Page:History of India Vol 1.djvu/341

Rh many of them grew up after his death, although they are all attributed in the Vinaya Pitaka to the direct order of the Blessed One himself.

And lastly, the Abhidhamma Pitaka contains disquisitions on various subjects, such as the conditions of life in different worlds, personal qualities, the elements, and the causes of existence.

Gautama, disregarding the precedent set by all classical writers and thinkers in India, preached his doctrine and morality to the people of India, not in Sanskrit, but in their own vernacular, and the Chullavagga accordingly says: "There were two brothers, Bhikkhus, by name Yamelu and Tekula, Brahmans by birth, excelling in speech, excelling in pronunciation." And they went up to Gautama and said, "At the present time, Lord, Bhikkhus differing in name, differing in lineage, differing in birth, differing in family, have gone forth. These corrupt the word of the Buddhas by their own dialect. Let us, Lord, put the word of the Buddhas into Sanskrit verse."

But Gautama would have none of this; he worked for the humble and the lowly, his message was for the people, and he wished it to be conveyed to them in their own tongue. "You are not, O Bhikkhus, to put the word of the Buddhas into (Sanskrit) verse. I allow you, O Bhikkhus, to learn the word of the Buddhas each in his own tongue."