The herald., 1897-02-15
UNlYERSALIST CHURCH
The Limitations Of Buddhism Explained by
DR.. Rice

Continuing the series Of discourses or
| '"The Great Religions" the pastor, Rev
A. A. Rice, spoke on Buddhism, takins
| for his text the words of Sakyamun
Buddha, The origin of all things is the
result of cause; the cessation of exist.
ence likewise results from cause" This
words of the text give us the centra'
thought or the fundamental idea of re.
ligion which is embraced by 800. O00, ,00C
of people. and are the key which un-
locks the whole system of belief We
call Buddhism goddess religion because
the idea Of God which is so imperfect in
Confucianism and Brahmanism, its
Aryan sister religion is entirely lost in
Buddhism, or to say the least has never
been found. THE idea of supreme be-
ing is nowhere mentioned by Buddha, -
its founder, while ''in the course Of his
religious disputation with the Brahmins
he combatS the notion of God coolly es-
tablishing the most crude atheism" Be
sides the system founded on this thought
of the text does away entirely with the
necessity for God. The Buddhist Is
pleased to believe that the unendine
chain OF cause and effect found in ma
ture has its root in law rather than in
a law-giver or G cd; that the great first
self-existent cause of all things is 'deao,
cold, hard, cruel unrelenting law" in
stead of an infinite being who DEGREES
in an intelligent and invariable manner.
The great nightmare of the law of cause
and effect which eliminates God from
existing things, leaving man to struggle
for life alone, has laid hold of the Budd-
hist mind with irresistible force. Not
only is mans future life to be the effect
of what he does in the present but his
present is caused by an unknown and
unremembered existence in the past
The Buddhists' most earnest prayer and
life endeavor is for release from the un-
ending chain of law that moves round
forever and ever. This basal concep-
tion of the power which underlies the
universe tempers all his ideas of life's
duties. rewards and destiny.
Mans morality consists not in using
his appetites, desires and passions so
that they shall rebound to his own and
to others glory. but in subduing them
even to annihilation that he thus may
not have laid hold of, and become en-
tangled in the awful chain of relentless
law. Regarding rewards and punish
ments, no other religion under the sun
makes more of the precept Whatsoever
this principle is as inevitable as is the
law of cause and effect and we may add,
just as narrow in its scope, for if in
Buddhism the source of moral author
ity is the causal law" its ethical sense
and likewise the conception of reward
is much more limited than if to this is
added accountability to a living God.
The Nirvana or heaven of Buddha is
escape from hell rather than entrance
into heaven. 1t is a. condition of peace
or rest occasioned by release from the
half-imagined trouble which a goddess
system with consequent pessimism
necessarily has entailed on the mind of
its subjects. To the many in our Chris
tian land who perhaps unknowingly are
inclined to Buddhism. to believe in law
instead of God, may the truth be known
that this imperfect and limited system
makes an imperfect and limited man.