SOME CONCLUDING REMARKS.
It is only when we come to take a bird's-eye view of these two great
religions, which have exercised so enormous and so abiding an influence
over the human race, and when clearness of vision is unobscured by
numberless petty details and dogmas, that we can perceive the factors
common to both which have given them their present stability and
strength.
No religion, no system of morals, no philosophy, can be secure unless
they rest upon the groundwork of universal truth and necessity; and it
is certain that, if Christianity and Buddhism did not possess these
supports, they would not now be what they actually are--the ruling
forces to millions of human beings.
It has been said with much truth that the daily life of an ordinary
man is a continual round of intoxication. Some form or other of
inebriating excitement seems absolutely necessary to him, if he is
to escape from the Slough of Despond of _ennui_ and all its evil
consequences. The remark is equally true of the human race as a whole.
It cannot survive, apparently, without constant stimuli to urge and
goad it forward. Were such stimuli wanting from time to time, man
would probably degenerate, and cease to show that love of progress and
activity which is so essential to his existence as man. Consequently,
we note, looking back through the vista of history which lies open to
our view, the periodical appearance of some great religious reformer,
whose task it is to infuse new zeal and strength into the flagging
energies of his fellow-creatures. Gotama, Jesus, Savonarola, General
Booth, are all greater or lesser instances in point; have all worked
upon the same basic conception, however different the condition of
their times may have required the superficial doctrines of their
various creeds to be.
Some--Jesus and Gotama, and possibly Mahomed--worked with the full
cognizance of the task before them; others, who have not been gifted
with so large a measure of divine insight, have wrought and lived for
the same purpose, blindly, and unconscious of the complete significance
of their action.
But, it may be asked, if Jesus and Gotama were gnomic, how comes it
that the Buddhism and Christianity of to-day are so radically different
in their outward manifestations? To answer this question we have merely
to take a broad glance at history.
At the time of the advent of Gotama the people of India were in
possession of a civilization remarkable in many respects, but most
remarkable, perhaps, in the freedom and latitude of thought prevalent.
It is difficult for many who have been brought up within the contracted
influences of those who regard all alien religions and non-Christian
countries as so many black spots on the pages of history and on the
maps of the world, and who have been surrounded in their youth by the
innumerable restrictions placed upon all speculative propensities,
to realize that, at the time when they were mere cave-dwellers and
unclothed sojourners with the beasts of the field, a great and lofty
civilization was existent in what they would possibly consider a
barbarous corner of the globe, and that a people there held dominion
whose chief intellectual pastime was to range over the vast domains
of speculative thought and all the interminable mysteries of life.
The Indian has been a philosopher by birth and breeding from time
immemorial; and only among a race of philosophers could such a religion
as Buddhism, with its sudden iconoclasm, have been preached with so
little opposition, and have taken root so rapidly, when we come to
consider the strong hold the Brahmanical ceremonial had upon the people
at that time.
With the inception of Christianity, however, the case was very
different. At the birth of Jesus the inhabitants of Palestine, with
the exception of the Essenes, were sunk low in the mire of bigotry,
prejudice, and priestly domination. The mind of the people was less
philosophically prepared to grasp a broad and exalted creed such as
essential Christianity; it required dogmas more definite, doctrines
more easily comprehended; and Jesus had perforce to mould his
utterances to the temperament and mental capacity of the people among
whom he preached.
To the east of the Holy Land was India, with its refined and more
perfect civilization; to the west, Central Europe, with its savage
and ignorant tribes, worshippers of trees, and in servitude to many
superstitious practices and customs. Christianity, with its immense
potential resources, its innate power for good, required some outlet
for its activities; and, as was only natural, it spread in the
direction where a pure and sublime religion was most needed, and
experienced little difficulty in eventually conquering the savage
intellect of Central Europe. Becoming appropriated by men who, living
in the far North, depended for their very life upon a ceaseless
struggle with adverse circumstances, it gradually lost the softening
and refining influences which are so characteristic of the Oriental
temperament, and became the vehicle for the passions and ambitions of a
race more brutal and more unsympathetic than that among which it took
its rise.
