Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1873-08-12
MIscELLAME oUs.
A BUDDHIST. LEGEND.

iAia@ a BUDDHIST LEGEND.
SEsaN the village of Sarvathi there lived a
= young wife named Keesah, who at the age
of fourteen gave birth to son and she
loved him with all the love and joy of the
possession of a newly found treasure, for his
face was like a golden cloud, his eyes fair and
tender as blue lotus, aud his smile bright
and beaming like the morning light upon the
dewey flowers. But when the boy was able
to walk, and could run about the house. there
came day when he suddenly fell sick and
died. And Keesah, not understanding what
had happened to her fair lotus boy, clasped
him to her bosom, aud went about the village
from house to house, praying and weeping,
and beseeching the good people to give her
some medicine to cure her baby. But the
villagers and neighbors, on seeing her, said
as the girl mad, that she still bears about
on her breast the dead body of her child?
At last holy man, plying the girls sor-
row, said to himself: "Alas this Keesah
does not understand the law of death I will
try and comfort her." And he answered her
and said, "My good girl, cannot myself give
you any medicine to cure your boy, but I
know a holy and wise physician who can.''
"O" said the young mother, edo tell me
who he is, that may go at once to him."
And the holy man replied, 'He is called
the Buddha; he alone cure thy child"
Then Keesah, on hearing this, was COM
forted, and set out to find Buddha. still clasp
ing to her heart the lifeless body of her child
And when she found him she bowed down
before him and said:
ooh, my lord and master! do you know of
any medicine that will cure my baby?"
And the Buddha replied and said eyes.
T knoyr nf ono hut ,ok
And she asked: what medicine do YOU
want7 Tell me, that may hasten in search
of it."
And the Buddha said: "T want only q
few grains of mustard seed. Leave here the
boy, and you go and bring them to me-"
The girl refused to part with her baby, but
promised to get the seed for him. And she
was about to set out when the pitiful BuddLa,
calling her, said
''My sister, the mustard seed that require
must be taken from house where no child,
parent, husband, wife, relative, or slave has
ever died"
The young mother replied, every good, my
lord and went her way, taking her boy with
her, and setting him astride on her lap, with
his lifeless head resting nn her hosom. Thus
she went from house to house, from palace to
hut, begging for some grains of mustard seed
take them aud go thy way" But she first
asked:
''In this my friends house, has there ever
died child, q husband, parent, or slave?"
And they all replied: LADY, what is this
that thou hast said? Knowest thou not that
the living are few, but that the dead arc
many? There is no such home as thou
seekest
Then she went to the other houses and
begged the grains of mustard seed, which
were gladly given her, but to her questions
said, 81 have lost a son y another, .'I
have lost slave;" and every ous and all of
them made some such reply. At last, not be-
ing able to discover a house free from the
dead, whence she could obtain the mustard
seed, and feeling utterly faint and weary, she
sat herself down upon stone, with baby in
her lap, and thinking sadly, said to herself:
"Alas this is heavy task have undertaken.
I am not the only one who has lost her baby
Everywhere children are dying, loved ones
are dying, and everywhere they tell me that
the dead are more numerous than the living
Shall ], then, think only of my sorrowY Y
Thinking thus, she suddenly summoned
courage to put away her sorrow for her dead
baby, and she carried him TO the forest aud
laid him down to rest under tree; and hav-
ing covered him over with tender leaves, and
taking her last look of his loved face, she
took herself once more to the Buddha and
bowed before him
And he said to her: "Sister, hast thou
found the mustard seed ?"
81 have not, my lord" she replied, stfor
the people in the village tell me there is no
house in which some one has not died for
the living are few but the dead are many"
'.And where is your baby2"
81 have laid him under tree in the forest
my lord" said Keesah gently.
Then said Buddha to her: 'You have
found the grain of mustard seed you thought
that you alone had lost son, but now YOU
have learned that the law of death and of suf,
fering is among all human creatures, and that
here there is no permanence"
On hearing this. Keesah was comforted.
and established in the path of virtue, and was
hencefor.h called Keesah Goodams. the dis.
ciple of Buddha.
WASHING FLu1D-An excellent washing
fluid may thus be made: Three tablespoonfnls
of soda, the same of dissolved camphor, (the
same as is kept for family use.) to quart of
soft water; bottle it up and shake we'll before
using. For large washing, four tablespoon
fuls of the fluid to a pint of soap, make a
warm suds, and soak the clothes half an hour;
then make other suds, using the same quan>
tity of soap and fluid; boil them fifteen min
utes, then rinse in two waters.
D1T.n r. Il