Page:Gospel of Buddha.djvu/175

 all those conditions of heart which are good and not evil. "I teach, Simha, that all the conditions of heart which are evil and not good, unrighteous actions by deed, by word, and by thought, must be burnt away. He who has freed himself, Simha, from all those conditions of heart which are evil and not good, he who has destroyed them as a palm-tree which is rooted out, so that they cannot grow up again, such a man has accomplished the eradication of self.

"I proclaim, Simha, the annihilation of egotism, of lust, of ill-will, of delusion. However, I do not proclaim the annihilation of forbearance, of love, of charity, and of truth.,

"I deem, Simha, unrighteous actions, contemptible, whether they be performed by deed, or by word, or by thought; but I deem virtue and righteousness praiseworthy."

And Simha said: "One doubt still lurks in my mind concerning the doctrine of the Blessed One. Will the Blessed One consent to clear the cloud away so that I may understand the Dharma as the Blessed One teaches it?" The Tathāgata having given his consent, Simha continued: "I am a soldier, O Blessed One, and am appointed by the king to enforce his laws and to wage his wars. Does the Tathāgata who teaches kindness without end and compassion with all sufferers, permit the punishment of the criminal? and further, does the Tathāgata declare that it is wrong to go to war for the protection of our homes, our wives, our children, and our property? Does the Tathāgata teach the doctrine of a complete self-surrender, so that I should suffer the evil-doer to do what he pleases and yield submissively to him who threatens to take by violence what is my own? Does the Tathāgata maintain that all strife, including such warfare as is waged for a righteous cause, should be forbidden?" 147