742 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1904. 



Measurements: Height,, 15 inches; diameter of the base, 6^ inches. — 

 Japan. (Cat. No. 216135, U.S.N.M.) 



11. Buddha, seated upon an hexagonal pedestal, holding in his 

 left hand the alms bowl. Wood, carved and gilded. Inclosed in a 

 black lacquered shrine, the interior of which is gilded. The shrine is 

 said to date from the fifteenth century A. D. and to come from the 

 Temple of Matsuma at Yamato, Japan. Measurements of the shrine: 

 Height, 4^ inches; width, 2 inches; depth, 1 inch. — Japan. Cat. No. 

 216136, U.S.N.M.) 



12. Two Buddhist saints (Arhats). — The term arhat, also arahat, 

 rahat, arhan, and rahan (Sanskrit, arhant), is applied to those disciples 

 and followers of Buddha who have attained the highest degree of per- 

 fection and need not be born again; especially to one of the original 

 five hundred disciples of Buddha. Buddhist temples usually contain 

 numerous images of saints, to whom offerings of flowers, incense, 

 candles, etc. , are made. Of teak. Height, 2 feet. — Burma. (Plates. 

 Cat. No. 216132, U.S.N.M.) 



13. Two Buddhist monks, holding begging bowls. — Carved on 

 teak plaques. Buddhist monks shave their heads and wear a yellow 

 robe. They get their living by begging each morning from house to 

 house, when they collect rice and fruit enough for the morning and 

 midday meal, as their rule forbids them eating after midday. The 

 equipment of a Buddhist monk consists of a begging bowl (patra) 

 and fruit bag, a rice spoon, a ewer, or water vessel (uda pafra), a 

 staff (pinda), a razor, a sewing needle, and a waistband. Measure- 

 ments: Height, 2 feet; width, 1 foot 6i inches. — Burma. (Plate i>. 

 Cat. No. 216147, U.S.N.M.) 



14. Pair of ornamental begging bowls. — Carved of wood anc 

 inlaid with pieces of looking-glass. Measurements: Height, 11^ inches; 

 diameter, 16 inches.— Burma. (Plate 10. Cat, No. 216138 U.S.N.M.) 



15. Buddhist sacred book. — 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. The sacred 

 Scriptures of the Buddhists are called the t( Tripitaka " — i. e., three bas- 

 kets, because the palm leaves on which they were written were arranged 

 in baskets as receptacles. Others explain the term as symbolical of 

 the transmission of the teachings of Buddha through a long line of 

 teachers and pupils, as baskets are handed on at excavations from 

 workman to workman. The sacred language of the southern school is 

 Pali; of the northern school, Sanskrit. The Buddhist Scriptures are 

 divided into three parts: The Vina/ya ("guidance") contains all that 

 relates to the Order of Monks ; the Sutras (" threads " — i . e. , discourse), 

 the exposition and elucidation of the doctrines of Buddhism; and the 

 Abhidharma (expansion, or enlargement of the doctrine), a detailed 



