1. Tibetan Beau-ideal of a Wife. (Kahgyur, MDo Kha, p. 106–7.)

The required qualities in a maiden who may aspire to be united in marriage with Shakya are thus defined by himself:

“No ordinary woman is suitable to my taste and habits, none who is incorrect in her behaviour, who has bad qualities, or who does not speak the truth. But such one alone will be pleasing and fit for me, who, exhilarating my mind, is chaste, young, of good complexion, and of a pure family and descent.”

He indited a catalogue of these qualifications in verse, and said:— [190]

“If there shall be found any girl with the virtues I have described, since I like not an unrestrained woman, let her be given to me in marriage. She who is young, well-proportioned, and elegant, yet not boastful of her beauty; who is affectionate towards her brother, sister, and mother; who, always rejoicing in giving alms, knoweth the proper manner how to bestow them on the priests and Brahmans; if there be found any such damsel, father! let her be brought to me. One who, being without arrogance, pride, and passion, has left off artifice, envy, and deceit, and is of an upright nature; who even in her dreams hath not lusted after any other man; who resteth content with her own husband, and is always submissive and chaste; who is firm and not wavering, who is not proud or haughty, but full of humility like a female slave; who has no excessive fondness of the vanity of sound, smell, taste (music, perfumes, and exquisite viands), nor for wine; who is void of cupidity, who has not a covetous heart, but is content with her own possessions; who, being upright, goeth not astray, is not fluctuating; is modest in her dress, and does not indulge in laughing and boasting; who is diligent in her moral duties without being righteous overmuch. Who is very clean and pure in her body, her speech, and her mind; who is not drowsy nor dull, proud nor stupid, but of good judgment, doth everything with due reflection; who hath for her father- and mother-in-law equal reverence as for a spiritual teacher; who treateth her servants both male and female with constant mildness; who is as well versed as any courtesan in the rites and ceremonies described in the Shastras; who goeth last to sleep and riseth earliest from her couch; who maketh every endeavour with mildness, like a mother, without affectation. If there be any such maiden to be found, father! give her unto me as a wife.”

Afterwards the King Shuddhodana directs his Brahman minister to go into the great city of Kapilavastu, and to inquire there in every house after a girl possessed with these good qualities, showing at the same time Shakya’s letter, and uttering two verses of the following meaning:—“Bring hither that maiden who has the required qualities, whether she be of the royal tribe or of the Brahman caste, of the gentry or of the plebeian class. My son regardeth not tribe nor family [191]extraction; his delight is in good qualities, truth and virtue alone.”

The objections of the Buddhists to the seclusion of women may be gathered from the following imaginary conversation of Shakya’s wife (extracted from Kahgyur, Do, Kha, vol. i, p. 120, 121). Sa-tsho-ma (Gopa), the wife of Shakya, upon hearing of her being upbraided by the domestics for not concealing her face when in company with others, expresses herself in some verses against the veil, the meaning of which is as follows:—

“Sitting, standing, and walking, those that are venerable are pleasing when not concealed. A bright gem will give more lustre if put on the top of the standard.

“The venerable are pleasing when they go; they are agreeable also when they come. They are so, whether they stand or whether they are sitting. In every manner the venerable are pleasing.

“They who put off all vices are venerable. Fools committing vices, how much soever they be adorned, are never pleasing.

“The venerable are always like a bowl full of milk and curd. It is a great happiness to see human nature capable of such purity.

“For such as have restrained their body, have suppressed the several defects of it, have refrained their speech and never used deceitful language, and having subdued the flesh are held in restraint by a pure conscience; for such, to what purpose is the veiling of the face?

“Moreover the great Lord (God), who is wise in knowing the hearts of others, yea, also the whole company of the gods, know my thoughts, my good morals, my virtues, my vows, chastity. Therefore why should I conceal my face?”

Shuddhodana, the father of Shakya, her father-in-law, was much pleased with these expressions, and presented her with several precious things. He uttered at the same time a sloka, the meaning of which is this:—

“My son being adorned with such qualities as he has, and my daughter-in-law having such virtuous qualifications as she describes: to see two such pure persons united, is like when butter and ghee are mixed together.”