And to what an extent has this religion of Christ, the evangel of
peace and goodwill, been since prostituted! The mistaken--though, no
doubt, well-intended--dogmas formulated by the Holy Catholic Church
proved to be, in their short-sightedness and complete lack of insight
into human nature, a prolific source of degeneration, bigotry,
persecution, ignorance, immorality, and extreme ecclesiastical tyranny
in the Dark Ages. The rigid and narrow doctrines inculcated by the
Puritans have been almost as fruitful a cause of moral perversion and
reckless narrow-mindedness. To-day it must be acknowledged that we have
outgrown the gross and debasing Christianity of those mediæval times;
but many of us are still fast chained in the shackles of prejudice and
intolerance, with all their concomitant delusions and hypocrisies.
Bruno, in his day, said: "Christianity has been tried for eighteen
centuries; the religion of Christ remains to be tried." This remark,
however, overstates the case considerably, for it must be confessed
that there have been many instances of individual lives which have
approached as closely to the ideal as far as it has been practicable
within human limits.
True Christianity many of us have yet to learn; it is but the husk
which exists with the many as yet. Nevertheless, we flatter ourselves
sometimes as the elect of the earth, and despatch emissaries of
civilization to the darkest corners of heathendom to carry with them
only a very imperfect presentment of our great religion in practice and
doctrine.
It is but lately that stern necessity caused the deserts of the Soudan
to be strewn with the corpses of many thousands of dervishes, and the
pietist section of the British press rejoiced at the great victory
of Christianity over Islam, and the fulfilment of a long-cherished
_revenge_ for the most truly Christian of English soldiers! To such
an extent can inconsistency flourish among the most morally advanced
of the earth's inhabitants. And if Europeans have been zealous in
waging war to the death against the heathen in the name of their common
religion, they have been no less ready to turn the gospel of peace into
an apologia for such an internecine slaughter as few other causes have
given rise to, until, at the present day, it is hardly possible to
write seriously--in order that they may be taken seriously--the words,
"How these Christians love one another!"
When we turn to India, to Ceylon, and more especially to Burmah, we are
brought face to face with a very different state of things. It is true
that in some parts--Thibet, for instance--Buddhism has been debased to
an even worse state than Christianity in Europe; but, after all, that
is merely asserting that human nature is human nature. The broader
aspect of Buddhism in Asia must, to any unprejudiced observer, appear
in striking contrast to the prostitution to which other religions in
other corners of the earth have been subjected. It seems to be one of
the unalterable laws which govern human conduct that the teaching of
any great religious reformer should, in the centuries which follow his
disappearance from the arena in which he had striven, be brought low
and narrowed down, partly by the short-sightedness of its adherents,
but mostly owing to the unhealthy influences of ecclesiastical
domination such as was typical of mediæval Europe and Brahmanical
India. That Buddhism should in great degree have escaped such a fate
must be attributed, not only to the intrinsic value of the system
itself, but also to the character of the people among whom it has
survived.
There have been many calumniators, from interested motives, of
Buddhism; but no false representations, however frequently reiterated,
can serve to mask the purity and nobility of this remarkable religion.
It has never, like Christianity, been made the pretext of warfare
and the conquest of alien races; no blood has ever been shed in its
propagation; no despairing cries of martyred wives and orphan children
rise up from the centuries that are past to stamp its forehead with the
brand of Cain. By reason alone has it spread and become endeared to the
many millions who now owe it allegiance; reason and truth are the only
swords which have been unsheathed in the cause of its promulgation.[AT]
It has, in fact, conquered by its sweet reasonableness alone, unaided
by artificial and compulsory means.
[AT] "No ravished country has ever borne witness to the prowess of the
followers of the Buddha; no murdered men have poured out their blood
on their hearthstones, killed in his name; no ruined women have cursed
his name to high heaven. He and his faith are clean of the stain of
blood. He was the preacher of the Great Peace, of love, of charity,
of compassion; and so clear is his teaching that it can never be
misunderstood" (_The Soul of a People_, by H. Fielding, p. 88).
