TO THE COURT OF AY A. 
121 
“ omniscience.” * The present “ grand period ” 
has been favoured by four of these personages, 
whose names are Kan-kri-than, Gau-na-gong, Ka- 
tha-pa, and Gau-ta-ma. The fifth Budd’ha, or 
A-ri-mi-te-ya, is now reposing, according to the 
best authorities, in one of the lower celestial re¬ 
gions, and will develope himself in due time. 
" The communications of all Budd’has previous 
to Gau-ta-ma are now lost. His communications, 
made at first to his immediate disciples, and by 
them retained in memory during five centuries 
more ;—after his decease, agreed upon in several 
successive general councils, (Then-ga-ya-na) and, 
finally reduced to writing on palm-leaves, in the 
island of Ceylon, in the ninety-fourth year be¬ 
fore Christ, and the four hundred and fiftieth 
after Gautama, form the present Budd’hist Scrip¬ 
tures, the only rule of faith and practice. They 
are comprised in three grand divisions (Pe-ta-kat), 
which are again subdivided into fifteen, and those 
into six hundred. 
“ According to the Budd’hist Scriptures, the 
universe is composed of an infinite number of 
worlds, or Sakya systems. A Sakya system con¬ 
sists of one central Myen-mo, or mount, the sur¬ 
rounding seas and islands, the celestial regions, in¬ 
cluding the revolving luminaries, and the infernal 
regions. The earth on which we live is the south- 
* “ Omniscience” is, according to the Buddhists, the principal 
attribute of Gautama. 
