1. By order of the governor, the soldiers seized Issa and the two
robbers, and led them to the place of execution, where they were nailed
upon the crosses erected for them.
2. All day long the bodies of Issa and the two robbers hung upon the
crosses, bleeding, guarded by the soldiers. The people stood all around
and the relatives of the executed prayed and wept.
3. When the sun went down, Issa's tortures ended. He lost consciousness
and his soul disengaged itself from the body, to reunite with God.
4. Thus ended the terrestrial existence of the reflection of the eternal
Spirit under the form of a man who had saved hardened sinners and
comforted the afflicted.
5. Meanwhile, Pilate was afraid for what he had done, and ordered the
body of the Saint to be given to his relatives, who put it in a tomb
near to the place of execution. Great numbers of persons came to visit
the tomb, and the air was filled with their wailings and lamentations.
6. Three days later, the governor sent his soldiers to remove Issa's
body and bury it in some other place, for he feared a rebellion among
the people.
7. The next day, when the people came to the tomb, they found it open
and empty, the body of Issa being gone. Thereupon, the rumor spread that
the Supreme Judge had sent His angels from Heaven, to remove the mortal
remains of the saint in whom part of the divine Spirit had lived on
earth.
8. When Pilate learned of this rumor, he grew angry and prohibited,
under penalty of death, the naming of Issa, or praying for him to the
Lord.
9. But the people, nevertheless, continued to weep over Issa's death and
to glorify their master; wherefore, many were carried into captivity,
subjected to torture and put to death.
10. And the disciples of Saint Issa departed from the land of Israel and
went in all directions, to the heathen, preaching that they should
abandon their gross errors, think of the salvation of their souls and
earn the perfect bliss which awaits human beings in the immaterial
world, full of glory, where the great Creator abides in all his
immaculate and perfect majesty.
11. The heathen, their kings, and their warriors, listened to the
preachers, abandoned their erroneous beliefs and forsook their priests
and their idols, to celebrate the praises of the most wise Creator of
the Universe, the King of Kings, whose heart is filled with infinite
mercy.
_Resumé_
In reading the account of the life of Issa (Jesus Christ), one is
struck, on the one hand by the resemblance of certain principal passages
to accounts in the Old and New Testaments; and, on the other, by the not
less remarkable contradictions which occasionally occur between the
Buddhistic version and Hebraic and Christian records.
To explain this, it is necessary to remember the epochs when the facts
were consigned to writing.
We have been taught, from our childhood, that the Pentateuch was written
by Moses himself, but the careful researches of modern scholars have
demonstrated conclusively, that at the time of Moses, and even much
later, there existed in the country bathed by the Mediterranean, no
other writing than the hieroglyphics in Egypt and the cuniform
inscriptions, found nowadays in the excavations of Babylon. We know,
however, that the alphabet and parchment were known in China and India
long before Moses.
Let me cite a few proofs of this statement. We learn from the sacred
books of "the religion of the wise" that the alphabet was invented in
China in 2800 by Fou-si, who was the first emperor of China to embrace
this religion, the ritual and exterior forms of which he himself
arranged. Yao, the fourth of the Chinese emperors, who is said to have
belonged to this faith, published moral and civil laws, and, in 2228,
compiled a penal code. The fifth emperor, Soune, proclaimed in the year
of his accession to the throne that "the religion of the wise" should
thenceforth be the recognized religion of the State, and, in 2282,
compiled new penal laws. His laws, modified by the Emperor
Vou-vange,--founder of the dynasty of the Tcheou in 1122,--are those in
existence today, and known under the name of "Changements."
We also know that the doctrine of the Buddha Fô, whose true name was
Sakya-Muni was written upon parchment. Fôism began to spread in China
about 260 years before Jesus Christ. In 206, an emperor of the Tsine
dynasty, who was anxious to learn Buddhism, sent to India for a Buddhist
by the name of Silifan, and the Emperor Ming-Ti, of the Hagne dynasty,
sent, a year before Christ's birth, to India for the sacred books
written by the Buddha Sakya-Muni--the founder of the Buddhistic
doctrine, who lived about 1200 before Christ.