The gradually diminishing popularity of the religious war sentiment
which actuates people to perpetrate such iniquities as Crusades and
Jehads will, it is presumed, afford relief in the future, at least
to some sections of the Christian world, by removing an opportunity
out of the way for the reproach of those who take their stand by the
non-resistance principle as enunciated by the founder of the Christian
faith. The carrying out of the non-resistance principle in its totality
seems to increase in impracticability in proportion to the advancing
complexity of social and national life. A very near approach to the
achievement of the object embodied in the principle can only be
imagined possible under the most primitive conditions of existence,
notably in such cases where the country inhabited provides the
necessities of life without involving any violent struggle for their
acquisition. Christian nations, by the force of circumstances and the
nature of their environment, are unfortunately impelled, it would seem,
to disregard and set aside the very distinct teaching of Jesus on this
point; and some of us, facing both ways, endeavour to escape from the
dilemma, and pour balm upon our consciences, by assuming that war is
amply justified by Scripture and expressly sanctioned by the Almighty.
In this connection it would perhaps be the most straightforward course
for us to frankly admit with Tolstoi that war is as fundamentally
un-Christian as it is un-Buddhistic, and to be prepared to face the
consequences of its unlawfulness in the sight of God rather than to
dislocate the teaching of Jesus with a view to the selfish satisfaction
of our consciences, and for the ultimate purpose of settling down
into a comfortable frame of mind when brought into contact with this
unpleasant subject.
In spite of the many detractors Buddhism has had, it has been
appreciated in cultivated centres of Europe and America to an extent
which is the surest token of its intrinsic worth. In Asia it is
difficult to realize how profound and enduring has been its influence
for good.
Perhaps, on account of the presence of dogmas, such as the negation of
soul as a permanent individual entity and of immortality as it is known
among us, which are to the average European intellect absurd and most
repugnant, it has been more readily assimilated as a belief by races
which, unlike ourselves, are philosophic by nature and by birth. But by
far the most important part of Buddhism in its practical significance
is the doctrine of Karma, which has proved so great a stumbling-block
to many, and a medium of contempt for those professing other faiths. It
would hardly be exaggeration to describe this as one of the grandest
ethical theories ever devised by the brain of man, ranging as it does
over the whole sphere of human activity and existence, and policing, as
it were, the actions of human creatures.
Lest it should appear to any of my readers that I have laid undue
stress upon the value and beauty of Buddhism in the foregoing pages,
I would take this opportunity of disclaiming any intention on my part
to draw invidious distinctions between the manifestations of the
two faiths of which I have treated, and which, in my opinion, are
_fundamentally_ one and the same.
In this connection my sole aim has been to give prominence to the many
excellent properties possessed by Buddhism, with a view to clearing the
way for an impartial appreciation of this religion by those who have
never yet bestowed their attention or extended their sympathies to the
subject with unbiased minds.
The dissolution, not the destruction, of symbolism which I have
endeavoured to accomplish in dealing with the metaphysic of
Christianity and Buddhism--of that symbolism which is so apt, when
taken as a thing in itself, to contract our sympathies and darken
our vision in respect of religions--will have achieved an object if
it succeeds in carrying with it the conviction, at present[AU] so
indisturbably possessed by the writer, that _essential_ Christianity
and _true_ Buddhism cannot be differentiated; that the ultimate source
of their power and loveliness is one; that they rest upon the same
imperishable foundations, which are lost to sight in billowy clouds of
mystery, in a splendour beyond imagining.
[AU] "In knowledge that man only is to be condemned who is not in a
state of transition ... nor is there anything more adverse to accuracy
than fixity of opinion" (_Faraday_).
The priest in Zola's _Rome_ looked forward to the day when symbols
and rites, so necessary in the infancy of the world, would disappear
altogether--"to the time when enlarged, purified, and instructed
humanity would be able to support the brightness of naked truth"
without their assistance.
It may be, however, that any premature abandonment of symbols, rites,
and ceremonies might, under present conditions, prove disastrous, as
such a course would go far to arrest artistic tendencies and stifle
within us those cravings for the beautiful which are such undeniably
potent and useful factors in conducting us onward to a realization of
the invisible. All that appears requisite in this direction at the
present moment is that the symbolic element in symbolism should be
clearly recognized, and symbolism appraised at its true value.
