Amitabha; a story of Buddhist theology

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AMTTABHA

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MAY 22 198^^

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A STORY OF

BUDDHIST THEOLOGY

BY

PAUL CARUS

MANIFESTING HIMSELF EVERYWHERE THE BUDDHA
OF BLISS IS INFINITE, BOUNDLESS, LIMITLESS, UN-
CEASING, AND OF A SPIRITUAL NATURE.

AgVAGHOSHA IN HIS "DISCOURSE ON THE
AWAKENING OF FAITH."

CHICAGO

THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING COMPANY

LONDON AGENTS
Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd.

1906

copyright by

The Open Court Publishing Co.

1906.

THE ORDINATION/

SOON after the time of Agoka, the great
Buddhist emperor of the third century be-
fore Christ, India became the theater of pro-
tracted invasions and wars. Vigorous tribes
from the North conquered the region of the
upper Panjab and founded several states,
among which the Kingdom of Gandhara be-
came most powerful. DespoHations, epidem-
ics, and famines visited the valley of the Gan-
ges, but all these tribulations passed over the
religious institutions without doing them any
harm. Kings lost their crowns and the wealthy
their riches, but the monks chanted their
hymns in the selfsame way. Thus the storm

breaks down mighty trees, but only bends the
yielding reed.

By the virtues, especially the equanimity
and thoughtfulness, of the Buddhist priests,
the conquerors in their turn were spiritually

2 AMITABHA.

conquered by the conquered, and they embraced
the rehgion of enlightenment. They recog-
nised the four noble truths taught by the Tat-
hagata : ( i ) the prevalence of suffering which
is always in evidence in this world; (2) the
origin of suffering as rising from the desire
of selfishness; (3) the possibility of emanci-
pation from suffering by abandoning all selfish
clinging; and (4) the way of salvation from
evil by walking in the noble eightfold path of
moral conduct, consisting in right comprehen-
sion, right aspiration, right speech, right con-
duct, right living, right endeavor, right dis-
cipline, and the attainment of the right bliss.

When the kingdom of Gandhara had been
firmly established, commerce and trade began
to thrive more than ever, while the viharas,
or Buddhist monasteries, continued to be the
home of religious exercises, offering an asylum
to those who sought retirement from the tur-
moil of the world for the sake of finding peace
of soul.

It was in one of these viharas in the moun-
tains near Purushaputra, the present Pesha-
wur, that Charaka, a descendant of the North-

THE ORDINATION. 3

ern invaders, had decided to join the brother-
hood.^ He was as yet little acquainted with
the spirit and purpose of the institution; but
being very serious and devoutly religious, the
youth had decided, for the sake of attaining
perfect enlightenment, to give up everything
dear to him, his parents, his home, his brilliant
prospect of a promising future, and the love
that was secretly budding in his heart.

The vihara which Charaka entered was ex-
cavated in the solid rock of an idyllic gorge.
A streamlet gurgled by, affording to the her-
mits abundance of fresh water, and the monks
could easily sustain their lives by the gifts of
the villagers who lived near by, to which they
added the harvest of fruit and vegetables which
grew near their cave dwellings. In the midst
of their small cells was a large chaitya, a hall
or church, in which they assembled for daily
services, for sermons, meditations, and other
pious exercises.

The chaitya, like the cells, was hewn out of
the living rock; a row of massive columns on
either side divided the hall into a central nave
and two aisles.

4 AMITABHA.

The ornaments that covered the faces of the
rocky walls, though the product of home talent,
being made by the untrained hands of monk
artists, did not lack a certain refinement and
loftiness. The pictures exhibited scenes from
the life of Buddha, his birth, his deeds, his mir-
acles, illustrations of his parables, his sermons,
and his final entry into Nirvana.

A procession of monks, preceded by a leader
who swung a censer, filed in through the large
portal of the chaitya. Two by two they moved
along the aisles and solemnly circumambulated
the dagoba, standing at the end of the nave in
the apse of the hall, just in the place where idol
worshipers would erect an altar to their gods
It was in imitation of a tumulus destined to re-
ceive some relic of the revered teacher, and the
genius of the architect had artfully designed
the construction of the cave so that the rays
of the sun fell upon the dagoba and surrounded
its mysterious presence with a halo of light.

The monks intoned a solemn chant, and its
long-drawn cadences filled the hall with a spirit
of sanctity, impressing the hearers as though
Buddha himself had descended on its notes

THE ORDINATION. 5

from his blissful rest in Nirvana to instruct,
to convert, and to gladden his faithful dis-
ciples.

The monks chanted a hymn, of which the
novice could catch some of the lines as they
were sung ; and these were the words that rang
in his ears:

"In the mountain hall we are taking our seats,
In solitude calming the mind ;
Still are our souls, and in silence prepared
By degrees the truth to find."

When they had circumambulated the da-
goba, they halted in front of it where the nov-
ice now discovered an image of the Buddha
in the attitude of teaching, and the monks
spoke in chorus:

"I am anxious to lead a life of purity to the
end of my earthly career when my life will re-
turn to the precious trinity of the Buddha, the
Truth and the Brotherhood.''

Then the chanting began again:

"Vast as the sea
Our heart shall be,
And full of compassion and love.
Our thoughts shall soar

6 AMITABHA.

Forevermore

High, like the mountain dove.

"We anxiously yearn
From the Master to learn,
Who found the path of salvation.
We follow His lead
Who taught us to read
The problem of origination.^"

A venerable old monk who performed the
duties of abbot now stepped forth and asked
the assembled brethren whether any one had
a communication to make that deserved the
attention of the assemblage, and after the ques-
tion had been repeated three times Subhuti,
one of the older monks, said:

'There is a young man with us who, having
left the world, stayed with me some time for
the sake of instruction and discipline. He is
here and desires to be admitted to the brother-
hood."

The abbot replied : "Let him come forward."

It was Charaka; and when he stepped into
the midst of the brethren, the abbot viewed his
tall figure with a kindly, searching glance and

THE ORDINATION. 7

asked: "What is your name and what your

desire?''

Charaka knelt down and said with clasped

hands: "My name is Charaka. I entreat the
Brotherhood for initiation. May the Brother-
hood receive me and raise me up to their
height of spiritual perfection. Have compas-
sion on me, reverend sirs, and grant my re-
quest.''

The abbot then asked the supplicant a series
of questions as prescribed in the regulations
of the brotherhood : whether he was free from
contagious disease, whether he was a human
being, a man, and of age, whether his own mas-
ter and not a slave nor in the king's service;
whether unencumbered with debts and whose
disciple he was.

When all the questions had been answered
satisfactorily, the abbot submitted the case to
the brotherhood, saying: "Reverend sirs, the
Brotherhood may hear me. This man Cha-
raka, a disciple of the venerable Subhuti, de-
sires to receive the ordination. He is free
from all obstacles to ordination. He has an
alms-bowl and a yellow robe, and entreats the

8 AMITABHA.

Brotherhood for ordination, with the reverent
brother Subhuti as his teacher. Let those
among the venerable brethren who are in favor
of granting the ordination be silent. Let those
who are opposed to it step forth and speak."

These words were three times repeated, and
as there was no dissenting voice, the abbot
declared with solemnity: "The Brotherhood in-
dicates by its silence that it grants to Charaka
the ordination, with the reverend brother Sub-
huti as his teacher."

Having completed the ceremony and having
recited the rules of the order including the
four great prohibitions, viz., that an ordained
monk must abstain from carnal indulgence,
from theft of any kind, from killing even the
meanest creature, and from boasts of mirac-
ulous powers, the abbot requested the novice
to pronounce the refuge formula, which Cha-
raka repeated three times in a clear and ringing
voice. Then the congregation again intoned
a chant, and, having circumambulated the da-
goba, left the assembly hall, marching in sol-
emn procession along the aisles, each brother
thereupon betaking himself to his cell.

THE NOVICE.

CHARAKA the novice lived with his breth-
ren in peace, and his senior, the venerable
Subhuti, was proud of his learned disciple, for
he was patient, docile, modest, earnest, and
intelligent, and proved all these good qualities
by an abnormally rapid progress. He learned
the Sutras perfectly and soon knew them better
than his teacher. He had a sonorous voice,
and it was a pleasure to hear him recite the
sacred formulas or chant the verses proclaim-
ing the glorious doctrine of the Blessed One.
To all appearances the Brotherhood had made
a good acquisition; but if the venerable Sub-
huti could have looked into the heart of Cha-
raka he would have beheld a different state of
things, for the soul of the novice was full
of impatience, dissatisfaction, and excitement.
The life of a monk was so different from what

10 AMITABHA.

he had expected and his dearest hopes found
no fulfilment.

Charaka had learned many beautiful senti-
ments from the mouth of his teacher ; some of
them fascinated him by the melodious intona-
tion of their rhythm, some by the philosoph-
ical depth of their meaning, some by their
truth and lofty morality. How delighted was
he with the lines:

"Earnestness leads to the State Immortal ;
Thoughtlessness is dreary Yama's portal.
Those who earnest are will never die,
While the thoughtless in death's clutches lie.'**

How powerfully was he affected by the fol-
lowing stanza:

"With goodness meet an evil deed,
With lovingkindness conquer wrath,
With generosity quench greed.
And lies, by walking in truth's path."^

But sometimes he was startled and had diffi-
culty in understanding the sense. He wanted
peace, not tranquilisation ; he wanted Nirvana,
its bliss, and its fulness, not extinction. And
yet sometimes it seemed as if the absolute ob-
literation of his activity were expected of him :

THE NOVICE. 11

"Only if like a broken gong
Thou utterest no sound :
Then hast thou reached Nirvana,
And the end of strife hast found."^

Yet Charaka said to himself: "It is only the

boisterous noise that must be suppressed, not

work; only evil intention, not life itself; the

weeds, not the wheat." For it is said:

"What should be done, ye do it,
Nor let pass by the day :
With vigor do your duty,
And do it while you may."^

Not life, but error and vice, must be at-
tacked. Not existence is evil, but vanity, an-
ger, and sloth :

"As fields are damaged by a bane,
So 'tis conceit destroys the vain.
As palaces are burned by fire,
The angry perish in their ire.
And as strong iron is gnawed by rust.
So fools are wrecked through sloth and lust."'

What ambition was beaming in the eyes of
Charaka! The venerable Subhuti thought,

there is but one danger for this noble novice:

it is this, that the brethren may discover his

brightness and spoil him by flattery. Instead

12 AMITABHA.

of freeing himself from the fetters of the
world, he may be entangled in the meshes of
a spiritual vanity, which, being more subtle,
is more perilous than the lust of the world and
of its possessions. Then he recited to Cha-
raka the lines:

"No path anywhere
Leadeth through the air.
The multitude delights
In sacrificial rites.
Throughout the world
Ambition is unfurled ;
But from all vanity
Tathagatas are free."®

Charaka knew that there were fools among
men considered saints, who claimed to walk
through the air. He was not credulous, but
when told that to attempt the performance of
supernatural deeds was vanity, his ambition
revolted against the idea of setting limits to
human invention. Man might find paths
through the air as well as over water; and he
submitted to the sentiment only because he
regarded it as a form of discipline by which
he would learn to rise higher. So he suppressed

THE NOVICE. 13

his ambition, thinking that if he only abode
his time he would find himself richly rewarded
by the acquisition of spiritual powers which
would be a blessing forever, an imperishable
treasure that could not be lost by the accidents
of life and would not share the doom of com-
pounds which in due time must be dissolved
again. He was yearning for life, not for death,
for a fulness of melody and a wealth of har-
mony, not for the stillness of the broken gong.
He had seen the world and he knew life in all
its phases. He disdained loud noise and coarse
enjoyments but he had not left his home and
wandered into homelessness to find the silence
of the tomb. A chill came over him, and he
shrank from the ideal of sainthood as though
it ,were the path to mental suicide. "No, no !''
he groaned, "I am not made to be a monk.
Either I am too sinful for a holy life, or the
holiness of the cloister is not the path of sal-
vation."

THE GOD PROBLEM.

BUDDHISM had gained ascendency in
India without exterminating the more
ancient creeds, and there were many devoutly
religious people who had only a vague notion
of the contrast in which it stood to other forms
of faith.

The spiritual atmosphere in which Charaka
had grown up consisted of a mixture of all the
thoughts, influences, and opinions then enter-
tained in India; but while the northern gods
that had been worshiped by the ancestors of
the invaders in their former homes had faded
from the mental vision of the present genera-
tion, the ancient deities of India had not gained
full recognition. Vishnu, Shiva, and Indra
appeared to them as the patrons of conquered
races and were therefore deemed of inferior
power. Among the better educated Hindu
people philosophical ideas were spreading and

THE GOD PROBLEM. 15

Brahma was revered as the Supreme Being,
the Great, the Omnipotent, the Omnipresent,
as the All-Consciousness and All-Perfection,
the Creator, the Fashioner, the Ruler of the
Universe, and the All-Father of all beings.
With this God-idea of an all-embracing per-
sonal deity Charaka had become familiar al-
most from childhood and he was greatly aston-
ished not to hear a word about God, the Lord,
or Brahma, in his religious instructions.

