THE DHARMA OR DOCTRINE
Project Gutenberg EPUB edition
Olcott, Henry Steel
A. Selling liquor, selling animals for slaughter, selling poison, selling murderous weapons, and dealing in slaves.
220. Q. Who are said to be incapable of progress in spirituality?
A. The killers of father, mother, and holy Arhats; Bhikkhus who sow discord in the Sangha; those who attempt to injure the person of a Buddha; those who hold extremely nihilistic views as to the future existence; and those who are extremely sensual.
121. Q. Does Buddhism specify places or conditions of torment into which a bad man's Karma draws him on leaving this life?
A. Yes. They are: Sanjīva; Kālasūtra; Sanghāta; Raurava; Mahā-Raurava Tāpa; Pratāpa; Avīchi.
222. Q. Is the torment eternal?
A. Certainly not. Its duration depends on a man's Karma.
223. Q. Does Buddhism declare that non-believers in Buddha will of necessity be damned for their unbelief?
A. No; by good deeds they may enjoy a limited term of happiness before being drawn into rebirth by their unexhausted tanhā. To escape rebirth, one must tread the Noble Eight-fold Path.
224. Q. What is the spiritual status of woman among Buddhists?
A. According to our religion they are on a footing of perfect equality with men. "Woman," says the Buddha, in the Chullavedalla Sutta, "may attain the highest path of holiness that is open to man—Arhatship."
225. Q. What does a modern critic say about the effect of Buddhism on woman?
A. That "it has done more for the happiness and enfranchisement of woman than any other creed" (Sir Lepel Griffin).
226. Q. What did the Buddha teach about caste?
A. That one does not become of any caste, whether Pariah, the lowest, or Brāhmana the highest, by birth, but by deeds. "By deeds," said He, "one becomes an outcast, by deeds one becomes a Brāhmana" (See Vassala Sutta).
227. Q. Tell me a story to illustrate this?
A. Ananda, passing by a well, was thirsty and asked Prakrti, a girl of the Mātanga, or Pariah, caste, to give him water. She said she was of such low caste that he would become contaminated by taking water from her hand. But Ananda replied: "I ask not for caste but for water"; and the Mātanga girl's heart was glad and she gave him to drink. The Buddha blessed her for it.
228. Q. What did the Buddha say in "Vasala Sutta" about a man of the Pariah Sopāka caste?
A. That by his merits he reached the highest fame; that many Khattiyas (Kshattriyas) and Brāhmanas went to serve him; and that after death he was born in the Brāhma-world: while there are many Brāhmanas who for their evil deeds are born in hell.
229. Q. Does Buddhism teach the immortality of the soul?
A. It considers "soul" to be a word used by the ignorant to express a false idea. If everything is subject to change, then man is included, and every material part of him must change. That which is subject to change is not permanent: so there can be no immortal survival of a changeful thing.[10]
230. Q. What is so objectionable in this word "soul"?
A. The idea associated with it that man can be an entity separated from all other entities, and from the existence of the whole of the Universe. This idea of separateness is unreasonable, not provable by logic, nor supported by science.
231. Q. Then there is no separate "I," nor can we say "my" this or that?
A. Exactly so.
232. Q. If the idea of a separate human "soul" is to be rejected, what is it in man which gives him the impression of having a permanent personality?
A. Tanhā, or the unsatisfied desire for existence. The being having done that for which he must be rewarded or punished in future, and having Tanhā, will have a rebirth through the influence of Karma.
233. Q. What is it that is born?
A. A new aggregation of Skandhas, or personality[11] caused by the last generative thought of the dying person.
234. Q. How many Skandhas are there?
A. Five.
235. Q. Name the five Skandhas?
A. Rūpa, Vedanā, Saññā, Samkhārā, and Viññāna.
236. Q. Briefly explain what they are?
A. Rūpa, material qualities; Vedanā, sensation; Saññā, abstract ideas; Samkhārā, tendencies of mind; Viññāna, mental powers, or consciousness. Of these we are formed; by them we are conscious of existence; and through them communicate with the world about us.
237. Q. To what cause must we attribute the differences in the combination of the five Skandhas which make every individual differ from every other individual?
A. To the ripened Karma of the individual in his preceding births.
238. Q. What is the force of energy that is at work, under the guidance of Karma, to produce the new being?
A. Tanhā—the will to live.[12]
239. Q. Upon what is the doctrine of rebirths founded?