ABSTRACT
TWO aspects of Mahayana doctrine, which seem to show no relation to each other, stand out in great contrast. There is the religious side of the worship of saintly beings with the ideal of a succession of lives of heroic virtues, and the philosophical side developing the boldest speculations in logic and epistemology. The cause of this contrast was inherent in Buddhism from the beginning-the division into the monastic order and the laity. The layman received instruction from the Order, " discourses about almsgiving, morality, heaven, the evils of lusts, the worthlessness of the defilements, and the blessing of renunciation," as a standing description expresses it. Only to those whose minds were disposed and who were ready to leave a household life were the four Truths taught.
