Tilbe, H.H. - Pali Buddhism (65p)

8/13/2019 Tilbe, H.H. - Pali Buddhism (65p)

1/65


2/65

STUDENT S P Ll SERIES

PALl UDDHISMBY

TILBE, MProfes Pal

IN

RA)IGOON DAPTIST COLLEGEuthor o a PaiL Grammar

RANGOONAI\IRRICA Il B ..P1IST MISSION PRESS1

I , D PHINNE\ 1 SUPT 1lQOO


3/65


4/65

PREFACE

The selections hitherto set for the Pah exammat1ons ofthe Calcutta Umvemty have been taken from the fascmatmgfa1ry-tales and folk-lore of the ]d.takas, from the h1stoncallegends of the Dipavamsa, and from the beautiful poetry ofthe Dhammapada and the Sutta-N1p:ita These select10nsha e contamed many of the techmcal terms and much of thebest teachmg of BuddhismIn e\ery exammat1on, there are questions on the hfe andteachmg of Gotama Buddha, not all of wh1ch are denveddirectly from the portwns of ttxt studied They take forgranted, as S nght, a general aLquamtance w1th the morepromment features of the Buddhism of the Plh P1takasAmong the many books on Buddh1sm, there has beennothmg either cxaLtly ~ u t e d to the needs of our students orw1thm the1r meansThis httle work has been prepared especially to meet thispractical need, and a1ms to furmsh a bnef, reliable, clear,well arranged, and mcxpens1ve outlme of Gotama's real hfeand teachmgIt Is hoped, howe\er, that 1t may find a somewhat w1derusefulness 1t S especially demed that the statement andarrangement, herem giVen, of the doctnnes of ongmalBuddhism may pro"e helpful to misMonanes who have tomeet modern Buddhist beliefs and practices wh1Lh are thelegitimate, and Illegitimate, progeny of those ongmal doctnnes.

The Piih forms of proper names and of techmcal termshave been used throughout, even to the extent of g1vmgGotama mstead of Gautama, Kamma mstead of Karma, andN1bb:i na mstead of N1rviinaMany techmcal terms necessanly occur before they havebeen defined , but the meanmg of any unfamd1ar term canbe quite readily found by the use of the IndexThe text may appear to some marred by a too hberal useof capital letters and quotation marks that md1cate atechn1cal use of words , but the more ready and clear corn-


5/65

iv PREPACEprehensiOn of the meanmg, whtch thts assures, ts beheved tobe ample compensatton

References to ongmal sources have not been gtven , be-cause those for whom the book ts mtended wlil seldom haveetther opportumty or mchnatton-few of them the abthty,even-to consult ongmal texts. Dtrect quotattons of proofpassages, etther m the ongmal Pii lt or m translattons, wereprecluded by the predetermmed bnefness and mexpenstve-ness of the book.Actual quotattons of the language of European andAmencan scholars have been credtted m foot notes , butmany thoughts have been borrowed m modtfied form, thatcould not be thus credtted Everythmg avatlable mEnghsh has been exammed Espectal help has been recetvedfrom 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, forher kmdncss m readmg the final proofs Her sktll detectedmany errors that, otherwtse, would have been overlooked

RANGOON, BuRMA,eptmber IS If OOH H. TILBE.


6/65

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTIONBuddh1sm not a relig10nRehg10n always a growthDIVISIOnsCHAPTER IJambudipaL fe of old Aryans

ChangesTwo burnmg q uest1onsAscetiCismMetempsyckons .. ,A new philosopher ...CH PTERGotama bornmarned, becomes an ascetiC

, becomes Buddha, wms first d sc ples,. rev s ts old home, attams panmbbinaLegends ofCH PTER Ill.DhammaPili Canon..l l hree CouncilsFundamental Doctnnes(1) God and Soul2)-Amcca(3) -Khandas4).-Kammav(S) -Ar1ya-Saccim

a Dukkhah Tanhac N1bbinad Magga

PAGEIz2355677s9IOIOIO1IIJ33IS59992021:Z2424252627272839


7/65

VI CONTENTS.

Four StagesEth1cal System .I) -Five Precepts .. .:z).-Eight Precepts .. .~ Ten Precepts(4) -Evil Pnnciples .5).-Ten Depravmes(6) -Ten Fetters7) -Seven Jewels . 8) -Ten Transcendent Virtues ..Buddha not the peer of ChnstIdeal not attamable ..

CHAPTER IVThe SanghaLay-diSCiples .Doctrme of MentThe 3angha not a pnesthoodSiimana and SamaneraAdmissionFour Forbidden ActsFour ResourcesEight art1cles possessedL1fe m V1harasFoodClothmgDuttes and dally routmeMeditatiOn ...(I) Jhiina

~ . SamiidhiBhikkh uni-SanghaT1mes and Seasons(1). Uposatha Days ...(2). Vassa (3). Pavirana4}. Civaratnasa5). Pat1hii.rakapakkha .Changes m Buddhtsm not strange

PAGE.3031~ 232323233333334343536b3637383939404041414142434444444546464747474748


8/65


9/65

CORRIGENDA.

Page 5 for Sakavala re d Cakkavila10, 14 PriiJii.pati PraJii.pati11, 13 Uravela Uravelii.14 Belugamako Belugii.mako.21 as a 11 as a30 Sakkii.yadtttht , Sakkii.yad1tth13 Das-SaiiiloJii.m , Dasa-Sal1iioJiinl .


10/65

INTRODUCTION.

Three hundred y e a r ~ bt:fore Alexandna was founded,about the t1me that f h a l e ~ , the most auc1ent ph1losopher ofEurope was tea of Dura , and Dame was labonng 1Babylon to L'tab Jsh tht. worsh1p of the true God m Judea,a rt.verend sage who had left a throne for philosophy, wastravehng from Gaya to Benares, and from Benares to Kanouj,exhortmg thL people agamst theft f a l ~ e h o o d , adultery, kllhng,and mt


11/65

2 PALl BUDDHISM.Buddh1sm, however, accordmg to a true defimt1on of theword rel1pon or any purely techmcal use of the term, IS

not a rehg1on. It does truly adm1t, m a mod1fied way, nearlythe whole pantheon of early Hmdu1sm and all the demons,ghosts, spntes and fames that belong to the wild superstitiOnsof half savage peoples , but yet Jt nowhere adm1ts any re lgod or any superhuman bemg worthy of worship , 1t has notemples, Jt admits nellher altars nor :.acnfices; 1t has notrue pnests 1t knows no prayers, no ntual no rehg10us ntesof any kmdBuddh1sm s s1mply an atheistic system of Philosophy andEth1cs-a Philosophy of humamty m 1ts environment, soclear, so profound, so positive, that 1t IS destmed not only toastomsh, but to largely mod1fy at no d1stant day, the thoughtof the West Eth1cs wh1ch have already begun to awakensurpnse and admJrauon m many who had not beheved thatany good thmg could come out of heathemsmIn a broader, more popular use of the word, however,Buddh1sm s a rehg10n and IS nghtly stud1ed as suchm connection w1th other great rehgwns that have mfluencedlarge masses of menA rehg10n s always a growth No rehgwn ever started asan absolutely new and completely perfected system , but each,w1th constant changes, developed out of somethmg, or m connection w1th somethmg, that went before Cunously enough,th1s word powth m th1s connection partakes of both sensesm wh1ch 1t IS used, respectively, of orgamc developement andof morgamc mcrease for m rehg10n, there IS always somethmg that hke the pnnc1ple of hfe, IS self-developmg fromWlthm, accordmg to regular org.m1c law, whde, at the samet1me, there are whole masses of outer accretiOns hke the

ghttermg stalactites and stalagmites of a calcareous cavern, orthe slimy alluvial flats of a great nver deltaTo understand any rehg10n, then, one must study 1tsgrowth, from the three stand pomts - I) The ends proposed,2) The means proposed,3) The modus operandr proposedThe first of these, m any purely human system, willdepend almost ent1rely on the environments am1dst wh1chthe system takes 1ts nse The second will depend very


12/65

INTRODUCTION. 3largely on the founder of the system-that one who firstdefimtely states the germtnal truths of the system and beginsthetr active propagatton The thtrd w11l depend partly onthe founder of the system and partly on the fundamentalpnnctples of the system.So the study of a rehg10n falls naturally m to four dtvtstons,- the Land of tts Rtse Its Founder Its Doctrmes . ItsInstitutions.The fact of growth, both by developement and by accretton,s very patent m Buddhtsm whtch lays no clatm to dtvme ongmor superhuman mterventton of any kmd but ts confessedly

the product of pure human mtuttlon Our study of thatgrowth wtll fall mto four chapters - . Jambudipa Indta, 6oo-soo B CII. Gotama the probable hfe of Gotama Buddha, wtthsome of the legendary talesIll. Dhamma the fundamental prmctples of the systemas denved from the Pttakas.IV. Sangha the Order of Mendtcants


13/65


14/65


15/65

6 PALl BUDDHISMthese lands from the1r conquered foes Sometimes theyturned as1de from fightmg With the1r foes to quarrels amongthemselvesThey were a s1mple patnarchal people, each father bemgruler and pnest m h1s own fam1ly.The1r women were accorded equahty and were treated w1threspect and tendernessAs a wandermg people, theu wealth consisted ch1efty mcows , though they knew and possessed other domesticammalsThey oebeved that each mdlVIdual had a soul that am matedh1s body m hfe and contmued to hvt: even after the body sd1ssoluhon , and they accorded souls not only to men but alsoto other ammals and even to mammate objt:CtsThey worsh1ped a number of powerful gods wh1ch weredoubtless de1ficauons of heavenly bod1es and of the forces ofnature.Though very rehg1ous, they had qu1te loose not1ons ofmorahtyThe hfe they hved was s1mple, free, and happy 1 there wasgenerally an abundance of hfe s few s1mple necess1t1es , andthere were few caresBut by the t1me of the nse of Buddh1sm, there had comeabout great changes I he old wandermg predatory andpastoral hfe had been abandonedThe1r wealth no longer cons1sted m cows alone , but mfields of grams and gardens of fru1ts, bes1des palaces and gemsand chanots and other luxunes of c1v1hzed hfeThe h o u ~ e h o l e r was no longer patnarchal ruler andpr1est , for they had become d1v1ded mto classes ruled bypetty ch1efs, and there had ansen a spec1al class who assumedthe dut1es and cla1med the nghts of pnesthoodSuch of the1r dark predecessors as had not been destroyedor 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 ofrank and class the learned pnest easily took precedence,c:la1mmg d1vme descent w1th d1vme powers and requmngdlvme honors , the warnors came next m power and honor ,below them, was the great body of farmers, merchants, andartizens These d1stmct1ons among themselves and between