The doctrine of the Buddha Gauthama or Gothama, who lived 600 years
before Jesus Christ, was written in the Pali language upon parchment. At
that epoch there existed already in India about 84,000 Buddhistic
manuscripts, the compilation of which required a considerable number of
years.
At the time when the Chinese and the Hindus possessed already a very
rich written literature, the less fortunate or more ignorant peoples who
had no alphabet, transmitted their histories from mouth to mouth, and
from generation to generation. Owing to the unreliability of human
memory, historical facts, embellished by Oriental imagination, soon
degenerated into fabulous legends, which, in the course of time, were
collected, and by the unknown compilers entitled "The Five Books of
Moses." As these legends ascribe to the Hebrew legislator extraordinary
divine powers which enabled him to perform miracles in the presence of
Pharaoh, the claim that he was an Israelite may as well have been
legendary rather than historical.
The Hindu chroniclers, on the contrary, owing to their knowledge of an
alphabet, were enabled to commit carefully to writing, not mere legends,
but the recitals of recently occurred facts within their own knowledge,
or the accounts brought to them by merchants who came from foreign
countries.
It must be remembered, in this connection, that--in antiquity as in our
own days--the whole public life of the Orient was concentrated in the
bazaars. There the news of foreign events was brought by the
merchant-caravans and sought by the dervishes, who found, in their
recitals in the temples and public places, a means of subsistence. When
the merchants returned home from a journey, they generally related fully
during the first days after their arrival, all they had seen or heard
abroad. Such have been the customs of the Orient, from time immemorial,
and are today.
The commerce of India with Egypt and, later, with Europe, was carried on
by way of Jerusalem, where, as far back as the time of King Solomon, the
Hindu caravans brought precious metals and other materials for the
construction of the temple. From Europe, merchandise was brought to
Jerusalem by sea, and there unloaded in a port, which is now occupied by
the city of Jaffa. The chronicles in question were compiled before,
during and after the time of Jesus Christ.
During his sojourn in India, in the quality of a simple student come to
learn the Brahminical and Buddhistic laws, no special attention whatever
was paid to his life. When, however, a little later, the first accounts
of the events in Israel reached India, the chroniclers, after committing
to writing that which they were told about the prophet, Issa,--_viz._,
that he had for his following a whole people, weary of the yoke of their
masters, and that he was crucified by order of Pilate, remembered that
this same Issa had only recently sojourned in their midst, and that, an
Israelite by birth, he had come to study among them, after which he had
returned to his country. They conceived a lively interest for the man
who had grown so rapidly under their eyes, and began to investigate his
birth, his past and all the details concerning his existence.
The two manuscripts, from which the lama of the convent Himis read to me
all that had a bearing upon Jesus, are compilations from divers copies
written in the Thibetan language, translations of scrolls belonging to
the library of Lhassa and brought, about two hundred years after Christ,
from India, Nepaul and Maghada, to a convent on Mount Marbour, near the
city of Lhassa, now the residence of the Dalai-Lama.
These scrolls were written in Pali, which certain lamas study even now,
so as to be able to translate it into the Thibetan.
The chroniclers were Buddhists belonging to the sect of the Buddha
Gothama.
The details concerning Jesus, given in the chronicles, are disconnected
and mingled with accounts of other contemporaneous events to which they
bear no relation.
The manuscripts relate to us, first of all,--according to the accounts
given by merchants arriving from Judea in the same year when the death
of Jesus occurred--that a just man by the name of Issa, an Israelite,
in spite of his being acquitted twice by the judges as being a man of
God, was nevertheless put to death by the order of the Pagan governor,
Pilate, who feared that he might take advantage of his great popularity
to reestablish the kingdom of Israel and expel from the country its
conquerors.
Then follow rather incoherent communications regarding the preachings of
Jesus among the Guebers and other heathens. They seem to have been
written during the first years following the death of Jesus, in whose
career a lively and growing interest is shown.
One of these accounts, communicated by a merchant, refers to the origin
of Jesus and his family; another tells of the expulsion of his partisans
and the persecutions they had to suffer.
