THE LIFE OF VASU-BANDHU

BY

')

PARAMRTHA

(A.D. 499-569)

TRANSLATED BY

J.

TAKAKUSU,

M.A., Ph.D.

Ba-su-ban-du

*)
')

(Vasu-bandhu), Master of the Law, was a native

(Purua-pura), N. ludia. "Fu-lu-sha" (purua)
^).

of Fu-lu-sha-fu-la

means "hero"

*),

and "Fa-la" (pura) "territory"

It is said in the

"Genealogy of Bi-shu-nu" (Visnu) the lord of

heaven
(Indra)

^):
').

"He
The

(Viu)

was a younger brother of Sakra the Lord

latter sent

him

to

be born in Jambu-dvipa

')

as a

1) Chinese

Tripifaka, Japanese edition, vol.

n". 1468.

XXIV,

part 9, pp.115 v"

llSr".

Cf.

BuNYiu Nanjio, Catalogue,

6)

WkSIft^^BEtft'not occur, as a

"^^'^

'"""*

*<

"''n

Visou-purio, bat the

it

story

does

whole, though there are occasional allnsions to

throughout

the Puraua.

8)

S ff ti

i-^Iodia.

270

3.

TAKAK8U.
^).

King, in order to subdue Asura

as

He was

born in Jambu-dvpa
*").

a son of the King Ba-su-dai-ba (Vasu-deva)

called

There was an
"Indra"
is

Asura

In-da-la-da-ma-na
the Lord,

(Indra-damana)

'^).

name

of Sakra

and "damana" means "subduing". This

akra the Lord.

Asura was erer in

battle with

He had

that

name

signifying that he was able to subdue Sakra.

The

treatise Bi-ka-la '^)

(Vykarana-sstra) explains the meaning of the word "Asura" as

"without virtuous pleasure"

*')

thus the word "Asura" in Chinese

All

must be understood
their

in

this

sense.

gods ever regard good as

evil

enjoyment,

while

A suras

consider

as

their pleasure,

The

hence the name. The word (A-sura) also

signifies

"non-god"

**).

Asura in question had a younger

sister Ba-la-ha-ba-ti (prabhavat) '^).

"Prabha" means "splendour", "vati" a "lady".

sessed

The lady was posthe god, Visnu, in-

of beauty.
his
sister

The Asura, wishing

to

to

kill

duced

entice

him.

Through

his

power of

iiiagic

he

brought darkuees upon a part of Jambu-dvpa.

the dark,
to be

He

hid himself in
his sister

so

as

not to

let

anyone see him, and ordered

by herself in the
you
for

light.

He

further told her: "If a

'If

man

wish

to take

wife,

you are to say:

you want

to take

me,

my
If

elder brother is sure to object.

He

is

possessed of great strength.

you

are

able

to

fight

with

my

brother I will then give

my

consent'". Visu, the god, afterwards saw that

woman

in the light,

and was exceedingly delighted with her.

He

asked her

who

she was.

')

S ^ SP
I

THE LIFE OV VASU-BANDUU.

'*I

271

am

young womau belonging

said,

to

an Asura" was the answer.

I

The god
no
80
wife,

"Asura women frequently marry gods.

myself have

and you too have no husband.

Now

wish to marry you

that

we may

see

each

other;

will

you consent?"

She then

answered him in the words previously taught by her brother.

said:

He
As

"You think
I

favourably of

me and

therefore
I

you say

so.

you love me
I

will

not leave you alone. Since

have great strength,

last to

will

fight

with your brother".

She consented at
Asura
then

and they
the
light

became

husband
Visiju,

and

wife.

The

went

and asked
sister

the god,

why

he had unceremoniously taken his

as
1

wife".

He
your
is

replied:
sister

"If I
wife.

am

not a hero you

I

may

object

when

take

to

But

am

a hero and had no

It is

wife; your sister

young woman and had no husband.

but

reasonable that I took her as

my

wife.

Why

do you wonder at it?"

The Asura
you
to

said:

"What

qualification

have you, on account of which

call yourself a

hero? If you are really a hero you will be able

the
victory,

fight

with

me and win

then

will give

you

my
me

sister in

marriage". The god answered: "If you do not believe

we

will

put

it

to

the

test

(by

duel)".

Then they
Vis^u
is

seized their

weapons and began

of Nryaca,

to strike each other.

an incarnation

upon whose body no striking or wounding can take

god
cut
the

any
head
other
cut.

eflfect.

The

Asura's

head

off,

but instantly the

came

back to his body, and so with his hands, arms, and

of his frame; they recovered as soon as they were
till

portions

From morning

evening the god continued striking, yet the

Asura shewed no sign of death.

gradually

The strength

of the god

became

exhausted, and he

seemed more and more fatigued and

embarrassed.
all

When

night approached the power of the Asura became

afraid that

the greater.

The Lady of Light (Prabh-vati), being

her husband

might not be a match

for the Asura, took a flower

10

272
of Ut-ba-la (Utpala)
^''),

J.

TAKAKUSU.
two
pieces,

split it into

and threw one on

one

side,

the other on the other. She then walked between the two

pieces

and came back again.

The god seeing

of the

it

understood what
Asura's body and

she
tore

meant.
it

Thereupon

he

caught hold

into

two

pieces,

which he threw on
again.
a

either side.

He walked
expired.

between

them
he

and
had

back
to

Thereupon

the

Asura

Formerly

gone

Rsi and asked a blessing, saying,

I

"Pray

let

my

body recover at once whenever

am

cut through or

wounded".

The Ri gave him

life

the benefit requested, and therefore

he did not lose his

afterwards

when he was wounded. But

kill

the

Rsi himself was desirous that the gods might

did not give

him and

so he

him the

benefit of recovery in case of his being split

asunder.
his

This was the reason

why he

afterwards

lost his life

by

being torn into two pieces.

Vinu, the god, showed himself a

it is

hero (purua) in this region, therefore

called the

"Land

of the

Hero" (Purua-pura)

^').

In

the
of

country
the
all

(just

named)
of

there

was a court
(Kausika)

priest
'^).

*^),

Brahman
three

family

"Kiau-shi-ka"

He had

sous,

named Ba-su-bau-du (Vasu-bandhu); Vasu means

(India)
^'')

"God" and Bandhu "Kinsman". In Tien-chu

obtains
in

this
all

custom
by one
in

the

naming

of children.

Though they

call

and the same name, they, nevertheless, give

order to distinguish one from the other.

dififerent

epithets

16)

^^^
g|
pjp
lit.

Yu-po-lo, Jap. Ut-ba-la, Utpala, blue lotus.

is

17) All the above

an

explanation of the

name "Purusa-pura", and has nothing

to

do with the subject-matter of this work.

18)

"Teacher of the country", an honorific

it

title

in

China given to a

priest of renown. In

want of any better word for

I use here "court priest".

19) 'j*!^ Jr^ yIP

Kiao-ssu-chia. Jap. Kiau-shi-kia.

20)

^ ^C

Tien-chu, originally for Sindhu.

THE LIFE OF VASU-BANDH.