16/65

JAIIIBUDIPA 7themselves and the darker slaves, had alreadv settled toto thehard and cruel system of caste whtch for thirty centuries hasbeen a bhght on the mass of Indta s peopleThe stmple worsh1p of the old-tlme dettles had become anelaborate system of sacrtfices and ntual HenotheJSm hadbeen swallowed up m polytheism ; and th1s, m turn, hadgtven way to pantheism of most ngtd momst1c type Therehad been developed the doctrme of one God who was notonly supreme over all else m the umverse but was the onlyreal existence all else that appeared-gods, men, animals,mammate thmgs,-were but emanatwns from htmUnder such circumstances life for the masses could not butbe full of e\tls and hardshtps and mequahues.y the grt:at maJonty, no doubt, the suffenng and wrong ofthts VI IOUS artdictal hfe were borne wtth the dull apathy ofdense Ignorance and dark superstitiOn , but there were somem all classes who were askmg two burnmg ql esnons,-(1) Whence comes all this unequal suffenng m the hvesof 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 ceremomes, were the exclusive nghts of the htgh-caste Brahm1ns;and no one from another caste could by any means ever attamto them But a knowledge of some parts of the Vedas and allsecular learmng were open to any one m either of the othertwo castes of the real Aryans, and there arose from thetrranks many philosophers and reformers N.evoltmg from theorthodox crf ed and the settled customs of society, theydthgently sought and zealously taught new schemes for theamehoratJon of the evtls of hfe and for the explanatton of ttsmystenesThere was an almost umversal behef m the sanctity ofascettctsm, and m the efficacy of penance, m gatnmg superhuman power and mstght , and the whole land was full ofascetics These. dad m yellow rags, etther hved apart frommen, dwelhng as hermtts m the great forests, eatmg onlyleaves and roots and frultS found about them, and spendingthetr whole time m deep and myst1c meditation ; or elaewandered from place to place surrounded by bands ofadmtrmg dtsctples, eatmg alms begged from house to house,


17/65

8 PALl BUDDHISMspendmg the1r t1me m teachmg the new doctnnes they hadformulated or m mod1fymg those doctrmes m d1scuss1onsWith the Brahmms or w1th other mendicant philosopherslike themselvesThe ch1ef obJect of theu mqu1ry and the mam burden ofthe1r teachmg was the answer sought and belteved to havebeen found, to those two burnmg questions as to the ongmand escape of life s ev1lsThere s an mnate sense of JUStice m man, wh1ch expectsnght-domg to be rewarded .md wrong-domg to be pumshed ;and 1s ever ready to explam present cond1twns by formerdeeds Unfortunately, however the f o ~ t s of hfe do not alwayssupport the theory of Just1ce-good men suffer m hfe and d1eunrequited , bad men prosper m evil and pass away unpunished How are tht se mcons1stenc1es to be c::xplamed ?It was to meet th1s difficulty, that the doctnne of Metempsy-clzons was formulatedIt IS the spmtual self, the undymg oul, that nctuates thebodv m all 1t does and s therefore the real author of alldeeds, good or bad Mamfestly, therefore, 1t s the soul thatmust be pumshed or rewarded-If not m th1s ltfe, then msome other So the soul at the death of the body must pass1nto another body-good or b o ~ d h 1 g h or low, d1vme or humanor bestial, ammate or mammate, as 1ts circumstances mayrequ1re-m wh1ch 1t shall rece1ve the JUSt recompense ofwhat 1t has done before That new hfe w11lm the same wayrequ1re another and that another and so on, d m/inztumThiS Metempsychons was the pracucally umversal answerwh1ch both the Brahmms and the ph1losophers of Ind1aaccepted to that first questwn as to the ongm of the suffermgand seemmg wrong m the hves of men

But in trop1cal, caste-curst Ind1a, ltfe Itself IS suffermg, andthe unendmg senes of existences m Metempsyclzosrs seemedthe greatest, the most unendurable ev1l of all so the secondquest1on, as to how ev1l m1ght be averted or escaped, gameda thousand-fold 111 ImportanceHere, too, one answer had been umversally act epted-theanswer of Brahmm1smSlowly, step by step, through many centunes had therehg1ous and phdosophtcal teachers of that great peoplebeen workmg out that answer At last they had rested m


18/65

J MliUDIP

Brahma. the supreme God, the All-soul, the One He wasthe only real existence , all else was mere emanat1on fromh1m Mamfestly man's only possible release from the evd ofcontmued hfe, lay m reabsorpt1on mto Brahma. from whachhe had emanatedThe Brahmms taught that th1s reabsorption could beattamed only by means of sacnfites and Ved1c rttes, throughthe pnests the ph losophers declared 1t could be more certamly and more read ly attamed by md1vidual effort mpenance and m myst1c med1tat10nSuch were the environments am1dst wh1ch there arose aphilosopher who gave new and starthng answers to thosequestions as to the ongm of evil and how It m1ght be ebeaped ,who wrought out m connectiOn w1th those answers a systemof absolutely atheiSt , the pure::.l and best ever promulgatedouts1de of Chnsuamty and Jud:usmTh1s new philosopher was Gotama, the Buddha


19/65

CHAPTER 11. GOTA MA

At the foot of the H t m a l a y a ~ . about one hundred milesN N-W of the modern c1ty of B e n . u e ~ , there was, m thesrxth century B C an msrgmficant clan, or trrbe, calledSakkas In Kap1lavatthu, the prmctpal town ofth1s tnbe, therehved a petty Ch1ef or Raj put, n o ~ m e d Suddhodana, who hadtwo wrves, both daughtt.rs of another petty Chref whose landsla} on thP oppo tte b o ~ n k ofthe Rohm1 Both of t h e ~ e queenswere chtldless, untrl, m her forty fifth year, the elder, M ~ y ibrought forth a sonHe was born under a Sal tree, whtle I n ~ > mother w a ~ on theway to the home of her parents to be confined there, accordmg to the custom of h o ~ e t1mes The child and h1s motherwere taken bac.k to S u d d h o d o ~ n a s house, where May.i. dred onthe seventh day The child was adopted and reotred by hrsaunt, the younger queen, PraJapatr and w a ~ named GotamaAccordmg to the custom of Ind1a, unl\ersal then as now,he WdS m o ~ r r r e d young, takmg as bnde, m h t ~ mneteenthyear, hts own c o u ~ m V a ~ o d h o i T d . the daughter of hts mother'sbrother, the Chref of tht. Koh > In h1s twenty-nmth year, htswrfe bore hrm therr fir t and only c.lulu-a bon, RahulaGotama seems to have been, from vouth, of a contemplativemmd and, although belongmg to the Khattrya caste, doesnot appeo1r to have been tramed to the p r o f e ~ s 1 0 n o f a r m ~ , butwas allowed to 11tudy the permrtted portwns of the Vedasand to spend the m o ~ > t of h1s ttme m the open atr m qmetcontemplatron

Though, as prmce, he hrmself was c o ~ r e f u l l y shrelded fromthe hardshrps and unpleasant features of hfe, he could not bemsensrble to the d1re suffermg of the m o ~ s s e s of the t.ommonpeople about h1m, o1nd h1s natural tenderness of heart, aswell as hrs mclmatron toward phtlosophtcal contemplation,led htm trreslstlbly mto the deep study of the c a u s e ~ and cureof hfe's woesHe was probabl) not the first-he was certamly not thealst-who m the m t d ~ t of prospenty and comfort, has felt a


20/65

GOTAXA 11yearnmg and a want wh1ch noth1ng could satisfy, and whtchha\e robbed of the1r charm all earthly gams and hopes. Tbt&vague d1ssat1sfactJon deepens w1th every fresh proof of theapparent vamty of hfe, and does not lose but gams m powerwhen, as IS reported m the case of Gotama. t ar1ses morefrom sympathy w1th the sorrows of others than from anypersonal sorrow of one's ownAt last, the details of hfe become msupportable , and thecalm hfe of the herm1t troubled w1th none of these thmgsseems a haven of peace, where a hfe of self den1al and earnestmeditation may lead to some solutiOn of the strange emgmasofhfe It was at the moment when Gotama had reached thtspomt that they announced to h1m the b1rth of h1s son.Reahzmg how strong thl > new tie would become, he determmed to bredk at once and to abandon the hfe he hadh1therto led, for the undisturbed med1tat1on of the forestherm1t and the severest penances of ascettcJsm, m order thathe m1ght 1f poss1ble, d1sco"er the causes and the cure ofhuman suftenngAbandomng h1s home that very mght Without ever hav1ngtaken h1s ch1ld m h1s arms, he hastened awa) to Rijagahaand attached h1mself first to Aldra and afterwards to Uddaka,Brahmm a ~ c e t c s who were dwelhng m htlls1de caves nearthat c1ty From these teachers he learned all that Hmduph1losophy had to teach concernmg hfe here and hereafter.D1ssaLJsfied w1th whdt he got from these Brahmms, he wentaway to the Jungles of Uravela where he >ought for h1mselfby means of hts own med1tat1on and severest penance, otheranswers to those questions now burmng so fiercely m hiSheart

There, attended by five faithful adherents, for s1x years besta1 ved and harrassed and macerated h1s body, until the fameof h1s self-morttfi1.at1on spread "abroad hke the sound of agreat bell hung m the canopy of the sk1es " But 1t was allto no purpose He a


21/65

PALl BUDDHISMThereupon hts diSgusted compantons forsook h1m and wentaway to Benares

As he gradually regamed strength, he gave h1mself up todeep thought without austere penance Seatmg h1mselfunder a large Peepul tree, to be known afterwards as theSacred-Bo-Tree, he descended mto deeper and deeperdepths of profound med1tat10n F1rst of all, he rev1ewed h1shfe and the efforts m wh11 h, o far, he had so s1gnally failedAll he had learned, all he had beheved, all he had trusted m,hitherto, had onl} proved false All h1s labors and selfmfhcted suffermg h.id been of no ava1l That wh1ch hesought seemed no uedrer than on th tt far-away mght whenbe had broken aw.1y from the twmmg love of w1fe and c.hlldThen came the temptallon to abandon the futile .1ttemptto solve the mystenes of hfe, returmng to the ease andluxury of hi& old home and to the tender care&ses of h1sbeautiful w1fe and mfant sonBut m h1s heart of hearts, he knew that these would notsat1sfy , the old unrest of h1s soul would never be lulled untilhe should gam satisfactory answers to those momentousquest10ns concernmg the ongm and cure of woe He c.ouldnot 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 bodyalmost fa1led the too m tense act1v1ty of h1s mmd, he emergedtnumphant h1s quest10ns were answered , he had dttamed toabsolutely pertect knowledge , all mystenes had \J.mshed ,bfe and suffermg and release were clearly under:.tood , henceforth he was Buddha- EnlightenedAt first he was tempted to keep the knowledge of h1sd1scovery to hun :>f:lf, behevmg that the truths he hadfathomed were beyond the mtellectual reach of other men ,and h1s Way' ' too d1fficult for them to follow to the goal ofrelease But h1s plt} for men m theu Ignorance and suffenng soon led h1m to determme to attempt the1r salvationHe thought of hs first teachers, AIA.ra and Uddaka , butfindtng that they were dead, he determmed to make the fivecompamons of h1s s1x years of self mort1ficauon the firstsharers m h1s l e ~ e d discovery and went to Benares m searchof them and preac.hed to them h1s first dtscourse m wh1chwere set forth the fundamental prmctples of h1s new system