Buddha was spoken of as the teacher of
gods and men; he was worshiped with a rev-
erence which was peculiar to him; but the be-
lief in the ancient gods was not disturbed.
Their existence was neither denied nor af-
firmed.

So long as he was unacquainted with his
new surroundings, Charaka did not dare to
ask questions, but when he began to know his
kind-hearted elder Subhuti and some others of
the monks, he grew more assured, and one day
while several brothers were seated at the por-
tico of the assembly hall, he ventured to in-
quire as to the doctrine concerning God.

Life is taken seriously in a Buddhist mon-

16 AMITABHA.

astery and the tone of conversation is always
religious and considerate. Nevertheless there
were never missing among the brethren men
of a lighter temper, who saw the humor of
things, who could smile and, smiling, point out
the comical features of life so as to make their
fellow brethren smile too, for real laughter
was seldom, or never, heard in the precincts
of the cloister. We find frequent traces of this
humor in the wall paintings as well as the
legends of saints, part of which are preserved
even to-day. Now when Charaka spoke of
God, one of the brethren, Kevaddha by name,
a healthy looking man of medium size and of
radiant face, drew near and asked, "What do
you mean, — Indra, the thunderer, the soma-
intoxicated braggart-hero and ruler of the sec-
ond heaven, whom the people call Sakra or
Vasava — or do you mean Shiva, the powerful
and terrible One, decked with a necklace of
skulls, the god full of awe and majesty? Per-
haps you mean Vishnu, in any of his avatars,
as a fish or a wild boar or a white horse ?''

Charaka shook his head, and Kevaddha con-
tinued : ''May be you mean Krishna, the avatar

the!god problem. 17

of love, he who danced with all the shepherd-
esses at once, finding an appropriate incarna-
tion in their favorite swains, while each girl
imagined that she alone held the god in her

arms

?"

My question refers to no one of the gods,"
replied the novice, "but to God," and the em-
phasis with which he marked the difference
showed that he felt not like joking on a prob-
lem which was of grave importance to him.
"Ah, I see!" exclaimed Kevaddha. His lip
curled with sarcasm and there was a twinkle
of triumph in his eye, for the topic under dis-
cussion reminded him of a contest which he
had had with a Brahman priest in which his
antagonist had been completely worsted by his
superior skill in pointing out the weak side of
the proposition and holding it up to ridicule.
"Ah, I see!" he exclaimed, "you do not mean
any one of the several gods, but god in gen-
eral. You are like the man who sent his serv-
ant to market to buy fruit and when the latter
returned with bananas, mangoes, grapes, and
an assortment of other fruit, he upbraided him,
saying: 'I do not want bananas, nor mangoes,

18 AMITABHA.

nor grapes, nor pears, nor prunes, nor apples,
nor pomegranates, I want fruit ! Fruit I want
— fruit pure and undefiled, not a particular
fruit, but fruit in general !' ''

Said Charaka : "Are you a wrangler, famous
in the art of dialectics and you know not the
difference between God and the gods? I love
God but I hate the gods !"

"Is it possible," cried Kevaddha with a sar-
castic chuckle, "you hate the gods and you love
God ? Can you hate all the single men, monks
and laymen, traders, warriors, kings, noble-
men, Brahmans, Kshatryas, and Shudras, and
love man in general? How is it that you can
hate the gods and love God? Does not the
general include the particular?"

"Be so good, reverend sir," answered the
novice, who began to chafe under the attacks
of the brisk monk, "to understand what I
mean. The world in which we live is a world
of order, and we know that there are laws to
which we must submit. When I speak of God
I mean him who made us, the Omnipotent Cre-
ator of the Universe, the Father of all Beings,

THE GOD PROBI^KM. 19

the Standard of all Perfection, the Eternal
Law of Life."

"Well, well," replied Kevaddha,who though
boisterous was at the bottom of his heart good-
natured. "I do not mean to offend. I try to
drive a truth home to you in the guise 9f fun.
The truth is serious, though my mode of ex-
pression may be humorous. I understand now
that you are devoted to the great All-God,
Brahma, as the Brahmans call him, the Lord,
Creator and Ruler of the Universe. But did
you ever consider two things, first that such
an All-God conceived as a being that has name
and form is the product of our own imagina-
tion as much as are all other deities of the
people; and secondly, if Brahma were as real
as you are and I am, he would be of no avail ?
Every one must find the path of salvation him-
self, and Brahma's wisdom is not your wis-
dom. Nor can Brahma who resides in the
Brahma heaven teach you anything."

Charaka did not conceal his dissatisfaction
with Kevaddha's notion of God and said : "The
mere idea that there is a God gives me
strength. He may be directly unapproachable

20 AMITABHA.

or may surround us as the air or as the ether
which penetrates our bodies. He may be dif-
ferent from what we surmise him to be; but
he must exist as the cause of all that is good,
and wise, and true, and beautiful. How shall
I, in my endeavors to seek the truth, succeed
if there be no eternal standard of truth?"

"Yes, I know," replied Kevaddha with un-
disguised condescension; "It will help a youth
who pursues an ideal to think of it as a being,
as a god, as the great god, as the greatest god
of all. Children need toys and the immature
need gods. Your case reminds me of a story
which was told me when I in my younger years
went out not unlike you in search of truth."

"Tell us the story!" exclaimed one of the
younger brethren, and Kevaddha said: "If I
were sure not to hurt the feelings of our young
friend, the novice, I should be glad to tell the
story. But seeing that he is a worshiper of
Brahma, I had better let the matter drop !"

Charaka answered: "I am not a worshiper
of Brahma, unless you understand by Brahma
the First Cause of the All, the ultimate reason
of existence, the Supreme Being, the Perceiver

THK GOD PROBLEM, 21

of all things, the Controller, the Lord, the
Maker, the Fashioner, the Chief, the Victor,
the Ruler, the Father of all beings who ever
have been and are to be! If your story be
instructive I am anxious to hear it myself, even
though it should criticise my belief."

All further discussion ceased when Kevad-
dha showed his readiness to tell the story.

KEVADDHA'S STORY.

44^ I "HERE was a priest in Benares, a man
J- of Brahman caste, learned in all the
wisdom of the Vedas, not of the common type
of priests but an honest searcher after truth.
He longed for peace of heart and was anx-
ious to reach Nirvana; yet he could not
understand how it was possible in the flesh
to attain perfect tranquillity, for life is restless
and in none of the four states of aggregation
can that calmness be found which is the con-
dition of the blissful state. So, this priest
thought to himself: 'Before I can make any
progress, I must solve the question, Where do
the four states of aggregation : the solid state,
the watery state, the fiery state, and the state
of air, utterly cease?'

"Having prepared his mind, the priest en-
tered into a trance in which the path to the
gods became revealed to him, and he drew

KEVADDHA^S STORY. 23

near to where the four great kings of the gods
were. And having drawn near, he addressed
the four great kings as follows: 'My friends,
where do the four states of aggregation: the
solid state, the watery state, the fiery state,
and the state of air, utterly cease?' When he
had thus spoken, the four great kings answered
and said: 'We gods, O priest, do not know
where the four states of aggregation utterly
cease. However, O priest, there are the gods
of the higher heavens, who are more glorious
and more excellent than we. They would know
where the four states of aggregation utterly
cease.'

"When the four great kings had thus spoken
the priest visited the gods of the higher heav-
ens and approached their ruler, Ishvara. He
propounded the same question and received the
same answer. Ishvara, the Lord, advised the
priest to go to Yama. 'He is powerful and has
charge over the souls of the dead. He is apt
to be versed in problems that are profound
and recondite and abstruse and occult. Go to
Yama ; he may know where the four states of
^gg^^g^tion utterly cease.'

24 AMITABHA.

"The priest acted upon Ishvara's advice, and
went to Yama, but the result was the same.
Yama sent the priest to the satisfied gods,
whose chief ruler is the Great Satisfied One.
'They are the gods who are pleased with what-
ever is. They are the gods of serenity and
contentment. If there is any one who can
answer your question, they will be able to tell
you where the four states of aggregation
utterly cease.'

"The priest went to the heaven of the satis-
fied gods, but here too he was disappointed.
Their ruler, the Great Satisfied One, said: T,
O priest, do not know where these four states
of aggregation, the solid state, the watery
state, the fiery state, and the state of air,
utterly cease. However, O priest, there are
the gods of the retinue of Brahma, who are
more glorious and more excellent than I. They
would know where these four states of aggre-
gation utterly cease.'

"Then, this same priest entered again upon
a state of trance, in which his thoughts found
the way to the Brahma world. There the
priest drew near to where the gods of the ret-

k^vaddha's story. 25

inue of Brahma were, and having drawn near,
he spake to the gods of the retinue of Brahma
as follows: 'My friends, where do these four
states of aggregation, the solid state, the
watery state, the fiery state, and the state of
air, utterly cease?'

"When he had thus spoken, the gods of the
retinue of Brahma answering spake as follows :
We, O priest, cannot answer your question.
However, there is Brahma, the great Brahma,
the First Cause of the All, the Supreme Be-
ing, the All - Perfection, the All - Perceiving
One, theController, the Lord of All, the Cre-
ator, the Fashioner, the Chief, the Victor, the
Ruler, the All-Father, he who is more glorious,
more excellent, than all celestial beings, he will
know where the four states of aggregation,
the solid state, the watery state, the fiery state,
and the state of air, do utterly cease.'

"Said the priest: 'But where, my friends, is
the great Brahma at the present moment?'
And the gods answered: We do not know, O
priest, where the great Brahma is, or in what
direction the great Brahma can be found. But
inasmuch, O priest, as he is omnipresent, you

2(i AMITABHA.

will see signs and notice a radiance and the
appearance of an effulgence, and then Brahma
will appear. This is the previous sign of the
appearance of Brahma, that a radiance is no-
ticed, or an effulgence appears/

"The priest, having invoked Brahma's ap-
pearance with due reverence and according to
the rules of the Vedas, in a short time Brahma
appeared. Then the priest drew near to where
Brahma was, and having drawn near, he spake
to Brahma as follows: 'My friend, where do
the four states of aggregation, the solid state,
the watery state, the fiery state, and the state
of air, utterly cease?'

"When he had thus spoken, the great
Brahma opened his mouth and spake as fol-
lows: T, O priest, am Brahma, the great
Brahma, the Supreme Being, the All-Perfec-
tion, the All-Perceiving One, the Controller,
the Lord of All, the Creator, the Fashioner,
the Chief, the Victor, the Ruler, the All-
Father.'

"A second time the priest asked his question,
and the great Brahma gave him the same an-
swer, saying: 'I, O priest, am Brahma, the

kevaddha's story. 27

great Brahma, the Supreme Being, the All-
Perfection;' and he did not cease until he had
enumerated all the titles applied to him.

"Having patiently listened to Brahma, the
priest repeated his question a third time, and
added: 'I am not asking you, my friend. Are
you Brahma, the great Brahma, the Supreme
Being, the All-Perfection, the All-Perceiver,
the All-Father, and whatever titles and ac-
complishments you may have in addition; but
this, my friend, is what I ask you : Where do
the four states of aggregation, the solid state,
the watery state, the fiery state, and the state
or air, utterly cease?'

"The great Brahma remained unmoved, and
answered a third time, saying: 'I, O priest,
am Brahma, the great Brahma, the Supreme
Being, the All-Perfection, the All-Perceiver,*
enumerating again all the titles applied to him.

"Now the priest rose and said: 'Are you
truly a living being, or an automaton, that you
can do nothing but repeat a string of words?'

"And now the great Brahma rose from his
seat and approached the priest, and leading
him aside to a place where he could not be

28 AMITABHA.

overheard by any of the gods, spake to him
as follows: 'The gods of my suite and all the
worshipers of the world that honor me with
sacrifice and adoration, believe that Brahma
sees all things, knows all things, has pene-
trated all things; therefore, O priest, I an-
swered you as I did in the presence of the gods.
But I will tell you, O priest, in confidence, that
I do not know where the four states of aggre-
gation, the solid state, the watery state, the
fiery state, and the state of air, utterly cease.
It was a mistake, O priest, that you left the
earth where the Blessed One resides, and came
up to heaven in quest 6i an answer which can-
not be given you here. Turn back, O priest,
and having drawn near to the Blessed One^
the Enlightened Buddha, ask him your ques-
tion, and as the Blessed One shall explain it
to you, so believe/

"Thereupon the priest, as quickly as a
strong man might stretch out his bent arm,
disappeared from the Brahma heaven and ap-
peared before the Blessed One ; and he greeted
the Blessed One and sat down respectfully at
one side, and spake to the Blessed One as

kkvaddha's story. 29

follows: 'Reverend Sir, where do the four
states of aggregation, the solid state, the
watery state, the fiery state, and the state of
air, utterly cease?'

"When he had thus spoken the Blessed One
answered as follows: 'Once upon a time, O
priest, some sea-faring traders had a land-
sighting bird when they sailed out into the
sea; and when the ship was in mid-ocean they
set free that land-sighting bird. This bird
flies in an easterly direction, in a southerly
direction, in a westerly direction, and in a
northerly direction, and to the intermediate
quarters, and if it sees land anywhere it flies
thither, but if it does not see land it returns
to the the ship. In exactly the same way, O
priest, when you had searched as far as the
Brahma world and found no answer to your
question you returned to the place whence you
came. The question, O priest, ought never to
have been put thus : Where do these four states
of aggregation cease? The question ought to
be as follows:

"Oh ! Where can water, where can wind,
Where fire and earth no footing find?

