Budhism : — Laws of the Budhist Priesthood. 125 



the plan went to his young friends and proposed that they 

 all should become priests. The children replied, If you, 

 Upali, become a priest we also will become priests ; and each 

 child requested his parents' permission to join the priesthood. 

 The whole of the parents were pleased with the proposal of 

 the children, and took-them to the priests who ordained them 

 as novices and gave them Upasampada. In the night the 

 children became restless and cried for gruel, and for some- 

 thing to eat, and the priests endeavoured to quiet them without 

 success. Bagawa heard the noise, and enquired the reason of 

 it. Ananda informed him of the circumstances ; upon which 

 he assembled the priests, and enquired if they had admitted 

 persons to Upasampada whom they knew to be under twenty 

 years of age. They acknowledged that they had done so : 

 upon which he reproved them, stating that lads under twenty 

 years of age were not able to endure the hardships connected 

 with being priests, and decreed : 



39. Priests, it is not proper to admit to Upasampada a 

 man who is known to be less than twenty years of age. 

 Whoever admits such a person to Upasampada is guilty of 

 Dukkata. 



A whole family died of an epidemic disease, excepting the 

 father and a male child. They both became priests (the 

 father Upasampada, the child Samanero) and went out 

 together to collect food. When any thing was given to the 

 priest, the child being near him said, Father, give me some ! 

 Father, give me some ! The people observing this, mur- 

 mured and said, These sons of Sakya are incontinent. This 

 child has been begotten on a priestess. The other priests, 

 hearing this, reported the case to Budha, who decreed : 



40. Priests, it is not proper that a child under five years 

 of age should be admitted into the priesthood : he who admits 

 him is guilty of Dukkata. 



A pious and faithful family who ministered to Ananda 

 was cut off by the pestilence, only two male children, under 

 five years of age, being left. These children having been 



