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 imi 'i M i' . i uiEtyi 
 
 KmS Tassa Bhaguvafo Arahato Samma Sambu.Jdhassa 
 
 THE 
 
 BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 HENRY S. OLCOTT 
 
 «) 
 
 I'RtSIDEXT-FOUNDER OP THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 
 
 Approved and recommended for use in Buddhist tchool, by 
 
 H. Sl-maxgaia, Pradhana NuynJca Sthavira, High 
 
 Priett of Sripuda and the Western Province and 
 
 Principal of the Vidyodaya Parivena 
 
 Forty-fourth Edition. (Corrected) 
 
 Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Madras 
 
 ';■ 
 
 London and Benares : Thkosophicat 4 Plijushinv. SociETr 
 
 
 1915 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 Microsoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/buddhistcatechisOOolcorich 
 
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 DEDICATION 
 
 In token of respect and affection I dedicate to my 
 counsellor and friend of many years, Hikkaduwe 
 Sumangala, Pradhana Xayaka Sthavfra and High 
 Priest of Adam's Peak (Sripada) and the Western 
 Province, The Buddhist Catechism, in its revised form. 
 
 H. S. Olcott 
 Adyar, 1903. 
 
 ZQ05< 
 
•'■■■--"-•'■ ■—..-■ — — ... ...... - 
 
 1*115" 
 
 
 CONTEXTS 
 
 The Life of the Buddha . . < 
 
 The Dharma or Doctrixe . 
 
 The Saxcha .... 
 
 The Rise and Spread of Buddhism 
 
 Buddhism and Science 
 
 Appendix— The Fourteen Propositions accepted by 
 
 the Northern and Southern Bu.ldhists as a Plat 
 
 form of Unity 
 
 PAGE 
 1 
 
 22 
 61 
 68 
 78 
 
 91 
 
 -1039363 
 
I irf ■■ J ,■ I ■ -1-1 
 
 
 CERTIFICATE TO THE FIRST EDITION 
 
 Vidyodaya College, 
 
 Colombo, 1th July, 1881. 
 
 I hereby certify that I have carefully examined the 
 Sinhalese version of the Catechism prepared by Colonel 
 H. S. Olcott, and that the same is in agreement with 
 the Canon of the Southern Buddhist Church. I 
 recommend the work to teachers in Buddhist schools, 
 and to all others who may wish to impart information 
 to beginners about the essential features of our 
 religion. 
 
 H. SuMANGALA, 
 
 High Priest of Srijxida and Guile, 
 and Principal of the Vidyodaya 
 Parivena. 
 
 Vidyodaya College, 
 
 April 7, 1897. 
 
 I have gone over the thirty-third (English) edition of 
 the Catechism, with the help of interpreters, and 
 confirm my recommendation for its use in Buddhist 
 
 schools. 
 
 H. Sumangala 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO THE THIRTY-THIRD EDITION 
 
 Ix the working out of my original plan, I have added 
 more questions and answers in the text of each new 
 English edition of the Catechism, leaving it to its 
 translators to render them into whichever of the other 
 vernaculars they may be working in. The unpretend- 
 ing aim in view is to give so succinct and yet 
 comprehensive a digest of Buddhistic history, ethics 
 and philosophy as to enable beginners to understand 
 and appreciate the noble ideal taught by the Buddha, 
 and thus make it easier for them to follow out the 
 Oharma in its details. In the present edition a great 
 many new questions and answers have been introduced, 
 while the matter has been grouped within five 
 categories, viz. : (1) The Life of th? Buddha ; (2) the 
 Doctrine; (3) the Saiigha, or monastic order; (4) a 
 brief history of Buddhism, its Councils and pro- 
 paganda ; (5] some reconciliation of Buddhism with 
 science. This, it is believed, will largely increase the 
 value of the little book, and make it even more 
 suitable for use in Buddhist schools, of which, in 
 Ceylon, over one hundred have already been opened 
 by the Sinhalese people under the general supervision 
 of the Theosophical Society. In preparing this edition 
 
 V 
 
Xll 
 
 I have received valuable help from some of my oldest 
 and best qualified Sinhalese colleagues. The original 
 edition was gone over with me word by word, by that 
 eminent scholar and bhikkhu, II. Sumangala, 
 Pradhana Xayaka, and the Assistant Principal of his 
 Pall College at Colombo, Hyeyantuduve Anunayaka 
 Terunnanse ; and the High Priest has also kindly 
 scrutinised the present revision and given me invalu- 
 able points to embody. It has the merit, therefore, of 
 being a fair presentation of the Buddhism of the 
 " Southern Church," chiefly derived from first-hand 
 sources. The Catechism has been published in twenty 
 languages, mainly by Buddhists, for Buddhists. 
 
 H. S. 0. 
 Adyae, 17 th May, 1897. 
 
 "■ ' H I ■ M . 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 TO THE THIRTY-SIXTH EDITION 
 
 The popularity of this little work seems undiminished, 
 edition after edition being called for. While the pres- 
 ent one was in the press a second German edition, 
 re-translated by the learned Dr. Erich Bischoff, was 
 published at Leipzig, by the Griebens Co., and a 
 third translation into French, by my old friend and 
 colleague, Commandant D. A. Courmes, was being got 
 ready at Paris. A fresh version in Sinhalese is also 
 preparing at Colombo. It is very gratifying to a de- 
 clared Buddhist like myself to read what so ripe a 
 scholar as Mr. G. R. S. Mead, author of Fragments of 
 of a Faith Forgotten, Pistis Sophia, and many other 
 works on Christian origins, thinks of the value of the 
 compilation. He writes in the Theotophical Review : 
 " It has been translated into no less than twenty dif- 
 ferent languages, and may be said without the faint- 
 est risk of contradiction, to have been the busiest 
 instrument of Buddhist propaganda for many a day in 
 the annals of that long somnolent dharma. The least 
 that learned Buddhists of Ceylon can do to repay the 
 debt of gratitude they owe to Colonel Olcott and 
 other members of the Theosophical Society who have 
 worked for them, is to bestir themselves to throw some 
 light on their own origins and doctrines." 
 
 —■ — ' — - — . _ 
 
 ■ . '!■ 
 
. ■ ...I ■ .. ■■ 
 
 XIV 
 
 I am afraid we shall have to wait long for this help 
 to come from the Buddhist bhikkhus, almost the only 
 learned men of Ceylon ; at least I have not been able 
 during an intimate intercourse of twenty-two years-, to 
 arouse their zeal. It has always seemed to me incon- 
 gruous that an American, making no claims at all to 
 scholarship, should be looked to by the Sinhalese 
 to help them teach the dhanna to their children ; 
 and as I believe I have said in an earlier edition, I 
 only consented to write The Buddhist Catechism after 
 I had found that no bhikkhu would undertake it; 
 Whatever its demerits, I can at least say that the 
 work contains the essence of some 15,000 pages of 
 Buddhist teaching that I have read in connexion with 
 my work. '. 
 
 H. S. 0, 
 
 Adyar, 7th February, 1903. 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 TO THE FORTIETH EDITION 
 
 The popularity of this little work is proved by the 
 constant demand for new editions, in English and other 
 languages. In looking over the matter for the present 
 edition, I have found very little to change or to add, 
 for the work seems to present a very fair idea of the 
 contents of Southern Buddhism ; and, as my object is 
 never to write an extended essay on the subject, I 
 resist the temptation to wander off into amplifications 
 of details which, however interesting to the student of 
 comparative religion, are useless in a rational scheme 
 of elementary instruction. 
 
 The new Sinhalese version (38th edition) which is 
 being prepared by my respected friend, D. B. Jaya- 
 tilaka, Principal of Ananda (Buddhist) College, 
 Colombo, is partly printed , but cannot be completed 
 until he is relieved of some of the pressure upon his 
 time. The Tamil version (41st edition) has been under- 
 taken by the leaders of the Panchama community of 
 Madras, and will shortly issue from the press. The 
 Spanish version (39th edition) is in the hands of my 
 friend, Senor Xifre, and the French one (37th edition)' 
 in those of Commandant Counnes. 
 
xvi 
 
 So the work goes on, and by this unpretending 
 agency the teachings of the Hiujdha Dharina are being 
 carried throughout the world. 
 
 H. S. 0. 
 
 Adyar, 7 th January, 190-">. 
 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 TO THK KORTY-SECOXD EDITION 
 
 Thk writer of this Catechism has passed away from 
 earth, but, before he left the body, he had arranged 
 with the Higli Priest Sumangala to make some small 
 corrections in the text. These are incorporated in the 
 present edition by the High Priest's wish, expressed 
 to me in Colombo, in Xovember 1907. 
 
 I have not altered the numbering of the questions, as 
 it might cause confusion in a class to change the 
 numbers, if some pupils had the older editions and 
 some the new. 
 
 Adyar, "> 
 
 \7th February, 1908./ Annie Be sant 
 
 / 
 

 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 PART I 
 
 THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA 
 
 1. Question. Of what religion ' are yon ? 
 Answer. The Buddhist. 
 
 1 The word " religion " is most inappropriate to apply to Buddhism 
 which is not a religion, but a moral philosophy, as 1 have shown 
 later on. But. by common usage the word has been applied to all 
 groups of people who profess a special moral doctrine, and is so 
 employed by statisticians. The Sinhalese Buddhists have never 
 yet had any conception of what Europeans imply in the etymologi- 
 cal construction of the Latin root of this term. In their creed 
 there is no such thing as a " binding " in the Christian sense — a 
 submission to or merging of self in a Divine Being. Agama is 
 their vernacular word to express their relation to Buddhism and 
 the Bl ddha. It is pure Samskrt, and means " approach, or 
 coming " ; and as " Budijha" is enlightenment, the compound word 
 by which they indicate Buddhism — BuiUJhagama — would be pro- 
 perly rendered as " an approach or coming to enlightenment," 
 or possibly as a following of the Doctrine of Sakyamuni. The 
 missionaries, finding Agnma ready to their hand, adopted it as the 
 equivalent for " religion " ; and Christianity is written by them 
 Christiam'igama, whereas it should be Chrittianibamlhana, for 
 bamlhana is the etymological equivalent for " religion ". The name 
 Vibhajja viiiln — one who analyses— is another name given to a 
 Buddhist, and Aijvayavajjl is a third. With this explanation, I 
 continue to employ under protest the familiar word when speaking 
 of Buddhistic philosophy, for the convenience of the ordinary 
 reader. 
 
2 
 
 THK BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 2. Q. What is Buddhism? 
 
 A. It is a body of teachings given out by 
 the great personage known as the Buddha. 
 
 3. Q. Is " Buddhism " the best name for this 
 teaching ? 
 
 A. No ; that is only a western term : the 
 best name for it is Bauddha Dharma.*' . 
 
 4. Q. Would you call a person a Btiddhist who 
 had merely been horn of Buddhist parents ? 
 
 A. Certainly not. A Buddhist is one who not 
 only professes belief in the Buddha as the noblest of 
 Teachers, in the Doctrine preached by Him, and in 
 the Brotherhood of Arhats, but practises His precepts 
 in daily life. 
 
 5. Q. What is a male lay Buddhist called ? 
 A. An Upasaka. 
 
 6. Q. What a female? 
 A. An Upasika. 
 
 7. Q. When was this doctrine first preached? 
 
 A. There is some disagreement as to the actual 
 date, but according to the Sinhalese Scriptures it was 
 in the year 2513 of the (present) Kali-Yuga. 
 
 8. Q. Give the important dates in the last birth 
 of the Founder ? 
 
 A. He was born under the constellation Visa 
 on a Tuesday in May, in the year 2478 (K.Y.) ; he 
 retired to the jungle in the year 2506 ; became 
 Buddha in 2513 j and, passing out of the round of re- 
 births, entered Paranirvana in the year 2558, aged 
 
 
 THE LIFE OP THE BUDDHA 
 
 3 
 
 eighty years. Each of these events happened on a 
 day of full moon, so all are conjointly celebrated in 
 the great festival of the full-moon of the month 
 Wesak ( Vaisakha), corresponding to the month of 
 May. 
 
 9. Q. Was the Buddha God ? 
 
 A. No. Buddha Dharma teaches no " divine * 
 incarnation. '. . - 
 
 10. Q. Was he a man? • '.'"■" 
 
 A. Yes ; but the wisest, noblest and most holy 
 being, who had developed himself in the course of 
 •countless births far beyond all other' beings, the pre- 
 vious BrppHAS alone excepted. 
 
 11. Q. Were there other Buddhas before him ? 
 A. Yes ; as will be explained later on^ 
 
 12. Q. Was Buddha his name? v'.\ <A .[} 
 
 A. No. It is the name of a condition or state 
 of mind, of the mind after it has reached the culmina- 
 tion of development* 
 
 13. Q. What is its meaning ? ..- 
 
 A. Enlightened ; or, he who has the all-perf ecfc 
 wisdom. The Pali phrase is Sabbannu, the One of 
 Boundless Knowledge. In Samskrt it is Sarvajna. 
 
 14. Q. What was the Buddha's real name then ? 
 A. Siddhartha was his royal name, and 
 
 Gautama, or Gotama, his family name. He was Prince 
 of Kapilavastu and belonged to the illustrious family 
 of the Okkaka, of the Solar race. 
 
 15. Q. Who were his father and mother ? 
 
 \ 
 
 
4 THE BCppHIST CATECHISM 
 
 A. King Suddhodana and Queen Maya, called 
 Maha Maya. 
 
 16. Q. What people did this King reign over? 
 
 A. The Sakyas ; an Aryan tribe of Kshattriyas. 
 
 17. Q. Where was Kapilavasfu? 
 
 A. In India, one hundred miles north-east of 
 the City of Benares, and about forty miles from the 
 Himalaya mountains. It is situated in the Nepal Terai. 
 The city is now in ruins. 
 
 18. Q. On what river? 
 
 A. The Rohiril, now called the Kohana. 
 - 19. Q. Tell me again when Prince Siddhartha wa» 
 horn ? 
 
 A. Six hundred and twenty-three years before 
 the Christian era. 
 
 20. Q. Is the exact spot known ? 
 
 A. It is now identified beyond question. An. 
 archaeologist in the service of the Government of India 
 has discovered in the jungle of the Nepal Terai a 
 stone pillar erected by the mighty Buddhist sovereign, 
 Asoka, to mark the very spot. The place was known 
 in those times as the Lumbini Garden. 
 
 21. Q. Had the Prince luxuries and splendours like 
 other Princes? 
 
 A. He had ; his father, the King, built him 
 three magnificent palaces — for the three Indian seasons 
 — the cold, the hot, and the rainy — of nine, five, and 
 three stories respectively, and handsomely decorated. 
 
 22. Q. How were they sittuited? 
 
 
 THE LIFE OF THE BUppHA ° 
 
 A. Around each palace were gardens of the 
 most beautiful and fragrant flowers, with fountains of 
 spouting water, the trees full of singing birds, and 
 peacocks strutting over the ground. -; 
 
 23. Q. Was he living alone ? 
 
 A. No ; in his sixteenth year he was married 
 to the Princess Yasodhara, daughter of the King 
 Suprabuddha. Many beautiful maidens, skilled in 
 dancing and music, were also in continual attendance 
 io amuse him. 
 
 24. Q. How did he get his wife ? , . ... 
 A. In the ancient Kshattriya or warrior 
 
 fashion, by overcoming all competitors in games and 
 exercises of skill and prowess, and then selecting 
 Yasodhara out of all the young princesses, whose 
 fathers had brought them to the tournament or 
 
 mela. 
 
 25. Q. How, amid all this luxury, could a Prince 
 
 become all-wise ? 
 
 A. He had such natural wisdom that when but 
 a child he seemed to understand all arts and sciences 
 almost without study. He had the best teachers, bub 
 they could teach him nothing that he did not seem to 
 comprehend immediately. 
 
 26. Q. Did he become Buddha in his splendid 
 
 palaces ? 
 
 A. No. He left all and went alone into the 
 
 jungle. 
 
 27. Q. Why did he do this? 
 
— .—■ . -*» ....a.^. 
 
 j I 
 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 A. To discover the cause of our sufferings 
 and the way to escape from them. 
 
 28. Q. Was it not selfishness that made him do 
 this? 
 
 A. No; it was boundless love for all beings 
 that made him devote himself to their good. 
 
 29. Q. But how did he acquire this boundless love ? 
 A. Throughout numberless births and asons of 
 
 years he had been cultivating this love, with the 
 unfaltering determination to become a Buddha. 
 
 30. Q. What did he this time relinquish? 
 
 A. His beautiful palaces, his riches, luxuries 
 and pleasures, his soft beds, fine dresses, rich food, 
 and his kingdom ; he even left his beloved wife and 
 only son, Rahula. 
 
 31. Q. Did any other man ever sacrifice so much 
 for our sake? 
 
 A. Not one in this present world-period : this is 
 why Buddhists so love him, and why good Buddhists 
 try to be like him. 
 
 32. Q. But have not many men given up all earthly 
 blessings, and even life itself, for the sake of their 
 fellow-men ? 
 
 A. Certainly. But we believe that this surpass- 
 ing unselfishness and love for humanity showed them- 
 selves in his renouncing the bliss of Nirvana countless 
 ages ago, when he was born as the Brahmana 
 Sumedha, in the time of Dipankara Buddha" : he had 
 then reached the stage where he might have entered 
 
 THE LIFE OP THE BUD?HA 7 
 
 Nirvana, had he not loved mankind more than him- 
 self. This renunciation implied his voluntarily endur- 
 ing the miseries of earthly lives until he became 
 Buddha, for the sake of teaching all beings the way 
 to emancipation and to give rest to the world. 
 
 33. Q. How old was he when he went to the jungle ? 
 A. He was in his twenty -ninth year. 
 
 34. Q. What finally determined him to leave all 
 that men usually love so mc<&h and go to the jungle ? 
 
 A. A Deva 1 appeared to him when driving 
 but in his chariot, under four impressive forms, on 
 four different occasions. 
 
