A Record Of Buddhistic Kingdoms - Being An Account By The Chinese Monk Fa-hien Of His Travels In India And Ceylon (a.d. 399-414) By James Legge
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As You Go Out From The City By The South Gate, And 1,200 Paces From
It, The (Vaisya) Head
Sudatta built a vihara, facing the south; and
when the door was open, on each side of it there was
A stone pillar,
with the figure of a wheel on the top of that on the left, and the
figure of an ox on the top of that on the right. On the left and right
of the building the ponds of water clear and pure, the thickets of
trees always luxuriant, and the numerous flowers of various hues,
constituted a lovely scene, the whole forming what is called the
Jetavana vihara.[7]
When Buddha went up to the Trayastrimsas heaven,[8] and preached the
Law for the benefit of his mother, (after he had been absent for)
ninety days, Prasenajit, longing to see him, caused an image of him to
be carved in Gosirsha Chandana wood,[9] and put in the place where he
usually sat. When Buddha on his return entered the vihara, Buddha said
to it, "Return to your seat. After I have attained to pari-nirvana,
you will serve as a pattern to the four classes of my disciples,"[10]
and on this the image returned to its seat. This was the very first of
all the images (of Buddha), and that which men subsequently copied.
Buddha then removed, and dwelt in a small vihara on the south side (of
the other), a different place from that containing the image, and
twenty paces distant from it.
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