Year: 1877

or time renders ccar vision uI 1t difficult.
On certain summer days you may stand
down here un the shore ana look across
the bay at the islands, and the opposite
shore and find it impossible to distin'
ruish the line where the land and water
meet. The reflection Of the land in
the water Is 50 perfect and the magnify
ing and distorting power OF the atmos-
pbrrc is such that real shore cannot be
clearly made out.


tits lust so, when we look for histor.
cal truth aud reality, through long
reaches of time. Fiction can be made
10 resemble truth 50 closely and truth
itself is 50 strange oitentlmes, ana the
distorting and msreprescnting tendency
of historians, is 50 great that IN many
eases it becomes impossible to separate
the actual facts from the legendary and
mythical elements in which it is found.
While this holds true in general OF all
history, it is particularly and emphau-
calIy true OF religious history. The
myth-making tendency or element in
human nature, seems closely allied to
the religious nature, and faith easily de.
generates into credulity, when we
deeply love desire to exalt the object Of
our affections, and that desire renders Us
incapable OF giving Il just and true ac-
count OF any matter involving our attec-
tions In searching for historical truth
we have not only to guard against the
conscious fctions invented by men ior
purpose, but against the false views un
consciously taken, and set forth as truth,
by ardent diciplcs of some beloved
cause.


The attempt to givca sketch of the
lie of the founder of Buddhism, that
shall be true in every particular, is for
these reasons pronounced hopeless by
the best critics and scholars. who have
studied the subject. II on the one hand
we reject all that seems too wonderful
and miraculous to I've believed we have
left only man too ordinary to have
wrought tue mighty religious rcIorma-
ton that he lnauguratGd and that bears
his name Ii on the Other hand we nc.
crpt as true, all that his enthusiastic
followers relate, we are led into Hbsurdi-
lies to gross Tor sober contemplation.
In such cases when there can he no au.
lhoriativc OF final, ettlemcnt OF IL ques
lion, it is best to attempt no arbitrary
settlement OF 1t, but allow il TO remain
open for individual Judgment to weigh
and consider, and settle or leave un-
settled as it will With these introduc-
tory remarks, / proceed to give you
brief sketch OF the lie of Buddha leav-
ing out MS much of the mythical as pos
sible.


He was born at Kapiavaster, the cap
Of n kingdom OF the same name, situated
at the foot of the mountains OF Nepal.
He was born prince OF the grent solar
race, and his father WAS king of Kapila.
Vaster. The family name was Sakya, so
when he became hermit be was called
Saky-muni which means hermit prince.
tie is also called Gautamu from the clan
to which he belonged. The name given
him at birth was Liddharta which means
desire satisfied. by his lie Of virtue
and contemplation, he won the name
Buddha which means the Enlightened,
50 that OF names and titles there is all
abundance.


His mothers name was Maya Devi
who WAS also the daughter OF king
and was princess Of wonderful beauty.


The story is told of Buddha's celestial
choice to enter this world for its saliva
ton, and of the descent OF the divine
child into the bosom of this beautiful
princess while yet Il virgin. He ap-
preached her We are told in the form of
Il white elephant, bearing a lily, thus
making sacred the life OF animals and
flowers.


He is born amid joyful alteration of
the heavenly powers, an ancient saint
dlscerns upon the babe manifold marks
of divinity. We read of the projections
OF his childhood, OF his six years fasting