Page:A Record of the Buddhist Religion as practised in India and the Malay Archipelago.djvu/123

 own. I hope that I do not offend you in my straightforward statements, and that my Record will help towards the solution of any doubts that you may have. If I did not exactly state the good and bad practices (of India and China), who would ever know what is good or bad in the two?

may be observed that the earthly body which requires support is only maintained by food and clothing, while the spiritual knowledge that is beyond the bond of births can only be increased by means of the principle of nothingness. If the use of food and clothing be against proper rules, every step will involve some crime; while tranquillisation of the mind without moral regulation will cause more and more perplexity as one goes on meditating.

Therefore those who seek for Final Liberation (Moksha) should use food and clothing according to the noble words of the Buddha, and those who practise the principle of meditation should follow the teaching of former sages in tranquillising their thoughts. Watch over the life here below, which is but a dungeon for the beings that have gone astray, but look eagerly for the shore of Nirvâna, which is the open gate of enlightenment and quietude. The ship of the Law should be manned ready for the sea of suffering, and the lamp of wisdom should be held up during the long period of darkness. There are express laws in the Vinaya text on the observance and neglect that are evident in the light of the regulations of clothing and the rules of eating and drinking, so that even beginners in the study can judge the nature of an offence.

Each individual must himself be responsible for the results of his own practices, whether good or bad, and there is no need of argument here. But there are some who are, as teachers of the students, grossly offending against the Vinaya rules; there are others who say that the usage of the world, even if against the Buddha's discipline, does not involve any guilt. Some understand that the Buddha was born in India, and Indian Bhikshus follow Indian customs, while we ourselves live in China, and, as Chinese monks, we follow Chinese manners. 'How can we,' they argue, 'reject the elegant dress of the Divine Land (China) to receive the peculiar style of garments of India?' For the sake of those who