Ancient Indian Education (Brahmanical and Buddhist) c31.44

c31.44

**Change of Monasteries by Monks.** Monks could change their monasteries. A stranger monk on arrival at a monastery would be first treated as a guest for five days and given the best of food so that he might recover from his fatigue, after which he was treated as a common monastic if he was not learned. If he *was*, and bore a good character, he was assigned his proper rank and treatment with his name "written down on the register of the names of the resident priests" (p. 64). All visitors were cordially welcomed by the word *svāgata* and by the word *susvāgata* if they were strangers (p. 124). The ceremonies of receiving them varied according as they were teachers, pupils, strangers, or friends (p. 125).