273
*')

The

third son,

Vasu-bandhu, became a priest in the Sat-ba- ta

(Sarvstivada) school, and attained the Arbatship. His distinguishing

epithet

was

Bi-lin-ji-bat-sa ^*)
his

(Virinci-vatsa);

Bi-Iiu-ji

(Virinci)

was the name of

"child".
for

mother and Bat-sa (Vatsa) means "son" qr

to

The

latter

word (Bat-sa) applies equally

is

man and
this

animal,
**),

instance

calf
is

also

called
^*).

"Vatsa".

In

country

however, a calf

called

"tu"

The

eldest

sou,

Vasu-bandhu,

was a man who was endowed

with the innate character of a Bodhisattva.

He

too became a priest

in the Sat-ba-ta (Sarvsti-vda) school, but afterwards

he practised
investigated
it.

meditation
the

and

became

free

from

desire.

Though he

doctrine
to

of nothinguess,
suicide.

he could not understand

(Piijdlola) ")

He

was.

about

commit
in

Biu-du-la

an Arhat, who
this,

was then

Eastern

(Parva)

Videha "),

having perceived

came

to

him

from

that
to

region,

and expounded the doctrine of

nothingness

peculiar

the Hina-yna.

He

arranged his thought

it.

according as he was taught, and at once comprehended

Though

he attained the doctrine of nothingness peculiar to the Hna-yna he

nevertheless did not find comfort in
it.

Thinking that

it

would not
heaven ")

be right to drop

it

altogether, he

went up

to the Tuita

by the supernatural power peculiar to the Hna-yua and enquired

of Maitreya, the Bodhi-sattva,

who expounded

for

him the doctrine

21)

^^ ^S ^^

Sa

p'o-to, Jap. Sat-ba-ta.

^^)

i^MW^^

Pi-lin-tsu-p'o-sha.

23) "This country" here seems to mean "China".

274

i.

TAKAKUS.

of aothingaess belonging to the Mah-yna.

When

he returned to
to

Jambu-dvpa he investigated by the methods explained

soon

him, and

became

enlightened.
to

While he was engaged

its

in investigation

the earth began

quake (of
doctrine

own

accord) in six ways. Since

he

understood
^*),

the

of

nothingness

he

called

himself

"Asanga"
often

which

means "without attachment".

heaven in order
to ask

He

afterwards

went up

to the Tuita

Maitreya the
it

doctrine of the
extensively
for

Mah-yna
him.

sitras.

The Bodhi-sattva expounded

Whenever he acquired anything he used

to

to

come

back

to

Jambu-dvpa
not

teach

it

to others.

Most of those

hearing

him

did

believe

him.

Asanga, Teacher of the Law,

then prayed saying: "I

in

now

intend to

make
I

all

beings fully believe

the

doctrine
to

of the

Mah-yna.
to

only pray thee.

Oh

Great

Master,

come down
that
all

Jambu-dvpa and propound the Mah-

yna

in

order

beings

may be

fully

convinced of

it".

Maitreya, thereupon, in accordance with his prayer, came

down

to

Jambu-dvpa

at

night,

flooding

it

"with

great rays of light, had a

large assembly of those connected with (the law) called in a lecture

hall,

and

began

to

recite the stitra of the

Sapta-dasa-bhmis
its

*^).

After having recited

passage he would explain

purport.

The

seventeen

Bhumis were
all

finished during the nights of four months.

to

Although
the

were together in one and the same hall listening

it

discourse,

was,

nevertheless,

only Asaga, Teacher of the

Law, who had access

could merely hear
religious

to the Bodhisattva Maitreya, while the others

afar.

him from
by

At

night,

all

together heard the

discourse

Maitreya,

while

in

the

day time Asanga,

Teacher of the Law, commented once again, for the sake of the
others,

upon what was taught by the Bodhisattva. In

this

way

all

28)
29)

|5J

# "p -b ^ i%
f

A-sang-kia.
^^ Nanjio'8

No.

170.

THE LIFE OF VASU-BAN1IU.

275

the people could hear and believe in the doctrine of the Mah-yna.

Maitreya,

the

Bodhisattva,

taught Asanga, Teacher of the Law, to

(meditation)
^'').

study

the

"sunlight"

saraadhi

As he

studied

it

according as he was taught he subsequently attained to that abstract

meditation.

After he attained to this abstract meditation, what he

all

could not understand formerly became

intelligible.

Whatever he
retentive,

heard

or

saw

was

never

forgotten,

his

memory being

whereas he formerly could not fully understand the stras of the

Mah-yna such

as

the

Avataihsaka,
all

previously

taught

by

the

Buddha. Maitreya explained for him

the

these in the Tuita heaven,

in

Teacher

of

the

Law

thus

became well versed

in

them and

remembered

them

all.

He

afterwards
'')

Jambu-dvpa composed

several -pa-dai-sha (Upade^a)

in

on the stras of the Mah-yna,

which he expounded

all

the teachings of the

Mah-yna taught

by the Buddha.

The second

Vasu-bandhu
'*).

entered

the

priesthood

also

in

the

Sat-ba-ta (Sarvsti-vda)

His learning was wide, his knowledge

many

sided;

he was

well versed in all literature.

His intellectual

genius, brilliant and

his

transparent,

was absolutely unequalled, while

high,

personal

discipline,

pure

and

could

by

no means be
distinguishing

excelled.

As
this

his

elder

and

younger
(i. e.

brothers had

names,
called

Teacher of the Law

the second son) was simply

"Vasu-bandhu".

^^^
patti, 24.6);

yd

"
'-

cS

'I^E

'^^'

'*

* samadhi called "nrya-j)rabhii-tejaH" (Mahavyut-

otherwise interpreted in Chinese

-^

P -^

HH

Mr. Wogiwara

kindly furnished

me

with the note.

31)

1^ "^

^-

'^^^

commentaries so-called.

It is translated

^^

"dii-

cussion", "discourse", in Chinese.

32) See above, 21.

276

J.

TARAKUSU.

In the sixth century ") after the Buddha's Nirvana there lived

an

Arhat

called

the
after

"son of Ka-shen-yen" (Katyyan-putra)

his

^*).

He was named
(Ktyyani).

mother,

her

name being Ka-shen-yen

In early years he entered the priesthood in the Sat-

ba-ta (Sar7sti-vda) school.

He was

a native of Tien-chu (India)

^^),

*^).

Afterwards

he

went

to

Ki-pin

(Kamra)

which

is

situated

north-west of Tien-chu (India).

He with 500

other Arhats and 500

Bodhi-sattvas collected the A-bi-dat-ma (Abhidharma) ") belonging

to the Sat-ba-ta (Sarvsti-vda) school

and arranged them in eight

called

Ka-lan-ta

(Grantha,
^).

book)

*^),

which are

here

(in

China)

"Eight Kan-tu"

"Ka-lan-ta" (Grantha)

may

be interpreted "Joint"

33)
in

Tl^

^^^p

fp

ill

Chinese means "In the

five

hundred years"

i.

e.

at a

time

500
34)

599

years A.B., therefore "the sixth century".

MM^^'
^ k.
1^ ^S
lately
texts,

35)

36)
corrected
earlier

"Ki-pin"

was considered

to

he

"Kubh"
it

Kabul

(Eitel),

but this was

and held to he Kapisa.

this

But

in reality

stands for Kasmira, at least, in

and

for
2.

the

following

reasons: 1. Chinese authorities always identify

said to have been translated .O.

