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13; Isaiah 22:12. (8) Matt. 11:21. (9) Fo Sho Hing; Varga 7, v. 527. A QUESTION OF MIRACLES 89 and are, everlastingly true. The mind is the master; the carnal body, the servant; and to macerate the ser- vant is not "regulating the mind." Paul copied Buddha five hundred years later, when he said : 'The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but we bring into captivity every thought." (10) There were still other rites performed by those ascetics, such as sacrificing to fire, sprinkling butter libations and chanting mystic prayers at the close of the day; for all of which the prince could see no sense or reason. They chanted mystic prayers until the sun went down. (11) "The law which you teach," he said, "you inherit from former teachers ; but I seek a law more in accord with human reason; therefore this is no halting place for me." And as he turned to go, the company all followed him and besought him to remain. There- upon he was told to visit Arada, a most wise teacher, a great man, who could explain the laws of life and death to him. Such was the inauspicious opening chapter of the greatest religious ferment that up to that hour this wicked old earth had ever seen. Buddha himself probably never dreamed that twenty-four hun- dred years later he would have nearly one-fourth of the whole religious world in his train. Meanwhile, at the palace, which the prince had de- serted, there was great commotion. Kandaka, his (10) 2nd Corinthians, eh. 10, t. 3 to 6. (11) That silly old custom was also prevalent with the Ho- brews. It is said thev could actually walk through fire. Isaiah 42:2. 90 A QUESTION OF MIRACLES servant, was charged with taking him away. "Not so," he replied, "he sent me back. I lovingly followed him, but he put upon himself the religious garb and with shaven head entered the sorrowful grove." Gotami. his aunt, who had been a mother to the prince, on hearing that he had become a recluse, was broken with grief. "Oh, how can his tender feet," she cried, "tread the stones and thorns of the w'ilderness? Nourished in the palace, clad in garments anointed with perfumes, now shivering w^ith the blasts of night — how can my son endure all this?" Then Yasodhara, his wife, broke in : "You two," she said, "went forth together; where is he, thou vic- ious reptile ? You were in league against him ; go and bring him safely back to me." Kandaka tearfully re- plied: "The Gods arc in this." "The City Gates, on his going forth," he said, "zvide opened themselves. (12) The whole roadway, along which he rushed, was strangely lighted." On hearing this Yasodhara, with moans and tears, flung herself upon the ground. "My Lord," she said, "has deserted me. The Brah- man law requires the husband and wife together to take part in religious rites; but my Lord has fled, to wander alone in the rugged wilds." ' "Can he forget Rahula, our son? Or has he fled from jealousy to find a nymph of the woods or moun- tains?" (12) It was a miracle, similar to the one mentionecl in Acts, ch. 12, where the iron gate opened of its own accord, to let Peter out of prison. A QUESTION OF MIRACLES 91 Section 4. The king, on learning all this, was so filled with grief that he at once fasted and prayed the gods to restore his wandering son. "He was my hope, my only joy," he said, "yet he is gone. Here am I, in this great palace, solitary, alone, while he wanders footsore in the wilderness. I care no longer to govern ; but I cannot die. Once my will was stead- fast, difficult to move as the chained hills ; but now my mind is dazed. I am tossed to and fro like a ship on a changing tide. There is one only hope : go, my ministers, search him out; break down his resolution and bring him quickly back to me." (13) The ministers made haste to leave, and were greatly shocked to find Gotama in a lonely forest, with his head already shaven, his garments so soiled that they scarcely recognized their once bejeweled prince. They told him of his sorrowing father; how sleep had fled from his eyelids, and that night and day the tears streamed down his cheeks ; that he had sent them hither to urge his quick return. "Religion," they said, (14) "does not require wild solitudes; a thoughtful mind and a devoted heart will bring you inward peace." They mentioned Gotami, the aunt, who had reared him from infancy; her grief and her distress; that Yasodhara had fallen in a swoon when she learned that he had fled to the woods ; that the king, the court and the common people would all exceedingly rejoice at his return. (13) Fo Sho, Varga 8, verse 662. (14) Fo Sho, Varga 9, verse 688. 92 A QUESTION OF MIRACLES These words, most kindly meant, and calculated to shake a very firm purpose, only brought to Gotama a most distressful state of mind. "Whoever neglects careful consideration of the present life," replied the prince, "puts his all in jeopardy. I pity my kingly father in his fathomless grief, but in this hfe the ties of blood are often severed. We are born, we love, and are loved in return; but every changing hour leaves his mark upon us all. We grow old, wrinkles come, we fade, and in the end death claims us. "You would make me king, and it is hard to resist your pleadings. You would surfeit me with sensual pleasures; but my destiny and delight are in religion. I renounce the kingly estate, which my father and you would thrust upon me. I turn my back upon kingly leadership. Shall I return to lust, passion and ignor- ance, having once thrust them forth? To wear this hermit vestment was my firm purpose when I left my father's palace. To now go back to the soft dalliances of love would be to miss my mission." The ministers rejoined: "Man's duty is to the present. It is a question yet in suspense whether there be, or be not, a hereafter. If there be nothing beyond this life then you miss all present pleasures and gain nothing. But if there be an after world, what proof have you that your hermit garb will fit you for it better than the mild scepter of a faithful king? Hereafter is, or is not. But there is no certain proof of any- thing beyond the present solid earth. All beyond is vague, uncertain conjecture. .We may hope, we may A QUESTION OF MIRACLES 93 dream, we may pray, we may speculate, we may argue, but old age and disease come at last, and death, like a robber with a drawn sword, follows us all and finally cuts us down. The curtain falls. Now tell me, what is behind that curtain ? Is it a curtain or is it a wall ? Is there truly anything but hope? But suppose there be a hereafter ? Where is if to be ? Have the gods contrived another world, different from this? If so, will not a high moral life, which you can lead in your father's palace as well as in these woods, equip you for that world? In the universe, if there be a million worlds, truth, morality, virtue, justice and mercy must be the same in all of them. Other princes and even kings have for a time dwelt in these mountains; but they returned and ruled wisely. "How can it be wrong for you now to return, and by your wisdom advance true religion with all your people? Remember that every day you wander here your royal father is sighing for your return; that Yasodhara mourns your absence; that Gotami is in tears; that Rahula will fly to your arms; that all the people will give you joyful welcome." The prince replied briefly : "The sun and the moon may fall to earth (15), lofty Sumeru may melt away (15) Buddha says the sun and moon may fall to the earth; but he ought not to have misled Jesus; for Jesus says the stars shall fall from heaven, etc.: Matt. 24, v. 29. Hovrever, it may be that Isaiah, who lived about two hundred years before Buddha waa born, was the first transgressor, for he says the stars shall not give their light. Isaiah misled Mark, for Mark says the stars of heaven sTidll fall. (Mark 13, v. 25.) Astronomers tell U9 that there are more than three hundred and fifty millions of Btars up to the twelfth magnitude. Now some of those supposed 94 A QUESTION OF MIRACLES and disappear, and yonder snowy mountains sink down; but my piir/wsc shall nut change. 1 liave en- tered on my course, and neither fierce fire nor freezing cold shall move me from it." With that the prince rose and walked slowly away, and the ministers, seeing their mission utterly hopeless, went sorrowfully back to the king. stars are suns; vastly larger than our Sun.