of every kalpa with the gods and with the spirits who, in the circle of births, have raised themselves to the world of the gods. Indeed, the reorganization of the spirit-world in the hands of Buddha goes further still. Already before Buddha, the Brahmans had left the low stand-point of mythological polytheism, and had risen to the conception of the Brahman, as the absolute divine, or super-divine being. To this Brahman also, who, in the Dhammapada, already appears as superior to the gods, a place is assigned in the Buddhist demonology. Over and above the world of the gods with its six paradises, the sixteen Brahma-worlds are erected worlds, not to be attained through virtue, and piety only, but through inner contemplation, through knowledge and enlightenment. The dwellers in these Brahma-worlds are more than gods; they are spiritual beings, without body, without weight, without desires. Nay, even this is not sufficient, and as the Brahmans had imagined a higher Brahman, without form and without suffering (tato yad uttarataram tad arûpam anâmayam, Svet. Up. 3, 10), the Buddhists, too, in their ideal dreams, imagined four other worlds towering high above the worlds of Brahman, which they call Arûpa, the worlds of the Formless. All these worlds are open to man, after he has divested himself of all that is human, and numberless beings are constantly ascending and descending in the circle of time, according to the works they have performed, and according to the truths they have discovered. But in all these worlds the law of change prevails, in none is there exemption from birth, age, and death. The world of the gods will perish like that of men; the world of Brahman will vanish like that of the gods; nay, even the world of the Form less will not last forever; but the Buddha, the enlightened and truly free, stands higher, and will not be affected or disturbed by the collapse of the universe, Si fractus illabatur orbis, impavidum ferient ruinæ. Here, however, we meet with a vein of irony, which one would hardly have expected in Buddha. Gods and devils he has located, to all mythological and philosophical acquisitions of the past he had done justice as far as possible. Even fabulous beings, such as Nâgas, Gandharvas, and Garudas, had escaped the process of dissolution and sublimization which was to reach them later at the hands of comparative mythologists. There is only one idea, the idea of a personal Creator, in regard to which Buddha seems merciless. It is not only denied, but even its origin, like that of an ancient myth, is carefully explained by him with the minutest detail. The Rev. D. J. Gogerly, in his numerous articles published in the local journals of Ceylon, has collected and translated the most important passages from the Buddhist Canon bearing on this subject. The Rev. Spence Hardy,1 too, another distinguished missionary in Ceylon, has several times touched on this point-a point, no doubt, of great practical importance to Christian missionaries. They dwell on such passages as when Buddha said to Upâsaka, an ascetic, who inquired who was his teacher and whose doctrine he embraced, "I have no teacher; there is no one who resembles me. In the world of the gods I have no equal. I am the most noble in the world, being the irrefutable teacher, the sole, all-perfect Buddha." In the Pârâgika section of the Vinaya Pitaka, a conversation is recorded between Buddha 1 Legends and Theories of the Buddhists, 1866, p. 171. 66 and a Brahman, who accused him of not honoring aged Brahmans, of not rising in their presence, and of not inviting them to be seated. Buddha replied, Brahman, I do not see any one in the heavenly worlds nor in that of Mâra, nor among the inhabitants of the Brahma-worlds, nor among gods or men, whom it would be proper for me to honor, or in whose presence I ought to rise up, or whom I ought to request to be seated. Should the Tathâgata (Buddha) thus act towards any one, that person's head would fall off." Such doctrines, as Gogerly points out, are irreconcilable with the doctrine of a universal Creator, who must necessarily be superior to all the beings formed and supported by him. But the most decisive passage on the subject is one taken from the Brahma-gâlasûtra,1 the first in the Dîrgha nikâya, which is itself the first work of the Sûtra Pitaka. It was translated by Gogerly, whose translation I follow, as the text has not yet been published. In the