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Modern European physical science, as far as the outward re- sult is concerned, takes the same view as put by Bud- dhists for the last 2400 years. Nore 30.—Stem courageously the stream of pas- sion; drive out concupiscence, O Samana. When once you have perceived the utter vanity of all transient things, you have arrived at the knowledge of what is eternal. (Dhammapada.) Norte 31.— Those who remain living in the world can, at best, attain the third stage of holiness, of “Anagamin.” At their death they are re-born in one of the higher regions in the worlds of light, to pass over from thence, after a longer or shorter period, into Nirvana. It is, however extremely difficult for any one living in the world to become “Anagamin,” as he is exposed to far too many temptations. Nors 32.—JIn this the first principal vow are not only included men, but all living beings, and for that reason no one who intentionally hurts, kills or tor- ments an animal can be a follower of the Buddha, or have a favourable re-birth. Nore 33. — It is only the Brotherhood who keep this vow to its full extent. For the lay adherent it simply means to abstain from spirituous liquors. The Upasaka may therefore take wine and beer in modera- tion. 90 A BUDDHIST CATECHISM Nore 34.— The sensual man who, to his own dis- quiet, is animated by the lust of life and by earthly passions, is very much mistaken in imagining that the gratification of the senses affords any happiness. Satisfaction is of very short duration, and desire will return with ever-increasing impetuosity. The gratifi- cation of one desire leads to the birth of another, and final satisfaction is impossible. Add to this the inevi- table disappointments, failures, the strife, annoyances and disputes arising from contests with our fellow- men, who are pursuing the same end. This incessant warfare can only be kept up at the expense of mind and body. The more we give full sway to our passions the more they increase, and the more swiftly our men- tal and physical powers, the only means for enjoy- ment, decline. : Increase of concupiscence is therefore attended by decrease of the means for its gratification. This is the inexorable law of Nature, which avenges such per- versity. Whoever seriously reflects must come to the conclusion that it is most foolish to run after sensual pleasure and earthly wealth, which cannot afford any real happiness. Truly does the Dhammapada say: “What place for merriment, what place for joy, is this world, which is only kept going by the flames of sensual lusts? You walk in darkness for ever unless you seek for the light which alone can dissipate it.” Norse 35.— Not in infinite space, not in the depths of the ocean, nor in the far recesses of the mountains will you find a refuge from the consequences of your evil deeds. (Dhammapada.) Nore 36. — “He has abused me, he has robbed me, he has ruined me.” With those who harbour such thoughts, hatred will never cease; for hatred does not . A BUDDHIST CATECHISM 91 yield to hatred; hatred yields to love. This is the moral law of the universe. (Dhammapada.) Nore 37. — When a man has come fully to know and understand the “Four Grand Truths,” he will no longer crave for earthly happiness, nor for existence in a better world, but only long for deliverance, for eternal rest and peace; for as long as individuality, “self,” is not overcome and vanquished, suffering, birth, and death are not yet overcome. Not even angels and gods (this is the name given to higher beings in a higher world) are exempt from death and birth-re- newal. Everything subject to change is subject to suffering. But when all ill-will, all desire, ignorance and individuality become extinct in Nirvana, then, and not till then, will suffering and re-incarnation come to end. This is the supreme aim to which the sage aspires. Nore 38.—It is written in the sacred books: “The evil deed is not like new milk, which quickly clots. It is like a smouldering fire glowing under the ashes till its time is come, then, suddenly bursting into flames, it destroys the illusory edifice of happiness in which the evil-doer fancied himself secure.” The inequality of the outward condition of men, the seeming injustice of their fate, which often re- duces the righteous man to a state of severe suffering, whilst the wicked is in the full enjoyment of every earthly happiness, is irrefutable evidence of the moral necessity of re-incarnation to every one who does not wilfully shut his eyes to the truth. No thought- ful man can deny that this universe is founded on eternal justice. Consequently, the origin of suffer- ing must be guilt, and if this guilt cannot be traced in this life, it must have been committed in a former birth, whilst well-being and joy must be the fruit of former merit. 