The Rahan Thoubat bore envy and revenge towards Buddha for the following reason. Formerly he was a barber in the village of Atooma, where he then became a Rahan. At the time we speak of, Buddha was coming to that place, attended by twelve hundred Rahans. Thoubat wished to make an offering to Buddha and his followers and give them food. For this purpose he resorted to the following very questionable expedient for obtaining from the villagers rice and other eatables, and preparing them for the great occasion. Thoubat had two sons who wore the dress of Samane. He gave to each of them a pair of scissors, and desired them to go through the street of the village and shave the head of all the children they might meet with, as a token of their entering into religion. The order was punctually executed. The parents of the lads were then told, that on such an occasion it was customary to make considerable offerings. The offered articles, however, would be on this occasion employed for feeding the great Gaudama, who was expected in the place with a great number of disciples. All the people brought in large offerings of various articles of food, such as rice, oil, butter, and other comestibles. In this manner, by means of such an expedient, the cunning Thoubat, without any cost to himself, was able to make a great display of the choicest dishes to be laid before Gaudama and his disciples on their arrival to Atooma, and earn for himself the reputation of a very liberal and generous man. Buddha, acquainted with his conduct on the occasion, refused to accept the offering, and forbade all his followers to eat of the food prepared by Thoubat. From that time the latter ever entertained ill-feeling towards Buddha, though he did not dare openly to give vent to his passion.
Kathaba was thunderstruck at hearing such an unbecoming language[26] from the mouth of the Rahan Thoubat. He said to himself: “If at this time, when there are only seven days since Buddha entered Neibban, there are to be found people holding such a language, what will happen hereafter? These persons will soon have followers who will embrace the profession of Rahans, and then the true religion shall be totally subverted: the excellent law shall be in the hands of such persons like a heap of unstrung flowers that are scattered by the wind. The only remedy to such an impending misfortune is to assemble a council composed of all the true disciples, who, by their decisions, shall insure stability to religion, and fix the meaning of every portion of the law, contained in the Wini, the Thoots, and the Abidama. I am, as it were, bound to watch over the religion of Buddha because of the peculiar predilection he has ever shown to me. On one occasion I walked with Buddha the distance of three gawots; during that time he preached to me, and at the end of the instruction we made an exchange of our tsiwarans, and I put on his own. He said: ‘Kathaba is like the moon: three times he has obtained the inheritance of the law. His affection to my person, his zeal for my religion, have never been equalled. After my demise, it will behove him to stem the current of evil, to humble the wicked, and condemn their false teachings as subversive of the genuine doctrine. With such energetic means, my religion shall remain pure and undefiled, and its tenets shall not be lost and drowned in the midst of the raging waves of errors.’ Therefore,” said the great disciple, “I will hold an assembly of all the disciples, for the promotion and exaltation of the holy religion.” This design Kathaba kept perfectly secret, and made known to no one.
At that time, four of the ablest Malla princes, having washed their heads, and each put on a fine new dress, tried to set fire to the funeral pile, made of sandal and other odoriferous woods, and one hundred and twenty cubits high. Their efforts proving useless, all the other princes joined them, in the hope that, by their united exertions, they would be able to set fire to the pile. Fans made of palm-leaves were vigorously agitated over the heap of coals; bellows made of leather blew in the same direction; but all the efforts were of no avail. The princes, surprised and disheartened, consulted Anoorouda as to the cause of such a disappointment. Anoorouda said to them, that the Nats did not approve of their proceedings; they wished that the great Kathaba should arrive and venerate the corpse, ere it be consumed by fire. No fire could be lighted before the great Rahan had made his appearance.
The people, hearing the answer of Anoorouda, wondered at the transcendent merit of the great Kathaba, and anxiously waited for his arrival. They said to each other, “Who is this distinguished Rahan? Is he white or black, short or tall?” They took perfumes, flowers, and flags, and went out to meet him and honour him in a becoming manner.
