nd so a monk has to put behind him everything that is called good in
this life, and govern his body and his soul in strict temperance.

He must wear but yellow garments, ample and decent, but not beautiful;
he must shave his head; he must have none but the most distant
intercourse with women; he must beg his food daily in the streets; he
must eat but twice, and then but a certain amount, and never after noon;
he must take no interest in worldly affairs; he must own no property,
must attend no plays or performances; 'he must eat, not to satisfy his
appetite, but to keep his body alive; he must wear clothes, not from
vanity, but from decency; he must live under a roof, not because of
vainglory, but because the weather renders it necessary.' All his life
is bounded by the very strictest poverty and purity.

There is no austerity. A monk may not over-eat, but he must eat enough;
he must not wear fine clothes, but he must be decent and comfortable; he
must not have proud dwellings, but he should be sheltered from the
weather.

There is no self-punishment in Buddhism. Did not the Buddha prove the
futility of this long ago? The body must be kept in health, that the
soul may not be hampered. And so the monks live a very healthy, very
temperate life, eating and drinking just enough to keep the body in good
health; that is the first thing, that is the very beginning of the pure
life.

And as he trains his body by careful treatment, so does he his soul. He
must read the sacred books, he must meditate on the teachings of the
great teacher, he must try by every means in his power to bring these
truths home to himself, not as empty sayings, but as beliefs that are to
be to him the very essence of all truth. He is not cut off from society.
There are other monks, and there are visitors, men and women. He may
talk to them--he is no recluse; but he must not talk too much about
worldly matters. He must be careful of his thoughts, that they do not
lead him into wrong paths. His life is a life of self-culture.

Being no priest, he has few duties to others to perform; he is not
called upon to interfere in the business of others. He does not visit
the sick; he has no concern with births and marriages and deaths. On
Sunday, and on certain other occasions, he may read the laws to the
people, that is all. Of this I will speak in another chapter. It does
not amount to a great demand upon his time. He is also the schoolmaster
of the village,