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STUDENT'S PALl SERIES

PALl BUDDHISM
BY
H H TILBE, MA
'Profes<or C>/ Pal
IN
RA)IGOON DAPTIST COLLEGE
Author of a 'PaiL Grammar

RANGOON.
AI\IRRICA'Il B .. P1IST MISSION PRESS
1
I', D PHINNE\'
1
SUPT
1
lQOO
PREFACE
The selections hitherto set for the Pah exammat1ons of
the Calcutta Umvemty have been taken from the fascmatmg
fa1ry-tales and folk-lore of the ]d.takas, from the h1stoncal
legends of the Dipavamsa, and from the beautiful poetry of
the Dhammapada and the Sutta-N1p:ita These select10ns
ha"e contamed many of the techmcal terms and much of the
best teachmg of Buddhism
In e\ery exammat1on, there are questions on the hfe and
teachmg of Gotama Buddha, not all of wh1ch are denved
directly from the portwns of ttxt studied They take for
granted, as IS nght, a general aLquamtance w1th the more
promment features of the Buddhism of the Plh P1takas
Among the many books on Buddh1sm, there has been
nothmg either cxaLtly ~ u t e d to the needs of our students or
w1thm the1r means
This httle work has been prepared especially to meet this
practical need, and a1ms to furmsh a bnef, reliable, clear,
well arranged, and mcxpens1ve outlme of Gotama's real hfe
and teachmg
It Is hoped, howe\er, that 1t may find a somewhat w1der
usefulness 1t IS especially demed that the statement and
arrangement, herem giVen, of the doctnnes of ongmal
Buddhism may pro"e helpful to misMonanes who have to
meet modern Buddhist beliefs and practices wh1Lh are the
legitimate, and Illegitimate, progeny! of those ongmal doctnnes.
The Piih forms of proper names and of techmcal terms
have been used throughout, even to the extent of g1vmg
Gotama mstead of Gautama, Kamma mstead of Karma, and
N1bb:i.na mstead of N1rviina
Many techmcal terms necessanly occur before they have
been defined , but the meanmg of any unfamd1ar term can
be quite readily found by the use of the Index
The text may appear to some marred by a too hberal use
of capital letters and quotation marks that md1cate a
techn1cal use of words , but the more ready and clear corn-
iv PREP ACE
prehensiOn of the meanmg, whtch thts assures, ts beheved to
be ample compensatton
References to ongmal sources have not been gtven , be-
cause those for whom the book ts mtended wlil seldom have
etther opportumty or mchnatton-few of them the abthty,
even-to consult ongmal texts. Dtrect quotattons of proof
passages, etther m the ongmal Pii.lt or m translattons, were
precluded by the predetermmed bnefness and mexpenstve-
ness of the book.
Actual quotattons of the language of European and
Amencan scholars have been credtted m foot notes , but
many thoughts have been borrowed m modtfied form, that
could not be thus credtted Everythmg avatlable m
Enghsh has been exammed Espectal help has been recetved
from Rhys Davtds-" Buddhtsm," " Htbbert Lectures,"
11
Amencan Lectures," Momer Wlihams-" Buddhtsm ;''
Oldenberg (Hoey's translatton)-" Buddha &c ," Chtlders-
11 Pah Dtcttonary ''
I am espectalJy grateful to my fnend, Mrs E B Roach, for
her kmdncss m readmg the final proofs Her sktll detected
many errors that, otherwtse, would have been overlooked
RANGOON, BuRMA,
Septmber IS, If)OO
H H. TILBE.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION
Buddh1sm not a relig10n
Rehg10n always a growth
DIVISIOns
CHAPTER I
Jambudipa
L1fe of old Aryans
Changes
Two burnmg q uest1ons
AscetiCism
Metempsyckons .. ,
A new philosopher ...
CHAPTER II
Gotama born
11
marned
, becomes an ascetiC
, becomes Buddha
, wms first d1sc1ples
,. rev1s1ts old home
, attams panmbbina
11
Legends of
CHAPTER Ill.
Dhamma
Pili Canon
..l'l'hree Councils
Fundamental Doctnnes
(1) -God and Soul
(2)-Amcca
(3) -Khandas
(4).-Kamma
v(S) -Ar1ya-Saccim
a, Dukkha
h, Tanha
c, N1bbina
d, Magga
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:z
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IO
IO
IO
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IJ
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IS
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2:Z
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VI CONTENTS.
Four Stages
Eth1cal System .
(I) -Five Precepts .. .
(:z).-Eight Precepts .. .
~ -Ten Precepts
(4) -Evil Pnnciples .
(5).-Ten Depravmes
(6) -Ten Fetters
(7) -Seven Jewels . .
(8) -Ten Transcendent Virtues ..
Buddha not the peer of Chnst
Ideal not attamable ..
CHAPTER IV
The Sangha
Lay-diSCiples .
Doctrme of " Ment "
The 3angha not a pnesthood
Siimana and Samanera
Admission
Four Forbidden Acts
Four Resources
Eight art1cles possessed
L1fe m V 1haras
Food
Clothmg
Duttes and dally routme
MeditatiOn ...
(I) Jhiina
~ . Samiidhi
Bhikkh uni-Sangha
T1mes and Seasons
(1). Uposatha Days ...
(2). Vassa
(3). Pavirana
(4}. Civaratnasa
(5). Pat1hii.rakapakkha .
Changes m Buddhtsm not strange
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CORRIGENDA.
Page
5
for Sakavala read Cakkavila,
"
10, 14
"
PriiJii.pati
"
PraJii.pati
"
11, 13
"
Uravela
"
Uravelii.
"
14
"
Belugamako
"
Belugii.mako.
"
21
"
as a
11
as a
"
30
"
Sakkii.yadtttht , Sakkii.yad1tth1
"
30
"
Das-SaiiiloJii.m , Dasa-Sal1iioJiinl .
INTRODUCTION.
''Three hundred bt:fore Alexandna was founded,
about the t1me that the most auc1ent ph1losopher of
Europe was tea<:.hmg 111 Gn.eu. that water 1s the ongm of
all thmgs, tht. soul ot the world , and Zoroast<:.r, m Media or
Pers1a, was !I} stemat1zmg the lire worsh1p of the mag , and
Coufucws 111 Chma was calhng on the teemmg multitudes
around h1m to offer to guard1.m spmts and the manes of their
, and Nebuchadm.zzar was st.ttmg up h1s golden
1mage m the of Dura , and Dame! was labonng 10
Babylon to L'tab!Jsh tht. worsh1p of the true God m Judea,
a rt.verend sage who had left a throne for philosophy, was
travehng from Gaya to Benares, and from Benares to Kanouj,
exhortmg thL people agamst theft adultery, kllhng,
and mt<:.mpt.ran<:.t. * Nor d1d
he contint. h1s to extt.rnal v1ces Pnde, anger,
lullt, env} and were t.ondemned b} h1m m as
strong as are eH.r ht.ard from the pulptt
mercy, patlt.ncc, st.lf demal gi\Img, truth, and
tlu. cultlv.Jt!Dn of he requ1n.d of all Good actions,
good words, and good were the f1 equent subjects
of h1!o bermons , and he wall unceasmg m his cautions to keep
the mmd fret. from the turmml!o of pa!oliJOn, and the cares of
hfe Immed1atdy after the dt.ath of th1s venerable pan-
patehe- h1s scattered themsLhes abroad to propagate
the doctrmes of tht.lr \faster '
Buddh1sm t wh1<:.h embraced those doctrmes, together with
the S} stems of worsh1p that have grown out of It, has
numbered more adherents and mftuenced more men, than
any other system of behef h1stone-ally than
all others together
*Mason-' Burma,' p I 2
tThroughout th1s work the noun DrdtllnJm and the ..dject1ve BrdtllnJtre
w1ll he used 110lely m reference to that system of behef and pr.oct1ce, wh1ch
1s found m the Pth P1tak.u. as the reputed teach1ng of Gotama Buddha md
h11 1mmed1ate followers
2 PALl BUDDHISM.
Buddh1sm, however, accordmg to a true defimt1on of the
word rel1pon, or any purely techmcal use of the term, IS
not a rehg1on. It does truly adm1t, m a mod1fied way, nearly
the whole pantheon of early Hmdu1sm and all the demons,
ghosts, spntes and fames that belong to the wild superstitiOns
of half savage peoples , but yet Jt nowhere adm1ts any real
god or any superhuman bemg worthy of worship , 1t has no
temples, Jt admits nellher altars nor :.acnfices; 1t has no
true pnests, 1t knows no prayers, no ntual, no rehg10us ntes
of any kmd
Buddh1sm 1s s1mply an atheistic system of Philosophy and
Eth1cs-a Philosophy of humamty m 1ts environment, so
clear, so profound, so positive, that 1t IS destmed not only to
astomsh, but to largely mod1fy, at no d1stant day, the thought
of the West Eth1cs wh1ch have already begun to awaken
surpnse and admJrauon m many who had not beheved that
any good thmg could come out of heathemsm
In a broader, more popular use of the word, however,
Buddh1sm rs a rehg10n and IS nghtly stud1ed as such
m connection w1th other great rehgwns that have mfluenced
large masses of men
A rehg10n 1s always a growth No rehgwn ever started as
an absolutely new and completely perfected system , but each,
w1th constant changes, developed out of somethmg, or m con-
nection w1th somethmg, that went before Cunously enough,
th1s word powth m th1s connection partakes of both senses
m wh1ch 1t IS used, respectively, of orgamc developement and
of morgamc mcrease, for m rehg10n, there IS always some-
thmg that, hke the pnnc1ple of hfe, IS self-developmg from
Wlthm, accordmg to regular org.m1c law, whde, at the same
t1me, there are whole masses of outer accretiOns hke the
ghttermg stalactites and stalagmites of a calcareous cavern, or
the slimy alluvial flats of a great nver delta
To understand any rehg10n, then, one must study 1ts
growth, from the three stand pomts of-
(I) The ends proposed,
( 2) The means proposed,
(3) The modus operandr proposed
The first of these, m any purely human system, will
depend almost ent1rely on the environments am1dst wh1ch
the system takes 1ts nse The second will depend very
INTRODUCTION. 3
largely on the founder of the system-that one who first
defimtely states the germtnal truths of the system and begins
thetr active propagatton The thtrd w11l depend partly on
the founder of the system and partly on the fundamental
pnnctples of the system.
So the study of a rehg10n falls naturally m to four dtvtstons,
-the Land of tts Rtse Its Founder Its Doctrmes . Its
Institutions.
The fact of growth, both by developement and by accretton,
1s very patent m Buddhtsm whtch lays no clatm to dtvme ongm
or superhuman mterventton of any kmd but ts confessedly
the product of pure human mtuttlon Our study of that
growth wtll fall mto four chapters,-
!. Jambudipa Indta, 6oo-soo B. C
II. Gotama the probable hfe of Gotama Buddha, wtth
some of the legendary tales
Ill. Dhamma the fundamental prmctples of the system
as denved from the Pttakas.
IV. Sangha the Order of Mendtcants
CHAPTER 1.-JAMBUDiPA.
In the cosmogony of Buddhism every world or Sakavala
consists of a Mount Meru surrounded by sea m wh1ch he four
huge Islands,-one to the North, one to the East , one to the
South, and one to the West, of Lhe Mountam In the world
m wh1ch we h\e
1
the Island lymg South of Mt Meru
IS called Jambudipa Among Buddhists the name gener-
ally meant, m 1ts widest sense, all the known world , m
a narrower sense, tt was largely used m reference to Ind1a
1
or
so much of lndta as was known, m distmct1on from other lands
In this Jambud1pa, m the valley of 1ts great nver Ganges,
Buddhism arose, datmg from the hfe-ttme of 1ts founder,
Gotama Buddha, somewhere 6oo-soo B C.
The whole Ganget1c plam had already at that time been
long m the possessiOn of the Aryans , and the darker races
who had come mto the land before them had been destroyed
or dnven away or absorbed mto the conquenng people.
These conquermg Aryans, who had come mto India from
the North-West, many years before, and, after fully occupymg
the country of the Pan] ab, had pushed on down the valley of
the Ganges, were one of the seven great races mto wh1ch an
older people had separated m different waves of mlgrauon-
Persians, Ind1an Aryans, Greeks, Romans, Kelts, Germans,
and Slavs
We learn from common elements m the languages of these
seven races, that, already before they separated, there was
somethmg of Civilization m the old parent stock ; and 1t 111
certam that these Aryans brought considerable of Civ1hzat1on
With them mto Ind1a
Their oldest literature dates back more than a thousand
years before the nse of Buddhism and g1ves p1ctures of their
hfe m that far away penod
At that earher t1me they were engaged m wars of conquest,
gradually advancmg from a cold North-land mto ncher and
warmer countnes towards the South and South-East, taking
6 PALl BUDDHISM
these lands from the1r conquered foes Sometimes they
turned as1de from fightmg With the1r foes, to quarrels among
themselves
They were a s1mple patnarchal people, each father bemg
ruler and pnest m h1s own fam1ly.
The1r women were accorded equahty and were treated w1th
respect and tenderness
As a wandermg people, theu wealth consisted ch1efty m
cows , though they knew and possessed other domestic
ammals
They oebeved that each mdlVIdual had a soul that am mated
h1s body m hfe and contmued to hvt: even after the body's
d1ssoluhon , and they accorded souls not only to men but also
to other ammals and even to mammate objt:Cts
They worsh1ped a number of powerful gods wh1ch were
doubtless de1ficauons of heavenly bod1es and of the forces of
nature.
Though very rehg1ous, they had qu1te loose not1ons of
morahty
The hfe they hved was s1mple, free, and happy
1
there was
generally an abundance of hfe's few s1mple necess1t1es , and
there were few cares
But by the t1me of the nse of Buddh1sm, there had come
about great changes I he old wandermg predatory and
pastoral hfe had been abandoned
The1r wealth no longer cons1sted m cows alone , but m
fields of grams and gardens of fru1ts, bes1des palaces and gems
and chanots and other luxunes of c1v1hzed hfe
The was no longer patnarchal ruler and
pr1est , for they had become d1v1ded mto classes ruled by
petty ch1efs, and there had ansen a spec1al class who assumed
the dut1es and cla1med the nghts of pnesthood
Such of the1r dark predecessors as had not been destroyed
or dnven from the land, had been absorbed as memals,
formmg a great class that was scorned and mistreated.
Among themselves, too, there had grown up d1stmct10ns of
rank and class-the learned pnest easily took precedence,
c:la1mmg d1vme descent w1th d1vme powers and requmng
dlvme honors , the warnors came next m power and honor ,
below them, was the great body of farmers, merchants, and
artizens These d1stmct1ons among themselves and between
JAIIIBUDIP A.
