Page:A Record of the Buddhist Religion as practised in India and the Malay Archipelago.djvu/102

 There are many ways of protecting life while drawing water. The strainer just described is suitable in case of drawing water from a well. In a river or a pond you may filter the water by a double jar within the willow vessel safely placed in the water. During the sixth or the seventh month the insects are so minute, and different from what they are in the other seasons, that they can pass even through ten folds of raw silk.

Those who wish to protect life should try to set the insect free by some means or other. A plate-like tray maybe used for the purpose, but the silk strainer is also very useful. The tray is generally made of copper, in India, in accordance with the rules laid down by the Buddha : one must not neglect these points. The life-preserving vessel is a small water-pot with an open mouth as wide as the vessel itself. It has two knobs on the sides of the bottom-part, to which cords are fastened. When it is let down into water, it is turned upside down, and, after having been plunged into water twice or thrice, it is drawn up.

The high priests must not touch the filters used in the temple, nor the water kept in a room for filtering purposes. The lower priests who have not yet received full ordination, can take and drink any water ; but if they drink at an improper time they ought to use a clean strainer, clean jar, and pure vessels, such as are fit to be used. As regards living creatures, an injury to them is a sin, and is prohibited by the Buddha.

It is this prohibition that is the most weighty of all, and an act of injury is placed at the head of the ten sins. One must not be neglectful of this. The filter is one of the six possessions necessary to the priests, and one cannot do without it. One should not go on a journey three or five Chinese miles without a filter. If a priest be aware of the fact that the residents in the temple where he is staying do not strain their water, he must not partake of food there. Even if the traveller die on his way from thirst or hunger, such a deed is sufficient to be looked upon as a splendid example. The daily use of water necessitates inspection.