Part 1 of 2
Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India, Volume 4edited by Sarat Chandra Das, C.I.E.,
Vol. IV. 1896 Part I.
Calcutta
Printed at the Baptist Mission Press
Publishers: Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Messrs. Luzac & Co., opposite British Museum, London.
Continental Agents: Messrs. Otto Harrassowitz, Karl Hiersemann, M. Spirgatis, Liepzig.
Published at the Buddhist Text Society
86/2 Jaun Bazar Street, Calcutta.
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Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India
(1893 & 1895-1896, Calcutta)
The Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India was a quarterly journal printed at the Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta, in 1893 and from 1895 to 1896 (Vol. 1, No. 1 & Vol. 3 to Vol. 4). It was edited by Sarat Chandra Das. The journal continued the →
Journal and Text of the Buddhist Text Society of India
(1893-1894, Calcutta)
The Journal and Text of the Buddhist Text Society of India was a quarterly journal printed at the Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta, from 1893 to 1894 (Vol. 1, No. 2 to Vol. 2, No. 4). It was edited by Sarat Chandra Das. The journal continued the → Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India (1893) and was continued by the the → Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India (1895-1896), the → Journal of the Buddhist Text and Anthropological Society (1897-1901), the → Journal of the Buddhist Text and Research Society (1904-1905), and → Research and Review (1908-1909).
Journal and Text of the Buddhist Text Society of India (1893) and was continued by the →
Journal of the Buddhist Text and Anthropological Society
(1897-1901, Calcutta)
The Journal of the Buddhist Text and Anthropological Society was a quarterly journal printed at the Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta, from 1897 to 1901 (Vol. 5 to Vol. 7, No. 2). It was edited by Sarat Chandra Das. The journal continued the → Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India (1893, 1895-1896) and the → Journal and Text of the Buddhist Text Society of India (1893-1894). It was continued by the → Journal of the Buddhist Text and Research Society (1904-1905) and → Research and Review (1908-1909).
Journal of the Buddhist Text and Anthropological Society (1897-1901), the →
Journal of the Buddhist Text and Research Society
(1904-1906, Calcutta)
Continuing the → Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India (1893, 1895-1896), the → Journal and Text of the Buddhist Text Society of India (1893-1894), and the → Journal of the Buddhist Text and Anthropological Society (1897-1901), the Journal of the Buddhist Text and Research Society was published from 1904 to 1906 (Vol. 7, No. 3 to No. 4). It was continued by → Research and Review (1908-1909).
Journal of the Buddhist Text and Research Society (1904-1905), and →
Research and Review
(1908-1909, Calcutta)
Research and Review: Journal of the Indian Research Society was a quarterly journal published in Calcutta at the Baptist Mission Press. The journal was published in 1908 and 1909 (Vol. 1, No. 1 to No. 3). Research and Review continued the Journal of the Buddhist Text Society (1893, 1895-1896), the → Journal and Text of the Buddhist Text Society of India (1893-1894) the → Journal of the Buddhist Text and Anthropological Society (1897-1901), and the Journal of the Buddhist Text & Research Society (1904-1905).
Research and Review (1908-1909).
-- The Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India, by Ideas of India
Dharma Cakra at Mrigadav VaranasiTable of Contents:Proceedings.The Burmese Ramazat
Journal1. A brief survey of the Doctrines of Salvation
2. The Story of Virudhaka
3. The Madhyamika Aphorisms, Ch. II.
4. Buddhism in India
5. A Translation of three Buddhist Tracts of Korea
(1) Precepts for young students
(2) Prayers and Chants
(3) Precepts for the Cultivation of the Heart
Appendix I. The Lepcha people and their notions of Heaven and Hell
Appendix II. The History of Sikkim
Appendix III. Kachari Folk-Tales
Proceedings.The Quarterly General Meeting of the Buddhist Text Society of India was convened in the Hall of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science on the 1st February, 1896.
In the absence of
Sir Alfred Croft, the President,
Dr. Mahendra Lal Sarcar, the Vice-President, took the chair.
Amongst others, the following gentlemen were present: --
Dr. Hubbe Schleiden of Germany.Professor A. Foucher of the University of Paris.
Col. H.S. Olcott.Rev. K.S. MacDonald, M.A., D.D.
The Hon’ble Dr. Mahendra Lal Sarcar, M.D., C.I.E.
Rev. A Tomory, M.A.
Dr. R.K. Sen, M.D.
Rai Sarat Chandra Das Bahadur, C.I.E.
Babu Radha Charan Das.
Mr. R.D. Mehta.
Mr. H. Dharmapala.
Sri. Shiva Prasanna Bhattacharyya.
Mr. Caddy.
Sri Bholanath Chakravarti.
Sri Dinanath Ganguli.
The Honorary Secretary then announced a donation of Rs. 25 from Sri Radha Charan Das Zemindar of Balasore, for which he received the thanks of the meeting.
After this, the present made to the Society of books and pamphlets by different public bodies was announced, and the donors received thanks for the same.
The Meeting then confirmed the appointment of the following Corporate Members made by the Council:
Prince Henri D’Orleans.Professor Foucher.
Sri Radha Charan Das.
Professor A. Foucher then exhibited photographs of Buddhist deities, taken by him from old Palm-lead manuscripts of Nepal, with some remarks. The Meeting thanked the professor for the trouble he took in placing the photographs before the members.
Sri Dinanath Ganguli then read the notes on the exorcism of spirits in Korea communicated by Dr. Landis.
Sri Dinanath Ganguli made the following remarks in connection with these notes:
In this country, the popular belief is that, those who commit suicide become ghosts and occupy trees. It is necessary to propitiate them with offerings of food as is done in Korea, but the method is different. Here the children or relations of the deceased offer rice and vegetables to the manes at Gaya: and when this is done, the ghosts quit the trees being set free from the ghostly state. The trees occupied by the ghosts then fall down, and this indicates that the ghosts have received salvation.
There is also another belief among the people that, those who are vindictive whilst in body, continue to be so after death. These spirits trouble their neighbours when alive, and they cease not to do so after death. This shows the necessity of our leading peaceful lives, so that, we may pass our days comfortably, and, after our death, do not molest our neighbours and others; but, on the contrary, become ministering angels to them.
