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THE LIGHT of ASIA by a STUDENT of BUDDHISM

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THE LIGHT of ASIA by a STUDENT of BUDDHISM THE LIGHT OF ASIA By A STUDENT OF BUDDHISM Tile r,adjustment of all values which is taking place befo'ro ou,' eyes, and the vast break-up through whioh humanity is at present paBS­ ing, have created in many millwns of people all over the world tile desire for a religious anchor in the stream of phenomena, for a moral and eternal standard of values which is not subject to the daily changes of politics and the ",ituation." Many to wllom hitherto religion was some­ thing for the uneducated masses and old-fashioned people, but not fO?' them, are today looking at the world's religions and asking: What call they give me '! Religion, are of significance not only to the individual but also to the community. Without a moral basis a satisfactory human co"ml1t?li"y life is unthinkable, for law and force alone are, in the long rUlI, ?IO guar­ antee for order. During long era, of human history, faith and ,uper,titioll in a variety of forms have been the moral basis of the community. Who can maintain that this is st-ill tile case today? We do not know whether, among the many changes taking place around us, there will also be a religious on/l; still Ius do we know wha,t form such a change would take. But the study of relig'iou. q1Ustions is among the tasks 0/ a magazine whose aim is to deal with the most "ital problems 01 the twentieth century. We begin in this number for three reasons with a contribution on Buddhism. First, because it is .urprising Ilow little -We, li"ing in the midst 01 a Buddhi8t world, generally know about Bltddhism. Secondll/, because BuddhiBm is a fa'ith common to the people8 of the Orient, from Burma to Japan; this renders it particu­ larly important todal/. And la.tly, becau8e Buddhism, in spite of its venerable age, is especially topical in yet another connecf.ion today. It is a characteristic of all people influenced by the technical and psychological development of the West that they find it very hard if not imp08sible to believe something which they have not understood with their reason. Hence they will find a 8tudy of BuddhiBm, an atheistic faith based purelll on the human instead 01 the divine, intere8ting. Buddhism offers a moral basis of life without taking for granted a divine revelation at a given ti'me, at a given place, to a giwn per80n or people. We believe we are justified in saying that the following article i8 unique in magazine literature in its clear and concise presentation of one of the most difficult Itp'iritual problems. It was written by a man who, in order to 8tudy the religions and cultures of the As'iatio nations, traveled through Ceylon, India, and Afghanistan and has been living in the East for several years where he has been engaged ma'inly in the 't"dy of Buddhillm.-K. M. STATUES OF BUDDHA of the Buddha in temples and groves also radiate that force of serenely When they come to Peking or other smiling wisdom which is directed in­ Eastern cities, many Europeans and ward and brings the beholder under Americans buy statues of Buddha. If its spell. one is lucky, one finds genuine old bronzes and wood carvings from which While Christ is usually represented emanate the charm of fine work­ in the tortured position on the Cross, manship, the magic force of centuries the Buddha is nearly always seen in of veneration, and a great serenity. the harmonious position of meditation, It is a serenity which comes from the the most important Buddhist spiritual introspection and inner peace lacking exercise. Meditation is designed to calm in most moderns. The great images the spirit, to release it from hatred, 172 THE XXth CENTURY anger, and desire, and to lead it to what The Buddha of our period, Siddhartha is truly essential. For the highest truth is Gautama, who lived from 563 to 483 not a theory to be read in books or learnt B.C., the last of this chain of saints, from teachers. It is to be found in was an ascetic from the noble clan of man himself, and he becomes conscious the Shakyas. Hence he is called Shakya­ of it as soon as he awakens from the muni, the sage of the Shakya clan. ignorance of his entanglement with the This Shakyamuni or Gautama is to most material world of things and the Buddhists simply "the Buddha." He treacherous world of appearances and is considered by them to be the founder pleasures and endeavors to lead a life of their religion, because the wisdom void of delusions. revealed by his predecessors had fallen into oblivion so that the "path to Reading or study alone will never deathlessness" had to be discovered