The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-09-01

| lnOdlncu form ana nOllb out inc cNtnctOn OF
individual conscious existence rs the final ro-
ward Of holy life. and In rejecting rituals.
asccticism. and all casio distinctions. It's
striking positive feature Is tho prominence 1t
gives to life Of practical purity and bcnevo-
| lcncc II seems probable that Gautama did not
! intend TO do moro than to reform existing Brah-
manism. and that the establishment Of new
religion was a result he did not forcscc
when Gautama. directly after tho crisis under
the Do tree was ON his wy to Bcnares. he Is
said to have met with Brahnan OF his ac.
quaintancc. who asked him: Whence comes
| 1t that thy form Is so perfect. thy countonance
So lovely. thy appearance 40 peaceful What
system OF religion i6 it that imparts to thco
such JOY and such peace ~ To this uautama
answered that he had overcome all worldly in
ndonccs and ignorance and ain and desire.
The Brahman then asked for what purpose no
| wac going to Bcnarcs. and tho answer was
inow dcsirc to turn the wheel Of tho excellent Law.
r., th, , grp1' am gons To- ne cay Of Bnares
And To open the gate Of bliss to men.
Tho expression. to turn the wheel" Ia an
alluson TO the triumphant progress Of con-
| qu"rors chHriot and IL equivalent to our cant
expression. set tho ball rolling" Tho law
| spoken Of il tho essentials OF yirtuous life
which. under the namo OF the Middle Path
| Buddhism makes to consist Of eight things
Right Belief Right Feelings. Right speech.
| Right Actions, Right Means Of Livelihood Right
Endoavor. Right Memory. and Right Medita-
tion. These are also called the Noble Eight
! fold Path. and arc said to depend on the four
Noble Truths: |. The consciousness Of indi-
vduallty and the sense of separate existence Is
q state OF suffering and sorrow. 2. The cause
OF suffering IL the action Of the external world
on the stnscs exciting a craving tppdidnd.
grasping. hisiud. thirst for satisfaction. 3. Tho
cessation Of sorrow is secured blythe destruction
OF this 'raying. L. The path to tho cessation Of
sorrow is the Noble Elght-foll Path. Another
statement Of tho doctrine is this:
To cease from all sin.
~ cleanse ones own heart
This Is the rchston OF the Buddhas
The practical rules Of life arc summed up in
this formula:
o9c . no9 MT ,s G'irS} Sli G NOT v,r
: one should not become dhnker Of intoxicating
one should refrain from unlawful sexual intercourse
. ON should not cat unreasonable fo,d at nigh,
] one SHOULD not wear gtrllufs perfumes
onc .hould sie,p mat spread the ground
The first five Of those prccepts are of uni
vcrsal obligation. The last three are observed
only by tho mcndcant monks. and arc disro.
gardcd by other Bullhists except on special
days or in obedience 10 special vow. These
special DAYS. called uposdiid days are the days
Of the new anil full moon and those half way
between. 40 that they nearly coincide with our
sabbath Indeed modern Buddhists have now
the same wcek and days OF tho week that we
have. and regard t'as irrcligious not to keep
all the eight procepts on tho Sabbath days. In
addition, tho mcndicants observe two other
preccpts. namely. 20 abstain from dancing
music, singing and stage plays. and to refrain
from tho use Of gold and silver making ten in
all In another form tho universal prccepts are
given as statement OF ten sins to be avoided
namely: Three Of tho bodybuilding life. theft
unlawful sexual intercourse; four Of speech
lying. SANDER. abuse. vain conversation: and
three Of tho mind-covetousness malice.
skeItcism.
THE PROCESS OF sAScrIFTcArIoN.
Tho Buddhist holy life is divided into four
stages: l. Entering upon tho stream which Is
consequence either Of companonshp with
the good. Of hearing OF the law. OF enlightened
reflection or OF the practice Of virtue. g. The
pnth Of those who will return only once to this
world; which is a partial subIugation Of lust.
hatred. and dcuson. 3 The path Of those who
viii never return To this world which consists
Of the extinction Of the last remnants OF sensu-
atty aud maeyOlcnce. L. The path Of the holy
ones or .irdhdis. in which the saint becomes
free from the desire for either material or i'm
material existence and from pride. selfrght-
eousness. and Ignorance. He il FREQ from all
sin he secs and values all things in this life at
their true worth; and desires Of all kinds being
rooted up from his mind he only experiences
right desires for himself and tender pity and re-
gard and exalted spiritual owe for others In
the process Of arriving nj this result ten evil |
states arc oyercomc Delusion Of self doubt |
dependence on rites. sensuality hatred. love Of |
life on earth, desire for life in heaven pride |
sef-righteousncss. ignorance. When these |
evils are overcome a man becomes an Arahai. |
and enters upon tho perfection OF Buddhist |
happiness-AUcdHd.
NIEvAsA.
Much discussion has been had upon the |
meaning Of this expression. N0rdna some |
contending that 1t Ia equivalent to annhilation.
and others that II is only heavenly hcatitude. |
From the explanation Of the matter which Mr.. |
Dayids gives it would seem that both parties |
are right Nrrdud is indeed tho extinction II /
sinful desire, hut since the Buddhiss believe all |
desire TO be sinful. and the cause of human un- |
happiness. Nurdna. being the extinction Of this |
desire. involves also the extinction Of conscious
individual existence and with it of unhapp- |
ness. and therefore amounts to the annililation |
Of the individual.
In order 10 more fully comprehend this point |
We must consider the Buddhist doctrine of |
mans individuality. According to this there is
no such thing as soul capable Of being re-
garded ms an entity in itself. man is an
assemblage OF different properties or qualities.
which are divided into 1--WE groups or Skdndtds,
ono OF material qualities appertaining to tho
flesh and blood. one Of the faculties OF sensa-
ton. one Of abstract ideas one OF mental pow
ers. md one Of thought or reason. The first Is
likened 10 mass Of foam that gradually forms
and then yanishes. the second is like n bubble
dancing on the water. the third il like mirage.
the fourth like the plantain stalk. without So
lidity and the fifth is a spectral Illusion. None
Of these skandhds Is the soul and as they are
constantly changing, man is never the same for
two consecutive moments.
BUDDHIST ILLUSTRATION.
An ancient elementary Buddhist doctrinal
treatise opens with a dialogue between a
Buddhist sage. Nagascna. and G reek King Of