Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c31.24

c31.24

**Daily Duties.** As education in the monasteries aimed at both intellectual and moral growth, the rules regulating the daily life of the inmates were framed with a reference to both the aims. What I-tsing observed of the relations between teacher and pupil is on the lines of the Vinaya rules on the subject already discussed. The day begins with the pupil supplying his teacher with tooth-wood, basin with water, and towel. He then walks round the temple and, worshipping the image, returns and makes inquiries of his teacher about his health. "Next, the pupil goes to salute his seniors who are in neighbouring apartments. Afterwards he reads a portion of the scripture and reflects on what he has learnt. He acquires new knowledge day by day and searches into old subjects month after month without losing a minute" (p. 117). The new knowledge is, of course, acquired with the help of the teacher who, "selecting some passages from the Tripiṭakas, gives a lesson in a way that suits circumstances, and does not pass any fact or theory unexplained" (p. 120).