 35. Q. What were these different forms ? 
 
 A. Those of a very old man broken down by. 
 age, of a sick man, of a decaying corpse, and of a 
 dignified hermit. 
 
 36. Q. Did he alone see these ? 
 
 A. No, his attendant, Channa, also saw them. 
 
 37. Q. Why should these sights, so familiar to 
 everybody, have caused him to go to the jungle ? 
 
 A. We often see such sights : he had not seen 
 them, so they made a deep impression on his mind. 
 
 38. Q. Why had he not also seen them ? ■ \ 
 A. The Brahmana astrologers had foretold at 
 
 his birth that he would one day resign his kingdom and 
 become a Buddha. The King, his father, not wishing 
 to lose an heir to his kingdom, had carefully prevent- 
 ed his seeing any sights that might suggest to him 
 
 1 See tho definition of deva given later. 
 
 / 
 
8 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 human misery and death. No one was allowed even 
 to speak of such things to the Prince. He was almost 
 like a prisoner in his lovely palaces and flower gardens. 
 They were surrounded by high walls, and inside 
 everything was made as beautiful as possible, so that 
 he might not wish to go and see the sorrow and distress 
 that are in the world. 
 
 39. Q. Was he so kind-hearted that the King 
 feared he might really tcish to leave everything for the 
 world's sake ? 
 
 A. Yes ; he seems to have felt for all beings 
 so strong a pity and love as that. 
 
 40. Q. And how did he expect to learn the cause 
 of sorrow in the jungle ? 
 
 A. By removing far away from all that could 
 prevent his thinking deeply of the causes of sorrow 
 and the nature of man. 
 
 41. Q. How did he escape from the palace? 
 
 A. One night, when all were asleep, he arose, 
 took a last look at his sleeping wife and infant son ; 
 called Channa, mounted his favourite white horse 
 Kanthaka, and rode to the palace gate. The Devas 
 had thrown a deep sleep upon the King's guard who 
 watched the gate, so that they could not hear the noise 
 of the horse's hoofs. 
 
 42. Q. But the gate was locked, was it not ? 
 
 A. Yes; but the Devas caused it to open 
 without the slightest noise, and he rode away into the 
 darkness. 
 
 / 
 
 THE LIFE OP THE BUPDHA 
 
 9 
 
 43. Q. Whither did he go? 
 
 A To the river Anoma, a long way from 
 Kapilavastu. 
 
 44. Q. What did he then do ? 
 
 A. He sprang from his horse, cut off his 
 beautiful hair with his sword, put on the yellow dress 
 of an ascetic, and giving his ornaments and horse to 
 Channa, ordered him to take them back to his father, 
 the King. , 
 
 45. Q. What then? 
 
 A. He went afoot towards Rajagrha, the 
 capital city of King Bimbisara, of Magadha. 
 
 46. Q. Who visited him there ? 
 
 A. The King with his whole Court. 1 
 46a. Q. Thence whither did he go ? 
 
 A. To Uruvela, near the present Mahabodhi 
 Temple at Buddha Gaya. 
 
 47. Q. Why did he go there ? 
 
 A. In the forests were hermits — very wise 
 men, whose pupil he afterwards became, in the hope 
 of finding the knowledge of which he was in search. 
 
 48. Q. Of what religion were they ? 
 
 A. The Hindu religion: they were 
 Brahmanas.' 
 
 49. Q. What did they teach ? 
 
 1 For an admirable account of this interview consult Dr. Paul 
 Cams' Gospel of Buddha, page 20, et seq. 
 
 * The term Hindu, once a contemptuous term, used by the 
 Musalmans to designate the people of Sindh, whom they conquered, 
 is now used in an ecclesiastical sense. 
 
10 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 A. That by severe penances and torture of 
 the body a man may acquire perfect wisdom. 
 
 50. Q. Did the Prince find this to be so ? 
 
 A. No ; lie learned their systems and practis- 
 ed all their penances, but he could not thus discover 
 the cause of human sorrow and the way to absolute 
 emancipation. 
 
 51. Q. What did he then do ? 
 
 A. He went away into the forest near Uruvela, 
 and spent six years in deep meditation, undergoing 
 the severest discipline in mortifying his body. 
 
 52. Q. Was he alone ? 
 No; five Brahman companions attended 
 
 A. 
 
 him. 
 53 
 
 What were their names ? 
 
 Kondanna, Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahanama, 
 
 Q. 
 
 A. 
 
 and Assaji. 
 
 54. Q. What plan of discipline did he adopt to 
 open his mind to know the whole truth ? 
 
 A. He sat and meditated, concentrating his 
 mind upon the higher problems of life, and shutting 
 out from his sight and hearing all that was likely to 
 interrupt his inward reflections. 
 
 55. Q. Did hejast? 
 
 A. Yes, through the whole period. He took 
 less and less food and water until, it is said, he ate 
 scarcely more than one grain of rice or of sesamum 
 seed each day. 
 
 56. Q. Did this give him the wisdom he longed for? 
 
 I 
 
 THE LIFE OF THE BCDpHA 
 
 11 
 
 A. No. He grew thinner and thinner in body 
 and fainter in strength until, one day, as he was slowly 
 walking about and meditating, his vital force suddenly 
 left him and he fell to the ground unconscious. 
 57. Q. What did hi* companions think of that ? 
 
 They fancied he was dead ; but after a time 
 
 A. 
 
 he revived 
 58. Q. 
 A. 
 
 What then? 
 
 The thought came to him that knowledge 
 could never be reached by mere fasting or bodily 
 suffering, but must be gained by the opening of the 
 mind. He had just barely escaped death from self- 
 starvation, yet had not obtained the Perfect Wisdom. 
 So he decided to eat, that he might live at least long 
 enough to become wise. 
 
 59. Q. Who gave him food ? 
 
 A. He received food from Sujata, a nobleman's 
 daughter, who saw him sitting at the foot of a 
 nyagrodha (banyan) tree. He arose, took his alms- 
 bowl, bathed in the river Neranjara, ate the food, and 
 went into the jungle. 
 
 60. Q. TITia* did he do there? 
 
 A. Having formed his determination after 
 these reflections, he went at evening to the Bodhi, or 
 Asvatfha tree, where the present Mahabodhi Temple 
 stands. 
 
 61. Q. What did he do there? 
 
 A. He determined not to leave the spot until 
 he attained perfect wisdom. 
 
12 
 
 I I r i ■ n 
 
 THE BUppHIST CATECHISM 
 
 ■"-->■-. -^ « 
 
 62. Q. At which side of the tree did he seat him- 
 self? 
 
 A. The side facing the east.' 
 
 63. Q. What did he obtain that night ? 
 
 A. The knowledge of his previous births, of 
 the causes of rebirths, and of the way to extinguish 
 desires. Just before the break of the next day his 
 mind was entirely opened, like the full-blown lotus 
 flower ; the light of supreme knowledge, or the Four 
 Truths, poured in upon him. He had become Buddha 
 — the Enlightened, the all-knowing — the Sarvajna. 
 
 64. Q. Had he at last discovered the cause of 
 htnnan misery ? 
 
 A. At last he had. As the light of the morning 
 sun chases away the darkness of night, and reveals to 
 sight the trees, fields, rocks, seas, rivers, animals, 
 men and all things, so the full light of knowledge 
 rose in his mind, and he saw at one glance the 
 causes of human suffering and the way to escape from 
 them. 
 
 65. Q. Had he great struggles before gaining 
 this perfect icisdom ? ■ 
 
 A. Yes, mighty and terrible struggles. He had 
 to conquer in his body all those natural defects and 
 
 1 Xo reason is given in the canonical books for the choice of this 
 side of the tree, though an explanation is to be found in the 
 popular legends upon which the books of Bishop Bigandet and other 
 European commentators are based. There are always certain 
 influences coming upon us from the different quarters of the sky. 
 Sometimes the influence from one quarter will be best, sometimes 
 that from another quarter. But the Buddha thought that the per- 
 fected man is superior to all extraneous influences. 
 
 —— 
 
 THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA 
 
 13 
 
 human appetites and desires that prevent our seeing 
 the truth. He had to overcome all the bad influences 
 of the sinful world around him. Like a soldier fight- 
 ing desperately in battle against many enemies, he 
 struggled : like a hero who conquers, he gained his 
 object, and the secret of human misery was dis- 
 covered. 
 
 66. Q. What use did he make of the knowledge 
 thus gained ? 
 
 A. At first he was reluctant to teach it to- 
 the people at large. 
 
 67. Q. Why? 
 
 A. Because of its profound importance and 
 sublimity. He feared that but few people would 
 understand it. 
 
 68. Q. What made him alter this view? '* 
 
 A. He saw that it was his duty to teach what 
 he had learnt as clearly and simply as possible, and 
 trust to the truth impressing itself upon the popular- 
 mind in proportion to each one's individual Karma- 
 It was the only way of salvation, and every being had 
 an equal right to have it pointed out to him. So he- 
 determined to begin with his five late companions,, 
 who had abandoned him when he broke his fast. 
 
 69. Q. Where did he find them ? 
 
 A. In the deer-park at Isipatana, near Benares.. 
 
 70. Q. Can the spot be now identified ? 
 
 1 The ancient story is that the God Brahma himself implored', 
 him not to withhold the glorious truth. 
 
. 
 
 14 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 A. Yes, a partly ruined stupa, or dagoba, is 
 still standing on that very spot. 
 
 71. Q. Did those five companions readily listen to 
 him ? 
 
 A. At first, no ; but so great was the spiritual 
 beauty of his appearance, so sweet and convincing 
 his teaching, that they soon turned and gave him the 
 closest attention. 
 
 72. Q. What effect did this discourse have upon 
 them ? 
 
 A. The aged Kondafina, one who " under- 
 stood" (Anna), was the first to lose his prejudices, 
 accept the Buddha's teaching, become his disciple, and 
 enter the Path leading to Arhatship. The other four 
 soon followed his example. 
 
 73. Q. Who were his next converts ? 
 
 A. A rich young layman, named Yasa, and 
 his father, a wealthy merchant. By the end of three 
 months the disciples numbered sixty persons. 
 
 74. Q. Who were the first women lay disciples ? 
 A. The mother and wife of Yasa. 
 
 75. Q. What did the Buddha do at that time J* • 
 A. He called the disciples together, gave 
 
 them full instructions, and sent them out in all direc- 
 tions to preach his doctrine. 
 
 76. Q. What was the essence of it? 
 
 1 Brahmanism not being offered to non-Hindus, Buddhism is 
 consequently, the oldest missionary religion in the world. The early 
 missionaries endured every hardship, cruelty, and persecution, with 
 unfaltering courage. 
 
 / 
 
 THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA 
 
 15 
 
 A. That the way of emancipation lies in 
 leading the holy life and following the rules laid down, 
 which will be explained later on. 
 
 77. Q. Tell me what name he gave to this course 
 of life? 
 
 A. The Noble Eightfold Path. 
 
 78. Q. How is it called in the Pall language ? 
 A. A riyo atthangiko maggo. 
 
 79. Q. Whither did the Buddha then go ? 
 A. To, Uruvela. 
 
 80. Q. What happened there ? 
 
 A. He converted a man named Kashyapa, 
 renowned for his learning and teacher of the Jatilas, 
 a great sect of fire-worshippers, all of whom became 
 also his followers. 
 
 81. Q. Who was his next great convert ? 
 A. King Bimbisara, of Magadha. 
 
 82. Q. Which two of the Buddha's most learned 
 and beloved disciples were converted at about this time? 
 
 A. Sariputra and Moggallfina, formerly chief 
 disciples of Sanjaya, the ascetic. 
 
 83. Q. For what did they become renowned ? 
 
 A. Sariputra for his profound learning 
 (Pro/net), Moggallana for his exceptional spiritual 
 powers (Iddhi). 
 
 84. Q. Are these wonder-working powers miracu- 
 lous? 
 
 A. No, but natural to all men and capable 
 of being developed by a certain course of training. 
 
16 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 85. Q. Did the Buddha hear again from his family 
 after leaving them ? 
 
 A. Oh j-es, seven years later, while he was 
 living at Bajagrha, his father, King Suddhodana, sent 
 a message to request him to come and let him see him 
 again before he died. 
 
 86. Q. Did he go ? 
 
 A. Yes. His father went with all his rela- 
 tives and ministers to meet him and received him 
 with great joy. 
 
 87. Q. Did he consent to resume his old rank ? 
 
 A. Xo. In' all sweetness he explained to his 
 father that the Prince Siddhar(ha had passed out of 
 existence, as such, and was now changed into the 
 condition of a Buddha, to whom all beings were equally 
 akin and equally dear. Instead of ruling over one 
 tribe or nation, like an earthly king, he, through his 
 Dharma, would win the hearts of all men to be his 
 followers. 
 
 88. Q. Did he see Yasodhara and his son Rahula ? 
 A. Yes. His wife, who had mourned for 
 
 him with deepest love, wept bitterly. She also sent 
 Rahula to ask him to give him his inheritance, as the 
 son of a prince. 
 
 89. Q. What happened? 
 
 A. To one and all he preached the Dharma 
 as the cure for all sorrows. His father, son, wife, 
 Ananda (his half-brother), Pevada^ta (his cousin 
 and brother-in-law), were all converted and became 
 
 -.,-■■■ :-.—>-■-•— . 
 
 THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA 
 
 17 
 
 his disciples. Two other famous ones were Anu- 
 ruddha, afterwards a great metaphysician, and Upali, 
 a barber, afterwards the greatest authority on Vinaya. 
 Both of these gained great renown, p ■ 
 
 90. Q. Who was the first Bhikkfaw? 
 
 A. PrajapatI, the aunt and foster-mother of 
 Prince Siddhartha. With her, Yasodhara and many 
 other ladies were admitted into the Order as 
 Bhikkhunis or female devotees. 
 
 91. Q. What effect did the taking up of the 
 religious life by his sons, Siddhnrtha and Ananda, his 
 nepheir, Devadatta, his son's wife, Yasodhara, and his 
 grandson, Rahula, have upon the old King Suddhodana ? 
 
 A. It grieved him much and he complained to 
 the Buddha, who then made it a rule of the Order that 
 no person should thenceforth be ordained without the 
 consent of his parents if alive. 
 
 92. Q. Tell me about the fate of Devadatta? 
 
 A. He was a man of great intelligence and 
 rapidly advanced in the knowledge of the Dharma, but 
 being also extremely ambitious, he came to envy and 
 hate the Buddha, and at last plotted to kill him. He 
 also influenced Ajatasha^ru, son of King Bimbisara, 
 to murder his noble father, and to become his — 
 Devadatta's — disciple. 
 
 93. Q. Did he do any injury to the Buddha ? 
 
 A. Not the least, but the evil he plotted against 
 him recoiled upon himself, and he met with an awfuL 
 death. 
 
I 
 
 18 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 many years was the Buddha 
 
 94. Q. For how 
 engaged in teaching ? 
 
 A. Forty-five years, during which time he 
 preached a great many discourses. His custom and 
 that of his disciples was to travel and preach 
 during the eight dry months, but during the season of 
 Waif — the rains— he and they would stop in the 
 pansulas and viharas which had been built for them 
 by various kings and other wealthy converts. 
 
 95. Q. Which were the most famous of these 
 buildings ? 
 
 A. Jetavanarama ; Veluvanarama; Pubba- 
 rama ; Nigrodhftrama and Isipatanarama. 
 
 96. Q. What kind of people were converted by 
 him and his disciples? 
 
 A. People of all ranks, nations and castes • 
 rajas and coolies, rich and poor, mighty and humble 
 the illiterate and the most learned. His doctrine 
 was suited to all. 
 
 97. Q. Give some account of the decease of the 
 Buddha ? 
 
 A. In the forty-fifth season after his attaining 
 Buddhahood, on the full-moon day of May, knowing 
 that his end was near, he came at evening to Kusina- 
 gara, a place about one hundred and twenty miles 
 from Benares. In the sfila grove of the Mallas, the 
 Uparvartana of Kusinagara, between two sala trees 
 he had his bedding spread with the head towards 
 the north according to the ancient custom. He lay 
 
 THE LIFE OF THE BUppHA 
 
 19 
 
 upon it, and with his mind perfectly clear, gave his 
 final instructions to his disciples and bade them fare- 
 well. 
 
 98. Q. Did he also make new converts in those last 
 
 tours ? 
 
 A. Yes, a very important one, a great 
 Brahmana pandit named Subhadra. He had also 
 preached to the Mallya princes and their followers. 
 
 99. Q. At day-break what happened? 
 
 A. He passed into the interior condition of 
 Samadhi and thence into Nirvana. 
 
 100. Q. What were his last words to his disciples? 
 A. " Bhikkhus," he said, " I now impress it 
 
 upon you, the parts and powers of man must be dis- 
 solved. Work out your salvation with diligence." 
 
 101. Q. What convincing proof have ice that the 
 Buddha, formerly Prince Siddhartha, was a historical 
 
 personage ? . • 
 
 A. His existence is apparently as clearly 
 proved as that of any other character of ancient 
 history. 
 
 102. Q. Name some of the proof 8? 
 
 A. (1) The testimony of those who per- 
 sonally knew him. 
 
 (2) The discovery of places and the re- 
 mains of buildings mentioned in the narrative of his 
 
 time. 
 
 (3) The rock-inscriptions, pillars and dag- 
 obas made in memory of him by sovereigns who 
 
20 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 were near enough to his time to be able to verify the 
 story of his life. 
 
 (4) The unbroken existence of the 
 Saiigha which he founded, and their possession of the 
 facts of his life transmitted from generation to 
 generation from the beginning. 
 
 (5) The fact that in the very year of his 
 death and at various times subsequently, conventions 
 and councils of the Saiigha were held, for the verifica- 
 tion of the actual teachings of the Founder, and the 
 handing down of those verified teachings from teach- 
 er to pupil, to the present day. 
 
 (6) After his cremation his relics were 
 divided among eight kings and a s^upa was erected 
 over each portion. The portion given to King Ajaja- 
 shatru, and by him covered with a stupa at Eajagrha, 
 was taken, less than two centuries later, by the Emperor 
 Asoka and distributed throughout his Empire. He 
 of course, had ample means of knowing whether the 
 relics were those of the Buddha or not, since they had 
 been in charge of the royal house of Patna from the 
 beginning. 
 
