The Gospel of Buddha Part 25

The Buddha replied: "He who deserves punishment must be punished, and he who is worthy of favor must be favored. Yet at the same time he teaches to do no injury to any living being but to be full of love and kindness. These injunctions are not contradictory, for whosoever must be punished for the crimes which he has committed, suffers his injury not through the ill-will of the judge but on account of his evil-doing. His own acts have brought upon him the injury that the executer of the law inflicts. When a magistrate punishes, let him not harbor hatred in his breast, yet a murderer, when put do death, should consider that this is the fruit of his own act. As soon as he will understand that the punishment will purify his soul, he will no longer lament his fate but rejoice at it." 16

And the Blessed One continued: "The Tathagata teaches that all warfare in which man tries to slay his brother is lamentable, but he does not teach that those who go to war in a righteous cause after having exhausted all means to preserve the peace are blameworthy. He must be blamed who is the cause of war. 17

"The Tathagata teaches a complete surrender of self, but he does not teach a surrender of anything to those powers that are evil, be they men or G.o.ds or the elements of nature. Struggle must be, for all life is a struggle of some kind. But he that struggles should look to it lest he struggle in the interest of self against truth and righteousness. 18

"He who struggles in the interest of self, so that he himself may be great or powerful or rich or famous, will have no reward, but he who struggles for righteousness and truth, will have great reward, for even his defeat will be a victory. 19

"Self is not a fit vessel to receive any great success; self is small and brittle and its contents will soon be spilt for the benefit, and perhaps also for the curse, of others. 20

"Truth, however, is large enough to receive the yearnings and aspirations of all selves and when the selves break like soap-bubbles, their contents will be preserved and in the truth they will lead a life everlasting. 21

"He who goeth to battle, O Simha, even though it be in a righteous cause, must be prepared to be slain by his enemies, for that is the destiny of warriors; and should his fate overtake him he has no reason for complaint. 22

"But he who is victorious should remember the instability of earthly things. His success may be great, but be it ever so great the wheel of fortune may turn again and bring him down into the dust. 23

"However, if he moderates himself and, extinguis.h.i.+ng all hatred in his heart lifts his down-trodden adversary up and says to him, 'Come now and make peace and let us be brothers,' he will gain a victory that is not a transient success, for its fruits will remain forever. 24

"Great is a successful general, O Simha, but he who has conquered self is the greater victor. 25

"The doctrine of the conquest of self, O Simha, is not taught to destroy the souls of men, but to preserve them. He who has conquered self is more fit to live, to be successful, and to gain victories than he who is the slave of self. 26

"He whose mind is free from the illusion of self, will stand and not fall in the battle of life. 27

"He whose intentions are righteousness and justice, will meet with no failure, but be successful in his enterprises and his success will endure. 28

"He who harbors in his heart love of truth will live and not die, for he has drunk the water of immortality. 29

"Struggle then, O general, courageously; and fight thy battles vigorously, but be a soldier of truth and the Tathagata will bless thee." 30

When the Blessed One had spoken thus, Simha, the general, said: "Glorious Lord, glorious Lord! Thou hast revealed the truth.

Great is the doctrine of the Blessed One. Thou, indeed, art the Buddha, the Tathagata, the Holy One. Thou art the teacher of mankind. Thou showest us the road of salvation, for this indeed is true deliverance. He who follows thee will not miss the light to enlighten his path. He will find blessedness and peace. I take my refuge, Lord, in the Blessed One, and in his doctrine, and in his brotherhood. May the Blessed One receive me from this day forth while my life lasts as a disciple who has taken refuge in him." 31

And the Blessed One said: "Consider first, Simha, what thou doest. It is becoming that persons of rank like thyself should do nothing without due consideration." 32

Simha's faith in the Blessed One increased. He replied: "Had other teachers, Lord, succeeded in making me their disciple, they would carry around their banners through the whole city of Vesali, shouting: 'Simha, the general has become our disciple!

For the second time, Lord, I take my refuge in the Blessed One, and in the Dharma, and in the Sangha, may the Blessed One receive me from this day forth while my life lasts as a disciple who has taken his refuge in him." 33

Said the Blessed One: "For a long time, Simha, offerings have been given to the n.i.g.g.anthas in thy house. Thou shouldst therefore deem it right also in the future to give them food when they come to thee on their alms-pilgrimage." 34

And Simha's heart was filled with joy. He said: "I have been told, Lord: 'The samana Gotama says: To me alone and to n.o.body else should gifts be given. My pupils alone and the pupils of no one else should receive offerings.' But the Blessed One exhorts me to give also to the n.i.g.g.anthas. Well, Lord, we shall see what is seasonable. For the third time, Lord, I take my refuge in the Blessed One, and in his Dharma, and in his fraternity." 35

LII.