After this, Col. Olcott made some remarks with reference to the notes on the exorcism of spirits in Korea.
Dr. R.K. Sen then read a note on the “origin of the Maurayas of Magadha and of Chanakya.” The note was a very interesting one, and the Doctor was thanked for it.
After this, Col. Olcott exhibited a picture of sleeping Buddha on a grain of rice; and Mr. Caddy placed before the meeting some photographs of Buddhist architecture by Greek Buddhism, one being of Cakya Muni before he became Buddha. With regard to these photographs, Rai Sarat Chandra Das Bahadur made a few remarks, and said that, the architecture explained the probability that
Sambhala the head quarter of the Mahayana Buddhism was the Capital of the Bactrian Greeks who were Buddhists, and that it was in the Swat Valley.
The Burmese Rama Zat.
Translated by Cri Ishwar Chandra Gupta.[x]
Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India.
A Brief Survey of the Doctrines of Salvation.
By Prof. Satic Chandra Vidyabhushan, M.A.[x]
The Story of Virudhaka, from the Avadana Kalpalata
by Babu Lachmi Narayan Sinha, M.A., B.L.[x]
The Madhyamika Aphorisms. Chapter II. Doctrine of Passing and Staying.
by Prof. Satic Ch. Vidyabhusan, M.A.[x]
Buddhism in India.
by Professor Satischandra Vidyabhushana, M.A.[x]
A Translation of Three Buddhist Tracts From Korea.
by E.G. Landis, M.D., M.R.A.S.[x]
Appendix I. The Lepcha People and Their Notions of Heaven and Hell
by Cri Kali Kumar Das.[x]
Appendix II. History of Sikkim.
by the Honourable H.H. Risley, C.S., C.I.E.[x]
Appendix III. Kachari Folk-Tales.
by J.D. Anderson, Esq., I.C.S.[x]
A Note on the Ancient Geography of Asia, Compiled From Valmiki-Ramayana.
by Nobin Chandra Das, M.A.Of the Bengal Provincial Service, (formerly Law-Lecturer of the Chittagong College), Translator of Raghuvamsa of Kali Dasa and “Miracles of Buddha.”
Hail Valmiki, sweet ko’il on Poesy’s spray,
Who sang Ram in ever-melodious lay!
Hare Press: Calcutta.
1896
Printed and Published by R. Dutt.
Hare Press:
46, Bechu Chatterjee’s Street
Dedicated to Ralph T.H. Griffith Esqr. M.A., C.I.E., Formerly Principal of the Benares College and Director of Public Instruction, N.W.P. and Oudh, whose earnest and sympathetic labours, in the field of ancient Sanskrit literature have placed within each reach of English-speaking people.
The Vast Treasures of the Vedas and the Ramayana,
By his humble admirer,
Nobin Chandra Das
Krishnaghar
17 February 1896.
Table of Contents:1. Preface
2. General scope of the work
3. Rama’s journey to Mithila
4. Descent of the Ganges from the Himalayas
5. Bharat’s journey from Giri-vraja to Ajodhya
6. Rama’s route from Ajodhya to Lanka
7. The kingdom of Kishkindhya.
8. The world as known in Ramayanic time
I. The army of the East
II. The army of the South
III. The army of the West
IV. The army of the North.
Appendix I. The Ramayana as a history
Appendix II. Dharmaranya.
Appendix III. Prachi or Prachina (Eastern country) and Dravida
Appendix IV. Sapta Sindhu
Appendix V. Alluvial formations by the action of rivers
Index.
[x]
Other Works by the Same Author.
Raghu Vamsa.
(In Bengali Verse.)
Complete in 3 Parts, Price Rs. 2
[x]
Babu Chandra Nath Bose, M.A., Bengali Translator to Government, writes:
[x]
***
A Special General Meeting of the Buddhist Text Society of India,
Held at the Town Hall, Darjeeling
On the 4th November, 1896.Distinguished Visitors and Members.The Hon’ble Sir A. Mackenzie, K.C.S.I., Lieutenant-Governor of BengalLady Mackenzie
The Hon’ble Sir Griffith Evans, Barrister-At-Law; Member of the Supreme Council.
Sir Alfred Croft, K.C.I.E., M.A., President.
The Hon’ble M. Finucane, M.A., I.C.S., Secretary to the Government of Bengal
Dr. C.A. Martin, M.A.,, LL.D., Offg. Director of Public Instruction.
Mr. A. Pedler, F.R.S., President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
The Revd. Rylands Brown.
The Hon’ble Mr. M. Finucane, C.S., M.A. in the chair. The proceedings were opened by the Honorary Secretary, Rai Sarat Chandra Das, C.I.E., Bahadur, introducing a deputation of three Lamas, the Venerable Lama Sherab Gya-tsho, Rai Bahadur Lama Ugyen Gya-tsho and Sikyong Tulku, the Avatar Prince of Sikkim. Lama Sherab read a farewell address in Tibetan to Sir Alfred Croft. The Honorary Secretary read an English translation of the same, the text of which is as follows:
Gentlemen, We have come to-day to express our satisfaction at the restoration to health of Sir Alfred Croft, the President of this Society. We were unhappy before on account of his illness. We rejoice now.
We understand he is about to proceed home. We hope he will long enjoy the fruit of his good Karma, and a true Lama as he has been throughout his life, our fervent prayer is that he may be reborn in the world of Bliss called Sukavata (De-wa-chan), about which the saints of old have sung:
The Venerable Lama Sherab next raised a low chant, his colleagues joining him in chorus. This was a Tibetan hymn from the Dharani (charm) called the “Undying Drum-sound.” At the conclusion of the chant, Mr. W.B. Livingstone rose and said that he had been requested to read an English translation of the hymn, but on perusing it he had found that it contained a most compromising confession of the inner tents of the Buddhist religion, and he could not do so without first recording his profession of unswerving faith as a Christian. He then read the translation:
Far to the west lies De-wa-chan,
That happy land of Buddhist bliss;
Where reigns the saintly sovereign,
Amitabha, of Light-boundless.