Ki-pin

with

Kasmira.

The Chinese Miliada-panho,

317

420,

has Ki-pin for the Pali "Kasmira". 3.

The Chinese Samauta-psSdik

of
his.

Buddhamission.

ghosa, translated A.D. 488, has "Ki-pin" also for Kasmira, where Asoka sends

Nanjio's Nos. 1358, 1125. I think these are sufficient to show that "Ki-pin" was intended
for

Kasmira, say, before the 5th century. With the introduction

of a

more accurate
"Ki-pin"

trans-

cription

by

Hiuen-tsang,

i.

e.

Ka-shu-mi-la

iQD

yM ^
'Ki-pin'

^M)'
is

disappears

altogether.

"Ki-pin" here

here

in
to.

our passage must mean Kasmira in any case, for Kaniska's

In

council

is

alluded

Song-yun's

travels

Kasmra, see Chavannes,

Voyage de Song-yun, pp. 39

Journal Asiatique, 1895,
II,

(4),

57

(3).

(But comp, on the identity of Ki-pin and Kapisa,

1896,
I.

371384;
lit.

161; 1897.

II,

529, note 2.)

37) The text

"compiled".

-j^ "^r

"selected and put together". It

may mean

"collected" or

Kpf MJ'

^^ j^

A-p'i-ta-ma, Jap. A-bi-dai-ma.

38) iWR
as

^m

"Ugi "Ka-lan-ta"

is,

according to Paramartha, "Grantha", not "Khapda",

a principal text-book of the Sarvasti-vadins
is

Nanjio

supposed.

The work being

well

preserved in China and Japan. Nanjio's Nos. 1273, 1275.

^^)

J^

rather represents a

^* stands ^. Prakrit form "Gantho".

''
*!

for

"Grantha" according

to

Paramartha, or

THE LIFE OF VA8U-BANDHU.

or "Section"
*),

277

"Joint" because the groups of priucipl es are joined

that
is

together

in

it,

to

say,

are so

bound together that they

cannot
has
its

be

sundered;
definite

"section",
limits.

because each group of principles

is

own

Again, this compilation

called the

"Discourse on the Production of Knowledge"*').

By means

of his

divine wisdom, and the power born of his vows, the Arhat proclaimed
to
all,

far

and

near,

"If there be any

let

who formerly heard

the

Abhidharraa propounded by the Buddha,

he

him communicate what

Thereupon the Devas,
*')

knows

whether

it

be
*^),

much

or little".

Ngas, Ya-sha (Yaksa)

heaven,

even to the regents of the Akanitha

the teaching of the

who had heard formerly

Abhidharma by

the Buddha, and brought their several contributions,

some

extensive,

some

short,

even to one sentence or one verse (Gth). Ktyyan-

putra, together with the Arhats

and Bodhi-sattvas, made a selection

from

the

principles

thus

collected.

When
the

the principles did not

contradict

the

Shu-ta-la

(Sutra)

and
*'),

Bi-na-ya
all

(Vinaya)

**),

they

assorted

and registered them

*').

but rejected

those which
selected

conflicted

with these authorities

The compositions they

were grouped together according to their principles; those illustrating

the principle
of

wisdom (prajna) were

collected in the

"Book

of

Wisdom"

(Prajn-grautha),

those expounding the principle of me-

ditation (dhyna) in the

Book of Meditation (Dhyua-grantha), and

^0) 41) *2)

i^

>-

^^ ^^ gS

or

-^f !^S

gm

i.e. "Jfiana-prasthna (Nanjio's

1276).

48) 1$^

^ 31 &
^^
.

iS

Bt 5^

ka-ni-shi-ta".

45) 4ffi

text

has

4ffi

^K

"selected

and

engraved",

which

might have

suggested to Hiuen-tsang the story of an engraving on copper plates after the CoonciL.

46) This sentence

is

the

old

doctrine laid

down

in the

Book of the Great Dcceaie;

Digha 2, 124126.

278
SO with the to

J.

TAKAKSU.

remainiag groups. The eight books (grantha) atnoauted

*7).

50,000 verses (slokas)

When
also to

they had finished composing the eight books they intended

**),

compose a Bi-ba-sha (Vibhs)

in order to explain

the

meanings.

The
of

Bodhi-sattva,

Ma-ming
^*')

(Ai^va-ghosa)

*^),

who was

a native
^'),
^*)

Sha-ki-ta

(Sketa)
in

of

the

country of Sha-yei (rSvast)

was well versed

the eight divisions of the Bi-ka-la (Vyakaraia)

treatise, in the four

Vedas, and the six treatises on them (Vedangas),

and was conversant with the Tri-pitakas of all the eighteen (Buddhist)
schools.

He was

the Laureate of Literature, the Treasury of Learning,

the

Home

of every

Virtue

^*),

Ktyayan-putra sent an envoy to

in order to

Sha-yei (ravast) to invite

bellish
for

Ma-ming (Asva-ghosa)
compositions.

em-

him the

literary

When Ma-ming

(Asva-

ghosa) came to
eight

Ki-pin (Kasmra), Ktyyan-putra expounded the

succession.

books

in

All

the Arhats and the Bodhi-sattvas

then thoroughly examined them.

When

the

meaning of the

principles

had been
literary

settled,

Ma-ming (Asva-ghosa) put them one by one

of twelve

into

form.

At the end

years the composition of the

47) Here the

text

ha?

\Ri
much

'Ge',

Gth; but

it

stands

as usual for "Sloka".

is

The
said

collection seems to have been

larger than the original of the Chinese, which

to have been 15,072 Slokas in Sanskrit. (See Nanjio's 1273).

48)

p^ J^ ^^
R|.
.

"Vibhs" "optional principles", a commentary

so-called.

49) ,||
50)

^- ^^ ^^
p.

Sketa was a city adjoining with Ayodhy (Oude), see Rhys Davids'

Buddhist India
51) 52)

39 and the Authorities cited there.

^ ^.
/\
IPJT

:S^

% & ,^ i^'
is

32 chapters. See below 88.

53) This passage

"/l^

by no means easy to translate, the text runs,

^T

^r^

^^

f^sf*
is

'^^

'W'
I

^""^

jV

* ^^^^ ^"^

"^T*

w^'ch makes

it

worse.

My

rendering

,9

only

tentative.

take

Hit Ujm

"Tripitaka"

with

-J-

i^ ^^R

"18 schools",

which

had a Tripitaka differing from one another. (See

my

l-tsing's

Record, p. xxiti).

THE LIFE OK VA8U-BANDHU.

Bi-ba-sha (Vibh^) was
(lokas).
finished.
is

279

It

consisted of 1,000,000 verses

"Bi-ba-sha"

(Vibhaa)

to

be

interpreted

into

Chinese

"Extensive Analysis" ").

When

the literary composition was finished Ktyyni-putra set

this proclamation:

up a stone inscribed with

learn this

"Those who hereafter

Law must

not go out of the country of Ki-pin (Kamira).

No

sentence of the eight books (Ata-grantha), no sentence of the

lest

Bi-ba-sha (Vibhs) must pass out of the land,

the

the other schools, or

Mah-yna

(sic)

should corrupt the true Law". The setting up of this

^*),

proclamatiou was reported to the King

who duly approved

mountains on
all

it.

