A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s3.t1.56

v2.c19.s3.t1.56

Apart from the fact that the Suttas of the Majjhimanikāya give us the best idea of the ancient Buddhist religion and the teaching methods of Buddha and his first disciples, we also value them because they afford us many an interesting glimpse of the every-day life of that ancient time, not only of the life of the monks themselves (as in Nos. 5, 21, 22, etc.) but of that of the other classes of the people too. Thus No. 51 gives us a good survey of the Brahmanical system of sacrifice, and valuable hints concerning the connection between bloody sacrifices, and government and priesthood. We repeatedly meet with enumerations of different kinds of ascetic practices which were popular in ancient India. In Nos. 12 and 14 we find a veritable pattern-card of ascetic abominations, and also in Suttas Nos. 40, 45, 51 and 60 we make the acquaintance of all sorts of queer saints of various sects. At that time there were, for instance, "dog-ascetics," and "ox-ascetics," whose asceticism consisted in feeding and living exactly after the manner of dogs and oxen. In reply to the question as to what will become of these ascetics in their future existence, Buddha replies that in the best case, the "dog-ascetic" might be re-born as a dog and the "ox-ascetic" as an ox, but that, just as likely they might both find themselves in hell. Several Suttas are of historical significance as throwing light on the relation of Buddha to the sect of the Jains, especially the Upāli-Sutta (No. 56),¹ but also Nos. 57, 101 and 104.