420 JouRNAr-, R.A.s. (covr-on) lVol. XXXI .

" Not easy is it to estimate rvha"t the recluse tradition has costIndia and the countries rvhere Hinayana spread. It has meant thata large proportion of the best manhood has for centuries been with-drawn {rom promoting the wel{are of the land, and has served thatrnainly in the negative way, by not being drawn into movementswhere their gifts might have been misused to stir up strife " A chal-lenge to the Buddhist priesthood-and the causc is rvell worthy of 6strong and able protagonist.

In the narrou' compass of less than 2oo pages, the author hasdiscussed, with consummate skill, a host of problems bristling with,difficulty, and much new and welcome light has she thrown uponmany dark places. There is also much that will be distinctly unpalat-.able to the orthodox taste. But what of that, for orthodoxy, by astrange perversion of tords, is not synonymous with the " right vielv."A perusal ol " The Mili,nda-Qwesliorzs " makes the Nlilindapanha livefor us lar more really and truly than it did before. \Me are sent backto the fountain-source rvith fresh zest, rvith a keener perception andwith many questions to propound and unrave]. The book is, indeed,a s'ine qua non to th'e Juture student o{ the \Iilindapanha.

G.P.M.

No" 82.-tg2g1 woMnN uNDER pRrnrrrrvE BUDDHTsM 42r

WOMEN UNDER PRIMITIVE BUDDHISM

Miss ISALINE B. HORNER, (RouTLDDGE & SoNs,LoNnou, .r;sh.)

'l-lLis book is a trull Iascinating sludy oI how much was clonc hwgu.tldhism 'for the uplift ot \voma"n in Incria and rrow ,'".r,-*.tli{lld, ln therr tutn, as.plol)s and stays oI the religion tlrat had soeltsuch.a. cha.ngc in rlrcir livos. Miss l. B. Horner"is n"s"rr.ill."-'liJ*and Librarian of Newnham.College, Cambridge. Mrs. nfrys n""ias, tfre,d_oyen

. of modern Pali studics, writes an' illurninating l.;;*.i

characteristically full of suggestions.

_ rn the first part of her book Miss lro'ner has described the variedrole of woman as mother, w-ife, wi<low and worker. In clrau.ins fo;us a picture o{ the times eLnd ilre sociar conclitions into wni-ctr i;;";;religion_was born, rn'here it ]ived and moveci ancl hrd it; b"i"g,'tl;author has discussed such controversial matters as chilcl-mar?iase.infanticidc, rlivorcc and widor-burning in rhc lighf .I t;;.;;i;';,"rlilitcrature with wlrich she has made hirself so ,riuclr

^t -},._".'e#,

happily for all lovers o{ India, she has shown in regard to "o"t, oithcse that India has been,more sinned.against than iinning. ih";;is, indeed, no aspect of the life oJ an Indiai woman of tfr" a.f tfr"f fr.!bcen left out of conside.ra.tion. Nor is it a reconstructioi of m"ie,co.jecture, for nearly a1l the books of the pali Caron anJ ;;"h';;thc commentarial litera.ture have bcen brought under contribution.From the information {ound scattered ir these ancient pages, the authoihas ",succceded in piecing together a picture that ilm"osi 1i;; ;;;orearires. rtte mrnrsterlng care o{ the mother, the sacrificial devotionof the wi{e, filia1 afiection_and. in a word, all that goes to make a homebappy- are all here. Trulv_.has_ Miss llorner, in this part;i h";;;;;;tlone for the women rvho'Iivecr uncler primitir" B'.i,lhi.'o *rr"i1*.i

g_enerations back and more was clone in such charming f""fri"" it, iirJWomen of Ancient In<tia by X{11e. Bader.Part z of the book is devotecl to the consideration of the ,.BucI-

rihist Order of Almswomen. , One note of protert h".". The choiceof the rvord " almswoman', to clenote tnebaU.Lninnhrr;i;: ;;- r;;the least,. not happy. For,in.this portion of lhe bo;t;hi;'"i;;;i.]]."j^1:yllh its equally uncouth brother, is met with repeatedty, i" q;i;ilH._i1.1^"il:i,r.:""t]I cvery-page tiII it almost becomes an eyesore.j;."*1fi:j1-:,*:th"*ly 11 onI1, temp_eramentat, but one

"aorrot h"tp

:r_rlyl.g,.jr.t lulrs. Rh]-: Davids had shown a better way in her .. psalmior tne S1sters." jjut this cloes not of course detracfin anv measure{ron the general excellence o{ the work,

,,.-,-T-1: first.Chapter of the zncl Irart discusses the question of the:ll]l-9"i..,hcsitancy to admit women into the orclei_a hesitancyu'lijclr vleide'l under the.weight of the importunity of Nlahapajapaiiancl the warm-heartccl solicitirde ol tfr" "oif" e"."a.. The Chapterlhat foliows givcs the eight chief,rf"i ttrt e";ernea tne Or.der andIrcrc, as throughout, thc Vinaya Texts lta ie yielt_lecl inlormationrnat \\'as scar-cely suspected to be there. It is scen that the traditionalbupcrlorrty ol man exprcssed in the puritan poet,s ,, Man to command.

