English
What impressions did these visions make on Prince Siddhartha? They moved him to the heart’s core, and showed him the utter vanity and nothingness of life. Its deceptive, transitory pleasures, to be followed by old age, sickness and death, had no longer any attraction for him. Henceforth he discarded all amusements, and he came to the conviction that life is not a gift to be desired, but rather an evil to be avoided, and that it is unworthy of our higher nature to seek for sensual enjoyment. All A BUDDHIST CATECHISM 15 his efforts were now directed towards the attain- ment of a higher aim.(*) 26. What was the aim? To find out the cause of suffering, of death, and of birth-renewal,(°) and to discover the means of overcoming it. In imitation of the venerable recluse he had met, he resolved to retire from the world into the wilderness. 27. Was it a great trial for him to carry out his resolution? Yes; for he had to give up all that is generally the most prized by men: royalty, riches, power, honour, delights, and even the companionship of his beloved wife and his infant son Rahula. 28. Did his father and his wife try to dissuade him from this purpose? He kept them in ignorance of his designs and went away secretly for fear the entreaties of his aged father and the tears of his wife might make him swerve from his resolve. (°) 29. How did he effect his escape? One night, when everybody was asleep, he softly got up, took a last parting look at his wife and child, woke up his attendant Channa, ordered him to saddle his favourite horse Kanthaka, and rode away. The sentry at the gate did not notice him, and he hastened off in the darkness as fast as his horse could carry him. 16 A BUDDHIST CATECHISM 30. How old was Prince Siddhartha when he — retired into the jungle? | He was in his twenty-ninth year. 31. Where did he first go to? To the river Anoma. There he cut off his — beautiful long hair with his sword, and gave in charge to the faithful Channa his arms, his jewels, and his horse, to take them back to Kapilvasthu, and to tell the king and the princess what had become of him. After Channa’s departure, Sidd- hartha passed seven days near the banks of the river Anoma, lost in deep meditation, and rejoicing . to have taken the first and all-important step in the attainment of knowledge, and to have cast off the shackles of a worldly life. He then exchanged clothes with a passing beggar, and proceeded to Rajagriha, the capital of the kingdom of Magadcha. 32. Why did he go there? There were two Brahmans living there, Alara and Uddaka, both reputed to be very wise and holy men. He became their disciple, under the name of Gotama. 33. What did they teach? They taught that the soul may be purified by prayer, sacrifices, and various other religious obser- vances; and may thus, by divine mercy, attain redemption. , \ A BUDDHIST CATECHISM 17 34. Did Gotama find what he sought? No; he learnt all these Brahmans could teach him, and joined in all their religious exercises without gaining the knowledge he sought; and he became convinced that their teaching could not ensure him deliverance from suffering, death, and birth-renewal. 35. What did he do after this failure? There were other Brahmans, who taught that deliverance could be attained by a mere process of self-mortification. Gotama made up his mind to practise asceticism in its severest form, and for that purpose he retired into a jungle not far from Uruvela, where, in utter solitude, he gave himself up to all kinds of penances and tortures.(7) The fame of his sanctity soon began to spread, and he was joined by five other ascetics, who, full of admiration for his fortitude and perseverance, remained with him, in the sure conviction that such a life of self-mortification would lead him speedily to the attainment of supreme knowledge and perfection. Then they would become his disciples. 36. What are the names of these five ascetics? Kondanya, Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahanama, and Assaji. 37. How long did Gotama remain in the wilder- ness near Uruvela? Upwards of six years. His bodily strength at last gave way under these continued self-inflic- 18 A BUDDHIST CATECHISM tions, vigils, and fastings, but he did not relax. One night, when, lost in deep meditation, he was pacing up and down, he suddenly fell down, utterly exhausted, in a fainting fit. His compan- ions thought he was dying, but he soon revived again. 38. Did he nevertheless persevere in his ascetic life? . No. He was now convinced that asceticism, instead of giving him the peace of mind and the knowledge he desired, was only a stumbling-block in the way of truth and moral perfection.(*) He discontinued his fastings and penances, and was in consequence deserted by his companions as an apostate. 