1838.] Pdli Buddhistical Annals, 123 



worthy of consideration, and to which 1 shall advert in future contri- 

 butions. 



The author of the Dipawanso has certainly spared no pains in his 

 endeavours to make the links of the Theraparampard chain complete, 

 and consistent with chronology. He, however, only gives the succes- 

 sion of preceptors, who were the guardians of the Wineyo section of the 

 Pitakattayan, commencing with Upali, whose death is placed in the 

 sixth year of the reign of Udayo ; while the incongruities I have dwelt 

 upon in the paper No. 2, have reference to Sabhakami, who though a 

 cotemporary disciple of Buddho, has been represented to have presided 

 at the second convocation, a century after Sakya's death ; when 

 he must, from the date of his upasampadd ordination, have been at 

 least 140 years old. But even this succession of the Wineyan line of 

 preceptors, the chronological particulars of which are pretended to be 

 given with so much precision in the following extracts, will not stand 

 the test of scrutiny by a person conversant with the rules that govern 

 the Buddhistical church. It is an inviolable law of that code, established 

 by Buddho himself at an early period of his mission, and adhered to 

 to this day — to which rule there are only two well known exceptions — 

 that no person, whether a noviciate priest called Sdmanero, or an 

 ascetic layman, however learned or pious he may be, can be ordained 

 an upasampadd before he has completed his twentieth year. The two 

 exceptions alluded to are the instances of Sumano and Sopako who 

 were ordained upasampadd at seven years of age. 



It will be seen that this line of preceptors, extending from the date 

 of Buddho's death to the third convocation, a term of 236 years, 

 is made to consist of five successions. Upali the cotemporary of 

 Buddho, is stated to have been 60 years old in the eighth year of the 

 reign of Ajatasattu, which is the 16th year A. B. He is represent- 

 ed to have survived Buddho thirty years, and to have died in the 

 6th of Udayo's reign in A. B. 30. It is not however, mentioned how 

 many years he had been an upasampadd, and all these dates work out 

 therefore without disclosing any discrepancy. 



Dasako is represented to be his pupil and immediate successor, 

 and he is stated to be 45 years old in the 10th of Nagasoko's reign, 

 which falls to A. B. 58. He was born, therefore, A. B. 13, and his 

 preceptor Upali died A. B. 30. Supposing his ordination had been 

 put off to the last year of Upa'li's life, he could not have been 

 more than 17, when made an upasampadd. So far from being quali- 

 fied to be the custos of the Wineyo, he wanted three years of the age 

 to make him admissable for ordination. But we are further told, that 