As breathing in accordance with the virtuous sentiments of [192]the above favourable specimen of the Tibetan sacred works, we may here extract a curious correspondence (but whether imaginary or real we will not pretend to say), stated to have taken place between a princess of Ceylon and the Buddhist Saint. This letter is very generally known and admired throughout Tibet, being introduced in every collection of epistolary forms for the instruction of youth.

Ratnavali’s Letter to Shakya.

Ratnavali, a young princess of Ceylon, the daughter of King Singala, having been informed by some merchants from Central India of Buddha and of his doctrine, was much pleased with it; and as those merchants were about to return home, she sent some presents to Shakya (Chom-dan-dás), with a letter of the following contents:—

“Reverenced by Suras, Asuras, and men! really delivered from birth, sickness, and fear! Lord, who art greatly celebrated by thy far-extending renown from the sage’s ambrosial portion, kindly grant me religious instruction and wisdom.”

Shakya received this letter, and sent to the princess a picture of Buddha on cotton cloth, with some verses written above and below the image, containing the terms upon which refuge is obtained with Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and a few fundamental articles of the faith, together with two stanzas recommending Buddhism. The two stanzas are these:—

In Tibetan, according to the pronunciation of the Lamas of Sikkim.

The compendium of the doctrine of Buddha in one sloka:—

In Tibetan.

In English.

The following is the description of this trophy:—

It is a bit of plank, mounted on a staff, painted red, with an image of Buddha on one side and a Tibetan inscription on the other. The Demangiri Rajah always had it carried before him with great solemnity and under the special charge of a large guard of honour, who, however, in the affair of Subang-Kotta ran away without it, and it fell into our hands. A copy of the inscription was forwarded to Csoma for translation. With the exception of the salutation at the beginning and the conclusion and a few terms in the middle, the whole is in the Tibetan language. The purport of it was to obtain the favour and protection of several inferior divinities for the person and family for whom the ceremony had been performed and this magic emblem set up.

It may be that this flagstaff was carried before the Tibetan [194]chief in his march and so used as an ensign in war; but it is more probable that it may have belonged originally to the house-top or terrace of the Prince of Bhotan; because the houses of great personages in that country are generally decorated with such ensigns of victory.

The inscription, as already mentioned, is an invocation to several deities, and concludes thus: “Ye all! look on this emblem of Hu, the regent or governor (by whom, namely, it was set up). Ye divine principal Rakshákas, rulers of the world, I beseech you, that you will make this patron, the bestower of charitable gifts, obtain the fruit of his work and actions, who is very faithful to the doctrine of Shakya. May he, with his household and family, prosper more and more, and abound in life, fortune, honour, wealth—like the increasing face of the moon.”

The text is given in the original with a literal translation.

(Translated by Csoma at Mayor Lloyd’s request.)

These scarfs are almost indispensable in all religious offerings, and when distinguished strangers are presented at court, the master of ceremonies throws one of them across the shoulders of the visitor.

An inferior, on approaching a superior in rank, presents a white silk scarf, and when dismissed has in return one thrown over his neck. Equals exchange scarfs on meeting, bending towards each other. No intercourse whatever takes place without the intervention of a scarf. It always accompanies every letter sent by a messenger. Two colours are used for the manufacture, which is done in China; white and red. The latter is rather confined to the lower orders, the white is respectful in proportion to the purity and fineness of its material. There are various degrees in both. [195]

This is the Tibetan text of the inscription in Roman Characters:—

Translation.

Sángye is the generic name for expressing the Supreme Being or the Supreme Intelligence in the Buddhistic system. This word signifies “the most perfect Being,” that is, pure and clean and free from all imperfections and abounding in all good qualities.

There are three distinctions with respect to the essence, the substance, or the body of Buddha, namely—

1. Dharma-Kaya. This is the primary essence of all things, and is designated by the names of: Adi Buddha, Samanta Buddha, the Swabhàva, or the self-produced, self-existing. Dharmadhàtu, the root of all things, the Jina of Jinas; the origin of all things, existing without the three epochs, that is, without beginning, duration, and end.

2. Sambhoga-Kaya. To this class or distinction belong the attendants of the Dharma-Kaya (the Adi Buddha); they are the Dhyani Buddhas, the chief of whom is Vairochana the Illuminator.

3. Nirmankaya. To this distinction or class belong the [196]several incarnations of Buddha. Immense is the number of incarnations in past ages. The present age is called the happy one, and the number of incarnations is to amount to one thousand. The first four incarnations have already appeared, the rest are to follow. In the modern Buddhistic system Shakya is the last incarnate Buddha.

