though it may have its physical and hygienic side,* is predominantly intellectual and ethical, its chief purpose being to understand the true nature of consciousness and therefore of man. The yogin par excellence in Buddhism is the generous bodisattva who practises the six pāramitās. While the Brihman yogi endeavours to become absorbed in the universal Brahmam, the bodhisattva attempts to realise by contemplation the self-devoid character of all things (sarvadharma anupalambha çunyata). Sunyatā karunayor abhinnam bodhichittam. The mentality corresponding to bodhi is inseparable from universal compassion and the negation of a self. In his Mahāyāna sraddhotpäda sutra Asvaghosha specially warns the aspirant for bodhi against confounding the samadhi of the Buddhists with that of the tirthakās, the heretics. All samādhis practised by the heretics are described as being "invariably the production of the egoistic conception and desire and self-assumption." we may add that the most intense and so-called divine raptures are the results of the unconscious activity of at least some of the organs of the sexual life.

The practice of dhyāna uncoupled with pragna cannot be productive of any good, but when the two go hand in hand, the mind is freed not only from disquietude by the removal of all inconsistencies, but also from ātmamoha, the lust of self, which is the mother of all egoism. The destruction of egoism enables the bodhisattva to get rid of all sorrows and all obstacles to progress, to acquire self-control and fortitude, to feel compassion for all beings and to rejoice in doing good acts. It is no wonder that the Buddhist dhyāna has been able to produce such remarkable results as we observe in the modern Japanese. Says Mr. Okakura Yoshisaburo in his Japanese Spirit: "The self-control that enables us not to betray our inner feeling through a change in our expression, the measured steps with which we are taught to walk into the hideous jaws

*He who would seek perfection must carefully observe all hygienic conditions. The rules of diet, the habit of deep breathing, and fresh air at all times, the wearing of proper clothing that does not impede the free passage of air over the body, the habit of frequent bathing, regular rest, and a sufficient amount of exerciseall are essential.

of death-in short, all those qualities which make a present Japanese of truly Japanese type look strange, if not queer, to your (ie., European) eyes, are in a most marked degree a product of that direct or indirect influence on our past mentality which was exercised by the Buddhist doctrine of Dhyana as taught by the Zen priests."

In the way of those who traverse the Noble Path lie the ten impediments (samyojana) which must be overcome. The foremost among these is the delusion of a permanent self (satkāyadrishti). To one who considers himself a permanent immutable being, and does not realise that he is only a unity originating from an aggregation of skandhas, whose present condition has been determined by causesworking in the past, and whose future will be determined by causes at work in the present, any progress in the direction of emancipation and enlightenment is impossible. But when once a man has realised that there is no permanent ego (atman) which can gain an eternal paradise beyond the grave, the temptation is not far to run to the sensualist's extreme of "let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." Hence, it is necessary to have faith in the possibility of attaining perfection. Pyrrhonism (vichikichcha) is therefore the next obstacle in the path of the neophyte. With its shibboleths of Ignorabimus and Unknowable, phyrrhonism denies all possibility of solving the problem of existence, and thus becomes a mental and moral malady which can only stultify all endeavour towards progress. Scepticism is often nothing more than a cloak in which ignorance masquerades. Scepticism cannot regenerate men; it can only kill but not give life. Only faith in a new ideal will impel men to move forward in search of a new life.

The third obstacle is the belief in the efficacy of purificatory ceremonies and rites (çilavrata parämarsha). Rites and outward observances are mere sham supports, and can afford no emancipation from misery, even when there is the right spirit within. People who are punctilious in the observance of rites and ceremonies are not free from the kleças of lust, hatred and ignorance. If bathing in the Ganges could confer merit, then the fishermen should

indeed be the most meritorious, not to speak of the fishes and other animals, which are day and night swimming in its waters. The conquest of these three obstacles forms the first stage (srotapanna) of the Noble Path, whose fruit, as the Dhammapada says, is "better than universal empire in this world, better than going to heaven, better than lordship over all worlds."

