The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-12-05

anu Cdll wv IlO DuSlllNNo Nlti Oph VII
less ! can buy cart of the best rice for
the kings table. There is a rival banker
in Varanasi, who, learning that | had
made a contract with the royal treasurer
to deliver the rice tomorrow morning
and being DESTROYS to bring about my
destruction, has bought up all the rice
in Varanasi. The royal treasurer must
have received bride, for he will not
release me from my contract, and to.
morrow | shall be ruined man unless
Kirshna will send an angel from heaven
to help me. "
While Mallika was lamenting the
poverty to which his rival would reduce
him Pandu missed his purse Searching
his carriage without being able to find
it, he suspected his slave Mahaduta, and
calling the police accused him of theft
and had him bound and cruelty tortured
to extort confession The slave in his
agonies cried: 81 am innocent. Let me
GO for l cannot stand this pain. | am
quite innocent at least of this crime and
suffer now for other sins Oh that |
could beg the farmers pardon whom for
the sake Of my master | wronged with
out any causel This torture, l believe,
punishment for my rudeness.
While the police officer was still APP
plying the lash to the back of the slave
the farmer arrived at the inn, and to
the great astonish ment of all concerned
delivered the purse. The slave was at
once released from the hands of his tor
turer. But being dissatisfied with his
master he secretly left and joined a
band of robbers in the mountains, who
made him their chief on account of his
great strength and courage.
When Mallika heard that the farmer
had the hest rice to SELL fit for delivery
to the royal table, he bought at once
the whole CARLOAD for treble the price
that the farmer had ever received, and
Pandu, glad at heart to have his money
returned, fastened at once to. the vihara
to receive further explanations from
Narada, the shramana
Narada said: Il might give thee an
explanation, but knowing that thou art
unable to understand a spiritual truth
l prefer to remain silent. However,
shall give thee some advice: Treat every
man whom thou meetest as thy own
to be served thyself, for thus thou shalt
SOW sowing of good deeds, the rich
harvest of which thou will not fail to
reap.
"Give me, o shramana, the eXplana-
tion,' said the jeweler, land l shall
thereby be better able to follow your
advice.
The shramana said: Listen then.
will give you the key to the mystery.
If you do not understand it, have faith
in what | say. Self is an illusion, and
he whose mind is bent upon following
self follows an ignis fatuus which leads
him into the quagmire Of sin. The illu-
sion of self is the veil of Maya that
blinds your eyes and prevents you from
recognizing the close relations that OBJ
tain between yourself and your fellows
and from tracing the identity of your
self in the souls of other beings. Igno-
rance is the source Of sin. There arc few
who know the truth Let this motto
be your talisman:
I" He who hurts others Injuries him
self.
" He who helps others advances his
own intere is
{" Let the delusion of self disappear
from your mind, and you will natural
ly walk i'll the path of truth.
" TO him whose vision is dimmed by
the veil Of Maya the spiritual world APP
pears to be cut up into innumerable
selves. Thus he will be puzzled in many
ways concerning the transmigration of
soul life and Will be incapable of under
standing the import of an all compre-
hensive kindness toward all living be-
ings.
The jeweler replied: Your words, O
venerable sir, have deep significance,
and | shall bear them III mind. l ex-
tended a small kindness which caused
me no expense whatever to IA poor shra-
mana on my way to Varanasi and, To-
how propitious has been the result
am deeply in your debt, for without you
should not only have lost my purse,
but would have been prevented from
doing business in Varanasi which great
ly increased my wealth, while if it had
been left undone it might have reduced
me to state of wretched poverty In adj
dition, your thoughtfulness and the ar
rival of the farmers rice cart preserved
the prosperity of my friend Mallika,
the banker, If all men saw the truth OF
your mayims, how much better the
world would be; how greatly evils
would be lessened and public welfare
enhancedl AS | am anxious to let the
truth of Buddha be understood, | shall
found vihara at my native place,
Kaushambi, and invite you to visit me,
20 that l may dedicate the place to the
brotherhood of Buddha's disciples. "
Years passed ON, and Pandu's vihara
at Kaushambi became a place in which
wise shramanas used to stay, and it wat
renowned as "a center of enlightenment
for the people of the town.
At that time the king of neighbor
ing country had heard Of the beauty OF
Pandu's jewelry, and he sent his treas
urer to order a royal diadem wrought
In pure gold and set with the most pre-
oious stones in India.
When Pandu had finished the work
! L., e. a. =. 4 Al. l..