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THE LIFE OR LEGEND OF GAUDA^IA, the Buddha of
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OUTLINE OF BUDDHISM, from Chinese Sources. By S.
Bkai,, B.A., Trinity College, Cambridge; a Chaplain in Iler Majestv's
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CoNTKNTS. — 1. Legendary Period. 2. Buddhism as a Beligious System.
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KHUDDAKA PATHA, a Pali Text, with a Translation and
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THE MODERN BUDDHIST; being the views of a Siamese
Minister of Stale on his own and other Religions. Translated, with re-
marks, by TIknky A1.ABA8TKK, Interpreter of H.B.M. Consulate- General
in Si.im. In One Volume, Svo. pp. '.ii!. <l..th. 3s. iif/.
THE MODERN BUDDHIST;
THE VIEWS 01<' A SIAMESE MINISTER OF STATE ON
HIS OWN AND OTHER RELIGIONS.
TRANSLATED, WITH IlEJIARKS, III'
HENRY ALABASIER,
INTEliriiETKU Ol' )l.lt.M. CONSVI.A'I'K-CiENEUAL IN SIAM.
LONDON:
TRCBNER & CO., GO, PATERNOSTER ROW.
1870.
(All rifihls reserved.)
TATLOK ANP CO., PRINTIRS,
jTi'ir .irEEN STREET, LINCOLS'S IXS FIELD3.
6u
THE MODEKN BUDDHIST.
Of the three hundred and sixty-five millions
of men, the third of the human race -who,
according to a common estimate, 2)rofess in
some form the religion of Buddha, the four
million inhabitants of Siam are excelled by
none in the sincerity of their belief and the
liberality with which they support their reli-
gion. No other Buddhist country, of similar
extent, can show so many splendid temples
and monasteries. In Bangkok alone there arc
more than a hundi'ed monasteries, and, it is
said, ten thousand monks and novices. More
than this, every male Siamese, some time
dm'ing his life, and generally in the prime of
it, takes orders as a monk and retii'es for some
months or years to practise abstinence aud
meditation in a monastery.
^9 B
2 TTTE MODERN BUDDniST.
Tlio principal works on Buddhism in our
language are uninviting to the general reader.
The most able translators have not been able
to render the Buddhist classics anything but
tedious to read, and it is seldom that the great
authorities go beyond the classics. Such
pleasing and instructive discourses as Max
Midler's late lecture on Buddhistic Xihilism
are rare indeed, and the most familiar accounts
of Buddhism dej^ict it surrounded by, and
almost buried in the mass of superstitions
which have been from time to time connected
with it.
Such treatment is no more fair than it would
be fair to describe Cluistianity as inseparable
from every monkish fable which has from time
to time found credence. Indeed, it is still less
fair, for Christianity has always had some
check kept on alterations of its teachings, by
the fact that some of its earliest apostles com-
mitted their views to wi'iting, but Buddhism
having, for upwards of four hundi'ed years,*
from the days when Somana Kodom or Buddha
* Buddhists themselves say four hundred and fiftv
years, but this is improbable. Some modern scholars
are inclined to believe that the period was much less.
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 3
first taught it, been transmitted by oral tradi-
tion alone, must, in the very nature of things,
have been overwhelmed with ideas which were
not those of its founder.
Our object is to show something of the
religion of Buddha apart from its grosser
superstitious surroundings, not by our own
analysis, but by extracts from the writings of
a thoughtful Siamese Buddhist on his own and
other religions.
Somdet Phra Paramendr Maha Mongkut,
the late King of Siam, has been called the
founder of a new school of Buddhist thought,
having, while himself a monk, eminent among
monks for his knowledge of the Buddhist
Scriptures, boldly preached against the canoni-
city of those of them whose relations were
opposed to his reason, and his knowledge of
modern science. His Majesty was a man of
remarkable genius and acquirements. Ilis
powers as a linguist were considerable, and
enabled liim to use an English library ^\'illl
facility. Had he been able to publish his
ideas at a late period of his life, we might have
had still more enlightenment shown, than ap-
pears in the book we are about to present to
E 2
4 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
our readers ; but his position as King was a
bar to his doing such a thing ; he could do no
more than in some measure inspire his minister,
Avhose ideas were less advanced.
The Bangkok Calendar, an annual published
in Siam, contains some notes on the life of the
late monarch, some careful descriptions of
Buddhist observances, and translations of
BudtUiist works, and we shall find it conve-
nient to quote at times from its pages, espe-
cially in our references to the ' Traiphoom,' or
Buddhist cosmogonj", of which it gives a con-
venient abstract.
Chao Phya Thipakon, better known to
foreigners as Chao Phya Praklang, successfully
conducted the foreign affairs of Siam fr'om
1850, when Sir John BoAvi'ing's Treaty opened
the country to foreign trade, until two years
ago, when he retii*ed into private life stricken
with blindness. The minister was gi-eatly
esteemed by those his duties brought him in
contact with; he was always open to argu-
ment, and never let anything disturb the cour-
teous urbanity of his demeanour. It was his
wont, when with tlioso who could converse
freely in Siamese, to end everv official inter-
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. &
view with a private discussion on some theo-
retical or transcendental subject, therein differ-
ing from all the other leading men in his
country, whose thoughts and inquiries were
always about material, mechanical, and prac-
tical subjects. For instance, if gunpowder was
alluded to, he would expatiate on the advan-
tage civilized nations derived from it, or would
speculate on its combustion changing a solid
into gas, while any other nobleman would
have discussed either the best projiortion of
its ingredients, or the best place to buy it, and
the right price to pay for it.
By many years of verbal inquiry, and by
reading the elementary tracts published by
missionaries in Siam, he acquired such know-
ledge as he has of European science and of
foreign religions.
The results of his speculations he published
two years ago in the ' Ivitchanukit,' " A book
explaining many things," which, independ-
ently of its internal qualities, is curious, as
being the first book printed and published by
a Siamese without foreign assistance. He thus
states his reason for becoming an autlior : —
" I propose to write a book for the instruc-
(i THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
tioii of tliu younp;, being of opinion that the
course of teaching at present followed in the
temples is unprofitable. That course consists
of Uw spelling-book, religious formula), and
tales. What knowledge can any one gain
from such nonsense as ' Chan, my little
man, please bring rice and curry nice, and a
ring, a copper thing round my little brother's
arm to cling'? jingling sound without sense, —
a fair example of a large class of reading exer-
cise. I shall endeavoiu' to wiite fruitfully on
various subjects, material knowledge and re-
ligion, discussing the evidence of the truth
and falsity of things. The young will gain
more by studying this than by reading reli-
gious formulae and novels, for they will learn
to answer questions that may be put to them.
My book Avill be one of questions and an-
swers, and I shall call it ' a book explaining
many things.' "
We can, from our o\^tl experience, confirm
the character thus given to the education of
chiUb'en in monasteries, which are the only
extensive educational establishments in Siam.
The pupils who remain long enough in them,
Icai'n to read and to wiite theii- own language,
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 7
and also, if clever, the Pali language in the
KaA\Tn, or old Cambodian character ; but when
the language is mastered, the literature it opens
to them is for the most part silly and un[)ro-
fitable. To quote again from our author : —
" Our Siamese literature is not only scanty
but nonsensical, full of stories of genii stealing
women, and men fighting with genii, and ex-
traordinary persons who could fly through the
air, and bring dead people to life. And even
those works which profess to teach anything,
generally teach it wrong, so that there is not
the least profit, though one studies them from
morning to night.''
The work, though mainly devoted to the
comparison of Buddhism with other religions,
commences with an account of native and
foreign methods of reckoning time, the con-
struction df calendars, the author's views on
astronomy, the nature of air and water, etc.,
prefaced by the modest remark,
" Though I may be wrong, still, what I
write will serve to stimulate men's tliouu:hts,
and lead to their finding out the truth."
It seems to us that much of this is inserted
for the purpose of showing that the absurd
S Tire MODERN BUDDHIST.
cosmogony of the ' Traiphoom,' a work wliieh
the old school of Buddhists regard as sacred, is
not wholly an essential part of the Buddhist re-
ligion ; but that of SomanaKodom, or Buddha,
even if it did not teach the truths of modem
science, taught nothing opposed to them. It
is also written, to keep in some degree the
promise of the first page, that it shall be a book
of education for the young, a book about many
things. It is not until the author has warmed
to his work that the religious and controversial
element takes the place of every other.
It is not our pui-pose to refer much to this
first part of the book. There is a great deal of
useful information in it, strangely mixed up
with nonsense. The author has been at times
deliberately deceived by his informants, and
gravely quotes some very foolish stories which
there is no use in repeating. We prefer to give,
as an example of his style, a part of his dis-
course on rain.
*' Now as to the cause of the dry and wet
seasons, I will first give the explanation as it
stands in the ' Traiphoom.' T^Tien the sun goes
south near the heavenly abode of the Dewa
Wasawalahok, the Lord of Eain, the Dewa
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 9
finds it too hot to move out of his palace, and
so it is dry season. But when the sun is in the
north, out he goes and sets the rain falling.
"Another statement is that in the Ilimaphan
forest there is a great lake, named Anodat, and
that a certain kind of "wind sucks up its waters
and scatters them about. Another statement
is, that Phya Nak,* when playing, blows water
high up into the air, where it is caught by the
wind and falls as rain. There is no proof of
these stories and I have no faith in them,
for I cannot see where Wasawalahok lives, and
I don't know whether he can make rain fall
or not. As for the wind sucking up the water
in the Ilimaphan forest, that forest Ij'ing to
the north, all clouds must needs form in the
north, but as in fact they form at all points of
the compass, how can we say they come from
Himaphan ? As for tlio Nak playing Avith
water, no one has seen him, so there is no
proof of it. The Chinese say rain falls be-
cause the Dewas will it, or because the Dragon
shows his might by sucking up the sea water,
which by his power becomes fresh. They
* Tlio Kiiifj; of tlie Nuks — lioodcd ticrpcnts of im-
mense size and power.
10 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
having seen tliat in the open ocean a wind
sometimes sucks up the water transparently
into the sky, and that thence arise clouds,
believe that the Dragon does it. There is no
proof of this. The Brahmins, and other be-
lievers in God the Creator, believe that He
makes the rain to fall, that men may cultivate
their fields and live. I cannot say whether
God does this or not, for it seems to me that
if so, lie would of His great love and mercy
make it fall equally all over the earth, so that
all men might live and eat in security. But
this is not the case, — indeed, in some places no
rain falls for years together, the people have
to drink brackish water, and cannot cultivate
their lands, or have to trust but to the dew to
moisten them ; besides, a very great deal of
the rain falls on the seas, the mountains, and
the jungles, and does no good to man at all.
Sometimes too much falls, flooding the towns
and villages, and di'owning numbers of men
and animals, sometimes too little falls in the
plains for rice to be grown, while on the
mountain tops rain falls perpetually through
seasons wet and diy. How can it be said that
God, the creator of the world, causes rain,
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 11
when its fall is so irregular ? We now come
to the idea of philosophers, who have some
proof of their theory. They say rain falls
somewhere every day without fail; for the
earth, the sky, and the sea are like a still, and
it is a property of salt water to yield fresh by
distillation. The heat of the sun di'aws up
steam from the sea and wherever there is
moisture. Do not pools dry up ? This steam
is not lost, it flies to cool places above, and
collecting in the cold skies becomes solid like
ice, then when the hot season arrives this ice
melts and forms into clouds, floating according
to the wind, and when a wind forces a cloud
near the earth, the hills and earth act on it
like a magnet, draw it down, and there is rain.
