The mission of Buddha was to burst asunder the bonds of the oppressed and to abolish all distinctions of caste. This was to be accomplished through the awakening of the divine life in each individual. The leading processes by which the lines of caste were weakened were in direct opposition to the established order of society. It was a blow at the old Brahminical social and religious code which had grown up under the reign of priest-craft. Notwithstanding the sex prejudice which had come to prevail in India, it was directly stated by Buddha that any man or woman who became his disciple, who renounced the world and by abstinence from the lower indulgences of sense proclaimed her or his adherence to the higher principles of life, "at once lost either the privilege of a high caste or the degradation of a low one." Earthly distinctions were of no consequence. Rank depended not on the outward circumstance of birth, but on the ability of the individual to resist evil, or, upon his capacity to receive the higher truths enunciated by the new sun or savior--Buddha. In one of the canonical books he is represented as saying: "Since the doctrine which I teach is completely pure, it makes no distinction between noble and common, between rich and poor. It is, for example, like water, which washes both noblemen and common people, both rich and poor, both good and bad, and purifies all without distinction. It may, to take another illustration, be compared to fire, which consumes mountains, rocks, and all great and small objects between heaven and earth. Again, my doctrine is like heaven, inasmuch as there is room within it without exception, for whomsoever it may be; for men and women, for boys and girls, for rich and poor."(121) 121) Viscount Amberley, Analysis of Religious Belief, vol. i., p. 216. There is little doubt that the religion of Buddha was an attempt to return to the almost forgotten principles of a past age of spiritual and moral greatness. According to this ancient wisdom, man is an immortal soul struggling for perfection. The growth of the real man is a natural unfolding of the divine principle within, such process of evolution being accomplished through the power of the will. As every individual must work out his own salvation, this will-force must ever be directed toward the complete mastery of the body, or the lower self. In other words, the development of the higher life depends upon the power of the individual to overcome or conquer evil. The effect of every thought, word, and deed is woven into the soul, and no one can evade the consequences of his own acts. All sin is the result of selfishness, so that only when one renounces self and begins to live for others does the soul-life begin. No one who has arrived at a state of soul-consciousness will lead a selfish or impure life. On the contrary, every impulse of the devout Buddhist goes out toward humanity and God, of whom he is a conscious part.