The country
like a fortified

of Ki-pin

(Kara) had

sides,

town.

There was only a single gate through which

one could go iu or out.

of their

The sages
subjection

there,

through the power born

vows, had

in

all

the

Ya-sha (Yaksa)

^'')

gods,

and

set

them

to

guard the gate.

Anyone

desirous of learning the

Law

could come to Ki-pin (Kasmira) and was in no

way

interrupted.
their 'Tan-

All the sages moreover

made the 500 Ya-sha (Yaksa)

power born of
no

wet' (patrons, Dana-pati) ") through the

their vows.

To one who was studying

personal use was lacking.

the

Law

there,

article required for

In the country of A-yu-ja (Ayodhy)

the

*')

there was a teacher of

possessed an unsur-

Law named

"Ba-sha-su-ba-da-la"

^^),

who

^4)
1263).

^[ ^^

"Enlarged exposition".

In Chinese

it

has 438,449 characters (Nanjio's

55) This King will be Kaniska,

who

is

said to be a
is

contemporary of Ara-ghosa, and

under

whom

the Buddhist Council, alluded to here,

believed to have taken place.

66)
57)

:j^X>j

^%

Tanwet

i.

e.

Unapati, "benefactor", "patron".

58) Cf. above (49).

59) Ch.
siibhadra
p.

^^ ^. ^^ ^
I

fl|

" lia-sha-8u-ba-da-la"

may

be

something like vasa-

but

propose "Vasu-bhadra" the

S^

"Sha" being superfluous. Comp. Nanjio,

375

(36).

280
passed
intellect

J.

TAKAKUSU.
knowledge.

aud

great

Anything once heard, he

remembered.

He

intended to learn the meanings of the eight books,

to

and the Bi-ba-sha (Vibhs) in order

other
countries.
to

promulgate them in the

of a

He assumed
(Kasmra).

the

appearance

madman and

went

Ki-pin
the

He was always

in the great assembly

hearing

Law,

but

his

manner was strange and incongruous,

ill-assorted.

and
in

his speech

and laughter were

Now

he would discuss

the

assembly the principles of the Bi-ba-sha (Vibhsa), then he

inquire

would

about

the story of the La-ma-yen (Rmyacia)

lightly of

^).

The people thought

disregarded him.

him and, though hearing him

talk,

During the period of twelve years he learned the

Bi-ba-sha (Vibhs) several times and became conversant with the

meanings of the composition. He committed

all

to his

memory, and,

with the intention of returning to his native laud, came to the gate.

The Ya-sha (Yaksa) on guard proclaimed

in a loud voice that the

great master of the A-bi-dat-ma (Abhidharma) was about to go out

of the country. Thereupon they took hold of him and escorted

him

back to the great assembly.

His colleagues examined him, but his

speech was disconnected and could not be understood by any. All

considered him to be a

madman and

let

him

alone. Afterwards he

was

again passing through the gate.

The gods (Yaksas) a second

time stopped him and took him back. At last this was reported to
the King,

who

himself examined him in the great assembly. The

others re-examined him, but failed to understand

him

just as before.

For a third time he repeated the same action and was brought back.

But

when he

did

so

fourth time,

although the gods (Yaksas)

took him back, nobody would examine him any more, but ordered
the Ya-sha (Yaksa)
to

send

him

away

from the country.

at

When

he

reached

his

native land

(Ayodhya) he

once proclaimed, so

60)

THE LIFE OF VA8U-BADHU.

that
all

281
follows:

those

near

and

far

could

hear aud know, as

"1 have learned the Bi-ba-sha (Vibhs) of Ki-pin (Karaira); the

meanings of the composition are complete

able
to learn

in

me.

Those who are

may come

at once and acquire all".

all

Thereupon the

people thronged together -from

gather.

the four quarters just as clouds

As he was already advanced

not finish
acquire
it

in age he

was afraid that he could

ordered his pupil to
as it

the transmission

of the

Law.

He

as quickly as possible. It
last it

was written out as soon

was taught, and at

(Kamra)
sighed

was completed.

The

teachers in Ki-pin

over

the

news that the Law was promulgated

among

the people of another country.

In the tenth century

^')

after the

Buddha's Nirvi^a there was

**).

a heretic called the "Bin-ja-ka-ba-sha" (Vindhya-vasa)

"Bin-ja-ka"

(Vindhya)
"residing".

is

the

name

of a mountain and "Ba-sha" (Vasa)

means

The

heretic

was

so

called

because he lived in that

mountain. There was a King of the Ngas named "Bi-li-sha-ka-na"

(Vrsa-gana, Varsa-ga^ya)
of that mountain.
"')

who was

living in a lake at the foot

The King of the Nagas was

(Sihkhya-sstra).

well versed in the

"Seug-ch'ia-lun"

*)

The

heretic

above

named,

knowing
to study

that

the

Nga was

well versed (in the doctrine), wished

to disguise himself

under

hira.

The Nga used

and assume

l)

^
Ch.
to

1^

^
as
37).

ft'

'"

^^^ years,

e.,

at

time

in

900999

years A.B.,

therefore "the lOth century".

62)

"i)in-8he-ho-po-8ha"

^ ^ ^ ^^
fl^
Wassilieff's

The "She-ho", Jap.

"ja-ka",
is

corresponds
therefore

"dhya"

of

the

Sanskrit;
already

transliteration

"Vindhyaka-vasa"

wrong,
p.

Garbe

has

suggested.

(See Wassilieff, Buddhismus, p.

230;

Garbe, S. ph.,
63) flit 64)

5^
f-

jjj^ il/n

JR

Ph. "pi-li-sha-chieh-na". Cf. Garbe, S. ph

37.

rs

Mm

have used here the Chinese sounds because they have been used

by

Wassilieff,

Biililer

and Garbe

The

identification of the "Seng-ch'ia-liin" with Siiikhyas.

sitra was

first

suggested by Bhler. (See Garbe,

ph., p. 37).

Compare below

73.

282
the form
visited

J.

TA K AKUSU.
a hut built
of leaves.

of a

Rsi,

living in

The

heretic

him

there and expressed his desire to learn from him, and

so.

at

once received permission to do

The
putting

new
it

pupil
his

gathered
head,

large
it

basketful

of flowers,

and,

on

carried

to his teacher.

Each time he

walked round the teacher he threw a flower as an offering; each

time
he
ofiered

flower

he
it,

composed a verse
refuted the
it

in praise of the

Nga King, who, on hearing

meaning

of the verse,

took the flower offered, and threw

turn,
re-asserted

back to the
verse,

heretic.

He, in

the

meaning of the

throwing the flower

again towards his teacher. This went on until the whole basket of
flowers

was

emptied

and

thus,

refuting

and re-asserting,

all

his

verses were successfully set forth.

The Nga King much admired

for

his intelligence,
^).

and expounded
said to

him

the "Seng-ch'ia-lun" (Sihkhya-sastra)

Then he

his pupil:

"When you
it".

have finished learning the

said
this

sstra, take care

not

to

alter

He
him.

because he feared that his pupil

latter
it

might

supersede

But when the

was revising what he

was wrongly arranged,

learned from his

teacher he found

that

or that the wording was clumsy.

As

to the

meaning

it

required to the

be

changed

altogether.

