- Author:
- Wright, Arnold
- Publication Info:
-
London:
Lloyd's Greater Britain Pub. Co.,
1908,
pg 212
Text on page 212
64
TWENTIETH CENTIJRV IMPRESSIONS OF SIAM 212
Buddhism. No foreign elements have crept into it, and it remains, therefore, to show how the two principal tenets of Buddhismathat of universal love (" metta ") and of " kamma," the outcome of one's deeds, the virtuous lifeaare understood. In the following conversation which King Mongkut had with Mrs. Leonovvens, the English governess at the Siamese court, which is recorded in her book, the king took an opportunity of explaining, in a concrete case, how " metta " as understood by the Buddhists was the " charity " of which St. Paul speaks.
44 4 Do you understand the word 44 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.
"41 believe I do, your Majesty,' was my reply.
4 4 Then tell me, what does St. Paul really mean, to what custom does he allude, when he says, 44 Even if I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing" ?'
44 4 Custom ! ' said I. 4 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.'
44 4 You have said well. It is the highest act of devotion that can be made, or performed, by man for man,athat 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 ? '
44 4 That is just what St. Paul means : the motive consecrates the deed.'
44 4 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
PRINCE VAJIRANANA JINOROS.
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 rushing to assume the part of humility for the purpose of self-delusion.
44 4 Now,' said the king, taking several of his long strides in the vestibule of his library, and declaiming with his habitual emphasis,4 St. Paul in this chapter evidently and strongly applies the Buddhist word 44 maitri," and explains it through the Buddhist 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.
44 4 To give all one's goods to feed the poor is common in this country with princes and people, who often keep back nothing 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.
44 4 1 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 goodsa in a word, allato 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 44 maitri."
4 4 4 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
WAT RAJABOPITR. THE ENTRANCE.
ANOTHER VIEW OF WAT RAJABOPITR.ANOTHER VIEW OF WAT RAJABOPITR.
