Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1871-03-03
THE FOUNDER OF BUDDHIS.u.

Seven centuries before the Christian era
prince of one of the royal families of In
dia, having exhausted, in his 29tl year. all
the pleasures of the world, and having in
him one of the deepest, most compre-
hensive, and most creative of human intel
lects, suddenly abandoned in disgust his
palace, his family, his treasures, and his
state; took the name of Gotama, which
means, she who kills the Senses" became
religious mendicant; walked about in a
shroud taken from the dead body of fe-
male slave; taught, preached, and gathered
about him body of enthusiastic disciples,
bound together by the most efficient of ali
ecclesiastical organizations; dictated or in
spired works which, as now published by
the Chinese government in four languages,
occupy 500 volumes, and died at the age of
So the founder of the Buddhist religion,
Compared with this man, Mahomet was an
ignorant and ferocious barbarian and the
proudest names in western philosophy lose
little of their lustre when placed by the
side of this thinker, who grappled with the
greatest problems of existence with the
mightiest force of conception and reason
ing. As philosopher he anticipated both
the idealism of Berkeley and the positive
ism of Comte; as a political thinker, he an
ticipated the nobleSt truth of our "Decara-
ton of independence" and $500 years ago
taught, against the caste system of India,
the doctrine of the equality of men; and,
in that region of influence, higher than that
in which either philosophy or statesman
ship works, he founded a religion which is
now proiessed by two-fiths of the human
race, and which thus exceeds in the num-
Der of its votaries that of any other relig-
ion in the world. Buddhism has been cor
rupted by fantastic mythology, but its es-
sential principle, derived from its founders
disgust of existence, is, that life is not
worth living and that the extinction of life
is the highest reward of virtue. To pass,
in the next world, through various penal
or purifying transmigrations, until you
reach the bliss of Nirwana, or mere moth
ingDess and nonentity, that is the Buddhist
religion.
We have said that it was protested by two
fifths of the human race, but its fundamen-
tai principle, that life is not worth living,
is believed, if not protested, by large ma
iority of mankind. Not to speak of the
hundreds of wailng books which nissan
thropic genius has contributed to all mod
ern literatures, not to remind the reader
that the Buddhist Byron is the most popu-
lar British poet Of the century, that person
must have been singuarly blessed with
cheerful companions who has not met fol-
lowers of Gotama among the nominal be-
levers in Christ. The infection of the doc
trine as an Interpretation of human expe-
rence is so great that comparatively few
have altogether escaped its influence. In
basing his religion on this disease of human
nature, Gotama showed profounder sagaci-
ty than that evinced by any other founder
of a false religion; aud in the east this pre-
scented its most despairng phase, for there
WEAKNESS of life was associated both with
the safety of the rich and the wretchedness
of the poor.
But whence comes this disgust of life2
We answer, from the comparative absence
of life. No man feels it who feels the
Astounding reality of spiritual existence
glowing within him; for rightly sings the
poet:
"whateyer crazy saith,
No life that breAthes with human breath
Has ever truly longed for death