30 AMITABHA.

Where disappear all mine and thine,
Good, bad, long, short, and coarse and fine,
And where do name and form both cease
To find in nothingness release?"

a i

The answer, however, is this:

"'Tis in the realm of radiance bright.
Invisible, eternal light,
And infinite, a state of mind,
There water, earth, and fire, and wind,
And elements of any kind,
Will nevermore a footing find ;
There disappear all mine and thine.
Good, bad, long, short, and coarse, and fine.
There too will name and form both cease,
To find in nothingness release."

"Then the priest understood that the world
of matter is restless and remains restless, but
peace of heart is a condition of mind which
must be acquired by self-discipline, by wisdom,
by devotion. The gods cannot help; nor even
can Brahma himself, the Great Brahma, the
Supreme Being, the Lord and Creator. Sacri-
fice is useless and prayer and worship are of no
avail. But if we desire to attain the highest
state of bliss, which is Nirvana, we must fol-

khvaddha's story. 31

low the Blessed One, the Teacher of gods and
men; and like him we must by our own effort
become lamps unto ourselves and resolutely
walk upon the noble eightfold path."^^

THE CONFESSION.

THE young novice spent his days in study
and his nights in doubt. He followed
with interest the recitations of his instructor
on the philosophy of the Enlightened One; he
enjoyed the birthstories of Bodhisattva and
the parables of the master with their moral
applications, but when he retired in the even-
ing or was otherwise left to his own thoughts
he began to ponder on the uselessness of the
hermit's life and longed to return to the world
with its temptations and struggles, its victories
and defeats, its pleasures and pains, its hopes
and fears. He enjoyed the solitude of the for-
est, but he began to think that the restlessness
of the world could offer him more peace of
mind than the inactivity of a monkish life.

When Charaka had familiarised himself
with all the Sutras and wise sayings which
were known to the brethren of the monastery,

THE CONFESSION. 33

the time began to hang heavy on his hands, and
he felt that the rehgious discourses were be-
coming tedious.

Weeks elapsed, and Charaka despaired of
either becoming accustomed to monkish life or
of understanding the deeper meaning of their
renunciation of the world, and his conscience
began to trouble him; for the more the elder
brethren respected him for his knowledge and
gentleness, and the more they praised him, the
less worthy he deemed himself of their recog-
nition.

The day of confession approached again.
He had spent the hours in fasting and self-
discipline, but all this availed nothing. He was
weary and felt a sadness of heart beyond de-
scription.

In the evening all the brethren were gath-
ered together in the chaitya, the large hall
where they held their devotional meetings.
The aisles lay in mystic darkness, and the pic-
tures on the heavy columns and on the ceiling
were half concealed. They appeared and dis-
appeared from time to time in the flicker of the
torches that were employed to light the room.

34 AMITABHA.

The monks sat in silent expectation, their faces
showing a quietude and calmness which proved
that they were unconcerned about their own
fate, ready to live or to die, as their doom
might be, only bent on the aim of reaching
Nirvana.

The senior monk arose and addressed the
assembly. ''Reverend sirs,'' he said, "let the
order hear me. To-day is full moon, and the
day of the unburdening of our hearts. If the
order is ready, let the order consecrate this
day to the recital of the confession. This is
our first duty, and so let us listen to the decla-
ration of purity."

The brethren responded, saying: ''We are
here to listen and will consider the questions
punctiliously.''

The speaker continued : "Whoever has com-
mitted a transgression, let him speak, those
who are free from the consciousness of guilt,
let them be silent."

At this moment a tall figure rose slowly and
hesitatingly from the ground at the further
end of the hall. He did not speak but stood
there quietly, towering for some time in the

THE CONFESSION. 35

dusky recess between two pillars as though
he were the apparition of a guilty conscience.
The presiding brother at last broke the silence
and addressed the brethren, saying: "A monk
who has committed a fault, and remembers it,
if he endeavors to be pure, should confess his
fault. When a fault is confessed it will lie
lightly upon him."

Still the shadowy figure stood motionless,
which seemed to increase the gloom in the hall.

"One of the brethren has risen, indicating
thereby that he desires to speak," continued
the abbot. "A monk who does not confess a
fault after the question has been put three
times is guilty of an intentional lie, and the
Blessed One teaches that an intentional lie cuts
a man off from sanctification."

The gloomy figure now lifted his head and
with suppressed emotion began to speak. "Ven-
erable father," he said, "and ye, reverend sirs,
may I speak out and unburden my heart?"
The voice was that of the novice, and a slight
commotion passed through the assemblage.
Having been encouraged to speak freely and
without reserve, Charaka began:

36 AMITABHA.

'^Venerable father, and ye, reverend sirs:
I feel guilty of having infringed on one of the
great prohibitions. I am as a palm tree, the
top of which has been destroyed. I am broken
in spirit and full of contrition. I am anxious
to be a disciple of the Shakya-Muni, but I am
not worthy to be a monk, I never have been
and I never shall be." Here his voice faltered,
and he sobbed like a child.

The brethren were horror - stricken ; they
thought at once that the youth was contami-
nated by some secret crime ; he was too young
to be free from passion, too beautiful to be
beyond temptation, too quick-witted not to be
ambitious. True, they loved him, but they felt
now that their affection for him was a danger,
and there was no one in the assembly who did
not feel the youth's self-accusation as partly
directed against himself. But the abbot over-
came the sentiment that arose so quickly, and
encouraged the penitent brother to make a full
confession. ''Do not despair,'' he said, "thou
art young; it is natural that thy heart should
still cherish dreams of love, and that alluring
reminiscences should still haunt thy mind."

THE CONFESSION. 37

"I entered the brotherhood with false hopes
and wrong aspirations," repHed the novice. "I
am longing for wisdom and supernatural pow-
ers; I am ambitious to do and to dare, and I
hoped to acquire a deeper knowledge through
self-discipline and holiness. I am free from
any actual transgression, but my holiness is
mockery ; my piety is not genuine ; I am a hypo-
crite and I find that I am belying you, venerable
father, and all the monks of this venerable
community. But it grieveth me most that I
am false to myself; I am not worthy to wear
the yellow robe.''

*'Thou art not expected to be perfect,'' re-
plied the abbot, "thou art walking on the path,
and hast not as yet reached the goal. Thy
fault is impatience with thyself and not hypoc-
risy."

"Do not palliate my fault, venerable father,"
said Charaka. "There is something wrong in
my heart and in my mind. If I am not a hypo-
crite, then I am a heretic; and a heretic walks
on the wrong road in the wrong direction, and
can never reach the goal. Do not extenuate,
do not qualify and mitigate my faults, for I

38 AMITABHA.

feel their grievousness and am anxious to be
led out of the darkness into the light. I long
for life and the unfoldment of life. I want to
comprehend the deepest truths ; I want to know
and to taste the highest bliss ; I want to accom-
plish the greatest deeds."

"Then thou art worldly; thou longest for
power, for fame, for honor, for pleasures,'*
suggested the abbot inquiringly; "thou art not
yet free from the illusion of selfhood. It is
not the truth, then, that thou wantest, but thy-
self, to be an owner of the truth; it is self-
enhancement, not service; vanity, not helpful-

ness."

it'

That may be, reverend father," replied the
novice; "thy wisdom shall judge me; though
I do not feel myself burdened by selfishness.
No, I do not love myself. I would gladly sacri-
fice myself for any noble cause, for truth, for
justice, for procuring bliss for others. Nor do
I crave for worldly pleasures, but I do not feel
any need of shirking them. Pleasures like
pains are the stuff that life is made of, and I
do not hate life. I enjoy the unfoldment of
life with all its aspirations, not for my sake,

THE CONFESSION. 39

but for life's sake. I do not love myself, I love
God. That is my fault, and that is the root
from which grow all my errors, heresies, hyp-
ocrisies, and the false position in which I now
am."

The good abbot did not know what to say.
He looked at the poor novice and pitied him
for his pangs of conscience. Every one pres-
ent felt that the man suffered, that there was
something wrong with him; but no one could
exactly say what it was. His ambition was
not sinful but noble. And that he loved God
was certainly not a crime. At last the abbot
addressed Subh{iti, Charaka's senior and
teacher, and asked him: "Have you, reverend
brother, noticed in this novice's behavior or
views anything strange or exceptional?"

Subhuti replied that he had not.

The abbot continued to inquire about Cha-
raka's previous religious relations and the sig-
nificance of his love of God.

"I do not know, reverend sir," was the elder
monk's answer. *'He is not a Brahman, but
a descendant of a noble family of the northern
conquerors that came to India and founded

40 AMITABHA.

the kingdom of Gandhara. Yet he knows
Brahman writings and is famiHar with the
philosophy of the Yavanas^^ of the distant
West. I discoursed with him and understand
that by God he means all that is right and
good and true in the world and without whom
there can be no enlightenment."

"Very well/' proclaimed the abbot, ''there is
no sin in loving God, for what you describe as
God is our Lord Shakyamuni, the Enlightened
One, the Buddha, the Tathagata 'y^ but he added
not without a suggestion of reproof: "You
might dignify the Lord Buddha with a higher
title than God. Gods, if they exist, are not
Buddha's equals. When Bodhisattva was a
child, the gods prostrated themselves before
him, for they recognised the Tathagata's supe-
riority even before he had attained to complete
Buddhahood. The divinity of the gods is less
than the noble life of a Bodhisattva."

Having thus discussed the case of the novice
Charaka, the abbot addressed himself to the
Brotherhood, asking the reverend sirs what
they would deem right in the present case.
Was the brother at all guilty of the fault of

THK CONFESSION. 41

which he accused himself and if so what should
he do to restore his good standing and set him-
self aright in the Brotherhood?

Then Subhuti arose and said: "Charaka is
a man of deep comprehension and of an earnest
temper. The difficulty which he encounters
is not for us to judge him or to advise him
about. But there is a philosopher living in
the kingdom of Magadha, by the name of Ag-
vaghosha. If there is any one in the world
that can set an erring brother right, it is Aq-
voghosha, whose wisdom is so great that since
Buddha entered Nirvana there has been no
man on earth who might have surpassed him
either in knowledge or judgment." So Subhuti
proposed to write a letter of introduction to
Aqvaghosha commending the brother Charaka
to his care and suggesting to him to dispel his
doubts and to establish him again firmly in the
faith in which the truth shines forth more
brilliantly than in any other religion.

The abbot agreed with Subhiiti and the gen-
eral opinion among the brethren was in favor
of sending Charaka to the kingdom of Ma-
gadha to the philosopher Agvaghosha to have

42 AMITABHA.

his doubts dispelled and his heart established
again in the faith of Buddha, the Blessed One,
the teacher of truth.

Before they could carry out their plan the
session was interrupted by a messenger from
the royal court of Gandhara, who inquired
for a novice by the name of Charaka, — a man
well versed in medicine and other learned arts.
A dreadful epidemic had spread in the country,
and the old king had died while two of his sons
were afflicted with the disease and now lay at
the point of death. The oldest son and heir
to the throne was in the field defending his
country against the Parthians, and some moun-
taineers of the East, nominally subject to the
kingdom of Magadha but practically inde-
pendent had utilised the opportunity afiforded
by these circumstances to descend into the fer-
tile valleys of Gandhara and to pillage the
country.

The regard in which Charaka had been held
in the Brotherhood during his novitiate had
not suffered through his confession and was
even heightened. It had been known in the
cloister that the young novice was of a noble

THE CONFESSION. 43

family, but he had made nothing of it and so
the intimate connection with the royal family
of the country created an uncommon sensa-
tion among his venerable brethren. Now, a
special awe attached to his person since it was
known that the young king knew of Charaka,
and needing his wisdom, sent a special mes-
senger to call him back to the capital.

In spite of the interruption the ceremony of
confession was continued and closed in the
traditional way; all the questions regarding
transgressions that might have been committed
were asked and in some cases sins were punc-
tiliously reported by those who felt a need of
unburdening their conscience. Penances were
imposed which were willingly and submissively
assumed. When everything had been attended
to, the abbot turned again to Charaka saying,
"If you had concealed your secret longings, you
would have been guilty of hypocrisy, but now
since you have openly laid bare the state of
your mind, there is no longer any falsehood in
you. Therefore I find no fault with your con-
duct; should you find that you cannot remain
a monk, you must know that there is no law

44 AMITABHA.

that obliges you to remain in the Brotherhood
against your will."

The abbot then granted Charaka permission
to obey the King's call, saying, "You are free
to leave the order in peace and goodwill, but I
enjoin you to make a vow that you will not
leave your doubts unsettled, but that as soon
as you have attended to the pressing duties
which will engage your attention at the capital
you will make a pilgrimage to the philosopher
Acvaghosha, who lives in the kingdom of Ma-
gadha. He will be a better adviser than I,
and he shall decide whether or not you are fit
to be a monk of our Lord the Buddha."

GANDHARA.