Concurrently with the development of a deeper insight into the
realities which subsist in symbols, there should arise in these
Northern latitudes a class of people who would demonstrate by their
character and actions that, under existing social conditions, and in
all the turmoil of modern civilization, a nearer approach to the ideal
life than has yet been made by a community is within the range of
practicalities. This is the most clamant need of the day.
In our Western world we are confronted with innumerable obstacles
in the way of leading the ideal, or Christ-like, life. The ideal
_life-germ_ is in all of us, but too often hidden away under the veneer
of respectability, and much obscured by conventionalities. This germ,
if not very apparent in our public capacity, is distinctly discernible
in the family life as typical of these islands. We see it in the eyes
of the wife, in the restraint of the son, and we listen to it in the
voices of our daughters. It struggles hard to develop itself in the
face of stupendous difficulties. Its growth among our spiritual leaders
is frequently handicapped by the isolating effects of aggrandizement.
A cardinal, for instance--good and gracious as he invariably is--must
always be more or less inaccessible and appalling. Our charities, too,
are vitiated by ostentation. Prospectuses demand that a royalty should
take the lead, and the titled figure as patrons, if the appeal made is
designed to be irresistible. So that, to whichever side we turn, we
find ourselves hampered in our aspirations towards the ideal by the
exigencies of society, by our customs and absurdities.
Turning to the far East, we are face to face with other conditions,
which undoubtedly lend themselves more readily to the impress
of the ideal. Burmah is a country where strikingly successful
endeavours continue to be made to hold constantly before the eyes
of the people exemplars of the ideal life, and the results are
astonishing--approximating a perfection which it is hardly possible to
over-rate. Notwithstanding the enormous capacity and appreciation its
inhabitants possess for the frivolities of existence, they are wont
to support out of their slender resources a numerous staff of monks,
who are to be found in all parts of the land, and in every place where
their fellow-creatures congregate in small or large numbers.
However far laymen may deviate from the _Path_, the ideal life as
exemplified by the monks must not be tampered with. It is the expressed
will of the laity that this example should be unremittingly preserved
in all its integrity and purity, whatever may be the sum of their own
failings. It is this intense admiration and fervour on the part of the
lay community for the ideal life, as known to them through the teaching
of the Enlightened One, that has secured this incalculable blessing to
the people, and made Burmah a model for all nations in this respect.
There is a sadness unspeakable in the thought that perhaps, ere long,
this ancient and ennobling bond between the people and their religious
teachers, between the material and the ideal, will be swept away in
the wake of commerce and utilitarianism, and all their attendant
debasements.
Mr. Fielding, in his book, _The Soul of a People_, brings all his
unique experiences and intimate knowledge of the Burmese and the
monkhood to impress upon us this marvellous object-lesson in the effect
of a religion whose abiding principles are an ever-present, living
force, and of which it may be truly said it is the same yesterday,
to-day, and for ever.
Everywhere, intermingled with this light-hearted people, delighting
in colour, dress, and decoration of all kinds, there is ever to be
seen the serene and passionless personality of the monk; no reviler of
alien creeds; no possessor of priestly power; poorer than the poorest,
yet rich in the inheritance of the Dharma; no figure-head of some
illustrious superstition, mitred, and heralded through the streets;
nought--save a lowly follower of the Perfect One, whose law it is that
guides to the Great Peace, which,
"like a star,
Beacons from the abode where the Eternal are."
AT
THE MALAGAWA TEMPLE,
CEYLON.
I.
Hail! Gentle Master, Grave and Sweet!
Here at Thy shrine we bend the knee;
With island flowers we deck Thy feet,
And golden corn we bring to Thee.
Star of our Night, Orb of our Day,
Thou art our Refuge, Thou our Stay!
II.
Thy pitying eyes we see downcast,
Yet are they fain to tell us this--
Sometime, somewhere, life's ocean[AV] past,
We all shall taste immortal bliss!
Star of our Night, Orb of our Day,
Thou art our Refuge, Thou our Stay!
[AV] Samsāra--The ocean of Birth and Death.
III.
No adoration, praise, or prayer
Hast Thou enjoined whilst here we live;
But our great love can scarce forbear
To pay Thee all our hearts can give.