22/65


23/65


24/65

GOTAliA. ISazaog that he could not hve long, he spent such strength ashe could command m exhortmg h1s Sangha to a firmadherence to, and zealous propagauon of that Dhammathought out and revealed by (me ) h1mself And thuexhortatiOn he contmued after Vassa, travehng slowly fromplace to place m order to VISit bands of has Bh1kkhusscattered throughout the land, from Savatthi to RijagahaThe words of these final exhortataons and d1scourses arepreser ..ed m the M c ~ h a p a n m b b a n a s u t t a or Discourse on theGreat Decease "H1s death occured at Kusmagara, m the e1ght1eth 3 ear ofh1s age, probably somewhere about 420 B C The Irnmediate cause of h1s death was the eatmg of nee and porkfurmshed by a Lay-dscple, the goldsm1th Chanda, as he waspassmg through h1s v1llage PavaH1s obsequte r were after the style of the g r e a t e ~ t kmgs,and after h1s body was burned hrs calcmed bones were savedas rehcs to be reveredSuch 1s the outhne of the probably real hfe of h1stoncalGotama, entitled BuddhaBut 1t was 1mposs1ble that the ferv1d poetrcal temperamentof h1s Onental followers should have been long content Withthe matter of fact deta1ls of Gotama's real biography, and atIS not surpn rmg t h c ~ t t h e ~ mterwove mto their accounts ofh1s hfe many 1mposorble legends and muaculous fables untilthe whole s so hkt. a myth of Eastern f c ~ n c y that It s wellmgh 1mposs1ble to separate the true from the false, or to assertw1th certamty that there ever was an h1stoncal Gotama at all.The petty cluef ~ u d d h o d c ~ n c ~ a n d 1t IS utterly 1mposs1blethat the facts could have been other than as representedabove -1s by wtldest legend represented as Unl\ersalMonarch, ruhng over many subjeCt prmces of w1de domamsH1s ms1gmficant hut become&" palace of most magmficentproportion, filled with every luxury that Onental voluptuousness could enJOY or Onental tmagmat10n conce1ve HISnches and royal state are made so grand as to out-nval thegorgeous magmficence of those h1stoncal Maha R.iJi'l who,centunes later, did found m India empJres of mtghty powerand fabulous wealthMayi's conception becomes a miraculous event The Queenslept beside her lord, when, amidst s1gns of most ecstatic Joy,


25/65

16 PALl BUDDHISM.10 wh1ch the elements of nature and all C'reatures of the earthtogether w1th bemgs that mhab1ted the unous Hea\-ens andHells took part, the Bodh1satta descended from the sk1es 10the form of a male wh1te elephant and entered her nght s1deShe awoke filled wtth "bh >b beyond a mortal Mother's'' andtold her dream to rhe gray Maet who foretold a son, tobecome Umversal Monarch wtth power extendmg over thewhole known wo1ld , or else to become a Buddha who shouldenhghten the world With the knowledge of salvatiOnNo less muaculous her confinement Lymg m theshade of the Sal tree, she b surrounded by mnumerableDevas who mii'Jster to her comfurt The god Brahmadescended from hts H e o ~ v e n and took from M a : ~ - a s nght stdethe noble bemg who tmmedt.ttely strode seven paceb towardsthe East and declared m a vo1ce thdt filled all the world- Iam the chtef of the worldKmsmen o ~ n d subJects are represented as a p p r o o ~ c h m g kmgSuddhodana, a few years later, with wmplamts that the youngPrmce who Wdb bOle heir to his \ast sway w.ts not bemgtramed l those arts and sciences whtch would make h1m dsafe ruler to be trusted w1th the kmgdom after Suddhodanahimself should pass a w a : ~ Tht PI mt.e hearmg th1s, determmed to exhibit his real prowess and appomted a day forthat purposeSurrounded by an Immemt: retmue, m the prebenLe of6o,ooo of his relati vcs, he performed most miraculous featsthat proved h1m mcomparable m archery, m horsemanshtp,and m each of the other Mxteen t-hief artb and scient.es, dSwell as m many lesser onesThere s no reh.tble data for behevmg that Gotama everhad other conJugal compamon than hts one wife, Yasodhara;but the legends give htm 40,000 concubmes, eac..h a pnncesswtth the r o ~ v s h m g charms of a HourzThe ambttJous Suddhodana Is represented as determmedthat hts son shall fulfill the first predJctJOn of the agt andbecome Umversal Monarch, so he guards e\ery pnmt agamstthe Prmce's evident tendency towards the hfe of a recluse;but the legends represent most marvelous precautions thwarted by superhuman mterventJons The Impressionable youngPrmce was on four different occasiOns ternbly o ~ g 1 t a t e d by

A be1og destmed to become a Buddha


26/65

GOTAMA I7vtsions m which a Deva successtvely tmpersonated a beggar,pttlable m the palsted decay of old age ; a leper, htdeous inthe deformtty of h1s foul and mcurable d1sease a cor\'se,loathsome m 1ts swollen putndtty a mendtcdnt ascetic whosecalm demeanor betokened an mner hfe of undtsturbed peace.Hts chanoteer was msp1red by the Devas to mterpret thesevtstons so w1sely that the Prmce was trres Sttbly andtrrevocably led to the Great Renunctatton."The Great Renunc1at1on" 1tself 1s sel forth m terms ofwildest 1magery All the wealth of troptcal colormg, all theresources of Onentalimagmauon, and all the tricks of As1at1crhetoric are exhausted m the effort to magmfy the v1rtue ofthat actThe fabled magmficence and luxury of h1s father's courthas already been noticed , 1t was all mvented chiefly to bearon th1s pomtThe entlcmg lovelmess of that royal harem of 4o,ooo o t ~ T Ipnncesses 1s dwelt upon and re1terated m forms of Onentalsensuousness of exprc&swn utterly dtsgustmg to the Westernmmd 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, ISrepresented as of a punty and mtenstty that would nval ourmost exalted tmagmatwn of the devotion of a Chnstlanhusb:md to the one only \Voman m all the world whoselovelmess had ever fascmated or whose charms had everbeen enJoyedH1s almost unconquerable longmg for h1s mfant son ISptctured m terms that tame that outburst of parental angutsh wh1ch escaped from the heart of the stncken Davtd- 0 my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom I would God

had dted for thee, 0 Absalom, my son, y son r"And yet, from all that was so difficult to yield, from all thoseties so hard to sever, he IS represented as resolutely tearmghtmself away, that he mtght go forth to a lonely ascettc hfeand, " by a long senes of mcredible self-demals and hardshtps, become Buddha, and so save the world."The natural doubts and mental struggles of the hermitphilosopher become, 10 the legendary accounts, fierceconft1cts with the Demon-Tempter, Mara, 1n whtch, wtthrn1raculous powers, he barely gams the victory over forces


27/65

J PALJ BUDDHISM.~ r c e l y less miraculous and powerful than h1s own Especiallyr,ewsome were h1s conf11cts w1th Mira on the mght of hiSGreat Renunc1at1on, and on that other mght of struggle,which preceded h1s attamment of BuddhahoodThe legendary accounts are full of most astound1ngmiracles wh1ch are not, however, worthy of cons1derat1on ;for they are generally so useless and almost always sopuerde and extravagant that they only mar what they weremtended to adorn.


28/65

CHAPTER 111. DHAMMA.

Except Chnstlamty, no other system of behef among menever developed so many var1ous and mcons1stent, evenantagomst1c, schools or sects, as BuddhismW1th Its more modern developments, 1t IS no part of thepurpose of th1s work to deal , but rather wtth the ongmalsystem as promulgated by Gotama himself and hlS earhestfollowers.We naturally seek our knowledge of that ongmal systemID the earhest Buddhist wntmgs or scnpturesThe Pii.h Canon, known as T1-p1taka or Three Baskets,

IS estimated to contam about tw1ce as many words as theChristian B1ble , translated mlo Enghsh, about four ttmes asmany It IS d1v1ded 1 as the name md1t.ates, mto three partst he first s devoted largely to rules for the gutdance of theSang ha , the second IS devoted particularly to doctrmal andethical teachmg , the th1rd, wh1ch appears to be later thanthe other two, contams additiOnal doclrmal and ethical teach-mg, together wtth some metaphysical dtscusstonsThese Buddhtst scnptures arc essentially different from tkescnptures of all other systems, m that they do not clatmdtvme msp1rat1on or superhuman mterventlon of any kmd ;but are confessedly the product of pure human mtu1t1onTheir present form dates back to Buddhaghosa who hvedin the end of the fourth and begmnmg of the fifth centunes,A. D., so between e1ght and nme centunes after the death ofGotama Buddha.It IS claimed that Buddhaghosa retranslated 1nto Pih theSmhalese translation made by Mabmda from an ongmalPii.h text wh1ch had unfortunately been lost before Buddha-ghosa's time. It IS further cla1med that this ongmal Pilitext had been earned from India to Ceylon by Mahmdahimself, Immediately after the last of the three councils

Rhya Dhvids- , dd sm," p. n.