The systems of Buddhism known in Tibet are the following four, each having again a number of subdivisions.

The first is called Vaibhashika, with four subdivisions, taken from the names of Shakya’s four principal disciples. The followers of this system stand on the lowest degree of merit. They accept everything that is contained in the Scriptures, believe everything, and will not dispute.

The second system or school is Sautrántika, followers of the Sútras, with two subdivisions. The one will prove everything by scriptural authority, the other by argument.

The third system or school is the Yogáchárya, with nine subdivisions. Arya Sangha was its founder, in the seventh century A.D.

The fourth is the Madhyamika school; they keep the middle faith. This is the true philosophical school, formulated 700 years after Shakya’s death, by Nagarjuna.

The two first systems are dogmatical; the two latter are philosophical, and are studied by the learned few.

There is another classification of Shakya’s followers, namely, the Tri-yánam or the three vehicles; because all Buddhistic Scriptures are destined for the lowest, the middle, and the highest capacities. Some authors use the name of Lám-rim, classifying men under three degrees of intellectual capacity, according to this:

1. Men of a common capacity must believe that there is a God, that there is a future life, and that all will obtain, according to their deeds in this life, a reward hereafter.

2. Men of a middle degree of intellectual or moral capacity, in addition to the above doctrines, must understand that every compound thing is perishable; that there is no reality in things; that every imperfection causes suffering, and that deliverance from suffering, and eventually from bodily existence, is final beatitude.

3. Men of the highest capacities will know that between the [197]body and the supreme soul nothing exists by itself, nor can we prove whether the supreme soul will continue for ever, or absolutely cease; because everything exists by a casual concatenation.

Concerning the Course of Life.

Those of common capacity are content with the observance of the Ten Commandments.

Those of the middle degree also endeavour to excel in morality, meditation, and wisdom.

Those of the highest capacities practise, besides the above, the six transcendental virtues as well.

Regarding Salvation.

Those of the first degree, seeing the miseries of those who, by virtue of the metempsychosis, suffer in the bad places of transmigration as beasts, &c., desire to be born again among men, or among angels (asuras), or among gods.

Those of the second class are not content with the lot of the former, and wish to be entirely delivered from all bodily existence.

The highest class, regarding existence, under whatever form, as suffering, crave for final emancipation, and by arriving at the supreme perfection, are enabled to assist others out of their miseries.

Several philosophical sects are mentioned, but the general principles of practical Buddhism are these:—

• 1. To take refuge only with Buddha.
• 2. To endeavour to arrive at the highest degree of perfection, and to be united with the Supreme Intelligence.
• 3. To adore Buddha.
• 4. To bring such offerings to Buddha’s image as are pleasing to any of the six senses. Such offerings are: flowers, garlands, incense, perfume, eatables and drinkables raw or prepared, cloths for garments or ornamentation, curtains, etc.
• 5. To practise music or singing, and to utter praises to Buddha, extolling his person, or his love and mercy towards all.
• 6. To confess one’s sins with a contrite heart, to ask forgiveness, and to repent sincerely. [198]
• 7. To rejoice in the moral merits of all living beings.
• 8. To pray to those Buddhas who are now in the world, that they should teach religion and not leave the earth but remain here for many Kalpas, i.e., ages, to come.

The historical works are enumerated under seven classes:—

• 1. Lo-gyus.—Annals, chronicles, history; fourteen works are classed under this head.
• 2. Tam-Gyut.—Tradition, oral history.
• 3. Ch’Los-jung.—Origin and progress of Buddhism; several works are named.
• 4. Tokzhot.—Means a judicious saying; memoir, biography containing many historical fragments and legends; description of the fabulous country Shambhala.
• 5. Nám-thár.—Emancipation, biographical and legendary. Many historical works are noticed under this head referring to Shakya and to many of his disciples, how they were emancipated and acquired preternatural faculties. In the Dulva there are notices of several princes, citizens, and illustrious persons.
• 6. Grung.—A fable, fabulous history, contains the history of Kesar, a fabulous king.
• 7. Stan-çis.—Chronology or astronomical calculation of some events occurring in the sacred volumes.

The Grammatical Works.

The Sanskrit grammatical works were known to ancient Tibetans, and were partially translated into their tongue.

