DOG-LORE AND SUPERSTITION 



of the owner of a white dog recorded in the Scriptures. 

 " At Stravasti, Buddha entered into the house of one Tu-T'i, 

 who was absent from home. Upon the divan a white dog was 

 eating from a bowl. At sight of Buddha it leapt to the ground 

 and barked at the Holy One. Buddha said : ' Miser, how 

 deep is thy degradation ! ' The dog betook itself to a corner 

 in dejection. When Tu-T'i returned and saw his dog so 

 sad he asked the cause of its misery. The servants replied, 

 ' Buddha has done this.' Tu-T'i was angered and asked 

 Buddha for an explanation. Buddha said : ' I did but tell 

 him the truth. This animal is thy dead father. Born a dog, 

 as punishment for his avarice, he still guards his riches. 

 Order him to reveal the treasure which he has hidden, even 

 from thee, his son.' Tu-T'i returned to his home and said 

 to the dog, ' As thou hast been my father in thy previous 

 incarnation, all of that which was yours is now mine by 

 right. Show me thy hidden treasure.' The dog crept 

 beneath the divan and began scratching the earth. There 

 Tu-T'i dug and discovered great treasure. Forthwith he 

 was converted to Buddha." * 



The lamas of Thibet suggest that the miserable pariah- 

 dogs of their country are the re-incarnation of priests who 

 have been faithless to their vows. The same idea may underly 

 the inclusion of a dog, white for ill-luck and mourning, in the 

 scapegoat party which is recorded by Nain Singh as being 

 annually expelled from Lhasa. " On the 2Qth day of the first 

 month a man is selected who is called the Logon gyalpo (or 

 carrier of one year's ill-luck), who becomes a sort of scapegoat 

 for the sins of the people. For a week he perambulates 

 Lhasa as a sort of clown, with his face painted half black and 

 half white, and is permitted extraordinary license. He shakes 

 a black yak's tail over the heads of the people, thus transferring 



* L. Wieger, " Bouddhisme," vol. xi, p. 109. 



39 



