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Difference between revisions of "A Buddhist genesis trans.by Albert J. Edmunds"

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: THIS document is translated from the twenty-seventh Dialogue of the [[Long Collection]] (Dîgha-Nikâyo). It occurs in a [[discussion]] on the [[caste]] question; but that it is a [[book]] in itself is clear from the fact that a rival recension of the [[Scriptures]] has transmitted it in a different connection, and with a different title. This rival recension is that of the [[Sublime]] Story (Mahâvastu), an expanded portion of the [[Book]] of [[Discipline]] belonging to the [[sect]] called the [[Transcendentalists]] or Docetists (Lokottaravâdino), which is a branch of the [[Great Council]] School (Mahâsa~mghiko). Now the [[Great Council]] was the rival [[sect]] of the School of the [[Elders]] (Theravâdo) who have preserved the [[Scriptures]] in [[Pâli]]. The [[Great Council]] preserved them in some kind of [[Prâkrit]], which has since been partiaily Sanskritised. We have therefore this old [[Buddhist]] Genesis in two different [[Indian]] [[languages]] (to say nothing of a fifth-century translation into {{Wiki|Chinese}}); transmitted by two different sects which parted company in the pre-Christian period of [[Buddhism]]; and in two different portions of the [[Canon]]: viz., the [[Book]] of Dialogues (Sutta-Pi.takam) and the [[Book]] of [[Discipline]] (Vinaya-Pi.takam). In the former (in [[Pâli]]) it is entitled the Dialogue Primeval (Aggañña-suttam) and in the [[latter]], The History of [[Kings]]. These two [[ancient]] recensions agree in the main, but are verbally different. When an old document has such a [[transmission]], its antiquity is well established.
+
{{DisplayImages|3288|149|2542|526|3913|3979|3837|4038|3328|3854}}
 +
: THIS document is translated from the twenty-seventh [[Dialogue of the Long Collection]] ([[Dîgha-Nikâyo]]).  
  
:The [[Buddhist]] Genesis was epitomised by Robert Spence Hardy in his Manual of Budhism (sic) published at {{Wiki|London}} in 1853. But
+
It occurs in a [[discussion]] on the [[caste]] question; but that it is a [[book]] in itself is clear from the fact that a rival recension of the [[Scriptures]] has transmitted it in a different connection, and with a different title.  
  
:[1. Translated from the [[Pâli]] by Albert J. Edmunds, Philadelphia.]
+
This rival recension is that of the [[Sublime Story]] ([[Mahâvastu]]), an expanded portion of the [[Book of Discipline]] belonging to the [[sect]] called the [[Transcendentalists]] or [[Docetists]] ([[Lokottaravâdino]]), which is a branch of the [[Great Council School]] ([[Mahâsa~mghiko]]).  
  
:p. 208 Hardy translated not from the [[Pâli]] texts, but from mediæval [[Singhalese]] commentaries, which in turn are based upon [[Pâli]] texts and commentaries combined. Therefore we can never be sure, when reading Spence Hardy, how much of a {{Wiki|narrative}} is from the primitive text and how much has been expanded or exaggerated from commentaries in [[Pâli]] and [[Singhalese]].
+
Now the [[Great Council]] was the rival [[sect]] of the School of the [[Elders]] ([[Theravâdo]]) who have preserved the [[Scriptures]] in [[Pâli]].  
  
:An account of the [[Great Council]] version has been given in {{Wiki|French}} by Émile Senart, in the Introduction to Vol. I. of his splendid edition of the Mahâvastu ({{Wiki|Paris}}, 1882). So corrupt and difficult is the text that even this learned [[Prâkrit]] [[scholar]] shrank from giving a [[verbal]] translation, but contented himself with an {{Wiki|epitome}}.
+
The [[Great Council]] preserved them in some kind of [[Prâkrit]], which has since been partiaily [[Sanskritised]].  
  
:A brief account in English, based upon the [[Pâli]] recension, has been given by [[Wikipedia:Thomas William Rhys Davids|Rhys Davids]], in his [[Dialogues of the Buddha]] ({{Wiki|London}}, 1899, p. 105). Samuel Beal translates two versions from the {{Wiki|Chinese}}, the second one being from the [[Long Collection]]. (Four Lectures: {{Wiki|London}}, 1882, pp. 151-155.)
+
We have therefore this old [[Buddhist]] Genesis in two different [[Indian]] [[languages]] (to say nothing of a fifth-century translation into {{Wiki|Chinese}}); transmitted by two different sects which parted company in the pre-Christian period of [[Buddhism]]; and in two different portions of the [[Canon]]: viz., the [[Book of Dialogues]] ([[Sutta-Pi.takam]]) and the [[Book of Discipline]] ([[Vinaya-Pi.takam]]).
  
:The {{Wiki|present}} is the first translation of the text itself, and is made from the King-of-Siam's edition, printed in [[Siamese]] characters, in Vol. XI. of his thirty-nine volumes of the [[Pâli]] [[Canon]], which was published at his capital in 1894, and in 1895 distributed throughout the [[world]] to [[universities]] and libraries. There are two copies in Philadelphia: viz., at the {{Wiki|University}} of Pennsylvania and the Mercantile Library. In 1905 it is expected that the [[Pâli]] Text {{Wiki|Society}} of {{Wiki|London}} will print our {{Wiki|present}} Genesis text in {{Wiki|Roman}} letters, when it will be much easier to read.
+
In the former (in [[Pâli]]) it is entitled the [[Dialogue Primeval]] ([[Aggañña-suttam]]) and in the [[latter]],  
  
:We cannot here discuss the many questions raised by this [[ancient]] [[book]]. Suffice it to say that the [[idea]] of Genesis as a fall is [[ancient]], and the interpretation of [[Paradise]] as a [[spiritual state]] instead of a material one is now regarded by a high authority to be the original {{Wiki|conception}} of Eden in the {{Wiki|Babylonian}} [[mythology]].[1] The [[Christian]] [[student]] will be {{Wiki|aware}} that such an interpretation was given to the Hebrew Genesis by Philo the Jew of [[Alexandria]], at the time of {{Wiki|Christ}}; by Origen of [[Alexandria]], in the third century;
+
 
 +
 
 +
The History of [[Kings]].
 +
 
 +
 
 +
 
 +
These two [[ancient]] recensions agree in the main, but are verbally different.
 +
 
 +
When an old document has such a [[transmission]], its antiquity is well established.
 +
 
 +
:The [[Buddhist]] Genesis was epitomised by [[Robert Spence Hardy]] in his Manual of Budhism (sic) published at {{Wiki|London}} in 1853. But
 +
 
 +
:[1. Translated from the [[Pâli]] by [[Albert J. Edmunds]], Philadelphia.]
 +
 
 +
:p. 208 Hardy translated not from the [[Pâli]] texts, but from mediæval [[Singhalese]] commentaries, which in turn are based upon [[Pâli]] texts and commentaries combined.
 +
 
 +
Therefore we can never be sure, when reading [[Spence Hardy]], how much of a {{Wiki|narrative}} is from the primitive text and how much has been expanded or exaggerated from commentaries in [[Pâli]] and [[Singhalese]].
 +
 
 +
:An account of the [[Great Council]] version has been given in {{Wiki|French}} by [[Émile Senart]], in the Introduction to Vol. I. of his splendid edition of the [[Mahâvastu]] ({{Wiki|Paris}}, 1882).
 +
 
 +
So corrupt and difficult is the text that even this learned [[Prâkrit]] [[scholar]] shrank from giving a [[verbal]] translation, but contented himself with an {{Wiki|epitome}}.
 +
 
 +
:A brief account in English, based upon the [[Pâli]] recension, has been given by [[Wikipedia:Thomas William Rhys Davids|Rhys Davids]], in his [[Dialogues of the Buddha]] ({{Wiki|London}}, 1899, p. 105). [[Samuel Beal]] translates two versions from the {{Wiki|Chinese}}, the second one being from the [[Long Collection]]. (Four Lectures: {{Wiki|London}}, 1882, pp. 151-155.)
 +
 
