The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-05-24

SfSF oii III
How Earl Mimic Gave Them TO
Purma-HiS Suggestion: for a IA
@oia-The Revival OF Budd'ieIi1
and It's 10000. D. BeiiesefS-in
the Footprints OF the Ieacfler-A
look at Buddha Gaya, where the
Pronhet Was EnlightencG-Jnder
the 10 Tree-TIe Ten Command
n1ents Of Buddhism and Its Ten Mil
lion Years OF Hell.
Copyright, 1910. by Frank &. Car
penter.)
CALCUTTA. 1910,
The Buddhist religion IS on the eve
of a revival. The movement mas al
ready made some head a IN Japan
Korea and China, and it IS having q
great impetus here and IN Burma
through the discovery of the ashes
Of Ruddha which were recently found
in a buried chamber near
The prophet was born here in INDIA
more than t~wenty-fOur undre years
ago, and he is said to have died IN
northern India at the g of elghty.
There is no doubt as to the authent-
city of the relics. They were found by
the archaeological department OF the
British government and h Viceroy
Of India, Earl Mimic, has had them
brought here to Calcutta and has
made a formal presentation of them
TO a delegation Of Buddhist priests
from Burma.
The relics were discovered through
Investigations made by ancient writ
ings which described their existence
They lay in a chamber far down un-
der the ground below the heavy fOun-
datiOn Of a tower which had long
since been blotted from the face Of
the earth. They were in a brOnZe
casket and inside a crystal box, and
they consisted Of a mass Of grayish
white powder and four charred human
bones. The box was first carried to
Simla. and it is now on it's way to
Burma. It probably will be kept at
Mandalay and a mighty pagoda erect
ed above it.
Earl Minto's Speech.
In making his speech to the priests
the VjCeroy said:
'"fhe government of India has de-
cided hat the relics should remain
within the confines of the Indian en-
pire. and that Burma. as a Buddhist
province, and Mandalay, as it's capital.
should provide for their safe custody.
1 am sure that the great honor done
to Burma will be thoroughly appre-
Ciated by its people, and that the
relics will be carefully preserved and
cherished"
The yiceroy concluded with this
statement, which seems remarkable.
as coming from the Christian ruler
Of India. the Kirg of E~ngland's
greatest subject h closed:
Il trust, too. that a suitable shrine
may be erected at M%andalay over
these relics, where in future years de-
Vout pilgrims may gather from all
parts of the world to do honor to
the m of the great founder Of
their religion"
The ceremony connected with the
presentation of the relics was i'm
rressive. 1t occurred in the throne
room Of the vicerega! palace. the floor
of which was covered with rich golden
carpets. The lieutenant governor OF
Burma was present., and among the
spectators WIRE Lady Mimic, Mrs.
Anna Besant and the highest officials
of India.
The Ashes Of Buddha.
suppose the Christian world of to-
day could have authentic information
of the discovery Of some of the bones
and ashes of ST. Peter or st. Paul?
What a sensation it would create,
Suppose, further. that they might
have relics OF the Savior which were
real beyond the shadow of a doubt?
excited about it. This Is what has
happened out here in India Buddha
IS just as real to these people as
Christ is to us, and they have now
found his casket containing his
bones.
hOiih tAN III SSc1itdLIOh MT. Mar
shall, director Of the archaeological
department Of the government of In
dia, described how the relics were
found. The first information con-
corning them came from records left
by Chinese travellers who walked over
India on piigrimages about four or
five hundred years after Christ. One
of these men was a Buddhist monk,
VIC spent seven years in travelling
through India collecting Buddhist
writings and visiting the shrfnes. He
tramped across the Himafaya noun
tains. stopping in the little province
where Buddha was born. He walked
TO Buddha Gaya, where the saint re-
celVed his great enlightenment, and
then went to pray at the various places
where the relics of Buddha were kept
In the records of his pilgrimages he
described a great pagoda near Pesha-
war, not far from where the mper
knishka had his palaces. This towe,
was about fifteen hundred feet in cir
cumference, and was higher than the