Page:A Record of the Buddhist Religion as practised in India and the Malay Archipelago.djvu/103

 There are some who use the strainer, but let the insects die within it. Some are desirous of preserving life, but few know how to do it. Some shake (or 'upset') the strainer at the mouth of a well, and do not know the use of the life-preserving vessel. The insects will, no doubt, be killed when they reach the water of a deep well. Others make a small round strainer which only contains one quart or two pints. The silk of which it is made is raw, rough, and thin ; and in using it one does not look for the insects at all, but after hanging it at the side of the jar, others are ordered to do the actual inspection.

Thus one pays no attention to the protection of life, and commits sins from day to day. Handing down such error from teacher to pupil, they yet think they are handing down the Law of the Buddha. It is indeed a grievous and regretful matter! It is proper for every person to keep a vessel for examining water, and every place must be furnished with a life-preserving vessel.

morning one must chew tooth-woods, and clean the teeth with them, and rub off the dirt of the tongue as carefully as possible. Only after the hands have been washed and the mouth cleansed is a man fit to make a salutation; if not, both the saluter and the saluted are at fault. Tooth-wood is Dantakâshtha in Sanskrit—danta, tooth, and kâshtha, a piece of wood. It is made about twelve finger-breadths in length, and even the shortest is not less than eight finger-breadths long. Its size is like the little finger. Chew softly one of its ends, and clean the teeth with it. If one unavoidably come near a superior, while chewing the wood. one should cover the mouth with the left hand.