 +
:The {{Wiki|present}} is the first translation of the text itself, and is made from the [[King-of-Siam's]] edition, printed in [[Siamese]] characters, in Vol. XI. of his thirty-nine volumes of the [[Pâli Canon]], which was published at his capital in 1894, and in 1895 distributed throughout the [[world]] to [[universities]] and libraries.
 +
 
 +
There are two copies in Philadelphia: viz., at the {{Wiki|University}} of Pennsylvania and the Mercantile Library.
 +
 
 +
In 1905 it is expected that the [[Pâli]] Text {{Wiki|Society}} of {{Wiki|London}} will print our {{Wiki|present}} Genesis text in {{Wiki|Roman}} letters, when it will be much easier to read.
 +
 
 +
:We cannot here discuss the many questions raised by this [[ancient]] [[book]]. Suffice it to say that the [[idea]] of Genesis as a fall is [[ancient]], and the interpretation of [[Paradise]] as a [[spiritual state]] instead of a material one is now regarded by a high authority to be the original {{Wiki|conception}} of Eden in the {{Wiki|Babylonian}} [[mythology]].[1]  
 +
 
 +
The [[Christian]] [[student]] will be {{Wiki|aware}} that such an interpretation was given to the Hebrew Genesis by Philo the Jew of [[Alexandria]], at the time of {{Wiki|Christ}}; by Origen of [[Alexandria]], in the third century;
  
 
:[1. {{Wiki|Babylonian}} and Hebrew Genesis. By Heinrich Zimmern. {{Wiki|London}}, 1901, p. 33.]
 
:[1. {{Wiki|Babylonian}} and Hebrew Genesis. By Heinrich Zimmern. {{Wiki|London}}, 1901, p. 33.]
Line 19: Line 52:
 
:p. 209 by Jacob Boehme of Görlitz in the sixteenth, and by Emanuel Swedenborg of {{Wiki|Stockholm}}, in the eighteenth.
 
:p. 209 by Jacob Boehme of Görlitz in the sixteenth, and by Emanuel Swedenborg of {{Wiki|Stockholm}}, in the eighteenth.
  
:The exact date of our document cannot be fixed, but after years of research I am satisfied that the [[Pâli]] [[Canon]] existed, in its main constituents, if not in its {{Wiki|present}} [[form]], at the Council of Va.t.tagâmini, about B.C. 40,[1] in the [[ancient]] capital of [[Ceylon]]. At this Council the [[sacred]] lore, which had hitherto been oral, was committed to [[writing]], say the [[Ceylon]] Chronicles; and a number of facts, which cannot be detailed here, give {{Wiki|probability}} to the statement. Even if only the older parts of the [[Canon]] existed then, the Genesis document was certainly among them, because transmitted by a branch of the rival [[sect]] which had split off from the [[sect]] of [[Ceylon]] (the Schoo1 of the [[Elders]]) some centuries before. The [[Buddhist tradition]] maintains that this document, together with most of the Dialogues and [[Discipline]], was fixed in its {{Wiki|present}} [[form]] by the Council of [[Râjagaha]], upon [[Buddha's]] decease in the fifth century before {{Wiki|Christ}}. But while [[criticism]] allows that something was settled then, it cannot admit so early a redaction for a {{Wiki|literature}} bearing all the marks of long [[development]]. We may safely say, then, that the [[Buddhist]] Genesis was composed between the fifth and the first centuries before {{Wiki|Christ}}. How far the main [[idea]] of our document can be regarded as compatible with the underlying [[philosophy]] of the [[teachings of Buddha]] himself, does not fall within the scope of our [[investigation]].
+
:The exact date of our document cannot be fixed, but after years of research I am satisfied that the [[Pâli]] [[Canon]] existed, in its main constituents, if not in its {{Wiki|present}} [[form]], at the Council of Va.t.tagâmini, about B.C. 40,[1] in the [[ancient]] capital of [[Ceylon]].  
 +
 
 +
At this Council the [[sacred]] lore, which had hitherto been oral, was committed to [[writing]], say the [[Ceylon]] Chronicles; and a number of facts, which cannot be detailed here, give {{Wiki|probability}} to the statement.  
 +
 
 +
Even if only the older parts of the [[Canon]] existed then, the Genesis document was certainly among them, because transmitted by a branch of the rival [[sect]] which had split off from the [[sect]] of [[Ceylon]] (the Schoo1 of the [[Elders]]) some centuries before.  
 +
 
 +
The [[Buddhist tradition]] maintains that this document, together with most of the Dialogues and [[Discipline]], was fixed in its {{Wiki|present}} [[form]] by the Council of [[Râjagaha]], upon [[Buddha's]] decease in the fifth century before {{Wiki|Christ}}.  
 +
 
 +
But while [[criticism]] allows that something was settled then, it cannot admit so early a redaction for a {{Wiki|literature}} bearing all the marks of long [[development]].  
 +
 
 +
We may safely say, then, that the [[Buddhist]] Genesis was composed between the fifth and the first centuries before {{Wiki|Christ}}.  
 +
 
 +
How far the main [[idea]] of our document can be regarded as compatible with the underlying [[philosophy]] of the [[teachings of Buddha]] himself, does not fall within the scope of our [[investigation]].
 +
 
  
 
:ALBERT J. EDMUNDS.
 
:ALBERT J. EDMUNDS.
Line 25: Line 71:
 
:EASTER, 1902.
 
:EASTER, 1902.
  
:THE DIALOGUE PRIMEVAL (AGGAÑÑA-SUTTAM).[2]
+
 
 +
:THE DIALOGUE PRIMEVAL ([[AGGAÑÑA-SUTTAM]]).[2]
  
 
:O Vâse.t.thâ,[3] there is a season, at vast intervals in the lapse of time, when this [[world]] is dissolved; and upon the world's dissolution, the inhabitants are mostly brought together in the [[heaven]] of
 
:O Vâse.t.thâ,[3] there is a season, at vast intervals in the lapse of time, when this [[world]] is dissolved; and upon the world's dissolution, the inhabitants are mostly brought together in the [[heaven]] of
Line 33: Line 80:
 
:2. The [[discussion]] on [[caste]], which precedes, is omitted, being no part of the Genesis document.
 
:2. The [[discussion]] on [[caste]], which precedes, is omitted, being no part of the Genesis document.
  
:3. The plural [[name]] of two [[Brahmin]] [[disciples]] to whom Gotamo addresses account. Hereafter we omit it: it occurs In every paragraph.]
+
:3. The plural [[name]] of two [[Brahmin]] [[disciples]] to whom Gotamo addresses account.  
 +
 
 +
Hereafter we omit it: it occurs In every paragraph.]
  
 
:p. 210 the Radiant, and there they dwell for a long, long period, mind-made, feeders on [[joy]], self-resplendent, traversing the sky, and abiding in [[goodness]].
 
:p. 210 the Radiant, and there they dwell for a long, long period, mind-made, feeders on [[joy]], self-resplendent, traversing the sky, and abiding in [[goodness]].
  
:Again, there is a season, at vast intervals in the lapse of time, when this [[world]] is re-evolved; and upon the world's [[evolution]], [[people]] disappear from the host of the Radiant and come down hither.[1] And they are mind-made, feeders on [[joy]], self-resplendent, traversing the sky, and abiding in [[goodness]]. [And so] do they dwell for a long, long period.
+
:Again, there is a season, at vast intervals in the lapse of time, when this [[world]] is re-evolved; and upon the world's [[evolution]], [[people]] disappear from the host of the Radiant and come down hither.[1] And they are mind-made, feeders on [[joy]], self-resplendent, traversing the sky, and abiding in [[goodness]].  
 +
 
 +
[And so] do they dwell for a long, long period.
  
:Now at that season there is gloom and {{Wiki|darkness}} universally: [[moon]] and {{Wiki|sun}} are known not; {{Wiki|stars}} and [[constellations]] are not known; nor night and day, nor month and fortnight, nor seasons of the year. Women and men are known not, but [[people]] say: "[[Sentient beings]] only are considered."[2]
+
:Now at that season there is gloom and {{Wiki|darkness}} universally: [[moon]] and {{Wiki|sun}} are known not; {{Wiki|stars}} and [[constellations]] are not known; nor night and day, nor month and fortnight, nor seasons of the year.  
  