29/65

JO PALl BUDDH[Sl\1which were held for the purpose of collectmg the sayings ofthe Master and fixmg, m accordance therewtth, the dtsctphneof the Sang ha, and the Dhamma to be taughtThe iirst of these counctls 1s satd to have assembled m theRams 1mmed1ately sucteedmg Gotama's death , andconsiSted of five hundred members of the Saugha who, withKa sapa ab their chosen leader, recited the precepts of theirGreat Teacher and took the first steps towards a methodicalarrangement m two collections, Vmaya and Dhamma, con-s1stmg, respectively, of rules of diSCipline for the Sangha andof ethical and dottrmal teachmg There Is no mtlmationthat at that time any thmg was fixed m wntmgSome time later grave departures from the rules of diSCI-phne began to be common among the members of theSa11gha which was becommg spht mto two parties, anorthodox party, favonng adherence to the rules established,and a laxer party, favonng certam mdulgences or relaxationsof those rules second council was held somewhere about350 B C, conststmg of seven hundred members In thiscouncil, the prmctples of the orthodox party prevalled , theten mdulgences were prohibited , the Rules of Dtsctphneand the Uoctnnes of Fa1th were agam rehearsed and vmdl-cated The decisions of this council, however, were notaccepted by all , large numbers of the laxer party becameestranged , the first open schism after Gotama's deathoecurred , and the history of dlffenng and antagomst1cschctols and sects was begunA third council was held at P:itahputta somewhere about240 B C , under the patronage of Asoka, called Dhamm:isoka,the grandson of Chandagutta It consisted of a thousandmembers and, hke the second counctl, was convened to settlecontroversies m the Sangha In this council, the Rules ofDiscipline 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 iih Canon wasreduced to WI Itmg. t s certam, at least, that the art of

A fourth council was held about the begnnmg of the ChnstiOD era buttwas wholely 1n the power of the leas o r t h o d o ~ Northem School a11d had nobearmg whatever O the Pb Canoo


30/65

DHAMMA,wntmg was well known to Asoka who used 1t very w1dely 1npubhshmg BuddhJst1c ed1cts m the Pii h language throughouth1s extended emp1re Asoka seems to have been the ruhngspint not only m thiS th1rd counc l but m all the Immediatelysubsequent history of B u d d h ~ m It IS not probable that sow1se a kmg would have let hp the advantages gamed 10 thecouncil, w1th the means m h1s hand for fixmg them And it1s qu1te clear that the Pii h Canon w s 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 mport1ons of the T1-p1taka Itself, but the th1rd council 1s not.ThiS g1ves safe ground for the mferences that port1ons of thePih Canon cannot be older than the second counc1l, and thatall1ts present contents were rece1ved at the t1me of the third.Not all, then of the present Pii h Canon can be sat1sfactonlytraced back beyond 250 B C , most of 1t IS known to be mucholder , and port10ns of 1t undoubtedly g1ve us the realthoughts, 1f not the very words, of Gotama h1mselfThe Pih P1takas, therefore, may safely be accepted asareliable-of all so far known, certamly the most rehablesource of mformat1on as to what was the ongmal system wh1chGotama h1mself promulgatedIt must be remembered m th1s connectiOn, that Gotamad1d not leave an Immature, embryomc system but that h1sdoctrmes had become fully developed and clearly stated longbefore h1s death A long and strong hfe had gone mto thedevelopment and statement of those doctnnes The SIX yearsof man's most act1ve and mdependent mental power-from29 to 35-he spent m determmmg the fundamentals ofh1s system and in shapmg the forms of the1r expressiOn , thenm w1de promulgation among peoples who were at firstunmterested, m pnvate and pubhc d1scuss1ons w1th thebitterest and keenest antagomsts, m c.onstant teachmg ofenthusiastic adherents-the three most exacting methodsknown to man-he spent forty-five years m developmg hiSsystem and perfectmg h1s forms of statement , and they werethe years that cover the whole of the pnme of man's mentalpower and the npeness of age, wh1ch does not yet partakeof decay.In arproachmg the careful exammatJon of its more fundamenta doctnnes, one must constantly hold 1n mmd the


31/65


32/65

DHAMMA.perfectly enhghtened man He peopled the world with 1ixforms of sentient bemgs-I, gods, 21 men; 3, animals; 41Asuras or devils (mcludmg spntes and fames); s Pretas orghosts , 6, bemgs undergoiDg torment I the vanous heiiLThe gods were I no sense supenor to the other forms of life,except that they were temporanly occupymg a more bhssfulabode They were subject to the umversallaw ofd1ssolution,and after death were succeeded by others, so that there was notone Brahmii. or Sakka, but many s u c c e S ~ > I v e de1t1es so named,and many classes of de1t1es under them. They had no powerof affectiDg any person's salvatiOn On the contrary, theyhad to see to the1r own, and were mfenor to the perfected man When any one of the s1x classes of bemgsd1es, he must be born agam ID some one of the same sixclasses, for there are no other possible ways of hfe. f he beborn agaiD ID one of the bells he Is not thereby debarred fromseekmg salvation, and even If he be born ID heaven as a god,he must at some t1me or other leave It and seek after ahigher state still-that of the perfect man who has gamedNirvina tIn Gotama's system, all sentient ex1stence was thus reallythe same and any particular temporary form-whether as god,or man, or demon, c -was contmually chang1Dg1 subject tothe particular bemg's own control, as any particular formdepended entuely on the voluntary act1ons of that particularbemg m a former existence It must not be supposed, however, that Gotama received the doctnne of metempS) cllasrs mthe sense of a contiDually ex1stmg soul passmg on from onehfe mto another, from one form of ex1stence to another. Hed1d not predicate, but demed, soul m th1s ever changmgsentient existence Just as he had reJected the 1dea ofBrahmii. or any real God, so, too, he r e ~ e c t e d utterly the 1deaof soul, of any self or Ego apart from orgamzed beiDg BeliefI a soul or self was another of those three pnmary deluSionswhich had to be got nd of ID the first stage of h1s Path.There 1s nothmg m the doctrmal part of h1s system thatGotama more strenuously ma1ntamed or made more essentialto the acceptance of h1s system than the reJeCtion of these

For one exception, see under Th1rd Stage, p 31, tlus workt Mon11r Wlb.Lm&- BuddhJsm, pp 121-IU


33/65

PALl BUDDHISM.two heresies or delusions as to the eXIstence of any soul orspintual self-human and d1vme(2) -Amcca or Impermanence''Gotama1 ID denymg a Personal Creator and m rejecting theidea of soul or spirit m any sense const1tutmg separate andeternal entity, d1d not therefore assume the eternal existenceof matter He held that the mammate umverse, hke senbent bemg, was contmually changmg m 1ts passage throughan unendmg cycle of existences Indeed, he d1d not recognize any essential difference between ammate and mammate, as to either cause or contmuance He recogniZed noreal ezng but an ever-changmg, never-endmg becomzngThrough countless Mahikappas, each cons1stmg of aeons ofages, the destruction and renovation of a Cakkavila or11 Umverse goes on Slowly out of nothmgness s Itevolved by the Kamma of 1ts predecessor and as :;lowly IS Itswallowed up agam mto absolute nonentity, out of wh1ch itsKamma wtll Immediately evolve another universe to succeed It.Kamma and the uccesston of cau e and effect are constant,eternal, but as1de from these two abstract Ideas, of everythmg else-1nammate, animate, or mental-Impermanence andunreahty are reiterated and ms1sted on, m all h1s teachmgs

11All the constituents of bemg are Impermanent 11 I s thefirst of the three great postulates of Gotama's system Theother two simply change the predicate to pamful andwithout-Ego, respectively. These three predicates wereprescnbed as subjects of constant meditation , and weredoubtless from the first often repeated m melancholy monotone hke the intermmable refram of hopelessness now heardat the pagodas where h1s Idolatrous devotees of today tell thebeads of their rosanes and prostrate themselves before h1splacid Idols with constantly reiterated- Amcca I Dukkha IAnatta I Amcca I Dukkha I Anatta I (3).-Khandas or AggregatesHaving demed to sentient bemg the possession of a soul orseparate spmtual and ab1dmg entity, Gotama made such be1ngconsist of an ::ssemblage of five Khandas or Aggregates, asfollows.-

lmpcrmaaeat I Pamful1 W1thout-Ego I


34/65

DHAllllA..(a), Riipa or Form - the collection or aggregate omaterial attnbutes of whtch twenty-e1ght are mentioned.(b), Vedanii or Sensat1on - the aggregate of the sixclasses of sensatiOns recetved by the stx senses (mmd IS thesiXth), which are further dtvtded mto e1ghteen classes accordtag as any one pleasant, pamful, or mddferent(c), Saiifii\ or Perceptton - the aggregate of the sixclasses of abstract 1deas whtch correspond with the six. classesof sensations(a'), Sankhira or SubJeCtive Attnbutes - the aggregateof fifty-two attnbutes of subJeCttve dtscnmmauone), Vtiiiiina or Reason - the aggregate of the powersof thought or consctousness.These five Khandas compnse absolutely all that belongs to,or goes to make up, sent1ent bemg , Because these sum upand class1fy, accordmg to the1r affinttles, all the constituentsof bemg, and mclude all other classifications For m classifymg, accordmg to the1r affimues, the many d1fferentconstituents of bemg, form constitutes one group and comprises everythmg that has any affimty to form , sensationconstitutes another group and compnses everythmg that hasaffimty to sensat1on Stm1larly w1th perceptiOn and the rest.Accordmgly he (Buddha) la1d down only five groups, becausethese s.um up and class1fy1 accordmg to the1r affimt1es, all theconstituents of being 4) -Kamma or Essential CharacterAstde from d1vme revelation, the doctrme of metempsy-cno ts probably can not be dtsproved , and tf 1t m1ght bebeheved, 1t certamly would afford a most satisfactory explanation of otherwise mexphLable mysteries m the hves of men.

