Buddha; the Light of Asia.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4946, 15 November 1884, Page 1

Buddha; the Light of Asia.

The movement of Buddha was a noble attempt (o bring the Chakravata Raj, the kingdom of the sky, down to dull earth. Two realms were sharply contrasted. On the one side were the domains of Mara—the domains of lust and war and selfi.sb.nes3 and tinsel honors. On the other was the realm of Buddha, with the "qualities of the Other Bank." In the place of jewelled women and dresses of gold, the " sons of Buddha" were dowered with thirst and hunger and exposure to the elements, with beggery aod reproach. The great reformer ad' mitted that his scheme was not original; tbat the Brahmin dreamer in his jangal had long known that the mastery of lust brought more joy than its indulgence. But the Brahmajoani jealousiy kept his knowledge to himself when he gained it, and dreamed his life away. The great originality of Buddha was that he determined to hand over the " wisdom of the Other Bank " to the whole human family. He invented the missionary, he instituted the preacher, he organised an apparatus of propagandise! tbat has never been surpassed, that has never been equalled. " Go forth and preach Dharma ! " was his command, and the " Mob of Beggars " conquered A«ia. Altars, fanes, and outside worship formed no part, I think, of the original scheme of the reformer. And if he had wanted a Bible he would have fallen back on fresh interpretations of the Indian Bible already in existence. His creed was a pure theosophy. It was based on extasia, but he swept away the Brahmiuical tortures as being a perver* sion. Buddha, the first preacher, gave vent to some of the grandest utterances that have ever fallen from human lips. Considering their date and their influer>co over the general happiness of the world, they are simply extraordinay. The awakening of the spiritual life of the individual was what he aimed at. Human suffering was the daughter of evil deeds. But these evil deeds were not due to any in" herent human depravity. They were simply due to ignorance of spiritual lawa, and their remedy was to be found in bringing home to each individual the conviction that there was a higher and happier life. " Obey the eternal law of Heaven, who keeps this law lives happily in this world and the next." The heart of the Eastern nations has been truer to its great teacher than their learned metaphysicians have been. The epoch of Buddha is called the " Era when the milken rice (immortality) came into the world." This eeriaiutyof a heavenly kingdom waa not to be confined, as in the orthodox Brabminism, to a priestly caste. A king had become a beggar that he might preach to beggars. * * * * All great movements, said St. Simeon, must begin by working on the emotion of the masses. Another originality of the teaching of Buddha was the necessity of individual effort. Ceremonial sacrifice, the exertions of others, could have no possible effect on any but theniuelves. Against the bloody sacrifices of the Brahmins he wap specially remorseless. "To seek a good by-,: doing an evil is surely no safe plan." " Tathagatas are only preachers. You yourself must make an effort." Buddha's theology made another great advance on other creeds, a step which our century is only now attempting to overtake. He strongly emphasized the remorseless logic of cause and effect in the deteriorating influence of evil actions on the individual character. He knows no theory of a dull bigot on his death-bed suddenly waking up to all the broad sympathies and large knowledge of an angel.

"A. fanllfcHGJtice opiajiiTttedislike newmilk, Which grows notspur all at once. Patiently •nd silently, like a smothered ember, shall it inch by inch devour the food." " Both a good action and an evil action must ripen and bear their inevitable fruit."

In his day, too, the beneficent God was deemed the god of a nation, a tribe, and all the gods of other nations were deemed evil demons. But tho missionaries of Tathagata were sent to every nation, and Buddha is the first historical teacher who proclaimed that even in hell was no recess bidden from All Pervad* ing Love. But the crowning legacy to humanity of this priceless benefactor was his boundless compassion. "Buddha," say his disciples, " was God revealed in the fdrm of Mercy." The theory that Buddha was a myth seems quite to break down here, for some such character must have existed,.that ideas so far in advance even of modern days could have been conceived. His majestic gentleness never .varies. Me converts the very wicked one. He speaks gently to the daughters of sin. A fool insults him: "My son," he replies, "outrage addressed to Heaven is like spittle aimed into the skies; it returns upon the author of it." And he explains to his disciples that Tathagata could never be made angry by foul actions and invective. When we reflect that the principle of retaliation was the rule of the day in which he lived, such great sentences as the following of Buddha are indeed noteworthy :■—" By love alone we conquer wrath. By . good alone we conquer evil. Do to others that which ye would have them do to you. Kill not. Cause no death."

" The awakened man goes not on reTenge, but rewards with kindness the very being who has injured him, as the sandal tree scents the axe of the woodman who fells it." " If, like a trumpet trodden on in battle, thou complainest not, tbou bast attained Nirvana."

*###♦#. Four hundred and seventy years before Christ, beneath the shade of two Salatrees, lay calm and rigid the gentle teacher whom the Indians call the " Best Friend of all the World." Buddha was journeying with Ananda from Rajagriha when he reached this resting place. He was attacked with a severe illness. Violent pains seized him. He was nearly dying. " What need have my followers of me now, Ananda ? I have declared the doctrine; I have made no distinction between within and without. I am now frail; lam an old man who has finished his pilgrimage, eighty years old am I." "Be to yourselves Ananda, your own light, your refuge. Seek no other refuge. Whosoever now, or after my departure, shall seek no other refuge will henceforth be my true disciple and walk in the right path." He journeyed on a little further until he reached a grove of Sala trees. Between two of these blossoming trees Was the Nirvana that the sick and weary pilgrim was sighing for. Under the shade of these two famous trees the old man was laid. " Weep not, sorrow not, Ananda," he said. " From all that matt loves and eDJoys he must tear himself away." "My existence is ripening to its close. The end of my life is near. I go hence. Te remain behind. The place of refuge is ready for me." His last words were : "Hearken, O disciples, I charge you. All that comes into being passes. Seek your salvation without weariness."-— " Lillie's Life of Buddha."