Only at the end of the second volume is found the first categorical
affirmation of the chronicler. He says there that Issa was a man blessed
by God and the best of all; that it was he in whom the great Brahma had
elected to incarnate when, at a period fixed by destiny, his spirit was
required to, for a time, separate from the Supreme Being.
After telling that Issa descended from poor Israelite parents, the
chronicler makes a little digression, for the purpose of explaining,
according to ancient accounts, who were those sons of Israel.
I have arranged all the fragments concerning the life of Issa in
chronological order and have taken pains to impress upon them the
character of unity, in which they were absolutely lacking.
I leave it to the _savans_, the philosophers and the theologians to
search into the causes for the contradictions which may be found between
the "Life of Issa" which I lay before the public and the accounts of the
Gospels. But I trust that everybody will agree with me in assuming that
the version which I present to the public, one compiled three or four
years after the death of Jesus, from the accounts of eyewitnesses and
contemporaries, has much more probability of being in conformity with
truth than the accounts of the Gospels, the composition of which was
effected at different epochs and at periods much posterior to the
occurrence of the events.
Before speaking of the life of Jesus, I must say a few words on the
history of Moses, who, according to the so-far most accredited legend,
was an Israelite. In this respect the legend is contradicted by the
Buddhists. We learn from the outset that Moses was an Egyptian prince,
the son of a Pharaoh, and that he only was taught by learned Israelites.
I believe that if this important point is carefully examined, it must be
admitted that the Buddhist author may be right.
It is not my intent to argue against the Biblical legend concerning the
origin of Moses, but I think everyone reading it must share my
conviction that Moses could not have been a simple Israelite. His
education was rather that of a king's son, and it is difficult to
believe that a child introduced by chance into the palace should have
been made an equal with the son of the sovereign. The rigor with which
the Egyptians treated their slaves by no means attests the mildness of
their character. A foundling certainly would not have been made the
companion of the sons of a Pharaoh, but would be placed among his
servants. Add to this the caste spirit so strictly observed in ancient
Egypt, a most salient point, which is certainly calculated to raise
doubts as to the truth of the Scriptural story.
And it is difficult to suppose that Moses had not received a complete
education. How otherwise could his great legislative work, his broad
views, his high administrative qualities be satisfactorily explained?
And now comes another question: Why should he, a prince, have attached
himself to the Israelites? The answer seems to me very simple. It is
known that in ancient, as well as in modern times, discussions were
often raised as to which of two brothers should succeed to the father's
throne. Why not admit this hypothesis, _viz._, that Mossa, or Moses,
having an elder brother whose existence forbade him to think of
occupying the throne of Egypt, contemplated founding a distinct kingdom.
It might very well be that, in view of this end, he tried to attach
himself to the Israelites, whose firmness of faith as well as physical
strength he had occasion to admire. We know, indeed, that the Israelites
of Egypt had no resemblance whatever to their descendants as regards
physical constitution. The granite blocks which were handled by them in
building the palaces and pyramids are still in place to testify to this
fact. In the same way I explain to myself the history of the miracles
which he is said to have performed before Pharaoh.
Although there are no definite arguments for denying the miracles which
Moses might have performed in the name of God before Pharaoh, I think it
is not difficult to realize that the Buddhistic statement sounds more
probable than the Scriptural gloss. The pestilence, the smallpox or the
cholera must, indeed, have caused enormous ravages among the dense
population of Egypt, at an epoch when there existed yet but very
rudimentary ideas about hygiene and where, consequently, such diseases
must have rapidly assumed frightful virulence.
In view of Pharaoh's fright at the disasters which befell Egypt, Moses'
keen wit might well have suggested to him to explain the strange and
terrifying occurrences, to his father, by the intervention of the God of
Israel in behalf of his chosen people.
Moses was here afforded an excellent opportunity to deliver the
Israelites from their slavery and have them pass under his own
domination.