AS the night was far advanced, the royal
. messenger allowed his horses a short
rest in the Vihara, and set out with Charaka
at an early hour the following morning. The
two travelers could not, however, make rapid
progress, for the atmosphere was murky, and
the fogs of the rainy season obscured the way.
They passed a picket of Gandhara soldiers who
were on the lookout for the hostile mountain-
eers. The mounted messenger showed them
his passport, and the two men reached the cap-
ital only when the shades of evening were set-
tling upon the valley. The gates were care-
fully guarded by armed men. The sentinel led
the two horsemen to the officer at the gate,
who seemed satisfied with the report that Cha-
raka had nowhere encountered enemies; but
the home news was very bad, for one of the
princes had died and Chandana (commonly

46 AMITABHA.

called Kanishka), the third and youngest son
of the king, was thought to be critically ill.

The night was darker than usual, and the
town made a gloomy impression. The inhabi-
tants were restless and seemed to be prepared
for a dire calamity.

Charaka was at once conducted to the royal
palace. He passed through a line of long
streets which seemed narrow and dismal. The
people whom they met on their way, being
wrapped in a veil of mist, resembled even at a
short distance dim dusky specters, like guilty
ghosts condemned for some crime to haunt the
scene of their former lives. At last they
reached the palace, and Charaka was ushered
into the dimly lighted bedroom of Prince Ka-
nishka. Charaka stood motionless and watched
the heavy breathing of the patient. He then
put his hand gently upon the feverish forehead
and in a low voice demanded water to cool the
burning temples of the sick man. Turning
to the attendants, he met the questioning eye
of a tall and beautiful woman, an almost im-
perious figure. He knew her well ; it was Prin-

GANDHARA. 47

cess Kamalavati, the king's daughter and a
younger half-sister of the prince.

"His condition is very bad," whispered Cha-
raka in reply to the unuttered question that was
written in her face, "but not yet hopeless.
Where are the nurses who assist you in min-
istering unto the patient?"

Two female attendants appeared, and the
physician withdrew with them into an adjoin-
ing room where he listened to their reports.
"The king and his second son have died of the
same disease, and the situation is very critical,"
said Charaka ; "but we may avoid the mistakes
made in the former cases and adjust the diet
strictly to the condition of the patient."

Charaka and Kanishka were of the same
age. They had for some time been educated
together and were intimate friends. But when
the prince joined the royal army, Charaka
studied the sciences under the direction of Ji-
vaka, the late court physician of Gandhara, and
knowing how highly the latter had praised the
young man as his best disciple, the prince had
unbounded confidence in the medical skill of
his boyhood companion. He had suggested

48 AMITABHA.

calling him when his father, the king, fell sick,
but his advice had remained unheeded, and now
being himself ill, he was impatient to have the
benefit of his friend's assistance.

Charaka gave his instructions to the princess
and the other attendants and then sat down
quietly by the bedside of the patient. When
Kanishka awoke from his restless slumber, he
extended his hand and tried to speak, but the
physician hushed him, saying: "Keep quiet,
and your life will be saved."

"I will be quiet," whispered Kanishka, not
without great effort, ''but save my life, — for
the sake of my country, not for my own sake."
After a pause he continued: "Tell my sister
to call Matura, our brave and faithful Matura,
to my bedside."

Matura, the scion of a noble Gandhara fam-
ily, had served his country on several occa-
sions and was at present at the capital. He
came and waited patiently till Charaka gave
him permission to see the patient.

In this interview the prince explained to
Matura the politiical situation since his father's
death. His royal brother, now in the field

GANDHARA. 49

against the Parthians, was at present the legit-
imate king. "During his absence/' said Ka-
nishka, "the duty devolves on me, as the vice-
gerent of the crown, to keep the mountaineers
out of the kingdom, and I call upon you to
serve me as a chancellor in this critical situa-
tion. Raise troops to expel the marauders, but
at the same time exhaust diplomatic methods
by appealing to the honor and dignity of the
kingdom of Magadha of which these robber
tribes are nominal subjects."

Thus Matura took charge of state affairs
and Charaka and Kamalavati united in attend-
ing to the treatment of the sick prince. They
had weary nights and hours of deep despond-
ency when they despaired of the recovery of
their beloved patient, but the crisis came and
Kanishka survived it. He regained strength,
first slowly, very slowly, then more rapidly,
until he felt that he was past all danger.

The rainy season had given the people of
Gandhara a respite from the suffering caused
by the hostilities of their enemies. The king,
Kanishka's elder brother, continued to wage
war against the Parthians and concentrated

50 AMITABHA.

his forces for striking a decisive blow. But
while the best troops of the country had thus
still to be employed against a formidable foe,
the mountaineers renewed their raids, and the
king of Magadha, too weak to interfere with
his stubborn vassals, pleaded their cause de-
claring that they had grievances against the
kingdom of Gandhara and could therefore not
be restrained. The prince accordingly declared
war on the kingdom of Magadha. He raised
an army, and the young men of the peasantry,
who had suffered much from this state of un-
rest, gladly allowed themselves to be enlisted.

: KING KANISHKA.

DURING the preparations for war against
Magadha there came tidings from the
Parthian frontier that the troops of Gandhara
had gained a decisive victory which, however,
was dearly bought, for the king himself who
had been foremost among the combatants, died
a glorious death on the field of battle. The
crown now passed to Kanishka who deemed it
his first duty to overcome the enemies of his
nation. Leaving the trusted generals of his
brother in command of 'the victorious army in
Parthia, he placed himself at the head of the
troops destined to march against Magadha.
Charaka was requested to accompany him in
the field, and Matiira remained behind as chan-
cellor of the state.

Charaka loved the princess without knowing
it. She had been kindly disposed toward him
from childhood; but her interest was height-

52 AMITABHA.

ened to admiration since she had observed him
at the bedside of her brother. How noble he
was, how thoughtful, how unselfish; and at
the same time how wise in spite of his youth.
When the two parted she said: "Take care of
my brother, be to him as a guardian angel;
and," added the princess smiling, '*be good to
yourself, — for my sake.''

Charaka stood bewildered. He felt his
cheeks flushing, and did not know wh^t to
think or say. All at once he became conscious
of the fact that a powerful yearning had grad-
ually grown up in his heart, and a tender and
as yet undefined relation had become est^-
lished between himself and the princess. He
was not sure, however, whether it was right
for him to accept and press the beautiful wo-
man's hand that was offered him in unaffected
friendliness and with maidenly innocence. He
stood before her like a schoolboy censured for
a serious breach of the school regulations.^ He
stammered; his head drooped; and at last cov-
ering his eyes with his hand, he began to sob
like a child with a guilty conscience.

At this moment Kanishka approached to bid

KING KANISHKA. 53

his sister good-by; and after a few words of
mutual good wishes Charaka and Kamalavati
parted.

While the king and his physician were riding
side by side, their home behind them, their
enemy in front, Kanishka inquired about the
trouble which had stirred Charaka to tears.
And Charaka said : "It is all my fault. When
your sister bade me farewell, I became aware
of a budding love toward her in my soul, and
I feel that she reciprocates my sentiment. I
know it is sinful, and I will not yield to temp-
tation, but I am weak, and that brought tears
to my eyes. I feel ashamed of myself.''

*'Do you think love a sin?" inquired the
king.

"Is not celibacy the state of holiness," re-
plied Charaka, "and is not marriage a mere
concession to worldliness, being instituted for
the sake of preventing worse confusion?"

"You ought to know more about it than I,"
continued Kanishka, "for you devoted yourself
to religion by joining the brotherhood, while
I am a layman, and my religious notions are
not grounded on deeper knowledge."

54 AMITABHA.

"Alas!" sighed Charaka, "I am not fit to be
a monk. The abbot of the Vihara could not
help me and advised me to have my doubts
allayed and the problems of my soul settled by
Agvoghosha of Magadha, the great philos-
opher and saint who is said to understand the
doctrine of the Blessed One, the Buddha."

"What is the problem that oppresses you?"
inquired King Kanishka. "Is your soul burd-
ened with sin?"

"I am not guilty of a sinful deed, but I feel
that my soul is sinful in its aspirations. My
heart is full of passion, and I have an ambitious
mind. I would perform great deeds, noble and
miraculous, and would solve the problem of
life; I would fathom the mysteries of being
and comprehend the law of existence, its
source and its purpose. There is an undefined
yearning in my breast, a desire to do and to
dare, to be useful to others, to live to the ut-
most of my faculties, and to be rooted in the
mysterious ground from which springs all the
life that unfolds itself in the world. I came
into being, and I shall pass out of existence.
I believe that I existed before I was born, and

KING KANISHKA. 55

that I shall exist after my death. But these
other incarnations of mine are after all other
than myself, other at least than my present ex-
istence. I understand very well that I am a
reproduction of the life impulses that preceded
me, and that I shall continue in subsequent re-
productions of my karma. But I feel my pres-
ent self to be the form of this life which will
pass away, and I yearn for a union with that
eternal substratum of all life which will never
pass away."

Kanishka said : "While I was ill I had occa-
sion to meditate on the problem of life and
life's relation to death. Once I was dreaming ;
and in the dream I was not Prince Kanishka,
but a king, not King of Gandhara, but of some
unknown country, and I was leading my men
in battle ; and it happened, as in the case of my
brother, that I was victorious, and the hostile
army before me turned in wild flight, but in
the moment of victory a dying enemy shot an
arrow at me which pierced my heart, and I
knew my end was come. There was a pang of
death, but it was not an unpleasant sensation,
for my last thought was: 'Death in battle is

56 AMITABHA.

better than to live defeated/^^ I awoke. A
gentle perspiration covered my forehead, and
I felt as though I had passed through a crisis
in which I had gained a new lease of life. My
dream had been so vivid that when I awoke
I had the impression that I and all the visions
that surrounded me had been annihilated; yet
after a while, when my mind was again fully
adjusted, the dream appeared empty to me, a
mere phantasma and illusion. Will it not be
similar, if at the moment of death we make
our final entrance into Nirvana? Nirvana
appears to us in our present existence as a
negative state, but our present existence is
phenomenal, while Nirvana is the abiding
state."

Charaka replied: "I should think there is
much truth in your words. But the Tathagata
teaches that by attaining enlightenment, we
shall enter Nirvana even in this present life;
and if we do so, it seems to me that our main
advantage lies in the comprehension of the
transiency of all bodily existence and the per-
manence of our spiritual nature. Death has
lost its terrors to him who sees the immortal

KING KANISHKA. 57

state. He knows that in death he sloughs off
the mortal. But here my difficulty begins. I
long for Nirvana only as a means to enrich this
present life.

'The Tathagata teaches that life is suffer-
ing, and he is right. I do not doubt it. He
has further discovered the way of emancipa-
tion, which is the eightfold noble path of right-
eousness. Now, I love life in spite of its suf-
fering, and I am charmed with love. Love is
life-giving, heart-gladdening, courage-inspi-
ring! Oh, I love love, real worldly love! I
admire heroism, the wild heroism of the battle-
field! I long for wisdom, not the wisdom of
the monks, but practical science which teaches
us the why and wherefore of things and im-
parts to us the wizard's power over nature.
Now, with all this I love righteousness ; I feel
the superiority of religious calmness, and the
blissfulness of Nirvana. I do not cling to self,
but desire to apply myself: I want a field of
activity. All these conflicting thoughts pro-
duce in me the longing for a solution : there it
lies before me as an ideal which I cannot grasp,
and I call it God. Oh, that I could speak to the

58 AMITABHA.

Tathagata face to face ; that I could go to him
for enlightenment, that I could learn the truth
so as to walk on the right path and find peace
of soul in the tribulations of life. Since the
Lord Buddha is no longer walking with us in
the flesh, there is only one man in the world
who can help me in my distress, and that is the
great disciple of the Blessed Master, the phi-
losopher and saint Agvaghosha of Magadha."
"Aqvaghosha of Magadha!" replied the
king. "Very well ! We are waging war with
the king of Magadha. Let the prize of combat
be the possession of Agvaghosha!"

MAGADHA.

WAR is always deplorable, but sometimes
it cannot be avoided. And if that be
the case, far from shunning it, a ruler, re-
sponsible for the welfare of his people, should
carry it on resolutely and courageously with
the one aim in view of bringing it speedily to
a happy conclusion.

Such was Kanishka's maxim, and he acted
accordingly. Having gathered as strong an
army as he could muster, he surprised the
mountaineers by coming upon them suddenly
with superior forces from both sides. They
made a desperate resistance, but he overthrew
them and, leaving garrisons in some places of
strategic importance, carried the war farther
into the heart of the kingdom of Magadha. He
descended into the valley of the Ganges, and
hurrying by forced marches through the vassal
kingdoms of Delhi and Sravasti, the Gandhara

60 AMITABHA.

army marched in four columns toward the cap-
ital of the country.

Subahu, king of Magadha, met his adver-
sary in the field near Pataliputra with an army
that had been rapidly assembled, but he could
not stay the invader's victorious progress. In
several engagements his troops were scattered
to the four winds, his elephants captured, and
he was obliged to retire to the fortress of Pa-
taliputra. There he was besieged, and when
he saw that no hope of escape was left he de-
cided to make no further resistance and sent
a messenger to king Kanishka, asking him for
terms of peace.