:Now for those [[beings]] there arises, after a vast {{Wiki|interval}} in the lapse of time, a savory [[earth]] everywhere upon the [[water]]. Even as the [[tree]] of [[paradise]] on high is to a self-restrained one who is reaching [[Nirvâna]], such does it appear. It was endowed with {{Wiki|color}}, {{Wiki|scent}}, and savor like unto ghee and butter: such was its {{Wiki|color}}. And even as a little [[honey]] undefiled, such was its {{Wiki|taste}}. Then some luxurious [[person]] saying, "Oh! What can this be?" tasted with his finger the savory [[earth]], and as soon as he had done so, [[craving]][3] therefor became clothed and entered in. Others also, following the example of that being, tasted the savory [[earth]] with a finger. When they had done so, [[craving]] became clothed and entered in.
+
Women and men are known not, but [[people]] say: "[[Sentient beings]] only are considered."[2]
  
:Then [[people]] approached the luxurious savory [[earth]], to partake of it with their hands, and forthwith their self-radiance disappeared. When their self-radiance was gone, the [[moon]] and {{Wiki|sun}} were [[manifested]],
+
:Now for those [[beings]] there arises, after a vast {{Wiki|interval}} in the lapse of time, a savory [[earth]] everywhere upon the [[water]].
  
:[1. A corrupt change in the [[Prâkrit]], of the [[Pâli]] words itthatta~m âgacchanti into iccha-svam-âgacchanti, has given rise to the [[idea]], in the Mahâvastu, that they go whither they please. Then a gloss adds that this is always the {{Wiki|rule}}: they always go whither they [[desire]].
+
Even as the [[tree]] of [[paradise]] on high is to a self-restrained one who is reaching [[Nirvâna]], such does it appear.
 +
 
 +
It was endowed with {{Wiki|color}}, {{Wiki|scent}}, and savor like unto ghee and butter: such was its {{Wiki|color}}.
 +
 
 +
And even as a little [[honey]] undefiled, such was its {{Wiki|taste}}.
 +
 
 +
Then some luxurious [[person]] saying, "Oh! What can this be?" tasted with his finger the savory [[earth]], and as soon as he had done so, [[craving]][3] therefor became clothed and entered in. Others also, following the example of that being, tasted the savory [[earth]] with a finger.
 +
 
 +
When they had done so, [[craving]] became clothed and entered in.
 +
 
 +
:Then [[people]] approached the luxurious savory [[earth]], to partake of it with their hands, and forthwith their self-radiance disappeared.
 +
 
 +
When their self-radiance was gone, the [[moon]] and {{Wiki|sun}} were [[manifested]],
 +
 
 +
:[1. A corrupt change in the [[Prâkrit]], of the [[Pâli]] words itthatta~m âgacchanti into [[iccha-svam-âgacchanti]], has given rise to the [[idea]], in the [[Mahâvastu]], that they go whither they please. Then a gloss adds that this is always the {{Wiki|rule}}: they always go whither they [[desire]].
  
 
:2. The [[word]] rendered "inhabitants," "[[people]]," and "[[sentient beings]]" is the same in the [[Pâli]].
 
:2. The [[word]] rendered "inhabitants," "[[people]]," and "[[sentient beings]]" is the same in the [[Pâli]].
  
:3. [[Craving]], literally [[thirst]]. It is a technical term in [[Buddhist]] [[metaphysics]] for the will to live, which necessitates personal [[existence]].]
+
:3. [[Craving]], literally [[thirst]].  
 +
 
 +
It is a technical term in [[Buddhist]] [[metaphysics]] for the will to live, which necessitates personal [[existence]].]
  
:p. 211 and with them the {{Wiki|stars}} and [[constellations]]. With these again came night and day, and with night and day the months and the fortnights, and with the last the seasons of the year. Thus was this [[world]] again evolved.
+
:p. 211 and with them the {{Wiki|stars}} and [[constellations]].  
  
:Now [[people]] remained a long, long time enjoying the savory [[earth]] for their [[food]] and support; and so long as they did thus, mere coarseness entered into their [[bodies]] and differences of [[caste]] arose.[1] Some [[people]] were beautiful and others were ugly. Then those who were beautiful despised the ugly ones and said: "We are handsomer than these, they are uglier than we." And by [[reason]] of their [[conceit]] of {{Wiki|color}} the savory [[earth]] disappeared among those born with [[pride]] and [[conceit]]. When the savory [[earth]] had vanished, they met together and lamented, saying: "Oh, the savor! oh, the savor!" Even now, when men have taken some surpassing[2] dainty they say the same: "Oh, the savor! Oh, the savor!" In this they imitate exactly the [[ancient]] primeval men, but know not the meaning thereof.
+
With these again came night and day, and with night and day the months and the fortnights, and with the last the seasons of the year.  
  
:After the savory [[earth]] had disappeared, there sprang up for those [[people]] a fine kind of moss. It was somewhat like a mushroom, and in {{Wiki|color}}, {{Wiki|scent}}, and savor was like unto ghee or butter. And even as a little [[honey]] undefiled, such was its {{Wiki|taste}}.
+
Thus was this [[world]] again evolved.
  
:[3]Then, as before, they ate the fine moss and lived a long time thereon, while coarseness entered still more into their [[bodies]], and differences of [[caste]] arose. Also, as before, the beautiful despised the ugly, whereupon the fine moss disappeared. When it was gone a sweet creeper sprang up, which was somewhat like the cadamba, and in {{Wiki|color}}, {{Wiki|scent}}, savor, and {{Wiki|taste}}, as the other [[foods]] before. The same [[experience]] was repeated, and the sweet creeper vanished away. Then they met together and lamented, saying: "Alas for us! Alas! the sweet creeper has failed us!" Even now, when
+
:Now [[people]] remained a long, long time enjoying the savory [[earth]] for their [[food]] and support; and so long as they did thus, mere coarseness entered into their [[bodies]] and differences of [[caste]] arose.[1] Some [[people]] were beautiful and others were ugly.
 +
 
 +
Then those who were beautiful despised the ugly ones and said:
 +
 
 +
"We are handsomer than these, they are uglier than we."
 +
 
 +
And by [[reason]] of their [[conceit]] of {{Wiki|color}} the savory [[earth]] disappeared among those born with [[pride]] and [[conceit]].
 +
 
 +
When the savory [[earth]] had vanished, they met together and lamented, saying: "Oh, the savor! oh, the savor!"
 +
 
 +
Even now, when men have taken some surpassing[2] dainty they say the same:
 +
 
 +
"Oh, the savor! Oh, the savor!" In this they imitate exactly the [[ancient]] primeval men, but know not the meaning thereof.
 +
 
 +
:After the savory [[earth]] had disappeared, there sprang up for those [[people]] a fine kind of moss.
 +
 
 +
It was somewhat like a mushroom, and in {{Wiki|color}}, {{Wiki|scent}}, and savor was like unto ghee or butter. And even as a little [[honey]] undefiled, such was its {{Wiki|taste}}.
 +
 
 +
:[3]Then, as before, they ate the fine moss and lived a long time thereon, while coarseness entered still more into their [[bodies]], and differences of [[caste]] arose.  
 +
 
 +
Also, as before, the beautiful despised the ugly, whereupon the fine moss disappeared.  
 +
 
 +
When it was gone a sweet creeper sprang up, which was somewhat like the cadamba, and in {{Wiki|color}}, {{Wiki|scent}}, savor, and {{Wiki|taste}}, as the other [[foods]] before.  
 +
 
 +
The same [[experience]] was repeated, and the sweet creeper vanished away.  
 +
 
 +
Then they met together and lamented, saying: "Alas for us! Alas! the sweet creeper has failed us!" Even now, when
  
 
:[1. The [[word]] [[caste]] is simply {{Wiki|color}} or complexion.
 
:[1. The [[word]] [[caste]] is simply {{Wiki|color}} or complexion.
  
