ABSTRACT

THE preceding legends, even those that are connected with undoubted historical events, show little relation to anyreal chronology. This is still more the case with the succeeding legends. The older the records are the more indefinite are the dates of the circumstances, whether miraculous or not. Even if some of the dates are real, they are now indistinguishable in the sequence of events that have become associated with the list of places where Buddha is said to have kept Retreat for the first twenty years. 1 To the fourth year of the preaching is referred the conversion of Uggasena. He was a gildmaster’s son of Rājagaha, who fell in love with an acrobat and married her. As he found that she despised him, he learnt her art and became a skilful tumbler. Buddha knew that he was ready for conversion, and entering the city while was displaying his skill withdrew the attention of all the people from his feats. Then he preached to Uggasena, who attained arahatship at once. This was because in a previous existence he had given food to an arahat, and had made a wish to be a sharer in the doctrine to which he had attained, and his wife who had done the same was also converted. 2 In the fifth year he stayed at Ves ālï, from where he paid a flying visit to his home at his father’s death as described above.