A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s5.82

v2.c19.s5.82

In the authentic commentaries of Buddhaghosa, too, similes and parables, and valuable traditions and tales, occur frequently, as for instance in the Atthasālinī,² the Papañcasūdanī,³ Sumaṅgalvilāsinī,⁴ and especially in the Manoratha-Pūraṇī. In the commentary on the Brahmajāla-Sutta, Buddhaghosa gives us a remarkable account of the daily life of the Buddha. Here, on the one hand, the Buddha already appears as a kind of demi-god, in the same way as in the Mahāyāna Sūtras; when he goes out begging for alms, soft winds clean the ground before him, clouds lay the dust with a light shower of rain, and then spread themselves above him like a canopy, rough places become even, and lotus flowers spring forth under his footsteps, rays of six different colours shine from his body, and so on; but on the other hand he leads the true life of a mendicant monk.⁵ Stories of Jīvaka, the doctor, are interwoven with the commentary on the Sāmaññaphala-Sutta (I, pp. 132 ff.). And in the commentary on the Ambaṭṭha-Sutta (I, pp. 259 ff.) there is the legend of the origin of the Sakyas and Koliyas, so interesting from the point of view of social history.