Hence it arises that rain water is cooler than
other water, for it is formed by melting ice,
and wherever the sun goes there it is rainy
season."
We also give his remarks on epidemic dis-
eases, which, like the preceding ijassago, illus-
trate his idea of the perfect equality that
should result from Divine justice.
"How is it that in some years fevers pre-
vail, in others not ; in some ophthalmia, small-
rJ THE MODERN LUDDmST.
l)ox, etc., arise as epidemics, and in some
animals are attacked by epidemics ?
" Those who believe in devils say they cause
it. Those who believe in God the Creator say
He inflicts them as a punishment. The Ma-
hometans say that there are trees in heaven,
on each of whose leaves is the name of a
human being, and whenever one of these leaves
withers and falls the man whose name it bears
dies with it. Old Siamese sages held that
rhya Nak mixed poison with the air. Tliose
who do not believe in devils ascribe epidemic
diseases to the change of seasons, the change
from heat to cold and cold to heat, distui'bing
the body which is healthy enough when the
season is well set in and become thoroughly
hot, or cold, or rainy, as is the case. They
fui'ther say, the evil element in the atmosphere
is a poisonous gas, affecting all those whose
bodily state cannot resist its entry. Epidemics
among animals can be accounted for by the
poisonous gas finding an affinity for the ele-
ments of the animals. I find corroboration in
the fact that exposiu*e to bad air brings on
sicknesses which those who remain sheltered
do not suffer from. Moreover, the sea water,
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 13
which is a coarse atmosphere, when it is dis-
coloured and stinking kills the fish which are
in it, but those which are strong enough to
swim out of the foul part escape. The same
is seen with fish in a basin, which die if fresh
water is not given to them. So wc find many-
people live to old age without having the
smallpox, by always running away from any
place where it has broken out. In the same
way outbreaks of fever are local, and danger
is escaped by moving to another locality where
there is none. Now if it was a visitation of
God, there would be no running away from it.
I leave you to form your own opinion whether
it is the work of devils, or the visitation of
God, or the result of the fall of the leaves in
heaven, or of Thja Nak's poison, or of a bad
atmosphere."
The tides he explains by "lunar attraction,
which can be demonstrated by mathematics,
and is a more reasonable idea than that of the
Brahmins, some of whom believe that they
are caused by winds blowing back tlie water
in estuaries, and others that they are caused
by flames rising from time to time up a chim-
ney in the middle of the ocean, and forcing the
water back towards the coasts and rivers."
14 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
We shall now coniparc our author's view of
the probable manner of formation of moun-
tains and islands, ^vitll the account given in
the 'Traiphoom' of the coming into being of
a new gi'oup of worlds. Fii-st our author's
view.
"It is said in our old books that the world
arose from rain-water, which, drying up, left
the earth floating about over it like a lotus-
leaf, and the hills were caused by the water
boiling u]). The earth was left heaped iiTC-
gularly, like rice at the bottom of a boiling
rice-pot, and in time the higher parts became
rock. Some think that the world was created
by Allah for the use and advantage of mankind,
but I cannot believe it, when I think of the
terrible rocks on which ships are wrecked, and
of fiery mountains, which are certainly not an
advantage to man. IIow, then, can we as-
scribe it to a Creator ? Those who say the
higher parts became rock, do not say how
they became so. Philosophers think that
when the earth first formed there was fii'e be-
neath the siu'face, and that hills are due to
that cause. And it is observed in other coun-
tries, as well as our own, that mountains and
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 15
islands generally lie citlier in groups or in
lines.
"And there is an inference of fire to be
drawn from the fact that we can melt earth with
fire, and it will become like rock or glass. I
mention this only as a suggestion, for if the fire
existed when the earth was formed, it should
exist now; but no one has seen any hills
arise in this way, and no one saw the world
come into existence, so we cannot say any-
thing for certain."
The 'Traiphoom' view is, that the whole of
spare has been for ever occupied by an infinite
number of Chukra^^'ans, or groups of worlds,
all exactly similar, and each embracing a
world of men, with a series of heavens and
hells, etc. From time to time a billion of
these groups are annihilated by fire, water,
or wind, and a void remains, until the neces-
sity of giving scope to merit and demerit,*
causes the void to be again filled. First there
appears an impalpable mist, gradually chang-
ing to an immense rainfall, continuing until a
great part of the void is filled with water.
* The subject of " merit" and " demerit" is treated of
later in the book. Sec ])]i. 5S, seq.
16 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
Then arises a wliirhvind, which shapes tlic
system, and dries up part of the water, causing
the mountains and plains to appear in slow
succession. During this time the only in-
habitants of the system are the Phroms, the
highest order of angels, glorious beings, whose
own radiance illuminates the system, who need
no food, and have no sensual feelings. These
Phroms have, in the course of thousands of
previous transmigrations in pre-existing worlds,
gradually improved, until reaching that an-
gelic state which is next to perfection. They
have then degenerated, and some will con-
tinue to degenerate until they reach the most
unhappy forms of life. Their degeneracy com-
menced by one of them craving for food, and
being so pleased on tasting it, that he could
not refrain from continually eating thence-
forth. Others followed his example. Their
glorj' and luminosity left them, and by de-
grees, gluttony being followed by other de-
sires, the distinction of sex arose, their forms
decreased in beauty, and they became human,
then brutal, and lastly devilish.
^We revert to oiu' modern Buddhist. Eclipses,
comets, meteors, and will-o'-the-wisps are in
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 17
turn treated of mainly according to European
ideas, and the common Siamese idea of the inter-
vention of spirits is ridiculed; but he claims
that the theory of eclipses being caused by the
dragon Phra Eahu swallowing the sun or
moon, may be regarded as a parable veiling
the truth ; and he makes the somewhat bold
statement that the great noise made in his
coimtry whenever there is an eclipse, the fran-
tic beating of gongs and firing of guns, is not
an effort on his countrymen's part to frighten
the dragon, and make him drop the sun from
his jaws, but is a sign of the joy of all men
that their mathematicians are able to predict
the time of such extraordinary events. This
ingenious explanation seems more like a say-
ing of the late King than that of the author of
this book, and was probably the plea by which
his Majesty justified himself for alloAving his
cannons to be fired on these occasions.
He fully adopts the general views of astro-
nomy he has learnt from Europeans, even to
the theory of the plurality of solar systems,
and then imagines the question put, " Is not
this contrary to the teaching of ]3uddha?"
His argument in reply is lengthy, comprising
c
18 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
firstly, an abstract of the 'Traiphoom' cos-
mography; secondly, an account of the chief
religions of the world, which, he argues, were
all as opposed to true astronomical teaching as
Buddhism is supposed to be ; and, thirdly, an
exposition of what he considers to be Buddha's
teaching on the subject, from which he de-
duces that Buddha knew the truth, and that
the ' Traiphoom ' and other books of the class
are uncanonical. His abstract of the ' Trai-
ph(Kim' cosmography, being intended for those
Avho have ah-eady read that book, is not very
definite ; we shall therefore give our own in its
place.
The universe consists of an infinite number
of Chakrawans, each having a central moun-
tain, riira Men or Meru, surrounded by eight
belts of ocean, separated by seven annular
mountains, the nearest of which mountain is
Yukunthon. Outside of all, distant from the
seventh ring five million miles, is the annular
crystal mountain, Kow Cliala-awan, 820,000
miles high, the boundary of the system. Si-
tuated on the inner belt of ocean, between
Meru and Yukunthon, are four* groups of is-
lands. The group to the south is that in-
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 19
habited by man ; the groups to the north, the
east, and the west, are inhabited by beings
akin to men, but differing in appearance. On
the annular mountains, and on and above
Meru, are nineteen tiers of heavens or angelic
worlds, the six lowest inliabited by Dewas, or
ordinary angels ; the nine above them by
Phi'oms, or superior angels, having form ; and
the four above them by the highest class of
angels, Phroms, without form. The Sun and
Moon are Dewas, or angels living in gold and
silver palaces, who travel round and round the
Yukunthon mountains. Beneath the earth, at
a distance of one hundred miles, is the nearest
of eight places of misery, or hells. The whole
system is held up by fish floating in an ocean,
which is supported in space by wind. When
these fish wag their tails, the earth trembles
with an earthquake. In the 'Traiphoom' this
system is elaborated with subdivisions of
heavens and hells, and most tedious measure-
ments of everything and place referred to.
It will be convenient for awhile to omit our
author's account of the great religions of the
world, excepting so for as bears on the point
of astronomy. lie first gives the Brahminical
c2
20 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
cosmography, which closely resembles that in
the ' Traiphoom,' differing only in that it
names a creating God as the cause. He then
traces from Bralmiinism the religions of Abra-
ham, Christ, and Mahomet, asking where any
of these teachers taught astronomy correctly,
and sums up in the following words : —
" When philosophers found out the truth,
the disciples of Mahomet put them in prison
because they taught that which was opposed
to the teaching of 'the Exact One,' which
made out the world to be a plain, with the
sun and moon revolving about it, much as our
'Traiphoom' does. But after a while, there
being too many witnesses of the truth of what
the philosophers asserted, they then adopted
their ideas, and incorporated them into their
religion. The ancients, whether Brahmins
or Ai*abs, or Jews or Chinese, or Europeans,
had much the same idea of cosmography, and
their present ideas on the subject were the
work of scientific men in modem times."
We now come to the thii'd point, what was
Buddha's teaching on astronomy.
*' When the Lord Buddha was born in the
land of the Brahmins, he knew all that was
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 21
just, and how to deliver the body from all ills.
This he knew perfectly. And he joiu-neyed
and taught in Brahmin countnes, the sixteen
great cities, for forty-five years, desii'ing only
that men should do right, and live suitably,
so that they might escape sorrow, and not be
subject to further changes of existence. Those
who have studied Pali Ivnow that the Lord
taught concerning the nature of life, and the
characteristics of good and evil, but never dis-
coursed about cosmography. It is probable
that he knew the truth, but his knowledge
being opposed to the ideas of the ' Traiphoom,'
which every one then believed in, he said no-
thing about it. For if he had taught that the
world was a revolving globe, contrary to the
traditions of the people, who believed it to
be flat, they would not have believed him,
and might have pressed him with questions
about things of which there was no proof, ex-
cept his allegations ; and they, disagreeing
with him, might have used towards him evil
language, and incurred sin. Besides, if ho
had attacked their old traditions, he would
have stirred up enmity, and lost the time ho
had for teaching all living beings. Therefore
22 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
he said nothing about cosmography. When a
certain man asked liim about it, he forbade
him to inquii-e ; he would not teach it himself,
and forbade his disciples to speak of it. . This
can be seen in various Soodras ; and where
there are references to heaven and earth and
hell in the sacred books, I presume they have
found their way in as illustrations, etc. Yet
there is an expression in those old books point-
ing out the truth for futui'e men as to the
revolution of the earth. The Pali expression
is Wattakoloko, which, translated, is 'revolv-
ing world ' ; and those who did not know this
translation explained it as referring to the
sun and moon tui'uing round the world, be-
cause they did not fiiUy comprehend it. After
the religion of Buddha had spread abroad, a
certain king, desiring to know the truth as to
cosmogony, inquired of the monks, and they
knowing the omniscience of Buddha, and yet
fearing that if they said Buddha never taught
this, people would say ' your Lord is ignorant,
and admired without reason,' took the ancient
Scriptures, and various expressions in the Soo-
dras and parables, and fables and proverbs,
and connecting them together into a book, the
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 23
' Traiphoom,' produced it as the teaching of
Buddha. The people of those days were un-
educated and foolish, and believed that Buddha
had really taught it ; and if any doubted, they
kept their doubts to themselves, because they
could not prove anything.