In obedience to Pharaoh's will--according to the Buddhistic
version--Moses led the Israelites outside the walls of the city; but,
instead of building a new city within reach of the capital, as he was
ordered, he left with them the Egyptian territory. Pharaoh's indignation
on learning of this infringement of his commands by Moses, can easily be
imagined. And so he gave the order to his soldiers to pursue the
fugitives. The geographical disposition of the region suggests at once
that Moses during his flight must have moved by the side of the
mountains and entered Arabia by the way over the Isthmus which is now
cut by the Suez Canal.
Pharaoh, on the contrary, pursued, with his troops, a straight line to
the Red Sea; then, in order to overtake the Israelites, who had already
gained the opposite shore, he sought to take advantage of the ebb of the
sea in the Gulf, which is formed by the coast and the Isthmus, and
caused his soldiers to wade through the ford. But the length of the
passage proved much greater than he had expected; so that the flood tide
set in when the Egyptian host was halfway across, and, of the army thus
overwhelmed by the returning waves, none escaped death.
This fact, so simple in itself, has in the course of the centuries been
transformed by the Israelites into a religious legend, they seeing in it
a divine intervention in their behalf and a punishment which their God
inflicted on their persecutors. There is, moreover, reason to believe
that Moses himself saw the occurrence in this light. This, however, is a
thesis which I shall try to develop in a forthcoming work.
The Buddhistic chronicle then describes the grandeur and the downfall of
the kingdom of Israel, and its conquest by the foreign nations who
reduced the inhabitants to slavery.
The calamities which befell the Israelites, and the afflictions that
thenceforth embittered their days were, according to the chronicler,
more than sufficient reasons that God, pitying his people and desirous
of coming to their aid, should descend on earth in the person of a
prophet, in order to lead them back to the path of righteousness.
Thus the state of things in that epoch justified the belief that the
coming of Jesus was signalized, imminent, necessary.
This explains why the Buddhistic traditions could maintain that the
eternal Spirit separated from the eternal Being and incarnated in the
child of a pious and once illustrious family.
Doubtless the Buddhists, in common with the Evangelists, meant to convey
by this that the child belonged to the royal house of David; but the
text in the Gospels, according to which "the child was born from the
Holy Spirit," admits of two interpretations, while according to Buddha's
doctrine, which is more in conformity with the laws of nature, the
spirit has but incarnated in a child already born, whom God blessed and
chose for the accomplishment of His mission on earth.
The birth of Jesus is followed by a long gap in the traditions of the
Evangelists, who either from ignorance or neglect, fail to tell us
anything definite about his childhood, youth or education. They commence
the history of Jesus with his first sermon, _i.e._, at the epoch, when
thirty years of age, he returns to his country.
All the Evangelists tell us concerning the infancy of Jesus is marked by
the lack of precision: "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit,
filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him," says one of the
sacred authors (Luke 2, 40), and another: "And the child grew, and waxed
strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing
unto Israel." (Luke 1, 80.)
As the Evangelists compiled their writings a long time after the death
of Jesus, it is presumable that they committed to writing only those
accounts of the principal events in the life of Jesus which happened to
come to their knowledge.
The Buddhists, on the contrary, who compiled their chronicles soon after
the Passion occurred, and were able to collect the surest information
about everything that interested them, give us a complete and very
detailed description of the life of Jesus.
In those unhappy times, when the struggle for existence seems to have
destroyed all thought of God, the people of Israel suffered the double
oppression of the ambitious Herod and the despotic and avaricious
Romans. Then, as now, the Hebrews put all their hopes in Providence,
whom they expected, would send them an inspired man, who should deliver
them from all their physical and moral afflictions. The time passed,
however, and no one took the initiative in a revolt against the tyranny
of the rulers.
In that era of hope and despair, the people of Israel completely forgot
that there lived among them a poor Israelite who was a direct descendant
from their King David. This poor man married a young girl who gave birth
to a miraculous child.
The Hebrews, true to their traditions of devotion and respect for the
race of their kings, upon learning of this event went in great numbers
to congratulate the happy father and see the child. It is evident that
Herod was informed of this occurrence. He feared that this infant, once
grown to manhood, might avail himself of his prospective popularity to
reconquer the throne of his ancestors. He sent out his men to seize the
child, which the Israelites endeavored to hide from the wrath of the
king, who then ordered the abominable massacre of the children, hoping
that Jesus would perish in this vast human hecatomb. But Joseph's family
had warning of the impending danger, and took refuge in Egypt.