92 A BUDDHIST CATECHISM Nevertheless, the happy man must not be elated; a change may be close at hand: for except a man is for ever bent on increasing his merit by good and worthy deeds, he will have to suffer bitterly for his thoughtlessness, whilst another, weighed down at present with care and sorrow, may advance towards a joyful re-incarnation. Norr 39.— The almost universal belief in an “im- mortal soul” within us — that is to say, in an entity limited but eternal, and endowed with consciousness, arises chiefly from the selfish craving for personal immortality. It is a superstition forming part of the delusive ‘will to live,” and is one of the ten fetters which rivet man to life and prevent his deliverance. Note 40.— To prove to the uninitiated reader how a man can to a certain degree become quite another without losing his identity, it will suffice to point out to him the difference in the stages of life. The old man is quite other than the infant, and none the less both are one and the same person. Norte 41.— Some thirty years ago, when the French (Roman Catholic) missionaries asked leave of the king of Siam to have a settlement in his country, it was granted with the greatest readiness and kindness. And the king, moreover, gave the missionaries a piece of land and wished them all possible success. The attempt proved a failure; no creditable converts were made. But there were some of another sort who tried to show their Christian zeal by defiling the images of a Buddhist temple close by. The inhabitants of the village belonging to the temple complained to the king, but he advised them to keep quiet, to put up the images in some other place, and to avoid any discus- sion, for, he added, “Religion stands too high to be A BUDDHIST CATECHISM 93 made the subject of such petty quarreling with for- elgners.” When the English Protestant missionary, Edkins, went to see a Buddhist monastery in China, the Superior received him with great kindness, and even offered him gratuitously a piece of land attached to the monastery for the purpose of building a Christian Church. Hundreds of similar instances can be men- tioned. By Christians this is called apathetic indifference, by Buddhists tolerance, and is the sentiment of kind- ness enjoined by the Buddha himself, even towards non-believers. Nore 42.— To African savages telegraphy, for in- stance, is a miracle; Europeans know that it rests on natural laws. It is the same with phenomena which we are not able to explain. Notes 43. — All the European Orientalists are unani- mous in their admiration of the extraordinary powers of memory of Indian Brahmans. Max Miiller, one of the greatest living authorities in Oriental lore, main- tains that if the collective manuscripts and printed copies of the Brahman Scriptures were suddenly destroyed, they could easily be replaced again, word for word and syllable for syllable, with the help of the Brahmans, who know them perfectly by heart. Note 44.— Buddhism has no mission to teach physical science. It has nothing to do with the out- ward qualities of things, but with their innermost be- ing, and therefore its position with regard to science is neither hostile nor dependent. The educated Buddhist is not prejudiced against natural science. He carefully examines the conclu- sions advanced, uninfluenced by any religious scruples, and he adopts those which seem to him to be correct. 94 A BUDDHIST CATECHISM European learned men have for this reason always met with kindness and courtesy in Buddhist countries. The Buddhist knows that science, like everything else, is liable to change; that it is progressing, and able to impart much useful knowledge not taught in the times of the Buddha. On the other hand, he is aware that no progress, no discovery, can be made in contra- diction to the Buddha’s teaching. He looks on science as a terrestrial sister of the eternal truth. Science enlightens the understanding and enables the mind to receive higher knowledge, but the eternal truth alone, taught by the Buddha, leads to full light and deliverance. He who possesses perfect knowledge of the “Four Grand Truths” can dispose with science, whilst the most comprehensive scientific learning is yet, from the standpoint of higher knowledge, ignorance (avidya), because it cannot lead to deliverance from suffering and re-birth. Norte 45.— The word “Sangha” has been rendered by “Brotherhood of the Elect,” though the term does not quite correspond with the original meaning. “Sangha” literally signifies, “the Brotherhood of all the Bhikshus or Samanas,” the true disciples and followers of the Buddha. Both Bhikshu and Samana are terms for which no adequate translation can be found. The literal trans- lation of Bhikshu is “beggar,” but not found in the modern European sense of the word, where it implies something low and degrading.