Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-18
THE BUDDHISM OF BUDpHA.
An Interesting Lecture Delivered at the Catl
0lic IrniYersffv ~ Mr. snail

An Interesting Lecture Delivered at the Cath
oiic University by Mr.. smell.
The public lecture at the Catholic UNIVERSITY
yesterday afternoon was delivered by Merwin
Marie Smell on the subject OF THE Buddhism
Of Buddha."
He began by sketching the history Of the
Buddhist religion; its division into the three
great camps Of tine Great Vehicle, the Little
Vehicle and the Middle Vehicle; its national
notifications, resulting from fusion with earlier
religions. and it's subdivision into hundreds of
widely different sects.
The Buddhism of Buddha, as distinguished
from all later developments and corruptions, is
to be found in the older books of the Tripitahe
or Southern Canon. which date to the time of
Buddha himself or of his immediate disciples
Buddha was opposed entirely to metaphysical
and theological speculations. The yedantists
had transformed the soul into a temporary
illusion and God into abstract being, imper-
sonal and unconscious. Buddha saw that such
soul and such God we're practically. nom
entities. He satirized the Brahmaus, who could
not show the way to the moon which
they had seen. and who yet professed TO show
the way to a Brahma whom they had never seen.
he forbade the worship Of any supposed god
or gods. or sacrifices of any kind. His gospel
related to the present life, and was designed
primarily to lead to a state of perfect indiffer-
ence and repose. which would insure immunity
from the pains and sorrows of existence.
HOW IT Js SUMMED Up
1t was summed up in the four noble truths.
]. Existence is full of pain and misery.
2. This suffering results from desire or At
tachment to existence.
3 Suffering can be PIT an end to by the ex-
tinguishlng of desire.
4. The means for the destruction of desire is
the noble eight-fold path of right thoughts.
right aspiratio right livelihood. right knowl-
edge. right meditations, right actions, right
speech and right contemplation.
Buddha recognized III a human being moth
Ing but the rye aggregates or ''skhandas
Bodily organization, sensations, the six senses
lincludmg the mind). ideas and consciousness.
he accepted very peculiar modified form OF
the doctrine of me:empsychosis or reinearua.
ton. This theory, though not found in the
old Nedic. religion. and probably of non Aryan
origin. had become generally accepted in India
before the time of Ga utame Buddha. as he re-
Jected the notion of the soul absurd (as
shown by the Lambasara Lutta). he denied the
continuity OF the individual or personal
existence, but supposed that the unsatistied
yearning for existence or anything which il
yields gives rise 10 new inviduality whose
character will be determined by the karma OF
act-force of the preceding one.
But so little stress did he lay upon this thai
the notions Of reincarnation and karma could
be entirely LETT out without modifying his sys-
TEN perceptibiy
The much-dlsputed term Nirvana was not
used often by Buddha himself. and then usually
as a synonym for that state of perfect interior
peace attainabie III this life which WAS the
primary goal of his teaching. When applied
to a state after death it meant in Buddha own
words that utter extinction which leaves moth
ing whatever behind"
Buddhas disciples constituted an order OF
mendicant friars called Bhikshua and of beg
ging sisters called Bhikshunis Together they
constituted the Saugha or Buddhist church.
They took no VOWS and were free to leave al
any time. They were forbidden to take more
than one meal day. to indulge in any amuse-
ments, to use any ornaments or personal dec
oratlons or TO own any property except their
simple yellow habit begging bowl and few
other personal necessities. They we're not al
lowed, however, to perform severe austerities
or to intict pain upon their bodies in any way.
Lay people were called servers" and were
not considered members of the Buddhist
church But they could gain merit bx sup
porting the friars and sisters and repeating the
formuls: Il take refuge in Buddha, take ref
uge In the law, take refuge in the order"
TOTAL ABSTINENCE.
They were bound only by five simple pre-
cepts, one of which was abstinence from in
toxicating liquors" So Buddha was the first
prohibiticnist
Another precept was abstinence from the de-
structIon OF life. either animal vegetable.
Buddha forbade confidence in rites and cere.
MONIES and the ceremonies of his community
were at first simple in the extreme He is said,
however. to have authorized the venera;io OF
four sacred places-those of his birth, his en-
hghtenment, bis first preaching and his death.
His relics were divided into eight parts and
sent to as many different places In each OF
which dagabe or tomb was erected over them.
These were from the the first places of nil