" Had the Lord Buddha taught cosmography
as it is in the ' Traiphoom,' he would not have
been omniscient, but by refraining from a sub-
ject which men of science were certain eventu-
ally to ascertain the truth of, he showed his
omniscience."
Our author, nevertheless, will not give up
the tradition that Buddha visited the heaven
called Daodungsa, and there taught the angels.
He believes that omnipotence may be gained
by perfect virtue, abstinence, and thought, and
does not think it impossible that it should en-
able a man to visit the stany heavens.
" It cannot be asserted that the Lord did
not preach in Daodungsa, any more than the
real existence of Mount Meru can be asserted.
I have explained about this matter of Meru,
and the other mountains, as an old tradition.
But with respect to the Lord preaching on
Daodungsa as an act of grace to his mother, I
24 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
believe it to be true, and that one of the many
stars or planets is the Daodungsa world. The
Lord Buddlia disappeared for a period of three
months, and then returned. Had he been
hiding, that he might pretend he had been
preaching to the angels in heaven, he would
have been seen by somebody, and could not
have kept quite concealed. The disciples, who
must have brought him food, would surely
not have kept the secret. It would have be-
come matter of conversation and rumour. In
truth, nothing was said against it, but in con-
sequence of it great respect was shown, and
the religion spread far and wide. It cannot
be authoritatively denied that many saints have
visited the abodes of the angels, for the worlds
of heaven are beyond the knowledge of or-
dinary men."
Henceforward the book deals with none but
religious subjects. The fii'st selections we
shall give are from his criticism of missionary
tracts, and his conversations with theii* T\Titers.
Many readers will be shocked at his apparent
irreverence. We beg to remind such persons
that he, from education, sees these matters in
an utterly different light to what it is seen in
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 2o
by believers in a God actively interested in
the world, and also that he naturally feels
justified in treating with ridicule the ideas of
those foreigners who send to his country a
body of missionaries, who spare little sarcasm
or insult in their never-ceasing endeavours to
bring his religion into contempt. He, as a
Buddhist, might believe in the existence of a
God sublimed above all human qualities and
attributes, a perfect God, above love and
hatred and jealousy, calmly resting in a quiet
happiness that nothing could disturb, and of
such a God he would speak no disparagement ;
not fi'om desire to please him, or fear to offend
him, but from natural veneration. But he
cannot understand a God with the attributes
and qualities of men, a God who loves and
hates and shows anger, a Deity who, whether
described to him by Christian Missionaries or
by Mahometans, or Brahmins or Jews, falls
below his standard of even an ordinary good
man.
" I have studied the Roman Catholic book
' Maha Kangwon,' the Great Care, and it seems
to me that the priests' great cares are their
own interests. I see no attempt to explain
26 THE MODERN BUDDHIST,
any difficult and doubtful matters. If, as they
say, God when he created man knew what
every man would be, why did he create
thieves ? This is not explained. The book
tells us that all those virtuous men who have
taught religions differing from the Eoman
Catholic, have been enemies of God, but it
does not explain why God has allowed so
many different religions to arise and exist.
How much do this and all other religions differ
on this point from the religion of Buddha,
which allows that there are eight kinds of
holiness leading to ultimate happiness ! {^i.e. does
not insist on Buddhism being necessary to
salvation).
" The American missionary, Dr. Jones, wrote
a book called the ' Golden Balance for weii^h-
ing Buddhism and Christianity,' but I think
any one who reads it will see that his balance
is very one-sided ; indeed, he who would weigh
things ought to be able to look impartially at
the scales.
'' Dr. Gutzlaff declared that ' Sumana Kodom
only taught people to reverence himself and
his disciples, saying, that by such means merit
and heaven coidd be attained, teaching them
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 27
to respect the temples, and Po-trees, and every-
thing in the temple grounds, lest by injuring
them they should go to hell, a teaching de-
signed only for the protection of himself and
his disciples, and of no advantage to any
others.' I replied, ' In Chi'istianity there is a
command to worship God alone, and no other ;
Mahomet also taught the worship of one only,
and promised that he would take into heaven
every one who joined his religion, even the
murderer of his parents, while those who would
not join his religion, however vii'tuous their
lives, should surely go to hell ; also he taught
that all other religions were the enemies of his
religion, and that heaven could be attained by
injuring the temples, idols, and anything
held sacred by another religion. Is such
teaching as that fit for belief? Buddha did
not teach that he alone should be venerated,
nor did he, the just one, ever teach that it was
right to persecute other religions. As for
adoration, so far as I know, men of every reli-
gion adore the holy one of their religion. It
is incorrect of the Doctor to say that Bud-
dha taught men to adore him alone. He nei-
ther taught that such was necessary, nor
28 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
offered the alternative of hell as all other reli-
gions do.
"I said to the missionary, 'how about the
Dowas the Chinese believe in, are there any ?'
He said ' No ; no one has seen them ; they do
not exist ; there are only the angels, the ser-
vants of God, and the evil spirits whom God
drove out to be devils and deceive men.' I
said, ' Is there a God Jehovah ?' He answered,
' Certainly, one God !' I rejoined, ' You said
there were no Dewas because no one had seen
them, why then do you assert the existence of
a God, for neither can we see him ?' The
missionary answered, ' Truly, we see him not,
but all the works of creation must have a
master; they could not have originated of
themselves.' I said, ' There is no evidence of
the creation, it is only a tradition ; why not
account for it by the self-producing power of
nature ? ' The missionary replied, ' that he had
no doubt but that God created everything, and
that not even a hair, or a grain of sand existed
of itself, for the things on the earth may be
likened to dishes of food aii-anged on a table,
and though no owner should be seen, none
would doubt but that there was one ; no one
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 29
would think that tlie things came into the
dishes of themselves.' I said, ' Then you con-
sider that even a stone in the bladder is created
by God ! ' He replied, ' Yes. Everything.
God creates everything !' ' Then,' answered I,
' if that is so, God creates in man that which
will cause his death, and you medical mission-
aries remove it and restore his health ! Are
you not opposing God in so doing ? Are you
not offending Him in curing those whom he
would kill?' When I had said this the mis-
sionary became angry, and saying I was hard
to teach, left me."
"Dr. Gutzlaff once said to me, 'Phra So-
mana Kodon, having entered Nippan, is en-
tirely lost and non-existent, who, then, will
give any return for recitations in his praise, be-
nedictions, reverences, observances, and merit-
making ? It is as a country mthout a king,
where merit is unrewarded, because there is
no one to reward it ; but the religion of Jesus
Christ has the Lord Jehovah and Christ to re-
ward merit, and receive prayers and praises,
and give a recompense.' I replied, ' It is true
that, according to the Buddhist religion, the
Lord Buddha does not give the reward of
30 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
merit ; but if any do as he has taught, they
will find their roconipenso in the act. Even
when Buddha lived on earth, he had no power
to lead to heaven those who prayed for his
assistance, but did not honour and follow
the just way. The holy religion of Buddha is
perfect justice springing from a man's own
meritorious disposition. It is that disposition
which rewards the good and punishes the evil.
The recitations are the teachings of the Lord
Buddha, which are found in various Soodras,
set forms given by Buddha to holy hermits,
and some of them are descriptions of that which
is suitable and becoming in conduct. Even
though the Lord has entered Nippan, his gi'ace
and benevolence are not exhausted. You mis-
sionaries praise the grace of Jehovah and
Christ, and say that the Lord waits to hear
and grant the prayers of those that call to
Him. But are those prayers granted? So
far as I see, they got no more than people
who do not believe in prayer. They die the
same, and they are equally liable to age and
disease and sorrow. IIow, then, can you say
that your religion is better than any other ?
In the Bible we find that God created Adam
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 31
and Eve, and desired that they slioukl have no
sickness nor sorrow, nor know death ; but be-
cause they, the progenitors of mankind, ate of
a forbidden fruit, God became angry, and or-
dained that thenceforth they should endui-e
toil and weariness, and trouble and sickness,
and from that time fatigue and sorrow, and
sickness and death fell upon mankind. It
was said that by baptism men should be free
from the curse of Adam, but I do not see that
any one who is baptized now-a-days is free
from the curse of Adam, or escapes toil ^nd
grief, and sickness and death, any more than
those who are not baptized.' The missionary
answered, 'Baptism for the remission of sin
is only effectual in gaining heaven after death,
for those who die unbaptizcd will certainly go
to hell.' But the Missionary did not explain
the declaration that by baptism men should be
free from pains and troubles in their present
state. He further said, ' It does at times please
God to accede to the requests of those that
pray to Him, a remarkable instance of which
is, that Europeans and Americans have more
excellent arts than any other people. Have
they not steamboats and railways, and tele-
32 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
graphs and manufactures, and guns and wea-
pons of war superior to any others in the
world? Arc not the nations which do not
worship Christ comparatively ignorant ?' I
asked the Doctor about sorrow and sickness,
things which prevail throughout the world,
things in which Christians have no advan-
tage over other men, but he would not reply
on that point, and spoke only of matters of
knowledge. Where is the witness who can
say that this knowledge was the gift of God ?
There are many in Europe who do not believe
in God, but are indifferent, yet have subtle
and expanded intellects, and are great philo-
sophers and politicians. How is it that God
grants to these men, who do not believe in
Him, the same intelligence He grants to those
who do ? Again, how is it that the Siamese,
Burmese, Cochin Chinese, and other Eoman
C^atholic converts, whom we see more atten-
tive to their religion than the Europeans who
reside among us, do not receive some reward
for their merit, and have superior advantages
and intelligence to those who are not con-
verted. So far as I can see, the reverse is the
ease : the unconverted flourish, but the con-
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 33
verted arc continuully in debt and bondage.
There are many converts in Siam, but I see
none of tliem rise to wealth, so as to become
talked about. They continually pray to God,
but, it seems, nothing happens according to
their prayer.' The missionary replied, ' They
are Eoman C.^atholics, and hold an untrue reli-
gion, therefore God is not pleased with them.'
I said to the missionary, ' You say that God
sometimes grants the prayers of those who
pray to Him ; now, the Chinese, who pray to
spirits and devils, sometimes obtain what they
have prayed for ; do you not, therefore, allow
that these spirits can benefit man ?' The mis-
sionary answered, ' The devil receives bribes.'