:2. The [[word]] "surpassing" is literally [[divine]] or angelic. As in the {{Wiki|Old Testament}}, this [[word]] is used to mean great or fine.
+
:2. The [[word]] "surpassing" is literally [[divine]] or angelic.  
 +
 
 +
As in the {{Wiki|Old Testament}}, this [[word]] is used to mean great or fine.
  
 
:3. Here and in following paragraphs the exact {{Wiki|phraseology}} of the preceding {{Wiki|narrative}} is tediously repeated in the [[Pâli]], but it is no part of a translator's business to perpetuate these mannerisms. Their use is to preserve the text from corruption.]
 
:3. Here and in following paragraphs the exact {{Wiki|phraseology}} of the preceding {{Wiki|narrative}} is tediously repeated in the [[Pâli]], but it is no part of a translator's business to perpetuate these mannerisms. Their use is to preserve the text from corruption.]
  
:p. 212 men are touched by some [[divine]] catastrophe, they say the same: "Alas for us! Alas, it has failed us!" They recall the very [[letter]] of the [[ancient]] primeval men, but know not the meaning thereof.
+
:p. 212 men are touched by some [[divine]] catastrophe, they say the same: "Alas for us! Alas, it has failed us!"  
  
:Now, when the sweet creeper had gone from those [[people]], a delicate {{Wiki|rice}} appeared, without coating or husk, [[pure]], sweet-scented, and with the fruit already winnowed. They fetched [[food]] at evening for supper, and in the morning it was ripe and grown again. They fetched [[food]] in the morning for breakfast, and at evening it was ripe and grown again. It was not known to fail. Then the [[people]] lived a long, long time, enjoying the delicate {{Wiki|rice}} for their [[food]] and support; and so long as they did thus, mere coarseness entered more and more into their [[bodies]] and differences of [[caste]] arose.
+
They recall the very [[letter]] of the [[ancient]] primeval men, but know not the meaning thereof.
  
:Then the {{Wiki|organ}} of womanhood appeared in the woman and the {{Wiki|organ}} of manhood in the man. And the woman [[offered]] to the man strong drink in excess, and the man unto the woman. And as they did so, [[passion]] arose, and [[suffering]] entered into their [[bodies]]. By [[reason]] of the [[suffering]] they indulged in the act of {{Wiki|sex}}. Then, when [[people]] saw them in those days, indulging thus, some threw dust and others ashes, and others cow-dung, saying: "Perish, vile wench! Perish, vile wench!" And again: "How can one being do such a thing unto another?" Even now, in some country places, when a murderess is being executed, some [[people]] throw dust, others ashes, and others cow-dung.[1] They recall the very [[letter]] of the [[ancient]] primeval men, but know not the meaning thereof.
+
:Now, when the sweet creeper had gone from those [[people]], a delicate {{Wiki|rice}} appeared, without coating or husk, [[pure]], sweet-scented, and with the fruit already winnowed.  
  
:O Vâse.t.thâ! that was an impious practice in those days, but now it is a pious one. [[People]] who, in those days, indulged in the act of {{Wiki|sex}}, were not allowed to return to town or village for two months and three. When those [[people]] had fallen into exceeding mischief in that impiety, they began to make houses, in order to hide the impiety. Then it occurred to some idle [[person]]: "Why should I be troubled to bring {{Wiki|rice}} at evening for supper and at morning for breakfast? Suppose I now bring it only once every
+
They fetched [[food]] at evening for supper, and in the morning it was ripe and grown again.
  
:[1. The [[Sanskrit]] here reads: "[[Monks]], just as now, when a maiden is being [[married]], they throw a stick or a clod," etc. This is doubtless the true [[sense]], and the [[Pâli]] is probably corrupt.]
+
They fetched [[food]] in the morning for breakfast, and at evening it was ripe and grown again.
 +
 
 +
It was not known to fail. Then the [[people]] lived a long, long time, enjoying the delicate {{Wiki|rice}} for their [[food]] and support; and so long as they did thus, mere coarseness entered more and more into their [[bodies]] and differences of [[caste]] arose.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
:Then the {{Wiki|organ}} of womanhood appeared in the woman and the {{Wiki|organ}} of manhood in the man. And the woman [[offered]] to the man strong drink in excess, and the man unto the woman. And as they did so, [[passion]] arose, and [[suffering]] entered into their [[bodies]].
 +
 
 +
By [[reason]] of the [[suffering]] they indulged in the act of {{Wiki|sex}}.
 +
 
 +
Then, when [[people]] saw them in those days, indulging thus, some threw dust and others ashes, and others cow-dung, saying:
 +
 
 +
"Perish, vile wench! Perish, vile wench!"
 +
 
 +
And again: "How can one being do such a thing unto another?"
 +
 
 +
Even now, in some country places, when a murderess is being executed, some [[people]] throw dust, others ashes, and others cow-dung.[1]
 +
 
 +
They recall the very [[letter]] of the [[ancient]] primeval men, but know not the meaning thereof.
 +
 
 +
:O Vâse.t.thâ! that was an impious practice in those days, but now it is a pious one.
 +
 
 +
[[People]] who, in those days, indulged in the act of {{Wiki|sex}}, were not allowed to return to town or village for two months and three.
 +
 
 +
When those [[people]] had fallen into exceeding mischief in that impiety, they began to make houses, in order to hide the impiety.
 +
 
 +
Then it occurred to some idle [[person]]:
 +
"Why should I be troubled to bring {{Wiki|rice}} at evening for supper and at morning for breakfast?
 +
 
 +
Suppose I now bring it only once every
 +
 
 +
:[1. The [[Sanskrit]] here reads: "[[Monks]], just as now, when a maiden is being [[married]], they throw a stick or a clod," etc.  
 +
 
 +
This is doubtless the true [[sense]], and the [[Pâli]] is probably corrupt.]
  
 
:p. 213 evening for breakfast." He accordingly did so, and then some one approached him and said:
 
:p. 213 evening for breakfast." He accordingly did so, and then some one approached him and said:
Line 81: Line 208:
 
:"Enough, O fellow-being! I only fetch {{Wiki|rice}} once every evening for breakfast."
 
:"Enough, O fellow-being! I only fetch {{Wiki|rice}} once every evening for breakfast."
  
:Thereupon that other, following his example, said: "It would be good indeed to bring the {{Wiki|rice}} only once in two days." Just then some one else approached that [[person]] and asked him likewise to go for {{Wiki|rice}}, and he gave the same answer as the first, whereupon the other, following his example, said: "It would be good indeed to bring the {{Wiki|rice}} only once in four days." When another [[person]] invited the last one to bring some, he was told about the four-day plan, and forthwith suggested once in eight days as enough. So soon as those [[people]] began to eat stored-up {{Wiki|rice}}, then was the grain enveloped by the red coating and the husk; no harvest was reaped; failure ensued, and there were groves on groves of [[standing]] {{Wiki|rice}}.
+
:Thereupon that other, following his example, said:  
 +
 
 +
"It would be good indeed to bring the {{Wiki|rice}} only once in two days.
 +
 
 +
" Just then some one else approached that [[person]] and asked him likewise to go for {{Wiki|rice}}, and he gave the same answer as the first, whereupon the other, following his example, said:  
 +
 
 +
"It would be good indeed to bring the {{Wiki|rice}} only once in four days."  
 +
 
 +
When another [[person]] invited the last one to bring some, he was told about the four-day plan, and forthwith suggested once in eight days as enough.  
 +
 
 +
So soon as those [[people]] began to eat stored-up {{Wiki|rice}}, then was the grain enveloped by the red coating and the husk; no harvest was reaped; failure ensued, and there were groves on groves of [[standing]] {{Wiki|rice}}.
 +
 
 +
:Then the [[people]] met together and lamented, saying: "Alas! [[Evil]] things have appeared among [[beings]]; for of yore we were mind-made, feeders on [[joy]], self-radiant, traversing the sky and abiding in [[goodness]], and so did we long remain.
 +
 
 +
Then, after a vast period, arose the savory [[earth]] upon the [[water]], and we ate thereof and lost our splendor, till [[moon]] and {{Wiki|sun}} came forth, and {{Wiki|stars}} and starry [[forms]].  
  