enable us to accomplish the goal of anew. For critical science he is the Buddhism, which is the conquest of life only historical Buddha, compared with and death. The art of swimming cannot whom all other Buddhas are submerged be acquired from books; they may give in the twilight of legend. us certain useful information on how to swim, but jf we never practise swimming PRINCE AND SAINT we shall never become swimmers. In the same way, but in a far deeper We shall not trouble the reader with sense, we shall never understand the a description of Gautama's life before teaching of the Buddha, not to say his Enlightenment. It can be found in accomplish its aim, if we do not apply any encyclopedia. Moreover almost the teaching in our daily life. everyone knows the legend of how the young Prince Siddharta Gautama, grow­ THE LONG CHAIN ing up in carefree luxury and married to OF BUDDHAS the beautiful Yasodhara, one day, when out riding, met with a beggar, a sick Buddhism is the name given to that man, a corpse, and an ascete, and how, religion which venerates "Buddhas" as deeply affected by this experience, he the revealers of the redeeming truth. decided to give up all the pleasures of The designation "Buddha" was known his princely life, his rank, and his to the Indians as early as during the family, and to set out to solve the period of the Vedic religion (1500-600 riddle of life. This riddle, for him as B.C.). It means "the Awakened One" for many thinking persons, consisted and indicates a person who after great of the question, why suffering is struggles has gained perfect knowledge inseparably bound up with life. regarding the essence of all that is, a saint who has for ever freed himself Concentrating his attention on the from passion and suffering, and who eternal problems of life amI ueaLb, Lhe has grown beyond all earthly things Prince grasped the fundamental law to set forth the truths found by him of Transitoriness to which aU forms to humanity caught in delusions. are subject. At first be turned to priests and philosophers to solve the According to Buddhist views, count­ riddle of life. They advised him to less Buddhas have preceded the historical offer sacrifices to the gods in temples Buddha in former periods of the world. and at the house altar in the traditional And there will also be future Buddhas manner, to carry out pedantically the who will continue to proclaim the "good prescribed washings and ceremonies, law" which shows the way out of and to chant magic words and for­ the wretchedness of Samsara, the mulas on the correct occasions and in wandering (the eternal wheel of birth the correct order. This would placate and death) to which all beings are the gods and induce them to alleviate chained until they find deliverance, to the sufferings of man. Doubtless tem­ eternal bliss, to Ni1·vana. ples, priests, and rituals are of value THE LIGHT OF ASIA 173 in continually reminding the materialis­ divine inspiration but the fruit of our tically inclined people of higher realms. own meditation. Buddhism, therefore, However, such paraphernalia cannot is an atheistic doctrine and knows no tear out evil at its root. For this, god in the sense of the Bible or the something much more essential must Koran. All knowledge and all illusion happen in man himself, something that originate in man. Man creates his goes far beyond prayers, sacrifices, and own destiny. Hence there is in Bud­ rituals. Gautama realized this. dhism neither a belief in God, Provi­ dence, and Grace nor are there any AN ATHEISTIC FAITH prayers. For six years Gautama wandered The Doctrine which Gautama now through India's burning plains, under­ taught for fifty years as Buddha grew going hardships and castigations. on Indian soil from the Vedanta Finally he had to admit that, in spite philosophy. From it he took over the of his extreme asceticism and his conceptions of Samsara, Ka1'ma(more wiII absorption of all the knowledge then be said about these), and Maya, as well as existing in India, he had not reached certain Yoga methods. The practice of the ultimate solution to the riddle of Yoga leads on the one hand to the life. It was not until he sank into control of all physical functions, on the deep meditation under a tree near other to the concentration of mind and Gaya that Enlightenment came to him. will-power, as well as to the development Here, assisted by the experiences of of psychic powers unknown to the hio previoul3 cffortl3) hi3 ascetic life, rational, techniea.lJy-minded We5\t or and the knowledge acquired from his contemptuously disposed of as "occult­ teaChers, he made the final plunge il5m" by "enlightened" I5cience.
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