The victor demanded an indemnity of three
hundred million gold pieces, a sum which the
whole kingdom could not produce.

When the besieged king asked for less se-
vere terms, Kanishka replied : "If you are anx-
ious to procure peace, come out to me in person
and I will listen to your proposition. I wish
to see you. Let us meet face to face, and we
will consider our difficulties.''

Subahu, knowing the uselessness of further
resistance, came out with his minister and ac-

MAGADHA. 61

companied by his retinue. He was conducted
into the presence of Kanishka, who requested
him to be seated.

The king of Magadha complied with the re-
quest of his victorious rival with the air of a
high-minded man, the guest of his equal. Ka-
nishka frowned upon him. He observed the
self-possession of his conquered foe with a
feeling of resentment, which, however, was
somewhat alloyed with admiration.

After a pause he addressed the royal peti-
tioner as follows : "Why didst thou not render
justice to me when I asked for it?"

"My intentions were good," replied Subahu,
"I wanted to preserve peace. The mountain-
eers are restless, but they are religious and full
of faith. Their chieftains assured me the peo-
ple had only retaliated wrongs that they had
suffered themselves. Trying to be fair and
just to my vassals, I roused the worse evil
of war, and in preserving the peace at home
I conjured up the specter of hostility from
abroad. He who would avoid trouble some-
times breeds greater misfortune."

*Tn other words," interrupted King Ka-

62 AMITABHA.

nishka sternly, "your weakness prevented you
from punishing the evil-doers under your juris-
diction, and being incapable of governing your
kingdom, you lost your power and the right to
rule."

"Sir,'' replied the humiliated monarch with
calm composure, "thou art the victor and thou
canst deal with me at thy pleasure, but if the
fortunes of the day had turned against thee,
thou mightest stand now before me in the same
degraded position in which thou now seest me.
But the difference is this: I have a clean con-
science; I have proved peaceful; I never gave
offence to anybody, — consciously. Thou hast
carried the war into my country. Thou art
the offender; and shouldst thou condemn me
to die, I shall die innocent to be reborn in a
happier state under more auspicious condi-
tions. The Lord Buddha be praised!"

Kanishka was astonished at the boldness of
the king's speech, but he mastered his anger
and replied calmly: "Art thou so ignorant as
not to know that a ruler's first duty is justice,
and to me justice thou hast refused!"

"Man's first duty is to seek salvation," re-

MAGADHA. 63

plied the king of Magadha, "and salvation is
not obtained by harshness but by piety."

The king of Gandhara rose to his feet : "Thou
art fitted for a monk, not a monarch. Thou
hadst better retire to the cloistered cell of a Vi-
hara than occupy the throne of a great empire.
What is the use of piety if it does not help thee
to attend to the duties of thy high office? It
leads thee into misery and has cost thee thy
throne. The world cannot prosper on the prin-
ciples which thou followest."

Subahu seemed imperturbable, and without
deigning to look at the incensed face of his
vituperator he exclaimed: "What is the world
if we but gain salvation? Let all the thrones
on earth be lost and whole nations perish if
only emancipation can be obtained ! We want
escape, not secular enhancement."

Kanishka stared at the speaker as if unable
to comprehend his frame of mind, and Subahu
without showing any concern quoted a stanza
from the Dhammapada, saying:

"The king's mighty chariots of iron will rust,
And also our bodies resolve into dust ;

64 AMITABHA.

But deeds, 'tis sure,
For aye endure."^*

Filled with admiration of Subahu's forti-
tude, Kanishka said: "I see thou art truly a
pious man. But thy piety is not of the right
kind. Thy way of escape leads into emptiness,
and thy salvation is hollow. This world is the
place in which the test of truth must be made ;
and this life is the time in which it is our duty
to attain Nirvana. But I will not now upbraid
thee for thy errors; I will first raise thee to a
dignified position in which thou canst answer
me and give thy arguments. I understand
that thou art a faithful disciple of the Buddha
and meanest to do that which is right. I re-
spect thy sincerity and greet thee as a brother.
Therefore I will not deprive thee of thy crown
and title, but I insist on the penalty of three
hundred million gold pieces. Thou shalt re-
main king with the understanding that hence-
forth thou takest council with me on all ques-
tions of political importance, for I see clearly
that thou standest in need of advice. But in
place of the three hundred million gold pieces
I will accept substitutes which I deem worth

MAGADHA. 65

that amount. First, thou shalt deliver into my
hands the bowl which the Tathagata, the Bles-
sed Buddha, carried in his hand when he was
walking on earth, and, secondly, as a ransom
for thy royal person which I hold here besieged
in Pataliputra I request from thee the philos-
opher Agvaghosha whose fame has spread
through all the countries where the religion of
enlightenment is preached. '^

The vanquished king said: "Truly, the bowl
of Buddha and the philosopher Agvaghosha
are amply worth three hundred million gold
pieces, and yet I must confess that thou art
generous and thy conditions of peace are fair."

"Do not call me generous," said Kanishka,
embracing the king of Magadha, "I am only
worldly wise; and it is not my own wisdom. I
have learned the maxims of my politics from
the Blessed One, the great Buddha."

ACVAGHOSHA.

BUDDHA'S birthday was celebrated with
greater rejoicing than usual in the year
following king Kanishka's invasion, which
took place in the fifth century after the Nir-
vana. The formidable invaders had become
friends and the people were joyful that the
war clouds had dispersed so rapidly.

Kanishka was in good spirits. He was
elated by his success, but it had not made him
overbearing, and he was affable to all who ap-
proached him. In a short time he had become
the most powerful monarch of India, his sway
extending far beyond the boundaries of his
own kingdom. His generals had been vic-
torious over the Parthians in the far west, and
his alliance with the king of Magadha made
him practically ruler over the valley of the
Ganges. But more effective than his strategy
and the might of his armies was the kindness

ACVAGHOSHA. 67

which he showed to his vanquished enemies.
Princes of smaller dominions willingly ac-
knowledged his superiority and submitted to
him their difficulties because they cherished an
unreserved confidence in his fairness and love
of justice. Thus was laid the foundation of a
great empire upon whose civilisation the reli-
gion of the Enlightened One exercised a de-
cided influence. Peace was established, com-
merce and trade flourished, and Greek sculp-
tors flocked to Gandhara, transplanting the art
of their home to the soil of India.

It was the beginning of India's golden age
which lasted as long as the Dharma, the doc-
trine of the Tathagata, was kept pure and un-
defiled. A holy enthusiasm seized the hearts
of the people and there were many who felt
an anxiety to spread the blessings of religion
over the whole world. Missionaries went out
who reached Thibet and China and even far-
off Japan where they sowed the seeds of truth
and spread the blessings of lovingkindness and
charity.

Kanishka and the king of Magadha enjoyed
each other's company. The two allied mon-

68 AMITABHA.

archs started on a peaceful pilgrimage to the
various sacred spots of the country. They
visited Lumbini, the birthplace of the Bodhi-
sattva. Thence passing over the site of Kapi-
lavastu, the residence of Shuddhodana, Bud-
dha's father in the flesh and the haunt of Prince
Siddhartha in his youth, they went to the Bodhi
tree at Buddhagaya and returned to the cap-
ital Benares, to celebrate the birth festival of
the Buddha in the Deer Park, on the very spot
where the revered Teacher had set the wheel
of truth in motion to roll onward for the best
of mankind, — the wheel of truth which no god,
no demon, nor any other power, be it human,
divine or infernal, should ever be able to turn
back.

A procession went out to the holy place and
circumambulated the stupa, erected on the sa-
cred spot in commemoration of the memorable
event, and the two monarchs, who had but a
short time before met as foes on the battle-
field, walked together like brothers, preceded
by white-robed virgins bearing flowers, and
followed by priests chanting gathas of the
blessings of the good law and swinging cen-

ACVAGHOSHA. 69

sers. No display of arms was made but multi-
tudes of peaceful citizens hailed the two rulers
and blessed the magnanimity of the hero of
Gandhara.

When the procession halted, Kanishka and
his brother king stood in front of a statue of
the Buddha and watched the process of de-
positing flowers. "Who is the beautiful maiden
that is leading the flower carriers ?" asked Ka-
nishka of the king of Magadha in a whisper;
and the latter replied: "It is Bhadragri, my
only daughter."

Kanishka followed with his eye the graceful
movements of the princess and breathed a
prayer: "Adoration to the Buddha!" he said
to himself in the silent recesses of his heart.
"The Buddha has guided my steps and induced
me to make peace before the demons of war
could do more mischief. I now vow to myself
that if the princess will accept me I shall lead
her as queen to my capital and she shall be
the mother of the kings of Gandhara to come.
May the Tathagata's blessing be on us and my
people !"

At the stupa of the first sermon of the Bud-

70 AMITABHA.

dha, peace was definitely concluded. The king
of Magadha delivered to his powerful ally the
sacred bowl, a treasure which, though small
in size, was esteemed worth more than half
the kingdom of Magadha; and Aqvaghosha,
the old philosopher, was bidden to appear at
court and be ready to accompany the ruler of
Gandhara to his home in the northwest of In-
dia.

Agvaghosha arrived at the Deer Park in a
royal carriage drawn by white horses, and
there he was presented to King Kanishka. He
bowed reverently and said: "Praised be the
Lord Buddha for his blessed teachings ! Glad-
ness fills my heart when I think how your maj-
esty treats your vanquished foe. The victo-
rious enemy has become a friend and brother,
making an end of all hostility forever."

"Good, my friend," replied Kanishka; "if
there is any merit in my action I owe thanks
for my karma to the Tathagata. He is my
teacher and I bless the happy day on which I
became his disciple. My knowledge, however,
is imperfect and even my learned friend Cha-
raka is full of doubts on subjects of grave im-

ACVAGHOSHA. 71

portance. Therefore I invite you to accom-
pany me to Gandhara, where my people and
myself are sorely in need of your wisdom and
experience."

"Your invitation is flattering," said the phi-
losopher, "and it is tendered in kindly words;
but I pray you, noble sir, leave me at home.
I am an aged man and could scarcely stand
the exertion of the journey. But I know a
worthy scholar, Jfianayaga, who' is well versed
in the doctrine of our Lord and much younger
than I, He may go in my place; and should
I grow stronger I shall be glad to visit you in
Gandhara."

"Charaka!" said the king, "have a room
fitted up for Agvaghosha in our residence at
Benares, and so long as we remain here he
shall pass the time in our company. Let him
be present at our meals, and when we rest in
the evening from the labors of the day let us
listen to the words of the philosopher who is
regarded as the best interpreter of the signifi-
cance of Buddha's teachings."

AMITABHA.

ONE evening when King Kanishka to-
gether with his friend Charaka enjoyed
the company of Agvaghosha, the youthful ruler
of Gandhara turned to the venerable philos-
opher with this request : "And now, worshipful
master, tell us, do we worship in Buddha a
god or a man?"

Replied Agvaghosha: "Buddha is neither a
god nor a man; he is more than either, for he
is perfection incarnate. We worship in Bud-
dha wisdom and goodness, that is, the com-
prehension and application of the truth, which
are the qualities that alone render the gods
divine. Truth is eternal, but all actual beings,
not even excluding the gods, are transient."

Charaka interposed: "We do not speak of
the gods, but of God, which means divinity
itself. What would the Buddha have taught
about God?"

AMITABHA. 73

Kanishka added : "We mean God, not in the
sense of Brahma, the principle of existence,
nor of Ishvara, a personal Lord and manu-
facturer of universes, but God as goodness,
as truth, as righteousness, as love? Does God
in this sense exist or not? Is it a dream or a
reality? What is it and how do we know of it?"

"You ask a question to answer which will
take a book. But I shall be brief. Certainly,
God in this sense is a reality. God, in this
sense is the good law that shapes existence,
leading life step by step onward and upward
toward its highest goal — enlightenment. Rec-
ognition of this law gives us light on the con-
ditions of our existence so as to render it pos-
sible for us to find the right path; and we
call it Dharmakaya, the body of the good law,
or Amitabha, the source of infinite light, or
by some other name. It is the norm of all nature
involving the bliss of goodness and the curse
of wrong doing according to irrefragable cau-
sation."

"Accordingly, a man is not a Buddha by
birth, but he can become a Buddha by attain-
ing to Buddhahood," said the king inquiringly.

74 AMITABHA.

''Exactly so/' replied Agvaghosha. "The
highest truth is not a fabrication of the mind ;
the highest truth is eternal/^ Shakyamuni at-
tained to Buddhahood, and there were many
who saw him, yet they did not behold in him
the Buddha; while now, after he has entered
into Paranirvana, there are many who never
saw him in the body, yet having attained faith
may truly be said to behold the Buddha, for the
Buddha can be recognised with the mind's eye
alone."^^

"Then Amitabha is the principle of being
as much as Brahma?" enquired Charaka.

