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woods he had \seen a spider | crawling on the ground, | and he . i we a "thought to himself, ‘¥ will ‘not step upon the ANIA for he is a harm. i \ ih less ‘oreature and hurts | nobody.’ | \ aN IATA ade \} i AAA Buddha looked with compassion upon the tortures of Kandata, a a Wh a) i and gent down a spider on ‘a cobweb and the spider said : : ‘Take hold a | Ane a x of. the web and climb up. When the spider had disappeared, ‘Kandata\ We Ne a A : tae great efforts to climb up, and he succeeded. The web was 80) Saket ' strong that it held, and he ascended higher and higher. Suddenly he ANA ie iN \ felt, the thread ‘trembling and shaking,| for, behind him other: Hellow. | iii We aN sufferers. of his were beginning to climb up. ‘Kandata became, frightend. Hei ay ‘i ae vist fhe thinness Hl a debs and. observed ai it was elnstte, for, x a) Ke ‘ WALEY me - song to. ‘carry. ‘him, ‘aridata had heretofore, aly ‘ovked ap: H ‘he now aM “looked \down, and sew. following close upon his ‘heels, ‘algo ‘liming My us Nal on the Huai a numberless mp of the. denizens of pan i mh ' “4 5 EMay PAE Oe a ; : : AAR Me Pe ey +} t Lay ny, : \ ; } WADE Do Vile bts ae \ NOE : (Ln \ VEN r+ un’ Na : Xe yo ewe wey rere ; Vs ee ae x i . ; \ ‘ eA ee | iy x ay \ b\i Wary pl \ \ aM | ‘" , F he : / LA t ; : wey \ ¥ ; ; \ } A ‘ ‘ Chie) eas - ’ {iit D ; : Te {) 4 } xi), ‘ “| | eH! 4 + . VPI a & and seized with fear he shouted loudly: ‘Let go the cobweb. it is: mine!’ At once the cobweb broke, and Kandata fell back into hell. “The illusion of self was still upon Kandata. He did not know the miraculous power of @ sincere longing to rise upwards and enter the noble path of righteousness, It is thia like a cobweb, but it will carry millions of people, and the more there are that climb it, the easier will be the efforts of every one of them. But as soon as in a man’s heart the idea arises: ‘This is mine; let the bliss of righteous- ness be mine alone, and let no one else partake of it,’ the thread ~ breaks, and you fall back into your old condition of self-hood, for self hood is dammation, and truth is bliss. What is hell? It is nothing but egotism, and Nirvana is a life of righteousness,” Let me take held of a spiderweb,” said the dying robber chief, ay when the samana had finished his story, “and I will pull myself mR Ra out of the depth of hell.” a OE a THE BEQUEST OF A GOOD KARMA. He lay quiet for a while to collect his thoughts, and then 3 addressed the samana not without effort: “Tisten, honorable sir, I will make a confession: I was. the servant of Pandu, the jeweller of Kaushambi, but when he unjustly af ii had me tortured I ran away, and became a chief of robbers, Some ‘ time ago when I heard through my spies that Pandu was passing RO through the mountains, I succeeded in robbing him of a great part of his wealth. Will you now go to him and tell him, that I have forgiven from the bottom of my heart, the injury which he unjustly inflicted a upon me, and ask him, too, to pardon me for having robbed him, ey While I stayed with him his heart was as hard as a stone, and qj x) learned to imitate the selfishness of his character. I have heard that Y he has become benevolent and is now pointed out as an example of Mii goodness and justice, He has laid up treasures of which no robber can 16 ints 4) USP aat | \ 7 A \ 7 : \\ gf Ts 4) 4 : a. Niet} +} ae th \ , \ ; uh} : : ih : | \ j nity : \ ever ‘dene him,* while my life will linger in the course of evil deeds, but Ido not wish to remain in his debt so long as it is ‘still in my power to pay it. My heart has undergone a complete. change. My evil passions are subdued, and the few moments of life still left to me shall be spent in the endeavor to coufinue after death in the good Karma of righteous aspirations, Therefore, in- form Pandu that I have kept the gold crown which he wrought for the king, and all his | ‘treasures, and have hidden them in ao cave near by. There were only two of the robbers. under my _ command who knew of it, and both, are now dead, * This expression reminding one of ‘Matth. yi, 20, is taken from the Nid ‘hikanda Sutta (Treasure Chapter). a AF ON) 8 anes ar 1) 4 iy anes ) Let Pandu take 2 number of armed men, and come fo the place and take back the property of which I have deprived him. One act of justice will atone for some of my sins, it will help to cleanse my soul of ite impurities, and give mo a start in the right direction on my hier HAN search for salvation.” | ‘Then Mahaduta described the situation of the cave and died in the arms of Panthaka, | As soon as Panthaka, the young samana, had reached Seana tana Na) he went to the jeweller and gave him a full account of his Yecent — adventure in the forest, And Pandu went with an escort of armed, i / men and