The

lecture

of

the

Nga King and

same time.

revision of his pupil were concluded at one and the

He
latter,

presented the result of his work to the

Nga King. The

and
said:

on

seeing

the

revised
to

text

became
stra;

enraged

"I
I

commanded you not

forbid

change

my

how
The

dare you do so?

heretic replied:
I

the

promulgation of your treatise".

"Oh

Master! you ordered

me

not to change

it

when

had finished
it

learning;
lecture

but you did not prohibit

still

me from changing

while the

was

going on.

never violate the

command

of

my

master.

65) See the

last.

THE LIFK OF VA8U-BAKDHU.

283

Why
Oh

then

do

you

reproach
life

me

so?

Pray have mercy on me,

Master! While

my

survives I pledge myself that this stra

shall not be destroyed".

The master then pardoned him. The pupil

having obtained the sstra became very proud and thought that the
doctrine
set

forth

by himself was the greatest, and that nothing

it.

could

be superior to

There was, however, the

Law

of Okya-

muni which
all

at that time
it

was greatly flourishing in the world, and

people regarded
it.

as the great

Law.

He

resolved therefore to

refute

Accordingly he went to the country of A-yu-ja (Ayodhya) and

beat the

drum

of dispute") with his head and said: "I will dispute

(with any Buddhist ramaija). If I

6ut

am

defeated
is

my

opponent

shall

my

head

off;

but

if,

on the contrary, he

beaten, he shall give

*'),

me

his head".

The King,

Pi-ka-la-raa-a-chi-ta (Vikramaditya)

which,

being interpreted, means the "Right-effort-sun", being in-

formed of the matter summoned the heretic and asked him about
it,

whereupon the

latter

answered: "Thou

art,

King, the Lord of

partial love to either
(in

the Land, in whose

mind there should be no

If there be

ramaas

or

Brhmaijas.

any doctrines prevailing

thy country) thou shouldst put them to the test (and see whether)
they are right or wrong.
of

Now

intend (to dispute) with a disciple

is

akya-muni

to determine

which party

the winner or the loser.

Each should vow

to stake his

own

head".

The King thereupon gave

him permission and despatched men

of the able to

to ask all the Buddhist teachers

country in the following words: "Is there anyone

who

is

oppose this heretic? Whosoever thinks himself competent

should dispute with him".

66)
"to

^R ^x W^ PI
at

njR/

"It was castomary for a king in India" a

commentator

says.

keep a drum

the

Royal Gate.

When

man wants

to appeal to the

Court or to

challenge a dispute, he has to heat it".

67) M

BM^^^M'^^EmB

Read

tor

1^.

284

3.

TAKAKUSU.
Teachers
of the
^^),

At

that

time
'^^),

the

great

Law, Ma-iiu-la-ta
and others were

(Manoratha)
all

Ba-su-ban-du
in

(Vasu-bandhu)

absent

travelling

other countries. Ma-nu-la-ta (Manoratha)

means "Mind-desire"

'").

There was at home only But-da-mi-ta-la (Buddha-mitra)

teacher of Vasu-bandhu. But-da-mi-ta-la (Buddha-mitra)

'*)

the

means the

"Friend of the Enlightened". This Teacher of the Law was formerly

very learned, but he was
in

now advanced He

in years

and therefore weak

mind and

feeble ia his speech.

said:
is

"Now

the great champions

of the

Law

are
let

all

abroad.

The

heretic
I

strong and obstinate and

must not be

alone any longer.

will

now

see to

it

myself".

He

informed

the

King, who appointed a day on which he sumto the hall of discussion,

moned a great assembly

where the heretic

and the Buddhist teacher were

to

meet and dispute.

first

The
will

heretic
refute

said:

"Will you
opinion

set

forth

your opinion? Or

you
:

the

first

set

forth by

me?" The
all

priest

replied

"I

am

like a great

ocean which swallows up

that comes.
it

You

are like a

lump

of earth which will be submerged if

as

comes

to the ocean.

You may do
set forth

you

like".

His opponent said: "Then

(first).

you had better

your

own

opinion

I will refute it".

The Buddhist

teacher,

thereupon, set forth his doctrine of imsaid: "All composite things are in process
'^),

permanence (Anitya) and

of

destruction

every ksana (moment)

why? because they

dis-

appear in the end".

He

further supported this by various arguments.

The

heretic

opponent

could

repeat

all

these

arguments of the

70)

i.

THE LIFE OP VA8U-BANDHU.

Buddhist
priest
after

285
criticise

once

hearing them

and began to

them one by one by processes of reasoning. On being requested

to

commit
do
so.

to

memory and

repeat these refutations the priest failed to

He

could not even re-construct his

own arguments, though

requested to do so.

Thus the Buddhist

said
:

priest

was completely
caste

defeated.
I

The

heretic

''You

are

Brahman by
kill.

and

also

am

a Brahman.
instead,

We
in

are not allowed to

I will beat

you on the back

order to show that I

am

the victor".

He

did so.

The King gave

him three
he

lacs (laksa) '^) of gold as a prize.

it

On

receiving the gold

distributed

among
'*)

the

people at large and returned to the

Bin-ja-ka (Vindhya)

mountain where he entered a rocky cave.

Through

his

power of magic he invoked a female y ash a (yak sa)

(Thick-forest)
''^),

named "Chu-lin"

and prayed for her favour in the

after death

following words: "Let

a

me change my body

and become

stone

so

as

never to be destroyed".

The female

deity (yaki)

granted the request. Thereupon he closed the cave with stones and
died

within; his body becoming a stone.

His request to become a

uttered

stone originated from the

vow formerly Nga King,

when he was asking

that so long as
'")

mercy of
his

his teacher, the

the

vow

body survived, the "seng-ch'ia-lun" (smkhya-sstra)

compiled

by himself should not be destroyed.

Thus

it

is

that this sastra exists even now.

73)

|g- y?

"lak-sha", lac.

74) See above 62.

Here

it

is

clear

that

Bin-ja-ka

can

only be

"Vindhya", *ka"

representing the "hya" of the original.

76)
^ffl

TWn,

Ch. "Choa-lin". It

is

by no means certain whether

it

this is a transliteration

or a translation. If the latter be the case

would be something

like "Abbaya-giri",

which

is

^& j^

"mi-lin" (Thick-forest) in Chinese.

76) See above 64 and below 78.

286
Ba-su-ban-du

J.

TAKAKUS.
came

(Vasu-bandhu)

home

afterwards,

and on

heariug of the incident was vexed and angry.

However, he could not

Bin-ja-ka

find the

enemy, and sent a

search

man

to the

(Vindhya)

mountain

in

of the

heretic;

for

he

wished
off

to

subdue

the

arrogance of his opponent, and thus wipe

teacher (Buddha- mitra).

the shame

that was on the disgraced

But the
bandhu)

heretic had already

become a

stone.

Ba-su-ban-du (Vasu-

was
a

all

the

more enraged and

the

depressed.

Thereupon he
in

composed

sastra

entitled

"Truth-Seventy"

'''),

which he

refuted the "Seng-ch'ia-lun" (Sriikhya-sstra) '^) composed by that

heretic,

whose doctrine

fell

to pieces like the broken tiles,

from the

beginning to the end, leaving no sentence which could hold together.