The names of such works have been given in the last volume of Stangyur. The principal ones are Pánini-vyákarana in two thousand slokas.

Maha-bhána, a commentary on the previous work, in one hundred thousand slokas. [199]

A commentary on chandrapá, by Pandita Ratna Mali, in twelve thousand slokas, and many others are named besides. There are likewise in Tibet several works teaching how to read the Sanskrit texts, the Mantras, &c.

The most ancient grammatical work extant in the Tibetan tongue is that by Sambhota of the seventh century. Names of many authors are given; but there are yet other grammatical works of which no special mention is made in the essay under review.

The two scrolls procured at Rampúr, near Kotgarh, by Surgeon W. C. Carte of the 69th Regiment N.I., were forwarded to the Asiatic Society of Calcutta, where, at the request of the secretary, an explanation of them was furnished by the librarian, Mr. Alexander Csoma, who stated that they contained abstracts of some larger Tantrika or religious works in Tibetan, interspersed with Mantras in Sanskrit.

The first scroll, eight feet and a half long, is covered with figures to the extent of two feet. The rest of the paper bears printed text, containing 244 lines in Tibetan, each line being three and a half inches long. The figures are roughly traced, representing a victorious king, a tortoise with nine spots on the belly, showing the lucky and the unlucky periods, according as the moon is affected by the planets in her path. Afterwards come the twelve animals representing the twelve years of a cycle; then the zodiacal signs, the planets, sun and moon, &c., then the representations of the four, eight, and ten corners of the world. There is also seen the picture of a king with his minister, a horse, an elephant, a soldier, an eye, &c., then the head of a bird, and also certain Chinese symbolical figures, which appear to have been used under the Han [200]dynasty 200 years before Christ. The Tibetans still use them extensively. After these symbolical representations follows the text, containing abridgments of five different Tantrika works.

The first is the salutation to the “Circle of Time,” the Kalachakraya. Then come the regents of the year, month, day, and hour, and those of the planets and stars. The Nagas, imps, &c., are requested to be favourable to the person who wears these symbols and to the mystical prayers, that he may succeed in all his undertakings. All classes of divinities are requested not to hinder him in any of his occupations, but to give assistance that he may increase in prosperity.

The abstract of the second Tantrika work contains in Sanskrit short addresses to Shakya, Vagishwari, Manipadme, and others.

The third contains a sloka and a half in Tibetan to Manju Sri, the god of wisdom.

The fourth is called the venerable Sutra dispelling the darkness. The salutation is addressed to the God of Wisdom, to the ten Buddhas in the ten corners of the world. To each is addressed a short prayer thus: “If I go towards that corner over which you preside, after having obtained my aim, grant that I may quickly return.”

The fifth is styled the Sutra of eight lights. The salutation is addressed to Buddha, to religion, and to the holy priests. There are several prayers in Sanskrit, asking to avert any unlucky year, month, day, and hour, and to counteract the influence of a malignant planet or star. Other mantras are written down, having the object of preventing any unlucky accident in the morning or in the afternoon, &c.

The second scroll, four feet eight inches long, contains twelve figures of animals representing the cycle of twelve years. The text covers 121 lines, each three inches in length. There are, besides, rough sketches of a tortoise with the nine mystical spots in a square, and the twelve animals of a cycle of twelve years.

This is the sum of the general contents of these two scrolls. [201]

The principal work on medicine in the Tibetan language is called rGyud bZhi, in four parts. Its authorship is attributed to Shakya himself. The materials of the Tibetan treatise are derived from Sanskrit works. The learned Lama who made the analysis gave the following account of it to Csoma.

In the time of King Khri-srong Dehutsán, in the eighth or ninth century after Christ, a Tibetan interpreter, during his residence in Kashmir, with the assistance of a pandit who was himself a physician, made the translation into his native tongue, and presented the work to the said king. The treatise was subsequently revised and augmented by other learned men, and generally accepted as an authority. It is stated that besides this there are about forty other works on medicine in Tibet, not counting the five volumes embodied in the great encyclopædia, the Stangyur.

The principal medical school of Tibet is in Chák-phuri, a monastery near Lassa. Two smaller ones, called Chák-Zúr, are in the interior of the country.

This paper was ready in 1833, but owing to the difficulties in the way of bringing out the Tibetan text with the translation, it was not published till eleven years after Csoma’s death, and then it was accomplished through the kind assistance of Dr. A. Campbell.

