8. Satara-sangwara-síla, from satara, four, sangwara, self-control, and silá, precepts. They are―1. Prátimóksha, the observance of all the precepts contained in the Prátimóksha, from the fear of breaking even the least of them. 2. Indriya, the entire freedom from any affection for sensible objects, as when the beautiful figure is seen, it is as though it were not seen: when the pleasant sound is heard, it is as though it were not heard. 3. Ajíwapárisudhi, the keeping of such precepts, as that when the priest goes to receive alms he must not by word or gesture make known that food or raiment is desired by him. 4. Prat'yasannisrata, the observance of such precepts as those that inculcate that when the robe is put on, it is not for beauty or ornament, but to ward off the heat and cold, musquitoes, flies, snakes, the rays of the sun, and the wind.

These treatises are to be learnt by the novice; and in the works that he is afterwards required to read, he is frequently reminded that great diligence and exertion must be used, if he would succeed in effecting the object for which he has become a recluse. On one occasion, Budha said to the priests by whom he was accompanied, “Were a man, who wishes to make a small fire into a large one, to take wet grass, wet cow-dung, and wet fuel, and blow it with a wet winnowing fan, you would say that he is unskilful. In like manner, the mind of the being who is idle and indifferent cannot be brought into the paths that lead to nirwána simply by abstract meditation; he must investigate causes and exercise energy even as the fire is increased by applying to it fuel that is dry." It is said again, "The bowman seeks out good weapons, plants his foot carefully, and when he has succeeded in cleaving a hair with the arrow, marks the manner in which it was done, and tries the same method on other occasions. The skilful cook seeketh out condiments that are savoury, and makes such food as he thinks will be agreeable to his master; and when he finds that his master has enjoyed this dish or eaten plentifully of that, he prepares the same kind of food again, and so gains credit with his master, receiving many presents, In like manner, the priest who would enter the paths meditates carefully on the precepts, puts them to the test, and repeats the practice of those by which he is assisted."*

The novice is taught that there are eight benefits to be derived from becoming a recluse:-1. Deliverance from wastu-káma, the love of wealth, and klésa-káma, the love of pleasure. 2. The re

*Wisudhi Margga Sanné

3. The custom of eating any

ception of food in a proper manner. food that comes to hand, of what kind soever it may be. 4. Deliverance from the oppression of wicked men and of kings. 5. Freedom from all anxiety about such things as gardens, fields, and cattle. 6. Deliverance from the dread of thieves. 7. Deliverance from the dread of persons in authority, and release from the necessity of rising up when they approach. 8. Deliverance from fear, in whatever place.*

There are also ten things that cause men to neglect the assumption of the yellow robe, or tempt them to cast it off after it has been assumed:-1. The mother. 2. The father. 3. The wife. 4. Children. 5. Poor relations. The thought will come that these relatives ought to be provided for, which cannot be done by the recluse. 6. Friends. 7. Property. 8. The desire of obtaining wealth. 9. The desire of worldly honour. 10. The love of pleasure.†

The precepts must be obeyed from a pure motive. Were any one to practise the Ten Obligations merely "to fill the belly," this man, deceiving the laity, greedy of fame, destitute of virtue, and unworthy to enjoy the privileges of the priesthood, will receive a double punishment; after death he will be born in the Awíchi hell, where he will have to reside myriads of years, in the midst of flames, hot, fierce, and overpowering, in which he will be turned upside down, and in every possible direction, covered with foam. When released from this hell, he will be born in the hell of sprites, where he will have a body extremely attenuated, and most loathsome in its appearance, whilst he will have to endure the severest privations, and will have to walk upon earth in misery, the spectre of a priest. Just as when a man of ignoble appearance and inferior family, by some deception succeeds in being anointed king: but he is afterwards punished: his arms, legs, nose, and ears are cut off; the scalp is torn away, and boiling gruel poured on his head; his skull is rubbed with gravel until it is white as a sea-shell; a lighted brand being put in his mouth, his body is rubbed with oil and set on fire; his frame is hacked; he is thrown down, and a spike being driven from ear to ear he is pinned to the ground; his flesh is torn with hooks, and cut with small pieces of metal like coins; the body is transfixed to the ground, and turned round and round by the legs, the pin serving as a pivot; he is flogged, until his body is of the consistence of a whisp of straw; he is eaten by hungry-dogs; his

tongue is fastened to a stake, and he remains there until he dies; or he is beheaded.* By these terrible allusions the novice is warned against becoming a recluse merely that he may secure a livelihood; and they may be received as illustrative of the modes of punishment then used.