ALL EXISTENCE IS SPIRITUAL.

And there was an officer among the retinue of Simha who had heard of the discourses of the Blessed One, and there was some doubt left in his heart. 1

This man came to the Blessed One and said: "It is said, O Lord, that the samana Gotama denies the existence of the soul. Do they who say so speak the truth, or do they bear false witness against the Blessed One?" 2

And the Blessed One said: "There is a way in which those who say so are speaking truly of me; on the other hand, there is a way in which those who say so do not speak truly of me. 3

"The Tathagata teaches that there is no self. He who says that the soul is his self and that the self is the thinker of our thoughts and the actor of our deeds, teaches a wrong doctrine which leads to confusion and darkness. 4

"On the other hand, the Tathagata teaches that there is mind. He who understands by soul mind, and says that mind exists, teaches the truth which leads to clearness and enlightenment." 5

The officer said: "Does, then, the Tathagata maintain that two things exist? that which we perceive with our senses and that which is mental?" 6

Said the Blessed One: "Verily, I say unto thee, thy mind is spiritual, but neither is the sense-perceived void of spirituality. The bodhi is eternal and it dominates all existence as the good law guiding all beings in their search for truth. It changes brute nature into mind, and there is no being that cannot be transformed into a vessel of truth." 7

LIII.

IDENt.i.tY AND NON-IDENt.i.tY.

Kutadanta, the head of the Brahmans in the village of Danamati having approached the Blessed One respectfully, greeted him and said: "I am told, O samana, that thou art the Buddha, the Holy One, the Allknowing, the Lord of the world. But if thou wert the Buddha, wouldst thou not come like a king in all thy glory and power?" 1

Said the Blessed One: "Thine eyes are holden. If the eye of thy mind were undimmed thou couldst see the glory and the power of truth." 2

Said Kutadanta: "Show me the truth and I shall see it. But thy doctrine is without consistency. If it were consistent, it would stand; but as it is not, it will pa.s.s away." 3

The Blessed One replied: "The truth will never pa.s.s away." 4

Kutadanta said: "I am told that thou teachest the law, yet thou tearest down religion. Thy disciples despise rites and abandon immolation, but reverence for the G.o.ds can be shown only by sacrifices. The very nature of religion consists in wors.h.i.+p and sacrifice." 5

Said the Buddha: "Greater than the immolation of bullocks is the sacrifice of self. He who offers to the G.o.ds his evil desires will see the uselessness of slaughtering animals at the altar.

Blood has no cleansing power, but the eradication of l.u.s.t will make the heart pure. Better than wors.h.i.+ping G.o.ds is obedience to the laws of righteousness." 6

Kutadanta, being of a religious disposition and anxious about his fate after death, had sacrificed countless victims. Now he saw the folly of atonement by blood. Not yet satisfied, however, with the teachings of the Tathagata, Kutadanta continued: "Thou believest, O Master, that beings are reborn; that they migrate in the evolution of life; and that subject to the law of karma we must reap what we sow. Yet thou teachest the non-existence of the soul! Thy disciples praise utter self-extinction as the highest bliss of Nirvana. If I am merely a combination of the sankharas, my existence will cease when I die. If I am merely a compound of sensations and ideas and desires, wither can I go at the dissolution of the body?" 7

Said the Blessed One: "O Brahman, thou art religious and earnest.

Thou art seriously concerned about thy soul. Yet is thy work in vain because thou art lacking in the one thing that is needful. 8

"There is rebirth of character, but no transmigration of a self.

Thy thought-forms reappear, but there is no ego-ent.i.ty transferred. The stanza uttered by a teacher is reborn in the scholar who repeats the words. 9

"Only through ignorance and delusion do men indulge in the dream that their souls are separate and self-existent ent.i.ties. 10

"Thy heart, O Brahman, is cleaving still to self; thou art anxious about heaven but thou seekest the pleasures of self in heaven, and thus thou canst not see the bliss of truth and the immortality of truth. 11

"Verily I say unto thee: The Blessed One has not come to teach death, but to teach life, and thou discernest not the nature of living and dying. 12

"This body will be dissolved and no amount of sacrifice will save it. Therefore, seek thou the life that is of the mind. Where self is, truth cannot be; yet when truth comes, self will disappear.