86 CEYLON BRANCH— ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY* 



mother, as far as I understand the doctrines preached by Ba*. 

 gawa, it is difficult for one residing in a family to preserve in 

 a perfectly complete holy and unsullied manner that course of 

 purity. I desire to cut off my hair and beard, and putting on 

 yellow clothes to forsake family life, and become a houseless 

 priest. Permit me to forsake the house and become a house- 

 less priest. When he had thus spoken bis parents said to him, 

 Rattapala, you are our only son, pleasing and beloved, in aU 

 fluent circumstances and tenderly educated; you have never Rat- 

 tapala known any sorrow. Come Rattapala eat, drink, asso- 

 ciate with your women ; and eating, drinking, associating with 

 your women, enjoying the pleasures of sense, and performing acts 

 of merit, dwell content. We will not consent to your forsaking 

 the house and becoming a houseless priest. We are not wil- 

 ling to be separated from you even by death; why, while you 

 are alive, should we permit you to leave the house and be* 

 come a houseless priest. 



A second and a third time he preferred his request in the 

 same words and received the same answer. 



Then the honorable Rattapala not obtaining the permission 

 of his parents to become a priest, threw himself down where 

 he was on the bare ground, and said, Either here death shall 

 happen to me or the priesthood. His parents said to him, Dear 

 Rattapala you are our only son, pleasing and beloved, in af-» 

 fl uent circumstances and tenderly educated. You have never 

 Rattapala known any sorrow. Get up, dear Rattapala, eat, 

 drink, enjoy your women; and eating, drinking, attended by 

 your women, enjoy the pleasures of sense, perform acts of merit 

 and dwell contended: we will not consent to your forsaking the 

 house and becoming a priest. We are not willing to be sepa- 

 rated from you even by death; why, while you are alive, should 

 w e permit you to leave the house and become a houseless priest* 

 When they had thus spoken Rattapala remained silent, 



