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　　taste better if the tongue were pulled out;

　　and feel better if the body were destroyed. [17]

　　"I observe the preservation and transmission of character;

　　I perceive the truth of karma,

　　but see no atman whom your doctrine makes the doer of your deeds.

　　There is rebirth without the transmigration of a self.

　　For this atman, this self, this ego in the ”I say” and in the ”I will” is an illusion.

　　If this self were a reality, how could there be an escape from selfhood

　　The terror of hell would be infinite, and no release could be granted.

　　The evils of existence would not be due to our ignorance and wrong-doing,

　　but would constitute the very nature of our being." [18]

　　And the Bodhisatta went to the priests officiating in the temples.

　　But the gentle mind of the Sakyamuni was offended

　　at the unnecessary cruelty performed on the altars of the gods.

　　He said: [19]

　　"Ignorance only can make these men prepare festivals

　　and hold vast meetings for sacrifices.

　　Far better to revere the truth than try to appease the gods by shedding blood. [20]

　　"What love can a man possess

　　who believes that the destruction of life will atone for evil deeds

　　Can a new wrong expiate old wrongs

　　And can the slaughter of an innocent victim blot out the evil deeds of mankind

　　This is practising religion by the neglect of moral conduct. [21]

　　"Purify your hearts and cease to kill,

　　that is true religion. [22]

　　"Rituals have no efficacy;

　　prayers are vain repetitions;

　　and incantations have no saving power.

　　But to abandon covetousness and lust,

　　to become free from evil passions,

　　and to give up all hatred and ill-will,

　　that is the right sacrifice and the true worship." [23]

　　Uruvela, the Place of Mortification

　　The Bodhisatta went in search of a better system

　　and came to a settlement of five bhikkhus

　　in the jungle of Uruvela;

　　and when the Blessed One saw the life of those five men,

　　virtuously keeping in check their senses,

　　subduing their passions, and practising austere self-discipline,

　　he admired their earnestness and joined their company. [1]

　　With holy zeal and a strong heart,

　　the Sakyamuni gave himself up to meditative thought

　　and rigorous mortification of the body.

　　Whereas the five bhikkhus were severe, the Sakyamuni was severer still,

　　and they revered him, their junior, as their master. [2]

　　So the Bodhisatta continued for six years

　　patiently torturing himself and suppressing the wants of nature.

　　He trained his body and exercised his mind

　　in the modes of the most regorous ascetic life.

　　At last, he ate each day one hemp-grain only,

　　seeking to cross the ocean of birth and death

　　and to arrive at the shore of deliverance. [3]

　　And when the Bodhisatta was ahungered,

　　lo! Mara, the Evil One, approached him and said:

　　"Thou art emanciated from fasts, and death is near.

　　What good is thy exertion

　　Deign to live, and thou wilt be able to do good works."

　　But the Sakyamuni made reply:

　　"O thou friend of the indolent, thou wicked one;

　　for what purpose hast thou come

　　Let the flesh waste away,

　　if but the mind becomes more tranquil

　　and attention more steadfast.

　　What is life in this world

　　Death in battle is better to me

　　than that I should live defeated." [4]

　　And Mara withdrew, saying:

　　"For seven years I have followed the Blessed One step by step,

　　but I have found no fault in the Tathagata." [5]

　　The Bodhisatta was shrunken and attenuated,

　　and his body was like a withered branch;

　　but the fame of his holiness spread in the surrounding countries

　　and people came from great distances to see him

　　and receive his blessing. [6]

　　However, the Holy One was not satisfied.

　　Seeking true wisdom he did not find it,

　　and he came to the conclusion that mortification would not extinguish desire

　　nor afford enlightenment in ecst…

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