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THE CONVERSION OF THE PARIVRAJAKAS
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not righteous in their conduct towards one another?” And they answered in the affirmative.
“Will not the practice of the Ashtanga Marga, the path of right views, right aims, right speech, right livelihood, right means, right mindfulness, right perseverance, and right contemplation, in short, the Path of Righteousness, if followed by every one, remove all injustice and inhumanity that man does to man ?” And they said, “Yes.”
Turning to the path of virtue, he asked, “Is not Dana necessary to remove the suffering of the needy and the poor and to promote general good ? Is not Karuna necessary to be drawn to the relief of poverty and suffering wherever it exists ? Is not Nekkamma necessary to selfless work? Is not Uppekka necessary for sustained endeavour even though there is no personal gain?
“Is not love for man necessary ?” And they said “Yes.”
“I go further and say, “Love is not enough ; what is required is Maitri.” It is wider than love. It means fellowship not merely with human beings but with all living beings. It is not confined to human beings. Is not such Maitri necessary? What else can give to all living beings the same happiness which one seeks for one’s own self, to keep the mind impartial, open to all, with affection for every one and hatred for none ?”
They all said “Yes.”
“The practice of these virtues must, however, be accompanied by Prajna, i.e., intelligence.
“Is not Prajna necessary?” The Parivrajakas gave no answer. To force them to answer his question the Buddha went on to say that the qualities of a good man are : “do no evil, think nothing that is evil, get his livelihood in no evil way and say nothing that is evil or is likely to hurt anyone.” And they said, “Yes, so it is.”
“But is doing good deeds blindly to be welcomed ?” asked the Buddha “I say, ‘no.’ This is not enough,” said the Buddha to the Pariv II