Part 10 (2/2)

A. That ”it has done more for the happiness and enfranchis.e.m.e.nt 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 Brahmana the highest, by birth, but by deeds. ”By deeds,” said He, ”one becomes an outcast, by deeds one becomes a Brahmana” (See _Va.s.sala Sutta_).

227. Q. _Tell me a story to ill.u.s.trate this?_

A. Ananda, pa.s.sing by a well, was thirsty and asked Prakrti, a girl of the Matanga, 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 Matanga 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 Sopaka caste?_

A. That by his merits he reached the highest fame; that many Khattiyas (Kshattriyas) and Brahmanas went to serve him; and that after death he was born in the Brahma-world: while there are many Brahmanas who for their evil deeds are born in h.e.l.l.

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 a.s.sociated with it that man can be an ent.i.ty separated from all other ent.i.ties, 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. _Tanha_, or the unsatisfied desire for existence. The being having done that for which he must be rewarded or punished in future, and having _Tanha_, 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. Rupa, Vedana, Sanna, Samkhara,_ and _Vinnana_.

236. Q. _Briefly explain what they are?_

A. __Rupa_, material qualities; _Vedana_, sensation; _Sanna_, abstract ideas; _Samkhara_, tendencies of mind; _Vinnana_, 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?_

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