GAUTAMA--THE COMPASSIONATE
Gautama, prince of the house of Siddhartha, of the Sakya class, was born in
northern India in the township of Kapilavastu, in the year 556 B.C.,
according to the best authorities, as interpreted and reported by Max
Muller.
The Japanese tradition agrees with this, practically, stating that O Shaka
Sama (signifying one born of wisdom and love) was born as a Kotai Si, crown
prince of the Maghada country.
We have the assurance that as a youth, Gautama, like Jesus, exhibited a
serious mindedness and an insight into matters spiritual, which astonished
and dumbfounded his hearers, and the sages who gave him respectful
attention.
Some accounts even go so far as to state that at the very moment of his
birth the young prince was able to speak, and that his words ascended "even
to the gods of the uppermost Brahma-world."
Divesting the traditions that surround the birth and early life of the
world's great masters, of much that has been interpolated by a designing
priesthood, we may yet conclude that a certain seriousness, and a deep
sympathy with the sorrows of their fellowmen, would naturally characterize
these inspired ones, even while they were still in their early youth.
It is evident that the young Prince Siddhartha was subject to meditation
and that these meditations led at times to complete trance.
It is reported that one day while out riding in all the pomp and
accoutrements of the son of a ruling king, he was visited by an angel (a
messenger from the gods of Devachan), and told that if he would lessen
the sorrows of the world that he must renounce his right to his father's
kingdom and go into the jungle, becoming a hermit, and devoting his life to
fasting, prayer and meditation, in order to fit himself for the work of
preaching the "way of liberation," which consisted of, first of all, to
take no life; be pure in mind; be as the humblest, which latter admonition
found little favor with the world of his personal environment where caste
was and still is, a seemingly ineradicable race-thought.
The sorrows of humanity weighed heavily upon his heart, and the
superficialities of the wealthy and ostentatious court in which he lived,
irked his outspoken and truth-loving spirit.
Surrounded, as he was, by wealth and ease, with time for contemplation and
a mind given to philosophic speculation, the young prince found no sense of
comfort or permanent satisfaction in his own immunity from want and sorrow.
He pondered long upon the way to become freed from the "successive round of
births and deaths," and thus pondering, he sought solitude in which to find
his questions answered.
Fasting and penance have ever been the gist of the instruction given to
those who would "find the way to God," and so to this end Gautama fasted
and prayed, and practised self-sacrifice.
But the attainment of liberation was not easy, and Siddhartha suffered long
and practiced self-mortification assiduously, at length being rewarded; and
"there arose within him the eye to perceive the great and noble truths
which had been handed down; the knowledge of their nature; the
understanding of their cause; the wisdom that lights the true path; the
light that expels darkness."
The terrible struggle which characterized the attainment of cosmic
consciousness, by so many of the sages and saviours of history, is, we
believe, clue to the fact that no one individual may hope to rise so
immeasurably above the plane of the race-consciousness of his day and age,
except through intense and overwhelming desire.
Gautama abandoned his heritage, his relatives, his wife to whom he was
devoted, and his infant son, as we have previously stated, not because
Illumination is purchasable at so terrible a price, but because his desire
to _know_ transcended all other desires, and in order to be free from the
demands made upon him, he must of necessity, seek solitude.
Few examples of the attainment of cosmic consciousness are as complete and
of such fullness, as that attained by Buddha, and no instance which history
affords has left so great an effect upon the world.
It is estimated that at least one-third of the human race are Buddhists.
This is not saying that any such number of persons are like unto Buddha,
nor do we contend that this is any evidence that his message is greater or
more fraught with truth than that of other illumined ones.
The intelligent student of occultism in all its phases will arrive, sooner
or later, at the inevitable conclusion that all illumined souls have seen
and have taught the same fundamental truth.
Buddha was convinced that in The Absolute, or First Cause, there could be
no sin and consequently no sorrow, and he persistently sought to inaugurate
such systems of conduct and such a standard of morals as would lead the
disciple back to godhood, or liberation from the "wheel of causation."
To keep the mind pure and clean was the burden of his cry, well knowing
that the mind is the fertile field wherein illusions of sense consciousness
thrive. He says:
"Mind is the root (of evil); actions proceed from the mind. If anyone speak
or act from a corrupt mind, suffering will follow, as the dust follows the
rolling wheel."
That we can not expect to escape the result of our thoughts and acts was
ever a doctrine of Buddha, albeit, he seems also to have sought to make
clear to his disciples, the UNREALITY of sin as a part of the
indestructible "First Cause."
Many Buddhist sects interpret the doctrines of Buddha to deny a belief in
a future existence, in at least as far as identity is concerned, but this
conception is not consistent with the most reliable reports, neither is it
in keeping with the extreme peace and satisfaction which all illumined ones
experience.
If extinction of identity were the goal of Illumination, it is
inconceivable that the illumined ones should report the attainment of
perfect satisfaction and bliss.
Besides, it is clearly stated that Gautama told his disciples that he had
already entered Nirvana, while yet in the body.
"My mind is free from passions; is released from the follies of the world.
I have gained the victory," said Lord Buddha to his disciple Ananda.
It is also asserted that Buddha appeared in his own "glorified body" to
his disciples after his physical dissolution, plainly indicating that far
from being swallowed up in The Absolute, he had acquired godhood in his
present body.
Detailing the advantages of a pure life, Buddha said to his disciples:
"The virtuous man rejoices in this world, and he will rejoice in the next;
in both worlds has he joy. He rejoices, he exults, seeing the purity of his
deed."
Again, alluding to a sage (rahan), Buddha is reported to have said:
"He is indeed blest, having conquered all his passions, and attained the
state of Nirvana."