It IS not surpriSing, therefore, that Gotama adopted themam features of the doctrme But hts demal of soul and hispecuhar doctnne of the Khandas made 1t tmposstble for htmto accept the soul-transm1grat10n theones of the BrahmansWithout radtcal modtficatton So we have hts own pecuhardoctnne of Kamma Ltteraliy, the word means- domg,deed act m thts techmcal sense 1t means- theresults of domg, the accumulated balance of merit or Warren- Buddh1sm m Translat1oas, 156-157


35/65

PAL[ BUDDHlSM.demerit, sspeaally 11 the condttton of that balance at the endof any particular extstenceAccordmg to th1s theory, at the death of any senttent bemg,a new bemg-that s a new assemblage of Khandas-1s Immediately produced by Upiidii.na ' or Attachment, andthe cond1t1ons of the extstence of the new bemg are determmed by the Kamma of Its predecessor that has JUSt d1ed.The productton of the new assemblage of Khandas 1s stmultaneous w1th the dissolution of the old , and the new bemgbecomes a contmuat10n of the old-not by the transmigratiOnof a soul or any personal Identity , but by the transferent.e of.personal KammaTo 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 whohave entirely ceased to ex1st and w1th whom 1t never had any-other connection whatever, seems as absolutely 1mposs1ble IDitself as 1t utterly fatls to account for those mystenes m hfewhtch the Buddha clatmed to have solved. There IS noother doctnne, however, m the whole Buddhist system,except perhaps the doctrme of Ntbbii.na, so charactenst1c ofthe system-so dtstmcuvely ongmal w1th Gotama, andaotbmg else, not even exceptmg the doctrme of Ntbbii.na,that has so persisted unchanged through all schools and sectsof Buddh1sm It s unquestionably the mamsprmg of Buddhist ethics-the actuatmg pnnctple m most, 1f not all, of theconscious, mtenuonal nghteousness and benevolence ID thebves of the mllhons of those who have cla1med to be Buddhists durmg more than twenty-three centunes., 5) -Anya-Sacciim or 11 Noble TrutbiThe four 11 Noble Truths m1ght be reckoned as the11Apostles' Creed of BuddhiSm They const1tute a sort ofepitome of the fundamental pnnc1ples of the system, on.assentmg to wh1ch one s sa1d to have ''entered the Path-correspondmg to what m Chnstlamty would be calledconverted The non-diSCiple 1s 1gnorant and actuated bysm, hatred, and 1mpunty. If, however, he be led (through

Up dina 1s Jtself the result of a ~ ~ h a or Des1re ' wh1ch 1s sometlmesspoken of as the producmg cause of the new existence 1t 11 only a questlonof mcd1ate steps 1n the process


36/65

DHAMMAassoc1at1on 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 butthat he shall eventually attam the goal-N1bbiina.These four Noble Truths are as follows.-(a) D ~ a or Suffermg ' ' s necessanly involved 10 allexistence

The word, Dukkha, s techmcally used to express everyvanety or poss1ble 1dea of pam, sorrow, suffenng, woe, unreahzed anttc1pat1on of pleasure, acuve d1sappomtment, andd1stress, Gotama's theory of hfe was utterly pessimistic.He seems never to have cons1dered the counterbalancmg Oysand sat1sfactzon m lzfe-mdeed he would have declared thesebut lilustons that qu1ckly pass away, leavmg the real woe ofhfe all the darker and heav1er for thetr momentary promiSesof bnghtness and supporth) -Tauha or 11 Des1re s the cause of suffermg.

The word, Tai1ha, s used techmcally to express every ortof desire or cravmg poss1ble to a sentient bemg. It s produced by Sensation artsmg from the SIX senses and hke thatmay be e1ghteen-fold and, as 1t may be considered e1thersubjectively or obJeCtively, 1t becomes thirty-sx-fold , and thenvzewed as past, present, or future, zt becomes one-hundred

a n d e ~ g h t f o l dNow th1s hydra-headed Tanha s the cause not only ofsuftenng but even more d1rectly of hfe 1tself , for Tanhaproduces Upii.dii.na wh1ch, as we have already seen, produces,at the death of any sentient bemg, that new assemblage ofKhandas-that new hfe-to wh1ch the Kamma of the oldpasses on.It IS m reahty but one of the twelve hnks m a cham ofcausahon m Gotama's celebrated theory of 11 DependentOngmat1on, 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, notKammam but Sankira , and I can noL accept e1ther the translation or thephdo10phy wh1ch Ka . a g1Ves here


37/65

J8 PALl BUDDH19NFrom 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 mourningand sutfermg and gnef and despatrIn other words, the ult1mate cause of all that 1s undestrablem life, and even of hfe 1tself, 1s " Ignorance , but the more

1mmed1ate cause and, m all pract1cal cons1derat1ons, the moreimportant cause, IS Des1re or TauhaIf, then, Tauha m1ght be destroyed, release from all suffering mtght be attamed Th1s leads to the thtrd Truthc) -Ntbbiina or Extmctwn 1s the only release fromsuffermg"Extmct1on" ts the goal of Buddh1sm , thts extmctton, however, ts not pnmanly the extmcl on of lzfe but of Tanha orDesueNo oth..:r feature of Buddh1sm has been more d1scussed ormore generally misunderstood Accordmg to d1fferent scholars 1t embraces every state lymg between conscwus andperfect bhss equal to the Chnst1an's most exalted 1dea ofHeaven, and absolute extmctton of sentient extstenceDr. Max Mueller was the first to senously study the word mconnection w1th all the available passages m wh1ch 1t occursm the Pih Canon , and he reached the conclusion that 1tmeant absolute extmcttonProf. Chtldcrs followed m the same sort of research, andreached the conclusiOn that the word had a double slgmficatlon-really meanmg absolute extmct1on , but bemg apphed,by antic1pat1on, to the Arahii. even before deathDr Rhys Dav1ds was the first to make clear the real use ofthe word m the Pih Canon, as s1gmfymg not a state after theArahii.'s last death , but a condztzon m h1s last hfe-an extmctlon, pnmanly, of the causes of reb1rthAccordmg to Brahmm 1deas, there could be no release fromsulfermg. except through escape from hfe Itself-when theema11ated soul should e reabsorbed mto Brahmii.In reJectmg the Brahmm 1dea of a Supreme and Eternal


38/65

DHAMMABemg bke Brahmii. and 1n denymg the ex1stence of a soul,Gotama was under the necessity of developmg a radicallydifferent doctnnE' as to the escape from suffenng , and ofmakmg 1t harmomze w1th h1s own pecuhar nouons of theKhandas, and of Kamma. Accordmg to h1s doctnne, Suffermg s caused 1mmedately by Tanha or DeSire ; therefore to get nd of Suffermg, one has only to extinguishDes1re There are very many stanzas of poetry and pages ofprose, throughout the Pii.h Canon, that extol and magmfy theperfect peace, the untroubled calm, the ambrostal sweetness,the dJvme b h s ~ of the conditiOn, throughout the remamder ofh1s hfe on ec1rth of the Arahd. who has attamed to thts'N1bbii.na-th1s E rtmctzon of DeszreBuL TaJJha (Desue) produces Upii.dii.na (Artachment) and IS1tself produced by AvJJii (Ignorance), 1ts extmct1on1 therefore,will necessanly depend on the extmct1on of the latter andcarry wtth 1t that of the former Now, Upii.diina 1s the causeof the formation of that new bemg wh1ch Kamma makesIdentical w1th the old , 1f however, Upii.dii.na IS utterly destroyed m tht. extmct10n of Tauha, mamfestly, there canbe no more ~ u < h formatiOn of a new bemg-the cause havmgbeen destroyed, the effect forever ceases t death, thebemg that h ~ ~ contmued to be reborn through r.ountlesscycles of e x 1 ~ t e n c e s s reborn no more, and ex1stence1tself utterly and forever ceases. However, th1s final stateof the Arahii. IS never clearly referred to by the unmodifiedword, N1bbana, but always by some compound of the termItself or by some contextual modificatiOn wh1ch clearly dlatmguishes that final state from the cond1t10n of untroubledcalm m bfe, wh1ch 1mmed1ately precedes 1t. ThiS final states termed Panmbbii.na or Utter Extmct1on.N1bbii.na then, means Extmchon of Des1re and expresses that cond1t1on of hfe wherem the Arahi has utterlyextmgu1shed all d e ~ 1 r e or cravmg of every sort, allgnorance1and all attachment to existence m any form whatever Th1scondition, however, IS that m wh1ch the causes of existence1tself are destroyed and leads, necessarily, at death, to Panmbbina or 11 Absolute Annhlat1on of Bemg(a')-Ars;a-Atthanglka-Magga or The-Noble-Eight-FoldPath 1st e only way to N1bbana.


39/65

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 Med1tat10nHe who perseveres m this Noble-E1ght-Fold-Path will passsuccessively through the ' 'Four Stages wherem he wdl befreed from the Das-Sai\fioJii.m or " Ten Fetters " wh1ch bindmen to exLStence and sutfermg.I . -The F1rst Stage IS that wherem one becomes entirelyfree from the first three of these " Fetters . -(a) Sakkiiyaditthi or " DelusiOn of Ego-1ty "Th1s 1s the false behef-already dwelt on at length-thatthere 1s apart from the five Khandas, a soul or entity thatmay 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. 11This mcludes all fa1th m God or any Superhuman Bemgas able to help one m escapmg suffenng, together With allcharms, ntes, ceremomes, worshtp 1 or other forms of dependence on such superhuman agencyThe one who has attamed to the Fru1t " of thiS " FustStage of the Path 1s called Sotii.panna and can never bereborn except as god or man-he Is forever freed from b1rthin the other four forms of sentient bemg

-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 tothe ex1stence of man-presumably after an existence as a godm one of the DevalokasIII.-The Third Stage 1s that wherein one becomesabsolutely freed from the fourth and fifth Fetters :-(d) Kimarii.ga or " Sensuousness "Thts mcludes every concetvable form ofpleasure or desuefor ~ l e a s u r e b a s e carnal lust, natural atfect10n 1 legttlmategratification of the physical senses, even many mental and soCial delights which Chnst1amty encourages as most virtuousand salutary(e). Pat1gha or "Anger."


40/65

DHAMMA.Th1s mcludes all tll-wlll or hatred that would lead to ades1re to see another mjuredHe \vho has attamed to the Fruit of thiS '' Th1rd Stage15 called Anii.gii.mi and can never be reborn on earth butpasses t the Brahmaloka, whence he attams NibbinaIV -The Fourth Stage s that wherem one becomesperfectly free, after havmg cast off the remammg fiveFet te r s -( f ) Riipariiga or Lust for Corporeal L1fe1'h1s s des1re for extstence in bodlly, rr.atenal form, whetheras 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( ; } AVIJJii or IgnoranceHe who has attamed to the Fruit of this ' ' FourthStage, s termed Arahii. or Holy One and IS free from anyrebirth-he has attamed N1bbiinaThe above pomts constitute a fatr and complete outhne

of the charactenst1c and Important features of Gotama'sphilosophyThat philosophy was emmently practical. Gotama everabsolutely refused to enter upon metaphysics or the dtscuss1on of aught outside the purpose of h1s Dhamma, wh1ch wasto answer, prac.tically, those two burnmg questions as to theorigm of suffermg, and the way to escape It. That there walknowledge outside this narrow domam, he readilY. admitted,and he claimed, as Buddha, to be absolutely fam1har With 1tall, but he claimed that 1t was utterly unprofitable-everything whtch was not essential to the escape from suffermgwas a hmdrance , and as such an ev1l to be absolutely avoided. Therefore he determmed not to know anything amongthem save the Catii.n .t\.nya-Saccii.m Suffermg , Cause of Suffenng, Escape from Suffenng, Way ofEscape from Sutfenng.The most practical part of th1s emmently practical philosophy was the System o tmcs mcluded m the fourth ' 'Truth ;for BuddhiSt ethtcal precepts, however understood, do Cf'Ttamly Inculcate much that 1s m 1tself most praJSe-worthyrec ~ . I z t n g as they do, not only man's objective duty of


