h unable to clearly identify the precise date it was written, the seventeen verses comprising this hymn are found in several other Buddhist texts written in India and in Sanskrit by the fourth century. The verses together, although fairly general, describe Buddha as a possessor of a number of desirable properties each ending with the refrain "Homage to you", similar to "Praise be to You" used in Catholic prayer, thus emphasizing the devotion and importance of these characteristics for practicing Buddhists attempting to draw on the teachings and life of Buddha.
             The text is written in such a way that when read, it is as though the reader is speaking directly to Buddha, acknowledging that he, the reader, has an understanding of who the Buddha is and what he embodies. It reads almost as a contemporary love poem, flattering the Buddha, making light of the wonderful traits comprising him. This is not to say that the text is par with a flighty romantic tale, but rather to accentuate the fact that the devotional scholar of Buddhism reciting the text, trying to understand the text, and worshiping the Buddha and Buddha's good characteristics, carries within him unequivocal devotion and reverence.
             "A Hymn of Praise to the Buddha's Good Qualities" is meant to inspire a sense of awe in the devout by summarizing, rather briefly and in simple language, the complex det
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