In the course of them, the six chief cities of India are said to be Srávastí, Sáketana, Varánasí, Vaisálí, Champá and Rá'jagriha.
The two first are in Oude, Varánasi is Benares, Vaisálí is considered to be Allahabad, Champá is Bhagalpúr, and Rájagriha, or Rájgiri is in Behar.
From Magadha, Sa′kya goes to Vaisálí, upon the invitation of the Lichchivi inhabitants of that city, who appear to have been republicans, and to have possessed great riches.
The peregrinations of Sa′kya are continued throughout the volume, in which he encounters and converts many individuals, whose stories are told, not only during the present, but their past lives. Amongst others, Sa′kya relates his own, and how he became a Bodhisatwa, or sage. The conclusion of the volume leaves him at the lake Manasarovara, with 36 of his principal disciples.
The third volume continues in the same strain. At a place in Kosala, Sa′kya and his followers are entertained by way of test, and are found to be moderate and easily contented. The Brahmans are tried by a similar test, and proved to be greedy and insatiable.
Similar lessons, as in the preceding volumes, are given to the priests. They are permitted to eat treacle—to cook for themselves in time of famine, and to cook in ten places—to eat meat under certain restrictions—to accept gifts from the laity. The stories and lectures are interspersed with notices of medicines, and the mode of administering them, and the medical employment of charms and incantations.
The subject of the succeeding pages is the proper attire to be worn by the disciples of Sa′kya; they are directed to wear not more than three pieces of cloth, of a red colour—to wear cotton garments when bathing—to be clean in their dress and in their bedding—and never to go naked:—an injunction at variance with some notions of Bud'dhism, the images of the saints of which have been supposed to be represented without clothes, and furnishing a distinguishing characteristic between them and the images of the Digambara Jains.
The subject of dress is followed by that of the use of mats or sheets to lie upon.
A more important division then succeeds, on the conduct to be observed towards refractory and disputatious brethren. They are first to be admonished in public congregation, and if impenitent, to be expelled from the community. The mode in which confession, repentance, and absolution are observed is next explained, and illustrated by examples.
The residences and furniture of the monks are next described, and the next subject is said to be dissensions in religious communities. Little on this head, however, is given, and the rest of the volume is