41/65


42/65

DHAIIMA. 33Dasa-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) Uddhaccha 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 1nthe d1scusson under Anya-Saccim Apart, however, from th1s merely negative morality wh1chcons1sts m avo1dmg gross sms and corruptmg pass1ons, thereare positiVe precepts wh1ch prescnbe the cultlvatlon ofmentor10us deeds together w1th states of heart both benevolent and pureSatta-Ratanii.m or Seven Jewels constitute a necklace ofact1ve VIrtues that are to be most strenuously sought andguarded-

a S a t 1 p a ~ t h i n a or Earnest Meditation,(1) On the body-(2) On sensat1on-(3) On thought(4) On the cond1t1ons of existenceh-Sammappadhii.na or R1ght Exertion,(t) To prevent dement from ammg-(2) To get nd ofdement that has ar1sen-(3) To produce mer1t-(4) Tomc:rease ment.c-Iddh1pii.da or Bas1s of Mag1c Power, as res1ding m1) Wdl-(2) Eff'ort-(3) Thought-(4) Investigationd-Bala or 11 Power, as found m(1) Fa1th-(2) Energy-(3) Recollechon-(4) Self-concentrahon-(S) W1sdome-Indnyim or 11 Organs of Sense, as bemg under thoroughcontrol,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)Equammttyg-Anya-Atthaugtka-Magga or Noble-Etght-Fold-Path,the etght d1vts1ons of whtch have already been g1ven m thediScusston under Anya-Saccim t See p 30 of th11 workt See p 30 of th11 work

3


43/65

34 PALl BUDDHISM,Agam of the same sort, to be cultivated by Arahis,are theDasa-Panmlti or Ten Transcendent V1rtues .(I) Chanty-(2) Morahty-(3) Self-abnegauon- (4) Wlsdom-(S) Energy-(6) Pat1ence-(7) Truth-(8) Resolutlon-(9) Kmdness-(Io) Equamm1tyIt will be not1ced that there s a great deal of repetitiOn mthese bsts, the same VICe or vtrtue bemg frequently repeatedm slightly different vtew or connection We may find suchrepettt1ons ttresome ; but they at least show where emphas1s

IS la1dBestdes these formal dtvlsions of v1ces to be shunned andVIrtues to be cultivated, wh1ch are probably not the work ofGotama h1mself but of h1s d1Sc1ples after h1s decease, verymany passages, undoubtedly giVIng Gotama s own teachmg1f not h1s very words, are found scattered all through theev1dently older port10ns of the Pii.h Canon, m wh1ch all theprecepts, both pos1hve and negat1ve, of these formal hsts, occur agam and agam Self-restramt , the repressiOn of lust,mahce and folly , the avotdance of moral defilement andsloth , the breakmg of all ties that bmd to carnahty , thecult1vat1on of punty, chanty, loviDg-kmdness, fortitude,patience, w1sdom truth and equamm1ty-these are dutiesthat w1th tuesome reiteration are taught by precept and example, m story, d1alogue, parable and simile, throughout theentire CanonMoreover 1t IS clearly taught, and ID frequent repetitions,that an outward, exemplary manner of hfe m these respectsdoes not suffice , the mner essent1al character must bebrought mto perfect harmony w1th these pnnc1plesUnquestiOnably 1t 1s the beauty and real worth ID these

ethtcal pnnctples that have most attracted Western miDdsto Gotama s system and account for the great populantywh1ch Buddhism has for some time enJoyed m Europe andAmenca But 1t IS only the mtsunderstandmg of Gotama sethical pnnc1ples that has led so many admirers of Buddhismto make the Buddha a peer of the Chnst It must be remembered that the words necessanly used to translate orparaphrase these precepts mto the languages of the Occ1denttnevttably retam Chnst1an stgmficatlons, acqu1red throughcentunes of Chnst1an use, wh1ch glorify the BuddhiSt


44/65

DHANMA 35precepts With meamngs of which Gotama himself neverdreamed, and which modern Onental BuddhiSts never getfrom the ongmal Pii hMorlbver, It ought to be remembered, that the Ideal ISever far beyond the attamment of unaided man , and Gotama could promise h1s followers no help, ever IDSIStmg thatthey must rely on themselves alone. How far they havefaded, no one else can quite so fully reahze as the ProtestantMtsstonary who works among modern Buddhist peoples,where almost every one of Gotama s Ideals has been pervertedand universal fatth and practice are as different from theBuddhism of the Pah Tt-pitaka, as Stxteenth Century Cathohcism was different from New Testament ChriStiamty. Andthere never has been there never can be a Reformationof Buddhism.


45/65

CHAPTER IV.-SANGHA.

From the very first there were two classes of the Buddha'sfollowers, the Bh1kkhus or Mend1cants, and the Gahapattsor Householders -also called Upiisakas or ''Adherents.Gotama very Wisely recogmzed the fact that not all couldor would accept h1s Dhamma m all the fullness of its mean~ n and requ1rements

He reahzed thaL very few, comparatively, from the greatmabSes of men would ever attempt, and fewer stdl succeed mthe attempt, to follow his Path, throughout its four ddlicult Stages to the goal So w1th great practical goodsense he offered a modtfied hope to a moral and benevolentla1ty-who after all were really necessary for the support ofhts Saugha or Order of BhtkkhusThese lay-dtsctples, contmumg to hve an ordmary hfe tothe world-marrymg, reanng a fam1ly, earmng a hvehhoodentertamed practtcally no hope of attatmng Ntbbina m thtspresent exiStence A few of the more eamest mtght hope toreach the Second Stage, or even the Thtrd Stage ofthe ' 'Path , ' but the great ma.Jonty d1d not ~ m at oncebeyond the Fust Stage All, however, were certain offinally attatmng the goalAdwiss1on to the latty was very stmple, conststing merelyin the acceptance of the Four Noble Truths and therepetztzon of the formula of Three Refuges - I go forrefuge to the Buddha. I go for refuge to the DhammaI go for refuge to the Sangha.After admtsston, the only absolute requirement was theobservance of the Paiica-Silim or first 11 F1ve Precepts.However, the Gahapatts were fimonsltetl to observe thewhole ethtcal system and to undertake more or less severeand protracted medltatton ; and the way was always openfor them to pass on mto the Saugha, 1f at any t1me theybecame earne t enough to abandon the householder's life andbecome mendtcant ascetics. Even as householders, they


46/65

SANGHA. 37were espectally encouraged to undertake more senous andmore extended observances of the Dhamma, on UposathaDays and durmg longer or shorter penods of voluntaryvows.

t S 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 manyexistences, more or fewer accordmg to hts Kamma-accordmgto hts less or more raptd acqms1t10n of Ment, for all ev1lmust be fully requited and all good rewarded untlllus acquired Ment, hts good Kamma, secured htm that extstence andmoral character wherem he would be able to utterly abandonthe world and resolutely pursue the Path through Itsfour Stages to the absolute extmcuon of Destre, whtchS the attamment of NtbbinaMent m1ght be acqutred by avoidance of those thmgsprohibited m the Dhamma , by cultivation o{ tbose thmgsprescnbed in the Dhamma ; and particularly by hberahtytowards the members of the SanghaBut after all, thiS lay-dtsctpleshlp w1th tts eastly acqutredMent ts not 1deal Buddhtsm.

It 18 clearly Inferred from the Pii h Canon, that Arahish1pwas seldom attamed, and n vsr mamtamed, by one contlnumg as a householder, every one who earnestly sought Arahishlp was expected to become a Bh1kkhu , and even 1f 1t wereattamed by a householder, Ooil Its attamment, he mus become a Bhtkku, unless hke Suddhodana, he Immediatelypassed on mto PanmbbinaGotama recogntzed the mherent difficulties to be surmounted by h1m who would thoroughly extmgu1sh Desue andIgnorance. He clearly taught that only he who wasprepared to utterly abandon the world, gtve up all famtlyand SOCial ttes, abjure every personal mdulgence, forsakeevery conceivable pleasure and even sttfte destre for It ; hewho should go forth to a hfe of cehbate mendtcancy andundiSturbed medttatton, wheretn he mtght be free to culttn t those subjecuve tratts of character whtch would mostpowerfully advance h1m along the Path '' to Ntbbina-onlyhe could hope to free htmself from all the Fetters andreach the goal ; and even he might be only partially successful 1 this present bfe Mantfestly such a hfe was po11ible


47/65

PALl BUDDHISMonly to a hermtt ascetic, or, at most, to a Coenobtte MonkGotama's own expenence had taught htm the utter mutdttyof extreme austenty and had determmed htm on a M1ddleCourse between such austenty on the one hand, andmdulgence on the otherThe very nature of hts system, therefore, made necessarythat 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 partof Eastern Asia , and to the permanency with which It maiD-tamed Its position m almost every land where It ever oncegamed a footholdIt must be clearly understood that the Sa1\gha was m nosense a pnesthood As there were no sacnfices, no rehg10usntes, no ceremomes of any sort admttted m Gotama's system,there could be no class to whom such functions belonged; andas there was no God, no prayer, no worship, 1t would be mam-fest absurdity for any to claim, or be asstgned, medtatonalpower or other pnestly nghtsMoreover, the Sat\gha was not an hterarchy No one evertook vows of obedience and there were no dtstmcttons ofplace or of power, except as Age and Samthness of characterwere beautifully honored m the voluntary deference of peersThe Saiigha was stmply a band or brotherhood of Gotama'smore earnest followers, each of whom was &trenuously cultvatmg that vtrtue and knowledge whtch alone could brmghtm to the extmctton of Destre whtch was N1bbina ,while he was, at the same time, actively spreadmg, as fast andas far as he was able, the blessed knowledge of the 11 Pathwhtch he htmself had rece1ved-an Order whose two ch1efa1ms were the most strenuous apphcatton to the task of self-Improvement and equally energetiC efforts of propagandismfor the benefit of othersThts may seem a strange defimt10n to many who have everthought 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 manywho approached very close to the Great Founder's 1deal, andwent everywhere preachmg the word wtth 1ntensest mission-ary zeal, whde they culttvated and exh1b1ted 10 thetr ownhves most beaut1ful tra1ts of personal character


48/65

SANGHA, 39At first, the members of the Sangha were considered allahke and admtsston was most easy and stmple, conslStmgmerely m the repet1t1on of the Refuges Later, admtsslon was more guarded and a dtstmctton was made betweena novtce, called Simanera, and the full member, calledSimana or "Ascettc," somettmes, Bhtkkhu or " Mendtcant ''A Siimanera mtght be admttted by any S i i m a ~ a Thecandtdate must be at least fifteen years old, and, 1f a child, musthave the consent of parents ; he must be free from contagiousdtseases, consumption, and fits , he must not be a slave ordebtor or one m the kmg's sentce ; he must have provtdedhtmself wtth suitable robes. Beanng hts mendtcant robes mh1s hand, and yet wearmg the clothmg of a householder, heapproached a Sii.mana and requested adm1ss1on to the Sal\gha.