When the great Kathaba arrived in the city of Kootheinaron, he without delay repaired to the place where the funeral pile was erected. He adjusted his clothes in the most becoming manner, and, with his hands joined to the forehead, three times turned round the pile, saying at each turn, “This is the place of the head; that is the place of the feet.” Standing then on the spot opposite to the feet, he entered into the fourth state of dzan for a while. His mind having emerged therefrom, he made the following prayer:—“I wish to see the feet of Buddha, whereupon are imprinted the marks that formerly prognosticated his future glorious destiny. May the cloth and cotton they are wrapped with be unloosened, and the coffin, as well as the pile, be laid open, and the sacred feet appear out and extend so far as to lie on my head.” He had scarcely uttered his prayer, when the whole was suddenly opened, and there came out the beautiful feet, like the full moon emerging from the bosom of a dark cloud. The whole assembly burst into loud applauses and continued cheers on seeing this matchless prodigy. Kathaba, stretching his two hands, that resembled two lilies just blooming, held both feet firmly by the heels, placed them on his head, and worshipped. All his disciples followed his example, and worshipped. Perfumes and flowers were profusely offered by the crowd. When this was done, the feet slowly withdrew into their place, the pile and coffin resumed their natural position. As the sun and the moon disappeared below the horizon, so the feet of Buddha disappeared, buried as it were, in the folds of cloth and cotton. The people, at this moment, wept and loudly wailed: their affection for Buddha was evinced on this occasion more forcibly than when he entered the state of Neibban.
The feet had hardly been concealed from the sight of the people, when, without the interference of any one, fire caught the pile, and soon set it in a blaze of flames. The skin, the flesh, the muscles, the entrails, and liver of the body were all consumed, without leaving any trace of ashes and charcoal; as butter or oil, poured on a great fire, burn and are consumed without anything remaining. Of the body all had disappeared except the relics. All the pieces of cloth that served to wrap up the body, except the outermost and innermost, were all consumed. The relics of former Buddhas, whose lives were very long, resembled a lump of gold. Our Buddha, whose life had been comparatively of a short duration, had said whilst yet alive: “During my lifetime, religion has not been sufficiently diffused; those, therefore, who, after my Neibban, shall obtain of my relics a small portion, be it but of the size of a mustard-seed, and build a dzedi to place them in, and worship and make offerings to them, shall obtain a place of happiness in one of the seats of Nats.” Among the relics were the four canine teeth, the two bones that connect the shoulders with the neck-bone, and the frontal bone. These are the seven great relics. They were in a state of perfect preservation, not at all damaged by fire, and are called Athambinana. Besides these relics there were some others of a smaller dimension, in sufficient quantity to fill up seven tsarouts. Here is the size and shape of those sacred remains: the smallest were of the size of a mustard-seed, and resembled the bud of the Hing-kow; the middle ones equalled the size of a rice-grain, divided into two parts, and looked like pearls; the largest were of the size of a pea, and appeared like gold.
When the pile was consumed by fire, water came down from the sky, as thick as the arm, which soon extinguished the fire. The Malla princes poured also upon it an immense quantity of scented water. During all the while the pile was burning, streams of flames issued from the leaves and branches of the trees, shining forth with uncommon brightness, without burning the trees; insects of every description were seen flying in swarms on those trees, without receiving the least injury.
In the place where the corpse had been exposed during seven days, the relics were deposited during the same length of time, and offerings of perfumes and flowers were incessantly made. Above them, a canopy bespangled with gold and silver stars was raised, and bouquets of flowers and perfumes were hanging therefrom. From that place to the one where the ornaments were deposited, the road was lined on both sides with fine cloth; the road itself was covered with the finest mats. Above the road was spread a splendid canopy bespangled with golden stars and flowers. The interior of the building was richly decorated; perfumes and flowers were seen hanging from the canopy. Around the building, masts were planted, and adorned with the five sorts of flags. Plantain-trees were planted on both sides of the road, and jars of cool water were laid down at a very short distance one from the other. From posts of well-polished wood were suspended lamps to be lighted day and night. The box, containing the relics, was placed on the back of a richly-caparisoned elephant, and the precious remains were honoured in every possible way by offerings of flowers and perfumes; by dancing, singing, music, rejoicings, and loud acclamations. The Malla princes, to insure the safety of the relics, had a line of elephants drawn round the place, then a second line of horses, then a third of chariots, then a fourth of warriors. Such precautions were taken both for insuring the safety of the relics, and allowing time to everybody to come and do honour to them.