I inquired, ' Among the men and animals God
creates, some die in the womb, and many at
or immediately after birth, and before reach-
ing maturity, and many are deaf, dumb, and
crippled : why are such created ? Is it not a
waste of labour ? Again, God creates men,
and does not set their hearts to hold to His
religion, but sets them free to take false reli-
gions, so that they are all damned, while those
who worship Ilim go to heaven : is not this in-
consistent with His goodness and mercy ? If
D
34 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
He, indeed, created all men, would He not
have shown equal compassion and goodness to
all, and not allowed inequalities? Then I
should have believed in a creating God. But,
as it is, it seems nothing but a game at dolls.'
The missionary replied, ' With regard to long
and short lives, the good may live but a short
time, God being pleased to call them to heaven,
and sometimes He permits the wicked to live
to a full age, that they may repent of their
sins. And the death of innocent children is
the mercy of God calling them to heaven.' I
rejoined, ' How should God take a special
liking to unlovable, shapeless, unborn chil-
dren ?' The missionary replied, ' He who would
learn to swim must practise in shallow places
first, or he will be drowned. If any spoke like
this in European countries, he would be put
in prison.' I invite particular attention to
this statement.
"Another time I said to the missionary
Gutzlaff, ' It is said in the Bible that God is
the creator of all men and animals. Why
should he not create them spontaneously, as
worms and vermin arise from filth, and fish
are formed in new pools by the emanations of
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 35
air and water ? Wliy must there be procrea-
tion, and agony and often death to mothers ?
Is not this labour lost ? I can see no good in
it.' He replied, ' God instituted procreation
so that men might know their fathers and
mothers and relatives, and the pains of child-
birth are a consequence of the curse of Adam.'
I said, ' If procreation was designed that men
should know their relatives, why are animals,
which do not know their relatives, produced
in the same manner ? And why do they, not
being descendants of Eve, suffer pain in labour
for her sin of eating a little forbidden fruit ?
Besides, the Bible says, by belief in Christ man
shall escape the consequences of Eve's sin, yet I
cannot see that men do so escape in any degree,
but suffer just as others do.' The missionary
answered, ' It is waste of time to converse with
evil men who will not bo taught,' and so left me.
" The Lord Buddha decKned to discourse on
the creation ; he said that there was no begin-
ning, and that the subject was unprofitable, as
such knowledge was no hcljj towards diminish-
ing miseiy. I doubt not that he knew the
truth, and would not tell it, because it would
have shocked the prejudices of his hearers,
D 2
36 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
Brahmins wlio believed that various classes of
moil had sprung from diflfcrcnt parts of the
Creator's body, and who had instituted caste
according to the more or less honourable part
of the body from which they thought that
certain classes had sprung. Those who be-
lieve in God the Creator tell us that the crea-
tion occupied six days, the sun, moon, and
stars being created on the fourth. Now the
number of stars is infinite, and each star or
sun is greater than the earth by as much as a
fortress is greater than a pea. How can we
believe that God made this inconceivable in-
finity of immense things in one day, and yet
required five days to make this little world,
this mere drop in the great ocean ?
" I asked the Mussulmans and missionaries,
' if God created all things, and is ruler of the
world, and has spirit and knowledge, and
judgment to reward the good and j^imish the
wicked, what merit did he make in former
times that he should become the Great God of
Heaven?' They answered, 'not by acquired
merit, but by himself did God exist. As in
numbers you have two, and three, and four
upwards, but they all depend on the fii'st, or
THE MODERN BrDDHIST. 37
one, and none can say whence comes one.' I
asked, ' The elements of the world are endless,
sjiace is infinite, men and animals infinite, the
worlds in space uncountable ; if the spirit of
God is single, how can it fill them all and
search out everything in the disposition of men,
and watch the good and e\'il in every heart ?'
They replied, 'the power of God is great,
wherever there is space, God is.' "
Nearly fifty pages of the ' Kitchanukit ' are
taken up by the sketch of the religions of the
world.
" There are philosophers who say that all
known sects may be classed under two reli-
gions only, the Brahmanyang and the Saman-
yang. All those who pray for assistance to
Brahma, Indi-a, God the Creator, Angels, De-
vils, Parents, or other intercessors or possible
benefactors, — all who believe in the existence
of any being who can help them, and in the
efficacy of prayer, are Brahmanyang ; while
all who believe that they must depend solely
on the inevitable results of their own acts, that
good and evil are consequences of preceding
causes, and that merit and demerit are the
regulators of existence, and who therefore do
38 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
not pray to any to help tlicm, and all those
who profess to know nothing of what will
happen after death, and all those who disbelieve
in a future existence, are Samanyang.
" Brahminism is," he writes, "the most an-
cient known religion, held by numbers of men
to this day, though with many varieties of
belief. Its fundamental doctrine was that the
world was created by Tao Maha Phrom
(Brahma), who divided his nature into two
parts, Isuen (Vishnu), Lord of the Earth and
rewardcr of the good, and I^arai (Siva), Lord
of the Ocean, and punisher of the wicked.
The Brahmins believed in blood sacrifices,
which they ofi'ered before idols with three
faces and six hands, representing three gods
in one. Sometimes they made separate images
of the three, and called them the father, the
son, and the spirit, all three being one, and
the son being that part of the deity which at
various times is boni in the earth as a man,
the Avatar of God.
After Brahminism he treats of Judaism.
" About 3000 years ago a Kek,* named Abra-
* This word is applied to Jews and Mahometans,
whatever country they are natives of.
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 39
ham, who lived in Koran (? Chaklsea), the son
of a Brahmin priest, di-eamt that the Lord Allah
came and told him that it was not right to wor-
ship images, and that he must destroy his idols
and flee from that country, and establish a new
religion, permitting no kneeling or sacrifice
except to God alone. Animal sacrifice was to
be retained, and the followers of his religion
were to be circumcised instead of being bap-
tized. For without circumcision none is a fol-
lower of Islam."
He continues with the story of Abraham and
his trial, as told in the Bible, ending with the
remark : " Thus the religion of Islam branched
off" from Brahminism." Next follows a short
account of the separation of Christianity from
Judaism, and the introduction of the rite of
baptism, of which he observes : —
" Baptism was a religious rite from very an-
cient times, the Brahmins liolding that if any
one who had sinned went to the bank of the
Gauges, and saying ' I will not sin again,'
plunged into the stream, he would rise to the
surface free of sin, all his sins floating away
witli tlic water. Ilence it was called baptism,
or the rite of washing off offences so that they
40 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
floated away. Sometimes when any one was sick
untp death, his relatives would place him by the
river, and give him water to drink, and pour
water over him till he died, believing that he
would thus die holy and go to heaven. This
was the old belief, the rite of circumcision
being introduced by the prophet Abraham, and
it is to be supposed that the holy man John
(the Baptist) thought that the ancient rite
was the proper one, and so restored it."
Next follows an account of the second great
offspring of the religion of Abraham, Maho-
metanism, the rise of which and its division
into two sects, Soonnees and Mahons (Shores),
are treated of at some length. This religion,
he observes, was not spread by the arguments
of preachers, but by men who held the Koran
with one hand and the sword with the other.
We will not occupy our reader's time by quot-
ing the histoiy of Mahometanism, which they
can read elsewhere, but they may be amused
by the account of the reason that pork is for-
bidden food.
" They say that when men first filled the
world, Allah forbade them to eat any animals
but such as died a natural death; and as the
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 41
animals would not die as quickly as they wished,
they accelerated their deaths by striking them
and throwing things at them. The animals
comjilained to Allah of this treatment, and he
sent his angel Gabriel to order all men and
animals to assemble together that he might de-
cide the case. But the pigs were disobedient
and did not come. Then Allah said, ' The pigs,
the lowest of animals, are disobedient, let no
one eat them or touch them.' "
His remarks on other religions we quote in
his own words : —
'' Another religion is what the Siamese call
that of the Lord Phoot (Phra Phutthi Chao),
and Europeans call that of Somana Kodoiu' or
Gautama, or Buddha. Its followers, some of
them, walk reverently according to the rules
called Thamwinai, others follow a relaxed code.
In some countries the monks are treated as
kings. Christianity is also a great religion.
Christians were originally all Roman Catholics.
The Roman Catholics believed in Jehovah and
Christ and Mary, the mother, and in samts and
in the Pope, the great bishop of Rome, who
they say is the substitute for Christ on eartli
with power to absolve from sin, and t(^ order
42 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
doctrines. The priests of tliat religion, wliom
we call Bat Illuang, dress in black and have no
wives. After many centxiries certain Germans
considered that the Eoman Catholic tenets were
contrary to the Bible, so they formed a new
sect, believing in God and Christ only. Their
teachers are called missionaries, and dress like
ordinary people and have wives, and if their
wives die can marry again, though some hold
that they should not do so. They do not wor-
shij) Mary, the mother, nor the saints ; many
left the old religion to join this sect. Another
sect are the Mormons ; they say that their reli-
gion arose from certain men dreaming that God
in heaven took a golden plate whereon was
written the holy doctrine, and bui'ied it in the
earth. And those who di'eamt thus dug, and
found a scripture engraven on a plate of gold,
according to their di'eam. Then they believed
in God in heaven, and Christ and polygamy,
and doing as they pleased ; the rules of their
religion being much more lax than those of
Eoman Catholics or Chi'istians (Protestants).
And they believed that if they tiu'ned their
thoughts to Christ when at the point of death,
Christ would take theii* souls to heaven. All
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 43
these three sects worship the same God and
Christ, why then should they blame each other,
and charge each other with believing wrongly,
and say to each other, ' you are wi'ong and will
go to hell, we are right and shall go to heaven' ?
It is one religion, yet how can we join it when
each party thi-eatens us with hell if we agree
with the other, and there is none to decide be-
tween them. I beg comparison of this with
the teaching of the Lord Buddha, that who-
ever endeavours to keep the Commandments,*
and is charitable, and walks vii'tuously must
attain to heaven." A few remarks on the worship
of Juggernauth, fire-worship, Confucianism,
spirit-worship, and unbelief, and a sketch of
the principal localities of each religion con-
clude this subject.
The next question is, out of so many reli-
gions, how shall a man select that which he
can trust to for his future happiness ?
" He must reflect, and apply his mind to
ascertain Avliich is most true. This is a sub-
ject of constant dispute, every one upholding
his own religion. Even the lowest of man-
* For au account of the five ComiiKiudmeuts, see
page 72.
44 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
kind, devil worshippers, have faith iu tlieir
own hclicf, and will not hear those who
would teach them differently. It is very hard
for men to relinquish their first ideas and
habits. Those who do change their religions
are either poor people who do it out of re-
spect to those w^ho have helped them when in
difficulties, or those who have been persecuted
and forced to change, or those who are induced,
by observing the superior skill and knowledge
of the followers of any religion, to believe that
their religion must be the true one ; or those
who change their religion for that of some one
whom they respect as much wiser and better
than themselves, and sure to be right in every-
thing, or those who do it to get help when
they have lawsuits, and to obtain protectors
against oppression. Also there are those who,
having listened to teaching, are enlightened,
and see clearly that form and name are not
realities, and must be considered as sorrows,
and that there is no help to be had from any
one, but that good and evil are the result of
merit and demerit. Some there ai'e who have
become Buddhists on these considerations."