 (7) Many of the Buddha's disciples, being 
 Arhats and thus having control over their vital powers, 
 must have lived to great ages, and there was nothing to 
 have prevented two or three of them, in succession tc- 
 each other, to have covered the whole period between 
 the death of the Buddha and the reign of Asoka and 
 thus to have enabled the latter to get from his- 
 
 ■ 
 
 I 
 
 THE LIFE OP THE BUDDHA 
 
 21 
 
 contemporary every desired attestation of the fact of 
 the Buddha's life. 1 
 
 (8) The " Mahavansa," the best authenti- 
 cated ancient history known to us, records the events 
 of Sinhalese history to the reign of King Vijaya, 543 
 B .c— almost the time of the Buddha— and gives most 
 particulars of his life, as well as those of the Emperor 
 Asoka and all other sovereigns related to Buddhistic 
 
 history. 
 
 103. Q. By ichat names of respect is the Buddha 
 
 called ? 
 
 A. Sakyamuni (the Sakya Sage); Sakya- 
 Simha (the Sakyan Lion) ; Sugata (the Happy One) ; 
 Satthta (the Teacher) ; Jina (the Conqueror) ; Bhaga- 
 v&\ (the Blessed .One); Lokanatha (the Lord of the 
 World) ; Sarvajna (the Omniscient One) ; Dharmaraja 
 (the King of Truth) ; Tathagata (the Great Being), 
 etc. 
 
 »At the Second Council there were two pupils of Ananda, con- 
 sequently centenarians, while in Asoka's Council there were pupils 
 of those pupils. 
 
„p»i I II 
 
 -* — «i ^'-r-fa 
 
 -«-»—. 
 
 PART II 
 THE DHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 106. Q. What is the meaning of the word Buddha ? 
 A. The enlightened, or he who has the 
 
 perfect wisdom. 
 
 107. Q. You have said that there were other 
 Buddhas before this one? 
 
 A. Yes; our belief is that, under the opera- 
 tion of eternal causation, a Buddha takes birth at 
 intervals, when mankind have become plunged into 
 misery through ignorance, and need the wisdom which 
 it is the function of a Buddha to teach. (See also 
 
 Q. 11.) 
 
 108. Q. How is a Buddha developed? 
 
 A. A person, hearing and seeing one of the 
 Buddhas on earth, becomes seized with the determina- 
 tion so to live that at some future time, when he shall 
 become fitted for it, he also will be a Buddha for the 
 guiding of mankind out of the cycle of rebirth. 
 
 109. Q. Bow does he proceed? 
 
 A. Throughout that birth and every suc- 
 ceeding one, he strives to subdue his passions, to gain 
 
 THE DHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 23 
 
 wisdom by experience, and to develop his higher facul- 
 ties. He thus grows by degrees wiser, nobler in 
 character, and stronger in virtue, until, finally, after 
 numberless re-births he reaches the state when he can 
 become Perfected, Enlightened, All-wise, the ideal 
 Teacher of the human race. 
 
 110. Q. While this gradual development is going on 
 throughout all these births, by what name do we call him* 
 
 A. Bodhisa^, or Bodhisattva. Thus the 
 Prince Siddhavtha Gautama was a Bodhisattva up to 
 the moment when, under the blessed Bodhi tree at 
 Gaya, he became Buddha. , 
 
 111. Q. Have we any account of his various rebirths 
 as a Bodhisatfva ? 
 
 A. In the Jdtakatthaka(ha, a book contain- 
 ing stories of the Bodhisattva's reincarnations, there 
 are several hundred tales of that kind. 
 
 112. Q. What lesson do these stories teach? 
 
 A. That a man can carry, throughout a long 
 series of reincarnations, one great, good purpose 
 ' which enables him to conquer bad tendencies and* 
 develop virtuous ones. 
 
 113. Q. Can we fix the number of reincarnations 
 through which a Bodhisattva must pass before he can 
 become a Buddha ? 
 
 A. Of course not : that depends upon his 
 natural character, the state of development to which 
 he has arrived when he forms the resolution to 
 become a Buddha, and other things. 
 
I 
 
 24 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 114. Q. Hare we a way of classifying Bodhisatt- 
 vas? If so, explain it. 
 
 A. Bodhisattvas— the future Buddhas— are 
 divided into three classes. 
 
 115. Q. Proceed. Bow are these three kinds of 
 Bodhisats named? 
 
 A. Pannftdhika, or Udghatitajiia— "he who 
 attains least quickly "; Saddhadhika, or Vipachitajna 
 —"he who attains less quickly"; and VirySdhika, 
 or Gneyya— "he who attains quickly". The Pan- 
 nadhika Bodhisats take the course of Intelligence ; 
 the Saddhadhika take the course of Faith; the 
 Viryadhika take the course of energetic Action. The 
 first is guided by Intelligence and does not hasten ; 
 the second is full of Faith, and does not care to take 
 the guidance of Wisdom ; and the third never delays 
 to do what is good. Regardless of the consequences 
 to himself, he does it when he sees that it is best that it 
 should be done. 
 
 116. Q. When our Bodhisattca became Buddha, 
 *wW did he see was the cause of human misery ? Tell 
 me in one word. 
 
 A. Ignorance (Avidya). 
 
 Can you tell me the remedy? 
 
 To dispel Ignorance and become wise 
 
 117. 
 
 Q. 
 A. 
 
 (Prajha). 
 
 118. Q. 
 
 A. 
 
 Why does ignorance cause suffering? 
 Because it makes us prize what is not 
 
 worth prizing, grieve when we should not grieve, 
 
 THE DHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 25 
 
 consider real what is not real but only illusionary, 
 and pass our lives in the pursuit of worthless objects, 
 neglecting what is in reality most valuable. 
 
 1 19. Q. And what, is that which is most valuable ? 
 A. To know the whole secret of man's 
 
 existence and destiny, so that we may estimate at no 
 more than their actual value this life and its relations; 
 and so that we may live in a way to ensure the great- 
 est happiness and the least suffering for our fellow-men 
 and ourselves. 
 
 120. Q. What if the light that can dispel this 
 ignorance of ours and remove all sorrows ? 
 
 A. The knowledge of the "Four Noble 
 Truths," as the Buddha called them. 
 
 121. Q. Name these Four Noble Truths? 
 
 A. 1. The miseries of evolutionary existence 
 resulting in births and deaths, life after life. 
 
 2. The cause productive of misery, which 
 is the selfish desire, ever renewed, of satisfying one's 
 self, without being able ever to secure that end. 
 
 3. The destruc n of that desire, or the 
 estranging of one's self from it. 
 
 4. The means of obtaining this destruc- 
 tion of desire. 
 
 122. Q. Tell me some things that cause sorrow ? 
 
 A. Birth, decay, illness, death, separation 
 from objects we love, association with those who 
 are repugnant, craving for what cannot be 
 obtained. 
 
—**k*A< 
 
 26 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATJSC'HISM 
 
 123. Q. Do these differ with each individual ? 
 
 A. Yes: but all men suffer from them in 
 degree. 
 
 124 Q. How can we escape the mffering* which 
 result from unsatisfied desires and ignorant cravings ? 
 
 A. By complete conquest over, and destruc- 
 tion of, tins eager thirst for life and its pleasures, which 
 causes sorrow. 
 
 125. Q. How may we gain such a conquest ? 
 
 A. By following the Noble Eight-fold Path 
 which the Buddha discovered and pointed out. ■ 
 
 • I 26 ',,?; Whatdo y° u mean by that word : what 
 « A»Jfc||. Eight-fold Path? (For the Pall name see 
 S{. 79.) 
 
 A. The eight parts of this path are called 
 «.*». They are : 1. Bight Belief (as to the law of 
 Causation, or Karma); 2. Right Thought; 3. Bight 
 Speech ; 4. Right Action , 5. Right Means of Live- 
 hhood , 6 Right Exertion , 7. Right Remembrance 
 and Self-discipline; 8. Right Concentration of 
 Thought The man who keeps these arigas in mind 
 and fol ows them will be free from sorrow and 
 ultimately reach salvation. 
 
 127. Q. Can yon give a better word far salvation ? 
 A. Yes, emancipation. 
 
 128. Q. Emancipation, then, from what? 
 
 A. Emancipation from the miseries of earthly 
 existence and of rebirths, all of which are due to- 
 ignorance and impure lusts and cravings. 
 
 THE pHARMA OK DOCTRINE 
 
 27 
 
 129. Q. And when this salvation or emancipation 
 is attained, what do we reach ? 
 
 A. Nirvana. 
 
 130. Q. WTiat is Nirvana? 
 
 A. A condition of total cessation of changes, 
 of perfect rest, of the absence of desire and illusion 
 and sorrow, of the total obliteration of everything 
 that goes to make up the physical man. Before 
 reaching Nirvana man is constantly being reborn; 
 when he reaches Nirvana he is born no more. 
 
 131. Q. Where can be found a learned discussion of 
 the word Nirvana and a list of the other names by which 
 the old Pali writers attempt to define it ? 
 
 A. In the famous Dictionary of the Pali 
 Language, by the late Mr. R. C. Childers, is a complete 
 
 list. 1 
 
 132. Q. But some people imagine that Nirvana %8 
 some sort of heavenly place, a Paradise. Does Buddhism 
 
 teach that? 
 
 A. No. When Kutadanta asked the Buddha 
 "Where is Nirvana," he replied that it was "wher- 
 ever the precepts are obeyed ". 
 
 133. Q. Wliat causes us to be reborn? 
 
 A. The unsatisfied selfishdesire (Skt., trshna; 
 Pali, tanha) for things that belong to the state of 
 personal existence in the material world. This 
 
 1 Mr. Childers takes a highly pessimistic view of the Xinranic 
 state, regarding it as annihilation. Later students disagree with 
 him. 
 
 / 
 
■ n ■ m , . , 
 
 . ■iii.i 
 
 28 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHI8M 
 
 unquenched thirst for physical existence (bhava) is a 
 force, and has a creative power in itself so strong 
 that it draws the being back into mundane life- 
 
 134. Q. Are our rebirths in any icay affected by 
 the nature of our unsatisfied desires ? 
 
 A. Yes; and by onr individual merits or 
 demerits. 
 
 135. Q. Does our merit or demerit control the state, 
 condition or form in which we shall be re-born? 
 
 A. It does. The broad rule is that if we 
 have an excess of merit we shall be well and happily 
 born the next time ; if an excess of demerit, our next 
 birth will be wretched and full of suffering. 
 
 136. Q. One chief pillar of Buddhistic doctrine is, 
 then, the idea that every effect is the result of an actual 
 cause, is it not ? 
 
 A. It is ; of a cause either immediate or 
 remote. 
 
 137. Q. What do we call this caxisation? 
 
 A. Applied to individuals, it is Karma, that 
 is, action. It means that our own actions or deeds 
 bring upon us whatever of joy or misery we 
 experience. 
 
 138. Q. Can a bad man escape from the outwork- 
 ings of his Karma ? 
 
 A. The Dhammapada says : " There exists 
 no spot on the earth, or in the sky, or in the sea, 
 neither is there any in the mountain-clefts, where an 
 (evil) deed does not bring trouble (to the doer)." 
 
 THE DHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 29 
 
 139. Q. Can a good man escape? 
 
 A. As the result of deeds of peculiar merit, 
 a man may attain certain advantages of place, body, 
 environment and teaching in his next stage of 
 progress, which ward off the effects of bad Karma and 
 help his higher evolution. 
 
 140. What are they called? 
 
 A. Gati Sampatti, Upadhi Sampatti, Kala 
 Sampatti and Payoga Sampatti. 
 
 141. Q. Is that consistent or inconsistent with 
 common sense and the teachings of modem science? 
 
 A. Perfectly consistent: there can be no- 
 doubt of it. 
 
 142. Q. May all men become Buddhas? 
 
 A. It is not in the nature of every man to- 
 become a Buddha ; for a Buddha is developed only at 
 long intervals of time, and seemingly, when the state 
 of humanity absolutely requires such a teacher to- 
 show it the forgotten Path to Nirvana. But every 
 being may equally reach Nirvana, by conquering 
 Ignorance and gaining Wisdom. 
 
 143. Q. Does Buddism teach that man is reborn 
 only upon our earth ? 
 
 A. As a general rule that would be the 
 case, until he had evolved beyond its level ; but the 
 inhabited worlds are numberless. The world upon 
 which a person is to have his next birth, as well as 
 the nature of the rebirth itself, is decided by the 
 preponderance of the individual's merit or demerit. 
 

 "■■■■■■■ - Uti*-^-'-* 
 
 30 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 In other words, it will be controlled by his attractions, 
 as science would describe it; or by his Karma, as we, 
 Buddhists, would say. 
 
 144. Q. Are there worlds mwe perfectly deve- 
 loped, and others lens so than our Earth ? 
 
 A. Buddhism teaches that there are whole 
 Sakwalas, or systems of worlds, of various kinds, 
 higher and lower, and also that the inhabitants of each 
 world correspond in development with itself. 
 
 145. Q. Has not the Buddha sumiaed up his whole 
 ■doctrine in one gdtha, or verse ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 146. Q. B.epeat it ? 
 
 A. Sabba papassa akaranm, 
 Kusalassa upasampada 
 Sachitta pariyo dapanam — ■ 
 Etam Buddhdnusasanarn. 
 
 " To cease from all evil actions, 
 To generate all that is good, 
 To cleanse one's mind : 
 This is the constant advice of the 
 Buddhas." 
 147. Q. Have the first three of these lines any very 
 striking characteristics ? 
 
 A. Yes : the first line embodies the whole 
 spirit of the Vinaya Pitaka, the second that of the 
 Sutta, the third that of the Abhidhamma. They 
 comprise only eight Pali words, yet, as the dew-drop 
 
 THE DHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 31 
 
 reflects the stars, they sparkle with the spirit of all 
 the Buddha Dharma. 
 
 148. Q. Do these precepts show that Buddhism 
 is an active or a passive religion ? 
 
 A. To " cease from sin " may be called passive, 
 but to " get virtue " and " to cleanse one's own heart," 
 or mind, are altogether active qualities. Buddha taught 
 that we should not merely not be evil, but that we 
 should be positively good. 
 
 149. Q. Who or what are the "Three Guides" * 
 that a Buddhist is supposed to follow ? 
 
 A. They are disclosed in the formula called 
 the Tisarana : " I follow Buddha as my Guide : I 
 follow the Law as my Guide : I follow the Order as my 
 Guide." These three are, in fact, the Buddha Dharma. 
 
 1 Saranam. Wijesinha Mudaliar writes me : " This word has been 
 hitherto very inappropriately and erroneously rendered Refuge, by 
 European Pali scholars, and thoughtlessly so accepted by native Pall 
 scholars. Neither Pali etymology nor Buddhistic philosophy justifies < 
 the translation. Refuge, in the sense of a fleeing back or a plai-e of 
 shelter, is quite foreign to true Buddhism, which insists on every 
 man working- oat his own emancipation. The root Sr in Samskr$ 
 (sara in Pali) means to move, to go ; so that Saraiiam would denote 
 a moving, or he or that which goes before or with another — a Guide 
 or Helper. 1 construe the passage thus : Guclichami, I go, Buihiham, 
 to Buddha Sannam, as my Guide. The translation of the Tisarana as 
 the " Three Refuges, " has given rise to much misapprehension, and 
 has been made by anti-Buddhists a fertile pretext for taunting 
 Buddhists with the absurdity of taking refuge in non-entities and 
 believing in unrealities. The term refuge is more applicable to 
 Nirvana, of which Saranam is a synonym. The High Priest 
 Sumai'tgala also calls my attention to the fact that the Pali root Sara 
 has the secondary meaning of killing, or that which destroys. 
 Butldham saranam gachchhdmi might thus be rendered "I go to 
 Buddha, the Law, and the Order, as the destroyers of my fears — 
 the first by his preaching, the second by its axiomatic truth, the 
 third by their various examples and precepts." 
 
32 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 150. Q. What does he mean when repeating this 
 formula. 
 
 A. He means that he regards the Buddha 
 as his all-wise Teacher, Friend and Exemplar ; the 
 Law, or Doctrine, as containing the essential and 
 immutable principles of Justice and Truth and the 
 path that leads to the realisation of perfect peace 
 of mind on earth; and the Order -as the teachers 
 and exemplars of that excellent Law taught by 
 Buddha. 
 
 151. Q. -But are not some of the members of this 
 " Order " men intellectually and morally inferior ? 
 
 A. Yes ; but we are taught by the Buddha 
 that only those who diligently attend to the Precepts, 
 discipline their minds, and strive to attain or have 
 attained one of the eight stages of holiness and 
 perfection, constitute his " Order ". It is expressly 
 stated that the Order referred to in the " Tisarana " 
 refers to the "Attha Ariya Puggala" — the Noble 
 Ones who have attained one of the eight stages of 
 perfection. The mere wearing of yellow robes, or 
 even ordination, does not of itself make a man pure 
 or wise or entitle him to reverence. 
 
 152. Q. Then it is not stich unworthy bhikkhus as 
 they, whom the true Buddhist iconld take as his guides ? 
 
 A. Certainly not. 
 
 153. Q. What are the five observances, or universal 
 precepts, called the PaFicha SUa, which are imposed on 
 the laity in general ? 
 
 THE DHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 33 
 
 A. They are included in the following 
 formula,, which Buddhists repeat publicly at the 
 vihSras (temples) : 
 
 I observe the precept to refrain from destroying 
 the life of beings. . 
 
 I observe the precept to refrain from stealing. 
 
 I observe the precept to abstain from unlawful 
 sexual intercourse. 1 
 
 I observe the precept to refrain from falsehood. 
 
 I observe the precept to abstain from using intoxi- 
 cants. 
 
 154. Q. What strikes the intelligent person on 
 reading these Silas ? 
 
 A. That one who observes them strictly must 
 escape from every cause productive of human misery. 
 If we study history we shall find that it has all 
 sprung from one or another of these causes. 
 