:Then the [[people]] met together and lamented, saying: "Alas! [[Evil]] things have appeared among [[beings]]; for of yore we were mind-made, feeders on [[joy]], self-radiant, traversing the sky and abiding in [[goodness]], and so did we long remain. Then, after a vast period, arose the savory [[earth]] upon the [[water]], and we ate thereof and lost our splendor, till [[moon]] and {{Wiki|sun}} came forth, and {{Wiki|stars}} and starry [[forms]]. So night and day, month and half-month and seasons yearly rolled, and we enjoyed the savory [[earth]] for long, until by the [[appearance]] among us of things wicked and [[demeritorious]] the savory [[earth]] did fail. Then the fine moss came round, and we lost it likewise; and the sweet creeper and the huskless {{Wiki|rice}}. The {{Wiki|rice}} we [[gathered]] morn and even for our meals, a daily harvest; failure was unknown; and so we stayed for long, till for wicked and [[demeritorious]] things a coating and a husk did wrap the grain; no harvest was there reaped; failure ensued, and groves on groves are [[standing]]. Let us now divide the {{Wiki|rice}} and set a boundary."
+
So night and day, month and half-month and seasons yearly rolled, and we enjoyed the savory [[earth]] for long, until by the [[appearance]] among us of things wicked and [[demeritorious]] the savory [[earth]] did fail.  
 +
 
 +
Then the fine moss came round, and we lost it likewise; and the sweet creeper and the huskless {{Wiki|rice}}.  
 +
 
 +
The {{Wiki|rice}} we [[gathered]] morn and even for our meals, a daily harvest; failure was unknown; and so we stayed for long, till for wicked and [[demeritorious]] things a coating and a husk did wrap the grain; no harvest was there reaped; failure ensued, and groves on groves are [[standing]].  
 +
 
 +
Let us now divide the {{Wiki|rice}} and set a boundary."
  
 
:So they divided the {{Wiki|rice}} and a boundary did they set.
 
:So they divided the {{Wiki|rice}} and a boundary did they set.
  
:Now a certain [[greedy]] [[person]], while keeping his [[own]] share, took a share not given him, and enjoyed it. They arrested him p. 214 and said: "Alas! O being, thou hast done a wicked thing, in that thou hast, while keeping thine [[own]] share, taken and enjoyed a share ungiven. O being, thou shouldest not do thus."
+
 
 +
:Now a certain [[greedy]] [[person]], while keeping his [[own]] share, took a share not given him, and enjoyed it.  
 +
 
 +
They arrested him p. 214 and said: "Alas! O being, thou hast done a wicked thing, in that thou hast, while keeping thine [[own]] share, taken and enjoyed a share ungiven. O being, thou shouldest not do thus."
  
 
:"Be it so," replied that being to the others. But a second time he stole likewise, and a third; whereupon, after the same reproof, some struck him with their hands, some with clods, and others with staves. And so theft came first to be known, and upbraiding, and {{Wiki|lying}}, and [[violence]].
 
:"Be it so," replied that being to the others. But a second time he stole likewise, and a third; whereupon, after the same reproof, some struck him with their hands, some with clods, and others with staves. And so theft came first to be known, and upbraiding, and {{Wiki|lying}}, and [[violence]].
  
:Then the best [[people]] met together, and lamented, saying: "Alas! [[Evil]] things have appeared among [[beings]], in that theft has come to be known, and upbraiding, and {{Wiki|lying}}, and [[violence]]. Suppose we now elect one being and tell him: 'Do thou rebuke whomsoever is rightly deserving of rebuke, and upbraid or expel whomsoever is rightly deserving thereof; but we will provide for thy share of the {{Wiki|rice}}.'"
+
:Then the best [[people]] met together, and lamented, saying:  
 +
 
 +
"Alas! [[Evil]] things have appeared among [[beings]], in that theft has come to be known, and upbraiding, and {{Wiki|lying}}, and [[violence]].  
 +
 
 +
Suppose we now elect one being and tell him: 'Do thou rebuke whomsoever is rightly deserving of rebuke, and upbraid or expel whomsoever is rightly deserving thereof; but we will provide for thy share of the {{Wiki|rice}}.'"
 +
 
 +
:Thereupon the [[people]] approached a [[person]] who was finer, handsomer, pleasanter, and more commanding than the rest, and said:
  
:Thereupon the [[people]] approached a [[person]] who was finer, handsomer, pleasanter, and more commanding than the rest, and said: "Come, fellow-being! Rebuke whomsoever is rightly deserving of rebuke, and upbraid or expel whomsoever is rightly deserving thereof; but we will provide for your share of the {{Wiki|rice}}."
+
"Come, fellow-being! Rebuke whomsoever is rightly deserving of rebuke, and upbraid or expel whomsoever is rightly deserving thereof; but we will provide for your share of the {{Wiki|rice}}."
  
 
:"Be it so," replied that [[person]] to the rest; and so he rebuked, upbraided, or expelled those rightly deserving thereof, while they provided for his share of the {{Wiki|rice}}.
 
:"Be it so," replied that [[person]] to the rest; and so he rebuked, upbraided, or expelled those rightly deserving thereof, while they provided for his share of the {{Wiki|rice}}.
  
:Now because he was the great man elected by the race, there arose the first title[1] of "Great Elect." And because he was lord of the fields,[2] there arose the second the of "Nobleman." And because he reconciles others by justice, there arose the third title of "[[King]]." Such was the origin of this circle of [[Nobles]] by an [[ancient]] primeval title; yea, and of those very [[people]] who, though different, are alike and not dissimilar, by [[virtue]] of justice, not by injustice. Justice, O Vâse.t.thâ! is best for the [[human]] race in this [[world]] and the next.[3]
+
:Now because he was the great man elected by the race, there arose the first title[1] of "Great Elect."  
 +
 
 +
And because he was lord of the fields,[2] there arose the second the of "Nobleman." And because he reconciles others by justice, there arose the third title of "[[King]]."  
 +
 
 +
Such was the origin of this circle of [[Nobles]] by an [[ancient]] primeval title; yea, and of those very [[people]] who, though different, are alike and not dissimilar, by [[virtue]] of justice, not by injustice.  
 +
 
 +
Justice, O Vâse.t.thâ! is best for the [[human]] race in this [[world]] and the next.[3]
 +
 
 +
:End of the Genesis document common to the [[Pâli]] [[Aggañña-suttam]] and the [[Prâkrit]] [[Mahâvastu]].
  
:[End of the Genesis document common to the [[Pâli]] Aggañña-suttam and the [[Prâkrit]] Mahâvastu.]
+
:1. "Title" is akkharam, the regular [[word]] for a [[letter]] of the [[alphabet]].  
  
:[1. "Title" is akkharam, the regular [[word]] for a [[letter]] of the [[alphabet]]. Its literal meaning is "imperishable."
+
Its literal meaning is "imperishable."
  
 
:2. There is here, and also in the words "reconcile" and "[[king]]," a punning {{Wiki|etymology}}: "field" is khettam, and "nobleman" is Khattiyo.
 
:2. There is here, and also in the words "reconcile" and "[[king]]," a punning {{Wiki|etymology}}: "field" is khettam, and "nobleman" is Khattiyo.
  
:3. The closing passage about justice (or [[religion]]) is not in the Mahâvastu, being part of the [[discussion]] about [[caste]] which is now resumed in the [[Pâli]] {{Wiki|dialogue}}. In like manner there is frequent divergence of words and sentences between the two recensions, but agreement in the main story.]
+
:3. The closing passage about justice (or [[religion]]) is not in the [[Mahâvastu]], being part of the [[discussion]] about [[caste]] which is now resumed in the [[Pâli]] {{Wiki|dialogue}}. In like manner there is frequent divergence of words and sentences between the two recensions, but agreement in the main story.]
  
 
:{The following note is from the April, 1904 issue, Vol. XIV, No. 3}
 
:{The following note is from the April, 1904 issue, Vol. XIV, No. 3}
Line 113: Line 277:
 
:NOTE ON "A [[BUDDHIST]] GENESIS."
 