This work was composed by the celebrated Sa-skya Pandita, who flourished in the thirteenth century of our era, in the time of Gengiz Khan and his successors. The author resided in the Sa-skya Monastery in Middle Tibet, in the province of Ts’ang, and was the uncle of a Great Lama. Many important Sanskrit books, brought thither from India, are still to be found in the monastery. The work begins thus:—

To the ten commandments2 are to be added the following rules, which were enacted by a religious king of Tibet named Srong-b,tsán (apostolic king, defender of faith, Dharma Raja). These rules are:—

• 1. Reverence God; this is the first.
• 2. Exercise true religion; this is the second.
• 3. Respect the learned.
• 4. Pay honour to your parents.
• 5. Show respect unto superiors and to the aged.
• 6. Show good-heartedness to a friend.
• 7. Be useful to your fellow-countrymen.
• 8. Be equitable and impartial.
• 9. Imitate excellent men.
• 10. Know how to enjoy rightly your worldly goods and wealth.
• 11. Return kindness for kindness. [206]
• 12. Avoid fraud in measures and weights.
• 13. Be always impartial and without envy.
• 14. Do not listen to the advice of woman.
• 15. Be affable in speaking, and be prudent in discourse.
• 16. Be of high principles and of a generous mind.

These are the sixteen rules. Subáshíta Ratna Nidhinama Shastra is the title of the work in Sanskrit.

Salutation to Manju Sri.

To the question: What is a “precious treasure of elegant sayings?” the following answer is given:—

It is the exhibition of judicious reflections upon all sorts of worldly affairs and upon the conduct of holy men, without offending against good morals. The following are the chapters:—

• I. Reflections on the wise, with ten aphorisms.
• II. On the excellent, the virtuous, and the good, with thirty-three sayings.
• III. On the fool, the mean, and the wicked, with twenty-three aphorisms.
• IV. On the mixed character of the wise and the foolish, with twenty-eight aphorisms.
• V. On evil practices, with nineteen sayings.
• VI. On good manners of men, with forty sayings.
• VII. On unbecoming manners, with twenty-nine sayings.
• VIII. On general conduct of men, with forty-four sayings.

The wealth of a man who is contented with little, is inexhaustible; he who seeks always and is never satisfied, will have a continual rain of sorrow.

As children are loved by their parents, to the same degree they are not respected in return by their children.

He that is acquainted with the manners of the world, will exercise true religion. He that practises good morals is the living biography of a saint, &c.

This work contains 454 slókas in the original, but only 234 are given in this paper. [207]

We give the following résumé and index kindly furnished by Dr. Rajendrolála Mitra, of an extensive and most important work, which has already been referred to in these pages, but the existence of which is known at present to only a few, because since Csoma’s decease Tibetan learning in India seems to have received no special attention. With some adaptation to the requirements of the present day and with the addition of a special index, this compilation, if rescued, as it deserves to be, from its manuscript condition, will form a most valuable help to the study of Buddhist writings, to which so many eminent and learned men in Europe are devoting their earnest attention. The MS. is in the library of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

Note by Dr. Rajendrolála Mitra, dated 14th February 1883.

“The volume is a foolscap folio of 686 pages, with 20 pages of index and some blank pages, in a good state of preservation. Some sheets of the paper bear the water-mark of “Snelgrove, 1828,” others of 1830. The writing, therefore, was not undertaken until 1831, when Csoma de Körös was in Calcutta, and he must have taken some time to complete it. The whole is in the handwriting of Csoma. From the general appearance of neatness and absence of erasures, corrections, and interlineations, it is evident that the volume is a fair copy. The matter is arranged in four columns, the first containing the serial number, next the Sanskrit word in English letters, then the Tibetan equivalent in Tibetan character, and lastly the English meaning. The words are grouped in classes, as shown in the index. The arrangements being according to classes and not alphabetical, it is difficult to use the volume for reference.” [208]

This is the index of the work, showing the several heads or titles under which Sanskrit and Tibetan words, proper names, phrases, technical terms, &c. &c., were collected or compiled by ancient learned Indian pandits and Tibetan Lotsavas (interpreters) or translators.

Note.—The number of titles shows the regular series in the original (though it has not been marked there); and the number of page indicates where the chapter under that head or title commences in this compilation.