Part 15 (1/2)
Through twenty-five million six hundred thousand Asongkhies, or metempsychoses,--according to the overpowering computation of his priests,--did Buddha struggle to attain the divine omniscience of Niphan, by virtue of which he remembers every form he ever entered, and beholds with the clear eyes of a G.o.d the endless diversities of transmigration in the animal, human, and angelic worlds, throughout the s.p.a.celess, timeless, numberless universe of visible and invisible life.
According to Heraclides, Pythagoras used to say of himself, that he remembered ”not only all the men, but all the animals and all the plants, his soul had pa.s.sed through.” That Pythagoras believed and taught the doctrine of transmigration may hardly be doubted, but that he originated it is very questionable. Herodotus intimates that both Orpheus and Pythagoras derived it from the Egyptians, but propounded it as their own, without acknowledgment.
Nearly every male inhabitant of Siam enters the priesthood at least once in his lifetime. Instead of the more vexatious and scandalous forms of divorce, the party aggrieved may become a priest or a nun, and thus the matrimonial bond is at once dissolved; and with this advantage, that after three or four months of probation they may be reconciled and reunited, to live together in the world again.
Chow Khoon Sah, or ”His Lords.h.i.+p the Lake,” whose functions in the Watt P'hra Keau I have described, was the High-Priest of Siam, and in high favor with his Majesty. He had taken holy orders with the double motive of devoting himself to the study of Sanskrit literature, and of escaping the fate, that otherwise awaited him, of becoming the mere thrall of his more fortunate cousin, the king. In the palace it was whispered that he and the late queen consort had been tenderly attached to each other, but that the lady's parents, for prudential considerations, discountenanced the match; ”and so,” on the eve of her betrothal to his Majesty, her lover had sought seclusion and consolation in a Buddhist monastery.
However that may be, it is certain that the king and the high-priest were now fast friends. The latter entertained great respect for his reverend cousin, whose t.i.tle (”The Lake”) described justly, as well as poetically, the graceful serenity and repose of his demeanor.
Chow Khoon Sah lived at some distance from the palace, at the Watt Brahmanee Waid. As the friends.h.i.+p between the cousins ripened, his Majesty considered that it would be well for him to have the contemplative student, prudent adviser, and able reasoner nearer to him.
With this idea, and for a surprise to one to whom all surprises had long since become but vanities and vexations of spirit, he caused to be erected, about forty yards from the Grand Palace, on the eastern side of the Meinam, a temple which he named _Rajah-Bah-dit-Sang_, or ”The King caused me to be built”; and at the same time, as an appendage to the temple, a monastery in mediaeval style, the workmans.h.i.+p in both structures being most substantial and elaborate.
The sculptures and carvings on the pillars and facades--half-fabulous, half-historical figures, conveying ingenious allegories of the triumph of virtue over the pa.s.sions--const.i.tuted a singular tribute to the exemplary fame of the high-priest. The grounds were planted with trees and shrubs, and the walks gravelled, thus inviting the contemplative recluse to tranquil, soothing strolls. These grounds were accessible by four gates, the princ.i.p.al one facing the east, and a private portal opening on the ca.n.a.l.
The laying of the foundation of the temple and monastery of Rajah-Bah-dit-Sang was the occasion of extraordinary festivities, consisting of theatrical spectacles and performances, a carnival of dancing, ma.s.s around every corner-stone, banquets to priests, and distributions of clothing, food, and money to the poor. The king presided every morning and evening under a silken canopy; and even those favorites of the harem who were admitted to the royal confidence were provided with tents, whence they could witness the shows, and partic.i.p.ate in the rejoicings in the midst of which the good work went on. After the several services of ma.s.s had been performed, and the corner-stones consecrated by the pouring on of oil and water, [Footnote: Oil is the emblem of life and love; water, of purity.] seven tall lamps were lighted to burn above them seven days and nights, and seventy priests in groups of seven, forming a perfect circle, prayed continually, holding in their hands the mystic web of seven threads, that weird circlet of life and death.