Success in the first stage is no guarantee of no lapse back into the old ways. The man who has overcome the delusion of self, doubt and ritualism has to a large extent rectified himself, but not till he has broken the next two fetters of sensuality (kāma) and malevolence (pratigha) are his chances of falling back reduced to a minimum. When he has overcome these two impediments to a great extent, he attains to the second stage and becomes sakridāgāmin. Only when all sensuality and malevolence are destroyed, there can no longer arise in his heart the least love of self or ill-feeling towards others, and then he becomes anāgāmin. But he is not yet free from all error. He has still to overcome the remaining impediments. He has to destroy all craving (rāga) for material (rupa) and immaterial (arupa) pleasures in this world or another world; he must overcome pride (mana), self-righteousness (ouddatya), and the ignorance of the true nature of things (avidya). When he has burst all these fetters and freely traversed the Noble Path, then all things appear to him in their true relations. Having no evil desires, he cherishes right desires for himself, and feels tender and disinterested love for all beings. Having traversed the path he reaches the goal; he becomes perfect, an arhat, and attains the blessedness of Nirvana. He who has attained supreme enlightenment no longer looks upon the world (prapancha) with contempt, but sees that it is the land of bliss, where pervades the serene light of bodhi.

It is an accusation often made against Buddhism that, by placing the goal of life in the attainment of perfection through enlightenment, it tends to make the cultivation of the intellectual powers of greater importance than the acquirement of the ethical virtues. To one who has carefully considered the various qualifications needed for the pilgrimage on the path of purity nothing can be more baseless and absurd than

this charge. Such a charge might hold good against the Vedanta, but not against the Dharma. In the Vedānta the perfected sage is subject to no moral law. Anandagiri tells us that Sankara drank toddy and projected his soul into the corpse of a king to learn the erotic arts. We are told in the Bhāgavata purāṇa that the transgressions of virtue observed in such superior beings as Krishna must not be regarded as faults, for they can have no moral restraints. On the other hand in Buddhism obedience to the laws of morality is the primary condition that must be fulfilled before the mind can become the fit receptacle of truth. The Bodhicharyāvatāra says: "The pāramitās of dāna, çīla, kshānti, vīrya, pragnā and dhyāna are in the ascending order of importance, so that one may neglect the lower pāramitās for the higher; but for the sake of çila one may even forego the higher, as çīla forms the foundation of all good acts." In ultimate analysis the bodhichitta, the cast of mind of the man who has attained bodhi, resolves itself into two essential virtues, which are identical in aim, and whose acquisition forms the double duty of the bodhisattva. These virtues are pragnāpāramitā, knowledge and insight, and çīlapāramitā, morality. All the other pāramitās proceed from these two as their sources. At the commencement the one is complementary to the other, but in the last stage the two become identical. Till their unification morality is a means to attain enlightenment, but morality alone does not constitute enlightenment. To lead the higher life intellectual illumination is absolutely necessary, but it cannot be obtained except by a previous discipline in charity, morality, and forbearance. The acquisition of wisdom (gnāna sambhāra) necessarily presupposes the presence of compassion, devotion, and morality (punya sambhāra). The Blessed One has said:

"Virtue is the base on which the man who is wise,
Can train his mind and make his wisdom grow.
Thus shall the strenuous bhikshu undeceived,
Unravel the tangled skein of life."

"This is the base like great earth to man

And this is the root of all increase in goodness,
The starting point of all the Buddha's teaching
Virtue, to wit,'on which true bliss depends."

66

THE RIDDLE OF THE WORLD.

ARMAJAM loka vaichitryam." All things are born of activities. Everything is in a state of continual transformation. "Na cha nirodhosti na cha bhāvosti sarvadā; ajātam aniruddham cha tasmād sarvam idam jagat.” There is neither creation nor destruction; there is neither beginning nor end. Vichāreņa nāsti kim chid ahetutah." Yet nothing happens without cause and reason.

Every change is determined by a number of conditions. The most striking of these conditions is ordinarily called its cause, and the change itself is said to be the eflect of that cause. Strictly speaking the cause (pratyaya) of any change is the totality of all the conditions needed for its occurrence. That in the cause which makes the effect possible is spoken of as the reason (hetu) of the change. When a seed changes into a plant, that in the seed which makes it become a plant of a particular kind is the reason of the change, while the totality of conditions, such as the soil, water, light, air, space, needed for its germination and growth, constitutes the cause. Similarly sentiency, the germ of consciousness (vignāna bījam), is the reason for the development of individuality (nāma rupa), while the union of parents, the womb of the mother, the potentialities derived from parents, vegetative and animal activities, and the environment constitute the causes that produce a particular individuality.

No change occurs by itself. Every change stands in the relation of cause to some other change, and in the relation of an effect to a third change. All changes in the world depend more or less upon one another. This causal nexus, which is found everywhere in experience, is called in the Dharma by the technical name of pratitya samutpāda. A correct understanding of this dependent origination, of the conditioned nature of all existence which has neither beginning nor end, is of the greatest importance in Buddhism. "Pratitya samutpādam pacyanti te dharmam payanti; yo