Note 182 — LECTURE IV. THE DHARMA OF BUDDHA:[180] THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.

Le Bouddha, etc., p. 79. The legends indicate that his use of the vernacular was matter of principle. Two Brahmans, “excelling in speech, excelling in pronunciation,” complained that the monks corrupted the word of the Buddhas by repeating it in their own dialect, and asked permission to put it into classical or polished verse. “How can you, O foolish ones, speak thus?... You are not, O monks, to put the words of the Buddhas into polished (Sanskrit) verse. Whosoever does so shall be guilty of a dukkata.”—Kullavagga, v. 33. 1; Sacred Books of the East, vol. xx.