Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 21.djvu/308

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260
SADDHARMA-PUNDARÎKA.
xii.

9. Prompted by greed of profit and honour they will compose Stitras of their own invention and then, in the midst of the assembly, accuse us of plagiarism 1 .

10. To kings, princes, kings peers, as well as to Brahmans and commoners, and to monks of other confessions,

11. They will speak evil of us and propagate the Tlrtha-doctrine 2 . We will endure all that out of reverence for the great Seers.

12. And those fools who will not listen to us, shall (sooner or later) become enlightened 3 , and therefore will we forbear to the last.

13. In that dreadful, most terrible period of frightful general revolution will many fiendish monks stand up as our revilers.

14. Out of respect for the Chief of the world we will bear it, however difficult it be ; girded with the girdle of forbearance will 1 4 proclaim this Sdtra.

15. I 6 do not care for my body or life, O Lord,

we have the interjection vata (bat a) in the sense of a nindi, reproach, contempt The Buddhists are fond of denouncing schismatics or heretics as impostors, and their works as forgeries; a model of such an accusation brought forward by the orthodox against the ' wicked ' monks, the Vs^iputtakas, is to be found in Dipavawsa V, 30 seqq.

Or, perhaps, speak slander of us. The term used, anuku//an£, is unknown to me from other passages, so that I have had recourse to etymology: anu, after, ku//ani, stamping.

These passages are not very explicit, but this much is clear that the Ttrthikas are somehow akin to the Buddhists, and distinguished from monks of other confession, who are wholly out of the pale of Bauddha sects. The whole history of the church in India is one of family quarrels, at least down to the days of Hiouen Thsang.

Or, Buddhas, i.e. will sooner or later die.

Prakdjaye, a singular which I do not feel at liberty to render by a plural.

Again a singular, anarthiko'smi.