 155. Q. In which Silas is the far-seeing wisdom of 
 the Buddha most plainly shown ? 
 
 A. In the first, third and fifth ; for the taking 
 of life, sensuality, and the use of intoxicants, cause 
 at least ninety-five per cent of the sufferings among 
 men. 
 
 1 This qualified form refers, of course, to laymen who only 
 profess to keep five precepts: a Bhikkhu must observe strict 
 celibacy. So, also, must the laic who binds himself to observe eight 
 of the whole ten Precepts for specified periods ; during these periods 
 he must be celibate. The five Precepts were laid down by 
 Buddha for all people. Though one may not be a Buddhist, yet the 
 five and eight Precepts may profitably bo observed by all. It is the 
 taking of the "Three Refuges" that constitutes one a Buddhist. 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 156. Q. What benefits does a man derive from the 
 observance of these Precepts ? , 
 
 A. He is said to acquire more or less merit 
 according to the manner and time of observing the 
 precepts, and the number observed ; that is, if he 
 observes only one precept, violating the other four, he 
 acquires the merit of the observance of that precept 
 only; and the longer he keeps that precept the 
 greater will be the merit. He who keeps all the 
 precepts inviolate will cause himself to have a higher 
 and happier existence hereafter. 
 
 157. Q. ~\Yhat are the other observances which it i» 
 considered meritorious for the laity as such to undertake 
 voluntarily to keep? 
 
 A. The Atthdnga Slla, or the Eightfold 
 Precept, which embraces the five above enumerated 
 (omitting the word " unlawful " in the third), with 
 three additional ; viz : 
 
 I observe the precept to abstain from eating at an 
 unseasonable time. 
 
 I observe the precept to abstain from dancing, 
 singing, music and unbecoming shows, and from the 
 use of garlands, scents, perfumes, cosmetics, ointments, 
 and ornaments. 
 
 I observe the precept to abstain from using high 
 and broad beds. 
 
 The seats and couches here referred to are those used 
 by the worldly-minded for the sake of pleasure and 
 sensual enjoyment. The celibate should avoid these. 
 
 THE DHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 35 
 
 158. Q. How would a Buddhist describe truemerit? 
 A. There is no great merit in any merely 
 
 outward act ; all depends upon the inward motive that 
 provokes the deed. 
 
 159. Q. Give an example ? 
 
 A. A rich man may expend lakhs of rupees 
 in building dsigobas or viharas, in erecting statues of 
 Buddha, in festivals and processions, in feeding 
 priests, in giving alms to the poor, or in planting 
 trees, digging tanks, or Constructing rest-houses by 
 the roadside for travellers, and yet have comparatively 
 little merit if it be done for display, or to hear him- 
 self praised by men, or for any other selfish motives. 
 But he who does the least of these things with a kind 
 motive, such as love for his fellow-men, gains great 
 merit. A good deed done with a bad motive benefits 
 others, but not the doer. One who approves of a 
 good deed when done by another shares in the merit, 
 if his sympathy is real, not pretended. The same rule 
 applies to evil deeds. 
 
 160. Q. But which is said to be the greatest of all 
 meritorious actions ? 
 
 A. The Dhammapada declares that the merit 
 of disseminating the Dharma, the Law of Eighteous- 
 ness, is greater than that of any other good work. 
 
 161. Q. What books contain all the most excellent 
 wisdom of the Buddha's teachings? 
 
 A. The three collections of books called 
 fripitakas or " Three Baskets ". 
 
36 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATKUHISM 
 
 162. Q. What are the natnes of the three Pitakas, 
 or groups of books ? 
 
 A. The Vinaya Pitaka, the Sutta Pltaka 
 and the Abhidhamimi Pitaka. 
 
 163. Q. What do they respectively contain? 
 
 A. The first contains all that pertains to 
 morality and the i-ules of discipline for the government 
 of the Sangha, or Order; the second contains 
 instructive discourses on ethics applicable to all ; the 
 third explains the psychological teachings of the 
 Buddha, including the twenty-four transcendental 
 laws explanatory of the workings of Nature. 
 
 164. Q. Do Buddhists believe these books to be 
 inspired, or revealed by a Divine Being ? 
 
 A. No; but they revere them as con- 
 taining all the parts of that most Excellent 
 Law, by the knowing of which man may break 
 through the trammels of Samsara. 
 
 165. Q. In the whole text of the three Pitaka* 
 hoic many words are there ? 
 
 A Dr. Rhys-Davids estimates them at 
 1,752,800. 
 
 166. Q. When were the Pitakas first reduced to 
 writing ? 
 
 A. In 88-76 B.C., under the Sinhalese King, 
 "Wattagamini, or three hundred and thirty years after 
 the Paranirvana of the Buddha. 
 
 167. Q. Have we reason to believe that all the 
 discourses of the Buddha are known to us ? 
 
 THE DHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 37 
 
 A. Probably not, and it would be strange if 
 they were. Within the forty-five years of his public 
 life* he must have preached many hundreds of dis- 
 courses. Of these, in times of war and persecution, 
 many must have been lost, many scattered to distant 
 countries, and many mutilated. History says that 
 enemies of the Buddha Dharma burnt piles of our 
 books as high as a coco-nut tree. 
 
 168. Q. Do Buddhists consider the Buddha as one 
 who by his own virtue can save us from, the 
 conscience of our individual sins? 
 
 A. Not at all. Man must emancipate him- 
 self. Until he does that he will continue being born 
 over and over and over again— the victim of ignorance, 
 the slave of unquenched passions. 
 
 169. Q. What, then, was the Buddha to us, and all 
 
 other beings? 
 
 A. An all-seeing, all-wise Counsellor ; one 
 who discovered the safe path and pointed it out ; one 
 who showed the cause of, and the only cure for, human 
 suffering. In pointing to the road, in showing us 
 how to escape dangers, he became our Guide. He is 
 to us like one leading a blind man across a narrow 
 bridge over a swift and deep stream and so saving 
 
 his life. 
 
 170. Q. If we were to try to represent, the whole 
 spirit of the Buddha's doctrine by one word, which 
 word should we choose ? 
 A Justice. 
 
38 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHI8M 
 
 171. Q. Why? 
 
 A. Because it teaches that every man gets, 
 under the operations of unerring Karma, exactly 
 that reward or punishment which he has deserved, no 
 more and np less. No good deed or bad deed, how- 
 ever trifling, and however secretly committed, escapes 
 the evenly-balanced scales of Karma. 
 
 172. Q. What is Karma? 1 
 
 A. A causation operating on the moral, as 
 well as on the physical and other planes. Buddhists 
 say there is no miracle in human affairs : what a man 
 sows that he must and will reap. 
 
 173. Q. What other good words have been used to 
 express the essence of Buddhism ? 
 
 A. Self-culture and universal love. 
 
 174. Q. What doctrine ennobles Buddhism, and 
 gives it its exalted place among the world's religions f 
 
 A. That of Mitta or Maitreya — compassion- 
 ate kindness. The importance of this doctrine is more- 
 over emphasised in the giving of the name 
 " Maitri " (the Compassionate One), to the coming 
 Buddha. 
 
 175. Q. Were all these points of Doctrine that you, 
 have explained meditated upon by the Buddha near the 
 Bo-tree? 
 
 Karma is defined as the sum total of a man's actions. The 
 law of Cause and Effect is called the Patice a Snmuppada Dhamma. 
 In the Angutlara Niknya the Buddha teaches that my action is my 
 possession, my action is my inheritance, mv action is the womb 
 which bears me, my action is my relative, my" action is my refuge. 
 
 / 
 
 THE pHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 39 
 
 A. Yes, these and many more that may be 
 read in the Buddhist Scriptures. The entire system 
 of Buddhism came to his mind during the Great 
 
 Enlightenment. 
 
 176. Q. How long did the Buddha remain near the 
 
 Bo-tree? 
 
 A. Forty-nine days.' 
 
 177. Q. What do we call the first discourse 
 preached by the Buddha— that which he addressed to his 
 five former companions? 
 
 A. The Dhammacakka-ppavattana sutta — 
 the Sufcra of the Definition of the Rule of Doctrine. l 
 
 178. Q. What subjects were treated by him, in this 
 
 discourse? 
 
 A. The " Pour Noble Truths," and the 
 " Noble Eightfold Path ". He condemned the extreme 
 physical mortification of the ascetics, on the one hand, 
 and the enjoyment of sensual pleasures on the other ; 
 pointing out and recommending the Noble Eightfold 
 Path as the Middle Path. . 
 
 179. Q. Did the Buddha hold with idol-worship? 
 
 1 Vfter the appearance of the first edition, I received from one of 
 the ablest Pali scholars of Ceylon, the late. L. Corneille Wijesmha, 
 Esq Mudaliar of Matale, what seems a better rendering of 
 DhammHcalhi-pimvattana than the one previously given ; he makes 
 i't " The Establishment of the Reign of Law ' . Professor Rhys- 
 Davids prefers, " The Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteousness . 
 Mr. Wiicsinha writes me: "You may use ' Kingdom of Right- 
 eousness,' too, but it savours more of dogmatic theology than of 
 philosophic ethics. Dhammacokh m >o> : ottana sulfum » the 
 discourse entitled ' The Establishment of the Reign of Law . 
 Having shown this to the High Priest, I am happy to be ble 
 to say that he assents to Mr. Wijesinha's rendering. 
 
■■■._. Ill I- ■ - 
 
 "~. V. ..I 
 
 
 40 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 A. He did not; he opposed it. ' The worship 
 of gods, demons, trees, etc., was condemned by the 
 Buddha. External worship i s a fetter that one has 
 to break if he is to advance higher. 
 
 ISO. Q. But do not Buddhists make reverence before 
 the statue of the Buddha, his relic, and the monuments 
 enshrining them? 
 
 A. Yes, but not with the sentiment of the 
 idolater. 
 
 181. Q. What is the difference? 
 
 A. Our Pagan brother not only takes his 
 images as visible representations of his unseen God or 
 gods but the refined idolater, in worshipping, 
 confers that the idol contains in it, substance a 
 portion of the all-pervading divinity. 
 
 182. Q. What does the Buddhist think? ■ 
 
 A. The Buddhist reverences the Buddha's 
 statue and the other things you have mentioned, only 
 as mementoes of the greatest, wisest, most benevolent 
 and compassionate man in this world-period (Kalpa) 
 All races and people preserve, treasure up, and value 
 the relics and mementoes of men and women who have 
 been considered in any way great. The Buddha to 
 ns, seems more to be revered and beloved than any 
 one else, by every human being who knows sorrow 
 
 183 Q. Has the Buddha himself given tu, some- 
 thing definite upon this sulject? 
 
 A. Certainly. I n the Mahd Pari-Nirvana 
 butta he says that emancipation is attainable only by 
 
 THE pHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 41 
 
 leading the Holy life, according to the Noble Eight- 
 fold Path, not by eternal worship (amisa puja), nor 
 by adoration of himself, or of another, or of any 
 image. 
 
 184. Q. What was the Buddha's estimate of 
 ceremonialism ? 
 
 A. From the beginning, he condemned the 
 observance of ceremonies and other external practices, 
 which only tend to increase our spiritual blindness 
 and our clinging to mere lifeless forms. 
 
 185. Q. What as to controversies? 
 
 A. In numerous discourses he denounced 
 this habit as most pernicious. He prescribed penances 
 for Bhikkhus who waste time and weaken their higher 
 intuitions in wrangling over theories and metaphysical 
 subtleties. 
 
 186. Q. Are charms, incantations, the observance 
 of lucky hours and devil-dancing a part of Buddhism ? 
 
 A. They are positively repugnant to its 
 fundamental principles. They are the surviving relics 
 of fetishism and pantheistic and other foreign 
 religions. In the Brahmajdta Sutta the Buddha has 
 categorically described these and other superstitions 
 as Pagan, mean and spurious. 1 
 
 1 The mixing of these arts and practices with Buddhism is a sign 
 of deterioration. Their facts and phenomena are real and capable 
 of scientific explanation. They are embraced in the term " magic," 
 but when resorted to, for selfish purposes, attract bad influences 
 about one, and impede spiritual advancement. When employed for 
 harmless and beneficent purposes, such as healing the sick, saving 
 life, etc., the Buddha permitted thoir use. 
 
 

 — — — ..«_ 
 
 42 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM* 
 
 187. Q. }Vhat striking contrasts are there between 
 Buddhism and what may be properly called " religions " ? 
 A. Among others, these: It teaches the 
 highest goodness without a creating God ; a continuity 
 of life without adhering to the superstitious and selfish 
 doctrine of an eternal, metaphysical soul-substance 
 that goes out of the body ; a happiness without an 
 objective heaven; a method of salvation without a 
 vicarious Saviour; redemption by oneself as the 
 Redeemer, and without rites, prayers, penances, 
 priests or intercessory saints j and a summum bonum, 
 i.e., Nirvana, attainable in this life and in this world 
 by leading a pure, unselfish life of wisdom and of 
 compassion to all beings. 
 
 188. Q. Specify the two main divisions of 
 "meditation," i.e., of the process by which one 
 extinguishes passion and attains knowledge? 
 
 A. Samatha and Vidarsama: (1) the attenu- 
 ation of passion by leading the holy life and by 
 continued effort to subdue the senses ; (2) the attain- 
 ment of supernormal wisdom by reflection : each of 
 which embraces twenty aspects, but I need not here 
 specify them. 
 
 189. Q. What are the four paths or stages of 
 advancement that one may attain to ? 
 
 A. (1) Sottapatti — the beginning or entering 
 into which follows after one's clear perception of the 
 " Four Noble Truths » ; (2) Sakardagdmi^-the path of 
 one who has so subjugated lust, hatred and delusion 
 
 i mi , - -- 
 
 THE DHARMA OE DOCTRIXE 
 
 . <■_ 
 
 43 
 
 that he need only return once to this world j (3) Anagami 
 — the path of those who have so far conquered self 
 that they need not return to this world; (4) Arhal— 
 the path of the holy and worthy Arhat, who is not 
 only free from the necessity of reincarnation, but has 
 capacitated himself to enjoy perfect wisdom, boundless 
 pity for the ignorant and suffering, and measureless 
 love for all beings. 
 
 190. Q. Does popular Buddhism contain nothing 
 but what is true, and in accord with science ? 
 
 A. Like every other religion that has existed 
 many centuries, it certainly now contains untruth 
 mingled with truth ; ever gold is found mixed with 
 dross. The poetical imagination, the zeal, or the lin- 
 gering superstition of Buddhist devotees have, in var- 
 ious ages, and in various lands, caused the noble prin- 
 ciples of the Buddha's moral doctrines to be coupled 
 more or less with what might be removed to advantage. 
 191. Q. When such percersions are discovered, 
 what should be the true Buddhist's earnest desire ? 
 
 A. The true Buddhist should be ever ready 
 and anxious to see the false purged away from the 
 true, and to assist, if he can. Three great Councils 
 of the Saiigha were held for the express purpose of 
 purging the body of Teachings from all corrupt inter- 
 polations. 
 
 192. Q. When? 
 
 A. The first, at Sattapanni cave, just after 
 the death of the Buddha ; the second at "Valukarama, 
 
... I» . , 
 
 »«Jrr^. i m. - = ->-*- | - i , ft i i 
 
 t ■ w i » !i ■ 
 
 44 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 in Vaisali ; the third at Asokarama Vihara, at Patali- 
 putra, 235 years after Buddha's decease. 
 
 193. Q. In what discourse does the Buddha himself 
 warn t» to expect this perversion of the true Doctrine? 
 
 A. In the Sanyutta Nikaya. 
 
 194. Q. Are there any dogmas in Buddhism which 
 we are required to accept on faith ? 
 
 A. No : we are earnestly enjoined to accept 
 nothing whatever on faith ; whether it be written in 
 books, handed down from our ancestors, or taught by 
 the sages. 
 
 195. Q. Did he himself really teach that noble 
 rule ? 
 
 A. Yes. The Buddha has said that we 
 must not believe in a thing said merely because it is 
 said ; nor in traditions because they have been handed 
 down from antiquity ; nor rumours, as such ; nor writ- 
 ings by sages, merely because sages wrote them ; nor 
 fancies that we may suspect to have been inspired in 
 us by a Deva (that is, in presumed spiritual inspira- 
 tion); nor from inferences drawn from some hap- 
 hazard assumption we may have made ; nor because 
 of what seems an analogical necessity; nor on the 
 mere authority of our own teachers or masters. 
 196. Q. When, then, must we believe ? 
 
 A. We are to believe when the writing 
 doctrine or saying is corroborated by our own reason 
 and consciousness. « For this," says he in concluding, 
 "I taught you not to believe merely because you have 
 
 THE pHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 45 
 
 heard, but when you believed of your own conscious- 
 ness, then to act accordingly and abundantly." (See 
 the Kalama Sutta of the Anguttara Nikaya, and the 
 Maha Pari Nirvana Sutta.) 
 
 197. Q. Whit does the Buddha call himself? 
 
 A. He says that he and the other Buddhas 
 are only " preachers " of truth who point out the way : 
 we ourselves must make the effort. . . • 
 
 198. Q. Where is this said ? 
 
 A. In the Dhammapada, Chapter xx. 
 
 199. Q. Does Buddhism countenance hypocrisy? 
 A. The Dhammapada says : " Like a beau- 
 tiful Hower full of colour without scent the fine words 
 of him who does not act accordingly are fruitless." 
 
 200. Q. Docs Buddhism teach us to return evil for 
 evil ? 
 
 A. In the Dhammapada the Buddha said : 
 "If a man foolishly does me wrong, I will return to 
 him the protection of my ungrudging love ; the more 
 evil comes from him, the more good shall go from 
 me. " This is the path followed by the Arhat. 1 To 
 return evil for avil is positively forbidden in 
 Buddhism. 
 
 1 A Buddhist ascetic who, by a prescribed course of practice, has 
 attained to a superior state of spiritual and intellectual develop- 
 ment. Arhats may be divided into the two general groups of the 
 Samathayanika and Siikkha Vipassaka. The former have destroyed 
 their 'passions, and fully developed their intellectual capacity or 
 mystical insight j the latter have equally conquered passion, but not 
 acquired the superior mental powers. The former can work phe- 
 nomena, the latter cannot. The Arhat of the former clasB, when, 
 fully developed, is no longer a prey to the delusions of the senses, 
 
»■■*,,. ■«■ ■**■■■■ 
 
 ■ > Mumi 
 
 46 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 201. Q. Does it encourage cruelty? 
 
