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ciples, the Master made no distinctions whatsoever
among them; for there were no specially chosen fav-
ourite disciples. Among his disciples, all those who
were arahats, who were passion-free and had shed
the fetters binding to renewed existence, had equally
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perfected themselves in purity. But there were some
outstanding ones who were skilled in different
branches of knowledge and practice, and because of
their mental endowments, they gained positions of
distinction; but special favours were never granted
to anyone by the Master. Upàli, for instance, who
came from a barber s family, was made the chief in
matters of discipline (vinaya) in preference to many
arahats who belonged to the class of the nobles and
warriors (kshatriya). Såriputta and Moggallàna,
brahmins by birth, because of their longstanding
aspirations in former lives, became the chief dis-
ciples of the Buddha. The former excelled in wis-
dom (pa¤¤a) and the latter in supernormal powers
(iddhi).
The Buddha never wished to extract from his
disciples blind and submissive faith in him or his
teachings. He always insisted on discriminative
examination and intelligent inquiry. In no uncertain
terms he urged critical investigation when he
addressed the inquiring Kàlàmas in a discourse that
has been rightly called the first charter of free
thought:
Come, Kàlàmas. Do not go by oral tradition, by
lineage of teaching, by hearsay, by a collection of
scriptures, by logical reasoning, by inferential reas-
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oning, by reflection on reasons, by the acceptance of
a view after pondering it, by the seeming com-
petence of a speaker, or because you think, The
ascetic is our teacher. But when you know for
yourselves, These things are unwholesome, these
things are blamable; these things are censured by
the wise; these things, if undertaken and practised,
lead to harm and suffering, then you should
abandon them. And when you know for yourselves,
These things are wholesome, these things are
blameless; these things are praised by the wise;
these things, if undertaken and practised, lead to
welfare and happiness, then you should engage in
them.
To take anything on trust is not in the spirit of
Buddhism, so we find this dialogue between the
Master and the disciples: If now, knowing this and
preserving this, would you say: We honour our
Master and through respect for him we respect what
he teaches ? No, Lord. That which you affirm,
O disciples, is it not only that which you yourselves
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have recognized, seen, and grasped? Yes, Lord.
The Buddha faced facts and refused to
acknowledge or yield to anything that did not accord
with truth. He does not want us to recognize any-
thing indiscriminately and without reason. He wants
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us to comprehend things as they really are, to put
forth the necessary effort and work out our own
deliverance with mindfulness.
You should make the effort
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The Tathàgatas point out the way.
Bestir yourselves, rise up,
And yield your hearts unto the Buddha s
teaching.
Shake off the armies of the king of death,
As does the elephant a reed-thatched
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shed.
The Buddha, for the first time in the world s
history, taught that deliverance should be sought
independent of a saviour, be he human or divine.
The idea that another raises a man from lower
to higher levels of life, and ultimately rescues him,
tends to make man indolent and weak, supine and
foolish. This kind of belief degrades a man and
smothers every spark of dignity from his moral
being.
The Enlightened One exhorts his followers to
acquire self-reliance. Others may lend us a helping
hand indirectly, but deliverance from suffering must
be wrought out and fashioned by each one for
himself upon the anvil of his own actions.
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True Purification
In the understanding of things, neither belief nor
fear plays any role in Buddhist thought. The truth of
the Dhamma can be grasped only through insight,
never through blind faith, or through fear of some
known or unknown being.
Not only did the Buddha discourage blind belief
and fear of an omnipotent God as unsuitable ap-
proaches for understanding the truth, but he also
denounced adherence to unprofitable rites and rit-
uals, because the mere abandoning of outward
things, such as fasting, bathing in rivers, animal
sacrifice, and similar acts, does not tend to purify a
man or make a man holy and noble.
We find this dialogue between the Buddha and
the brahmin Sundarika Bhàradvàja: Once the
Buddha, addressing the monks, explained in detail
how a seeker of deliverance should train himself,
and further added that a person whose mind is free
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