"Brahma is a personification of the prin-
ciple of being," replied Agvaghosha, "but Ami-
tabha is the standard of being. Amitabha is
the intrinsic law which, whenever being rises
into existence, moulds life and develops it, pro-
ducing uniformities and regularities in both
the world of realities and the realm of thought.
It is the source of rationality and righteous-
ness, of science and of morality, of philosophy

and religion. The sage of the Shakyas is one
ray of its light only, albeit for us the most

powerful ray, with the clearest, brightest, and

AMITABHA. 75

purest light. He is the Hght that came to us
here in this world and in our country. Where-
soever wisdom appears, there is an incarna-
tion, more or less partial, more or less com-
plete, of Amitabha."

"But existence," rejoined Charaka, "is dif-
ferent from the good law. Being is one thing
and the norm that moulds it another. There
is the great question, whether or not life itself
is wrong. If life is wrong, the joy of living
is sin, the enhancement of life, including its
reproduction, an error, and love, the love of
husband and wife, becomes a just cause for
repentance.''

"Mark the doctrine, noble youth, and act
accordingly," replied Agvaghosha. "I read in
your eyes the secret of your heart which
prompts you to ask this question. Goodness
is a reality which exists in both existence and
non-existence. Call it God or Amitabha, or
Allhood, or the eternal and uncreated, the uni-
versal law, the not-bodily, the nothing or non-
existence, for it is not concrete nor material,
nor real to the senses, — yet it exists, it is spir-
itual and can be discovered by the mind; it is

76 AMITABHA.

and remains for all that exists the intrinsic
and necessary norm; it is the rule and regu-
lation for both things and thoughts. It is om-
nipresent in the universe, invisible, impalpable,
as a perfume that permeates a room. What-
ever makes its appearance as a concrete reality
is affected by its savor and nothing can be
withdrawn from its sway. It is not existence
itself, but the womb of existence; it is that
which gives definite shape to beings, moulding
them and determining them according to con-
ditions. You have Amitabha in two aspects
as the formation of particular existence and as
the general law of universal types. The par-
ticular is the realisation of the universal; and
the universal constitutes the type of the partic-
ular, giving it a definite character. Neither is
without the other. Mere particularity is be-
ing in a state of ignorance; thus all life starts
in ignorance; but mere universality is exist-
ence unrealised ; it is as though existence were
not. Therefore enjoyment of life is not wrong
and the love of husband and wife is no cause
for repentance, if it be but the right love, true

AMITABHA. 11

and unfailing and making each willing to bear
the burdens of the other.

"The Lord spoke not of God, because the
good law that becomes incarnated in Buddha-
hood is not a somebody, not an entity, not an
ego, not even a ghost. As there is not a ghost-
soul, so there is not a ghost-God."

Said Charaka: ''Now I understand the pic-
ture of the Lord Buddha with his two attend-
ants, Love as Particularity on the elephant
and Wisdom as Universality on the lion.
Ananda, the disciple of loving service, and Ka-
shyapa, the disciple of philosophical intellectu-
ality, have approached their master and
grasped the significance of his doctrine from
two opposite and contrasting sides.'*

"Those who mortify their bodies,'' continued
Agvaghosha, "have not understood the doc-
trine. We are not ego-souls. For that rea-
son the thought of an individual escape, the
salvation of our ego-soul, is a heresy and an
illusion. We all stand together and every man
must work for the salvation of mankind.
Therefore I love to compare the doctrine of
the Buddha to a great ship or a grand vehicle

7^ AMITABHA.

— a Mahayana — in which there is room for all
the multitudes of living beings and we who
stand at the helm must save them all or perish
with them/'

Charaka extended his hand and said: "I
thank you, venerable sir, for the light you have
afforded me. I sought peace of soul in a mon-
astery, but the love of life, the love of God,
the love of knowledge, the love of my heart,
drove me back to the world. I have proved
useful to King Kanishka as a physician, per-
haps also as a friend, and as a disciple of the
Tathagata; and the problem before me is,
whether it is right for me to remain in the
world, to be a householder, to allow the par-
ticular, the sensual, the actual, a share in life
by the side of the universal, the spiritual, the
ideal."

"Do not despise the particular, the sensual,
the actual," replied Agvaghosha. "In the ma-
terial body the spiritual truths of goodness and
love and veracity are actualised. Existence
if it is mere existence, quantity of life and not
quality, is worthless and contemptible. The
sage despises it. The sensual, if it be void of

AMITABHA. 79

the Spiritual, is coarse and marks the brute.
But existence is not wrong in itself, nor is the
sensual without its good uses. The sensual,
in its very particularity, by being an aspiration
that is actual, becomes consecrated in spiritu-
ality. Think how holy is the kiss of true love ;
how sacred is the relation between husband
and wife. It is the particular in which the
universal must be realised, mere abstract good-
ness will become apparent only in the vicissi-
tudes of actual life."

"If I could serve the Buddha as a house-
holder, my highest ambition would be to be
a brother-in-law to King Kanishka,'' replied
Charaka.

"I know it," said Agvaghosha with a smile,
"for the emotions of your heart are reflected
in your eyes. Go home and greet the king's
sister with a saying of the Blessed One, and
when you are married may your happiness be
in proportion to your merit, or even greater
and better. Buddha's doctrine is not extinc-
tion, not nihilism, but a liberation of man's
heart from the fetters of selfishness and from
the seclusion of a separate egoity. It is not the

80 AMITABHA.

suppression or eradication of love, and joy, and
family ties, but their perfection and sanctifi-
cation; not a cessation of life, but a cessation
of ignorance, indolence, and ill will, for the
sake of gaining enlightenment, which is life's
end and aim."

After a pause Agvaghosha added pensively :
"The more the truth spreads, the more shall
all relations and conditions be transfigured by
Buddhahood. Even the dumb creatures and
inanimate nature are yearning for their eman-
cipation that is to come/'

"Your instruction has benefited me too,"
said Kanishka to the philosopher, and turning
round to the king of Magadha, he continued,
"but you my noble friend and host are still
my debtor. Since Agvaghosha on account of
his age finds himself unable to follow me to
Gandhara, you are in duty bound to procure
an acceptable substitute. Now, there is a way
of settling your obligations to me, and that
could be done if your daughter, the Princess
Bhadraqri would consent to accept my hand
and accompany me to Gandhara as my wife
and queen !"

AMITABHA. 81

*'My august friend/' replied the king of
Magadha, '1 know that the Princess worships
you for the heroism you have displayed in
battle, the wisdom you have shown in council,
and the magnanimity with which you have
dealt with your conquered enemy. She beholds
in you not only the ideal of royalty but also the
restorer of her father's fortunes, worthy of
her sincerest gratitude. It is but for you to
make her admiration blossom out into rich love
and wifely devotion."

THE CONSPIRACY.

ACVAGHOSHA held daily conversations
- with Kanishka, in which not only his
friends Charaka and the king of Magadha,
but also Princess Bhadraqri, his bride-elect,
were now wont to join.

One day Subahu was detained by important
affairs of state, and when he made his appear-
ance in the accustomed circle of his philosoph-
ical friends, he was so full of distress as to
be almost beyond the power of speech.

"My royal friend,'' said Kanishka, "what
disturbs your mind? How terrible must the
calamity be that so affects a man of your com-
posure ! Are you or one of your kin in danger
of death, or pray, what else is the cause of your
trouble r

"My dear friend and ally," replied king Su-
bahu, "it is your life that is endangered. I
come to take counsel with you as to how we

THE CONSPIRACY. 83

may save you from the perilous situation in
which the false patriotism of my people has
placed you. Some of my southern generals
having but lately arrived with subsidies which
ought to have been with me at the beginning
of the war, entered into a conspiracy with my
prime minister to surround the palace, take you
prisoner and put you to the sword ; then to at-
tack your unwary soldiers and drive them out
of the country. Everything has been planned
in the strictest privacy, and your noble confi-
dence in my faith and friendship made it easy
for them to replace the guards gradually by
their friends until they now have everything
their own way, and I am given to undersand
that unless I join the conspirators they will
elect another king."

"And what is your pleasure in this matter ?''
asked Kanishka, who betrayed no more con-
cern than if he were talking about a game of
checkers.

"My pleasure?" exclaimed the disconsolate
king ; "ask not what my pleasure is. I see only
my duty, and that is to save you or to die with
you r

84 AMITABHA.

Kanishka was a man of deeds, not of words.
He bade Charaka at once to hoist on the tower
of the palace a blue flag, which was the secret
sign to summon the Gandhara generals that
were camping in the vicinity of the town.
Having inquired into the situation and learned
that all the gates were in possession of the
conspirators, he requested the king to call into
his presence the treacherous prime minister
who was at the head of the conspiracy, indi-
cating, as though nothing had happened, that
he wanted to speak to him.

The prime minister entered, and the king
spoke to him graciously about his fidelity to
King Subahu and the kingdom of Magadha,
and said that he himself, anxious to honor the
people of Magadha, wished to show him some
recognition and confer some favor on him, the
most faithful servant of King Subahu.

While King Kanishka thus idled away the
time the prime minister felt uneasy, for his
fellow - conspirators, the generals from the
south, were waiting for the signal to over-
power the few foreign guards, to close the
gates, and take possession of the palace. Ka-

THE CONSPIRACY. 85

nishka in the meanwhile inquired as to his
health, his general prosperity, his children, his
brothers and sisters, until the prime minister
lost patience and said : "Sire, allow me to with-
draw ; a number of my friends from the south-
ern provinces, men of great prominence in
their distant homes, have arrived and are anx-
ious to meet me and my sovereign."

With a royal courtesy which could not be
refused. King Kanishka replied: "Let me ac-
company you to greet them. Your friends are
my friends, and the vassals of my most noble
ally King Subahu are my allies.''

The prime minister blushed and looked in-
quiringly at the king; but King Kanishka's eye
was calm and showed not the least sign of sus-
picion. At the same time there was a firmness
and determination in the king's attitude which
made the treacherous minister wince and sub-
mit.

"This is the way to the hall where my friends
are assembled," said the prime minister, and
showed the king the way.

"Wait a moment," said King Kanishka, "it
would be wrong of us if my royal brother. King

86 AMITABHA.

Subahu, were not present. Let us call my coun-
cilors and generals so as to indicate our desire
to honor your guests."

In the meantime some of the horsemen had
arrived, and their officers demanded admission
at the palace gates to report their presence to
the king. They were announced and admitted.

"Welcome, my gallant officers," exclaimed
King Kanishka, "join my retinue when I greet
the friends of the prime minister, and let your
men remain under arms at the main gate ready
to receive my commands."

Thus the two kings with a stately retinue
both of dignified councilors and warlike offi-
cers entered the hall where the conspirators
were impatiently waiting. They were dumb-
founded when they saw at the side of their
most hated enemy their own sovereign accom-
panied by the prime minister with downcast
eye, meek as a tame doe and giving no sign
for action. Then Kanishka addressed the con-
spirators with great cordiality as though he
had long desired to meet them and show them
his good will. He praised the generals for
their valor, for their love of their country.

THK CONSPIRACY. 87

their faithfulness to their king, and expressed
his great happiness that the old times of na-
tional hatred had passed away, that the two
nations Magadha and Gandhara should forth-
with be like brothers, and that they would join
to set a good example to the world by obeying
the maxim of the Tathagata:

Cl

Hate is not overcome by hate ;
By love alone 'tis quelled.
This is a truth of ancient date,
To-day still unexcelled."^^

Not yet, however, had the ice of spite and
ill will entirely melted from the hostile hearts
of his enemies; and not yet was his retinue
strong enough to make him feel master of the
situation. So Kanishka continued his policy
of gaining time by having each one of the hos-
tile officers personally introduced to him and,
this done, he began to address the company a
second time.

"Allow me to improve this rare opportunity
of having so many friends assembled here, to
explain my policy. I am a disciple of the Bud-
dha, the Blessed One, who taught us to make

88 AMITABHA.

an end of hatred by ceasing to hate. If there
be any just cause for war, let us have war and
let us wage war openly and resolutely, but let
us ever be ready to offer the hand of brotherly
good-will to our enemies without cherishing
feelings of revenge for the injuries we may
think we have suffered. The policy of long
suffering, of loving-kindness, of forgiveness,
not only shows goodness of heart but also a
rare gift of wisdom, as all those are aware
who know the story of King Long-suffering
and his noble son Prince Long-life, which the
Tathagata told to the quarrelsome monks of
Kaushambi.

King Kanishka then told the story of Brah-
madatta, the powerful king of Benares, — how
he had conquered the little kingdom of Kosala
and had the captive king Long-suffering exe-
cuted in Benares. But Prince Long-life escaped
and, unknown to any one, entered the service
of King Brahmadatta, whose confidence he
gained by his talents and reliability. Thus
be became King Brahmadatta's personal at-
tendant.

King Kanishka was a good story-teller, and

THE CONSPIRACY. 89

the people of India, whether of high or low
birth, love to hear a story well told, even if
they know it by heart. So the conspirators
were as though spellbound and forgot their
evil designs; nor did they notice how the hall
began to fill more and more with the officers
of the king of Gandhara. They listened to the
adventures of Prince Long-life ; how on a hunt
he was left alone with King Brahmadatta in
the forest, how the king laid himself down and
slept, how the prince drew his sword, how the
king was frightened when he awoke and
learned that he was in the power of his enemy's
son; and finally how each granted the other
his life and made peace, thus demonstrating
the wisdom of the maxim, that hatred cannot
be appeased by hatred, but is appeased by love,
— and by love only.^^

When the king finished the story of Prince
Long-life, the hall was crowded with armed
officers of the Gandhara army, and seeing his
advantage. King Kanishka, feeling the satis-
faction of one who had gained a great victory
in battle, paused and glanced with a good-
natured look over the party of conspirators.