7
themselves and the darker slaves, had alreadv settled toto the
hard and cruel system of caste whtch for thirty centuries has
been a bhght on the mass of Indta's people
The stmple worsh1p of the old-tlme dettles had become an
elaborate system of sacrtfices and ntual HenotheJSm had
been swallowed up m polytheism ; and th1s, m turn, had
gtven way to pantheism of most ngtd momst1c type There
had been developed the doctrme of one God who was not
only supreme over all else m the umverse but was the only
real existence all else that appeared-gods, men, animals,
mammate thmgs,-were but emanatwns from htm
Under such circumstances life for the masses could not but
be full of e\tls and hardshtps and mequahues.
By the grt:at maJonty, no doubt, the suffenng and wrong of
thts VICIOUS artdictal hfe were borne wtth the dull apathy of
dense Ignorance and dark superstitiOn , but there were some
m all classes who were askmg two burnmg ql'esnons,-
(1) Whence comes all this unequal suffenng m the hves
of n ~
(2) How may It be averted or escaped?
The rehgtous use of the Vedas and all pnestly funcuona,
such as the performance of sacnfice and other rehgtous ceremo-
mes, were the exclusive nghts of the htgh-caste Brahm1ns;
and no one from another caste could by any means ever attam
to them But a knowledge of some parts of the Vedas and all
secular learmng were open to any one m either of the other
two castes of the real Aryans, and there arose from thetr
ranks many philosophers and reformers N.evoltmg from the
orthodox crf'ed and the settled customs of society, they
dthgently sought and zealously taught new schemes for the
amehoratJon of the evtls of hfe and for the explanatton of tts
mystenes
There was an almost umversal behef m the sanctity of
ascettctsm, and m the efficacy of penance, m gatnmg super-
human power and mstght , and the whole land was full of
ascetics These. dad m yellow rags, etther hved apart from
men, dwelhng as hermtts m the great forests, eatmg only
leaves and roots and frultS found about them, and spending
thetr whole time m deep and myst1c meditation ; or elae
wandered from place to place surrounded by bands of
admtrmg dtsctples, eatmg alms begged from house to house,
8 PALl BUDDHISM
spendmg the1r t1me m teachmg the new doctnnes they had
formulated or m mod1fymg those doctrmes m d1scuss1ons
With the Brahmms or w1th other mendicant philosophers
like themselves
The ch1ef obJect of theu mqu1ry and the mam burden of
the1r teachmg was the answer sought and belteved to have
been found, to those two burnmg questions as to the ongm
and escape of life's ev1ls
There 1s an mnate sense of JUStice m man, wh1ch expects
nght-domg to be rewarded .md wrong-domg to be pumshed ;
and 1s ever ready to explam present cond1twns by former
deeds Unfortunately, however the of hfe do not always
support the theory of J ust1ce-good men suffer m hfe and d1e
unrequited , bad men prosper m evil and pass away un-
punished How are tht'se mcons1stenc1es to be c::xplamed ?
It was to meet th1s difficulty, that the doctnne of Metempsy-
clzons was formulated
It IS the spmtual self, the undymg &oul, that nctuates the
bodv m all 1t does and 1s therefore the real author of all
deeds, good or bad Mamfestly, therefore, 1t 1s the soul that
must be pumshed or rewarded-If not m th1s ltfe, then m
some other So the soul at the death of the body must pass
1nto another body-good or or low, d1vme or human
or bestial, ammate or mammate, as 1ts circumstances may
requ1re-m wh1ch 1t shall rece1ve the JUSt recompense of
what 1t has done before That new hfe w11lm the same way
requ1re another, and that, another, and so on, ad m/inztum
ThiS Metempsychons was the pracucally umversal answer
wh1ch both the Brahmms and the ph1losophers of Ind1a
accepted to that first questwn as to the ongm of the suffermg
and seemmg wrong m the hves of men
But in trop1cal, caste-curst Ind1a, ltfe Itself IS suffermg, and
the unendmg senes of existences m Metempsyclzosrs, seemed
the greatest, the most unendurable ev1l of all so the second
quest1on, as to how ev1l m1ght be averted or escaped, gamed
a thousand-fold 111 Importance
Here, too, one answer had been umversally act,epted-the
answer of Brahmm1sm
Slowly, step by step, through many centunes, had the
rehg1ous and phdosophtcal teachers of that great people
been workmg out that answer At last they had rested m
JAMliUDIPA
9
Brahma.-the supreme God, the All-soul, the One He was
the only real existence , all else was mere emanat1on from
h1m Mamfestly man's only possible release from the evd of
contmued hfe, lay m reabsorpt1on mto Brahma. from whach
he had emanated
The Brahmms taught that th1s reabsorption could be
attamed only by means of sacnfites and Ved1c rttes, through
the pnests the ph!losophers declared 1t could be more cer-
tamly and more read!ly attamed by md1vidual effort m
penance and m myst1c med1tat10n
Such were the environments am1dst wh1ch there arose a
philosopher who gave new and starthng answers to those
questions as to the ongm of evil and how It m1ght be ebeaped ,
who wrought out m connectiOn w1th those answers a system
of absolutely atheiSt!<. and anti-religious philosophy on wh1ch
rested a system of ethic.>, the pure::.l and best ever promulgated
outs1de of Chnsuamty and J ud:usm
Th1s new philosopher was Gotama, the Buddha
CHAPTER 11.-GOT A MA.
At the foot of the about one hundred miles
N N-W of the modern c1ty of there was, m the
srxth century B C an msrgmficant clan, or trrbe, called
Sakkas In Kap1lavatthu, the prmctpal town ofth1s tnbe, there
hved a petty Ch1ef or Raj put, Suddhodana, who had
two wrves, both daughtt.rs of another petty Chref whose lands
la} on thP oppo&tte oft he Rohm1 Both of queens
were chtldless, untrl, m her forty fifth year, the elder,
brought forth a son
He was born under a Sal tree, whtle mother on the
way to the home of her parents to be confined there, accord-
mg to the custom of t1mes The child and h1s mother
were taken bac.k to house, where May.i. dred on
the seventh day The child was adopted and reotred by hrs
aunt, the younger queen, PraJapatr and named Gotama
Accordmg to the custom of Ind1a, unl\ersal then as now,
he WdS young, takmg as bnde, m mneteenth
year, hts own the daughter of hts mother's
brother, the Chref of tht. Koh!> In h1s twenty-nmth year, hts
wrfe bore hrm therr fir11t and only c.lulu-a bon, Rahula
Gotama seems to have been, from vouth, of a contemplative
mmd and, although belongmg to the Khattrya caste, does
not appeo1r to have been tramed to the but
was allowed to 11tudy the permrtted portwns of the Vedas
and to spend the of h1s ttme m the open atr m qmet
contemplatron
Though, as prmce, he hrmself was shrelded from
the hardshrps and unpleasant features of hfe, he could not be
msensrble to the d1re suffermg of the of the t.ommon
people about h1m, o1nd h1s natural tenderness of heart, as
well as hrs mclmatron toward phtlosophtcal contemplation,
led htm trreslstlbly mto the deep study of the and cure
of hfe's woes
"He was probabl) not the first-he was certamly not the
alst-who m the of prospenty and comfort, has felt a
GOTAXA
11
yearnmg and a want wh1ch noth1ng could satisfy, and whtch
ha\e robbed of the1r charm all earthly gams and hopes. Tbt&
vague d1ssat1sfactJon deepens w1th every fresh proof of the
apparent vamty of hfe, and does not lose but gams m power
when, as IS reported m the case of Gotama. lt ar1ses more
from sympathy w1th the sorrows of others than from any
personal sorrow of one's own
At last, the details of hfe become msupportable , and the
calm hfe of the herm1t troubled w1th none of these thmgs
seems a haven of peace, where a hfe of self den1al and earnest
meditation may lead to some solutiOn of the strange emgmas
ofhfe
It was at the moment when Gotama had reached thts
pomt that they announced to h1m the b1rth of h1s son.
Reahzmg how strong thl!> new tie would become, he deter-
mmed to bredk H at once and to abandon the hfe he had
h1therto led, for the undisturbed med1tat1on of the forest
herm1t and the severest penances of ascettcJsm, m order that
he m1ght 1f poss1ble, d1sco"er the causes and the cure of
human suftenng
Abandomng h1s home that very mght Without ever hav1ng
taken h1s ch1ld m h1s arms, he hastened awa) to Rijagaha
and attached h1mself first to Aldra and afterwards to Uddaka,
Brahmm who were dwelhng m htlls1de caves near
that c1ty From these teachers he learned all that Hmdu
ph1losophy had to teach concernmg hfe here and hereafter.
D1ssaLJsfied w1th whdt he got from these Brahmms, he went
away to the Jungles of Uravela where he !>ought for h1mself
by means of hts own med1tat1on and severest penance, other
answers to those questions now burmng so fiercely m hiS
heart
There, attended by five faithful adherents, for s1x years be
sta1 ved and harrassed and macerated h1s body, until the fame
of h1s self-morttfi1.at1on spread "abroad hke the sound of a
great bell hung m the canopy of the sk1es " But 1t was all
to no purpose He a<.qu1red nel!her peate of mmd nor any
superhuman mstght that ava1led m h1s deep resea1ch
Despamng then of success m further he gne up
all self mortification and sought to nourtsh back to wonted
strength the feeble hfe that remamed m h1s wasted body.
Rhy1 Davod-" Buddbosm,' p 30
PALl BUDDHISM
Thereupon hts diSgusted compantons forsook h1m and went
away to Benares
As he gradually regamed strength, he gave h1mself up to
deep thought without austere penance Seatmg h1mself
under a large Peepul tree, to be known afterwards as the
"Sacred-Bo-Tree," he descended mto deeper and deeper
depths of profound med1tat10n F1rst of all, he rev1ewed h1s
hfe and the efforts m wh11 .. h, &o far, he had so s1gnally failed
All he had learned, all he had beheved, all he had trusted m,
hitherto, had onl} proved false All h1s labors and self-
mfhcted suffermg h.id been of no ava1l That wh1ch he
sought seemed no uedrer than on th tt far-away mght when
be had broken aw.1y from the twmmg love of w1fe and c.hlld
Then came the temptallon to abandon the futile .1ttempt
to solve the mystenes of hfe, returmng to the ease and
luxury of hi& old home and to the tender care&ses of h1s
beautiful w1fe and mfant son
But m h1s heart of hearts, he knew that these would not
sat1sfy , the old unrest of h1s soul would never be lulled until
he should gam satisfactory answers to those momentous
quest10ns concernmg the ongm and cure of woe He c.ould
not go back , he must not even pause Deeper, deeper,
deeper he plungLd mto myst1c medtat10n, untd one mormng,
after a mght of awful struggles, m whch h1s deb1htated body
almost fa1led the too m tense act1v1ty of h1s mmd, he emerged
tnumphant h1s quest10ns were answered , he had dttamed to
absolutely pertect knowledge , all mystenes had \J.mshed ,
bfe and suffermg and release were clearly under:.tood , hence
forth he was Buddha-" Enlightened "
At first he was tempted to keep the knowledge of h1s
d1scovery to hun!:>f:lf, behevmg that the truths he had
fathomed were beyond the mtellectual reach of other men ,
and h1s "Way'' too d1fficult for them to follow to the goal of
release But h1s plt} for men m theu Ignorance and suf-
fenng soon led h1m to determme to attempt the1r salvation
He thought of hs first teachers, AIA.ra and Uddaka , but
findtng that they were dead, he determmed to make the five
compamons of h1s s1x years of self mort1ficauon the first
sharers m h1s l e ~ e d discovery and went to Benares m search
of them and preac.hed to them h1s first dtscourse m wh1ch
were set forth the fundamental prmctples of h1s new system
GOT AliA. 13
Naturally thts first exposatlon of hiS cardmal pnocaples,
preserved m the "Dammacakkappavattanasutta," IS consid-
ered of the vastest Importance m the study ot has system ;
and at as wath a dectded shock of surpnse that the httle seed
from wh1ch has come so splend1d a growth IS ltelf found to
be so ms1gmficant
However, the five were shortly convmced and became bur.
d1sc1ples ; and five months afterwards he wab able to send forth
s1xty dtsc1ples to d1ssemmate h1s new doctnnes , for
he made lm system a m1ss10nary system from the very first.
H.1vmg sent forth these first dtsc1ples as propagandists, he
htmself returned to the vtcmtty of Uravela, where he won as
followers the famous Kassapa and hts two brothers, who
were fire-worshtpmg herm1t phtlosophers In company wtth
these he proceded to Rijagaha, where the Cluef, Btmb1stra.
became a Lay-dtsctple and htb most conspacuous followers,
Sanputta and Moggallana, JOmed hts Sangha of Mendicant
Coenobttes Some tll-feehng arose concernmg the htgh post
tton whtch Gotama asstgned these two 11lustnous dtsctples
and he \Vas led to state more plamly the prmctples of h1s.
system and to lay down a few stmple rules for the gutdance
of the Sat\gha whtch thus became formally mcorporated
Mt:anwhtle hts spreadmg fame had reached hts old home
m Kaptlavatthu and he recetved a pressmg mvttatton to
rev1s1t hts native place that hts old father, Suddhodana, ere
he d1ed, m1ght see htm once agam He comphed and has
aged father became a Lay-dtsctple and 1s satd to have after-
wards attamed Ntbbana at the moment of death There was.
a most touchmg mterv1ew w1th hts wtfe, Yasodara, the
accounts of wh1ch are too Simply true to hfe to be wholely
fict1t1ous legends. He receiVed mto the Sangha hts half-
brother Nanda and h1s own son Rahula ; whereupon he was.
led by the earnest entreaty of h1s father to estabhsh a rule
that, thereafter, no youth under twenty years of age was to be
admitted to the Sangha, w1thout h1s parents' consent.
Later on he rece1ved several other of h1s kmsmen m to the
Sangha-among whom were h1s cousm, A.nanda, afterwards
h1s most loved and mt1mate assocaate , and hiS cous1D
1
Ltt - - the d!lcoune
wbtcb set the wbee\ of nghteoumess to rolhng onwarcll.
