76 
L. A. Waddell— Upagupta. 
[No. 1, 
Upcigupta, the Fourth Buddhist Patriarch , and High Priest of Agoka .— 
By L. A. Waddell, LL.D. 
[Read March, 1897.] 
The name of Upagupta occurs incidentally in the scriptures and 
commentaries of the so-called Northern or Mahayana Buddhists, as the 
patronymic of the fourth member of the series of patriarchs of the 
Buddhist Church, in direct succession from the epoch of fakya Muni’s 
death. 1 He is also referred to therein, as being the converter and spiritual 
adviser of the great emperor A^oka; 2 and it is in this respect, as the 
alleged inspirer of Acjoka’s great missionary movement, which led to 
Buddhism becoming a power in the world, that Upagupta claims our 
special notice. Of such importance is he considered, that his coming is 
alleged to have been predicted by both Buddha himself 3 and by his 
favourite disciple Ananda. 4 And of him Taranatha, the Tibetan 
historian, writes : 1 since the death of the Guide (Buddha) no man has 
been born who has done so much good to living beings as this man.’ 5 
In the scanty references to Upagupta by European writers it is 
generally stated that “he is not known to the Southern school of 
Buddhism.” 6 This statement, however, is probably not strictly true. 
For, I find that a great Buddhist arahat of the same name, and appa¬ 
rently this identical person, is well known to the Burmese. The 
circumstances, however, under which he is known to them are peculiar. 
Although he is one of the most popular of the Buddhist Saints in 
Burma, and a special festival is held in his honor every year, as will 
1 Rockhill’s Life of the Buddha, and the early history of his Order, 170 ; and 
the Chinese lists by Edkins, Chinese Buddhism, pp. 6-7, etc.; Lassen’s Ind. Alterth, ■ 
II, 1201; also Beal and Eitel and my Buddhism of Tibet, p. 8. 
2 Beal’s Si-yu-ki, II, 88. Burnouf’s Introduction du Buddhisme Indien, pp. 118, 
197, 336, 378. 
3 Burnouf’s Intro., 336. Taranatha’s Hist, of Indian Buddhism, fol. 12. 
4 Rockhill’s Life, Sfc., 164. 
5 Beal’s Si-yu-ki, I, 182, n. 48. 
8 Taranatha’s op. cit., fol, 12. 
