uence the form of religious conduct. Thus
while all religious men may unite in a craving for holiness by a
participation in the Divine nature, they will differ widely in their
opinions as to the nature of this desirable righteousness and as to the
means by which it may be attained. Roman Catholicism, by the voice of
the monk, whom it regards as the highest type of Christian living, gives
one answer to these questions; Protestantism, protesting against
asceticism, gives a different reply.

The desire for salvation was, therefore, the primary cause of all
monasticism. Many quotations might be given from the sacred writings of
India, establishing beyond dispute, that underlying the confusing
variety of philosophical ideas and ascetic practices of the
non-Christian monks, was a consuming desire for the redemption of the
soul from sin. Buddha said on seeing a mendicant, "The life of a devotee
has always been praised by the wise. It will be my refuge and the refuge
of other creatures, it will lead us to a real life, to happiness and
immortality."

Dharmapala, in expounding the teachings of the Buddha, at the World's
Parliament of Religions, in Chicago, clearly showed that the aim of the
Buddhist is "the entire obliteration of all that is evil," and "the
complete purification of the mind." That this is the purpose of the
asceticism of India is seen by the following quotation from Dharmapala's
address: "The advanced student of the religion of Buddha when he has
faith in him thinks: 'Full of hindrances is household life, a path
defiled by passions; free as the air is the life of him who has
renounced all worldly things. How difficult is it for the man who dwells
at home to live the higher life in all its fullness, in all its purity,
in all its perfection! Let me then cut off my hair and beard, let me
clothe myself in orange-colored robes and let me go forth from a
household life into the homeless state!'"

In the same parliament, Mozoomdar, the brilliant and attractive
representative of the Brahmo Somaj, in describing "Asia's Service to
Religion," thus stated the motives and spirit of Oriental asceticism:
"What lesson do the hermitages, the monasteries, the cave temples, the
discipline and austerities of the religious East teach the world?
Renunciation. The Asiatic apostle will ever remain an ascetic, a
celibate, a homeless Akinchana, a Fakeer. We Orientals are all the
descendants of John the Baptist. Any one who has taken pa