Chapter C: Heavens of formless entities (12)

‘Now at that time the Bhikkhus hung up their bowls on pins in the
walls, or on hooks. The pins or hooks falling down, the bowls were
broken. They told this matter to the Blessed One. “You are not, O
Bhikkhus, to hang your bowls up. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty
of a dukkata” (offence). Now at that time the Bhikkhus put their
bowls down on a bed, or a chair; and sitting down thoughtlessly they
upset them, and the bowls were broken. They told this matter to the
Blessed One. “You are not, O Bhikkhus, to put your bowls on a bed,
or on a chair. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty of a dukkata”
(offence). Now at that time the Bhikkhus kept their bowls on their
laps; and rising up thoughtlessly they upset them, and the bowls
were broken. They told this matter to the Blessed One. “You are not,
O Bhikkhus, to keep your bowls on your laps. Whosoever does so,
shall be guilty of a dukkata” (offence). Now at that time the
Bhikkhus put their bowls down on a sunshade; and the sunshade being
lifted up by a whirlwind, the bowls rolled over and were broken.
They told this matter to the Blessed One. “You are not, O Bhikkhus,
to put your bowls down on a sunshade. Whosoever does so, shall be
guilty of a dukkata.” Now at that time the Bhikkhus, when they were
holding the bowls in their hands, opened the door. The door
springing back, the bowls were broken. They told this matter to the
Blessed One. “You are not, O Bhikkhus, to open the door with your
bowls in your hands. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty of a
dukkata.” Now at that time the Bhikkhus did not use tooth-sticks,
and their mouths got a bad odour. They told this matter to the
Blessed One. “There are these five disadvantages, O Bhikkhus, in not
using tooth-sticks—it is bad for the eyes—the mouth becomes
bad-smelling—the passages by which the flavours of the food pass are
not pure—bile and phlegm get into the food—and the food does not
taste well to him who does not use them. These are the five
disadvantages, O Bhikkhus, in not using tooth-sticks.” “There are
five advantages, O Bhikkhus” (etc., the converse of the last). “I
allow you, O Bhikkhus, tooth-sticks.” Now at that time the
Ćhabbaggiya Bhikkhus used long tooth-sticks; and even struck the
Sāmaṇeras with them. They told this matter to the Blessed One. “You
are not, O Bhikkhus, to use too long tooth-sticks. Whosoever does
so, shall be guilty of a dukkata. I allow you, O Bhikkhus,
tooth-sticks up to eight finger-breadths in length. And Sāmaṇeras
are not to be struck with them. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty
of a dukkata.” Now at that time a certain Bhikkhu, when using too
short a tooth-stick got it stuck in his throat. They told this
matter to the Blessed One. “You are not, O Bhikkhus, to use too
short a tooth-stick. Whosoever does so, shall be guilty of a
dukkata. I allow you, O Bhikkhus, tooth-sticks four finger-breadths
long at the least.”’

[281]Although this Lecture was written and in type before the
publication of the Bishop of Colombo’s article in the July (1888)
number of the ‘Nineteenth Century,’ I need not say that I wish here,
as the Bishop has done, to draw attention to the collection of
‘moral horrors’ existing in some parts of the Pārājika books—the
disgusting detail of every conceivable form of revolting vice,
supposed to be perpetrated or perpetrable by monks.

[282]Dr. Kellogg, in his excellent work, ‘the Light of Asia and the
Light of the World,’ well criticizes Professor Seydel’s
Buddhist-Christian Harmony, as well as the Professor’s views on this
point expressed in his work entitled ‘Das Evangelium von Jesu in
Seinen Verhältnissen zu Buddha-Sage und Buddha-Lehre.’ Leipzig,
1880.