PALl BUDDHISM
Devadatta, who afterwards became bJS act1ve opponent and
leader m a sch1sm that estranged from h1m many thousands
After h1s second Vassa or "Rains" at R4jagaha he v1s1ted
S!vatlhi, the cap1tal ofthe Kosalas, and dwelt m the beautiful
pleasure-park of the wealthy merchant, AnathapmcJaka
Here, later on, that famous Lay-d1sc1ele budt for h1s use
the celebrated V1hira or monastery, Jetavana, where the
Buddha so often dwelt and where most of h1s discourses are
sa1d to have been dehvered
In the fifth year of his Buddhahood, he agam v1s1ted
Kap1lavatthu and was present at the death of h1s father,
Suddhodana, after wh1ch, on the persistent sohcJtation ot
his fostermother-aunt anrl o.f his own w1fe
1
earnestly seconded
by h1s most loved d1sc1ple, Ananda, he reluctantly established
a Sailgha of female mendicants to which PriJipati and
Yasadori were admitted as the first Bh1kkhuni
And so he spent forty-five years ID teachiDg his Dhamma
or system and m tramiDg h1s a n g h o ~ for that propagandism
which was to make his system an Umversal Hope-a
purpose, however, that was m no sense realized, until, more
than two centunes later, the great T<4J3. Asoka reumted and
remsp1red the disheartened fact1ons of h1s Sangha , and sent
forth zealous misstOnanes to all parts of the then known
world
Generally he spent the four months of Vassa ID some
V1holra w1th h1s most emment d1sc:..Iples gathered about him
for 1Dstruct1on The remamder of the year, he wandered
from place to place, makmg new c:..onverts or rev1s1t1Dg and
encouragmg the w1dely scattered bands of h1s diSCiples In
th1s Itmerll.tion, some of h1s most famous diSCiples followed
with h1m, whde others, m many bands, went m other
directions preachmg that Dhamma revealed by h1m and
receiviDg Into h1s Sangha such as accepted It m Its entirety.
It 15 worthy of nouce, too, that throughout h1s whole
career, those attracted to Gotama were generally from the
h1ghest classes H1s most ardent supporters were kmgs and
pnnces and wealthy merchants, whde the most 1llustnous of
h1s Sailgha were Brahmms and learned philosophers of the
h1gher castes
In the forty-fifth year of h1s Buddhahood, while spendmg
Vassa at Belugamako, he was attacked by severe 1llness. Real-
GOT AliA. IS
azaog that he could not hve long, he spent such strength as
he could command m exhortmg h1s Sangha to a firm
adherence to, and zealous propagauon of that Dhamma
11
thought out and revealed by (me") h1mself And thu
exhortatiOn he contmued after Vassa, travehng slowly from
place to place m order to VISit bands of has Bh1kkhus
scattered throughout the land, from Savatthi to Rijagaha
The words of these final exhortataons and d1scourses are
preser .. ed m the or" Discourse on the
Great Decease "
H1s death occured at Kusmagara, m the e1ght1eth 3-ear of
h1s age, probably somewhere about 420 B C The Irn
mediate cause of h1s death was the eatmg of nee and pork
furmshed by a Lay-dscple, the goldsm1th Chanda, as he was
passmg through h1s v1llage Pava
H1s obsequte!r were after the style of the kmgs,
and after h1s body was burned hrs calcmed bones were saved
as rehcs to be revered
Such 1s the outhne of the probably real hfe of h1stoncal
Gotama, entitled Buddha
But 1t was 1mposs1ble that the ferv1d poetrcal temperament
of h1s Onental followers should have been long content With
the matter of fact deta1ls of Gotama's real biography, and at
IS not surpn!rmg mterwove mto their accounts of
h1s hfe many 1mposorble legends and muaculous fables until
the whole 1s so hkt. a myth of Eastern that It 1s well
mgh 1mposs1ble to separate the true from the false, or to assert
w1th certamty that there ever was an h1stoncal Gotama at all.
The petty cluef 1t IS utterly 1mposs1ble
that the facts could have been other than as represented
above -1s by wtldest legend represented as Unl\ersal
Monarch, ruhng over many subjeCt prmces of w1de domams
H1s ms1gmficant hut become&" palace of most magmficent
proportion, filled with every luxury that Onental volup-
tuousness could enJOY or Onental tmagmat10n conce1ve HIS
nches and royal state are made so grand as to out-nval the
gorgeous magmficence of those h1stoncal Maha R.iJi'l who,
centunes later, did found m India empJres of mtghty power
and fabulous wealth
Mayi's conception becomes a miraculous event The Queen
slept beside her lord, when, amidst s1gns of most ecstatic Joy,
16 PALl BUDDHISM.
10 wh1ch the elements of nature and all C'reatures of the earth
together w1th bemgs that mhab1ted the unous Hea\-ens and
Hells took part, the Bodh1satta descended from the sk1es 10
the form of a male wh1te elephant and entered her nght s1de
She awoke filled wtth "bh!>b beyond a mortal Mother's'' and
told her dream to rhe gray Maet who foretold a son, to
become Umversal Monarch wtth power extendmg over the
whole known wo1ld , or else to become a Buddha who should
enhghten the world With the knowledge of salvatiOn
No less muaculous her confinement Lymg m the
shade of the Sal tree, she Ib surrounded by mnumerable
Devas who mii'Jster to her comfurt The god Brahma
descended from hts and took from nght stde
the noble bemg who tmmedt.ttely strode seven paceb towards
the East and declared m a vo1ce thdt filled all the world-" I
am the chtef of the world "
Kmsmen subJects are represented as kmg
Suddhodana, a few years later, with wmplamts that the young
Prmce who Wdb bOle heir to his \ast sway w.ts not bemg
tramed Ul those arts and sciences whtch would make h1m d
safe ruler to be trusted w1th the kmgdom after Suddhodana
himself should pass Tht PI mt.e hearmg th1s, de-
termmed to exhibit his real prowess and appomted a day for
that purpose
Surrounded by an Immemt: retmue, m the prebenLe of
1 6o,ooo of his relati vcs, he performed most miraculous feats
that proved h1m mcomparable m archery, m horsemanshtp,
and m each of the other Mxteen t-hief artb and scient.es, dS
well as m many lesser ones
There 1s no reh.tble data for behevmg that Gotama ever
had other conJugal compamon than hts one wife, Yasodhara;
but the legends give htm 40,000 concubmes, eac..h a pnncess
wtth the charms of a Hourz.
The ambttJous Suddhodana Is represented as determmed
that hts son shall fulfill the first predJctJOn of the Magt and
become Umversal Monarch, so he guards e\ery pnmt agamst
the Prmce's evident tendency towards the hfe of a recluse;
but the legends represent most marvelous precautions thwart-
ed by superhuman mterventJons The Impressionable young
Prmce was on four different occasiOns ternbly by
A be1og destmed to become a Buddha
GOTAMA, I7
vtsions m which a Deva successtvely tmpersonated a beggar,
pttlable m the palsted decay of old age ; a leper, htdeous in
the deformtty of h1s foul and mcurable d1sease
1
a cor\'se,
loathsome m 1ts swollen putndtty
1
a mendtcdnt ascetic whose
calm demeanor betokened an mner hfe of undtsturbed peace.
Hts chanoteer was msp1red by the Devas to mterpret these
vtstons so w1sely that the Prmce was trres!Sttbly and
trrevocably led to the "Great Renunctatton."
The "Great Renunc1at1on" 1tself 1s sel forth m terms of
wildest 1magery All the wealth of troptcal colormg, all the
resources of Onentalimagmauon, and all the tricks of As1at1c
rhetoric are exhausted m the effort to magmfy the v1rtue of
that act
The fabled magmficence and luxury of h1s father's court
has already been noticed , 1t was all mvented chiefly to bear
on th1s pomt
The entlcmg lovelmess of that royal harem of 4o,ooo o t ~ T I
pnncesses 1s dwelt upon and re1terated m forms of Onental
sensuousness of exprc&swn utterly dtsgustmg to the Western
mmd m the1r overwhelmmg suggestiOns of basest sensuality.
Yet, notwtthst::mdmg the allurmg Witchery of h1s harem,
the love of the Prmce for hts beautiful w1fe, Yasodhara, IS
represented as of a punty and mtenstty that would nval our
most exalted tmagmatwn of the devotion of a Chnstlan
husb:md to the one only \Voman m all the world whose
lovelmess had ever fascmated or whose charms had ever
been enJoyed
H1s almost unconquerable longmg for h1s mfant son IS
ptctured m terms that tame that outburst of parental an-
gutsh wh1ch escaped from the heart of the stncken Davtd-
"0 my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom I would God
I had dted for thee, 0 Absalom, my son, my son r"
And yet, from all that was so difficult to yield, from all those
ties so hard to sever, he IS represented as resolutely tearmg
htmself away, that he mtght go forth to a lonely ascettc hfe
and, " by a long senes of mcredible self-demals and hard-
shtps, become Buddha, and so save the world."
The natural doubts and mental struggles of the hermit
philosopher become, 10 the legendary accounts, fierce
conft1cts with the Demon-Tempter, Mara, 1n whtch, wtth
rn1raculous powers, he barely gams the victory over forces
J8 PALJ BUDDHISM.
~ r c e l y less miraculous and powerful than h1s own. Especially
r,ewsome were h1s conf11cts w1th Mira on the mght of hiS
'Great Renunc1at1on," and on that other mght of struggle,
which preceded h1s attamment of Buddhahood
The legendary accounts are full of most astound1ng
miracles wh1ch are not, however, worthy of cons1derat1on ;
for they are generally so useless and almost always so
puerde and extravagant that they only mar what they were
mtended to adorn.
CHAPTER 111.-DHAMMA.
Except Chnstlamty, no other system of behef among men
ever developed so many var1ous and mcons1stent, even
antagomst1c, schools or sects, as Buddhism
W1th Its more modern developments, 1t IS no part of the
purpose of th1s work to deal , but rather wtth the ongmal
system as promulgated by Gotama himself and hlS earhest
followers.
We naturally seek our knowledge of that ongmal system
ID the earhest Buddhist wntmgs or scnptures
The Pii.h Canon, known as T1-p1taka or "Three Baskets,"
IS estimated to contam about tw1ce as many words as the
Christian B1ble , translated mlo Enghsh, about four ttmes as
many It IS d1v1ded
1
as the name md1t.ates, m to three parts
-the first 1s devoted largely to rules for the gutdance of the
Sang ha , the second IS devoted particularly to doctrmal and
ethical teachmg , the th1rd, wh1ch appears to be later than
the other two, contams additiOnal doclrmal and ethical teach-
mg, together wtth some metaphysical dtscusstons
These Buddhtst scnptures arc essentially different from tke
scnptures of all other systems, m that they do not clatm
dtvme msp1rat1on or superhuman mterventlon of any kmd ;
but are confessedly the product of pure human mtu1t1on
Their present form dates back to Buddhaghosa who hved
in the end of the fourth and begmnmg of the fifth centunes,
A. D., so between e1ght and nme centunes after the death of
Gotama Buddha.
It IS claimed that Buddhaghosa retranslated 1nto Pih the
Smhalese translation made by Mabmda from an ongmal
Pii.h text wh1ch had unfortunately been lost before Buddha-
ghosa's time. It IS further cla1med that this ongmal Pili
text had been earned from India to Ceylon by Mahmda
himself, Immediately after the last of the three councils
Rhya Dhvids- , dd!sm," p. n.
JO
PALl BUDDH[Sl\1
which were held for the purpose of collectmg the sayings of
the Master and fixmg, m accordance therewtth, the dtsctphne
of the Sang ha, and the Dhamma to be taught
The iirst of these counctls 1s satd to have assembled m the
"Rams" 1mmed1ately sucteedmg Gotama's death , and
consiSted of five hundred members of the Saugha who, with
Ka$sapa ab their chosen leader, recited the precepts of their
Great Teacher and took the first steps towards a methodical
arrangement m two collections, Vmaya and Dhamma, con-
s1stmg, respectively, of rules of diSCipline for the Sangha and
of ethical and dottrmal teachmg There Is no mtlmation
that at that time any thmg was fixed m wntmg
Some time later grave departures from the rules of diSCI-
phne began to be common among the members of the
Sa11gha which was becommg spht mto two parties, an
orthodox party, favonng adherence to the rules established,
and a laxer party, favonng certam mdulgences or relaxations
of those rules A second council was held somewhere about
350 B C, conststmg of seven hundred members In this
council, the prmctples of the orthodox party prevalled , the
ten mdulgences were prohibited , the Rules of Dtsctphne
and the Uoctnnes of Fa1th were agam rehearsed and vmdl-
cated The decisions of this council, however, were not
accepted by all , large numbers of the laxer party became
estranged , the first open schism after Gotama's death
oecurred , and the history of dlffenng and antagomst1c
schctols and sects was begun
A third council was held at P:itahputta somewhere about
240 B C , under the patronage of Asoka, called Dhamm:isoka,
the grandson of Chandagutta It consisted of a thousand
members and, hke the second counctl, was convened to settle
controversies m the Sangha In this council, the Rules of
Discipline and the Doctnnes of faJth were once more rehears-
ed and, for the Southern or Orthodox School of Buddhtsm,
finally settled
It 1s probable that about th1s time the Piih Canon was
reduced to WI'Itmg. It 1s certam, at least, that the art of
A fourth council was held about the begnnmg of the ChnstiOD era but
1t was wholely 1n the power of the leas o r t h o d o ~ Northem School a11d had no
bearmg whatever OD the Pb Canoo
DHAMMA,
wntmg was well known to Asoka who used 1t very w1dely 1n
pubhshmg BuddhJst1c ed1cts m the Pii.h language throughout
h1s extended emp1re Asoka seems to have been the ruhng
spint not only m thiS th1rd counc!l but m all the Immediately
subsequent history of B u d d h ~ m It IS not probable that so
w1se a kmg would have let hp the advantages gamed 10 the
council, w1th the means m h1s hand for fixmg them And it
1s qu1te clear that the Pii.h Canon was fixed from th1s t1me;
as 1t would nol probabl} have been, unless fixed m wntmg.
Both the first and the second counc!ls are mentiOned m
port1ons of the T1-p1taka Itself, but the th1rd council 1s not.
ThiS g1ves safe ground for the mferences that port1ons of the
Pih Canon cannot be older than the second counc1l, and that
all1ts present contents were rece1ved at the t1me of the third.
