Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c31.28

c31.28

**Admission of non-Buddhist Students: Provision of Secular Education.** We have now considered the classification of the monks in a monastery in accordance with their educational needs and capacities. But it should be noted that these monks were students belonging to the religious section of the monastery, i.e. that section which imparted instruction in sacred literature only. But a Buddhist monastery had also a secular section. To this section were admitted students who were called *Brahmachārins*, and had no intention of renouncing the world and becoming Buddhist monks. That this section was highly popular in I-tsing's time is apparent from his following statement: "In the monasteries of India there are many 'students' (Brahmachārins) who are entrusted to the Bhikshus and instructed by them in secular literature" (p. 106). That the Bhikshus in those days made themselves masters of both religious and secular literature has been already shown. As we have already noticed, proficiency in both was, indeed, insisted upon as the distinguishing distinction of a *Bahuśruta*, while we even read of monks who sought the king's service in practical administration by proving their talents at the intellectual contests organized for the purpose at the king's House of Debate. In fact, as we have already seen, monks under the Buddhist system were free to return to secular life. We read, for instance, of the famous scholar Bhartṛihari, who "became seven times a priest, and seven times returned to the laity" and wrote in self-reproach: