near a great fire. The man who is jealous of his
virtue, should flee on the approach of the passions.

VIII.

"A Charmana who passed whole nights chanting prayers, manifested one
morning, by his sad suppressed voice, great depression and the desire
to withdraw from his calling. Buddha sent for this Charmana, and
said to him, 'When you were with your family, what used you to do?'
'I was always playing on the guitar.' Buddha said to him, 'If the
strings of the guitar became loose, what happened?' 'I obtained no
sound from them.' 'If the strings were too tight, what happened
then?' 'The sounds were broken.' 'When the strings obtained the
exact equilibrium between tension and flexibility, what happened
then?' 'All the sounds accorded in perfect harmony.' Hereupon
Buddha pronounced these words: 'It is the same with the study of
doctrine; after you shall have achieved dominion over your heart, and
regulated its movements to harmony, it will attain the acquisition of
the truth.'

IX.

"Buddha put this question to a Charmana: 'How long a time is fixed
for the life of man?' He replied: 'It is limited to a few days.'
Buddha pronounced these words: 'You have not yet acquired the
knowledge of the doctrine.' Then addressing himself to another
Charmana, he put this question: 'How long a time is fixed for the
life of man?' He replied: 'It is limited to the time that suffices
for a meal.' Buddha pronounced these words: 'So neither hast thou,
as yet, the knowledge of the doctrine.' Then addressing himself to a
third Charmana, he put to him this question: 'How long a time is
fixed for the life of man?' He replied: 'It is limited to the time
that suffices to emit a breath.' After he had thus spoken, Buddha
pronounced these words: ''Tis well: thou mayest be said to have
acquired the knowledge of the doctrine.'

X.

"The man who, practising piety, applies himself to extirpate the
roots of his passions, is like a man passing between his fingers the
beads of a chaplet. If he proceeds by taking them, one after the
other, he easily attains the end; so, by extirpating, one after the
other, one's evil tendencies one attains perfection.

XI.