No. 29. — 1884.] BUDDHISTICAL CEREMONIES. 



233 



Satipatthdna suttam which sets forth the unprofitableness 

 of having regard for the body. 



3. — The " Mataka-ddnam. ' ' 

 When a man dies he is buried by his friends quietly; a 

 priest awaits the arrival of the body at the grave ; the body 

 is dressed in the ordinary dress of the deceased, and is placed 

 on sticks at the top of the grave. The cloth which covers 

 it is removed and presented to the priest, who says : — 



Anicca vata sankhara, 



Uppadavayadhammino, 



Uppajjitva nirujjhanti 



Tesam vtipasamo sukho. 



[Assuredly all that are born 



Decay and pass away, 



They are born and they cease to exist, 



Their rest is happiness.] 

 The priest departs, taking with him the cloth ; the friends 

 of the deceased remain to bury the body. The important 

 ceremony after a death is the Mataka-ddnam, or pinkama, 

 for the release of the spirit of the departed from purgatory. 

 A man after death may be born again : {a) in the world 

 of gods ; or (b) as man or an animal ; or (c) in one of the 

 places of torment ; or (d) as a sprite or kind of hobgoblin 

 \peto\* These sprites are of four kinds : (i) Vanan&siko, 

 who live on loathsome and disgusting food ; (ii) Kkuppipd- 

 siko, who are never able to relieve the cravings of thirst 

 and hunger ; (iii) Nijjhdmatanhiko, whose bellies are always 

 burning like a hollow tree which has been set on fire ; (iv) 

 Paradattupiko, who derive benefit from offerings made in 

 their behalf. It is this class only which can be benefited 

 by the Mataka-ddnam. In all other cases the merit of the 

 offerings benefits the givers. If a relative has been as a 

 Paradattupikapeio, by the merit of this ceremony he is 

 speedily released from his birth as a sprite, and is born 

 again in the world of gods or the world of men. 



4. 



About a month or six weeks after a man's death his 