Who e’er His name in faith implores,
On rebirth gains that blessed land;
His dying eyes shall see the Lord—
The Teacher and his priestly band.
No women there, nor fleshly birth;
But from a diamond lotus flower
Bursts blooming forth the new born soul.
In the glorious company of
Amitabha our needs are few,
But food and drink and raiment rare
And alms-bowl all appear when wished.
The Buddhas of the quarters ten,
Unite in praise of De-wa-chan;
Our prayer hence will e’er be this,
“To be born in that paradise.”
The Chairman said that as a formal address to a public official was prohibited by law, the address of the Lamas had taken the above form.
Mr. Livingstone then went on to address the meeting, saying that there was no doubt of the good done by great travelers and the benefits conferred upon civilization by such explorers as Rai Sarat Chandra Das, Bahadur, was incalculable. After giving several illustrations of the benefits of travel in the promotion of knowledge, the speaker proceeded to dwell upon the Rai Bahadur’s explorations and researches in a very complimentary strain, and likened that gentleman to Dr. Livingstone.
The Honourable Sir Griffith Evans, K.C.I.E., in moving a resolution to record the good wishes of the Lamas and also the regret of the meeting at the retirement of the President of the Society, said he would not attempt to make a speech after the eloquent speaker whom they had just heard.
He referred to the enlightened Lamas who were present and said that he rejoiced that the British Government was now able to prove to such enlightened men that in their desire to open intercourse with Tibet they were actuated by no desire to disturb the country and its rulers, but only prompted by a wish to promote trade and also by an intellectual desire to learn as much as possible of Northern or Tibetan Buddhism. He referred to Sir Alfred Croft whose good qualities were known to all present, most of whom were his personal friends. He had done great work in India as they all know, during his tenure of the post of Director of Public Instruction, which he had held for 20 years. He it was who first realized the possibility of penetrating into Tibet in order to get access to Buddhist records. There had been no intercourse with that exclusive country for nearly a century before Sir Alfred Croft’s time. Not since the Governorship of Warren Hastings who indeed had succeeded for a time in opening up communication, but he was an exceptional man and one who pretty generally succeeded in getting his own way. In the present day the credit was due to Sir Alfred Croft and was one of the many good things which the public owed to him. He realized the possibility of training some of our Indian subjects, instructing them in the Tibetan language and sending them over the border. Government allotted funds for the purpose and the result was that Rai Sarat Chandra Das, Bahadur, devoted himself to the work. He was the only man who had succeeded in so mastering the Tibetan language that he would be welcomed by the Tibetans themselves. His perfect knowledge of the language was his passport, and he had succeeded in going where no one but himself could pass. In the course of his travels he had to cross stupendous mountain ranges on levels of eternal snow. He had shewn himself gifted with the greatest physical endurance. He could speak from his own personal knowledge as the Rai Bahadur’s power of endurance as he had been in his company to the borders of Tibet in 1881 during a journey involving much fatigue and exposure. The Rai Bahadur had a delight in hardship and adventure which was quite European. It was due to his capacity for overcoming difficulties as well as his great learning that he had been able to penetrate where he had been and return to give the result of his explorations. And it was due to Sir Alfred Croft that the opportunity had been offered him of displaying his powers in so worthy a cause.The Hon’ble Mr. Finucane in putting Sir. Griffith Evans’ resolution to the meeting said: It needs no words from me to commend this resolution to this assembly. Sir Alfred Croft’s presence and
the rules of Government preclude me from making any lengthened complimentary remarks, but I think I may say without trenching on forbidden ground that as the public and Sir Alfred Croft’s numerous friends were deeply grieved and distressed on hearing of his illness so they are now, in a corresponding degree, rejoiced at his restoration to health. Allusion has been made to his approaching relinquishment of the Presidentship of this Society. On this point I will only say that when Sir Alfred relinquishes this and other similar offices which he has adorned, the public, native and European, will lose a friend who has conferred upon them great benefits; and his many friends will lose a highly cultured gentleman and charming companion.
As to the loss to Government by his retirement this is not the occasion, nor am I authorized to speak upon the subject.Sir Alfred Croft said he would make but a few remarks. All three Lamas present were personal friends of his own. The Lama Sherab was a man of great learning who had come from the remotest borders of Mongolia. He passed through Darjeeling sixteen years ago on his way to Nepal. Lama Sherab’s fame as a scholar had preceded him; and he had the satisfaction of securing the service of the Lama’s great learning for the promotion of Tibetan study. He also alluded in high terms to the services of Lama Ugyen Gya-tsho. The Avatar Lama was another friend whom he had known for a year and found him a young man of much ability. In that short space he had learned to read and write Hindi. He could also understand English, and had begun to speak it.Sir Alfred Croft further remarked that his position as President of the Buddhist Text Society was a peculiar one, for he regretted to say that he was entirely ignorant of Buddhist Texts. But to the great knowledge which Rai Sarat Chandra Das, Bahadur, had acquired the world was much indebted. It was to his researches that the Tibetan books now before the world were due. The books issued from and now being printed in the Government Press at Darjeeling, were of European interest. He referred to the recent article in the Academy on the subject of Buddhist texts and said that such articles had been rendered possible by the explorations and researches of the Rai Bahadur. It was a source of great satisfaction to the speaker that he had been able to help this work from the beginning. No such society as the Buddhist Text Society was possible, without Buddhist books and therefore to Rai Sarat Chandra Das, Bahadur, was due its success. The object in sending Sarat Chandra to Tibet had fully succeeded. He had been able to interest the rulers and the Lamas, in his work, and he had brought back a yak load of Buddhist books of the utmost value. The result of this exploration had been manifested in two ways. Rai Sarat Chandra’s researches had resulted in a large number of papers on the religious, philosophy and history of Tibet, many of which had been published in the proceedings of the Asiatic Society; and the Tibetan books now being published would be of the utmost value to the learned world of Europe. Finally, Sir Alfred Croft observed that his connexion with the Buddhist Text Society had been a source of much interest and gratification to him, and he should always look on the proceedings of this day with satisfaction and pride.