f hts request was granter , h1s hatr was cut and hts mendtcant robes donned then he knelt while he repeated thethree " Refuges " and took a vow to observe the 11 TenPreceptsThts becommg a novtce was called Pabbajjii or " GoingForth - the tdea bemg that he went forth from householdhfe mto MendtcancyAdm1sston to full membershtp was a more formal andddlicult matterIt was requtred that the cand1date should be at least twentyyears old and, generally, that he had been, for a longer orshorter penod, accordmg to circumstances, under mstructtonas a Siimanera One who had been a Siima\}era from htsfifteenth year, would have spent at least five years under suchmstructton, whde m some cases of mature men the twoadmtss1ons were e1ther stmultaneous or tmmedtately successtve 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 telysucceeding hts entrance mto the Order. He was also requ1redto be prov1ded w1th robes and alms-bowl He then put offthe yellow robes he had been wearmg as S i i m a ~ e r a and resumed the garb of a householder A chapter was convened At the very first there were only IN o R e f u ~ s - I go for refuge tothe Buddha " " I go for refuge to the Dhamma ' After the Order beCamefully estabhshed, the thtrd was added-' ' I go for refuge to the Sa11gha "


49/65

PALl BUDDHISMcons1st1ng of not fewer than ten Bh1kkhus, pres1ded over bya S i m a ~ a who had been ID full membership for at least tenyears ; and before this chapter the candidate must appear andrequest admission to full membership In answer to questions,he satisfied the chapter as to his age, to h1s freedom fromd1squahfymg d1seases , to the fact of h1s not bemg a slave, adebtor, or one m royal service , to his provision of robes andalms-bowl , to h1s selecuon of a teacher for h1s futuremstruction , and to his bemg a real man and not a SerpentDemon m human form f the candidate was found satisfactory, he was led as1de and reclad w1th h1s mendicantrobes Then beanng his alms-bowl he reappeared before thechapter, thnce repeated the "Three Refuges, and agamtook a solemn vow to observe the "Ten Precepts '' He wasmost strenuously warned agamst the Cattiin A k a r a ~ i y i m or"Four Forbidden Acts, and admomshed to trust only tothe Cattiro N1ssayi or "Four Resources Then f no oneof the chapter obJected to his adm:ss10n, Silence was construedas consent and the presidmg Sii.mana declared him admittedThe "Four Forbidden Acts were-(I) Sexual acts of any kmd-(2} Takmg anythmg notg1ven-(3) Kdhng any hving thmg-(4) Falsely cla1mingmiraculous powers The v1olat1on of any one of theseprohibitions was mev1tably followed by irrevocable expulsionfrom the SailghaThe ' 'Four Resources were not absolutely binding, as mevery case the laity were encouraged to furnish, and thememben of the Sangha were allowed to accept better, butthey were the S i m a ~ a s only resources when left to himselfThey were-(1) Alms collected m b1ts for food-(2) Old rags fromthe dust heap, for clothmg-(3) Excreta of cows, for mediCines-(4) Shelter of trees, for residence.In these two hsts of warnmg and admomtion are emphasazed the two great requirements m the Satlgha-Poverty and

u r ~ t y of LifeTheoretically Poverty was to be all but absolute A member o the Order was allowed t own only e ~ g h t articles- I a u ~ p e e t that o n g ~ a a l l y th11 b1t wu but aa empha11Z1Dg of the tint fourof me TCD Precepts, and that the peaabzatJoa of the fourth to t n part cular fona of lpag wu of later o n g ~ a


50/65

SANGHA 41(1), (2), (3) The three separate p1eces of h1s robes-(4) Ag1rdle-(5) An alms-bowl-(6) A razor-(7) A needle-(8) Awater stramerH1s food was to cons1st of that mingled mass of broken bitscollected m h1s alms-bowl m house to house 1tmerat1on ;h1s robes were to be patched together by himself out of oldyellowed rags of cloth collected from the dust heaps andcemetenes 1 and he mu t dwell m the open a1r at the foot ofa sheltermg tree or m a httle hut bu1lt by h1mself of leavesor grassPractically, however, these austentles were never enforced ,for in all these respects, mdulgences were allowed m theBuddha's own t1me, and with h1s full consent.Whde Gotama held that a qu1et herm1t hfe m the forestwas most favorable for med1tat10n 1 wh1ch he considered soessential to subJective Improvement and to acqulSJtJon ofw1sdom, yet, for m1ss1onary and pract1cal reasons, he permittedresidence m a V1hiira or Monastery provided by the lattym the suburbs of a village or town, espec1ally dunng Vassa orthe Rams; and hfe m V1hii.ras became almost umversalThese V1biiras were at first probably small huts for mdlVI-

dual Sii.manas , but these soon gave way to nch and commodious bu1ldmgs w1th accommodatiOns for crowds of Bhlkkhus, w1th assembly halls, dmmg rooms, and sleepmgapartments They were generally bulit m parks or forestsadJOimng v11lages and towns-far Pnough away to be freefrom confusion and no1se ; but near enough for readyaccessJbli1ty Some of the V1hii.ras, where Gotama h1mself often dwelt, and where he IS sa1d to have g1ven much of h1smstruct1on, 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 andbrought to V1hiras by p1ous lay-diSCiples and even theacceptance of mv1tauons to go to the homes of the laity andeat what was prepared for them there Of course on suchoccasions the very best possible proviSion and serv1ce wouldbe the care of the p1ous host , but an1mal food was generally,though not always, om1tted There seems never to havebeen any very strong conscientious scruples about eatmg flesbl only some one else had killed and prepared 1t even


51/65

PA.LI BUDDHSMGotama huDielf ts said to have dted from eatmg pork whtchhe w s unable to dJ gestBut 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 generallyadhered to ; and had always to be adopted when no prOVISIOnwas made by the latty In these rounds for food, no one wasallowed to go to certam houses only, or ever to ask for any

t t n ~ anywhere The Bhtkkhu carrymg hts bowl 10 frontof htmself, lookmg stratght ahead, and never turnmg hiSeyes to r1ght or left, passed along the ordmary roads ofvdlage 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 wererecetved or not When suffictent had been collected forthe day, he returned to the Vthira, were he ate the onesubstanttal meal of the day , for as a rule the Bhtkkhus ateonly one meal m the twenty four hours, generally shortlybefore noon.Substantial food was allowed only between sunr1se andnoon. In eatmg, each went apart and ate alone, mean.whtlemed1tatmg on the tmpermanence of the body and auunngh1mself that he ate only for the purpose of sustammg hfeHe must not ptck and choose from what was m hts bowl, buteat everythmg as it cameThe rule as regards clothmg was seldom f ever observedFrom the very tint the la1ty were permitted and encouragedto prOVIde members of the Sallgha w1th the necessary robes(Civari) and espec1al Ment was supposed to accrue to theptous Upisdka who observed w1th commendable hberahtr,Civaramisa or Robe month at the close of each Rams 'Under no Circumstances whatever, was a member of theSaftgha ever to take any steps to prov1de h1mself w1th robes,other than accordmg to the ongmal rule of pltktng ragsfrom 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

f the robes prov1ded by the la1ty were of new cloth, thecloth must be torn to p1eces and sewed together, 10 order todestroy 1ts commerctal value


52/65

SANGHA.The robes consasted of three separate paeces- 1) A loincloth, a straaght strap covenng the lom and thagha- a) Askart, a straaght strap fastened about the waast and drapedabout the lower hmbs- 3) A blanket or cloak, a broadstraaght strap adjusted about the trunk so as to cover theentare body below the neck, except the rtght shoulder andarm whach were left bare The completely tonsured headwas always left bareLater on, sandals and an umbrella were allowed, and a largefan was earned as a screen to shut out stghts hkely to diSturbthe calm of subjectave contemplataonThe dutaes and routme of datly hfe m the Sangha werevery sampleFarst of all was the necessaty for dascaphne wathin theOrder atself W1th the hfe of the laaty they had absolutelynoth1ng to do , they were not spmtual or moral overseers,and m no sense pastors of the masses of men among whomthey lived and to whom they looked for support But atwas essenttal that they mamtam the rules and avoad theprohJbJtions la1d down for their ow OrderExcept m cases of vaolataon of the more seraous prohabitions

and when a member voluntanly requested the assembledbrethren to pomt out any fault notaced m hlS hfe, no chargeswere ever preferred by one agamst another , but all mattersof dascaphne came up on voluntary confessaon of fault.On Uposatha Days, all members assembled m thear regularchapters to listen to the Pitamokkha-a body of rules for thegovernment of the Order, even m most tnvaar detail-andeach was expected to confess to any conscaous failure in theobservance of any of the rules Silence was consadered aclaam of gualtlessness In case of vaolauon of the more Important prohabatJons, ammediate and Irrevocable expulsionfrom the Sangha was anfhcted , m other more minor faults,penances, more or less severe, were ImposedInstructaon was an amportant duty The preceptors mustfor five years gave mstructton to those who had selected themat the ume of reception mto full membershap , the Sii malJ eraswere under more or less constant mstructton by Simanas ; generally any espec1ally samtly or capable Simana was expectedto impart hiS greater attamments to those who desired hasanstructaon Outside thear own membershap there was much


53/65

PALl BUDDHISM.mstructton of the latty and acttve mtsstonary effort m propagandllm among those who had not yet accepted Gotama'sdoctnnes , and, m later years at least, 1 every land whereBuddb1sm estabhshed 1tself, schools were opened m connection w1th the V1hiras, for the da1ly mstruchon of all theboys of the communtty both m the Dhamma and m theordinary bran


