English
" And the false Priest bowed his head and said : " Behold all that I have earned is honestly gotten, and all pleasure have 1 shunned. Give me the wreath ! " And the wreath was placed upon his brow. Then, with boldness increased by his success, he approached the third God, and asked that the third wreath should encircle his brow. And the God said : " He who scorns choice food, Who never turneth from his purpose, Who keepeth his faith unchanged, To him shall be given the wreath." And the false Priest said : "I have ever lived on the simplest fare. I have been ever steadfast of purpose, and loyal in my faith. Therefore give me the wreath." 12 BUDDHA (TO BE) AS ONE OF THE GODS And the third wreath was bestowed upon him. Then did the pride of the false Priest know no bounds, and he went hastily to the fourth God and demanded the fourth wreath. And the God said : " He who will attack no good man to his face or behind his back, And who keeps his word in all things, To him belongs this wreath." Then the false Priest cried out in a loud voice : " I have attacked no man, good or evil, and never have I broken my word to any." The God looked at him sadly, but he placed the wreath upon his brow, and the four divine beings disappeared from the sight of man. But no sooner had they left the earth than the Priest felt a violent pain. His head seemed to be crushed by spikes, and, writhing in agony, he made full confession and begged that the flowers should be removed from his head ; but though all pitied his condition, none could remove the flowers, for they seemed to be fastened on with an iron band. And he called aloud to the Gods, saying : THE PUNISHMENT OF HYPOCRISY 13 " O ye great powers, forgive my pride and spare my life ! " And they answered : " These flowers are not meet for the wicked. You have received the reward of your false words." Then, having rebuked him in the presence of the people, they removed the flowers from the head of the repentant man and returned to the abode of the Blest. THE TRUE SPIRIT OF A FESTIVAL DAY THE BUDDHA (TO BE) AS HARE : ILLUSTRATING THE TRUE SPIRIT OF A FESTIVAL DAY And it came to pass that the Buddha was born a Hare and lived in a wood ; on one side was the foot of a mountain, on another a river, on the third side a border village. And with him lived three friends : a Monkey, a Jackal, and an Otter ; each of these creatures got food on his own hunting ground. In the evening they met together, and the Hare taught his companions many wise things : that the moral law should be observed — that alms should be given to the poor, and that holy days should be kept. One day the Buddha said : " To-morrow is a fast day. Feed any beggars that come to you by giving food from your own table." They all consented. The next day the Otter went down to the bank of the Ganges to seek his prey. Now 17 b 18 THE BUDDHA (TO BE) AS HARE a fisherman had landed seven red fish and had buried them in the sand on the river's bank while he went down the stream catching more fish. The Otter scented the buried fish, dug up the sand till he came upon them, and he called aloud : " Does any one own these fish ? " And, not seeing the owner, he laid the fish in the jungle where he dwelt, intending to eat them at a fitting time. Then he lay down, thinking how virtuous he was. The Jackal also went off in search of food, and found in the hut of a field watcher a lizard, two spits, and a pot of milk-curd. And, after thrice crying aloud, " To whom do these belong ? " and not finding an owner, he put on his neck the rope for lifting the pot, and grasping the spits and lizard with his teeth, he laid them in his own lair, think- ing, " In due season I will devour them," and then he lay down, thinking how virtuous he had been. The Monkey entered the clump of trees, and gathering a bunch of mangoes, laid them up in his part of the jungle, meaning to eat them in due season. He then lay down and thought how virtuous he had been. THE TRUE SPIRIT OF A FESTIVAL DAY 19 But the Hare (who was the Buddha-to-be) in due time came out thinking to lie (in contemplation) on the Kuca grass. "It is impossible for me to offer grass to any beggars who may chance to come by, and I have no oil or rice or fish. If any beggar come to me, I will give him (of) my own flesh to eat." Now when Sakka, the King of the Gods, heard this thing, he determined to put the Royal Hare to the test. So he came in dis- guise of a Brahmin to the Otter and said : " Wise Sir, if I could get something to eat, I would perform all my priestly duties." The Otter said : "I will give you food. Seven red fish have I safely brought to land from the sacred river of the Ganges. Eat thy fill, O Brahmin, and stay in this wood." And the Brahmin said : " Let it be until to-morrow, and I will see to it then." Then he went to the Jackal, who confessed that he had stolen the food, but he begged the Brahmin to accept it and remain in the wood ; but the Brahmin said : " Let it be until the morrow, and then I will see to it." And he came to the Monkey, who offered 20 THE BUDDHA (TO BE) AS HARE him the mangoes, and the Brahmin answered in the same way. Then the Brahmin went to the wise Hare, and the Hare said : " Behold, I will give you of my flesh to eat. But you must not take life on this holy day. When you have piled up the logs I will sacrifice myself by falling into the midst of the flames, and when my body is roasted you shall eat my flesh and perform all your priestly duties." Now when Sakka heard these words he caused a heap of burning coals to appear, and the Wisdom Being, rising from the grass, came to the place, but before casting himself into the flames he shook himself, lest per- chance there should be any insects in his coat who might suffer death. Then, offering his body as a free gift, he sprang up, and like a royal swan, lighting on a bed of lotus in an ecstasy of joy, he fell on the heap of live coals. But the flame failed even to heat the pores or the hair on the body of the Wisdom Being, and it was as if he had entered a region of frost. Then he addressed the Brahmin in these words : " Brahmin, the fire that you have kindled is icy cold ; it fails to heat the THE TRUE SPIRIT OF A FESTIVAL DAY 21 pores of the hair on my body. What is the meaning of this ? " " O most wise Hare ! I am Sakka, and have come to put your virtue to the test." And the Buddha in a sweet voice said : " No god or man could find in me an un- willingness to die." Then Sakka said : " O wise Hare, be thy virtue known to all the ages to come." And seizing the mountain he squeezed out the juice and daubed on the moon the signs of the young hare. Then he placed him back on the grass that he might continue his Sabbath meditation, and returned to Heaven. And the four creatures lived together and kept the moral law. THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP THE BUDDHA (TO BE) AS OSPREY : ILLUSTRATING THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP There lived once, on the shores of a natural lake, a Hawk on the south shore, a She- Hawk on the west shore, on the north a Lion, the king of beasts, on the east the Osprey, the king of birds, in the middle a Tortoise on a small island. Now the Hawk asked the She- Hawk to become his wife. She asked him : " Have you any friends ? " " No, madam," he replied. " But," she said, " we must have some friends who can defend us against any danger or trouble that may arise. Therefore I beg of you to find some friends." " But," said the Hawk, " with whom shall I make friends ? " " Why, with King Osprey, who lives on the 25 26 THE BUDDHA (TO BE) AS OSPREY eastern shore, with King Lion on the north, and with the Tortoise who lives in the middle of the lake." And he took her advice. And all these creatures formed a bond of friendship, and promised to protect each other in time of danger. Now in time the Mother-Hawk had two sons. One day when the wTings of the young birds were not yet callow, some of the country- folk went foraging through the woods all day and found nothing. They went down to the lake to catch fish or a tortoise, and, in order to drive away the gnats, they made a fire by rubbing sticks together.