_Buddha._
I propose now to give a short life of Buddha, noting its points of
contact with that of Jesus.
PRE-EXISTENCE IN HEAVEN.
The early Buddhists, following the example of the Vedic Brahmins,
divided space into Nirvritti, the dark portion of the heavens, and
Pravritti, the starry systems. Over this last, the luminous portion,
Buddha figures as ruler when the legendary life opens. The Christian
Gnostics took over this idea and gave to Christ a similar function.
Buthos was Nirvritti ruled by "The Father" (in Buddhism by Swayambhu,
the self-existent), Pravritti was the Pleroma. "It was the Father's
good pleasure that in him the whole Pleroma should have its home."
(Col. i. 19.)
"BEHOLD A VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE."
Exactly 550 years before Christ there dwelt in North Oude, at a city
called Kapilavastu, the modern Nagar Khas, a king called Suddhodana.
This monarch was informed by angels that a mighty teacher of men would
be born miraculously in the womb of his wife. "By the consent of the
king," says the "Lalita Vistara," "the queen was permitted to lead
the life of a virgin for thirty-two months." Joseph is made, a little
awkwardly, to give a similar privilege to his wife. (Matt. i. 25.)
Some writers have called in question the statement that Buddha was born
of a virgin, but in the southern scriptures, as given by Mr. Turnour,
it is announced that a womb in which a Buddha elect has reposed, is
like the sanctuary of a temple. On that account, that her womb may be
sacred, the mother of a Buddha always dies in seven days. The name of
the queen was borrowed from Brahminism. She was Mâyâ Devî, the Queen of
Heaven. And one of the titles of this lady is Kanyâ, the Virgin of the
Zodiac.
Queen Mâyâ was chosen for her mighty privilege because the Buddhist
scriptures announce that the mother of a Buddha must be of royal line.
Long genealogies, very like those of the New Testament, are given also
to prove the blue blood of King Suddhodana, who, like Joseph, had
nothing to do with the paternity of the child. "King Mahasammata had a
son named Roja, whose son was Vararoja, whose son was Kalyâna, whose
son was Varakalyâna," and so on, and so on. (Dîpawanso, _see_ "Journ.
As. Soc.," Bengal, vol. vii., p. 925.)
How does a Buddha come down to earth? This question is debated in
Heaven, and the Vedas were searched because, as Seydel shows, although
Buddhism seemed a root and branch change, it was attempted to show that
it was really the lofty side of the old Brahminism, a lesson not lost
by and by in Palestine. The sign of Capricorn in the old Indian Zodiac
is an elephant issuing from a Makara (leviathan), and it symbolises the
active god issuing from the quiescent god in his home on the face of
the waters. In consequence, Buddha comes down as a white elephant, and
enters the right side of the queen without piercing it or in any way
injuring it. Childers sees a great analogy in all this to the Catholic
theory of the perpetual virginity of Mary. Catholic doctors quote this
passage from Ezekiel (xliv. 2):--
"Then said the LORD unto me, This gate shall be shut, it shall not be
opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of
Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore shall it be shut."
A DOUBLE ANNUNCIATION.
It is recorded that when Queen Mâyâ received the supernal Buddha in
her womb, in the form of a beautiful white elephant, she said to her
husband: "Like snow and silver, outshining the sun and the moon, a
white elephant of six defences, with unrivalled trunk and feet, has
entered my womb. Listen, I saw the three regions (earth, heaven, hell,)
with a great light shining in the darkness, and myriads of spirits sang
my praises in the sky."
A similar miraculous communication was made to King Suddhodana:--
"The spirits of the Pure Abode flying in the air, showed half of their
forms, and hymned King Suddhodana thus:
"Guerdoned with righteousness and gentle pity,
Adored on earth and in the shining sky,
The coming Buddha quits the glorious spheres
And hies to earth to gentle Mâyâ's womb."
In the Christian scriptures there is also a double annunciation. In
Luke (i. 28) the angel Gabriel is said to have appeared to the Virgin
Mary before her conception, and to have foretold to her the miraculous
birth of Christ. But in spite of this astounding miracle, Joseph seems
to have required a second personal one before he ceased to question the
chastity of his wife. (Matt. i. 19.) Plainly, two evangelists have been
working the same mine independently, and a want of consistency is the
result.
When Buddha was in his mother's womb that womb was transparent.
The Virgin Mary was thus represented in mediæval frescoes. (_See_
illustration, p. 39, in my "Buddhism in Christendom.")
"WE HAVE SEEN HIS STAR IN THE EAST."
In the Buddhist legend the devas in heaven announce that Buddha will
be born when the Flower-star is seen _in the East_. (Lefman, xxi. 124;
Wassiljew, p. 95.)
Amongst the thirty-two signs that indicate the mother of a Buddha,
the fifth is that, like Mary the mother of Jesus, she should be "on a
journey" (Beal, "Rom. History," p. 32) at the moment of parturition.