Then the youngest and fairest virgins of the land brought offerings of corn and wine, milk, honey, and flowers, and poured them on the consecrated stones. And after that, they brought pottery of all kinds,--vases, urns, ewers, goglets, bowls, cups, and dishes,--and, flinging them into the foundations, united with zeal and rejoicing in the ”meritorious” work of pounding them into fine dust; and while the instruments of music and the voices of the male and female singers of the court kept time to the measured crash and thud of the wooden clubs in those young and tender hands, the king cast into the foundation coins and ingots of gold and silver.
”Do you understand the word 'charity,' or _maitri_, as your apostle St.
Paul explains it in the thirteenth chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians?” said his Majesty to me one morning, when he had been discussing the religion of Sakyamuni, the Buddha.
”I believe I do, your Majesty,” was my reply.
”Then, tell me, what does St. Paul really mean, to what custom does he allude, when he says, 'Even if I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing'?”
”Custom!” said I. ”I do not know of any _custom_. The giving of the body to be burned is by him esteemed the highest act of devotion, the purest sacrifice man can make for man.”
”You have said well. It is the highest act of devotion that can be made, or performed, by man for man,--that giving of his body to be burned. But if it is done from a spirit of opposition, for the sake of fame, or popular applause, or for any other such motive, is it still to be regarded as the highest act of sacrifice?”
”That is just what St. Paul means: the motive consecrates the deed.”
”But all men are not fortified with the self-control which should fit them to be great exemplars; and of the many who have appeared in that character, if strict inquiry were made, their virtue would be found to proceed from any other than the true and pure spirit. Sometimes it is indolence, sometimes restlessness, sometimes vanity impatient for its gratification, and rus.h.i.+ng to a.s.sume the part of humility for the purpose of self-delusion.”
”Now” said the King, taking several of his long strides in the vestibule of his library, and declaiming with his habitual emphasis, ”St Paul, in this chapter, evidently and strongly applies the Buddhist's word _maitri_, or _maikree_, as p.r.o.nounced by some Sanskrit scholars; and explains it through the Buddhist's custom of giving the body to be burned, which was practised centuries before the Christian era, and is found unchanged in parts of China, Ceylon, and Siam to this day. The giving of the body to be burned has ever been considered by devout Buddhists the most exalted act of self-abnegation.
”To give all one's goods to feed the poor is common in this country, with princes and people,--who often keep back nothing (not even one _cowree_, the thousandth part of a cent) to provide for themselves a handful of rice. But then they stand in no fear of starvation; for death by hunger is unknown where Buddhism is preached and _practised_.
”I know a man, of royal parentage, and once possessed of untold riches.
In his youth he felt such pity for the poor, the old, the sick, and such as were troubled and sorrowful, that he became melancholy, and after spending several years in the continual relief of the needy and helpless, he, in a moment, gave all his goods,--in a word, ALL,--'to feed the poor.' This man has never heard of St. Paul or his writings; but he knows, and tries to comprehend in its fulness, the Buddhist word _maitri_.
”At thirty he became a priest. For five years he had toiled as a gardener; for that was the occupation he preferred, because in the pursuit of it he acquired much useful knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants, and so became a ready physician to those who could not pay for their healing. But he could not rest content with so imperfect a life, while the way to perfect knowledge of excellence, truth, and charity remained open to him; so he became a priest.
”This happened sixty-five years ago. Now he is ninety-five years old; and, I fear, has not yet found the truth and excellence he has been in search of so long. But I know no greater man than he. He is great in the Christian sense,--loving, pitiful, forbearing, pure.
”Once, when he was a gardener, he was robbed of his few poor tools by one whom he had befriended in many ways. Some time after that, the king met him, and inquired of his necessities. He said he needed tools for his gardening. A great abundance of such implements was sent to him; and immediately he shared them with his neighbors, taking care to send the most and best to the man who had robbed him.
”Of the little that remained to him, he gave freely to all who lacked.
Not his own, but another's wants, were his sole argument in asking or bestowing. Now, he is great in the Buddhist sense also,--not loving life nor fearing death, desiring nothing the world can give, beyond the peace of a beatified spirit. This man--who is now the High-Priest of Siam--would, without so much as a thought of shrinking, give his body, alive or dead, to be burned, if so he might obtain one glimpse of eternal truth, or save one soul from death or sorrow.”