hought of him not as an ancient semi-divine
figure like Rama or Krishna but as something human and concrete.

Seven persons or communities sent requests for a portion of the relics,
saying that they would erect a stupa over them and hold a feast. They
were King Ajatasattu of Magadha, the Licchavis of Vesali, the Sakyas of
Kapilavatthu, the Bulis of Allakappa, the Kotiyas of Ramagama, the
Mallas of Pava[384] and the Brahman of Vethadipa. All except the last
were Kshatriyas and based their claim on the ground that they like the
Buddha belonged to the warrior caste. The Mallas at first refused, but a
Brahman called Dona bade them not quarrel over the remains of him who
taught forbearance. So he divided the relics into eight parts, one for
Kusinara and one for each of the other seven claimants. At this juncture
the Moriyas of Pipphalivana sent in a claim for a share but had to be
content with the embers of the pyre since all the bones had been
distributed. Then eight stupas were built for the relics in the towns
mentioned and one over the embers and one by Dona the Brahman over the
iron vessel in which the body had been burnt.

5

Thus ended the career of a man who was undoubtedly one of the greatest
intellectual and moral forces that the world has yet seen, but it is
hard to arrive at any certain opinion as to the details of his character
and abilities, for in the later accounts he is deified and in the
Pitakas though veneration has not gone so far as this, he is
ecclesiasticized and the human side is neglected. The narrative moves
like some stately ceremonial in which emotion and incident would be out
of place until it reaches the strange deathbed, spread between the
flowering trees, and Ananda introduces with the formality of a court
chamberlain the Malla householders who have come to pay their last
respects and bow down at the feet of the dying teacher. The scenes
described are like stained glass windows; the Lord preaching in the
centre, sinners repenting and saints listening, all in harmonious
colours and studied postures. But the central figure remains somewhat
aloof; when once he had begun his ministry he laboured uninterruptedly
and with continual success, but the foundation of the kingdom of
Righteousness seems less like the triumphant issue of a struggle than
the passage through the world of some compassionate angel. This is in
great part due to the fact that the Pitakas are works of edification.
True, they