On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c8.s7.2

v1.c8.s7.2

As the religious system of Julai is apprehended by people according to their kind, and as it is long since the time of the Holy One, Buddhism now is pure or diluted according to the spiritual insight and mental capacity of its adherents. The tenets of the Schools keep these isolated, and controversy runs high; heresies on special doctrines lead many ways to the same end. Each of the Eighteen Schools claims to have intellectual superiority; and the tenets (or practises) of the Great and the Small Systems (lit. Vehicles) differ widely. They have sitting in silent reverie, the walking to and fro, and the standing still; Samādhi and Prajñā are far apart, and many are the noisy discussions. Wherever there is a community of Brethren it makes [its own] rules of gradation. The Brother who expounds orally one treatise (or class of scripture) in the Buddhist Canon, whether Vinaya, Abhidharma, or Sūtra, is exempted from serving under the Prior; he who expounds two is invested with the outfit of a Superior; he who expounds three has Brethren deputed to assist him; he who expounds four has lay servants assigned to him; he who expounds five rides an elephant; he who expounds six rides an elephant and has a surrounding retinue. Where the spiritual attainments are high, the distinctions conferred are extraordinary.