All the heretics grieved as though
it

were their

own

life

that was

thus destroyed, for although he (Vasu-bandhu) did not encounter

his -opponent,

the

latter's

sit-tan

(doctrine, siddhanta) '^)

was

so

discredited in all its branches that there

was nothing

left for

them

to fall back upon.

Thus he took

full

vengeance (on

his

enemy) and

wiped

off the disgrace

put (upon his teacher).

Everyone was

gratified

on hearing the news. The King (Vikralacs

mditya) gave him

three

(laksa)

^)

of gold as a prize. This

amount he

divided into

three portions

with which he built three

monasteries in the country of A-yu-ja (Ayodhya):

1.

A
-b

monastery for pi-ku-ni (Bhiksu)

*').

77)

~f"
, '

S ff i&

^*

^^

otherwise called

^ ^ "t
verses
is

"f" pH
exist in China.

^l pl]J pW ^Q ^^ ^fe
refuting
it,

which ^ point to Sanskrit "naramrtha-saptati". This does not * ^

hare had
7'>

78) This smkhya-sstra seems to

or topics, and Vasu-handhu,

is

seems also to have composed 70 verses or topics. This sSiiikhya-work

in all

probability the smkhya-kSrik of Isvara-krsua, which

otherwise called "Samkhya-saptati".

The Chinese
79)

translation too

is

called the "Gold-seventy" (Suvara-saptati or Hiravya-saptati).

^^ ^^
;

Ch. "si-t'an"; siddhnta, "settled doctrine".

80) 3 lacs
81)

see above 73.

J:k J:

"'"^*"-

THE LIFE OF VA8-BANDHU.

2.
3.

287

A monastery

for the Sat-ba-ta (Sarvusti-vrida) school.

monastery for the Mah-yna school.

successfully
first,

The Teacher of the Law (Vasu-bandhu) afterwards

re-established the true

Law

(of the Buddha).

He

studied,

the

principles of the Bi-ba-sha (Vibhiia) "). in

When

he was well versed

them, he lectured thereupon

of

before

the general public.

At the

close

each

day's

lecture,

he

composed

verse

in

which he

summed up
Each
the head

his expositiou for the day.

verse

was engraved on a copper

intoxicated
elephant,

plate.

This he hung on

of an

and,

beating

a drum, made

the following

public declaration: "Is there anyone

who can
is

refute

the principles set forth in this verse?

to do so

Let him

who

competent

come

forth".

Thus he gradually composed more than 600 verses

the
case

in which all

doctrines

of

the

Bi-ba-sha (vibhc)

were contained.
process.

In the
all

of

each

verse he repeated the

same
is

After

there

was no one who could

(Abhidharraa) Kosa
^^).

refute them. This

the verse portion of the

When

these verses were completed, he sent

to Ki-piu

them together with

50 pounds of gold

(Kamra) to the Bi-ba-sha (Vibhs)

all

masters, who, on seeing them, were

that the true

exceedingly pleased, thinking

Law

held by themselves would

verses,

now

be widely promulgated.

The words of the

however, were so abstruse in meaning that

all.

they could not understand them

of gold
to
to

They

therefore added 50 pounds

the

sum

received

from Vasu-bandhu, thus raising the

it

amount
him

100 pounds altogether, and sent

back to him, requesting

to write a prose ^*) explanation of the verses.

Thereupon he com-

82) See above 48.

83)
84)

'^

^^

Jap. "Ku-sha" (Kosa). See below note 116.

-^^ 4~T

"longer lines" always means "prose".

80

288

3.

TAKAKSU.
is

posed the prose portion of the Abhidharma-kosa, which

commentary

upon them. He thus

vda)
school;
in

established the tenets of the Sat-ba-ta (Sarvsti-

but

whenever
school,

he

found
it

doctrine

pushed to an

extreme

that

he

refuted

by the principles of the

Sautrantika

school.
^^).

This work was called the A-bi-dat-ma-ku-sha

(Abhidharma-kosa
it

When

he had completed the work he forwarded

to the Bi-ba-sha (Vibhs) teachers of Ki-pin (Kamra),

who, on

seeing their

own

opinions therein refuted, were grieved.

The Crown

Prince,

the

son

of the King, Vikramaditya,

was

named

"Ba-la-chi-ti-ya"

(Blditya) ^^j;

Bala

means

"new" and

ditya the "sun".

In former days the King (Vikramaditya) sent the Crown Prince

to

Vasu-bandhu

to

receive

his

instruction.
his pupil.

The Queen

too

went

forth from her family and

became

When

the

Crown Prince succeeded

to

the throne, he and the

Queen-mother invited
the Boyal support.

their teacher to settle in

Ayodhya and accept

He

accepted the invitation.

The brother-in-law of the King,

"Ba-shu-la-ta" (Vasu-fSta)
^'),

(Blditya), a

Brahman named
treatise

was versed in the "Bi-ka-la"

(Vykaraa)

^').

When Vasu-bandhu

composed the Koa

treatise

*^),

this heretic criticised

by the principles of the "Bi-ka-la"

(Vyakara^a) the construction

of the words and sentences of that work.

By pointing out

the contradictions between Vasu-bandhu's

work

87)

^ 1^ ^ ^
is

ch.

"p'o-shu-lo-to".
in 8 divisions,

88) Vykarana

"Grammar"

32 chapters,

see above

52 and below.

89) The bhidbarma-koa.

THE LIVE OP VAS-BANDHU.

and the ''Bi-ka-la" (Vykara^a)
treatise, the heretic

289

meant

to force

the author into a controversy in defence of his work, failing which,

his

work would be destroyed.

The Teacher of the

Law (Vasu-bandhu)
treatise,
is

said:

"If I do not
I

understand the Bi-ka-la (Yyiikaraca)

how can

understand
"")

the excellent truth (of Buddhism) which

extremely profound?

Thereupon he wrote a
the

treatise
treatise.

and refuted the 32 chapters of

Bi-ka-la

(Vyakara^a)

The head and the

tail

of this
treatise

work were broken asunder. Thus the Bi-ka-la (Vyakaraija)

was
lost,

while this work

(Biilditya)

*")

is

still

extant.

The King
Queen-mother
into

gave him
(laksa).

a lac (laksa) of gold and the

divided

two

lacs

He

the

sum he

received

three

portions

and built three temples, one each in the laud

in

of the

Hero (Purua-pura, Peshwar),

Ki-pin (Kamra) and in

A-yu-ja (Ayodhya, Oude).

The

heretic

was angry and ashamed, and, resolving

to

vanquish

the Buddhist teacher, sent a messenger to Tien-chu (Central India)

to invite the Buddhist priest, "Saug-ka-ba-da-la" (Sangha-bhadra) '') to

come

to

Ayodhy
teacher
the

in order to compile a treatise

and refute the

Koa.

This

of

the

Law came and

of Light"
^'),

compiled two astras.

One,

entitled

"Samaya

contained 10,000 verses,

which merely explain the doctrines of the "Bi-ba-sha" (Vibhc).

"Samaya" means "Groups of meanings"

"Conformity to the Truth"
"*),

^*).

The other bore the name

verses. It refutes

and contained 120,000

0)

^&

M.mmw'^ # -it.
1
i.

--378

-^'

-:g HE

'as

as the small Japanese edition has

follow the former readiof^.

