The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1869-12-17
HINDoo LEGEND.

There is a beautiful and touching story
told in the books the Buddhists about the
founder of their religion-a story that has
moral for people of all creeds and coun-
tries. Among the immediate followers of
Buddha was young girl named Koshagau-
tami. She was simple, artless creature,
married to an Indian youth like herself
and the pair dwelt together in woodland
country near the city of the famous Orien-
tai teacher. They had q little child, of
which Koshagautami was passionately
fond, as is the wont of Eastern mothers.
But it happened that the little one sicken-
ed and died, much to the establishment of
the young and ignorant parents, who had
been brought up in life so solitary they
knew nothing whatever about death. The
mother was especially grieved to find that
her child looked so still and pale and felt
so cold, although she pressed it constantly
to her bosom and tempted it with delicate
food. She rocked and shook it to make it
speak once more-she would have been
even glad to hear it cry, although in pain;
for the silence and deadly heaviness
of the little body filled her with a
vague misery. She went about the woods
with the baby upon her hip, as Indian wo-
men always carry their children, asking
everybody whom she met to tell her what
would be good for the baby, and why it
was so quiet and SO chill. The people
whom she met looked very strangely at the
| tiny corpse, and shook their heads, saying
| that no medicine would do it good any
more. This disappointed the mother so
much that she determined to seek out
Buddha, and to ask him, who was never at
a loss. for something that would bring back
the warmth and laughter to the small
cheeks. The Master was seated under a
banyan tree with his disciples, and when
the young mother came near with the child
beseeching him to say if he knew what
would make it well again, he looked at her
weeping countenance with great pity and
| answered that he did. go" he said, "and
bring me hither handful of mustard seed
from house where nobody has ever died,
and then l will heal your son." Koshag-
autami repaired to the town with the child
and asked at the first house for a little mus
rd-seed, which was readily given, because
other gentle and sorrowful look. "Friend,"
she said to the goodman, "did ever any die
in this household 9-for then the seed
would not do" The householder shook
his head mournfully, and replied that his
eldest son had died there during the last
moon. She went to the next, and so on
right through the town; but, to her sur
prise she found that into every house had
entered that same disease of which her lit
tie one was sick-even death. Ashamed
to have been so passionate and importu-
nate, when all the rest of the world suffer
ed and submitted she dared not take the
child back to Buddha, but buried it ten
derby in the forest, under the shade of an
asoka-tree, and then returned to the spot
where the Master was still teaching.
''There was no one," she moaned "who
had mustard seed to give me, of the kind
you babe me bring" And Buddha an
swercd, "No, Koshagautami it does not
grow in this world Of pain and illusion
The living are very few; the dead are very
many, my daughter"