Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c7.s2.t9.1

c7.s2.t9.1

In order to remove doubt from the minds of the people as to the nature of the birth of so great and meritorious a being as the Bodhisattva in his last existence—a doubt expressed also in the *Lalitavistara*, where a ratnavyūha has been devised for the Bodhisattva's abode in his mother's womb—the *Kośa*² proceeds to show that the Bodhisattvas possess the power of choosing the manner of their birth (upapattivaśitva), and that Śākyamuni chose birth in a womb (jarāyu) with two objects. One was to benefit the Śākya clan and at the same time not to give opportunity to the people to consider him a magician or a god or a demon, and the other was to leave some relics of his body, by worshipping which men and other beings would go to heaven by thousands, or attain deliverance.