Rai Sarat Chandra Das, Bahadur, C.I.E., then gave a short lecture on the Lake which he had named Yamdo Croft, in honour of Sir Alfred Croft. He spoke as follows, often referring to maps which he handed round to His Honor and Lady Mackenzie and others present:
I will now trace the history of the name of the great lake of Tibet called Palti in our English maps, and show justification for connecting its real name Yamdo with the good name of Sir Alfred Croft.
In 1730, Orazio Della Penna, a Capuchin missionary, visited the great lake of Tibet and described it as follows: “The easternmost place is called Kambala, which is the name of a great mountain, on the slopes of which are many places, and in the plain at the foot to the south is a great lake called Iandro, which is eighteen days’ journey round, according to those who have made the circuit, but within are some hilly islands. The same lake has no outlet that I know of, and during a day and a half’s march round it, I can vouch that I saw none; while as regards the remaining portion, I have the authority of those who have made its circuit.” The lake indeed has no outlet.
In 1735 D’Anville, a Jesuit missionary, conducted the survey of the whole of Tibet under the orders of emperor Kanghi. He trained up some Lamas to do the work of survey and with their help prepared the first map of Tibet. Unfortunately the art of plotting map was then little known, in consequence of which D’Anville’s map was badly done.
In it the lake was called Peiti. This name was derived from Pede, the name of a small town with a fort situated on the margin of the lake.
In 1762, Georgi, in his Alphetum Tibetanum, first mentioned the name Palte, which was evidently derived from Pal-de the written form of the name Pede.
Klaproth, who obtained some account of the lake from Tibetan travelers visiting Peking, designated it by the name Phal-dhi Yum-tsho, i.e., turquoise lake of Pal-de town.
The Chinese name of the lake is Paite (another form of Peite) or Pai-che, t in Chinese, being convertible to ch. Colonel Montgomery’s explorer who visited the lake in 1874, brought the name Yamdo-Chho, i.e., the lake of Yamdo, which is the same as Landro of Della Penna. The real name of the lake is Yamdo, written Ya-hbrog which phonetically, becomes Yamdo, (ya) means up or high, and hbrog pronounced as (do) means herdman’s encampment; Yamdo-chho meaning the lake of the highland herdsman’s encampment. There is a second lake called Dumo chho the devil’s lake which is 14,300 ft. above the sea level within the mountainous peninsula inside the great lake called Donang or Doranang. Do or Dora means an enclosed field used for pasture, i.e., croft. Hence the name Yamdo-Croft was literally suitable for that very interesting lake of Tibet. The speaker knew not another lake which was so wonderful to exist on the surface of the globe 13,800 feet above the sea level and holding another lake on its breast inside its hilly croft which was a thousand and three hundred feet higher than itself. The hilly peninsula of Donang is dotted with villages, monasteries, and cultivated fields. It is largely used as pasture land for yaks, sheep and goat of the lake country of Yamdo.
The Chairman said: From the history of the lake just traced it appeared that the lake has passed through a vicissitude of names. He hoped this last name so deservedly given would endure.
The Honorary Secretary announced the names of the following gentlemen who were appointed corporate members by the Council of the Society:
Mr. J.D. Anderson, C.S.
Cri Nobin Chandra Das, M.A., B.L.
He also said that E. Landis, M.D., of Chemalpo in Corea, was appointed a corresponding member.
The publications of the Society that were placed on the table consisted of two texts of the Northern School, called Samadhi Raj and Madhyamika Vritti, and one of the Southern School called Visuddhi Magga, and also Journal, Part I, Vol. IV of the current year. The last contained two very interesting papers, one by Dr. E. Landis on Corean Buddhism, and the other by Mr. J.D. Anderson, C.S., sometime Deputy Commissioner of Darrang, on the Folk-tales of Kachar.
The Honorary Secretary then exhibited a drawing of the Fort of Shiga-tse and addressed the meeting on the Monasteries and Temples of Tibet, handing over to the members a printed list of the Monasteries and Temples of Tibet, which covered twelve closely printed folio pages.
He exhibited a large drawing of the grand monastery of Tashi-lh-unpo which was prepared with the help of a Tibetan artist. It contained five to six hundred houses, with the court of the Tashi Lama, the grand Hall of Congregation, and the five Mausoleums with their roofs gilt with gold built for the memory of the five illustrious grand Lamas. He pointed out the Mausoleums of the Tashi Lama to whose court Warren Hastings had sent
George Bogle and
Captain Samuel Turner. Captain Turner had brought home a sketch of the Mausoleums and published it in 1800, A.D. The lecturer exhibited it and said that 4,800 monks daily congregated in the grand Hall and chanted the glories of Buddha and the Bodhisattvas three times in the day in the manner Lama Sherab and his colleagues had chanted in chorus the hymn in the presence of the meeting. These buildings of the grand Monastery were all terrace roofed three to four storeys high. The Mausoleums were lofty structures like the wings of the Calcutta High Court. He also shewed another building called Kugopeh, which was nine storeys high, each of which was ten to twelve feet high.