Not all, then of the present Pii.h Canon can be sat1sfactonly
traced back beyond 250 B C , most of 1t IS known to be much
older , and port10ns of 1t undoubtedly g1ve us the real
thoughts, 1f not the very words, of Gotama h1mself
The Pih P1takas, therefore, may safely be accepted asa
reliable-of all so far known, certamly the most rehable-
source of mformat1on as to what was the ongmal system wh1ch
Gotama h1mself promulgated
It must be remembered m th1s connectiOn, that Gotama
d1d not leave an Immature, embryomc system, but that h1s
doctrmes had become fully developed and clearly stated long
before h1s death A long and strong hfe had gone mto the
development and statement of those doctnnes The SIX years
of man's most act1ve and mdependent mental power-from
29 to 35-he spent m determmmg the fundamentals of
h1s system and in shapmg the forms of the1r expressiOn , then,
m w1de promulgation among peoples who were at first
unmterested, m pnvate and pubhc d1scuss1ons w1th the
bitterest and keenest antagomsts, m c.onstant teachmg of
enthusiastic adherents-the three most exacting methods
known to man-he spent forty-five years m developmg hiS
system and perfectmg h1s forms of statement , and they were
the years that cover the whole of the pnme of man's mental
power and the npeness of age, wh1ch does not yet partake
of decay.
In arproachmg the careful exammatJon of its more funda-
menta doctnnes, one must constantly hold 1n mmd the
PAU BUDDHISM.
environments am1dst whtch the system was concei.Ved and
developed. Of the prmc1ples that had come to be generally
or umversally accepted by hts predecessors and contempo-
raries, Gotama flatly den1ed certam that appeared to him
clearly false, and accepted others that seemed to htm as
clearly true , he then modified certam others to a form that
would agree with what he had accepted and yet not necessi-
tate what he had rejected , !<1st of all he made certam ongmal
addJtJons wh1ch perfected h1s system
(I) -God and Soul
One of the most charactensttc and fundamental features of
.or1gmal Buddhtsm 1s 1ts reJeCtiOn of the tdeas of God, and of
Soul Gotama's system was absolutely Athetsttc No other
feature of the system 1s so surpnsmg m 1ts first recogmtton;
1n no other doctnoe d1d 1t d1ffer more w1dely from Brahmm-
ISm and the current systems of philosophy , at no other pomt
are modern phases of Buddh1sm more at vanance w1th the
ongmal. Athe1sts there have ever been , and athe1sts there
were m the days of Gotama-blasphemous athe1sts who
mocked at the 1dea of God and found m thetr athe1sm license
for base mdulgence , pess1m1stic athe1sts who rejected the
idea of God and left man helpless and hopeless m the ceaseless
whtrl of woe. But Gotama was none such. He was unques-
tionably a chaste and h o n ~ t phdosopher, earnestly seekmg
for truth-truth that would en<1ble man to conquer lust and
escape from woe In th1s search for truth, he had to rely
wholely upon h1s own mtu1Uon and the deductiOns of reason.
To htm the 1dea of God seemed absolutely beyond proof,
qutte unnecessary m any sybtem of behef, and utterly
incapable of explammg either the cause or the cure of woe.
So he reJected 1t , and With 1t, every form of worsh1p, every
sort of sacnfice, every kmd of pnestly mtervenuon He
made behef m God and m the efficacy of worship one of the
three great delus10ns wh1ch must be got nd of entirely m the
first stage of hts "Path,'' and one of the four Upii.dii.nas whtch
cause all woe and despa1r
Gotama recognized gods, dev1ls, ghosts, spntes, fames-good
and evd spmts of every sort-and retamerl the1r Brabmm1cal
names , but he mod1fied the nature of their positiOns, offices,
and functions, to su1t h1s own system wh1ch d1d not admtt an
Ommpotent Creator, or any Supreme Bemg h1gher than the
DHAMMA.
perfectly enhghtened man He peopled the world with 1ix
forms of sentient bemgs-I, gods, 2
1
men; 3, animals; 4
1
Asuras or devils (mcludmg spntes and fames); s, Pretas or
ghosts , 6, bemgs undergoiDg torment ID the vanous heiiL
The gods were ID no sense supenor to the other forms of life,
except that they were temporanly occupymg a more bhssful
abode "They were subject to the umversallaw ofd1ssolution,
and after death were succeeded by others, so that there was not
one Brahmii. or Sakka, but many de1t1es so named,
and many classes of de1t1es under them. They had no power
of affectiDg any person's salvatiOn On the contrary, they
had to see to the1r own, and were mfenor to the per-
fected man " "When any one of the s1x classes of bemgs
d1es, he must be born agam ID some one of the same six
classes, for there are no other possible ways of hfe. If he be
born agaiD ID one of the bells he Is not thereby debarred from
seekmg salvation, and even If he be born ID heaven as a god,
he must at some t1me or other leave It and seek after a
higher state still-that of the perfect man who has gamed
Nirvina "t
In Gotama's system, all sentient ex1stence was thus really
the same and any particular temporary form-whether as god,
or man, or demon, &c -was contmually chang1Dg
1
subject to
the particular bemg's own control, as any particular form
depended entuely on the voluntary act1ons of that particular
bemg m a former existence It must not be supposed, how-
ever, that Gotama received the doctnne of metempS)'cllasrs m
the sense of a contiDually ex1stmg soul passmg on from one
hfe mto another, from one form of ex1stence to another. He
d1d not predicate, but demed, soul m th1s ever changmg
sentient existence Just as he had reJected the 1dea of
Brahmii. or any real God, so, too, he utterly the 1dea
of soul, of any self or Ego apart from orgamzed beiDg Belief
ID a soul or self was another of those three pnmary deluSions
which had to be got nd of ID the first stage of h1s "Path."
There 1s nothmg m the doctrmal part of h1s system that
Gotama more strenuously ma1ntamed or made more essential
to the acceptance of h1s system than the reJeCtion of these
For one exception, see under "Th1rd Stage," p 31, tlus work
t Mon11r Wlb.Lm&-"BuddhJsm," pp 121-IU
PALl BUDDHISM.
two heresies or delusions as to the eXIstence of any soul or
spintual self-human and d1vme
(2) -Amcca or "Impermanence''
Gotama
1
ID denymg a Personal Creator and m rejecting the
idea of soul or spirit m any sense const1tutmg separate and
eternal entity, d1d not therefore assume the eternal existence
of matter He held that the mammate umverse, hke senb-
ent bemg, was contmually changmg m 1ts passage through
an unendmg cycle of existences Indeed, he d1d not rec-
ognize any essential difference between ammate and mam-
mate, as to either cause or contmuance He recogniZed no
real bezng but an ever-changmg, never-endmg becomzng.
Through countless Mahikappas, each cons1stmg of aeons of
ages, the destruction and renovation of a Cakkavila or
11
Umverse" goes on Slowly out of nothmgness 1s It
evolved by the Kamma of 1ts predecessor and as :;lowly IS It
swallowed up agam mto absolute nonentity, out of wh1ch its
Kamma wtll Immediately evolve another universe to suc-
ceed It.
Kamma and the &uccesston of cau&e and effect are constant,
eternal, but as1de from these two abstract Ideas, of every-
thmg else-1nammate, animate, or mental-Impermanence and
unreahty are reiterated and ms1sted on, m all h1s teachmgs
11
All the constituents of bemg are Impermanent
11
-Is the
first of the three great postulates of Gotama's system The
other two simply change the predicate to " pamful " and
"without-Ego," respectively. These three predicates were
prescnbed as subjects of constant meditation , and were
doubtless from the first often repeated m melancholy mono-
tone hke the intermmable refram of hopelessness now heard
at the pagodas where h1s Idolatrous devotees of today tell the
beads of their rosanes and prostrate themselves before h1s
placid Idols with constantly reiterated-"Amcca I Dukkha I
Anatta I" "Amcca I Dukkha I Anatta I "
(3).-Khandas or " Aggregates "
Having demed to sentient bemg the possession of a soul or
separate spmtual and ab1dmg entity, Gotama made such be1ng
consist of an ::ssemblage of five Khandas or "Aggregates," as
follows.-
""lmpcrmaaeat I Pamful
1
W1thout-Ego I "
DHAllllA..
(a), Riipa or "Form "-the collection or aggregate of
material attnbutes of whtch twenty-e1ght are mentioned.
(b), Vedanii or "Sensat1on "-the aggregate of the six
classes of sensatiOns recetved by the stx senses (mmd IS the
siXth), which are further dtvtded mto e1ghteen classes accord-
tag as any one pleasant, pamful, or mddferent
(c), Saiifii\ or "Perceptton "-the aggregate of the six
classes of abstract 1deas whtch correspond with the six. classes
of sensations
(a'), Sankhira or "SubJeCtive Attnbutes "-the aggregate
of fifty-two attnbutes of subJeCttve dtscnmmauon
(e), Vtiiiiina or "Reason "-the aggregate of the powers
of thought or consctousness.
These five Khandas compnse absolutely all that belongs to,
or goes to make up, sent1ent bemg , " Because these sum up
and class1fy, accordmg to the1r affinttles, all the constituents
of bemg, and mclude all other classifications For m classi-
fymg, accordmg to the1r affimues, the many d1fferent
constituents of bemg, form constitutes one group and compri-
ses everythmg that has any affimty to form , sensation
constitutes another group and compnses everythmg that has
affimty to sensat1on Stm1larly w1th perceptiOn and the rest.
Accordmgly he (Buddha) la1d down only five groups, because
these s.um up and class1fy
1
accordmg to the1r affimt1es, all the
constituents of being "
(4) -Kamma or " Essential Character"
Astde from d1vme revelation, the doctrme of metempsy-
cnoSts probably can not be dtsproved , and tf 1t m1ght be
beheved, 1t certamly would afford a most satisfactory expla-
nation of otherwise mexphLable mysteries m the hves of men.
It IS not surpriSing, therefore, that Gotama adopted the
mam features of the doctrme But hts demal of soul and his
pecuhar doctnne of the Khandas made 1t tmposstble for htm
to accept the soul-transm1grat10n theones of the Brahmans
Without radtcal modtficatton So we have hts own pecuhar
doctnne of Kamma Ltteraliy, the word means-" domg,"
" deed " " act " m thts techmcal sense 1t means-" the
I I I
results of domg," "the accumulated balance of merit or
Warren-" Buddh1sm m Translat1oas," pp 156-157
PAL[ BUDDHlSM.
demerit," sspeaally,
11
the condttton of that balance at the end
of any particular extstence "
Accordmg to th1s theory, at the death of any senttent bemg,
a new bemg-that 1s a new assemblage of Khandas-1s Im-
mediately produced by Upiidii.na"' or "Attachment," and
the cond1t1ons of the extstence of the new bemg are deter-
mmed by the Kamma of Its predecessor that has JUSt d1ed.
The productton of the new assemblage of Khandas 1s stmul-
taneous w1th the dissolution of the old , and the new bemg
becomes a contmuat10n of the old-not by the transmigratiOn
of a soul or any personal Identity , but by the transferent.e of
.personal Kamma
To Western mmds th1s doctrme IS an utter absurdity.
That to an absolutely new bemg who never extsted before,
should be transferred the results of deeds of other bemgs who
have entirely ceased to ex1st and w1th whom 1t never had any
-other connection whatever, seems as absolutely 1mposs1ble ID
itself as 1t utterly fatls to account for those mystenes m hfe
whtch the Buddha clatmed to have solved. There IS no
other doctnne, however, m the whole Buddhist system,
except perhaps the doctrme of Ntbbii.na, so charactenst1c of
the system-so dtstmcuvely ongmal w1th Gotama, and
aotbmg else, not even exceptmg the doctrme of Ntbbii.na,
that has so persisted unchanged through all schools and sects
of Buddh1sm It 1s unquestionably the mamsprmg of Bud-
dhist ethics-the actuatmg pnnctple m most, 1f not all, of the
conscious, mtenuonal nghteousness and benevolence ID the
bves of the mllhons of those who have cla1med to be Bud-
dhists durmg more than twenty-three centunes
.,(5) -Anya-Sacciim or
11
Noble Trutbi"
The four
11
Noble Truths" m1ght be reckoned as the
11
Apostles' Creed " of BuddhiSm They const1tute a sort of
epitome of the fundamental pnnc1ples of the system, on
.assentmg to wh1ch, one 1s sa1d to have ''entered the Path"
-correspondmg to what m Chnstlamty would be called
"converted" The non-diSCiple 1s 1gnorant and actuated by
sm, hatred, and 1mpunty. If, however, he be led (through
Up&dina 1s Jtself the result of a ~ ~ h a or
11
Des1re ' wh1ch 1s sometlmes
spoken of as the producmg cause of the new existence 1t 11 only a questlon
of mcd1ate steps 1n the process
DHAMMA
assoc1at1on w1th the w1se, through hearmg the Dhamma,
through the practice of vutue) to accept the "Noble Truths,"
he will have " entered the Path ; " and 1t IS impossible but
that he shall eventually attam the goal-N1bbiina.
These four "Noble Truths
11
are as follows.-
(a) or "Suffermg '' 1s necessanly involved 10 all
existence
The word, Dukkha, 1s techmcally used to express every
vanety or poss1ble 1dea of pam, sorrow, suffenng, woe, un-
reahzed anttc1pat1on of pleasure, acuve d1sappomtment, and
d1stress, Gotama's theory of hfe was utterly pessimistic.
He seems never to have cons1dered the counterbalancmg JOys
and sat1sfactzon m lzfe-mdeed he would have declared these
but lilustons that qu1ckly pass away, leavmg the real woe of
hfe all the darker and heav1er for thetr momentary promiSes
of bnghtness and support
(h) -Tauha or
11
Des1re" 1s the cause of suffermg.
The word, Tai1ha, 1s used techmcally to express every &ort
of desire or cravmg poss1ble to a sentient bemg. It 1s pro-
duced by " Sensation" artsmg from the SIX senses and hke that
may be e1ghteen-fold and, as 1t may be considered e1ther
subjectively or obJeCtively, 1t becomes thirty-sx-fold , and then
vzewed as past, present, or future, zt becomes one-hundred-

Now th1s hydra-headed Tanha 1s the cause not only of
suftenng but even more d1rectly of hfe 1tself , for Tanha
produces Upii.dii.na wh1ch, as we have already seen, produces,
at the death of any sentient bemg, that new assemblage of
Khandas-that new hfe-to wh1ch the Kamma of the old
passes on.
It IS m reahty but one of the twelve hnks m a cham of
causahon m Gotama's celebrated theory of
11
Dependent
Ongmat1on," by whtch he accounted for umversal sulfenng.
