the offering of flowers (mala puja) as an act of worship?

A. That act itself is without merit as a mere formality; but if one offers a flower as the sweetest, purest expression of heartfelt reverence for a holy being, then, indeed, is the offering an act of ennobling worship.

271. Q. What next does the Bhikkhu do?

A. He pursues his studies. At sunset he again sweeps the sacred places, lights a lamp, listens to the instructions of his superior, and confesses to him any fault he may have committed.

272. Q. Upon what are his four earnest meditations (Sati-patthana) made?

A. 1. On the body, Kayanapassana.

2. On the feeling, Vedananupassana.

3. On the mind, Chittanupassana.

4. On the doctrine, Dhammanupassana.

278. Q. What is the aim of the four Great Efforts (Samanappadhana)?

A. To suppress one's animal desires and grow in goodness.

274. Q. For the perception by the Bhikkhu of the highest truth, is reason said to be the best, or intuition?

A. Intuition--a mental state in which any desired truth is instantaneously grasped.

275. Q. And when can that development be reached?

A. When one, by the practice of Jnana, comes to its fourth stage of unfolding.

276. Q. Are we to believe that in the final stage of Jnana, and in the condition called Samadhi, the mind is a blank and thought is arrested?

A. Quite the contrary. It is then that one's consciousness is most intensely active, and one's power to gain knowledge correspondingly vast.

277. Q. Try to give me a simile.

A. In the ordinary waking state one's view of knowledge is as limited as the sight of a man who walks on a road between high hills; in the higher consciousness of Jnana and Samadhi it is like the sight of the eagle poised in the upper sky and overlooking a whole country.

278. Q. What do our books say about the Buddha's use of this faculty?

A. They tell us that it was his custom, every morning, to glance over the world and, by his divine (clairvoyant) sight, see where there were persons ready to receive the truth. He would then contrive, if possible, that it should reach them. When persons visited him he would look into their minds, read their secret motives, and then preach to them according to their needs.

Footnotes

^76:* The Upusaka and Upasika observe these on the Buddhist Uposatha (Sabbath) days (In Sk. Upavasatha). They are the 8th, 14th and 15th days of each half lunar month.

^79:* The relationship to his Guru, or teacher, is almost like that of godson to godfather among Christians, only more real, for the teacher becomes father, mother, family and all to him.