736 Examination of the Pali Buddhistical Annah. [Sept. 



with that moiety of their body resting within the line, shook. On the northern 

 side, the half of the vessel also together with the portion of water (appertaining 

 to that moiety) which rested within that circle, shook ; the rest stood undisturbed. 



The raja witnessing this miracle, and being thoroughly convinced then, that 

 the theVo was endowed with the power of saving the religion, thus submitted his 

 own doubts for solution. " Lord 1 I sent a minister to the wiharo, saying, "Ad- 

 justing the (adhikaman) matter in dispute, cause the Updsatha to be performed. 

 He repairing to the wiharo, deprived so many bhikkhus of life: on whom does 

 the sin fall?" 



" Why, Maharaja ! was it thy intention, that he, repairing to the wiharo* 

 should slaughter the bhikkhus ?" 



" No, Lord I" 



" Then, Maharaja ! as thy intention was not such, the sin is not thine ;" and 

 thereupon for the purpose of demonstrating his reason, he explained himself by 

 the following sutt<in, commencing with these words (of Buddho) " Bhikkhus 1 1 

 am explaining that which constitutes an act with intent. An act with intent can 

 only be committed by (the instrumentality of a member of) the body, by (means 

 of) utterance, or by (the wilful design of) the mind." For the purpose of illus- 

 trating this subject, he discoursed thus from the * Titira Jdtakdn. " Maharaja, in 

 aforetime (iu a former existence) in a certain country, a snipe thus inquired of a 

 devotee. ' Many (snipes) flock to me, saying, ' our relation dwells here, and 

 calamity befalls them (in consequence of that visit to me by being ensnared by 

 the fowler). My mind is disturbed by painful doubts (as to whether the sin of 

 that calamity rests on me).' 



" The devotee replied, ' Was this thy intention ; viz. enticing these (birds) 

 either by the sound of my voice, or the attractive display of my person, let 

 them be ensnared and destroyed.' 



" ' No, Lord 1' rejoined the snipe. 



" The devotee then thus summed up the matter. 



H ' If thou hadst no premeditated design, unto thee there is no sin. The act 

 affects only the wilful, not the undesigning, agent : for it is thus said : " If the 

 mind be not influence by malicious intent, the act committed will not affect the 

 agent, nor will the taint of sin attach itself to the virtuous, who do not wilfully 

 devote themselves (to sinful practices.")' " 



The theVo having thus exemplisd the matter to the raja, continuing to dwell for 

 some days there, in the royal pleasure garden, instructed the monarch in the 

 doctrines (of-BuoDHo). 



On the seventh day, the raja having assembled the priests at the Asokdrdmo 

 wiharo, and having formed a partition with a curtain, and taken his seat (with 

 Moggaliputtatisso) within that curtain, dividing the bhikkhus professing 

 different faiths, into separate sections, and calling up each sect separately, thus 

 interrogated them. ■« What faith did Buddho profess ? Thereupon the profes- 

 sors of the Susaata faiih, replied "The Sussata faith," and so did the Ekachcha- 

 tassallka, the Antanantika, the Amardchikkhdjrika, the Asauiwdda, the Niwasanu 

 ndsaniwddd, the Uchohedawddd, and Ditthedhammanibbdnawddd. 



• The iucamation of Buddho in the form of a snipe, being one of his 550 in- 

 carnations. This parable is founded on the belief that snipes migrate in flocks, 

 and that each flock has its peculiar chirp or call. 