This happened. A tree (palâsa, the scarlet butea) bent down its
branches and overshadowed her, and Buddha came forth. Voltaire says
that in the library of Berne there is a copy of the First Gospel of
the Infancy, which records that a palm tree bent down in a similar
manner to Mary. ("Œuvres," vol. xl.) The Koran calls it a "withered
date tree."
In the First Gospel of the Infancy, it is stated that, when Christ was
in His cradle, He said to His mother: "I am Jesus, the Son of God, the
Word whom thou didst bring forth according to the declaration of the
angel Gabriel to thee, and my Father hath sent Me for the salvation of
the world."
In the Buddhist scriptures it is announced that Buddha, on seeing the
light, said:--
"I am in my last birth. None is my equal. I have come to conquer death,
sickness, old age. I have come to subdue the spirit of evil, and give
peace and joy to the souls tormented in hell."
In the same scriptures (_see_ Beal, "Rom. History," p. 46) it is
announced that at the birth of the Divine child, the devas (angels) in
the sky sang "their hymns and praises."
CHILD-NAMING.
"Five days after the birth of Buddha," says Bishop Bigandet, in the
"Burmese Life," "was performed the ceremony of head ablution and naming
the child." (p. 49.)
We see from this where the ceremony of head ablution and naming the
child comes from. In the "Lalita Vistara" Buddha is carried to the
temple. Plainly we have the same ceremony. There the idols bow down to
him as in the First Gospel of the Infancy the idol in Egypt bows down
to Jesus. In Luke the infant Jesus is also taken to the temple by his
parents to "do for him after the custom of the law." (Luke ii. 27.)
What law? Certainly not the Jewish.
HEROD AND THE WISE MEN.
It is recorded in the Chinese life (Beal, "Rom. History," p. 103) that
King Bimbisâra, the monarch of Râjagriha, was told by his ministers
that a boy was alive for whom the stars predicted a mighty destiny.
They advised him to raise an army and go and destroy this child, lest
he should one day subvert the king's throne. Bimbisâra refused.
At the birth of Buddha the four Mahârâjas, the great kings, who in
Hindoo astronomy guard each a cardinal point, received him. These may
throw light on the traditional Persian kings that greeted Christ.
In some quarters these analogies are admitted, but it is said that
the Buddhists copied from the Christian scriptures. But this question
is a little complicated by the fact that many of the most noticeable
similarities are in apocryphal gospels, those that were abandoned by
the Church at an early date. In the Protevangelion, at Christ's birth,
certain marvels are visible. The clouds are "astonished," and the birds
of the air stop in their flight. The dispersed sheep of some shepherds
near cease to gambol, and the shepherds to beat them. The kids near a
river are arrested with their mouths close to the water. All nature
seems to pause for a mighty effort. In the "Lalita Vistara" the birds
also pause in their flight when Buddha comes to the womb of Queen Mâyâ.
Fires go out, and rivers are suddenly arrested in their flow.
More noticeable is the story of Asita, the Indian Simeon.
Asita dwells on Himavat, the holy mount of the Hindoos, as Simeon
dwells on Mount Zion. The "Holy Ghost is upon" Simeon. That means that
he has obtained the faculties of the prophet by mystical training. He
"comes by the Spirit" into the temple. Asita is an ascetic, who has
acquired the eight magical faculties, one of which is the faculty of
visiting the Tawatinsa heavens. Happening to soar up into those pure
regions one day, he is told by a host of devatas, or heavenly spirits,
that a mighty Buddha is born in the world, "who will establish the
supremacy of the Buddhist Dharma." The "Lalita Vistara" announces that,
"looking abroad with his divine eye, and considering the kingdoms of
India, he saw in the great city of Kapilavastu, in the palace of King
Suddhodana, the child shining with the glitter of pure deeds, and
adored by all the worlds." Afar through the skies the spirits of heaven
in crowds recited the "hymn of Buddha."
This is the description of Simeon in the First Gospel of the Infancy,
ii. 6--"At that time old Simeon saw Him (Christ) shining as a pillar of
light when St. Mary the Virgin, His mother, carried Him in her arms,
and was filled with the greatest pleasure at the sight. And the angels
stood around Him, adoring Him as a King; guards stood around Him."
Asita pays a visit to the king. Asita takes the little child in his
arms. Asita weeps.
"Wherefore these tears, O holy man?"
"I weep because this child will be the great Buddha, and I shall not be
alive to witness the fact."
The points of contact between Simeon and Asita are very close. Both
are men of God, "full of the Holy Ghost." Both are brought "by the
Spirit" into the presence of the Holy Child, for the express purpose of
foretelling His destiny as the Anointed One.
More remarkable still is the incident of the disputation with the
doctors.