Star of our Night, Orb of our Day,[AW]
Thou art our Refuge, Thou our Stay!
[AW]
"Atha sabbamahorattim
Buddho tapati tejasāti."
--_Samyutta-Nikāya_, edited by M. Léon Feer, p. 284.
APPENDIX.
_METRICAL ADAPTATIONS OF BUDDHIST LEGEND
AND SCRIPTURE._
THE LAST WORDS OF GOTAMA BUDDHA TO
HIS FAVOURITE DISCIPLE ANANDA.
Weep not, Ananda, sorrow not!
Have I not said ere this to thee
That from all things which man most loves,
From these, Ananda, man must flee?
How can it be, Ananda, then,
That Birth and Growth should not decay,
That all things made, begotten here,
Should not, Ananda, pass away?
That cannot be. But thou for long
In thought and words and holy deed
The Perfect One hast glorified.
Strive on, and thou shalt soon be freed.
It may be so, that thou shalt say
"The Word has lost its Master here,"
"We have no Master more." Not thus,
Ananda, be thou fraught with fear.
The Law and Ordinance I taught,
These are your Master when I'm gone:
Each man his own salvation is,
Thus only is Deliverance won.
SAMSÂRA AND NIRVANA.[AX]
[AX] From _The Gospel of Buddha, according to Old Records_, told by
Paul Carus.
I.
Look on this life and meditate!
Herein are birth and growth's decay.
Atoms combine and separate;
Nought lasts: all things must pass away.
II.
As flowers are the glories of this world,
Full blossoms scent the morning shade;
The painted petals soon are furled,
And in the heat of noon-day fade.
III.
Lo! everywhere the panting breath
Of Pleasure and Pursuit of fame,
Of panic flight from pain and death
And fierce Desire's consuming flame.
IV.
The world is nought but endless change,
A restless, driven, surging sea.
Is it through lives we thus must range,
Ever becoming, never be?
V.
Is there no permanency, then?
No realm of rest where troubles cease,
Where birth is not, nor death of men,
No City of Eternal Peace?
VI.
Must anxious hearts for ever beat?
What power from all this ill redeems?
Will not our hot, earth-weary feet
At last be dipped in cooling streams?
VII.
Buddha, our Lord, with pitying eyes
Came and beheld this world of woe.
He found the path whereby we rise
Above all evil here below.
VIII.
Ye who for life unending crave
Know that there lurks immortal bliss
In transient form. There is no grave,
No death for those who know of this.
IX.
Ye who for riches vainly yearn
Take of the treasure He will give.
Ye who the mighty Truth discern
The birthless, deathless life will live.
X.
Truth is the immortal part of mind;
Possessing truth is rich to be.
In truth the changeless you will find,
The image of Eternity!
REJOICE.[AY]
[AY] From _The Gospel of Buddha, according to Old Records_, told by
Paul Carus.
I.
Let the whole earth with joy resound,
Buddha, our Lord, the Blessed One,
The hidden cause of Ill hath found,
And for the world salvation won.
II.
He who the ravelled knot unwinds,
Buddha, our Lord, has rent the veil!
Illusion now no longer blinds,
Nor fear of death our hearts assail.
III.
Ye who of tribulation tire,
Ye who must struggle and endure,
Rejoice; ye, too, who truth desire,
For now is your deliverance sure.
IV.
Here is a balm for every woe,
Here for the hungry princely fare;
For those athirst the fountains flow,
And Hope triumphant kills Despair.
V.
On mountain heights, in valleys low,
O, darkened soul, where'er thou art,
This light ineffable will glow
With blessings for the pure in heart.
VI.
Bind up your wounds, ye bruiséd feet!
O broken, beating hearts, be still!
Drink, thirsty lips, the waters sweet;
Ye that are hungered, eat your fill!
VII.
O children of the night, arise!
The star of morning is on high.
O bleeding breasts, O suppliant eyes,
Be of good cheer, your bliss is nigh.
VIII.
Buddha, our Lord, the truth revealed,
Which gives us strength in life and death;
The sorrowing and the sick are healed,
And every evil languisheth.
THE GOAL.[AZ]
[AZ] From _The Gospel of Buddha, according to Old Records_, told by
Paul Carus.