90 AMITABHA.

He remained as self-possessed as a school-
master teaching a class of wayward boys. "I
am anxious to be at peace with all the world,"
he said, "but the question arises, what shall be
done with traitors and conspirators who mis-
understand my good intentions and would not
brook the loving-kindness of our great mas-
ter?'' Then addressing the prime minister of
Magadha by his full name and title, he added :
"Let me hear your advice, my friend. I meant
to promote your welfare, while you attempted
to take my life. What shall I do with you and
your associates ?"

The prime minister was overwhelmed. He
fell upon his knees and sobbed: "You are in
wisdom like the Enlightened One, the Omnis-
cient Tathagata. Would that you were his
equal also in mercy and compassion. Never
should you regret having forgiven me my
transgression !''

King Kanishka made no answer but looked
round and cast conquering glances at the sev-
eral conspirators, until they, one by one, joined
the kneeling prime minister. Then espying
the venerable head of Agvaghosha among his

THE CONSPIRACY. 91

audience, he approached the sage respectfully
and said: "Now, most reverend sir, it is your
turn to speak, for I want you to tell me what
a king ought to do to those men who conspire
to take his life. Would it be wise for him to
follow the behest of the Tathagata and to grant
them forgiveness ?''

Said Agvaghosha: ''Not I, sir, but you are
the king. Pronounce judgment according to
your own discretion. I cherish the confidence
that the seeds of kindness will fall here upon
good soil."

"Thank you, venerable sir. I have learned
from the Great Teacher of all beings, that to
hate no one is the highest wisdom. But a king
is responsible for the welfare of his people and
cannot let crime go unpunished. The duty of
a judge is justice. In the present case I do not
think that I would condone your action if it
were unmitigated treason but I see in it a re-
deeming feature which is your patriotism, mis-
guided though it may be. Rise, gentlemen,
and if you will promise forthwith to banish
from your heart all falsehood, spite, and envy,
come and shake hands with me in token of your

92 AMITABHA.

faithful allegiance to both your august sover-
eign, the king of Magadha, and myself, his
ally and brother on the throne."

THE MAN-EATING TIGER.

PROTESTATIONS of fidelity and admi-
ration greeted King Kanishka from all
sides when he retired to his private rooms
after having shaken hands with the conspira-
tors. He had conquered his enemies, not by
the power of arms, as he had done before in
battle, but by the superiority of his mind.

It was at this moment that a messenger ar-
rived who had been sent by the custodian of
King Subahu's summer palace, saying: '^Sir
King, send your hunters to the summer palace
with elephants and soldiers, for a man-eating
tiger has been seen in its garden and parks,
and all the people living in the neighborhood
are sore afraid of the beast."

Then the generals of the South shouted:
"Great King and Sire, allow us to go to the
summer palace to hunt the tiger; for we are
anxious to distinguish ourselves and prove to

94 AMITABHA.

the world that we are vaHant soldiers and good
hunters."

And they received permission to be the fore-
most in the hunt, and after a hasty preparation
they set out the same evening, but the two
kings and their retinue with many officers fol-
lowed them on the following day; Charaka,
however, stayed behind at the command of
King Kanishka, to observe the courtiers and
councilors of King Subahu and keep an eye
upon the populace of the city, the capital of
Magadha.

Charaka sat at a window in company with
the venerable Agvaghosha to see the suite of
the two kings with their hunters and elephants
leaving the city, and Charaka addressed the
sage, saying: "My reverend friend, I learned
much yesterday from king Kanishka by watch-
ing his mode of treating enemies. Truly, I
understand the doctrine of the Tathagata bet-
ter now than if I had lived for many years in
the monastery and studied all the wisdom of
the monks. How much evil can be avoided
by discretion, and should not mortals blame
themselves for all the ills that befall them?

THE MAN-EATING TIGER. 95

But there is this doubt that vexes my mind.
If Amitabha, the omnipresent, the eternal, the
omnibeneficent source of all wisdom, fashions
the world and determines our destinies, why
should not life be possible without suffering?
However, the first sentence of the four great
truths declares that life itself is suffering. If
that be so, no amount of discretion could give
us happiness so long as we live. And, on the
other hand, how can Amitabha permit innu-
merable things to suffer innocently for condi-
tions which they did not create themselves?"
"My young friend," replied Aqvaghosha,
"the first great truth is truly obvious to any
one who knows the nature of life. Life con-
sists of separation and combination; it is a
constant meeting and parting and has in store
both pains and pleasures. Prove to me that
life be possible without any change, and I will
begin to doubt the first of the four great truths.
But if life is suffering, no being has a right to
blame Amitabha for existing. All beings exist
by their own karma; they are the incarnation
of deeds of their former existences; they are
such as they are by their own determination.

96 AMITABHA.

having fashioned themselves under the influ-
ence of circumstances.

"By Amitabha all beings are merely edu-
cated in the school of life. Some have gained
more insight than others. Some love the light,
others hate it. Some rise to the pure heights
of Buddhahood, and others grovel in the dust
to take delight in badness and deeds of dark-
ness. Amitabha is like the rain that falls upon
the earth without discrimination. The seeds
of herbs assimilate the water that falls from
the clouds of heaven in a refreshing spring
shower, and grow to be herbs each of its kind.
Fernspores become ferns, acorns change the
water into the leaves and wood and bark of
oak trees, and the germs of fruit trees fashion
it into fruit, each of its own kind, into mangoes,
bananas, dates, figs, pomegranates, and other
savory fruits. Amitabha is the same to all,
as the water of the refreshing rain is the same :
but diverse creatures make a different use of
the benefits of truth, and each one is respon-
sible for itself.^^ Each one has originated in
ignorance by its own blind impulses, each one,
in its own field of experience, has learned the

THE MAN-HATING TIGKR. 97

lesson of life in its own way, and each one can
blame no one but itself for what it is and has
become — except that it ought to be grateful
for the light that Amitabha sheds upon the
course of its development.

"Amitabha is not a god that would assert
himself or care for worship and adoration.
He does not think and act and do deeds. He
is not Ishvara, not Sakra, not Indra, not
Brahma: He is the norm of all existence, the
good law, the order and intrinsic harmony
that shows itself in cause and effect, in the
bliss of goodness, in the curse of evil-doing.
He is above all the gods, and everything that
is has been fashioned by him according to the
eternal ordinances of his constitution.

"We are not creatures of Amitabha, we are
creatures of our own making. Life starts in
ignorance. It begins with blind impulses, and
life's start is life's own doing. But as soon
as an impulse acts and is reacted upon, it is
encompassed by the good law and thus it is
educated by Amitabha and raised by him as
children are nourished by their mother and in-

98 AMITABHA.

striicted by their father. We are not the crea-
tures of Amitabha, but his children.^^

"Ask thy own self, whether thou art because
thou wast created by some extraneous power;
or contrariwise whether it is not truer to say
that thou art because thou dost will thy own
existence. Every man is what he wills to be.

"Thou hast become w^hat thou art of neces-
sity according to the norms that constitute
the nature of Amitabha. But thou grewest
to be what thou art because thou wantedst to
become such.

"Now if an Ishvara had created thee, thou
wouldst not have the feeling of freedom that
thou now hast, but thou wouldst feel like the
vessel made by the potter which is what it is
in spite of its own like or dislike."

"But if I am determined to love life,'' asked
Charaka, "is it wrong to do so and shall I be
punished for it by suffering?''

Replied Agvaghosha: "There is neither
punishment nor reward, my son, though we
may use the words in adapting our language
to the common mode of thought. There is only
cause and effect. The Tathagata gave no com-

THE MAN-EATING TIGER. 99

mandments, for what authority has any one
to command his brother beings? The Tatha-
gata revealed to us the evils of life, and what
people call the ten commandments are the ten
ways pointed out by the Tathagata how to
avoid the ten evils. He who does not take the
Tathagata's advice must bear the conse-
quences. The tiger will be hunted down, and
a murderer will be executed. Their fate is the
result of their deeds. As to love of life, there
is nothing wrong in it. If you love life, you
must not be afraid of suffering. While the
Tathagata lived in the flesh, he was as much
subject to pain as I am and as you are. But
when the pangs of his last disease came upon
him he bore them with fortitude and did not
complain. If you love life, bear its ills nobly
and do not break down under its burdens.
Avail yourself of the light of Amitabha, for
thus you can escape the worst evils of life, the
contrition of regret, of remorse, of a bad con-
science ; and the noblest pleasure of life is that
of becoming a lamp unto others. Let your
light shine in the world and you will be like

100 AMITABHA.

unto your master, Buddha- Amitabha, the omni-
benevolent source of all illumination/'

THE BUDDHIST ABBOT AND THE

BRAHMAN.

WHILE King Kanishka stayed at the
summer palace to witness the tiger
hunt, a Buddhist abbot came to the royal pal-
ace and requested an interview with the great
King Kanishka's friend ; and the abbot was ad-
mitted into the presence of Charaka, who hap-
pened to be in the company of some councilors
of King Subahu, among whom was Aqva-
ghosha, the saintly philosopher. Said the ab-
bot: "I come from the monastery in the hills
situated near a Brahman village south of Be-
nares and have been sent by the brethren, the
venerable monks whose abbot I am. We know
that King Kanishka and you are followers of
the Buddha and are steadfast in the orthodox
faith. Therefore we approach you in confi-
dence and hope that you will lend your coun-
tenance to us, endeavoring to spread and estab-

{(1

ii'\

102 AMITABHA.

lish the good law, the pure religion of the Tat-
hagata. We have settled in the hills, but there
is a Shiva shrine close by and the villagers
continue to offer gifts to the priests while the
venerable brethren who profess faith in the
glorious doctrine of the Buddha are neglected
and sometimes positively suffer from priva-
tion."

What can I do about it?'' queried Charaka.

If the Shiva shrine were removed, the vil-
lagers would no longer seek religious comfort
through Brahman rites and would turn Bud-
dhists. We are told that you are a Buddhist
monk; you will have sympathy with your suf-
fering brethren and help them to expel the un-
believers.''

"And do you think," objected Agvaghosha,
"that either King Subahu or King Kanishka
would lend you his royal authority to interfere
with the religious service of any one ? No, my
friend. The Shiva worshipers may be mis-
taken in their religious views, but they seek
the truth and so long as they do no injury to
their neighbors, their worship cannot be dis-
turbed. And I do not know but the Shiva

THE BUDDHIST ABBOT. 103

priests may in their own way do good service
to the people/'

And there was a Brahman present, one of
King Subahu's councilors, who was pleased
with Agvaghosha's remark and expressed his
approval of the principle of toleration which
the great emperor Agoka had proclaimed in
one of his edicts as a maxim of good govern-
ment, and the Brahman added:

"Do not ye, too, O Buddhists, preach the
doctrine of the Brahmans, that there is a su-
preme Lord Creator over all creatures, a divine
ego-consciousness of All-existence? Whether
we call God Ishvara, or Shiva, or Amitabha,
he remains the same and has a just claim to
worship."

Agvaghosha shook his head : "No, my Brah-
man friend! The good law is supreme, and
it is a father omnibenevolent as we rightly
designate it. It is the norm of existence, the
standard of truth, the measure of righteous-
ness ; but that norm is not an Ishvara, neither
Shiva, nor Brahma. Here is the difference
between Ishvara and Amitabha: Ishvara is
deified egotism; he demands worship and

104 AMITABHA.

praise. Amitabha is love, he is free from the
vanity of egoism and is only anxious for his
children that they should avail themselves of
the light and shun the darkness, that they
should follow his advice and walk in the path
of righteousness. Ishvara calls sin what is
contrary to his will; he loves to be addressed
in prayer and he delights in listening to the
praises of his worshipers. Not so Amitabha.
Amitabha cares not for prayer, is indifferent
to worship, and cannot be flattered by praise,
but the good law is thwarted when his children
err ; and Amitabha appears to be wrapt in sad-
ness by the evil results of their mistakes; not
for his sake — for he is eternal and remains the
same forevermore — but for the sake of the
sufferings of all sentient creatures, for all crea-
tures are his disciples, he guides them, he
teaches them, he encompasses them. He is
like a father unto them. So far as they par-
take of his nature, they are his children.''

Said the Brahman : "I for one do not believe
that Ishvara, or Brahma, or whatever you may
call God, is a person such as we are. He is a
higher kind of personality, which however in-

THE BUDDHIST ABBOT. 105

eludes the faculties of perception, judgment
and reason. I believe therefore that the Bud-
dhist faith is lacking in this, that its devotees
think of Amitabha as deficient in self-con-
sciousness. Buddhist ethics are noble, but are
human deeds the highest imaginable? Since
the godhead is greater than man, the highest
bliss will forever remain a union with Brahma,
or Ishvara, or Sakra, or whatever you may
call the great Unknown and Unknowable, who
has revealed himself in the Vedas and is pleased
with the prayers and sacrifices of the pious
who express their faith in worship."

