _Nanjios Catalogue_, Nos. 487 and 800.]

[Footnote 114: See for an account of the Maha Saman Devale, _Ceylon Ant._ July, 1916.]

[Footnote 115: So a mediæval inscription at Mahintale of Mahinda IV records the foundation of Buddhist edifices and a temple to a goddess. _Ep. Zeyl._ I. p. 103.]

[Footnote 116: Similarly in a religious procession described in the Mahâvaṃsa (XCIX. 52; about 1750 A.D.) there were "men in the dress of Brahmâs."]

[Footnote 117: Rock Edicts, II. and XIII. Three inscriptions of Asoka have been found in Mysore.]

[Footnote 118: The Manimegalei even mentions six systems of philosophy which are not the ordinary Darśanas but Lokâyatam, Bauddham, Sâṇkhyam, Naiyâyikam, Vaiśeshikam, Mîmâmsakam.]

[Footnote 119: Kan-chih-pu-lo. Watters, _Yüan Chuang_, II. 226. The identification is not without difficulties and it has been suggested that the town is really Negapatam. The Life of the pilgrim says that it was on the coast, but he does not say so himself and his biographer may have been mistaken.]

[Footnote 120: See art. by Rhys Davids in _E.R.E._]

[Footnote 121: See Forchhammer, _Jardine Prize Essay_, 1885, pp. 24 ff.]

[Footnote 122: Author of the _Abhidhammattha-sangaha._]

[Footnote 123: Some have been published by the P.T. Society.]