91)

e.

the Abhidharma-kosa.

82)

# ^
|6

See N.njio,

p.

(48).

94) Something like "concordance"; Ch.

95)

^ ^^

B^ ^r 3^

Skt. 'Satynusra' or 'Nyynusra, see Nanjio, no.

1266 and

his

remarks there.

290
the

TAKAKV8.

Kosa in favour of the Vibhs.

When

these

treatise

were

completed, he invited Vasu-bandhu to meet him in person and have

a decisive debate.

The
his

latter,

knowing

that, in spite of his

attempted refutation,

opponent had not been able

the

after all to

overthrow the doctrine

with him in person. do as you please.
doctrines
of the

of

Kosa,
"I

was

not

inclined

to
old.

debate

He
I

said:

am now

already
the
sastra

You may
refute

formerly

composed
is

to

the

Vibhs.

There

no need

to enter further

upon

a decisive debate

with you.

You have now composed two

estras.

What

is

the use

of challenging
self

me? Any person endowed with knowledge

is

will

him-

judge which party

in the right and which

is

in the

wrong?

The Teacher of the Law (Vasu-bandhu) was versed

in

all

the principles

of the eighteen schools (of Buddhism) and thoroughly understood the

Hna-yna.

It

was the Hna-yna which he held firmly

to be right.

He

did not believe in the

Mah-yna thinking that the 'Ma-ka-yeu"

^^).

(Mah-yna) was not the Buddha's own teaching

A-saug-ka (Asanga)

^'),

teacher of the Law, saw that his younger

brother was endowed with an intelligence surpassing that of others,

his

knowledge

being

deep

and

wide,

and himself well versed

afraid that the latter

in

esoteric

and exoteric doctrines.

sastra

He was

might

compose a

and crush the Mah-yna. He was living then in

the land of the Hero (Purua-pura) and sent a messenger to Vasu-

bandhu
ill

in

Ayodby with the following message: "I am

seriously

at.

present.

You had

better

attend

me

quickly".

Vasu-bandhu

followed the messenger to his native land, saw his brother and in-

quired

what was the cause of

his illness.

He

answered: "I have

96)

g If f ^Y #
|$^f##.

J9f

97)

THE LIKE Of VASU-BANDHU.

291

now

a serious disease of the heart, which arose on account of you".

Vasu-bandhu again asked:

"Why

do you say on occount of nie?"

in

He

answered:

"You do not

believe
it.

the
this
I

Mah-yna and

are

always attacking and discrediting

be sure to sink for ever in

For

wickedness you will

a miserable

life.

am now

grieved and

troubled for your sake to such an extent that

survive.

my

life will

not long

On

hearing this Vasu-bandhu

was surprised and alarmed

for him.

and asked

his brother to

expound the Mah-yna

He

then

gave him a concise explanation of the essential principles of the

Mah-yna. Thereupon the Teacher of the

Law

(Vasu-bandhu),

who

was possessed of clear intelligence and especially of deep

insight,

became

at once convinced that the truth

of the

Mah-yna

excelled

even that of the Hna-yana.

He
the

then fully investigated, under his brother, the principles of

Mah-yna.

Soon

after

he

became as thoroughly acquainted

with the whole as his brother was.

clear to

When
it.

its

meaning was already

the beginning to the

him he would meditate on

From

end everything was perfectly in accordance with the truth, there

being
that

nothing

contradictory

to

it.

For the

first

time he realized
right. If there

the Hna-yna was

wrong and the Mah-yna

were

no

Mah-yna,
and
no

then (he thought) there would be no path

(phala)
ill

(rarga)

fruition

of

the

Tri-yna

^').

Since

he

formerly did harm by speaking

of the Mah-yna, in which he

then had no faith, he was

life

now

afraid that he

might

fall

into a miserable

on account of that wickedness. He deeply reproached himself and

earnestly repented of his previous fault.

He approached
make a

his brother

and

confessed his error, saying: "I

now

desire to

confession. I do
'").

not

know by what means

can be pardoned for

my

former slander"

98) 99)

'_

Sfc

Bodhi-sattva-yna, pratyeka-buddha-yana and srvaka-yana.

jJ^L

The

text has

but

it

may

b u misprint of

^^
im

"slander" or some character

of similar form.

292

J.

TAKAKUSU.
ill

He

said (further):

"I formerly did harm speaking

tongue.
crime".
I will

(of the truth)

by means of
to atone for

my

now

cut out

my

tongue in order
if

my

His brother answered: "Even

you cut

out your tongue a thousand times, you can not wipe out your crime.
If

you

really

want

to

wipe out your crime, you must find some other

of

means". Thereupon he asked his brother to explain the means

wiping out the

ofifence.

The

latter said:

"Your tongue was

able to

speak very skilfully and effectively against the Mah-yna, and thus
discredit
it.

If

you want to wipe out your

skilfully

offence,

you must now

propound the Mah-yua equally

After
the

and

effectively".

death of Asanga,

Vasu-bandhu began
several

to

write the
sGtras.

Maha-yna
All the
*""),

treatises

and

comment on

Mah-yna

treatises

on the Mah-yna
*"'),

stras, such as the Avataih-

saka
the

the

Ne-pan (Nirvana)

the the

Saddharma-pudarika

^^), *"*),

Pan-nya (Prajn-pramit)
^^),

**),

Yui-ma (Vimala-krti)
Law. He

the ari-ml

are the works of our Teacher of the

*^)

also

wrote the Vijnna-mtra-siddhi

the Mahyna-saihparigraha the
'^),

and compiled the commentaries on

*^),

the "Nature of the Ratna-traya"

treatises.

"Door of the Nectar"

00)

*^)

and other Mah-yna

3BE

J^

jj^

The Gada-vyuha forms

a part of the

Avafamsaka, no. 87.

^0 '
02)

03) 04) 05) 06)

07)

08)

^ ^^^ ^ ^ 1^ 3^ J^ ^^ ^^ ^ ^ D^;^ i^ ^ WS ^ y '^ l^.

.

N"Ji'8 1206, 1207, 1209.

Nanjio's 1232, 1233. Nanjio's 1168, 1231.

Vimala-klrti-nirdesa
nos.

1447,
23
(48),

149, 181.
59.

erl-ml-siiha-nda

nos.

Nanjio's 1238, 1239, 1240, 1215.

'^^^^

^^^
is

^*

^y Asanga, see Nanjio's 1183, 1184, 1247.

This
^^"^

probably Nanjio's 1219.

the Nectar"
is,

09)
(i. e.

"H*

^^ PH

oi

"l>oor of

no doubt, the Amrta-dvra

Gate of Immortality) and may mean Vasii-baudhu's Dhiirmacakra-pravartana-SQtropadesa (Nanjio's 1205: translated A.D. 51-1), as in the said sntra Buddha declares himself to open
the gate of immortality.

THE LIFE OF VASU-BANDHU.

293
is

The sense conveyed

there
is

in

his

compositions

fine

and excellent;

no one who, on hearing or seeing

it.

it,

does not believe and

pursue

Therefore

all

those
all

who

study the Maha-yana and Hlna-

yna in India and

in

the frontier countries use the works of

Vasu-bandhu

as their text-books.