A short time afterward, they returned to their native country. The child
had grown during those journeyings, in which his life was more than
once exposed to danger. Formerly, as now, the Oriental Israelites
commenced the instruction of their children at the age of five or six
years. Compelled to constantly hide him from the murderous King Herod,
the parents of Jesus could not allow their son to go out, and he, no
doubt, spent all his time in studying the sacred Scriptures, so that his
knowledge was sufficiently beyond what would naturally have been
expected of a boy of his age to greatly astonish the elders of Israel.
He had in his thirteenth year attained an age when, according to Jewish
law, the boy becomes an adult, has the right to marry, and incurs
obligations for the discharge of the religious duties of a man.
There exists still, in our times, among the Israelites, an ancient
religious custom that fixes the majority of a youth at the accomplished
thirteenth year. From this epoch the youth becomes a member of the
congregation and enjoys all the rights of an adult. Hence, his marriage
at this age is regarded as having legal force, and is even required in
the tropical countries. In Europe, however, owing to the influence of
local laws and to nature, which does not contribute here so powerfully
as in warm climates to the physical development, this custom is no more
in force and has lost all its former importance.
The royal lineage of Jesus, his rare intelligence and his learning,
caused him to be looked upon as an excellent match, and the wealthiest
and most respected Hebrews would fain have had him for a son-in-law,
just as even nowadays the Israelites are very desirous of the honor of
marrying their daughters to the sons of Rabbis or scholars. But the
meditative youth, whose mind was far above anything corporeal, and
possessed by the thirst for knowledge, stealthily left his home and
joined the caravans going to India.
It stands to reason that Jesus Christ should have thought, primarily, of
going to India, first, because at that epoch Egypt formed part of the
Roman possessions; secondly, and principally, because a very active
commercial exchange with India had made common report in Judea of the
majestic character and unsurpassed richness of the arts and sciences in
this marvellous country, to which even now the aspirations of all
civilized peoples are directed.
Here the Evangelists once more lose the thread of the terrestrial life
of Jesus. Luke says he "was in the deserts till the day of his shewing
unto Israel" (Luke 1, 80), which clearly demonstrates that nobody knew
where the holy youth was until his sudden reappearance sixteen years
later.
Arrived in India, this land of marvels, Jesus began to frequent the
temples of the Djainites.
There exists until today, on the peninsula of Hindustan, a sectarian
cult under the name of Djainism. It forms a kind of connecting link
between Buddhism and Brahminism, and preaches the destruction of all
other beliefs, which, it declares, are corroded by falsehood. It dates
from the seventh century before Jesus Christ and its name is derived
from the word "djain" (conqueror), which was assumed by its founders as
expressive of its destined triumph over its rivals.
In sympathetic admiration for the spirit of the young man, the Djainites
asked him to stay with them; but Jesus left them to settle in
Djagguernat, where he devoted himself to the study of treatises on
religion, philosophy, etc. Djagguernat is one of the chief sacred cities
of Brahmins, and, at the time of Christ, was of great religious
importance. According to tradition, the ashes of the illustrious
Brahmin, Krishna, who lived in 1580 B.C., are preserved there, in the
hollow of a tree, near a magnificent temple, to which thousands make
pilgrimage every year. Krishna collected and put in order the Vedas,
which he divided into four books--Richt, Jagour, Saman and Artafan;--in
commemoration of which great work he received the name of Vyasa (he who
collected and divided the Vedas), and he also compiled the Vedanta and
eighteen Puranas, which contain 400,000 stanzas.
In Djagguernat is also found a very precious library of Sanscrit books
and religious manuscripts.
