The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-06-20
WHAT BUDDHISM rs.



xhere - NO such Ihing a. Esoteric bud
dhium Aecerdine to That Distinxuishes,
ecl,o,.r. Ma ns.,,.. Co.. IN
e's~r Aapi"ns-
NAHUM OF sne isehGton.
II people wish IN h. aeee,voa IT,.
a,wav. thnsa ,,.ho a.. ...s- s - 80, "'e
Th,. 49, a. %esoeise .hem.
sno Aao'e cnari'apie inter
peoa "hch VIC can put on the begin.
nings OF that extraordinary movement
which Is known by the name Of esoteric
Buddhism--nay, which, on account OF the
similarities which exist between nnddA,sr,
and Christianitv cla;ns In so,,,s No.. an
nama !, Ch,,.,ia, p,,,s..- 1850 s's
T.n,., -. az present
~, W SUI" Una. u tnere u any re-
mkion enureiy nee from esoteric doctrines
- Duoonism. There never was any such
lining ~ mystery IN buddhism. Altogether,
~ seems 70 me that mystery is much more
Oh Oh modern than OF an ancient invention.
1nere are no real mysteries even in Brah-
nnanism, tor we can hardly apply that name
W uocernes which were not communicated
70 everybody, put only to people who had
passeu tnrougn certain preparatory dis
opnne Inc whoie NE OF Brahman in
aneiens india was under certain control.
~ was oiyiuea into Tour stages, the school,
me nousenoiu, tine forest and the solitude.
UP 10 the age OF "a young man was
supposed 70 DC student In the house Of a
suru, A,,er tnas ne had to marry and
,ounu uousehoio ana perform all the re-
ngious acts which were prescribed by the
veuas' Then, when he had seen his chill
urens chiioreh ne was expected to retire
from his house and live alone or with his
released iat nd
religious duties-nay, allowed to enjoy the
greatest freedom OF philosophic speculation.
Inc highest object OF this contemplative
Ire In the forest was the finding Of ones
own soul, the saving OF ones soul alive. the
discovery OF the Altman, the self, and not
tne mere Ego Even in those early days
tne existence OF soul had been denied
some held that body and soul were the
same; Others, that the soul was the breath;
others. again, that it was the Ego or the
mind with all its experiences, with its per
ceptions and conceptions and all the rest. |
The hermits in the forest, after they had |
subdued all the passions OF the body and |
wrenched themselves free from all its fet- |
tiers, had now to learn that the soul was |
something that according TO its very ma |
ture could never be seen or heard, or per |
ceived like the objective world which was
visible and perishable, because IL perceived |
1t would at once become something object |
i've, something totally different from the
perceiving subject. 1t would no longer be |
the soul The unseen and unperceived |
something which was formerly called the
soul was now called the self, Altman.
Nothing could be predicated of IL except
that it was, that IL perceived and thought.
and that 1t must be blessed When they
dtCNnrarad haf kn a.
self within us, shared its only possible
predicates with the Brahman, the invisible
self behind nature and behind the SO called
gods of nature, the next step was easy
the discovery of the orig
inal identity of the self and Of Brahman.
the eternal oneness of man and God. the
identity OF human and divine
nature. To restore that identity by re-
moving the darkness of ignorance by which
1t has been clouded-to become. as we
should say, one with God and he with ne
or rather to lose ourself and find ourself
again In God-that was henceforth the
highest goal of the remaining years of the
old mans life in the forest.
But the time came when those who had
passed through all the trials and miseries
Of life, and who after stormy voyage had
found a refuge In the harbor of true phil
osophy, whose anchors were no longer drag
ging but resting firmly on the rock of truth
the time came when these men them
selves, conscious Of the bliss they enioyed.
said to themselves, "What is the use Of
this dreary waiting, Of all the toll of youth.
of all the struggle of life, of all the trou.
BILE of sacrifices, Of all the terrors of re.
ligion, when there is this true knowledge
which changes us in the twinklipR of an
eye, discloses to us our real nature. our real
home our real GodPn This thought do
not mean the belief in a union between
the human and the divine, but this conyic-
ton that the preparatory stages of student
life and married life were useless. and that
1t was better at once to face the trutb-has
always seemed to me the true starting
point Of Buddhism as historical religion.
Buddhism has come to mean SO MANY
things that always feel a kind of shiver
when people speak OF Buddhism as teach
ing this or that Buddhism had no doubt
a historical origin In the fifth century r.
c., and there were many causes which led
to its rapid growth at that time But from
a social point of view, the first and critical
step consisted in Buddha's opening the
doors of a forest life to all who wished to
enter, whatever their age, whatever their
caste. That life in the forest, however, is
not meant to be what IL used to he in for
mer times, real retirement from the vii
lage and retreat into the solitude of The
forest. but simply a retirement from the
cares of the world, life with the brother.
hood, and performance of the duties i'm.
posed on the brotherhood by the founder of
the Buddhist order. This leaving Of tho
world before a man had performed the
duties of student and of father of a fam
ily was the great offense of Rnadb;ero In
the eyes of the Brahmans, for it was that
which deprived the Brahmans of their ex.
elusive social position as teachers. as
priests, as guides and counselors
Much as Buddhism in its latter deyelon-
ment differs from Brahmauism. Buddha,s
teaching would be quite ipconceivahle
ism. 1t is generally imagined. for instance