Th1s theory, m 1ts twelve hnks, IS as follows-
From Ignorance, SubJective Attnbutes ,
11
Subjective Attnbutes, Reason ,
, Reason, Sent1ent Bemg ,
Childen, Warren, and othersgtve Ka,.,a The Pih term, however, 11 not
Kammam but Sankira , and I can noL accept e1ther the translation or the
phdo10phy wh1ch Ka,.,a g1Ves here
J8 PALl BUDDH19N
From Sent1ent Bemg, Stx Organs of Sense ;
11
S1x Organs of Sense, Contact ,
11
Contact, Sensat1on ;
,. Sensation, Des1re ,
11
Des1re, Attachment ,
11
Attachment, Contmued Ex1stmce ,
, Contmued Extstence, B1rth ,
., B1rth, Old-Age and death and sorrow and mourning
and sutfermg and gnef and despatr
In other words, the ult1mate cause of all that 1s undestrable
m life, and even of hfe 1tself, 1s " Ignorance ", but the more
1mmed1ate cause and, m all pract1cal cons1derat1ons, the more
important cause, IS "Des1re" or Tau ha
If, then, Tauha m1ght be destroyed, release from all suffer-
ing mtght be attamed Th1s leads to the thtrd "Truth "-
(c) -Ntbbiina or "Extmctwn" 1s the only release from
suffermg
"Extmct1on" ts the goal of Buddh1sm , thts extmctton, how-
ever, ts not pnmanly the extmcl!on of lzfe, but of Tanha or
"Desue"
No oth..:r feature of Buddh1sm has been more d1scussed or
more generally misunderstood Accordmg to d1fferent schol-
ars 1t embraces every state lymg between conscwus and
perfect bhss equal to the Chnst1an's most exalted 1dea of
Heaven, and absolute extmctton of sentient extstence
Dr. Max Mueller was the first to senously study the word m
connection w1th all the available passages m wh1ch 1t occurs
m the Pih Canon , and he reached the conclusion that 1t
meant absolute extmctton
Prof. Chtldcrs followed m the same sort of research, and
reached the conclusiOn that the word had a double slgmfica-
tlon-really meanmg absolute extmct1on , but bemg apphed,
by antic1pat1on, to the Arahii. even before death
Dr Rhys Dav1ds was the first to make clear the real use of
the word m the Pih Canon, as s1gmfymg not a state after the
Arahii.'s last death , but a condztzon m h1s last hfe-an extmc-
tlon, pnmanly, of the causes of reb1rth
Accordmg to Brahmm 1deas, there could be no release from
sulfermg. except through escape from hfe Itself-when the
ema11ated soul should be reabsorbed mto Brahmii.
In reJectmg the Brahmm 1dea of a Supreme and Eternal
DHAMMA
Bemg bke Brahmii. and 1n denymg the ex1stence of a soul,
Gotama was under the necessity of developmg a radically
different doctnnE' as to the escape from suffenng , and of
makmg 1t harmomze w1th h1s own pecuhar nouons of the
Khandas, and of Kamma. Accordmg to h1s doctnne, "Suffer-
mg " 1s caused 1mmedately by Tanha or " DeSire ; " there-
fore to get nd of "Suffermg," one has only to extinguish
" Des1re " There are very many stanzas of poetry and pages of
prose, throughout the Pii.h Canon, that extol and magmfy the
perfect peace, the untroubled calm, the ambrostal sweetness,
the dJvme of the conditiOn, throughout the remamder of
h1s hfe on ec1rth, of the Arahd. who has attamed to thts
'N1bbii.na-th1s E;rtmctzon of Deszre
BuL TaJJha (Desue) produces Upii.dii.na (Artachment) and IS
1tself produced by AvJJii (Ignorance), 1ts extmct1on
1
therefore,
will necessanly depend on the extmct1on of the latter and
carry wtth 1t that of the former Now, Upii.diina 1s the cause
of the formation of that new bemg wh1ch Kamma makes
Identical w1th the old , 1f, however, Upii.dii.na IS utterly des-
troyed m tht. extmct10n of Tauha, mamfestly, there can
be no more formatiOn of a new bemg-the cause havmg
been destroyed, the effect forever ceases At death, the
bemg that contmued to be reborn through r.ountless
cycles of 1s reborn no more, and ex1stence
1tself utterly and forever ceases. However, th1s final state
of the Arahii. IS never clearly referred to by the unmodified
word, N1bbana, but always by some compound of the term
Itself or by some contextual modificatiOn wh1ch clearly dla-
tmguishes that final state from the cond1t10n of untroubled
calm m bfe, wh1ch 1mmed1ately precedes 1t. ThiS final state
1s termed Panmbbii.na or "Utter Extmct1on."
N1bbii.na, then, means "Extmchon of Des1re" and ex-
presses that cond1t1on of hfe wherem the Arahi has utterly
extmgu1shed all or cravmg of every sort, allgnorance
1
and all attachment to existence m any form whatever Th1s
condition, however, IS that m wh1ch the causes of existence
1tself are destroyed and leads, necessarily, at death, to Pan-
mbbina or
11
Absolute Annhlat1on of Bemg "
(a')-Ars;a-Atthanglka-Magga or "The-Noble-Eight-Fold-
Path" 1st e only way to N1bbana.
PALl BUDDHISM.
The e1ght d!vlstons of th1s summary of Buddh1st Ethics
are.-
(r) Rtght Vtews-(2) Rtght A1ms-(3) Right Words-(4)
Right Deeds-(s) Right LIVehhood-(6) Rtght Exerhon-(7)
Rtght Mmdfulness-(8) Rtght Med1tat10n
He who perseveres m this Noble-E1ght-Fold-Path will pass
successively through the ''Four Stages" wherem he wdl be
freed from the Das-Sai\fioJii.m or " Ten Fetters " wh1ch bind
men to exLStence and sutfermg.
I.-The" F1rst Stage" IS that wherem one becomes entirely
free from the first three of these " Fetters ".-
(a) Sakkiiyaditthi or " DelusiOn of Ego-1ty "
Th1s 1s the false behef-already dwelt on at length-that
there 1s, apart from the five Khandas, a soul or entity that
may be recogmzed as the real Self or Ego.
(h) V!Clklcchii. or " Doubt "
Th1s IS unbehef as to Buddha and 'hts Dhamma
(c) Silabbata-Parii.mii.sa or "Dependence on R1tes.
11
This mcludes all fa1th m God or any Superhuman Bemg
as able to help one m escapmg suffenng, together With all
charms, ntes, ceremomes, worshtp
1
or other forms of depend-
ence on such superhuman agency
The one who has attamed to the "Fru1t " of thiS " Fust
Stage" of the Path" 1s called Sotii.panna and can never be
reborn except as god or man-he Is forever freed from b1rth
in the other four forms of sentient bemg
n -The .. Second Stage" IS that wherem one IS almost,
bu\: not qu1te
1
freed from the power of the next two " Fetters "
Such an one 1s called Sakadii.gii.mi and must return once to
the ex1stence of man-presumably after an existence as a god
m one of the Devalokas
III.-The "Third Stage" 1s that wherein one becomes
absolutely freed from the fourth and fifth "Fetters":-
(d) Kimarii.ga or " Sensuousness "
Thts mcludes every concetvable form ofpleasure or desue
for carnal lust, natural atfect10n
1
legttlmate
gratification of the physical senses, even many mental and so-
Cial delights which Chnst1amty encourages as most virtuous
and salutary
(e). Pat1gha or "Anger."
DHAMMA.
Th1s mcludes all tll-wlll or hatred that would lead to a
des1re to see another mjured
He \vho has attamed to the "Fruit" of thiS '' Th1rd Stage"
15 called Anii.gii.mi and can never be reborn on earth but
passes to the Brahmaloka, whence he attams Nibbina
IV -The " Fourth Stage " 1s that wherem one becomes
perfectly free, after havmg cast off the remammg five
"Fetters"-
(f) Riipariiga or "Lust for Corporeal L1fe "
1'h1s 1s des1re for extstence in bodlly, rr.atenal form, whether
as man on the earth or as a god m one of the lower Heavens.
(g) Ariipariiga or "Lust for Incorporeal Life."
Th1s IS desire for ex1stence without bodily, matenal form,
as a god m one of the higher Heavens
{h) Mii.na or '' Pnde "
{t) Uddhacca or "Self-ExaltatiOn"
(; } A VIJJii or " Ignorance "
He who has attamed to the " Fruit " of this '' Fourth
Stage," 1s termed Arahii. or " Holy One " and IS free from any
rebirth-he has attamed N1bbiina
The above pomts constitute a fatr and complete outhne
of the charactenst1c and Important features of Gotama's
philosophy
That philosophy was emmently practical. Gotama ever
absolutely refused to enter upon metaphysics or the dtscus
s1on of aught outside the purpose of h1s Dhamma, wh1ch was
to answer, prac.tically, those two burnmg questions as to the
origm of suffermg, and the way to escape It. That there wal
knowledge outside this narrow domam, he readilY. admitted,
and he claimed, as Buddha, to be absolutely fam1har With 1t
all, but he claimed that 1t was utterly unprofitable-every-
thing whtch was not essential to the escape from suffermg
was a hmdrance , and as such an ev1l to be absolutely avoid-
ed. Therefore he determmed not to know anything among
them save the Catii.n .t\.nya-Saccii.m Suffermg , Cause of Suf-
fenng, Escape from Suffenng, Way of Escape from Sutfenng.
The most practical part of th1s emmently practical philoso-
phy was the System oJ Etmcs mcluded m the fourth ''Truth" ;
for BuddhiSt ethtcal precepts, however understood, do Cf'T
tamly Inculcate much that 1s m 1tself most praJSe-worthy-
rec as they do, not only man's objective duty of
32
PALl BUDDHISM.
external moral conduct, but also h1s subject1ve need of mner
punty of heart
The objection that Buddh1st morahty IS merely negat1ve,
cannot be mamtamed , for the eth1cal system abounds m
pos1t1ve as well as negative precepts, and ms1sts no less on
subjeCtive punty of character than on objeCtive blamelessness
ofhfe.
The objective and the subjective, the negative and the
pos1t1ve are not generally kept distmct m the origmal pre-
cepts, however , and no attempt Will be made to make sharp
d1Stmct10n here.
Paiica-Silim or " The .FIVe Precepts" are .-
(I) Not to destroy hfe
(z) Not to take what IS not given.
(3). Not to be guJity of unlawful sexualmtercourse
(4) Not to ::.peak falsely
(5) Not to dnnk mtox1catmg liquors
These five prohibitiOns, the first and most Important of
Buddhist ethical prmciplcs, were absolutely, always, and
everywhere bmdmg on .tll ahke
Atthanga-Silam or "E1ght Precepts'' mcluded the above
w1th the followmg three added -
(6). Not to eJ.t unseasonable food
(7) Not to attend worldly amusements
(8) Not to use ungents or ornaments
These three were not obligatory on Lay-diSCiples yet all
earnest followers of the Buddha were expected to observe
them at certam times under vow and espec1ally on Uposatha
Days
Dasa-Silii.m or "Ten Precepts" add two others to the
above etght -
(9) Not to use b1g or broad beds
(Io) Not to own or accept gold or silver.
Only very p1ous laymen ever undertook to observe these
last two , and tben only for the bnef t1me covered by specl81
vow.
All ten were obhgatory on all members of the Sangha, and
10 thetr observance the thtrd precept requtred absolute
chastity.
Akusalamiilim or "Evil Prmc1ples" are three roots of sm
that must be ent1rely extirpated:-
DHAIIMA.
33
Dasa-Kdesi. or
11
Ten Depravities'' must be avo1ded -
(1) Lobha or "Lust "-(z) Dosa or "Hate "-(3) Moha
or "Folly "-(4) Mina or " Pnde"-(S) D1tth1 or "Heresy"-
(6) Vtcikcchii. or ''Doubt ''-(7) Thina or "Sloth "-(8) Ud
dhaccha or "Arrogance "--(9) Ah1nlti or" Shamelessness"-
(10) Anottappa or "Recklessness."
Dasa-SatitiOJii.Dl or " Ten Fetters" to be got rid of m the
''Four Stages" of the "Path," have already been g1ven 1n
the d1scusson under Anya-Saccim
Apart, however, from th1s merely negative morality wh1ch
cons1sts m avo1dmg gross sms and corruptmg pass1ons, there
are positiVe precepts wh1ch prescnbe the cultlvatlon of
mentor10us deeds together w1th states of heart both benevo-
lent and pure
Satta-Ratanii.m or "Seven Jewels" constitute a necklace of
act1ve VIrtues that are to be most strenuously sought and
guarded-
or" Earnest Meditation,"
(1) On the body-(2) On sensat1on-(3) On thought-
(4) On the cond1t1ons of existence
h-Sammappadhii.na or " R1ght Exertion,"
(t) To prevent dement from ammg-(2) To get nd of
dement that has ar1sen-(3) To produce mer1t-(4) To
mc:rease ment.
c-Iddh1pii.da or "Bas1s of Mag1c Power," as res1ding m
(1) Wdl-(2) Eff'ort-(3) Thought-(4) Investigation
d-Bala or
11
Power," as found m
(1) Fa1th-(2) Energy-(3) Recollechon-(4) Self-con-
centrahon-(S) W1sdom
e-Indnyim or
11
Organs of Sense," as bemg under thorough
control,
(1) Eye-(2) Ear-(3) Nose-(4) Tongue-(5) Body.
f-BoJJhaughi. or "Knowledge Requ1s1tes,"
(1) Recollection- (2) Invest1gat10n-(3) Energy-(4)
Joy-(s)Calm-(6)Contemplatlon-(7)Equammtty"
g-Anya-Atthaugtka-Magga or "Noble-Etght-Fold-Path,"
the etght d1vts1ons of whtch have already been g1ven m the
diScusston under Anya-Saccim t
See p 30 of th11 work
t See p 30 of th11 work
3
34
PALl BUDDHISM,
Agam of the same sort, to be cultivated by Arahis,
are the-
Dasa-Panmlti or" Ten Transcendent V1rtues ".-
(I) Chanty-(2) Morahty-(3) Self-abnegauon-'(4) Wls-
dom-(S) Energy-(6) Pat1ence-(7) Truth-(8) Re-
solutlon-(9) Kmdness-(Io) Equamm1ty
It will be not1ced that there 1s a great deal of repetitiOn m
these bsts, the same VICe or vtrtue bemg frequently repeated
m slightly different vtew or connection We may find such
repettt1ons ttresome ; but they at least show where emphas1s
IS la1d,
Bestdes these formal dtvlsions of v1ces to be shunned and
VIrtues to be cultivated, wh1ch are probably not the work of
Gotama h1mself but of h1s d1Sc1ples after h1s decease, very
many passages, undoubtedly giVIng Gotama's own teachmg
1f not h1s very words, are found scattered all through the
ev1dently older port10ns of the Pii.h Canon, m wh1ch all the
precepts, both pos1hve and negat1ve, of these formal hsts, oc-
cur agam and agam Self-restramt , the repressiOn of lust,
mahce and folly , the avotdance of moral defilement and
sloth , the breakmg of all ties that bmd to carnahty , the
cult1vat1on of punty, chanty, loviDg-kmdness, fortitude,
patience, w1sdom, truth and equamm1ty-these are duties
that w1th tuesome reiteration are taught by precept and ex-
ample, m story, d1alogue, parable and simile, throughout the
entire Canon
Moreover 1t IS clearly taught, and ID frequent repetitions,
that an outward, exemplary manner of hfe m these respects
does not suffice , the mner essent1al character must be
brought mto perfect harmony w1th these pnnc1ples
UnquestiOnably 1t 1s the beauty and real worth ID these
ethtcal pnnctples that have most attracted Western miDds
to Gotama's system and account for the great populanty
wh1ch Buddhism has for some time enJoyed m Europe and
Amenca But 1t IS only the mtsunderstandmg of Gotama's
ethical pnnc1ples that has led so many admirers of Buddhism
to make the Buddha a peer of the Chnst It must be re-
membered that the words necessanly used to translate or
paraphrase these precepts mto the languages of the Occ1dent
tnevttably retam Chnst1an stgmficatlons, acqu1red through
centunes of Chnst1an use, wh1ch glorify the BuddhiSt
DHANMA
35
precepts With meamngs of which Gotama himself never
dreamed, and which modern Onental BuddhiSts never get
from the ongmal Pii.h
Morlbver, It ought to be remembered, that the Ideal IS
ever far beyond the attamment of unaided man , and Go
tama could promise h1s followers no help, ever IDSIStmg that
they must rely on themselves alone. How far they have
faded, no one else can quite so fully reahze as the Protestant
Mtsstonary who works among modern Buddhist peoples,
where almost every one of Gotama's Ideals has been perverted
and universal fatth and practice are as different from the
Buddhism of the Pah Tt-pitaka, as Stxteenth Century Catho-
hcism was different from New Testament ChriStiamty. And
there never has been-there never can be-a Reformation
of Buddhism.
