¹ ‘Hunger and thirst’ refer to the sufferings concomitant with existence as a pitta (or unhappy ghost); ‘heat and cold’, to existence in the hot and cold Hells.

² ‘This refers to the body of a Buddha, in which appear various supernormal signs and powers.

³ This is a reference to the Ludd ha, Who when born is said to have takenfifty—six steps, seven forwards and seven backwards in each of the four cardinaldirections, and to have uttered a divine premonitory sentence at the end ofeach fourteen steps. After that supernormal performance He, like an ordinarybabe, was unable to walk or to talk until normally old enough.

⁴ In the Samglti Sutta, Digha Mkaya, of the Pali Canon of Southern

Buddhism, there is the following explanation from the Buddha Himself as to the non—forgetting (and the forgetting) of past incarnations:

‘There are four conditions of entrance of the embryo into the womb:

‘Brethren, in this world, one Cometh into existence in the mother’s womb without knowing, remaineth in it without knowing, and cometh out from the mother’s womb without knowing; this is the first.

‘Brethren, one cometh into existence in the mother’s womb knowingly, remaineth in it without knowing, and cometh out from it without knowing; this is the second.

‘Brethren, one cometh into existence in the mother’s’ womb knowingly, remaineth in it knowingly, and cometh out from it without knowing ; this is the third.

‘Brethren, in this world, one cometh into existence in the mother’s womb knowingly, remaineth in it knowingly, and cometh out from it knowingly; this is the fourth.’

(Cf. the method, taught by the Buddha, of remembering past lives, pp. 40—1.)