Buddha: His Life, his Doctrine, his Order c10.81

c10.81

∗ The following passage of the "Theragâthâ" (fol. khe) describes briefly and graphically the life of a monk, who adheres to the stricter ordinances in dress, food, and so on: "In solitude and quiet where the wild beasts have their dwelling and the gazelles, there let the abode of the monk be, that he may be able to dwell in retirement and seclusion. On dunghills, on cremation-grounds, and on the streets, let him seek wherewith he may prepare himself clothing; rough let the garment be which he wears. With submissive air let the monk move, watching the doors of his senses and keeping himself in check, from house to house in order to beg for food. Let him be content also with poor food; let him not desire anything else, many savoury things. He who is fond of savoury things, his spirit is not fond of abstraction. Needing nothing, content, apart from the world, let the wise man live; layman and anchorite, both let him avoid. Like a dumb or a deaf man let him show himself; let him not speak, who is wise, at an unseasonable moment in the Order." The dangers, which forest life must daily and hourly cause to spiritual personages, were obviously not fewer in those days than now, when year after year hermits are killed in hundreds by snakes and wild beasts in Indian forests. A particular section of the sacred texts, entitled "the imminent dangers of forest life," contains admonitions to zealous acceleration of spiritual effort, when every moment may bring violent death.