First and last, this was done
three times, and then the image was completed, eighty cubits in height,
and eight cubits at the base from knee to knee of the crossed legs. On
fast-days it emits an effulgent light. The kings of the surrounding
countries vie with one another in presenting offerings to it. Here it
is--to be seen now as of old.
[Footnote 1: Lo-han, Arhat, Arahat are all designations of the perfected
Arya, the disciple who has passed the different stages of the Noble
Path, or eightfold excellent way, who has conquered all passions, and is
not to be reborn again. Arhatship implies possession of certain
supernatural powers, and is not to be succeeded by Buddhaship, but
implies the fact of the saint having already attained Nirvana.]
[Footnote 2: Tushita is the fourth Devaloka, where all Bodhisattvas are
reborn before finally appearing on earth as Buddha. Life lasts in
Tushita four thousand years, but twenty-four hours there are equal to
four hundred years on earth.]
[Footnote 3: Maitreya was a Bodhisattva, the principal one, indeed, of
Sakyamuni's retinue, but is not counted among the ordinary disciples,
nor is anything told of his antecedents. It was in the Tushita heaven
that Sakyamuni met him and appointed him as his successor, to appear as
Buddha after the lapse of five thousand years. Maitreya is therefore the
expected Messiah of the Buddhists, residing at present in Tushita.
Pages:
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244