Texts from the Buddhist canon : commonly known as Dhammapada

46 •
DHAMMAPADA.
countless thousands, like themselves, throughout the world,
were converted and saved.
2. In old time, when Buddha was residing in the country
of Kaus§,mbl, in a certain Vih^ra called Mei-jdn (beautiful
voice), and preaching for the sake of the four orders, there
was a certain Brahmach§,rin, unrivalled for knowledge of
Scripture, who being unable to find any one equal to him-
self in argument, was accustomed to carry, wherever he
went, a lighted Torch in his hand. One day a man in the
market-place of a certain town, seeing him thus, asked
him the reason of his strange conduct, on which he replied
— " The world is so dark, and men so deluded, that I carry
this Torch to light it, up so far as I can."l At this time
Buddha transformed himself into a man of eminence
(magistrate), who, sitting on his chair of of&ce in the
market-place, forthwith called out to the Brahmachi,rin,
" What ho there ! what are you about (with that Torch) 1"
To whom the Brahmach§,rin replied, " All men are so
wrapped in ignorance and gloom, that I carry this Torch to
illumine them." Then the magistrate asked him again, "And
are you so learned as to be acquainted with the four treatises
(vidy§,s) which occur in the midst of the Sacred Books, to
wit, the treatise on Literature (^abdavidyl) ; the treatise on
the '' Heavenly Bodies and their Paths ;
" the treatise on
" Government ;
" and the treatise on " Military Art " ? On
the Brahmach§,rin beiag forced to confess he was unacquainted
with these things, he flung away his Torch, and
Buddha appearing in his glorious body, added these words—
" If any man, whether lie be learned or not, con-
sider himself so great as to despise other men, he is
like a blind man holding a candle—blind himself,
he illumines others."
On hearing these words the Brahmach&,rin sought to hecome
a disciple of Buddha, and was accordingly admitted.
1 This recalls the story of Diogenes and his lantern.