CHAPTER IV.-SANGHA.
From the very first there were two classes of the Buddha's
followers, the Bh1kkhus or "Mend1cants, and the Gahapatts
or" Householders "-also called Upiisakas or ''Adherents."
Gotama very Wisely recogmzed the fact that not all could
or would accept h1s Dhamma m all the fullness of its mean-
~ n g and requ1rements
He reahzed thaL very few, comparatively, from the great
mabSes of men would ever attempt, and fewer stdl succeed m
the attempt, to follow his " Path," throughout its four ddli-
cult " Stages" to the goal So w1th great practical good
sense he offered a modtfied hope to a moral and benevolent
la1ty-who after all were really necessary for the support of
hts Saugha or " Order of Bhtkkhus "
These lay-dtsctples, contmumg to hve an ordmary hfe to
the world-marrymg, reanng a fam1ly, earmng a hvehhood-
entertamed practtcally no hope of attatmng Ntbbina m thts
present exiStence A few of the more eamest mtght hope to
reach the " Second Stage," or even the " Thtrd Stage " of
the ''Path , '' but the great ma.Jonty d1d not ~ m at once
beyond the "Fust Stage " All, however, were certain of
finally attatmng the goal
Adwiss1on to the latty was very stmple, conststing merely
in the acceptance of the" Four Noble Truths" and the
repetztzon of the formula of "Three Refuges"-" I go for
refuge to the Buddha." "I go for refuge to the Dhamma"
" I go for refuge to the Sangha."
After admtsston, the only absolute requirement was the
observance of the Paiica-Silim or first
11
F1ve Precepts."
However, the Gahapatts were afimonsltetl to observe the
whole ethtcal system and to undertake more or less severe
and protracted medltatton ; and the way was always open
for them to pass on mto the Saugha, 1f at any t1me they
became earne&t enough to abandon the householder's life and
become mendtcant ascetics. Even as householders, they
SANG HA.
37
were espectally encouraged to undertake more senous and
more extended observances of the Dhamma, on Uposatha
Days and durmg longer or shorter penods of voluntary
vows.
It IS m thts connection that the doctrme of " Ment,"
Kamma of a good and helpful sort, ts developed The o u ~
holder's attamment of Ntbbii.na could be only after many
existences, more or fewer accordmg to hts Kamma-accordmg
to hts less or more raptd acqms1t10n of "Ment, " for all ev1l
must be fully requited and all good rewarded untlllus acquir-
ed Ment, hts good Kamma, secured htm that extstence and
moral character wherem he would be able to utterly abandon
the world and resolutely pursue the " Path " through Its
four " Stages" to the absolute extmcuon of " Destre," whtch
IS the attamment of Ntbbina
Ment m1ght be acqutred by avoidance of those thmgs
prohibited m the Dhamma , by cultivation o{ tbose thmgs
prescnbed in the Dhamma ; and particularly by hberahty
towards the members of the Sangha
But after all, thiS lay-dtsctpleshlp w1th tts eastly acqutred
" Ment " ts not 1deal Buddhtsm.
It 18 clearly Inferred from the Pii.h Canon, that Arahish1p
was seldom attamed, and nevsr mamtamed, by one contlnu-
mg as a householder, every one who earnestly sought Arahi-
shlp was expected to become a Bh1kkhu , and even 1f 1t were
attamed by a householder, Ooil Its attamment, he musJ be-
come a Bhtkku, unless hke Suddhodana, he Immediately
passed on mto Panmbbina
Gotama recogntzed the mherent difficulties to be surmount-
ed by h1m who would thoroughly extmgu1sh " Desue " and
"Ignorance." He clearly taught that only he who was
prepared to utterly abandon the world, gtve up all famtly
and SOCial ttes, abjure every personal mdulgence, forsake
every conceivable pleasure and even sttfte destre for It ; he
who should go forth to a hfe of cehbate mendtcancy and
undiSturbed medttatton, wheretn he mtght be free to cultt-
nte those subjecuve tratts of character whtch would most
powerfully advance h1m along the " Path '' to Ntbbina-only
he could hope to free htmself from all the " Fetters " and
reach the goal ; and even he might be only partially success-
ful 10 this present bfe Mantfestly such a hfe was po11ible
PALl BUDDHISM
only to a hermtt ascetic, or, at most, to a Coenobtte Monk
Gotama's own expenence had taught htm the utter mutdtty
of extreme austenty and had determmed htm on a " M1ddle
Course" between such austenty on the one hand, and
mdulgence on the other
The very nature of hts system, therefore, made necessary
that Sangha or "Order ofCoenobttes," whtch, more than any-
thmg else m the system, contnbuted to 1ts first great popu-
larity ; to Its subsequent ddfuston through such a large part
of Eastern Asia , and to the permanency with which It maiD-
tamed Its position m almost every land where It ever once
gamed a foothold
It must be clearly understood that the Sa1\gha was m no
sense a pnesthood As there were no sacnfices, no rehg10us
ntes, no ceremomes of any sort admttted m Gotama's system,
there could be no class to whom such functions belonged; and
as there was no God, no prayer, no worship, 1t would be mam-
fest absurdity for any to claim, or be asstgned, medtatonal
power or other pnestly nghts
Moreover, the Sat\gha was not an hterarchy No one ever
took vows of obedience and there were no dtstmcttons of
place or of power, except as Age and Samthness of character
were beautifully honored m the voluntary deference of peers
The Saiigha was stmply a band or brotherhood of Gotama's
more earnest followers, each of whom was &trenuously cult
vatmg that vtrtue and knowledge whtch alone could brmg
htm to the extmctton of " Destre" whtch was N1bbina ,
while he was, at the same time, actively spreadmg, as fast and
as far as he was able, the blessed knowledge of the
11
Path "
whtch he htmself had rece1ved-an Order whose two ch1ef
a1ms were the most strenuous apphcatton to the task of self-
Improvement and equally energetiC efforts of propagandism
for the benefit of others
Thts may seem a strange defimt10n to many who have ever
thought of Buddhist Mend1cants as utterly lazy and des-
picably selfish. Such, however, was Gotama's 1dcal Sailgha,
and doubtless there \Vere, m the earliest days at least many
who approached very close to the Great Founder's 1deal, and
went everywhere preachmg the word wtth 1ntensest mission-
ary zeal, whde they culttvated and exh1b1ted 10 thetr own
hves most beaut1ful tra1ts of personal character
SANGHA,
39
At first, the members of the Sangha were considered all
ahke and admtsston was most easy and stmple, conslStmg
merely m the repet1t1on of the "Refuges" Later, admts-
slon was more guarded and a dtstmctton was made between
a novtce, called Simanera, and the full member, called
Simana or "Ascettc," somettmes, Bhtkkhu or " Mendtcant ''
A Siimanera mtght be admttted by any The
candtdate must be at least fifteen years old, and, 1f a child, must
have the consent of parents ; he must be free from contagious
dtseases, consumption, and fits , he must not be a slave or
debtor or one m the kmg's sentce ; he must have provtded
htmself wtth suitable robes. Beanng hts mendtcant robes m
h1s hand, and yet wearmg the clothmg of a householder, he
approached a Sii.mana and requested adm1ss1on to the Sal\gha.
If hts request was granter!, h1s hatr was cut and hts mendt-
cant robes donned then he knelt while he repeated the
three " Refuges " and took a vow to observe the
11
Ten
Precepts"
Thts becommg a novtce was called Pabbajjii or " Going
Forth "-the tdea bemg that he went forth from household
hfe mto Mendtcancy
Adm1sston to full membershtp was a more formal and
ddlicult matter
It was requtred that the cand1date should be at least twenty
years old and, generally, that he had been, for a longer or
shorter penod, accordmg to circumstances, under mstructton
as a Siimanera One who had been a Siima\}era from hts
fifteenth year, would have spent at least five years under such
mstructton, whde m some cases of mature men the two
admtss1ons were e1ther stmultaneous or tmmedtately suc-
cesstve The candtdate was requtred beforehand to select
some Si.mana of at least ten years' standmg m the Sailgha,
who was to act as hts mstructor for the five years 1mmed1B.tely
succeeding hts entrance mto the Order. He was also requ1red
to be prov1ded w1th robes and alms-bowl He then put off
the yellow robes he had been wearmg as and re-
sumed the garb of a householder A chapter was convened
At the very first there were only IN1o "-"I go for refuge to
the Buddha " " I go for refuge to the Dhamma ' After the Order beCame
fully estabhshed, the thtrd was added-'' I go for refuge to the Sa11gha "
PALl BUDDHISM
cons1st1ng of not fewer than ten Bh1kkhus, pres1ded over by
a who had been ID full membership for at least ten
years ; and before this chapter the candidate must appear and
request admission to full membership In answer to questions,
he satisfied the chapter as to his age, to h1s freedom from
d1squahfymg d1seases , to the fact of h1s not bemg a slave, a
debtor, or one m royal service , to his provision of robes and
alms-bowl , to h1s selecuon of a teacher for h1s future
mstruction , and to his bemg a real man and not a Serpent-
Demon m human form If the candidate was found satis-
factory, he was led as1de and reclad w1th h1s mendicant
robes Then beanng his alms-bowl he reappeared before the
chapter, thnce repeated the "Three Refuges," and agam
took a solemn vow to observe the "Ten Precepts '' He was
most strenuously warned agamst the Cattiin or
"Four Forbidden Acts," and admomshed to trust only to
the Cattiro N1ssayi or "Four Resources" Then 1f no one
of the chapter obJected to his adm:ss10n, Silence was construed
as consent and the presidmg Sii.mana declared him admitted
The "Four Forbidden Acts " were-
( I) Sexual acts of any kmd-(2} Takmg anythmg not
g1ven-(3) Kdhng any hving thmg-(4) Falsely cla1ming
miraculous powers The v1olat1on of any one of these
prohibitions was mev1tably followed by irrevocable expulsion
from the Sailgha
The ''Four Resources" were not absolutely binding, as m
every case the laity were encouraged to furnish, and the
memben of the Sang ha were allowed to accept better, but
they were the only resources when left to himself
They were-
(1) Alms collected m b1ts, for food-(2) Old rags from
the dust heap, for clothmg-(3) Excreta of cows, for medi-
Cines-(4) Shelter of trees, for residence.
In these two hsts of warnmg and admomtion are emphasaz-
ed the two great requirements m the Satlgha-Poverty and
of Life
Theoretically Poverty was to be all but absolute A mem-
ber of the Order was allowed to own only articles-
I that th11 b1t wu but aa empha11Z1Dg of the tint four
of me " TCD Precepts," and that the peaabzatJoa of the fourth to tin part!
cular fona of lpag wu of later
SANGHA
41
(1), (2), (3) The three separate p1eces of h1s robes-(4) A
g1rdle-(5) An alms-bowl-(6) A razor-(7) A needle-(8) A
water stramer
H1s food was to cons1st of that mingled mass of broken bits
collected m h1s alms-bowl m house to house 1tmerat1on ;
h1s robes were to be patched together by himself out of old
yellowed rags of cloth collected from the dust heaps and
cemetenes
1
and he mu&t dwell m the open a1r at the foot of
a sheltermg tree or m a httle hut bu1lt by h1mself of leaves
or grass
Practically, however, these austentles were never enforced ,
for in all these respects, mdulgences were allowed m the
Buddha's own t1me, and with h1s full consent.
Whde Gotama held that a qu1et herm1t hfe m the forest
was most favorable for med1tat10n
1
wh1ch he considered so
essential to subJective Improvement and to acqulSJtJon of
w1sdom, yet, for m1ss1onary and pract1cal reasons, he permitted
residence m a V1hiira or "Monastery provided by the latty,
m the suburbs of a village or town, espec1ally dunng Vassa or
the" Rams;" and hfe m V1hii.ras became almost umversal
These V1biiras were at first probably small huts for mdlVI-
dual Sii.manas , but these soon gave way to nch and com-
modious bu1ldmgs w1th accommodatiOns for crowds of Bhlk-
khus, w1th assembly halls, dmmg rooms, and sleepmg
apartments They were generally bulit m parks or forests
adJOimng v11lages and towns-far Pnough away to be free
from confusion and no1se ; but near enough for ready
accessJbli1ty Some of the V1hii.ras, where Gotama h1mself oft-
en dwelt, and where he IS sa1d to have g1ven much of h1s
mstruct1on, are very famous, such as Veluvana at Rijagii.ha,
provided by k1ng Bmb1sira , and Jetavana at Sivatthi,
prov1ded by the wealthy merchant, AnithapmcJaka.
