OBJECTS OF RELIGIOUS CEREMONIAL 153 



3. "Ahhidhamma-'pitalca," devoted to the metaphysics of Buddhism 

 (vols. 29-39). 



Bangkok, Siam. (154,989.) 



Presented by His Majesty Somdetch Phra Paramindr Maha Chula- 

 lonkorn Phra Chula Chom Klao, King of Siam, in commemoration 

 of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his reign, March 20, 1895. 



212. Prajna Paramita (Tibetan, Shirah). — Tibetan manuscript, 

 written on 366 ornate cardboards, consisting of several layers of paper 

 pasted together and varnished over with a black pigment, in gold 

 letters, and held between two covers of lacquered and gilt wood. 

 The Prajna Paramita, or "transcendental wisdom," properly, "the 

 means of arriving at the other side of wisdom," consists of mythical 

 discourses attributed to Buddha and addressed mostly to super- 

 natural hearers on the Vulture's Peak at Rajagriba (the modern 

 district of Patna, Bengal). It is the most sacred book of the Mahay- 

 anist scriptures. It is ascribed to Nagarjuna, a converted Brahman 

 philosopher to Buddhism, who possibly lived in the second century 

 A. D., and who is counted the fourteenth of the twenty-eight patri- 

 archs of the Mahayana hierarchy. Nagarjuna alleged that he received 

 the book from the Nagas, who dwell in the ocean (for which see 

 above under No. 50), and they received it from the mouth of Gautama 

 and kept it until a generation arose which was capable of understand- 

 ing it. Height, 10 inches; width, 17^ inches; thickness, 7 inches. 

 Tibet. (Cat. No. 237929, U.S.N.M.) Collected by Lieut. Col. 

 L. A. Waddell, archeologist of the Indian Government expedition to 

 Tibet in 1904-5, and presented by the Government of India. 



213. Buddhist Sacred Boole. — Written on palm leaves, which are 

 held together between two boards by a cord passed through them. 

 The writing is done by means of a sharp stylus, and then ink is rubbed 

 over so as to make the markings with the stylus visible. Dimensions: 

 16 inches by 2}^ inches by IK inches. Burma. (Cat. No. 216139, 

 U.S.N.M.) Bequest of S. S. Howland. 



214. Printing hlocJc of wood in Manchu and Chinese characters. — 

 From the library of the Temple of the Colossal Buddha in the palace 

 grounds of Peking. Length, 25 inches; width, 8 inches. Peking, 

 China. (Cat. No. 222152, U.S.N.M.) Gift of Miss Eliza R. 

 Scidmore. 



3. BUDDHIST CONGREaATION (SANGHA) 



SAINTS AND PBIESTS AND THEIR APPURTENANCES 



21 b-2l^. Pair oj arhats. — Wood, lacquered. Seated figures. The 

 term arhat (Chinese, lohan, Japanese, rohan) is in a specific sense 

 applied to the original disciples of Buddha, the apostles, who are 

 variously counted from 10 to 500. More generally it designates a 

 disciple or follower of Buddha who has attained the highest degree 

 81551—29 11 