On this subject he quotes one of the Soodras,
supposed to be a sermon of Buddha : —
THE MODEEX BUDDHIST. 45
" There is a Buddhist Soodra which pleased
me much when I read it, and I have remem-
bered it, and will repeat it here, begging to
be excused for variations, omissions, and ad-
ditions, as it is intended for those who are
not learned in the holy religion of Buddha.
It is as follows : On a certain occasion the
Lord Buddha led a number of his disciples to
a village of the Kalamachon, where his wisdom
and merit and holiness were known. And
the Kalamachon assembled, and did homage
to him, and said, ' Many priests and Brahmins
have at different times visited us, and ex-
plained their religious tenets, declaring them
to be excellent, but each abused the tenets of
every one else, whereupon we arc in doubt as
to whose religion is right and whose wrong ;
but we have heard that the Lord Buddha
teaches an excellent religion, and we beg that
we may be freed from doubt, and learn the
truth.'
" And the Lord Buddha answered, ' You
were right to doubt, for it was a doubtful
matter. I say unto all of you. Do not be-
lieve in what ye have heard ; that is, when you
have heard any one say this is especially good
46 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
or extremely bad ; do not reason with your-
selves that if it had not been true, it would
not have been asserted, and so believe in its
ti-utli. Neither have faith in traditions, be-
cause they have been handed down for many
generations and in many places.
" ' Do not believe in anything because it is
rumoured and spoken of by many ; do not think
that it is a proof of its truth.
" ' Do not believe merely because the written
statement of some old sage is produced; do
not be sure that the writing has ever been re-
vised by the said sage, or can be relied on.
Do not believe in what you have fancied,
thinking that because an idea is extraordinary,
it must have been implanted by a Dewa, or
some wonderful being.
" ' Do not believe in guesses, that is, assum-
ing something at hap-hazard as a starting-point
draw your conclusions from it ; reckoning your
two and yoiu' three and your four before you
have fixed yoiu* number one.
" ' Do not believe because you think there
is analogy, that is a suitability in things and
occurrences, such as believing that there must
be walls of the world, because you see water
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 47
in a basin ; or that Mount Mem must exist,
because you have seen the reflection of trees ;
or that there must be a creating God, because
houses and towns have builders.
" 'Do not believe in the truth of that to which
you have become attached by habit, as every
nation believes in the superiority of its own
dress and ornaments and language.
" ' Do not believe because your informant
appears to be a credible person, as, for instance,
when you see any one having a very sharp
appearance, conclude that he must be clever
and trustworthy ; or when you see any one
who has powers and abilities beyond what men
generally possess, believe in what he tells. Or
think that a great nobleman is to be believed,
as he would not be raised by the king to high
station unless he were a good man.
" ' Do not believe merely on the authority of
your teachers and masters, or believe and prac-
tise merely because they believe and practise.
" ' I tell you all, you must]of your own selves
know that "this is evil, this is punishable, this
is censured by wise men, belief in this will
bring no advantage to one, but will cause
sorrow."' And when you know this, then es-
chew it.
48 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
'' ' I say to all of you dwellers in Kalamachon,
answer me this. Lopho, that is covetousness,
Toso, that is anger and savageness, and Moho,
that is ignorance and folly, — when any or all
of these arise in the hearts of men, is the re-
sult beneficial or the reverse ?'
" And they answered, ' It is not beneficial,
Lord.'
" Then the Lord continued, ' Covetous, pas-
sionate, and ignorant men destroy life and steal,
and commit adultery and tell lies, and incite
others to follow their example, is it not so ?'
" And they answered, ' It is as the Lord
says.'
''And he continued, 'Covetousness, passion,
ignorance, the destruction of life, theft, adul-
tery, and lying, are these good or bad, right
or wrong ? do wise men praise or blame them ?
Are they not unprofitable, and causes of sor-
row ?'
" And they replied, ' It is as the Lord has
spoken.'
" And the Lord said, ' For this I said to you,
do not believe merely because you have heard,
but when of your own consciousness you know
a thing to be evil, abstain from it.'
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 49
''And then the Lord tanght of that which is
good, saying, ' If any of yon know of yonr-
selvcs that anything is good and not evil,
praised by wise men, advantageous, and pro-
ductive of happiness, then act abundantly ac-
cording to your belief. Now I ask you,
Alopho, absence of covetousness, Atoso, ab-
sence of passion, Amoho, absence of folly, are
these profitable or not ?'
" And they answered, ' Profitable.'
"The Lord continued, 'Men who are not
covetous, or passionate, or foolish will not
destroy life, nor steal, nor commit adultery
nor tell lies, is it not so ?'
"And they answered, 'It is as the Lord says.'
"Then the Lord asked, 'Is freedom from
covetousness, passion, and folly, from destruc-
tion of life, theft, adultery, and lying, good or
bad, right or wrong, praised or blamed by
wise men, profitable and tending to happiness
or not ? '
" And they replied, ' It is good, right, praised
by the wise, profitable, and tending to happi-
ness.'
" And the Lord said, ' For this I taught you
not to believe merely because you have heard,
E
50 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
but when you believed of your own conscious-
ness, then to act accordingly and abundantly.'
" And the Lord continued, ' The holy man
must not be covetous or revengeful or foolish,
and he must be versed in the four Plu'omma-
wihan, which are, Pemetta, desiring for all
living things the same haj)piness which one
seeks for oneself; Karuna, training the mind
in compassion towards all living things, desir-
ing that they may escape all sorrows either in
hell or in other existences, just as a man who
sees his friend ill, desires nothing so much as
his recovery ; Muthita, taking pleasure in all
living things, just as playmates ai'e glad when
they see one another ; and Ubekkha, keeping
the mind balanced and impartial, with no affec-
tion for one more than another.' "
From another Soodra we extract the follow-
ing passage : —
" Consider ! Can you respect or believe in
religions which recommend actions that bring
happiness to oneself b}' causing sorrow to
others, or happiness to others by son*ow to
oneself, or sorrow to both oneself and others ?
" Is not that a better religion which pro-
motes the happiness of others simultaneously
THE MODEEN BUDDHIST. 51
with the happiness of oneself, and tolerates no
oppression?"
The next subject \rc deal with is the future
state : —
" Some men believe that merit and demerit
cause successive rebirths of the soul until it
becomes perfect, when it is not born again.
Others believe that after death the soul is next
born in heaven or hell, and has no further
change. Others believe that man is reborn as
man, and every animal born again in its kind
for ever. Others believe that there is no
resurrection of the dead. I have pondered
much on this subject, and cannot absolutely
decide it. If we were to believe that death is
annihilation, we should be at a loss to account
for the existence of mankind.
" If we were to hold with those who believe
in God the Creator, it should follow that (the
impartial justice of God) would make all men
and animals equal in life and similar in natui'c,
which is not the case. But if we believe in
the interchange and succession of life through-
out all beings {i.e. the transmigration of souls),
and that good and evil arise fi*om oui-selvcs,
and are the effects of merit and demerit, avc
E 2
52 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
have some grounds for belief. The differences
of men and animals afford a very striking proof,
clear to our eyes."
The argument here is, that as some men and
animals have a superior lot to others, there
must needs follow other successive states to
compensate those whose present condition is
inferior, unless we suppose the difference of
present condition to be caused by the merits
and demerits of a previous existence. Either
supposition, he considers, affords proof of his
proposition, and requires only one presump-
tion, \dz. that the law of the world is perfect
justice: —
" Those who believe that after death the
soul passes to hell or heaven for ever, have no
proof that there is no return thence. Certainly,
it would be a most excellent thing to go direct
to heaven after death, without further change,
but I am afraid that it is not the case. For
the believers in it, who have not perfectly
purified their hearts and prepared themselves
for that most excellent place where there is no
being bom, gi'owing old, and dying, will still
have their souls contaminated with uneradi-
catod evil, the fruit of exil deeds, for where
alse can that evil go to ?
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 53
"That there is a place of perfect happiness,
where there is no being born or growing old
or (lying, was known only to him who attained
the perfection of holiness. He said that there
is really such a place, but none of us have
seen it, and we know not the condition of the
Lord Buddha's soul.
"The worker in gold cannot make anything
of his gold until he has refined it from all im-
purities. Subsequent meltings will not then
affect it, because it is pure. In like manner
the Lord before he ceased to breathe had re-
pressed and cleared away all evil from his soul,
so that it could not return, and there remained
nothing but good. Being pure we can con-
ceive that, like the pure gold, it might pass to
where it would be affected by no further change.
How is it possible that those who have not
cleared away the evil disposition from theii*
soul should attain the most excellent heaven,
and live eternally with God the Creator V and
of those who are to remain in hell for ever,
many have made merit, and done much good.
Shall that be altogether lost ?
" The Lord Buddha tauglit, saying, ' All you
who are in doubt as to Avlietlier or not there is
54 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
a future life, had better believe that there is
one, that there is another existence, in which
happiness and misery can be felt. It is better
to believe this than otherwise, f(jr if the heart
believes in a future life it will abandon sin and
act virtuously ; and even if there is no resur-
rection, such a life will bring a good name and
the regard of men. But those who believe in
extinction at death will not fail to commit any
sin that they may choose because of their dis-
belief in a future ; and if there should happen
to be a future after all, they will be at a disad-
vantage, they will be like travellers without
provisions.'
" Buddha seeing the doubt in some men's
minds, as to birth and extinction, was pleased
to preach thus."
This argument is followed by stories from
the sacred books illustrating transmigration,
and by several anecdotes of the present time
of children who, as soon as they could speak,
have asserted and given proofs of their having
previously existed as men or animals; one
example is enough,
' ' Another instance is that of the child of
a Peguan, at Paklat (a town near Bangkok),
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 66
who, as soon as he had learned to speak, told
his parents that he was formerly named Malo-an,
and had been killed by a fall from a cocoanut-
tree, and that as he fell his hatchet fell from
his hand and di-opped into a ditch. And they
seeing that his story coincided with something
that had happened within their knowledge,
tried the child by making him point out the
tree, and he pointed out the tree, and his story
was confirmed by their digging up the hatchet
from the ditch."
The next question is, what is it that is re-
born ?
"It is difficult to explain whether it is the
same or another life which is born again in a
future state. It may be compared to the seeds
of plants which sprout and grow and produce
more seed, can the succeeding tree and seed be
said to be the same as the original tree and
seed ? So it is in this case. To dwell on the
subject would be tedious. Again, is the echo
the same sound as that to which it answers, or
another sound ? The condition in which the
new birth will take place must be d(^pendont
on the necessity which the being has itself
caused by the state of its disposition, for merit
56 THE MODEllN BUDDHIST.
and demerit are the orderers of the place of
the new birth and the preparers of increasing
happiness or misery."
We are next told that all entry into a new
state is effected in one of four ways, i.e.^ by
production in the e^^, by ordinary birth, by
life resulting from emanations of earth and
water and change of leaves, etc., as vermin re-
sult from filth, fish from emanations in new
pools, insects from fruits, and snakes from a
certain vine ; and fourthly by spontaneous ap-
pearance without birth, as angels and de^ols
originate.
The subject of a future life will be again re-
verted to after our readers have had set before
them the nature of the directing influence of
merit and demerit, of that law of nature or
guiding power with which Buddhists supply
the place of God. The Siamese call this Kam,
and it is sometimes translated as fate or conse-
quence. We shall use the word kam in pre-
ference to any translation.
