Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 6.djvu/356

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [11 s. vi. OCT. 12, 1912.

sixth century, torn, xxvii.); and the showing of the eighteen miraculous feats during levitation and the subsequent act of flying away formed the only means of the Pratyeka- buddhas (Self -constituted Saints) to evidence their own holiness (' Pih-chi-fuh-yin-yuen- lun,' passim). The seventeenth book of the ' Vibhacha Vinaya ' narrates how Kalo- clayin, the recently ordained arhat, used daily to carry through the air the victuals provided for the Buddha by his father, King Suddhodana, and how the Buddha converted many of his unbelieving relatives through his exhibition of the eighteen marvels whilst floating himself in the air. In truth, the Buddha must have passed a large part of his daytime either in floating or in flying, for his feet, we are assured, had the peculiarity to rest four fingers' - breadth above the ground, and yet to leave their stamps clearly upon the soil (' Maha- vibhacha-s'astra,' torn, clxxxi.). Once, when a wealthy damsel invited him with his numerous disciples to the kingdom of Pundara-varddhana, they went, it is said, gliding through the air after assuming the forms of various creatures, such as lions and white elephants (Sang-Min, &c., op. cit., torn. xxix. ; cf. my note on 'The Wandering Jew' at 9 S. iv. 121). Some centuries after the Buddha's death there arose a great schism among his fol- lowers at Fatal iputtra ; the king strongly supported the cause of the heretic Mahadeva ; it brought about all the orthodox sages passing over to Kashmir through the atmo- sphere (' Mahavibhacha-s'astra,' torn. xcix.). According to the ' Vibhacha Vinaya,' not only the first missionaries King Asoka sent to Ceylon in the third century B.C., but also the branch of the sacred Bo-tree they brought thither subsequently, were capable of floating in the air. So firmly believed in of yore was any accomplished Buddhist's power of flight that the ' Sarvasti-vada- vinaya- vibhacha,' torn, ii., gives this regula- tion :

" Should a mendicant travel over several countries by his superhuman flight, he ought to pay certain tolls at both the places of start and finish.

Of numerous Buddhist saints of the Japanese Empire, the one most noted for his miraculous aviation is very probablv Yen no Gyoja. This eminent recluse in- habited the Katsuraki Mountains for tliirtv and odd years, and used to fly into whatever place he willed to see. In A.D. 699 one of his whilom pupils accused him of black art. When summoned to the imperial court, he flew away through the air, but he no sooner

learned that his mother had been captured in lieu of himself than he made a voluntary surrender of his person. Consequently he was transported into Ooshima, which island he habitually quitted every night in order to ascend Mount Fuji by running, bird-like, across the intervening sea. After two years he was pardoned, when, using a single mat as a vessel, and handling a bowl wherein he put his mother, he passed over the sea into China, never to return to his native country (Terashima, ' Wakan Sansai Dzue,' 1713, torn. Ixxiii.).

Another Japanese recluse, Kume no Sennin, whose age is not exactly known, is proverbially famous for his lack of morality. He was an accomplished mystic, dwelling in a montanic monastery. One day, whilst he was flying over a river, his eye was so violently caught by the unusual whiteness of the legs of a young, lovely washerwoman that instantly he lost all his miraculous gift, and fell down before her quite topsy- turvy. Subsequently he was married to her, but persisted in adding the title " Ex-Saint " to his sign-manual. Takizawa Toku in his ' Gendo Hogen,' 1818, chap, xxxi., has tried to trace this tale to two Buddhist legends recorded by a Chinese explorer in India, the very illustrious Hiuen-Chwang. (See his itinerary, torn. ii. and v., translated in Stanislas Julien's ' Memoires sur les Contrees Occident ales,' Paris, 1857-8.) I may add here that several Indian stories of the Brahmanic saints losing their miraculous powers before extraordinarily fascinating feminine beauty are given in numbers of Buddhist works e.g., Sang-Min, &c., op. cit., torn, xxxix., and Nagardjuna's ' Com- mentary on the Mahapradjna-paramita- sutra,' torn. xvii.

Every one familiar with the Chinese well knows how deep -rooted is their belief in supernatural flight forming one of the indis- pensable virtues of Taoist saints, with the sole exception of those of the lowest order. One example, therefore, will suffice for the present purpose. Under the Emperor Hiau- Ming, who reigned from A.D. 58 till 75, Wang Kiau was made the governor of the district of Sheh. Despite its considerable distance from the court, he frequently visited it without any apparent use of vehicle or horse. To solve the mystery, the emperor instructed an officer secretly to watch his coming, which resulted in the discovery that every time just before his arrival a pair of ducks were seen coming on the wing from the south-east. Finally they were netted,, and found to be nothing but his official