48 CEYLON BRANCH — ROYAL ASTATIC SOCIETY". 



death ? They teach that the soul is material, and that it 

 will for ever consciously exist after death ; they teach that 

 the soul is immaterial and will have an eternal conscious 

 existence, after death ; they teach that the soul partakes both 

 of materiality and of immateriality and will have an eter- 

 nal conscious existence after death ; they teach that it is 

 neither material nor yet immaterial and will have an eternal 

 existence after death ; they teach that it will be finite, or 

 that it will be infinitely diffused, or that it will partake both 

 of finity and infinity, or that it is neither finite nor yet in- 

 finite; — that it will have one mode of consciousness, or that 

 it will have many modes of consciousness; — that its percep- 

 tions will be few; or that its perceptions will be boundless: — 

 that it will be a state of perfect happiness, or that it will 

 be a state of unmixed misery ; — that it will be a state in 

 which the sensations of joy and sorrows will not be known : 

 these states they teach will continue for ever after death. 



Priests, these Samanas and Bramins hold the doctrine of 

 future existence, and in sixteen modes teach that the soul 

 has a conscious existence after death. If any Samana or 

 Br am in hold the doctrine of future existence and teaches 

 that the soul has a conscious existence after death, it is in 

 these sixteen modes, or in some of them. Besides these 

 there are none other. 



These doctrines, Priests, are fully understood by the Ta- 

 tagato ; he knows the causes of their being held and the ex- 

 perience upon which they are founded. He also knows 

 other things far more excellent than these, but that know- 

 ledge has not been derived from sensual impressions. He, 

 with knowledge not derived from the impressions on the 

 senses, is fully acquainted with that by which both the im- 

 pressions and their causes become extinct, and distinctly 

 perceiving the production, the cessation, the advantages, the 

 evils and the extinctions of the sensations, is perfectly free 

 having no attachments. Priests, these doctrines of the Ta- 

 tagato are profound, difficult to be perceived, hard to be 

 comprehended, tranquillizing, excellent, not attainable by 

 reason, subtle and worthy of being known to the wise. 

 These the Tatagato has ascertained by his own wisdom, and 

 publicly makes them known. Of these he may speak who 

 correctly declares the real excellencies of the Tatagato. 



Priests, there are some Samanas and Bramins who hold the 

 doctrine of future unconscious existence, and who in eight 

 modes teach that the soul will have an unconscious exis- 

 tence after death. Upon what principle and on what ac- 



