The San Francisco call., 1897-03-21
Lectures on the Differences Be.
tween the Two Great
Religions.
Professor II wilson Puts Questions
and the Very Root of the
Matter Is Approached.


occasion was made doubly interesting by
the questioning to which the young priest
submitted after the lecture at the hands
of Professor Howison. The professor
strove to get at the core of the Budd lists
belief, and Dharmapala strove to explain
it so far as the great teacher himself made
it plain.
The full text Of the lecture as delivered
was as follows:
Two THOUSAND five hund red years ago great
event occurred In the evolution OF rellglous
thought in Asia which resulted in the accept
ance of new conception of mans lie ana q
revolution of theological ideas Whlcn nao
hitherto gained implicit and unquestioned
obedience. The enunciation OF new ideas OF
life liberated man from the manacles OF the
priests, the fatalism of the prophets ana the
sensualism Of the annihilalionisIs. The laDors
OF Darwin, Huxley. Spenser, Berkeley, hume,
Mill, in England; the services OF the GERMAN
philosophers have resulted in bringing the
change from antiQuated theological ideas or
the Semitics and the Perslans to sclentnc
/ acceptance of the evolutionary nature OF the
universe. Eighteen centuries of eccles1as tlcal
supremacy in the domain OF theological oog-
researches of analytical scientists. and the
world Is thrice happy that it has been nDer.
ated from the shackles of intolerance and
religious persecution. Just as Europe had
under the domain of the Priests and their
theologies, SO was India in the centuries before
the birth of Buddha.
The people were divided into castles, the
priests arrogating to themselves all power,
royalty given second place, the common people
treated as serfs and kept outside the pale OF
enlightenment. Priests were the mediators
between gods OF the upper regions, whose
chief was called Brahma, to whom prayers
were addressed as the Father of the World. the
Supreme Creator, the Preserver. etc., and men,
t,et,a a4le nno fuCf oh
tions and holding festivals. worshiping the
elements, sun and moon, drinking wine and
invoking the different angels and God, consti-
tuted religion under the hierarchy of the
Brahman priests. They were saints who led
their lives as ascetics, some initiating the
nature of fowls, of bats, OF the dogs; some
notifying their body by the heat OF the fire;
some by exposing themselves to cold, rain and
sun. They were independent speculative
philosophers, who INTERPRETED their theories
according to the experiences OF the sensa-
tions they had in their philosophisings.
Monotheistic. poly pantheisti tic, ag-
nosiic, animistic and nihilistic theories wefe
current at the time. Superstitions, mystic
sym bolisms, astrology. spiritism, had devo-
buffoonery of the priests who chanted
the vedas and sacrificed to the gods: just at
this time there was born son to King Sud-
dhodana of the powerful Sakyas OF Kapila-
vastu.
This Prince was named siddhartha, meaning
"Consummation of the WISH" His concep-
t1On was immaculate, ana Wnen ne uescen nOeu
from the tur,lta heaven to be born on earth it
is said that 1t was in full consciousness that he
entered the womb This msrvelously psyche
logical phenomenon of retaining conscious
ness from one life TO another is the peculiar
heritage of a world savior and none other.
To be a world-savior the Prince in his previ-
Gus lives for hundreds of incarnations had to
fulfill the ten projections of absolute charity,
holy life, remuneration, truthfulness, forgive
ness, wisdom, determination, cultivation OF
will power, univer al compassion and equal
mindedness For four (asankhya) immensities
and 100000 of world cycles the future
Buddha these perfections were practiced. The
last life was the life OF consummation. the
father of the Prince was extremely solicitous
for his welfare, and all precautions were taken
to keep him from danger. Ten thous md
worlds rejoiced when the Prince was born.
Celestial beings sang and glorlfed him. When
he was 16 years of age he was married to the
Princess Vas odhara, who was of the same age
that of the Prince. Clasped in loves en-
brace they both lived till the twenty-uinth
year, when boy was born to them. 1t was
then that the Prince made the great renuncia-
tion unparalleled in the history of the world
For six years he studied the philosophy OF
the Brahmans, went through the ascetic train
ing of the yogis, mortified his body in the
hope OF finding out the Path of DeliveraEce
By experience he realized the uselessness OF
the asce tic life of the Brahmans and was not
satisfied with their philosophy which taught
a permanent ego living in state of cessation
OF perception and sensation. Sensuallsm did
not give him satisfaction and Brahman1cal
yoga was tried and found wanting. There was
no Immortality in either conditions and there
was no religious life in sensuallzing enjoy
ment and bodily modification. He struck out
new path, avoiding the extremes OF sensual
ism and asce iicism, which he called the. mid
die path. He discovered the Ntrue religious
life, which helped him TO see truth. He real
lied the immortal peace.
He found that he had become perfectly en-
l1ghtened and he uttered, In the triumph OF
his glorious victory, that he had become the
Supreme Buddhs, the chief OF the worlds OF
gods and men; his life from that moment TIL
the final passing away was one of incessant
activity. For iorty-fve years he was the
acknowledged leader of ALL Kings. princes,
mobiles, brahmans, all bowed before his blessed
suffering world he marched with his band of
disciples, numbering thousand, procla1ming
the gospel of peace. compassion and holy
living.
Incidents in the life of Buddha are SO often
quoted as to show the simiarities that exist
between his life and that of Christ, but as yet
no attempt has been made to show the differ
ences between the two lives.
The Buddha as a world savior ch ooses by his
own will the M mother who is to give him birth !;
ne selects the country and the time that he Is
to be Dor n in. The time he was born was one OF
the greatest religi Gus activity. India, with
Its 2OO,OOO.OOO OF people, was on the tiptoe OF
expectation OF a great religious leader. Po-
itically they were independents. Greece had
her Pythagoras, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS was reigning
in Babylon, Confucius and Laotze were be-
ginning to shed their light in China, and the
Jewish God Jehovah had given new cove
nant to the Jews, revokiug the command
ment given through Moses on Mount Sinai
The world has never yet witnessed so great a
period in the religious history man. As q
world savior he came down from heaven and
took birth IN the family of the Sun Kings of
India and made sacrifices in ren0uncing
everything for the sake Of humanity and
showed an example to the world that great
men could make sacrifices. He experienced
domestic happiness till his twenty-ninth year.
He won his wife by showing his martial
prowess before the assembled princes who had
come according to the royal Indian. customs to
witness the Swayam vara game.
The Great Tempter Mara, the Buddhist
Satan, appearing before Buddha on the eve of
his remuneration promises In seven days SOW
ereignty over all earth If he would give up
his resolution to become Buddha, when he al
swered that he did not care for earthly king
doms.
In the temptation the strong individuality
of Buddha's character is brought into vivid
ness by the complete triumph he had over his
temper.
From the time Buddha sent out his disciples
to proclaim the message of holy life to the last
moment of his earthly life OF forty-fve years of
ministry not one word of malediction ever es-
capped his blessed lips. ''The Buddha has
mercy upon the meanest tning," and he ex-
horted his disciples not to speak harshly even
to an animal. Even to Devadatta, who con-
spired to destroy him, he uttered only words
of com mpassion. x
He went on foot, walking several hundred
miles to comfort his father, and he went to
mn nj Annt txt~ kl.f..