]
CHAPTER XXXIX
~Cremation of an Arhat--Sermon of a Devotee~
South of the city seven li there is a vihara, called the Maha-vihara,
where three thousand monks reside. There had been among them a Sramana,
of such lofty virtue, and so holy and pure in his observance of the
disciplinary rules, that the people all surmised that he was an Arhat.
When he drew near his end, the king came to examine into the point; and
having assembled the monks according to rule, asked whether the bhikshu
had attained to the full degree of Wisdom. They answered in the
affirmative, saying that he was an Arhat. The king accordingly, when he
died, buried him after the fashion of an Arhat, as the regular rules
prescribed. Four or five li east from the vihara there was reared a
great pile of firewood, which might be more than thirty cubits square,
and the same in height. Near the top were laid sandal, aloe, and other
kinds of fragrant wood.
On the four sides of the pile they made steps by which to ascend it.
With clean white hair-cloth, almost like silk, they wrapped the body
round and round. They made a large carriage-frame, in form like our
funeral car, but without the dragons and fishes.
At the time of the cremation, the king and the people, in multitudes
from all quarters, collected together, and presented offerings of
flowers and incense.
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