39. Did Gotama despair of reaching his end? No, not for a moment. Left entirely to him- self and his own devices, he determined to follow henceforward exclusively his own inner light. He abandoned all his ascetic practices, and, whilst restraining worldly thought and desire, was intent alone on the highest development of his moral and mental faculties. One night he was apprised, in prophetic dreams, that he was approaching the goal. He awoke, bathed in the river Niranjara, and took some boiled rice, presented to him by a young maiden named Sujata. He spent the whole day in deep meditation near the bank of the river. Towards evening he sat down beneath a A BUDDHIST CATECHISM 19 a mighty Nigrodha-tree,(*) that stood not far off, and there remained sitting with his face to the East, firmly resolved not to leave the spot until he had attained supreme knowledge and under- standing. Here it was that he won the victory after a final struggle, the fiercest of all. 40. What struggle? The struggle against human wishes and desires, which came back upon him with renewed force, though he had supposed himself to have gained already a complete mastery over them: the struggle against delusions and love of existence, against that craving, that will to live, which is the motive power of our being and the chief source of all our sufferings. The charms of wealth and power, and honour and glory, the sweet delights of home and love, and all the enjoyments which the world has in store for its favorites, began to glow again in their most brilliant light. An agonizing doubt seized upon him. But Gotama never wavered in his resolve, rather to die than to give up his high purpose. He wrestled with those terrible emotions, and was victorious. The last remnants of human frailty and of worldly desire were consumed in him. Then the deep peace of Nirvana entered his heart, and the full light of truth rose within him. The goal was reached, the veil rent, all knowledge attained. He had become a self-enlightened supreme Buddha. a 20 A BUDDHIST CATECHISM 41. Had he now discovered the cause of sorrow, of old age, of death, and of birth-renewal? Yes; in the words of the holy books, there opened within him the bright clear eye of “truth,” and he found what was the cause of birth and decay, of sorrow and death and birth-renewal, but he also found its remedy and the true way to deliverance, to Nirvana. 42. How long did the Buddha remain under the Bodhi-tree? He remained there seven days absorbed in deep meditation. Then he rose and went to the fig-tree Ajapala. Then Mara the tempter(*°) came to him and said: “Pass away now, my Lord, from existence, satisfied with the blessed truth, which you have realized and which but very few can attain. Men are governed by selfish motives only. Earth is their dwelling-place, and there only do they find satisfaction. They are unable to grasp the eternal law of the Universe and of causation, and they refuse to listen to the great doctrine of absolute renunciation of the will to live, of the conquest of earthly wishes and desires, and of the way to final deliverance. Desist, then, from the resolve to preach this doctrine and pass to eternal peace.” ‘ 43. Did the Buddha listen to the adversary’s words? No; he spurned him with contempt. “Get thee hence, Evil One,” he said. “I shall not pass fe SCONE A BUDDHIST CATECHISM 21 out of existence until this pure doctrine of mine is firmly implanted in the hearts of my followers, until I have succeeded in winning a number of true disciples, who, when I am gone, will, in my stead, spread abroad the saving truth out of pity for the multitudes, for the good, for the salvation, the deliverance of both gods(*") and men.” Then the tempter left him. The Buddha re- mained three weeks longer near the fig-tree Ajapala, enjoying the perfect bliss of his deliver- ance and absorbed in the definite preparation of his doctrine. At the end of that time he rose and said: “Welcome to all who enter the gates of salvation. He who has ears to hear, let him hear and believe.” 44, Who were the first people that heard him preach? The five ascetics ae had stayed with him, and deserted him when he no longer practised ascetism. 45. Where did he find them again? In a grove near Benares, at the hermitage of Migadya. 46. Did the ascetics lend a willing ear to his dis- . course? They intended not to do so, as they considered him to be an apostate; but the majesty of his appearance and the sublime expression of his ODE The THECSO? yan ; ‘ 15 EAST ath St. Tr ICAL SAtlETY iN ON, we ‘ J 22 A BUDDHIST CATECHISM countenance made such a deep impression on their minds, that against their own will they bowed down before him and listened reverentially to his words. 47, What is this first preaching of the Buddha called?