A little Brahmin was "initiated," girt with the holy thread, etc.,
at eight, and put under the tuition of a holy man. When Vis'vâmitra,
Buddha's teacher, proposed to teach him the alphabet, the young prince
went off:--
"In sounding 'A,' pronounce it as in the sound of the word 'anitya.'
"In sounding 'I,' pronounce it as in the word 'indriya.'
"In sounding 'U,' pronounce it as in the word 'upagupta.'"
And so on through the whole Sanscrit alphabet.
In the First Gospel of the Infancy, chap. xx., it is recorded that when
taken to the schoolmaster Zaccheus, "The Lord Jesus explained to him
the meaning of the letters Aleph and Beth.
"8. Also, which were the straight figures of the letters, which were
the oblique, and what letters had double figures; which had points and
which had none; why one letter went before another; and many other
things He began to tell him and explain, of which the master himself
had never heard, nor read in any book.
"9. The Lord Jesus further said to the master, Take notice how I say to
thee. Then He began clearly and distinctly to say Aleph, Beth, Gimel,
Daleth, and so on to the end of the alphabet.
"10. At this, the master was so surprised, that he said, I believe this
boy was born before Noah."
In the "Lalita Vistara" there are two separate accounts of Buddha
showing his marvellous knowledge. His great display is when he competes
for his wife. He then exhibits his familiarity with all lore, sacred
and profane, "astronomy," the "syllogism," medicine, mystic rites.
The disputation with the doctors is considerably amplified in the
twenty-first chapter of the First Gospel of the Infancy:--
"5. Then a certain principal rabbi asked Him, Hast Thou read books?
"6. Jesus answered that He had read both books and the things which
were contained in books.
"7. And he explained to them the books of the law and precepts and
statutes, and the mysteries which are contained in the books of the
prophets--things which the mind of no creature could reach.
"8. Then said that rabbi, I never yet have seen or heard of such
knowledge! What do you think that boy will be?
"9. Then a certain astronomer who was present asked the Lord Jesus
whether He had studied astronomy.
"10. The Lord Jesus replied, and told him the number of the spheres and
heavenly bodies, as also their triangular, square, and sextile aspects,
their progressive and retrograde motions, their size and several
prognostications, and other things which the reason of man had never
discovered.
"11. There was also among them a philosopher, well skilled in physic
and natural philosophy, who asked the Lord Jesus whether He had studied
physic.
"12. He replied, and explained to him physics and metaphysics.
"13. Also those things which were above and below the power of nature.
"14. The powers also of the body, its humours and their effects.
"15. Also the number of its bones, veins, arteries, and nerves.
"16. The several constitutions of body, hot and dry, cold and moist,
and the tendencies of them.
"17. How the soul operated on the body.
"18. What its various sensations and faculties were.
"19. The faculty of speaking, anger, desire.
"20. And, lastly, the manner of its composition and dissolution, and
other things which the understanding of no creature had ever reached.
"21. Then that philosopher worshipped the Lord Jesus, and said, O Lord
Jesus, from henceforth I will be Thy disciple and servant."
Vis´vâmitra in like manner worshipped Buddha by falling at his feet.
THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
I have now come to a stage in this narrative when a few remarks are
necessary. The "Lalita Vistara" professes to reveal the secrets of the
Buddhas, the secrets of "magic," the secrets of Yoga, or union with
Brahma. And whether it be fiction or history, it does so more roundly
than any other work. The Christian gospels profess also to teach a
similar secret. Read by the light of the Buddhist book, I think they do
teach it. But read alone, eighteen centuries come forward to show that
they do not.
The highest spiritual philosophers in Buddhism, in Brahminism, in
Christendom, in Islam, announce two kingdoms distinct from one another.
They are called in India the Domain of Appetite (Kâmaloca), and
the Domain of Spirit (Brahmaloca). The "Lalita Vistara" throughout
describes a conflict between these two great camps. Buddha is offered
a crown by his father. He has wives, palaces, jewels, but he leaves
all for the thorny jungle where the Brahmacharin dreamt his dreams
of God. This is called pessimism by some writers, who urge that we
should enjoy life as we find it, but modern Europe having tried, denies
that life is so enjoyable. Its motto is _Tout lasse, tout casse, tout
passe_. Yes, say the optimists, but we needn't all live a life like Jay
Gould. A good son, a good father, a good husband, a good citizen, is
happy enough. True, reply the pessimists, in so far as a mortal enters
the domain of spirit he may be happy, for that is not a region but a
state of the mind. But mundane accidents seem, almost by rule, to
mar even that happiness. The husband loses his loved one, the artist
his eyesight. Philosophers and statesmen find their great dreams and
schemes baffled by the infirmities of age.
Age, disease, death! These are the evils for which the great Indian
allegory proposes to find a remedy. Let us see what that remedy is.