9--Thou shalt not harbor envy, nor pride, nor revenge, nor malice, nor the
desire of thy neighbor's death or misfortune.
10--Thou shalt not follow the doctrines of false gods.
And the devotee is assured, even as in the Christian creed, that "he who
keeps these commandments, shall enter Nirvana--the rest of Buddha." But let
it be understood that Gautama, the Lord Buddha, did not formulate these
commandments. Neither are they considered as infallible formulae, by the
enlightened Buddhist.
They constitute the ethical and moral code of the undeveloped man in all
ages of the world, and among all peoples. They had become traditional long
before Buddha came to interpret "the way of the gods." But Gautama, like
Jesus, was an evolutionist, and not a revolutionist. He came "not to
destroy, but to fulfill," and so Buddha paid no attention to the code of
morals as it stood, but merely contented himself with emphasizing the
importance of unselfishness--purity of heart and mind, because he realized
that the mental world is the trap of the soul, even as "the elephant is
held tethered by a galucchi creeper.
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