'When I was young," replied Agvaghosha,
''I was a Brahman myself; I believed in
Brahma the Supreme Being, the Creator of
and Lord over all the worlds that exist. I know
there is much that is good in the Brahman
faith, and I did not abandon it because I deemed
it bad or injurious. I abandoned it, because the
doctrine of the Tathagata was superior, all-
comprehensive, and more profound, for it ex-
plains the problems of existence, its whence
and whither, and is more helpful. The doctrine
of the Tathagata is practical and not in the

106 AMITABHA.

air as are the theories and speculations of the
Brahmans. You seek a union with Brahma,
and what is he? We may dispute his existence
and no one can refute us. He is an idea, a
metaphysical assumption, and his mansion is
everywhere and nowhere. Thus the Tatha-
gata says that those who believe in Brahma
are like a man who should make a staircase
where four roads meet, to mount up high into
a mansion which he can neither see nor know
how it is, where it is, what it is built of, nor
whether it exists at all. The priests claim
the authority of the Vedas, and the Vedas are
based upon the authority of the authors who
wrote them, and these authors rely on the
authority of Brahma. They are like a string
of blind men clinging to one another and lead-
ing the blind, and their method of salvation
consists in adoration, worship, and prayer.^^
It is a doctrine for children, and though the
words of their theory are high-sounding they
are not the truth but a mere shadow of the
truth; and in this sense the Tathagata com-
pared them to the monkey at the lake who tries

THE BUDDHIST ABBOT. 107

to catch the moon in the water, mistaking the
reflection for the reahty."

"But would not all your arguments," replied
the Brahman, "if I were to grant them, apply
with the same force to Amitabha? What is
the difference whether we say Brahma or Ami-
tabha ? Both are names for the Absolute.''

"There would be no difference in the names
if we understood the same by both. Brahma,
the Absolute, is generally interpreted to mean
Being in general, but Amitabha is Enlighten-
ment. We do not hanker after existence, but
we worship truth, goodness, and purity.

"By Amitabha we understand the eternal,
infinite light, i. e., the spiritual light of com-
prehension, and this light is a reality. No one
doubts that there is a norm of truth and a
standard of right and wrong. That is Ami-
tabha. We may not yet know all about Ami-
tabha; our wisdom is limited; our goodness
is not perfect. But we ground ourselves upon
that which we do know, while you Brahmans
start with speculations, seeking a union with
the Absolute, which is a vague idea, something
unknown and unknowable. Amitabha is cer-

108 AMITABHA.

tainly not a limited self-consciousness, but an
infinite principle, an omnipresent law, an eter-
nal norm, higher than any individual, but the
depth of this norm is unfathomable, its appli-
cation universal and infinite; its bountiful use
immeasurable.

"We know something but not all about Ami-
tabha. He is the Dharmakaya, the embodi-
ment of the good law. He is the Nirmana-
kaya, the aspiration to reach bodhi in the trans-
formations of the evolution of life. He is the
Sambhogakaya, the bliss of good deeds.^^ The
philosophers, scientists, poets, of the future,
the thinkers and dreamers of mankind, will
find in Amitabha a wonderful source of in-
spiration which can never be exhausted. The
Tathagata's religion is not mere metaphysics,
his philosophy is not mere mythology. He al-
lows metaphysics and mythology their spheres,
but urges the practical issues of life. Thus
his religion comprises all without becoming
vague.''

Said the Brahman : "How can so many con-
tradictory things be united in one?"

And Agvaghosha replied: "My venerable

THE BUDDHIST ABBOT. 109

teacher, the saintly sage Parsva, once told me
the parable of the elephant which explains the
relation of the truth to the sundry doctrines
held by the several sects and schools, priests
and philosophers, prophets and preachers.

The Brahman said that he had never heard
the story, and expressed his desire to hear it.

THE PARABLE OF THE ELEPHANT.

ACVAGHOSHA saw that every eye was
- intent upon him, and so he told the story
of the white Elephant. He said:

"There was a noble and mighty elephant, an
elephant white in color, with a strong trunk
and long tusks, trained by a good master, and
willing and serviceable in all the work that ele-
phants are put to. And this noble and mighty
elephant being led by his guide, the good mas-
ter who had trained him, came to the land of
the blind. And it was noised about in the land
of the blind that the noble and mighty elephant,
the king of all beasts, the wisest of all animals,
the strongest and yet the meekest and kind-
liest of creatures, had made his appearance
in their country. So the wise men and teach-
ers of the blind came to the place where the
elephant was and every one began to investi-
gate his shape and figure and form. And when

THE PARABLE OI^ THE ELEPHANT. Ill

the elephant was gone they met and discussed
the problem of the noble and mighty beast,
and there were some who said he was like a
great thick snake; others said he was like
a snake of medium size. The former had felt
the trunk, the latter the tail. Further there
were some who claimed that his figure was
like that of a high column, others declared he
was large and bulky like a big barrel, still oth-
ers maintained he was smooth and hard but
tapering. Some of the blind had taken hold
of one of the legs, others had reached the main
body, and still others had touched the tusks.
Every one proposed his view and they disputed
and controverted, and wrangled, and litigated,
and bickered, and quarreled, and called each
other names, and each one imprecated all the
others, and each one denounced all the others,
and they abused and scolded, and they ana-
thematised and excommunicated, and finally
every one of them swore that every one else
was a liar and was cursed on account of his
heresies. These blind men, every one of them
honest in his contentions, being sure of having
the truth and relying upon his own experience,

112 AMITABHA.

formed schools and sects and factions and be-
haved in exactly the same way as you see the
priests of the different creeds behave. But the
master of the noble, mighty elephant knows
them all, he knows that every one of them has
a parcel of the truth, that every one is right in
his way, but wrong in taking his parcel to be
the whole truth.

"Not one of these sectarians observed the
fact that the elephant was perfectly white and
a marvel to see, for all of them were purblind.
Yet I would not say that they were either dis-
honest or hypocrites. They had investigated
the truth to the best of their ability.

''The master of the elephant is the Tatha-
gata, the Enlightened One, the Buddha. He
has brought the white elephant representing
the truth, the noble and mighty elephant, sym-
bolising strength and wisdom and devotion,
into the land of the blind, and he who listens
to the Tathagata will understand all the
schools, and all the sects and all the factions
that are in possession of parcels of the truth.
His doctrine is all-comprehensive, and he who

THE PARABLE OF THE ELEPHANT. 113

takes refuge in Him will cease to bicker, and to
contend, and to quarrel."^^

* * *

When Agvaghosha had finished the par-
able of the noble and mighty elephant, the two
kings returned from the summer palace carry-
ing with them in a solemn procession the slain
tiger, and close behind on a white charger
decked with garlands and gay ribbons, rode
the hero of the day, one of the generals from
the South, whose dart had struck the tiger
with fatal precision and death-dealing power.

^^Behold the hero of the day!" said Charaka.
"And had the conspiracy not miscarried the
same man might now be an assassin and a
miscreant.''

"There is a lesson in it!'' replied Agva-
ghosha, "existence is not desirable for its own
sake. That which gives worth to life is the
purpose to which it is devoted.

"Our aim is not to live, but whether we die
or live, to avoid wrong doing and to let right
and justice and lovingkindness prevail. Says
the Tathagata :

114 AMITABHA.

"Commit no wrong, but good deeds do,
And let thy heart be pure.
All Buddhas teach this doctrine true
Which will for aye endure."^*

THE DOUBLE WEDDING.

CHARAKA found by degrees and not
without difficulties his mental equilib-
rium, which his friend Kanishka seemed to
possess naturally. He unburdened his heart
to the saintly old man and arrived at the con-
viction that he was not made for a monk and
that his duties of life according to his disposi-
tion lay in other fields.

In the meantime King Kanishka had sent a
messenger to Matura his chancellor and vice-
gerent at Gandhara, to bring Princess Kama-
lavati to Benares.

Princess Kamalavati arrived, and when her
betrothal to Charaka was announced the happy
events of our story reached their climax. Ag-
vaghosha solemnised the nuptials of both coup-
les, Kanishka with Bhadragri, and Charaka
with Kamalavati ; and he read to them from the
Dhammapada the famous stanza:

116 AMITABHA.

"Sweet in the world is fatherhood,
And motherhood is sweet ;
But sweeter is the thought of good,
If nobly our heart beat.

t(

Sweeter, a life to old age spent
In truth and purity ;
Sweeter, to reach enlightenment
And keep from evil free."^^ ,

When the marriage ceremony was over a
feast was spread at the royal palace, and King
Kanishka declared that he had a great respect
for priests, but did not favor the idea that his
friend, the physician royal, should resign his
calling of wizard (as he was wont to call him)
for the sake of becoming a monk. While there
were plenty of good and honest men to wear
the yellow robe, there was scarcely one man
among a million who could perform miracles
and save human lives, as Charaka had done.

Charaka denied that he was a wizard. His
art was no magic but consisted simply in obser-
vation and experiment, and it was nature
whose forces he had learned to guide; but for
all that he accomplished things which astounded

THE DOUBLE WEDDING. 117

the world. They were better than the miracles
of magicians, for they were more useful and of
enduring benefit to mankind.

When his friends praised him, he replied:
"My science is a beginning only and what I
accomplish is the work of a tyro. The Tatha-
gata has preached the religion of enlighten-
ment, he set the wheel rolling; it is now our
duty to follow up his thought, to spread en-
lightenment, and to increase it. Amitabha is
infinite, and thus the possibilities of invention
are inexhaustible. The wondrous things which
man is able to do, and which he will do in the
ages to come, can at present only be surmised
by the wisest sages.

"But greater than the greatest feats of in-
vention will be the application of the Lord Bud-
dha's maxim of loving-kindness in all fields of
human intercourse, in family life, in politics,
in labor and social affairs, in our dealings with
friends and foes, with animals, and even with
the degenerate and criminal. The enlighten-
ment of our souls is most important. There-
fore we praise the Tathagata above all other
things.

118 AMITABHA.

"Bright shineth the sun in his splendor by day
And bright the moon's radiance by night,
Bright shineth the hero in battle array,
And the sage in his thought shineth bright.
But by day and by night, none so glorious so bright
As Lord Buddha, the source of all spiritual light."

NOTES.

Page I.

*For details of the pabbajja (or initiation) and the upa-
sampada (or ordination) see Mahdvagga, first khandaka (S.
B. E., Val. XIII).

Page 3.

'The time of our story is the fifth century after the Bud-
dha's enhghtenment, which corresponds to the first century
of the Christian era.

Page 6.

^Cf. "Buddhist Chants and Processions," Journal of the
Buddhist Text Society of India, Vol. Ill, Part II.

Page 10.

* Dhammapada, 21.

* Dhammapada, 223.

Page II.
'Dhammapada, 134.

^Dhammapada, 313.

* Dhammapada, 258 ; 240.

Page 12.

* Dhammapada, 254.

Page 31.

"Kevaddha's story is an abbreviated account of an an-
cient Buddhist Pali text. The verses as well as other details
are almost literally translated. Cf. Henry Warren's Bud-
dhism in Translations, pp. 308-313.

120 AMITABHA.

Page 32.

"Uposatha, or confession, was held regularly on the days
of the full and the new moon. For a detailed account of the
ceremony see Mahavagga, second Khandhaka {S. B. E., Vol.
XIII).

Page 40.
"The Greeks.

Page 56.
" Padhana sutta, 16. 6^. B. E., X, p. 71.

Page 64.
Dhammapada, 151.

14

Page 74.

" Cf. T. Suzuki's translation of Agvaghosha's Discourse
on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahaydna, pp. loi, 142 et
seq. The term "highest truth" is called by Agvaghosha in
Sanskrit paramdrthasatya.

"Compare Samuel Beal's Abstract of Form Lectures on
Buddhist literature in China, p. 177, where we read: "He
who is possessed of the highest self, he is able to see Buddha.
Buddha, although he dwell in the world, can be seen by none
but those possessed of this highest self. Maharaja! Most
true it is that though Buddha has attained Nirvana, yet may
you behold him."

Page 87.

17

Dhammapada 5.

18

Page 89.

For full accounts of Prince Long-life see Mahavagga,X,
3-20. (Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XVII.)

Page 96.
^^ TheSaddharmapundartka, chapter 7.

NOTES. 121

Page 98,

^ Amitabha (and with him Buddha) is never called Crea-
tor, but he is frequently addressed as "Father." See the Sad-
dharmapundanka, III, 97, 104, and the Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king,
III, 15, 1231.

Page 106.

'^ The simile of the blind leader of the blind occurs in the
same connection in the Tevijja Suit a, 15.

Page 108.

^''For the details of Agvaghosha's doctrine of the triple
aspect of the highest truth (so similar to the Christian trin-
ity) as the Kaya (i. e., body or personality) of (i) the good
law, (2) transformation, (3) bliss, see T. Suzuki's translation
of Agvaghosha's Discourse on the Awakening of Faith, Chi-
cago, 1900, pp. 99-101.

23

24

The Udana, VI.

Dhammapada, 183

Page 113.

Page 114.

Page 116.

^ Dhammapada, 332-333.

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BL1455.C317 __^ ^ ,

Amitabha; a story of Buddhist theology,

Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library

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