There are no teachers of any other schools (of Buddhism) or

of the heretical
sects

who, on hearing his name,

will not

become

quite nervous and timid.

He

died in

A-yu-ja (Ayodhya) at the age of eighty.

lived

Though he

an earthly

life,

his real nature is indeed difiBcult

to be understood.

NOTE
to

^'):

"From

the beginning as far as here the narrative refers

his brothers. Hereafter
(i. e.

Vasu-bandhu and

it

records the travel

of the crya of the Tri-pitaka

Paramartha himself) from

and thence to Kwang-

the capital of Tai-chou

**')

to the east,

Ohou (Canton)''*), where he

and
it

re-translated the
his

Mah-yna works,

records

also

the incidents after

death, in order to

hand them down Here ends the

to subsequent ages".

Life of

Vasu-bandhu.

110)

We

do not know who wrote this note.

It is certain,

however, that

it

is life

by one purely

who

struck

out the portion relating to the author, Paramartha, and

made the

of Vasu-bandhu.

We

can see from this note that the original form of the work was different

from what we have now, being a sort of memorandum giving biographical notes of Vasu-

bandhu and PararaSrtha, and incidents connected with these two teachers of the vidy-mtra
(vijfiua-vdins).

This makes
already

it

at

the

same time very

likely that

Paramartha
a

is

not the

translator

of an

existing

biography of

Vasu-bandhu,

but

narrator of what he

himself remembered or heard of Vasu-bandhu and his time.

111) 112)

-^ j^

This

is

in

Cheh-kiang,

liSt.

28

54',

Long. 121

06".

^ j^.
article

N.B.

My

on the "Life" will appear in the Journal U. A.

S.,

October, 1904.

294

J.

TAKA.KUSU,

Abstracts of the
Paramartha's
following facts:
"Life
of

life

of Vasu-bandhu.
furnishes

Vasu-bandhu"

us

with

the

Born

at

Purusa-pura (Peshwar) of the Brahman family of Kausika,

is

Vasu-bandhu

the second of the three brothers.

eldest).

A. Vasu-bandhu Asanga (Asanga, the

B. Vasu-bandhu Virinci-vatsa (the youngest).

C.

Vasu-bandhu
first

(the second).

A. Asanga,
the Hna-yna,

an adherent of the Sarvsti-vda school and of

promoter of the Mah-yna and an

afterwards a

author of the Upadesas on the Mah-yna stras.

The works
1. 2.

attributed to Asanga:

The Saptadasa-bhmi

stra

***).

The Mah-yna-satra upadea

^**).

3.

The Mah-yna-saihparigraha-astra
Vasu-bandhu
to

"^).

He

converts

the

Mah-yna and

dies

before

Vasu-bandhu's compilation of the Mah-yna works.

B. Virinci-vatsa, an adherent of the Sarvsti-vda school, an Arhat.
C. Vasu-bandhu, the second

and the greatest

first

of the three brothers,

no other distinguishing name:

school,

an adherent of the Sarvsti-vda

but
of

is

free-thinker

and never confines himself to the

His

teaching

his

own

school.

work

"Abhidharma-koe"

'*')

representing his opinion,

which presupposes the philosophy of the

Ktyyani-putra,

Vibhs

**')

compiled

by

and put into

literary

form by Ava-ghosa. These, in their turn, propound the principles

113) This 114)

is

attributed to Maitreya but really a

called

work

of Asanga.

Comp. Nanjio's 1170.

No work

"Upadesa"

is

preserved, but several books called sstra, krik

p.

or tka are found in the Chinese Collections. See Nanjio's Catalogue

371,

&

115) Nanjio's nos. 1183. 11S4, 1247; compare no. 1171

116) Nanjio's nos. 1267, 1269, 1270.

(2).

117) Nanjio's nos. 1263, 1264, 1279.

THE LIFB OF VA8U-BA.NDHU.

set

295
called the Ata-

forth iu the
"'),

work J&na-prasthna, otherwise

Grantha
after

also

composed by Katyayan-putra in the 6th century

the writes

Buddha's death.
the

As the tendency of
of
i.

his

time requires,
Sariikhya-astra

he

"Saptati

Truth"
e.

against

the

(probably

Sariikhya-saptati,

Karika) of Vindhya-vasa, a pupil

of Vrsa-gai^ia (compare Varsa-gaya) in the 10th century after the

Buddha's death.

King Vikramaditya

of Ayodhya,

first

the patron of the Sariikhya

its

school, but afterwards that of

Buddhism,

influence being recovered

by Vasu-bandhu.
Blditya, the
of Vasu-bandhu,

Crown Prince and

invite

the Queen-mother, both pupils

the latter

to

Ayodhya

after

the

death of

Vikramaditya. Vasu-bandhu disputes with Vasu-rata, a Grammarian,

and Sangha-bhadra, an authodox Vaibhasika.

So far Vasu-bandhu
The Sarvsti'Vda
1.
is

represented as a Hnayanist

school.
1.

The Shkhya
Vrsa-gana.

school.

Katyayan-putra &c.

The Jnna-prasthna-stra The Ata-Grantha.

2.

or

The

original Sihkhya-astra.

Katyayan-putra, Ava-ghosa&c.

2.

Vindhya-vasa.
I'he revised Sariikhya-astra or

The Abhidharma-maha-vibhasa.

The
3.

Sariikhya-saptati.

Vasu-bandhu.

3.

Vasu-bandhu. (In opposition)

The Abhidharma-koia.

The Paramartha-saptati.

Vikramaditya of Ayodhya
Patron or Contemporary

Buddha-mitra

Vrsa-gana

Vasu-bandhu
118) Nanjio'8 nos. 1278, 1375.

Vindhya-vasa

296

J.

TAKAKSU.

Blditya (son of Vikramditya)

Patron or Contemporary
Sanglia-bhadra

Vasu-bandhu

Vasu-rta

The two works against

the Koa.

The work against

the Vyakaraa.

The work against

the Koa.

Asanga

invites

Vasu-bandhu

to

Peshwar and converts him

to

the Mah-yna.

After the

death of Asanga, the latter begins to

write the works relating to the Mah-yna, and the commentaries

on several Mah-yna

stltras.

A. The Mah-yna stras commented on by Vasu-bandhu

1.

The Avatamsaka.
The Nirvana
"9).
^^).

2. 3.
4.

The Saddharma-pudarka The Prajn-pramit "0. The Vimala-kirti. The Srl-ml-siihhanda.

5. 6.

B. The Mah-yna estras compiled by Vasu-bandhu

1.

The Vijnu-mtra-siddhi

'**).

2.

The Mah-yua-saihparigraha-vykhy

'").

3.

The Nature

of the Ratna-Traya.

4.

The Gate
is

to the Nectar "*).

Here he

represented as a Mahyanist, his conversion to the

school being told at length.

Buddhist students of

all

India and of

Frontier countries use Vasu-bandhu's works as their text-books. All

the heretics in fear of him.

He

dies at

Ayodhy aged

80.

119) Nanjio's nos. 1206, 1207, 1209.

120) Nanjio's nos. 1232, 1233.

121) Nanjio's nos. 1231. 1168. 122) Nanjio's nos. 1215,

123) Nanjio's nos. 1171
1238, 1239, 1240.
(2,
(?).

3, 4).

124) Nanjio's no. 1205