:NOTE ON "A [[BUDDHIST]] GENESIS."
  
:Since my translation of the [[Buddhist]] Genesis document appeared in the January Monist, I have found that Rockhill rendered it from the [[Tibetan]] in 1884. ([[Life]] of the [[Buddha]] and Early History of His Order. Translated from the [[Tibetan]]. By W. Woodville Rockhill. {{Wiki|London}}, Trübner's {{Wiki|Oriental}} Series, 1884). I had known this [[book]] for years, but it escaped me when making the Genesis translation and also in my [[Buddhist]] Bibliography ({{Wiki|London}}, 1903). In Rockhill's volume the Genesis document comes at the very beginning. Like the Sanskritised [[Prâkrit]] version used by me, it belongs to the [[Vinaya Pitaka]]. The [[Tibetan Canon]] is that of the [[sect]] of [[Realists]] ([[Sarvastivada]]), whose account of the compilation of the [[Scriptures]] was translated by Suzuki, also in the January Monist. There are two versions of the Genesis document in the [[Tibetan]] [[Vinaya Pitaka]]: A short one in the Vinaya-vastu (corresponding in part to the [[Pâli]] Mahâvaggo), and a long one (translated by Rockhill) in the Vinaya-Vibhâga ([[Pâli]] Bhikkhu-Vibhanga). The [[Theravâda]] [[sect]], who have handed down the [[Pâli]] [[Tripitaka]], do not place this document in the [[Vinaya]], but in the [[Sûtra Pitaka]]. Thus do we prove the [[truth]] of the [[Island]] Chronicle of [[Ceylon]], which says that the [[Realists]], the [[Great Council]], and many other sects, made recensions of the [[Canon]] to suit themselves. We must never forget that the [[Pâli]], though the oldest version of the [[Canon]] known, is by no means the only one. The Mahâsamghika ([[Great Council]]) school also claims to be the oldest, and their [[Book]] of [[Discipline]] has come down to us in a fifth-century {{Wiki|Chinese}} translation. Suzuki also gave us extracts from this, and we saw therefrom that they had no [[Abhidharma]]. This looks as if their [[Canon]] belonged to an earlier period than the [[Pâli]], for the [[Abhidharma]] was in the [[nature]] of commentary, and was compiled after the [[Buddhists]] had split up into sects. We p. 473 know that one [[ancient]] [[sect]], the [[Sautrântikas]] (i.e., Sûtra-men) refused to admit the canonicity of the [[Abhidharma]] and were content with the Sûtra-Pitaka. Moreover, the [[Great Council]] [[sect]] not only tabooed the [[Abhidharma]], but they also had a very short recension of the Fifth Nikâya. This collection, known as the [[Khuddaka]] (Short) in [[Pâli]], was called the [[Miscellaneous Pitaka]] by other sects, and consisted largely of commentaries. The [[Great Council]] refused to canonize these commentaries, but admitted into it only the Udâna, the Itivuttka and the [[Nidâna]].
+
:Since my translation of the [[Buddhist]] Genesis document appeared in the January Monist, I have found that [[Rockhill]] rendered it from the [[Tibetan]] in 1884.  
 +
 
 +
([[Life]] of the [[Buddha]] and Early History of His Order. Translated from the [[Tibetan]]. By [[W. Woodville Rockhill]]. {{Wiki|London}}, Trübner's {{Wiki|Oriental}} Series, 1884).  
 +
 
 +
I had known this [[book]] for years, but it escaped me when making the Genesis translation and also in my [[Buddhist]] Bibliography ({{Wiki|London}}, 1903).  
 +
 
 +
In [[Rockhill's]] volume the Genesis document comes at the very beginning. Like the Sanskritised [[Prâkrit]] version used by me, it belongs to the [[Vinaya Pitaka]].  
 +
 
 +
The [[Tibetan Canon]] is that of the [[sect]] of [[Realists]] ([[Sarvastivada]]), whose account of the compilation of the [[Scriptures]] was translated by [[Suzuki]], also in the January Monist.  
 +
 
 +
There are two versions of the Genesis document in the [[Tibetan]] [[Vinaya Pitaka]]: A short one in the [[Vinaya-vastu]] (corresponding in part to the [[Pâli]] [[Mahâvaggo]]), and a long one (translated by Rockhill) in the [[Vinaya-Vibhâga]] ([[Pâli]] [[Bhikkhu-Vibhanga]]).  
 +
 
 +
The [[Theravâda]] [[sect]], who have handed down the [[Pâli]] [[Tripitaka]], do not place this document in the [[Vinaya]], but in the [[Sûtra Pitaka]].  
 +
 
 +
Thus do we prove the [[truth]] of the [[Island]] Chronicle of [[Ceylon]], which says that the [[Realists]], the [[Great Council]], and many other sects, made recensions of the [[Canon]] to suit themselves. We must never forget that the [[Pâli]], though the oldest version of the [[Canon]] known, is by no means the only one.  
 +
 
 +
The [[Mahâsamghika]] ([[Great Council]]) school also claims to be the oldest, and their [[Book]] of [[Discipline]] has come down to us in a fifth-century {{Wiki|Chinese}} translation. Suzuki also gave us extracts from this, and we saw therefrom that they had no [[Abhidharma]].  
 +
 
 +
This looks as if their [[Canon]] belonged to an earlier period than the [[Pâli]], for the [[Abhidharma]] was in the [[nature]] of commentary, and was compiled after the [[Buddhists]] had split up into sects.  
 +
 
 +
We p. 473 know that one [[ancient]] [[sect]], the [[Sautrântikas]] (i.e., [[Sûtra-men]]) refused to admit the canonicity of the [[Abhidharma]] and were content with the [[Sûtra-Pitaka]].  
 +
 
 +
Moreover, the [[Great Council]] [[sect]] not only tabooed the [[Abhidharma]], but they also had a very short recension of the Fifth [[Nikâya]].  
 +
 
 +
This collection, known as the [[Khuddaka]] (Short) in [[Pâli]], was called the [[Miscellaneous Pitaka]] by other sects, and consisted largely of commentaries.  
 +
 
 +
The [[Great Council]] refused to canonize these commentaries, but admitted into it only the [[Udâna]], the [[Itivuttka]] and the [[Nidâna]].
  
 
:It is high time that [[Japanese]] [[scholars]] translated the [[books]] of this early rival [[sect]], which may yet be proved to be older than the [[Pâli]].
 
:It is high time that [[Japanese]] [[scholars]] translated the [[books]] of this early rival [[sect]], which may yet be proved to be older than the [[Pâli]].
 
[[Category:Sutras]]
 
[[Category:Sutras]]
 
{{R}}  
 
{{R}}  
 +
 
[http://www.sacred-texts.com/journals/mon/abudgen.htm sacred-texts.com]
 
[http://www.sacred-texts.com/journals/mon/abudgen.htm sacred-texts.com]

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THIS document is translated from the twenty-seventh Dialogue of the Long Collection (Dîgha-Nikâyo).

It occurs in a discussion on the caste question; but that it is a book in itself is clear from the fact that a rival recension of the Scriptures has transmitted it in a different connection, and with a different title.

This rival recension is that of the Sublime Story (Mahâvastu), an expanded portion of the Book of Discipline belonging to the sect called the Transcendentalists or Docetists (Lokottaravâdino), which is a branch of the Great Council School (Mahâsa~mghiko).

Now the Great Council was the rival sect of the School of the Elders (Theravâdo) who have preserved the Scriptures in Pâli.

The Great Council preserved them in some kind of Prâkrit, which has since been partiaily Sanskritised.

We have therefore this old Buddhist Genesis in two different Indian languages (to say nothing of a fifth-century translation into Chinese); transmitted by two different sects which parted company in the pre-Christian period of Buddhism; and in two different portions of the Canon: viz., the Book of Dialogues (Sutta-Pi.takam) and the Book of Discipline (Vinaya-Pi.takam).

In the former (in Pâli) it is entitled the Dialogue Primeval (Aggañña-suttam) and in the latter,


The History of Kings.