 A. No, indeed. In the Five Precepts and 
 in many of his discourses, the Buddha teaches us to 
 be merciful to all beings, to try and make them 
 happy, to love them all, to abstain from taking- 
 life, or consenting to it, or encouraging its being 
 done. 
 
 202. Q. In vhich discourse is this stated ? 
 
 A. The Dhammika Sut(a says : " Let him 
 (the householder) not destroy, or cause to be destroy- 
 ed, any life at all, or sanction the act of those who do so. 
 Let him refrain from even hurting any creature.'" 
 
 203. Q. Does it approve of drunkenness ? 
 
 nor the slave of passion or mortal frailty. He penetrate* to the root 
 of whatsoever subject his mind is applied to without following the 
 slow processes of reasoning. His self-conquest is complete ; and in 
 place of the emotion and desire which vex and enthral the ordinary 
 man, he is lifted up into a condition whicli is best expressed in the 
 term " Nirvanic ". There is in Ceylon a popular misconception that 
 the attainment of Arhatship is now impossible ; that the Buddha 
 had himself prophesied that the power would die out in one 
 millennium after his death. This rumour— and the similar one that 
 is everywhere heard in India, viz., that this being the dark cycle of 
 the Kali Yuga, the practice of Yoga Vgdya, or sublime spiritual 
 science, is impossible — I ascribe to the ingenuity of those who 
 should be as pure and (to use a non-Buddhistic but very convenient 
 term) psychically wise as were their predecessors, but are not, 
 and who therefore seek an excuse ! The Buddha taught quite the 
 contrary idea. In the Nlga Niknya he said: " Hear, Subbhadra ! 
 The world will never be without Arhats if the ascetics (Bhikkhus) 
 in my congregations well and truly keep my precepts." (Imeccha 
 Subhaddabhikkhu sannna vihareiyum asunno loko ArahuntehiassaS) 
 
 1 Kolb, in his History of Culture, says : " It is Buddhism we have 
 to thank for the sparing of prisoners of war, who heretofore had 
 been slain ; also for the discontinuance of the carrying away into 
 captivity of the inhabitants of conquered lands. 
 
 THE DHAKMA OK DOCTRINE . 47 
 
 V In his Dhammika Sutta we are warned 
 gainst drinking liquors, causing others to drink, or 
 sanctioning the acts of those who drink. 1 
 
 204. Q. To what are we told that drunkenness 
 
 A. To demerit, crime, insanity, and ignor- 
 an ce— which is the chief cause of rebirth. 
 
 205*. Q. What doe. Buddhism teach about mar- 
 
 A Absolute chastity being a condition of 
 fall spiritual development, is most highly commended ; 
 but a marriage to one wife and fidelity to her is re- 
 cognised as a kind of chastity. Polygamy was cen- 
 sured by the Buddha as involving ignorance and 
 promoting lust. 
 
 206. Q. In what discourse ? 
 
 A. The Anguttara Nikaya, Chapter iv, .55. 
 
 207. Q. What does it teach as to the duty of 
 
 parents to children? 
 
 A. They should restrain them from vice > 
 train them in virtue; have them taught arts and 
 sciences; provide them with suitable wives and 
 husbands, and give them their inheritance. 
 208. Q. What is the duty of children ? 
 
 A To support their parents when old or 
 needy; perform family duties incumbent on them j 
 guard their property; make themselves worthy to 
 
 • The fifth Sila has reference to the mere taking of intoxicant* 
 and stupefying drugs, which leads ultimately to drunkenness. 
 
48 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 be their heirs, arid when they are gone, honour their 
 memory. 
 
 209. Q. What of pupils to the teacher? 
 
 A. To show him respect ; minister to him ; 
 -obey him ; supply his wants j attend .to his instruction. 
 
 210. Q. What of husband to wife? 
 
 A. To cherish her ; treat her with respect 
 and kindness; be faithful to her; cause her' to be 
 honoured by others ; provide her with suitable orna- 
 ments and clothes. 
 
 211. Q. What of the wife to her husband ? 
 
 A. To show affection to him j order her 
 household aright; be hospitable to guests; be chaste; 
 be thrifty ; show skill and diligence in all things. 
 
 212. Q. liliere are these precepts taught? 
 A. In the Sigalovada Sutta. 
 
 213. Q. Do riches help a man to future happiness ? 
 A. The Dhammapada says : " One is the 
 
 road that leads to wealth, another the road that leads 
 to Nirvana." 
 
 214. Q. Does that mean that no rich man can 
 attain Nirvana? 
 
 A. That depends on which he loves most. 
 If he uses his wealth for the benefit of mankind — for 
 the suffering, the oppressed, the ignorant — then his 
 wealth aids him to acquire merit. 
 
 215. Q. But if the contrary ? 
 
 A. But if he loves and greedily hoards 
 money for the sake of its possession, then it weakens 
 
 I 
 
 THE DHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 49 
 
 his moral sense, prompts him to crime, brings curses 
 upon him in this life, and their effects are felt in the 
 
 next birth. 
 
 216. Q. What says the "Dhammapada" about 
 
 ignorance ? 
 
 A. That it is a taint worse than all taints 
 
 that a man can put upon himself. 
 
 217. Q. Whai does it say about uncharitableness 
 
 towards others ? 
 
 A. That the fault of others is easily 
 perceived, but that of oneself difficult to perceive; a 
 man winnows his neighbour's faults like chaff, but his 
 own fault he hides, as a cheat hides the bad die from 
 
 the gambler. 
 
 218. Q. What adt-ire does the Bxtddha give us as 
 
 to man's duty to the poor? 
 
 A. He says that a man's net income should 
 be divided into four parts, of which one should be 
 devoted to philanthropic objects. 
 
 219. Q. What five occupations are said to be low 
 
 and base? 
 
 A. Selling liquor, selling animals for 
 slaughter, selling poison, selling murderous weapons, 
 and dealing in slaves. 
 
 220. Q. Who are said to be incapable of progress 
 
 in spirituality ? 
 
 A. The killers of father, mother, and holy 
 Arha^s ; Bhikkhus who sow discord in the Sangha ; 
 those who attempt to injure the person of a Buddha ; 
 
»■ I I 
 
 . ~ 
 
 50 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 those who hold extremely nihilistic views as to the 
 future existence ; and those who are extremely sensual. 
 121. Q. Does Buddhism specify places or co?i- 
 ditions of torment into 'which a bad man's Karma 
 draws him on leaving this life? 
 
 A. Yes. They are: Sanjiva; Kalasutra; 
 Sanghata ; Raurava'; Maha-Raurava Tapa ; Pratapa ; 
 Avichi. 
 
 222. Q. 7s the torment eternal? 
 
 A. Certainly not. Its duration depends on 
 a man's Karma. 
 
 223. Q. Does Buddhism declare tha^. non-believers 
 in Buddha will of necessity be damned for their unbelief? 
 
 A. No j by good deeds they may enjoy a 
 limited term of happiness before being drawn into re- 
 birth by their unexhausted tanha. To escape rebirth, 
 one must tread the Noble Eight-fold Path. 
 
 224. Q. What is the spiritual status of woman 
 among Buddhists ? 
 
 A. According to our religion they are on a 
 footing of perfect equality with men. " Woman," 
 says the Buddha, in the Chullavedalla Sutta, " may 
 attain the highest path of holiness that is open 
 to man — Arhatship." 
 
 225. Q. What does a modern critic say about the 
 effect of Buddhism on woman ? 
 
 A. That " it has done more for the happi- 
 ness and enfranchisement of woman than any other 
 creed " (Sir Lepel Griffin). 
 
 THE DHAEMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 51 
 
 226. 
 
 Q. What did the Buddha teach about caste ? 
 A. That one does not become of any caste, 
 whether Pariah, the lowest, or Brahmana the highest, 
 by birth, but by deeds. ' " By deeds/' said He, " one 
 becomes an outcast, by deeds one becomes a Brah- 
 mana " (See Vas&ala Sutta). ■ 
 
 227. Q. Tell me a story to illustrate this? 
 
 A. Ananda, passing by a well, was thirsty 
 and asked Prakrti, a girl of the ilatanga, or Pariah, 
 caste, to give him water. She said she was of such 
 low caste that he would become contaminated by tak- 
 ing water from her hand.- .. But Ananda replied : " I 
 ask not for caste but for water " ; and the Matanga 
 girl's heart was glad and she gave him to drink. The 
 Buddha blessed her for it. 
 
 228. Q. What, did the Buddha say .in " Vasala 
 Sidta " about a man of the Pariah Sopalca caste ? 
 
 A. That by his merits he reached the high- 
 est fame; that many Khattiyas (Kshattriyas) and 
 Brahmanas went to serve him ; and that after death he 
 was born in the Brahma-world : while there are many 
 Brahmanas who for their evil deeds are born in 
 
 hell. 
 
 229. Q 
 the soul ? 
 A. 
 
 Does Buddhism teach the immortality of 
 
 It considers " soul " to be a word used by 
 the ignorant to express a false idea. If everything 
 is subject to change, then man is included, and every 
 material part of him must change. That which is 
 

 
 V m m 
 
 
 52 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 subject to change is not permanent : so there can be 
 no immortal survival of a changeful thing.* 
 
 230. Q. -\yhat is so objectionable in this word 
 "soul"? 
 
 A. The idea associated with it that man can 
 bean entity separated from all other entities, and 
 from the existence of the whole of the Universe. This 
 idea of separateness is unreasonable, not provable by 
 logic, nor supported by science. 
 
 231. Q. Then there is no separate "I," nor ran ice 
 say " my " this or that ? 
 
 A. Exactly so. 
 
 232. Q. If the idea of a separate human " soul " is 
 to be rejected, what is it in man which gives him the 
 impression of having a permanent personality ? 
 
 A. Tanha, or the unsatisfied desire for exist- 
 ence. The being having done that for which he 
 must be rewarded or punished in future, and having 
 Tanha, will have a rebirth through the influence of 
 Karma. 
 
 233. Q. What is it that is bom ? 
 
 A. A new aggregation of Skandhas, or per- 
 sonality 1 caused by the last generative thought of the 
 dyi'ig person. 
 
 Th/ t™r° 1 2 Cn! , c ?; ticised ''s the equivalent of the Greek psuthe 
 
 th'ph^ca. ZT covere other state ° of «*• *« SS3 
 
 THE pHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 53 
 
 234. Q. 
 A. 
 
 235. Q. 
 A. 
 
 VinTidna. 
 
 236. Q. 
 A. 
 
 tion 
 
 How many Skandhas are there ? 
 
 Five. 
 
 Name the jive Skandhas ? 
 
 Riipa, Vedana, SaTina, Samkhara, and 
 
 Briejly explain what they are ? 
 Riipa, material qualities ; Vedana, sensa- 
 Saruia, abstract ideas; Samkhara, tendencies 
 
 succession of personalities. In each birth the pe"o n «W<, differ* 
 from that of the previous, or next succeeding birth. Karma the 
 Weu.< e.r. machina, masks (or shall we say reflects ?) itself, now in 
 the personality of a sage, again as an artisan, and so on through, 
 out the string of births. But though personalities ever shift, 
 the one line" of life along which thenar* strung like 
 beads, runs unbroken, it is ever that particular line, bWM 
 anv other. It is therefore individual-an individual vital un- 
 dnlation-which is careering through the objective side of Nature 
 under the impulse of Karma and the creative direction of T«nh* 
 and persists through many cyclic changes. Professor Rhys-Davids 
 calls that which passes from personality to personality along the 
 individual chain, "character" or "doing". Since character is 
 not a mere metaphysical abstraction, but the sum of one s mental 
 qualities and moral" propensities, would it not help to dispel what 
 Professor Rhys-Davids calls "the fay*** .fff"**"*,? * 
 mystery" (Bu.hlhism, p. 101), if we regarded the life-undulation as 
 individuality and each of its series of natal manifestations as a 
 separate personality ? We must have two words to distinguish be- 
 tween the concepts, and I find none so clear and expressive as the 
 two I have chosen. The perfected '"dividual, Buddh stieaHy 
 speaking, is a Buddha, I should say ; for a Buddha is but the rare 
 flower of humanity, without the least supernatural admixture And, 
 as countless generations-" four asankhyyas ™***™j™%^ 
 sand cycles" (Fausboll and Rhys-David's B» Jrfh.it Birth Stone. 
 No. 13)-are required to develop a man into a Buddha, and the no*, 
 will to become one runs throughout all the wcccts.ye births, .what 
 shall we call that which thus wills and perseveres t Character, or 
 individuality ? An individuality, but partly manifested in any one 
 birth, built up of fragments from all the births. 
 
 The denial of "Soul" by Buddha (see Sanyufta Xilaya, the 
 Sutta Pilalca) points to the prevalent delusive belief in an indepen- 
 dent personality; an entity, which after one birth would go to a 
 fixed place or state where, as a perfect entity, it could eternally 
 
■ -II. 
 
 -IL*******^..,*}*. 
 
 ■ i ■■ ■ i — .. 
 
 54 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 of mind; Vinuana, mental powers, or consciousness. 
 Of these we are formed , by them we are conscious of 
 existence ; and through them communicate with the 
 world about us. 
 
 237. Q. To what cause must we attribute the dif- 
 ferences in the combination of the five Skandhas which 
 make every individual differ from every other individ- 
 ual ? 
 
 A. To the ripened Karma of the individual 
 in his preceding births. 
 
 238. Q. What is the force or*' energy that is at 
 work, under the guidance of Karma, to produce the 
 new being ? 
 
 A. Tanha — the will to live} 
 
 enjoy or suffer. And what he shows is that the " T „,„ T » 
 
 is, as regards nermanenev i„.„-„.n- «__ *.S ., - a .'" l . co "«c.ousne B s 
 
 BSrSRSaslgSKS 
 
 smmmmm 
 
 translated by Professor mL n 5! J " lakat - ,h °™™™-Bo well 
 recurs which I hi.t t^ 8 " ™^-™ expression continually 
 the Blessed hi , ' "'^J sn PP orts «nch an idea, viz. , " Then 
 
 thoughts into objectivity. Wl1 ' t0 I,V0 b ' ,n & 8 a11 
 
 tion^A« 8 hur C Sch m onLr fitabIyCOnfi , lt Sch °P°»"<"«>r in thisconnoc 
 
 THE DHAKMA OK DOCTK1XE 
 
 55 
 
 239. Q. DyoB w/iaf W the doctrine of rebirths 
 
 founded ? 
 
 A. Upon the -perception that perfect justice, 
 equilibrium and adjustment are inherent in the uni- 
 versal system of Nature. Buddhists do not believe 
 that one life— even though it were extended to one 
 hundred or five hundred years— is long enough for 
 the reward or punishment of a man's deeds. The 
 great circle of rebirths will be more or less quickly 
 run through according to the preponderating purity 
 or impurity of the several lives of the individual. 
 
 240. Q. Is this new aggregation of Skandhas — this 
 new personality— the same being as that in the previous 
 birth, whose Tanha has brought it into existence ? 
 
 A. In one sense it is a new being ; in another 
 it is not. In Pali it is — " nacha so nacha anno," which 
 means not the same nor yet another. During this 
 life the Skandhas are constantly changing; 1 and 
 while the man A. B., of forty, is identical, as regards 
 personality, with the youth A. B., of eighteen, yet, by 
 the continual waste and reparation of his body, and 
 change of mind and character, he is a different being. 
 
 Nature, and of all hur objects, the human body included, is, in- 
 trinsicallv what we ourselves are the most conscious of in our own 
 body vis., Will. Intellect is a secondary capacity of the primary 
 will, a function of the brain in which this will reflects itself as 
 Nature and object and body, as in a mirror. . .Intellect is i secondary, 
 but may lead, in saints, to a complete renunciation of will, as tar as 
 it urges" "life" and is then extinguished in Nirvana (L. A. Sanders 
 in The Theosophist for May 1882, p. 213). 
 
 'Physiologically speaking, man's body is completely changed 
 every seven years. 
 
56 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 Nevertheless, the man in his old age justly reaps the 
 reward of suffering consequent upon his thoughts and 
 actions at every previous stage of his life. So the 
 new being of a rebirth, being the same individuality 
 as before, but with a changed form, or new aggre- 
 gation of Skandhas, justly reaps the consequences of 
 his actions and thoughts in the previous existence. 
 
 241. Q. But the aged man remembers the incidents 
 of his youth, despite his being physically and mentally 
 changed. Why, then, is not the recollection of past 
 lives brought over by us from our last bii th, into the 
 present birth? 
 
 A. Because memory is included within the 
 Skandhas; and the Skandhas having changed with 
 the new reincarnation, a new memory, the record of 
 of that particular existence, develops. Yet the record 
 or reflection of all the past earth-lives must survive ; 
 for, when Prince Siddhartha became Buddha, the full 
 sequence of his previous births was seen by him. If 
 their several incidents had left no trace behind, this 
 could not have been so, as there would have been 
 nothing for him to see. And any one who attains to 
 the fourth state of Dhyana (psychical insight) can 
 thus retrospectively trace the line of his lives. 
 
 242. Q. What is the ultimate point towards which 
 tend all these series of changes in form ? 
 
 A. Nirvana. 
 
 243. Q. Does Buddhism teach that we should do 
 good with the view of reaching Nirvana ? 
 
 THE DHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 57 
 
 A. No ; that would be as absolute selfish- 
 ness as though the reward hoped for had been money, 
 a throne, or any other sensual enjoyment. Nirvana 
 cannot be so reached, and the unwise speculator is 
 foredoomed to disappointment. 
 
 244. Q. Please make it a little clearer ? 
 
 A. Nirvana is the synonym of unselfishness, 
 the entire surrender of selfhood to truth. The 
 ignorant man aspires to nirvanic happiness without 
 the least idea of its nature. Absence of selfishness is 
 Nirvana. Doing good with the view to getting 
 results, or leading the holy life with the object of 
 gaining heavenly happiness, is not the Noble Life 
 that the Buddha enjoined. Without hope of reward 
 the Noble Life should be lived, and that is the high- 
 est life. The nirvanic state can be attained while one 
 is living on this earth. 
 
