the keeping of it will not save
them directly; from the life they are now leading that is impossible,
but it is a beginning; it will make it easier for them to become
Arahats and attain salvation in some future existence. For all it is
good to be free from desire; as all desire contains in itself a germ
of death, there is no approach to salvation except in this direction.

Buddhist Morality.--Towards fellow-men Buddhist morality is based on
the notion of the equality of all; respect is to be paid to all
living beings. The five rules of righteousness which are binding on
all followers of the Buddha are:

1. Not to kill any living being.

2. Not to take that which is not given.

3. To refrain from adultery.

4. To speak no untruth.

5. To abstain from all intoxicating liquors.

To these are added five more for members of the order, who are also
required to refrain from all sexual intercourse, viz.:

1. Not to eat after mid-day.

2. Not to be present at dancing, singing, music, or plays.

3. Not to use wreaths, scents, ointments, or personal ornaments.

4. Not to use a high or a broad bed.

5. To possess no silver or gold.

These commandments, like those of the Decalogue, are negative in
form; but in the Buddhist scriptures a positive moral ideal is
inculcated on all, which is grave and attractive in its character,
and is sustained by a strong though quiet enthusiasm. We find here a
delicate conscientiousness as to the relations to be cultivated with
one's fellow-men; the widest toleration is enjoined, a toleration
extending to all beings, to all opinions. Hatred is to be repaid by
love, life is to be filled with kindness and compassion. The
Dhammapada and the Sutta-nipata deserve to be read by all who care
for the unseen riches of the soul. By their simple earnestness, their
quaint use of parable and metaphor, and their mingling of the
homeliest things with the highest truths, these books take rank among
the most impressive of the religious books of the world. We give only
a few jewels from this treasury.

From the Dhammapada.--Earnestness is the path of immortality
(Nirvana), thoughtlessness the path of death. Those who are in
earnest do not die, those who are thoughtless are as if dead already.

All that we are is the result of what we have thought; it is founded
on what we have thought, it is made up of what we have thought. If a
man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness