Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-10-09

snort tlme, tneS al gave Ter nearly
Welcome. home. MIS- Mckenzie's
earnest work among the people from
the Orient has been prolific OF Spten-
did results and she has Won her way
into the hearts Of those with whom
she comes in such close contact.
Literary Paper Read.
The literary paper of the afternoon
was read by Miss Antoinetie Fost er.
who told of the Bib!cs Of the world.
Miss Foster is on" Of the English
teachers at Cahu College and also
conducts the Bib" classes there. As
there are great r,anv Bibles in the
different countries Ct IN" world. Miss
Foster confessed tfat she found IT
rather hard at first 20 select the most
interesting ones. Among the most
interesting as well as the oldest,
however. are the FedaS Of india. So
far as known. these are among the
oldest of human compositions. They
date back of the knowledge of writ
ing and for ranv years were handed
iown riaiiy as ira ii ions. They are
now written in Sanskrii and TO read
them one must possess a knowledge
uf this ancient language. In speak
Ing of the Vcdas, Miss Foster said
that the Rig Vcda is among the old
est, as it waS written some time be-
tween 200 and 500 B. c.. Miss Foster
told about the gods wOrshipped by the
people of India There are about
thirty and each one was wOrshippeG
as a complete deity in itself. Out of
The Vedas came many smaller colleC-
lions of books and they were much
modified and some of the latest ones
told of belief in, and a superstition
regarding the power of evil.
The Brahma Books.
Another collection Of books men,
toned by Miss Foster was the .Brah
mas. These, she said. were prose
compositions dealing with sacrificial
rites and condemning them. One Of
the books contains traditions of the
flood and in another the doctrine of
Immortality is more definitely pre-
scented. These books also tell of the
doctrine of Transmigration. In speak
ing of the Brahmas, Miss Foster
mentioned the Sutras. Then she said
that modern Hinduism is a result OF
the Buddhist influence upon Brahman-
ism. Miss Foster also mentioned the
Sacred Books of Budha. These were
written in the popular dialect and
are very like the New Testament, for
they tell of the life IF Budha and of
his influence with his disciples, as
does the New Testament in our own
Bible tell of the works of the Christ.
1t seems that the Budhist's highest
aim is a withdrawal. from the world
sense into a peaceful 9othingness. y
The speaker also dealt with the
Zend Avesta, which have to- do with
the Persians in North India. Though
these people are looked upon as nat
ives of India, they are in reality ~of
Persian descent who settled in India
after the Mohammedan Conquest.
These books are written in but one
language that is very Hlike the San
Skirt. Like the teachings of Zoa-
rooster, these books deal with a dual
ism, and tell of the contest between
good and evil Many references are
made to the god of fire by these peo-
pie, for TO them fire denotes power.
The books that are probably the
most interesting are those of the Ko-
ran. The Koran is younger than our
Bible, that religion having made it's
appearance six hundred years after
the Christ. The Korean is looked
upon as divine inspiration that was
handed down by Gabrielle to Moham-
med. Parts of the Koran are suppos-
ed to have been taken from our own
Bible, for reference is made to Christ.
COnfucianism.
- In her closing remarks Miss Foster
said that she would like to mention
Confucianism for although it may not
be considered a religion, Confucius'
aim was to teach the people how 70
live. Confucianism is believed in by
many of the Buddhists, as it does not
conflict with other religions. During
the course of her address Miss Foster
illustrated her lecture with readings
from the Koran.
At the conclusion of the literary
portion of the meeting Mrs. Dean
Rockwell Wickes was introduced toI
Richards. Mrs. Wickes said that she
HOpeu u llnu some WOfh 10 60 IN
China similar to that for which she
has spent SO much time in prepara-
ton. For seven years she has been
studying the social conditions of the
different classes of people in America
with the view to working for the bet
terment of those who are a part of the
congested districts During the last
year of school in Chicago she lived in |
one of the most congested districts of |
the city among the Polish people. She |
said that if she did not find any sim
liar work in the east she felt that if |
she can establish an ideal home that |
the people will strive to copy, she will |
have done a little at least towards |
helping them on t-eir way.
The members of the Woman's |
Board always hear with interest the |
letters of their Armenian proteges. |
Yesterday communications were read |
from little boy and girl. The let
ters always contain expressions of |
gratitude for the help they are re-