We may aid our readers to comprehend this
Kam by giving a short account of its action
before proceeding further with quotations.
Buddhists believe that every act, word, or
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 57
thought has its consequence, which will appear
sooner or later in the present or in some future
state. Evil acts will i)roduce evil consequences,
that is may cause a man misfortune in this
world, or an evil birth in hell, or as an animal
in some future existence. Good acts, etc., will
produce good consequences ; prosperity in this
world, or birth in heaven, or in a high position
in the world in some future state. When we
say every act, etc., has its efiect, we must make
the exception that where several acts, etc., are
of such a nature that their result will be the
same in kind, and due at the same time, then
only one of the said acts, etc., will produce an
effect, and the others will be neutralized, or
become " Ahosikam." Sometimes even single
acts may become effectless or " Ahosikam," as
will be explained further on.
There is no Grod who judges of these acts,
etc., and awards recompense or inmishment, but
the reward or punishment is simply the inevi-
table effect of Xam which works out its own re-
sults.
Our author quotes from the ' Attha Katha
Chari' and ' Atthanomati,' ancient and canonical
commentaries, interposing with much deference
a few explanations of his own : —
68 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
''Tlic meritorious and demeritorious Kam,
which living beings have caused to exist by
their own acts, words, or thoughts, arc, whether
their fruits be joy or sorrow, to be classed un-
der three heads.
''The first is Tittham Wctaniya Kam, that
is the Kam of which creatures will have the
fruits at once, in their present state of exist-
ence.
" The second is Upacha Wetaniya Kam, that
is the Kam of which creatures will have the
fruits in the next state of existence.
" The third is Oprapara "Wetaniya Kam, that
is the Kam of which creatures will have the
fruits in future states of existence from the
third onward.
" Merit or demerit will cause a tendency of
the soul in one direction sometimes to as many
as seven births and deaths, which will be fol-
lowed by a relapse in the opposite direction for
six, five, or less times ; such is the way of the
soul.
" The merit of a single act of charity, or the
demerit of the slaughter of a single ant, will
be certainly followed by one of these three
Kams.
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 69
Then followed anecdotes of TitthamWetaniya
Kam, telling how men have been rewarded for
a distinguished act of goodness by a sudden
change from poverty to wealth ; and how for
an act of cruelty horrible suiferings have been
almost instantaneously experienced.
" Merit or demerit of this class must have
their fruit in the present existence. If they
do not they will become ' Ahosikam,' lost alto-
gether. They will be like a bowshot which
misses the animal it is aimed at, or like fruit
which a man has gathered and forgotten to eat
until it has turned rotten.
"Meritorious Upacha "Wetaniya Kam, of
which the fruits appear in the next existence
(that following the one in which the works
which caused it were done), is produced by the
eight states of pious meditation (Samabatti),
and will assuredly cause rebirth in the superior
heavens ; but as any one of the eight would of
itself be followed by this Kam, and cause the
same heavenly birth, and as the effect is one
which can happen in the second and no other
existence, it follows that he who has attained
all the eight Samubatti will but receive the re-
sult of one, and the other seven will be lost
or Ahosikam.
GO THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
'' Demeritorious Upachii Wetauiya Kam is
caused by parricide, matricide, killing saints,
defiling Buddha Avith blood,* and dispersing
monks. Any one of these will cause rebirth
in hell, and the commission of more than one
of these sins will make no difference. The
others will be lost or Ahosikam, for they have
no power in any other existence.
" Oprapara \Yetani)'a Kam differs from the
preceding, in that it can never be lost or Aho-
sikam. Every act of which the Kam is of this
class, whether meritorious or demeritorious, will
certainly have its fruits in some generation,
from the third onward, whenever the suitable
time may come.
"The ' Atthanomati' states, 'This present
existence, fi'om the time that Kam is incurred
until death, is the domain of Tittham Wetaniya
Kam ; when it has power, it produces its effects
within this limit ; when it has not enough
power to produce its effects within this limit,
its domain is ended by death, and it becomes
Ahosikam. The whole of the second exist-
* Our author remarks that as Buddha has passed to
Nippan, and there are now no saints, it is no longer pos-
sible to commit these two sins.
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 61
encc is the domain of Upacha "Wetaniya Kam ;
■vrhen it has power enough, it gives its fi'uits
within that time, but when it has not power
enough to do so, it becomes Ahosikam. From
the time of entering on the third existence
and omvards, is the domain of Oprapara We-
taniya Kam, which ends only with the attain-
ment of Nippan, the cessation from further
change.' "
Kam is again divided under four heads —
Kru, Pahula, Asanna, and Kotta — according to
the time when its effects will appear, which
depends on comparative importance. The more
important the act, the sooner will the effect
come. First of Kru Kam : —
"The most powerful of all demeritorious
Kam is the result of the five before-mentioned
sins (parricide, etc.) ; when any one of these
has been committed, not even a hundred years
of merit-making will secure happiness, or pre-
vent the soul going to hell at death. The
most powerful meritorious Kam results from
the eight states of Samabatti (pious medita-
tion)."
We omit, as of less interest, the remarks on
Pahula and Asanna Kam ; the first, moauing
G2 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
Kam which is important from its nature, the
second, Kam which is rendered important by
the circumstances of the action giving rise to
it, as a good or bad act done at the point of
death; and we quote the account of Kotta
Kam, the lightest Kam : —
" Kotta Kam is light, small, not made at
the point of death, and made in ignorance of
its being meritorious or demeritorious. As,
for instance, when men, not knowing that they
are doing a meritorious act, remove a stake or
thorn, or tile from the road, lest it may hurt
any one passing along, or, seeing any kind of
filth, lying in a jDublic place, remove it, and
cleanse the j)lace ; or where a child, seeing its
parents make offerings and bow to a Pra-
chedi,* imitates them, this is meritorious Kotta
Kam.
" Demeritorious Kotta Kam arises when men,
not knowing that they are doing wrong, kill
or strike small animals, regarding them as ve-
getables ; and when children playfully do mis-
chievous tricks, and when any wrong is com-
* Prachedi are spires ia temples, generally coveriug
a relic or image of Buddha, and supposed to lead the
thoughts to the teachings of the Great Teacher.
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. G3
mittcd in ignorance. In the absence of other
Kam, this Kam will operate at some stage of
existence, causing happiness or sorrow, accord-
ing as it is meritorious or demeritorious."
The afore mentioned divisions of Kam, under
three heads and four heads, refer to time and
gravity ; it is also divided into four classes ac-
cording to the nature of its action. They are
Chauaka aKm, Upatampaka Kam, Upa-pilaka
Kam, and Upakhathaka Kam. The first is
the Kam which causes birth or existence in
any particular state of happiness or sorrow ;
the second modifies that state by causing its
prolongation ; the third modifies it by reducing
the amount of happiness or misery ; and the
last violently opposes itself to any existing
Kam, so as to destroy its effects. This last Kam
is illustrated by the story of ' Augkuliman.'
" Augkuliman, whilst yet a layman, com-
mitted nine himdred and ninety-nine murders,
but afterwards, by attaining to saintly perfec-
tion, he obtained an Upakhathaka Kam, which
cut off the Kam of the murders he had com-
mitted. He acquired meritorious Upacha We-
taniya Kam, of which he would enjoy the fruits
in his next generation, and meritorious Opra-
C4 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
para Wctani3\a Kain, of which he wouhl enjoy
the fruits in the third and subsequent genera-
tions. There was left only Tittham Weta-
niya Kam, by which his murders could have
any effect ; and it did have effect, causing him,
after he had attained his saintly condition, to
be accidently pelted with sticks and lumps of
earth."
Such are the eleven Kam of the Attha Katha
Chari, the last eight being only the same as
the first three, but differently described. Next
follows a passage comparing the idea of Kara
with that of a divine judge.
" These Kam we have discoursed about have
no substance, and we cannot see where they
exist, nor when they are about to have effect
do they come crying, ' I am the Kam, named
So-and-so, come to give fi'uits to such a
one.' This I have only adverted to for com-
parison, with the belief of some that there is
a creating God who causes existences. Those
who so believe cannot see the Creator better
than others see the Kam. It is a matter for
the consideration of the wise, whether we
should say there is a creating God, the Lord
and Master of the world, or should say that it
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 65
is Kam which fashions and causes existences.
Neither has a visible form. If we believe that
Kaui is the cause, the creator, the arranger, we
can get hold of the end of the thread, and
understand that the hajjpiness and misery of
living beings is all caused by natural sequence.
But if we assert that a creating God is the
dispenser of happiness and misery, we must
believe that He is everywhere, and at all times
watching and trying, and deciding what pu-
nishments are due to the countless multitude
of men. Is this credible ? Moreover, we are
told that the Creator made animals to be food
for man ; these animals enjoy happiness and
suffer misery, like as human beings do. How,
can we then say that the Creator does not
gi-ant them justice, and give them also a future
state of roAvard and punishment ?
From this disquisition on Kam, we pass to
the duties of a good Buddhist. The question
is put, "If a man believes in a future exist-
ence governed by Kam, how shall lie make
merit to save himself fi-om future misery ?"
The answer to this is of course, " By following
the teachings of Buddha, the holy and omni-
scient, the teaching which praises kindness, and
F
66 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
compassion, and pleasure in the general happi-
ness of all beings, and freedom from love or
dislike to individuals, and which forbids hatred
and jealousy, and envy and revenge ; the reli-
gion which teaches Than, or almsgiving, and
Sin, or rules of morality." Than, or alms-
giving, is explained as follows : —
" Than is the voluntary gift of anything not
injurious. If there is no intention to give, or
the gift is harmful (as poison or spirits), it is
not Than. Furthermore, there must be either
the desire to assist, or the desire to show
gratitude.
" The desii'e to assist is manifested when a
layman gives foods to monks, reflecting that
monks must starve unless laymen feed them ;
also when a man. from compassionate motives,
gives anything to a beggar ; and also in a
lower degree when a man gives food to animals
merely from the knowledge that without his
assistance they would die.
" The desire to show gratitude is manifested
in gifts to parents, and others entitled to
respectful regtu'd, especially to holy and dis-
tinguished men.
"It is not Than when gifts are given fii-om
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 67
other considerations, as when animals are fed
that they may be used, or presents are given
by lovers to bind affection, or given to slaves
to stimulate labour.
'' Sages and religious men have observed
that Than is an universal merit, existing at all
times and in all countries. It was a practice
of old, it is a practice now, and it will be a
practice in futiu-e in all countries and among
all people, sometimes more, sometimes less,
sometimes haA^ng much fruit, and sometimes
not being genuine and having but little fruit.
I now beg to speak of it as practised at the
present day, and to point out what is praise-
worthy, and what censui'able, according to my
own observation. The following descriptions
of almsgiving are very meritorious : —
" Firstly, when a man reflecting that his
present wealth is but the result of causation in
previous existences, and that it is his duty to
make merit for future existences, and not
hoard up that which is unstable ; and that so
long as there are wearers of the yellow robe,
the religion will exist, but that if none assist
them the monks must die out, — eagerly devises
means to promote the religion of Buddha, and
68 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
ensure its permanence, and with that view
erects temples, monasteries, spires, and preach-
ing-hous(>s where religious exercises may be
practised, and the monks may cherish their
religion in peace, and be a leaven for the future.