The lecturer went on saying:
Tibet abounds in monasteries and temples. No other Buddhist country in Asia, whether in the past or in the present time, could be compared with modern Tibet in the number of her Buddhist priests and monasteries. During my residence in Tibet, I obtained a list of some of the well known monasteries, compiled by Sumpa Khanpo. The number of monasteries in the provinces of U, and Tsang in 1725 A.D. was 325, and under the hierarchy of the Dalai Lama in Tibet was 1,026, with a monk population of 491,242. I was told by the spiritual minister of the Tashi Lama that the number of monasteries since the time of Sumpa had increased not less than three-fold, and the number of monks had doubled. So, the number of monks in the monasteries of Tibet at the present day might, according to him, be estimated at a million. According to my estimate which is based partly on Tibetan official documents and partly on records left by eminent Tibetan writers,
Tibet has a population of six million, though the country is nearly equal in extent to Russia, its population is no larger than that of London. The proportion of its monks to the entire population was therefore 1 to 6. If one half of the population be females, then the proportion of the monks to the male population would be 1 to 3. This appeared to me too large a proportion for the monks. I, therefore, thought it safe to state that the monk population was half a million to make the proportion 1 to 6, as it is generally held by some of the most well-informed men of Tibet. Though the number of the monasteries is so large the number of nunneries is disproportionately small. It is doubtful if there are even a hundred convents in whole Tibet. We find that the first class monasteries which have state endowments for their support, contain an average of 1,000 monks in each; but in the larger convents the average number of nuns does not exceed 20. It may be asked what may be the reason for this remarkable disproportion in the two classes of institutions. The custom of polyandry which prevails in Tibet would rather suggest an increase of the nunneries with a corresponding increase in their population. But in fact the very reverse is the case. It has been a puzzle to European scholars who have taken interest in the matter of the institutions of Tibet, to account for the number and occupation of the women who remain unmarried. If it is true that all the brothers in a family club together in matrimony with one wife, then what becomes of the majority of the female population who remain unmarried? During my residence as well as in my travels in Tibet, I paid some attention to this subject. When in the evening I approached the Lama’s tent, I heard noises inside which suggested a fearful quarrel at its height. On entering, I saw that a wonderful metamorphosis had come over the erstwhile beauty. Her face was burning red and undergoing the most disagreeable contortions I had ever seen, as she went on calling her husband names and otherwise insulting him in the vilest language imaginable. It was all about “another woman” and also about the husband’s partiality for his own relatives. A man of quiet disposition as the Lama was, he heroically maintained his self-composure and silence until she dared to call him “beast,” when he rose and feigned to beat her. He probably did so because he was irritated at my appearance on the scene just at that juncture. But that was a blundering move on his part, for the moment he raised his fist, the now thoroughly maddened termagant threw herself at his feet, and, with eyes shut, shouted, shrieked and howled, daring him to kill and eat her! What could I do? I played the part of a peace-maker, and it was lucky that I succeeded in the office. I got the woman to go to bed on the one hand, and persuaded the Lama to spend the night with the Ladak trader, to whose tent I accompanied him. And so the last night I spent with my kind host brought me a rude awakening, which caused me to shed tears of deep sympathy, not necessarily for Alchu Tulku only, but for all my brethren of the Order, whose moral[103] weakness had betrayed them into breaking their vows of celibacy, and who in consequence were forced to go through scenes as I have described.-- Three Years in Tibet, by Shramana Ekai Kawaguchi
The “tantric female sacrifice”But are we really justified in speaking of a “tantric female sacrifice”? We shall attempt to find an answer to this difficult question. Fundamentally, the Buddhist tantric distinguishes three types of sacrifice: the outer, the inner and the secret. The “outer sacrifice” consists of the offering to a divinity, the Buddhas, or the guru, of food, incense, butter lamps, perfume, and so on. For instance in the so-called “mandala sacrifice” the whole universe can be presented to the teacher, in the form of a miniature model, whilst the pupil says the following. “I sacrifice all the components of the universe in their totality to you, O noble, kind, and holy lama!” (Bleichsteiner, 1937, p. 192)
In the “inner sacrifice” the pupil (Sadhaka) gives his guru, usually in a symbolic act, his five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch), his states of consciousness, and his feelings, or he offers himself as an individual up to be sacrificed. Whatever the master demands of him will be done — even if the sadhaka must cut the flesh from his own limbs, like the tantric adept Naropa.
Behind the “secret sacrifice” hides, finally, a particular ritual event which attracts our especial interest, since it is here that the location of the “tantric female sacrifice” is to be suspected. It concerns — as can be read in a modern commentary upon the Kalachakra Tantra — “the spiritual sacrifice of a dakini to the lama” (Henss, 1985, p. 56). Such symbolic sacrifices of goddesses are all but stereotypical of tantric ceremonies. “The exquisite bejeweled woman ... is offered to the Buddhas” (Gäng, 1988, p. 151), as the Guhyasamaja Tantra puts it. Often eight, sometimes sixteen, occasionally countless “wisdom girls” are offered up in “the holy most secret of offerings” (quoted by Beyer, 1978, p. 162)
The sacrifice of samsara:A sacrifice of the feminine need not be first sought in Tantrism, however; rather it may be found in the logic of the entire Buddhist doctrine. Woman per se– as Buddha Shakyamuni repeatedly emphasized in many of his statements — functions as the first and greatest cause of illusion (maya), but likewise as the force which generates the phenomenal world (samsara). It is the fundamental goal of every Buddhist to overcome this deceptive samsara. This world of appearances experienced as feminine, presents him with his greatest challenge. “A woman”, Nancy Auer Falk writes, “was the veritable image of becoming and of all the forces of blind growth and productivity which Buddhism knew as Samsara. As such she too was the enemy — not only on a personal level, as an individual source of temptation, but also on a cosmic level” (Gross, 1993, p. 48). In this misogynist logic, it is only after the ritual destruction of the feminine that the illusory world (maya) can be surmounted and transcended.
Is it for this reason that maya (illusion), the mother of the historical Buddha, had to die directly after giving birth? In her early death we can recognize the original event which stands at the beginning of the fundamentally misogynist attitude of all Buddhist schools. Maya both conceived and gave birth to the Sublime One in a supernatural manner. It was not a sexual act but an elephant which, in a dream, occasioned the conception, and Buddha Shakyamuni did not leave his mother’s body through the birth canal, but rather through her hip. But these transfeminine birth myths were not enough for the tellers of legends. Maya as earthly mother had, on the path to enlightenment of a religion which seeks to free humanity from the endless chain of reincarnation, to be proclaimed an “illusion” (maya) and destroyed. She receives no higher accolade in the school of Buddha, since the woman — as mother and as lover — is the curse which fetters us to our illusory existence.
Already in Mahayana Buddhism, the naked corpse of a woman was considered as the most provocative and effective meditation object an initiand could use to free himself from the net of Samsara. Inscribed in the iconography of her body were all the vanities of this world. For this reason, he who sank bowed over a decaying female body could achieve enlightenment in his current life. To increase the intensity of the macabre observation, it was usual in several Indian monastic orders to dismember the corpse. Ears, nose, hands, feet, and breasts were chopped off and the disfigured trunk became the object of contemplation. “In Buddhist context, the spectacle of the mutilated woman serves to display the power of the Buddha, the king of the Truth (Dharma) over Mara, the lord of the Realm of Desire.”, writes Elizabeth Wilson in a discussion of such practices, “By erasing the sexual messages conveyed by the bodies of attractive women through the horrific spectacle of mutilation, the superior power of the king of Dharma is made manifest to the citizens of the realm of desire.” (Wilson, 1995, p. 80).