'1,1_1 l.ii" to obey, " had even in the New drder raised its proucl head.rut, rn the rvords of the author herself, u.hilc ., procautions such asthcse were _necessary for the satety oflne irJaf.d- sex......there isnever any hint or suggestion thaf r-oman rvas too frail to run the

+22 JoURN-{L, R.A.s. (cDyr-oN) l\rol . XXXI .

gauntlet of thc world's attractions ancl temptations, or that tlie purityo{ her reputation coulcl only be prescrved i{ she rvere not allos'ed t-ogo out of thc Vihara preoincts " Theirs, then, rvas no cloisteredvirtuc, but the strength of a life livcd in tlte open air"

This is verl' clearly brought out in the trvo \-ery refreshing chaptersdealing with thc 'L-herigatha- Flere rve see passing before our reverentgaze a noble band oJ women, young ancl olcl, lr-ho had left the ple:rsures.of horne tor the morc austere jovs of the life of homelcssncss. Whatthing irresistiblc lured thcsc heroic ladics to treacl the lone heights ?

\Mhat rvere the compelling rnotivcs that dror.e them from the sheltero{ their homcs ? From ancl into rvhat did the-v thus sech escape ?

To thcsc ancl other cluestions of a hindred nature the ansrver is foundin thcse pages. \Are rvjll not quarrel with our author u'hen with,perhaps, more instinctive synpathy *'ith thosc of hcr sex than approxi-mation to tmth, she trics to cxplain au.ay " the apparent insensibilityto nature " seen in the 'lhcrigatha as compared v'ith the l'salms o{the Blethren, by saying " it w:Ls because in mctlitation thev concentratemore intcnselv than mcn ancl shut awal' al1 clistracting sights andsouncls bv an cffort of the x'i11." It is u'ith tiifficulty that wc tear our-selves auiar-v from this part o{ the book lvhere we rvoulcl wi1lingly lingerlong, but in taking leave of thesc clear presences, u'e sti11 rnust turnagain to look a.t Soma r-ho, lil<e the Princess o{ a later day, soundedtire clarion of u'oman's emancipation in words tirat burn-.

" itthibJrd,t.,o no hint hul,ivii1 "(How should the u-oman's naturc hindcl us ?)

The pagcs that fol1ow are devoterl to the consideration of thelife ol u'omen as it rvas 1ivecl in the Order the trials ancl temptationsthat beset thenr, their lapses, thcir moral victories and thc inter-communication with thc Theras. The concluding Chaptcr givesthe relationship between the laity and the Order, and thc accountof the the life of Visnkha brings out the attitu<le o{ nutual help{ulnessin which the one stoocl to the otJrer. Thc rr'hole is a. verv humandocument u'here u'e see wofren n-ho, whilc they n-ere in the v'orld, u'erenot of it a"nd who seem, rvhile tirey tread on ealth, to touch upon ahigher sphere.

'Ihe copious notes and referenccs givcn at the foot o{ every pageare alone an indcx to the paticnt industry and careful si{ting of materialthat must have precetlerl the composition o{ this worh-a I'ork cha-ractcrised also by sober good sense, sound juclgment ancl learninganc1, above all, by that imaginative sympathy at rvhose touch alonethe past rcnders up its jealously guarded treasures.

It is commonly helcl th:rt until Christianitv hacl leavcned thelifc o{ the nations the lot o{ t'ornan sras all unenviable one. Butthe supreme lesson o{ \[iss llorner's book is that in India at least,under thc regcnerating influence of the l3ucldha's \4'ay o{ LiJc, wom,anhacl, centuries before the birth of Christ, rid herself of her shakclesand risen to the fu11 statul:e o{ her distinctive g'omanhood antl shorvnthat she was " not undevclopetl man, but only diverse." To adaptthe iines o:f the .poet," Not {rom western u'indorvs onll', rvhcn davlight

Comes, comes in the lightBut ea.stwarcl 1ook, the land is briglrt."

In conclusion it rnay be saicl that the rvork administers the neededcorrective to the vitiatecl taste that could produce a book such as

" Mothcr Inclia." l,'Iiss Horner has 1aicl all lovers of India's grcetheritage ancl the Buclclhist t'orld in particular, under e deep debt-olgra.ritu;le. G.P.M'

OF THE

PAPERS:

i:lolrn SrNrr.tr-nst Nalrns alrt Suax.tnns - -

ll'irr- Anr ol Ixora ,rNt lNoo-CurNA \vtrrr Spucr't.r_I?,nrnnnNc_ss ro Cr:vr_rix . ,

'i rin l,lxcev-1,'rroNs rN run Cireonr, at ANrralorrepuRnll'no CnNrnlr- Scnool Corrltrssrou, lg4l-lg,tgI'lecl: Nelu:s ol Cr.:vroNl'un l4-tnr,tr:;sl Dr;rcrl Vrsrr,q ro UEl'r,oNI,rluRpr.r. Melorr r rt r

Norns ,qNr; er,-nnrns.\ottcns ol Booxs

jouRNALOF THE

CEYLON BRANCH

F"OYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,t930.

VOLUME XXXINo. 88-Parts I., II., III., and IV.

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