 245. Q. Name the ten great obstacles to advance- 
 ment, called Sanyojanas, the Fetters? 
 
 A. Delusion of self {Sakkaya-ditthi) ; Doubt 
 (Vicikiccha) ; Dependence on superstitious rites 
 (SJlabbata-paramasa) ; Sensuality, bodily passions 
 (Kama); Hatred, ill-feeling (Patigha) ; Love of life 
 on earth {Ritparaga) ; Desire for life in a heaven 
 (Aruparaga); Pride (Mana) ; Self-righteousness 
 (Uddhacca); Ignorance (Arijja). 
 
 246. Q. To become an Arhat, how many of these 
 fetters must be broken ? 
 A. All. 
 
TJI^'^- 
 
 58 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 247. Q. What are the five Nirwaranas or Hind- 
 rances ? 
 
 A. Greed, Malice, Sloth, Pride, and Doubt. 
 
 248. Q. Why do tee see this minute division of 
 feelings, impulses, workings of the mind, obstacles and 
 aids to advancement so much used in the Buddha's 
 teachings ? It is very confusing to a beginner. 
 
 A. It is to help us to obtain knowledge of 
 ourselves, by training our minds to think out e very- 
 subject in detail. By following out this system of 
 self-examination, we come finally to acquire know- 
 ledge and see truth as it is. This is the course taken 
 by every wise teacher to help his pupil's mind to 
 develop. 
 
 249. Q. How many of the Buddha's disciples were 
 specially renowned for their superior qualities? 
 
 A. There are eighty so distinguished. They 
 are called the Astti Maha Savakas. 
 
 250. Q. What did the Buddha's wisdom embrace ? 
 A. He knew the nature of the Knowable and 
 
 the Unknowable, the Possible and the Impossible, the 
 cause of Merit and Demerit; he could read the 
 thoughts of all beings; he knew the laws of Nature, 
 the illusions of the senses and the means to suppress 
 desires; he could distinguish the birth and rebirth of 
 individuals, and other things. 
 
 251. Q. What do we call the basic principle on 
 ivhich the whole of the Buddha's teaching is con- 
 structed ? 
 
 THE DHARMA OR DOCTRINE 
 
 5& 
 
 A. It is called Paticca SamuppaM- l 
 
 252. Q. Is it easily grasped ? 
 
 A. It is most difficult ; in fact, the full mean- 
 ing and extent of it is beyond the capacity of such as 
 are not perfectly developed. 
 
 253. Q. What said the great commentator Buddha 
 
 Ghosha about it? 
 
 A. That even he was as helpless in this vast 
 ocean of thought as one who is drifting on the ocean 
 
 of waters. 
 
 254. Q. Then why should the Buddha say, in the 
 Parinibbana Sidta, that he "has no ,wh thing as 
 the closed fist of a teacher, who keeps something back"? 
 If his whole teaching was open to every one's comprehen- 
 sion why should so great and learned a man as Buddha 
 Ghosha declare it so hard to understand? 
 
 A. The Buddha evidently meant that he 
 taught everything freely; but equally certain is it 
 that the real basis of the Dharma can only be under- 
 stood by him who has perfected his powers of com- 
 prehension. It is, therefore, incomprehensible to com- 
 mon, unenlightened persons. • 
 
 1 This fundamental or basic principle may be des.gnated m Pal , 
 tf.^l-chain of causation or, literally, " Orig.nat.on of dependence 
 Twelve NuhUas are specified, *. : ^yja-.gnorance o ! the truth 
 of natural religion ; Sam Ihura-causal action, karma ; Vnmana- 
 consctuTneVs of personality, the "T am I "; Mm» Wipa-namc -and 
 form 7 sTlcyatal-s* senses; Phaua-contBCt , *<&*?%*&* 
 Tanhd-desire for enjoyment , tfparmna-^bngmg ; Wuira-indn i- 
 du"lisin- existence; Ja«-birth, caste ; JartI, «««»«., tokaparueHa, 
 SSft? dlnanatsa, upuycua-decay, death, grief, lamentat.on, 
 despair. 
 
60 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 255. Q. Bow does the teaching of the Buddha 
 support this view ? 
 
 A. The Buddha looked into the heart of 
 each person, and preached to suit the individual 
 temperament and spiritual development of the 
 hearer. 
 
 PART III 
 THE SAttGHA 
 
 256. Q. How do Buddhist Bhikkhus differ from 
 the priests of other religions ? 
 
 A. In other i-eligions the priests claim to be 
 intercessors between men and God, to help to obtain 
 pardon of sins; the Buddhist Bhikkhus do not 
 acknowledge or expect anything from a divine 
 power. 
 
 257. Q. But why then was it worth while to create 
 this Order, or Brotherhood, or Society, apart from the 
 whole body of the people, if they were not to do what 
 other religiotis orders do ? 
 
 A. The object in view was to cause the 
 most virtuous, intelligent, unselfish and spiritually- 
 minded persons to withdraw from the social 
 surroundings where their sensual and other selfish 
 desires were naturally strengthened, devote their lives 
 to the acquisition of the highest wisdom, and fit 
 themselves to teach and guide others out of the 
 pleasant path leading towards misery, into the harder 
 path that leads to hare happiness and final liberation. 
 
*^m 
 
 — 
 
 SB ■■< •'"' ----- ■—•■»■ 
 
 62 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 253. Q. Besides the Eight, what two additional 
 observances are obligatory upon the Bhikkhus? 
 
 A. I observe the precept to abstain from 
 dancing, singing and unbecoming shows. 
 
 I observe the precept to abstain from receiving 
 gold or silver. 
 
 The whole Dasa, or Bhikkhu Sila or Ten Precepts, 
 are binding on all Bhikkhus and Samaneras, or nov- 
 ices, but optional with lay devotees. 
 
 The Atthanga Sila are for those who aspire to higher 
 stages beyond the heavenly regions, 1 aspirants after 
 Nirvana. 
 
 259. Q. Are there separate Rules and Precepts for 
 the guidance and discipline of the Order ? 
 
 A. Yes : there are 250, but all come under 
 the following four heads : 
 
 Principal Disciplinary Rules {Patimokkha Samvara 
 Sila). 
 
 Observances for the repression of the senses 
 {Indriya Samvara Sila). 
 
 Regulations for justly procuring and using food, 
 diet, robes, etc., {Paccaya Sannissita Sila). 
 
 Directions for leading an unblemished life (Ajivapari 
 Suddha Sila). .,.; P 
 
 260. Q. Enumerate some crimes and offences that 
 Bhikkhus are particularly prohibited from committing ? 
 
 days of each half lunar month. y ° 8th ' 14th and 15th 
 
 THE SASGHA 
 
 i ' 
 
 63 
 
 " A. Real Bhikkhus abstain from : 
 
 Destroying the life of beings ; 
 
 Stealing ; 
 
 False exhibition of " occult" powers to deceive 
 anybody ; 
 
 Sexual intercourse ; 
 
 Falsehood ; 
 
 The use of intoxicating liquors, and eating at 
 unseasonable times ; 
 
 Dancing, singing, and unbecoming shows ; 
 
 Using garlands, scents, perfumes, etc. ; 
 
 Using high and broad beds, couches or seats; 
 receiving presents of gold, silver, raw grain and meat, 
 women, and maidens, slaves, cattle, elephants, etc. ; 
 
 Defaming ; 
 
 Using harsh and reproachful language ; 
 
 Idle talk ; 
 
 Reading and hearing fabulous stories and tales ; 
 
 Carrying messages to and from laymen ; 
 
 Buying and selling ; 
 
 Cheating, bribing, deception, and fraud; 
 
 Imprisoning, plundering, and threatening others; 
 
 The practice of certain specified magical arts and 
 sciences, such as fortune-telling, astrological predic- 
 tions, palmistry, and other sciences, that go under the 
 name of magic. Any of these would retard the pro- 
 gress of one who aimed at the attainment of Nirvana. 
 261. Q. WTiat are the duties of Bhikkhus to the 
 laity 1 
 
 I 
 
64 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 A.. Generally, to set them an example of the 
 highest morality; to teach and instruct them; to 
 preach and expound the Law ; to recite the Paritta 
 (comforting texts) to the sick, and publicly in times 
 of public calamity, when requested to do so ; and 
 unceasingly to exhort the people to virtuous actions. 
 They should dissuade them from rice ; be compassion- 
 ate and tender-hearted, and seek to promote the 
 welfare of all beings. 
 
 262. Q. What are the rules for admission into the 
 Order? 
 
 A. The candidate is not often taken before 
 his tenth year; he must have the consent of his 
 parents; be free from leprosy, boils, consumption and 
 fits ; be a free man ; have no debts ; and must not be a 
 criminal or deformed or in the royal service. 
 
 263. Q. As a novice what is he called ? 
 A. Samanera, a pupil. l 
 
 264. Q. At what age can a Samanera be ordained 
 as Sramana — monk? . 
 
 A. Not before his twentieth year. 
 
 265. Q. ~When ready for ordination what happens ? 
 A. At a meeting of Bhikkhus he is presented 
 
 by a Bhikkhu as his proposer, who reports that he is 
 qualified, and the candidate says : " I ask the Sangha, 
 Beverend Sirs, for the Upasarnpada (ordination) 
 ceremony, etc. " 
 
 1 The relationship to his Guru, or teacher, is almost like that of 
 godson to godfather among Christians, only more real, for the 
 teacher becomes father, mother, family and all to him. 
 
 THE SANGHA 
 
 65 
 
 His introducer then recommends that he be admitted, 
 He is then accepted. *•"■ ' - 
 
 266. Q. What then? 
 
 A. He puts on the robes and repeats the Three 
 Befuges (Tisarana) and Ten Precepts (Dasa Sila.) 
 
 267. Q. What are the two essentials to be observed? 
 A. Poverty and Chastity. A Bhikkhu before 
 
 ordination must possess eight things, viz., his robes, a 
 girdle for his loins, a begging-bowl, water-strainer, 
 razor, needle, fan, sandals. Within limitations strictly 
 specified in the Vinaya, he may hold certain other 
 properties. 
 
 268. Q. What about the public confession of faults? 
 A. Once every fortnight, a Patimokka 
 
 (Disburdenment) ceremony is performed, when every 
 Bhikkhu confesses to the assembly such faults as he 
 has committed and takes such penances as may be 
 prescribed. 
 .269. Q. What daily routine must he follow ? 
 
 A. He rises before daylight, washes, sweeps 
 the vihara, sweeps around the Bo-tree that grows near 
 every vihara, brings the drinking-water for the day 
 and filters it; retires for meditation, offers flowers 
 before the dagoba, or relic-mound, or before the Bo- 
 tree; then takes his begging-bowl and goes from 
 house to house collecting food — which he must not 
 ask for, but receive in his bowl as given voluntarily 
 by the householders. He returns, bathes his feet 
 and eats, after which he resumes meditation. . 
 5 
 
— .1. . .-.- . ... — -» . ■ . . 
 
 i iiriiimii 
 
 *m±* 
 
 i --. . , t r ■ ■ 
 
 66 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 . 270. Q. Must ice believe that there is no merit in 
 the offering of flowers (mala piijdj as an act of 
 worship ? 
 
 A. That act itself is without merit as a mere 
 formality; but if one offers a flower as the sweetest, 
 purest expression of heartfelt reverence for a holy 
 being, then, indeed, is the offering an act of ennobling 
 worship. 
 
 271. Q. What next does the Bhikkhu do? 
 
 A. He pursues his studies. At sunset he 
 again sweeps the sacred places, lights a lamp, listens 
 to the instructions of his superior, and confesses to 
 him any fault he may have committed. 
 
 272. Q. Upon what are his four earnest meditations 
 (Sati-patthana) made ? 
 
 A. 1. On the body, Kayanapassdnd. 
 
 2. On the feeling, Vedandnupassdnd. 
 
 3. On the mind, Chittdnupassdnd. 
 
 4. On the doctrine, Dhammdnupassdnd. 
 
 273. Q. What is the aim of the four Great Efforts 
 (Sammappadhdnd) ? 
 
 A. To suppress one's animal desires and 
 grow in goodness. 
 
 274. Q. For the perception by the Bhikkhu of the 
 highest truth, is reason said to be the best, or intuition ? 
 
 A. Intuition — a mental state in which any 
 desired truth is instantaneously grasped. 
 
 275. Q. And when can that development be reach- 
 ed? . 
 
 THE SANGHA 
 
 67 
 
 A. When one, by the practice of Jmna, 
 comes to its fourth stage of unfolding. 
 
 276. Q. Are we to believe that in the final stage of 
 Jadna, and in the condition called Samadhi, the mind 
 is a blank and thought is arrested? 
 
 A. Quite the contrary. It is then that one's 
 consciousness is most intensely active, and one's power 
 to gain knowledge correspondingly vast. 
 
 277. Q. Try to give me a simile ? 
 
 A. In the ordinary waking state one's vie\r 
 of knowledge is as limited as the sight of a man who 
 walks on a road between high hills; in the higher 
 consciousness of Jhdna and Samadhi it is like the sight 
 of the eagle poised in the upper sky and overlooking 
 a whole country. 
 
 278. Q. What do our books say about the Bu4dha's 
 use of this faculty ? 
 
 A. They tell us that it was his custom, every 
 morning, to glance over the world and, by his divine 
 (clairvoyant) sight, see where ' there were persona 
 ready to receive the truth. He would then contrive, 
 if possible, that it should reach them. When persons 
 visited him he would look into their minds, read their 
 secret motives, and then preach to them according to 
 their needs. 
 
- ii fm nmt rt mt t^ 
 
 \ 
 
 PART IV 
 
 THE RISE AND SPREAD OF BUDDHISM 
 
 279. Q. As regards the number of its followers, how 
 does Buddhism at this date compare with the other chief 
 
 religions ? 
 
 A. The followers of the Buddha Dharma 
 
 outnumber those of every other religion. 
 280. Q. What is the estimated number? 
 
 A. About five hundred millions (5,000 lakhs 
 or 500 crores) : this is five-thirteenths, or not quite 
 half, of the estimated population of the globe. 
 
 281. Q. Have many great battles been fought and 
 many countries conquered ; has much human blood been 
 spilt to spread the Budiha Dharma ? 
 
 A. History does not record one of those 
 cruelties and crimes as having been committed to 
 propagate our religion. So far as we know, it has 
 not caused the spilling of a drop of blood. (See foot- 
 note ante— Professor Kolb's testimony.) 
 
 282. Q. What, then, is the secret of its wonderful 
 
 spread? 
 
 THE RISE AND SPREAD OF BUDpHISM 
 
 69 
 
 A. It can be nothing else than its intrinsic 
 excellence : its self-evident basis of truth, its sublime 
 moral teaching, and its sufficiency for all human needs. 
 
 283. Q. How has it been propagated ? 
 
 A. The Buddha, during the forty-five years 
 of his life as a Teacher, travelled widely in India and 
 preached the Dharma. He sent his wisest and 
 best disciples to do the same throughout India. 
 
 284. Q. When did He send for his pioneer mission- 
 aries'? 
 
 A. 
 (October). 
 
 285. Q. 
 A. 
 
 On the full-moon day of the month Wap 
 
 What did he tell them ? 
 
 He called them together and said : " Go 
 forth, Bhikkhus, go and preach the law to the world. 
 Work for the good of others as well as for your 
 own. . . . Bear ye the glad tidings to every man. 
 Let no two of you take the same way." 
 
 286. Q. How long before the Christian era did 
 this happen? 
 
 A. About six centuries. 
 
 287. Q. What help did Kings give? 
 
 A. Besides the lower classes, great Kings, 
 Rajas and Maharajas were converted and gave their 
 influence to spread the religion. 
 
 288. Q. What about pilgrims? 
 
 A. Learned pilgrims came in different 
 centuries to India and carried back with them books 
 and teachings to their native lands. So, gradually, 
 
70 
 
 THE BOPDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 whole nations forsook their own faiths and became 
 Buddhists. 
 
 289. Q. To uhom, more than to any other person, 
 is the world indebted for the permanent establishment 
 of Buddha's religion? .. . 
 
 A. To the Emperor Ashoka, surnamed the 
 Great, sometimes Piyadfisi, sometimes Dharmashoka. 
 He was the son of Bindusara, King of Magadha, and 
 grandson of Chandragupta, who drove the Greeks 
 out of India. • 
 
 290. Q. When did he reign ? 
 
 A. In the third century B.C., about two 
 centuries after the Buddha's time. Historians dis- 
 agree as to his exact date, but not very greatly. 
 
 291. Q. What made him great? 
 
 A. He was the most powerful monarch in 
 Indian history, as warrior and as statesman ; but his 
 noblest characteristics were his love of truth and 
 justice, tolerance of religious differences, equity of 
 government, kindness to the sick, to the poor, and to 
 animals. His name is revered from Siberia to Ceylon. 
 
 292. Q. Was he bom a Buddhist? 
 
 A. No, he was converted in the tenth year 
 after his anointment as King, by Xigrodha Samanera, 
 an Arhat. 
 
 293. Q. What did he do for Buddhism ? 
 
 A. He drove out bad Bhikkhus, encouraged 
 good ones, built monasteries and dagobas everywhere, 
 established gardens, opened hospitals for men and 
 
 I 
 
 THE RISE AND SPREAD OF BUDpHISM 71 
 
 animals, convened a council at Patna to revise and 
 re-establish the Dharma, promoted female religious 
 education, and sent embassies to five Greek kings, 
 his allies, and to all the sovereigns of India, to 
 preach the doctrines of the Buddha. It was he who 
 built the monuments at Kapilavastu, Buddha Gaya, 
 Isipatana and Kusinaifi, our four chief places of 
 pilgrimage, besides thousands more. 
 