These two ancient recensions agree in the main, but are verbally different.

When an old document has such a transmission, its antiquity is well established.

The Buddhist Genesis was epitomised by Robert Spence Hardy in his Manual of Budhism (sic) published at London in 1853. But
[1. Translated from the Pâli by Albert J. Edmunds, Philadelphia.]
p. 208 Hardy translated not from the Pâli texts, but from mediæval Singhalese commentaries, which in turn are based upon Pâli texts and commentaries combined.

Therefore we can never be sure, when reading Spence Hardy, how much of a narrative is from the primitive text and how much has been expanded or exaggerated from commentaries in Pâli and Singhalese.

An account of the Great Council version has been given in French by Émile Senart, in the Introduction to Vol. I. of his splendid edition of the Mahâvastu (Paris, 1882).

So corrupt and difficult is the text that even this learned Prâkrit scholar shrank from giving a verbal translation, but contented himself with an epitome.

A brief account in English, based upon the Pâli recension, has been given by Rhys Davids, in his Dialogues of the Buddha (London, 1899, p. 105). Samuel Beal translates two versions from the Chinese, the second one being from the Long Collection. (Four Lectures: London, 1882, pp. 151-155.)
The present is the first translation of the text itself, and is made from the King-of-Siam's edition, printed in Siamese characters, in Vol. XI. of his thirty-nine volumes of the Pâli Canon, which was published at his capital in 1894, and in 1895 distributed throughout the world to universities and libraries.

There are two copies in Philadelphia: viz., at the University of Pennsylvania and the Mercantile Library.

In 1905 it is expected that the Pâli Text Society of London will print our present Genesis text in Roman letters, when it will be much easier to read.

We cannot here discuss the many questions raised by this ancient book. Suffice it to say that the idea of Genesis as a fall is ancient, and the interpretation of Paradise as a spiritual state instead of a material one is now regarded by a high authority to be the original conception of Eden in the Babylonian mythology.[1]

The Christian student will be aware that such an interpretation was given to the Hebrew Genesis by Philo the Jew of Alexandria, at the time of Christ; by Origen of Alexandria, in the third century;

[1. Babylonian and Hebrew Genesis. By Heinrich Zimmern. London, 1901, p. 33.]
p. 209 by Jacob Boehme of Görlitz in the sixteenth, and by Emanuel Swedenborg of Stockholm, in the eighteenth.
The exact date of our document cannot be fixed, but after years of research I am satisfied that the Pâli Canon existed, in its main constituents, if not in its present form, at the Council of Va.t.tagâmini, about B.C. 40,[1] in the ancient capital of Ceylon.

At this Council the sacred lore, which had hitherto been oral, was committed to writing, say the Ceylon Chronicles; and a number of facts, which cannot be detailed here, give probability to the statement.

Even if only the older parts of the Canon existed then, the Genesis document was certainly among them, because transmitted by a branch of the rival sect which had split off from the sect of Ceylon (the Schoo1 of the Elders) some centuries before.

The Buddhist tradition maintains that this document, together with most of the Dialogues and Discipline, was fixed in its present form by the Council of Râjagaha, upon Buddha's decease in the fifth century before Christ.

But while criticism allows that something was settled then, it cannot admit so early a redaction for a literature bearing all the marks of long development.

We may safely say, then, that the Buddhist Genesis was composed between the fifth and the first centuries before Christ.

How far the main idea of our document can be regarded as compatible with the underlying philosophy of the teachings of Buddha himself, does not fall within the scope of our investigation.


ALBERT J. EDMUNDS.
EASTER, 1902.


THE DIALOGUE PRIMEVAL (AGGAÑÑA-SUTTAM).[2]
O Vâse.t.thâ,[3] there is a season, at vast intervals in the lapse of time, when this world is dissolved; and upon the world's dissolution, the inhabitants are mostly brought together in the heaven of
[1. Kern's corrected date.
2. The discussion on caste, which precedes, is omitted, being no part of the Genesis document.
3. The plural name of two Brahmin disciples to whom Gotamo addresses account.

Hereafter we omit it: it occurs In every paragraph.]

p. 210 the Radiant, and there they dwell for a long, long period, mind-made, feeders on joy, self-resplendent, traversing the sky, and abiding in goodness.
Again, there is a season, at vast intervals in the lapse of time, when this world is re-evolved; and upon the world's evolution, people disappear from the host of the Radiant and come down hither.[1] And they are mind-made, feeders on joy, self-resplendent, traversing the sky, and abiding in goodness.

[And so] do they dwell for a long, long period.

Now at that season there is gloom and darkness universally: moon and sun are known not; stars and constellations are not known; nor night and day, nor month and fortnight, nor seasons of the year.

Women and men are known not, but people say: "Sentient beings only are considered."[2]

Now for those beings there arises, after a vast interval in the lapse of time, a savory earth everywhere upon the water.

Even as the tree of paradise on high is to a self-restrained one who is reaching Nirvâna, such does it appear.

It was endowed with color, scent, and savor like unto ghee and butter: such was its color.

And even as a little honey undefiled, such was its taste.

Then some luxurious person saying, "Oh! What can this be?" tasted with his finger the savory earth, and as soon as he had done so, craving[3] therefor became clothed and entered in. Others also, following the example of that being, tasted the savory earth with a finger.

When they had done so, craving became clothed and entered in.

Then people approached the luxurious savory earth, to partake of it with their hands, and forthwith their self-radiance disappeared.

When their self-radiance was gone, the moon and sun were manifested,

[1. A corrupt change in the Prâkrit, of the Pâli words itthatta~m âgacchanti into iccha-svam-âgacchanti, has given rise to the idea, in the Mahâvastu, that they go whither they please. Then a gloss adds that this is always the rule: they always go whither they desire.
2. The word rendered "inhabitants," "people," and "sentient beings" is the same in the Pâli.
3. Craving, literally thirst.

It is a technical term in Buddhist metaphysics for the will to live, which necessitates personal existence.]

p. 211 and with them the stars and constellations.

With these again came night and day, and with night and day the months and the fortnights, and with the last the seasons of the year.

Thus was this world again evolved.

Now people remained a long, long time enjoying the savory earth for their food and support; and so long as they did thus, mere coarseness entered into their bodies and differences of caste arose.[1] Some people were beautiful and others were ugly.

Then those who were beautiful despised the ugly ones and said:

"We are handsomer than these, they are uglier than we."

And by reason of their conceit of color the savory earth disappeared among those born with pride and conceit.

When the savory earth had vanished, they met together and lamented, saying: "Oh, the savor! oh, the savor!"

Even now, when men have taken some surpassing[2] dainty they say the same:

"Oh, the savor! Oh, the savor!" In this they imitate exactly the ancient primeval men, but know not the meaning thereof.

After the savory earth had disappeared, there sprang up for those people a fine kind of moss.

It was somewhat like a mushroom, and in color, scent, and savor was like unto ghee or butter. And even as a little honey undefiled, such was its taste.

[3]Then, as before, they ate the fine moss and lived a long time thereon, while coarseness entered still more into their bodies, and differences of caste arose.

Also, as before, the beautiful despised the ugly, whereupon the fine moss disappeared.

When it was gone a sweet creeper sprang up, which was somewhat like the cadamba, and in color, scent, savor, and taste, as the other foods before.

The same experience was repeated, and the sweet creeper vanished away.

Then they met together and lamented, saying: "Alas for us! Alas! the sweet creeper has failed us!" Even now, when

[1. The word caste is simply color or complexion.
2. The word "surpassing" is literally divine or angelic.

As in the Old Testament, this word is used to mean great or fine.

3. Here and in following paragraphs the exact phraseology of the preceding narrative is tediously repeated in the Pâli, but it is no part of a translator's business to perpetuate these mannerisms. Their use is to preserve the text from corruption.]
p. 212 men are touched by some divine catastrophe, they say the same: "Alas for us! Alas, it has failed us!"

They recall the very letter of the ancient primeval men, but know not the meaning thereof.

