And how a thousand thousand lakhs since then
Have trod the Path which leads whither he went
Unto Nirvana, where the Silence lives.”
—The Light of Asia. Sir Edwin Arnold.
[3] When a novice seeks admission to a monastic order, an ordination service is conducted by a chapter of monks, at which the following vows are administered. “I take the vow not to destroy life. I take the vow not to steal. I take the vow to abstain from impurity. I take the vow not to lie. I take the vow to abstain from intoxicating drinks, which hinder progress and virtue. I take the vow not to eat at forbidden times. I take the vow to abstain from dancing, singing, music, and stage plays. I take the vow not to use garlands, scents, unguents, or ornaments. I take the vow not to use a high or broad bed. I take the vow not to receive gold or silver.” (Compare Buddhism. T. W. Rhys Davids.)
[4] “The primary motive for doing good, and worshipping Buddha, according to these scriptures (the Buddha scriptures of Nipal), is the hope of obtaining absorption into the nature of the god, and being freed from transmigrations.”—China. Sir John Francis Davis.
“And is thy faith so much to give,
Is it so hard a thing to see,
That the Spirit of God, whate’er it be,