BUDDHA . . . . . . . . . HIS RELIGION 105
satisfies all these tests ? So far as I know, the only religion which satisfies all these tests is Buddhism. In other words Buddhism is the only religion which world can have. If the new world—which be it realised is very different from the old-must have a religion—and the new world needs religion far more than the old world did—then it can only be religion of the Buddha.
All this may sound very strange. This is because most of those who have written about Buddha have propagated the idea that the only thing Buddha taught was Ahimsa. This is a great mistake. It is true Buddha taught Ahimsa. I do not want to minimise its importance. For it is a great doctrine. The world cannot be saved unless it follows it. What I wish to emphasize is that Buddha taught many other things besides Ahimsa. He taught as part of his religion, social freedom, intellectual freedom, economic freedom and political freedom. He taught equality, equality not between man and man only, but between man and woman. It would be difficult to find a religious teacher to compare with Buddha, whose teachings embrace so many aspects of the social life of people, whose doctrines are so modern and with main concern to give salvation to man in his life on earth and not to promise it in heaven after he is dead!
V
How could this ideal of spreading Buddhism be realised ? Three steps appear to be quite necessary.
First : To produce a Buddhist Bible.
Second : To make changes in the organisation, aims and objects of the Bhikkhu Sangha.
Third : To set up a world Buddhist Mission.
The production of a Bible of Buddhism is the first and foremost need. The Buddhist literature is a vast literature. It is impossible to expect a person who wants to know the essence of Buddhism to wade through the sea of literature. The greatest advantage which the other religions have over Buddhism is that each has a gospel which every one can carry with him and read wherever he goes. It is a handy thing. Buddhism suffers for not