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The updsikdwa Suppiya, cut a piece of flesh from her thigh, which she presented to a priest who was sick, and the next day the wound in her thigh was healed. These and others, as Sumana, Mallika, and Ekasatika, received the reward of their merit in the same birth.'* Milinda : " True ; but this is only like finding a few pearls in the great ocean ; therefore, I still think that demerit is more powerful than merit. Some- times in one single day I punish a hundred or a thousand men for their crimes. Again, in the battle that was fought between the brahman Bhadras41a, of the race of Nandagutta, and Chand* ragutta, of the race of Sdkya, there were slain on both sides as follows : — About eighty persons had their heads cut off, 10,000 elephants, 100,000 horses, 50,000 charioteers, and a hundred IX. THE ONTOLOGY OF BUDHISM. 469 kelas of infantrj, were slain ; the eighty headless trnnks rose up in the field of battle, and danced. Now all this bloodshed arose from the inflnence of demerit. Bat the monarch of Kdsala pre- sented an ofEering of nneqnalled yalne ; for which he received no increase of wealth or prosperity. Therefore, that which I have declared mnst be trae ; merit mast be far less powerful than de- merit P " Nagas^na : '' The power of demerit is small, and therefore its effects soon appear; the power of merit is great, and therefore its effects do not appear with the same rapidity. Thus, the esculent water lily, so much used in the region called Aparanta, is ready to be cut in one month after it has been sown, but the best rice requires five months in which to ripen. The value of the rice, however, is far greater than that of the water lily ; the one is the food of kings, whilst the other is only eaten by labourers and slayes." Milinda : ** This may be ; but that warrior is the most famous who enters into the battle, seizes his powerful adversary, overcomes him, and at once drasrs him into the presence of his commander; that surgeon is accounted the most skilful, who quickly takes out the nail or the stake, and heals the wound that has thereby been caused ; and that wrestler is the most applauded, who speedily throws down his opponent. In like manner, whether it be merit or de- merit, that which produces its effects in the shortest penod will be considered the most powerful." Ndgas^na : " Demerit is con- nected with crime ; but merit is not ; when a man commits any crime he is speedily punished ; but it is not so with a man who in a place of trust acts with integrity ; his reward is delayed. . The criminal is sought for that punishment may be administered ; but when a reward is to be given, there is no seeking of the in- dividual who has proved himself to be thus worthy. Therefore, notwithstanding these objections, merit may be more powerful than demerit ; a fact that is not to be controverted.*' When merit and demerit are both acquired, the former in- creases in a greater degree than the latter. In this way. The man who acquires demerit reflects that he has done wrong, and is brought to repentance, by which he is prevented from again committing the same crime. The man who acquires merit reflects that he has done right, by which satisfaction is produced in his mind ; from satisfaction comes pleasure ; from pleasure, joy ; from joy, comfort of body ; from comfort of body, tranquillity ; 470 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. by which he perceiyes the good effects of merit. Thus demerit decreases, and merit increases. Again, a man who (for some crime) has his hands and feet cut o£E, presents a bonch of flowers to a Bndha, bj which he is prevented from entering hell daring ninety-one kalpas; and in this manner he learns the manner in which the increase of merit is obtained. 9. The reward of merit is according to its character, as well as its degree. When it arises from something unconnected with the dharmma, worldly prosperity is received, or birth is seonred as a garnnda, supamna, or n4ga. When it arises from something connected with the dharmma, it secures birth in a dewa-16ka or brahma-16ka, or an entrance into the paths. 10. The king of Sdgal propounded this question to Nagas^na, '* Is happiness connected with merit, or with demerit, or with a combination of the two ? " N4gas6na replied, ^' It is connected with merit, and with demerit, and with the combination of the two.'' Milinda : " But if there be merit, there is no sorrow ; if there be sorrow, there is no merit ; if happiness be connected with merit, it must be with that alone ; if with demerit, it must be with that alone ; merit and sorrow cannot appear together." Ndgasena : " There is a man who holds in his hand a bar of iron that has been heated during a whole day, and in the other hand a piece of ice from the forest of Himala ; will both the iron and the ice burn the hand of him who holds them ? "* Milinda : " Yes, they will." Nagas6na : " What, are the iron and the ioe both of them hot?'' Milinda: "No." Nagasena: "Are ihey both cold ? " Milinda : ** No." Ndgas6na : " Therefore you see into the futility of your argument ; if it be heat alone that bums, it is evident that they are not both hot ; therefore it is not true that happiness and sorrow cannot exist together ; or if it be oold alone that burns, it is evident that they are not both cold; therefore it is not true that merit and sorrow cannot exist together ; they are not both hot, neither are they both cold ; the one is hot, and the other is cold ; yet they both bum, they both produce the same effect: in the same way, merit and sorrow may exist together." 11. In reply to questions that were put to him by Sekra, Budha said, '* There are five kinds of pride. 1. Of possessions. * I have seen the sensation of cold, on grasping iron, compared to that of heat ; I think, by one of our north-polar navigators. IX. THE ONTOLOGY OF BUDHISM. 471 2. Of family or caste. 3. Of benefits tliat hare been gained. 4. Of personal character. 5. Of leligioas knowledge. Whoso- CTer is prond of his possessions will afterwards be bom an asdr, a pr6ta, or a jakd, living on a dnnghill and delighting in filth. Whosoever is prond of his family may be born a man ; bnt he will vomit warm blood, or flames will proceed ont of his mouth, or his bowels will burst. Whosoever is prond of benefits that have been gained, will be bom a pr^ta, a yaka, or a worm. Whosoever is proud of his personal character, will be bom ugly, with large lips. Whosoever is proud of his religious knowledge, will be bom in the hell of ashes. They who are thus unwise place themselves at a distance from the paths ; yet until they attain them these evils must continue to be endured, however much they may try to free themselves therefrom." 12. It was said by Budha in the Siwaka^stitra that disease may arise from an excess of the morbid humours, without any reference whatever to the karma of the individual by whom the pain is felt. " If any one," said he, *' declares that all sensation, whether it be pleasure, pain, or indifference, is caused by the merit or demerit of former births, be he priest or be he brahman, his declaration is false." 13. The happiness and misery that may be alternately received by the same being, were thus described by the prince Mahanama to his brother Anui^dha, when he was endeavouring to prevail upon him to become a priest : — " The being who is still subject to birth may at one time sport in the beautiful garden of a d^wa- l<5ka, and at another be cut to a thousand pieces in hell ; at one time he may be Maha Brahma, and at another a degraded out- caste ; at one time he may eat the food of the d6was, and at another he may have molten lead poured down his throat ; at one time he may sip nectar, and at another be made to drink blood. Alternately, he may repose on a couch with the d^wis, and writhe on a bed of red hot iron ; enjoy the society of the d^was, and be dragged through a thicket of thorns ; bathe in a celestial river, and be plunged in the briny ocean of hell ; become wild with pleasure, and then with pain ; reside in a mansion of gold, and be exposed on a mountain of lava ; sit on the throne of the d6was, and be impaled with hungry dogs around ; drawn in a chariot of the d^was, and dragged in a chariot of fire ; drawn by an elephant, and yoked like a beast, to the chariot of others; 472 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM.