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THE BUDDHIST DOCTRINES.
Thus utterly devoid of show, of stately formality, of imposing accompaniments, was Buddhism; priestless, templeless, agnostic as to the Supreme Being, its undeniable power and influence drew to it multitudes of adherents; and they were not all sound or docile fish that came to the net. Hence we early hear of dissensions in the Order, and whole chapters in the sacred books are devoted to their consideration. There are procedures for settling disputes, for dealing with charges against the innocent, the insane, etc.; and when peaceable reconciliation proved impossible, matters were to be decided by a vote of the majority, unless the subject was too trivial, or a vote would lead to an open schism.
The "nuns," or "sisters," of Buddhism were regarded as constituting a separate Order, with their own fortThe nuns, or nightly assemblies, yet in complete subordina
sisters. tion to the monks, so that none of the higher ceremonies were complete without the co-operation of monks. Every sister had to bow reverently, rise, and raise her clasped hands before every monk, however newly admitted. Both the confession meetings and the preaching of the true Buddhist doctrine had to be conducted for them by the monks; and the nuns, after having held their own annual meeting, had to send to the corresponding meeting of monks asking them if they had any fault to reprehend in them. They were forbidden to revile or scold monks, or to accuse them. Ordination of the sisters, penances for transgressions, settlement of disputes, all had to be performed or arranged by the monks. Every fortnight the sisterhood had to obtain audience of a monk who had been appointed by his assembly to instruct and admonish them; but he was strictly forbidden to enter their abode, or to journey or have any intimate companionship with them. No sister might live alone, or in a forest; they lived within the walls of towns and villages, and never seem to have been at all comparable in numbers or influence to the monks. Indeed, it would have been against the spirit of the Buddhist system that they should be so; for it could only exist by the keeping up of family life, the
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