In Vajrayana, the Shunyata doctrine (among others) of the nonexistence of all being, is employed to conduct a symbolic sacrifice of the feminine principle. Only once this has evaporated into a “nothing” can the world and we humans be rescued from the curse of maya (illusion). This may also be a reason why the “emptiness” (shunyata), which actually by definition cannot possess any characteristics, is hypostasized as feminine in the tantras. This becomes especially clear in the Hevajra Tantra. In staging of the ritual we encounter at the outset a real yogini (karma mudra) or at least an imagined goddess (inana mudra), whom the yogi transforms in the course of events into a “nothing” using magic techniques. By the end the tantric master has completely robbed her of her independent existence, that is, to put it bluntly, she no longer exists. “She is the Yogini without a Self” (Farrow and Menon, 1992, pp. 218–219). Thus her name, Nairatmya, literally means ‘one who has no self, that is, non-substantial’ (Farrow and Menon, 1992, p. 219). The same concept is at work when, in another tantra, the “ultimate dakini” is visualized as a “zero-point” and experienced as “indivisible pleasure and emptiness” (Dowman, 1985, p. 74). Chögyam Trungpa sings of the highest “lady without being” in the following verses:
Always present, you do not exist ...
Without body, shapeless, divinity of the true.
-- Trungpa, 1990, p. 40
Only her bodilessness, her existential sacrifice and her dissolution into nothing allow the karma mudra to transmute into the maha mudra and gynergy to be distilled out of the yogini in order to construct the feminine ego of the adept with this “stuff”. “Relinquishing her form [as] a woman, she would assume that of her Lord” the Hevajra Tantra establishes at another point (Snellgrove, 1959, p. 91).
The maha mudra has, it is said, an “empty body” (Dalai Lama I, 1985, p. 170). What can be understood by this contradictory metaphor? In his commentary on the Kalachakra Tantra, Ngawang Dhargyey describes how the “empty body” can only be produced through the destruction of all the “material” elements of a physical, natural “body of appearance”. In contrast to such, “their bodies are composed simply of energy and consciousness” (Dhargyey, 1985, p. 131). The physical world, sensuality, matter and nature — considered feminine in not just Buddhism — thus become pure spirit in an irreconcilable opposition. But they are not completely destroyed in the process of their violent spiritualization, but rather “sublated” in the Hegelian sense, namely “negated” and “conserved” at the same time; they are — to make use of one of the favorite terms of the Buddhist evolutionary theorist, Ken Wilber — “integrated”. This guarantees that the creative feminine energies are not lost following the material “dissolution” of their bearers, and instead are available solely to the yogi as a precious elixir. A sacrifice of the feminine as an autonomous principle must therefore be regarded as the sine qua non for the universal power of the tantric master. These days this feminine sacrifice may only be performed entirely in the imagination. But this need not have always been the case.
“Eating” the gynergy:But Vajrayana is concerned with more than the performance of a cosmic drama in which the feminine and its qualities are destroyed for metaphysical reasons. The tantric recognizes a majority of the feminine properties as extremely powerful. He therefore has not the slightest intention of destroying them as such. In contrast, he wishes to make the feminine forces his own. What he wants to destroy is solely the physical and mental bearer of gynergy — the real woman. For this reason, the “tantric female sacrifice” is of a different character to the cosmogonic sacrifice of the feminine of early Buddhism. It is based upon the ancient paradigm in which the energies of a creature are transferred to its killer. The maker of the sacrifice wants to absorb the vital substance of the offering, in many cases by
consuming it after it has been slaughtered. Through this he not only “integrates” the qualities of the killed, but also believes he may outwit death, by
feeding upon the body and soul of the sacrificial victim.
In this connection the observation that world wide the sacred sacrifice is contextually linked with food and eating, is of some interest. It is necessary to kill plants and animals in order to nourish oneself. The things killed are subsequently consumed and thus appear as a necessary condition for the maintenance and propagation of life. Eating increases strength, therefore it was important to literally incorporate the enemy. In cannibalism, the eater integrates the energies of those he has slaughtered. Since ancient humans made no basic distinction between physical, mental or spiritual processes, the same logic applied to the “eating” of nonbodily forces. One also ate souls, or prana, or the élan vital.
In the Vedas, this general “devouring logic” led to the conception that the gods nourished themselves from the life fluids of ritually slaughtered humans, just as mortals consume the bodies of animals for energy and nourishment. Thus, a critical-rational section of the Upanishads advises against such human sacrifices, since they do not advance individual enlightenment, but rather benefit only the blood-hungry supernatural beings.
Life and death imply one another in this logic, the one being a condition for the other. The whole circle of life was therefore a huge sacrificial feast, consisting of the mutual theft and absorption of energies, a great cosmic dog-eat-dog. Although early Buddhism gave vent to keen criticism of the Vedic rites, especially the slaughter of people and animals, the ancient sacrificial mindset resurfaces in tantric ritual life. The “devouring logic” of the Vedas also controls the Tantrayana.
Incidentally, the word tantra is first found in the context of the Vedic sacrificial gnosis, where it means ‘sacrificial framework’ (Smith, 1989, p. 128).
Sacred cannibalism was always communion, holy union with the Spirit and the souls of the dead. It becomes Eucharistic communion when the sacrifice is a slaughtered god, whose followers eat of him at a supper. God and man are first one when the man or woman has eaten of the holy body and drunk the holy blood of his or her god. The same applies in the relation to the goddess. The tantric yogi unites with her not just in the sexual act, but above all through consuming her holy gynergy, the magical force of maya. Sometimes, as we shall see, he therefore drinks his partner’s menstrual blood. Only when the feminine blood also pulses in his own veins will he be complete, an androgyne, a lord of both sexes.
