The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1872-03-28
The Eounaer o. s7udGrisE,.


SeTen centuries before the Christian era.
5 prince Of ole Of the royal fam.aes OF
India, having exhausted, in his 29th year,
al the pleasures of the World, aud having
IN him one OF the deepest, most coInpre
hensiye and most creative Of human intel
lects, suddenly abandoned in disgust bis
palace, his family, his treasures, and his
state, took the name Of Gotama, which
means e he who kills the senses" became
religious mendicant, walked ,oQt
in : s.roud taken from the dead body OF
female slave; taught, preached, and gath
cred about HIN q body Of enthusiastic dis
ciples, bound together by the most Efficient
CT all ecclesiastical, organizations; dictated
os inspired works, which, as ncw published
by the Chinese Government IN four ham
gusges occupy 500 volumes; and aleda the
age Of 50 the founder Of the Buddhist reii-
zion. Compared with this man, Noham-
med was an ignorant and feroci0us baYba-
rian, and the proudest names IL Western
philosophy lose little Of their luster when
placed BY the side Of this thinker, who
grapplcd the greatest problems of existence
with the mightiest force Of conception and
reasoning.
A. philosopher he anticipated both
the ldealiSm Of Berkeley and the positivism
of Comte; rs political thinker he antici-
pated the modest truth of ,,ur Declaration
Of independence, and TWO thousand five
hundred years ago taught, against the caste
system of India, the doctrine of the equali-
ty Of men; and, in the region of influence
higher than that in which either philosophy
or craftsmanship works, he founded
a religion which is now professei
by two ffths Of the hur an
race, aud which thus exceeds, in the num-
Der of yotaries, that Of any other religion
in the world. Buddhism has been cor
rupted by a fantastic mythology, bat its
essential principle derived from its found
ers disgust Of existence, is that life In not
worth living, and that tnc extinction of
life is the highest reward OF virtue. To
pass in the next world through various
penal or Purifying igrah0us, unless
you reach the bliss of NirwauG, or mere
nothiugneSs and noueRt;ty, that is the
Buddhist religion. We have said that it
was protssSed by two ffihs Of the human
race, but its fundamental principle that
life is not worth living, Is believed, if not
proteSscj, by a large majority Of mankind
Not to speak Of the hundreds of wailing
buoAo winch NilSdhth-opic genius I!iiS con-
tributcl to all modern htcratures, not to
remind the reader that the Buddhist BY
ron IS the most popular British poet Of the
century that person must have been sin
gularly blessed with cheerful companions
who has not met followers Of Gotama
among the nominal believers of Christ.
The infection Of the doctrine as an inter
probation Of human experience is so great
that comparatively few have altogether
escaped its influence. In bas;ng his relig-
ION on this disease Of hannah nature, Got
anna showed profoun Ter .agacity than that
evidenced By any oyher founder Of false
religion; and in the East this disease pre-
scented its most desrairing phase, for there
weariness Of life was associated both with
the safety Of the rich and the wrctehed-
ness Of the poOr.-E. =. WhUpIe.