secured the treasures which the robber-chief had concealed in the cave ; aud they buried the robber-chief and his slain comrades with all honors, and Panthaka spoke et the grave, discoursing on the \ words of Buddha : | arent By one’s self evil is done; by one’s self one anffers. “By one’s self evil is left undone; by one’s self one is Leasbas , another. j “Purity and impurity belong to one’s self; no one can abun | “You yourself must make an effort. The Buddhas are eas wea preachers.” * ada “Our Karma,” the samana said, “is not the work of Ishvara, or — Brahma, or Indra, or of any one.of the gods. Our Karma is the pro- fan 4 duct of our own actions. My action is the womb that bears me; it is HAR the inheritance which devolves upon me; it ig the curse of my mis- | deeds and the blessing of my righteousness, My action is the resource — by’ which alone I can work out my salvation.” + -\\Pandu carried all his treasures back to Kaushambi, and using — . sa with discretion the wealth thus unexpectedly regained, he became 3 ‘richer and more powerful than he had ever been before, and when. he | was dyitig at an advanced/age he had all his sons, and daughters, and 7] grandchildren gathered round him and said unto them : \ * Quoted from Dhananapada. shar from the Anguttara Nikfya, Paficaka ica tier See Oldenberg, Buddha, p. anh ) if yn +h f es Teesagsgeer, , pr und Lit i Big Wak. Sy =~ = Sm DS ie rT Soe Srey Sat xh Tab : SS aunties te ae dies tlag + Preteen i ade =a Fat ene - “ ae aaines < 1 aoe =e ee a ye UI Sai y i 2 Aber ‘ “| Kpaneren 7 at —- — ae — ie = WHS Tot! aePUTh ‘at tee’ | VEleitt (9 i ih Mt} cy j hit pat} A Vi an WW iran Li \! vy AAS ; Vibha i / / } ah i ‘We Ki ANY nN | A My malt Revie mite : { 8 } , ty iiet : ih? if eee If} ! Tah CNANEEUAERT VAGUE Sag ne TERY ah) ii HP) AMae, \ Walt / iy WEA CE aR) 4 8 ia } }] LAG J ti! VENA v i VEEL HUTS ; ay thy vai GALL fi at) HN hea iit iy }| Ne NU AREA AR LY ERY AAMT) Cy HNNUNHP RLY VTE RUT LUV EDL EEN? ikke bute YW YSN aati WAY | AAT eI AAT EV Wi +) if WANS ; ii 1h hy HO they i AN : it i nA} Nat fs Ney ; UTE WV\lay aa 1 HY HUNAN it MW : AL ha LE 4} ! ii! ey BARE DE GD PA EMU LVM UD RAR a KV EEE ji CALTRH RE EERO Pa t \ iy \ eat att NAN th WAHT: Fiehey CaP OV LIV GU ALERATL YER Va viet AGT ALAA PPC AT OS EER WD RINO URAL APLAR AVES Vv ANY UH ANY PIE Mt Te Ae t\ AAA hy : ’ \ 4 | Witt nit ih AW Nt tyra AE NAY Hy . AANA. Vil iN \ Civitan Vn ny WAGE iy ray | rh a Nes AAR Mi 8 H i j iM ‘VAR Vid ANNES Hy ; A aphe ; 1 AAU Ve) 7 vi tay Ht es ah y V3 } Ath hy Bait Wii recess, inna an \ an ie My dear childven, do not dee others for your lak of ‘euccess eve aN i Seek, the cause of your ills in yourselves. ‘Unless you are blinded by a i a vanity. you. will find it, and having found it you will see. the way out ANA : : (i Vs ue of it, ‘The. remedy of your ‘ills, too, lies in. yourselves. ‘Lot ‘ane i mental eyes be covered by the veil of Maya, and renee rd _ which have proved a talisman in my life : Hh Nites vy; according to your deeds.” i} WAT t mi p f ‘He who hurts others, injures himself, LOA INR i . ‘He who helps others, advances his own interests, VIMY a ‘ait | ' Livy eid Wry WOVE * Let the illusion of self disappear. 1 RHE OTIC, Nuit ‘And you will naturally walk in the path of tenth? when you come to die, continue to live in the Good Karma that you have stored up, and your souls will be immortalised — Sea Petit iyaey if HNN EPILOGUE. 4 ‘ Athew: ig | philosophy underlying the story " Karma,” which, in its | | ett, religious, and ethical aspects is set forth in two periodicals, The} | Open: Court, a weekly, devoted to the Religion of Soienca, and The Monist,) a i a ‘quarterly, devoted to the Philosophy of Scienoo; and this philosophy may OR : mh Hi be briefly. characterised as Positive Monism, that is to say, a unitary world- ‘ \ . i conception, which endeavors to become a systematised statement of facts. NU | The views: of the author of “Karma” are sot forth in various philosoph- Jy? ie, ‘poychologioa, and ethical treatises, most of which have been republished — ary in popu ar editions, His religious conviction, propounded in his booklet, ‘‘ The | Religion of Science,’ ‘ ig in agreoment with Buddha's teachings, so Incidly set yp “font in his farewell address to the disciples, as recorded in the Mahapari- [of nibbdn ‘Sutta, where we read that Buddha said: ‘Hold fast to the truth Vf q 8 es yor Jamp. ‘Seek salvation in the truth alone.” ¢ } hi 4, Tho “ Religion of Science” outlines the philosophical basis of religion, a dase -all the essential religions useds and aspirations, the comfort man’ 7 in afiliction, the guidance of conduct, and the fervor with which man liken ‘consecrate the varions exertions of his life to the facts of experience, be | Bai ~ i - they. of a psychical, physical, or a social nature.