 294. Q. What absolute proofs exist as to his noble 
 character ? 
 
 A. Within recent years there have been 
 discovered, in all parts of India, fourteen Edicts of 
 his, inscribed on living rocks, and eight on pillars 
 erected by his orders. They fully prove him to have 
 been one of the wisest and most high-minded sover- 
 eigns who ever lived. 
 
 295. Q. What character do these incriptions give 
 to Buddhism? 
 
 A. They show it to be a religion of noble 
 tolerance, of universal brotherhood, of righteousness 
 and justice. It has no taint of selfishness, sectarianism 
 or intolerance. They have done more than anything 
 else to win for it the respect in which it is now held 
 by the great pandits of western countries. 
 
 296. Q. What most precious gift did B-harmashoka 
 make to Buddhism ? 
 
 A. He gave his beloved son, Mahinda, and 
 daughter, Sanghamitta, to the Order, and sent them to 
 Ceylon to introduce the religion. 
 
. ,..- -...,, . 
 
 s» 
 
 — ..— m ■ ., ■ i . ■ ,. ■ jji*«*H'i*ui ». ■ 
 
 72 
 
 THE BUDpHIST CATECHISM 
 
 297. Q. Is this fact recorded in the history of 
 Ceylon ? 
 
 A. Yes, it is all recorded in the Mahavansa, 
 by the keepers of the royal records, who were then 
 living and saw the missionaries. 
 
 298. Q. Is there some proof of Saiighamitta's 
 mission still t^isible ? 
 
 A. Yes ; she brought with her to Ceylon a 
 branch of the very Bodhi tree under which the 
 Buddha sat when he became Enlightened, and it is 
 still growing. 
 
 299. Q. Where ? 
 
 A. At Anuradhapura. The history of it 
 has been officially preserved to the present time. 
 Planted in 306 B.C., it is the oldest historical tree in 
 the world. 
 
 300. Q. Who was the reigning sovereign at that 
 time ? 
 
 A. Devanampiyatissa. His consort, Queen 
 Annla, had invited Sanghamitta to come and establish 
 the Bhikkhunl branch of the Order. 
 
 301. Q. Who came with Sail ghamifta? 
 
 A. Many other Bhikkhunis. She, in due 
 time, admitted the Queen and many of her ladies, 
 together with five hundred virgins, into the Order. 
 
 302. Q. Can we trace the effects of the foreign 
 work of the Emperor Asholca's missionaries ? 
 
 A. His son and daughter introduced Buddh- 
 ism into Ceylon : his monks gave it to the whole of 
 
 THE RISE AND SPEEAD OP BUppHISM 
 
 78 
 
 Northern India, to fourteen Indian nations outside its 
 boundaries, and to five Greek kings, his allies, with 
 whom he made treaties to admit his religious 
 preachers. 
 
 303. Q. Can you name them ? 
 
 A. Antiochus of Syria, Ptolemy of Egypt, 
 Antigonus of Macedon, Margas of Cyrene, and 
 Alexander of Epiros. 
 
 304. Q. Where do we learn this ? 
 
 A. From the Edicts themselves of Ashoka 
 the Great, inscribed by him on rocks and stone pillars, 
 which are still standing and can be seen by everybody 
 who chooses to visit the places. 
 
 305. Q. TJirotigh what western religious brother- 
 hoods did the Buddha Dharma mingle itself with 
 western thought? 
 
 A. Through the sects of the Therapeuts of 
 Egypt and the Essenes of Palestine. 
 
 306. Q. When were Buddhist books first introduced 
 into China? 
 
 A. As early as the second or third century 
 B.C. Five of Dharmashoka's monks are said — in the 
 Samanta Paxadika and the Sdrattha Dipani — two 
 Pali books — to have been sent to the five divisions of 
 China. 
 
 307. Q. Whence and when did it reach Korea ? . 
 A. From China, in the year a. d. 372. 
 
 -308. Q. TF'Ae?iee and when did it reach Japan ? 
 A. From Korea, in A. d. 552. • 
 

 74 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 309. Q. Whence and uhen did it reach Cochin 
 China, Formosa, Java, Mongolia, Yorkand, Balk, 
 Bokhara, Afghanistan and other Central Asian coun- 
 tries ? 
 
 A. Apparently in the fourth and fifth cen- 
 turies A.D. 
 
 310. Q. From Ceylon, whither and when did- it 
 spread ? 
 
 A. To Burma, in a.d. 450, and thence gradu- 
 ally into Arakan, Kamboya and Pegu. In the seventh 
 century (a.d. 638) it spread to Siam, where it is now, 
 as it has been always since then, the State religion. 
 
 311. Q. From Kashmir, where else did it spread 
 besides to China ? 
 
 A. To Nepal and Tibet. 
 
 312. Q. Why is it that Buddhism, which was once 
 the prevailing religion throughout India, is now almost 
 extinct there? 
 
 A. Buddhism was at first pure and noble, 
 the very teaching of the Tathagata • its Sangha were 
 virtuous and observed the Precepts; it won all hearts 
 and spread joy through many nations, as the morning 
 light sends life through the flowers. But after some 
 centuries, bad Bhikkhus got ordination (Upasampada) 
 the Sangha became rich, lazy, and sensual, the 
 Pharma was corrupted, and the Indian nation aban- 
 doned it. 
 
 313. Q. Did anything happen about the ninth or 
 tenth century A.D. to hasten its downfall? 
 
 THE EISE AND SPREAD OF BUppHISM 
 
 7£ 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 314. Q. Anything besides the decay of spirituality 
 the corruption of the Sangha, and the reaction of the 
 populace from a higher ideal of man to unintelligent 
 idolatry ? 
 
 A. Yes. It is said that the Mussalmans invad- 
 ed, overran and conquered large areas of India ; every- 
 where doing their utmost to stamp out our religion. 
 
 315. Q. What cruel acts are they charged with 
 
 doing ? 
 
 A. They burnt, pulled down or otherwise 
 destroyed our viharas, slaughtered our Bhikkhus, 
 and consumed with fire our religious books. 
 
 316. Q. Was our literattire completely destroyed 
 in India? 
 
 A. No. Many Bhikkhus fled across the- 
 borders into Tibet and other safe places of refuge, 
 carrying their books with them. 
 
 317. Q. Have any traces, of these books been 
 recently discovered? 
 
 A. Yes. Rai Bhiidur Sarafc Chandra Das, 
 C.I.E., a noted Bengali pandit, saw hundreds of them 
 in the vihara libraries of Tibet, brought copies of 
 some of the most important back with him, and is 
 now employed by the Government of India in editing 
 and publishing them. 
 
 318. Q. In which country have we reason to believe 
 the sacred books of primitive Buddhism have been best 
 preserved and least corrupted ? 
 
*6 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 A. Ceylon. The Encyclopedia Britannica 
 says that in this island Buddhism has, for specified 
 reasons, "retained almost its pristine purity to 
 modern times ". 
 
 319. Q. Has any revision of the text of the 
 Pitakas been made in modem times ? 
 
 A. Yes. A careful revision of the Vinaya 
 Pitaka was made in Ceylon in the year a.d. 1875, 
 by a convention of the most learned Bhikkhus, under 
 the presidency of H. Sumangala, Pradhana Sthavira. 
 
 320. Q. Has there been any friendly intercourse in 
 the interest of Buddhiim between the peoples of the 
 Southern and those of the Northern Buddhist 
 countries? 
 
 A. In the year a.d. 1891, a successful 
 attempt was made to get the Pradhana Nayakas of 
 the two great divisions to agree to accept fourteen 
 propositions as embodying fundamental Buddhistic 
 beliefs recognised and taught by both divisions. 
 These propositions, drafted by Colonel Olcott, were 
 carefully translated into Burmese, Sinhalese and 
 Japanese, discussed one by one, unanimously adopted 
 and signed by the chief monks, and published in 
 •January 1892. 
 
 321. Q. With uhat good result? 
 
 A. As the result of the good understanding 
 now existing, a number of Japanese bhikkhus and 
 samaneras have been sent to Ceylon and India to 
 study Pali and Samskrt. , '■ -»"«$ 
 
 THE RISE AND SPKEAD OF BUDpHISM 
 
 77 
 
 322. Q. Are there signs that the Buddha Dharma 
 is growing in favour in non- Buddhistic countries ? l 
 
 A. There are. Translations of our more 
 valuable books are appearing, many articles in 
 reviews, magazines and newspapers are being publish- 
 ed, and excellent original treatises by distinguished 
 writers are coming from the press. Moreover, Buddhist 
 and non-Buddhist lecturers are publicly discoursing 
 on Buddhism to large audiences in western countries. 
 The Shin Shu sect of Japanese Buddhists have- 
 actually opened missions at Honolulu, San Francisco, 
 Sacramento and other American places.' 
 
 323. Q. What two leading ideas of ours are chiefly 
 taking hold upon the western mind? 
 
 A. Those of Karma and Beincarnatioiu 
 The rapidity of their acceptance is very surprising. 
 
 324. Q. What is believed to be the explanation of 
 this ? 
 
 A. Their appeals to the natural instinct of 
 justice, and their evident reasonableness. 
 
 . 
 
 1 See Appendix. 
 
I 
 
 PART V 
 BUDDHISM AND SCIENCE 
 
 325. Q. Has Buddhism any right to be considered 
 a scientific religion, or may it be classified <w a " repeal- 
 ed " one ? 
 
 A. Most emphatically it is not a revealed 
 religion. The Buddha did not so preach, nor is it so 
 understood. On the contrary, he gave it out as the 
 statement of eternal truths, which his predecessors 
 had taught like himself. 
 
 326. Q. Repeat again the name of the Sutta, in 
 which the Buddha tells us not to believe in an alleged 
 revelation without testing it by one's reason and 
 
 experience ? 
 
 A. The Kalama Sutta, of the Anguthara 
 
 Nikaya. 
 
 327. Q. Do Buddhists accept the theory that 
 everything has been formed out of nothing by a Creator? 
 
 A. The Buddha taught that two things are 
 causeless, viz., Akasha, and Nirvana. Everything ha3 
 come out of Akasha, in obedience to a law of motion 
 
 BUDDHISM AND SCIENCE 
 
 79 
 
 inherent in it, and, after a certain existence, passes 
 away. Nothing ever came out of nothing. We do 
 not believe in miracles ; hence we deny creation, and 
 cannot conceive of a creation of something out of 
 nothing. Nothing organic is eternal. Everything 
 is in a state of constant flux, and undergoing change 
 and reformation, keeping up the continuity accord- 
 ing to the law of evolution. 
 
 328. Q. Is Buddhism opposed to education, and 
 to the study of science ? 
 
 A. Quite the contrary : in the Sigalowada 
 Sutta in a discourse preached by the Buddha, He 
 specified as one of the duties of a teacher that he 
 should give his pupils "instruction in science and 
 lore ". The Buddha's higher teachings are for the 
 enlightened, the wise, and the thoughtful. 
 
 329. Q. Can you shore any further endorsement 
 of Buddhism by science ? 
 
 A. The Buddha's doctrine teaches . that 
 there were many progenitors of the human race ; also 
 that there is a principle of differentiation among men; 
 certain individuals have a greater capacity for the 
 rapid attainment of Wisdom and arrival at Nirvana 
 than others. 
 
 330. Q. Any other ? 
 
 A. Buddhism supports the teaching of the 
 indestructibility of force. 
 
 331. Q. Should Buddhism be called a chart of 
 science or a code of morals ? 
 
■ - ■-■■■—- ■ -■ 
 
 80 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 A. Properly speaking, a pure moral philo- 
 sophy, a system of ethics and transcendental meta- 
 physics. It is so eminently practical that the Buddha 
 kept silent when Malunka asked about the origin of 
 things. 
 
 332. Q. Why did he do that ? 
 
 A. Because he thought that our chief aim 
 should be to see things as they exist around us and 
 try to make them better, not to waste time in 
 intellectual speculations. 
 
 333. Q. What do Buddhist* say is the reason for 
 the occasional birth of very good and wiie children of 
 bad parents, and thai of very bad ones of good 
 
 -parents ? 
 
 A. It is because of the respective Karmas of 
 children and parents ; each may have deserved that 
 such unusual relationships should be formed in the 
 present birth. 
 
 334. Q. 1* anything said about the body of the 
 Budclha giving out a bright light ? 
 
 A. Yes, there was a divine radiance sent 
 forth from within by the power of his holiness. 
 
 335. Q. What is it called in Pali ? 
 Buddharansi, the Buddha rays. 
 Bow many colours could be seen in it ? 
 Six, linked in pairs. 
 Their names ? 
 Nlla, Pita, Lohita, Avadata, Mangasta, 
 
 A. 
 
 Q. 
 
 A. 
 
 Q- 
 
 A. 
 Prabhasvra. 
 
 336. 
 
 337. 
 
 i* -■*"■ • -* -■--■ - 
 
 T"v.- — 
 
 BUDDHISM AND SCIENCE 
 
 81 
 
 338. 
 
 Q. Did other persons emit such shining light? 
 
 A. Yes, all Arhats did and, in fact, the light 
 shines stronger and brighter in proportion to the 
 spiritual development of the person. 
 
 339. Q. Where do we see these colours represented ? 
 A. In all vihiiras where there are painted 
 
 images of the Buddha. They are also seen in the 
 stripes of the Buddhist Flag, first made in Ceylon but 
 now widely adopted throughout Buddhist countries. 
 
 340. Q. In which discourse does the Buddha 
 himself speak of this shining about him ? 
 
 A. In the Mahd-Parinibbana Sutto, Ananda 
 his favourite disciple, noticing the great splendour 
 which came from his Master's body, the 
 Buddha said that on two occasions this extraor- 
 dinary shining occurs, («) just after a Tathagata gains 
 the supreme insight, and (6) on the night when he 
 passes finally away. 
 
 341. Q. Where do we read of this great bright- 
 ness being emitted from the body of another Buddha? 
 
 A. In the story of Sumedha and Dipankara 
 Buddha, found in the Nidanakathd of the Jataka 
 book, or story of the reincarnations of the Bodhi- 
 sattva Siddhartha Gautama. 
 
 342. Q. How is it descriled? 
 
 A. As a halo of a fathom's depth. 
 
 343. Q. What do the Hindus call it? 
 
 A. fejas ; its extended radiance they call 
 Prakasha. 
 6 
 

 _»_. — 
 
 
 Jat 1 III 
 
 82 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 34k Q. What do Europeans call it now? 
 
 A. The human aura. 
 345. Q. What great .scientist has proved the exist- 
 ence of this aura by carefully conducted experiments? 
 A. The Baron Von Beichenbach. His 
 experiments are fully described in his Researches, 
 published in 1844-5. Dr. Baraduc, of Paris, has, 
 quite recently, photographed this light. 
 
 '346. Q. Is this bright aura a miracle or a natural 
 
 phenomenon ? 
 
 A. Natural. It has been proved that not 
 only all human beings but animals, trees, plants and 
 even stones have it. 
 
 347. Q- What peculiarity has it in the case of a 
 Buddha or an Arhat ? 
 
 A. It is immensely brighter and more 
 extended than in cases of other beings and objects. 
 It is the evidence of their superior development in 
 the power of Idihi. The light has been seen coming 
 from dagobas in Ceylon where relics of the Buddha 
 are said to be enshrined. 
 
 348. Q. Do people of other religions besides 
 Buddhism and Eincluism also believe in- this light ? 
 
 A. Yes, in all pictures of Christian artists 
 this light is represented as shining about the bodies 
 of their holy personages. The same belief is found 
 to have existed in other religions. 
 
 349. Q. What historical incident supports the 
 modem theory of hypnotic suggestion ? 
 
 i uui 
 
 BUDDHISM AND SCIENCE 
 
 83 
 
 A. That of Chullapanthaka, as told in the 
 Pali Commentary on the Dhammapada, etc. 
 
 350. Q. Give me the facts. 
 
 A. He was a bhikkhu who became an Arhat. 
 On that very day the Buddha sent a messenger to call 
 him. When the man reached the Vihara, he saw three 
 hundred bhikkhus in one group, each exactly like 
 the others in every respect. On his asking which 
 was Chullapanthaka, every one of the three hundred 
 figures replied : " I am Chullapanthaka." 
 
 351. Q. What did the messenger do? 
 
 A. In his confusion he returned and reported 
 to the Buddha. 
 
 352. Q. What did the Buddha then tell him ? 
 
 A. To return to the vihara and, if the same 
 thing happened, to catch by the arm the first figure 
 who said he was Chullapanthaka and lead him to him. 
 The Buddha knew that the new Arhat would make 
 this display of his acquired power to impress illusion- 
 ary pictures of himself upon the messenger. 
 
 353. Q. What is this power of illusion called in 
 Pali? 
 
 A. Manomaya Iddhi, 
 
 354. Q. Were the illusionary copies of the Arhat's 
 person material ? Were they composed of substance and 
 could they have been felt and handled by the messenger ? 
 
 A. No; they were pictures impressed by 
 his thought and trained will-power upon the messen- 
 ger's mind. 
 
84 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 355. Q. To ubat would you compare them? 
 
 A. To a man's reflection in a mirror, being 
 exactly like him yet without solidity. 
 
 356. Q. To make such an illusion on the messen- 
 ger's mind, what was necessary? 
 
 A. That Chullapanthaka should clearly 
 conceive in his own mind his exact appearance, and 
 then impress that, with as many duplicates or repeti- 
 tions as he chose, upon the sensitive brain of the 
 messenger. 
 
 357. Q. What is this process now called ? 
 A. Hypnotic suggestion. 
 
 358. Q. Could any third party have also reen the3e 
 illunonary figure*? 
 
 A. That would depend on the will of the 
 Arh&t or hypnotiser. 
 
 359. Q. What do you mecn? 
 
 A. Supposing that fifty or five hundred per- 
 sons were there, instead of one, the Arhat could will 
 that the illusion should be seen by all alike j or, if he 
 chose, he could will that the messenger should be the 
 only one to see them. 
 
 360. Q. /• this branch of science well knoum in 
 
 our day ? 
 