Now, when the sweet creeper had gone from those people, a delicate rice appeared, without coating or husk, pure, sweet-scented, and with the fruit already winnowed.

They fetched food at evening for supper, and in the morning it was ripe and grown again.

They fetched food in the morning for breakfast, and at evening it was ripe and grown again.

It was not known to fail. Then the people lived a long, long time, enjoying the delicate rice for their food and support; and so long as they did thus, mere coarseness entered more and more into their bodies and differences of caste arose.


Then the organ of womanhood appeared in the woman and the organ of manhood in the man. And the woman offered to the man strong drink in excess, and the man unto the woman. And as they did so, passion arose, and suffering entered into their bodies.

By reason of the suffering they indulged in the act of sex.

Then, when people saw them in those days, indulging thus, some threw dust and others ashes, and others cow-dung, saying:

"Perish, vile wench! Perish, vile wench!"

And again: "How can one being do such a thing unto another?"

Even now, in some country places, when a murderess is being executed, some people throw dust, others ashes, and others cow-dung.[1]

They recall the very letter of the ancient primeval men, but know not the meaning thereof.

O Vâse.t.thâ! that was an impious practice in those days, but now it is a pious one.

People who, in those days, indulged in the act of sex, were not allowed to return to town or village for two months and three.

When those people had fallen into exceeding mischief in that impiety, they began to make houses, in order to hide the impiety.

Then it occurred to some idle person: "Why should I be troubled to bring rice at evening for supper and at morning for breakfast?

Suppose I now bring it only once every

[1. The Sanskrit here reads: "Monks, just as now, when a maiden is being married, they throw a stick or a clod," etc.

This is doubtless the true sense, and the Pâli is probably corrupt.]

p. 213 evening for breakfast." He accordingly did so, and then some one approached him and said:
"Come, fellow-being! let us go and bring some rice."
"Enough, O fellow-being! I only fetch rice once every evening for breakfast."
Thereupon that other, following his example, said:

"It would be good indeed to bring the rice only once in two days.

" Just then some one else approached that person and asked him likewise to go for rice, and he gave the same answer as the first, whereupon the other, following his example, said:

"It would be good indeed to bring the rice only once in four days."

When another person invited the last one to bring some, he was told about the four-day plan, and forthwith suggested once in eight days as enough.

So soon as those people began to eat stored-up rice, then was the grain enveloped by the red coating and the husk; no harvest was reaped; failure ensued, and there were groves on groves of standing rice.

Then the people met together and lamented, saying: "Alas! Evil things have appeared among beings; for of yore we were mind-made, feeders on joy, self-radiant, traversing the sky and abiding in goodness, and so did we long remain.

Then, after a vast period, arose the savory earth upon the water, and we ate thereof and lost our splendor, till moon and sun came forth, and stars and starry forms.

So night and day, month and half-month and seasons yearly rolled, and we enjoyed the savory earth for long, until by the appearance among us of things wicked and demeritorious the savory earth did fail.

Then the fine moss came round, and we lost it likewise; and the sweet creeper and the huskless rice.

The rice we gathered morn and even for our meals, a daily harvest; failure was unknown; and so we stayed for long, till for wicked and demeritorious things a coating and a husk did wrap the grain; no harvest was there reaped; failure ensued, and groves on groves are standing.

Let us now divide the rice and set a boundary."

So they divided the rice and a boundary did they set.


Now a certain greedy person, while keeping his own share, took a share not given him, and enjoyed it.

They arrested him p. 214 and said: "Alas! O being, thou hast done a wicked thing, in that thou hast, while keeping thine own share, taken and enjoyed a share ungiven. O being, thou shouldest not do thus."

"Be it so," replied that being to the others. But a second time he stole likewise, and a third; whereupon, after the same reproof, some struck him with their hands, some with clods, and others with staves. And so theft came first to be known, and upbraiding, and lying, and violence.
Then the best people met together, and lamented, saying:

"Alas! Evil things have appeared among beings, in that theft has come to be known, and upbraiding, and lying, and violence.

Suppose we now elect one being and tell him: 'Do thou rebuke whomsoever is rightly deserving of rebuke, and upbraid or expel whomsoever is rightly deserving thereof; but we will provide for thy share of the rice.'"

Thereupon the people approached a person who was finer, handsomer, pleasanter, and more commanding than the rest, and said:

"Come, fellow-being! Rebuke whomsoever is rightly deserving of rebuke, and upbraid or expel whomsoever is rightly deserving thereof; but we will provide for your share of the rice."

"Be it so," replied that person to the rest; and so he rebuked, upbraided, or expelled those rightly deserving thereof, while they provided for his share of the rice.
Now because he was the great man elected by the race, there arose the first title[1] of "Great Elect."

And because he was lord of the fields,[2] there arose the second the of "Nobleman." And because he reconciles others by justice, there arose the third title of "King."

Such was the origin of this circle of Nobles by an ancient primeval title; yea, and of those very people who, though different, are alike and not dissimilar, by virtue of justice, not by injustice.

Justice, O Vâse.t.thâ! is best for the human race in this world and the next.[3]

End of the Genesis document common to the Pâli Aggañña-suttam and the Prâkrit Mahâvastu.
1. "Title" is akkharam, the regular word for a letter of the alphabet.

Its literal meaning is "imperishable."

2. There is here, and also in the words "reconcile" and "king," a punning etymology: "field" is khettam, and "nobleman" is Khattiyo.
3. The closing passage about justice (or religion) is not in the Mahâvastu, being part of the discussion about caste which is now resumed in the Pâli dialogue. In like manner there is frequent divergence of words and sentences between the two recensions, but agreement in the main story.]
{The following note is from the April, 1904 issue, Vol. XIV, No. 3}
p. 472
NOTE ON "A BUDDHIST GENESIS."
Since my translation of the Buddhist Genesis document appeared in the January Monist, I have found that Rockhill rendered it from the Tibetan in 1884.

(Life of the Buddha and Early History of His Order. Translated from the Tibetan. By W. Woodville Rockhill. London, Trübner's Oriental Series, 1884).

I had known this book for years, but it escaped me when making the Genesis translation and also in my Buddhist Bibliography (London, 1903).

In Rockhill's volume the Genesis document comes at the very beginning. Like the Sanskritised Prâkrit version used by me, it belongs to the Vinaya Pitaka.

The Tibetan Canon is that of the sect of Realists (Sarvastivada), whose account of the compilation of the Scriptures was translated by Suzuki, also in the January Monist.

There are two versions of the Genesis document in the Tibetan Vinaya Pitaka: A short one in the Vinaya-vastu (corresponding in part to the Pâli Mahâvaggo), and a long one (translated by Rockhill) in the Vinaya-Vibhâga (Pâli Bhikkhu-Vibhanga).

The Theravâda sect, who have handed down the Pâli Tripitaka, do not place this document in the Vinaya, but in the Sûtra Pitaka.

Thus do we prove the truth of the Island Chronicle of Ceylon, which says that the Realists, the Great Council, and many other sects, made recensions of the Canon to suit themselves. We must never forget that the Pâli, though the oldest version of the Canon known, is by no means the only one.

The Mahâsamghika (Great Council) school also claims to be the oldest, and their Book of Discipline has come down to us in a fifth-century Chinese translation. Suzuki also gave us extracts from this, and we saw therefrom that they had no Abhidharma.

This looks as if their Canon belonged to an earlier period than the Pâli, for the Abhidharma was in the nature of commentary, and was compiled after the Buddhists had split up into sects.

We p. 473 know that one ancient sect, the Sautrântikas (i.e., Sûtra-men) refused to admit the canonicity of the Abhidharma and were content with the Sûtra-Pitaka.

Moreover, the Great Council sect not only tabooed the Abhidharma, but they also had a very short recension of the Fifth Nikâya.

This collection, known as the Khuddaka (Short) in Pâli, was called the Miscellaneous Pitaka by other sects, and consisted largely of commentaries.

The Great Council refused to canonize these commentaries, but admitted into it only the Udâna, the Itivuttka and the Nidâna.

It is high time that Japanese scholars translated the books of this early rival sect, which may yet be proved to be older than the Pâli.

Source

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