The priest who does not obey the precepts is represented as being like a man who daubs himself all over with the most disgusting filth in order to render himself beautiful: he is like an ass among cattle; he is shunned by all; he is like the fire of a cemetery where bodies are burnt, or like one blind, or an outcaste.†

Upon another occasion it was declared by Budha, in the Aggikkhanda-pariyá-sútra, that it is better for a priest to embrace the flame than to approach a woman, however exalted her rank; that the consquence of the one act would be only temporary pain, or at most death; whilst the consequence of the other would be long-continued torment amidst the flames of hell. He said further, that it were better for the priest who does not keep the precepts to be bound with a cord made of hair, and dragged from place to place until his flesh is torn off, and his bones are laid bare, even to the marrow, than for such a one to receive worship from the faithful of any of the three great castes that it were better for him to be cruelly pierced in the body than to receive service from the welldisposed among the laity; that it were better for him to have molten metal poured down his throat, until his lips, teeth, tongue, stomach, and intestines were all burnt, than for him to receive an offering of food given as alms: that it were better for him to be put in a red-hot iron chair or bed, or to be put into a caldron of molten metal with his head downwards, than for him to receive the gift of a residence. The misery in the one case is merely temporary, but in the other case it will endure long. The receiving of honour or assistance by the priest who breaks the precepts is like the eating of food upon which the serpent has left its poison: it is no benefit to him, and will be attended by intense suffering.‡

The course of asceticism upon which the novice enters is intended, not only to overcome the evils of the passing moment, but also to prevent the afflictions of the future. This is he taught from one of the conversations that took place between Milinda and Nágaséna. The king said to the sage, "Are the pains that you take intended to drive away past sorrow?" and when he answered that † Ibid.

* Wisudhi Margga Sanné

Ibid.

D

they were not, the king again asked, "Are they to drive away present sorrow ? but the answer was the same. Milinda : :- "Then if it be neither to drive away past sorrow nor present, why do you take pains at all?" Nágaséna:- "We thus exert ourselves that we may destroy present sorrow and drive away future sorrow." Milinda :"Is there future sorrow?" Nágaséna :-"No." Milinda :-"You are wise and learned, and yet do you take pains to destroy a sorrow that does not exist?" Nágaséna :-" When the kings that are your enemies come to fight against you, do you just at that time dig the ditches of your fortifications, build the walls, place the guards in the watch-towers, and lay in provisions for the siege?" Milinda:-"No: I should prepare all these things before the day came." Nágaséna :—“ Would you on that day begin to train the elephants, the horses, the charioteers, the archers, the swordsmen, and the mace-men?" Milinda:-"No: all this is done beforehand." Nágaséna:-"Why?" Milinda :-" To ward off future fear (or fear of the future.)" Nágaséna :- "Is there future fear?" Milinda: :"No." Nágaséna :—“ You are a wise and prudent king, and do you prepare all things necessary for the battle in order that you may drive away a fear that in reality has no existence?" The king requested further information. Nágaséna proceeded and said, "When you are thirsty, and wish to drink water, do you tell your servants to dig the well or open the fountain? Do you not cause these places to be prepared beforehand? And thus you give orders relative to a thirst that has no existence. Again, when you are hungry, and wish to eat rice, do you tell your servants to plough the field and sow the grain? Do you not cause the rice to be cultivated beforehand? And yet you, a wise and prudent king, do all this relative to the driving away of a hunger that is still future, and has therefore no existence. In like manner the priest acts in relation to the future; that which he does is in order to drive away future sorrow."

It excited the wonder of Milinda that the priests should have any regard whatever to the body; but the novice is to bear in mind that this is done, not from complacency or pride, but that it may be the better adapted to carry into effect the ascetic rites he is called upon to exercise. The king said to Nágaséna, "Do the priests respect the body?" and when the sage replied in the negative, he again asked, "Then why do they take so much pains to preserve it? Do they not by this means say, this is me, or mine?" Nágaséna :

Milinda :–

"Were you ever wounded by an arrow in battle?" "Yes." Nágaséna :— "Was not the wound anointed? Was it not rubbed with oil? And was it not covered with a soft bandage?" Milinda : -"Yes." Nágaséna :-" Was this done because you respected the wound, or took delight in it?" Milinda:-" No; but that it might be healed." Nágaséna :-" In like manner, the priests do not preserve the body because they respect it; but that they may have the power required for the keeping of the precepts."

There are some priests who throw off the robe and return to the state of a laic. This might be brought as a charge against the system of Budha; it may be said that it is without power, or they would not have acted in such a manner. But the novice is taught to reason thus. There is a tank full of water; now if a man have his body covered with dirt and dust, and his garments all soiled, where is the fault? Can it be charged upon the water? Again, there is a skilful physician; now if a man labour under a severe disease, and does not apply to the physician, the disease may increase in malignity, but is the skill of the physician thereby impeached? Is it not rather the fault of the man? Again, there is plenty of food provided, and plenty of water, and men are invited to partake of them; but if they refuse, and will rather suffer hunger and thirst than come, can blame be attached to the food or the water? In like manner, when the priest, without attaining nirwána, leaves his robe and becomes a laic, it is not the fault of the system but of the man; he is not sincere; therefore the system has no hold upon him, as the lotus does not allow the water to adhere to its petals, or as the sea casts upon the shore any body that may be thrown into its waves. When the warrior sees that he has to encounter an armed host, he becomes afraid, and runs away; he cannot face the enemy; so the priest who does not keep the precepts, by which he might be preserved, is overcome by evil desire, as he is without any defence or protection. When there are flowers upon a tree, those that are worm-eaten fall down and rot; whilst those that are not thus eaten continue to flourish, and send forth their perfume on every side; and again, there may be grass and rushes in the field where the best rice is sown, but whilst the rice ripens, the grass and rushes will wither and die. Now the priest who does not keep the precepts is like the worm-eaten flower, or the grass of the rice field.*

*Milinda Prasna.