To gain the “gynergy” for himself, the yogi must “kill” the possessor of the vital feminine substances and then “incorporate” her. Such an act of violence does not necessarily imply the real murder of his mudra, it can also be performed symbolically. But a real ritual murder of a woman is by like measure not precluded, and it is not surprising that occasional references can be found in the Vajrayana texts which blatantly and unscrupulously demand the actual killing of a woman. In a commentary on the Hevajra Tantra, at a point where a lower-caste wisdom consort (dombi) is being addressed, states bluntly, “I kill you, O Dombi, I take your life!” (Snellgrove, 1987, vol. 1, p. 159).--
The Shadow of the Dalai Lama: Sexuality, Magic and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism, by Victor and Victoria Trimondi
The People's Republic of China and its predecessors have a history of female infanticide spanning 2000 years.[1]
-- Female infanticide in China, by Wikipedia
As the way to wealth, fame and official power is open to those who enter monasteries to study religion and literature, and also to pass a life of celibacy, people find it humiliating to remain in their homes to lead a worldly life. They run to monasteries in large numbers, but such of them are permitted to remain in them as can commit to memory the largest number of pages of the sacred books. So, many come back to their homes unsuccessful and discomfited by failures. These generally not liking to return to their homes betake themselves to trade and to service in distant places.
Marriage is considered as a very difficult and troublesome institution in Tibet. It only takes place in families which possess wealth. The eldest brother in a family marries; the bed of the married-wife is shared by the rest of the brothers who are addressed and treated by her as so many junior husbands. Although the Tibetans are not subject to jealousy in the proportion that other nations are where polygamy prevails, yet the junior husbands generally do not find it convenient to share the conjugal comforts with their eldest brother; so they leave their home and property in disgust. They often take separate wives relinquishing thereby claims to their ancestral property. According to the laws of Tibet, the eldest brother who has the right to marry inherits the ancestral property. The other brothers can only enjoy the same as long as they live with him in the same house and with his wife. I was present at a Tibetan marriage, the father of the bride in giving her away to the bridegroom, addressing his father said: Henceforth my daughter becomes the wife of your sons, both born and unborn. She will be theirs conjointly.
In consequence of tedious ceremonies and long terms of waiting before getting the bride, and also troublesome conditions imposed on the candidate for her hand, marriage seldom takes place in Tibet. The majority of men and women remain unmarried, and as the fair sex share both the agricultural and pastoral industries with the opposite sex, the women in Tibet are generally of easy morals. In a corresponding degree the men are also immoral in spite of all their religion and high morality inculcated so elaborately in Buddhist sacred books.
The President then concluded the proceedings of the meeting by thanking the lecturer for his interesting address.
***
Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India
A Record of a Vision of Avalokitecvara.1
Translated by E.B. Landis, M.D., M.R.A.S.[x]
The Madhyamika Aphorisms. Chap. III. The Examination of the Senses.
By Cri Satica Candra Vidyabhusana, M.A.[x]
The Philosophy of Prajnaparamita
by Prof. Satica Chandra Vidyabhusana, M.A.[x]
The Philosopher Dinnaga – A Contemporary of the Poet Kalidasa
by Prof. Satica Chandra Vidyabhusana, M.A.[x]
The Story of Sundari and Nanda.[x]
The Story of Kiratarjuniya,
As Narrated in the Mahabharata and Also in the Poem Kiratarjuniyam of Bharabi[x]
Appendix I. The Limbu or the Kirati People of Eastern Nepal and Sikkim.
by Cri Kalikumar Das[x]
Sundarinandabadanum[x]
Buddhist Text and Anthropological Society.The Buddhist Text Society was established in August, 1893. Since then it has occupied itself in making researches into the religious and social literature of the ancient Indian Buddhists found in original Sanskrit works, as also in Pali, Tibetan, Burmese, Siamese, Chinese, Coreau and Japanese literature.
Its object is to furnish materials for a history of Indo-Aryan thoughts on Buddhism, as also, of a history and geography of ancient India and all Buddhist countries. This is does through its Journal (in English) and Texts (in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Pali.)
The Society has, within the short period of its existence, attracted the attention of the oriental scholars of the West, and the work done by it has been favourably noticed by the Press both in India and in foreign countries. The Government of Bengal also have given encouragement to it. In March, 1897, its scope was enlarged by the addition of Anthropology to it.
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The Society consists of 3 classes of members, vis.: -- I. Corporate Members. They are entitled to all the publications of the Society including the Buddhist Text Series, free of charge. They pay a subscription of Rs. 7 per annum (5 Rs. for the Journal and 2 Rs. for the Texts). II. Honorary Members. They are entitled to the Journals and Texts of the Society without payment of subscription. Persons eminent for their learning in the Castras, in Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan, Mongolian, Chinese, Japanese, Corean, Burmese or in Siamese literature are nominated as such. III. Corresponding Members. They contribute to the Journal and Texts of the Society which they get gratis.
CONSTITUTION IN 1897.Council:
The Hon’ble H. H. Risley, M.A., I.C.S., C.I.E., President
G. A Grierson, Esq., Ph.D., I.C.S., C.I.E., Vice President
Dr. Mahendra Lal Sircar, M.D., C.I.E., Vice President
Cri Narendra Nath Sen., Vice-President
The Hon’ble Justice Gurudas Banerjea, M.A., D.L.
Dr. R. K. Sen, M.D.
Cri Nirodh Nath Mukhopadhyaya
Vidyaratna Nrisimha Chandra Mukhopadhyaya, M.A., B.L.
S. J. Padshah, Esq.
Cri Civaprasanna Battacharya, B.L.
Prof. Satis Chandra Acharya Vidyabhusana, M.A.
Rai Cri Sarat Chandra Das, Bhadur, C.I.E., SecretaryCri Dina Nath Ganguly, Joint Secretary.
Pandit Sarat Chandra Sastri, Pandit to the Society.
Publications of the Buddhist Text Society of India.
In English.Indian Pandits in the land of snow containing an account of the missionary work done by the Buddhist sages of old in Tibet, China, Korea, Mongolia, Yarkhand and Kabul; by Cri Carat Candra Das, C.I.E. Prince 1 Re.