Gotama also permitted the eatmg of food prepared and
brought to V1hiras by p1ous lay-diSCiples and even the
acceptance of mv1tauons to go to the homes of the laity and
eat what was prepared for them there Of course on such
occasions the very best possible proviSion and serv1ce would
be the care of the p1ous host , but an1mal food was generally,
though not always, om1tted There seems never to have
been any very strong conscientious scruples about eatmg flesb
li only some one else had killed and prepared 1t-even
PA.LI BUDDHSM
Gotama huDielf ts said to have dted from eatmg pork whtch
he was unable to dJ.gest
But while these mdulgences m better food were allowed,
the regular rule of gomg from house to house wtth the alms-
bowl, to collect what was freely gtven, was qu1te generally
adhered to ; and had always to be adopted when no prOVISIOn
was made by the latty In these rounds for food, no one was
allowed to go to certam houses only, or ever to ask for any
t t n ~ anywhere The Bhtkkhu carrymg hts bowl 10 front
of htmself, lookmg stratght ahead, and never turnmg hiS
eyes to r1ght or left, passed along the ordmary roads of
vdlage or town, pausmg a moment before every house passed,
so as to g1ve opportumty for any so mchned to g1ve alms,
and then passmg on wtthout a word, whether anythmg were
recetved or not When suffictent had been collected for
the day, he returned to the Vthira, were he ate the one
substanttal meal of the day , for as a rule the Bhtkkhus ate
only one meal m the twenty four hours, generally shortly
before noon.
Substantial food was allowed only between sunr1se and
noon. In eatmg, each went apart and ate alone, mean.whtle
med1tatmg on the tmpermanence of the body and auunng
h1mself that he ate only for the purpose of sustammg hfe
He must not ptck and choose from what was m hts bowl, but
eat everythmg as it came
The rule as regards clothmg was seldom 1f ever observed
From the very tint the la1ty were permitted and encouraged
to prOVIde members of the Sallgha w1th the necessary robes
(Civari) and espec1al " Ment " was supposed to accrue to the
ptous Upisdka who observed w1th commendable hberahtr,
Civaramisa or "Robe month" at the close of each "Rams '
Under no Circumstances whatever, was a member of the
Saftgha ever to take any steps to prov1de h1mself w1th robes,
other than accordmg to the ongmal rule of pltktng rags
from the dust heap and sewmg them together.
He was never allowed to have more than one change be-
Sides those actually worn at the ttme
If the robes prov1ded by the la1ty were of new cloth, the
cloth must be torn to p1eces and sewed together, 10 order to
destroy 1ts commerctal value
SANGHA.
The robes consasted of three separate paeces-(1) A loin-
cloth, a straaght strap covenng the lom and thagha-(a) A
skart, a straaght strap fastened about the waast and draped
about the lower hmbs-(3) A blanket or cloak, a broad
straaght strap adjusted about the trunk so as to cover the
entare body below the neck, except the rtght shoulder and
arm whach were left bare The completely tonsured head
was always left bare
Later on, sandals and an umbrella were allowed, and a large
fan was earned as a screen to shut out stghts hkely to diSturb
the calm of subjectave contemplataon
The dutaes and routme of datly hfe m the Sangha were
very sample
Farst of all was the necessaty for dascaphne wathin the
Order atself W1th the hfe of the laaty they had absolutely
noth1ng to do , they were not spmtual or moral overseers,
and m no sense pastors of the masses of men among whom
they lived and to whom they looked for support But at
was essenttal that they mamtam the rules and avoad the
prohJbJtions la1d down for their own Order
Except m cases of vaolataon of the more seraous prohabitions
and when a member voluntanly requested the assembled
brethren to pomt out any fault notaced m hlS hfe, no charges
were ever preferred by one agamst another , but all matters
of dascaphne came up on voluntary confessaon of fault.
On Uposatha Days, all members assembled m thear regular
chapters to listen to the Pitamokkha-a body of rules for the
government of the Order, even m most tnvaar detail-and
each was expected to confess to any conscaous failure in the
observance of any of the rules Silence was consadered a
claam of gualtlessness In case of vaolauon of the more Im-
portant prohabatJons, ammediate and Irrevocable expulsion
from the Sangha was anfhcted , m other more minor faults,
penances, more or less severe, were Imposed
Instructaon was an amportant duty The preceptors must
for five years gave mstructton to those who had selected them
at the ume of reception mto full membershap , the Sii.malJ.eras
were under more or less constant mstructton by Simanas ; gen-
erally any espec1ally samtly or capable Simana was expected
to impart hiS greater attamments to those who desired has
anstructaon Outside thear own membershap there was much
PALl BUDDHISM.
mstructton of the latty and acttve mtsstonary effort m propa-
gandllm among those who had not yet accepted Gotama's
doctnnes , and, m later years at least, 10 every land where
Buddb1sm estabhshed 1tself, schools were opened m connec-
tion w1th the V1hiras, for the da1ly mstruchon of all the
boys of the communtty both m the Dhamma and m the
ordinary bran<.hes of secular learnmg , so that m Buddh1st
commumt1es a man 1s rarely met, who has not the rud1ments
of education
Med1tat10n, however, was the most 1mportant of all matters
m a Simana's hfe , for the w1sdom so essent1al to h1s advance-
ment along the " Stages " of the " Path '' was particularly
t"::at evolved from h1s own mner consciOusness m the
act of med1tat10n There were five pnnc1pal subjects of
med1tat1on -
(1) Mettabhivani or" Med1tat1on on Love "-(2) Karuni-
h i v o ~ n i or " Med1tat1on on P1ty ' -(3) Mudttabhivani or
"Med1tat1on on Joy ''-(4) Asubhabhii.vani or "Med1tataon
on lmpunty "-(S) Upekkhibhavani or "Med1tataon on
Equammtty"
One obJeCt m med1tauon was the culuvat1on of Jhina or
" Mysttc Intuttton " by whtch were attamed supernatural
w1sdom called Abh1ftfti, and supernatural power called Iddht
In Jhina there were four stages -
ut -Seatmg btmself m a secluded spot, the Simav.a fixed
hts thought upon the chosen subject unttl he became filled
With supernatural ecstacy , and h1s body was plunged tnto
profound trance, whde hts mmd contmued an contemplatton
of the subJect chosen
2nd-Still keepmg hts thought fixed upon the same
subject, he gradually freed hts mmd from all actlvty m
reasomng, whtle the ecstacy remamed
3rd-Stdl keepmg Ius thought fixed on the same subJect,
he gradually freed htmself from ecstacy and attamed to a
state of calm o;eremty
4tA -Sull keepmg hts thought fixed on the same subject,
he passed mto a state where every emotton of pleasure or
pa1n, every act1v1ty of thought, was lost, and only pure tran-
quil peace remamed
Another obJect m med1tatton was the cuhvat1on of Samidha
a atate of,supernatural calm often confounded w1th ]hina,
SANG HA.
45
The term, however, ts of wtder apphcation Samidbt ia a
necessary prehmiDary to Jhina and always accompames it in
all tts stages , 1t may express absolute unconsctousneas or it
may be used ID reference to the Arahi's mastery of emotion.
In later times, the term was apphed to a self-mduced mes-
mertc trance.
Cleanhness and samtat10n were inculcated , and tmposed
Important duttes ID frequent baths and wash1ng of robes and
carmg for the Vthii.ras and thetr grounds The members of
the Sailgha, however, were frequently relieved of th1s last
duty by ptous laymen who won much ment by thts servtce.
When no layman undertook this duty 1t generally devolved
upon Sima1,1eras
In the ordmary datly routme of hfe, the early mermng
hours, often long before day, were spent m meditatton, m
recltatton of parts of the Dhamma, and m mstructton Later
m the mormng, came the 1tmerat10n for collectiDg food , and,
just before noon, the one substantial meal of the day. After
the m1dday meal, there was a short season of rest , then more
mstruct1on and more medttation In the evemng, there
were qu1et walks ID the well-kept grounds, or qu1et conversa-
tion, or medttatton, th1s last extendmg far mto the ntght
Dut1es requtrmg manuallabor were performed m the early
mormng or m the evemng Manual labor, however, was
constdered no help to the moral hfe , but rather a hindrance,
as mterfenng wtth medttatton , and was never engaged m
except, and so far, as was actually requtred ID cases where the
Sangha could not be, or happened not to be, relieved by
ptous laymen.
On the death of h1s father, Suddhodana, as we saw in the
account of Gotama's hfe, the Buddha reluctantly consented
to an Order for women to whtch his fostermother-aunt,
PraJipati, and hts own strangely wtdowed w1fe, Yasodhari,
were the first admttted.
A member of thts Order was called Simani. u Female-
Ascetic" or Bh1kkuni, " Female-Mend1cant," and the Order
itself was called Bh1kkuni-Sailgha
ThiS Order was ID almost every respect an exact counter-
part of that for the Bh1kkus. It was not, however, mdepen-
dent ; but was m everythtng subjected to the regular Sanpa.
In noth10g else does Gotama's esttmate of women more
PALl BUDDHISM.
ltolearly appear. The moat aged and sa1ntly Bhikkhuni must
- iDStant reverence to the youngest Samaliera , and her
MID highest hope could never be that of the Simalia,-she
aaiJ hoped to be reborn as a man; for, to a woman, the
attainment of Arahishtp was rarely posstble and that of
Buddhahood, never In all Important matters, such as recep-
tion or dlsc1phne of members, the decisions of the1r own
chapters bad to be confirmed by a chaper of Sima9-as before
they were vahd All mstruct1on of the Simanis was by the
Simanas, not by the1r own elders , and the1r Pit1mokkha
confess1on had to be pres1ded over by a Simana appomted to
that duty by the regular Sangha of Simanas
No Bb1kkuni was ever allowed to dwell alone, anywhere ;
nor any number of them together, m the forest they had
to dwell m compames m V1hii.ras near some village or town.
Generally the1r V1hiras were near to those of the Bh1kkhus,
but never 10 connection
No assoc1at1on of the two Orders was ever allowed except
that for mstruct10n, for the Pat1mokkha confess1on, and for
the confirmation of the acts of the Bhtkkhuni-Sangha, as
noticed above , and 10 all such cases there must always be
two or more Sii.manas present-no Sii.mana was ever allowed,
under any Circumstances, to meet and talk w1th a Simani
alone.
For these Orders there were few " T1mes and Seasons" of
spec1al1mportance. As there was no sacnfice, no offenng, no
ntual, no worship m Gotama's system, there were of course
no holy days set apart for such thmgs
Gotama, however, reahzed the need of some special days and
prov1ded for that need by adopting and adaptmg the regular
fast days of the Brahmms
These Uposatha Days-he retamed the Brahmm name-
were at first two m each month, the days of new-moon and of
full-moon , afterwards, the mtermed1ate days of quarter-moon
were added. By lamp hgbt, m the evemng, on these four
Uposatha Days, the Orders met, by chapters, for the Pitl
mokkha Confess10n, as noticed above No one was allowed
to be absent except m case of severe 1llness, and even then
not unless he could assure the chapter, through some mem-
ber present, that he was guiltless of any mfract1on of the rules
and prohlb1tlons.
s.uldHA..
Vasaa or "Rams" mcluded the four most rainy mootha of
the annual ramy season, begmning some t1me in ]IUHI]uiy.
D1mng thts period all members of the Order were to dwell
permanently m Vtbiras m prox1m1ty to towns or villages;
there was to be no 1tmeratwn except the dally rounds for
food. Th1s rule was partly for health reasons, the forest
dweUmgs, leaf-huts and Itinerations bemg fraught wtth great
danger to the Bh1kkhus themselves, m the excess1ve dampness
of that season , but 1t was more particularly enacted becau1e
complamt had been made that the Bhtkkhus, tramptng about
at the season, when the teemmg vegetable and msect hfe of
that reg10n was so acttve, crushed and destroyed much bfe
and thereby thoughtlessly vtolated the precept agamst
kdhng.
In the enforced lull m theu ordmary mtssionary labors
and thetr sohtary medttatton, they generally pa1d more
attentiOn to giVIng mstructwn to the laity who repa1red to
them m mcreasmg numbers at th1s season.
Pavirani or " Invttatton " was an event at the close of
Vassa when all the Simal}.as met and each asked the rest to
pomt out any fault nottced m h1m whtle they had been
together durmg the " Rams" Then, after all confesstons had
been made and all faults atoned, there was reJOletng that the
Vassa had been passed m harmony
Civaramisa or "Robe-Month" was the month 1mmedtately
succeedmg Vassa It was the t1me especially set apart for
provtdmg the Bh1kkhus w1th nect-ssary robes
Patthirakapakkha or '' Extraordmary-fortntght " was partiC-
ularly the first half of Civaramiisa , but the term was also
apphed to the whole month, and even to the whole of Vassa.
From the first, these t1mes and seasons were made, for the
latty, m a certam sense nolydays The latty were encouraged
to cons1der such t1mes particularly suitable for extraordmary
efforts 1n p1ety and hberality Espec1al ment was to be
gamed by observmg the
11
Etght Precepts" at these t1m.ea
1
and by liberally supplymg the Bh1kkus wtth such th1ngs as
they needed Very early the pract1ce grew up of laying as1de
worldly work and c r ~ on Uposatha Days, of ta1ung liberal
prOVISIOn of good food to the V 1hiras for the Sang ha, and t;>f
spendmg the day there hstenmg to the readmg and exposition
of the Dhamma. The whole of Vassa was spent lll the ame
PALl BUDDHISM
way by the more pious, who then reframed entirely from all
ammal food, though usmg It freely at other bmes; and Vassa
has, not maptly, been called by European scholars, Buddhtst
Lent.
The greatest mertt m connection with these holy days,
however, was to be gatned by observmg the precepts and
mmtstertng to the a l i ~ h a durmg Patthiirakapakkha or
" Extraordmary-fortmght,
1
and most espectally by furmshing
the members w1th needed robes at that time
Such was earhest BuddhlSm-the BuddhiSm fairly derived
from the most authentic sources, the Pih Pttakas . such were
tts Environments, xts Founder, 1ts Philosophy, Its Ethtcs, its
Brotherhood, and Its Special Days That none of these
things long remamed such, 10 the behef and practtce of Its
adherents, xs not strange It xs only another proof that human
nature ts stronger than a sybtem of human philosophy; that
the human soul can be netther successfully denied, nor long
depnved of God and worship ; that atheism and self-seekmg
are the certain destructxon of all that embrace them.
PIN IS
INDEX.
PAGE.