This is most excellent almsgiving.
"Another kind is when a man seeks the
happiness and pleasure of all men, those he
loves and those he hates, those he has a cause
of revenge against, and those against whom he
has none, and with that view digs canals and
pools, and makes roads and bridges and salas,
and plants large trees to give shade. This
generally diffused charity is most excellent
almsgiving.
"Another is, when any show kindness to
their elder relatives, parents, etc., seeking their
happiness during their lives, and showing
respect by merit-making and almsgiving after
their deaths. This, too, is very meritorious.
" Another is, when from compassion to the
poor and miserable who have none to help
them, and suffer extreme misery, a man erects
rest-houses and tbinking-fountains, and gives
them food and clothes, and necessaries and
medicine for their ailments, without selecting
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 69
one more than another. This is true charity,
and has much fruit.
" There are four classes who make merit by
almsgiving without pure compassion and piety.
One class does it for show, another from
greediness, another from jealousy, and another
from envy.
" Those who do it for show are such as with-
out any real desire to aid religion, or genuine
feeling of compassion, make merit as they see
others do, from a desire to display their wealth,
not for future advantage. Sometimes they do
not even own the gifts they pretend to bestow,
and hire them for half-a- crown from some
priest who owns them, and give him another
half-crown to carry them away, ostentatiously
piled up on a stand.
''Those who do it from greediness are such
as having much wealth distribute it before
their death, partly to prevent their heir getting
it, and partly in hopes that they will be re-
warded by going to heaven, and having tens of
thousands of houris to minister to them.
"Another class makes merit from jealousy;
as when some person of property dies, and the
administrator of his estate, in order to prevent
70 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
some person receiving a share, distributes the
whole in alms and merit-making.*
" Another class gives alms from envy, that
is, when they see an enemy make merit in any
way, they go and make more merit, not from
piety, but from a desu-e to be born in their
next existence in a superior condition to that
their enemy will have.
" Let no one who makes merit by giving
alms have such a disposition as any of these."
Ostentatious merit-making is common among
all the Siamese. The kings annually, in per-
son or by deputy, make offerings at the prin-
cipal temples throughout the country, accom-
panied by procession of sometimes more than
a hundred state barges, bands of music, and
every material of display. Those who can
ajfford it combine in similar processions on a
smaller scale ; even poor people will, from
time to time, imate two or thi-ee monks to
receive some trumpery presents at their houses,
and will proclaim the fact by beating a di'um
for several hours. The Siamese certainly sup-
* It docs sometimes happen that all the estate of the
deceased is expended in a great entertainment and feast
given at the cremation of the bodv.
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 71
port their priests well, not only by occasional
gifts of clothing, etc. hut by daily gifts of food.
Much money is also spent in the other ways
designated by our author, the construction of
temples especially. He himself is now, and
has been for years, superintending the building
of one called Pratom Prachidee, near Bangkok,
which will, when finished, be one of the finest
and largest Buddhist temples in the world.
It is built principally with funds suj)plied by
the late king, who also built many other tem-
ples. It is unfortunate that the desii'e is
always to build new temples rather than to
repair old ones, so that there are but too many
temples in a ruinous condition.
Charity of the kind which is best known in
England is scarcely ever called for in Siam,
where it is easy to live with but little labour,
and where the respect shown to family ties
and the prevalence of a mild system of slavery
enable almost every one to support himself, or
get supported without recourse to beggary.
It is only just to the Siamese to add, that
though fond of ostentatious almsgiving, as
above said, they are also privately charitable,
and kind and hospitable to strangers.
72 TiiK :\roDEiix buddiiist.
From ''Than" we pass to "Sin," which
means "abstinence" from breaking the Five
Commandments, but is as often used for the
Commandments themselves. The Five Com-
mandments are : —
1st. Thou shalt not destroy, nor cause the
destruction of any living thing.
2nd. Thou shalt not, either by fraud or vio-
lence, obtain or keep that which belongs to
another.
3rd. Thou shalt not lie carnally with any
but proper objects for thy lust.
4th. Thou shalt not attempt, either by word
or action, to lead others to believe that which
is not true.
6th. Thou shalt not become intoxicated.
The offence of breaking these Command-
ments may be greater or less according to the
quality of the person injured by the act, the
amount of premeditation leading to the act,
the desire or passion which causes the act, and
lastly, the object of the act, i.e. the value of
the thing stolen, the damage done by a lie,
etc. "We give one example of the way in
which these commandments are analysed.
"There are five essentials of Athinnathan
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 73
(the 2nd Commandment). 1st. Property which
another sets store by. 2nd. Knowledge that
it is so. 3rd. Intention to get possession of it.
4th. Means taken to do so personally or by
agent. 5th. Obtaining said property against
the owner's will."
In the same manner, for a breach of the
other Commandments, there must be not only
a completed act, but also intention.
Excellent as these Commandments are, few
men keep them all.
"At the present time very few men, even
Buddhists, perfectly observe these five Com-
mandments. Some can abstain from all but
lying. Others take care not to destroy large
animals, but cannot restrain themselves from
killing gad-flics and mosquitoes. Some can
keep from actual theft, but not from getting
other people's property by oi)prossion and
fraud. Some can refrain from other men's
wives, but not from their daughters. Some
can keep from great lies, such as bearing false
witness, but will tell other lies, such as saying
they have not seen or heard, when they have
seen or heard, regarding these as trifling
off'cnces. As for drunkenness, some abstain
74 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
from all intoxicating things even in medicine,
others take them in moderation.
" He who cannot abstain from these five
offences is gnilty — not because the religion of
liuddha is cruel, and forbids that which men
best like and cannot abstain fi'om, or because
the rules are cruel and will cause misfortune
to those who believe in them — but because of
his own passions.
*' The observance of these Five Command-
ments is good at all times, and in all places.
There has never been and there never will be
a wise man who would not praise them,"
Comparing these Commandments with the
laws of other religions, he observes that theft,
adultery, lying, and the destruction of human
life (with exceptions), are regarded as sins by
all people ; that intoxication is only forbidden
by Buddhists, Brahmins, and Mahometans, and
that the destruction of life, other than human,
is regarded as sin by none but Buddhists and
Brahmins, believers in the Buddh Avatar.
The sanctity of animal life and the use of
animal food first claim attention : —
"It is to be observed that animals ai-e agi-
tated, tremble, feel sorrow, show jealousy, and
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 75
envy, and fear death, much as men do. Their
existence cannot be compared with that of
phmts or trees. We know not whether they
will after death have another existence or not.
But those persons who do believe in another
bii'th in some greater or lesser world, who be-
lieve in transmigration, must believe that it is
sinful to kill any animal. He who is merciful
and compassionate and believes in the cer-
tainty of future existences, will not ventiu'e to
kill or shorten the life of any being from com-
passion and fear of the consequences.
" Question. If then he who has compassion
will not injure their lives, why does he support
his life on their flesh ? were there no eaters,
there would be no killers. Is not the eating
of flesh sin?
" Answer. There is a Buddhist ordinance
which declares that there is no sin in eating
proper meat, although it is a sin to cause the
death of animals. With respect to this argu-
ment, we observe that those who hold tlio
slaugliter of animals to be sinful are few com-
pared with those Avho believe that tlu^ro is no
harm in it, Su[»[>(>siiig that thoscMvlio arc cdih-
passionate were to refuse to eat meat, others
7G Tin: modern buddhist.
would kill and trade in it and the animals
would die. The Mahometans do not eat pork,
so pigs ought to abound in their countries, but
in fact there are none at all. Animals must
die by the law of nature, nor will the absence
of any one to eat them prevent their death.
The religion of Buddha does not compel any to
act against their own dispositions, it only indi-
cates good and evil.
" When on a present of meat being made,
the receiver expresses his great pleasure, says
that he has been longing for that kind of meat,
and orders it to be cooked at once, and makes
it clear to the giver that he wishes for more,
and so incites him to go and kill more, this is
uni'ightcous. Again, when one insists on one's
servants getting some kind of meat which one
knows they will not find ready killed in the
market, and so forces them to have some spe-
cially killed, this is uncompassionate and
wicked. If a monk knows in any way that
animals are killed merely to supply him with
flesh, he should abstain from that flesh ; it is
impui-e and the laws of the priesthood forbid
him to eat it.
"The Lord Buddha was asked to forbid
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 77
animal food, but he would not. There are
those who hold his religion, but will not ac-
cept the first commandment, like the Chinese,
who believe in transmigration as Buddhists,
but assert that there is no sin in executing cri-
minals or in killing animals for food."
Next, as to the vice of intoxication.
''As to the sin of drinking intoxicating
things, consider ! It is a cause of the heart be-
coming excited and overcome. By nature there
is already an intoxication in man caused by de-
sire, anger, and folly ; he is already inclined to
excess, and not thoughtful of death, sorrow,
and the instability of things. If we stimulate
this natural intoxication by drinking, it will
become more daring ; and if the natural inclina-
tion is to anger, anger will become excessive,
and acts of violence and murder will result.
Similarly with the other inclinations. The
drunken man neither thinlvs of future retribu-
tion nor present punishment.
"Again, spirituous liquors cause disease, liver
disease, and short life ; and the use of them when
it has become a habit cannot be dispensed with
without discomfort, so that men spend all tholr
money unprofitably in purchasing tlieiii, ami
78 THE MODERN I3UDDIIIST.
•when their money is spent become thieves and
(liif'oits. The evil is both future and imme-
diate."
He refers to the Total Abstinence Move-
ment and the Mahometan law thus : —
" In the present age, many Americans have
declared spirit-drinking to be an evil, a cause
of much immediate mischief, and of no future
good. The Jews used not to consider spirit-
drinking a sin, but Mahomet declared that
Allah had ordered him to forbid its use, on the
gi'ound that spirit- drinkers, if they went to
heaven, would smell so offensively that the
angels could not endure their vicinity."
On the subject of the third commandment,
■we are told that women who are the objects of
another's jealous care, that is, wives and un-
married women, who are cared for or supported
by their husbands or relatives, and women
who are betrothed, are all improjior objects of
desire ; but as this is " the undisputed opinion
of all except those bad men who think there
is no harm in adultery unless it is discovered,"
the main point considered is, why under this
commandment men and women are put on a
different footing, that is, why polygamy is
allowed ?
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 79
''If we say tlie commandment is different
for men and women, we make two commands
of it ; but it is not so, it is only one, an order
that sensual intercourse should be suitably re-
gulated.
" Women are not allowed to have more
than one husband, because they are under the
rule of man, and not superior to man. If
women might have many husbands, they would
not know who was the father of their children,
and these children might injure, and even com-
mit parricide, without knowing it. And, more-
over, the dipositions of men and women differ ;
men, however many wives they have, and
whatever their liking or dislike to any of them,
have no desire to kill them ; but if women
had more husbands than one, they would wish
to kill all but the one they liked best, for such
is their nature. There are many stories in
point, one of which I will relate concisely.