Brahma-gâlasûtra, Buddha discourses respecting the sixty-two different sects; among whom four held the doctrine both. of the preexistence of the soul, and of its eternal duration through countless transmigrations. Others believed that some souls have always existed, whilst others have had a commencement of existence. Among these one sect is described as believing in the existence of a Creator, and it is here that Buddha brings together his arguments against the correctness of this opinion. "There is a time," he says, "O Bhikshus, when, after a very long period, this world is destroyed. On the destruction of the world very many beings ob 1 See J. D'Alwis's Pâli Grammar, p. 88, note; Turnour, Mahâ ansa, Appendix iii. p. lxxv. tained existence in the Âbhâsvara1 Brahmaloka, which is the sixth in the series, and in which the term of life 1 The Âbhâsvara gods, âbhâssarâ in Pâli, are mentioned already in the Dhammapada, v. 200, but none of the minute details, describing the six worlds of the gods, and the sixteen worlds of Brahman, and the four of Arûpa, are to be found there. The universe is represented (v. 126) as consisting of hell (niraya), earth, heaven (svarga), and Nirvana. In v. 44 we find the world of Yama, the earth, and the world of the gods; in v. 104 we read of gods, Gandharvas, Mâra, and Brahman. The ordinary expression, too, which occurs in almost all languages, namely, in this world and in the next, is not avoided by the author of the Dhammapada. Thus we read in v. 168, “amim loke paramhi ka," in this world and in the next (cf. vv. 242, 410); we find in v. 20 "idhâ và huram vâ," here or there; in v. 15-18 we find "idha" and "pekka," here and yonder; pekka, i. e. pretya, meaning literally, "after having died" (cf. vv. 131, 306). We also find "idh'eva," here (v. 402), and “idha lokasmin," here in the world (v. 247), or simply "loke," in this world (v. 89); and "parattha" for "paratra," yonder, or in the other world. A very characteristic expression, too, is that of v. 176, where, as one of the greatest crimes, is mentioned the scoffing at another world. The following is a sketch of the universe and its numerous worlds, according to the later systems of the Buddhists. There are differences, however, in different schools. 1. The infernal regions: (1) Nyaya, hell. (2) The abode of animals. (3) The abode of Pretas, ghosts. (4) The abode of Asuras, demons. 2. The earth: (1) Abode of men. 3. The worlds of the gods: (1) Katur-mahârâga (duration, 9,000,000 years). (2) Trayastrimsa (duration, 36,000,000 years). (3) Yâma (duration, 144,000,000 years). (4) Tushita (duration, 576,000,000 years). (5) Nirmâna rati (duration, 2,304,000,000 years). (6) Paranirmita-vasavartin (duration, 9,216,000,000 years). 4. The worlds of Brahman: (a) First Dhyâna : (1) Brahma-parishadya (duration, kalpa). (2) Brahma-purohita (duration, † kalpa). (3) Mahâbrahman (duration, one kalpa). never exceeds eight kalpas. They are there spiritual beings (having purified bodies, uncontaminated with evil passions, or with any corporeal defilement); they have intellectual pleasures, are self-resplendent, traverse the atmosphere without impediment, and remain for a long time established in happiness. After a very long period this mundane system is reproduced, and the world named Brahma-vimâna (the third of the Brahmalokas) comes into existence, but uninhabited." "At that time a being, in consequence either of the period of residence in Âbhâsvara being expired, or in consequence of some deficiency of merit preventing him from living there the full (b) Second Dhyâna : (4) Parîttâbha (duration, two kalpas). (7) Parîttasubha (duration, sixteen kalpas). (8) Apramânasubha (duration, thirty-two kalpas). (9) Subhakritsna (duration, sixty-four kalpas). (d) Fourth Dhyâna : (Anabhraka, of Northern Buddhism.) (Punya-prasava, of Northern Buddhism.) (10) Vrihat-phala (500 kalpas). (11) Arangisattvas or Asangisattvas, of Nepal; Asanyasatya, of Ceylon, (500 kalpas). (e) Fifth Dhyâna: (12) Avriha (1,000 kalpas). (13) Atapa (2,000 kalpas). (14) Sudrisa (4,000 kalpas). (15) Sudarsana (8,000 kalpas). (Sumukha, of Nepal.) (16) Akanishtha (16,000 kalpas). 5. The world of Arûpa: (1) Akâsânantyâyatanam (20,000 kalpas). (2) Vigñânânantyâyatanam (40,000 kalpas). (3) Akiñkanyâyatanam (60,000 kalpas). (4) Naivasañignânâsañgnâ yatanam (30,000 kalpas). Cf. Burnouf, Introduction, p. 599 seq.; Lotus, p. 811 seq.; Hardy Manual, p. 25 seq, Bigandet, p. 449. |