 A. Very well known; it is familiar to all 
 students of mesmerism and hypnotism. 
 
 361. Q. In what does our modern scientific 
 belief support the theory of Karma, as taught in. 
 Buddhism? 
 
 BUDDHISM AND SCIENCE 
 
 85 
 
 A. Modern scientists teach that every 
 generation of men is heir to the consequences 
 of the virtues and the vices of the preceding genera- 
 tion, .not in the mass, as such, but in every individual 
 case. Every one of us, according to Buddhism, 
 gets a birth which represents the causes generated 
 by him in an antecedent birth. This is the idea of 
 Karma. 
 
 362. Q. What says the Vasettha Sutta about the 
 causation in Mature ? 
 
 A. It says : " The world exists by cause ; 
 all things exist by cause; all beings are bound by 
 cause." 
 
 363. Q. Does Buddhism teach the unchangeobleness 
 of the visible universe; our earth, the sun, the moon, 
 the stars, the mineral, vegetable, animal and human 
 kingdoms ? 
 
 A. Xo. It teaches that all are constantly 
 changing, and all must disappear in course of time. 
 
 364. Q. Xever to reappear? 
 
 A. Xot so : the. principle of evolution, guided 
 by Karma, individual and collective, will evolve 
 another universe with its contents, as our universe 
 was evolved out of the Akasha. 
 
 365. Q. Does Buddhism admit that man has in 
 his nature any latent powers for the production' of 
 phenomena commonly called " miracles"? 
 
 A. Yesj but thej' are natural, not super- 
 natural. They may be developed by a certain system 
 
86 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 which is laid down in our sacred books, the Visuddhi 
 Mdrga for instance. 
 
 366. Q. Wat is this branch of science called, ? 
 A. The Pali name is Iddhi-vidhanana. 
 
 367. Q. Bow many kinds are there ? 
 
 A. Two: Bahira, i.e., one in which the 
 phenomena-working power may be temporarily obtain- 
 ed by ascetic practices and also by resort to drugs, 
 the recitation of mantras (charms), or other extraneous 
 aids; and Sasaniks, that in which the power in 
 question is acquired by interior self-development, 
 and covers all and more than the phenomena of 
 Laukika Iddhi. 
 
 368. Q. What class of men enjoy these powers? 
 A. They gradually develop in one which 
 
 pursues a certain course of ascetic practice called 
 Dhyana. 
 
 369. Q. Can this Iddhi power be lost? 1 
 
 A. The Bahira can be lost, but the Sasanika 
 never, when once acquired. Lokottara knowledge 
 once obtained is never lost, and it is by this know- 
 ledge only that the absolute condition of Nirvana 
 is known by the Arhat. And this knowledge can 
 be got by following the noble life of the Eightfold 
 Path. - __ 
 
 1 Sumaiigala Sthavira explnins to me that those transcendent 
 powers are permanently possessed only by one who has subdued all 
 the jiassions (TIwci). in other words, an Arhat. The powers may- 
 be developed by a bad man and used for doing evil things, but 
 their activity is but brief, the rebellious passions again dominate 
 the sorcerer, and ho becomes at last their victim. 
 
 BUDDHISM AND SCIENCE 
 
 87 
 
 370. Q. Bad Buddha the Lokottara Iddhi ? 
 A. Yes, in perfection. 
 
 371. Q. And his disciples also had it ? 
 
 A. Yes, some but not all equally; the 
 capacity for acquiring these occult powers varies 
 with the individual. 
 
 372. Q. Give examples? 
 
 A. Of all the disciples of the Buddha, 
 Mogallana was possessed of the most extraordinary 
 powers for making phenomena, while Ananda could 
 develop none during the twenty-five years in which 
 he was the personal and intimate disciple of the 
 Buddha himself. Later he did, as the Buddha had 
 foretold he would. 
 
 373. Q. Does a man acquire these powers suddenly 
 or gradually ? 
 
 A. Normally, they gradually develop them- 
 selves as the disciple progressively gains control 
 over his lower nature in a series of births. 1 
 
 374. Q. Does Buddhism pretend that the miracle 
 of raising those icho are dead is possible ? 
 
 A. No. The Buddha teaches the contrary, 
 in that beautiful story of Kisa Go^am! and the 
 mustard-seed. But when a person only seems to 
 be dead but is not actually so, resuscitation is 
 possible. 
 
 1 When the powers suddenly show themselves, the inference 
 is that the individual had developed himself in the next anterior 
 birth. We do not believe in eccentric breaks in natural law. 
 
88 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 375. Q. Give me an idea of these successive stages 
 of the Lokottara development in Iddhi? 
 
 A. There are six degrees attainable by 
 Arha^s ; what is higher than them is to be reached 
 only by a Buddha.. . . 
 
 376. Q. Describe the six stages or degrees ? 
 
 A. We may divide them into two groups, of 
 three each. The first to include (1) Progressive 
 retrospection, viz., a gradually acquired power to 
 look backward in time towards the origin of things ; 
 
 (2) Progressive foresight, or power of prophecy ; 
 
 (3) Gradual extinction of desires and attachments 
 to material things. 
 
 377. Q. What icoxild the second group include? 
 A. The same faculties, but illimitably de- 
 veloped. Thus, the full Arhat possesses perfect 
 retrospection, perfect foresight, and has absolutely 
 extinguished the last trace of desire and selfish 
 attractions. 
 
 378. Q. What are the four means for obtaining 
 Iddhi ? 
 
 A. The will, its exertion, mental develop- 
 ment, and discrimination between right and wrong. 
 
 379. Q. Our Scriptures relate hundreds of 
 instances of phenomena produced by Arhats: what 
 did you say was the name of this faculty or 
 power ? 
 
 A. Iddhi vidha. One possessing this can, 
 by manipulating the forces of Nature, produce any 
 
 - '• ' 
 
 BrDDHISM AND SCIENCE 
 
 make any scientific 
 
 wonderful phenomenon, i.e. 
 experiment he chooses. .' 
 
 380. Q. Did the Buddha encourage display* of 
 phenomena ? ■ 
 
 . A. Xo ; he expressly discouraged them as 
 
 tending to create confusion in the minds of those who 
 were not acquainted with the principles involved. 
 They also tempt their possessors to show them 
 merely to gratify idle curiosity and their own vanity. 
 Moreover, similar phenomena can be shown by 
 magicians and sorcerers learned in the Laukika, or 
 the baser form of Iddhi science. All false preten- 
 sions to supernatural attainment by monks are 
 among the unpardonable sins (Tevijja Sutla). 
 
 381. Q. You spoke of a " deva " having appeared to 
 the Prince Siddhartha under a variety of forms ; what 
 do Buddhists believe respecting races of elemental 
 invisible beings having relations with mankind? 
 
 A. They believe that there are such beings 
 who inhabit worlds or spheres of their own. The 
 Buddhist doctrine is that, by interior self-development 
 and conquest over his baser nature, the Arhat 
 becomes superior to even the most formidable of 
 the devas, and may subject and control the lower 
 orders. 
 
 382. Q. How many kinds of devas are there ? 
 
 A. Three : Kmnatachara (those who are still 
 under the domination of the passions); Rupavachara 
 (a higher class, which still retain an individual form) : 
 
90 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 Ariipavdchara (the highest in degree of purification, 
 who are devoid of material forms). 
 383. Q. Should we fear any of them ? 
 
 A. He who is pure and compassionate in 
 heart and of a courageous mind need fear nothing : 
 no man, god, brahmarakkhas, demon or deva, can 
 injure him, but some have power to torment the 
 impure, as well as those who invite their approach. 
 
 " " .... i . .1 .. . — --- — — m— «— ■» g— wr m * • '• • • *■ ■ ■» 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 The following text of the fourteen items of belief 
 which have been accepted as fundamental principles 
 in both the Southern and Northern sections of 
 Buddhism, by authoritative committees to whom they 
 were submitted by me personally, have so much 
 historical importance that they are added to the 
 present edition of The Buddhist Catechism as an 
 Appendix. It has very recently been reported to 
 me by H. E. Prince Ouchtomsky, the learned Russian 
 Orientalist, that having had the document translated 
 to them, the Chief Lamas of the great Mongolian 
 Buddhist monasteries declared to him that they 
 accept every one of the propositions as drafted, with 
 the one exception that the date of the Buddha is 
 by them believed to have been some thousands of 
 years earlier than the one given by me. This 
 surprising fact had not hitherto come to my know- 
 ledge. Can it be that the Mongolian Sangha confuse 
 the real epoch of Sakya Muni with that of his 
 alleged next predecessor ? Be this as it may, it is 
 a most encouraging fact that the whole Buddhistic 
 
92 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 world may now be said to have united to the 
 extent at.least of these Fourteen Propositions. 
 
 H. S. O. 
 
 Fundamental Buddhistic Beliefs 
 
 I Buddhiste are taught to show the same tolerance, 
 forbearance, and brotherly love to all men, without 
 distinction; and an unswerving kindness towards 
 the members of the animal kingdom. 
 
 II The universe was evolved, not created ; and 
 its functions according to law, not according to the 
 caprice of any God. 
 
 III The truths upon which Buddhism is founded 
 are natural. They have, we believe, been taught in 
 successive kalpas, or world-periods, by certain illumin- 
 ated beings called Buddhas, the name Buddha meaning 
 " Enlightened". 
 
 IV The fourth Teacher in the present kalpa was 
 Snkya Muni, or Gautama Buddha, who was born 
 in a Royal family in India about 2,500 years ago. 
 He is an historical personage and his name -was 
 Siddhartha Gautama. 
 
 V Sakya Muni taught that ignorance produces 
 desire, unsatisfied desire is the cause of 'rebirth, 
 and rebirth, the cause of sorrow. To get rid of 
 sorrow, therefore, it is necessary to escape rebirth ; 
 to escape rebirth, it is necessary to extinguish desire ; 
 and to extinguish desire, it is necessary to destroy 
 ignorance. 
 
 I 'K. 
 
 AI'PENDIX 
 
 93 
 
 VI Ignorance fosters the belief that rebirth is a 
 necessary thing. When ignorance is destroyed the 
 worthlessness of every snch rebirth, considei-ed as 
 an end in itself, is perceived, as well as the para- 
 mount need of adopting a course of life by which 
 the necessity for such repeated rebirths can be 
 abolished. Ignorance also begets the illusive and 
 illogical idea that there is only one existence for 
 man, and the other illusion that this one life - is 
 followed by states of unchangeable pleasure or 
 torment. 
 
 VII The dispersion of all this ignorance can be 
 attained by the persevering practice of an all- 
 embracing altruism in conduct, development of 
 intelligence, wisdom in thought, and destruction of 
 desii-e for the lower personal pleasures. 
 
 VIII The desire to live being the cause of rebirth, 
 when that is extinguished rebirths cease and the 
 perfected individual attains by meditation that 
 highest state of peace called Nirvana. 
 
 IX Siikya Muni taught that ignorance can be 
 dispelled and sorrow removed by the knowledge of 
 the four Noble Truths, viz. : 
 
 1. The miseries of existence;- 
 
 2. The cause productive of misery, which is the 
 desire ever renewed of satisfying oneself 
 without being able ever tQ secure that end ; 
 
 3. The destruction of that desire, or the 
 estranging of oneself from it j . . . ; . . , 
 
94 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 4. The means of obtaining this destruction of 
 desire. The means which he pointed out 
 is called the Noble Eightfold Path, viz. 
 Eight Belief; Right Thought ; Eight Speech 
 Eight Action ; Right Means of Livelihood 
 Right Exertion ; Right Remembrance ; Right 
 Meditation. 
 
 X Right Meditation leads to spiritual enlighten- 
 ment, or the development of that Buddha-like faculty 
 which is latent in every man. 
 
 XI The essence of Buddhism, as summed up 
 by the Tathagatha (Buddha) himself, as : 
 
 To cease from all sin, 
 
 To get virtue, 
 
 To purifiy the heart. 
 
 XII The universe is subject to a natural causa- 
 tion known as " Karma". The merits and demerits 
 of a being in past existences determine his condition 
 in the present one. Each man, therefore, has pre- 
 pared the causes of the effects which he now 
 experiences. . 
 
 XIII The obstacles to the attainment of good 
 karma may be removed by the observance of the 
 following precepts, which are embraced in the moral 
 code of Buddhism, viz.: (1) Kill not; (2) Steal 
 not ; (3) Indulge in no forbidden sexual pleasure ; 
 (4) Lie not ; (5) Take no intoxication or stupefying 
 drug or liquor. Five other precepts which need not 
 be here enumerated should be observed by those 
 
 LTfc . 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 95 
 
 who would attain, more quickly than the average 
 layman, the release from misery and rebirth. 
 
 XIV Buddhism discourages superstitious Cre- 
 dulity. Gautama Buddha taught it to be the duty 
 of a parent to have his child educated in science and 
 literature. He also taught that no one should believe 
 what is spoken by any sage, written in any book, 
 or affirmed by tradition, unless it accord with reason. 
 
 Drafted as a common platform upon which all 
 Buddhists can agree. 
 
 H. S. Olcott, P.T.S. 
 
 Respectfully submitted for the approval of the High 
 
 Priests of the nations which we severally represent, in the 
 
 Buddhist Conference held ;it Adyar, Madras, on the 8th, 
 
 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th of January, 1891 (A.B. 2434). 
 
 T fKozen Gunaratana 
 
 J apan . . . | Chiez0 Tokuzawa 
 
 Burmah ... U. Hmoay Tha Aung 
 Ceylon . . . Dhammapala Hevavitarana. 
 
 The Maghs of 
 Chittagong ... Krshna Chandra Chowdry, by 
 
 his appointed Proxy, Maung 
 
 Tha Dwe. 
 
 BCRMAH 
 
 Approved on behalf of the Buddhists of Burmah, 
 this 3rd day of February, 1891 (A. B. 2434) : 
 
 Tha-tha-na-baing Saydawgyi ; Aung Myi Shwebon 
 Sayadaw; Me-ga-waddy Sayadaw; Hmat-Khaya 
 
— to—. . 
 
 96 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM 
 
 Sayadaw; Hti-lln Sayadaw; ^lyadaung Sayadaw; 
 Hla-Htwe Sayadaw ; and sixteen others. 
 Ceylon 
 Approved on behalf of the Buddhists of Ceylon 
 this 25th day of February, 1891 (A. B. 2434) ; Mah- 
 annwara upawsatha piisparama viharadhipati Hippola 
 Dhamma Rakkhita Sobhitabhidhana Maha Nayaka 
 Sthavirayan wahanse wamha. 
 
 (Hippola Dhamma Rakkhita Sabhitabhidhana, High 
 Priest of the Malwatta Vihare at Kandy). 
 
 (Sd.) Hippola 
 Mahanuwara Asgiri viharadhipati Yatawatte Chand- 
 ajottyabhidhana Maha Nayaka Sthavirayan wahanse 
 wainha — (Yatawatte Chandajottyilbhidhana, High 
 Priest of Asgiri Vihare at Kandy). 
 
 (Sd.) Yatawatte 
 Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Sripadasthane saha 
 Kolamba palate pradhana Nayaka Sthavirayo (Hik- 
 kaduwe Sri Sumangala, High Priest of Adam's Peak 
 and the District of Colombo). 
 
 (Sd.) H. Sumangala 
 Maligawe Prachina Pustakalayadhyakshaka Suriya- 
 goda Sonuttara Sthavirayo (Suriyagoda Sonut$ara, 
 Librarian of the Oriental Library at the Temple of 
 the Tooth Relic at Kandy). 
 
 (Sd.) S. Sonuttara 
 Sugata Sasanadhaja Vinaya chariya Dhainmalan- 
 karahhidhiina Xayaka Sthavira. 
 
 (Sd.) W. Diiammalankara- 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 97 
 
 Pawara neruttika chariya Maha Vibhavi Subhuti 
 of Waskaduwa. 
 
 (Sd.) W. Subhuti 
 
 Japan 
 
 Accepted as included within the body of Northern 
 Buddhism. 
 
 (Shingon Shu) 
 
 ) 
 
 ») 
 ») 
 „) 
 „) 
 
 Shaku Genyu 
 Fukuda Nichiyo 
 Sanada Seyko 
 Ito Quan Shyu 
 Takehana Hakuyo 
 Kono Rioshin 
 Kiro Ki-ko 
 Harutani Shinsho 
 Manabe Shun-myo (Shingon 
 Chittagong 
 Accepted for the Buddhists of Chittagong. 
 Nagawa Parvata Viharadhipati 
 Guna Megu VVini-Lankara, 
 
 Harbing, Chittagong, Bengal 
 
 (Nichiren 
 (Zen 
 
 (» 
 
 (Jodo 
 
 (Ji-Shu 
 
 (Jodo, Seizan,, ) 
 
 (Tendai „ ) 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 The Buddhist Catechism has been compiled from 
 personal studies in Ceylon, and in part from the 
 following works : 
 Vinaya Texts 
 
 Buddhist Literature in China 
 Catena of Buddhist Scripture* 
 Buddhaghosa's Parables ... 
 Buddhist Birth Stories ... 
 
 Legend of Gautama 
 Chinese Buddhism 
 Kalpa Sutra and Nava Patva 
 Bur/dha and Early Buddhism 
 Sutta Nipata 
 
 Nagananda 
 Kusa Jataka 
 Buddhism 
 Dhammapada ... 
 
 Davids and 
 Oldenberg. 
 
 Beal. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Rogers. 
 
 Fausboll and 
 Davids. 
 
 Bigandet. 
 
 Edkins. 
 
 Stevenson. 
 
 Lillie. 
 
 S i r Coomara 
 Swami. 
 
 Broyd. 
 
 Steele. 
 
 Rhys-Davids. 
 
 Fausboll and 
 Max Miiller 
 
 - ^- 
 
 ?Y~ 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Romantic History of Buddha 
 
 Udanavarga 
 
 Twelve Japanese Buddhist Sects. 
 
 The Gospel of Buddha . . . 
 
 The Dharma 
 
 Ancient India ... 
 
 The " Sacred Books of the East " 
 
 Serien 
 Encyclopedia,, Britannica. 
 
 99 
 
 Beal. 
 Rockhill. 
 B. Xanjio. 
 Paul Carus. 
 
 Do. 
 R. C. Dutt, 
 Max Midler's 
 Edition. 
 

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