The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1906-12-15
THE IGNORANT FOREIGNER.
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and PLATE said: Behold the man, And they cried
out saying: Cruelty him. And PLATE said to
them: Shall [ cruelty your King. And they an
swered: We have no king but Caesar" If in that
unhappy gathering at Sawtelle the pagan priest
had asked before the renunciation "And
what will do with Jesus Christ, your King|
With one voice they would have answered: Away
with him, we have no king but Buddha" The men
and women who that fateful night swore ale
glance to silva, Vshnut and the gods of India,
not Ignorant foreigners" but American citizens,
people of means, moving in what is called good So
clety, educated IN American schools and some of
them in young ladies' academies. On the apostate
list OF candidates the names of Mrs. K. Nc
Carthy and Duncan McLaren These were the only
Celtic names the pitiful roster to disgrace
heroic and historic race, and now, would you care
to know something of the setting and ceremonies
Elevated on improvised altar shrine of
Budda, brought from the sacred city of Benares,
| an open tabernacle holding the image of Gautama
Buddha. On adjoining table sat the kyanon,
statue with four arms and four faces To the left
of this idol stood the Sacred Lotus, the symbol of
the Brahmin and Buddhist conception of the soul.
To right and left of Buddhas shrine were lights,
also symbolic of the soul. Pots of lilies roses and
selected flowers with blazing thurible of per-
fumed incense impaired to the air of the temple a
subtle fragrance of oriental repose. The Catachu-
mems applicants for initiation, at signal from
the master OF ceremonies, from their seats and
lined into procession, singing they moved
slowly and solemnly, Nearer my Gcd (Buddha) to
Thee" When they came to the shrine of Buddha
they formed a crescent and stood attention. The
curtains by the side of the idol with four faces and
four parted and the Swami" Mizznanda the
priest of Buddha, wearing a white turban. sur
mounted by golden half-moon and dressed in
flowing robes of gorgeous spendor, stood revealed
The human figure in accord with his heather
environment. His inner robe was of purple silk
the temple vesment of scarlet gold and green and
over all rested cope of purple. scarlet and gold.
Around his waist was sash of blue and yellow
silk with red, white and gold tassels After paus-
ing sufficiently long to produce the effect he in
tended, the Swami moved forward till he stood be-
tween the two horns of the living crescent Then
he took off his turban and put on the sacred hood
of white and gold. 'Ihe order of Udana Kurana'
he began, Impressivey, lis old that its origin
is lost III obscurity 1t existed before the DAYS of
Noah. We believe in the impartial deity of Bud
dha; in the universal brotherhood of man: in the
reincarnation. By rencarnation we mean the pass
ing of the soul, after the death of the body into
other bodies human animal" His address filled
In the orthodox half-hour and then a hymn was
sung After the hymn a lady who had been
initiated with a former group of neophytes called
the role. The novices answered their names. In
reply to question of the Swami" each candidate
expressed his or her desire to accept and hold I'M
til death the doctrines of Buddha. Then all with
one voice, said, aloud with the Swami" the Ref
uges: II fly for refuge to thee oh Buddha: | flee
for refuge to the law; | flee for refuge to the or
der" Then followed the five vows: II vow not to
destroy life; | to abstain from lying; | VOW
not to steal | to abstain from all impurities
to abstain from all intoxicants which destroy
the ard." They now took the obligations" MAX
ing t.yir profession of faith in the Lord Buddha
The Swami" then sprinllled them with the waters
of lustration, brought from the sacred Gauges
while they repeating the three 'ohs" with the
rhythmic breathings prescribed by the Buddhist
ritual. This water, when blessed by fasting Yogi
is said to be unlike ordinary water Vibration it is
claimed. accounts for the change After the san
crst benediction invoked by the Swami" on
| the heads of the candidates. they became full
fledged Buddhists. They have now the right to
hope that they advance IN holiness they will re-
ceive the powers possessed by the Yogis the holy
men of India They may day. they were told
by Mizzinanda, who enrolled them, be able to pro-
ect their astral bodies into space to sit for weeks
in one position without moving, and. if they wish
it, concentrate their minds single thought in
| definitely. These American citizens at the same
time took the second degree of the Sangfa or Holv
/ Brotherhood of the Order of Udana-Kuran Then
| they shook hands with the Swami and with each
other left Hanson's hall and went to their own
places, never again to worship the name of Jesu.
| Christ or offer prayer to the Eternal Father
| Fortunately these people-those of them who arc
married-leave no offspring. Increase and nn1
| tiply" was at no time article of their creed ane
as they will not perpetuate themselves they cannot
pervert their children. "But," you say, this !,
only an incident, exception to the religious If,
of the people" 1t may be so, but twice we have
made prolonged visits to California and what i
the east is called the far west, and with our eve
and ears open to information, we have noticed tn,
human units gravitate to one of four affinities
And these affinities are: The non-churchgoers
forming conspicuously numerous body; the sepa
ratists. who drifted az i from their early creed