[283]It is true that in the Lalita-vistara Buddha is described in terms
which appear to assimilate his character to the Christian conception
of a Saviour; but how could any man, however good and great, have
any claim to be called either a Saviour or Redeemer, who only
revealed to his fellow-men such a method of getting rid of pain and
suffering, through their own works and merits, as must lead them in
the end to extinction of all personal existence? The very essence of
Christ’s character as a Saviour is His divine power of transferring
His own perfect merits to imperfect men, and leading them from death
to eternal life, not to eternal extinction of life.

[284]In regard to the Buddhist doctrine of terrific purgatorial torments
in some of the numerous Hells see p. 120 of this volume.

[285]See Dhamma-pada, 127.

[286]I have not followed the exact words in our authorized translation
of St. Luke iv. 18, because they must be taken with Isaiah.

[287]Exodus iii. 14.

[288]St. Matthew xi. 5.

[289]Sacred Books of the East, xiii. 133.

[290]It is necessary to point out that these acts of self-sacrifice took
place in former states of existence, for when a man becomes a Buddha
he has no need to gain merit by self-sacrifice.

[291]See p. 130.

[292]A Buddhist writer in a Buddhist magazine, published in Ceylon, has
lately taken me to task for asserting in a recent speech that
Christianity denies the all-sufficiency of good works as an
instrument of salvation. It is easy to quote passages, such as those
in the epistle of St. James, in support of his one-sided view of
this question, but I need scarcely say that the writer has much to
learn as to the true character of our Bible, in which no text has
full force without its context, and no part can be taken to
establish a doctrine without a comparison with other parts, and
without the balancing of apparent contradictions in both Old and New
Testaments.

_WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR._

_Brāhmanism and Hindūism_, or Religious Thought and Life in India, as
based on the Veda and other Sacred Books of the Hindūs. Third and
cheaper Edition, with full index. John Murray, Albemarle Street. 1887.
10_s._ 6_d._

_Indian Wisdom_, or Examples of the Religious, Philosophical, and
Ethical Doctrines of the Hindūs: with a brief history of the chief
departments of Sanskṛit Literature, and some account of the past and
present condition of India, Moral and Intellectual.

_Modern India and the Indians_: A Series of Impressions, Notes, and
Essays. Fourth Edition, with index. Trübner & Co., Ludgate Hill. 1888.

_Hindūism._ Published by the Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge.

_Sanskṛit-English Dictionary._ Published at the University Press,
Oxford. Henry Frowde, 7 Paternoster Row. 1888.

_English-Sanskṛit Dictionary._ At the India Office.

_Practical Sanskṛit Grammar._ Fourth Edition. At the University Press,
Oxford. Henry Frowde, 7 Paternoster Row. 1877.

_Sanskṛit Manual with Exercises._ W. H. Allen & Co.

_Ṡakuntalā._ A Sanskṛit Drama, in Seven Acts; the Text, with critical
and explanatory notes and literal English translations. Second
Edition. At the University Press, Oxford. Henry Frowde, 7 Paternoster
Row. 1876. 8vo. cloth, 21_s._

_Vikramorrasī._ A Sanskṛit Drama. The Text. Stephen Austin, Hertford.

_A Free Translation in English Prose and Verse of the Sanskṛit Drama
Ṡakoontalā_, with a portrait of the heroine and her two friends. Fifth
Edition. John Murray, Albemarle Street. 1887. 7_s._ 6_d._ First
Edition printed on fine paper, illuminated and illustrated by Stephen
Austin, Hertford.

_Story of Nala_: A Sanskṛit Poem, with full Vocabulary and an improved
version of Dean Milman’s Translation. University Press, Oxford, and 7
Paternoster Row.

_Application of the Roman Alphabet to the Languages of India._
Longmans.

_Practical Hindūstānī Grammar._ Longmans.

_Bāgh o Bahār._ The Hindūstānī Text in the Roman character. Longmans.

Transcriber’s Notes

--Corrected palpable typos.

--Incorporated most author’s corrections into the text.

--Inserted author’s additions into additional footnotes tagged
“—_Corr._”