hence an
account of such an act.]

[Footnote 151: The Avadana-sataka (Feer, _Annales du Musee Guimet_,
XVIII) seems to be entirely Hinayanist.]

[Footnote 152: Edited by Senart, 3 vols. 1882-1897. Windisch, _Die
Komposition des Mahavastu_, 1909. Article "Mahavastu" in _E.R.E._]

[Footnote 153: So too do the words Horapathaka (astrologer),
Ujjhebhaka (? Uzbek), Peliyaksha (? Felix). The word Yogacara (I. 120)
may refer simply to the practice of Yoga and not to the school which
bore this name.]

[Footnote 154: Edited by Cowell and Neil, 1886. See Nanjio, 1344.]

[Footnote 155: Edited by Bendall in _Bibl. Buddhica._]

[Footnote 156: Nanjio, No. 1466. For a learned discussion of this work
see Levi and Chavannes in _J.A._ 1916, Nos. I and II.]

[Footnote 157: It is not likely that the Tathagata-guhya-sutra which
it quotes is the same as the Tantra with a similar name analysed by
Rajendralal Mitra.]

[Footnote 158: Watters, _J.R.A.S._ 1898, p. 331 says there seems to
have been an earlier translation.]

[Footnote 159: Many works with this title will be found in Nanjio.]

[Footnote 160: But the Chinese title seems rather to represent
Ratnarasi.]

[Footnote 161: See Nanjio, pp. xiii-xvii.]

[Footnote 162: Mahayana-sutralankara. See Levi's introduction, p. 14.
The "Questions" sutra is Brahma-paripriccha.]

CHAPTER XXI

CHRONOLOGY OF THE MAHAYANA

In the previous chapters I have enumerated some features of
Mahayanism, such as the worship of Bodhisattvas leading to mythology,
the deification of Buddhas, entailing a theology as complicated as the
Christian creeds, the combination of metaphysics with religion, and
the rise of new scriptures consecrating all these innovations. I will
now essay the more difficult task of arranging these phenomena in some
sort of chronological setting.

The voluminous Chinese literature concerning Buddhism offers valuable
assistance, for the Chinese, unlike the Hindus, have a natural
disposition to write simple narratives recording facts and dates. But
they are diarists and chroniclers rather than historians. The Chinese
pilgrims to India give a good account of their itinerary and
experiences, but they have little idea of investigating and arranging
past events and merely recount traditions connected with the places
which they visited. In spite of this their statements have
considerable historical value and on the whole harmonize with the
literary and archaelogical data fur