d there are particular difficulties involved in being a Buddhist in America. Buddhism has a very different conception of the relationship between man and nature from that of Christianity and a different sense of the meaning of salvation and the route to achieve it. In the Life of the Buddha by Ashvaghosha, some of the reasons for the obsession with the soul are made clear. The Prince talks to the chariot-driver and asks about the changes of old age--the things of the flesh, of this life, are transitory, and beauty fades and ages: "Men are aware that old age thus destroys beauty and yet they seek it" (552). The driver further notes that death comes to all: "This is the last act for all creatures. Destruction is inevitable for all in the world, be he of low or middle or high degree" (554).
Confucianism differs from religious systems in that it is a philosophy of ethics and morals rather than a religiou
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