whirling it round and round, he asked Râhula if he were not afraid lest it should fall and be broken; to which Râhula replied that he had no such fear, for the vessel was but a cheap and common one, and therefore its loss would be a matter of small moment. And such is your case,' again said Buddha; 'for though you are a Shaman, yet being unable to guard your mouth or your tongue, you are destined, as a small and insignificant thing, to be whirled in the endless eddies of transmigration, an object of contempt to all the wise.' Râhula being filled with shame, Buddha addressed him once more. ‘Listen, and I will speak to you a parable. There was in old time the king of a certain country, who had a large and very powerful elephant, able to overpower by its own strength five hundred smaller elephants. This king, being about to go to war with some rebellious dependency, brought forth the iron armour belonging to the elephant, and directed the master of the animal to put it on him, to wit, two sharp-pointed swords on his tusks, two iron hooks [scythes] on his ears, a crooked spear on each foot, an iron club [or ball] attached to his tail, and to accompany him were appointed nine soldiers as escort. Then the elephantmaster rejoiced to see the creature thus equipped, and trained him above all things to keep his trunk well coiled up, knowing that an arrow piercing that in the midst must be fatal. But lo! in the middle of the battle the elephant, uncoiling his trunk, sought to seize a sword with it. On which the master was affrighted, and, in consultation with the king and his ministers, it was agreed that he should no more be brought into the battlefield.' In continuation Buddha said: Râhula! if men, committing the nine faults, only guard their tongue as this elephant was trained to guard his trunk, all would be well. Let them guard against the arrow that strikes in the middle! let them keep their mouth, lest they die, and fall into the misery of future births in the three evil paths!' And then he added these stanzas : ་ “I am like the fighting elephant without any fear of the middle arrow [the arrow wounding the middle part]. By sincerity and truth I escape the unprincipled man [lawless man]. Like the elephant, well subdued and quiet, permits the king to mount on his trunk [offers his trunk for the king to ascend], thus tamed is the reverend man; he also endures truthfully and in faith.' "Râhula, hearing these words, was filled with sorrow for his careless disregard of his words, and gave himself up to renewed exertion, and so became a Rahat." Against Buddha's teaching two main objections have been urged :— I. That his Bodhi, viewed from a spiritual point of view, is mere selfishness. The individual isolates himself from his race for his own advantage. 2. The monkish system that he spread abroad has, in point of fact, produced many grave evils-idleness, immorality, depravity, etc.-and is, in fact, pure pessimism. One answer meets both objections, that is, as far as they are unjust. The problem before a reformer in Buddha's day was essentially practical. To enfranchise the world what possible apparatus was available? The oratory of the uninspired demagogue would not have been listened to by the masses, and would have been quickly silenced by the dominant caste. Books, printing presses, even the letters of the alphabet, were unavailable; and the victories of material force in Buddha's view meant merely the firmer riveting of chains. So Buddha, himself a king, in commencing his conflict, handed over an army of soldiers and an army of priests to his antagonists, determined that the victory should be a purely moral one. One weapon alone was within reach the tree of the Rishi. Under that tree God spake. Such was the belief of the people, based on the teaching of the Vedic hymns, as recited at every sacrifice. With Buddha the Bodhi meant not selfishness, but the complete conquest of self; and the initiation of the Rishi under his tree was merely a means to an end. Instead of being sloth, that end was boundless activity in contributing to the happiness of others. His blameless soldiers, having given up wife and wealth, were ordered to march from tree to tree, never resting for two nights under the same one. No halt was to be allowed but the grave as long as a king oppressed his subjects, a priest tortured animals, or as long as spiritual ignorance tortured priests and kings. Viewed from the historical side, the following originalities may be accredited to Buddhism :I. Enforced vegetarianism for the whole nation. 2. Enforced national abstinence from wine. 3. Abolition of slavery. 4. The introduction of the principle of forgiveness of injuries in opposition to the national lex talionis. 5. Uncompromising antagonism to all national religious rites that were opposed to the gnosis or spiritual development of the individual. 6. Beggary, continence, and asceticism for the religious teachers. These are the six originalities of the Buddhist movement. CHAPTER XXIV. THE DEATH OF BUDDHA. SOME eighty miles due east of Buddha's birth-place, Kapilavastu, now stands a modest village called Mâthâ Kuär (the "Dead Prince"). At the date of the pilgrimage of Hwen Thsang there was a reason for this. Under a splendid temple-canopy reposed in' marble a "Dead Prince," and this circumstance is still remembered by the natives. The ruins of this temple can still be traced. Exactly four hundred and seventy years before Christ, the spot was a jangal of Śâlatrees, and beneath the shade of two of these lay calm and rigid the gentle teacher whom Indians call the "Best Friend of all the World." Buddha was journeying from Râjâgriha when he reached this resting-place. Its name was Kusinagara. At Beluva, near Vaisâlî, he was attacked with a severe illness. Violent pains seized him. He was very nearly dying. Ânanda was disconsolate, but Buddha comforted him. "What need hath the body of my followers of me |