, 1877-07-21

The founder 0f Buddhlslp IS usually
spoken OF as Buddha, but Baddha is not
the name of man, it is lather de-
scriptve title, and we should properly
speak 0f a Buddtn or the Buddha, but
not of Buddlm when we reiG to the man
who founded this religion just as we
should say The Christ, and not use that
term as a proper name.
The word Buddha comes from san
scrit or Aryan root which means to know,
and from the same root, We have the
English word Bode which Is in common
use in the word forbode, which means
primarily to foreknow. So Buddha
means one who knows, Il wise one, one
in whom reason and the intellect are su-
premc. This word was word in COM
mon use IN the Brahman religion, before
rhe birth of the man who received the
name as title The Buddha, and every
man who distinguished himself 10y his
powers of mind, by self control, or re-
ligious attainments was called a Buddha.
But in order to get at the full sgnif-
cameo of this word and also to note the
transition from Brahmanlsm to Buddh-
ism as phase of religious development
wish to go back to where our former
lecture closed, to the Laws OF Menue.
The last book Of that law treats OF Il
subject that no student Of religion, no
student of the mental, or religious nature
of man can pass by lightly-the metem-
psychoss or trsnsmigration OF souls.
OF this doctrine Mr.. w. r, Alger, a stu
dent of religions and of the doctrines OF
II future life in particular and calm
and careful writer says: "No other
doctrine has exerted SO extensive con-
trolling and permanent nm influence
upon mankind as this--the notion that
when, the soul leaves the body it is born
anew ire another body. its rank character,
circumstances and experience, in each
successive existence depending, on its
qualities, deeds and attachments in its
proceeding lives. Such theory well
matured bore unresisted sway through
the great Eastern world leng before
Moses slept in his little ark Of bulrushes
on the shore of the Egyptian river.
Alexander the Great gezed with amaze
ment on the self immolation. by fire to
which it inspired the Gymnosophists'
Caesar found its tents propagated among
he Gauli beyond the Rubicon, at this
hour it reigns despotic, without any sign
Of decripitude or decay, over the Bur
man Chinese Tihataa ana Y" anatlons
.--,al.-ssrS least six iIundR and fifrg
millions of mankind. ThereN5abundant
evidence to prove that this scheme OF
thought prevailed at a very early period
among the Egyptians. all sects OF the
Hindus, the Persian diciples of the Magi,
and the Drdids, and in a later age among
the Greeks and Romans, as represented
by Pythagoras, Plato, Plotinus, Macro'
bins, Ovid and many others
Traces Of it have been discovered, the
African tribes, Pacific Islanders, and va
rious aboriginal nations of North and
South America" The Canadians and
Mexicans believed that the transmigra'
ton was limited to the souls Of little
children who cheated by early death in
their first attempt at life were allowed to
try again.
Itappears then that about one half the
human race in both the past and the
present have believed this strange doc
trine. SO soon as o tribe of savages
have advanced far enough in culture to
have ary religion, it seems that they are
sure to hit upon this strange notion Of
the transmigratiou OF souls.
BY some it is limited to human bodies,
this was the form in whsch it was held
by the'Jews after their Babylonian cap
tivity, as expounded by Philo the great
Jewish Platonist. His theory was that
in the beginning God created certain
number of souls and that the number
was never increased nor diminished, that
when soul found it had lost its body
by death it sought to find another. This