The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-02-18
Colonel OIcott at
the Temple: Of
Buddha.
THEOSOPHlST TO
A BIG AUDIENCE
Urges Them To Refuse Christian
ity and Stick To Their
Own Gods.

| ~ oLONEL H. s. OLCOTT, the
| 4 father of modern theosophy, de-
II livered an address upon Budd-
hism yesterday afternoon. Spok-
| en- within the walls of an edifice dedi-
Gated by the Japanese residents of Ho-
nolulu to the worship of Buddha and
with hundreds of the followers OF
Buddha in the audience, Colonel Olcott
stood amid surroundings which were
peculiarly adapted to the subject and
the faith which he has adopted and
cherished as his own for the past
twenty-Seyen years. The little temple
has a severe yet ornate interior IN
which the symbols of Buddhism We're
apparent on every hand. The shrine,
gilded and parti-hued, sacred to the
holy presence of Buddha, was partially
hidden from the view of the audience
by semi-transparent bamboo screens,
and before this was placed a covered
table and PLATFORM from which the
big theosophist delivered his address.
The greater part of the audience was
Japanese. There were many foreigners
present some out of mere curiosity, to
listen to the great lecturer, others to
learn more of a creed which they have
studied and in which they have belief.
Colonel Olcott spoke earnestly upon
his theme. The Japanese were advised
not to give up the religion of Buddha
for another religion which they We're
told ito believe, as the lecturer said,
although they could not understand.
He compared Buddhism and the relig-
ion of Christ to the story of Aladdin
and his wonderful lamp. Christianity
was likened to the evil magician in the
story who exchanged new lamps for
old. Buddhism was an old lamp which
had been tried and found satisfactory.
The new lamps which the Christians
wished to exchange were to be accept
ed, untried and unknown. The pleas
ures of life which the Buddhists receiv-
ed from their religion were much the
same as the benefits Aladdin received
by the mere rubbing Of his lamp.
The Japanese auditors broke into
loud and prolonged applause when the
theosophist delivered himself of his
opinion as to the relative benefits of the
two religions.
Through an interpreter Colonel Oh
colt spoke to the audience in part as
follows:
81 have been a professed Buddhist for
twenty-seven years and first declared
my belief in my own country long be-
fore I ever saw an eastern Buddhist.
So you will understand I am not say
ing this merely to please you or to
make you think well of me, because,
many, many years before some of you
were born I declared myself a follower
of the Lord Buddha. I had studied the
different religions of the world and I
found that so far as I was concerned
Buddhism was the most acceptable. 1
found that the moral teachings con-
tanned in Buddha were as high as any
teachings ever given to mankind by
sage. Then I found that Buddhism, in
stead of being in opposition to modern
science, was in agreement with it's lat
| est discoveries.
You know that in our most modern
schools we have been taught to believe
what we discover is true to inquiry and
experiment. There are other religions
which say if you don't believe us then
you will be eternally damned. They
Will not allow you to believe except
| that as taught from a certain book.
How is person who has been edu-
| Gated in our modern schools to accept
| a doctrine like that? My mind was so
! constituted that I could not believe
anything I was told to believe without
| getting proofs. Then when I came to
| look at these religions I found that the
| Lord Buddha had expressly preached
a sermon upon that very point, called
the Kalama Sutra, given to the Kala
ma tribe in India
| The learned theosophist then told the
story of Buddha when travelling in
India and how he asked the tribesmen
questions as to how they knew the true
! from the false religions He dilated
upon stealing, gambling and drinking
as bad things and not taught by the
sages. The sacred books told them to
eschew these habits. It was the knowl-
edge OF these things which were taught
them which enabled the people to
know the difference between the good
and the bad,
suppose a man came here" contin-
ued Col. Olcott, land said an animal
/ out there was an ass when you knew
I it was buffalo, and he said to YOU
/ Il YOU don't believe it is an ass YOU
/ VII be burned in hell? How can yo,,
! beaave 1t when your own experience
IteFs YOU differently? That is what is
called = false religion-something that
does net coincide with your own in
quiry.
you know why I have called myself
a Buddhist? Because found that this
religion did not ask me to believe any
absurd teachings that might be offered.
| There are thousands of people who
make it business to persuade Budd-
hists to leave their religion and take
another one. But I advise you to be
very careful how you give up your re-
lfgioH until you know something of it's
value. Now there is story of a wick
ed magician who wanted to get pos
session of a certain wonderful lamp.
If you RIBBED 1t genii would come and
you cou'd order them to bring you any
thing yo1 wanted-riches, happiness
and all. His nephew got possession of
the lamp, the genii brought him a pal
ace, he welded the emperor's daughter.
The magician disguised himself as
a seller of lamps and came to this pail
ace while the nephew was away. He
exchanged a new lamp for the old one