“2. Those that are in a middle degree of intellectual and moral capacity, besides admitting the former position, must know that every compound thing is perishable, that there is no reality in things, that every imperfection is pain, and that deliverance from pain or bodily existence is final happiness. [[331]]
“3. Those of the highest capacities, besides the above enumerated articles, must know that, from the body to the supreme soul, nothing is existing by itself, neither can it be said that it will continue always or cease absolutely, but that everything exists by a dependant or casual connexion.”[3]
One cause of the extension of the religion of Buddha appears to be the broad basis upon which admission to the priesthood has ‘been placed. No one can become a Brahmin except by birth, but the privileges of becoming a Lama are open to all who are willing to receive them upon the conditions implied in their acceptance. The principal duties to be attended to, by one about to become a priest, are thus laid down:—“He who, with a firm faith in the religion of Truth, believes in Buddha, shall rise before daylight, and, having cleaned his teeth, shall then sweep all the places appointed to be swept in the vicinity of the ‘Vihara,’ or monastery; after which he shall fetch the water that is required for use, filter it, and place it ready for drinking. When this is done, he shall retire to a solitary place, and for the space of three hours meditate on the obligations of his vow. The bell will then ring, and he must reflect that greater than [[332]]the gift of 100 elephants, 100 horses, and 100 chariots, is the reward of him who takes one step towards the place where worship is offered. Thus reflecting, he shall approach the ‘Dagoba,’ where relics of holy men are placed, and perform that which is appointed; he shall offer flowers just as if Buddha were present in person, meditate on the nine virtues of Buddha with a fixed and determined mind, and seek forgiveness for his faults, just as if the sacred relics were endowed with life. He shall then meditate on the advantages to be derived from carrying the alms-bowl and putting on the yellow robe.” The injunctions on the priesthood relative to their abstracting their thoughts and desires from all earthly matters whatever, are of the strictest nature. “The door of the eye is to be kept shut. When the outer gates of the city are left open, though the door of every separate house and store be shut, the enemy will enter the city and take possession; in like manner, though all the ordinances be kept, if the eye be permitted to wander, affection for worldly objects will be produced.” A story is told of a priest named Chittagutta, who resided once in a cave, upon the walls of which the history of Buddha was painted “in the finest style of art.”
The cave was visited by some priests, who [[333]]expressed their admiration of the paintings to Chittagutta, but the devotee replied that he had lived there sixty years and had never seen them, nor would he, except for their information, ever have become aware of their existence. There was near the door of his cave a spreading tree; but he only knew that it was there by the fall of its leaves or flowers; the tree itself he never saw, as he carefully observed the precept not to look upwards, or to a distance!
The priest of Buddha must possess but eight articles: three of these are matters of dress; the others, a girdle for the loins, an alms-bowl, a razor, a needle, and a water-strainer. The bowl receives the food presented in alms; the razor is for shaving the head; the needle keeps his yellow wardrobe in order; and the water-strainer is the most serviceable of all, for “if any priest shall knowingly drink water containing insects, he shall be ejected from the priesthood.”
The Dagobas, or shrines of relics, which abound in such numbers in Thibet, have also been found in India and other countries. Some of them when opened have been found to contain what appears to be remains of a funeral pile, also vessels of stone or metal, and, occasionally, caskets of silver and gold, curiously wrought. “Some of these have been chased with a series [[334]]of four figures, representing Buddha in the act of preaching; a mendicant is on his right, a lay follower on his left, and behind the latter a female disciple.” This somewhat describes the appearance of the stone-carved figures at the monastery of Hemis.[4] These caskets have been set with rubies and chased with the leaves of the lotus. Besides these have also been found small pearls, gold buttons, rings, beads, pieces of clay and stone bearing impressions of figures, bits of bone, and teeth of animals, pieces of cloth, &c. The images are sometimes recumbent, at other times standing upright, with the hand uplifted in the act of giving instruction. Sometimes they have three heads and six or more arms.
In order to form clear and accurate ideas of the religion of Buddha, it would be necessary to study a vast number of volumes, some of them contradictory and of very doubtful authority, and the result would appear hardly to compensate for the trouble, so altered has modern Buddhism become from ancient, and into so many different systems has it been divided in the many different countries in which it is professed. Among its doctrines there is much that is virtuous and true. It preaches benevolence and goodwill towards men, but enjoins [[335]]no active efforts to prove the sincerity of such goodwill. It requires its members to “confess their sins with a contrite heart, to ask forgiveness of them, and to repent truly, with a resolution not to commit such again. To rejoice in the moral merit and perfection of human beings, and to wish that they may attain beatitude; further, to pray and exhort others to turn the wheel of religion, that the world may be benefited thereby.” Its general aim seems to be to overcome all emotions and preferences of the mind, and all that would disturb its repose and quiet. It seeks to destroy the human passions and not to regulate them; and with faith in Buddha only as its aid, it succeeds about as well as might have been anticipated.
Between these two religions of Brahma and Buddha, that of the “Jains” sprang up, apparently a heresy from both. It has nearly died out in India, though many ruins of its temples remain. The Jains agree with the Buddhists as to the transmigration of souls, and carry their respect for life to the still greater extent, that besides a strainer to remove all animalculæ from the water they imbibe, they carry a broom to sweep away the insects from their path. They differ from the Brahmins in repudiating their minor incarnations and gods, as the following [[336]]translation will serve to show:—“A rajah, of the name of Gondshekur, had a minister, Abhûechund, who converted him to the Jain religion. He prohibited the worship of Vishnu, and all gifts of cows, land, and balls of flour and rice, and would not allow any one to carry away bones to the Ganges. One day the minister began to say, ‘O great king, be pleased to listen to the judgments and explanations of religion: Whosoever takes another’s life, that other takes his life in another world. The birth of a man after he has again come into the world does not escape from this sin; he is born again and again, and dies again and again. For this reason it is right for a man, who has been born in the world, to cultivate religion. Behold! Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahadeo, being under the influence of love, anger, and fascination, descend upon the earth in various ways; but a cow is superior to them all, for it is free from anger, enmity, intoxication, rage, avarice, and inordinate affection, and affords protection to the subject; and her sons also behave kindly to, and cherish the animals of the earth, and therefore all the gods and sages regard the cow with respect. For this reason, it is not right to regard the gods—in this world, respect the cow. It is virtuous to protect all animals, from [[337]]the elephant to the ant, and from beasts and birds to man. In the world there is no act so impious as for men to increase their own flesh by eating the flesh of other creatures. They who do not sympathise in the griefs of animated beings, and who kill and eat other animals, do not live long on the earth, and are born lame, maimed, blind, dwarfs, and humpbacked, &c.; and it is a great sin to drink wine and eat flesh; wherefore to do so is improper. The minister, having thus explained his sentiments to the rajah, converted him to the Jain religion, so that he did whatever the minister said, and no longer paid any respect to Brahmins, Fukeers, Jogies, Dervishes, &c., and carried on his government according to this religion.”
W.H.K. Delt. Hanhart, Lith.