The Buddha Part 14

_DEVADATTA enters._

_Dd._ Hail, great King! Protector of religion and victor of many battles!

_Bb._ What brings you to my presence? I always rejoice to see holy men. Their coming is auspicious, and I am happy to be of service to them.

_Dd._ Great King, I implore your a.s.sistance for the brotherhood which I have founded. We need your royal support and the holiness of our lives will surround you as a halo with heavenly protection.

_Bb._ Are you not a disciple of Gotama, who is called the Buddha?

_Dd._ No longer, mighty King, I was his disciple so long as I believed in him; but he is not holy. I have abandoned him. He is not austere; his disciples do not practise self-mortifications, and he speaks kindly and dines with sinners. My disciples do not dress in worldly garments; they would not accept the invitation of women; they would not touch animal food. He who calls himself the Buddha is unworthy of that high t.i.tle; he is a pretender who has not reached the highest goal. My rules are much more strict than his, and my brotherhood alone is holy.

_Bb._ Holiness is a mighty thing.

_Dd._ Yea, and our vows will s.h.i.+eld your government, your throne, your army and your people against any misfortune.

_Bb._ I shall send my treasurer to investigate and will do what is right.

_Dd._ Maharaja, be a.s.sured of my deepest grat.i.tude.

_Bows low, exit._

_Ap._ [_re-enters, excited_] My royal friend, do not trust that man [_pointing toward the door where DEVADATTA went out_]. He is false. He may be holy, but he is treacherous. He may be virtuous; he may shun joy and the blessings of life, he may practise all penances, he may torture and mortify his body. But there is no true goodwill in him.

His holiness is egotistic, and his religion is hypocrisy. Support his brotherhood with money or gifts as you see fit, but do not believe what he says about the Buddha.

_Bb._ [_With an inquiring look_] Why?

_Ap._ I know what he meant when he scoffed at him. When the Buddha stayed at Vesali, I invited that n.o.blest of all monks to take his meal with me. I am not holy; I am a worldly woman; I am not a saint; but I have a warm heart, I feel for others and I want to do what is right.

When I heard that the Buddha stayed in the mango grove, I thought to myself, I will go and see him. If he is truly all-wise, he will judge my heart and he will judge me in mercy. He will know my needs and will not refuse me. I went to the mango grove and he looked upon me with compa.s.sion; he accepted my invitation in the presence of witnesses, openly, fearlessly, and in kindness. There were the proud Licchavi princes, and close to him stood the envious Devadatta. How they scowled; how they condemned the great and kindly saint! How they whispered, "Shame on him!" and I saw how they despised me--yet they did not dare to speak out or to censure him publicly. Then, my gracious King, I knew that he was truly the Lord Buddha, the Allwise.

_Bb._ My dear friend, I accept every word you say as true. I know the goodness of your heart, I know your worth, your loving kindness, and if you were of royal birth you would be worthy to wear a crown. The Buddha did not demean himself when he honored you.

_Ap._ Allow me one question. Did the Buddha ever beg you to support his brotherhood?

_Bb._ No, he did not; but I will give him all the a.s.sistance he may need.

_Ap._ Did he ever offer you the support of his vows, or did he ever praise the efficacy of his holiness?

_Bb._ He never did.

_Ap._ Neither does he stand in need of self-recommendation, for his very presence is a blessing, because he spreads goodwill and kindliness, and the people who hear him are ashamed of doing anything unrighteous. Devadatta extends to you the promise, if you but support his disciples, of an unconditional protection through his holiness.

The Buddha's protection is not so cheaply earned. I heard him say that every one must protect himself by his own righteousness, and no prayer, no sacrifice, no religious devotion, nor even penance or fasts could protect a man from the wrongs which he does.

_Bb._ The Buddha's presence would be more auspicious than ten Devadattas.

_Ap._ Oh, most a.s.suredly! And what a contempt I have for the virtuous indignation of men who, overmoral themselves, judge haughtily of others; yet, if you look into their souls you discover that they are heartless and self-seeking villains.

_Bb._ Your judgment is well grounded.

_Ap._ The Buddha alone possesses greatness, and the Buddha does not seek honor, but the people adore him.

_Bb._ Rajagaha must become the center of India. I will send for the Buddha and invite him to visit me. His sojourn here will make the kingdom of Magadha more famous than conquests and victories.

_The servant enters._

_St._ Mighty King, the prime minister Nagadeva.

_Bb._ He is welcome. Fare thee well, sweet heart; affairs of state call me.

_N._ Mighty King, the generals are a.s.sembled. They hail thee as their war lord, and are anxious for laurels, for glory, for booty!

[TRUMPETS, CURTAIN.]

_THIRD INTERLUDE._

_Living pictures accompanied by appropriate music._

1. SENDING OUT THE DISCIPLES.

The Buddha called his disciples together, and having ordained them, bade them spread the Gospel, with these words translated from the Buddhist Canon:

"Go ye now, O disciples, and wander forth for the benefit of the many, for the welfare of mankind, out of compa.s.sion for the world. Preach the doctrine which is glorious in the beginning, glorious in the middle, and glorious in the end, in the spirit as well as in the letter. There are beings whose eyes are scarcely covered with dust, but if the doctrine is not preached to them they cannot attain salvation. Proclaim to them a life of holiness. They will understand the doctrine and accept it."

The Pali expression _kalyamo dhamma_ is here translated "glorious doctrine." The dictionary defines the first word as "excellent, beautiful, glorious." This closely corresponds to the Christian term, which, as derived from the Greek, reads "evangel" and in its Saxon equivalent "gospel" or "good tidings."

2. THE RICH YOUTH.

Yasa, the son of a wealthy n.o.bleman of Benares, came by night to the Blessed One and exclaimed: "What misery!" But the Buddha answered, "There is no misery for him who has entered the Path."

Yasa, richly dressed, with an expression of distress, before the Buddha who comforts him. The scene is framed in darkness, the two figures being lit up by a torch.

3. A CHILD'S OFFERING.

Old frescoes in the Ajanta Caves show a mother sending a gift through her child. It looks as if they were Buddhist ill.u.s.trations of Christ's injunction, "Suffer little children to come unto me."

ACT IV.

FIRST SCENE

[A room in the Jetavana. The wheel of the law pictured on one side and the wheel of becoming on the other. Otherwise swastikas and lotus flowers serve as ornaments. A large opening exhibits a view into a garden with running water. On the right side there is a platform with low seats, on the other there is a low table with a divan, on which Anatha Pindika is seated, looking over palmleaf ma.n.u.scripts.]

_Present: ANATHA PINDIKA (A); Servant (St.); PRINCE JETA (J); later on KALA UDAYIN (K) and the BUDDHA (B)._

_A servant enters._