At

CHAPTER III. a body of archers for that purpose; but the archers refused to obey orders, which would have stained their hands with the blood of so holy a man. last Ajata-satru appears to have been either terrified by his unpopularity, or suffering from the pangs of remorse; whilst at the same time he was probably sick of his advocacy of the cause of Devadatta against his religious master. Accordingly he sacrificed Devadatta, and made his peace with Sákya Muni. According to the legend Devadatta was transfixed in hell on bars of red-hot iron; but in all probability he was literally crucified by order of Ajata-satru.

42

Whilst the kingdom was torn by internal commotion, it was exposed to the assault of its ancient enemy, the Raja of Kosala. Prasa-najit, whose sister had been married to the murdered Vimbasara, was naturally aroused at the violent death of his brother-in-law; and at once seized possession of the disputed territory of Srávastí. But the reconciliation of Ajata-satru to Sákya Muni was followed by so strong a revulsion of feeling in his favour, that he soon drove Prasa-najit out of Srávastí. Indeed from Empire estab the day of reconciliation Ajata-satru commenced a career of victory, which enabled him to conquer all the neighbouring powers, and ultimately to annex the whole of Kosala and Vaisali to his old dominions.43

lished by Ajata

satru.

Sákya Muni might now perhaps have passed his declining years in pious tranquillity under the protection of this powerful Raja. The religion which

42 Crucifixion was until very lately the Burmese punishment for heresy. It has now, it is hoped, been brought to a conclusion through the spirited remonstrance of the British government.

43 Bigandet's Life of Gaudama, pages 252, 361; Hardy's Manual, page 285.

Latter years of

he taught presented powerful attractions in an age CHAPTER III. of political unrest; and whilst the masses were con- Sakya Muni. soled by the hope of a happier life in a future existence, many a ruined man was eager to bury his hopes and joys in the welcome seclusion of the Vihára, and ponder over the means by which he might sever every tie which bound him to this transitory existence. Moreover, Sákya Muni seems to have enjoyed not only the respect and veneration of many of his disciples, but the most ardent attachment; and for many years a faithful monk, named Ananda, whose memory is still revered throughout the world' of Buddhism, had devoted his whole life to personal attendance upon his aged master. But an impatience of his strict monastic discipline and despotic rule seems to have been springing up in the hearts of many of his priests, and he was too often disturbed by cavilling and dissension. Then again, although verging on his eightieth year, and as eloquent as ever in declaiming upon the miseries of existence, he seems to have been reluctant to leave the world. This no doubt arose from the natural reluctance of the old man to die; a reluctance which is common to all humanity, and which neither religion nor philosophy can entirely overcome, until the mind is convinced that the end is inevitable. Possibly, however, Sákya Muni foresaw the strife and trouble which would follow his departure. His anxiety upon this point was indeed deeply touching. He said to his disciples:-"When I am gone, do not say that Buddha has departed from you; for so long as you keep my law, so long you will have Buddha with you."

At this period Sákya Muni lost two of his older

Death of two favourite disciples.

CHAPTER III. priests, whom he had always regarded with peculiar favour, because they had been originally Bráhmans, and had deserted their Brahmanical preceptor in order to embrace the three gems. One died peacefully in his old age; but the other was brutally murdered by assassins, who are said to have been hired by the Tirthakaras. The last event created much excitement amongst the disciples. They naturally asked what crime so good a priest had committed to justify such a horrible death. They were told in reply that in a former life he had taken his parents into the jungle, and left them to perish; and that his death in the present existence had been a fitting punishment for such an atrocious deed. Raja Ajata-satru exacted a terrible revenge, by ordering both the murderers and their instigators to be buried in the earth up to the waist, and then burnt alive. Sákya Muni however bitterly felt the loss; and it is said that his last public act was to order stupas, or memorial mounds, to be raised over the relics of the two elders; the one at the entrance to the Vilára near Srávastí, and the other at the entrance to the Vilára near Rajagriha.

Alleged origin of the com

relics.

It is difficult to say whether this commemoration memoration of of relics was introduced by Sákya Muni, or originated in a later age. Either way it has formed for centuries an important element in the religion of Buddha, and is thus invested with a deep significance. Man must worship: it is an instinct of humanity. It is a healthy aspiration of the soul to seek out some ideal of goodness, beauty, or power, whom it may propitiate or adore. or adore. This aspiration Sákya Muni sought to stifle, by ignoring all deity. But he could not root it out of the human heart; and

it accordingly found a vent in reverence for his own CHAPTER III. memory, and that of his more illustrious priests. Thus bits of bone, teeth, and other nameless relics are treasured up as memorials of Buddhist saints; and countless images of Sákya Muni are to be found of every size throughout the world of Buddhism, from tiny figures carried in the hand, to colossal statues of enormous height. This may be worship, but it is not idolatry. The images are not gods, but mere memorials of the great teacher and enlightener; and the reverence paid to them is but a development of that religion of the affections, without which devotion itself will soon harden into a cold and fossil creed.44

Muni.

The narrative of the death of Sákya Muni, or, to Death of Sakya use the language of Buddhism, the circumstances under which his soul entered Nirvána, are startling from their extreme simplicity. He was journeying through the country of Kosala, when a pious worshipper put a roast sucking-pig into his alms-bowl; and the old apostle is said to have partaken so freely of the rich food, that it brought on an internal complaint which proved fatal. He was taken very ill on the road, and a couch was prepared for him under a tree. There he passed a night of severe suffering, but continued to exhort his disciples to the last, and

44 According to the legend of the life of Gótama, he is said to have himself originated this reverence for relics at an early period of his teaching, by giving eight of the hairs from his head to some merchants who had come from Burma. The merchants are said to have received these relics with becoming reverence, and to have built a pagoda over them, which is still famous throughout eastern Asia as the great Shwé-dagon pagoda at Rangoon. But the sceptic might urge that apostles rarely give away relics of themselves, and certainly not at the commencement of their career; and if Gótama was so thoroughly shaved, as he ought to have been by the rules of his order, he would have found insuperable difficulties in procuring the hairs.

Significance of the legend respecting

CHAPTER III. frequently repeated the fundamental principle of his religion that all existences are transitory. At early dawn his soul sunk into the eternal rest of Nirvána. The death of Sakya Muni from eating too much cause of death. roast pork has a deep significance. It is generally accepted as a literal fact; for although it seems to detract from the piety of the saint, the story is admitted by the Buddhists themselves. It certainly appears strange that Sákya Muni should have eaten flesh meat in direct opposition to his great commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." But still this point is capable of explanation. All Kshatriyas are flesh eaters by instinct; and in the present day the Buddhists urge that the commandment is not a Brahmanical caste law against eating flesh meat, but a Buddhist law against putting any animal to death.45 Accordingly, whilst the pious Buddhist will not kill, he will readily eat the flesh of an animal that has been slaughtered by another, or killed by an accident, or died a natural death. The disease also of which Sakya Muni died is strangely suggestive. At different periods of his life he was subject to internal complaints, and frequent mention is made of a doctor, named Jevaka, who cured his previous attacks, probably by administering opium. It is therefore not impossible that Sákya Muni derived his conception of Nirvána from the pleasurable repose produced by opium. In the present day, however, opium is treated as an intoxicating drug, and as such is forbidden to all Buddhists.

The events which followed the death of Sákya

45 It will be seen hereafter that both the story and the explanation are the probable invention of some flesh-loving monk, and were apparently interpolated for the sake of obtaining the highest authority for the indulgence.