Part 3

[5] That is, the natural heart.

[6] _Vide_ Julien ii. 390.

[7] These four distinctions (lakshaṅa) are constantly referred to in this Sútra as the “four Canons,” or “Rules.” The idea seems to be this: if a man so destroy all marks of his individual character as to act without any reference to himself, or men, or other states of being, or continuance in the condition of a living creature, then he has arrived at the desired state of non-individuality, and must be lost in the ocean of Universal Life. This is the Pari nirváṅa, the condition of absolute rest—the desired repose of the Buddhist disciple.

[8] That is, the four rules of non-individuality.—_Vide ante_, cap. iii.

[9] The latter portion of this cap. is very obscure. I offer this translation with diffidence.—S.B.

[10] I adopt the word “Karma” from Spence Hardy; the Chinese (_nieh_) has a similar meaning.

[11] The Chinese expression “Yih tsai fah,” (in the text) corresponds to “Yé dhammá” in the well-known Gáthá,— “Yé dhammá hétuppabhawá,” etc. _vide_ Spence Hardy’s Manual of Buddhism, p. 196, and Jour. R.A.S., vol. xvi. p. 37.

[12] Dharmadhdtu, _i.e._ “universally diffused essence,” called dharma.

[13] Namely, the four distinctions constantly alluded to and explained in cap. iii.

[14] The first distinction, viz., the mark or distinction by which a man is known or speaks of himself as an individual (_Ego-ishness_).

[15] This chapter is obscure, it is one of pure negation.

[16] _Lakshaṅa_.

[17] _Lakshaṅa_.

[18] That is, the one principle or essence which includes all else.

Transcriber’s Notes.

This is an English translation of the Chinese version available at: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24098.

The original printed text scans can be found at: https://archive.org/details/cu31924022914588.

The text is from a 24 page article in the 1864 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britian and Ireland.

Textual notes:

1. Footnotes have been moved to the end of the book.

2. Headings “Introduction” and “Sútra” have been added.

3. Text contained within underscores is italicised.

4. Obvious typos have been corrected.