I.
Why thus so long by Karma tied?
O Bhikshus, listen! You and I
The four great truths have set aside,
Not understanding--that is why!
II.
Through rock and plant and breathing things
Migrate[BA] the wandering souls of each,
Till they, beyond imaginings,
The perfect light of Buddha reach.
[BA] Although the expression "migrate" does not accurately represent
the process of transition in a Buddhistic sense, it is retained here
for want of a better.
III.
Karma inexorable reigns!
E'en though you fly from star to star,
The Past on you imprest remains,
And what you were is what you are!
IV.
To new births onwards you must press
Before the hill of light you see
Where shines the beacon Righteousness
From transmigration's bondage free.
V.
The higher birth I've reached, O friends;
I've found the truth, rebirth's surcease;
I've taught the noble path that wends
To kingdoms of eternal peace.
VI.
I've showed to you Ambrosia's lake,
Which all your sins will wash away;
The sight of truth your thirst will slake,
And Lust's destroying strife allay.
VII.
He who has crossed through Passion's fire,
And climbed Nirvana's radiant shore,
_His_ bliss the envious gods desire,
_His_ heart defiled by sin no more.
VIII.
As lotus leaves upon the lake
The pearly drops do not retain,
So they the noble path who take,
Though in the world, the world disdain.
IX.
A mother will her life bestow
To safely guard an only son,
But they unmeasured mercy show,
And give their lives for anyone.
X.
Steadfast in mind let man remain,
Whether he stand or walk or rest;
Living or dying, sick or sane,
Of all, this state of heart is best.
XI.
If truth's bedimmed by lust of sense,
Reborn, man must again o'erpass
The desert tracks of Ignorance,
Illusion's mirage, Sin's morass.
XII.
But, when Truth holds entire sway,
With it migration's cause departs;
All selfish cravings melt away,
And Truth its saving cure imparts.
XIII.
O Bhikshus, true deliverance this--
The only heaven to which we soar.
This is salvation's endless bliss!
Here, within sight, Nirvana's shore!
BUDDHA AND THE HERDSMAN.
(_Rhymed version of stanzas translated by Professor Rhys Davids._)
I.
Hot steams my food: all milked the cows--
The Herdsman Dhaniya said--
Hard by there stands where Māhi flows
New thatched my lowly shed:
My friends are near, my hearth burns bright,
Then let the rain pour down to-night!
II.
Cool is my mind: no "fallow"[BB] there--
The Holy Buddha said--
One night for Māhi's banks I spare,
And all unthatched my shed.
Lo! now extinguished is the fire;
The lamps of Lust have lost their light.
"Dulness"[BC] and Evil both expire--
So let the rain pour down to-night!
[BB] Referring to the five fallow lands of the mind.
[BC] Dulness is used here in the sense of inactivity of mind.
III.
There are no gad flies here, my kine--
The Herdsman Dhaniya said--
Are roaming where the meadows shine,
The rich grass is their bed.
In vain the fickle rain god's might!
So let the rain pour down to-night!
IV.
My basket raft was woven well--
The Holy Buddha said--
I've reached the shore, I've spoiled the spell,
From me four floods have fled;
These four--Delusion, Ignorance,
The lust of life, the lust of sense--
No longer powerful to blight.
So let the rain pour down to-night!
V.
Obedient is my wife: no wanton she--
The Herdsman Dhaniya said--
No evil word she spake of me
While she and I were wed.
Long dwelt with me my soul's delight.
So let the rain pour down to-night!
VI.
Obedient is my heart: set wholly free--
The Holy Buddha said--
Restrained, subdued; o'erwatched by me
Through passion's tempest led.
No evil dims my heart's pure light.
Then let the rain pour down to-night!
VII.
Earning my bread, I live at ease--
The Herdsman Dhaniya said--
My sons around by strength's increase
To ripening manhood bred.
No ill do they my joy to blight.
So let the rain pour down to-night!
VIII.
No man can call me slave; I roam--
The Holy Buddha said--
At will I roam, each spot a home,
And when I want am fed.
No need for wage or gain to fight.
So let the rain pour down to-night!
