skandhas, that is, the new body, with its mental tendencies and capacities, to arise. How this takes place is nowhere explained."

It is therefore merely the clinging to life which passes on in the present world, gathering to itself a body in which to clothe itself, and carry on the contact with that material environment for which it craves. The craving ensures continued contact, and final severance from all material things is only ensured when the last "feeler" is atrophied and there is no adherence of any kind to this world left in what, for want of words, must be described as the entity.

In the Buddhist creed the resumption of life may be in the form of an animal instead of a human being.

"Those who do not keep a guard over their passions, who are abusive, and who refrain from giving alms, will fall into the Bohng of animals. Just as one man by reason of previous merits is born a prince, while another barely scrapes into human existence as an outcast pagoda slave, a grave-digger, a leper, or a heretic, so there are grades in the state of animals. To be an elephant is, of course, nearly as good as being a man; to be a white elephant is usually very much better. The vulture is highly honoured because it never takes life but lives entirely on carrion.” '

Sir George Scott's version of the Buddhist Ten Commandments is :

"Not to take any kind of life, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to lie, not to drink in1 The Burman: His Life and Notions, by Shway Yoe (Sir J. George Scott). (Macmillan. 1896.)

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toxicating liquor. Also, not to eat after midday, not to sing, dance, or play on any musical instrument, not to use cosmetics, not to sit, stand, or sleep on platforms or elevated places improper for one's position, not to touch gold or silver.'

The first five are incumbent on all Buddhists, the second five only on the monks, but the laity are expected to observe them on sacred days.

Sir George Scott is writing of Burma, but the Buddhism of Burma and Ceylon is very closely akin, both being rooted in the Siamese school. For in 1750 King Kirti Sri brought over to the island twenty Siamese monks to revive the național religion, and with very few exceptions the island Buddhists follow their teaching. The monks wear the yellow robe with the right shoulder uncovered. To this fraternity belong the shrines of Kandy, Anuradhapura, Adam's Peak, Kelani, and Tissamaharama.

Though more properly described as "monks " than priests, because ministerial duties do not enter into their vocation, yet these men do give discourses and read aloud the Buddhist sacred books to those who visit the shrines. The gramophone is now even adopted in some places so that these discourses may be repeated and preserved. To visit the shrines and make offerings is a very constant duty of the Buddhist laity, and the precepts of cleanliness, dislike of taking animal life, and charity may be very clearly observed in their daily lives.

It seems extraordinary that so apparently negative and colourless a creed should have spread and satisfied millions of people, and should have

flourished through the ages. It offers so little by way of inducement and dwells more on the vices than the virtues of human nature.

In Buddhism there can be no such thing as thankfulness for the boon of life, no recognition of a virile youthful joy in life itself wholly innocent and pure; still less of that most poignant joy found in closest juxtaposition with sorrow.

Yet on the other side it may be said, that the purest source of all joy, loving-kindness in its widest sense, is not only not barred out, but insisted on. "Let him (the disciple) cultivate toward the whole world-above, below, around-a heart of love unstinted, unmixed with the sense of differing or opposing interests. Let a man maintain this mindfulness all the while he is awake, whether he be standing, walking, sitting, or lying down." "Our mind shall not waver. No evil speech will we utter. Tender and compassionate will we abide, loving in heart, void of malice within. And we will be ever suffusing such a one with the rays of our loving thought." "

No ideal could be more beautiful, and the mind of an Arahat, who could attain to the fulfilment of it, would doubtless find in itself a heaven on earth, which was all that the great teacher intended.

Buddha was no believer in unnecessary selfmortification; it was the discovery of the barrenness of this mode of overcoming the body which caused his very earliest disciples to break away from him only to return to him later. His view was to get rid of the body altogether in regard to 1 Early Buddhism (Ibid.).

any hold it had, not to emphasise its importance by increasing the evil thing, suffering.

It is true that in Buddhist practice the way is to be made easier to the monks by the removal of all but the minimum of possessions necessary for life and cleanliness, thus lessening objects of desire, but this is far from inflicted penance.

Great stress in the creed is laid on the attainment of knowledge, but this knowledge is quite different from the Christian wisdom, which may be interpreted as the ability to take a true view of things, to look at life in its real proportion, which, if it were fully attained, would necessitate the cessation of sin.

It is also quite apart from the earthly knowledge defined as science. Buddhist knowledge means knowledge of self, and how to get rid of that self, to rid oneself of all that is included in "I am."

The disciple must learn the Four Noble Truths. First, that sorrow is universal; second, that desire is the cause of sorrow; third, that cessation of sorrow can only be attained by eradication of desire; fourth, that the truth shows the eightfold way of living.

It seems incredible that the ordinary people worshipping at the temples, carrying with them their fragrant offerings of flowers, or burning their little candles, should have grasped even the faintest notion of their teacher's meaning, for much of it is high philosophy. Probably the secret of the success of Buddhism is that they do not grasp it and never attempt to do so. They regulate their conduct, more or less, by the ex

cellent rules of practical application set before them. They believe that if they abstain from taking life, keep themselves clean, visit the shrines, speak truth and are kind to their neighbours, they are all right, and most of them probe no deeper.

There is no idolatry in Buddhism; the images of the master constantly set up in sacred shrines are not intended to be worshipped, but merely to remind the devotees of the sage. Yet undoubtedly, as is the case with all uneducated peoples, the tangible material object in some sense seems to them to imbibe and to emanate the power and holiness of the object represented; still more is this the case with those sacred relics, which, they firmly believe, were a part of Buddha's own body, or used by him. And they attribute to those relics miraculous power which was never claimed by Gautama himself when alive.

A curious problem seems to be that a religion made up for the most part of such gloomy tenets, and at the best so negative in its prospects, should inspire its followers with such everyday cheerfulness. No one who knows nations which are overwhelmingly Buddhist, in contrast with others, which are not, can class Buddhism among gloomy beliefs. The Burmese, with whom Buddhism is the predominant faith, are notoriously cheerful. It may be contended that this is due to a preBuddhistic temperament, but we have no means of proving it one way or the other. It is true, their Buddhism is tinged with nat or spiritworship, and the means taken to placate the unfriendly nats (the friendly ones wouldn't hurt