TO THE COURT OF AYA. 
123 
the blandishments and dalliance of celestial beau¬ 
ties, for the gridirons, pitchforks, mallets, and 
other instruments of torture of the infernal re¬ 
gions. The chief end of man, according to the 
Burmese, is to terminate the fatiguing course of 
transmigratory existence. This attainment the 
Lord Gautama made in the eightieth year of his 
life, and all his immediate disciples have partici¬ 
pated in the same happy fate. What remains to 
the present race of beings is to aim at passing 
their time in the regions of men and gods, until 
they shall come in contact with the next Budd’ha, 
the Lord Arimiteya, whom they may hope to 
accompany to the Golden World of Nib-ban, or 
annihilation. In order to this, it is necessary to 
keep the commands of the last Budd’ha, to wor¬ 
ship the Budd’ha, his law, and his priests ; to 
refrain from taking life, from stealing, from adul¬ 
tery, from falsehood, and from drinking intoxi¬ 
cating liquors ; to regard the images and temples 
of the Budd’ha the same as himself; to perform 
acts of worship, and listen to the instructions of 
religion on the days of the new moon, the full 
moon, and the quarters; to make offerings for 
the support of the priests, to assist at funerals, 
and in general to perform all charitable and reli¬ 
gious duties. 
“ In the year 930, after Gautama, A.D. 386, 
Bud-d’ha-gautha transcribed the Budd’hist Scrip¬ 
tures with an iron pen of celestial workmanship, 
