Consistent in his attempt to discover the alleviation of pain in the heart and mind of man, Buddha remits even the sins of commission by internal change and improvement of mind. If a man has committed a sin of thought, word, or act,[465] he must repent and acknowledge it before his co-religionists, and those who have attained a higher degree of liberation. Repentance and confession diminish or blot out the sin, according to the degree of their depth and sincerity, and not painful penances and expiations, which only increase the torments of the body, the thing which we desire to diminish.[466] No one is to make a parade of good works; these he should conceal, and publish his failings.[467]
Thus the ethics of Buddha are comprehended in the three principles of chastity, patience, and mercy, _i.e._ of a moderate and passionless life, of ready and willing submission to any annoyance or unavoidable evil, and finally of sympathy and active assistance for our fellow-men. An old formula tells us: "The eschewing of evil, the doing of good, the taming of our own thoughts, this is the doctrine of Buddha."[468]
The legends tell us of a great disputation held at Çravasti (the metropolis of the Koçalas), in which Buddha was victorious over six holy penitents of the Brahmans; the leading Brahman even took his own life in disgust and disappointment. As the legends relate, the Brahmans were afraid that Buddha's doctrine would diminish their honour and importance, that they would receive fewer gifts and presents; they were distressed that Buddha allowed even the lowest and impure castes to enter the order of penitents. According to the statement of the sutras the Brahmans caused the communities to inflict fines on such persons as listened to Buddha's words, and from the kings of certain districts they procured edicts forbidding his doctrine. Though the Brahmans may have succeeded in prejudicing one or two princes against Buddha and his doctrine, in other regions of India, not to mention his own home, he did not miss the effectual protection of the secular arm. From the very first year of the public appearance of Buddha, Bimbisara king of Magadha is said to have given him his protection and support, and to have assigned to his disciples the Bamboo-garden, near the metropolis Rajagriha, for their residence. The king of the Koçalas also, Prasenajit, supported Buddha, and his metropolis, Çravasti, became a favourite residence of Buddha in the rainy season, a centre of the new doctrine, to the north of the Ganges, as Rajagriha was on the south of the river. Lastly, the legends speak of Vatsa, the king of the Bharatas, who resided at Kauçambi, and Pradyota of Ujjayini, and Rudrayana of Roruka, a region which apparently lay to the east of Magadha, among the protectors of Buddha. Towards the princes Buddha's conduct was prudent and circumspect; he did not impart to any of their magistrates or servants the initiation of the beggar; he adopted none of them into the community of the initiated without the express sanction of the king.[469]