Los Angeles herald., 1892-10-09

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THE IDOL IN TIE REDWOOD GROVE.
ligion of Asia It is real and original
Buddhism and it is the fashionable fad
the latest thing out. 1t has its temples in
our cities. 1t has hundreds of disciples
among our most intelligent people. Hun
dreds of men and women of the so called
Bohemian" class have taken it up and
an immense congregation of these, under
the auspices of the Bohemian club of San
Francisco recently held a meeting at night
in the grove of Sequoia canyon. They
gathered about huge image of Buddha
sixty feet high, the head up among the
branches of the great redwood grove. This
Buddha was built after the fashion of a
great bronze Buddha far away in Japan.
1t stood at the end of splendid redwood
grove, with an avenue leading to 1t 100
yards long. High among the trees hun
dreds upon hundreds Of Chinese lanterns
fickered their varied lights of red and
yellow and green making fantasy such
as faiFyland is generally supposed to show.
At 9o'clock the great gong sounded the
band struck up plaintive air, and 25O
priests advanced to the foot of the image.
They were all in white, with heavy cowls
and with ropes about their waists. The
music was from Mendelssohn, and began
with that splendid bit of symphony in
which the waves dash up with majestic
splendor against the heavy rocks, and one
can feel the very ground trembling as the
music swells and fails
In the group were artists, merchants,
poets, journalists, soldiers and sailors, all
men of culture, met to do homage to a
faith far older than Christianity, and in a
state which has not yet known civilization
for fifty years. And the music is described
as simply wonderful First there came the
"Introit'' by the archpriest, and then the
dainty, delicate notes of the Midsummer
Nights Dream,' fairly danced from the
players instruments. All this in the
solemn night with the splendid stage set
ting of mountain scenery, blue sky and the
majestic redwoods.
Between the musical selections came
short sermons. The first speaker told the
story of the splendid redwoods which have
come up from the graves of primeval men
centuries ere even Buddha was thought
of. The oak, he said, was the ideal of so
ciety and the Bohemian was nourished in
its arms. Society was necessary to Bohe.
mian nurture. A true Bohemian loves the
town; when he gets to the forest for more
than three days he is unhappy. The mis-
tletoe he admitted was the emblem of good
luck. 1t crowned the heads of Druid
priests, who chose trees and stones for
their temples, and yet it loves to flourish
through the aid Of Others efforts.
Another detailed the life of Gautama
(the Buddha of India), and how he taught
that man should free himself: First from
all evil desires; second from ignorance;
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and fifth, from vexation. Great Buddha-
Gautama-said the five precepts We're con-
tanned in one-that is, that good will toward
all men would sum up the whole. Buddha
especially ordained that man should feed
himself comfortable in body and SOUL but
at the same time exercise moderation. To
this end he thought that the forest was the
true residence for a man, because it took
him away from the desire for riches and
that cry of evil which is ever ringing in his
ears within a town.
''So," said the speaker, "we have left the
ringing of gold, all of our desires, all igno-
rance, all doubt, all superstition and all
veXation, and have sought the forest to
become for few hours the followers of
Buddha. l said superstition, and that
means all religion that is celebrated within
artificial halls. In worshiping Buddha
tonight we are in temple which God
giveth, where as tarrying place the EN-
lightenment' of the Buddhist may be
found"
OF course there was some fun in the pro-
ceedings. 1t would seem that these Bohe-
mians are just Buddhist enough to inter-
est them and not do them any harm, and
comedy followed the solemnity. In it Care
was cremated A huge coffin with all the
written sorrows of the Bohemian club was
placed upon the pyre of resinous pine logs,
and torch in the hands of the high priest
sent the pile blazing in sparks just as the
life OF man flies upward. The huge, fat
face OF the great Buddha lighted gayly and
the redwood trees in the faint breeze flashed
to and fro, but, adds sarcastic reporter.
when they looked up they saw that the
eyes of Buddha were as blind as their own.
1t may interest the thoughtful to know
that Gautama or Sakyamuni was prince
in India, and that about 543 B. C. he COM
menced preaching reform out of which
Buddhism was developed. 1t is TODAY the
faith of more than one-third of the human
race, and in it there is SO much good that
our Theosophists hope to found a new cult.
The Terrible Infant.
This happened at circus performance
recently: The equestrienne had just con.
cluded her dazzling performance, closing
with mad ride about the ring, standing
on ono foot with tho othar alovotod l, ;..h