The Miracles of Buddha being a translation in English verse from Ksemendra’s Kalpalata (recovered from Tibet) by Cri Nobin Candra Das, M.A., B.L. Price 1 Re.
Geography of India of Valmiki’s time with copious notes and index illustrated by a large Map, by Cri Nobin Candra Das, M.A., B.L. Price 1 Re.
Raghuvamca of Kalidasa translated in Bengali verse by Cri Nobin Candra Das, M.A., B.L. complete in three parts. Price 3 Rs.
Atmatattvaprakaca – a treatise in Bengali prose on the existence, immortality, transmigration and emancipation of the soul, -- based on the Nyaya School of Indian Philosophy, by Prof. Satica Candra Vidyabhusana, M.A. Price 6 As.
Life of Chaitanya, by Cri Dina Nath Ganguli. Price 1 Re.
In Devanagari.
Bhakticatakam by Rama Candra Kavibharati of Gour, of the thirteenth century, (recovered from the Simhalese) with commentary in Sanskrit by Rev. Seelakhanda Thera (with or without translation in English). Price 1 Re.
Bodhicaryyavatara in two parts by Acarya Canti Prabha – a work of a considerable antiquity recovered from Tibet; it elucidates the doctrines of the Mahayana or the Northern School of Buddhism. Price 1 Re.
Madhyamika Vritti – The Philosophy of the Mahayana School containing the aphorisms of Nagarjuna with the commentary of Acaryya Candra Kirti, recovered from Nepal, complete in four parts. Price 3 Rs.
Vicuddhimagga – The celebrated work of Buddha Ghosa in Pali printed in Devanagari with a commentary by Rev. Seelakhanda Thera complete in two parts. Price 2 Rs.
Dhammapada – The standard scripture of the Southern school of Buddhism in Pali written in Devanagari characters with a commentary by Rev. Seelakhanda Thera. Price 1 Re.
Samadhiraja – One of the earliest Buddhist scriptures written in Sanskrit and Gatha languages, complete in three parts edited by Pandit Carat Candra Castri, complete in two parts. Price 2 Rs.
Ratnamala – a Buddhist story depicting Hinduism and Buddhism in the early centuries of Christ. Price 1 Re.
Candra Vyakarana – A Sanskrit Grammar of a remote antiquity, recovered by Tibet, in the press. Price 1 Re.
Suvarnaprabha – A Buddhist Scripture of the Northern School in Sanskrit and Gatha, recovered from Tibet. In the press. Price 1 Re.
Journals of the Society – Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India – Royal 8vo. Edited by Cri Carat Candra Das., C.I.E.; the yearly subscription for four parts is Rs. 5, up to this time four volumes have been issued. [Twenty per cent. Commission will be allowed to Agents.]
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***
Proceedings of a Special General Meeting of the Buddhist Text Society of India, Held at the Town Hall, Darjeeling, on the 23rd June 1896.Note on the Ancient Geography of India,
by Sri Nobin Chandra Das, M.A.,
Has Been Issued as a Supplementary Paper to This Publication.
Darjeeling: Printed at the Bengal Secretariat Press, 1896.
Sir Alfred Croft, K.C.I.E., M.A. President in the Chair.
Distinguished visitors.The Hon’ble Sir A. Mackenzie, K.C.S.I., C.I.E., Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal
Lady Mackenzie
The Hon’ble C.W. Bolton, C.S.
The Hon’ble H.H. Risley, C.S., M.A., C.I.E.
Mr. D. R. Lyall, C.S.
Lieut. Col. Hunt
Revd. C.H. Moore
Revd. Mr. Turnbull
1.
The Honorary Secretary, after announcing the presentations, exhibited his map of Tibet and a curious Burmese picture of the war between the gods and the demons.
2. (a) Mr. Polhill Turner read a short note on the Origin of Man, compiled from the legendary history of Tibet by the Honorary Secretary.
(b)
Sri Sarat Chandra Das read a short note on the “Lakes and Rivers of Tibet.”3. Mr. R.T. Greer, C.S., exhibited an old conch shell with curious marks on it, and “the enchanted dagger” of the Tibetan Lamas; he also described the latter.
4. Revd. G.H. Rouse, M.A., read a brief account of the Lepcha people and of their notions of Heaven and Hell, communicated by Sri Kali Kumar Das, tutor to the second son of the Maharaja of Sikkim.
5. The Honorary Secretary read a short note on a Sanskrit Buddhist charm, (sent for explanation by Mr. W.H. Rouse, M.A., of Cambridge), illustrating its use by means of a picture of the Buddhist Ensign or Banner of Victory.
The President, in opening the business of the evening, gave a resume of the proceedings of the last special general meeting, and euologised the Honorary Secretary, whose services the Government of India had lately recognized by conferring on him the title of Rai Bahadur, and had rewarded in a still more substantial form by giving him a Jagir in his own district. The list of newly elected members, read out by the President, showed the names of Prince Henri d’Orleans and the High priest of Bangkok, a brother of the King of Siam.
Rai Sarat Chandra Das, in announcing the presentations, said that among the publications received during last few months the most important was “A Note on the Geography of Asia” according to the “Valmiki Ramayana” by his brother Sri Nobin Chandra Das, M.A., B.I., an officer of the Provincial Executive Service of Bengal. Nobin Chandra, by a careful study of the Original Sanskrit Text of the Ramayana, has come to the conclusion that Valmiki, the author of the great epic, was a veracious writer who described the events and occurrences, and the places known in his time in a faithful manner, and delineated the character of Rama and Sita properly. Divested of poetry and legend, the Ramayana is a store-house of historical events and deeds; it was possible to prepare a map of the places mentioned in the epic. Nobin Chandra has, in consultation with Mr. R.T. Griffiths C.I.E., M.A., the renowned translator of the Ramayana in English, prepared a map, to illustrate the Geography he has compiled. He has presented the work to this Society, with a request that it may be published by us. He has borne the cost of printing the work together with the map. The Honorary Secretary was asked to convey the cordial thanks of the Society to Sri Nobin Chandra Das for the gift. The work was declared to be a valuable addition to the Geographical literature of Ancient India.