Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-02-02
NEW bUOOHA AWAITED
Many Think That This Is the
FatefuI Year.
PROPHECY OF GAUTAMAl
Life and Career Of the Fourth In
carnation.
THE DECADENCE OF BUDDHISM
Most Primitive and DECEASED Form Of
the Religion Found in Tibet.
State Religion Of Siam.
PROPHECY OF GAUTAMA'
THE DECADENCE OF BUDDHISM
BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.

The advent OF another Buddha. the n1tn
incarnation. has long been expected, and
the time is at hand. Many think that
this is the fateful year although their
calculations are disputed) for the full
fillment of prophecy of Gautama. the
latest Buddha, who said:
Icing after my passing away into Mir
vana my doctrines and teachings will
little by little disappear; the priests Will
no longer observe the rules; they will
live dissolute life, while the world will
remain in darkness. Three thousand
years after my death when all my relics
have been gathered in one place. and
have obtained Omniscience, another will
appear and show various miracles. The
embryo of Arimetheyya shall be reborn
In the bosom OF Brahma Vati, wife of
Subrahama, and ten thousand worlds
will quake violently at his birth: pesti-
lence and famine and war will bring great
restore their happiness and this short
span of life will be increased until 1t
reaches one hundred thousand years.
He will again receive the name of
Alta; he will live in four palaces with
solid walls of precious stones. Four i'm
mense vases, made Of gold will spring
up, whose brims will be one guyana in
thickness. and their depths shall be that
Of the earth. Near each vase will grow
six padesa (wishins) trees. The glory
of Prince Alta will be such as has never
before been witnessed in this world. He
Will take to wife princess whose radiant
beauty shall illuminate around her a space
CT fifteen feet. A son will be born unto
them, who will live eighty thousand years
and his stature will be one hundred feet.
He will always be surrounded by millions
OF saints who will listen with rapture to
the words of wisdom falling from his
lfv,o 1 I'LL l.
may increase the happiness Of men. HUI
nan beings will be as beautiful as angels.
The seasons will be equable and mild.
The rivers will not flow, but will be clear,
calm and pure. There will be no cooking;
the padesa trees will provide food for all,
and men and women will be covered with
the finest jewels. Then like myself,
Prince Alta will leave the world in
search Of wisdom. and his fame and glory
will endure for 100000 years."
The Buddhist priests and monks. espe-
cially In Siam and Burma. recognize the
fulhllment of the conditions of this
prophecy In many events that have re-
Gently occurred. 1t should be explained
that there are to be five Buddhas ilIumi-
mating five cycles of irregular periods of
time. Buddha means 1.-The learned, the
enlightened. the WISE" and four have al
ready illuminated" the world. The
fourth and the latest Buddha was Gau-
tama, who attempted to reform the hor-
rors of Brahmanism in India. which had
become intolerable. He substituted SIM
pie creed Of gentleness and reward for the
cruelty and curses under which the Hin
dus have lived. and which have kept them
in the most abject poverty and wretched-
ness of any people on earth.
Gautama the Latest Buddha.
Gautama, the latest Buddha. was the
son Of Sudhodana, King Of Kapilawatta,
which corresponds very nearly with the
native Indian state Of Nepaul, and he was
born In the year 624 3. c. This would
make the period from his birth to the
present 1888 years, instead Of the 5000
mentioned in his prophecy; but this dis
crepancy is explained by the priests on
the theory that the measurement of time
was different in the days OF Gautama.
He did not have the advantage of the
Gregorian calendar. Five years after his
birth he received the name OF Sarvar-
thasiddha. compound of the words
sarva, which means "all," artha, which
means wishes" and siddha, which means
fulfill He also was known as Siddh-
artha, which is contraction with. the
same meaning. and the name Gautama
is spelled in various ways.
At the age of sixteen he married Yasod-
hara, the daughter of Suprabuddha, King
of Kohl. another Indian province, and his
father. knowing it had been predicted
that his son would become a god after
witnessing four omens or signs, took
many precautions to prevent. but they
were in vain. One by one the forbidden
omens were witnessed by the young man,
and after months Of meditation he re-
turned TO his palace to find that his wife
had just given birth to a son. This made
his sacrifice in renouncing the world all
the graeter, but, taking one last look at
his sleeping wife and babe. he took off his
princely robes, cut off his long hair with
a sickle, assumed the character and cos
tune of a yogi, or beggar monk and went
into the world. In the images Of Buddha
you will notice that the head is always
covered with sharp knobs, which repre-
sent the stumps of hair left after Gau-
tama had roughly cut his tresses with
sickle He remained for six years in the
forest of Winvila. living upon roots and
the infinite. until he had attained supreme
wisdom. and became 1.-The enlightened.
He performed the most rigid penances to
purify his flesh, and then he assembled the
throne Of intelligence at Gaya, where
under the shade OF botree he preached
to the people for forty-five years. At the
age Of eighty he died at a place called
Kusinara, which is now unknown. but is
supposed TO have been near Delhi.
The predictions concerning the advent Of
the next Buddha. the fifth and last. APP
pear in small book called "Anagatavin.'
and illustrate the wonderfully vivid magi-
nation Of the oriental.
Decadence of Buddhism
Originally Buddhism was simple, ethical
and RATIONAL hostile to mythology, super
stition, ceremony and priestcraft; benevo-
lent and humane in the highest degree,
but in the course Of time theory and
practice, creed and custom have changed.
The followers of Buddha, who number
more than of any other religion, have
split into a dozen sects, led by scholars
who from time to time during the last
TWENTY-FIVE hundred years have discov-
cred new interpretations of his words. In
India, where the religion was founded
and for centuries had its greatest strength
and largest number of adherents. Bud
dhism is practically extinct, and the
only remnant Is a small sect called jams,
who still adhere to some Of the teachings
Of Gautama Buddhism in Japan, China,
Tibet, Burma and Slam lis as different
as the Church of England from the Sal
walton Army" as a priest once remarked
to me. and although the adherents all
pass under the same name, and profess
to believe and practice the teachings OF
Gautama, they are very far apart All
the inhabitants OF Burma are Buddhists.
except the Christians. but their practices
and forms of worship are very different
from those in other countries They are
spirit worshipers, saturated with super
stition: the priests are sOrcerers and
soothsayers, and the monks. vino number
thousands, exercise a powerful influence
over the ignorant masses. because of their
ability to interpret dreams. signs and
omens, and give instruction as to how
the evil effects may be avoided.
State Religion Of Siam.