A. Ananda, passing by a well, was thirsty and asked Prakriti, a girl of the Matanga, or Pariah caste, to give him water. She said she was of such low caste that he would become contaminated by taking water from her hand. But Ananda replied: "I ask not for caste but for water;" and the Matanga girl's heart was glad and she gave him to drink. The Buddha blessed her for it.

228. Q. What did the Buddha say in Vasalasutta about a man of the Pariah Sopaka caste?

A. That by his merits he reached the highest fame; that many Khattiyas (Kshattriyas) and Brahmans went to serve him; and that after death he was born in the Brahma world: while there are many

[paragraph continues] Brahmanas who for their evil deeds are born in hell,

229. Q. Does Buddhism teach the immortality of the soul?

A. It considers "soul" to be a word used by the ignorant to express a false idea. If every thing is subject to change, then man is included, and every material part of him must change. That which is subject to change is not permanent: so there can be no immortal survival of a changeful thing. [**]

230. Q. What is so objectionable in this word 'soul'?

A. The idea associated with it that man can be an entity separated from all other entities, and from the existence of the whole of the Universe. This idea of separateness is unreasonable, not provable by logic, nor supported by science.

231. Q. Then there is no separate "I," nor can we say "my" this or that?

A. Exactly so.

232. Q. If the idea of a separate human soul

is to be rejected, what is it in man which gives him the impression of having a permanent personality?

A. Tanha, or the unsatisfied desire for existence. The being having done that for which he must be rewarded or punished in future, and having Tanha, will have a re-birth through the influence of Karma..

233. Q. What is it that is born?

A. A new aggregation of Skandhas, or personality [**]

caused by the last generative thought of the dying person.

234. Q. How many Skandhas are there?

A. Five.

235. Q. Name the five Skandhas.

A. Rupa, Vedana, Sanna, Samkhara, and Vinnana.

236. Q. Briefly explain what they are.

A. Rupa, material qualities; Vedana, sensation; Sanna, abstract ideas; Samkhara, tendencies of mind; Vinnana, mental powers, or consciousness. Of these we are formed; by them we are conscious of existence; and through them communicate with the world about us.

237. Q. To what cause must we attribute the differences in the combination of the five Skandhas which make every individual differ from every other individual?

A. To the ripened Karma of the individual in his preceding births.

235. Q. What is the force or energy that is at work, under the guidance of Karma, to produce the new being?

A. Tanha--the will to live. [**]