" There was once on a time a priest who
daily blessed a great king, saying ' May your
Majesty have the perseverance of a crow, th(^
daring of a woman, the endurance of a vulture,
and the strength of an ant.' And the king,
doubting his meaning, said ' What do yuu
80 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
moan l>y tlic endurance of a vulture?' and he
replied, ' If a vulture and all kinds of other
animals are caged up without food, the vul-
ture will outlive them all.' And the king tried,
and it was so. And the priest said, ' I spoke
of the strength of the ant, for an ant is
stronger than a man, or anything that lives.
No other animal can lift a lump of iron or
copper as large as itself, but an ant will carry-
off its own bulk of either metal, if it be only-
smeared with sugar. And I said ' the perse-
verance of the crow,' for none can subdue the
boldness and energy of the crow ; however long
you cage it, you will never tame it. And if
the king would see the daring of a woman,
I beg him to send for a couple who have been
maiTied only one or two months, who are yet
deeply in love with one another, and fii'st call
the husband, and say, " Go and cut off your
wife's head, and bring it to me, and I will
give you half my kingdom, and make you my
viceroy." And if he will not do it, then send
for the woman, and say, " Kill your husband,
and bring me his head, and I will make you
my cliief queen, ruler of all the ladies in the
palace." And the king did so. He found a
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 81
newly-married couple who had never quar-
relled, and were deeply enamoui'ed of one an-
other, and sending for the husband, he spoke
to him as the priest had suggested. And the
man took the knife, and hid it in his dress,
and that same night rose when his wife slept,
thinking to kill her, but he could not, because
he was kind-hearted, and reflected that she
had done no ^Tong. And the next day he
returned the knife to the king, saying that he
could not use it against his wife. Then the
king sent messengers to the wife secretly,
and they brought her to him, and he flattered
and enticed her with promises, as the priest
had told him, and she took the knife, and as
soon as her husband slept, stabbed him, and
cut off his head, and took it to the king. This
story shows not only that woman is more
daring than man, but also that if any one en-
tices and pleases them, they will plot their hus-
band's death, which is a good reason for not
letting them have more than one husband.
" At the time Jesus Christ lived, and still
later in Mahomet's time, there was no law of
monogamy. Mahomet limited the number of
wives to four, and after a time Europeans in-
82 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
stituted monogamy by law, not from religious
motives, but from conviction of its expediency,
considering that plurality of wives was unfair
to women, and gave rise to jealousy and mur-
der and constant trouble.
'' The religion of Buddha highly commends
a life of chastity. Buddha stated that when a
man could not remain as a celibate, if he took
but one wife it was yet a kind of chastity, a
commendable life. Buddha also censured poly-
gamy as involving ignorance and lust, but he
did not absolutely forbid it, because he could
not say there was any actual wrong in a man
having a number of wives properly acquired."
Polygamy is extensively practised in Siam,
the kings setting the example. The late king's
life affords an instance of both celibacy and
polygamy. At the age of twenty his majesty,
who had been already married for some years,
entered the priesthood and remained a monk
for twenty-seven years ; he then came to the
throne, and accepting the custom of polygamy
as suitable for his new position, he was within
the next sixteen years blessed with a family of
seventy-nine children. The number of his
wives we could not ascertain. Many noblemen
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 83
have thirty or forty or more wives. So far as
our own observation goes, this polygamy, ac-
companied by a facility for divorcement, is not
attended by very evil results. There is a great
deal of domestic happiness in Siam, and suicides
and husband and wife murders, so common in
monogamic Europe, are rare there. Neverthe-
less, many of the best men we have known
there were theoretical admirers of monogamy,
and one practised it.
Having thus treated of morality and charity,
we might expect our author to discoiu'se on
the nature of meditation, which is the great
Buddhistic means of self-improvement. We
presume that he omits it because it is only
practised by monks, whilst his book is intended
for laymen. In the absence of any remarks
from him, we will only observe that by medita-
tion and self-abstraction from all human con-
cerns and passions, Buddhists believe man can
purify himself, and can attain supernatural
knowledge and power, and ultimately perfec-
tion.
We now revert to the nature of future
existence. Fii'stly we have a sketch of the
ideas of Christians, Mahometans, and Brahmins,
84 THE MODERN BUDDHIST.
as to a future life, lieavcn and hell, which we
need not quote, but pass to his exposition of
the Buddhist views.
" In the religion of Phra Somana Kodom
we also find mention of heaven and hell, and
we are taught that those who have kept the
Commandments, given alms, and lived righte-
ously, will after death go to heavenly palaces
furnished with houris, more or less numerous,
according to the amount of merit they have
acquired. And those who have no merit, but
have only acquired demeritorious Kam, will on
death go to hell, and remain there until their
Kam is exhausted, when they will be bom
again as animals or men ; or if there is any
merit still belonging to them, they may even go
to heaven. Those whose merit has caused them
to be born as angels in heaven will, when the
power of their merit is exhausted, be extin-
guished in heaven, and reappear as men or
animals, or sometimes, when a demeritorious
Kam still attaches to them, they will fall to
hell. There is no fixity, but continual cii'cu-
latioM and alternation, until such time as the
spirit has become perfect in ' the four ways and
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 85
the four fruits,'* which extinguish all fiuiher
sorrow, stay all further change, and cause
eternal rest in a state of perfect haiDpiness
where there is no further birth, nor old age,
nor death. Even those who do not believe in
the religion of Buddha, by good actions acquire
merit, and will on theii* death attain heaven,
and by evil actions acquire demerit, and on
death will pass to hell. Buddhism does not
teach the necessary damnation of those who do
not believe in Buddha, and in this respect I
think it is more excellent than all the other re-
ligions wliich teach that all but their own fol-
lowers will surely go to hell."
After remarking that women as well as men
can enjoy the highest pleasures of heaven, and
that there may be a change of sex with a
change of state, he gives his own views of the
common sensual idea of heaven.
"The fact of the matter is this. The Hin-
doos who live in coimtries adjoining the Ma-
hometan countries believe that in heaven every
* Tlicse are the four highest grades of sanctity. He
who attains the first will reach Nippan within seven
existences ; the fourth leads to Nippan direct, without
any existence intervening.
86 TlIK MODERN BUDDHIST.
male lias tens and hundreds of thousands of
female attendants, aecording to what their
teachers of old taught them concerning the
riches of heaven, and their idea is akin to that
of the Mahometans. The Mahometans had
held out great inducements, representing the
pleasures that would result from their religion ;
and the Ilindoo teachers, fearing that their
people might be excited by this most promis-
ing new doctrine, themselves introduced it into
their own teaching. At least, this is my im-
pression on the subject. But if we must
speak out the truth as to these matters, we
must say that the world of heaven is but
similar to the world of man, only differing in
the greater amount of happiness there enjoyed.
Angels there are in high places with all the
apparel and train of their dignity, and others
of lower station with less surroundings. All
take up that position which is due to their
previous merits and demerits. Buddha cen-
sured concupiscence ; Buddha never spoke in
praise of heaven ; he taught but one thing as
worthy of praise, ' the extinction of soitow.'
All this incoherent account of heaven is but
the teaching of later writei-s, who have preached
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 87
the luxuries and rich pleasures of heaven in
hopes thereby to attract men into the paths
of holiness, and the attainment of sanctity.
We cannot say where heaven and earth are.
All religions hold that heaven is above the
world and hell below it, and every one of
them uses heaven to work on men's desires,
and hell to frighten them with. Some hold
forth more horrors than others, according to
the craft of those who have designed them to
constrain men by acting on their fears, and
making them quake and tremble. We cannot
deny the existence of heaven and hell, for as
some men in this world certainly live well and
otliers live ill, to deny the existence of heaven
and hell would be to dejmve men's works of
their result, to make all their good deeds
utterly lost to them. We must observe, that
after happiness follows sorrow, after heat fol-
lows cold ; they are things by nature coupled.
If after death there is a succession of existence,
there must be states of happiness and of sor-
row, for they are necessarily coupled in the
way I have explained. As fur heaven being
above the earth and hell below it, I leave
intelligent people to come to their own con-
88 THE MODEIiN 15UDDIIIST.
elusion ; but as to future states of happiness
and sorrow, I feel no doubt whatever."
lie next remarks, ^' That both in ancient
and modem times there have been instances of
persons who, on recovering from a state of
trance, have declared that they have visited
other worlds during their trance." We quote
one of his modern instances : —
"A young Cambodian, aged eighteen, living
at the hamlet of Phrakanong, in Siam, being
sick of fever, swooned for a day and then
recovered animation. On recovery he said,
' that he had been bound and taken to a place
where there were a number of seething fiying-
pans containing oil or water, he was not siu-e
which, and crowds of men and women were
being unceasingly huiTied along and thrown
into the frying-pans, but they rejected him,
saying that he had been brought there by
mistake, and they drove him back to his own
place."
Some observations on the disposal of the
bodies of the dead appropriately follow. "This,"
he writes, " is not a religious question, though
Christians, in preferring biu-ial, do look to ris-
in.cr in their own bodies at the sound of the
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 89
trumpet when God sliall come to judge tliem,
but it is a matter of custom and convenience."
The Siamese practise "cremation, a rite de-
rived by the Buddhists from the Brahmins,"
and he approves it, as causing less polhition of
air and water than burial does.
The concluding pages of the ' Kitchanukit '
are chiefly repetitions of what has gone before.
We shall then conclude our notice with the
following extract : —
"How can it be according to the belief of
those who believe in but one resurrection, who
believe in a man being received into heaven
while his nature is still full of impui-ity, by
virtue of sprinkling his head with water, or
cutting off by circumcision a small piece of his
skin ? Will such a man bo purified by the
merit of the Lord Allah, or of Thao Maha
Phrom ? We know not where they are. We
have never seen them. But wc do know and
can prove that men can purify their own na-
tures, and we know the laws by which tliat
purification can be effected. Is it not better
to believe in this which we can see and know,
than in that which has no reality to our per-
ceptions ?"
H
90 THK MODERX BUDDHIST.
Such arc tlie ideas and arguments of an
honest and earnest Buddhist of the present
day, defending: his religion against the assaults
of the numerous body of missionaries who live
in comfort, and teach without molestation
among his countrymen. He is indebted to
them for much information, and willingly ac-
cepts it. He listens to and admires the mora-
lity of the Christian religion, until they be-
lieve him almost a Christian, and then he tells
them that Buddha too taught a morality as
beautiful as theirs, and a charity that extends
to everything that has breath. And when
they speak of faith, he answers that by the
light of the knowledge they have helped him
to, he can weed out his old superstitions, but
that he will accept no new ones. Their cause
is, as the late king said, hopeless : —
** You must not think that any of my party
will ever become Christians. We will not em-
brace what we think is a foolish relidon."
The religion of Buddlia meddled not with
the Begiiming, which it could not fathom;
avoided the action of a Deity it could not per-
ceive ; and left open to endless discussion that
problem which it could not solve, the ultimate
THE MODERN BUDDHIST. 91
reward of the perfect. It dealt with life as it
found it ; it declared all good which led to its
sole object, the diminution of the misery of all
sentient beings ; it laid down rules of conduct
which have never been surpassed, and held out
reasonable hopes of a future of the most per-
fect happiness.
Its proofs rest on the assumptions that the
reason of man is his surest guide, and that the
law of nature is perfect justice. To the dis-
proof of these assumptions, we recommend the
attention of those missionaries who wish to
convert Buddliists.
H. A.