The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-03-27
NEW BOOK NEWS
CONDUCTED BY MARTHA YOUNG


 Karma. The eastern world has much to teach us, as we have to teach them. There are simple secrets of aid to soul growth, soul expansion, strengthening Of soul preserved and taught in the viha- ras of the East that would revolutionize our Western life, could we but learn and assimilate them.
 Our own religion with its Eastern origin finds its truest followers, as we all knew, in only certain more perfect individual types. not in the great mass of profes- sors that creation and civilization and so- cial and governmental prestige bring into it.
 As nations. the people of the Western world do not seem capable of grasping at the utter reminiscence of self, taught by our religion as profoundly as by that of Buddha.
 / The stories of this book teach all the lessons of selfnessness, sinking out of self.
 The Brahman jeweler, travelling iu his . gcarriage, invites a Buddhist priest to ride with him. The priest goes gladly with him until on the road rice-cart broken down impedes progress. The jeweller. im- patient at the delay of the peasant in mending and removing his cart. orders his slave Mahaduta to push the broken cart aside. The cart Is overthrown, the bags of rice turned to the ground. the Jeweller passes on, but the Buddhist monk, with thanks for the lift on the road. leaves the jeweller and helps ine peasant mend his cart and reload the rice bags. He continues on his journey with the peasant.
 They find on the road the purse Of rhe jeweller, whose carriage has carried h m rapidly on. The Samana councclled re- turning the purse to the jeweller. which the honest peasant did. And out of this kindness, grew the conversion of the jew eller, the best. sale of rice that the peas ant had ever made, and much more, to- gether with this advice from wise Nara la, the Samana: Treat every man whom you meet as your own self; serve him s you would demand to be served yourself for one Karma travels, it walks apace and the journey is often long. But be 1t good or evil, finally it will come home to us. Therefore, it Is said:
 Slowly but surely deeds
 Home to the doer creep
 Of kindness SOW thy seeds, : And bless as honest reap"
 The jeweler then spoke: "If all men saw the truth of your maxims. how much bt tier the world would be! Evils would be lessened, ard public welfare en- hanced.'
 The samana replied Among all the religions there Is none like that of Bu,i- aha. It is glorious in the beginning. glo- rious in the middle. and glorious in the lend. It is glorious In the letter and glo- rlous in the spirit. It is the religion of lcvlng kindness that rids man of the ? narrowness of egotism and elevates him above his petty self to the bliss of en- lightenment which manifests itself in righteousness.
 A great truth is embodied in the story os the spider-web that slipped down into hell for the saving of, Kawata, had Ka- wata but been able to rid himself of tho illusion of self.
 ''He did not know the miraculous power of a sincere longing to rise up ward and enter the noble path of right eousness. It is thin like d cobweb. but # will carry millions of people. and the more there are that climb 1t, the easier will be the efforts of every one of them
 This truth. always accepted of a few, is becoming the practice of many. Its acceptance brings an element of the mi raculous into the commonplace. ' The wise little book ends with the bequest of Pandu to his children. a good Sname better than great riches-and these words of wisdom: My dear children. do not blame others for your lack of suc- cess.
 Seek the cause of your ills in your selves. Unless you are blinded by van lty you will discover your fault. and having discovered it, you will see the way out of 1t.
 "The remedy for your ills. too. lies in yourselves.
 Never let your mental eyes be cov- cred by the dust of selfishness. and re- member the words which have proved talisman in my life:
 "Who iniureth others
 Himself hurteth sore;
 Who others assisteth
 Himself helpeth more.
 Let the illusion of self
 From your mind disappear. E And you'll find the way sure
 The path will be clear"
 Kama A Story of Buddhist Ethics. by D.. Paul Carus. The Open Court Pub fishing Company, S24 Dearborn Street Chicago, III.
 The Foe of Compromise. and Other Es- says. The Essays that comprise this vol tune have most of them appeared in The