54/65

S NGHA 45The term, however, ts of wtder apphcation Samidbt i anecessary prehmiDary to Jhina and always accompames it inall tts stages , 1t may express absolute unconsctousneas or itmay be used ID reference to the Arahi's mastery of emotion.In later times, the term was apphed to a self-mduced mesmertc trance.Cleanhness and samtat10n were inculcated , and tmposedImportant duttes ID frequent baths and wash1ng of robes andcarmg for the Vthii.ras and thetr grounds The members ofthe Sailgha, however, were frequently relieved of th1s lastduty by ptous laymen who won much ment by thts servtce.When no layman undertook this duty 1t generally devolvedupon Sima1 1erasIn the ordmary datly routme of hfe, the early mermnghours, often long before day, were spent m meditatton, mrecltatton of parts of the Dhamma, and m mstructton Laterm the mormng, came the 1tmerat10n for collectiDg food , and,just before noon, the one substantial meal of the day. Afterthe m1dday meal, there was a short season of rest , then moremstruct1on and more medttation In the evemng, therewere qu1et walks ID the well-kept grounds, or qu1et conversation, or medttatton, th1s last extendmg far mto the ntghtDut1es requtrmg manuallabor were performed m the earlymormng or m the evemng Manual labor, however, wasconstdered no help to the moral hfe , but rather a hindrance,as mterfenng wtth medttatton , and was never engaged mexcept, and so far as was actually requtred ID cases where theSangha could not be or happened not to be, relieved byptous laymen.On the death of h1s father, Suddhodana, as we saw in theaccount of Gotama's hfe, the Buddha reluctantly consentedto 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 FemaleAscetic or Bh1kkuni, Female-Mend1cant, and the Orderitself was called Bh1kkuni-SailghaThiS Order was ID almost every respect an exact counterpart of that for the Bh1kkus. It was not, however, mdependent ; but was m everythtng subjected to the regular SanpaIn noth10g else does Gotama's esttmate of women more


55/65

PALl BUDDHISM.ltolearly appear. The moat aged and sa1ntly Bhikkhuni must- iDStant reverence to the youngest Samaliera , and herMI highest hope could never be that of the Simalia -sheaaiJ hoped to be reborn as a man; for, to a woman, theattainment of Arahishtp was rarely posstble and that ofBuddhahood, never In all Important matters, such as reception or dlsc1phne of members, the decisions of the1r ownchapters bad to be confirmed by a chaper of Sima9-as beforethey were vahd All mstruct1on of the Simanis was by theSimanas, not by the1r own elders , and the1r Pit1mokkhaconfess1on had to be pres1ded over by a Simana appomted tothat duty by the regular Sangha of SimanasNo Bb1kkuni was ever allowed to dwell alone, anywhere ;nor any number of them together, m the forest they hadto dwell m compames m V1hii ras near some village or town.Generally the1r V1hiras were near to those of the Bh1kkhus,but never 10 connectionNo assoc1at1on of the two Orders was ever allowed exceptthat for mstruct10n, for the Pat1mokkha confess1on, and forthe confirmation of the acts of the Bhtkkhuni-Sangha, asnoticed above , and 10 all such cases there must always betwo or more Sii manas present-no Sii mana was ever allowed,under any Circumstances, to meet and talk w1th a Simanialone.For these Orders there were few T1mes and Seasons ofspec1al1mportance. As there was no sacnfice, no offenng, nontual no worship m Gotama's system, there were of courseno holy days set apart for such thmgsGotama, however, reahzed the need of some special days andprov1ded for that need by adopting and adaptmg the regularf st days of the Brahmms

These Uposatha Days-he retamed the Brahmm namewere at first two m each month, the days of new-moon and offull-moon , afterwards, the mtermed1ate days of quarter-moonwere added. By lamp hgbt, m the evemng, on these fourUposatha Days, the Orders met, by chapters, for the Pitlmokkha Confess10n, as noticed above No one was allowedto be absent except m case of severe 1llness, and even thennot unless he could assure the chapter, through some member present, that he was guiltless of any mfract1on of the rulesand prohlb1tlons.


56/65

s uldHAVasaa 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 dwellpermanently m Vtbiras m prox1m1ty to towns or villages;there was to be no 1tmeratwn except the dally rounds forfood. Th1s rule was partly for health reasons, the forestdweUmgs, leaf-huts and Itinerations bemg fraught wtth greatdanger to the Bh1kkhus themselves, m the excess1ve dampnessof that season , but 1t was more particularly enacted becau1ecomplamt had been made that the Bhtkkhus, tramptng aboutat the season, when the teemmg vegetable and msect hfe ofthat reg10n was so acttve, crushed and destroyed much bfeand thereby thoughtlessly vtolated the precept agamstkdhng.In the enforced lull m theu ordmary mtssionary laborsand thetr sohtary medttatton, they generally pa1d moreattentiOn to giVIng mstructwn to the laity who repa1red tothem m mcreasmg numbers at th1s season.Pavirani or Invttatton was an event at the close ofVassa when all the Simal} as met and each asked the rest topomt out any fault nottced m h1m whtle they had been

together durmg the Rams Then, after all confesstons hadbeen made and all faults atoned, there was reJOletng that theVassa had been passed m harmonyCivaramisa or Robe-Month was the month 1mmedtatelysucceedmg Vassa It was the t1me especially set apart forprovtdmg the Bh1kkhus w1th nect-ssary robesPatthirakapakkha or '' Extraordmary-fortntght was partiCularly the first half of Civaramiisa , but the term was alsoapphed to the whole month, and even to the whole of Vassa.From the first, these t1mes and seasons were made, for thelatty, m a certam sense nolyd ys The latty were encouragedto cons1der such t1mes particularly suitable for extraordmaryefforts 1n p1ety and hberality Espec1al ment was to begamed by observmg the 11 Etght Precepts at these t1m ea1and by liberally supplymg the Bh1kkus wtth such th1ngs asthey needed Very early the pract1ce grew up of laying as1deworldly work and c r ~ on Uposatha Days, of ta1ung liberalprOVISIOn of good food to the V 1hiras for the Sangha, and t >fspendmg the day there hstenmg to the readmg and expositionof the Dhamma. The whole of Vassa was spent lll the me


57/65

PALl BUDDHISMway by the more pious, who then reframed entirely from allammal food though usmg It freely at other bmes; and Vassahas, not maptly, been called by European scholars, BuddhtstLent.The greatest mertt m connection with these holy dayshowever, was to be gatned by observmg the precepts andmmtstertng to the a l i ~ h a durmg Patthiirakapakkha orExtraordmary-fortmght, 1 and most espectally by furmshingthe members w1th needed robes at that timeSuch was earhest BuddhlSm-the BuddhiSm fairly derivedfrom the most authentic sources, the Pih Pttakas . such weretts Environments, xts Founder, 1ts Philosophy, Its Ethtcs, itsBrotherhood, and Its Special Days That none of thesethings long remamed such, 1 the behef and practtce of I tsadherents, x not strange It x only another proof that humannature ts stronger than a sybtem of human philosophy; thatthe human soul can be netther successfully denied, nor longdepnved of God and worship ; that atheism and self-seekmgare the certain destructxon of all that embrace them.

PIN IS


58/65

INDEX.PAGE

Abhiftdi1 44Absalom, 17Absolute Anmhllat1on, 29Adherent 36Aggregates, 24Ahmki 33Akaraniyini Cattiri 40Akusala-Mii.lim, ... 32Alira J I uAlexandna JAmenca. 34Anigimi 31Ananda 13, 14Anathapindaka, 14, 41Anatta 24Anger 30Amcca, 24AnnihilatJOn1 Absolute, 29Anottappa, 33Apostles Creed, ... 26Arahi 28 29 31, 34 45Arahii.sh1p, ... 37 46Anya-Atthalig1ka-Magga1 2933Anya-Saccim . 26, 33Anya-Saccin11 Cattiin, 31Arrogance, 33Ariipariiga, 31Aryans, 5 7As1a, 38AS1at1c I7 1 39Asoka, 141 20 21Asubhabhivani 44Asuras, 23Atheam :z:z 48

PAGEAthe1st, uAtheistic, uAttachment 261 28, 29AtthaiJ.ga-Silii.n11 32Attnbutes Subjective, 251 27AVIJJi 29, 31

BBabylon, 1Bala, 33BaSis of Mag1c power, 33Bemg, Eternal ... 28, Sentient .. 71 8

11 Superhuman, 3011 Supreme, 22 1 9Belugii.mako, 14Benares, r 10 2Bh1kku, 15 36 37 39 1 40,41 42, 451 47Bh1kkhuni, 15 1 451 4611 Sangha, 45 1 46Bh1kkus, Order of 36Bible, 19B1mbisii.ra 13 1 41Buth 8Bodh1satta1 16BOJJhaligi, 33Bo Tree Sacred, uBrahmii., 91 x6 28, 29Brahmaloka, 31Brahrnm, 71 81 9 1 141 25,28,46Brahmimsm, 81 z:a


59/65

so PALl BUDDHISMPAGEBuddha, I, z, o 91 U 1 14,IS, 16, 17, zs, z6, 30,31, 32, 34. 36, 39 41, 45Buddhaghosa0 19Buddhism, 11 z, 3, s 60 u191 31 0 :u 23, 1 z6,z8, 34, 35, 37, 44 48BuddhiSt, o 19, ZI z6, 30,32, 34 35. 38, 44Buddhist Lent, .. 48

Burma, I 23c

Cakkavi.la, 24Calm, 33Canon, 19, :zo, u :z8, 34 37Cathohc18m, 35Cattii.n Akaraniyim 40Cattin Anya-Sacci.nt, 31Catti.ro Ntssayi, 40Ceylon, .. 19Chanda, 15Chandagutta, 20Character, Essential, 2SChanty 34Childers, 27, 28Chma, 1Chnst ... 34Chnstian 1 17, 19, :zo, :z8, 34Chnstianity, 91 19, :z6, 30, 35Civari, ... 42Civaramisa, 42, 47Coenobite, 13 1 38Coenobites, Order of, 38Confucius, 1Contact, 28ContemplatiOn, . .. 33Continued Ex18tencf 1 28

Course, Middle, ...Creator,Creed, Apostles , ...D

Damel, 1Dasa-Kdesa, 33Dasa-Paramiti, 34Dasa-Safl.fiOJiDI1 30, 33Dasa-Silini1 32David, 17Davids, Rhys, 1 19, :z8Day, Uposatha, ... 32Delusion of Ego-Ity, 30Demon, Serpent, 4Demon-Tempter, 17Dependence on Rites, 3Dependent-Ongmation 27Depravities, Ten 33Desire, 26, 27, 28, 29, 37, 38Desire, Extinction of, 28, 29Deva, 16, 17Devadatta, 14Devaloka, 30Dhamma, 3, 14, 15, 201 27,30,31, 36, 37, 39o 44 4So 47Dhammacakkappavattana

sutta, 13Dhammisoka 20Dtsciple, Lay, 32, 36, 41DI Ctphne, Rules of, :zoDtttlu, 33Doctnnes of Faith zoDoubt, 30, 33Dosa, 33Dukkha 24, 27Dura, 1

8/13/2019 Tilbe, H.H. - Pali Buddhism (6

Tilbe, H.H. - Pali Buddhism (65p)

Documents

Transcript of Tilbe, H.H. - Pali Buddhism (65p)