IX.
I've barren cows and calves yet young--
The Herdsman Dhaniya said--
And cows in calf and steers among,
A bull lifts up his head--
Lord of the cows, a kingly sight.
Then let the rain pour down to-night.
X.
No cows have I nor calves yet young--
The Holy Buddha said--
For cows in calf and steers among
No bull lifts up his head;
No lord of cows, no king of might!
So let the rain pour down to-night!
XI.
Then lo! a cloud o'er hill and plain
That moment thundering poured forth rain.
When herdsman Dhaniya heard with dread
The God's rain rush, he yielding said:
XII.
"O, great the gain accrued thereby!
Since Holy Buddha came to-day,
We trust in thine all-seeing eye.
Be thou, O mighty Sage, our stay.
My wife and I obedient ever
To follow thee will make endeavour.
XIII.
"Under the Happy One we'll lead
A holy life, and, as he saith,
We'll put an end to pain and need,
And pass beyond old age and death!"
BUDDHA AND THE KING.[BD]
[BD] This is a rhymed version of the Pabbajjā Sutta, which is contained
in the Sutta Nipāta. _Vide_ Professor Rhys Davids's _American Lectures
on Buddhism_, p. 99.
I.
Their peace I praise who seek not here a home.
It is the peace the Blessed One hath found,
He who resolved in solitude to roam,
The sky his roof, his holy bed the ground.
II.
"Fulfilled with hindrance is the household life,
It is the haunt of passion and of wrath.
Free is the homeless state from every strife."
He, meditating thus, went boldly forth.
III.
And, going forth, wrong deeds he set aside,
Wrong thoughts and words he scattered to the wind,
And in a life pure, calm, and sanctified,
He found that peace whoever seeks shall find.
IV.
To Bimbasāra's royal town he went,
Where lived the ruler of Magādha-land.
Stately he moved, dispassionate, intent,
From door to door, an alms-bowl in his hand.
V.
King Bimbasāra saw him as he crossed
Beyond the terraced slopes of his domain.
So sweet he looked in meditation lost.
The king spake thus to his attendant train:
VI.
"Be full of care for this most noble man;
In outward aspect great, all pure within.
His eyes stray not beyond a fathom's span,
So guarded moves he in this world of sin.
VII.
"See how serenely he performs his task;
Of Royal birth must be this anchorite.
Let the king's messengers run forth and ask,
Where wilt thou rest, O mendicant, to-night?"
VIII.
The messengers, despatched at royal behest,
The king's instructions hasten to obey;
Then, bowing low, the Bhikshu thus addressed:
"Whither, O Bhikshu, dost thou wend thy way?"
IX.
From house to house he wandered guardedly,
And at each door with eyes downcast he stood.
Mindful, restrained, dispassionate was he,
Filling his alms-bowl with the proffered food.
X.
His task performed, in meditation deep
He left the haunts of men, and silently
Set forth to gain Pandāra's caverned steep;
Then, turning, said: "My dwelling there shall be."
XI.
Seeing him stop, the messengers stayed still;
One only to the king this message gave:
"O king, he sits upon Pandāra's hill,
Like to a lion in a mountain cave."
XII.
The prince forthwith upon his chariot rode,
And hastened towards Pandāra's lofty crest;
Then, stepping out, along the path he strode
To where the mendicant had stopped to rest;
XIII.
And, bending low, thus spake he to the youth:
"Young art thou yet, too delicate to face
The life of those who battle for the truth,
Thou seeming scion of an ancient race!
XIV.
"O glory of the vanguard of a band
Of heroes onwards pressing to the fray,
What is thy lineage, where thy royal land?
O let me in these robes thy form array."
XV.
"Hard by Himaālaya's slopes there dwells, O king,
A Sākya race, Kosālas known by name,
Descendants of the sun; from these I spring;
From these gone forth, I seek not earthly fame.
XVI.
"Seeing the danger of a carnal life,
I have set forth to battle to the end,
And in this struggle and protracted strife
Raptures ineffable my path attend!"
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes
Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected.
Variations in spelling, punctuation and accents are as in the original.
The repetition of the Title on the first page has been removed.
Italics are represented thus, _italic_.