This alluded to the acquisition of _Nirvana_ while still in the physical
body. In other words, as we of this century understand the teaching, he
had experienced cosmic consciousness.
The modern version of the commandments of Buddha are almost identical with
those of the Christian creed, and these commandments are, as we have
previously observed, the same that Moses laid down for the guidance of his
people. That they were old before Moses was born, is also more than
problematical.
It is also more than probable that Buddha did not personally write the
ethical code which we now find submitted as the "Commandments of Buddha,"
but that Buddha merely emphasized them.
These commandments are not, however, understood, by the intelligent
Buddhist as "sacred," in the sense that "God spoke unto Buddha."
Moses doubtless assumed to have been divinely instructed in the law,
although that supposition may be erroneous. He may have had in mind the
same fundamental idea which all those expressing cosmic consciousness have
had, that of being a mouthpiece of a higher power, rather than to attract
to themselves any adulation or worship, as being specially divine.
The "Commandments," therefore, as translated and ascribed to modern
Buddhism, are an ethical and moral code for the _MORTAL_ consciousness,
rather than a _formula_ for developing cosmic consciousness. These
commandments are:
1--Thou shalt kill no animal whatever, from the meanest insect up to man.
2--Thou shalt not steal.
3--Thou shalt not violate the wife of another.
4--Thou shalt speak no word that is false.
5--Thou shalt not drink wine, nor anything that may intoxicate.
6--Thou shalt avoid all anger, hatred and bitter
language.
7--Thou shalt not indulge in idle and vain talk, but shall do all for
others.
8--Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.
9--Thou shalt not harbor envy, nor pride, nor revenge, nor malice, nor the
desire of thy neighbor's death or misfortune.
10--Thou shalt not follow the doctrines of false gods.
And the devotee is assured, even as in the Christian creed, that "he who
keeps these commandments, shall enter Nirvana--the rest of Buddha." But let
it be understood that Gautama, the Lord Buddha, did not formulate these
commandments. Neither are they considered as infallible formulæ, by the
enlightened Buddhist.
They constitute the ethical and moral code of the undeveloped man in all
ages of the world, and among all peoples. They had become traditional long
before Buddha came to interpret "the way of the gods." But Gautama, like
Jesus, was an evolutionist, and not a revolutionist. He came "not to
destroy, but to fulfill," and so Buddha paid no attention to the code of
morals as it stood, but merely contented himself with emphasizing the
importance of unselfishness--purity of heart and mind, because he realized
that the mental world is the trap of the soul, even as "the elephant is
held tethered by a galucchi creeper."
Buddha taught the way of emancipation of the soul held in bondage by means
of the illusions of _maya_, even as the elephant is held in captivity by so
weak a thing as a galucchi creeper, which could be broken by a single
effort.
That many who keep the commandments are yet a long way from cosmic
consciousness must be apparent to all. Therefore we are justified in
assuming that the mere keeping of the commandments will not bring about
_mukti_. Many a man follows the letter of the law, and escapes prison, but
if he does this through fear of punishment, and not because of a desire to
maintain peace that his neighbors may be benefited, then he is not keeping
the spirit of the law at all, and his reward is a negative one.
According to the most reliable authorities, Buddha died in his eightieth
year, having spent about fifty years in preaching, in healing the sick, in
conversing with exalted beings in the heavenly worlds, and in leaving at
will his physical body and visiting other worlds.
Buddha prophesied his coming dissolution, and expressed to his disciples, a
hope that they would realize that he still lived, even when his physical
body should have become ashes.
As his last hour approached, Buddha summoned his disciples, and after a
moment's silent meditation, he addressed himself to Ananda, his relative;
as well as his favorite disciple, thus:
"When I shall have disappeared from this state of existence, and be no
longer with you, do not believe that the Buddha has left you, and ceased to
dwell among you. Do not think therefore, nor believe, that the Buddha has
disappeared, and is no more with you."
From these words, it is evident that the state of Nirvana which Buddha
assured his followers that he had already attained, did not argue loss of
identity, nor translation to another planet.
Nor is there anywhere in the sayings of Buddha, rightly interpreted, any
suggestion of expecting or desiring personal worship. This, the great sage
particularly avoided, as indeed have all illumined ones.
It is evident that Gautama the Buddha had experienced that divine influx of
light and wisdom in which he sought for others the happiness he had gained
for himself, and to this end he was eager to leave to his friends and
disciples such rules of conduct of life as should aid them in attaining the
divine peace that comes from illumination.
But that he founded a religious system of worship of himself, is wholly
unbelievable in the light of a study of comparative religions and the
wisdom which illumination confers.
To realize that one has attained to immortality, and claimed his
birthright of godhood, is not synonymous with the claim to worship as the
one eternal source of life.
It is a part of human weakness to insist upon idealizing the personality of
a teacher, and this tendency becomes in time merged into actual worship,
whereas the teacher, if he or she be truly illumined, seeks only to
inculcate the philosophy which will bring his faithful followers into a
realization of cosmic consciousness.
The points which characterize the person who has experienced a degree of
illumination (entered into cosmic consciousness), were particularly evident
in the life and character of Gautama, the Buddha. They may be summed up
thus:
A marked seriousness in youth.
A great sympathy and compassion with the sorrows of others.
A deep tenderness for all forms of life.
A realization of the nothingness of caste and pomp and power.
The firm conviction that he was instructed by angels.
The wonderful magnetism and illumination of his person.
The firm conviction of immortality--released from the "wheel of life" as
he expressed it.
The knowledge of when and where he was to pass out from the life of the
body.
The love of solitude and meditation. The intellectual power maintained even
into old age.
The unselfish desire to help others.
Great and never-failing sympathy with suffering, a divine patience, and
insight into the hearts of all forms of life, earned for this great soul
the name "Buddha--The Compassionate."