380 Analysis of the Kah-gyur. [Sept. 



Ananda. The first volume B.skal, B. zang, or S.Bhadra Kalpika, tbe 

 age of happiness, is called also a Mahd-ydna Sutra, or a great chariot 

 precept : the phrase which is commonly used in Buddha literature to 

 denote a scripture of the first order, the metaphor implying that such 

 works act as conveyances to bear the spirit beyond the bounds of 

 existence. 



The principal subject of this work is the enumeration both in prose 

 and verse of a thousand Buddhas, of whom four have existed, the rest are 

 yet to come. The circumstances related of each of these are classed 

 under 15 heads, or — 1. his name; 2. the place of his nativity; 3. his 

 tribe; 4. the extent to which the radiance emanating from him pro- 

 ceeds; 5. his father; 6. his mother ; 7. his son; 8. his attendants; 9. 

 the most intelligent of his disciples; 10. the one amongst his disciples 

 best versed in working miracles ; 11. the number of his disciples col- 

 lected on any particular occasion; 12. the duration of his life; 13. 

 the period during which his doctrine prevails ; 14. the relics remain- 

 ing of him; 15. the shrines built for their reception. About 300 leaves 

 are occupied with these details ; they are preceded by 1 50 on the ge- 

 neral perfections of a Buddha, and are followed by about 100, de- 

 scribing the first step taken by the Buddhas particularised to attain 

 divine perfection. The work is supposed to have been repeated by 

 Sakya in reply to the questions of a Bodhisatwa, and in the presence 

 of a large concourse of followers of both sexes, gods, demons, Bodhi- 

 satwas, and Buddhas, in a grove between Sravasti and Vaisali. 



In the enumeration of the Buddhas anterior to Sakya in this 

 volume, it is worthy of remark, that only three are specified, or Kra- 

 kuchchanda, Kanaka, and Kasyapa. Sakya is the fourth. It 

 would seem from this, that the existence of the three first of other lists 

 Vipasyi, Sikhi, and Viswabhu' was not universally recognised in 

 Tibet, any more than in Ceylon or to the eastward. 



According to Mr. Schmidt, they do not occur in the Buddhist writ- 

 ings of the Mongols, but this seems doubtful, and Mons. Remusat 

 states that they are specified in Chinese works. 



The second volume of the Do class is chiefly occupied with the 

 Lalita Vistdra, or the account of Sakya, a piece of autobiography, 

 related at the request of the gods by the sage himself. It is unne- 

 cessary to advert to it more particularly, as it furnished many of the 

 details read at the last meeting on the subject of Sakya's life and ac- 

 tions. It is one of Hodgson's nine Dhermas. 



The volume contains also three other short works, yet nevertheless 

 styled Mahd-ydna Sutras — 1. AryaManjusrivikridita; I.Arya Man- 