Jesus spent there six years in studying the language of the country and
the Sanscrit, which enabled him to absorb the religious doctrines,
philosophy, medicine and mathematics. He found much to blame in
Brahminical laws and usages, and publicly joined issue with the
Brahmins, who in vain endeavored to convince him of the sacred character
of their established customs. Jesus, among other things, deemed it
extremely unjust that the laborer should be oppressed and despised, and
that he should not only be robbed of hope of future happiness, but also
be denied the right to hear the religious services. He, therefore, began
preaching to the Sudras, the lowest caste of slaves, telling them that,
according to their own laws, God is the Father of all men; that all
which exists, exists only through Him; that, before Him, all men are
equal, and that the Brahmins had obscured the great principle of
monotheism by misinterpreting Brahma's own words, and laying excessive
stress upon observance of the exterior ceremonials of the cult.
Here are the words in which, according to the doctrine of the Brahmins,
God Himself speaks to the angels: "I have been from eternity, and shall
continue to be eternally. I am the first cause of everything that exists
in the East and in the West, in the North and in the South, above and
below, in heaven and in hell. I am older than all things. I am the
Spirit and the Creation of the universe and also its Creator. I am
all-powerful; I am the God of the Gods, the King of the Kings; I am
Para-Brahma, the great soul of the universe."
After the world appeared by the will of Para-Brahma, God created human
beings, whom he divided into four classes, according to their colors:
white (Brahmins), red (Kshatriyas), yellow (Vaisyas), and black
(Sudras). Brahma drew the first from his own mouth, and gave them for
their _appanage_ the government of the world, the care of teaching men
the laws, of curing and judging them. Therefore do the Brahmins occupy
only the offices of priests and preachers, are expounders of the Vedas,
and must practice celibacy.
The second caste of Kshatriyas issued from the hand of Brahma. He made
of them warriors, entrusting them with the care of defending society.
All the kings, princes, captains, governors and military men belong to
this caste, which lives on the best terms with the Brahmins, since they
cannot subsist without each other, and the peace of the country depends
on the alliance of the lights and the sword, of Brahma's temple and the
royal throne.
The Vaisyas, who constitute the third caste, issued from Brahma's belly.
They are destined to cultivate the ground, raise cattle, carry on
commerce and practice all kinds of trades in order to feed the Brahmins
and the Kshatriyas. Only on holidays are they authorized to enter the
temple and listen to the recital of the Vedas; at all other times they
must attend to their business.
The lowest caste, that of the black ones, or Sudras, issued from the
feet of Brahma to be the humble servants and slaves of the three
preceding castes. They are interdicted from attending the reading of the
Vedas at any time; their touch contaminates a Brahmin, Kshatriya, or
even a Vaisya who comes in contact with them. They are wretched
creatures, deprived of all human rights; they cannot even look at the
members of the other castes, nor defend themselves, nor, when sick,
receive the attendance of a physician. Death alone can deliver the
Sudra from a life of servitude; and even then, freedom can only be
attained under the condition that, during his whole life, he shall have
served diligently and without complaint some member of the privileged
classes. Then only it is promised that the soul of the Sudra shall,
after death, be raised to a superior caste.
If a Sudra has been lacking in obedience to a member of the privileged
classes, or has in any way brought their disfavor upon himself, he sinks
to the rank of a pariah, who is banished from all cities and villages
and is the object of general contempt, as an abject being who can only
perform the lowest kind of work.
The same punishment may also fall upon members of another caste; these,
however, may, through repentance, fasting and other trials, rehabilitate
themselves in their former caste; while the unfortunate Sudra, once
expelled from his, has lost it forever.
From what has been said above, it is easy to explain why the Vaisyas and
Sudras were animated with adoration for Jesus, who, in spite of the
threats of the Brahmins and Kshatriyas, never forsook those poor people.
In his sermons Jesus not only censured the system by which man was
robbed of his right to be considered as a human being, while an ape or a
piece of marble or metal was paid divine worship, but he attacked the
very life of Brahminism, its system of gods, its doctrine and its
"trimurti" (trinity), the angular stone of this religion.
Para-Brahma is represented with three faces on a single head. This is
the "trimurti" (trinity), composed of Brahma (creator), Vishnu
(conservator), and Siva (destroyer).