Abhiftdi
1
44
Absalom, 17
Absolute Anmhllat1on, 29
Adherent, 36
Aggregates, 24
Ahmki, 33
Akaraniyini, Cattiri, 40
Akusala-Mii.lim, ... 32
Alira, JI, u
Alexandna, J
Amenca. 34
Anigimi, 31
Ananda, 13, 14
Anathapindaka, 14, 41
Anatta, 24
Anger, 30
Amcca, 24
AnnihilatJOn
1
Absolute, 29
Anottappa, 33
Apostles' Creed, ... 26
Arahi, 28, 29, 31, 34 45
Arahii.sh1p, ... 37, 46
Anya-Atthalig1ka-Magga
1
2 9
33
Anya-Saccim, . 26, 33
Anya-Saccin1
1
Cattiin, 31
Arrogance, 33
Ariipariiga, 31
Aryans, 5, 7
As1a, 38
AS1at1c, I7
1
39
Asoka, 14
1
20,21
Asubhabhivani, 44
Asuras, 23
Atheam, :z:z, 48
PAGE.
Athe1st, u
Atheistic, u
Attachment, 26
1
28, 29
AtthaiJ.ga-Silii.n1
1
... 32
Attnbutes, Subjective, 25
1
27
AVIJJi, 29, 31
B
Babylon, 1
Bala, 33
BaSis of Mag1c power, 33
Bemg, Eternal, ... 28
, Sentient, .. 27
1
28
11
Superhuman, 30
11
Supreme, 22
1
29
Belugii.mako, 14
Benares, r, 10, 12
Bh1kku, 15, 36, 37, 39
1
40,
41, 42, 451 47
Bh1kkhuni, 15
1
45
1
46
11
Sangha, 45
1
46
Bh1kkus, Order of, 36
Bible, 19
B1mbisii.ra, 13
1
41
Buth, 28
Bodh1satta
1
16
BOJJhaligi, 33
Bo Tree, Sacred, u
Brahmii., 9
1
x6, 28, 29
Brahmaloka, 31
Brahrnm, 7
1
8
1
9, II
1
14
1
25,
28,46
Brahmimsm, 8
1
z:a
so
PALl BUDDHISM.
PAGE.
Buddha, I, z, So 9
1
U
1
14,
IS, 16, 17, zs, z6, 30,
31, 32, 34. 36, 39 41, 45
Buddhaghosa
0
19
Buddhism, 1
1
z, 3, s, 6
0
u,
19
1
31
0
:u, 23, Z5
1
z6,
z8, 34, 35, 37, 44 48
BuddhiSt, So 19, ZI, z6, 30,
32, 34 35. 38, 44
Buddhist Lent, .. 48
Burma, I, 23
c
Cakkavi.la, S 24
Calm, 33
Canon, 19, :zo, u, :z8, 34 37
Cathohc18m, 35
Cattii.n Akaraniyim, 40
Cattin Anya-Sacci.nt, 31
Catti.ro N tssayi, . 40
Ceylon, .. 19
Chanda, 15
Chandagutta, 20
Character, Essential, 2S
Chanty, 34
Childers, 27, 28
Chma, 1
Chnst, ... 34
Chnstian, 1, 17, 19, :zo, :z8, 34
Chnstianity, 9
1
19, :z6, 30, 35
Civari, ... 42
Civaramisa, 42, 47
Coenobite, 13
1
38
Coenobites, Order of, 38
Confucius, 1
Contact, 28
ContemplatiOn, . .. 33
Continued Ex18tencf'
1
28
Course, Middle, ...
Creator,
Creed, Apostles', ...
D
Damel, 1
Dasa-Kdesa, 33
Dasa-Paramiti, 34
Dasa-Safl.fiOJiDI
1
30, 33
Dasa-Silini
1
32
David, 17
Davids, Rhys, Il
1
19, :z8
Day, Uposatha, ... 32
Delusion of Ego-Ity, 30
Demon, Serpent, 40
Demon-Tempter, 17
Dependence on Rites, 30
Dependent-Ongmation, 27
Depravities, Ten, 33
Desire, 26, 27, 28, 29, 37, 38
Desire, Extinction of, 28, 29
Deva, 16, 17
Devadatta, 14
Devaloka, 30
Dhamma, 3, 14, 15, 20
1
27,30,
31, 36, 37, 39o 44 4So 47
Dhammacakkappavattana
sutta, 13
Dhammisoka, 20
Dtsciple, Lay, 32, 36, 41
DI&Ctphne, Rules of, :zo
Dtttlu, 33
Doctnnes of Faith, zo
Doubt, 30, 33
Dosa, 33
Dukkha, 24, 27
Dura, 1
INDEX. 51
PAGE.
40
PAGE.
E
Earnest Meditation, 33
Effort, 33
Ego, 2g, go
Ego-ity, 30
Energy, gg, g4
Enghsh, 19
Equammity, g3, 34
11
Med1tat10n on, 44
Essential Character, 25
Eternal Bemg, 28
Ethics, 2
1
26, 30, 31, 48
Europe, I, 34
European, .. 48
Evd Prmc1ples, .. g2
Exertion, Right, ... 30, 33
ExiStence, Continued, 28
ExtinctiOn, 28
11
of Desire, 28, 29
11
Utter, ... 29
Extraordmary-fortmght, 47
48
F
Fa1th, 33
,, Doctrmes of, 20
Female-Ascetic, ... 45
11
Mendicant, 45
Fetters, 30, 3I
1
37
11
Ten, ... 30
FJVe Precepts, ... g6
Folly, ... gg
Forbidden Acts, Four, 40
Form, ... 25
Founder, ... g8, 48
Four Forbidden Acts, 40
,, Noble Truths, g6
Four Resources,
, Stages,
11
Truths,
Fruit,
G
g o , ~
go, 31
GahaptJ, 36
Ganges, 5
Ganget1c, 5
Gayi, 1
Germans, S
God, 22, 2g, go, g8, 48
Gomg-Forth, 39
Gotama, I, 3, 5
1
9, 10
1
II, Ig,
14, 15, I6, I9
1
20, 21, :z:z,
2g, 24, 26, 27, 29, gi, 34
35. 36, 37, 38, 4I, 42, 44t
4546
Great Decease, .. 1 S
, Founder, g8
, Renunciation, I7
1
18
11
Teacher, 20
Greece, 1
Greeks, 5
H
Hate,
Heaven,
Hell,
Henotheism,
Heresy,
Hierarchy,
Himalayas,
Hindu,
Holy One,
Hour1
1
Householder,
g3
2g, 28, gi
23
7
33
38
IO
II
gi
16
1
I7
36
PALl BUDDHISM.
PAGE
I
lddhi, 44
lddhtpida, 33
Ignorance. 27,28,29
1
3I
1
37
Impermanence, 24
Impurtty, Meditation on, 44
lndta, s, 7, 8, IO, IS, I9
lndtan, 5
lndnyii.m, 33
Intuttton, Mysttc, 44
InvesttgatiOn, 33
Invttatton, 47
Jambudipa,
]etavana,
J
3, 5
14,41
Jewels,
Jhii.na,
Joy,
,. Meditation on,
33
44 -45
33
44
JudalSm,
]udea,
K
9
I
Kimarii.ga, 30
Kamma, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29
1
37
Kammam, 27
KanouJ, 1
Kapllavatthu, IO, I3
1
I4
Karma, 27
Karu9Abhivani, 44
Kassapa, I3
Kelts, IS
Khandas, 24
1
25, 26, 27, 29,
30
PAGE.
Khatttyas, 10
Kilesa, Dasa-, 43
Ktndness, 34
Knowledge-Requtsttes, 33
Kohs, 10
Kosalas, 14
Kusmagara, IS
L
Lay-dtsctple, 32, 36 41
Lent, BuddhiSt, 48
Lobha, 33
Lo\'e, Meditation on, 44
Lust, 33
11
for Corporeal Ltfe, 31
11
, Incorporeal Ltfe, 3I
M
Magga, AnyaAtthail.gtka, 33
Magt, I, 16
Mag1c Power, Bas1s of, 33
Mahii. Kappas, 24
Mahipanntbbinasutta, IS
Mahmda, 19
Mina, 3I
1
33
Mira, I7
1
18
Mason, I
Master, 20
Max Mueller, . 28
Miyii., IO, IS, 16
Medta
1
I
MeditatiOn, 33 4I, 44, 45, 47
., Earnest, . . . 33
11
on Equammity, 44
11 11
Impunty, 44
" " Joy, .. 44
11 11
Love, 44
, , Ptty, 44
INDEX.
ss
PAGL
36
38
28,33
17, 34
20
PAGE.
Mendicant, 3, I3, 36, 38, 39
, Female-, 45
Ment, 37, 42
Meru, Mt, ... 5
Metempsychosis, ... 8, 23
1
25
Mettabhivani, 44
M1ddle Course, 38
Mmd, Stxth Sense, 2 5
Moggallii.na, I 3
Moha, 33
Monastery 41
Mon1er Wtllams ... 23
Momsuc, 7
Morality. 34
Mount Meru, 5
Mudltabhii.vanii., 44
Mueller, Max, 28
Miilii.m, Akusala-, 32
Mystic Intu1t10n
1
44
N
Nanda, 13
Nebuchadnezzar, I
New Testament, 35
Ntbbii.na, 13, 26, 27 28, 29,
31, 36, 37. 38
N1rvii.na
1
... 23
N1ssayi, Cattiro, 40
Noble-Etghtfold-Path, 29,
3033
Noble Truths, 26, 27, 36
Northern School, 20
0
Occident, 34
Old-Age, 28
Omntpotent Creator, Z2
Order, 39r 40, 43r 45, 46, 47
11
of Bhtkkus,
,
11
Coenobites,
Organs of Sense, ...
On ental,
Orthodox School,
p
Pabba.i.Ji, 39
Pih, I, 19, 20, u, 28, 34,
35. 37. 48,
Panca-stlim, 32, 36
PanJab, S
PantheiSm, 7
Paramlttii., Dasa- 34
Panmbbii.na, 29, 37
Pii.tahputti
1
.. 20
Path, 22, 23, 26, 27, 30,
33. 36. 37. 38, 44
, Noble-Etghtfold-,29
30, 33
Pattence, 34
Pattgha, ... 30
Pat1kii.rakapakkha, 47
1
48
Pii.Umokkha, 43, 46
Pii.vii., IS
Pavii.ranii. 47
Peepul, 12
Perception, 25
Pers1a, I
Perstan, 5
Phtlosophy, ... 2
1
3I
1
48
P1takas, 1
1
3, u, 48
Plly, Med1tat1on on, 44
PolytheiSm, 7
Poverty, 40
Power, 33
Prajipati, zo, 14, 45
Precepts, 3ll
, Eight, 32, 47
., Ftve, 32
1
36
54
PALl BUDDHISM.
Precept&, Ten,
Pretas,
Pride,
PAGE.
32, 39.40
23
Pr1esthood,
Principles, Evil-,
Protestant, .
3I, 33
38
32
35
40
Puraty of L1fe,
R
Rams, I4
1
20, 41, 42, 47
Rijagiha, II, I3. 14, IS, 41
Rajput, ... 10
Rihula, Io, 13
Rataniim, Satta-, 33
Reason, 25
Recklessness, 33
Recollection, 33
Reformation, 35
Refuges, 36, 39, 40
Renunciation, Great, 17
Requ1s1tes, Knowledge-, 33
Resolution, 34
Resources, Four, .. 40
Rhys Dav1ds, 11, 19, 28
R1ght A1ms, 30
, Deeds, 30
., Exert1on, 30, 33
., L1vehhood, 30
, Med1tat1oo, 30
, Mandfulness, 30
, V1ews, 30
, Words, 30
Rates, Dependence on, 30
Robe.Month, ... 42, 47
Rohm1, 10
Romans, 5
Rules of DJSCiphne, 20
Riipa, 25
Rupariga, 3 t
s
SacciJn, Ariya-,
23,33
Sacred-Bo-Tree,
Sakadigimi,
Sakka,
Sakkas,
Sakkiyad1tthi,
Sil,
PAGE.
la
30
23
10
30
10
1
16
Sa mid hi,
Simal)a,
4445
39, 40, 41, 43. 44
46,47
Simanera, 39, 43, 45 46
Simani, ... 45, 46
Sammappadhina, 33
Sangha, 3, 13, 14, Is, 2o,
32, 36, 37. 38, 39. 40, 42,
43. 45. 46, 47. 48
Sankhira, 2 5
Sanni, 25
Sani'iOJii.m, Dasa-, 30
Sinputta, 13
Sat1patthina, 33
Satta-Rataniim, 33
Sii.vatthi, 14, 15, 4t
School, Northern, 20
, Orthodox, 20
, Southern, 20
Self, 2 3, 24, 30
, Abnegation, 34
,, Concentration, 33
, Exaltation, 3I
Sensataon, 25, 27, 28
Sense, Organs of, 25, 28, 33
Sensuousness, 30
Sentient Bemg, ... 27, 28
Serpent-Demon, ... 40
Seven Jewels, 33
Shamelessness, 33
SilabbataParimisa, 30
Silii.m, Atthati.ga-, 32
, Dasa-, 32
, Patica-, ... 32
1
36
INDJEX,
ss
PAGF.
Slavs, 5
Sloth, 33
Sotipanna, 30
Soul, u, 48
Southern School, zo
Special Days, 48
Stage, 23, 30, 31, 33, 36, 37,
44
SubJective Attnbutes, 25, 27
Suddhodana, 10, I 3 ,14, I 5,
t6, 37. 45
Suffenng, 27, 28, 29
1
31
Superhuman Bemg, 30
Supreme Being,... 2:1
T
Tanha, 26, 27, 28, 29
Teacher, Great, zo
Tempter, Demon-, 17
Ten Deprav1t1es, 33
11
Fetters, 30, 33
, Precepts, 32, 39, 40
11
Transcendent V1rtues,
34
Testament, New, 35
Thales, 1
Thina, 33
Thought, 33
Three Baskets, 19
Three Refuges, .. 36, 40
T1mes and Seasons, 46
T1-p1taka, 19, 21, 35
Transcendent V1rtues, Ten,
34
Translation, Buddh1sm m,
25
Truth,
,. Noble,
Two Refuges,
34
27, 28, 31
39
PAGE.
u
Uddaka, u, u
Uddhacca, 31, 33
Umverse, 24
Upidina, zz, 26
1
27
1
29
Upisaka, 36, 42
Upekkhabhi.vani, 44
Uposatha Day, 32, 37 43
1
46, 47
Uraveli,
Utter-Extmction,
V
V a ~ a 14
1
41
1
47
1
48
Veda, 7, 11
Vedani., 25
Veluvana, 41
V1clk1cchi, 30, 33
V1hi.ra, 14, 41 42, 44, 45
1
46
47
Vmaya, 20
V u:'lnina, .. 2 5
V1rtues, Ten Transcencent,
34
Warren,
Way,
Wdl.
w
Wdhams, Momer,
W1sdom, ...
y
zs, 27
12
33
23
33t 34
Yasodhari., 10, 13
1
14
1
16
17, 45
z
Zoroaster,

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